The Hague — The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, has hailed the surrender and transfer of former Darfur janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, indicted by the court for crimes against humanity, as "a milestone in the Darfur, Sudan situation".
'The victims in the Darfur situation deserve to finally have their day in court'
"Kushayb's surrender and transfer, almost two decades after his alleged crimes, is a powerful and sombre reminder that the victims of atrocity crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan have waited too long to see justice done.
Tangible justice
In her statement, Bensouda reiterates her call on Sudan's authorities "to ensure tangible justice for the victims in Darfur without undue delay," underlining that "all the five remaining arrest warrants in the Darfur situation, against Omar Al Bashir, Abdel Raheem Hussein, Ahmad Harun, and Abdallah Banda, remain in force.
'Ending impunity for atrocity crimes is also essential to achieve durable peace and security in Darfur'
"Alternatively, under the Rome Statute, Sudan can demonstrate to the Judges of the Court that it is genuinely investigating and prosecuting the four remaining suspects for substantially the same criminal conduct alleged in their respective ICC arrest warrants."
On February 11 this year, government negotiators and the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance agreed during peace talks on the Darfur track in the South Sudan capital of Juba, to hand Al Bashir and the other ICC indictees to the court in The Hague.
