The Hague
The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has clear evidence of atrocities in the Darfur region of the crisis state of Sudan. In an urgent appeal, Khan in The Hague calls on international organizations, partners and national authorities to collect evidence and information and hand it over to him.
His investigators received daily information from Darfur indicating “an organized, systematic and serious attack on human dignity.”
The Criminal Court in The Hague has been investigating genocide in Darfur since 2005. It was from UN security council was instructed to do so. The court also issued an international arrest warrant in 2009 for Sudan’s then-president Omar al-Bashir on suspicion of genocide. A focus of the investigation is a 2023 massacre in West Darfur
Massive and widespread rape
Khan now cited continued attacks on the civilian population and especially on refugee camps, massive and widespread rape and other forms of sexual violence, bombings of residential areas, looting and attacks on hospitals. The crisis is getting worse and suffering is increasing, the chief prosecutor said. “And we can’t say there was no warning.” UN experts are already talking about a new genocide.
The background to the new wave of violence is the bloody power struggle between Sudan’s de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. According to the UN, it led to the flight of almost ten million people. The capital Khartoum has been largely destroyed and heavy fighting is currently taking place, especially in North Darfur province.
Khan said: “It is outrageous that we allow history to repeat itself in Darfur. We cannot and must not allow Darfur to once again become the world’s forgotten atrocity.” The chief prosecutor especially called for the collection of photos, videos and audio recordings and the establishment of contacts with witnesses.
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