On the eve of a high-level UN meeting on Darfur, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court urged world leaders to "break their silence" and put justice at the top of the agenda because there would be no peace as long as war criminals remain free in Sudan.
Ministers from 26 countries were invited to attend yesterday's meeting chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare to mobilize international support for new political negotiations, deployment of a 26,000-strong AU-UN force and expanding humanitarian assistance to Darfur.
But bringing to justice those most responsible for killing over 200,000 people during the conflict is not on the agenda.
Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the upcoming meetings should be used to remind the Sudanese government of its duty to arrest the country's humanitarian affairs minister, Ahmed Harun, who faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"I'm concerned that silence by most states and international organizations on the subject of the arrest warrant has been understood in Khartoum as a weakening of international resolve in support of the law, and in support of the arrest of Ahmed Harun," he said on Thursday. "It is time to break the silence."
Moreno-Ocampo said Harun -- suspected of involvement in the murder, rape and torture of civilians -- is now in charge of millions of people he forced into camps.
"World leaders have to understand that if the justice component process is ignored, crimes will continue and affect the humanitarian and security operations in Darfur," he said. "Ahmed Harun is not protecting the camps, he is controlling them. He must be stopped. He must be arrested. The international community must be consistent in their support of the law."
Postponing his arrest, Moreno-Ocampo said, means "there will be no solution in Darfur."
The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of discrimination. Sudan is accused of retaliating by unleashing Arab militias responsible for much of the violence -- an accusation the government denies.
Moreno-Ocampo expressed hope that the secretary-general's talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir earlier this month "can bear fruit."
Asked at a news conference on Tuesday how al-Bashir responded when he asked him to hand over Harun and militia leader Ali Kushayb for trial by the court, Ban said he raised the issue more than once and would continue to raise it.
He refused to disclose the details, but said "you should know that I am fully committed to justice and peace."
Sudan's UN ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, said al-Bashir told the secretary-general "in no way we are going to surrender any of our citizens to be prosecuted abroad. If there are any crimes ... the people to do that is the Sudanese judicial system."
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