Did NGOs in Darfur Pass Information to the ICC - Redux

A follow through to last week's post, about whether NGOs in Darfur passed information to the International Criminal Court, as alleged by the Sudanese Government.

Granted, it's easy enough to ignore allegations by the Sudanese Government - their credibilty leaves a little something to be desired.  That said, a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor stirred the controversy further:

"According to Sudan expert Alex de Waal, program director at the New York-based Social Science Research Council, the ICC prosecutor publicly indicated that much of his information came from NGOs".

Yet the article seems to have misquoted de Waal - according to a clarification he issued over the weekend:

"I think the editorial process may also have truncated my remarks or placed them out of context.

In the early days of his investigations, Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo commented that he obtained information from the reports of human rights NGOs. Last December he also implied that Sudanese human rights activists were among his witnesses. But if he has ever said that he obtained evidence from international humanitarian NGOs working in the field in Darfur, I am not aware of it. To the contrary, I know that offered to issue a public statement that he was not cooperating with the NGOs."

Further, according an Al Jazeera report from yesterday: "Moreno-Ocampo said he had received no help or information from NGOs or UN agencies in his investigation."

(For more on the role of NGOs in ICC investigations more broadly, see here.)

Still, some have their doubts.  Ibrahim Adam, writing on the blog Making Sense of Darfur, states:

"There’s no smoke without fire. And in the case of claims of the politicisation of international humanitarian operations in Darfur, it’s a pretty big and, in fact, very visible fire."

He then goes on to say that "activists had/have infiltrated some international aid organisations working in Darfur...and provided informational and testimonial assistance to the ICC".  He also accuses NGOs of providing assistance to rebel groups.

Yet the best evidence Adam can muster is the story of one volunteer doctor who worked with MSF, and who passed on children's drawings of conflict and atrocities, as well as two broad statements from ODI about the "politicization" of humanitarian aid.

In fact, one of Adam's greatest complaints seems to be that NGOs were far more outspoken about atrocities in Darfur than in, say, Congo or Somalia or Sri Lanka.

Adam conflates two issues here.  One is the question of whether NGOs passed information to the ICC.  The other is the question of NGO advocacy more broadly, and whether such advocacy - i.e. speaking out about the situation in Darfur, or lobbying international powers to take action - violates their humanitarian mission.

I haven't seen much, if anything, in the way of proof that NGOs systematically passed information to the ICC; nor much beyond vague allegations that individual staff did so.

The second issue is far more problematic.  Where should NGOs draw the line?  I wish I had an answer.  Would love to hear anyone's thoughts.

[Women and children in the Kass IDP camp in Darfur - Photo from the Holocaust Museum of Houston / Panos Pictures]