Darfur’s First ICC Verdict in 20 Years: Accountability or Appearance?

The Hague, October 6 – After two decades of waiting, a long-delayed measure of justice has finally reached Darfur. The International Criminal Court today convicted Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, better known as Ali Kushayb, of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for leading a campaign of terror against civilians in West Darfur between 2003 and 2004. Yet as Sudan once again bleeds and the same Janjaweed networks morph into today’s warring factions, the conviction raises a difficult question: does this verdict signal true accountability, or merely the appearance of it?

For Abd-Al-Rahman, once a ruthless Janjaweed commander, the ruling closes one of the darkest chapters of Darfur’s history. Judges found him guilty of murder, torture, rape, persecution, and pillage, acts carried out not in chaos but as part of a deliberate, state-orchestrated war on the Fur people. The verdict delivers the ICC’s first conviction from a United Nations Security Council referral and the first in the Darfur situation. It also breaks new legal ground as the Court’s inaugural conviction for gender-based persecution, exposing how men and boys were hunted down, humiliated, and exterminated as part of the genocidal campaign.

Trial Chamber I ruled unanimously that Abd-Al-Rahman’s crimes were proven beyond reasonable doubt, describing his role as central to the “scorched-earth” tactics that razed entire villages, killed thousands, and displaced millions. The evidence was overwhelming as 81 witnesses, 1,521 items of evidence, and records drawn from the Government of Sudan, the United Nations, satellite imagery, photographs, videos, and social media posts, all formed a devastating picture of coordinated cruelty.

Nearly two decades after Darfur was first referred to The Hague, the question still lingers: why did justice take so long? The ICC’s long-awaited verdict comes as violence once again engulfs the region, with civilians facing attacks eerily reminiscent of the horrors of 2003.

The 2003 conflict in Darfur began when rebel groups from the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa communities took up arms against Omar al-Bashir’s Islamist government, citing decades of political and economic marginalization. In response, the state mobilized Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, unleashing widespread violence that left more than 300,000 people dead and millions displaced into sprawling camps.

Prosecutors established that Kushayb played a central role in coordinating and executing attacks on civilian populations. Witnesses described his presence at multiple massacres and his leadership in operations that resulted in mass killings, sexual violence, and the destruction of villages.

The path to this conviction has been slow, hindered by political obstruction, limited cooperation, and the defiant impunity of the al-Bashir regime. For years, ICC warrants against al-Bashir, former minister Ahmad Harun, and others remained unenforced, reflecting the challenges of implementing international justice.

Kushayb’s eventual surrender in 2020, following al-Bashir’s ousting, marked a turning point. After falling out with the regime, he turned himself in to authorities in the Central African Republic. His trial, which began in April 2022, was one of the ICC’s most extensive proceedings, relying on testimony from 81 witnesses and more than 1,500 pieces of evidence, including satellite imagery and government records.

The evidence presented was detailed and consistent. Judges concluded that Abd-Al-Rahman was criminally responsible for crimes that caused “death, injury and destruction among civilians from scorched earth tactics, which entailed the burning and pillaging of entire villages, and mass executions.” The Chamber also dismissed the defence’s central claim that he was misidentified, confirming him as the same “Ali Kushayb” who led Janjaweed operations in Darfur.

The verdict is significant for its recognition of gender-based persecution against Fur men and boys, marking one of the first instances where an international tribunal has classified such acts as crimes against humanity on gender grounds. The Court found Kushayb guilty not only of rape as a war crime and a crime against humanity but also of persecution based on political, ethnic, and gender identity.

This judgment reinforces an evolving understanding of how gender intersects with ethnicity and politics in mass violence. It affirms that men and boys can also be targeted in ways that reflect gendered assumptions about power, lineage, and community defence.

The verdict comes as Sudan faces renewed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the latter tracing its roots to the Janjaweed militias once commanded by Kushayb. Reports from the current fighting suggest similar patterns of targeted ethnic killings, sexual violence, and urban sieges, raising questions about whether the lessons of Darfur have been fully absorbed.

Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan highlighted this link, describing the conviction as “a crucial step towards closing the impunity gap in Darfur.” She added that it “sends a resounding message to perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan, both past and present that justice will prevail.”

Khan also acknowledged the role of survivors whose persistence enabled the trial. “The judges’ decision is a tribute to the bravery of many thousands of Darfuri victims, who hoped and fought for justice through the years. Upholding the laws of armed conflict, the judgment affirms the fundamental value and dignity of the lives of the Darfuri people,” she said.

While Kushayb awaits sentencing, the ICC’s Darfur docket remains incomplete. The Court’s most prominent suspect, Omar al-Bashir, is still in custody in Sudan, and his transfer to The Hague remains a matter of political negotiation. His co-accused, Ahmad Harun and Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, also remain at large.

The renewed conflict has further complicated these efforts, creating new victims while impeding cooperation with the Court. Nevertheless, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor has indicated that this verdict represents only a beginning.

As Deputy Prosecutor Khan emphasized in a statement, “Today we have shown what we can achieve when we work together. We are working to ensure that the trial of Mr Abd-Al-Rahman will be the first of a number in relation to the Situation in Darfur at the International Criminal Court.”

The conviction of Ali Kushayb demonstrates the ICC’s ability to deliver justice, even decades after the crimes occurred. However, as legal analysts note, it also exposes the court’s limitations in enforcing accountability when key architects of the Darfur atrocities, including Omar al-Bashir and other indicted officials, remain at large. With Sudan now engulfed in renewed conflict, the court’s next steps will reveal whether this ruling marks a turning point for justice or merely a symbolic victory in an unfinished fight against impunity.