Sudan: UN mission counters erroneous reports of staff evacuations
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today voiced disappointment that some daily newspapers in the African nation have erroneously reported that the mission intends to evacuate international and national staff ahead of possible action by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today voiced disappointment that some daily newspapers in the African nation have erroneously reported that the mission intends to evacuate international and national staff ahead of possible action by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“These reports are inaccurate and misleading,” the mission said in a statement issued in Khartoum.
UNMIS said that it is carrying out its mandated functions normally to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) – that ended the 21-year north-south civil war in Sudan – and will continue to do so no matter what decisions are handed down by the ICC.
“UNMIS once again calls upon all media to check their stories on UNMIS with the office of the UNMIS Spokesperson in order to avoid publications of false rumors and creating unnecessary confusion in the minds of the public,” the statement noted.
Last month, the mission said that Special Representative Ashraf Qazi had not made remarks about a possible date for ICC action attributed to him by newspapers in Khartoum.
In 2005, the Security Council referred the situation in the war-ravaged Sudanese region of Darfur to the Court, and three cases have arisen from the situation to date. Last May, the ICC''s pre-trial chamber issued arrest warrants for Ahmad Harun, former Sudanese Minister of State for the Interior and now the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, and Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed leader.
The Court is also examining Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo's application filed last July for an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes, including genocide, in Darfur.
In November, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo presented evidence against three rebel commanders for their role in deadly attack in December 2007 that killed 12 peacekeepers serving with the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) -- a predecessor to the joint UN-AU mission known as UNAMID -- and wounding eight others.