On 6 October the International Criminal Court found a leader of Sudan’s Janjaweed militia, which later became the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity that targeted members of non-Arab communities in Darfur between 2003 and 2004.
Mr Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (also known as Ali Kushayb) was found guilty of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges were related to four operations in Kodoom, Bindisi and surrounding areas between 15 and 16 August 2003, Mukjar and surrounding areas between the end of February 2004 and the beginning of March 2004, and in Deleig and surrounding areas between 5 and 7 March 2004.
The court was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Abd-Al-Rahman was personally responsible for torture, murder, persecution and outrages against personal dignity. In the Kodoom and Bindisi operations he was deemed responsible for ordering the Janjaweed to commit murder, rape, attacks against civilians, pillaging, forcible transfer of the population, persecution and distorting property belonging to the enemy, which amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.
The court also found Mr Abd-Al-Rahman guilty of jointly committing murder, attempted murder, torture, outrages against personal dignity and persecution with the Janjaweed and/or government forces. Among other individuals named by the prosecutor in connection with these attacks was Ahmad Muhamad Haroun, who was a government minister in Sudan at the time, and for whom the ICC has issued an arrest warrant.
CSW’s Director of Advocacy Dr Khataza Gondwe said: ‘We welcome the judgement delivered in the Ali Abd-Al-Rahman case. Not only did the court find him guilty of 27 atrocity crimes; it also named the other general and commanders he collaborated with to commit these crimes. The fact that this case details atrocities that were committed over two decades ago should serve as a warning to perpetrators everywhere that justice may be slow, but it can also be inevitable. It is vital to continue combatting impunity by holding perpetrators to account and giving a voice and agency to the victims and survivors of these appalling crimes.’
CSW’s Sudan Specialist Mohaned El Nour said: ‘As I listened to the court judgement in the Ali Kushayb case I was moved by the inclusion by the judges of the names of some of the people who were killed in the attacks either directly by Kushayb, or by those following his orders, including religious and community leaders. Now, over twenty years after the Darfur conflict of 2003-04, Sudan is once again in a conflict that has affected the whole country. The same people, the RSF, who were the Janjaweed, and the Sudan Armed Forces are locked in a war against civilians. Coming in the midst of this, the court’s decision brings us a rare glimmer of hope that cycles of impunity can be broken and those responsible for crimes against the people of Sudan will one day be named in a court with their crimes listed in detail for the world to see.’
Also on 6 October, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) voted to renew the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for the Sudan by another year, with 24 countries voting to support the mandate, 12 abstaining and 11 voting against the resolution, including the Sudanese authorities.
The renewal of the mandate allows for the FFM to investigate, document and report to the UN on violations that are being perpetrated in the continuing conflict between the RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). In its latest report the FFM found that the conflict was a ‘war of atrocities’ targeting civilian populations, and included reports on attacks on places of worship by parties to the conflict.
The renewal of its mandate also enables the FFM to receive documentation and information about alleged violations which can be compiled and shared with justice mechanisms such as the ICC. Over 100 civil society organisations had called for the renewal of the mandate ahead of the current session of the HRC.
Dr Gondwe added: ‘CSW welcomes the renewal of the FFM’s mandate, which will enable it to continue its important role in documenting and reporting on human rights abuses committed by all parties during the course of this devastating war. In particular, we welcome the inclusion of two oral updates where the FFM will inform the HRC on its latest findings and of an enhanced dialogue that includes a representative of civil society, thereby centring the voices of Sudanese civil society in these discussions.’
Mr El Nour concurred: ‘We applaud the decision by South Africa to vote in favour of the resolution; the only African nation on the council to do so. We ask fellow African nations to do their part to bring the conflict in Sudan to an end, and to hold the perpetrators of the grave crimes documented by the FFM to account.’
Notes to Editors:
- Mr Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman was found guilty of the following crimes:
Count 1: war crime of attack against a civilian population under Articles 8(2)(e)(i) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation;
Count 2: crime against humanity of murder under Articles 7(1)(a) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation
Count 3: war crime of murder under Articles 8(2)(c)(i) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation;
Count 4: war crime of pillaging under Articles 8(2)(e)(v) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation;
Count 5: war crime of destroying the enemy’s property under Articles 8(2)(e)(xii) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation;
Count 6: crime against humanity of other inhumane acts under Articles 7(1)(k) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindis Operation;
Count 7: war crime of outrages upon personal dignity under Articles 8(2)(c)(ii) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation;
Count 8: crime against humanity of rape under Articles 7(1)(g) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation;
Count 9: war crime of rape under Articles 8(2)(e)(vi) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation;
Count 10: crime against humanity of forcible transfer of population under Articles 7(1)(d) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation;
Count 11: crime against humanity of persecution on political and ethnic grounds, under Articles 7(1)(h) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute, committed during the Kodoom and Bindisi Operation;
Count 12: crime against humanity of torture, under Articles 7(1)(f) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 13: war crime of torture, under Articles 8(2)(c)(i) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 16: war crime of outrages upon personal dignity under Articles 8(2)(c)(ii) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 17: crime against humanity of murder under Articles 7(1)(a) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 18: war crime of murder under Articles 8(2)(c)(i) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 19: crime against humanity of attempted murder under Articles 7(1)(a) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 20: war crime of attempted murder under Articles 8(2)(c)(i) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 21:crime against humanity of persecution on political, ethnic and gender grounds, under Articles 7(1)(h) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 22: crime against humanity of torture, under Articles 7(1)(f) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Deleig Operation;
Count 23: war crime of torture, under Articles 8(2)(c)(i) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Deleig Operation;
Count 26: war crime of outrages upon personal dignity under Articles 8(2)(c)(ii) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Deleig Operation;
Count 27: crime against humanity of murder under Articles 7(1)(a) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Deleig Operation;
Count 28: war crime of murder under Articles 8(2)(c)(i) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Deleig Operation;
Count 29: crime against humanity of attempted murder under Articles 7(1)(a) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Deleig Operation;
Count 30: war crime of attempted murder under Articles 8(2)(c)(i) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Deleig Operation;
Count 31: the crime against humanity of persecution on political, ethnic and gender grounds, under Articles 7(1)(h) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the Deleig Operation;
Mr Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman was also charged with the following crimes for which the court did not enter a verdict as the elements of these crimes were included in other counts that he had been found guilty of, and the statutes preventing the court from entering a cumulative judgement.
Count 14: crime against humanity of other inhumane acts under Articles 7(1)(k) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 15: war crime of cruel treatment under Articles 8(2)(c)(i) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, during the Mukjar Operation;
Count 24: crime against humanity of other inhumane acts under Articles 7(1)(k) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, during the Deleig Operation;
and Count 25: war crime of cruel treatment under Articles 8(2)(c)(i) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute, during the Deleig Operation.