02/27/2007

Read more about Darfur on RI's Crisis in Darfur page.


For Immediate Release: February 27, 2007
Contact:  Megan Fowler, 202-828-0110 x214
megan@refugeesinternational.org


Washington, DC -- Refugees International applauds the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for presenting evidence which indicates that a former Minister of State for the Interior of the Government of the Sudan and a leader of the Janjaweed militia jointly committed crimes against civilians in Darfur. Refugees International hopes that the evidence will lead to the arrests of those responsible for the ongoing atrocities in Darfur and that all victims and potential witnesses are protected from harassment.

“The presentation of evidence by the ICC prosecutor is a good first step in bringing to justice the people responsible for heinous crimes against humanity in Darfur,” said Ken Bacon, President of Refugees International. “The evidence makes it clear that senior government officials are responsible for the brutalities in Darfur and they must be held accountable.”

In four years, up to 400,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million people have been displaced by violence and terror in the Darfur region of Sudan. Countless numbers of women have been raped. On March 31, 2005, the UN Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who opened an investigation on June 1, 2005. In the summary released today, the Prosecution wrote that the Government of Sudan’s strategy to target rebel groups included “the mass murder, summary execution, and mass rape of civilians who were known not to be participants in any armed conflict. Application of the strategy also called for, and achieved, the forced displacement of entire villages and communities.”

“Many attacks by government forces and government-backed militias have targeted innocent civilians, including acts of murder, torture and mass rape,” Mr. Bacon said. “We applaud the ICC for treating these crimes with the seriousness they deserve and urge the international community to support the court’s efforts in bringing justice to Darfur.”

The Government of Sudan has rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction in Sudan and has refused to hand over any suspects. Meanwhile, violence in Darfur has worsened since the signing of a peace agreement in May 2006.
 
“It is time to stop the fighting so that displaced people can go home,” Mr. Bacon concluded. “The international community must do more to pressure the Government of Sudan and all rebel groups to begin productive peace negotiations.”

Refugees International is a Washington-DC based advocacy organization and has conducted eleven missions to Sudan and neighboring Chad since February 2004 to assess the conflict in Darfur and provide recommendations that improve conditions for displaced people.