SAYS WILL NOT DRAW CONCLUSIONS ON GENOCIDE UNTIL INVESTIGATION COMPLETE
Luis Moreno-Ocampo Tells Council, Given Scale, Complexity of Crimes, Anticipates Prosecuting ‘Sequence of Cases, Rather Than a Single Case’
The International Criminal Court had gathered significant evidence on crimes committed in Darfur, but the Prosecutor had not, and would not, draw any conclusions regarding allegations that some of those crimes had been committed with specific genocidal intent, until the completion of a full and impartial investigation, the Security Council was told.
Briefing the Council for the third time since it had referred the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court on 31 March 2005, the Court’s Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said that particular attention would be given to investigating crimes currently affecting the lives and safety of the 2 million displaced civilians in the region. Given the scale of the alleged crimes and the complexities associated with identifying those bearing the greatest responsibility for them, he anticipated the investigation and prosecution as “a sequence of cases, rather than a single case” dealing with the situation in Darfur as a whole. The gravity of the crimes was central to the process of case selection.
Identifying those with greatest responsibility for the most serious crimes was a key challenge for the investigation, he said. The complexity of the Darfur conflict exacerbated that challenge, given that it involved multiple parties, varying over time throughout the different states and localities. Many investigation mechanisms were reactive to complaints, but there was a “reluctance or inability” on the part of witnesses and victims to come forward, and in some cases there had been allegations of intimidation and harassment of complainants, especially regarding rape allegations. The lack of any sort of witness protection system was a serious obstacle to any effective national criminal proceedings.
He stressed, throughout his statement, the need for cooperation in order to ensure accountability, not only for past crimes, but for present crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction that continued to affect the displaced populations in Darfur. “Our justice efforts should contribute to their protection and to the prevention of further crimes. We need information on groups that continue to attack them or to impede their access to humanitarian assistance,” he said, calling on the Council to help his Office in obtaining that and other types of information regarding the investigation of the situation in Darfur.
His Office had gathered significant amounts of information to determine whether the Sudanese Government had dealt with, or was dealing with, the cases he was likely to select for prosecution, he said. The Court’s concern was to see to it that effective justice was delivered to the victims, and that could be achieved either at the national level, where domestic authorities were genuinely willing and able to prosecute those most responsible, by the International Criminal Court itself, or by both. The Sudanese Government had provided much information relating to the conduct of traditional tribal reconciliation mechanisms in Darfur, but, based upon the current assessment, it did not appear that it had investigated or prosecuted any cases that were now, or would be, the focus of his Office’s attention, nor were any such investigations or prosecutions currently under way.
More Details http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sc8748.doc.htm
Prosecutor in UN-backed war crimes court sees multiple Darfur prosecutions
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=18862&Cr=sudan&Cr1=
Luis Moreno-Ocampo Tells Council, Given Scale, Complexity of Crimes, Anticipates Prosecuting ‘Sequence of Cases, Rather Than a Single Case’
The International Criminal Court had gathered significant evidence on crimes committed in Darfur, but the Prosecutor had not, and would not, draw any conclusions regarding allegations that some of those crimes had been committed with specific genocidal intent, until the completion of a full and impartial investigation, the Security Council was told.
Briefing the Council for the third time since it had referred the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court on 31 March 2005, the Court’s Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said that particular attention would be given to investigating crimes currently affecting the lives and safety of the 2 million displaced civilians in the region. Given the scale of the alleged crimes and the complexities associated with identifying those bearing the greatest responsibility for them, he anticipated the investigation and prosecution as “a sequence of cases, rather than a single case” dealing with the situation in Darfur as a whole. The gravity of the crimes was central to the process of case selection.
Identifying those with greatest responsibility for the most serious crimes was a key challenge for the investigation, he said. The complexity of the Darfur conflict exacerbated that challenge, given that it involved multiple parties, varying over time throughout the different states and localities. Many investigation mechanisms were reactive to complaints, but there was a “reluctance or inability” on the part of witnesses and victims to come forward, and in some cases there had been allegations of intimidation and harassment of complainants, especially regarding rape allegations. The lack of any sort of witness protection system was a serious obstacle to any effective national criminal proceedings.
He stressed, throughout his statement, the need for cooperation in order to ensure accountability, not only for past crimes, but for present crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction that continued to affect the displaced populations in Darfur. “Our justice efforts should contribute to their protection and to the prevention of further crimes. We need information on groups that continue to attack them or to impede their access to humanitarian assistance,” he said, calling on the Council to help his Office in obtaining that and other types of information regarding the investigation of the situation in Darfur.
His Office had gathered significant amounts of information to determine whether the Sudanese Government had dealt with, or was dealing with, the cases he was likely to select for prosecution, he said. The Court’s concern was to see to it that effective justice was delivered to the victims, and that could be achieved either at the national level, where domestic authorities were genuinely willing and able to prosecute those most responsible, by the International Criminal Court itself, or by both. The Sudanese Government had provided much information relating to the conduct of traditional tribal reconciliation mechanisms in Darfur, but, based upon the current assessment, it did not appear that it had investigated or prosecuted any cases that were now, or would be, the focus of his Office’s attention, nor were any such investigations or prosecutions currently under way.
More Details http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sc8748.doc.htm
Prosecutor in UN-backed war crimes court sees multiple Darfur prosecutions
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=18862&Cr=sudan&Cr1=