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Darfur: High Level Meetings in New York; Summary of CICC Press Briefing

22 Sept 2008

22 September 2008

Darfur: High Level Meetings in New York; Summary of CICC Press Briefing

Dear all,

Please find below the final of a two-part message related to the
possibility of an Article 16 deferral of the ICC investigation in
Darfur, Sudan.

In this digest you will find information from the ICC and other sources
regarding high-level meetings in New York, including a summary of a CICC
press briefing on Friday, 19 September. Also below are op-eds in The
Financial Times by Richard Holbrooke, The International Herald Tribute
by Louise Arbour and The Sudan Tribune by Mahmoud Suleiman.

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.

Regards,

Mariana Rodriguez-Pareja
CICC Communications
[email protected]
*******************
I. ICC MEDIA ADVISORY

This document has been produced by the ICC- OTP. The CICC Secretariat
distributes it 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.

"ICC Prosecutor in New York to meet with United Nations and African
Union officials,"
ICC-OTP Press Release, 22 September 2008,
http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/424.html

"On 22 to 26 September ICC Prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, will be in
New York to meet senior international actors and discuss how to further
the protection of civilians in Darfur, stop the crimes, and ensure the
execution of the Court's judicial mandate and decisions.

In July 2008, following a second investigation into crimes over the last
five years in Darfur, the Office of the Prosecutor requested the
issuance of an arrest warrant against President Al-Bashir for allegedly
committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.
"We received a judicial mandate and we fulfilled it. We presented a
solid case. The evidence show that crimes against Darfurians continued
today. Al -Bashir has complete control of his forces, and they are
raping women today, they are promoting conditions in the camps to
destroy entire communities and they are still bombing schools. The
Judges will decide. It is an immense challenge for the political leaders
of the world. They have to protect the victims and ensure respect for
the Court decisions. Those sought by the Court have to face justice.
Between criminals and 2.5 millions victims, they should make the right
decision" the Prosecutor said.

Pre-Trial Chamber I is reviewing evidence submitted by the Office of the
Prosecutor and will determine if there are reasonable grounds to believe
that the named individual committed the alleged crimes. The Prosecution
has requested an arrest warrant.

Recently, the Office requested information from the Sudanese government
about the Kalma Camp attack committed on 25 August where Sudanese forces
allegedly killed at least 31 civilians. The Prosecution is also in the
process of completing its third investigation, which is focused on rebel
crimes, in particular those most responsible for the attack against
African Union Peacekeepers in Haskanita in September 2007.

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 the 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. CICC PRESS BRIEFING

PRESS CONFERENCE ON DEVELOPMENTS RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: INVESTIGATION IN DARFUR, ROLE OF SECURITY COUNCIL," UN Department of Public Information, 19 September 2008.

“There would be ‘no peace without justice in Darfur’, and any delay by
the International Criminal Court in prosecuting the President of the
Sudan would be devastating to the peace process in the region, Sudanese
opposition Member of Parliament Salih Mahmoud Osman said at a
Headquarters press conference today.
The press conference, sponsored by the Permanent Mission of
Liechtenstein to the United Nations, was held jointly by Mr. Osman;
Richard Dicker, Director of the International Justice Programme at Human
Rights Watch; Osman Hummaida, a Sudanese human rights researcher and
campaigner; and William Pace, Convenor of the Coalition for the
International Criminal Court. It was held prior to the general debate
of the sixty-third General Assembly session to provide more information
on the implications of an Article 16 deferral of the President's
possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court....Mr. Pace
said the African Union Peace and Security Council was expected to hold a
special meeting on Monday, 22 September, to discuss a resolution calling
for the United Nations Security Council to ‘instruct the ICC to back off
its consideration of the allegations by the Prosecutor’.

Mr. Dicker added that efforts by countries or regional groups to press
the Security Council to suspend the accusations against the President
and give him a "get out of jail free card" would thus permeate the
General Assembly's general debate, as well as behind-the-scenes
ministerial consultations. ‘What this is all about is setting the stage
and positioning for what will be round two at the Security Council to
barter responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes for impunity on behalf of Omer Al-Bashir.’

