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Excerpts of OTP Report; Highlights from statements by UNSC countries

06 June 2008

Dear all,

Find below information related to the International Criminal Court's
investigation in Darfur, Sudan.

In this message you will find documents produced by the ICC, including the press release in advance of the prosecutor's statement before the UNSC, portions of the OTP official statement and reactions from Security Council delegations.

These documents have been produced by the ICC. The CICC Secretariat
distributes them as part of its mandate to keep member organizations
and individuals informed about developments related to the ICC. The
documents do not reflect the views of the CICC as a whole or its
individual members.

Visit our website for further information on the ICC investigation in
Darfur http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=darfur.

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
CICC Communications

*****

I. ICC PRESS RELEASE

"ICC Prosecutor : Darfur is a huge crime scene," ICC Press Release, 5 June 2008,
http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/press/pressreleases/ICC-OTP-ST20080605-ENG.pdf
Available in French and Arabic.

Today in New York, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo informed the United Nations Security Council that he
will present in July a second Darfur case before the ICC judges.

"The entire Darfur region is a crime scene. For 5 years, civilians
have been attacked relentlessly. In their villages. Then into the
camps. They cannot return. Their land has been usurped. To plan and
commit such crimes, on such a scale, over such a period of time, the
criminals had to mobilize and coordinate the whole state apparatus,
from the security services to the public information bureaucracies and
the judiciary. Cover up of crimes by Sudanese officials, pretending
that all is well in Darfur, blaming crimes on others, is a
characteristic of the criminal system at work. We have seen it before,
in Rwanda, in the former Yugoslavia, in my own country Argentina
during the military dictatorship'.

"The victims are being attacked by the Sudanese officials who have to
protect them. If the international community is persuaded to look away
and fails to recognize the situation for what it is - the execution of
a massive criminal plan to destroy entire communities in Darfur - it
would be a final blow to the victims." The Prosecutor said, asking the
UNSC to issue a statement requesting full cooperation of the Sudanese
with the Court.

He also mentioned that one year after the first arrest warrants were
issued by the ICC, the Government of Sudan has not complied with
Resolution 1593, has not arrested Ahmed Harun and Ali Kushayb, a
militia Janjaweed leader. They remain free and involved in criminal
acts against civilians in Darfur.

'They are fugitives from the ICC' the Prosecutor said. 'Ahmed Harun
is still Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs; he is a member of
the committee overseeing the deployment of UNAMID peacekeepers.
Impunity is not an empty word. Ahmed Harun is attacking civilians; he
is hindering the delivery of aid and the protective functions of the
peacekeepers. The international community is sending firefighters and
the Government of the Sudan is promoting the arsonist' added Luis
Moreno Ocampo.

'As long as Harun and Kushayb remain free in Sudan, the criminal
system will remain at work. Girls will continue to be raped. Schools
will be attacked. Land will be usurped. Entire groups will
disintegrate. Impunity emboldens the criminals.'

The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent court
that investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious
crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes if national authorities with jurisdiction are
unwilling or unable to do so genuinely. The Office of the Prosecutor
is currently investigating in four situations: The Democratic
Republic of Congo, Northern Uganda, the Darfur region of Sudan, and
the Central African Republic, all still engulfed in various degrees of
conflict with victims in urgent need of protection."

II. OTP STATEMENT

"Statement by Mr. Luis Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court, Statement to the United Nations Security Council
pursuant to UNSCR 1593 (2005)," 5 June 2008,
http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/press/pressreleases/ICC-OTP-ST20080605-ENG.pdf

Some excerpts read:

".... The Government of the Sudan is not complying with Resolution 1593.
The Government of the Sudan does not recognize the jurisdiction of the
Court, a jurisdiction that this Council granted. As of today, and even
to Security Council members in Khartoum, Sudanese officials insist
that 'the ICC has no jurisdiction over Sudan'.

Impunity is not an abstract notion. Ahmed Harun is attacking the
victims in the camps. As Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs,
he is hindering humanitarian aid. As a member of the UNAMID oversight
committee, he is affecting the deployment and safety of peacekeepers.
As a member of the NCP- SPLM Committee, he was sent to Abyei to manage
the conflict. And Abyei was burned down, 50.000 citizens displaced.

[...] In Darfur, the evidence shows an organized campaign by Sudanese
officials to attack civilians, in particular the Fur, Massalit and
Zaghawa, with the objective to physically and mentally destroy entire
communities. Over a period of 5 years, they have been relentlessly
attacked throughout Darfur. Attacked in their villages. Attacked in
the camps. Their land usurpated.

.... In the camps, crimes and insecurity are organized. Far from being
disarmed, the Militia Janjaweed are integrated into the Sudanese
security apparatus and stationed in the vicinity of camps.

Rapes of women are systematic. The health consequences and the
perceived shame of rape are in effect destroying physically and
biologically the communities. Destitution is organized Surveys--when
Sudanese officials agree to their release--indicate that malnutrition
rates exceed emergency threshold, especially for children under five.
Community leaders and teachers are the first to be targeted during
attacks. This is a policy to ensure that all links binding communities
together are torn.....

... The evidence shows a different picture.
The evidence shows that the commission of such crimes on such a scale,
over a period of five years, and throughout Darfur, has required the
sustained mobilization of the entire Sudanese state apparatus.
The coordination of the military, security and intelligence services.
The integration of the Militia Janjaweed.
The participation of all Ministries.
The contribution of the diplomatic and public information bureaucracies.
The control of the judiciary....

[...]It takes a lot to commit massive crimes. It takes planning and
organization. It takes
commanders and many executioners. But mostly, it requires that the
rest of the world look away and do nothing. This Council, when it
requested my Office to intervene in Darfur, acted in a decisive way,
thinking of the Darfuris, but remembering also Rwanda, and Srebrenica.
At the Council's request, my Office will present new evidence exposing
the facts and identifying those most responsible.
Based on those facts, I ask the Security Council to send a strong
message to the Government of the Sudan and to issue a Presidential
statement.
Requesting that they stop the crimes
Requesting that they arrest Ahmed Harun and Ali Kushayb.
Requesting that all parties assist the Court
Requesting, simply, compliance with UNSCR 1593.
Silence has never helped or protected victims. It only helps the criminals...."

III. DELEGATIONS TAKE THE FLOOR

The following excerpts were taken from the UN Official record,
available at http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N08/367/43/PDF/N0836743.pdf?OpenElement

i. Costa Rica: Statement delivered by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Stagno Ugarte

"By blatantly and repeatedly failing to comply with its obligations
under resolution 1593 (2005), the Government of the Sudan is not only
affronting the Court, but openly
defying the authority of the Council and the binding nature of
resolutions adopted under Chapter VII. The Government of the Sudan is
toying with us, toying with human dignity, toying with the authority
of this Council. The appointment of Ahmad Harun as
Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, as a member of the
negotiating committee of the National Congress Party-Sudan People's
Liberation Movement/ Army and as supervisor of the population census
in South Darfur, among other responsibilities, is concrete evidence of
the cynicism of the authorities in Khartoum. We can no longer afford
to appease such cynicism. The facts speak for themselves. We cannot
plead
Ignorance."

ii. Belgium: Statement delivered by Ambassador Jan Grauls

"My delegation urges the Sudanese authorities to cooperate fully with the
Prosecutor and the Court, as they are obliged to do under resolution
1593 (2005), by apprehending and transferring to The Hague the two
individuals who are subjects of arrest warrants."

iii. Croatia: Statement delivered by Minister Counsellor Vice Skrac ic

"Croatia is very disappointed by the continued failure of the
Government of Sudan to cooperate with the International Criminal
Court. The appointment of the indicted ICC fugitive Mr. Ahmad Harun as
Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs in the Government serves as
the most tangible proof of this and underlines a blatant disregard for
the victims — but also for the Court and its Prosecutor and, not
least, for the Security Council, which referred the situation in Sudan
to the Court in its Chapter-VII resolution 1593 (2005)."

