17 July 2013 – The Aegis Trust welcomes the strategy document released today by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to mark International Criminal Justice Day. The five-page strategy reiterates the support of Her Majesty’s Government for the International Criminal Court and recognises its notable successes.
As well as commending the ICC for its contribution to the furthering of international justice over the past ten years, the strategy highlights a number of challenges that remain, including the fact that Sudanese President Bashir remains at large along with a number of other indictees wanted to face charges relating to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Other challenges identified in the strategy include tensions with Africa and the view that Africa is being unfairly singled out; the absence of mechanisms to enforce cooperation with the ICC; and the inability of the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC Prosecutor.
In considering the ICC as a Court of last resort, the FCO has pledged to support other methods of justice and reconciliation, and to promote national judicial processes by assisting the development of national and regional capacity.
Addressing issues of non-cooperation, the FCO has made explicit its interest in possible mechanisms to enforce cooperation and to take effective action against those who fail to cooperate.
Former UN Sudan chief Dr Mukesh Kapila, now the Aegis Trust’s Special Representative on Crimes against Humanity, had warm words for the Foreign Office. “I am heartened by the assurances in this document that the UK will be a powerful advocate of the ICC in all diplomatic relations, and use its voice in the UN Security Council to secure discussion on, and offer support in, the cases relating to Sudan,” he said. “Omar Bashir’s day in court is coming, and it cannot come soon enough for the oppressed peoples of Sudan.”
The Aegis Trust and Aegis Students have long campaigned for the UK to adopt a stronger position towards President Bashir’s regime and use its position on the UN Security Council to hold those responsible for the gravest crimes accountable. Aegis was therefore gratified to hear the public statement issued on Monday by Mark Simmonds MP, expressing disappointment at Nigeria for hosting President Bashir during the African Union health Summit. That President Bashir fled Nigeria within 24 hours of his arrival is testament to the real impact such diplomatic pressures can have.
“At Aegis Students we are encouraged by the release of this strategy document and commend the Government for using its voice to push for justice in Sudan,” says Andrew Fearn, International Youth Coordinator for Aegis. “Our campaign earlier this year, ‘We Need to Talk About Sudan’, called for just such action. We hope that Mark Simmonds’ statement and this renewed public commitment to the tenets of international justice will form the basis of a new, stronger position towards the Government of Sudan.”
You can read the FCO’s full ICC strategy document here.
