OneWorld.net (U.S.)

OneWorld.net note: This Monday, the International Criminal Court charged Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with ten counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.: © openDemocracy (flickr)

• In March 2005, the UN Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Sudan is not party to the treaty that established the International Criminal Court and a Security Council resolution is therefore the only way for the ICC to legally investigate the Sudanese government's involvement in war crimes.
• This is the first time a sitting head of state has been charged with genocide. At least 200,000 civilians have died in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, with millions displaced from their homes, reports the Genocide Intervention Network, a global watchdog that monitors acts of genocide.
• Experts disagree as to whether the arrest warrant is a positive development toward ending human rights abuses in Sudan. Some human rights groups are applauding the move as a significant step forward for justice and peace in Sudan. Others experts claim that the indictment will make the Sudanese regime less likely to cooperate with international peacekeepers and more likely to prolong the conflict.

Sudan’s President Accused of Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes

From: Impunity Watch

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told a panel of three judges that Omar al-Hashir, the sitting president of Sudan, is responsible for alleged atrocities in Darfur over the last five years. The three-judge panel will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir.

Moreno-Ocampo submitted a report alleging al-Bashir is responsible for 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Moreno-Ocampo said that al-Bashir "masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups, on account of their ethnicity" and that pro-government militias attacked these groups on al-Bashir’s orders. Al-Bashir allegedly gave his subordinates impunity and it is alleged that these three ethnic groups were attacked in their villages and those who fled were pursued into the desert.

Moreono-Ocampo also said he has evidence to show that al-Bashir interfered with international relief efforts by ordering forces to surround aid workers. Moreno-Ocampo said that women were gang raped in camps for displaced people, sometimes young girls were gang raped in front of their parents and that he could not look away.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig told Reuters news agency that "We consider the indictment of either the president or any other normal citizen of Sudan the same - we don't recognise [sic] whatever comes out from the ICC, to us it is non-existent."

Sudan has said that Luis Moreno-Ocampo is a criminal and that the indictment may stall peace talks in Sudan.

Last year Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmad Harun and militia leader Ali Kushayb were indicted by the ICC and Sudan has yet to hand them over to the international court.

The UN estimates that the Darfur conflict has caused the deaths of 300,000 people since 2003 and that more than two million people have fled their homes.

Click here to read more about international justice and crime from Impunity Watch.