Save Darfur Support ICC Case Against Haskanita Attack Commanders

Save Darfur Support ICC Case Against Haskanita Attack Commanders

Fowler: 'All actors in Sudan must recognize this fundamental truth: those who obstruct peace, security and lasting stability, and who target civilians must be held to account.'

WASHINGTON – The Save Darfur Coalition applauded International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo for pursuing rebel commanders responsible for the Haskanita attacks. That brazen assault last year remains the single most deadly incident for peacekeepers in Darfur – resulting in ten dead U.N. peacekeepers and several more seriously wounded. Coalition president Jerry Fowler said activists demand accountability for any actor in Sudan that obstructs peace, protection of civilians, or stability in the region.

“While we don’t equate this horrendous attack with the systematic campaign of destruction of violence orchestrated by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir – we strongly denounced this attack when it occurred and applaud Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo for pursuing the responsible parties. All actors in Sudan must recognize this fundamental truth: those who obstruct peace, security and lasting stability and who target civilians must be held to account.

“As we have previously noted, the focus of attention must now shift back to the U.N. Security Council, which has the responsibility to end the crisis and bring peace. So far, the council has abdicated that responsibility. It has refused to act on standing ICC arrest warrants, failed to provide the necessary equipment to UNAMID, and has allowed the Sudanese to both obstruct peacekeeper deployment and continue to use violence and destruction against its own population. That must end. Moreno-Ocampo has acted. We call again on the council to follow suit.”

The full Save Darfur policy position follows:

Save Darfur Coalition Position on the ICC’s Third Darfur Case

The Save Darfur Coalition supports the announcement by International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo that he is seeking arrest warrants for certain rebel commanders based on their alleged involvement in the brutal attack on African Union Mission in Sudan forces in Haskanita (South Darfur) in September 2007. This calculated attack left ten peacekeepers and civilian police officers from three countries dead, and seriously injured at least eight other AMIS personnel, in the single deadliest attack on peacekeepers to date in Darfur.

The Government of Sudan and its allied militias have waged genocide and inflicted immeasurable suffering on the people of Darfur, and responsibility for the massacre at Haskanita cannot be conflated with responsibility for the genocide in Darfur. But no matter how heinous the crimes committed by the Government of Sudan and its allied militias, there is no excuse for any party to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity. All parties responsible for crimes against civilians, humanitarian workers, and peacekeepers in Darfur must be held accountable. Ensuring justice and accountability is an essential condition for a lasting peace in Sudan – one which is currently unattainable through any national Sudanese mechanism. Failing to combat the prevailing climate of impunity in Darfur will only embolden perpetrators, deny Darfuri victims of the justice they so broadly seek, and prolong the conflict.

The ICC’s third Darfur case hammers home the consequences of deploying peacekeepers to Darfur without the diplomatic support to secure the necessary troops, equipment and military and logistic support necessary to defend themselves – let alone Darfuri civilians. More than a year after the attack at Haskanita, the international community has failed to deliver on its promises to fully deploy and support peacekeeping troops capable of protecting themselves and civilians. Tragically, the slaughter of Haskanita has already been echoed multiple times with attacks on peacekeepers resulting in numerous casualties over the past year. The most serious attack came in July 2008 when seven UN peacekeepers were killed and 22 injured after they were ambushed in north Darfur, reportedly by militiamen supported by the Government of Sudan. Such attacks not only violate international law, but contribute heavily to an environment in which peacekeepers are unable to fulfill their mandate to protect civilians. The ICC’s most recent case sends a powerful signal that such violence will not be tolerated, whether carried out by the Government of Sudan or any other party.

This rampant violence only underscores the fact that the international community, led by the United States, must carry out a comprehensive strategy for peace in Sudan by undertaking a diplomatic “peace surge” to end the conflict instead of managing it, fully deploying and equipping the AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) so that it can adequately protect itself and Darfuri civilians, and ensuring Darfur’s climate of impunity is replaced with one of justice and accountability.

Additionally, the coalition:

• Calls on the US government and other U.N. Security Council member states to enact targeted sanctions against all parties responsible for violence against civilians, humanitarian workers, or peacekeepers or for obstructing the ICC’s investigations of crimes in Darfur.
• Calls on the US government to build multilateral support through the U.N. Security Council to undertake a comprehensive strategy to end the conflict in Sudan, starting with leading a “peace surge” to end the conflict instead of managing it.
• Urges the US government to cooperate fully with the ongoing work of the ICC and share all relevant intelligence with the court.
• Calls on U.N. Security Council member states to reiterate their full support for the ICC’s critical work investigating crimes in Darfur and to call on the Government of Sudan and rebel groups to hand over all individuals for whom there are outstanding arrest warrants at present or in the future.
• Calls on allies and supporters of the Government of Sudan and rebel groups to demand that all parties in Sudan refrain from violence against civilians, humanitarian workers or peacekeepers, and that these nations cease supplying arms to Sudan until the Darfur conflict is over.

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About the Coalition: The Save Darfur Coalition – an alliance of more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations – raises public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the Darfur region. The coalition’s member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur. For more information on the coalition, please visit www.SaveDarfur.org. To obtain footage from the Darfur border region, coalition events, various interviews, and more, please visit the Save Darfur Coalition media gallery at http://media.savedarfur.org. All footage may be previewed in non-broadcast quality and may be purchased in broadcast quality by filling out the purchase request form provided on the site.