{"id":20070070,"date":"2024-01-30T21:18:12","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T20:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20070070"},"modified":"2024-01-30T21:26:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T20:26:26","slug":"icc-prosecutor-sudan-situation-dire-by-any-metric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/icc-prosecutor-sudan-situation-dire-by-any-metric","title":{"rendered":"ICC Prosecutor: Sudan situation ‘dire by any metric’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cWe are fast approaching a breaking point, and the situation in Sudan demands your attention more than ever,\u201d International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan said during his briefing to the UN Security Council (UNSC) from N’Djamena, capital of Chad, yesterday.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his briefing, Khan described the situation in Sudan as \u201cdire by any metric.\u201d One-third of the population in the affected parts of Chad are Sudanese refugees, and they are arriving at a rate faster than Chad and the UN can respond, he said.\u00a0He said that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are to blame for crimes committed in Darfur.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khan said that during his visit to the Adr\u00e9 and Farchana refugee camps, he listened to the testimonies of refugees about their suffering and the violations that had occurred, including sexual violence.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During meetings with refugees attended by Radio Dabanga, Khan told Sudanese refugees that the entire world had disappointed Darfur. “Hope must unite us, not despair,” he said, adding that his office was continuing to investigate what happened in Darfur.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khan called for the support of victims of rape and sexual violence to testify before the team of the Attorney General’s Office, adding: “The one who should feel shame is not the victim but the criminal.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While addressing the UNSC, Khan quoted a woman who he spoke to who summarised the feelings of many people in Adr\u00e9 and Farchana: \u201cI was displaced many times during the events of 2023… we came here barefoot. We still feel like we are not people. Like we are less than human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We still feel like we are not people. Like we are less than human.\u201d<\/p>\nSudanese refugee in Chad<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

People also told Khan that they were targeted for their ethnicity and threatened with extermination. These accusations \u201cconstitute Rome Statute violations,\u201d Khan told the UNSC, noting that they are also not in line with the teachings of Islam, \u201cwhich many of the perpetrators profess to adhere to.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed figures published by the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on January 21, estimating the total number of displaced and refugees<\/a> at 7.6 million since the war broke out in April.<\/strong> 13,100 people have been killed by the conflict according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) as of January 15 and at least 26,051 injured according to the Sudanese Federal Ministry of Health as of December 8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigations and evidence<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khan said the alleged atrocities in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, \u201cform a central line\u201d of the ICC\u2019s investigations. \u201cAccording to intelligence sources, between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed in El Geneina alone,\u201d said the latest report by the five-member UN Panel of Experts on the situation in Darfur, presented on January 13. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said they had obtained new evidence for the indictment of former President Omar Al Bashir<\/a>, former Interior and Defence Minister Abdelrahim Hussein<\/a>, and former Minister of Interior Affairs and Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Harun<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khan noted several reports that Al Bashir, Hussein, and Harun have been released, escaped, or otherwise left Kober prison<\/a>. He also noted several reports that Al Bashir and Hussein remain at the Aliaa Military Hospital in Omdurman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Refugees arrive in a transit camp in Adr\u00e9 in eastern Chad on June 17 after fleeing violence in El Geneina (Photo: MSF)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to a formal report presented by the ICC Prosecutor to the UNSC yesterday which spans 19 pages, Harun has fled to eastern Sudan and the Sudanese authorities can communicate with him. This lines up with multiple reports received by Radio Dabanga that he is in Kassala, which is considered one of the former regime\u2019s centres of influence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that the progress of former Darfur Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb\u2019s<\/a> trial was \u201ca glimmer of hope for the end of impunity.\u201d Khan predicted that the investigation into Kushayb could end in the first half of 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed that the failure of the international community to implement arrest warrants against wanted persons had fostered a climate of impunity, leading to continued violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chairman of Sudan\u2019s Sovereignty Council and commander-in-chief of the SAF Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan promised to cooperate with the ICC, Khan said, noting that the prosecutor’s office had submitted 35 requests for assistance to which the Sudanese government has not yet responded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photos show the meals Save AlGineina were able to provide to 150 children at Adr\u00e9 Refugee Camp in eastern Chad.

They are doing lifesaving work, with very little resources. If your pocketbook allows, please consider giving – link in QT. #KeepEyesOnSudan<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/r9lz3PKygx<\/a><\/p>— Munchkin (@BSonblast) January 28, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>