Thursday, September 20, 2007

ICC prosecutor presses for arrest of Darfur war crimes suspects

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The International Criminal Court's prosecutor on Thursday urged the world community to back efforts to arrest two Sudanese officials wanted for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo made the remarks on the eve of a high-level meeting here that will bring together key players in a joint UN-African Union drive to end more than four years of bloodshed in Darfur.

"Justice in Darfur must be on the agenda (of that meeting)," he told reporters here. "The international community has to be consistent in its support of the law".

He said Friday's meeting must be an opportunity to remind Sudan's government of "its responsibility to arrest" war crimes suspect Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's secretary of state for humanitarian affairs.

Last May, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Haroun and pro-government Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kosheib, but Sudan has refused to hand them over.

The two officials face a list of 42 and 50 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes respectively.

"I'm concerned that silence by ... the international community on the arrest warrants has been understood in Khartoum as a weakening of international resolve in support of the law," Ocampo said. "There can be no political solution as long as Haroun remains free". Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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