Human Rights Watch
- Darfur: Arrest War Criminals, Not Aid Workers (May 31, 2005) Donor governments and the United Nations must condemn the Sudanese governments arbitrary arrest and intimidation of aid workers, Human Rights Watch said today. The Sudanese government should drop charges against all aid workers, including the head of Medecins Sans Frontieres in Khartoum, Paul Foreman, who was arrested yesterday and released on bail.
- Darfur: Aid Workers Under Threat (Apr. 5, 2005) The Sudanese government has sought to intimidate humanitarian relief agencies in Darfur by arbitrarily arresting or detaining at least 20 aid workers since December, Human Rights Watch said today. In several incidents, the rebel movements in Darfur have also detained or attacked aid workers.
- U.N. Security Council Refers Darfur to the ICC (Mar. 31, 2005) The U.N. Security Council resolution referring Darfur to the International Criminal Court is a historic step toward justice for massive human rights violations committed in the western Sudanese region, Human Rights Watch said today. At the same time, the Security Council should help ensure an increased force on the ground to protect civilians and stabilize the deteriorating security situation.
- U.N.: Pass Resolution to Refer Darfur to ICC (Mar. 25, 2005) U.N. Security Council members should urgently pass a new French-proposed resolution that would refer Darfur to the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said today. The United States should abstain on the vote if it decides not to vote in favor.
- U.S. Thwarts Justice for Darfur (Mar. 24, 2005) The United States is blocking U.N. Security Council action on the human rights crisis in Darfur on account of the Bush administrations hostility to the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said today. On Tuesday, the United States proposed splitting a U.N. Security Council draft resolution on Sudan into three separate resolutions, none of which would authorize a tribunal to prosecute crimes against humanity in Darfur.
- U.N.: No More Delay on Darfur (Mar. 18, 2005) United Nations Security Council members that support protecting civilians in Darfur should urgently co-sponsor a resolution referring Darfur to the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said today. Today the Security Council extended by one week the mandate of the temporary international force in Sudan because it has been unable to agree on a package of measures to address the Darfur crisis and establish a peacekeeping force for Sudan more generally.
- Targeting the Fur: Mass Killings in Darfur (Jan. 24, 2005) To date, the Sudanese government has neither improved security for civilians nor ended the impunity enjoyed by its own officials and allied militia leaders. Immediate action including an increased international presence in rural areas of Darfur is needed to improve protection of civilians and reverse ethnic cleansing. International prosecutions are also essential to provide accountability for crimes against humanity and ensure justice for the victims in Darfur.
- U.N.: Security Council Must Act on Darfur (Mar. 17, 2005) In this letter to select U.N. Security Council members, Human Rights Watch urges governments to immediately co-sponsor a resolution referring horrific crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. Human Rights Watch also calls for the implementation of measures such as more rigorous targeted sanctions, a no-fly zone, and a substantially increased African Union presence on the ground to provide a measure of protection to civilians in Darfur.
- Sudan: Human Rights Concerns for the 61st Session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (Mar. 10, 2005) Human Rights Watch calls on the Commission on Human Rights to re-establish the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights for Sudan, and condemn gross abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law by the government of Sudan, its allied Janjaweed and other militia, and rebel groups in Darfur.
- U.N. Rights Body Must Fight to Restore Credibility (Mar. 8, 2005) With a membership that includes governments responsible for crimes against humanity, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights meeting in Geneva next week must take dramatic steps to restore its sinking credibility, Human Rights Watch said today.
- U.N.: U.S. Seeks to Delay Justice for Darfur (Mar. 7, 2005) After its meeting today with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Security Council should take urgent steps to protect civilians in Darfur and refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said. Meanwhile, the United States has proposed a 45-day delay in taking a decision on justice for Darfur’s victims.
- Video Transcript: Exclusive Video Interview with Alleged Janjaweed Leader (Mar. 2, 2005) In late September 2004, a Human Rights Watch delegation interviewed Musa Hilal, a tribal leader from North Darfur who has allegedly organized Janjaweed militia to attack non-Arab tribes.
- Darfur: Militia Leader Implicates Khartoum (Mar. 2, 2005) A top Janjaweed leader says the Sudan government backed and directed militia activities in northern Darfur, according to a videotape released by Human Rights Watch today.
- Musa Hilal in His Own Words (Mar. 2, 2005) This is the exact English translation of Musa Hilal speaking on tape to Human Rights Watch. For a full transcript of the video, with the voice over included, click here.
