August 5, 2024
Thank you, Mister President. Given this is the first open meeting of the month, let me congratulate you and your team on assuming the presidency and pledge my delegation’s support as you carry out your duties.
And thank you, Prosecutor Khan, for your report and for your briefing to the Council today on the Court’s ongoing investigations and prosecutions related to the situation in Darfur.
Your report describes events in Darfur as a “human catastrophe,” calling attention to civilians’ deep suffering. These investigations and prosecutions are essential to fight against impunity of the individuals responsible for this suffering.
This Council heard reports of very similar atrocities against civilians in Darfur two decades ago, when innocent populations bore the brunt of a campaign of collective punishment. Today, some of the same actors are again victimizing vulnerable communities, a circumstance possible in part because perpetrators were never held accountable for committing atrocities 20 years ago.
The Rapid Support Forces in Darfur are committing widespread acts of sexual violence, attacking health care facilities, and burning villages.
In a horrifying echo of the past, the Rapid Support Forces, together with affiliated Arab militias, have been targeting members of the Masalit and other non-Arab populations of West Darfur. They are reportedly hunting men and boys, shooting civilians fleeing their homes, and kidnapping and raping women and girls.
Attacks in El Geneina, Ardamata, and El Fasher have reportedly killed thousands of civilians and forced countless more from their homes. Displaced persons face further violence and degradation. The violence, targeted along ethnic lines, is the result of unresolved grievance exacerbated by decades of conflict.
The Sudanese Armed Forces have reportedly conducted indiscriminate air strikes, systematically blocked humanitarian aid shipments, and directed extreme violence at civilians as a tool of collective punishment.
The systematic sexual violence committed against women and girls in Khartoum, throughout Darfur, and across Sudan is appalling. Reports from around the country show destruction of maternity wards, attacks specifically targeting women, and widespread instances of rape.
We condemned these tactics in the early 2000s. We condemn them again today. The violence must stop, and those responsible must be held accountable.
This past December, Secretary Blinken announced his determination that the RSF and allied militias are responsible for crimes against humanity and, in Darfur, ethnic cleansing, and that members of the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces committed war crimes. We continue to closely monitor the situation and will not hesitate to condemn violations when we see them.
In addition to justice, survivors and displaced persons urgently require access to food, medical care, and psychological services. As the Sudanese population increasingly faces famine-like conditions, the need for humanitarian access becomes more critical by the day.
We welcome the Office of the Prosecutor’s efforts to advance accountability in light of the human suffering in Darfur. We appreciate the advances the Office has made, including by deploying its teams to Chad and other countries to engage with victims and survivors, its work with civil society organizations and other external partners on documentation and evidence collection, and engagement with authorities on the ground, including Arab tribal leaders.
We hope these measures will lead to concrete progress toward holding those responsible to account in both past and current violence. Of course, none of this would be possible without the courage of victims and communities who have shared their stories with the ICC, civil society organizations, and the media.
International law provides clear obligations in armed conflict. Those responsible for violations must be held accountable. We owe this to the people of Darfur who have been waiting for justice for too long.
The United States has long supported accountability in the existing cases before the Court, including with respect to the ongoing trial of former Janjaweed commander Abd-Al-Rahman and the fugitives from justice. Our Global Criminal Justice Rewards program maintains a $5 million reward for information that leads to the arrest, transfer, or conviction for war crimes or crimes against humanity of former Minister of State for the Interior Ahmad Harun.
While we are encouraged by reports that the Sudanese authorities are beginning to cooperate with the ICC, we call on them to do more.
That includes arresting the fugitives who remain at large and permitting ICC teams access and protection to conduct investigative activities within the country, engaging with stakeholders, and interviewing witnesses. We urge all countries to cooperate with the ICC on the suspects subject to arrest warrants.
The human catastrophe in Sudan demands decisive action by the entire international community. In particular, external actors must cease providing support to the warring parties and instead turn their attention to advancing peace talks. The causes of justice and accountability work hand in hand with the pursuit of peace.
The horrific acts of violence committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces and the humanitarian crisis that has resulted must end. It is long past time to break the cycle of impunity that has fed this conflict, to halt the killing, and to empower the Sudanese people in their pursuit of a peaceful and prosperous future.
Thank you, Mister President.