Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Study shows ICC to be European driven. Intra-Arab fighting has killed more people in Darfur, Sudan over last 3 years than any other source of violence

THE number of confirmed violent fatalities, according to UNAMID figures, in Darfur during June was 221. Of the 221 deaths, nearly 140 were due to inter-tribal fighting between the Rizeigat and Misseriya tribes. Further details below, followed by news from Sudan Radio Service (SRS) and The New York Times, plus news of a recent 345-page study by Dr David Hoile regarding The International Criminal Court (ICC) sub-titled 'Study shows the International Criminal Court to be European-driven, Africa-focused and irretrievably flawed'.

Lethal Violence in Darfur: June
From Alex de Waal's blog Making Sense of Sudan
By Alex de Waal - Tuesday, 13 July 2010:
The number of confirmed violent fatalities, according to UNAMID figures, in Darfur during June was 221. Though a marked decline on the nearly 600 deaths during May, this is still well above the average for the last two and a half years. The major cause of fatalities was intra-Arab fighting in West Darfur state, which accounted for 139 fatalities. Fifty two combatants were confirmed killed, 51 government soldiers and one from the rebel side, implying a probable undercount of rebel fatalities. Twenty civilians died in violence, in all instances classified by UNAMID as criminal attacks, as well as two tribesmen, two soldiers and three rebel fighters who were victims of crime. Three UNAMID personnel were killed.

These figures show that the intensity of fighting between JEM and the Government has subsided.

The data show that the epicenter of Arab-Arab fighting has shifted from South Darfur to West Darfur. Whereas the South Darfur violence was mostly among the Baggara, this violence is between Baggara and Abbala. It is interesting that although intra-Arab fighting has killed more people in Darfur over the last three years than any other source of violence, it is still below the international radar screen, and does not figure high on the agenda for the peace talks.
Over 200 deaths due to armed conflict in Darfur in June
From Sudan Tribune - Monday, 12 July 2010 - excerpt:
(KHARTOUM) - Over two hundred people were killed in Darfur in June as a result of armed conflict and criminality according to a report by the joint African Union / United Nations (UNAMID) peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Of the 221 deaths, nearly 140 were due to inter-tribal fighting between the Rizeigat and Misseriya tribes.

No fighting was reported after the two tribes signed a peace accord on 28 June.
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From SRS - Sudan Radio Service:

From The New York Times -

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From The Africa Research Centre
By Dr David Hoile - 31 May 2010
Study shows the International Criminal Court to be European-driven, Africa-focused and irretrievably flawed

A new 345-page study of the International Criminal Court, The International Criminal Court: Europe’s Guantánamo Bay?, published by the Africa Research Centre to coincide with the ICC’s first ever review conference (in Kampala, Uganda, 31 May - 8 June 2010), has found the ICC to be manifestly unfit for purpose. The study demonstrates that the ICC’s claims to international jurisdiction and judicial independence are institutionally flawed and that the Court’s approach has been marred by blatant double-standards and serious judicial irregularities. The Hague-based ICC is increasingly being seen as the European equivalent of the US tribunal at Guantánamo Bay, which similarly claims international jurisdiction.

While the ICC presents itself as an international court this is quite simply not the case. Its members represent just over one quarter of the world’s population: China, Russia, the United States, India, Pakistan and Indonesia are just some of the many countries that have remained outside of the Court’s jurisdiction.

The truth is also that the ICC is as independent as the United Nations Security Council and the Court’s European Union funding lets it be. Far from being an independent and impartial court, the ICC’s own statute grants special “prosecutorial” rights of referral and deferral to the Security Council, or more specifically its five permanent members. Political interference in the legal process was thus made part of the Court’s founding terms of reference.

The Court is also umbilically tied to the European Union which provides over 60 percent of its funding. The English expression, “He who pays the piper calls the tune”, could not be more accurate. The ICC has ignored all European or Western human rights abuses in conflicts such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq or human rights abuses by Western client states. Instead, the Europeans have chosen to focus the Court exclusively on Africa. Despite over 8,000 complaints about alleged crimes in at least 139 countries, the ICC has started investigations into just five countries, all of them African. Given Africa’s previous traumatic experience with the very same colonial powers that now in effect direct the ICC, this must create an alarming déjà vu for those who live on the continent. The EU is additionally guilty of economic blackmail in tying aid for developing countries to ICC membership.

The Court’s proceedings have often been questionable where not farcical. Its judges – some of whom have never been lawyers, let alone judges – are the result of vote-trading amongst member states. The Court has produced witnesses who recanted their testimony the moment they got into the witness box, admitting that they were coached by non-governmental organisations as to what false statements to make. There have been prosecutorial decisions which should have ended any fair trial because they compromised the integrity of any subsequent process. The ICC’s first trial stalled because of judicial decisions to add new charges half-way through proceedings. Simply put, the Court has been making things up as it goes along.

