Niemat Ahmadi (left) participating at a Darfur rally on the day the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Credit: CICC, Russ Kuhner
The real satisfaction for all Darfuris, especially for women like myself, and those who are currently suffering day and night living in the IDP or refugee camps–justice is the only way to bring satisfaction for them. They will see their perpetrator that committed crimes against them finally held accountable. People can sign a peace agreement, but those who are deeply wounded, dehumanized–they will not feel that peace.
As long as those who committed crimes against our people are still controlling our affairs, we will not feel that peace. And the real peace is justice in Sudan. It is because of impunity that the current genocide is going on in Darfur.
We believe this arrest warrant came for us at a good time. There are so many people that will stand for justice and will not argue that justice should be compromised at the expense of peace. I think justice will bring lasting peace to Darfur and to Sudan at large.
Niemat Ahamadi
Darfuri liaison officer with Save Darfur Coalition
The announcement of the issuance of the arrest warrant against President Al Bashir is great news and is a clear sign of hope for victims of all forms of violence. African States should have the courage to support this decision. This would be a great achievement. Justice is the basis for peace. If we want Darfuri people to find peace, justice must be done.
Gosngar Doumnguinam
Coordinator of the Chad Coalition for the ICC
Sudanese President Al-Bashir need not fear the ICC. Refusal to collaborate with the ICC shows that the accusations brought against Al-Bashir remain well-founded. Refusal to turn himself over to the ICC is a refusal to prove his innocence which he is entitled to until proven guilty under the universally recognized ‘presumption of innocence’ principle. Article 11 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.”
Al-Bashir should not shy away from the jurisdiction of the ICC out of fear of losing legitimacy; rather, he should piece together the elements needed to prove his innocence given that the Court is an independent and international judicial body. Al-Bashir should use all his legal means (eminent lawyers, money, etc.) at the disposition of a head of state to clear his name and avoid becoming a bad example. This is the first warrant of arrest ever issued for a sitting Head of State by the ICC.
As the responsible and respected leader he aspires to be, Al-Bashir must turn himself over to the Court in order to push the Court to judge him for crimes committed in Darfur. This move would have the effect of not only preventing other crimes in Sudan but across the entire African continent. And this no less because it would demonstrate that no one is above the law.
The arrest warrant is a step forward in the prevention of crimes in Africa so long as the warrant has effect. African leaders ought to understand that the road to justice is paved with the fight against impunity, the rule of law, respect for human dignity and our inalienable human rights.
African leaders must stop saying at every turn that “international criminal justice is after Africans”. If Africans are the ones who are being pursued, it’s because most of the heinous crimes are committed in Africa. Think of the war in Liberia, in Rwanda, the never-ending civil war in DRC and everything that is happening in Darfur today.