“Human Rights Now”, international human rights NGO based in Tokyo has announced a statement below on 5th October, seeking for the realization of peace based on conquest of human rights abuses. This statement is about the recent situation of humanitarian crisis and human rights abuses continuing in Republic of the Sudan.

Statement about the investigation and prosecution for President Bashir of Sudan by International Criminal Court

ICC Prosecutor Luis-Moreno-Ocampo asked the court for an arrest warrant against President Bashir of Sudan for 5 of genocides, 3 of crimes against humanity, and 2 of war crimes in July 2008. In response to it, ICC Judges began considering wheter to issue a formal arrest warrant against President Basir or not in the middle of September.
In Sudan’s Darfur region, Sudanese army and militia supported by Sudanese Government attacked and slaughted a large number of innocent people, and it is estimated that more than 2 millions of regugees have created. Considering such serious humanitarian damages like this, the ICC’s prosecution for President Bashir is essential for fruition of Justice in international society, and natural justice.
There is movement preventing fruition of Justice like this, however. Affected by the resolution of the Security Council, It is difficult to foresee the movement of suspending the investigation and prosecution for President Bashir.
The Provision of ICC, Article 16 allows the Security Council, in a resolution adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, to suspend the ICC investigation or prosecusion for a renewable period of 12 months. African Union (AU) support the suspention of ICC’s investigation and prosecution using Article 16 explicitly, and little movement is seen in international society to join in it. Human Rights Now is emphatically against the resolution of the Security Council which suspend the investigation and prosecution for President Bashir. Because, fruition of justice is not a kind of thing bargained politically, and it is quite impossible to develop sustainable peace for future neglecting serious humanitarian and human rights damages.
Our Opinion as mentioned above will be supported in international society. Some countries and major NGO like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and so on have expressed their position against the movement for suspending the investigation and prosecution in that way. in June of 2008, Chair’s Summary of G8 Foreign Minister’s Meeting held in Kyoto previous to G8 summit in Toyako said “We urge the Government of Sudan and all other parties to cooperatefully with the International Criminal Court in order to put an end to impunity for the crimes comitted in Darfur” and demanded cooperation with ICC relating with Sudanese matters to each countries. That can be considered as the consensus of G8 countries. 　Japan should consider the meaning of releasing such statement as the chair of G8 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Kyoto, and can’t just sit back.
Japan has a responsibility to be against the international society’s movement of suspending the investigation and prosecution for President Bashir, emphasically.
Fruition of Justice can’t be bargained authentically. If investigation andprosecution were stopped for political bargain, the credibility of ICC will be lost and it is inevitable that there will be left the cause of big trouble in the future. Human Rights Now is emphatically against those kind of movement of International society and Japanese government these days. And We call for fruition of Justice and development of peace based on that.