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Sudan, ICC Sign MoU

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan (SUNA)
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan (SUNA)
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Sudan, ICC Sign MoU

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan (SUNA)
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan (SUNA)

The Sudanese government and International Criminal Court (ICC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on providing information and realization of justice for the victims of the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

The two parties did not disclose the details of the memorandum.

However, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most important provisions include the full cooperation of the Sudanese authorities in facilitating access to victims and witnesses and collecting evidence.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said the visiting delegation and the Sudanese government failed to agree on a specific date for handing over the ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and other suspects to the court.

"The MoU helps provide the requested information and continue work with the victims, the survivors, and the civil society," said Khan at a press conference in Khartoum.

Khan revealed that the ICC would open an office in Sudan to collect further evidence to "build a solid case" and communicate with the various agencies of the Sudanese government.

Khan asked the Sudanese authorities to provide immediate access to all evidence, and this evidence is of critical importance to ensure that the work in the courtroom is successful.

The ICC had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Foreign Ministry last February, connected with Ali Kushayb. The court charged Kushayb with 31 counts of war crimes against civilians in several Darfur regions.

The prosecutor affirmed that the court is fully prepared to support the mechanisms and courts of justice in Darfur.

Khan, who described the Darfur civil war as a "dark chapter" in Sudan's history, said plans were underway for the ICC to collect further evidence to build a solid case and achieve justice at all levels.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the prosecutor touched on witness protection, noting that the court needs assistance to provide security for witnesses.

They said that the prosecutor seemed optimistic that the interim parliament in Sudan would ratify the Rome Statute soon.

"Transfer of any suspect is an important step but should be preceded and accompanied by substantive and ever-deepening cooperation," Khan said.

He indicated that his second visit to Sudan would be next November, and he will submit a report to the UN Security Council in December.

The ICC is demanding the extradition of Bashir, his former defense minister, Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein, and his former assistant, Ahmed Haroun, on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

In 2005, the UN Security Council referred the Darfur case to The Hague. The decision stipulated the prosecution of government and army officials and tribal militia leaders for killings, displacement, and rape in Darfur.

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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a high-level ministerial delegation to Syria on Monday for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the most significant diplomatic visit between the two countries since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December.

"My visit to Damascus today aims to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, restoring trust, good neighborliness," Salam said in a statement on X.

At the center of discussions was implementing a March 28 agreement signed in Saudi Arabia by the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers to demarcate land and sea borders and improve coordination on border security issues, Salam said in the statement.

The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed deadly clashes earlier this year and years of unrest in the frontier regions, which have been plagued by weapons and illicit drug smuggling through illegal crossings.

During Monday’s meeting, Salam and Sharaa agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the border agreement, close illegal crossings and suppress smuggling activity along the border.

The border area, especially near Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Syria’s Qusayr region, has long been a corridor for illicit trade, arms trafficking, and the movement of fighters — including Hezbollah fighters who backed the Assad government during Syria’s 14-year civil war.

Hezbollah has been significantly weakened in its recent war with Israel and since Assad's ousting, it lost several key smuggling routes it once relied on for weapons transfers.

Lebanon also pressed Syria to provide clarity on the fate of thousands of Lebanese nationals who were forcibly disappeared or imprisoned in Syrian jails in the 1980s and 1990s, during Syria’s nearly 30-year military presence in Lebanon. Human rights groups have long documented the lack of accountability and transparency regarding these cases, with families of the missing holding regular demonstrations in Beirut demanding answers.

Syrian officials for their part raised the issue of Syrian nationals detained in Lebanese prisons, Salam said. Many of the detainees were arrested for illegal entry or alleged involvement in militant activity. Rights advocates in both countries have criticized the lack of due process in many of these cases and the poor conditions inside detention facilities.

Lebanon pledged to hand over people implicated in crimes committed by the Assad government and security forces, many of whom are believed to have fled to Lebanon after the government’s collapse, if found on Lebanese soil, a ministerial source told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly comment.

In return, Lebanese officials requested the extradition of Syrians wanted in Lebanese courts for high-profile political assassinations, "most notably those involved in the bombing of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques, those convicted of assassinating President Bashir Gemayel, and other crimes for which the Assad regime is accused," Salam said.

For decades, Lebanon witnessed a long series of politically motivated assassinations targeting journalists, politicians and security officials, particularly those opposed to Syrian influence. The 2013 twin bombings of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques in Tripoli in northern Lebanon killed more than 40 people and intensified sectarian tensions already heightened by the spillover from the Syrian war.

Syria has never officially acknowledged involvement in any of Lebanon’s political assassinations.

Salam said he also pushed for renewed cooperation on the return of Syrian refugees.

Lebanese government officials estimate the country hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom about 755,000 are officially registered with the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, making it the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

While Lebanese authorities have long urged the international community to support large-scale repatriation efforts, human rights organizations have cautioned against forced returns, citing ongoing security concerns and a lack of guarantees in Syria.

Since the fall of Assad in December, an estimated 400,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries, according to UNHCR, with about half of them coming from Lebanon, but many are hesitant to return because of the dire economic situation and fears of continuing instability in Syria.