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7710th Security Council Meeting: Sudan and South Sudan
Decision to Refer Situation ‘Unfounded’, Permanent Representative Stresses
The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court today criticized the Security Council’s continuing failure to help bring to justice those indicted for atrocity crimes in Darfur, Sudan, more than a decade ago.
“Sadly, my Office’s countless appeals to you for action to address the persistent failure of Sudan to comply with its international obligations have not been heeded,” said Fatou Bensouda in her semi-annual briefing to the 15-member Council on the situation in the strife-torn western region of Sudan. “How many more such findings must be rendered by the Court to spur this Council to action?”
She said the Council had also been conspicuously silent about Sudan’s non-compliance with Council resolutions, thereby emboldening President Omar al-Bashir to travel across international borders despite the Court’s two arrest warrants against him. Its inaction had in turn emboldened States to invite the President and facilitate his travel into their territories, she said, noting that some of them had publicly expressed pride in their disregard of the Council’s authority, further fuelling the prospect for a lingering conflict. Without stronger and more committed action by the Council and States parties, the situation would not improve, she warned.
Since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1593 (2005), referring the Darfur situation to the Office of the Prosecutor, the victims’ quest for justice was still far from realized, she said. The commission of grave crimes continued, resulting in further victimization and suffering. Once a ruling of non-compliance had been referred to the Court, pursuant to article 87.7 of its founding Rome Statute, the Council was duty-bound to act, she said. She urged it to give due consideration to New Zealand’s constructive proposal calling for a structured approach to address the Court’s findings.
She said that her Office continued to pursue the case, but lack of access to Sudanese territory, resource constraints and non-execution of long-outstanding arrest warrants had slowed the investigations. There had been an increase in violence and insecurity, a rise in the number of internally displaced persons since 2014, and restrictions on humanitarian access to conflict areas where vulnerable civilian populations resided. In addition, 107 incidents of sexual crimes against women had been reported, she said, noting that forces aligned with the Government of Sudan and other unidentified assailants had been alleged to be the main perpetrators.
Following the Chief Prosecutor’s briefing, Council members expressed deep concern about the continued suffering in Darfur, calling for an end to all attacks on civilians and aid workers, and for a negotiated political solution to resolve the conflict. Several speakers urged the Government of Sudan to comply with the Court’s rulings, and said that the Council must make its interaction with the Court more effective. The Russian Federation’s representative supported the creation of a special ministerial committee to address the concerns of African countries.
Venezuela’s representative expressed concern over attempts to politicize the Court’s work, while those of Angola and Egypt reiterated the African Union’s request that the Court suspend criminal proceedings against President Bashir, while urging the Council to withdraw its referral.
The representative of France, Council President for June, expressed concern about the Government’s expulsion of the head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Spain’s representative said all obstacles must be lifted to enable the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to carry out its mandate. While echoing that concern, the representative of the United States expressed surprise and disappointment at calls by the President and Vice-President of Sudan to halt the creation of a hybrid court to seek redress for Darfur victims.
Sudan’s representative said the Council’s decision to refer the Darfur situation to the Court had been unfounded. It was unfortunate that countries of the northern hemisphere had exempted themselves from its jurisdiction, while African countries suffered discriminatory treatment. Moreover, the Court lacked competence over certain nationalities, no matter how gruesome their crimes, he said, asserting that the Prosecutor’s report seemed like a pretext to justify the Court’s continuing jurisdiction over Sudan.
He said that UNAMID’s report covering the same period noted a decline in tribal conflicts and criminal acts, as well as an increase in coordination between Sudanese security agencies and the mission. In addition, the joint working group had acknowledged efforts by the Government and the prosecutor for the Darfur Special Crimes Court to address the crimes committed during the conflict and to restore law and order.
Also speaking today were representatives of the United Kingdom, Senegal, New Zealand, Ukraine, Malaysia, China, Uruguay and Japan.
The meeting began at 11 a.m. and ended at 12:55 p.m.
