Darfur Consortium events

2009 2008 2007

International Refugee Rights Initiative - New York

July 20: Civil society briefing hosted by the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect, New York

Responsibility to Protect: A Dialogue with Civil Society in Advance of the UN General Assembly debate

Dismas Nkunda, Co-Chair of the Darfur Consortium and Co-Director of the International Refugee Rights Initiative, will be speaking.

See event invitation including RSVP details here.

May 12: Institute for Security Studies hosts workshop on international justice

The ISS’s International Crime in Africa Programme (ICAP) hosted a closed meeting constituting the first in the initiative – endorsed by African law society leaders and NGOs at a workshop in Pretoria in December 2008 – to establish an African Action Network on International Criminal Justice.

Read more here.

May 11: African NGO Forum passes resolution on strengthening international justice in Africa

(Banjul) NGOs gathered for the 45th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in the Gambia passed a resolution, which was subsequently presented to the Commission called for ratification of the Rome Statute by African States and the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Fighting Impunity in Africa.

Read the full resolution here.

Arab Program for Human Rights Activists - Cairo

April 15-16: Arab Parliaments and the Darfur Crisis

Within the framework of The Arab Coalition for Darfur's pursue to activate the Arab and regional movements on Darfur cause and its humanitarian, legal and cognitive aftermath and out of The Arab Coalition's strong belief in the positive role of the Arab Parliaments in implementing the cause by adopting a certain mechanism to protect the civilians and the resources of Darfur ,  the Coalition organizes a workshop entitled "The Arab Parliaments and Darfur crisis" in 15-16 April 2009 on Oum Kalthoum Hotel-Zamalik-Cairo.

In this context, the Coalition invited 17 members of Arab Parliaments from Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen,  Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq and Mauritania to take part in the workshop in addition to the members of the executive secretariat of the Coalition as well as many other intellectuals, writers and journalists who are concerned by the cause.

Read the announcement here.

International Refugee Rights Initiative - New York

April 14: The African Union, Darfur and the Question of Justice - a brown bag lunch

Since 2004, the African Union has played a critical role in efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis in Darfur. From facilitating peace negotiations in Abuja to deploying the region’s first peacekeepers, the regional institution took a strong early lead in the international response. Although the United Nations has taken on an increasing role in recent years, the African Union remains a key partner in peacekeeping and mediation efforts.

More recently, the question of justice has come to the fore of this engagement, with the African Union reacting with consternation to the presentation of charges against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. Dismas Nkunda, Co-Chair of the Darfur Consortium and Co-Director of the International Refugee Rights Initiative, will present his perspectives on the role that the African Union has played in mediating the crisis so far and the impact that debates over international justice have had in its recent engagement.

In conjunction, we will be presenting the report In the Interests of Justice? Prospects and Challenges for International Justice in Africa, which provides an overview of how international justice concepts, mechanisms and strategies have been deployed in Africa since the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. It documents important developments, highlights opportunities and gaps and articulates areas of policy concern for a more effective deployment of international justice in Africa. The report provides a starting point for the building of an informed constituency for international justice on the continent that will serve to monitor and hold international justice to account in Africa.