The President and Government of the Sudan were responsible for numerous
war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as the forced
displacement of more than 3 million people, said Mr. Osman. ‘If we
consider the nature of crimes that are still occurring, it is
extrajudicial killings, torture and rape, which has been used as a
weapon of war.’ There was now a culture of impunity in the Sudan since
none of the perpetrators of those crimes had been brought to justice.
‘Our judicial system is incompetent and unwilling to bring perpetrators
to justice,’ he said...

However, there were many who disagreed with that opinion, Mr. Hummaida
pointed out, explaining fears that an International Criminal Court case
against the President might undermine the peace process in Darfur and
jeopardize the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North and South
Sudan. It might also be the cause for retaliatory attacks by the
Government against civilians, humanitarian workers or United Nations
Peacekeepers. Backing down now would be a mistake. ‘The [Prosecutor's]
announcement has shifted the balance of power inside Sudan for those who
are calling for reform, changes, accountability and political
transformation, and it has demoralized the hardliners and the Government
of Sudan.’ A deferral of the prosecution would send a message to the
President and his Government that they had won and those calling for
change and justice in the Sudan would be at risk once again.

Asked about the possibility of a deal between the International Criminal
Court and the Government of the Sudan, wherein the Security Council
would vote to defer the case regarding President Bashir in return for
the handing over of two Sudanese officials for whom the Court had
already issued arrest warrants, Mr. Hummaidi said such a deal would be
difficult, if not impossible, since it would have serious implications
for other members of the Sudanese Government who might themselves have
been involved in war crimes.

In response to a question regarding the possibility of the Sudanese
leading their own investigation into the war crimes allegations, Mr.
Dicker said he would ‘welcome a serious effort by Sudan to prosecute its
own’, but to date, the Government had done nothing to investigate or
prosecute the most grave crimes. It would be up to the International
Criminal Court judges to decide whether or not national efforts to
investigate or prosecute were satisfactory and if it should step in.
Asked how big an impact an indictment would have on the President's
behaviour, Mr. Osman in turn asked what it would mean if there were no
indictment at all. ‘We have a situation where a perpetrator of genocide
is threatening to commit even more crimes. What's the role of the
international community if you allow that? Isn't there any moral
responsibility?’

Regarding rumours that the Prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant
was based partly on information provided by the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations and the African Union-United Nations Hybrid
Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), Mr. Dicker explained that the United
Nations had long had a relationship agreement with the International
Criminal Court that allowed for such types of cooperation between the
two bodies.
When asked whether such information-sharing might put peacekeeping
operations and staff at risk, Mr. Dicker said: ‘If the UN were to
decide that it would allow a Government to bully it into silence in
confining its own human rights reporting and what it did with that
information, I think that would be a huge step back for the UN, its
commitment to human rights, and its credibility.’”

III. MEDIA REPORTS ABOUT NEW YORK MEETINGS REGARDING ARTICLE 16

i. "Group urges caution in dealing with Sudan's leader" by Michael Astor
(Associated Press), 22 September 2008, reprinted at
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26839979/
"The head of an organization of Islamic nations on Monday urged the
international community to proceed with caution in seeking to arrest
Sudan's president on genocide charges....The Arab League and African
Union have already sought a United Nations resolution to suspend the
International Criminal Court's indictment against al-Bashir.
Speaking at a press conference at the U.N. General Assembly, Secretary
General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin
Ihsanoglu, appeared to support their stance, warning it was important
that the international community did not "head to a point we cannot
retreat from."
'I think we really have to be a little bit more prudent before we
proceed more in this direction and I sense this is now the emerging
consensus among different international organizations,' Ihsanoglu said.
'We have to give a chance to more negotiation for the Sudanese
government to take more actions in the right direction before we have
the international committee head to a point which we might regret.'
The Sudanese government was sending a delegation to the U.N. General
Assembly to lobby for the indictment's suspension.
At the same time, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo headed to the United Nations to urge world leaders not to
freeze his Darfur genocide case against al-Bashir, saying in a statement
that the indictment was necessary to 'protect the victims.'
But Ihsanoglu said that it was important to balance the desire to see
justice done with the region's peace and security.
'We have to strike a balance between the notion of justice and that of
security and peace,' he said, adding 'we should not sacrifice one for
the sake of other.'"

