SUDAN WATCH

Thursday, April 27, 2023

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

Sudan: Renewed air strikes in Khartoum. SAF & RSF fighting in Darfur. Killings, lootings, arson in Geneina

Report from TheAfricaReport.com

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Dated Thursday, 27 April 2023 12:13

END OF TRUCE

Sudan: Renewed air strikes in Khartoum, violence in Darfur

In this image grab taken from handout video footage released by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 23, 2023, fighters ride in the back of a technical vehicle (pickup truck mounted with a turret) in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum. (Photo by - / Rapid Support Forces (RSF) / AFP)

The Sudanese army pounded paramilitaries in the capital Khartoum with air strikes Thursday while deadly fighting flared in Darfur as the conflict entered a 13th day despite a US-brokered ceasefire.

Late Wednesday, the army said it had agreed to talks in Juba, capital of neighbouring South Sudan, on extending the three-day truce which expires on Friday “at the initiative of IGAD”, the East African regional bloc.

There have been multiple truce efforts since fighting broke out on 15 April between Sudan’s regular army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his deputy turned rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo ‘Hemeti’. All have failed.

The fighting has continued depite the US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on Tuesday, with warplanes patrolling the skies over the capital’s northern suburbs as fighters on the ground have exchanged artillery and heavy machine gun fire, witnesses said.

Burhan agreed on Wednesday to the IGAD proposal for talks on extending the truce by a further 72 hours, the army added.

The RSF’s response to the proposal remains unclear.

At least 512 people have been killed and 4,193 wounded in the fighting, according to health ministry figures, although the real death toll is likely to be much higher.

Violence beyond Khartoum

Beyond the capital, fighting has flared in the provinces, particularly in the war-torn western region of Darfur.

Clashes between the army and the RSF raged for a second straight day in the West Darfur capital Geneina, witnesses said, adding that civilians were seen fleeing to the nearby border with Chad.

An estimated 50,000 acutely malnourished children have had nutrition support disrupted due to the fighting.

On Wednesday, the United Nations humanitarian agency had reported killings, looting and arson in Geneina.

“An estimated 50,000 acutely malnourished children have had nutrition support disrupted due to the fighting,” it added in a statement.

The heavy fighting has trapped many civilians in their homes, where they have endured severe shortages of food, water and electricity. Communications have been sporadically disrupted.

The UN has warned that as many as 270,000 people could flee into Sudan’s poorer neighbours South Sudan and Chad.

Other Sudanese have sought refuge in Egypt to the north and Ethiopia to the east, but both entail long and potentially dangerous journeys overland.

The UN said it had “received reports of tens of thousands of people arriving in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan”.

Cambridge University academic Sharath Srinivasan warned that the mass movement of people across Sudan’s borders threatened to destabilise already fragile regimes in neighbouring countries.

“If the armed confrontation between these two forces protracts — or worse, if it draws in other armed rebel groups across the country — this could quickly become one of the worst humanitarian crises in the region and risk spilling over,” he told US news outlet Politico.

Foreign governments have taken advantage of the fragile truce to organise road convoys, aircraft and ships to get thousands of their citizens out but some have warned their evacuation efforts are dependent on the lull in fighting holding.

China deployed warships on Thursday to evacuate its citizens, the defence ministry said.

War crimes suspect escapes

As lawlessness has gripped Sudan, there have been several jailbreaks, including from the high security Kober prison where top aides of ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir were held.

Among those who have escaped is Ahmed Haroun, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Darfur conflict that erupted two decades ago.

Haroun’s escape sparked fears of the involvement of Bashir loyalists in the ongoing fighting.

The army said the ousted dictator was not among those who escaped but had been moved to a military hospital before the fighting erupted.

Hemeti’s RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia, accused of carrying out atrocities against civilians during Bashir’s brutal suppression of ethnic minority rebels in Darfur in the mid-2000s.

Bashir was toppled by the military in a palace coup in April 2019 following civilian mass protests that raised hopes for a transition to democracy.

The two generals had together seized power in a 2021 coup, but later fell out, most recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.

View original: https://www.theafricareport.com/304231/sudan-renewed-air-strikes-in-khartoum-violence-in-darfur/

[Ends]

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Sudan Watch UPDATE Thu 27 Apr 2023 at 13:51 BST UK:

Report from BBC News Live Reporting

Dated Thu 27 Apr 2023; 12:46 BST UK - full copy

Air strikes reported in Khartoum

Sudan's military has been carrying out air strikes against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital Khartoum, despite a ceasefire being in force, the AFP news agency is reporting.

