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Darfur: OTP Presentation Before the UNSC; Related News and Opinions

17 Dec 2010

Dear all,

On 9 December 2010, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
(ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, presented his twelfth report to the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) on the ICC's investigation of the situation in Darfur,
Sudan.

In compliance with UNSC Resolution 1593, through which the situation in Darfur
was referred to the Court, the ICC prosecutor is required to report to the
Council every six months regarding progress in the investigation. This is the
prosecutor's twelfth report to the Council in the Darfur investigation, with the
previous report to the UNSC given on 11 June 2010.

In this digest you will find (I) the ICC prosecutor's statement to the Council;
as well as news articles quoting the Coalition (II), members' media statements
(III) and related news and opinions (IV).

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.


For additional information, please visit the Coalition's website at
www.coalitionfortheicc.org

Regards,

CICC Secretariat
www.coalitionfortheicc.org

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I. PROSECUTOR'S STATEMENT TO THE UNSC

Note: These documents have been produced by the ICC. The Coalition for the ICC
distributes them as part of its mandate to inform member organizations and
individuals about ICC-related developments. The documents do not reflect the
views of the CICC as a whole or its individual members.

1. Statement to the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Darfur,
the Sudan, pursuant to UNSCR 1593 (2005), 9 December 2010
http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/23EA8008-1E3E-494B-A256-8E69F82B27ED/282797/
12thspeechtotheUNSC1.pdf

"Mr. President, Excellencies,

1. I thank the Security Council for this opportunity to present the 12th
briefing on the work of the International Criminal Court in the situation of
Darfur.

2. I would like to update you on Pre�Trial Chamber I�s decision to issue a
second arrest warrant for President Al Bashir for three charges of genocide,
including genocide by killing in accordance with Article 6(a), genocide by
causing serious bodily or mental harm through rapes and fear against people in
the villages and in the camps for displaced persons in accordance with Article
6(b), and genocide by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of
life calculated to bring about the group�s physical destruction in accordance
with Article 6(c).

3. I would like to brief you about the hearing concluded yesterday at the seat
of the Court in The Hague to confirm the charges against the rebel commanders
who led the attack against African Union peacekeepers at their base in
Haskanita. It is the most serious attack against peacekeepers in Darfur. For
the Office of the Prosecutor, crimes against peacekeepers are some of the most
serious crimes under its jurisdiction; they affect the lives of millions of
civilians under peacekeeper protection.

4. I would also like to confirm that the Government of the Sudan is not
cooperating with the Court and is conducting no national proceedings against
those responsible for the crimes committed. Since 2005, Sudanese authorities
have consistently promised to do justice, creating mechanisms such as Special
Courts and Prosecutors, while consistently and deliberately protecting those who
commit the crimes. President Al Bashir, in accordance with the Chamber�s
findings, issued the criminal orders to attack civilians and destroy their
communities. President Al Bashir does not want to investigate those who are
following his orders.

5. In terms of cooperation on arrests, the Rome Statute States Parties are
firmly insisting on the need to respect the Court�s decisions. The presence of
many representatives of States Parties in this room underscores their consistent
support for the end of impunity for these crimes�.�

See Also:

i. �Implementing International Criminal Court�s Decisions on Darfur
Ultimately Up to Security Council, Chief Prosecutor Says in Briefing�, UN DPI,
9 December 2010, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2010/sc10107.doc.htm

ii. �Pre-Trial Chamber I informs the United Nations Security Council about the
lack of cooperation by the Republic of the Sudan in the case against Harun and
Kushayb,� ICC Press Office, 26 May 2010,
http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/219CA9C9-84C3-4228-BE49-DD9B50683D33.htm

iii. VIDEO: Statement of the Prosecutor (English):
http://www.un.org/webcast/sc.html

II. COALITION QUOTED

1. �Global Coalition Calls On States To Reiterate Commitment To Justice For
Darfur�, Coalition for the ICC, 8 December 2010,
http://coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/CICC_UNSCOTPpresentation_8Dec10.pdf
2. �Court to report failure to arrest Sudan's President al Bashir�, Deutsche
Presse-Agentur/Monsters & Critics, 8 December 2010,
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/news/article_1604397.php/Court-to-
report-failure-to-arrest-Sudan-s-President-al-Bashir
3. �International prosecutor pushes for arrest of al Bashir�, Deutsche
Presse-Agentur/Earth Times, 9 December 2010,
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/357452,pushes-arrest-al-bashir.html


III. MEMBERS� MEDIA STATEMENTS

1. �UN Security Council: Press Sudan to Cooperate With ICC�, Human Rights
Watch, 8 December 2010,
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/12/08/un-security-council-press-sudan-cooperate-
icc


IV. RELATED NEWS AND OPINIONS

1. �ICC prosecutor says Sudan blocks genocide inquiry�, AFP/Al-Arabiya, 10
December 2010, http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/12/10/129126.html

2. �Sudan: International Prosecutor Says Darfur Violence Has Continued�, by
NEIL MacFarquhar, The New York Times, 9 December 2010,
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/10/world/africa/10briefs-Sudan.html

3. �Prosecutor: Sudan covering up war crimes�, UPI, 9 December 2010,
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/12/09/Prosecutor-Sudan-covering-up-war-crime
s/UPI-19801291956005/

4. �ICC Prosecutor: Genocide in Darfur is �On-Going��, by Margaret
Besheer, VOA News, 9 December 2010,
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/ICC-Prosecutor-Genocide-in-Darfur-is-
On-Going-111639359.html

5. �On Darfur, As UNAMID Covers Up Killings by Sudan, ICC Reports Them�, by
Matthew Russell Lee, Inner City Press, 9 December 2010,
http://www.innercitypress.com/scicc1sudan120910.html

6. �U.N. pressures Sudan on Darfur�, UPI, 13 December 2010,
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/12/13/UN-pressures-Sudan-on-Darfur/UPI-
96421292268922/


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

The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the court. The CICC is an
independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the International
Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent international organization.
The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the
ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the Rome
Statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavor to respond to basic queries
and to raise awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and procedures, as
they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, do not endorse or
promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on situations
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
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