DARFUR Union in the UK: Bashir to ICC was and is Still the Slogan; However, it is Time for the Transitional Government to Ratify Rome Statue so that the Country is in Place to Hand the Lead Criminals
Sudan Peace Negotiations are in progress in Juba between Arm opposition, Sudan Revolutionary Force (SRF) and the transitional government in Sudan, and only yesterday it was announced that the two parties have agreed that the transitional government to hand Omar al-Bashir (ref. 1) and other indicted criminals/ suspects to international Criminal Court (ref. 2). The known list of suspects includes:-
* Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussien – former secretary of defence
* Ali Abdelrahman Koshieb – head of pro government militia aka Janjaweed
* Ahmed Mohamed Haroun – former interior minister
*Let us be clear, yes the move is a step in the right direction, however, it will be incomplete if the transitional government failed to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Without the ratification, this announcement is not worth the airtime it was given. Pressure has to be put on the transitional government of Sudan to speed up this process.*
A hybrid justice system which consist of handing figure heads such as Bashir, Ali Osman, Nafi Ali, Salah Abdel Allah Goush and many more to ICC, and in parallel to setup special courts to deal with other criminals that committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
These hybrid courts should be setup based on transitional justice chapters that are currently being negotiated on.
DARFUR Union in the UK have been a loud advocate of justice for the victims of genocide in Darfur and other war zones. The union urge the ICC general prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to release the rest of the names of indictees so that Sudan can hand them, the people of Sudan in DARFUR need justice and reparation. Seeing those criminal on the stand answering for crimes committed by them or under their commands may be the starting point for closure. 17 years on and DARFUR is still the longest ongoing genocide in recent history. Almost half a million people killed, and 2.5 millions are in refugees camps in Eastern Chad, Central Africa Republic, South Sudan. Millions reside in internally displaced camp (IDP) scattered throughout Darfur and other areas in Sudan.
Therefore, it very important for the world, particularly for the people of Sudan to commemorate the date that Bashir got indicted by the ICC almost 11 years ago. The 4th of March represents an important date for the people in Sudan in general, and those in Darfur in particular. It marks the beginning of long lost justice. Going back on memory, one remembers that famous press conference in La Hague, ~ 10 years ago, where Luis Ocampo, the former general prosecutor of the ICC, announced that his team have enough evidence to prosecute Omer Bashir, the sitting president of Sudan, for crimes committed under his commands, that counts for the following:
5 counts for crimes against humanity
2 counts of war crimes
3 counts of genocide
The gathering of evidence of above mentioned crimes were concluded by the 12th of July 2010, under the statue of Rome. Two warrants of arrest issued by the Pre Trial Chamber are out there, and the perpetrator (Bashir) is still at large. Also,ahead of us is the 17th anniversary of the genocide in Darfur region (mid-April). Darfur union in the UK will be holding an event commemorating this event on Saturday 7th March 2020, which is a regular event in Darfur Union in the UK calendar (ref. 3).
Lest we forget the victims of the longest ongoing genocide.
Let us end with a quote from the diary of Anne Frank
“What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it happening again.”
Osama Mahmoud
Head of Comms – Darfur Union in the UK
Website: https://darfurunionuk.wordpress.com
Email: [email protected]
Twitter handle: @darfurunionuk
Ref. 1:- Bashir vs. ICC
https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir/pages/alleged-crimes.aspx
Ref. 2:- Omar al-Bashir: Sudan agrees ex-president must face ICC
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51462613
Ref. 3:- 4th March 2019 commemoration by Darfur Union in the UK
https://darfurunionuk.wordpress.com/2018/03/07/darfur-union-in-the-uk-commemorates-the-9th-anniversary-of-bashir-indictment-by-international-criminal-court-icc-in-leicester/