Michael Hernandez
29 January 2024•Update: 30 January 2024
WASHINGTON
The International Criminal Court's (ICC) prosecutor said Monday that he believes both sides in Sudan's ongoing conflict are committing crimes in violation of international law in the country's Darfur region.
"It's my clear finding, my clear assessment, that there are grounds to believe that presently Rome Statute crimes are being committed in Darfur by both the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and affiliated groups," Karim Khan told the UN Security Council.
Khan was referring to the founding document that established the ICC, and tasked it with prosecuting four main international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
The prosecutor announced in July that he would be investigating potential war crimes in Darfur amid the ongoing conflict in Sudan between the country's military and the RSF. The conflict began in April, and has since spread throughout the country with no signs of stopping any time soon.
Darfur is in Sudan's west, and has previously been the site of widespread war crimes that left hundreds of thousands of civilians dead and millions displaced. Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's former longtime leader, was indicted in 2009 for allegedly directing the atrocities.
Khan warned the UN Security Council that Sudan is racing towards a "breaking point" as hostilities ravage the nation.
"I'm compelled to conclude and report that it is my assessment that we are fast approaching a breaking point that under the conflict in Sudan demands your attention now more than ever," he said.
"We can't continue to apply the law in a piecemeal fashion. The duty to uphold the law is required by the charter, is required by the Rome Statute, is required by your own resolutions. And it even is required by self-interest, as properly understood. It compels us, in my respectful view, to take a different approach to the old problem in Darfur," he added.
*Serife Cetin contributed to this report from the UN