ii. "Sudan to lobby UN to avert president's prosecution," AFP (via
Google), 22 September 2008,
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g4U8V9LC9OEREejxeVw9H44bK80wD93BNLAG0

"Sudan officials plan a behind-the-scenes lobbying effort at the United
Nations this week to avert the prosecution of the country's longtime
president on charges of genocide in Darfur.

But prospects seemed dim at a time when Sudan has shown little
willingness to compromise and launched an expansive military offensive
against rebels in western Darfur region: Efforts by African countries,
the tiny Gulf state of Qatar and France to solve the crisis also have
not yielded tangible results.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has asked judges to
issue an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir on charges he
carried out genocide in Darfur.

.....The African Union has asked the U.N. Security Council to freeze the
ICC case against al-Bashir, which can do so if it deems the prosecution
as a threat to peace and security. While the Security Council took note
of the request in July, it had said it would revisit it later.

It appears Sudan is now shying away from asking the council to halt the
case as it becomes increasingly less likely that it would be able to
avert a veto within the council.

The council initially asked the ICC to investigate the Darfur crisis and
freezing the process at this point could be seen as not only undermining
the court but also emboldening the Sudanese government.

Sudan also lost one its biggest supporters in the council, South African
President Thabo Mbeki, who announced Sunday he would resign, effective
as soon as a new president is chosen. He sent his foreign minister
instead to the U.N. General Assembly meeting this week.

For now, Sudan plans to focus its attention on the General Assembly,
which it will address on Tuesday...."

iii. "African Peace and Security Council Reviews Its Resolution on
Sudan," Sudanese Media Center, 22 September 2008,
http://english.smc.sd/enmain/entopic/?artID=14536

"Sudan permanent envoy to UN ambassador Abdelmahmoud Abdelhalim stressed
the importance of the meeting of African Peace and Security Council
which will be held today to see the situation since the issuing of its
resolution last July which condemns the allegation of ICC general
prosecutor.

Of his part, Sudan permanent envoy to African Peace and Security Council
Ambassador Mohieldeen Salim stated that the meeting is based on the
resolution of African Peace and Security Council which was issued last
July and supported Sudan in its case against ICC.
Salim stated that there is coordination between Sudan and regional
organizations for the purpose of achieving peace in Darfur.

Vice President Ali Osman would deliver Sudan's address before the UN
General Assembly next Thursday. The address will include the political
situation in Sudan, implementation of peace agreement and ICC
allegation...."

iv. "Taha Reviews Sudan Political Development before African Peace,
Security Council," Sudanese Media Center, 22 September 2008,
http://english.smc.sd/enmain/entopic/?artID=14533

"Vice president Ali Osman Mohamed Taha addresses today meeting of
African Peace and Security Council which would hold a special meeting in
Sudan in the framework of the meeting of general assembly of united
nation in New York. Taha would discuss in his speech before the two
meetings the current issues in Sudan and the development of Darfur issue
and the consequences of Ocampo decision.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and delegation member Deng Alor stated that
Sudan delegation would conduct contacts in the framework of the meeting
of the general assembly of UN.
It is worth noting that joint AU/ UN mediator Djibril Bassole who headed
for New York to attend

the meeting of UN General Assembly would hold meetings with Secretary
General of UN Ban Ki Moon and the committee of Arab Initiative headed by
Qatar. He would present the outcome of his last meetings with some
countries and his meeting with head of Justice and Equity movement Dr
Khalil Ibrahim.

