The ICC Makes its First Conviction in the Sudan Case
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (aka Ali Kushayb), October 19, 2023 during the opening of the defense statements at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands (ICC-CPI via Courthouse News)
At 14:00 local time on October 6th, the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered a verdict against Sudanese militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman. Abd-Al-Rahman, commonly called Ali Kushayb, was a commander of the Janjaweed, a nomadic militia operating in the Sahel region.
This verdict is the first the ICC has issued regarding the violence in Sudan. Abd-Al-Rahman stood trial for a series of crimes that are representative of this violence. With this verdict, the ICC sets the tone for how the court will treat further trials of Sudanese fighters.
The ICC issued the warrant for Abd-Al-Rahman’s arrest in February 2007. After a brief arrest and release in 2008, Abd-Al-Rahman turned himself in for arrest in June of 2020 after Sudan’s government said it would cooperate with the ICC, causing him to fear that the authorities would kill him. Abd-Al-Rahman stood accused of thirty-one counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed in Sudan between 2003 and 2004. The ICC verdict found Abd-Al-Rahman guilty on twenty-seven of the thirty-one counts. Abd-Al-Rahman was not found guilty only of crimes related to inhumane treatment during attacks on the villages of Mukjar and Deleig.
Abd-Al-Rahman’s crimes were committed over two decades before the trial, but the violence he participated in killed and displaced hundreds of thousands. Between 2003 and 2004, Abd-Al-Rahman orchestrated 504 murders, 20 rapes, and the forced displacement of 41,000 people. This violence not only harmed the victims back in 2003 and 2004, but continues to ripple through Sudan today.
As the verdict was announced, conflict continued to rage in Sudan. In 2023, tensions between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted. These parties were meant to oversee a democratic transition after a 2019 conflict. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militia, and Janjaweed groups still provide aid and assistance to the RSF.
The Janjaweed have been accused of committing genocide against non-Arab Sudanese communities from 2003 to 2008. Since the resurgence of violence in Sudan in 2023, the RSF has faced similar accusations of genocide against non-Arab Sudanese people. The conflict in Sudan is currently one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Since 2023, the fighting has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million others. In addition to the physical violence, famine is raging through Sudan. According to the World Food Programme, over 24 million people are facing severe food insecurity.
Notably, Abd-Al-Rahman was found guilty of multiple crimes of rape as a war crime and as a weapon of war. The ICC has found defendants guilty of sex crimes before, but it has faced difficulty in prosecuting and convicting defendants for the crimes of sexual violence and rape. Sex crimes are notoriously difficult to investigate, and the ICC has had a number of sex crime charges dismissed for lack of evidence or non-applicability. In the first fifteen years of the ICC, the court only prosecuted eight sex-crime cases, and only two achieved convictions. The court even overturned its first-ever conviction of sex crimes only two years after the decision was given. With Abd-Al-Rahman’s conviction for rape as a war crime and crime against humanity, the ICC is taking another important step towards successfully prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence, both in Sudan and other cases around the world.
The conviction is a landmark for the ICC. Abd-Al-Rahman's conviction affirms the UN Security Council’s condemnation of the Darfur war as a genocide. With this conviction, the court has set a precedent for recognising the crimes committed in Sudan as war crimes and crimes against humanity. This legal precedent will set the tone for future ICC trials regarding the conflicts in Sudan. This case also reaffirms that it is possible for the ICC to overcome the hurdles unique to sexual violence and successfully prosecute sex crimes as crimes against humanity. By finding Abd-Al-Rahman guilty, the ICC has created a precedent in the international community for recognising the crisis in Sudan as a conflict with elements of genocide and ethnic cleansing, which can guide further international actions in regards to Sudan.
As the RSF continues to commit atrocities and the conflict in Sudan creates new victims twenty years after Abd-Al-Rahman’s crimes, the ICC verdict should spur other governments and international bodies to take action to further justice in Sudan.
Burkina Faso Abolishes Visa Requirements for African Citizens
As of September 2025, Burkina Faso has abolished all visa requirements for travelers who hold African citizenship. While travelers will have to fill out an online visa application, they no longer need to pay visa fees or go through the standard procedure. This follows a trend of other African countries, including Ghana, Rwanda, and Kenya, some of the most visible and prominent countries in their respective regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Policies like this facilitate increased commerce and trade within the continent, allowing it to become more interconnected and promoting more intra-continent cooperation and cohesion.
This is an especially important moment for Sub-Saharan Africa, both politically and economically: it has some of the world’s youngest populations, while much of the Global North faces fertility challenges, and houses many of the material resources crucial to the development of technology, like AI and electric vehicles. Africa’s young population provides it with a major source of labor and burgeoning expertise that is vital as it urbanizes and develops its domestic and continental economies. Its resources likewise enable the growth of homegrown companies in the automotive, industrial, and technology industries while attracting foreign investment. Countries like Rwanda and Botswana seek to attract international attention and investment through rapid modernization and political and economic leadership among African states. The extensive cobalt veins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the large amounts of bauxite (aluminum) in Guinea are essential to the continuing tech boom in the Global North. Africa was instrumental in the initial emergence of the Global North and industrialization, and is instrumental today in a new epoch of technological advancement, but many on the continent today aim to do so on their own terms, shaking off the rust of colonialism and neocolonialism. It is this mindset that envelops and motivates African leaders today, born after colonialism yet raised in its dark shadows.
This new policy emerges amid the Pan-Africanist orientation of Burkina Faso’s new government, led by military captain and iconoclast Ibrahim Traore, following a military coup in 2022. As a leader, Traore has ignited a radical turn away from the West and Western-backed institutions. Thus far, he has ejected French forces fighting Islamist terrorist groups in the Sahel, nationalized foreign-owned industries like the gold industry, and pulled out of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) alongside the similarly junta-led Mali and Niger to form the Sahel Confederacy. Further exacerbating relations with the West, Traore has chosen to ally with Russia, which has supplied him with military and material support but has drawn ire from international observers. Allying with Russia thereby forgoes previous relationships with the United States and France, Burkina Faso’s former colonial ruler. His stringent anti-Western policies and public image have gained him significant popularity on the continent, partially fueled by extensive and largely positive, if often dubious, social media coverage. In social media and his speeches, his goal has been to pioneer a modern form of Pan-Africanism in order to combat and ultimately “win the war against terrorism and imperialism,” issues which have rocked the Sahel in recent years.
Ultimately, Traore’s actions reflect his efforts to use this modern Pan-Africanism to foster greater African self-reliance and cooperation. More implicitly, this is a way for Traore to bring more economic activity to the struggling nation, as it attempts to grow its mining industry, invest in domestic automotive companies, and harness the labor and economic potential of its young population. All the while, Traore is increasing his prominence on the continent as a paragon of Pan-African strength, independence, and agency in the face of competing global interests in Africa. In many ways, Traore is intentionally harnessing and reinforcing the legacy of Pan-African leaders past, including Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah and Burkina Faso’s very own Thomas Sankara, who implemented similar socialist policies and enjoyed incredible popularity before his assassination. These iterations of Pan-Africanism were intended as a radical push towards African independence in the immediate aftermath of decolonization. The other Sahel countries (Mali and Niger), similarly ruled by military juntas, are working to emulate the Pan-African approach and have worked closely with Burkina Faso. Looking to the future, Traore’s policies could see a greater emphasis on cooperation among other African nations and regional intergovernmental organizations, possibly building up to the goal of fashioning the African Union (AU) on the European Union’s shared currency, freedom of movement, and joint policies.
The EU Struck a Deal for Detention Centers and Desert Dumps: A Crisis for African Migrants
In 2024, the European Union (EU) signed bilateral agreements and memorandums with several Muslim-majority nations, including Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya, that contained financial agreements to curb migrant flow through border control and closure or violent action towards migrants if necessary. These agreements come as a result of a well-documented rise in anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe as thousands of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa have fled conflict and persecution in their homelands to establish a better life on the other side of the Mediterranean. Migrants, particularly those from Libya and Syria, are fleeing the violence of the ongoing war and factional power struggle, where they are vulnerable to extortion, violence, and other abuses by the government and armed groups. One individual interviewed had fled military service in Syria under al-Assad’s regime due to conflict with his oath as a medical professional–he, along with 125 other refugees, fled Syria to Europe for freedom from violent conflict since 2009, 4.48 million Syrian refugees have sought asylum in Europe.
With the increasing immigrant population, especially from Muslim countries, many white Europeans fear that low fertility rates among “European natives” will create a self-effacing Europe devoid of Western identity. Xenophobic political sentiment has begun to influence the EU and its agreements with North African countries, regions that groups such as Liberian migrants must traverse before attempting to cross the Mediterranean. These agreements have already dropped irregular border crossings by an overall 38%—the lowest level since 2021 (due to COVID-19)—though the West African route saw an 18% increase, the highest since data collection began in 2009. This means that while efforts have been made to close off points of crossing, immigrants are finding alternative routes and bypassing blocked routes.
In response to the increased migration across the Mediterranean, Tunisia and Italy have developed a coordinating strategy that integrates migration control with national identity and economic policies. Tunisia stated that the reason for their aggressive migration crackdown and policy development is a defense against migrants who threaten to transform the state into an “African” country rather than an “Arab-Muslim” one. EU nations such as Italy have pitched migration policy as a facet of plans to boost the economies of African countries directly involved with migrant flow into the EU. Last year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen both presented plans with economic benefits in tandem with stricter migration policy. Leyen’s partnership package plan held over 1.08 billion dollars in assistance, with approximately 164.5 million dollars targeted towards border management.
This is not the first time agreements have been used to curb migration into the EU. In 2017, an EU summit in Malta saw the promise of greater funding for migrant containment and the closing of the Liberian and Tunisian Central Mediterranean migrant routes. This is the same route that experienced a 59% drop in crossings in 2024, according to Frontex. The EU’s concerted response differs greatly from those in 2015, alongside the growth of xenophobia and the election of far-right politicians. There is a fear that Europe is losing its Western identity, particularly from invading Arab populations who, from their perspective, terrorize the white European population. Germany had committed 6.6 billion dollars to support 800,000 migrants entering the country and take in 500,000 migrants a year, with Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly stating that the EU cannot fail on the matter of supporting refugees if they wished to remain “the Europe [they] wished for.”
These recent agreements have increased the expulsion of migrants in North Africa who sought to cross the Mediterranean, some even using brutal tactics, including documented human rights violations and imprisonment. As a result, migrants face threats of torture, sexual violence, starvation, serious injury, and death. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has now been denied access and obstructed from providing treatment to those individuals inside two of Libya’s major detention facilities after more than seven years of access, from 2016 to 2023. At one detention center, Abu Salim, women reported to MSF workers that they were told they could be released in exchange for sexual favors, and that they experienced sexual abuse at the hands of armed guards and men brought from outside the facility. Prisoners described being routinely denied life-saving medical treatment. In response to the exposed abuse, MSF has called for a stop to detention practices and the release of all those held, and for refugees to be provided with safe and legal pathways out of Libya.
Other countries, such as Tunisia, have begun a process known as “desert dumping,” abandoning migrants into the no-man’s land along their border in the Sahara Desert, providing them with no food or water and adequate medical care. Funded with more than 400 million euros by the EU Trust Fund under the pretense of migrant management, these operations use the funds to operate vehicles and commute out to remote regions of the Sahara to abandon migrants, according to a year-long investigation from Lighthouse Reports. Many who are left in the desert face threats of kidnapping, extortion, torture, violence, and death; others are sold and held for ransom. Vehicles used to round up migrants during raids and transport them to desert regions have been matched to vehicles donated to Tunisia by Italy and Germany. Some people, like African-American citizen Timothy Hucks, have been wrongfully arrested and subsequently abandoned in the desert following a police interrogation.
Of the 613 men arrested and sent back to Niger in December 2024, a majority reported mistreatment by authorities during their time in detention centers and while being transported. Few, including a 25-year-old from Guinea, are detained despite holding UNHCR refugee status papers. Those detained also include pregnant women and children; one group interviewed reported suffering hallucinations and heel infections. Many were dehydrated, injured, and abused by organized crime and trafficking rings that operate in the dumping zones. One group reportedly had been photographed by Spanish officers before knowingly being abandoned in an al-Qaeda-linked active war zone in the Malian desert.
Damaging migration policies from the EU and partnering African nations have resulted in the forceful return of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers to Libya and neighboring regions, where they face horrific and abusive conditions in detention centers and abandonment in the Sahara Desert. When groups are finally able to reach nearby cities, often the same from which they were rounded up, many risk being detained and dumped again, creating a cycle of violence and abuse. Using violent and abusive detainment as a solution to reduce migration will not reduce the influx of migrants and refugees into Europe, but rather force those desperate enough to create newer and potentially more dangerous routes to the EU and their assumed freedom from violent conflict. Scholars have long since connected this crisis to the colonial historical legacy left by many nations that participate in the prevention of African and Muslim migration into the EU. If the European Union is desperate to contain and prevent migrants at the cost of billion-dollar economic deals, it would be a greater use of funds to build instead grassroots support for democracy and peace-building efforts in regions of conflict.
