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Darfur: NGO Press Releases and News Coverage on the Issuance by the ICC of a Second Arrest Warrant Against Sudanese President Omar Al-bashir for Genocide

14 July 2010

Dear All,

Please find below latest NGO press releases (I) and news coverage (II) on the issuance by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of a second arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for counts of genocide on 12 July 2010.

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,

CICC Secretariat
http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/

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I. NGO PRESS RELEASES

i. "Sudan: ICC Warrant for Al-Bashir on Genocide," Human Rights Watch, 13 July 2010, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/07/13/sudan-icc-warrant-al-bashir-genocide

"The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on July 12, 2010, for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for genocide committed in Darfur. An earlier arrest warrant for al-Bashir was issued in March 2009 by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

This is the first time the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for the crime of genocide. The warrant is for al-Bashir's alleged role as an indirect perpetrator or indirect co-perpetrator of genocide in Darfur through killing, causing bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring physical destruction.

'President al-Bashir's stonewalling on the initial ICC warrant against him appears only more outrageous now that he's also being sought for genocide,' said Elise Keppler, senior counsel with the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch. 'Security Council members and other concerned governments should actively press Sudan to stop its blatant obstruction of the ICC and to see to it that al-Bashir appears at the court.'

The ICC has jurisdiction over international crimes committed in Darfur, even though Sudan is not a party to the court, under Security Council Resolution 1593, which referred Darfur to the ICC and obligates Sudan to cooperate with the ICC.

The ICC pre-trial chamber declined to include genocide charges when it issued the first warrant for al-Bashir. The prosecutor's office appealed the decision on the basis that the chamber had used an inappropriate standard of proof in declining to include the genocide charges. In a March 2010 ruling, the appeals chamber agreed and instructed the pre-trial chamber to reassess genocide charges on the basis that genocide could be one reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the material submitted, while not necessarily the only reasonable conclusion. On July 12, the pre-trial chamber issued a ruling that resulted in the second warrant on genocide charges.

Human Rights Watch has found in its research on Darfur that the highest levels of the Sudanese leadership, including al-Bashir, are responsible for creating and coordinating the government's counterinsurgency policy in Darfur, which deliberately and systematically targeted civilians in violation of international law. Human Rights Watch has described the crimes in Darfur as 'ethnic cleansing,' war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Human Rights Watch has not taken a position on whether the crimes constitute genocide due to insufficient information in its research on whether the actions were carried out with the 'intent to destroy in whole or in part an ethnic group," an element of the crime of genocide.'

ii. "Rights Groups Respond to New 'Genocide' Arrest Warrant for President Bashir," Enough Project, Genocide Intervention Network, Save Darfur, American Jewish World Service, Joint press release, 12 July 2010, http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/newsroom

" ... The issuance of a second arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir for three counts of genocide requires the international community to fully support the ICC and renew its efforts to apprehend him and all others wanted by the ICC for crimes committed in Darfur. The Government of Sudan should immediately turn over President al-Bashir to face trial in The Hague. Barring this unlikely cooperation, the United States and the international community should work together to ensure Bashir's swift arrest.

After the ICC issued the first warrant for al-Bashir's arrest in March 2009, President Bashir evicted more than a dozen international aid groups from Sudan, putting thousands of lives at risk. The international community did little to challenge this retaliation, and critically needed services, including aid for survivors of sexual violence, were lost and never replaced in Darfur. President Obama, the UN Security Council, and other world leaders must make it clear to President Bashir that any new retaliation against humanitarian efforts will be met with clear consequences. Sudanese civilians should not be targeted as justice is pursued for those who have died and suffered in Darfur.

The Bashir regime's decades of crimes must end. While risk of a return to full-scale, national war grows and a referendum for southern Sudanese self-determination draws near, the Obama administration should put in action the consequences and pressures it promised for the lack of measurable progress and continued backsliding on key benchmarks by the Government of Sudan and other parties. The United States also needs to intensify its diplomatic efforts to find a path to peace in Sudan, with support from President Obama and other senior members of his foreign policy team.

'Accountability is a fundamental component of sustainable peace in Sudan,' says John Prendergast, Co-Founder of the Enough Project. 'President Obama should make abundantly clear his unequivocal support for peace rooted in justice in Sudan by sending the message that consequences will result from any retaliation against Sudanese civilians as a result of this warrant, and by building stronger international support for this warrant.'

'The American people are expecting President Obama to fulfill his campaign promises and forcefully support the ICC and protect civilians in Sudan,' says Mark Hanis, President of the Genocide Intervention Network. 'The United States government should reaffirm its support for the ICC's pursuit of justice in Darfur and should work together with UN Security Council and ICC member states to ensure the swift enforcement of this and all ICC arrest warrants for those accused of atrocities in Darfur, including al-Bashir.'

