The Arab Coalition for an International Criminal Court is concerned by the obstacles the International Criminal Court (ICC) is facing in the exercise of its duties and, in particular, in matters concerning the handing over those involved in the most serious crimes against humanity.

The handing over of those wanted by the ICC is one of the most serious obstacles hampering the ICC from carrying out its work. In a press conference convened on 21^st November 2007 in New York, the ICC proposed the establishment of a body via which States would be obligated to cooperate with the ICC in matters pertaining to the handing over of suspects, particularly in the cases of Darfour, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and Uganda.

The Arab Coalition expresses its solidarity with the ICC, and urges the international community to cooperate with the Court in order to establish justice and end the culture of suspects escaping justice.

The Arab Coalition urges the group of States Party to the ICC to sign the Rome Statute’s Protocol which would put in place a permanent mechanism through which the ICC would be able to force States to hand over wanted individuals to international justice.

Since Sudan is a sovereign country, the Arab Coalition calls on the Sudanese government to abide by international law and implement Security Council resolution 1593 issued in 2005, by cooperating with the ICC, detaining wanted individuals and handing them over to the ICC.

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) believes that by remaining in his position Ahmed Haroun is able to control towns and camps, which reduces the chances of peace in Darfour. The Sudanese government must take advantage of the procedural guarantees of justice laid down in articles 65, 66, 67, 75 and 76 of the Rome Statute.

ACIJLP fears that the Sudanese government’s behavior and its rejection of cooperation with the ICC may force the Security Council to take action under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter in order to implement its resolutions, particularly articles 41, 43, 46 and 47 of the Charter issued on 26^th June 1945 and adopted on 17^th December 1963.

The ICC is an independent and permanent court which investigates individuals suspected of serious crimes of international importance (Darfour, the Democratic Republic of Congo etc) such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity where the State concerned is either unwilling (Sudan) or unable (the Democratic Republic of Congo) to do so. The office of the ICC’s Prosecutor is currently running investigations into four cases all of which are in Africa (the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, the Sudanese province of Darfour and the Central African Republic).The humanitarian situation in these areas remains deplorable with a huge number of victims in need of international justice.

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) impresses on the Sudanese government the urgent need to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an independent international judicial mechanism and urges the government to accede to the ICC prosecutor’s demand that Ahmed Haroun, former State Minister of Internal Affairs and the present State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Mohamed Abdel Rahman, also known as Ali Kowshayb, be handed over. The two men are accused of having committed crimes falling within the ICC’s jurisdiction according to article 5 of the ICC’s Rome Statute.

ACIJLP urges the Sudanese government to cooperate with the ICC prosecutor, seeing cooperation as the best and most just route out of the present crisis in Darfour which was transferred to the ICC under Security Council resolution 1593 issued in 2005 under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter.

ACIJLP fears that the Sudanese government’s continued non-cooperation with the ICC and its refusal to hand over the two accused men will lead to a worsening of the situation in Darfour, at a time when average incidents of crimes committed are increasing – which has led to the forced displacement of civilians and endangerment of their lives.

ACIJLP underlines to the Sudanese government that the probity and independence of the ICC and the guarantees provided under articles 66 and 67 of the Rome Statute together ensure that the accused men will receive a fair and impartial trial and also prevent the court from assuming a political character.

Arrest warrants for the two men were issued on 2^nd May 2007 upon the request of the ICC prosecutor. The court concluded that there was credible reason to believe that the accused men had a role in crimes committed in Darfour falling within its jurisdiction.

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its extreme concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan, which has resulted in the killing of international humanitarian agency workers in Sudan.

Increased incidents of violations of the ceasefire signed by the Sudanese government and the opposition in Abuja led to the killing of more than twelve individuals working for relief agencies on the 17^th January 2007. This has prompted some organisations to leave the area because of safety concerns, a matter which could lead to a worsening of the humanitarian crisis Sudanese civilians are experiencing.

Increasing ACIJLP’s concern are the Sudanese government’s widespread arrest campaigns in which United Nations and African Union workers in Niyala, south Darfour, have been caught up. These workers were subjected to degrading and inhuman treatment.

ACIJLP considers that the increasing frequency of acts of violence of this nature between the warring factions represents a dangerous threat to the right of life of civilians in Darfour, since several tribes have been involved in violent confrontations, resulting in the death of 120 civilians between 12^th – 20^th January.

The Darfour crisis which broke out in 2003 has led to the death of more than 200,000 Sudanese people. The conflict has also led to the forced displacement of more than 2.5 million people inside Sudan in addition to the 200,000 Sudanese who have sought refuge in east Chad where they live in steadily worsening humanitarian conditions.

