ICC to prosecute Darfur rebels following Sudan's al-Bashir (Roundup)

By JT Nguyen Jul 17, 2008, 19:06 GMT

New York - The ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Thursday he will seek to prosecute rebel groups in Sudan's Darfur region just as he is prosecuting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur's ethnic conflict.

Moreno-Ocampo said the International Criminal Court (ICC) based at The Hague represents the 'new legal framework' for the world in addition to national judicial systems even though scores of them, including Sudan, have yet to recognize the ICC.

He informed the United Nations that he plans to seek the arrest of rebel leaders responsible for the killing and rape of civilians in Darfur, the same crimes he had charged Khartoum officials with, including al-Bashir. Moreno-Ocampo on Monday asked a three-judge panel of the ICC to issue a warrant for al-Bashir's arrest.

'Conflict managers have to respect the new legal framework,' he said. 'Judges' decisions cannot be ignored, no negotiators may overturn judges' decisions. Once the (ICC) judges have issued another warrant (for al-Bashir), the issue is not if an indictee should be arrested, but how and when.'

He had requested the arrest of Khartoum's minister of humanitarian affairs Ahmad Muhammed Harun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman. Moreno-Ocampo has accused the pair of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

'The biggest challenge has yet to come,' Moreno-Ocampo said. He said once an warrant is issued to arrest al-Bashir, he will ask Khartoum to execute.

'If it (Khartoum) refuses, regional organizations will have a big responsibility in finding solutions,' he said, speaking publicly for the first time since he requested on Monday an arrest warrant for al-Bashir.

He proclaimed the ICC's and his own independence in legally pursuing the charges against the Sudanese leader.

'I am the prosecutor and I have to do my judicial part of the work for the court, and it will be up to the state parties to decide,' he told a press conference at UN headquarters in New York.

'I kept my independence and I cannot be a political factor (in the peace process in Darfur),' he said when asked whether arresting al-Bashir would harm peace negotiations. 'I had informed the political actors of my work.'

The ICC was established by the Rome Statute signed in 1998 by more than 130 countries, of which 106 have ratified the convention setting up the court. Moreno-Ocampo and other officials of the court based at The Hague were at UN headquarters to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the statute.

The United States, Sudan, China, Russia and Israel have not signed the statute and rejected the ICC's jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The UN Security Council in 2005 asked the ICC to investigate the ethnic killing in Darfur with the support of the US, China and Russia - three of the five UN Security Council permanent members with veto power - despite their rejection of the court. The other two permanent members - France and Britain - have ratified the convention.

Moreno-Ocampo declined to discuss openly the charges he made against al-Bashir, which he gave to a three-judge panel at The Hague when he requested the arrest warrant on Monday. He said there was no deadline for the panel to reply to his request.

The charges against the Sudanese president had provoked strong and adverse reactions from Khartoum, and concerns from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, that they might interfere with UN efforts to end the conflict through negotiations involving al-Bashir.

Diplomats at UN headquarters said some council members, including from China and a few African nations, may request the Security Council to ask the ICC to defer the legal process against al-Bashir for one year.

The ICC said postponing the case is a legal and permissible step allowed by the ICC convention. But the 15-nation council will have to adopt a resolution requesting the postponement, because it referred Darfur to the ICC also by a resolution.

Moreno-Ocampo asked the council last December to call on al-Bashir for the surrender of Ahmad Muhammad Harun, who was promoted as minister for humanitarian affairs after the ICC charged him with war crimes in Darfur in his capacity as the minister of the interior.

The prosecutor also asked for the surrender of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, a leader of the Arab militia known as Janjaweed, who had been fighting African rebel groups in Darfur. The Janjaweed were accused of the worst atrocities against Darfur's civilian population.

The UN said the ethnic conflict in Darfur since 2003 had killed more than 300,000 people and made 2.5 million refugees. Most of the Darfur population have been receiving humanitarian assistance from international relief organizations.