New Charges of Genocide for Sudan’s President
In 2003 violence erupted in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, after African rebel groups attacked government targets in Khartoum. African tribes charged the government in Khartoum with trampling the rights of African ethnic groups while favoring the mostly nomadic Arab tribes concerning land and grazing rights. Since 2003, the United Nations estimates that over 300,000 people have died and more than 2.7 million have been displaced. The ongoing conflict in Darfur has attracted attention from the international community, and been a major focus for many humanitarian groups and advocacy communities, but the violence persists.
Omar al-Bashir has largely been condemned by the international community and is accused of lending support to the Janjaweed Militia, an Arab rebel group responsible for much of the much of the violence. Andrew Natsios, former U.S. Envoy to Sudan, has called it a “horrific campaign of ethnic cleansing.”
But the issue of how to accurately label the crisis is far from straightforward. In July of 2008, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir, accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But the ICC initially refused to charge al-Bashir with genocide, which is defined as deliberate intent to exterminate a group of people. ICC prosecutors appealed the court’s decision, and on July 12, 2010, the ICC formally issued new charges of genocide against al-Bashir. While some groups praise the new genocide charges, others fear that the recent court decisions could have pernicious effects: al-Bashir’s regime has threatened to retaliate against humanitarian organizations in Darfur, and some experts worry that the new indictment will make forging a comprehensive peace deal with Khartoum even less likely.
In America Abroad‘s program, Judging the ICC, we hear the arguments for and against creating the court and the trials of handing down international justice from The Hague, Uganda and the former Yugoslavia. Also, Ray Suarez hosts a discussion about the ICC’s effectiveness and America’s relationship with the Court.
AAM visited Pennsylvania Avenue, just in front of the White House in Washington D.C., to gauge the reactions of Darfur coalition activists to the new charges.
This piece was written and produced by Karen Attiah for America Abroad Media.