Sudanese Special Courts Condemned

The UN Special Rappoteur on Human Rights in Sudan denounced Sudan’s haphazard efforts at bringing Darfur war crimes suspects to justice. In a press conference in Khartoum, Dr. Sima Samar, told reporters, “There has not been much accountability for the serious crimes which have been committed in Darfur. A Special Court established to bring people to justice so far has not accused or prosecuted anyone with command responsibility.”

Dr. Samar stated that of the 29 people the Special Courts in Darfur had tried, 15 army officers were prosecuted for crimes that were not related to the Darfur conflict, and the other 14 individuals were not high-ranking officials. The Sudanese government created the Special Courts in Darfur last spring to counteract the UN Security Council’s referral of the Darfur case to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The UN envoy also gave a grave report on the current human rights situation in Sudan, stating that arbitrary arrests, indefinite detention periods, and torture continue to occur in the region.

The Darfur crisis broke out in January 2003, when Darfur rebel groups attacked the Sudanese government, accusing it of political and economic marginalization. The ensuing violence has claimed at least 400,000 lives, displaced over 2 million people in Sudan, and has forced 200,000 Darfurian refugees into neighboring Chad.

Arab Militia, known as the Janjaweed, have been accused of committing mass human rights abuses, carrying out a policy of ‘ethnic cleansing’ by systematically raping and murdering the people of Darfur. The Sudanese government is complicit in these acts.

The ICC is currently investigating the Darfur situation, which has already been labeled genocide by the U.S.


Updated March 6, 2006

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