PARIS – France welcomed progress made by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigation into alleged crimes committed in Al Fasher, El Geneina and other parts of Darfur, calling on all parties to cooperate fully with the Court.
In a statement, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said Paris welcomed advances in the ICC’s investigations into alleged crimes committed in Darfur, including crimes the Court says were committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
France stressed that all parties must cooperate fully with the ICC, adding that “there is no place for impunity in Sudan.”
The statement followed a briefing by the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to the U.N. Security Council on July 15, during which prosecutors reported a “breakthrough” in the Darfur investigation, citing expanded cooperation, new witness testimony and evidence that investigators said enabled them to directly link several alleged crimes to identified suspects.
During the same Security Council session, Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations urged the Court to expedite legal proceedings and issue arrest warrants against those responsible for crimes in Darfur. He also reaffirmed Sudan’s cooperation with the ICC and called for investigations to extend to all individuals or entities accused of financing, supporting or facilitating crimes committed during the conflict.
The ICC has been investigating crimes in Darfur since the U.N. Security Council referred the situation to the Court in 2005. In recent years, prosecutors have expanded their work to include alleged atrocities committed during Sudan’s current conflict, particularly in West Darfur and North Darfur, where the Court says there are reasonable grounds to believe war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed.
The Court secured its first conviction in the Darfur cases in 2025, when Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb) was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Arrest warrants for former President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Ahmad Harun and Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein remain outstanding, while prosecutors say investigations into more recent crimes in Darfur are continuing.
