More than 20 years after government-backed attacks on civilians in Darfur, Sudan, the trial chamber of the International Criminal Court at The Hague has held Janjaweed militia commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman guilty of 27 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, Sudan, between August 2003 and April 2004.
This was the first trial arising out of the government-backed violence in Sudan in the early 2000s that killed thousands of civilians. It is also the first-of-its-kind conviction for gender-based persecution and rape as a war crime by the ICC. The Janjaweed was an irregular militia created from various “Arab tribes” by the then Sudanese government to carry out armed operations against the Fur and other non-Arab tribes that had rebelled against the Bashir government.
The ICC chamber, in a 355-page verdict, held Al Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, “guilty beyond any reasonable doubt” of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape, and forced displacement of civilians.
The opinion by Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou, and Judge Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor also notes that the crimes “were committed in the context of a wider State policy,” leaving the door open for further trials arising out of the Sudan conflict.
It has looked into the definition of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” in the context of “involvement of the Government and the fact that a strategic plan was adopted at the highest state level with the aim of defeating the rebellion, as well as the Government’s use of public resources to recruit, train, arm, and fund the Janjaweed.”
A statement from the Office of the Prosecutor notes that “the verdict included important convictions for gender-based crimes.”
“This is the first conviction in the Situation in Darfur, Sudan, and the first in a situation that the UN Security Council referred to the Court. The case also represents the first conviction for gender-based persecution at the Court,” says the statement issued by the Office of the ICC Prosecutor.
“Abd-Al-Rahman was found guilty of rape as a war crime and a crime against humanity, among other gender-based crimes. The judges ruled that the attack resulted in the commission of rapes of women and girls, causing profound physical, cultural, and social harm to victims. With this judgment, the Office resolves to continue pursuing its policy commitment to effectively investigate and prosecute gender-based crimes… Second, Mr Abd-Al-Rahman was convicted of the crime against humanity of persecution of males from the Fur tribe on political, ethnic, and gender grounds. This decision recognises the intersecting nature of multiple forms of discrimination wherein Fur males were specifically targeted,” said Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan in a statement.
Following this conviction, the ICC has set down the timetable for considering the sentence to be imposed on Al Rahman for the crimes. The statement issued by the ICC also said that a phase dedicated to reparations for victims will be opened by The Hague.
The situation in Darfur was referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council in 2005, with the international community recognising that the conflict in Darfur constitutes a threat to international peace and security.
While Al Rahman surrendered before the ICC in 2020, shortly after the fall of the government led by former President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, the leaders of the Sudanese government are yet to face trial, even as outstanding warrants remain pending against Omar Al Bashir, Ahmad Harun, former Minister of State, and Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, former Governor of Khartoum. The Bashir government was ousted in 2019, and the ousted leaders remain incarcerated in Sudan.
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