International Criminal Court provides the first conviction in the Darfur case, Sudan

On October 6, 2025, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) First conviction In the situation in Darfur, Sudan, about two decades after the scorched campaign that left hundreds of thousands of dead in the region. The test room that I unanimous found Ali Muhammad ali-al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb) Guilty of 27 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes and for his role in attacks on De Bont, Masalit and other non-Arabic communities between August 2003 and March 2004 in West Darfur. In all relevant times, Ali Kushayb was a senior leader of the pro-government Janjaweed Militia. The case also represents the first conviction for gender -based persecution on the ICC.

The scorched-earth campaign refers to the genocidal atrocities from the beginning of this century. From 2003, the government of Sudan and an Arab militia that is active in Sudan, especially in the Darfur region, Janjaweed, Systematically attacked non-Arabic communities, mainly the Masalit, Bonti and Zaghawa, whole villages burn and systematic murder, rape and relocation commit all under the false pretext of the aiming of rebels. Despite clear evidence, the international community largely failed to take concrete measures to jeopardize the populations.

In March 2005, the UN Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC for investigations into accusations of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It was the first time that the UN Security Council successfully referred a situation to the ICC. In 2009 and 2010The ICC has issued arrest statements for former Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. Omar Al-Bashir was the first sitting president to be sought by the ICC, and the first person to be sued by the ICC for the crime of genocide. None of the two arrest trips against him has been enforced and he remains ‘in general’.

The monumental judgment follows the surrender of Ali Kushyb in the Central -African Republic and switch to the custody of the ICC on 9 June 2020. He initially appeared for the ICC on June 15, 2020. He was suspected of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Five years later, Ali Kushayb was guilty above some reasonable doubts about the following crimes:

• As a direct perpetrator for murder and torture as crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as disturbances on personal dignity such as war crime and persecution as a crime against humanity.
• As a co-perpetrator, for the joint committee with Janjaweed and/or government of Sudan fight forces, in connection with at least 200 prisoners and/or prisoners during the Mukjar and partige operations, of murder, murder, murder and torture as war crimes and crimes against humanity and a misconduct from human dignity.
• For the orders of the Janjaweed to commit, during the Operation Kodoom and Bindisi, murder and rape as war crimes and crimes against humanity, attacks on a civilian population, indignant on personal dignity, plundering and destroying the ownership of the enemy as war crimes; And forced transfer of population, persecution and other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity.

Under the findings of the milestone judgment, the finding of rape as a war crime and a crime against humanity, including gender -based crimes. In this respect, the Chamber discovered that the attack resulted in committing rape of women and girls, which caused profound physical, cultural and social damage to the victims. Furthermore, it turned out that Ali Kushayb was guilty of the crime against the humanity of persecution of men from the fur trunk on political, ethnic and gender grounds.

The Chamber did not establish a conviction on four counts, given that the criminal behavior that underlies these counts was already covered among other counts for which a conviction was pronounced.

The judgment follows a thorough investigation. The persecution was based on the testimonies of 81 witnesses and 1,521 evidence from the total 1,861 presented to the Chamber, including documents from the government of Sudan and the United Nations, satellite images, photos, videos and social media reports.

As the next steps, the Ali Kushyb Chamber will impose the sentence and also a phase dedicated to the reparations to victims will be opened.

The conviction comes as Darfur and Sudan are widely flooded in a brutal conflict between the army of Sudan and the paramilitary rapid strong support forces (RSF) since April 2023. The last few years of the violent conflict have seen evidence of mass murders and ethnically targeted attacks in the neighborhood. In January 2025, the then State Secretary Antony shines announced That, based on his assessment, members of the RSF and Allied militias during this new conflict had committed genocide in Sudan. The ICC confirmed that the alleged crimes committed since April 2023 fall within the jurisdiction of the court and will also be investigated. Comment on the conviction, Vice -Officer of Justice Nazhat Shameem Khan stated that: “The condemnation of Mr. Abd-Al-Rahman is a crucial step to close the impunity gorge in Darfur. It sends a resounding message to the perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan, both the past and present, that justice will prevail, and that they are held responsible for the deployment of the deployment of the deployment of the deployable suffering, suffering, suffering, suffering, suffering suffering,” women, and to-say, suffer, “sufferable suffering,” who are suffering from suffering, and to suffer, “suffer-suffered suffering”, “women,” who are suffering. ”