Mr. President,
I thank the assistant prosecutor Ms. Khan for the presentation of the 41st report submitted in accordance with resolution 1593 (2005).
France is concerned about the continuation of clashes in Sudan. The conflict that has raged there since April 2023 is at the origin of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and massive human rights violations and international humanitarian law, which we condemn.
An immediate ceasefire is essential to put an end to the suffering of the populations.
Faced with the extent of the allegations of crimes committed in Darfur and in the rest of the country, it is urgent that the parties take concrete measures to strengthen the protection of the civilian population, including by the implementation of the commitments contained in the Djeddah declaration.
We congratulate ourselves on the progress made by the prosecutor’s office as part of its surveys on the generalized allegations of international crimes in progress in Darfur. The collection of testimonies and evidence must make it possible to characterize these crimes and to identify their authors, in compliance with the provisions of the Rome status.
These advances are a glimmer of hope for the Sudanese population. The deployments of the prosecutor’s office teams, on the one hand in eastern Chad, to meet the survivors who fled the conflict, and on the other hand to Port Sudan, in order to initiate a dialogue with the authorities led by the Sudanese armed forces, are proof of a commitment and a tireless work of the office. It is imperative in this regard to guarantee the protection of witnesses to the risk of reprisals from armed groups.
Events in Sudan have very worrying consequences on the conduct of court surveys. We call on the Sudanese authorities to collaborate in depth, continues and effective with the prosecutor’s office, in order to guarantee the access of the teams to the field, as well as for the arrests of the suspects which are the subject of an ICC arrest warrant, in particular Omar Al Bashir, Abdel Raheem Hussein and Ahmad Harun.
Mr. President,
France welcomes the holding of the trial in the Abd-Al-Rahman, or Ali Kushayb case, last December: the pronouncement of the judgment, expected soon, will constitute a key moment in the fight against impunity for crimes committed in Darfur more than 20 years ago.
The fight against impunity must accompany the return of peace to Sudan. In this regard, we greet the attention to crimes committed in particular against children and also the attention paid to sexual crimes.
We note with satisfaction the collaboration of the prosecutor’s office with groups of victims and civil society organizations with the aim of documenting international crimes committed in Darfur.
The International Criminal Court, the only permanent and universal international criminal jurisdiction, must work in an impartial and independent manner, without external interference. We condemn, as such, the recent cyber attack which the CPI has been the subject.
No one should also forget that it is at the request of the Security Council that the Court acts in Sudan and that it is under the decision of this same council that all States have the obligation to cooperate with the Court.
Thank you.