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Darfur: CICC and Member Media Statements on Adoption of PRST

17 June 2008

Dear all,

On 16 June 2008, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a presidential statement by consensus calling on Sudan and all other parties to the Darfur conflict to cooperate fully with the ICC, in accordance with a 2005 Security Council Resolution 1593 that referred the situation in Darfur to the court in 2005. The statement-the Council's first with regard to resolution 1593-does not mention two suspected war criminals, Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kosheib, but alludes to their arrest warrants. Please find below the Coalition and its members' media statements as well as related news articles.

The UNSC Presidential Statement, to be issued as document S/PRST/2008/2, is available at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/sc9359.doc.htm

To view the webcast of US Ambassador and president of the council for June, Zalmay Khalizad, reading the Security Council's statement on Darfur or the media stakeout that followed, please visit http://www.un.org/webcast/sc.html

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.

Best regards,
Sasha Tenenbaum
CICC Communications
[email protected]



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I. CICC AND MEMBER STATEMENTS


i. Security Council Unanimously Calls for Sudanese Cooperation with International Criminal Court," CICC Media Advisory, 16 June 2008, www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/PRST_for_Darfur_16_June_2008.pdf


"The United Nations Security Council today adopted a presidential statement urging the government of Sudan and other parties to end impunity in Darfur and cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC). The call is consistent with Resolution 1593 through which the Council referred the situation in Darfur to the Court in 2005. The statement takes note of the efforts made by the ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. In particular, the statement emphasizes the transmission of the arrest warrants for Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (more commonly known as Ali
Kushayb) to the government of Sudan exactly one year ago on 16 June 2007.



'Today the Security Council broke its silence since issuing Resolution
1593 and responded to the prosecutor's harsh wake-up call about the tragic events unfolding in Darfur and the need for Sudan's cooperation with the Court,' said Program Director of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), Tanya Karanasios.



'That this was a unanimous expression of the will of all members of the Council including China, Libya and Russia reiterates the powerful message that there can be no impunity for perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,' she continued.



Council member Costa Rica played a pivotal leadership role in the lead up to the Council's statement which follows the prosecutors' seventh report to the Council on Darfur on 5 June 2008. Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, made a stirring call for action, noting that "[a]s time passes, the Council runs the risk of accommodating evil as the graves continue to be filled in Darfur."



Since the referral, the Sudanese government has openly defied the Court and the international community. The government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has consistently refused to cooperate with the Court. In addition, Ali Kushayb, who had been imprisoned by Sudanese authorities on unrelated charges, was released in October 2007 for "lack of evidence." And Ahmad Harun who was previously State Minister of the Interior responsible for the government's Darfur Security Desk at the time of the crimes, was last year promoted to State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs in Darfur with direct authority over the victims of his alleged crimes. Most recently, Harun was tasked with the role of Sudanese government liaison with UNAMID, the United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur."



ii. "UN: Council Faults Sudan Inaction on War Crimes Suspects: Tells Khartoum to Cooperate With International Criminal Court," Human Rights Watch Press Release, 16 June 2008, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/06/16/sudan19132.htm


"The UN Security Council's presidential statement criticizing Sudan's failure to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) signals international impatience with impunity for Darfur war crimes suspects, Human Rights Watch said today. The presidential statement, issued this morning, is the first time that the Security Council has formally taken action on Sudan's failure to comply with the ICC arrest warrants for two Sudanese suspects.


'The unanimous Security Council statement sends the message that Khartoum cannot obstruct justice by recycling unkept promises to accept peacekeepers. '


'The unanimous Security Council statement sends the message that Khartoum cannot obstruct justice by recycling unkept promises to accept peacekeepers,' said Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's International Justice Program. 'Sudan must take real action on both justice and peacekeeping.'


The Security Council statement notes the transmission of the arrest warrants to the government of Sudan one year ago and "urges the Government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully with the Court, consistent with resolution 1593 (2005), in order to put an end to impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur."
The statement was adopted under the US presidency of the council.


