The Darfur War Crimes Test

By Mia Farrow and Eric Reeves; Originally published in the Wall Street Journal

This week marks a grim and largely unnoticed anniversary. On April 27, 2007, International Criminal Court judges issued arrest warrants for two men involved in the massive, ongoing atrocities in the Darfur region of western Sudan: Former state minister of the interior Ahmed Haroun, and Ali Kushayb, a key leader of the brutal Arab militia known as Janjaweed.

Both are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Evidence in the ICC cases against both men is overwhelming, including numerous eyewitness accounts from victims as well as compelling documentary evidence. Yet Khartoum refuses to extradite or lift a finger in prosecuting either man.

No surprise there. Were Mr. Haroun and Mr. Kushayb to testify in the Hague, where the ICC is based, the most senior members of the Khartoum regime would be at obvious risk of indictment themselves. Mr. Haroun in particular could point far up the military and civilian chain of
command.

In a grotesque irony, Mr. Haroun has even been promoted to the position of state minister for humanitarian affairs, with major responsibility for millions of desperate victims of the very crimes he orchestrated.

More than five years have passed since the Khartoum regime and its Janjaweed allies launched their campaign of destruction against the non-Arab populations of Darfur. The savagery of the attacks upon civilians, the torched villages, mass murders, rapes, abductions and mutilations have made the word Darfur synonymous with human suffering.

More than 2.5 million people have fled from their burning homes in terror, seeking tenuous refuge in wretched camps across Darfur and eastern Chad.

The ICC is charged with investigating and prosecuting cases in which the national courts of a country cannot or will not render justice even in the face of the most horrific international crimes. The ICC, however, has no police force of its own, and so relies on others to execute its arrest warrants. In the case of Darfur, the ICC arrest warrants derive from a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Khartoum's refusal to arrest the suspects should be superseded by the Council's authority to act in the interests of international peace and security. But Security Council members have shown little interest in pressuring Sudan to comply with the resolution. As long as the Security Council continues in this vein, Mr. Haroun and Mr. Kushayb will operate
with complete impunity in Sudan.

Those nations who have committed their support to the ICC must understand that a green light for the likes of such men is also a green light for Khartoum's defiance of other international demands. The large, U.N.-authorized protection force, for example, has for nine months been obstructed by this regime. If the international community lacks the will to confront Khartoum, the dying in Darfur will continue apace.

Last December, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor for the ICC, issued a devastating report to the Security Council. "We are witnessing a calculated, organized campaign by Sudanese officials to attack individuals and further destroy the social fabric of entire communities," he declared. "All information points not to chaotic and isolated acts, but to a pattern of attacks."

The Council failed to provide any support for Mr. Moreno-Ocampo and his terrifying indictment. The ICC must find a way to circumvent Security Council paralysis. International justice will only be served if, in the face of the most egregious international crimes, the nations of the world can place justice before sovereignty.

The United States should take the lead in reforming the Security Council to make it more effective, representative and committed to the ideals of international justice. Darfur is the test case - one year and counting.

Comments

[moodyring]

I completely agree, Mia. The US should take a stand in strengthening the Security Council. I hope Haroun and Kushayb are soon prosecuted for their crimes.

[TimSearl]

And Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell, Rumsfeld, ......

[Boobaloo]

Mia: For the last time the Janjiweed are BLACK AFRICANS.

Stop calling them Arabs.

They're BLACK AFRICANS. Just because these BLACK AFRICANS claim superiority by claiming to be Arabs, doesnt mean you have to keep repeating this garbage, it makes me lose interest in your message because you lose credibility.

Darfur is a terrible thing but, sadly there are no saints in this disaster and there are no foreign invaders, this is an internal conflict that needs to be resolved internally.

Darfur is not a genocide, its a war between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' who are fighting eachother for resources like water access and fertile soil and land which translates into wealth and power.

I hope the people of Darfur can return to building their nation and society from their own ground zero up. My thoughts are with the women and children who are being most victimzed in yet another war.

[moodyring]

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense because as we've seen, they're doing such a good job of resolving the conflict internally. I like your idea of resolving it. Seeing as it's been very effective so far, let's continue to see how much more effective it can be.

[Boobaloo]

What do you purpose...bombing the crap out of them?

Because that always works.

Believe it or not, nations have conflicts and recover and rebuild and Africa is the same as Europe and USA, their societies breakdown when socioeconomic balance gets too out of wack and then a violent conflict occurs and then nations rebuild.

It's the way of the world.

[ZenJu]

I've witnessed many of those claiming to be "leftists" and "liberals" expending far more energy, vitriol, and time on things like mass-demonstrating against tiny democratic Israel and cheering for Hizbullah thugs and Hamas terrorists. I've been in London for the past couple of years and have NEVER seen marches or protests against the horrific situation in Darfur, or against the Mugabe nightmare for Zimbabwe, or the hanging of gays and stoning of women in Iran....not anywhere near on a scale comparable to the "rage" shown against Jewish Israel. Wonder why that is, hmmm?

[Justtellthetruth]

Because the US is not currently PAYING for the subjugation of any of the groups that you just listed, only the subjugation of the Palestinians.

Furthermore, planes have not been rammed into any buildings here full of terrorists who were largely inspired by any of the groups that you listed other than the Palestinians.

And if that is not clear enough for you, then let me say this; a violently enforced colonial occupation is among the lowest of all possible governmental actions. it should be REVILED the world over, and in fact IS reviled the world over, with the exception of the US and Israel. Even the US officially condemns it, but continues to give it both economic and diplomatic cover.

When we finally get tough with Israel and FORCE them to remove all settlers and all IDF from the occupied territories, we will have done Isreal a great favor, as that will be the beginning of peace fir Israel, and we will have started the beginning of the end of the war on terror, ultimately freeing up A LOT of resources that could be better spent dealing with the other issues you raised.

