Agence France-Presse,
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued its first arrest warrants over the Darfur conflict for a Sudanese minister and a Janjaweed militia leader accused of murder, torture and rape.
The two men are: Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's secretary of state for humanitarian affairs and a former minister in charge of Darfur; and Ali Kosheib, a principal leader of the Khartoum-backed Janjaweed.
They face a long list of 42 and 50 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes respectively.
In court documents released Wednesday the judges said there were “reasonable grounds” to conclude that the pair was “criminally responsible” for crimes including torture, mass rape and the forced displacement of entire villages during a series of attacks in western Darfur in 2003 and 2004.
Khartoum was quick to reject the warrants, saying the court had no jurisdiction in the matter.
ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo hailed the judges' decision as “a big and important step ahead.”
“These two will have to face justice, they will be in the dock, in two months or two years … they know that,” he told AFP Wednesday.
Moreno-Ocampo focused his 20-month investigation on events alleged to have occurred between 2003 and 2004, the most violent period in the crisis.
The Arab Janjaweed, armed and backed by the Sudanese government, are accused of the worst violence involving attacks on civilians of black African origin. Their offensive started after a rebellion against Khartoum.
“The government of the Sudan has a legal duty to arrest Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kosheib. This is the International Criminal Court's decision, and the government has to respect it,” the prosecution said.
Sudan meanwhile insisted that the ICC had no jurisdiction to try alleged crimes committed in Darfur. The case was referred to the ICC by a UN Security Council resolution passed on March 25, 2005.
“Sudan has nothing to do with this decision and had already announced that it would not cooperate with the ICC when it comes to trying Sudanese nationals outside of Sudan,” Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardhi said Wednesday.
Mardhi argued that the ICC's move was a “political decision” and further evidence that the court was being used by the West to “pressure Sudan” into accepting an international force in Darfur.
The international community has been urging Sudan to accept the deployment of a robust UN peacekeeping force in Darfur to prop up the embattled African Union contingent which has been deployed there since 2004.
The Sudanese government has always insisted it will try people accused of crimes in Darfur. Khartoum has said it has interrogated Haroun and found him not to be a suspect.
Kosheib was detained last year by the Sudanese authorities but the opening of his trial has been postponed until further notice.
Some critics of the ICC have said the arrest warrants could hamper efforts to broker a peace in Darfur.
“We are one piece in a more complicated problem,” Moreno-Ocampo said.
“I cannot provide peace and security.”
According to the United Nations, some 200,000 have been killed and two million forced to flee their homes since the Darfur conflict began. It is now in its fifth year. Sudan says that only 9,000 have died.
“The judges' decision clearly shifts the burden on Sudan to adhere to its responsibilities as it must under the Security Council resolution,” Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch told AFP.
Human Rights Watch called on the Security Council “to monitor Sudan's conduct and insist it hands over the suspects as required”.
It also called on other international organisations involved in the region, such as the Arab League and the African Union, to ensure Khartoum complies with its obligations to the ICC.
If the men are handed over to the ICC there will first be a confirmation of charges hearing, where judges will have to decide if there is enough evidence to proceed to an actual trial.
