UK is sending Darfur Sudan war crimes evidence to UN Security Council, UN Human Rights Council & ICC

UK is penholder on Sudan file at UN Security Council. The ICC launched a new investigation into alleged war crimes in Sudan in July with ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan saying “we are in the midst of a human catastrophe”.

Read more in a report at the Guardian

By Patrick Wintour Diplomatic Editor
Dated Tue 22 Aug 2023 17.25 BST; Last modified 17.59 BST - full copy:

War crimes being committed in Darfur, says UK minister Andrew Mitchell

Africa minister says civilian death toll horrific and UK is to send evidence to UN

Sudanese people fleeing the conflict in Darfur cross the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

War crimes and atrocities against civilians are being committed in Darfur, western Sudan, the UK’s Africa minister Andrew Mitchell said on Tuesday, becoming one of the first western officials to identify that the fighting in Sudan has developed into more than a power struggle between two rival factions.

Mitchell said there was growing evidence of serious atrocities being committed, describing the civilian death toll as horrific in a statement released by the Foreign Office. “Reports of deliberate targeting and mass displacement of the Masalit community in Darfur are particularly shocking and abhorrent. Intentional directing of attacks at the civilian population is a war crime.”

He added the UK would do all it could to assemble credible evidence to present to the UN security council, the UN Human Rights Council and the international criminal court.

There had been an expectation that the US would have explicitly joined the UK in making a formal atrocity determination, but so far the State Department has held off, partly because the US does not want to jeopardise talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, designed to end the civil war between Sudanese Armed Forces and the independent Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Observers claim the larger power struggle that broke out in April, with fighting in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, has provided cover for RSF allied forces to undertake ethnic cleansing in west Darfur, reviving memories of the genocide committed in Darfur 20 years ago.

The attacks on the Masalit and other ethnic communities are led by the Janjaweed militias allied with the RSF. The RSF is commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

More than 300,000 Sudanese nationals have crossed the border into neighbouring Chad since the conflict broke out, according to the UN’s migratory agency.

Africa minister Andrew Mitchell is one of the first western officials to identify that the fighting in Sudan is more than a struggle between two factions. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Kate Ferguson, co-executive director of the human rights NGO Protection Approaches, welcomed Mitchell’s statement saying: “He is absolutely right to condemn not only the armed conflict between the SAF and RSF which is devastating Sudan but also to highlight the deliberate targeting and mass displacement of non-Arab communities in Darfur.

“These two related but distinct trajectories of violence require related but distinct solutions; this reality must be a cornerstone for the UK government and the entire international system in the pursuit of peace in Sudan.

The Saudi peace talks rely on progress being made between different bad faith actors over which Riyadh seems to have little leverage. Others say the true external players in Sudan are Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which are closely linked to the SAF and RSF respectively.

The ICC launched a new investigation into alleged war crimes in Sudan in July with ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan saying “we are in the midst of a human catastrophe”.

The UK has imposed sanctions on businesses linked to the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces in an effort to register its disapproval.

View original: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/22/war-crimes-being-committed-in-darfur-says-uk-minister-andrew-mitchell

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ICC is investigating new war crimes Darfur, Sudan

The International Criminal Court prosecutor says he is investigating alleged new war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s western Darfur region during the current conflict that has killed and displaced thousands.

Read more in a report at The Independent

Via AP news wire

Published Thursday 13 July 2023 - here is the rest of the copy:

ICC prosecutor says he is investigating alleged new war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region

The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Thursday he is investigating alleged new war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's western Darfur region during the current conflict that has killed and displaced thousands.

Karim Khan told the U.N. Security Council that fighting between government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Security Forces has spilled into Darfur where war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed back in 2003. He said the country is now “in peril of allowing history to repeat itself,” Khan said.

In 2005, the Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC and Khan said the court’ still has a mandate under that measure to investigate crimes. He said people in the vast region are living in fear of their lives, in the middle of conflict and with their homes burning.