Of his part, Sudan permanent envoy to UN Ambassador Abdelmahmoud
announced coordination concerning Ocampo statement which would take
place between all Arab and regional organizations participating in the
meeting.

The Ambassador affirmed that all parties present in New York call for
correction of the situations resulted from Ocampo's decision.
Abdelmahmoud described Ocampo decision as irresponsible and is meant to
smash peace chances in Sudan..."

v. "Senior UN, African Union officials outline worsening situation in
Darfur," UN News Center, 22 September 2008,
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28154&Cr=darfur&Cr1=

"Top United Nations and African Union officials have held a meeting in
New York to review the political, security and humanitarian situation in
Darfur, including ongoing efforts to deploy a joint peacekeeping mission
to the war-torn Sudanese region.

Yesterday's meeting, held at UN Headquarters, also focused on the recent
decision of International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo - who is visiting New York this week for talks with
international leaders - to seek an arrest warrant for Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping,
who jointly convened the gathering of senior officials from the two
organizations, heard briefings on the latest developments on the ground
in Darfur.

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy and
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes discussed
the deteriorating security situation and its impact on efforts to bring
aid to those in need across Darfur, a region roughly the size of Spain
on Sudan's western flank.

Joint UN-AU Special Representative Rodolphe Adada noted that the
situation has been relatively calm over the past few days, following the
recent upsurge in violence, especially in North Darfur.

Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Susana Malcorra told the
meeting about the current challenges to the full deployment of UNAMID,
the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force. The operation is slated to have
about 26,000 troops and police officers when it reaches its peak, but
currently has around only 10,000 uniformed personnel in the field.

The officials also reviewed Mr. Adada's activities, voiced the need for
an early normalization of relations between Sudan and neighbouring Chad,
and highlighted the importance of expediting the political process in
Darfur.

In addition, they discussed the so-called Qatari initiative, which is
aimed at furthering efforts to broker peace between rebels, the
Government and the allied Janjaweed militiamen, who have been fighting
since 2003.

During that period, some 300,000 people are estimated to have been
killed as a result of direct combat, disease or malnutrition, while
another 2.7 million people have been displaced because of the violence.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, who
chairs the Ministerial Committee as part of that initiative, is also
expected to meet with Mr. Moreno-Ocampo in New York this week.

Mr. Moreno-Ocampo's visit comes two months after he requested an arrest
warrant for Mr. al-Bashir for allegedly committing war crimes, crimes
against humanity and genocide over the last five years.

'We presented a solid case. The evidence shows that crimes against
Darfurians continue today,' Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said. '[Mr.] al-Bashir has
complete control of his forces, and they are raping women today, they
are promoting conditions in the camps to destroy complete communities
and they are still bombing schools,' he added.

The ICC pre-trial chamber is reviewing the evidence submitted by
prosecutors to determine if there are reasonable grounds to believe the
Sudanese President committed the alleged crimes and issue the arrest
warrant.

'The judges will decide. Those sought by the court have to face
justice,' Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said referring to his request for the arrest
warrant. 'Between criminals and 2.5 million victims, they should make
the right decision.'

'It is an immense challenge for the political leaders of the world. They
have to protect the victims and ensure the respect for the court's
decisions,' the ICC Prosecutor added, ahead of the General Assembly
annual high-level debate, which starts tomorrow.

The prosecutor has also requested information from the Sudanese
Government about the August attack on the Kalma camp for internally
displaced persons (IDPs), where UNAMID said it had found evidence
suggesting that Government forces killed at least 31 civilians while
executing a search warrant for illegal weapons and drugs.

A third ICC Prosecutor's investigation coming to completion is focusing
on crimes committed by rebels, in particular the attack on African Union
(AU) peacekeepers in September last year in Haskanita..."

vi."ICC PROSECUTOR URGES WORLD LEADERS TO HELP STOP DARFUR WAR CRIMES,"
UN Media Center, 22 September 2008
http://www.un.org/apps/news/latest-headlines.asp

" The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor is in New York today
to urge international leaders to better protect civilians in Darfur and
allow the court to successfully prosecute crimes committed in the
war-torn Sudanese region.

