13 Dec 2012

UN / DARFUR

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou B. Bensouda, told the Security Council that the Court has done its part in fulfilling its mandate on Darfur and asked "how many more civilians must be killed injured and displaced for this Council to be spurred into doing its part." UNTV

Posted at: December 13, 2012 5:19 pm

Duration: 02:03

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / DARFUR
TRT: 2.03
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 13 DECEMBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

13 DECEMBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Fatou B. Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC):
"My office and the Court as a whole have done their part in executing the mandate given by this Council in accordance with the Rome Statute. The question that remains to be answered is how many more civilians must be killed, injured and displaced for this Council to be spurred into doing its part? "
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations:
"Sudan's position is similar to the one of a significant number of Member States in this distinguished Council who do not recognise the ICC and have not ratified its charter. There are eight Member States currently in the Security Council who are not members of that Court. Therefore our participation today aims merely at correcting the false information and concepts included in the 16th report of the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC submitted to your Council."
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Philip Parham, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations:
"Given these ongoing and deeply troubling issues, the continuing jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in Darfur is all the more relevant, and the Prosecutor's continued efforts to monitor and investigate allegations are vital. Attempts to argue that this Council didn't have the right and power to refer the situation in Darfur to the jurisdiction of the ICC are entirely specious."
8. Med shot, delegates
9. Zoom out, Security Council

STORYLINE:

Crimes against civilians are still being committed against civilians in Sudan's Darfur region, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the United Nations Security Council today (13 December), while noting a continued lack of progress towards arresting those already indicted for alleged atrocities.

Fatou B. Bensouda noted that investigating the Darfur situation was an enormous challenge for the Office of the Prosecutor and a huge sacrifice for the witnesses and victims whose lives remain at risk as a result of their interaction with the Court.

Bensouda said her office has done its part in fulfilling its mandate on Darfur and asked "how many more civilians must be killed, injured and displaced for this Council to be spurred into doing its part."

Although Sudan is not a State Party to the Rome Statute which established the ICC, it is obliged to cooperate with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court and the Prosecutor in accordance with a Council resolution adopted in 2005.

Nevertheless, Sudanese Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman argued that his country is not obliged to comply with the Court.

He said "Sudan's position is similar to the one of a significant number of Member States in this distinguished Council who do not recognise the ICC and have not ratified its charter" and stressed that his appearance at the Council should not be misconstrued as legitimising the Court.

Ambassador Philip Parham of the United Kingdom said the Prosecutor's "continued efforts to monitor and investigate allegations are vital" and "attempts to argue that this Council didn't have the right and power to refer the situation in Darfur to the jurisdiction of the ICC are entirely specious."

Bensouda's office will consider whether further investigations and additional applications for arrest warrants are necessary to address ongoing crimes, including those undertaken with the aim of thwarting delivery of humanitarian aid, attacks on peacekeepers serving with the joint UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID), as well as bombardments and other direct attacks on civilian populations.

The Security Council in 2005 asked the ICC, based in The Hague, to investigate war crimes in Darfur after a UN inquiry found serious violations of international human rights law.

In March 2009, ICC judges issued arrest warrants against Sudan's President, Omar Al-Bashir, for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have died since 2003 due to fighting between rebel groups and Government forces and their allies, militiamen known as the Janjaweed.

Government ministers Ahmed Harun and Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, as well as militia leader Ali Kushayb, were also indicted, while summonses to appear were issued for rebel leaders Abdallah Banda, Saleh Jerbo and Abu Garda in relation to war crimes.