British human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has been named on Friday by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) new prosecutor, special adviser on Sudan’s Darfur conflict.
Clooney recently served as a legal representative for a number of survivors of crimes committed in Darfur, in a case against Ali Kushayb, the leader of the government-backed Janjaweed militia.
Her post focusing on Darfur is one of several new special portfolios created by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who took office in July.
“I am delighted to welcome such an outstanding group of experts and I am grateful for their willingness to serve as my special advisers,” Khan said in a statement.
Clooney’s husband, the Hollywood actor George Clooney, is a longtime campaigner for human rights in the Darfur region.
The UN says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million people were displaced in the 2003-2004 Darfur conflict.
Fighting broke out when black African rebels, complaining of systematic discrimination, took up arms against deposed dictator Omar Bashir’s Arab-dominated regime.
Clooney has also been involved in a string of human rights cases involving countries including Iraq, Myanmar and the Philippines, and criminal cases covering Lebanon and the former Yugoslavia.
Last year she garnered headlines after resigning her post as a British envoy for media freedom, in protest at the government’s “lamentable” decision to breach its EU divorce treaty. (Source: Arab News)