Darfur and the ICC
For background on Darfur, see links at previous post.
Over the weekend, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno Ocampo, warned the Sudanese government they will start looking into issuing warrants against up to five more Sudanese officials if the two currently wanted suspects are not arrested by June 5th. The ICC issued warrants for Ahmed Haroun and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman (also know as Ali Kushayb) about a year ago. They have been charged of 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, suspected of organizing and inciting murder, rape, and torture, as well as the forced displacement of villagers in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The Sudanese regime has been completely disregarding the requests of the court and has done nothing but to irk the international community by persisting to prolong impunity. Since the release of the warrants, the government commissioned Ahmed Haroun, former interior minister of humanitarian affairs, to co-chair a committee to hear complaints from Darfurian victims of human rights abuses. Meanwhile, Ali Kushayb, after being allegedly charged for committing human rights violations as a Janjaweed leader, was released from prison after the ICC warrant was issued.
The negligence of the Sudanese government to follow ICC requests has spurred some noteworthy activism (Washington Post op-ed by Angelina Jolie). By using Google Earth and Facebook, activist networks are trying to have people all over the world try and track the two fugitives so they can be arrested.
Sudanese officials continue to claim that they have no responsibilities to turn the suspects over, as the government of Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC.
The US and the ICC
On a tangential note, a senior US official said on April 26th that the United States now "accepts the reality" of the International Criminal Court. The US has yet to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC as well, raising eyebrows from the 100+ countries around the world that have. The state department's chief lawyer John Bellinger said: "The U.S. must acknowledge that the ICC enjoys a large body of international support, and that many countries will look to the ICC as the preferred mechanism."
Presidential candidates diverge on where they stand on this issue but their perspectives may change. Taken from a Wall Street Journal report:
"All three senators running for president -- Republican John McCain and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- have voiced reservations about the court, but said they would consider closer cooperation with it.
In 2002, both Arizona Sen. McCain and New York Sen. Clinton voted for the anti-court legislation. But Sen. McCain said in 2005 that "I want us in the ICC, but I'm not satisfied that there are enough safeguards," Reuters reported.
This year, Sen. Clinton said she would "reassess how we can best engage with this institution and hold the worst abusers of human rights to account," in a candidate questionnaire from the American Society of International Law.
Illinois Sen. Obama said much the same, adding, "I will consult thoroughly with our military commanders and also examine the track record of the court before reaching a decision on whether the United States should" join.
The Darfur investigation "is likely to do more than any other factor...to shape U.S. perceptions of the role and impact of the ICC," Mr. Bellinger said Friday. "We want to see the ICC's Darfur work succeed," and are "prepared to consider" providing assistance, he said."
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