Mass graves revisit Darfur, ICC investigates war crimes

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has decided to open an investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the current war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), especially in Geneina, the capital of West Darfur State.

In a briefing to the UN Security Council on Thursday, July 13, the ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan warned of the horrific situation and mounting reports that foreshadow a repeat of “the same miserable history that compelled this Council in 2005 to refer this Darfur situation to the ICC.”

Khan said that he wanted to “send a clear message to every belligerent, every commander, every foot soldier who has a gun or believes that they have power to do what they want. That targeting civilians, individuals, targeting their homes, targeting their businesses, intentionally, particularly targeting children and women, are crimes prohibited by the Rome Statute. Attacks against schools, against humanitarian supplies, against humanitarian facilities must cease because the harm that these types of activities are causing are so profound, they go beyond words.”

Sudan is not a State Party to the Rome Statute; however, since the Security Council (UNSC) referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC in Resolution 1593 (2005) on March 31, 2005, the ICC may exercise its jurisdiction over crimes listed in the Rome Statute committed in the territory of Darfur.

Khan referred to the report of the United Nations Office for Human Rights that there is reliable evidence that at least 87 people from the Masalit tribe were buried in mass graves outside the city of Geneina, who were killed by the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias in West Darfur.

According to the UN Human Rights Office, at least 37 bodies were buried on June 20 in a grave approximately one meter deep in an area located 2 to 4 kilometers northwest of the headquarters of the Central Reserve Police, west of Geneina. Another 50 bodies were buried at the same site on June 21, including the bodies of seven women and seven children and individuals who died from untreated injuries.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was “appalled by the callous and disrespectful way the dead, along with their families and communities, were treated.”

“There must be a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into the killings, and those responsible must be held to account,” he added, calling on the RSF and other parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate the immediate search, collection and evacuation of the dead without discrimination.

Fighting between the SAF and RSF broke out on April 15 in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and spread to the western parts of the country in Kordofan and Darfur.

Commentators accused the ICC of remaining silent regarding crimes against humanity committed by the warring parties in Sudan over the past three months.

Commenting to Jusoor Post, lawyer and human rights defender Ibrahim Al-Fahal said that amid the blatant impunity that characterizes the history of belligerents in Sudan, the ICC’s silence over the past three months remained shameful and disgraceful to international justice.

“We know that Ukraine is drawing light and resources away from the victims of Darfur, yet the double standards are shameful,” he said.

“However, it is better late than never. I hope that the Prosecutor's Office of the ICC  will bring justice to the families of the victims,” Fahal added.