This week, the judges of Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC referred the Sudanese government to the UN Security Council for non-cooperation. At issue is the refusal by Sudan to arrest two individuals wanted by the Court for numerous alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Darfur region.In addition to the two men, the President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir is subject to an ICC arrest warrant for alleged atrocity crimes, however that case has no direct connection to the current referral to the Security Council.
Thus far the Sudanese government has steadfastly refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC. Nevertheless, although Sudan is not a member of the ICC, it must comply with all Court requests under the terms of a 2005 Security Council resolution. Now, the Security Council must decide what action to take to compel the Sudanese government to fulfill its international obligations, and to bring justice to Darfur. Photo Credit: daedalus169