The visit by Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC Prosecutor, comes two months
after he requested an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar
al-Bashir for allegedly committing war crimes, crimes against humanity
and genocide over the last five years in Darfur.

'We presented a solid case. The evidence shows that crimes against
Darfurians continue today,' Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said.

'[Mr.] al-Bashir has complete control of his forces, and they are raping
women today, they are promoting conditions in the camps to destroy
complete communities and they are still bombing schools,' he added.

The ICC pre-trial chamber is reviewing the evidence submitted by
prosecutors to determine if there are reasonable grounds to believe the
Sudanese President committed the alleged crimes and issue the arrest
warrant.

....'It is an immense challenge for the political leaders of the world.
They
have to protect the victims and ensure the respect for the court's
decisions,' the ICC Prosecutor added ahead of the General Assembly
annual high-level debate, which starts tomorrow.

The prosecutor has also requested information from the Sudanese
Government about the August attack on the Kalma camp for internally
displaced persons (IDPs), where evidence suggests Sudanese Government
forces killed at least 31 civilians while executing a search warrant for
illegal weapons and drugs.

.... Mr. Moreno-Ocampo 'will be meeting senior United Nations officials
and
expressing his appreciation of the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's
staunch support for the independence of the international judiciary,' a
spokesperson for the prosecutor told the UN News Centre.

The high-level officials meeting with the prosecutor on this visit
include Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani,
who chairs the Ministerial Committee aimed at furthering peace efforts
in Darfur.

Others meeting with Mr. Moreno-Ocampo include AU Chairperson Jean Ping,
British Minister of State responsible for Africa, Asia and the UN Mark
Malloch Brown, French Minister of State for Human Rights Ramatoulaye
Yade-Zimet and Netherlands Foreign Minister Maxime Jacques Marcel
Verhagen...."


III. OP EDS

i."The arrest of Sudan's Bashir should proceed" by Richard Holbrooke
(Financial Times), 21 September 2008,
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/57d9e354-87ee-11dd-b114-0000779fd18c.html

"The request from the International Criminal Court prosecutor for an
arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, caused much
hand-wringing by diplomats and others who say the search for justice
will derail peace negotiations or endanger humanitarian relief workers.
Fearing that the crisis in Darfur will worsen if the prosecutor is
allowed to proceed, they have launched an ill-considered campaign at the
United Nations Security Council to delay the court's proceedings,
perhaps for a year. The very nations that created the ICC appear to be
afraid to let it do its work. A vote for deferral might come as early as
next month.

For me, this is familiar terrain. When Radovan Karadzic and General
Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb leaders, were indicted by the Yugoslav
tribunal in July 1995 for orchestrating atrocities in Bosnia, the media
and many diplomats lamented that we would be unable to negotiate peace
for Bosnia. Less than five months later, an agreement was reached in
Dayton to end the war.

What had seemed an insurmountable obstacle turned out to be an
unexpected opportunity. Before the indictments, we had already decided
to marginalise Gen Mladic and Mr Karadzic and force Slobodan Milosevic,
the Serbian president, to take full responsibility for the war. Our
negotiating team met them only once - in a hunting villa just outside
Belgrade in September 1995 - but only with a prior understanding that Mr
Milosevic would be responsible for their conduct, and only to lift the
three-year siege of Sarajevo, which we accomplished that night. Later,
when Mr Milosevic insisted that to achieve peace the two men had to
participate in negotiations, I offered to arrest them personally if they
set foot in the US.

Their removal from negotiations helped greatly in our success even
though Mr Karadzic, forced by Mr Milosevic to sign the Dayton agreement,
must have known it would end his political career. After he stepped down
he invented a fable that I - and later Madeleine Albright - made deals
with him that Nato would not pursue him. This wholly fabricated story,
coming from a war criminal who also said the Muslims bombed their own
marketplace in Sarajevo to lure Nato into war, is grotesque.

