Twenty years ago, the UN Security Council began receiving reports of violence in Darfur when former President Bashir chose to combat rebellion through the collective punishment of communities.
“Never punished for their role in atrocities, some of the same actors are victimizing some of the same communities that survived genocide 20 years ago,” said Mark Simonoff, U.S. Legal Adviser to the United Nations.
“We see the Rapid Support Forces deploying the same methods of violence we condemned in the early 2000s, murderous attacks on civilians along ethnic lines, widespread sexual violence, and burning and looting of villages. Also, a feature of past violence, Sudanese Armed Forces bombing in Khartoum, across Darfur and in many other areas puts civilians at further risk,” he said.
The reports are appalling, said Mr. Simonoff. Rapid Support Forces and affiliated Arab militias are targeting non-Arab groups, particularly the Masalit. Rapid Support Forces and allied forces are going into communities and hunting men and boys, shooting people desperately fleeing their homes, and stealing everything of value while burning the rest.
“The deliberate, systematic sexual violence committed against women and girls across Sudan is an outrage to our shared humanity,” declared Mr. Simonoff:
“Across Darfur, in Khartoum, and in many other cities and villages, reports indicate that women and girls are attacked in their homes or kidnapped from the streets and subject to rape and gang rape. Eyewitnesses have seen handcuffed women and girls on the back of trucks being transported towards Darfur.”
In the interest of pursuing justice in Sudan, the United States has designated Ahmad Harun, former Minister of State for the Interior under Bashir, under its War Crimes Rewards Program, said Mr. Simonoff:
“Through this program, the United States can pay an award of up to $5 million for information that leads to Harun’s arrest, transfer, or conviction for war crimes or crimes against humanity before the ICC.”
The Sudanese authorities must permit International Criminal Court teams unimpeded access to key witnesses and respond to requests for information with respect to the whereabouts of Bashir, Harun, and Abdel Raheem Hussein.
The pursuit of peace and justice in Sudan will take the dedicated efforts of the entire international community. “Let us work urgently to end the impunity,” said Mr. Simonoff, “that breeds further violence, address the humanitarian crisis, and support the Sudanese people and their aspirations for a peaceful future.”