The ICC claims to be “economical”, yet it has cost half a billion Euros to put on one deeply flawed trial, which subsequently ground to a halt for months. The ICC claims to be victim-centred yet Human Rights Watch has publicly criticised the ICC’s ambivalence towards victim communities. The ICC claims to bring “swift justice” but it has taken several years to bring the first accused to trial for allegedly using child soldiers. The Nuremberg trials, which addressed infinitely more serious charges, were over within a year. The ICC claims to be fighting impunity, yet it has afforded de facto immunity and impunity to several serial abusers of human rights who happen to be friends of the European Union and United States.

The study’s author, Dr David Hoile, has noted:

“Africa fought long and hard for its independence. It must reject this new “legal” colonialism. The ICC’s double-standards and autistic legal blundering in Africa has derailed delicate peace processes – thereby prolonging devastating civil wars. There is a clear lesson for countries in Africa and elsewhere: do not join the ICC and do not refer your country to the ICC. It is the equivalent of inviting a cancer into your system. The ICC does not have Africa’s welfare at heart, only the furtherance of Western, and especially European, foreign policy and its own bureaucratic imperative – to exist, to employ more Europeans and North Americans and where possible to continue to increase its budget.”

About the Author Dr David Hoile is an African scholar and public affairs consultant specialising in African affairs. He is the author of Darfur: The Road to Peace (2008), Images of Sudan: Case Studies in Propaganda and Misinformation (2003), Farce Majeure: The Clinton Administration’s Sudan Policy 1993-2000 (2000), Mozambique, Resistance and Freedom: A Case for Reassessment (1994), and Mozambique: A Nation in Crisis (1989). He is also the editor of The Search for Peace in the Sudan: A Chronology of the Sudanese Peace Process 1989-2001 (2002). Dr Hoile has been a Research Professor at the Sudan University of Science and Technology and a Visiting Professor at the University of Khartoum.

The author can be contacted either by telephone on + 44 207 872 5434 or by email at drdavidhoile@yahoo.co.uk
FOR THE RECORD, here is a snapshot of Google's 3-page newsreel (in sequential order) as at 13 July 2010 c. 23:18 hrs GMT UK:

US urges Sudan cooperation on Bashir arrest warrant

Reuters Africa - ‎1 hour ago‎

ICC prosecutor lauds new charges against al-Bashir

The Associated Press - Jenny Barchfield - ‎1 hour ago‎

U.S. Holocaust Museum hails Al-Bashir genocide warrant

Ha'aretz - ‎2 hours ago‎

PROMISES, PROMISES: US fails to punish Sudan

The Associated Press - Desmond Butler - ‎2 hours ago‎

US urges Sudan cooperation on Bashir arrest warrant

Reuters Africa - ‎52 minutes ago‎

Sudan rejects Bashir genocide warrant

News24 - ‎11 hours ago‎

Sudan. Beshir now wanted for genocide

Ottawa Citizen - ‎14 hours ago‎

Q+A-Sudan's Bashir faces Darfur genocide charges

Reuters Africa - Andrew Heavens - ‎14 hours ago‎

U.S. Holocaust Museum hails Al-Bashir genocide warrant

Ha'aretz - ‎2 hours ago‎
By DPA

International Criminal Court charges Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir with genocide

Washington Post - Colum Lynch, Rebecca Hamilton - ‎20 hours ago‎

Former War Crimes Prosecutor Expects Enforcement of Sudan Arrest Warrants

Voice of America - Peter Clottey - ‎21 hours ago‎

ICC prosecutor lauds new charges against al-Bashir

The Associated Press - Jenny Barchfield - ‎1 hour ago‎

International Court Adds Genocide to Charges Against Sudan Leader

New York Times - Marlise Simons - ‎21 hours ago‎

International Criminal Court charges Sudan president with genocide

Times of India - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Omar al-Bashir

The Economist (blog) - ‎3 hours ago‎

Sudan leader charged with genocide

Financial Times - William Wallis - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

US says Sudan's president should go to Hague

AFP - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Hizbullah Declares Solidarity with Sudan

Naharnet - ‎1 hour ago‎

US Holocaust Museum praises genocide charges

Jewish Telegraphic Agency - ‎4 hours ago‎

ICC prosecutor: genocide charge to pressure Bashir

Reuters Africa - ‎5 hours ago‎

ICC puts Sudan peace talks in jeopardy

National - ‎1 hour ago‎

ICC Issues Second Arrest Warrant for Sudan's al-Bashir

Voice of America - Selah Hennessy - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

ICC Adds Genocide Charge Against Sudan's Al-Bashir

BusinessWeek - Maram Mazen, Antony Sguazzin - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

ICC prosecutor lauds new charges against al-Bashir

The Associated Press - ‎8 hours ago‎

US calls on Sudan to cooperate with international court

Monsters and Critics.com - ‎3 hours ago‎

CNN International - David McKenzie - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Genocide charge for Bashir