- Darfur: New Atrocities as Security Council Dithers (Feb. 25, 2005) New eyewitness accounts from Darfur of rapes, torture and mutilation by government-backed militias underscore how the U.N. Security Council must take urgent action to protect civilians and punish the perpetrators, Human Rights Watch said today.
- U.N. Rights Chief Details Crimes in Darfur (Feb. 16, 2005) The top U.N. human rights official will brief the Security Council today on atrocities in Darfur. Following Louise Arbour’s report, the Security Council should take prompt action to protect civilians and refer Darfur to the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said.
- U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Why Alternatives to the ICC Are Inadvisable for Darfur (Feb. 15, 2005) This excerpt is taken from Section IV of the Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General, dated January 25, 2005. The following paragraphs discuss the commission’s findings with regard to the inadvisability of mechanisms other than the International Criminal Court to bring justice for crimes in Darfur.
- U.S. Proposal for a Darfur Tribunal: Not an Effective Option to Ensure Justice (Feb. 15, 2005) A U.N. Commission of Inquiry that the United States helped create recently found that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the “single best mechanism” and the “only credible way” of ensuring justice for Darfur’s victims. The U.N. Commission of Inquiry also detailed in depth in its report why other mechanisms would be inadvisable to bring justice for atrocities in Darfur. Because Sudan is not a party to the treaty establishing the ICC, a Security Council referral is needed for the court to prosecute crimes committed in Darfur.
- EU Should Push for ICC Referral of Darfur During Rice Visit (Feb. 9, 2005) The EU Troika should send a clear message to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the Security Council must refer Darfur to the International Criminal Court at the Feb. 10 EU-USA Ministerial Meeting in Luxembourg, Human Rights Watch said today. The first visit of Secretary of State Rice to Europe is a timely opportunity for the EU to raise the importance of accountability for crimes committed in Darfur.
- Letter to UN Security Council on Proposed Peace Support Mission to Sudan (Feb. 9, 2005) We welcome Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s recent report on Sudan to the Security Council (S/2005/57) and its proposal for the establishment of a multidimensional U.N. peace support mission in Sudan. We applaud the Secretary-General’s proposals on protection, the integration into the U.N. operation of human rights monitoring throughout Sudan to include a significant presence in Darfur, and the emphasis on the need to develop a transitional justice strategy in accordance with the Secretary-General’s report “The Rule of Law and Transitional Justice in Conflict and Post-conflict Societies” (S/2004/616). Human Rights Watch urges the Security Council to explicitly include these elements in the resolution that you will soon be adopting. We also take this opportunity to suggest ways to strengthen the current proposals to improve human rights and civilian protection in Sudan as a whole and Darfur in particular.
- Justice for Darfur needs more than "consensus" (Feb. 7, 2005) Last week, a United Nations commission of inquiry strongly recommended prosecutions at the International Criminal Court for those responsible for the killing fields of Darfur. The commission emphasised that alternatives to the ICC, as proposed by Washington, would be cumbersome and expensive. Britain"s ambassador to the UN, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, rightly noted that the court, set up to prosecute genocide and crimes against humanity, is "tailor-made" for cases such as Darfur.
- U.S. Fiddles Over ICC While Darfur Burns (Jan. 31, 2005) The Bush administration is creating a deadly delay for the people of Darfur by attempting to block the U.N. Security Council from referring Darfur atrocities to the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
- Darfur: Prosecutions Needed to End Atrocities (January 24, 2005) International prosecutions are needed to deter ongoing atrocities in Darfur, Human Rights Watch said today in a report documenting crimes the Sudanese government and its allied militias have committed with complete impunity.
- Targeting the Fur: Mass Killings in Darfur (January 24, 2005) Since February 2003, Darfur has been the scene of massive crimes against civilians of particular ethnicities in the context of an internal conflict between the Sudanese government and a rebel insurgency. Almost two million people have been forcibly displaced and stripped of all their property and tens of thousands of people have been killed, raped or assaulted.
- Don’t Quench Thirst for Oil With Blood (January 21, 2005) As an emerging power increasingly seeking a global role, Beijing should recognize that its economic concerns must give way to the imperative of stopping the slaughter of the people of Darfur.
- The Africa Agenda (January 21, 2005) If Condoleezza Rice's testimony this week at her Senate confirmation hearing as secretary of state is an indicator of the Bush administration's plans for Africa, Africans and the human rights community should be worried.
- U.S.: ICC Best Chance for Justice in Darfur (January 21, 2005) A Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the course of action that can best guarantee efficient and effective prosecution of those most responsible for the atrocities committed in the Darfur region of Sudan. Human Rights Watch urges the United States to set aside its opposition to the ICC in this specific case of declared genocide by supporting or at least abstaining from a Security Council referral of the situation in Darfur.