The key point is that the pariah status created by the indictment
contributed to resolving the conflict and creating a more stable
situation in Bosnia. The tragedy was not that these evil men were
indicted; it was that it took almost 13 years to arrest Mr Karadzic and
that Gen Mladic is still at large.

The US and the European Union confront a similar issue with Darfur. In
2005, the Security Council determined that offering impunity was a
threat to peace. It referred the situation to the ICC prosecutor, who
announced that the evidence pointed to the top of Sudan's government.
Suddenly, some Council members backed away from their earlier stance. In
a routine resolution to extend the mandate of the Darfur peacekeeping
mission, they added a statement of "concern" about the prosecutor's
request and promised to raise the issue again.

The US abstained, neither wishing to veto the mission nor wanting to
support anything leading to a delay in the prosecution of Mr Bashir.
China, Russia and others argued that an arrest warrant against Mr Bashir
would frustrate peace prospects and jeopardise humanitarian workers. In
October, these countries plan to ask the Security Council to defer the
ICC's investigations for a renewable 12-month period.

Those advocating this step argue that it would give negotiators leverage
to produce results in Darfur. Yet they have never produced evidence for
this, nor defined what the benchmark for success would be at the end of
the 12 months. Mr Bashir is simply playing for time, offering nothing.
Mr Milosevic did the same. Give Mr Bashir a year and he will take it -
and ask for more.

The US and the EU must resist efforts to suspend ICC prosecutions. Peace
negotiations have been stalled for nearly a year for reasons unrelated
to a possible warrant against Mr Bashir. Suspension may seem a safer
course to follow in the short run, but it will embolden him and other
future suspected war criminals...."

ii. "Justice v. Politics," by Louise Arbour (International Herald
Tribune), 16 September 2008,
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/16/opinion/edarbour.php

"When I announced the indictment of Slobodan Milosevic on May 27, 1999,
at the height of the armed conflict between Serbia and NATO troops in
Kosovo, many were dismayed.

The conventional wisdom at the time was that the indictment by the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, where I was
chief prosecutor, would make the situation in Kosovo worse. Some said it
would likely prove fatal to the prospect of any compromise by Milosevic
- that I had killed the chance for peace.

Predictably, Milosevic was contemptuous of the indictment and vowed that
he would never face trial in The Hague...

Yet only a week later, Milosevic accepted the terms of a peace agreement
and the war ended that month. Eighteen months later, a popular uprising
swept Milosevic from office and he arrived in The Hague soon thereafter
to face justice.

If the United Nations Security Council had had the authority to stop my
indictment, things might have ended differently. And that's precisely
the issue now at the center of a storm of controversy at the Security
Council. How it is resolved will have serious implications for the
International Criminal Court (ICC) and for the cause of international
justice.

Not long after the ICC prosecutor announced he was seeking an arrest
warrant against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for orchestrating a
genocidal campaign in Darfur, diplomats and political observers
predicted the worst. President Bashir denounced the prosecutor's request
and rejected the authority of the ICC altogether.

Within days the African Union and Organization of Islamic Conference
called on the Security Council to defer the case against Bashir,
claiming it thwarted prospects for peace.

They also feared retaliation against peacekeepers and humanitarian
workers in Sudan. Nearly half of the Security Council has expressed
support for a deferral.

The ICC statute does empower the Security Council to defer the ICC
process. But such power was intended to be used extremely rarely, and
then only to promote justice, not to prevent it from running its course.

The ICC was founded on the principle that accountability for the world's
most serious crimes is a prerequisite for long-term peace and security.
It is presumably with that in mind that the Security Council referred to
Darfur case to the ICC in the first place in 2005.

The assumption should be, as the Milosevic precedent has illustrated,
that judicial and political processes can be allowed to advance
simultaneously and independently of each other. The goal should be to
preserve the integrity of both the judicial and the political track,
and, most important, to avoid the politicization of the court. Justice
is a partner to peace, not an impediment to it.