View original:  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/darfur-ap-sudan-united-nations-icc-b2374974.html

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Further reading

Report at The Telegraph

By EDITH M. LEDERER

Associated Press

Published Thursday 13 July 2023; Updated 4:27 p.m. - here is a full copy:

ICC prosecutor says he is investigating alleged new war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region

Karim Khan, Prosecutor of International Criminal Court, addresses a Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan, Thursday, July 13, 2023, at United Nations headquarters.Mary Altaffer/AP

Sudanese Ambassador to the United Nations Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed, third from right bottom, listens as Karim Khan, third from right top, Prosecutor of International Criminal Court, addresses a Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan, Thursday, July 13, 2023, at United Nations headquarters.Mary Altaffer/AP

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said Thursday he is investigating alleged new war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s Darfur region during the country's current conflict that has killed more than 3,000 people and forced over 3 million to flee their homes.

Karim Khan told the U.N. Security Council that fighting between government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Security Forces has spilled into Darfur which was wracked by bloodshed and atrocities in 2003. He said the world, the country and the council are “in peril of allowing history to repeat itself.”

In 2005, the Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC, and Khan said the court still has a mandate under that resolution to investigate crimes in the vast western region.

Darfur has been one of the epicenters of the current conflict that began on April 15, turning into an arena of ethnic violence with the paramilitary troops and allied Arab militias attacking African ethnic groups. Earlier Thursday, the U.N. human rights office said at least 87 bodies – some of them from the ethnic African Masalit tribe – were uncovered in a mass grave in West Darfur, and cited “credible information” that they were killed by Rapid Support Force fighters and an allied militia.

“We are investigating those allegations,” Khan told the council. “We are by any analysis not on the precipice of a human catastrophe but in the very midst of one.”

“There are women and children, boys and girls, old and young, in fear of their lives, living with uncertainty in the midst of conflict, and as their homes are burnt. Many as we speak will not know what the night will bring and what fate awaits them tomorrow,” the prosecutor said.

Khan said the ICC is also looking to investigate many other allegations in West Darfur including looting, extrajudicial killings and the burning of homes, as well as allegations in North Darfur.

He said anybody inside or outside Sudan who aids or abets crimes in Darfur will be investigated. 

And he said he instructed his office to give priority to crimes against children and sexual- and gender-based violence.

“We must act urgently, collectively, to protect the most vulnerable if this oft-repeated phrase of `never again' is to mean anything,” Khan said.

The vast Darfur region was engulfed in bloodshed in 2003 when rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of discrimination and neglect.

The government, under then President Omar al-Bashir, responded with a scorched-earth assault of aerial bombings and unleashed local nomadic Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, who are accused of mass killings and rapes. Up to [SW Ed: allegedly] 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes.

In April, the first ICC trial to deal with atrocities by Sudanese government-backed forces in Darfur began in The Hague, Netherlands. The defendant, Janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, pleaded innocent to all 31 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Khan told the council the prosecution has closed its case and the trial is expected to continue, notwithstanding the ongoing conflict.

He quoted one unnamed witness who told the court that after 20 years: “We want justice. We want that all those who turned our lives into humiliation and suffering and exhaustion to be held accountable ... We want peace. We want to return to our homeland.”

Al-Bashir also faces ICC charges of genocide and crimes against humanity related to the Darfur conflict. He had been in prison in Khartoum since he was ousted from power in 2019 with two other sought by the ICC.

In a report to the council, Khan said his office understands that the three suspects were released from Kober prison in the capital Khartoum after fighting broke out in April. He said his office recently sent a letter to the government seeking confirmation of their current location.

Khan briefed the Security Council soon after leaders from Sudan’s seven neighboring countries met in Cairo on Thursday for the most high-profile peace talks since conflict erupted across the northeastern African country 90 days ago.

The 12 weeks of fighting have turned Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, into an urban battlefield.

The conflict forced more than 2.4 million people to flee their homes for safer areas inside the country, according to the International Organization for Migration. Around 738,000 others have crossed into neighboring countries, the agency said.

Written By

EDITH M. LEDERER

View original: https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/world/article/icc-prosecutor-says-he-is-investigating-alleged-18199528.php

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ICC Khan briefs UN Security Council on Darfur, Sudan

This ICC tweet says, Today: #ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC will brief the #UNSC on the Situation in #Darfur, Sudan. Tune in 15:00 NY Time / 21:00 The Hague Time @UNWebTV https://media.un.org/en/asset/k15/k15amh2bpl. Watch on Twitter.