On June 5, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo briefed the Security Council on Sudan's defiance of two arrest warrants that resulted from resolution 1593, which referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC prosecutor. Since then, Security Council members have been discussing a presidential statement introduced by Costa Rica, which joined the council in January. When the prosecutor last reported on Sudan's non-cooperation in December, the council was unable to agree on a statement because of opposition from China.


Moreno Ocampo's June 5 report highlighted Sudan's continuing failure to arrest and surrender government official Ahmed Haroun and militia leader Ali Kosheib, who were charged in the court's April 2007 arrest warrants with crimes against humanity and war crimes. He called on the Security Council to send a strong unified message to Khartoum that it is obliged to comply with Security Council resolution 1593 and to arrest the suspects.


The Security Council recently returned from a June 4-5 visit to Khartoum. Unlike its 2007 mission to Sudan, the Security Council's terms of reference for this trip included cooperation with the ICC arrest warrants, and the council raised Sudan's blatant noncompliance with the ICC with Sudanese officials, including President Omar El Bashir.


'The Security Council has put justice for the people of Darfur back on the table,' Dicker said. 'The Sudanese authorities need to get - and act on - the message that it is past time to arrest Haroun and Kosheib and to hand them over to the ICC.'


In their comments following the prosecutor's briefing, a clear majority of council members made strong interventions supporting a presidential statement. In a forceful intervention at the start of the debate, Costa Rica's foreign minister, Bruno Stagno Ugarte, invoked the ghosts of Security Council missteps in Rwanda and Srebrenica to encourage the council to act.


The Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC prosecutor on March 31, 2005. On April 27, 2007, the court issued the first two arrest warrants for 'Janjaweed' militia leader Ali Kosheib and Sudanese State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun for 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. In his three regular reports to the Security Council since then, the prosecutor has informed the council of Sudan's refusal to cooperate with the ICC.


'Costa Rica provided invaluable leadership,' Dicker said. 'We also welcome the role played by the US government as Security Council president. This support for justice marks a further break from Washington's previously ill-conceived and highly ideological opposition to the ICC.'


iii. "FIDH and SOAT welcome Security Council's determination to recall Sudan to its international obligations," FIDH and SOAT, 16 June 2008,
http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article5645



"FIDH and SOAT welcome the Security Council's Presidential Statement issued today following the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor's report on Sudan's persistent failure to cooperate with the ICC.

Recalling its Resolution 1593 (2005), the Security Council urged the Government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully with the Court, in order to put an end to impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur.

Following the ICC Prosecutor's latest report, submitted on 5 June 2008, FIDH and SOAT had called upon the Security Council to issue a public reaction to recall Sudan's obligations under Resolution 1593.

'This is indeed a positive development, considering in particular the six months of silence since the Prosecutor's first report denouncing lack of cooperation, submitted in December 2007. Our organisations call on Sudan to fulfil its obligations, in particular to arrest and transfer the suspects Ahmed Harun and Ali Kushayb to the ICC', said Souhayr Belhassen, President of FIDH."

See also FIDH-SOAT "The Security Council must break the silence!" of 5 June 2008 at http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article5602

iv. "Security Council Takes Important Step 'Towards Ensuring Justice and Accountability' in Darfur," Human Rights First, 16 July 2008, http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/media/darfur/2008/statement/311/index.htm



"In a move applauded by Human Rights First, the Security Council issued an unprecedented presidential statement today challenging the Government of Sudan's failure to cooperate in handing over two suspects to the International Criminal Court and urging it and "other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully" with the Court.



'Today's statement is an important step towards ensuring justice and accountability for the crimes committed in Darfur,' said Betsy Apple, Director of the Crimes against Humanity Program at Human Rights First.



It has been more than one year since the International Criminal Court charged Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Harun and militia leader Ali Kusheyb with 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity and issued warrants for their arrest. Since then, Sudan has refused to arrest the two suspects and hand them over to the Court. In response to a strongly critical report by Louis Moreno Ocampo, the Prosecutor of the ICC, delivered to the Security Council on June 5th of this year, the Council made clear today that it would not allow Sudan's defiance to go unnoticed.



'There will be no peace until the perpetrators of serious crimes have been held accountable. The Council put Sudan on notice that it can no longer ignore its obligation to arrest Harun and Ali Kusheyb and set the wheels of justice in motion,' Apple said



The Security Council had made justice for the crimes committed in Darfur a priority of its work when it initially referred the situation to the ICC in 2005 under Security Council resolution 1593. Now that it has unanimously reaffirmed this commitment, the Council will need to make good on its admonition to Khartoum if it continues to refuse to comply with the arrest warrants.



'Sudan should take today's Presidential Statement as a very serious warning,' Apple said. 'Sudan no longer has a free pass with the Security Council. That the United States, as the president of the Council, supported this statement shows that even countries that are not members of the ICC have completely lost patience with the government of Sudan.'
The statement was unanimously approved by all members of the Security Council, including China, which is well known for its support of the government of Sudan.



This morning, the Council of the European Union also issued a statement declaring that the Union stood ready to consider measures against individuals in Sudan responsible for not cooperating with the ICC. HRF welcomes this statement and believes that the Security Council should seriously consider similar measures if Sudan's does not soon demonstrate that it is willing to turn the suspects over to The Hague immediately. "





v. "Darfur Consortium Welcomes Presidential Statement on Justice in Darfur," Darfur Consortium, 17 June 2008, http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/Darfur_Consortium_Welcomes_Presidential_Statemen
t_on_Justice_in_Darfur.pdf



"The Darfur Consortium today welcomed the adoption by the Security Council yesterday of a Presidential Statement in support of the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation in Darfur.



The Statement was adopted in response to the presentation made by the Prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno Ocampo on June 5 on the progress of his investigation. The Prosecutor's message was clear, that the government of Sudan had failed to cooperate with the Court and was in violation of Security Council Resolution 1593.



The Presidential Statement noted the efforts undertaken by the International Criminal Court, in particular the transmission on June 16,
2007 of arrest warrants for Ahmed Harun and Ali Kushyab to the government of Sudan. It called on the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to 'cooperate fully' with the International Criminal Court as required by that Resolution 1593.



'The Presidential Statement is a victory for the people of Darfur, who have for two long looked on with frustration as the government of Sudan has brazenly flouted the will of the Council,' said Dismas Nkunda, Co-Chair of the Darfur Consortium. 'As a statement of the unanimous sentiment of the Council, the Presidential Statement sends a powerful message to Khartoum indicating that its defiance will no longer pass unchallenged.'



The Darfur Consortium also expressed its appreciation of the leadership displayed by the government of Costa Rica in pressing for the statement and, in particular, for the passionate call to action which Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno Ugarte delivered to the Security Council on June 5. In the words of the Foreign Minister, this declaration 'breaks the silence maintained by the Security Council with respect to the situation in Darfur.'

At the same time as the Security Council was breaking its silence, the Council of the European Union was also speaking out in support of the ICC. The Council 'deeply deplore[d] the continued failure of the GoS to cooperate with the ICC and underline[d] that the GoS has an obligation, and the capacity, to cooperate,' noting that '[a]ny arrest warrant issued by the ICC should be respected.' The Council went on to express its willingness to consider additional measures against those preventing cooperation with the Court. 'The Sudanese government has been put on warning,' Nkunda reflected, 'but states must be willing to back this strong rhetoric with strong action in the event that Sudan continues to defy the Court.'"




II. MEDIA COVERAGE


i. "Security Council presses Sudan to cooperate in ending impunity for Darfur crimes," UN News Centre, 16 June 2008, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27040&Cr=darfur&Cr1=#



"The Security Council today urged the Sudanese Government and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure that those responsible for crimes committed in the war-wracked region are held to account.



...Sudan is obligated under Council resolution 1593 of March 2005 to fully cooperate with the ICC <http://www.icc-cpi.int/home.html&l=en>
and to arrest and surrender those indicted by the Court.

