“GLOBAL COALITION URGES SECURITY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT ICC INVESTIGATION IN DARFUR,” CICC Media Release, 4 December 2009, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/CICC_Media_Advisory_ICC_Prosecutor_10th_Report_to_UNSC_Dec09.pdf

WHAT: On 4 December 2009, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo will present his tenth report to the Security Council of the United Nations on the situation in Darfur, Sudan. The Coalition for the ICC – a global network of civil society organizations in 150 countries advocating for a fair, effective and independent ICC – calls on all ICC member states, the government of Sudan, and other relevant parties to fulfill their obligations under the UN Charter and the Rome Statute and thereby cooperate with the Court in ensuring that President al-Bashir, Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb are brought before the Hague-based ICC to face justice.

WHY: While three ICC arrest warrants are still outstanding in the Darfur situation, the Sudanese Government has openly defied and consistently refused to cooperate with the Court and the international community. Anything less than full cooperation with the ICC threatens to undermine the authority of the UN Security Council, which itself referred the situation in Darfur to the Court.

HOW: Under UNSC Resolution 1593, which referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC, the prosecutor is required to report to the Council every six months on the progress of his investigation in Darfur. The prosecutor’s tenth report is expected to outline national regional and international efforts to promote accountability in Darfur, to address the status of state cooperation as regards the enforcement of arrest warrants, and to reemphasize the Prosecutor’s commitment to cooperate with other relevant bodies, such as the African Union. The report is also expected to provide an outline of crimes allegedly committed in Darfur during the last 6 months.

BACKGROUND:

“We must not let the Security Council forget its initial intentions when referring the situation in Darfur to the ICC Prosecutor” said Tanya Karanasios, Program Director of the Coalition for the ICC. “We therefore call on the Security Council not to lose sight of what is really at stake here: justice for the victims in Darfur, and the peace that justice will contribute to.”

The situation in Sudan was referred to the Court by the United Nations Security Council through Resolution 1593 on 31 March 2005. The investigation into the situation in Darfur, Sudan was officially opened by the ICC prosecutor on 6 June 2005. On 2 May 2007, Pre-Trial Chamber I issued arrest warrants against Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Kushayb for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur between 2003 and 2004. On 4 March 2009, an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and war crimes was issued against President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir of Sudan. To date none of the three outstanding warrants have been executed. Further, in response to summons issued by the Court on 17 May 2009, rebel leader Abu Garda voluntarily appeared in Court to respond for war crimes allegedly committed during the attacks in Haskanita.

The ICC is the first permanent international court capable of trying individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. To date, it has publicly issued twelve arrest warrants and one summons to appear for investigations in four situations: the Central African Republic; Darfur, Sudan; Uganda; and the Democratic Republic of Congo. A Judges decision is pending on a request by the OTP to open a fifth ICC investigation in Kenya. Four suspects are currently in custody. The ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) has allegedly analyzed or is analyzing at least eighth other situations on four continents.

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