📢 Today: #ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC will brief the #UNSC on the Situation in #Darfur, Sudan.

Tune in 💻🖥️📲
15:00 NY Time / 21:00 The Hague Time@UNWebTV https://t.co/Uja0lONm5m pic.twitter.com/Xw8KLD3EHK

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) July 13, 2023

Note from Sudan Watch Ed: @KarimKhanQC should read @KarimKhanKC (King's Counsel instead of Queen's Counsel) but an additional Twitter account would have to be created. The above tweet was posted at 11:00 AM on Thursday 13 July 2023. The time in the UK to watch the live stream* at UN Web TV https://media.un.org/en/asset/k15/k15amh2bpl is London (BST) 20:00 PM on Thursday 13 July. Not sure if it can be viewed at another time on catchup. *Description: Summary 1) Sudan and South Sudan - Security Council, 9375th meeting. 2) Non-proliferation/Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Security Council, 9376th meeting.

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ICC Khan met Sudan rep for briefing UNSC on Darfur

This ICC tweet says: #ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC met w/ H.E Mr. Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations. Key messages addressed ahead of briefing by Prosecutor Khan to #UN Security Council on the situation in #Darfur.

#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC met w/ H.E Mr. Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations.

Key messages addressed ahead of briefing by Prosecutor Khan to #UN Security Council on the situation in #Darfur. pic.twitter.com/z5RhkPIwBY

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) July 12, 2023

Note, the tweet was posted at 9:23 PM on Wednesday 12 July 2023.

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UN essential partner for ICC in delivering for victims

This ICC tweet says: Ahead of briefing to #UNSC on the situation in #Darfur, #ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC met w/@DicarloRosemary, @UNUnder-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. @UN an essential partner for the #ICC in delivering for victims of atrocity crimes globally.

Ahead of briefing to #UNSC on the situation in #Darfur, #ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC met w/ @DicarloRosemary, @UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.@UN an essential partner for the #ICC in delivering for victims of atrocity crimes globally. pic.twitter.com/Hw3WCVgNGS

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) July 12, 2023

Note, the tweet was posted at 8:59 PM on Wednesday 12 July 2023.

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We need more than words and laws - we need justice

"Our planet is in such pain and anguish and too many of us move as if it is of little consequence... We need more than words and laws - we need justice." 

-International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan QC

"Our planet is in such pain and anguish and too many of us move as if it is of little consequence... We need more than words and laws - we need justice." - @IntlCrimCourt Chief Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC during the 2023 Elie Wiesel Distinguished Lectureship in Human Rights pic.twitter.com/nUinHBKHCo

— Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (@TheRWCHR) May 5, 2023

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ICC issued arrest warrant for Lvova-Belova and Vladimir Putin for “unlawful transfer” of children

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: The following report states that "International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin on 17 March 2023 for allegedly committing the war crime of “unlawful deportation” and “unlawful transfer” of children from Ukraine to Russia". 

Also, "during the 5 April Arria-formula meeting, representatives of several Council members—including Albania, Malta, the UK, and the US—walked out of the conference room when the contentious briefers took the floor".

Report from What's In Blue 

Friday 28 April 2023 - excerpt:

Arria-Formula Meeting on Abduction and Deportation of Children During Armed Conflict

This morning (28 April), UN Security Council members will hold a meeting titled “Addressing the Abduction and Deportation of Children During Armed Conflict: Concrete Steps for Accountability and Prevention”. 

The meeting is being co-hosted by Albania, France, and the US, together with non-Council member Ukraine, and is being co-sponsored by over 42 member states.

Full story here.

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Eurojust works closely with Europol & Interpol to tackle human trafficking and crimes against children

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Good news. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has joined hands with EUROPOL. 

Note that EUROJUST works closely with EUROPOL and INTERPOL to tackle human trafficking and crimes against children. 

Let's hope the ICC receives verifiable evidence of the arming and training of children as soldiers to fight in Sudan and elsewhere. On its website the ICC states that it is a war crime to use children as child soldiers. 

