PGA reiterates its call for Sudanese authorities to surrender former President al-Bashir to the ICC and reaffirms its recommendations for a peaceful transition
New York/The Hague, 13 June 2019
On 11 April 2019, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) welcomed the arrest of former President Omar al-Bashir, after three decades of rule, as an opportunity for the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in Sudan.
As the largest network of individual parliamentarians, united in their fight against impunity for the most serious crimes, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) called for President al-Bashir’s immediate surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he faces pending charges for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed against the population of Darfur.
PGA also has called on Sudan to consider implementing six concrete recommendations to support a smooth, peaceful, and sustainable transition to democracy, the rule of law, and respect of human rights. PGA notes that its recommendations have not been timely implemented by the transitional authorities.
The lack of accountability for the most serious crimes of concern to the International Community as a whole, starting with genocide, may have contributed to creating a sense of impunity conducive to the bloody attacks against protesters and the brutal killing of more than 100 unarmed persons on 3 June in Khartoum by un-uniformed militias[1]. The international media attributed responsibility for these attacks to elements of the Janjaweed militia that had carried out some of the most inhumane acts against communities and villages in Darfur. PGA’s Secretary-General David Donat Cattin.
PGA particularly notes that the State of Emergency declared by the al-Bashir administration in March 2019, which Parliament approved for a period of six months, has not yet been suspended, limiting the exercise of human rights as protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). PGA calls on the Transitional Military Council (TMC), currently led by Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, to immediately notify the United Nations Secretary-General of the cessation of this derogatory measure instated by the previous repressive regime and reinstate all civil and political human rights in Sudan.
PGA notes that a transition towards the restoration of democracy based on the separation of powers under the Rule of Law, including credible and legitimate elections and institutional reforms to establish checks and balances within a peaceful Sudanese State, has not yet credibly commenced. PGA urges the international mediator, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and all members of the international community to assert political pressure and economic conditionality compatible with International Law to induce the seven-member TMC to accept the mediator’s transition plan, which includes establishing a new transitional authority composed of 15 members, with seven representatives of the military and eight of civilian entities and institutions.
PGA re-affirms its urgent call for the immediate surrender of Mr. al-Bashir and all other Sudanese individuals charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and/or war crimes in Darfur to the ICC in The Hague so that victims of atrocities can finally begin the process of achieving justice. By doing so, the transitional authorities of Sudan will send a clear signal that impunity for mass atrocities will no longer be tolerated, and that the “new Sudan” will be a valid and credible partner of the International Community, willing to comply with UN Security Council resolutions aimed at restoring international peace and security. PGA underscores that the ICC’s detention facilities in The Hague are exclusively designed to jail alleged perpetrators during criminal proceedings for the crimes under its jurisdiction. Therefore, Sudanese authorities can arrange with the ICC to ensure that al-Bashir will be returned to Sudan for trials that may regard other offenses, such as grand corruption and financing of terrorism, as well as crimes against humanity or war crimes distinct from the atrocities underpinning the ICC Prosecutor’s charges in the framework of the deadly conflict(s) in Darfur.
PGA also re-affirms the obligation of the Sudanese State to offer apologies and reparations for the harm and devastation caused by the al-Bashir regime to all victims and affected communities in Darfur, other regions of Sudan, and other countries in Africa. In all these cases, the territorial State has the obligation under International Law to set up reparations programmes to assist victims and their families as well as to offer credible guarantees of non-repetition.
To this end, PGA calls again on the “new Sudan” to set up appropriate legislative, jurisdictional, prosecutorial, administrative, and policy measures to put an end to the impunity through which the al-Bashir regime has been fueling bloody armed conflicts within and outside Sudan, including in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Uganda and South Sudan. One these measures should be the ratification of the revised Cotonou Agreement of the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP)—European Union (EU), which provides social and economic incentives for the ratification and effective implementation of relevant human rights treaties, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR.
Impunity for mass atrocity crimes has allowed Mr. al-Bashir to acquire and maintain power, and engage in criminal conduct, sowing tension, strife, and armed conflict throughout Africa. The time has come to provide justice for victims as key foundation from which a “new Sudan” can be built.
Useful Links
Sudan talk to resume soon as opposition halts strikes, says mediator (BBC)
Sudan crisis: What you need to know (BBC)
Parliamentarians around the world welcome the arrest of ICC fugitive, Sudanese President al-Bashir (PGA)
Footnotes:
1.“Doctors say 118 people have died in the recent outbreak of violence, while officials say there were fewer fatalities – putting the number at 61.” Cf. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48602868. Violence erupted on 3 June to quash protests against the Transitional Military Council, who had announced that snap elections would have been organized within 9 months, hence abandoning the negotiated plan agreed in May with the opposition for a progressive road-map of 3 years towards genuinely free and fair elections. Observers noted that the snap elections may be just a masquerade for the military regime to maintain power.
Contact:
New York
Dr. David Donat Cattin
Secretary General
E: donat@pgaction.org
Tel. +1.646.287.5479
