ICC calls on UN Security Council to seek ‘imaginative, creative ways’ to end violence in Darfur
On Monday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor reported “six months of misery” in Darfur, Sudan, and urged the UN Security Council to find “imaginative, creative ways” to end the region’s ongoing violence.
Karim Khan, presenting his most recent report on the situation in Darfur, covering the period from February to July, told the Security Council that it has been “six months of misery, six months of torment, a terrible six months for the people of Darfur.”
As the report described the situation in Darfur as “a profound human tragedy,” Khan emphasized that it has deteriorated further in the last six months, with increased reports of rape, crimes against children, and vulnerable civilians.
“I am prioritizing allegations of these types of crimes, which have historically disproportionately affected the most vulnerable, the very most vulnerable aspect of our population, in Sudan and elsewhere,” he stated.
The ICC prosecutor described Darfur as a “very bleak place,” but stated that the report shows “some progress” and that the ICC is “investigating” those who are “aiding and abetting” those responsible for the ongoing conflict in Darfur.
“I hope that by my next report, I will be able to announce applications for arrest warrants for those, or some of those individuals, who are most responsible for what we are seeing right now,” he said.
Noting that his office continues to seek “solutions, not polemics,” Khan stated, “The ICC is not a discussion forum.”
Saying that “the ICC is not and never has been a silver bullet to solve the different crises in the world,” Khan urged greater support from UN member states for the efforts of the international court.
The ICC “requires and deserves, in my respectful view, effective support from the council. The council, perhaps, if I may be so bold, needs to look at imaginative ways, creative ways to stop this cycle of violence from persisting,” he said.
Emphasizing that there is “a trapezium of chaos in that part of the continent,” Khan warned about “reaching a tipping point, a critical mass in which Pandora’s box of ethnic, racial, religious, sectarian, and commercial interests will be unleashed.”
He further noted the need for “deepening cooperation” from the parties to the conflict in Sudan and expressed deep concern for the well-being of the people of Darfur.
The war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 between Army Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo concerning disagreements about integrating the RSF into the army.
The conflict has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis, and fighting has killed nearly 16,000 victims and displaced millions.
