UNRIC MAGAZINE June Edition 2009

A rebel leader accused of having directed the deadly September 2007 attack against peacekeepers in the war-ravaged Sudanese region of Darfur voluntarily appeared before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 18 May.

Bahr Idriss Abu Garda is charged with three war crimes allegedly committed when 1,000 rebels attacked the Haskanita camp in South Darfur state on 29 September 2007. Twelve peacekeepers serving with the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) - a predecessor to the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, known as UNAMID - were killed and eight others wounded in the attack. Mr. Abu Gard is the first person to appear before the ICC voluntarily in response to a summons and also the first to appear in relation to the investigation into the situation in Darfur, which was referred to The Hague-based Court by the Security Council in 2005.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has welcomed Mr. Abu Garda's decision to appear before the Court, noting that "voluntary appearance is always an option under the Statute including for President Al-Bashir should he elect to cooperate."

An estimated 300,000 people have died and another 3 million have been displaced in Darfur, where rebels have been fighting Government forces and allied Arab militiamen, known as the Janjaweed, since 2003.

In March, an arrest warrant was issued for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, the first sitting Head of State to be indicted by the Court, for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur.