Sudan signs MoU with ICC on Ali Kushayb trial

The Sudanese government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Criminal Court (ICC), in The Hague in the Netherlands, on Sunday in relation to the trial of Ali Muhammad Ali Abdelrahman (also known as Ali Kushayb). 

Former Janjaweed leader Kushayb has been accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region and is currently held in ICC custody.

Ambassadors from the European Union congratulated the government on concluding a Memorandum of Understanding with the ICC. They explained that the memorandum 
“confirms the government's determination to cooperate with the ICC and to achieve justice for all the victims”.

Public Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda encouraged the signing of the MoU on twitter and said that tangible and timely cooperation is crucial and past due. “Justice delayed is justice denied to victims” she wrote.

New ICC prosecutor

From June 16 onwards, Bensouda will be replaced by British lawyer Karim Ahmed Khan. Khan was elected as the new Chief Prosecutor of the ICC on Friday. He is set to succeed Bensouda for the next nine-year term. 

Khan has called on the Sudanese government to hand over wanted people to the court, including ousted dictator Omar El Bashir.

Yagoub Mohamed Abdallah, leader of the General Coordination of the Displaced and Refugee Camps, welcomed the election of Khan. He emphasised the importance of the rights of victims and their families and called for the perpetrators of killings, rape, pillage, kidnapping, torture, and other violence to be held accountable.

Abdallah praised the efforts made by former prosecutors, experts, specialists, and workers from the ICC and other human rights and humanitarian organisations in achieving justice for the victims and their families.