New proposals on Darfur suspects could delay justice - HRW

The proposal to try suspected perpetrators of crimes against humanity in the western Sudanese region of Darfur in a new ad hoc tribunal in Tanzania, rather than referring them to the International Criminal Court (ICC) could delay justice, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. "The US proposal to create a new tribunal for Darfur is a mirage of a solution," Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at HRW, said in a statement released on Wednesday. "A new ad hoc court would lack the speed and staying power to get the job done." The report of the UN Commission of Inquiry for Darfur recently recommended that the UN Security Council refer the situation in Darfur to the ICC to hold those most responsible to account. The US, which opposes the global criminal tribunal, has proposed an ad hoc war crimes tribunal be set up instead, claiming it could begin operating by sharing infrastructure with the Rwanda tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania. "To complete its existing docket on schedule, the Rwanda tribunal will have to use every resource it has," Dicker said. "The US plan to graft a new tribunal on the Rwanda court's facilities is like squeezing three more passengers into an already overstuffed car." "We think it's important for the Security Council to consider the various options and we believe that having accountability for these crimes in a tribunal that is based Tanzania, is the best way to ensure accountability," US State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher said in a 1 February statement. HRW warned that an ad hoc tribunal, as a temporary court, would by definition be time-limited. This would make it easier for fugitives or an uncooperative Sudanese government to run out the court's clock. HRW dismissed the portrayal of the ICC as a "European" tribunal, claiming that African governments played an active role in establishing the court and half of the African Union members had already ratified the ICC treaty. Louise Arbour, the UN high commissioner for human rights, will on 16 February present the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry for Darfur to the Council, following which, the Council is expected to decide on an appropriate venue for the prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations in Darfur. The war in Darfur pits Sudanese government troops and militias, allegedly allied to the government, against rebels fighting to end what they have called marginalisation and discrimination of the region's inhabitants by the state. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Darfur and as many as 1.85 million people are internally displaced or have fled to neighbouring Chad.