The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has used the one-year anniversary of the issuance of arrests warrants for former Minister of State for the Interior of Sudan, Ahmad Harun, and Janjaweed militia leader, Ali Kushayb, to renew calls for their arrest.

Both Harun and Ali Kushayb – whose full name is Ali Muhammad Al Abd-Al-Rahman –  face 51 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes in relation to attacks on villages in Darfur from 2003-2004.

Despite the international warrant out for his arrest, Ahmad Harun is currently the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan. He allegedly financed, armed and incited the Janjaweed – led by Ali Kushayb – to carry out the deadly attacks which forced millions out of their homes and into camps.

Since transmitting the warrants of arrest to the Government of Sudan on 16 June 2007, the government has, in the words of the prosecutor, “promised everything and has done nothing”. The government in Khartoum has neither cooperated with the Court nor responded to the warrants and has not complied with Security Council Resolution 1593.

In March 2005, the situation in Darfur was the first case referred to the ICC prosecutor by the UN Security Council and not as a ‘self-referral’ at the behest of one of the States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Sudan has yet to sign the Rome Statute.

In urging the international community to send “a strong and unanimous message” to Sudan, the Prosecutor called for the arrest of the two indicted suspects to “break the system of violence and impunity in Darfur”.

Referring to Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmad Harun, the Prosecutor vowed that he would face justice: “He attacked Sudanese people…he is an indicted minister, he is a fugitive. He will end up in Court.”

Press release