ICC calls on UN Security Council to seek 'imaginative, creative ways' to end violence in Darfur

HAMILTON, Canada

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor on Monday reported "six months of misery" in Darfur, Sudan, urging the UN Security Council to find "imaginative, creative ways" to end the ongoing violence in the region.

Presenting his latest report on the situation in Darfur covering this February to July, Karim Khan 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 called the situation in Darfur "a profound human tragedy," Khan said stressed that there has been further deterioration in the last six months with increased reports of rape, crimes against children, and vulnerable civilians.

"I am prioritizing the allegations regarding these types of crimes that historically in Sudan and in the wider world have affected disproportionately the most vulnerable, the very most vulnerable aspect of our population," he said.

Describing Darfur as a "very bleak place," the ICC prosecutor said there is nonetheless "some progress" in the report and that the ICC is "investigating" those who are "aiding and abetting" those responsible for the ongoing conflict in Darfur.

"I hope, by my next report, I will be able to announce applications for warrants of arrest regarding those, or some of those individuals that are the most responsible for what we're seeing at the moment," he added.

Noting that his office continues to seek out "solutions not polemics," Khan said: "The ICC is not a talk shop."

Saying that "the ICC is not and never has been a silver bullet to solve the different crises of the world," Khan urged greater support from UN member states for the efforts of the international court.

The ICC “requires and it 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 a Pandora's box of ethnic, racial, religious, sectarian, commercial interests will be unleashed."

He further noted the need for "deepening cooperation" from the parties of 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.