On July 13, 2023, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that he is investigating fresh allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region, including the killing of 87 members of the ethnic Masalit community. During a briefing to the U.N. Security Council, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan explained that the mandate of his office, as per U.N. Security Council resolution 1593, which in 2005 referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC, was ongoing. As such, any individual found to be committing crimes within its jurisdiction, namely, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, will be investigated. To assist with this task, the ICC set up a secure online portal where individuals can submit any evidence of crimes and human rights violations.
A building damaged by clashes in the Darfur region of Sudan on June 6, 2023. (Photo credit: Mohammed … [+] Zekeriya/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
In his briefing to the U.N. Security Council, Prosecutor Khan provided an update on progress in the trial of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a senior leader of the Janjaweed militia in Darfur, the former president Omar Al Bashir, and former ministers Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Abdel Raheem Muhammed Hussein, who are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, over 20 years after the atrocities perpetrated by these men, and as the situation in Darfur deteriorates, it is crucial to ensure that all crimes are investigated and prosecuted.
Indeed, West Darfur is witnessing continued atrocities and ethnically targeted killings committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied militias. Among some of the recent atrocities are the destruction of the village of Misterei and mass killings of its inhabitants, and a mass grave found near El Geneina containing the bodies of 87 people, including women and children.
In July 2023, Human Rights Watch reported on RSF and allied militia summarily executing at least 28 ethnic Masalits and killing and injuring dozens of civilians on May 28, 2023, in West Darfur. According to their findings, “Several thousand fighters of the RSF […] and Arab militias attacked the town of Misterei, home to tens of thousands of mainly ethnic Masalit residents. The assailants killed men in their homes, on the streets, or in hiding, and fired on fleeing residents, killing, and injuring women and injuring children. These forces then pillaged and burned most of the town, forcing thousands of residents to flee across the border to Chad.”
On July 13, 2023, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that the bodies of at least 87 ethnic Masalit and others allegedly killed in June 2023 by RSF and their allied militia in West Darfur have been buried in a mass grave outside the region’s capital El-Geneina on the orders of the RSF. According to the information obtained by the U.N., “Local people were forced to dispose of the bodies in a mass grave, denying those killed a decent burial in one of the city’s cemeteries. At least 37 bodies were buried on 20 June in the approximately one-meter-deep mass grave in an open area called Al-Turab Al Ahmar (Red Soil), in the Ranga area, about two to four kilometers northwest of the headquarters of the Central Reserve Police in western El-Geneina, sources said. Another 50 bodies were buried at the same site on 21 June. The bodies of seven women and seven children were among those buried.”
These are only two examples of recent atrocities in Darfur which require urgent investigation and prosecution of all those responsible. According to Prosecutor Khan, his office is already investigating a litany of atrocities including “looting and judicial killings, extrajudicial killings, burnings of homes, and also allegations in North Darfur.” Among the crimes, Prosecutor Khan is also prioritizing crimes against children and crimes of sexual and gender-based violence. Impunity for the Darfur genocide over 20 years ago is begetting further atrocities and will continue doing so until justice and accountability are delivered.
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
Tòa Án Hình Sự Quốc Tế (ICC) đã bắt đầu quá trình điều tra về sự tăng cao của bạo lực ở Darfur, Sudan, một thời gian qua.
Điều tra này được thực hiện sau một cuộc đối thoại trong hơn một năm giữa ICC và những người lãnh đạo của Sudan. Tuần trước, Thống đốc Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, đồng ý cho những điều tra này được tiến hành.
Từ năm 2003, bộ tộc Fur ở đất nước Sudan đã đối mặt với các hậu quả độc ác của bạo lực bởi các chính quyền họ. Những sự kiện này bao gồm các hành vi tiềm ẩn, bức xạ, đe dọa, và giam giữ bất hợp pháp.
Với sự phối hợp của ICC và Sudan, người dân Darfur sẽ nhận được phần nào trở lại niềm tin vào pháp luật và lãnh đạo của họ. ICC sẽ bắt đầu việc điều tra kịp thời bao gồm cả các hành vi bạo lực xảy ra trước tuyên bố điều tra.
ICC sẽ gặp cả sự trợ giúp và sự phối hợp của Sudan trong việc phát hiện và điều tra những sự bạo lực độc ác này. Điều tra cũng sẽ được phối hợp với các chức năng pháp luật và công lý ở Sudan để đảm bảo những người bị tội phạm sẽ được nộp phạt trong từng sự vụ.
Từ đây trở đi, năm 2017 sẽ là thời điểm quan trọng trong sự điều tra của ICC về sự tăng cao của bạo lực ở Darfur, Sudan.