Darfur survivors welcome ICC arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir

Today the judges at the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Omar Bashir, the President of Sudan, on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Darfur. It is the first time that such a step has been taken against a sitting head of state.

As the ICC judges announced their decision in the Hague, Darfuri survivors were gathered in capital cities across Europe to remember their murdered loved ones and destroyed communities. In London, they gathered for a commemoration outside the Sudanese Embassy from midday to 2.00pm, reading out the names of over a thousand victims and holding a minute’s silence at 1.00pm, the moment the ICC’s decision was announced in the Hague. When the news came through that the ICC had issued the arrest warrant, the crowd erupted with joy.

“Today, for the first time, I feel that just maybe, the people responsible for the murder of my father， Issa，and my brother，Ishag，will eventually be held to account for their actions,” said Darfuri survivor Ibrahim Issa Korkor, responding to the news. “There can never be peace in Darfur without justice. Today is a massive step towards both.”

“Khartoum would like its friends and business partners to think that today’s arrest warrant is a western conspiracy against the Sudanese President and Sudanese state,” says Khatir ohammed, General Secretary of the Darfur Union. “I assure you it’s not. It’s the result of testimony from ountless survivors such as myself, who have seen their families mercilessly killed by Government aircraft, troops and militias. It’s the result of testimony from soldiers and Janjaweed fighters now explaining how they were recruited, paid, armed and directed by the Government to kill their fellow citizens. We ask all governments doing business with Khartoum to stop turning a blind eye to these crimes. Do you want to be tainted by association? Use your influence with Khartoum to bring an end to the violence and injustice in Darfur, and the Sudanese people will thank you.”

“Today’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir is a landmark step towards ending the impunity of war crimes suspects everywhere. It shows that no-one – even a sitting head of state – is above international law,” says Dr James Smith, Chief Executive of the Aegis Trust. "This warrant should be used to urge Sudanese leaders to change policy - to stop commiting atrocities. If the UN Security Council gives in to threats from Khartoum and suspends the ICC proceedings without a change of policy in Sudan it sends a message that to avoid justice, war criminals need only threaten more atrocities."

A new report just released by Aegis, ‘The Enforcement of International Criminal Law’ (http://www.aegistrust.org/images/PDFs/enforcement_of_international_criminal_law.pdf), addresses ways in which the international community could strengthen prospects for the enforcement of arrest warrants against suspects such as Omar al-Bashir.

A film just released by Aegis, ‘Darfur Destroyed’ (http://www.aegistrust.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=801&Itemid=88

- VNR available on request), features perpetrators of atrocities in Darfur implicating the Sudanese Government – including Omar al-Bashir personally.