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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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UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
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UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)

A major offensive in the occupied West Bank which over several weeks has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and ravaged refugee camps increasingly appears to be part of Israel's "vision of annexation", a UN official told AFP.

Israeli forces carry out regular raids targeting gunmen in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, but the ongoing operation since late January is already the longest in two decades, with dire effects on Palestinians.

"It's an unprecedented situation, both from a humanitarian and wider political perspective," said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.

"We talk about 40,000 people that have been forcibly displaced from their homes" in the northern West Bank, mainly from three refugee camps where the operation had begun, said Friedrich.

"These camps are now largely empty," their residents unable to return and struggling to find shelter elsewhere, he said.

Inside the camps, the level of destruction to "electricity, sewage and water, but also private houses" was "very concerning", Friedrich added.

The Israeli operation, which the military says targets gunmen in the northern West Bank, was launched shortly after a truce took hold in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.

The operation initially focused on Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, where UNRWA operates, but has since expanded to more areas of the West Bank's north.

Friedrich warned that as the offensive drags on, there are increasing signs -- some backed by official Israeli statements -- that it could morph into permanent military presence in Palestinian cities.

"There are growing concerns that the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank," he said.

- 'Political operation' -

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said troops would remain for many months in the evacuated camps to "prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism".

And Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who lives in one of dozens of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, has said that Israel would be "applying sovereignty" over parts of the territory in 2025.

According to Friedrich, "the statements we are hearing indicate that this is a political operation. It is clearly being said that people will not be allowed to return."

Last year the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel's prolonged presence in the West Bank was unlawful.

Away from home, the displaced Palestinian residents also grapple with a worsening financial burden.

"There is an increasing demand now, especially in Jenin, for public shelter, because people can't pay these amounts for rent anymore," said Friedrich.

"Everyone wants to go back to the camps."

The UN official provided examples he said pointed to plans for long-term Israeli presence inside Palestinian cities, which should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

"In Tulkarem you have more and more reports about the army just walking around... asking shop owners to keep the shops open, going out and issuing traffic tickets to cars, so almost as if there is no Palestinian Authority," said Friedrich.

"It is very worrying, including for the future of the PA as such and the investments made by the international community into building Palestinian institutions."

The Ramallah-based PA was created in the 1990s as a temporary government that would pave the way to a future sovereign state.

- 'Radicalization' -

UNRWA is the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, but a recent law bars the agency from working with the Israeli authorities, hindering its badly needed operations.

"It's much more complicated for us now because we can't speak directly to the military anymore," said Friedrich.

"But at the same time, we continue to do our work," he said, assessing needs and coordinating "the actual emergency response on the ground".

Israeli lawmakers had passed the legislation against UNRWA's work over accusations that it had provided cover for Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip -- claims the UN and many donor governments dispute.

The prolonged Israeli operation could have long-term consequences for residents, particularly children traumatized by the experience of displacement, Friedrich warned.

"If people can't go back to the camp and we can't reopen the schools... clearly, that will lead to more radicalization going forward."

He said the situation could compound a legitimacy crisis for the PA, often criticized by armed Palestinian factions for coordinating security matters with Israel.

Displaced Palestinians "feel that they are kicked out of their homes and that nobody is supporting them", said Friedrich.

A "stronger international response" was needed, he added, "both to provide humanitarian aid on the ground, and secondly, to ensure that the situation in the West Bank doesn't spin out of control".