Omar al-Bashir

• August 11, 2020

Just four months ago, Sudan took the monumental step to ban female genital mutilation, a painful, unnecessary and dangerous procedure that leaves lasting scars. Generally carried out on girls before they reach puberty, genital mutilation is now punishable in Sudan by up to three years in prison and subject to a fine. In a …

Africa, Covid-19, Gender Violence

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Sudan, the Enigma

Jeffrey Laurenti

• November 30, 2016

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Arriving at the Khartoum airport near midnight, as I did a few weeks before the American presidential election, one is struck by the lineup of aircraft parked near the terminal. There is not a single Western airline among them, though one sees several from across the Arab world and parts of …

Africa, Unesco

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South African Decision to Quit the ICC Draws Critics in Africa and Beyond

Barbara Crossette

• October 24, 2016

South Africa’s announcement on Oct. 21 that it intends to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, which has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, has met strong opposition from civil society groups in that country and other African and international human-rights organizations. Africa has played major roles in the independent court, …

Africa, ICC, International Justice

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BOOKS

The Surprising Confessions of a Peacemaker

Irwin Arieff

• July 18, 2015

When war breaks out, you would think the easy answer would be to send in a United Nations peacekeeping mission, right? In fact, it is fairly rare and extraordinarily challenging to pull such a mission together. Even then, the mission can end up a flop, making little or no difference as the years crawl …

BOOKS

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The International Criminal Court Fends Off ‘Ferocious’ Attack, Prosecutor Says

Alice Speri

• September 28, 2013

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor – Fatou Bensouda – was busy in New York this week, rallying support for the court on the sidelines of the 68th United Nations General Assembly annual debate. The Gambia native, who succeeded Luis Moreno-Ocampo, an Argentine, to head the prosecutor’s office, talked exclusively to PassBlue about her …

Africa, Human Rights, ICC, International Justice, Middle East, Security Council

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Notorious African Rebel Lands in International Court Hands

Dulcie Leimbach

• March 22, 2013

Bosco Ntaganda, whom the United States calls “one of the most notorious and brutal rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” has arrived at the International Criminal Court in The Hague after being transported by court officials from Rwanda. Ntaganda is a Congolese warlord who has been operating with impunity in eastern Congo …

Africa, Child Soldiers, ICC

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Rape in War: It’s Not a Given Any Longer

Dulcie Leimbach

• January 9, 2013

One of Fatou Bensouda‘s missions as the new chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court is to make rape during conflicts a thing of the past. Until 20 years ago, she said in a speech at the United Nations recently, sexual violence and other sexual attacks were “all but ignored and dismissed as regrettable …