UN Photo/Manuel Elias – Karim Khan (on screen), Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), briefs members of the UN Security Council.
New York, USA, January 30, 2024 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/-The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, highlighted on Monday, before the Security Council, the immense difficulties facing populations of the Sudanese region of Darfur and observed that justice has a role to play in solving Sudan’s problems.
After giving examples of abuses and persecution of these populations, he indicated that these examples constitute violations of the Rome Statute of the ICC.
He also expressed the expectations of the people of Darfur who want answers and call for an “imperative of responsibility” from the international community. “The stories I heard in these camps are not isolated cases, they are corroborated by the diaspora and members of a community uprooted for years,” he said.
The Prosecutor explained that the alleged atrocities that took place in Geneina, West Darfur, “represent a central element of the investigation” led by his office.
Repercussions on the humanitarian situation
The Prosecutor also highlighted the terrible repercussions of the conflict on the humanitarian situation. More than 5 million people are displaced within Sudan itself, while 1.5 million people have fled to neighboring countries, including 555,000 Darfurians to Chad according to figures from last December.
It is in the Council’s interest to adopt a different approach to the “old problem” of Darfur, which could extend to other neighboring regions and countries, he recommended, explaining that the “decrees The courts alone cannot solve the problem.
He called for “innovative solutions” to deal with this catastrophe and avoid the “contagion of violence”. Giving the example of the trial of Ali Abd-Al-Rahman before the Court, he highlighted the failure of many countries to execute several ICC arrest warrants, a situation that encourages impunity and ” condemns future generations.
Crimes currently being committed
The ICC Prosecutor said there are grounds to believe that crimes are currently being committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, who have been fighting each other since April 2023. He called on Sudan to cooperate actively. strengthened manner with the ICC and the Security Council.
Stressing that 35 requests for assistance from the ICC are still unanswered by the Sudanese government, he considered that “the only positive element” was the designation of a focal point by this government and the issuance of visas. to his team of investigators. Addressing “all parties to the conflict”, he called on them to transmit to the Office of the Prosecutor the documents that they have “the obligation” to transmit to him and to respond to requests for assistance intended to facilitate the investigation of the ICC.
Mr. Khan also asked for the Council’s support on this subject, recalling how the events in Darfur represent a “threat to international peace and security”.
Expressing awareness of the “pandemic of inhumanity” that the international community currently faces, he expressed his conviction that justice has a role to play in resolving Sudan’s problems and preventing the conflict from falling into oversight. “This has happened before and it must not happen again,” he concluded firmly.
Two peacekeepers killed in Abyei
UN Photo/Stuart Price – Abyei is an area disputed by Sudan and South Sudan.
The UN said two peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), an area disputed by Sudan and South Sudan, were killed in attacks over the weekend.
“The UN Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the violence that occurred this weekend in the Abyei administrative area, which resulted in the tragic deaths of numerous civilians and attacks against UNISFA, during which two UNISFA soldiers peace lost their lives in the exercise of his duties,” his spokesperson said in a statement to the press on Monday.
“The Secretary-General condemns the violence and attacks against UNISFA and calls on the Governments of South Sudan and Sudan to promptly investigate these attacks, with the assistance of UNISFA, and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Secretary-General reminds all parties that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes,” he added.
UN chief António Guterres has expressed his deepest condolences to the governments and people of Ghana and Pakistan, as well as the families of the deceased civilians.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) for UN Info.
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Source : African Media Agency (AMA)