Video: ICC prosecutor's briefing to UN Security Council eyes arrest warrants over Darfur, Sudan

THIS video shows the ICC chief prosecutor briefing the UN Security Council today (Mon Aug 5). It highlighted the significant effort in the past 6 months in engaging with affected communities, Arab community leaders, CSOs, relevant national authorities of Sudan and third States, and international and regional organisations. The video is followed by a related report below.

In #UNSC briefing, #ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC underlined that urgency of action in #Darfur investigation was reflected by:

➡️Collecting significant testimonial evidence
➡️Gaining access to Port Sudan
➡️Leveraging new tech tools to analyse video and other digital evidence. pic.twitter.com/ZQpq9BNqe7

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) August 5, 2024

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Related

Report from Channel News Asia online

Dated Tuesday, 06 August 2024 02:37AM. Full copy

ICC prosecutor eyes arrest warrants over Darfur

THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Monday (Aug 3) that he hopes to seek arrest warrants soon for some of those responsible for the "nightmare" experienced by the population of Darfur, a region of Sudan ravaged by war.

Presenting his half-yearly report to the UN Security Council, Karim Khan deplored a "further deterioration" of the situation and described "a terrible six months for the people of Darfur".

"Terror has become a common currency" endured by civilians, he said, citing "many credible reports of rapes, crimes against and affecting children, persecution on a mass scale inflicted against the most vulnerable".

Since April 2023, the war, which pits the RSF, led by former deputy commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, against the army headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has killed tens of thousands of people.

The United Nations says Sudan faces the world's largest internal displacement crisis, with more than 10 million forced to flee internally or abroad.

The ICC last year opened a new investigation for war crimes in the region, and Khan said it has made "significant progress".

"I hope by my next report, I will be able to announce applications for warrants of arrest regarding some of those individuals that are the most responsible," he said.

But he warned of a lack of international concern, saying the world is so "preoccupied with other epicentres of conflict, hot wars, in other parts of the world, that we've lost sight of the plight of the people of Darfur".

He added that a "climate of impunity that we see very tangibly on the ground in El-Genina, and increasingly in El-Fasher, is driven by a deep belief that all human life doesn't matter and that we're not watching".

[WATCH VIDEO*] War pushes Sudan towards 'catastrophic' famine-like conditions: UN [*Sudan Watch Ed: The latest conflict in Sudan began in April 2023 not April 2024. The guest speaker from New York is Clara Bracknell, Sub-Saharan Africa Analyst, RANE]

In El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, the United Nations estimates that between 10,000 and 15,000 lives have been lost.

Fighting in El-Fasher, the last city in Darfur outside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces' control, has killed hundreds.

The conflict has ravaged Sudan's infrastructure, put more than three-quarters of health facilities out of service and sparked warnings of famine.

Source: AFP/fs https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/icc-prosecutor-eyes-arrest-warrants-over-darfur-4528261

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ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan KC appeals for information on international crimes in Darfur, Sudan

THE International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Mr Karim Khan KC issued an urgent appeal today (Tuesday, 11 June 2024) in The Hague for information and evidence of atrocities in Darfur, Sudan, saying his ongoing investigation “seems to disclose an organised, systematic and a profound attack on human dignity.” Mr Khan called on international organisations, partners and national authorities to collect evidence and information and hand it over to him. View the appeal on video and two reports here below. 

Provide evidence and information to the ICC here: https://otplink.icc-cpi.int

Note, Subtitles for this video can be viewed in different languages: click on above video, click on wheel "Settings", click on "Subtitles", click on "Auto translate", scroll "list of languages", click on language, desired Subtitles will appear at bottom of video. Size of font for Subtitles can be adjusted: click on wheel "Settings", click on "Subtitles", click on "Options" in top right corner. Playback speed for audio and Subtitles can be adjusted: click on wheel "Settings", click on "Playback speed", select speed.

Also, follow along using a Transcript here: https://youtu.be/2D2DYptFW8st

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Report from The Washington Post

By MIKE CORDER, AP (The Associated Press)

Dated Tuesday, 11 June 2024 5:08 am EDT. Here is a full copy:

ICC prosecutor appeals for evidence of atrocities in Sudan after rebels attack hospital in Darfur

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor is appealing for information and evidence of atrocities in Sudan’s western Darfur region

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor appealed Tuesday for information and evidence of atrocities in Sudan, saying his ongoing investigation “seems to disclose an organized, systematic and a profound attack on human dignity.”