[Bobrobert]

War crimes??? What a joke. War is dirty and war is killing. War has no innocents. War cannot and should not be seen as a fair fight. That quote that "war is hell" is straight and to the point.

If you don't want innocents to die in war then stop war. Ask some of the boys fighting in Iraq what war is like - they for the most part will not answer you.

Stop war. Don't encourage war. We cannot save anyone but ourselves. We have no control over what goes on in other countries. We never have had any control over what happens in other countries. We are useless when it comes to stopping war crimes.

Want to stop war crimes. Last I heard torture was a war crime. Let me see. The U.S.supreme court justice says torture is ok.

War crimes - don't shout too loud. The U.S. has it's share of war crimes to hide.

Stop trying to solve the worlds problems and put the U.S. in order. Stop the U.S. from playing war games.

Have a nice day all. Just out of curiosity - how many of y'all know how many U.S. soldiers dieds yesterday - and how many know how many Iraq citizens were killed.

WAR IS HELL!!!

[klmebane]

by your logic we shouldn't have interceded in WWII in response to the extermination of jews either. is that what you're saying?

[TimSearl]

If you knew your history you will know the Germanyt declared war on the US - not the other way arround. Ignorance is obviously bliss for you.

[VictorLudorum]

Dearest Mia ive been greedily rushing left and right to hook up to a platform but there is too much snare within myself ,perhaps that is why i missed your posts although i hold you like a head of state when it comes to international affairs of regime cruelty,,, but i have composed myself although when you read me closely ive been a regime victim since birth myself and nobody knows the both sides that well..now the fact is trying someone or removing someone ,the case is same because there is none to attent to work ..........­..........­......... the us white house is not really the word at this moment at darfur because american diplomacy really effects like a final decision..­...country after country the muslim states are falling but the greed wont end untill the europeans will lent the banking especially that switzerland is now running the zenith bank that will serve the warlords.... i hope you visit austria and discuss new laws for the entire continent and they get the two/three point formula 1,africans should be masters of thier own destiny,2,african economic decision makers should control african economy, hope to read from you more and and thanks to your helper mr. Eric Reeves ..
I have to rush for May1 Address,you understand that Globalisation has settled economy but the wait is today embarrasin­g.........­..........­..........­..........­........



Hello FBI PENTAGON...is this a [hacker?..... qua da tan theo khoi may bay that xa... http://nhatquanglan.xlphp.net/

[shanghaislim]

Welcome to Hong Kong. That is about all I have to say or can say?

Hope you can get some much needed work done toward solving the Darfur crisis?

[LizM]

I’m still wondering why you never so much as acknowledged the only presidential candidate who not only understood this issue but knew very well what needed to be done to stop the genocide in Darfur and how to make it happen.

Perhaps, if you and others had been more forthright about who was most qualified and best equipped to deal with this issue - and all the other pressing issues - then the leader among Democrats on foreign policy and national security (...three guesses and the first two don't count) might have escaped the fiasco in Iowa and who knows what might have happened then. The possibilities could have been endless.

Now, as it stands, your blogs on this issue strike me as being about as powerful as a fart in a windstorm, if you’ll excuse my french.

[UltraClassic]

Hillary '08

Let's see if I get this right. The UN and it's hand wringing sub sets can't get anything done and are nothing more than a debateing team?

And with the up and coming pussy-fa-cation of the United States by liberals and leftist democrats, you want US to do somthing about Dar Fur?

Sorry Mia, get use to it. The bad guys in Dar Fur will continue their evil. No one cares enough to do anything about it. That's modern day liberalism for you. We will jaw jack it do death, maybe have a couple of concerts, get a few Hollywood types involved. But we are on the verge of pulling out of Iraq regardless of the chaos to follow. What makes you think we would leave Iraq to implode to satisfy leftists only to go into Dar Fur? As robot use to say on "Lost In Space, " that does not compute.

Hillary '08

[Justtellthetruth]

Hillary 08????!!! are you kidding?!!!???? She sat on her ass and watched Rwanda go directly to hell because it would have been politically difficult to pull off any real help. NOT A PEEP from her, even though she felt it was OK to singlehandedly utterly sink health care reform for almost 2 decades.

When the guy who has African relatives takes office, you will see something done in Darfur.

[UltraClassic]

Hillary '08

"you wil see something done in Dar Fur." Yah, right, and monkies will fly out of that guy's b*tt. Unless of course you are talking about more concerts and hand wringing.

Liberals and leftist democrats do not have it in them to confront evil. Read the posts and comments on this site. Leftists are much more concerned about that fact that Israel may in fact stand up for themselves and face evil down than they are about true evil such as the murdering in Dar Fur.

No, it aint going to happen. Liberals have played their hand at military force. They don't have it in them.

[scampy123]

War crimes charges in Darfur and even Cambodia but not Vietnam or Iraq?
Ban Kee Moon the stooge planted by the Americans at the UN will keep the lid on Iraq war crimes.

[shanghaislim]

Yea, it would be nice to have a little consistency and a loud voice for ALL the people suffering from war crimes?

[TimSearl]

Given the complete contempt for human rights shown by the US government, given our legalization of torture, given the tens of thousands killed by our democratically elected govenment,
I do not understand how any US citizen can complain about how other countries behave. This is democracy and the price of democracy is that we all share responsiblity for the acts of our government. We are all complicit. Do something about the killing, torture, the detention without trial, the illegal use of hostages, the contempt for human life that now constututes our countries policies. Do something about the carnage that we have comitted and make those directly responsible pay, either through exposure of their acts, or through criminal prosecutions. Only then US citizens claim the right to judge others for their crimes.