Sunday, December 13, 2009

South Sudan backs 'hybrid courts' for Darfur

KHARTOUM — The former rebels of south Sudan on Saturday threw their weight behind the creation of "hybrid courts" for Darfur as proposed by the African Union despite reservations from Khartoum.

"We support the creation of hybrid courts for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur because we do not have confidence in the independence of the Sudanese judiciary," said Pagan Amum, secretary general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

Amum was speaking to journalists after a meeting in the southern capital of Juba with South Africa's former president Thabo Mbeki, who heads an African Union panel on the Darfur conflict.

The panel has proposed the creation of a special criminal court made up of Sudanese and foreign judges to try crimes committed in the western Sudanese region.

An adviser to Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, who faces an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Darfur, has expressed reservations about the proposal because of a "lack of clarity" over the makeup of the court.

The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease and more than 2.7 million fled their homes since the Darfur conflict pitting separatist rebels against Khartoum erupted in 2003. Read more >>>>>>>>

No comments: