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Darfur: ICC Prosecutor Requests Arrest of Sudan's Defence Minister

02 Dec 2011

Dear all,

Please find below information about recent developments related to the
International Criminal Court's investigation in Darfur, Sudan.

Today, 2 December 2011, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo, requested ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I to issue an arrest warrant for Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, Sudan's current defence minister, in the Darfur situation in Sudan.

This message includes a media advisory from the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (I) and a media statement from the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC (II).

Please also take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC
(below), which explicitly states that the Coalition 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
www.coalitionfortheicc.org

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I. COALITION MEDIA STATEMENT

1. "ICC Prosecutor Requests Arrest of Sudan's Defence Minister: Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein Suspected of Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Committed in Darfur from August 2003 to March 2004," CICC press release, 2 December 2011, http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/CICC_MA_DARFUR_021211_FINAL__2_.pdf

WHAT: On 2 December 2011, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo, requested ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I to issue an arrest warrant for Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, Sudan's defence minister. The prosecutor has stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Hussein bears criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur from August 2003 to March 2004.

WHO: Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein is Sudan's current defence minister, and was interior minister and the Darfur special representative of the Sudanese president at the time of the alleged crimes. The Office of the Prosecutor believes that Hussein is one of those who bears the greatest criminal responsibility for the same crimes and incidents presented in ICC warrants of arrest for Ahmed Harun and Ali Kushayb issued by the Court on 27 April 2007. President of Sudan Omar Al Bashir is also wanted by the ICC for allegedly committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the same period.

WHY: On 31 March 2005, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) referred the situation in Darfur, Sudan to the ICC prosecutor through Resolution 1593, "determining that the situation in Sudan continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security." On 6 June 2005, the ICC prosecutor officially opened his investigation into the situation of Darfur, which was assigned to Pre-Trial Chamber I. Today's request for an arrest warrant is the fourth case in the Darfur investigation.

HOW: In accordance with Article 58 of the Rome Statute-the Court's founding treaty-it is now up to the judges of Pre-Trial Chamber I to decide whether to issue a warrant of arrest based on the prosecutor's application and any related evidence or information. The judges will determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that Hussein has committed the crime and whether the arrest of the person is necessary to ensure his appearance at trial. The judges may also decide if an arrest warrant is necessary to ensure that this person does not obstruct or endanger the investigation or the court proceedings, or, where applicable, to prevent this person from continuing with the commission of the listed or any related crimes. Since the ICC does not have its own police force, the execution of a request to arrest suspects requires cooperation from governments and international and regional organizations such as the United Nations and the African Union.

COMMENT: "The Coalition hopes that the potential issuance of a fifth arrest warrant in the Darfur situation will increase the pressure on those responsible for grave crimes to be held to account," said Sunil Pal, head of CICC Legal Section. "However, we must underline that the arrest warrants issued against Ahmad Muhammad Harun, Ali Kushayb and Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir have yet to be executed, and the Sudanese government has openly defied and consistently refused to cooperate with the Court and the international community," he explained. "We reiterate our call on all states to ensure these suspects face justice, on the government of Sudan to cooperate with the Court in accordance with its UN Charter obligations and on all states parties to the ICC to robustly fulfill their obligations under the Rome Statute." Pal added. " In this same respect, the UN Security Council cannot avoid its responsibility to ensure greater assistance to the Court, particularly in the Darfur situation given that it referred the adjudication of crimes committed there to the Court in the first place."

BACKGROUND: The investigation into the situation in Darfur, Sudan, was officially opened by the ICC Prosecutor on 6 June 2005, after being referred to the Court by the United Nations Security Council through Resolution 1593 on 31 March 2005. Since the referral, public arrest warrants have been issued in the Darfur investigation against Ahmad Muhammad Harun, Ali Kushayb-for crimes against humanity and war crimes-and Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir-for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes- and summonses to appear have been issued for Abu Garda and for Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus for war crimes.. None of the outstanding arrest warrants have been executed, and the Sudanese government has openly defied and consistently refused to cooperate with the Court and the international community, a finding of which was made by the Pre-trial Chamber by way of judicial decision and forwarded to the UN Security Council for their attention."

II. "ICC Prosecutor Presents New Case in Darfur," ICC-OTP press release, ICC-OTP-20111202-PR750, 2 December 2011, http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/D6519D05-76EC-4EFC-AE37-E02FBD346D7A.htm

"Today the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, requested Pre-Trial Chamber I to issue an arrest warrant against the current Sudanese Defense Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur from August 2003 to March 2004.

The evidence allowed the Office of the Prosecutor to conclude that Mr. Hussein is one of those who bears the greatest criminal responsibility for the same crimes and incidents presented in previous warrants of arrest for Ahmed Harun and Ali Kushayb issued by the Court on 27 April 2007. Mr. Hussein was then Minister for the Interior for the Government of Sudan and Special Representative of the President in Darfur, with all of the powers and responsibilities of the President. Mr. Hussein delegated some of his responsibilities to Mr. Harun, the Minister of State for the Interior, whom he appointed to head the "Darfur Security Desk."

The crimes were perpetrated during attacks upon the towns and villages of Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar and Arawala in the Wadi Salih and Mukjar Localities of West Darfur. The attacks followed a common pattern: the Government of Sudan forces surrounded the villages, the Air Force dropped bombs indiscriminately and foot soldiers, including Militia/Janjaweed, killed, raped and looted the entire village, forcing the displacement of 4 million inhabitants. Currently, 2.5 million remain in camps for Internally Displaced Persons.

In the "Prosecution v. Harun & Kushayb" case, Pre-Trial Chamber I ruled that Local Security Committees coordinated these attacks. They were supervised by State Security Committees which reported to Mr. Harun, who in turn, according to the evidence, reported to Mr. Hussein. "The evidence shows that this was a state policy supervised by Mr. Hussein to ensure the coordination of attacks against civilians", said Moreno-Ocampo.

"Moreover, the evidence shows that directly and through Mr. Harun, Mr. Hussein played a central role in coordinating the crimes, including in recruiting, mobilizing, funding, arming, training and the deployment of the Militia/Janjaweed as part of the Government of the Sudan forces, with the knowledge that these forces would commit the crimes," said the Prosecutor.

The Prosecutor considered that Mr. Hussein should be arrested in order to prevent him from continuing with the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.

After careful consideration, the Office of the Prosecutor has decided to publicly seek a warrant against Mr. Hussein to encourage further public focus on Government of the Sudan policy and actions, and promote cooperation in taking action to arrest Mr. Hussein and the 3 other individuals subject to ICC warrants, as established by UN Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005).

The Prosecutor emphasized that Mr. Hussein is presumed innocent and will be given full rights and the opportunity to defend himself. Pre-Trial Chamber I will review the evidence and make a decision on the Prosecution's request.

This is the fourth case of the International Criminal Court in Darfur. To date, ICC judges have issued arrest warrants against Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb - for crimes against humanity and war crimes; warrants of arrest against Omar Al-Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes; and summonses to appear for rebel leaders Abdallah Banda, Saleh Jerbo and Abu Garda for war crimes.

The Prosecutor will brief the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Darfur on 15 December 2011 at UN Headquarters.

For more information:

Florence Olara
OTP Public Information Officer
+31 70 515 8723 (office)
+31 65 029 4476 (cell)"

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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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