Rhino: Agencies – On Thursday, the Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Nazhat Shameem Khan, gave a briefing to the UN Security Council on the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan, during which she called for cooperation to arrest former Sudanese President Omar Bashir and others wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
She noted that the Office of the Prosecutor had held further meetings with the Sudanese government, particularly through a visit to Port Sudan, facilitated by the Sudanese government, which had made it possible to identify and contact additional potential witnesses. She reported that another visit was planned in the near future.
Khan said: “We must work together, seriously and with focus, to ensure the arrest of individuals who have been issued warrants by the International Criminal Court and are currently in Sudan, including Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Ahmed Haroun, and Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein.”
For his part, during a session dedicated to discussing developments in Sudan, France’s representative to the UN Security Council called on the Sudanese authorities to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court and hand over all those wanted for justice, foremost among them ousted President Omar al-Bashir and Ahmed Haroun, one of the most prominent defendants accused of crimes against humanity in Darfur.
The French official stressed that impunity cannot continue and that justice is a prerequisite for achieving sustainable peace in Sudan, emphasizing that the international community is following with concern the continued lack of cooperation with the court, despite previous Security Council resolutions.
He said: “We call on the Sudanese authorities to take concrete steps to hand over the wanted persons and facilitate the work of the International Criminal Court, in order to ensure justice for the victims and achieve justice.”
France also urged all parties to the Sudanese conflict to cease hostilities and engage in a comprehensive political process leading to an end to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the country.
