PRESS CONFERENCE BY CHIEF PROSECUTOR OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT ON DARFUR

There was now evidence linking the Sudanese Government to attacks on civilians in Darfur, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, said at a Headquarters press conference today.

Announcing plans to seek new indictments next month that could include charges against senior Khartoum officials, he said: “I will present my second case in July that the entire State apparatus [in Sudan] is being used to attack and eliminate whole communities in Darfur.”  Over the past five years, the entire Darfur region had become “a crime scene”, where displaced women and girls were systematically raped, schools bombed and land seized by the Government.

“I have collected compelling evidence […] that will identify those most responsible for crimes against civilians in Darfur, in particular the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa,” he said, referring to the African ethnic groups who bore the brunt of attacks by Government-backed militia.  An important and disturbing element of the case was clear-cut evidence of Khartoum’s tactics to cover up the “massive crimes” being committed.  By promoting alleged war criminals to key positions in Khartoum and Darfur, the Sudanese Government could pretend that all was well in Darfur, while blaming crimes on others.  But the evidence revealed a coordinated military, security and intelligence campaign to put the very people who were attacking civilians in charge of their well-being.  “This is like putting arsonists in charge of extinguishing the fire [and] I will not be a part of that cover-up.”

Emphasizing that impunity was not an abstract concept for the people of Darfur, he said he had tried to explain clearly in briefing the Security Council (see Press Release SC/9349) the importance of justice in the overall effort to achieve peace in Darfur, where, since 2003, fighting between rebel factions and Government forces had left hundreds of thousands of people dead and driven millions from their homes.  With senior Council diplomats in Khartoum today, the international community had an historic opportunity to send a strong message to the Sudanese Government.

He said he had urged the Council to adopt a strong presidential statement to send a clear message that Sudan must live up to its obligations under resolution 1593 (2005), which had referred the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court.  The Council should press for the arrest and surrender of Ahmad Harun, former Minister of State for the Interior, and Ali Kushayb, an alleged leader of the Janjaweed militia, both of whom had been indicted by the Court last year for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Pointing out that the Government had made no attempt to execute the outstanding warrants, he said that Harun had, in fact, been promoted to Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, but was actually hindering access by relief workers to desperate people throughout Darfur.  Further, as a key member of the Sudanese body overseeing the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Harun was also affecting its deployment and the safety of peacekeepers.

While there was currently not enough evidence to go to the judges, he said the Court did have information that two rebel splinter factions had committed the October 2007 killing of 10 African peacekeepers in Haskanita.  That required corroboration, and requests for additional information had been sent to the African Union, the United Nations, individual States and other actors, all of whom were urged to respond as soon as possible.

Responding to a question about criticism of his not having devoted enough attention to crimes committed by rebel forces in Darfur, the Chief Prosecutor said he had, in fact, been investigating rebel crimes and was actively pursuing leads on the “long list” of attacks against African Union peacekeepers and aid workers.  The Court was also very concerned by reports of ongoing recruitment of child soldiers.

In response to other questions, he said the cover-up in Sudan was a characteristic of a criminal system at work, which was why he had likened the situation to similar events in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and his own country, Argentina, where the military dictatorship had tried first to deny, then minimize and, finally, blame others for the crimes being committed, before asking that the issue be dropped to focus on a political solution.

Asked if his indictment would include the head of the Sudanese Government, he said it would adhere to the mandate he had been given by the Security Council.  It called for a public hearing and the evidence would then be in the hands of the judges.

As for the feelings of the people of Darfur about having the cases tried in The Hague, he told another questioner that they could not be tried in Darfur, because he could not guarantee the safety of witnesses.  However, the people of Darfur really wanted justice done and wanted war criminals held to account.  Mostly, they were just pleased to get their dignity back.  They were encouraged, because their stories were being turned into evidence.  “Is that enough? Perhaps no, but it’s my mandate and I’ll do what I can,” he said.

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For information media • not an official record