Warplanes have been seen over the city's northern suburbs, while fighters on the ground have been exchanging artillery and heavy machine-gun fire, it quotes witnesses as saying.

Meanwhile, Sudan News has tweeted that three civilians were injured when a projectile hit a residential block in Khartoum.

It did not say who was behind the attack.

View original here.

[Ends]

British Royal Navy frigate arrives at Port Sudan

Report from BBC News Live Reporting

By Olga Robinson, BBC Verify

Dated Thursday 27 April 2023 12:03 BST UK

Royal Navy frigate arrives at Port Sudan

According to Vessel Finder and Marine Traffic websites, HMS Lancaster has arrived at Port Sudan, where it is to take part in the evacuation of British nationals and residents.

BBC Verify will continue tracking the movements of the Royal Navy frigate and report on any updates here.

Image credit: PA. View original report here.

[Ends]

China deploys navy to evacuate citizens from Sudan

AID agencies calling for urgent humanitarian assistance for the refugees.

Many have been displaced not just by the fighting but by shortages of water, food and other vital supplies in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and the near collapse of the city's health system.

Report from BBC News Live Reporting

By Cat Wiener

BBC World Service Newsroom

Dated Thursday 27 April 2023; 9:50 am BST UK

China deploys navy to evacuate citizens from Sudan

China, one of Sudan's largest trading partners, has deployed naval vessels to evacuate more of its citizens.

Its foreign ministry said it expected to transfer some 800 people before the ceasefire is due to end tonight.

Rescue operations by a number of countries have intensified since the truce began on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese nationals are also fleeing the violence and insecurity in their country.

The majority have taken refuge in the neighbouring states of South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, Egypt and Djibouti.

Aid agencies are calling for urgent humanitarian assistance for the refugees.

Many have been displaced not just by the fighting but by shortages of water, food and other vital supplies in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and the near collapse of the city's health system.

View original here.

Sudan crisis: War crimes suspect free amid chaos

Report from BBC News

By JAMES GREGORY & JAMES COPNALL

Wednesday 26 April 2023 c.11:50 am BST UK

Sudan crisis: War crimes suspect free amid chaos

IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES

Image caption, Haroun (left) in 2010 when he was governor of the South Kordofan region

A former Sudanese politician wanted for alleged crimes against humanity has said that he and other former officials are no longer in jail - following reports of a break-out.

Ahmed Haroun was among those being held in Kober prison in the capital Khartoum who are facing charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

A ceasefire between fighting military factions largely appears to be holding.

But there are doubts about both sides' commitment to a lasting peace.

The conflict - which began on 15 April - arose from a bitter power struggle between the leaders of Sudan's regular army and a rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Reports emerged this week of a prison break at Kober - where Ahmed Haroun was serving a sentence alongside Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's former president.

On Tuesday, Haroun confirmed in a statement aired on Sudan's Tayba TV that he and other Bashir loyalists who served under him had left the jail - but said he would be ready to appear before the judiciary whenever it was functioning.

In an audio message circulating on social media, Haroun claimed the group had been aided in their escape by prison guards and the armed forces.

"We made a decision to protect ourselves due to lack of security, water, food and treatment, as well as the death of many prisoners in Kober," Haroun told al-Sudani, a daily newspaper with ties to Bashir.

Haroun was a key player in the Sudanese government's brutal response to two long-running and still unresolved civil wars - in Darfur (from 2003) and South Kordofan (from 2011).

He was indicted by the ICC in 2007 for his alleged role in the atrocities in Darfur - described as the first genocide of the 21st Century - when he was the country's interior minister.

He faces 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 22 counts of war crimes, with charges including murder, rape, persecution and torture. He denies the charges.

Mukesh Kapila, a former UN coordinator for Sudan, described Haroun as "extremely dangerous" and "unreliable", adding he had "many followers who have been lurking for the last two decades".

"This, plus other armed groups now coming out of the woodwork, really changes the dynamics in ways that are difficult to predict at the moment - but it's really bad news," he told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme.

Haroun was arrested in 2019, after veteran leader Bashir was ousted by the military amid mass protests. The country has experienced frequent unrest and several other coup attempts since then.

Bashir - who is 79 - had been serving a jail sentence for corruption. He is at a military hospital in police custody - having been moved there before the latest hostilities broke out, according to Sudan's army.