Fighting in DR Congo–Set to Boil Over
As of last Sunday, the UN reported 700 dead from the conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Rwandan-backed M23. While fighting in the DR Congo is not new—and can be traced back to the Rwandan Genocide in 1994—the recent events have brought this conflict to its boiling point. M23, the Rwandan-backed militant group, has now captured Goma, a mineral-rich city and capital of the North Kivu province in the eastern DRC. Beginning February 4, a unilateral ceasefire is in place due to the humanitarian crisis; however, M23 still remains in control of Goma. The group recently began to move towards Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu province, but have publicly stated that they do not intend to capture it.
M23, the militant group backed by Rwanda, are led by ethnic Tutsis and have stated the reason for their violence is to fight for minority rights that are under threat from the Congolese government. The DR Congo’s government has pushed back on this, arguing that the M23 are instead motivated by a desire to capitalize on the wealth of the mineral-rich eastern region, which contains copper, gold, and cobalt, coveted components of parts found in mobile phones, solar panels, and other widely-used electronics.
Despite M23’s adamant claims, evidence shows that the group has been weaponizing the plight of Tutsis to justify their actions. This is indicated by the inconsistencies with the group’s public statements and corresponding actions. Additionally Rwanda, who largely supports the insurgency, continues to benefit from M23’s growing encroachment into the eastern DRC. Rwanda’s support of M23 lends them increased access to minerals in eastern DRC, as evidenced by the 50% increase of coltan exports in 2022-2023. Regardless of M23’s or the Rwandan government’s apparent dishonesty, the fighting has resulted in a major humanitarian crisis; more than 7 million displaced people, over 300 thousand suspected cholera cases (as of January 2023), and 15.4 million children in need of humanitarian aid (as of 2023). Prior to the recent escalation, the humanitarian situation was already at a crisis level, but now it has only intensified. The UN has sounded the alarm on three major issues to focus on in the conflict: scarcity of food and water, mass displacement, and mass increase of sexual-based violence. As M23 gets closer to the Bukavu, which holds a population of two million people, these issues will only worsen.
Several attempts at peace deals have failed in the past. Last year, a ceasefire deal was struck, but peace only held temporarily before fighting resumed again. This has been a recurring pattern, happening earlier on March 23, 2009 when M23 claimed that the terms of the most recent peace deal had been violated. This move signaled the resumption of conflict and served as the origin of the rebel group's name. Additionally, the UN has kept a peacekeeping mission, Monusco, in the DR Congo since 1999; however, their presence, no matter how well intentioned, may be escalating tensions, as many Congolese see Monusco as unsuccessful and have voiced a desire for them to leave. On January 31, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gathered for an emergency summit in Harare, Zimbabwe which will hopefully bear some fruit.
M23 and the government of the DR Congo seem unwilling to cooperate or to engage in dialogue, and the permeating sense of distrust that has stalled attempts for peace in the past threatens possibilities for reconciliation. Beginning February 4, there has been a humanitarian ceasefire, allowing people to have a safe passage to escape the conflict and increased humanitarian aid; however, this action does not necessitate an end to this conflict. Leaders across Africa and the UN will need to put pressure on Rwanda, potentially in the form of sanctions, to withdraw their support from M23 in addition to the ongoing diplomatic discussions. The international community has their work cut out from them as they search for ways to incentivise both parties to move towards peace. At the very least, the summit on Saturday in Tanzania, an unparalleled event, shows that much of the international community is at least willing to work towards peace.
Sudan Conflict: Attack on Last Functioning Hospital in North Darfur Kills 70
Getty Images
On January 24, 2025, a drone attack targeting the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur region, resulted in over 70 fatalities and wounded dozens more. The hospital was the only operational healthcare facility in the area, providing essential services like gy-obstetrics, internal medicine, surgery, and pediatrics.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) condemned the attack, emphasizing the critical role the hospital plays in the region. WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for an immediate cessation of all attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan and urged for unrestricted access to restore the damage to medical centres.
The attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital marks the latest strike in Sudan’s 20-month civil war between the Sudanese government and the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The attack was blamed on the paramilitary group by local authorities, which was said to be caused by the apparent battlefield losses to the Sudanese military and allies. The RSF, however, denied those claims, alleging that the Sudanese military was behind the attack, though they provided no evidence to support the accusation.
