But don’t expect the convictions from the ICC to come anytime soon. Consider the example of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a former senior militia commander in Darfur, who has been accused of war crimes in Sudan between August 2003 and April 2004. Nearly two decades after the atrocities in Darfur left 300,000 people dead and displaced millions, his war crimes trial only began in The Hague last week.
The delay is rooted in the ICC’s judicial structure, which only allows for a trial if an individual is physically present in the courtroom. The likelihood that Moscow will refuse to extradite Russian troops or generals accused of crimes in Ukraine means that these cases may take decades to prosecute. But when an individual in ICC custody is found guilty, lengthy sentences usually follow.
Bosco Ntaganda, former chief of staff of a Congolese armed militia group, had his 30-year sentence confirmed in 2021 after he was found guilty of 13 counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity that occurred between 2002 to 2003.
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