To use a deferral for mere political convenience - or worse, to appease
the threats of tyrants - would undermine the fledgling court. There is
little hope for the promotion of the rule of law internationally if the
most powerful international body makes it subservient to the rule of
political expediency.

The past decade has seen tremendous advances in showing abusive leaders
that their crimes will have consequences. Since the mid-1990s, for the
first time in history, former heads of state have actually been brought
to trial for human rights crimes.

To put ICC proceedings on hold in Darfur would send a dangerous signal
to would-be war criminals that justice is negotiable and the Security
Council can be held hostage to their threats.

The ICC has the ability to bring charges in real time, while conflicts
are ongoing. This is not the first time, nor is it the last time, that
we will face the question of whether justice interferes with peace.
Indeed, these issues will arise more and more frequently. And it will
often be very tempting to suspend justice in exchange for promises to
end a conflict.

But if the Security Council decides in the coming weeks to interfere
with court proceedings, it will vindicate those who believe politics can
trump justice. That will undermine the progress the world has made so
far in bringing the most powerful human rights abusers to justice for
their crimes."

Louise Arbour is the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights.


iii. "Deferral of ICC indictment is against justice in Darfur" by
Mahmoud A. Suleiman (Sudan Tribune), 21 September 2008,
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article28691

"Media reports talk of the British and French governments will back
efforts in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to stall the
International Criminal Court (ICC) issuance of an arrest warrant against
president of Sudan, Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir in order to protect the
peace process in Darfur and Southern Sudan. It is flabbergasting and
disappointing to the victims of crimes against humanity, war crimes and
genocide. If this is actually true, despite the fact that both countries
are members of the ICC and have been the main advocates at the UNSC for
referring the Darfur case to the Court, their credibility will be called
into question. Many Sudanese people in Darfur thought that these
Veto-wielding UNSC countries maintain credibility but it seems they have
chosen to take that unexpected route nonetheless. On the face of it,
this stance of the two permanent members of the UNSC seems to have been
resorted to on the pretext to protect the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA/ Naivasha Agreement) signed on the 9th January 2005 that has ended
the 21-year civil war between the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement
(SPLM) and the Government of Sudan (GOS). The CPA stands firm, but needs
more support from the international community for its implementation.
The government of Sudan (GOS), the key partner in the Government of
National Unity (GNU) is renowned for flouting rules and violating
agreements with impunity. In the recent turn of events, it was learned
that the indicted Sudanese president, Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir has
relieved Pagan Amum, the general secretary of SPLM of his position as
Minister of Cabinet Affairs. This news is not surprising since some of
the hawks within the NCP elements such as Nafie Ali Nafie, a close
presidential adviser, former inventor of the "Ghost Houses" and National
Islamic Front (NIF) security and intelligence chief, criticized Mr.
Pagan and called on him to step down. The ghost houses, by the way, are
torture houses used only by nights where screams of the victims could be
heard from far distances but by day time these houses stand empty and
silent. Earlier, the Sudanese foreign minister Deng Alor advised the
government of Sudan to cooperate with the ICC.

Human Rights Watch said that the Naivasha agreement has settled the
21-year conflict waged mostly in southern Sudan, and will provide for a
referendum in the south on self- determination in six and a half years.
Human Rights watch expressed concern at the absence of any substantive
human rights clauses in the Naivasha peace accord despite the
devastating war in southern Sudan and the ongoing cycle of impunity that
has contributed to what we now see in Darfur.

The French stance is difficult to figure out where the International
Criminal Court (ICC) is "a key tool, both in combating impunity when the
most serious crimes, striking at the very essence of humanity are
committed and in preventing the use of violence," according to the EU
Presidency, currently held by France which is of great significance,
given that France has a veto at the UN Security Council.