This weblog Sudan Watch has a database containing thousands of reports of child soldiers used by Sudanese rebel groups and the LRA. Being a child soldier risks their health and life, ruins their brains, education and future.

If anyone in the media sees and collates verifiable news and/or photos of child soldiers in Sudan for submission to the ICC they'd be doing the ICC, Sudan, South Sudan, and all former and current child soldiers, a favour. 

Further reading

From the website of the International Criminal Court (ICC):

“Third, war crimes which are grave breaches of the Geneva conventions in the context of armed conflict and include, for instance, the use of child soldiers; the killing or torture of persons such as civilians or prisoners of war; intentionally directing attacks against hospitals, historic monuments, or buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes.”

View original: https://www.icc-cpi.int/about/how-the-court-works

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From the website of EUROPOL:

In general, Europol cooperates with states and other entities outside the EU based on operational agreements, strategic agreements and working arrangements.

The ICC is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression. 

Europol is the European Union’s Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation. It serves as the centre for law enforcement cooperation, analytical expertise and criminal intelligence in Europe.

On 25 April 2023, judge Piotr Hofmański, the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said:

“I look forward to the enhanced cooperation and interaction which will take place under this Working Arrangement. Europol’s expertise and specialist knowledge is world-leading and the ICC is fortunate to be able to benefit from it. I am confident that the strengthened relationship between the ICC and Europol can enhance the capacity of both our organisations to discharge their respective mandates aimed at ensuring that serious crimes do not go unpunished.”

View original: https://www.europol.europa.eu/partners-collaboration

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From the website of INTERPOL:

We support investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The issues

Crimes such as genocides, crimes against humanity and war crimes are of serious concern to the international community.

As well as the devastating effect on families concerned, these crimes have a lasting, destabilizing impact on the safety and security of communities, nations and regions for decades after they occur. 

Investigation and prosecution of these crimes are central to our common fight against impunity. […]

“INTERPOL, as a global player, can be a key partner in helping international tribunals and national authorities in having fugitives arrested. -Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor for the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals

View original: https://www.interpol.int/Crimes/War-crimes

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From the website of EUROJUST - excerpts: 

Since its establishment, Eurojust has played an active role in tackling crimes against children in close cooperation with agencies such as Europol and Interpol. By facilitating effective cross-border coordination and cooperation between States, the Agency helps national authorities to detect potential cross-border links between cases, improve the flow of information, and exchange relevant information with a view to identify and prosecute offenders.

Trafficking in human beings

Trafficking in human beings (THB) is a serious and fast-growing crime area that affects millions of innocent people around the world and involves the severe violation of fundamental human rights. Human traffickers control and exploit vulnerable victims and make use of threats, force, fraud, deception or abduction. Traffickers predominantly capitalise on sexual and labour exploitation, often targeting individuals with limited education or financial means.

The fight of the national authorities against THB can greatly benefit from the unique structure of Eurojust. Since each participating EU Member State has a National Member at Eurojust, the Agency is able to effectively coordinate parallel investigations in several countries where victims are recruited, exploited and transported through or moved.

View original: https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/crime-types-and-cases/crime-types/trafficking-human-beings

Crimes against children

Crimes against children include, inter alia, the sexual abuse of children, the trafficking of children and crimes concerning child abuse images on the Internet. Eurojust plays an active role in tackling this growing and particularly heinous form of crime, by enabling efficient cross-border coordination between different States. The Agency supports judicial authorities in detecting links with cases in other countries and facilitates cooperation among the respective authorities with a view to prevent further victimisation of children and to identify and prosecute offenders. A Contact Point for Child Protection is appointed by Eurojust to act as a focal point for its efforts in this field.

