State-party representatives welcome first Darfur conviction, urge arrests and cooperation with ICC

Representatives speaking for Security Council members that are state parties to the Rome Statute welcomed a landmark conviction arising from the Darfur investigation and called for concrete cooperation with the International Criminal Court.

Speaker 1, a representative speaking for those state-party members, said the convicted Janjaweed leader Abd al Rahman, “also known as Ali Khushab,” “was found responsible for 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including executions, [sexual] violence, and forced mass forced displacement.” He added that the judgment “marks the first conviction arising from a Security Council referral, the first conviction in the Darfur situation, and the first conviction for gender persecution before the ICC.”

The statement emphasized accountability’s message to perpetrators: “accountability is real, justice is possible, and victims are not forgotten,” Speaker 1 said.

Speaker 1 and Speaker 2 welcomed steps by the Office of the Prosecutor to collect and preserve evidence related to reported atrocities in locations named in the report and to accelerate investigations aimed at identifying individual perpetrators. Speaker 1 specifically cited alleged crimes in areas referred to as Algenania and El Fasha and said the office’s assessment is that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in El Fasha.

Speaker 2, speaking later in the statement, highlighted the prosecutor’s prioritization of gender-based crimes, noting a dedicated children and gender unit working in close cooperation with United Nations partners. “As the report stresses, [sexual violence] is being used as a weapon of war in Darfur,” Speaker 2 said, adding that that reality “underscores both the urgency of accountability and the need for coordinated international action to address these grave violations.”

Both speakers warned of practical obstacles. Speaker 2 said the office continues to face “serious challenges including safe access to crime scenes, the security and protection of witnesses, and resource constraints,” and called on all states to “extend their full assistance to the court and the office of the prosecutor.”

The statement also welcomed reported cooperation from Sudanese authorities but said those commitments must be translated into concrete action, specifically the “arrest and surrender of those suspect subject to outstanding ICC warrants,” naming “Al Bashir, Hussein, and Haran.” Speaker 2 expressed regret that the rapid support forces had “failed to meet their prior commitments to engage with the office.”

The representatives recalled the binding obligation under Security Council resolution 1593 (2005) that all actors cooperate fully with the court and provide necessary assistance to the prosecutor, and they reaffirmed “steadfast and unwavering support” for the ICC as an independent and impartial judicial institution and for the principles of the Rome Statute.

A brief concluding exchange recorded in the transcript included Speaker 1 asking about “the council’s response to the board of peace,” noting silence and stressing its relevance. The statement did not record a formal Security Council vote or a procedural decision at the close of these remarks.

The office of the prosecutor’s report to the Security Council and the representatives’ remarks make clear the state-party members’ public position: they view the conviction as precedent-setting, urge arrests and surrender for those with outstanding warrants, and call for greater international cooperation to address investigative and protection shortfalls.