UN welcomes ICC’s first Darfur war crimes conviction

A United Nations human rights official has welcomed the International Criminal Court (ICC's) first conviction of a suspect over atrocities in Darfur.

The ICC on Monday convicted Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, of playing a leading role in a campaign of atrocities committed in the Sudanese region more than 20 years ago - including ordering mass executions and bludgeoning two prisoners to death with an axe.

The three-judge panel ruled that the atrocities, including mass murders and rapes, were part of a government plan to snuff out a rebellion there.

"The convictions by a Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court represent an important acknowledgment of the enormous suffering endured by the victims of his heinous crimes, as well as a first measure of long overdue redress for them, and their loved ones," said Seif Magango, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Abd–Al-Rahman was convicted of crimes for leading Janjaweed militia forces in Darfur that went on a campaign of killing and destruction in 2003-2004.

He was transferred to ICC custody in 2020 after surrendering in Central African Republic.

He pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity when his trial opened in April 2022 and argued he was not the person known as Ali Kushayb.

The judges rejected that defence, saying he even identified himself by his name and nickname in a video when he surrendered.

"We pay tribute to the victims who courageously shared their accounts of harrowing and life-altering loss and suffering, hoping against hope that one day accountability would reach their once seemingly untouchable tormenters," Magango said.