Sudan: Request for Finding of Non-Cooperation with ICC


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Sudan: Request for Finding of Non-Cooperation with ICC

The prosecutor’s office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) made public today its request to the court’s pre-trial chamber I for a finding of non-cooperation by the Sudanese government concerning Darfur.

This is the first time a request for a finding of non-cooperation has been submitted in any situation before the ICC. The request was filed on April 19, 2010.

Human Rights Watch said the request highlights the need for the United Nations Security Council and concerned governments to press for Sudanese cooperation with the ICC.

“The ICC needs the cooperation of states, especially in the surrender of suspects, to do its work,” said Elise Keppler, senior counsel with the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch. “The Security Council and key governments should be actively pressing Sudan to cooperate with the court regardless of any formal finding of non-cooperation.”

The prosecutor’s office is seeking a finding that the government of Sudan has failed to cooperate in the execution of arrest warrants against two suspects wanted by the court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. They are Ahmed Haroun “current governor of Southern Kordofan state and former state minister for humanitarian affairs” and “Janjaweed” militia leader “Ali Kosheib” (a pseudonym for Ali Mohammed Ali). The submission highlights that it has been three years since the warrants for Haroun and Kosheib were issued in April 2007. The ICC’s third arrest warrant in the Darfur situation “for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir” was issued in March 2009.

Article 87.7 of the ICC’s Rome Statute permits the court to issue a finding of non-cooperation. Because Darfur is before the ICC as a result of a UN Security Council referral, such a finding would be sent to the Security Council for follow-up. It would then be up to the Security Council to determine how to respond, such as by issuing resolutions or imposing sanctions.

Security Council Resolution 1593, which made the referral, obligates Sudan to cooperate with the ICC.

Source: Human Right Watch (HRW)

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