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan released a video statement in the aftermath of an attack Sunday by the notorious Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group that forced the closure of a main hospital in the western Darfur region. The group fired shots and looted the hospital in al-Fasher, aid group Doctors Without Borders reported.

The attack came as the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army for a year, intensified its offensive seeking to wrest control of the city, the military’s last stronghold in the sprawling Darfur region. Two weeks of fighting last month in and around al-Fasher has killed more than 120 people.

“The terrible events in West Darfur, including El-Geneina, in 2023 are among our key investigative priorities,” Khan said. “In addition, I am extremely concerned about allegations of widespread international crimes being committed in al-Fasher and its surrounding areas as I speak.”

A long-running conflict

Sudan’s conflict began in April last year when soaring tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF erupted into fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.

The war has killed more than 14,000 people and wounded thousands more, while pushing its population to the brink of famine. The U.N. food agency warned the warring parties last month that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don’t allow humanitarian aid into the region.

The war also created the world’s largest displacement crisis as more than 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including over 2 million people who crossed into neighboring countries, the U.N. migration agency told The Associated Press Monday.

Khan said he is urgently investigating in Sudan.

“The evidence my office has collected to date seems to show credible, repeated, expanding, continuous allegations of attacks against the civilian population, in particular, attacks directed against camps for internally displaced persons,” he said.

“It seems to show the widespread, prevalent use of rape and other forms of sexual violence. It seems to disclose consistently the shelling of civilian areas, the looting of properties and attacks against hospitals,” he added, stressing that he was “particularly concerned by the ethnically motivated nature of these attacks against the Masalit and other communities.”

The ICC already has an ongoing investigation in Sudan

The ICC has long been investigating atrocities in Sudan, dating back to a previous devastating conflict in Darfur. The court has issued arrest warrants for former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges including genocide allegedly committed in Darfur between 2003-2008.

The RSF was born out of Arab militias, commonly known as Janjaweed, mobilized by al-Bashir against non-Arab tribes in Darfur. At the time, they were accused of mass killings, rapes and other atrocities, and Darfur became synonymous with genocide.

Khan referred back to the previous conflict in his message Tuesday.

“It is an outrage that we are allowing history to repeat itself once again in Darfur,” he said. “We cannot and we must not allow Darfur to become the world’s forgotten atrocity, once again.”

Photo [not shown here] caption: FILE - Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe’s rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. The RSF, attacked the South Hospital in al-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur province on Sunday, June 9, 2024 opening fire on medical staff and patients, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

View original: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/11/sudan-icc-investigation-khan-rsf-darfur/2e3324a8-27d2-11ef-835a-2a6acac1f8a6_story.html

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Further Reading

From International Organisation for Migration (IOM) 11 June 2024:

DTM Sudan Mobility Update (02). IOM, Sudan

This report provides an overview of the total population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan, including those displaced both before and after the onset of conflict on 15 April 2023.  

See full report here: https://dtm.iom.int/reports/sudan-mobility-update-02

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UPDATE by Sudan Watch Editor 

On Wednesday, 12 June 2024 at 15:26 GMT:

The above video can be viewed at X in post by ICC 8:45AM June 11, 2024.

#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces campaign calling for information and cooperation in relation to allegations of international crimes being committed in #Darfur, Sudan, including in Al Fasher.

Info can be sent to #OTPLink:https://t.co/IYVUCvyWCA

Watch 👇 pic.twitter.com/H1sMPGB8jP

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) June 11, 2024

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FULL FILM: Praying for Armageddon. US foreign policy in Middle East is influenced by evangelicals

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This post, along with yesterday's at Sudan Watch, is the most important one since the site began 21 years ago.

In 2003, I used blogging technology to investigate the root causes of poverty and extreme poverty in Sudan and the reasons for genocide and man’s inhumanity to man. The two posts now answer those questions for me.

The magnitude of those posts cannot be fully appreciated unless the email and the letter of 24 April 2024 featured in yesterday's post are seen together with the documentary film Praying for Armageddon.

