The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan arrived on Saturday evening August 20 in Khartoum, Sudan, for a five-day visit. As soon as he arrived, he went to Darfur, a region in the west of the country ravaged by a civil war since the beginning of the 2000s, which left more than 300,000 dead and 2.7 million displaced, according to the ‘UN. This is the third visit by an ICC prosecutor to Sudan since the ousting of Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
As soon as he arrived, the ICC prosecutor toured the largest camps for displaced people in the country. Kalma, located in “South Darfur”, hosts more than 100,000 displaced people, some of whom have been living there for nearly 17 years.
According to a member of the ICC delegation, the purpose of the operation is to meet these displaced people, listen to them and above all inform them about the progress of the proceedings initiated by the ICC.
The first trial for crimes committed in Darfur opened this year, in April, in The Hague. It is that of a former Janjawid leader, Ali Kushaib, prosecuted for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in 2003 and 2004.
In Kalma, prosecutor Karim Khan has pledged to work with communities to try to speed up proceedings. The ICC has notably demanded from the Sudanese authorities the extradition of former President Omar al-Bashir as well as that of his Defense Minister, Abdel Rahim Muhamad Hussein.
►Also read: Sudan: reluctance to transfer Omar El-Bashir to the ICC
For Adam Regal, spokesperson for the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced Persons in Darfur, the prosecutor’s visit sends a message of hope to the victims of the conflict in Darfur: despite the delays, justice will be done.
The ICC prosecutor will be in Khartoum on Tuesday, August 23, where he is to meet the Sudanese authorities.