Darfur - the unreported war

I last wrote about the Darfur war in April 2006 and in a way that makes me as guilty as the media in under reporting such horrific killings and crimes against humanity.

Today prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have named war crime suspects.

In the BBC article there is also an update on the estimated stark statistics of the war so far, in the last four years there have been

• 200,000 dead
• 2 million forced to flee their homes

The two suspects are, Minister Ahmed Haroun (Sudan Humanitarian Affairs minister) and Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman (janjaweed militia), they are accused of 51 crimes including mass murder, rape and torture.

"The Sudanese Armed Forces and Militia/Janjaweed did not target any rebel presence within these particular villages. Rather, they attacked these villages based on the rationale that the tens of thousands of civilian residents in and near these villages were supporters of the rebel forces. This strategy became the justification for the mass murder, summary execution, and mass rape of civilians who were known not to be participants in any armed conflict. Application of the strategy also called for, and achieved, the forced displacement of entire villages and communities."

Situation in Darfur, the Sudan
Prosecutor’s Application under Article 58(7)
Summary

The Sudanese government in response to this report has stated that they do not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC. They insist there was no link between the minister and the militia and that the militia leader is already under detention.

The ICC will now consider the report and decide whether to instigate an inquiry which could lead to international arrest warrants being issued.

The reason this is an under reported war is because the media has limited or no access, large areas of Sudan are off limits to the press and most aid agencies. On the BBC news pages you will see limited pictures and even for this ICC report limited investigative efforts could be made within Sudan because of security concerns.

It is still clear that action needs to be taken, words can only get you so far.

The ICC is a court of last resort when a national government cannot or will not prosecute offenders. If the decision is taken to issue arrest warrants then I hope the international community will finally take positive action.

I will finish with a quote, often attributed to Edmund Burke although no confirmed source exists.

Evil flourishes when good men do nothing.