A Second Arrest Warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a second arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir on the charge of three counts of genocide against the people of Darfur. The first warrant for al-Bashir’s arrest was issued in March 2009 on the charge of five counts of crimes against humanity (including extermination, torture, and rape), and three counts of war crimes (including intentional attacks on civilians). The ICC attempted to include the counts of genocide in the 2009 warrant, but was unable to satisfy the burden of proof at that time. As is evidenced by this second warrant, an arrest has yet to be made in this case.

The current genocide in the western region of Darfur has been raging since approximately 2003, when President Bashir enlisted the Arab militia known as the Janjaweed (Devils on Horseback) to conduct a calculated campaign of violence against the black Africans in the Darfur region of Sudan. What followed has been a horrific campaign of murder, rape, pillaging and dehumanization of the Darfuri people. While statistics vary, the UN estimates that to date over 300,000 Darfuri civilians have been killed and 2.7 million displaced. Including those who have fled to neighboring countries such as Chad, an estimated 4.7 million have been affected by this ongoing violence.

The situation in Darfur was initially referred to the ICC in 2005 by the United Nations Security Council. Realizing the need to respond to the violence, the Security Council saw a criminal investigation as their best option. As the United States has yet to sign and ratify the Rome Statute, which would recognize the legitimacy of the ICC, the U.S. simply abstained from this vote. This abstention is indicative of the apathetic role the U.S. has continued to play in relation to Darfur.

As a result of the inaction of the international community, Bashir has enjoyed years of impunity for his crimes. The result of the 2009 warrant was disappointing at best. Taking full advantage of this impunity, Bashir used it as an opportunity to expel aid groups and ramp up violence in the region. This was a devastating result for the Darfuri people who began to see a glimmer of hope in the potential of the ICC case against Bashir. According to Gabriel Stauring, co-founder and director of StopGenocideNow.org, “When the first arrest warrant was announced, they told us that they spent the night awake celebrating and talking about the hope for returning home.” It is hard to watch as the international community continues to fail the Darfuri people as we allow Bashir to avoid arrest.

There has been much criticism of the role the U.S. has played in this situation, from their interest in the outcome of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) to the detriment of the Darfuri people, to their apathetic policy on Darfur. This past May, Major General Scott Gration testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that ending the violence in Darfur continues to be a “key strategic objective.”

Protecting the Darfuri people should not simply be a strategic objective, it should be the ultimate objective.

The U.S. has the opportunity here to take a leadership role and push for action in Darfur. As long as the U.S. remains apathetic, it is likely so too will the international community. While those such as Stauring are realistic about the potential outcome of this warrant, there is hope that it will at least raise awareness and put pressure not only on the government of Sudan but on the international community. Stauring adds, “I do also hope that at some point justice will catch up with Bashir, as it has with other leaders guilty of mass atrocities.”

As for the people of Darfur, let us hope this is not simply a repeat of last time. The people of Darfur deserve justice and freedom from violence. As the Darfuri themselves have said, “there is no peace without justice.”

Photo credit: UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran