Call on ICC to indict South Darfur governor as ‘accessory to genocide’

A prominent Sudanese academic has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to investigate the actions and threats of South Darfur Governor (Wali) Adam El Faki to dismantle the vast camps for the displaced in the state in response to President Al Bashir’s wishes as contraventions of international and humanitarian law.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, prominent academic and human rights defender Ahmed Hussein Adam, associate researcher at the University of London School of Law, echoed the words of Yagoub Furi, the chair of the Darfur Displaced and Refugees Coordination, who considered the speech of the governor of South Darfur, in which El Faki announced his determination to dismantle Kalma camp for displaced people, one of the largest camps in Darfur, as “a declaration of war against the displaced“.

Hussein says “this is a contravention of international and humanitarian law, making Governor Adam El Faki an additional defendant before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague with the displaced people as witnesses.

“The threats and measures of the governor of South Darfur should have him appear before the ICC for violating international humanitarian law, human rights law, and the 30 principles of displacement adopted by the UN General Assembly.

“Such principles categorically prohibit any expulsion of displaced persons, forced eviction, or forced return. What the government is doing now is not a voluntary return because it is based on threat of power for the dismantling of the camps by force, so this is a clear violation and forced return prohibited under international laws and the 30 principles that clearly regulate the issue of displacement.”

‘Urgent and immediate ICC investigation’

Hussein appealed to the ICC “to open an urgent and immediate investigation into the dismantling of the camps; because what is happening is a flagrant crime in international humanitarian law and international criminal law.”

Addressing Governor El Faki, Hussein said: “I assure you, Governor of South Darfur, if you carry out what you say, as you are saying that what you are doing is Al Bashir’s wish, you shall appear before the ICC”.

He stressed that the remarks and threats of the governor are not surprising because the government has intent to dismantle the camps that are evidence of the genocide in Darfur for which Al Bashir is wanted in The Hague.

He said: “Today we can say that one new member has joined the ICC defendants, namely the Governor of South Darfur”.

Hussain appealed to human rights organisations to expand their work and launch, at the same time, new campaigns on the issue of camps. He called on Unamod to speak rather than to be silent because what is going against is the mandate it was given.

Also he appealed to the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council, the United States, European Union countries and the Sudanese activists to immediately act.

Darfur Centre for Documentation and Information

The Darfur Centre for Documentation and Information has strongly condemned the threats of the Governor of South Darfur.

The director of the centre, Abdelbagi Jibril, described in an interview with Radio Dabanga the governor’s statements and threats as violating all national and international laws governing life in Sudan, topped by Sudan’s Constitution for the year 2005.

He said that Article II of the Constitution obliges the Sudanese government to respect human dignity and treat all the Sudanese citizens equally without discrimination.

He said “The government wants by these measures and criminal statements of the governor to compel the displaced people to forcibly return again which is really unacceptable in all religions, cultures and legislations, especially the Islamic religion”.

He added “Adam El Faki claimed that this is the desire of President Al Bashir, but we tell him that the president’s wish cannot be fulfilled if he orders to throw themselves into ruin”.