'The United States and broader international community must vigilantly monitor for any threats or acts of violence or other repression against civilians, Sudanese human rights activists, aid workers or peacekeepers,' says Mark Lotwis, Acting President of the Save Darfur Coalition. 'While pushing for al-Bashir's apprehension, the Obama administration must lead efforts to prevent a repeat of the merciless and cruel retaliation by the Khartoum regime last year.'

'Today's decision comes at a perilous time for the Sudanese people,' said American Jewish World Service (AJWS) president Ruth Messinger. 'The Obama administration's vigilance in implementing the accountability mechanisms central to its Sudan policy is critical to ensure this decision is not used as a pretext to punish civilians and interrupt life-saving aid.'..."

II. LATEST NEWS COVERAGE

i. "Q+A-Sudan's Bashir faces Darfur genocide charges," Reuters, 13 July 2010, http://bit.ly/cR5Vdo
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"International Criminal Court judges have issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's president Omar Hassan al-Bashir to face charges of committing genocide during the country's seven-year Darfur conflict. The Hague-based court has already issued an arrest warrant for Bashir to face seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes relating to the conflict.

Following are some questions and answers about Monday's ruling.

WHAT IS THE IMMEDIATE IMPACT?

The new charges leave a further stain on Bashir's international reputation.

The official use of the word genocide -- with all its echoes of the twentieth century's worst atrocities -- has an important emotional as well as legal impact.

After last year's war crimes charges, Bashir managed an appearance of business-as-usual. He has continued to make official visits -- albeit only to countries not signed up to the court -- and present himself as the victim of a Western plot.

That populist appeal will still find an audience in parts of Africa and the Middle East. But it will now be harder for foreign dignitaries to stand next to him at official photo opportunities without a risk to their own reputations.

It remains to be seen whether that translates into any measurable drop in foreign investment, particularly from Western companies who have kept a stake in Sudan despite U.S. trade sanctions.

HOW WILL IT AFFECT DARFUR?

The announcement will embolden the region's two main rebel groups who are already boycotting troubled peace talks, seven years into the conflict.

Last week there were signs one of them -- the Sudan Liberation Army -- might be edging closer to the negotiating table when its leader Abdel Wahed Mohamed al-Nur said he was consulting with Qatari officials hosting the talks.

... Powerful lobby groups in the United States will step up their calls for the Obama administration to take a less conciliatory approach with Bashir. It will become much harder for Washington to hold out carrots like the removal of Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism while Bashir remains in power.

A fully isolated Bashir might be less willing to tolerate the significant international presence in Darfur, particularly among aid groups and the joint U.N./African Union peacekeepers.

A number of aid agencies were expelled after Bashir accused them of passing evidence to the ICC after last year's war crimes indictments. Some Darfur-based aid groups reported an increase in hostility against them which coincided with the start of a wave of kidnappings of humanitarian workers. Three aid staff remain in captivity today. The United Nations and aid groups will be on the look out for any further moves against their staff.

OTHER POLITICAL REPERCUSSIONS?

The ICC's ruling comes at a highly sensitive time, even by Sudanese standards.

Africa's largest country is less than six months away from a referendum on whether its oil-producing south should split away as an independent state -- a plebiscite promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war.

Bashir and his National Congress Party in recent weeks stepped up a campaign to persuade southerners to vote for north and south Sudan to stay united.

It was always going to be a tough sell given the deep distrust and cultural divides between the two halves of the country. But the north will have to come up with some very good arguments to persuade the south to stay yoked to a sanctions-hit country led by a man wanted for genocide.

Analysts have warned there is a risk of a return to war if Bashir chooses to disrupt the referendum or resist its expected 'yes' vote for independence in a bid to keep control of the region's oil.

WHAT NEXT FOR BASHIR?

Bashir could use his dominance of the army and security services to cling on to power, taking Sudan further down the road of international isolation. The president could also retreat into an orchestrated retirement, while his supporters retain power.

Activists have suggested Bashir could be deposed and handed over to The Hague by plotters keen to bring Sudan back to the international fold.

Some members of his inner circle would be held back by the thought that they too could be implicated by the ICC -- many of their names appear in the prosecutor's documents...."

iii. "ICC prosecutor lauds new charges against al-Bashir," By Jenny Barchfield (AP), 14 July 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jrYT3r-1D6JfULBiPIBZuAGZ6UjQD9GUCG780

"The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court on Tuesday called the new genocide charges filed against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir the 'last chance to stop genocide in Darfur.'

Luis Moreno Ocampo said the 10-judge panel's decision, announced Monday, to charge al-Bashir with three counts of genocide in Darfur 'will force the world to pay attention to the reality' on the ground in the embattled western Sudanese province. He added he hoped it would also cement the international community's will to see the Sudanese leader tried in The Hague.

