International prosecutions are needed to deter ongoing atrocities in Darfur, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday in a report documenting crimes committed in the region. Today, the UN international commission of inquiry on Darfur is expected to report its findings to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. (25-JAN-05)

This article was first released by the Pan African News Agency yesterday. It has been edited prior to being re-released here.

Last September, the Security Council in a resolution mandated its own international commission of inquiry to investigate violations of international humanitarian law and human rights in Darfur, western Sudan, to determine whether genocide has occurred, and identify perpetrators with a view to holding them accountable.

Crimes against humanity committed, so far with impunity
“Regardless of whether there has been genocide, the scale and severity of the ongoing atrocities in Darfur demand an urgent international response,” said Peter Takirambudde, Africa Director at Human Rights Watch. “Given Sudan’s continuing failure to prosecute the perpetrators, the Security Council needs to refer the situation of Darfur to the International Criminal Court.” The 22-page HRW report: “Targeting the Fur: Mass Killings in Darfur,” documents “how the Sudanese government and its allied Janjaweed militias have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur with impunity.”

Sudanese government officials involved
According to the New York-based rights group, “These crimes include the round-up, detention and execution in March of more than 200 Fur farmers and community leaders in West Darfur’s Wadi Saleh and Mukjar provinces.” It said, “in the same period, thousands of Fur men, women and children in the South Darfur province of Shattaya were attacked by Janjaweed militias and detained, raped, tortured and kept in inhuman conditions in Kailek camp.” In both West and South Darfur, local government officials were deeply implicated in these crimes, HRW charged. “Sudanese government officials were clearly involved in the atrocities in Darfur, but the government has made no serious attempt to hold anyone accountable,” Takirambudde said.

African Union called upon to base patrol troops throughout Darfur
Last week, a presidential inquiry into abuses in Darfur disputed evidence of widespread and systematic crimes, and instead of prosecutions, the inquiry recommended the formation of a committee. “It is clear that the Sudanese government is unwilling to hold perpetrators of atrocities to account,” said Takirambudde. “The International Criminal Court was created to address situations like Darfur. It should be given the authority to open investigations into crimes committed there.” HRW said in Darfur’s two-year conflict, “government soldiers and allied militias have killed tens of thousands and forcibly displaced almost two million people.” It called on the African Union to base troops not only in major towns but also in key rural towns in Darfur.

Darfur not part of negotiations to end the Sudanese war
AU troops need to actively patrol the rural areas and protect civilians, the rights group stressed. Takirambudde warned: “Each month that passes without action condemns hundreds more civilians to death and leaves millions of traumatised people in camps at the mercy of their tormentors,” adding: It’s time for the Security Council to ensure justice and protection for the people of Darfur.” The conflict in Darfur that erupted in February 2003 was not included in negotiations to end the 21-year civil war between the government and the southern-based rebels, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The war in the south was ended with the Naivasha (Kenya) peace agreement signed 9 January.

Ceasefire repeatedly violated by both sides
AU-sponsored negotiations to resolve the Darfur conflict resulted in a ceasefire agreement signed 8 April, 2004 by the Sudan government and the main Darfur rebel forces, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). But the signatories have continued to violate the ceasefire, while the peace talks have made little progress. Of the estimated 3,300 troops which the AU plans to deploy in Darfur, diplomatic sources said only 1,400 troops were on the ground, amid logistical problems despite EU and US funding support.