ACIJLP urges the Sudanese authorities to become aware of its role and undertake its responsibility to provide security throughout Sudan generally, and in Darfour in particular.

It also calls on the United Nations to speed up the deployment of additional forces in Darfur in order to protect civilians, in execution of resolution 1706 passed by the Security Council in 2006. 

 ACIJLP urges the African Summit currently being held in Addis Ababa to exert efforts in order to bring about an immediate ceasefire in Darfour, and work with the warring factions in order to guarantee the protection of Sudanese civilians and protect international humanitarian agency employees present in Darfour.

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) addresses their Excellencies and Highness, Arab presidents and rulers convening at the Sudanese capital Khartoum for the 18^th session on 28 and 29 March, 2006, as well as to the President to the current session and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States concerning the following:

• Many of the Arab Constitutions are in consensus concerning the need for the independence of the Judiciary Authority and that it has become a solid fact in the civilized world that the Judiciary Institutions and its independence represent an active part of the main structures necessary for economic and social development and that the objective that Judiciary Institutions seek to achieve is justice because it leads to stability and progress.
• The Judiciary is an authority that possesses its own entity, features and independence. It should be treated as an equal to the two other Authorities.
• An independent judiciary is the refuge of citizens, including the rulers and the governed. It guarantees the protection of their rights and the preservation of their freedom and their natural feeling of justice.
• An independent judiciary is the means of the ruler chosen by his people to safeguard against those who violate the nation’s will. It is also the means of the governed against those who seize power or who take refuge in power and impose humiliation by force of deceit or oppression.
• This image of the Judiciary Authority gives a strong root to the mentioned meanings in the Arab reality and emphasizes them in the minds of citizens. It also gives it stability in practice in a way that protects the Arab social, economic and political reality against the threat of crises and instability.

Thus, the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) addresses their Highness and their Excellency the Arab rulers and presidents, who are in charge of the interests of the people of this nation to give consideration to guaranteeing the actual and real independence of the Judiciary Authority in all Arab countries.

ACIJLP also addresses those convening in the summit to give consideration to the following:

• The circumstances of the countries of the region and the climate that raises many political and international issues that are very serious for the future of this nation and its people, as well as the incidents affecting this region, previous and current crimes committed on its land.
• The Arab region is in strong need for a permanent international criminal court that deters perpetrators of mass cleansing and mass murder, war crimes, crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity, the majority of which have been and are committed against Arab people as history tells us.

Thus, ACIJLP calls for presenting the issue of ratifying or joining the permanent International Criminal Court for discussion among the Arab delegations participating in the Summit. ACIJLP also pleads with Arab governments to make sure that Arab people do not miss the opportunity of joining this international mechanism that seeks to establish international criminal justice which has become a reality the presence of which can not be denied or ignored.

The Coalition of Arab Non-Governmental Organizations – which contains 54 NGOs[1][1] – welcomes Security Council resolution 1593 on the transfer of those responsible for committing crimes in Darfour, Sudan, to the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC).

While regarding this resolution – which targets individuals involved in crimes falling within the court’s jurisdiction – as a step forward for values of justice and human rights in political terms, the Coalition stresses that it was passed in response to victims’ demands rather than political expediency.

The resolution referring those accused of crimes falling within the ICC’s jurisdiction is the first time that the Security Council has practically applied article 13(2) of the ICC statute to transfer defendants to it. It is also the first time that defendants from an Arab country have been transferred using this provision.

The Sudanese defendants have been referred to the ICC despite the fact that Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statute according to which the Court was founded. It disproves what many states – in particular those from the Arab region – wrongly believe: that the ICC cannot try citizens for crimes committed within a state which has not ratified the Rome Statute.

This resolution consolidates the Coalition’s appeal to Arab governments made on the 25^th December 2004 urging them to accede to and ratify the ICC’s founding statute in order to facilitate continuity between the domestic judiciary and the Court’s judges , and in order that they do not rely on their refusal to ratify the Statute as a means of escaping the Court’s jurisdiction.

The Coalition for an International Criminal Court calls on the Sudanese government to consider this situation from a human rights and legal, rather than political, perspective. Investigation proceedings have already begun, and under its international treaty obligations, Sudan must co-operate. The Coalition similarly calls on the Sudanese government to ratify the Rome Statute, and facilitate co-operation between the ICC’s judges and the Sudanese judiciary, allowing the Sudanese government to hold a fair and impartial trial of those accused of committing crimes falling within the Court’s jurisdiction.

[2][1] For a full listing of all the NGO members of the coalition please visit

www.acicc.org