The United Nations estimates 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have be forced from their homes in Darfur since ethnic African rebels rose up in 2003, accusing Sudan's Arab-dominated central government of neglect and discrimination.
'The ICC decision is the last chance to stop the genocide in Darfur, the last chance to stop President Bashir's current crimes and to prevent further crimes in Darfur or in Southern Sudan,' Moreno Ocampo told journalists at a news conference in Paris, where he was attending meetings.

... Moreno Ocampo, who had long sought the genocide charges, said he hoped that the new, more serious charges would convince three key nations that aren't ICC members - the United States, as well as China and Russia - to take a tougher stance on Darfur.

He said a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday would prove the perfect 'opportunity to see which countries are committed to make the 'never again' a reality.'
'The Security Council is all about consensus. If all the countries, in particular the big countries, make an agreement between them, they stop the conflict in a second,' Moreno told The Associated Press on the margins of Tuesday's news conference.
'Arresting a head of state requires first a consensus in the political elite,' he said. 'That's what we need in Darfur, consensus that it (genocide) can't happen. What happens is, Darfuris have no oil, nothing, really, so no one cares, really. That's the problem.'

... Al-Bashir, who was re-elected to a new five-year term earlier this year, refuses to recognize the court's authority and has insisted he will not turn himself in to stand trial.

Still, Moreno Ocampo expressed certainty the Sudanese leader would eventually stand trial.

'Bashir is destined to face charges, in two years, in 10 years, I don't know,' Moreno Ocampo told The AP. 'The problem is the victims have no time. The victims are living for the last five years in camps - no education, no future for them, destroyed. They have no time. We have to rescue them now.'..."

iii. "U.S. special envoy unhappy about ICC genocide ruling against Sudanese president," Sudan Tribune, 14 July 2010, http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article35657

"The U.S. special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration appeared to strike a different tone than that of the White House and the State Department on the decision by the judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to add genocide charges to list of counts against president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

... Yesterday the U.S. state department spokesman P.J. Crowley urged al-Bashir to submit himself to the ICC to face the genocide charges and revealed that Gration has told Sudanese officials that their boss must face justice in the Hague.

Crowley said that Gration will renew his call during his visit to Sudan which starts next Friday.

Today the White House echoed the same message saying Khartoum must cooperate with the Hague-based tribunal.

'The United States strongly supports international efforts to bring those responsible for genocide and war crimes in Darfur to justice and believes that there cannot be a lasting peace in Darfur without accountability,' said Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

Though the U.S. statement did not name Bashir, it said, 'We continue to call on the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court.'

But today the U.S. special envoy speaking at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed dissatisfaction with the ICC latest move.
'The decision by the ICC to accuse Sudanese president Omer Al-Bashir of genocide will make my mission more difficult and challenging especially if we realize that resolving the crisis in Darfur and South, issues of oil and combating terrorism at a 100%, we need Bashir' Gration was quoted as saying by Arabic Language Washington based Radio Sawa.

... In Paris, the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo called on all states to isolate Bashir and urged non-ICC members such as U.S., China and Russia to "do something" after judges approved the genocide charges.

'We need all heads of state to say that if you commit genocide you cannot be part of the club... Because it's a genocide, even states who are not members of the ICC now have a legal obligation to do something,' Ocampo said.

The new arrest warrant means the 1948 Genocide Convention can be invoked, Ocampo said, including in states such as the U.S., Russia and China, and even Sudan itself.

'They have to be clear. I mean China, Russia, the U.S. making clear statements,' the ICC prosecutor told reporters.

The prosecutor said a Friday meeting of the United Nations Security Council was an opportunity for countries to make a stand against Bashir.
'We are asking for a robust political decision. If the security council members agree to stop this, they can stop it in one day.'

... Today the Arab League Secretary General Amr Mousa criticized the fresh genocide charges saying it might further destabilize the volatile situation in the East African nation and impact the 2011 referendum in South Sudan.
Mousa also questioned the timing of the decision and stressed that Arab League and African Union commissions found no evidence of genocide in Darfur. ..."

iv. "PROMISES, PROMISES: US fails to punish Sudan," By Desmond Butler (AP) - 14 July 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ji-ZygT4brAqlpMNTYiqQGTWQOpQD9GUC4A80

"The words of the Obama administration were unequivocal: Sudan must do more to fight terror and improve human rights. If it did, it would be rewarded. If not, it would be punished.

Nine months later, problems with Sudan have grown worse. Yet the administration has not clamped down. If anything, it has made small conciliatory gestures.
Activists say the backtracking sends a message that the United States is not serious about confronting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, charged with genocide by an international court on Monday.