This incident is only a small part of the continued escalating conflict in Sudan, which has led to tens of thousands of deaths, the displacement of 12 million Sudanese civilians, and widespread famine in the region. The attack magnifies the ongoing healthcare crisis in Sudan, with two out of three people lacking access to healthcare and one in three people facing severe hunger. As the civil war continues to grow, ethnically driven violence has been on the rise, with some international watchdogs arguing that some acts committed by the RSF are escalating into acts of ethnic cleansing and genocide. If the crisis continues to draw on, it risks spiralling Sudan into state failure, stifling prospects for a successful post-conflict recovery. Furthermore, if the country continues to be vastly divided into two– with the Sudanese army having control of the East and the RSF in the West–the probability of Sudan once again splitting into two countries will become higher. As the conflict escalates, it remains unknown whether the international community will interfere or let it worsen–only time will tell.
Putin and Touadéra Hold Discussions on Increasing Bilateral Cooperation
Sergei Chirikov/Reuters
On January 15, 2025, President Fuastin-Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic (CAR) arrived in Moscow for a three-day official visit aimed at improving bilateral relations with Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Specifically, the states focused on deepening their ties in the realms of military cooperation and political cooperation.
Russia has played a key role in CAR’s security framework since 2018, providing military training and logistical support. During the meeting, both leaders discussed expanding bilateral military cooperation, specifically to focus on enhancing CAR’s defense capabilities amidst ongoing security challenges. Putin emphasized Russia’s commitment to supporting CAR’s sovereignty and stability, offering security support to embattled leaders as they battle with warring rebel factions.
Touadéra and Putin also reviewed economic and political agreements aimed at strengthening CAR’s infrastructure and governance. The Central African leader expressed gratitude for Russia’s assistance in addressing internal conflicts and promoting development. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to deepening ties beyond military collaboration.
Russia’s involvement in CAR includes the mercenaries from the Wagner Group, whose military contractors have played a large role in supporting CAR’s government forces. Despite the scrutiny they have faced from the international community, the group remains influential in maintaining stability in CAR. By training thousands of local forces, the group has put the rebels on the retreat, turning the tide of CAR’s civil war. In doing so, they’ve gained support in the state, as seen by the unveiling of a bronze monument glorifying the late head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The bilateral talks between President Touadéra and President Putin signify a growing partnership between the two nations outside of military cooperation. While details of future agreements remain confidential, the discussions highlight Russia’s increasing influence in CAR and the African continent. As Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on, they may expand this agreement to make use of CAR troops in the conflict, further diversifying their army (as they’ve already done with North Korean troops). If Putin continues to strengthen his foothold in the region, he may embolden the continent’s authoritarian leaders, further straying Africa from democracy.
Sierra Leone: Former President Koroma leaves country amid treason charges
Written by Chloe Baldauf; Edited by Luke Wagner
On Wednesday, the High Court of Sierra Leone approved ex-president Ernest Bai Koroma’s request for international travel to Nigeria due to un-specified medical reasons. The seventy-year-old president, who has been charged with four criminal offenses after allegedly conspiring to takedown the government during a failed coup attempt in November, has now been permitted to break his ongoing house-arrest to seek treatment.
This development in Koroma’s trial comes less than two months after the failed coup attempt that took place on November 26, 2023. With tensions rising across the country—particularly in Freetown—since current president Julius Maada Bio’s reelection in June 2023, the incident was defined as an attempt to “overthrow a democratically elected government” by Information Minister Chernor Bah.
President Bio announced that, although most of the individuals involved with the attempted coup had been arrested, the government aimed to prosecute all remaining coup-leaders. Earlier this month, Koroma was officially charged with treason for his alleged involvement in the November coup.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc that seeks to “promote economic integration,” has encouraged President Bio to approve Koroma’s departure to Nigeria.
According to a Tuesday statement by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc that seeks to “promote economic integration,” the Nigerian government offered to temporarily host Koroma amid the pending trial. ECOWAS has encouraged President Bio to approve Koroma’s departure to Nigeria.
Now, amid Koroma’s unspecified medical issues, the High Court has approved Koroma’s departure from the country. The swift change to Koroma’s travel abilities means the ex-president can stay in Nigeria for up to three months before coming back to Sierra Leone for the pending case in early March.
On Thursday, President Bio addressed concerns that the charging of Koroma would fracture Sierra Leone’s political landscape by clarifying that Koroma’s trial is not intended to be a “political witch hunt” but rather “one aimed at unraveling the truth behind the events of November 26th, 2023.” If charged to the fullest extent of Sierra Leone’s criminal law, Koroma could face life in prison.
Today, Koroma departed from Freetown, Sierra Leone on a Nigerian plane.