• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Analysis: Peace, Justice, and Darfur

Council on Foreign Relations

July 28, 2008
Author: Stephanie Hanson

On July 14, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court took the first steps toward indicting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Bashir is accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, where an estimated 200,000 have died and more than 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes. The move toward indicting him set off controversy and a debate about whether it would further complicate efforts to bring peace to the country. While some experts predict the prosecutor's charges will obstruct negotiations with Khartoum, others argue that only sustained international pressure on Bashir's regime will spur a peace process.

Africa has dealt with transitional justice in various ways. The 2003 indictment of Liberian President Charles Taylor by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone is held up as a model of justice leading to peace. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which granted amnesty in exchange for confessions of guilt from perpetrators of abuses under apartheid rule, represents an alternative model. Because the ICC judges will take several months to determine whether to indict Bashir and issue an arrest warrant, Sudan's path has yet to be determined.

Whatever happens, the process will come with its complications. Many critics of the ICC prosecutor's efforts are supporters of the Sudanese government. China, which invests in Sudan's oil industry, suggests UN members listen to the concerns of Arab and African leaders (Reuters) who say pressing charges against Bashir could result in further instability in Sudan. The Arab League cautioned against (AP) the "dangerous ramifications on the peace process in Sudan." The African Union, which has peacekeepers deployed in Darfur, wants the United Nations to suspend the ICC's investigation (VOA).

The UN Security Council has the authority to suspend an ICC investigation (Economist) for a year.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.