Mark Darby

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  Mark commented on the article | over 3 years ago

  It's Easy to Argue for Justice from Thousands of Miles Away

  Initially I was similarly skeptical on the ICC and the dangers of seeking "Justice". Alex De Waal made a forceful case for this point of view, as has Julie Flint. However I have since been forced to rethink.
  
  Having spoken to several Darfuris about this, including the head of the Darfur Union in the UK, they are very much in favour of the proceedings. The views they are getting out of the IDP camps is precisely what you argue against, that they have nothing left to lose. You are correct to point out that they very much can, but it seems we have now reached a point where people believe their positions to be bad enough to be worth the throw of a dice.
  
  It seems obvious that the unilateral ceasefire is a defensive move primarily to dodge the bullet of the ICC. Whilst this is reason to treat it with huge skepticism, it does show that Bashir is scaling down, not scaling up, in his efforts to avoid justice. In other words, the push for justice seems to improve chances of peace, or at least make them no worse, rather than lead to escalating difficulty.
  
  As to your point of suspending the indictment for a year to uphold the threat we have over Bashir, this would act more as a justification for his view that by cynicism he can placate world opinion and continue operations as normal in Darfur for another year. He can then launch another cynical move and once again attempt to win a suspension. In other words, we accomplish nothing. You also assume that if an arrest warrant is issued, we lose all leverage. If this was the case, why would Bashir be so keen to avoid it at all? His actions would make no sense if the ICC actually has no hold over him once the warrant is issued. Rather it further weakens his domestic position and tars him in the view of his neighbouring countries, and makes it increasingly difficult for major countries to sustain positive relations with him and his government.
  
  For these reasons the ICC proceedings should not be halted.