Having heard from people who were at this conference, I’m now convinced that the UK speaker’s remarks are misrepresented (or taken completely out of context) in the Yale News article reproduced below, and he did not endorse the Sudanese position on the ICC. One of the risks of blogging is that you see an interesting but uncorroborated story and write about it without pausing to check if it is, er, true. Which happened here…
I’ve warned a number of times of a split over international justice, and specifically the International Criminal Court, between the West (which tends to behave like judge and jury) and African leaders (who feel that they are always the defendants). So it’s good to see the UK and a prominent African government agreeing on ICC issues – or is it?
The chief attorney of the International Criminal Court on Friday called for the indictment of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir at a Yale Law School conference on Darfur, sparking heated debate within panels stocked with international law heavyweights. “The timing could not be better,” Luis Moreno-Ocampo said of the conference. “The time to do something in Darfur is now.”
International officials involved in the Darfur peace process have skirmished over what role — if any — international criminal prosecution should play in curbing Darfur violence since Moreno-Ocampo charged al-Bashir with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in July 2008.
Moreno-Ocampo, elected in April 2003 to a nine-year term as ICC prosecutor, focused his address on the question of whether al-Bashir’s indictment would expedite the peace-making process in Darfur. Moren0-Ocampo argued that an ICC indictment would clearly show all parties in Darfur the repercussions of violating the law. “Peace and justice have to work hand in hand,” he said. “Mr. Al-Bashir will face justice.”
Akec Achiew Khoc, the Sudanese Ambassador to the U.S., disagreed with Moreno-Ocampo’s assertion that al-Bashir’s indictment would lead to peace. Addressing the conference as a guest after the first panel discussion, Khoc argued the move would exacerbate conflict.
Michael O’Neill, the United Kingdom’s Special Representative for Sudan, agreed. He said al-Bashir’s indictment could destroy Sudanese unity and derail the peace process in Darfur.
The UK would certainly like to find a way to avoid the ICC indictment breeding new instability in Darfur and Central Africa and the Horn – it’s not clear that other EU members, and especially France, agree. Michael O’Neill has been working these issues from a number of angles for quite a while, and is well-respected for his efforts. His statement (which may not have been intended for the record?) suggests that the “peace versus justice” debate at the UN – and over African affairs more generally – may be about to heat up a few more degrees…
