By Justice Hub
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. Roughly the size of Spain, Darfur has around 7.5 million inhabitants. In 2003, two rebel groups – the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – began attacking the government of Sudan which is oppressing Darfur’s non-Arab population. War broke out between the Sudanese army and the rebel groups, with the support of the Janjaweed militia and a small number of Bedouins. The war is still continuing. According to the UN, there have been more than 300,000 victims and almost 3 million people have been displaced.
In 2004, the UN established the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to investigate the most serious crimes committed during the conflict. The situation was referred to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on 31 March 2005. The commission provided thousands of documents to the Court. On 6 June 2005, the OTP decided to open an investigation into alleged crimes perpetrated in the region.
Arrest warrants have been issued for six suspects, including Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir. He is allegedly responsible for ten counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.
Despite the ICC arrest warrant, Bashir continues to move freely around the world. His travels have caused tension between the Court and several States Parties that have welcomed Bashir instead of arresting him.
This is the seventh in a series of long-form infocomics about the situations that the ICC is dealing with:
- Why is DRC situation at the ICC?
- Why is CAR I at the ICC?
- Why is CAR II at the ICC?
- Why is the Kenya situation at the ICC?
- Why is the Uganda situation at the ICC?
- Why is the Mali situation at the ICC?
The long-form infocomics are made by Italian journalist and cartoonist Emanuele del Rosso.
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