Credit: icc.int/  Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor of The Hague, Netherlands-based International Criminal Court

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS   –   NEW YORK  –  The top Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) called on the UN Security Council Wednesday to press Sudan to do more to bring other indicted persons – including ex-president Omar Al-Bashir – to justice.    ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda  addressed the Security Council one day after alleged former Darfur Janjaweed commander  Ali Kushayb  was transferred to the  ICC  in The Hague after surrendering in the Central African Republic. 

“As many of you will be aware, yesterday, ICC suspect, Ali Kushayb, was transferred to the custody of the Court, following his surrender. This is a pivotal development in the Darfur situation, especially for those victims who have waited so long for justice. I hope that the suspect’s transfer to the Court also sends a clear and unequivocal message that no matter how long it takes or the obstacles placed in our path, my Office will not stop until the alleged perpetrators of Rome Statute crimes are brought to justice.”

-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda 

“Sudan has an international legal duty to turn over all ICC suspects in its custody without delay”.   ICC prosecutor  Bensouda.

Bensouda acknowledged that, more than year after Al-Bashir’s ouster, the authorities in Khartoum have their hands full with competing priorities, including the COVID-19 pandemic, as they steer the nation towards a more democratic future. The ICC prosecutor told the 15-member Council via video-teleconference Wednesday, that meeting the Sudanese people’s legitimate demands for justice, remains at the forefront.   Bensuouda said all ICC suspects against whom arrest warrants have been issued must face justice.  “I take this opportunity to call on Mr Abdallah Banda and all other ICC suspects who are at large, to follow Mr Kushayb’s lead and surrender to the ICC and answer the charges against them through a fair, objective and independent judicial process,” she said.

“Justice for Darfur has already been too elusive for too long.  It is past time for that unsatisfactory state of affairs to change. A window of opportunity has been opened.  We must collectively seize it.  Let us act together to finally bring justice to the victims in Darfur.”

-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda 

Bensouda added:   “As I note in my report to this Council, Mr Al Bashir is serving a two-year sentence in Sudan for a conviction relating to financial corruption. Sudan’s Public Prosecutor has also reportedly announced additional charges relating to the 1989 coup. I am also aware of recent reports that Sudan’s anti-corruption body recently confiscated assets valued at $4 billion from Mr Al-Bashir, his family members and associates.”

Bensouda  appealed to the Council to encourage the military and civilian governing coalition in Khartoum to widen lines of communication with her Office, ramp up cooperation with her team and grant investigators access to Sudanese territory.