In a statement <http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sc9359.doc.htm>
read out by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad of the United States, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council for this month, the 15-member body also took note of the efforts made by the Court's Prosecutor to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Earlier this month the Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the Council that Sudan is 'deliberately" attacking civilians. 'Despite promises and denials, over the last five years, millions of civilians have been targeted by officials who vowed to protect them. Impunity reigns,' he reported...."


ii. "UN council raps Sudan over war crimes suspects," by John Heilprin (AP), 16 June 2008, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/16/news/UN-GEN-UN-Sudan.php


"Backed by Chinese and U.S. agreement, the U.N. Security Council is urging Khartoum to arrest and hand over two Darfur war crimes suspects.
Council members by a 15-0 vote issued a statement Monday that 'urges the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully with the court ... to put an end to impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur.'


...Monday's statement was notable in part because it obtained the support both of China, one of five veto-wielding council members and a strong protector of Sudan, and of the veto-wielding United States, and occurred during the month when the U.S. holds the council's rotating presidency.


Costa Rica, a new council member, helped lead the effort to send Sudan a message urging its compliance with a March 2005 council resolution. 'The main interest of my country with this action is to protect the people of Sudan. We are not here to insult any government,' Costa Rica's U.N.
ambassador Jorge Urbina told reporters. "We were calling for respect to a council resolution."


...Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's international justice program, cited China's sensitivity to world opinion ahead of this summer's Beijing Olympics and a loosening of ideology by the United States, which was among several nations that had abstained from the 2005 vote, as factors in the passage of the council's presidential statement...."

iii. "UN urges Sudan cooperation on Darfur," by Herve Couturier (Agence France Presse), 16 June 2008, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080616/wl_africa_afp/unsudandarfuricc


"The UN Security Council Monday demanded Sudan cooperate with the International Criminal Court in bringing Darfur war crimes suspects to justice.

'The council urges the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully with the court ... in order to put an end to impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur,' the council's 15 members said in a unanimously adopted resolution.

The declaration, read by US Ambassador Zalmay Khalizad, who is president of the council for June, did not mention two suspected war criminals, Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kosheib, but alluded to their arrest warrants issued in 2007.

The council 'takes note of the efforts made by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur,' it said, especially 'the follow up by the International Criminal Court with the government of Sudan, including the transmittal ... of arrest warrants.'

The declaration, drafted by Costa Rica, was changed from its original version, which mentioned the fugitives by name and the council's frustration with a 'lack of cooperation' from Khartoum.Libya opposed the text and the declaration was amended several times before being adopted unanimously, according to diplomats."

iv. "Security Council Demands Sudan Cooperation on Darfur Crimes,"
Margaret Besheer, Voice of America, 16 June 2008, http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-16-voa61.cfm

"...The Security Council, just back from a mission to Sudan, is turning up the pressure on Khartoum to comply with the ICC's demand that it turn over a senior government official and a former militia leader accused of atrocities committed during the five-year conflict in western Sudan's Darfur region.

Sudan has made it clear it will not hand over suspects or cooperate with the court. In a non-binding statement, the council unanimously called for Khartoum and all other parties to the Darfur conflict to cooperate fully with the ICC, in accordance with a 2005 Security Council resolution [1593] that referred the situation in Darfur to the court at The Hague.

...A coalition of human rights groups has also called for Sudan to turn over suspects to the ICC. Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch, which is part of the coalition, said the council's statement sends an important message to the Khartoum government.

'The bottom line message that this sends is that Khartoum, which has been trying to play minor concessions on peacekeeping off against justice as a means to deflect criticism of its obstruction of justice - is that the game is up," he said. 'These issues are joined at the hip, and I think the council statement coming on the heels of its mission to Khartoum confirms that.'

...But U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad brushed aside suggestions that there is a shift in the U.S. attitude toward the court, saying the U.S.
supported the statement, but that Washington's overall approach to the court has not changed."


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CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the
ICC:

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