Finish the Job

In review of the “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” and its “Adopted Resolution 260,” and “The Rome Statute,” I believe we have the power to do more than we have accomplished thus far.

First of all, the following excerpts are taken from Article III and Article VIII of “Adopted Resolution 260:”

“Article VIII: Any Contracting Party may call upon the competent organs
of the United Nations to take such action under the Charter of the United
Nations as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of
acts of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III."


“Article III: The following acts shall be punishable:
(a) Genocide;
(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;
(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
(d) Attempt to commit genocide;
(e) Complicity in genocide.”


Basically, what I gained after reading these two passages was that any country, “contracting party,” associated with this document can call for an investigation into the “prevention and suppression” by the Charter of the United Nations.

America authorized this treaty December 11th 1948. I then began to think to myself about Sudan and the Darfur region and what has been done to initiate an investigation via this “adopted resolution?” This is where everything became interesting:

• Sudan ratified the treaty October 13th, 2003, legitimizing a UN sanctioned search.
  
• “On February 27, 2007, the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court applied to the Pre-Trial Chamber I for summonses to appear against Ahmad Muhammad Harun, Sudan’s former Minister of State for the Interior, and Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed leader in West Darfur, according to ASIL Insight:The Situation in Darfur.
  
• Even though a peace treaty and a ceasefire agreement were signed, neither side abided by their settlements.
  
• “The Application submitted by the Prosecutor alleges that Harun and Kushayb are criminally responsible for 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity” (ASIL).
  
• “The Sudanese government has made clear that it has no intention of cooperating with the ICC regarding Harun and Kushayb. Indeed, its Interior Minister, Al-Zubayr Bashir Taha, has publicly threatened to behead anyone who attempts to arrest a Sudanese official on behalf of the Court” (ASIL).

The current administration has deemed the actions in Darfur genocide. Preemptive actions have taken place through the ICC to control and counterstrike the actions of Harun and Kushayb, yet because Taha, one man, won’t allow for these two men to stand trial, millions of Darfurians have no one to hold accountable for these crimes against humanity. Are our hands tied or can we continue to fight for those who can’t?