ICC Calls For Arrest Warrant For Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir

Justice and Peace In The Sudan

In a welcome step, today the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur.

In a report released today, ENOUGH Executive Director John Norris, Co-Chair John Prendergast, and Research Associate David Sullivan argue that the call to arrest Bashir is not only based on sound evidence, but that it can be a step forward in the path to secure peace. “The status quo in Sudan is one of the deadliest in the world. Until there is a consequence for the commission of genocide, it will continue. This action introduces a cost, finally, into the equation,” says Prendergast. Using examples of past indictments of war criminals Slobodan Milosevic during the 1999 Kosovo conflict, and of Charles Taylor in 2003 in Liberia, the report argues that introducing accountability for crimes against humanity can break the cycle of impunity and improve prospects for peace in seemingly intractable conflicts. Norris notes “with more than 300,000 dead and millions displaced in Darfur, it is shocking that these charges are even remotely controversial. President Bashir has orchestrated the Darfur tragedy from day one, and any efforts to sweep his actions under the rug are both shameful and counterproductive.”

Read the report here.

-Enough Project

PZ says:
The call for an arrest warrant for President Omar Al-Bashir, is an immense victory. Your calls for action are making a difference that will set a precedent for other countries like Uganda and the Republic of Congo that are in similar situations. Thankyou for taking a stand.


Tremendous Thanks to Cooper for the intel.

Read More from Darfur: A Hell On Earth


Related Intel:

Sudanese President Accused of Genocide

Announcing the request, the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said that Mr. Bashir “masterminded and implemented” a plan to destroy the three main ethnic groups in Darfur, the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.
“His motives were largely political,” the prosecutor said. “His alibi was a ‘counterinsurgency. His intent was genocide.”
Mr. Moreno-Ocampo, of Argentina, charged that, having failed to defeat a rebellion, the Sudanese president turned against civilians. “Al-Bashir organized the destitution, insecurity and harassment of the survivors,” he said. “He did not need bullets. He used other weapons: rapes, hunger and fear. As efficient, but silent.”

Dirma, The Sudanese Thinker, writes of his misgivings in Sudan Not Afraid of the ICC

Read More

crossposted at UltravioletUnderground

G8 Warns Sudan Of More UN Action

Yes. This is what we've been waiting for. Enforce the laws. Give the ICC the teeth it needs to stop crimes against humanity and genocide in their tracks.

JAPAN: Group of Eight powers warned Friday they could take further action against Sudan at the UN Security Council unless it complies with demands to bring Darfur war crimes suspects to justice. Foreign ministers of the industrial powers called for an immediate ceasefire in the parched province, where the United Nations estimates that up to 300,000 people have died since the conflict broke out in 2003. Sudan has refused to comply with UN Security Council demands to hand over two suspects to the International Criminal Court who are accused of 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, torture and rape. "We call on all parties concerned to abide by their obligations under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions; we would otherwise support further appropriate action in the UN Security Council," a G8 statement said after two days of talks in Kyoto, Japan. "We urge the government of Sudan and all other parties to participate fully with the International Criminal Court in order to put an end to impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur," said the ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime and state-backed "Janjaweed militias, prompting a clampdown that the United States has branded as genocide.

-IndiaTimes