New York/The Hague/Bangui/N'djamena
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) members commend the cooperation of Central-African, French, Chadian authorities and MINUSCA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic) which made possible the transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC), on 9 June 2020, of Ali Kushayb, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur (Sudan) between 2002 and 2004.
In 2007, the ICC delivered two arrest warrants against Ali Kushayb, a former commander of the Janjaweed militia, as part of an investigation into crimes committed in Darfur. This investigation was opened after the United Nations Security Council adopted in 2005 a resolution referring the situation in Darfur to the ICC. More than ten years after the arrest warrants and more than fifteen years after the alleged facts, Ali Kushayb voluntarily surrendered to the authorities and will soon appear before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC. Four other individuals are subject to arrest warrants related to the situation in Darfur, including former President, Omar al-Bashir, who is currently detained in Sudan, where he is prosecuted for crimes committed in Darfur, among others.
Since 11 April 2019, when Omar al-Bashir was removed from office and arrested after 30 years of authoritarian rule, PGA urged the transitional authorities of Sudan and all UN Member States to give effect to the international law’s obligation to surrender him to the ICC, without prejudice to prosecutions and trials that might be led against al-Bashir in Sudan for other international crimes or domestic offences he may have perpetrated during his term as head of State.
As most conflicts and crimes committed in Central Africa, those committed in Sudan have reverberated across the country’s borders and have notably affected the Central-African Republic and Chad – as the presence of Ali Kushayb on Central-African territory demonstrates. The atrocities committed in Sudan, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – three countries where the ICC has been conducting investigations or requested the arrest of suspects – Cameroon or Chad have repercussions in neighbouring countries.
We are happy for our Sudanese brothers, for whom the cogs of justice seem to finally start turning. We hope that the ICC will be able to shed light on the atrocities committed in Darfur and deliver justice to victims. However, we regret that it took so many years and we call on all relevant authorities – including that of Sudan – to fully cooperate with the ICC, and more generally to strengthen their judicial cooperation on matters related to international crimes. When atrocities are committed, wherever that may be, their effects are felt throughout neighboring countries: it is our joint responsibility to work together to guarantee that they do not remain unpunished.Hon. Théophile Madjitoloum Yombombé
3rd Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Chad
PGA member
PGA’s National Group in the Central-African Republic is encouraged by this recent development, as well as by the recent arrest of Félicien Kabuga, accused of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the announcement on 25 May by the Special Criminal Court (SCC) of the Central-African Republic that it had arrested its first suspects. Members of PGA remain aware that more efforts are needed to ensure that all victims of international crimes and serious human rights violations can obtain justice, before relevant international courts as well as ordinary courts.
As parliamentarians and representatives of the Central-African people, it is our duty to use all our prerogatives to fight the impunity that has afflicted us for so long. The Central-African Republic has made big strides in that regard, and our PGA National Group remains determined to continue on this path, including by strengthening our domestic criminal law. We call on our fellow parliamentarians – and members of governments – throughout the world to demonstrate their commitment to the Rule of Law and human rights by working together to reduce impunity to a distant memory.Hon. Roland Achille Bangue-Betangai
Chairman of the Legislation Committee of the National Assembly of the Central-African Republic
Chairman of PGA’s National Group in CAR
Contacts:
Ms. Melissa Verpile
Senior Legal Officer,
International Law and Human Rights Program
melissa.verpile@pgaction.org
Ms. Marion Chahuneau
Senior Legal Officer,
International Law and Human Rights Program
marion.chahuneau@pgaction.org