He is also accused by the ICC of leading a campaign of mass killing and rape in Sudan's Darfur region, which he denies.

Sudan's interior ministry has accused the RSF of breaking into five prisons in the past few days - including Kober, which Bashir had already left.

Police said the raid led to the killing of two prison warders, and that the RSF released all who where being held there.

The RSF has denied the allegations, claiming instead that the military "forcibly evacuated" the facility as part of a plan to restore Bashir to power.

An army spokesman denied any army involvement, saying the military "does not have any supervision over prisons". He said the military was coordinating with police to return inmates to prisons.

But plenty of Sudanese will believe this is just the latest example of Gen Burhan, leader of Sudan's armed forces, trying to restore Bashir's Islamist lieutenants to the forefront of Sudanese politics.

The ceasefire in Sudan has allowed several countries to evacuate their nationals from the country. Several evacuation flights carrying UK nationals from Sudan have landed in Cyprus, while a boat evacuating more than 1,600 people from dozens of countries has now arrived in Saudi Arabia.

Both Germany and France say all their citizens have now left the country.

IMAGE SOURCE, AFP

Image caption, Hundreds of people evacuated from Sudan have arrived in Saudi Arabia by boat

Volker Perthes, who is the UN special envoy to Sudan and is currently in the country, said on Tuesday that the 72-hour pause in fighting still appeared to be holding together.

But gunfire and explosions continued to be reported in Khartoum and the nearby city of Omdurman.

"There is yet no unequivocal sign that either [side] is ready to seriously negotiate, suggesting that both think that securing a military victory over the other is possible," said Mr Perthes.

Mr Perthes said that many homes, hospitals and other public facilities have been damaged or destroyed in residential areas near the army headquarters and airport in the capital Khartoum.

The ceasefire, which began at midnight local time (22:00 GMT) on Monday, is the latest attempt to bring stability to the country after fighting broke out nearly two weeks ago.

The White House said on Wednesday the ceasefire should be extended to address the humanitarian crisis, news agency Reuters reported.

National security spokesman John Kirby also confirmed a second American had died in Sudan on Tuesday.

At least 459 people have died in this conflict so far, though the actual number is thought to be much higher.

Thousands more are reported to have fled Sudan and the UN has warned that this is likely to continue. Lines of buses and other vehicles are continuing to leave Khartoum despite rocketing prices of fuel and bus tickets.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it expects there to be "many more" deaths due to outbreaks and a lack of services.

More than 60% of health facilities in Khartoum are closed, it said.

There is also concern for those who are left behind, with an estimated 24,000 pregnant women currently in Khartoum who are expected to give birth in the coming weeks.

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65394913

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Wagner was requested by Sudan's Bashir. Counter-terrorism is Wagner’s primary African focus

Report from defenceWeb.co.za

Dated Tuesday 25 April 2023

Exclusive: Wagner founder Prigozhin says counter-terrorism is company’s primary African focus

Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Founder of Russian private military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has defended his company’s activities in Africa, saying that his involvement on the continent is mainly to defeat terrorism and help countries liberate their territories from insurgents.

defenceWeb was granted an exclusive interview with Prigozhin in Moscow, where he elaborated on a number of topics. Prigozhin emphasised that Wagner is not funded by the Russian government and that all funds for its operations come solely from Prigozhin’s business dealings. He went on to add that Wagner only works for legitimate governments and isn’t involved in any coup plots, nor in assisting terrorists gaining a foothold in any country. The only conflict that Wagner has engaged in which wasn’t on the side of a sitting government has been in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass where Wagner assisted militias in Donetsk and Luhansk between 2014 and 2015. Wagner is also currently spearheading attempts to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. According to Prigozhin, Wagner is “always on the right side of justice” when deciding which contracts to accept and which to decline.

Elaborating on Wagner’s role in Africa, Prigozhin told defenceWeb that at first there was no focus on the continent, but Africa first came onto the radar when Wagner was fighting in Syria (Russia began supporting Syria’s Bashar al Assad in 2015) and demonstrating ‘extreme efficiency’ in destroying ISIS. With between 1 500 and 3 000 men, Wagner carried out tasks which were beyond the strength of the 200 000 Syrian Army troops plus thousands of allied troops, he said. After this put Wagner on the map, Prigozhin started receiving requests from the heads of several countries to help deal with terrorism.

