New "Justice for Darfur Campaign” demands arrest of Sudanese war criminals

A new campaign has been started by human rights organisations all over the world: the "Justice for Darfur Campaign”. One year ago, on 27th April 2007, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of the former minister of the interior of Sudan, Ahmad Harun, and Ali Kushayb, a leader of the murderous Janjaweed mounted militia. They are accused of 51 war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the Darfur crisis.

However one year after the issue of the international warrants there are no signs that Sudan is prepared to bring the two war criminals to justice.

Ali Kushayb was released in October 2007 from imprisonment on remand because of "lack of proof”. Ahmad Harun, who is reported as having recruited, financed and armed the Janjaweed militia personally, is now as Minister for Humanitarian Affairs responsible for the well-being of the over 2.5 million Darfur refugees. He is an important contact person for the UNAMID peace-keeping force and belongs to a committee to which victims of human rights violations have to address their complaints.

Justice for Darfur!

The Society for Threatened Peoples International and many other human rights organisations appeal urgently to the UN Security Council to pass a resolution calling on the Sudanese government to work wholeheartedly with the International Criminal Court and to arrest both Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb and to deliver them to the International Crimininal Court.

The Campaign has in this matter addressed itself to the European Union, the African Union, the Arab League and many individual countries including Germany.

The GfbV International regrets that the German government has not shown more initiative for ending impunity in Darfur. "Unfortunately Germany has lost its position of leadership in supporting the International Criminal Court”, said the GfbV Africa correspondent, Ulrich Delius. Under the former red-green government Germany was chiefly responsible – in spite of the initial resistance of the USA - for entrusting the International Court of Justice with the task of punishing those responsible for the genocide in Darfur.