- No Justice for Sudan (January 10, 2005) The deal ending 20 years of war will not bring the guilty to account, HRW researcher Leslie Lefkow writes in London's Guardian.
- Sudan: Atrocities, Impunity Threaten Lasting Peace (January 6, 2005) Continuing atrocities in the western region of Darfur and impunity for war crimes in the south jeopardize prospects for peace in Sudan, Human Rights Watch warned today ahead of the January 9 signing of a peace agreement to end the 21-year conflict in the south.
- Grave Crimes: Darfur and the International Criminal Court (January 1, 2005) The United Nations Security Council has taken some belated measures to stop the violence in Darfur, but its response has been woefully inadequate. Prosecution of those responsible could make a real difference. Given the gravity of the crimes and the Sudanese government’s unwillingness to act, investigation and prosecution by the International Criminal Court could hold the key.
- Human Rights Day Statement (December 10, 2004) As we commemorate Human Rights Day, we are challenged by how little the world has done to save the people of Darfur, in western Sudan, from the year’s greatest human rights disaster. With the Sudanese government and its ethnic militia well along in their campaign of murder, rape, pillage, and forced displacement, and after several Security Council resolutions on the Darfur crisis, the governments of the world can no longer claim not to know.
- Darfur: Peace Talks Must Address Civilian Protection (December 10, 2004) The African Union must speed its deployment of troops to Darfur and seek to expand their mandate to protect civilians.
- Darfur: U.N. Backtracks in Sudan Resolution (November 19, 2004) The U.N. Security Council has retreated from its previous stance to hold the Sudanese government accountable for the ongoing human rights abuses in Darfur, Human Rights Watch said today. A new resolution was passed today by a unanimous vote of the Security Council's 15 members.
- Sudan: Human Rights Accountability Must Be Part of North-South Peace Agreement (November 18, 2004) In 2003, as hopes were rising that the government of Sudan would agree to an internationally-brokered settlement of the 21-year civil war in the South, the same government unleashed a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in the Darfur region of western Sudan. These two developments were not unrelated.
- Sudan: Peace Deal Must Tackle Past Abuses (November 18, 2004) The impunity enjoyed by the Sudanese authorities in their ongoing atrocities in Darfur demonstrates why the near-final peace deal to end the country’s North-South conflict must include accountability for human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today.
- Bring the Darfur Killers to the World Court (November 18, 2004) "Making the rounds in Khartoum," HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth recounts in an article for The Financial Times, "I sensed that serious threat of prosecution at the ICC could help Darfur."
- Canada's Darfur Imperatives (November 16, 2004) Prime Minister Paul Martin should use his trip to Sudan to advance his stated quest to define a new, more activist, international role for Canada, Georgette Gagnon argues in The Globe and Mail.
- Sudan: Safe Darfur Returns Imperative (November 15, 2004) The U.N. Security Council must take immediate action to reverse ethnic cleansing and avert further displacement in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. On November 18-19, the Security Council will convene in Nairobi for a special session on Sudan.
- “If We Return, We Will Be Killed” Consolidation of Ethnic Cleansing in Darfur, Sudan (November 15, 2004) This report documents the continuing climate of violence and insecurity in Darfur, and the urgent need for an expanded international protection force, especially near the camps that hold many of Darfur’s 1.6 million displaced persons. Just this week, as the U.N. Security Council prepared to meet in Nairobi, Sudanese security forces brazenly overran camps for the displaced persons.
- UAE: Release Sudanese Opposition Figure (November 9, 2004) Human Rights Watch is concerned for the safety of Abdel Aziz Khalid, who was detained by United Arab Emirates immigration authorities at Abu Dhabi Airport on September 23, 2004.
- Darfur: Donors Must Address Atrocities Fueling Crisis (September 27, 2004) Donor governments gathering today in Oslo to discuss humanitarian needs in Darfur should also take steps to end the serious human rights abuses responsible for the crisis, Human Rights Watch said today. Donors should pledge support for civilian protection under an expanded African Union (AU) mission in Darfur.
- New Video Documents Ongoing Crimes in Darfur (September 21, 2004) Human Rights Watch and WITNESS have released a new video documenting atrocities committed against civilians in Darfur, western Sudan. The video includes scenes of burned and bombed villages and extensive interviews with the civilian victims of the crisis. Villagers interviewed for the video describe attacks by "Janjaweed" militias operating in concert with Sudanese government forces, including an attack as recent as mid-July 2004.
