Nigeria, Oct. 16 -- On 6 October, the International Criminal Court (ICC) convicted Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (known as Ali Kushayb) on 27 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This was the ICC's first conviction in the Darfur situation, referred to the court by the United Nations (UN) Security Council in 2005.

It is also the ICC's first conviction in the two situations referred by the UN Security Council (Libya was referred in 2011), and its first conviction for gender-based persecution, including rape as a war crime and a crime against humanity.

'The conviction of Abd-Al-Rahman is a crucial step towards closing the impunity gap in Darfur [.] It sends a resounding message to perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan, both past and presen...