As most readers of Sudan Watch are located across the world, I doubt many can access BBC iPlayer where one has to sign in as a BBC Licence fee payer, I am grateful to Al Jazeera English for posting the full film (see below) in two parts (totalling 88 mins) to YouTube for free viewing and comments.

More on this later when I've been able to identify more pieces of the puzzle. Meanwhile, with respect to American evangelical fundamentalists and the US Government their praying for Armageddon started many years ago.

Poster: Courtesy UpNorth Film

"The poster is a literal presentation of what some of the Evangelical fundamentalists believe, that Jesus will return as a warrior with an AR-15. As they interpret the Armageddon prophecy literally they believe Jesus will come down from the heavens on a white horse. This symbolizes the beginning of Armageddon." -Tonje Hessen Schei, the director of the film

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OFFICIAL TRAILER: Praying for Armageddon 
A documentary film by UpNorth Film
Posted to YouTube by UpNorth Film 
Premiered on 15 March 2023 

Description of Official Trailer posted by UpNorth Film at its website:

The Countdown to Armageddon has begun. As biblical prophecy fuels political power, American Evangelicals threaten U.S. democracy and push for the Apocalypse in the Middle East. Praying for Armageddon uncovers how politicians driven by faith embrace Israel as the key to their prophetic vision for the end of days – at any cost – ultimately escalating the spirals of violence in the Middle East.

Director Tonje Hessen Schei; Co-Director and DOP Michael Rowley; Producer Christian Aune Falch; Producer Torstein Parelius; Producer Ingrid Aune Falch; Editor Torkel Gjørv; Composer Lukas Berkemar, Uno Helmersson; Co-Producer Ove Rishøj Jensen; Co-Producer Magnus Gertten; Co-Producer Hans Robert Eisenhauer; Co-Producer Kaarle Aho.

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Credits posted at YouTube by Al Jazeera English:

World premiere at CPH:DOX 2023 in competition for the F:ACT Award.

www.prayingforarmageddon.com

www.facebook.com/prayingforarmageddon

www.upnorthfilm.no

SUPPORTED BY CREATIVE MEDIA EUROPE

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/75ehG6utzBM

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FULL FILM: Praying for Armageddon (Part 1 of 2)

A documentary film by Tonje Hessen Schei UpNorth Film

Posted to YouTube by Al Jazeera English 1 month ago [April 2024] 

Description by Al Jazeera English posted beneath the film:

Why evangelicals influence US foreign policy in the Middle East | EP1 | Witness Documentary

The first episode of Praying for Armageddon goes inside the evangelical Christian movement to explore its influence on US democracy and foreign policy.

Preparing for the "end times", a grassroots pastor gathers an army of veterans in the heartland of the United States, and megachurch ministers provide spiritual advice to politicians in the nation’s capital.

They call for the "final battle" which they believe will trigger the second coming of Christ. Central to their apocalyptic prophecy is Israel. It is with their blessing that the Trump administration controversially recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moves the US embassy there in 2018.

“It feels like everyone has a say about the destiny and the future of Jerusalem except for the Palestinians living in it,” says Palestinian activist Fayrouz Sharqawi.

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/IhT7oyDlBIk

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FULL FILM: Praying for Armageddon (Part 2 of 2)

A documentary film by Tonje Hessen Schei UpNorth Film

Posted to YouTube by Al Jazeera English 21 March 2024

Description by Al Jazeera English posted beneath the film:

How evangelicals influence US foreign policy in the Middle East | EP2 | Witness Documentary

The second episode of Praying for Armageddon examines the dangerous consequences of the fusion between evangelical Christians and US politics.

It shows not only how the very fabric of US democracy is weakened but also highlights the devastating impact religion wields on US foreign policy.

Expressing concerns about the influence of evangelical Christians in the US military, retired US Army Colonel Larry Wilkerson who was a former adviser to General Colin Powell, says: “The most vivid danger in all of this, I think, is the special relationship with Israel… They are looking for the US relationship with Israel, ultimately to bring about Armageddon and the rapture and Christ’s thousand-year reign.”

As evangelicals fuel the volatile situation in the Middle East, Israel launches a devastating 11-day military offensive on Gaza in May 2021.

“The countdown to Armageddon has begun,” says Pastor Robert Jeffress.

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/_iQhbcOgfqw

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