Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad call for justice, lament slow ICC proceedings

Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad have urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to speed up its proceedings, saying its failure to arrest those accused of crimes in Sudan is encouraging further violations. A delegation from the International Criminal Court, comprising representatives of several court departments, visited the Gaga camp for Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad on Tuesday.

At a meeting with the delegation, refugees described the court’s proceedings as extremely slow. They said it had so far failed to arrest any of those accused, and had tried only one defendant who had surrendered himself.

The refugees told the delegation that, in their view, the delays had helped encourage perpetrators to commit further crimes across Sudan.

The delegation, for its part, said the court was doing everything in its power to bring those responsible to trial. It explained, however, that the ICC had no army or police force with which to arrest suspects and continued to rely on states to carry out arrests.

In July, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nuzhat Shameem Khan announced progress in investigations into crimes committed in El Geneina, El Fasher, and surrounding areas in the context of the ongoing war. She cited the lack of cooperation between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Office of the Prosecutor, called for international action to prevent a recurrence of the crimes committed in El Geneina and El Fasher in El Obeid, and urged the Sudanese government to hand over the three wanted suspects.

Presenting the Prosecutor’s 43rd report to the United Nations Security Council, Khan said the Office had conducted important interviews with key witnesses to crimes in El Geneina and El Fasher. Their testimony, she said, had confirmed and deepened the Office’s understanding of the nature and patterns of the crimes committed. It had also provided a crucial basis for strengthening the Office’s ability to link the crimes to senior-level perpetrators, as well as identifying several victims who had previously been unknown.

She said the further significant progress made by the Office had reinforced the conclusion in its previous report that war crimes and crimes against humanity had been committed in both El Geneina and El Fasher. This supported the Office’s preliminary assessment that the scale of the crimes could amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. Evidence gathered showed that war crimes had been committed in El Fasher and surrounding areas, particularly murder and outrages upon personal dignity.

The ICC Prosecutor announced on 13 July 2023 that the Office had opened an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the fighting in Darfur, following the outbreak of violence on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces, the RSF, and allied armed groups.

The post Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad call for justice, lament slow ICC proceedings appeared first on Dabanga Radio TV Online.