The Australian - ‎7 hours ago‎

Sudan president charged with genocide by international court

The Underground - ‎5 hours ago‎

ICC adds genocide to charges against Sudan's president

AFP - Mariette le Roux - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

International Criminal Court Indicts Sudan's Bashir For Genocide

AHN | All Headline News - ‎9 hours ago‎

Sudan: Darfur chants victory over Bashir genocide charges

Afrik-news - Konye Obaji - ‎12 hours ago‎

Sudan slams ICC over Bashir charges

Press TV - ‎13 hours ago‎

ICC issues a second arrest warrant against Sudan President

Alsumaria - ‎12 hours ago‎

Second arrest warrant against Sudan's el Bashir

Afrique en Ligue - ‎15 hours ago‎

Bashir charged as rebels hail Darfur victory

Independent Online - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

ICC judges endorse genocide charges against Sudanese president

Sudan Tribune - ‎18 hours ago‎

Rights groups hail Beshir genocide charge, urge arrest

Manila Bulletin - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

WORLD BRIEFS

Newsday (subscription) - ‎18 hours ago‎

Sudan's President Omar Al Bashir Charged With Genocide

IndyPosted - Rudi Stettner - ‎20 hours ago‎

UN chief "deeply concerned" with nature of ICC charges against Sudan's al-Bashir

People's Daily Online - ‎21 hours ago‎

ICC charges Sudan's Bashir of Genocide

TamilNet - ‎21 hours ago‎

Int'l Court charges Sudan president with genocide

KWCH - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Washington Urges Khartoum To Co-operate With ICC

RTT News - ‎35 minutes ago‎

Sudan: ICC Warrant for Al-Bashir on Genocide

Reuters AlertNet - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

ANCA Welcomes Charges of Genocide Against Sudan's President

Asbarez Armenian News - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎
AXcess News - Bob Turner - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

ICC Charges Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir With Genocide

RTT News - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

FACTBOX-Omar Bashir indicted for genocide

Reuters Africa - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

What Changes with the Bashir Genocide Warrant and What Stays the Same

UN Dispatch - ‎6 hours ago‎

ICC issues second arrest warrant for Sudanese President

Yemen News Agency - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Aljazeera.net - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Second arrest warrant issued against Sudanese president for genocide

Island Crisis (blog) - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

AU chief in high-level talks with el Bashir before arrest order

Afrique en Ligue - ‎15 hours ago‎

Sudanese president charged with genocide

Daily Caller - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Obama's 'peace partner' embraces author of Darfur genocide

American Thinker (blog) - Leo Rennert - ‎9 hours ago‎

Darfur Genocide Ruling Brings Old ICC Controversies Back Into the Spotlight

AOL News - ‎14 hours ago‎

Bashir should surrender voluntarily, say ICC judges

Afrique en Ligue - ‎15 hours ago‎

Omar el Bashir faces more charges

Primedia Broadcasting - Eyewitness News - Jean-Jacques Cornish - ‎12 hours ago‎

Rights groups hail al-Beshir genocide charge, urge arrest

Canada.com - ‎9 hours ago‎

Rights Groups Respond to new 'Genocide' Arrest Warrant for President Bashir

PR Web (press release) - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎
.
Kazakhstan News - ‎16 hours ago‎

Sudanese president calls for national unity

Yemen News Agency - ‎Jul 11, 2010‎

Omar Al-Bashir wanted for international justice once again

ecPulse - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Darfur genocide charges for Sudan's President

Independent - Mike Corder - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

ICC issues genocide warrant against Bashir

Radio Netherlands - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

ICC issues genocide arrest warrant against Omar Al-Bashir

Hague Justice Portal - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

ICC adds genocide to charges against Sudan's president

Inquirer.net - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Sudanese leader charged with genocide

Herald Sun - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Int'l Court charges Sudan president with genocide

The Associated Press - Mike Corder - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Darfur warrant for Sudan's Bashir: ICC adds genocide

BBC News - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎
The Guardian - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎
International court issues warrant for Sudan leader
Denver Post - ‎15 hours ago‎

The Net Closes on Sudan's Isolated Leader

The Epoch Times - Stephen Jones - ‎18 hours ago‎...

Washington Times - Ashish Kumar Sen - ‎20 hours ago‎

Sudan gov't rejects ICC decision to add genocide charge against Bashir

People's Daily Online - ‎21 hours ago‎

International Criminal Court charges Sudan's al-Bashir with genocide

World War 4 Report - ‎21 hours ago‎

ICC Charges Sudanese President with Genocide

Scoop.co.nz (press release) - ‎22 hours ago‎
ICC charges Sudan's al-Bashir with genocide
Monsters and Critics.com - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

ICC judges issue second warrant: Sudanese president wanted for genocide

Radio Dabanga - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎

Moose Jaw Times-Herald - ‎8 hours ago‎
ICC issues Arrest Warrant against Bashir for Genocide
Merinews - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎
ICC warrant for Bashir on genocide rap
Gulf Times - ‎Jul 12, 2010‎