View original: https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/crime-types-and-cases/crime-types/crimes-against-children

Eurojust @Eurojust on Twitter https://twitter.com/Eurojust

European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation

The EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, giving hands-on support to prosecutors in the fight against serious cross-border crime

Eurojust • P.O. Box 16183
2500 BD The Hague • The Netherlands
+31 70 412 5000

Source: Website https://www.eurojust.europa.eu

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ICC and Europol join hands to work for accountability

#ICC Prosecutor #KarimAAKhanKC welcomes Working Arrangement signed today between @Europol and ICC that provides legal framework to deepen cooperation in common efforts towards accountability.🤝

Read more here: ⤵️https://t.co/utyBywBf5p pic.twitter.com/JGi3hMIHG3

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) April 25, 2023

FULL TEXT: Resolution 1593 (2005) adopted by the UN Security Council at its meeting on 31 March 2005

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Further to the ICC Prosecutor's two statements on Darfur, Sudan (see below) given to the UN Security Council at a meeting of the Council held in New York on Monday 17 January 2022, here below, for easy reference, is a copy of Resolution 1593 (2005) adopted by the Council at its meeting on 31 March 2005.

Links to a copy of the document in downloadable pdf format and available in several languages can be found at the end of this post. I have used yellow to highlight para 8 referenced in the Prosecutor's 34th report dated 17 January 2022 and in the Council's Resolution 1593 (2005).

Sudan Watch Wed 19 Jan 2022: 

Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC, to the United Nations Security Council on the Situation in Darfur, pursuant to Resolution 1593 (2005) https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2022/01/statement-of-icc-prosecutor-karim-aa.html

Sudan Watch Thu 20 Jan 2022: 

FULL TEXT: ICC 34th report pursuant to para 8 of UNSC resolution 1593 (2005), 17 January 2022 https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2022/01/full-text-icc-34th-report-pursuant-to.html

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United Nations

Security Council 

Distr.: General 31 March 2005

Resolution 1593 (2005)

Adopted by the Security Council at its 5158th meeting, on 31 March 2005

The Security Council,

Taking note of the report of the International Commission of Inquiry on violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur (S/2005/60),

Recalling article 16 of the Rome Statute under which no investigation or prosecution may be commenced or proceeded with by the International Criminal Court for a period of 12 months after a Security Council request to that effect,

Also recalling articles 75 and 79 of the Rome Statute and encouraging States to contribute to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims,

Taking note of the existence of agreements referred to in Article 98-2 of the Rome Statute,

Determining that the situation in Sudan continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
1. Decides to refer the situation in Darfur since 1 July 2002 to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court;

2. Decides that the Government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur, shall cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court and the Prosecutor pursuant to this resolution and, while recognizing that States not party to the Rome Statute have no obligation under the Statute, urges all States and concerned regional and other international organizations to cooperate fully;

3. Invites the Court and the African Union to discuss practical arrangements that will facilitate the work of the Prosecutor and of the Court, including the possibility of conducting proceedings in the region, which would contribute to regional efforts in the fight against impunity;

4. Also encourages the Court, as appropriate and in accordance with the Rome Statute, to support international cooperation with domestic efforts to promote the rule of law, protect human rights and combat impunity in Darfur;

5. Also emphasizes the need to promote healing and reconciliation and encourages in this respect the creation of institutions, involving all sectors of Sudanese society, such as truth and/or reconciliation commissions, in order to complement judicial processes and thereby reinforce the efforts to restore long- lasting peace, with African Union and international support as necessary;

6. Decides that nationals, current or former officials or personnel from a contributing State outside Sudan which is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of that contributing State for all alleged acts or omissions arising out of or related to operations in Sudan established or authorized by the Council or the African Union, unless such exclusive jurisdiction has been expressly waived by that contributing State;

7. Recognizes that none of the expenses incurred in connection with the referral including expenses related to investigations or prosecutions in connection with that referral, shall be borne by the United Nations and that such costs shall be borne by the parties to the Rome Statute and those States that wish to contribute voluntarily;

8. Invites the Prosecutor to address the Council within three months of the date of adoption of this resolution and every six months thereafter on actions taken pursuant to this resolution;

9. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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Source: United Nations.org

View the original document in downloadable pdf format here:

English

https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/292/73/PDF/N0529273.pdf

Arabic

https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/292/71/PDF/N0529271.pdf

中文

https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/292/72/PDF/N0529272.pdf

Francais

https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/292/74/PDF/N0529274.pdf

Русский

https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/292/75/PDF/N0529275.pdf

Espanol

https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/292/76/PDF/N0529276.pdf