'They had a fine strategy. They just haven't implemented it,' said Amir Osman, a senior director at the Save Darfur Coalition. 'Nobody will take them seriously until they do what they said they would do.'

The White House denies it has abandoned the strict course it set. It says there have been signs of progress in Sudan despite a recent rise in violence in Darfur and a crackdown on opposition by the government.

... U.S. officials have been divided about how to deal with Sudan. Some argue that only a tough line can end Sudan's violence. Others, notably White House envoy Scott Gration, say it is critical to work with the government to ensure that any secession by the south occurs peacefully.

President Barack Obama settled on something of a compromise. On Oct. 19, his administration announced that the Sudanese government would be rewarded for making progress, but punished if it failed to do so.

... Since then, there has been backsliding, as the administration has acknowledged. It issued a statement Friday, together with Norway and the United Kingdom, criticizing Sudan for worsening human rights violations throughout the country and for breaking cease-fires in Darfur, noting its use of aerial bombardment and the deployment of local militias.

Yet the U.S. has not punished Sudan. Instead, it has offered small incentives. The State Department recently expanded visa services for Sudanese citizens in its embassy in Khartoum. It also sent a low-level representative to al-Bashir's inauguration.

Administration officials say Sudan is regularly discussed at high-level meetings. Officials say they use indicators to measure progress in Sudan, but have declined to say what those indicators are. ....

Gavin and other administration officials point to signs of progress, including Sudan's improved relations with neighboring Chad. They say the recent elections were important, even though they were flawed. They also believe Khartoum is prepared to let go of the south and has taken steps to facilitate the referendum. Last week, government officials began talks with southern leaders on how to ensure a smooth transition.

But John Prendergast, head of an anti-genocide program at the Center for American Progress, a think tank close to the White House, said the Sudanese government has stalled on key aspects of setting up the referendum and has yet to agree on how to demarcate the border and share oil revenue. He said the United States may have sent the wrong signal by giving Sudan a pass on other issues.

'If the parties, particularly the ruling party, do not understand that there will be real consequences for a return to war, and real benefits for peace in the country,' he said, 'then the U.S. has lost its biggest point of influence in the effort to avert the worst-case scenario.' ..."

v. "Obasanjo backs Bashir on Darfur war charges," By Fred Oluoch (The East African), 28 June 2010, http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Obasanjo backs Bashir on Darfur war charges/-/2558/946918/-/5058cy/-/

"Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo has come out strongly in defence of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir against allegations of war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court.

In an exclusive interview with The EastAfrican, Mr Obasanjo, who left power in 2007, said it was unfair to accuse al-Bashir of committing atrocities in Darfur without providing evidence of their actual planning and execution.

He, however, said President al-Bashir had told him he had been forced to employ the services of Janjaweed militia in the early stages of the rebellion in Darfur in 2003...."

vi. "Sudan says no decision made on Bashir's attendance at AU summit in Kampala," Sudan Tribune, 11 July 2010, http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article35631

"Sudan has yet to determine the level of its participation in the African Union (AU) summit that will take place this month in the Ugandan capital, the foreign minister said.

... Uganda is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of war crimes in Darfur and therefore has a legal obligation to apprehend him should he set foot in the country.

... Bashir, the only sitting head of state wanted by the ICC, has had to choose his trips carefully but he has made a point of traveling to friendly nations in the Middle East and Africa, including Saudi Arabia, Libya and Eritrea and others that are not members of the court.

He has skipped a couple of invitations for conferences that were held in Uganda last year...."

vii. "3 U.N. peacekeepers killed in Darfur," CNN, 21 June 2010, http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/06/21/sudan.darfur.peacekeepers.killed/

"Three U.N. peacekeepers were killed and another was seriously wounded in a shootout Monday with unknown attackers in the West Darfur region of Sudan, the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur said.

The soldiers from a UNAMID Protection Force Battalion were providing security to civilian engineers working at a site near the village of Nertiti, in the Jebel Marra area, around 11:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. ET) when more than 20 attackers in camouflage battle dress began firing on them, UNAMID said in a news release. ..."

SEE ALSO:

viii. "Darfur warrant for Sudan's Bashir: ICC adds genocide," BBC News, 12 July 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10603559.stm

ix. "International Court Adds Genocide to Charges Against Sudan Leader," By Marlise Simons (NY Times), 12 July 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/world/africa/13hague.html

x. "Int'l Court charges Sudan president with genocide," AP, 12 July 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hpiBm2hapcPAx3oiNuiCHvKt042wD9GTHVSO1

xi. "Sudan should work with ICC, says White House," Independent Online , 14 July 2010, http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=136&art_id=nw20100713222319624C360029

xii. "Obasanjo in shocking new take on impunity," The East African, 12 July 2010, http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Obasanjo in shocking new take on impunity/-/2558/955850/-/287m65z/-/

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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 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.

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