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Darfur, Part II: Visit of Moreno-Ocampo to Great Britain; Internet Technology to track down Darfur suspects; Opinions

14 May 2008

Dear friends,

Please find below the second of a two-part digest containing information on recent developments related to the International Criminal Court's investigation in Darfur, Sudan.

Featured in this message are articles on the recent visit of ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo to Great Britain, where he said that states have been "very weak" in pressing Sudan on the arrest and surrender of the two suspects Harun and Kushayb. Also included below are reports about the internet technology used to track down Darfur suspects and several opinion pieces.

Please take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC (below), which explicitly states that the CICC will not take a position on potential and current situations before the Court or situations under analysis. The Coalition, however, will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

With regards,

Mariana Rodriguez Pareja
[email protected]
CICC Communications

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I. MORENO-OCAMPO IN BRITISH PARLIAMENT

i. "Darfur genocide 'not ruled out', IN The News, 8 May 2008, http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/world/autocodes/countries/sudan/darfur-genocide-not-ruled-out-$1221853.htm

"The international criminal court (ICC) is refusing to dismiss the possibility of genocide in Sudan's wartorn Darfur region, its chief prosecutor has said.

Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo made the claim in a briefing to MPs and peers in parliament 15 months after the ICC named Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister, Ahmed Haroun, and Ali Kosheib, Janjaweed leader, as chief suspects of war crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he had established a 'clear case' against the two suspects based on crimes against humanity.

'We never dismiss genocide', he explained, adding that a 'second investigation' is currently underway considering this 'second aspect'
of the Darfur crisis.

Neither Mr Haroun nor Mr Kosheib have been surrendered to the ICC by the Sudanese government and Mr Moreno-Ocampo told MPs he believed the international community was partly responsible for this failure.

He said states had been 'very weak' in pressing Khartoum on the issue and concluded 'the Sudanese government drew its own conclusions' as a result.

'The Haroun case was a great opportunity to stop the crimes. We have lost that opportunity,' Mr Moreno-Ocampo continued...."

ii. "Darfur call to action for UK politicians," Politics.co.uk, 8 May 2008, http://www.politics.co.uk/news/opinion-former-index/foreign-policy/darfur-call-action-uk-politicians-$1221852.htm

"Addressing MPs and peers in parliament yesterday, the international criminal court (ICC) prosecutor pressed the importance of parliamentarians around the world helping get beyond the 'lack of enforcement' seen in too many countries.

Fifteen months have passed since the ICC named Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister, Ahmed Haroun, and Ali Kosheib, Janjaweed leader, as chief suspects of war crimes against humanity in Darfur.

.... The chief prosecutor warned that 'in 40 years the whole world will be like Darfur' if the rule of international law is not upheld.

And he called on MPs and peers to pressure the government on the issue, telling them 'I think you can make a real difference here'.

He told politics.co.uk the best way to achieve this was through 'showing interest' and 'talking about the issue'...."

II. INTERNET USERS TRACKING DOWN SUSPECTS - . FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE AND DARFUR

i. "Facebook to track Darfur suspects", BBC, 25 April 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7367634.stm

"A group hunting war crime suspects has turned to the social networking site Facebook to try to find two Sudanese men sought for crimes in Darfur. The War Crimes Watch List is asking Facebook users to report sightings of Ahmed Haroun and Janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman. The International Criminal Court indicted both men a year ago on 51 counts of crimes against humanity. The group has also used Google Earth to pinpoint their last known whereabouts.

.... Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman is also known as Ali Kushayb, while Mr Haroun is Sudan's Humanitarian Affairs Minister and was previously minister in charge of Darfur. The ICC says he helped organise the Janjaweed militia accused of widespread atrocities against the region's black African population.

.... 'It's a new way to send an old message,' said Nick Donovan of the Aegis Trust, the organisation behind the 'Wanted for War Crimes' list.
'Wanted posters can only be seen by a few hundred people at most - the internet is used by billions.'...."

ii. "Aegis Trust Seeks Help In Sudan Via Facebook", Mashable, 26 April 2008, http://mashable.com/2008/04/26/aegis-facebook-google/

"The Darfur region of Sudan has been kept firmly within the sights of humanitarian organizations from around the globe in the last several years. And in that time, technological developments on the Web have enabled greater search capabilities as well as provide individuals throughout the world to connect with one another. Facebook, for instance, is now very much an international brand. And Google is, well, Google.

.... According to Tendai Maphosa of Voice of America, the Humanitarian Affairs Minister of Sudan, Ahmed Mohammed Harun, and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb, are both charged by the International Criminal Court with "over 40 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur in 2003 and 2004." And through connections established on Facebook through the War Crimes Wanted List, an application officially launching this Sunday, as well as an custom Google Map and Spreadsheets mashup (a Google Earth layer has also been
created) with which to view data on locations where either suspect has been seen, they hope to increase the effectiveness of their campaign....''

iii. "Facebook, Google Join Hunt for Sudanese War Crimes Suspects", VOA, 26 April 2008, http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-04-26-voa10.cfm

"Sunday, April 27, marks the first anniversary of the issuance of two arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity committed in Sudan's Darfur region. Tendai Maphosa reports the Internet sites Facebook and Google are helping human rights organizations put pressure on the Sudanese government to hand over the suspects...."