iv. Panama: Statement delivered by Ambassador Ricardo Alberto Arias

"The obligations that arise from resolution 1593 (2005) require the
Government of the Sudan to cooperate with the International Criminal
Court, regardless of whether or not it is a signatory of the Rome
Statute. That is why we demand once again that the government of the
Sudan comply with its responsibility to the international community by
arresting and placing those individuals in the Court's custody as soon
as possible.
On the other hand, as the Court's report has suggested, failure to do
so and its consequences will lead to the perception of total impunity,
which will only provoke
more violence and complicate efforts to establish the conditions
necessary for peace and security in Darfur."

v. Italy: Statement delivered by Ambassador Marcello Spatafora

"Finally, Italy fully supports a response by the Council to the
Prosecutor's briefing in the form of the draft presidential statement
presented by Costa Rica, which reaffirms resolution 1593 (2005) and
the duty of all parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully
with the ICC. We fully support that draft text."

vi. Indonesia: Statement delivered by Deputy Permanent Representative Hasan Kleib

"My delegation strongly believes that Sudan's sovereignty must always
be respected, but that sovereignty also comes with rights and
responsibilities. In this regard, we underline the obligations of the
Government of Sudan to comply with the provisions of
resolution 1593 (2005)."

vii. Burkina Faso: Statement delivered by Minister Counsellor Bonaventure Koudougou

"The crimes committed in Darfur, as elsewhere, should not go
unpunished. To that end, all parties should cooperate with the
International Criminal Court in order to render justice to the victims
and to ensure that the perpetrators are punished."

viii. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya: Statement delivered by Ambassador Abdelrazag E. Gouider

"The Council's referral of the Darfur case to the Court, in our view,
was not prompted by political motivations or with the intention of
interfering in the Sudan's affairs through a technical legal process,
the politicization of which is in no one's interest."

ix. South Africa: Statement delivered by Deputy Permanent Representative Baso Sangqu

"We therefore urge the Government of the Sudan and other parties
involved in Darfur to cooperate fully with the ICC. There can be no
sustainable peace without justice in Darfur, and it is vital to bring
to justice those accused of bearing the primary responsibility for the
crimes committed."

x. China: Statement delivered by La Yifan, a senior Chinese diplomat

"China understands that some countries are eager to resolve the
question of impunity, but it is not realistic to do so in a hurry. In
the broader picture, other areas are facing difficulties, and it is
thus impossible for the judicial sphere to achieve isolated, quick and
substantive progress."

xi. Russian Federation: Statement delivered by Senior Counsellor Gennady V. Kuzmin

"The Russian Federation deeply regrets and is concerned by the
information contained in the report of the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court with respect to ongoing violence in
Darfur."

xii. France: Statement delivered by Minister Counsellor Jean-Pierre Lacroix

"Finally, I emphasize that France fully supports the European Union
statement of 31 March, issued on the anniversary of the adoption of
resolution 1593 (2005), which remains fully valid. I recall that, in
its statement, the European Union called on the
Government of the Sudan to cooperate unconditionally with the
International Criminal Court and to hand over the two individuals
subject to arrest. It also affirmed that, in the case of
non-compliance with resolution 1593 (2005), the Union would support
the adoption of further appropriate measures against those responsible
for the Sudan's lack of cooperation with the Court."

xiii. Viet Nam: Statement delivered by Ambassador Hoang Chi Trung

"Viet Nam encourages the Government of the Sudan to step up the
efforts of judicial bodies in the Sudan in exercising national
criminal jurisdiction relating to violations of international
humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur, including through
cooperation with the ICC and with other countries."

ivx. United Kindgom: Statement delivered by Political Counsellor David Quarrey

"As I said at the outset, the Security Council conferred a mandate on
the ICC to investigate the situation in Darfur. The Prosecutor has to
work strenuously to implement that mandate. The Security Council
should respond by demonstrating clearly and
publicly through a presidential statement that the ICC Prosecutor has
the full backing of the Security Council in his efforts to implement
resolution 1593 (2005)."

xv. United States of America: Statement delivered by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad

"The United States strongly believes that those responsible for the
acts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in
Darfur must be held accountable and be brought to justice. We look
forward to continuing to work with other members of
the Council on necessary steps, including working with Costa Rica on a
draft presidential statement to achieve that important objective."

*****
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