04/01/2005

Late on Thursday night, the UN Security Council voted 11-0 to send suspected war criminals from Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for prosecution. This marks a major victory for Refugees International and partner humanitarian and human rights organizations that have been calling for an end to the climate of impunity in Darfur by allowing the ICC to investigate and hold individuals responsible for the death and displacement in Darfur.

As a condition for its choice to abstain rather than veto, the Bush Administration was able to negotiate for language in the resolution that specifically exempted Americans participating in U.N. operations in Sudan from potential prosecution. While this sets a bad precedent for future resolutions involving ICC referrals, the inclusion of this special exemption was the only way to prevent an American veto.

Refugees International and other organizations have repeatedly pointed out that as long as government officials believe that they are immune from punishment for these actions, the violence will go on. (Read more about the Climate of Impunity in Darfur.)

Government officials and local leaders in Darfur continue to call the violence a series of tribal disputes rather than military, militia and rebel actions that target civilians.  In a dinner with Refugees International last month, a Sudanese defense official stated that Darfur was largely safe and secure. Another official said, "No women and children have died," denying eyewitness reports of children being torn from their mothers' arms and burned alive.

However, the United Nation’s International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur concluded on February 16 that government, militia and rebel forces are guilty of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. It recommended that 51 people be referred to the International Criminal Court.

The Commission of Inquiry also stated that referral of cases to the ICC was “the only credible way of bringing alleged perpetrators to justice...” It went on to note, “With an existing set of well-defined rules of procedure and evidence, the [ICC] is the best suited institution for ensuring speedy investigations leading to arrests and demonstrably fair trials.”

Darfurians displaced by the conflict also favor the ICC as the court venue best suited to bring justice, according to Samantha Power, the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of A Problem from Hell. It is the least favored option by alleged perpetrators such as Musa Hilal of the Janjaweed.

The US government had said that it favored options other than the ICC, including an ad hoc international tribunal, such as the Rwanda Tribunal in Tanzania. This time-consuming and costly option gained little international support.

Refugees International is pleased that the US government chose to abstain and give the ICC the opportunity to end impunity in Darfur.