These included President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic (CAR), President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, and many others. Prigozhin explained that as these countries did not have the financial resources to mount effective counter-insurgency campaigns, they offered to pay in minerals. However, Prigozhin said that in many cases these resources were exaggerated – for example, Central African Republic diamonds are not very lucrative due to high input costs, but “if you pledge don’t hedge; and if you give your word, you must keep it!” He explained that between 2016 and 2019, for example, profits from some business operations in the Central African Republic were absolutely zero.

Wagner activity in the CAR picked up in December 2020 when rebels attacked and captured the CAR’s fourth-largest city, Bambari. Touadera asked Russia and Rwanda to help protect the country as rebels were trying to march towards the capital Bangui and if they were not stopped, they would have slaughtered a thousand men and literally cut off their heads and ripped out beating hearts, ‘to feast on’. Instead, Prigozhin explains, 200 Wagner instructors managed to hold back the onslaught on Berengo near the capital. After Touadera called for help, Wagner sent an aircraft to Bangui every two hours with armed men who’d land and go straight into the jungle. All these costs were borne by Prigozhin, he said, as no one helped him and he funded the whole operation himself.

Prigozhin believes that if he didn’t assist Touadera, he would have been rounded up with a couple of hundreds of supporters and died with them. “I could not be idle when asked for help. He [Touadera] is just a good man who didn’t run away to a neighbouring state but was prepared to die, rather than let the bandits enter the capital,” Prigozhin told defenceWeb through a translator.

He related how, when the first Wagner aircraft landed and rebels were halted a few kilometres from Bangui, Touadera – “unlike many clowns who do nothing but wear leopard robes” – put on his flak jacket and went straight into the jungle to show government soldiers that he’s no coward. “That is what I believe every president of every country at war should do – he must wear a bullet-proof vest and get into the thick of it – because it is better to die a hero, than to live as a coward! I ended up in Africa because I could not, in times of conflict, abandon the people I had promised to help,” Prigozhin said.

Although Wagner does not need to be involved in Africa, “I am certainly involved on the continent,” Prigozhin stated. “We are in Africa to protect those who ask us for help. To protect African civilians, to protect their national interests from terrorists and bandits, some of whom are not even of African origin at all. This is done solely from the funds that I earn as a businessman.”

Wagner has been accused of causing civilian deaths, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) saying Russian mercenaries committed serious abuses, both in the CAR and Mali, including torture and killings, but according to Prigozhin the stories about the genocide of civilians are “one hundred percent fake. This is being done by the French and the Americans, who are failing to destroy militants and terrorists globally, because they are lazy and quite frankly, useless. They’re used to sitting in their bases, just guarding themselves while we are actually patrolling the jungle destroying terrorists. Local authorities have carried out investigations which have debunked the hoaxes that have been made about alleged violence against civilians.” Prigozhin was adamant that not a single unarmed person has ever been killed by Wagner in the company’s entire history.

Not an arm of the Kremlin

Wagner has often been said to be a de facto unit of the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) or Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU. Prigozhin refuted these allegations, saying he has nothing to do with the GRU, the Russian Ministry of Defence, nor the Kremlin. “Moreover, I will tell you that the stories about my acquaintance with President Putin are very, very exaggerated. Certainly, I have communicated with him, but the rumours of our acquaintance are only that – rumours.”

Prigozhin said he first met Putin only when he was President, although he most likely visited Prigozhin’s restaurants in St Petersburg when Putin was the deputy mayor and at the time “I had no interest in talking to him.” Prigozhin is not in Putin’s inner circle, he said, and “I do not have the opportunity to visit him whenever I want to, or call him.”

As far as the Russian Ministry of Defence is concerned, Prigozhin said Wagner in fact has a stormy relationship with this government department, as “I have always criticised them and I will continue to criticise them. I am in favour of the Russian army being super-efficient. While there are certainly times when you have to put someone on the spot or use someone else’s help, these are extremely rare cases. I can tell you with certainty that when I was training the army in Sudan, fighting in Mozambique or in Central Africa, I did not inform anyone.”

“It’s no secret that a huge number of countries turn to us, as our high efficiency is visible to all. Indeed, Wagner is not engaged in protection, it is engaged in the liberation of states, combating terrorists and invaders. That is why there are so many requests, including from leading countries. Wagner is however an effective, potent weapon.

“Of course, we must consider the interests of Russia in our cooperation with other countries. We are, after all, patriots of our country. Unfortunately, within Russia itself many decision-makers don’t give a damn about patriotism and guarding our national interests, but that is a whole different story,” Prigozhin concluded.