See also:

iv. "Internet's Most Wanted", Telecom TV, 28 April 2008 http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43065&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

v. "Technology Chases Warm Crime Suspects", Digital Trends News, 28 April 2008 http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/16508/technology_chases_warm_crime_suspects

vi. "Activists use Facebook and Google Earth to track Darfur's wanted men", The Telegraph, 28 April 2008 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/27/wdarfur127.xml


III. OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

i. "How can we catch Sudan's murderers?", By Nick Donovan for The Times, 28 April 2008, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3827883.ece

"Yesterday was the anniversary of the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb for atrocities in Darfur, Sudan. Their names mean little to most of us, while those of Fred West and Harold Shipman have become shorthand for mass murder. Yet the crimes of these serial killers belong to a pre-industrial age.

... The international community's response to this defiance has been to do nothing. Nor has it acted against Kushayb, the former Janjawid leader.

This June the UK will play a key role on the Security Council, helping to guide its response to the ICC prosecutor's next report on Sudan.
Last time, China blocked a presidential statement on the ICC. This time, with China absorbed by the Olympics, the UK should take the lead and introduce a resolution imposing asset freezes on all Sudanese government officials harbouring Harun and Kushayb. Any future discussions of debt relief or bilateral aid for Sudan should also be made conditional on handing over the two men for trial.

... The UK has done more than most, providing funding for many international courts and tribunals and making a tentative start in searching for war criminals now living in the UK. British diplomacy was crucial in the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic; the day after he was surrendered the international community pledged $1.28 billion in bilateral aid to Serbia. Without British leadership this time it's likely that, like Kitty, in 40 years' time an intrepid survivor will be returning to Darfur to tell her story. Meanwhile, in a quiet dictatorship somewhere, the elderly killer of her mother will be quietly living out the end of his days in luxury...."

ii. "The Darfur War Crimes Test", Wall Street Journal By MIA FARROW and ERIC REEVES, 1 May 2008, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120960237876657955.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

"This week marks a grim and largely unnoticed anniversary. On April 27, 2007, International Criminal Court judges issued arrest warrants for two men involved in the massive, ongoing atrocities in the Darfur region of western Sudan: Former state minister of the interior Ahmed Haroun, and Ali Kushayb, a key leader of the brutal Arab militia known as Janjaweed. Both are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Evidence in the ICC cases against both men is overwhelming, including numerous eyewitness accounts from victims as well as compelling documentary evidence. Yet Khartoum refuses to extradite or lift a finger in prosecuting either man.

... The ICC is charged with investigating and prosecuting cases in which the national courts of a country cannot or will not render justice even in the face of the most horrific international crimes.
The ICC, however, has no police force of its own, and so relies on others to execute its arrest warrants. In the case of Darfur, the ICC arrest warrants derive from a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Khartoum's refusal to arrest the suspects should be superseded by the Council's authority to act in the interests of international peace and security. But Security Council members have shown little interest in pressuring Sudan to comply with the resolution. As long as the Security Council continues in this vein, Mr. Haroun and Mr. Kushayb will operate with complete impunity in Sudan.

.... The Council failed to provide any support for Mr. Moreno-Ocampo and his terrifying indictment. The ICC must find a way to circumvent Security Council paralysis. International justice will only be served if, in the face of the most egregious international crimes, the nations of the world can place justice before sovereignty.

The United States should take the lead in reforming the Security Council to make it more effective, representative and committed to the ideals of international justice. Darfur is the test case – one year and counting...."

iii. "Sudan's Wake Up Call," IWPR by Peter Eichstaedt, 12 May 2008, http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=344592&apc_state=henfacr344590

"Make that 'JEM' – short for the Justice and Equality Movement, the leading rebel group in Darfur that launched this past weekend's attack on Omdurman and the Sudan capital of Khartoum. As a result, the dynamics in Darfur and Sudan have changed.

.... Sudan's resistance to international intervention in Darfur has been based on a position of power that now has some very visible cracks.

As has been the case in the past, the international community's indecisive dealings with Sudan have only entrenched Khartoum's position. For example, the UN said it could not do anything in Darfur until it had secured an agreement with Sudan which could dictate when, where and how the UN force could function.

And of course Sudan threw up road blocks at every turn. But can it afford to continue to frustrate the world and the forces of the UN Mission in Darfur, UNAMID?_ And what about the indictments issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague against two Sudanese accused of being in the thick of what the United States has labeled a genocide in Darfur?

.... Until now, al-Bashir has shunned world opinion over the ICC indictees. One year after the issuance of the warrants, Ahmad Harun, who is now the minister of state for humanitarian affairs, and janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, are free in the Sudan.

.... But al-Bashir could change all of that by taking action to arrest and hand over these suspects to the ICC for prosecution.

This week, ironically, ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is visiting Egypt and Saudi Arabia, perhaps to convince these two powerful forces in the region, to exert influence on al-Bashir to cooperate with the court.

.... The decision, of course, rests with al-Bahsir, and what he decides could dictate the future of Sudan as well as his own...."

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CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the ICC:
The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the Court. The CICC is an independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the International Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent international organization. The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the Rome Statute of the ICC.
The Coalition will also endeavor to respond to basic queries and to raise awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and procedures, as they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, do not endorse or promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on situations (potential and current), or situations under analysis before the ICC. However, individual CICC members may endorse referrals, provide legal and other support on investigations, or develop partnerships with local and other organizations in the course of their efforts. Communications to the ICC can be sent to:
ICC
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2500 CM The Hague
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