It is a common place that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) has
been reached between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the SPLM and not
with individual members in the GOS or the SPLM. Accordingly, the CPA
should continue in force whether the president of the NCP, Omer Hassan
Ahmed al-Bashir is in power or being arrested and taken to The Hague.
The truth of this assertion rests in the fact that the CPA has continued
to remain viable despite the sad death of Dr. John Garang De Mabior, the
father of the Vision of 'New Sudan'. The same case will be if al-Bashir
departs to the ICC. Therefore, it is quite absurd that the international
community's unfounded concern about the fate of CPA or the peace in
Darfur in the post-al-Bashir era. The pillars of true peace are justice!
No peace without justice!

Sudan signed but has not ratified the Rome Statute of the (ICC) and is
refusing to cooperate with its jurisdiction, but the UNSC triggered the
provisions under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, to enables
it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it
deems that it is a Threat to International Peace and security. This is
beside Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Principle which in accordance
with the Charter, including Chapter VII, on a case-by-case basis and in
cooperation with relevant regional organizations as appropriate, should
peaceful means be inadequate and national authorities manifestly fail to
protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing
and crimes against humanity, the UN member countries are prepared to
take collective action, in a timely and decisive manner through the
UNSC. President Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir will not be able to escape
with impunity without being subjected to justice for the crimes he
committed and is continuing to commit against the people of Sudan in
Darfur no matter how long it takes.

The (UNSC) passed 17 resolutions on the Darfur crisis, all of which are
internationally binding. The Sudanese regime has not complied with
anyone of those resolutions to date, bearing in mind that they are meant
to achieve security and peace in the region of Darfur. Many critics say
that the UNSC is either a toothless lion or its members act with double
standards; in both situations its credibility is tarnished. The Security
Council failed to extend the arms embargo to the Sudanese government,
impose travel sanctions and asset freezes on key government and military
officials or implement the no-fly zone over Darfur.

Sudan's ambassador to the UN Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed has said
in his usual belligerent rhetoric that the government of Sudan intends
to ask the Security Council to block the prosecution, describing any
attempt to arrest Bashir as "an act of war." He added that President
Omar al-Bashir is weighing all options, including an undefined military
response!

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Beijing maintains
friendly relations with Sudan and is deeply concerned and worried about
the ICC charges against president al-Bashir. He continues to say that
the situation in the Darfur region is at a sensitive and critical moment
and that China hopes all sides can resolve their differences through
consultation and avoid adding complications that could interfere with or
harm the atmosphere of cooperation. It is understood that China is
consulting with other U.N. Security Council members to see if the court
could be blocked from issuing an arrest warrant against Mr. Bashir,
according to the Associated Press.

Analysts believe that Omar al-Bashir's threats in which he claims that
he will make Sudan another Somalia if he is convicted by the
International Criminal Court (ICC) as part of the world widely known
lies of his collapsed unpopular regime and empty rhetoric for domestic
consumption. Those are his usual raving menaces of refusal and soon
return to surrender to reality under stark warning or confrontation.
Unfortunately, al-Bashir and his clique do not learn from their mistakes
and never take lessons from experience. To say the world is better off
without Omer al-Bashir and his NCP regime is to speak an obvious truth.
The old habits of bullying and blackmailing are not going to save
al-Bashir from the predicaments of his abhorrent deeds in Darfur. The
NCP needs to stop this nonsense and cooperate with the ICC.

...... Although, supposedly, fears have been raised that the arrest
warrant could lead to attacks on UN peacekeepers in Darfur or the
expulsion of Western diplomats, but it was reported that Al-Zahawi
Ibrahim Malik, the Minister of Information and Communication as saying
that Sudan would guarantee the safety of foreigners. After Omer
al-Bashir loses the battle against the ICC, the Sudanese people are
"going to hang him out to dry" and will not shed tears!

Will the UNSC as a "Dove of peace" for the world accomplish its mission
in Darfur by distancing itself from the plans aiming at stalling the
arrest warrant of the indicted Sudanese president by the International
Criminal Court (ICC)? That is a sixty-four dollar question ($64
question)!..."

******
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
indepedent 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 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
P.O. box 19519
2500 CM the Hague
The Netherlands