[JURIST] Sudanese Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardhi has indicated that Sudan will cooperate with a UN Human Rights Council [official website] mission investigating human rights abuses in Darfur [JURIST news archive], according to reports Monday in local Sudanese media. The Human Rights Council approved [JURIST report] a resolution [PDF text] last week the authorizing the mission. Al-Mardhi has said that the government would "remove all obstacles" and allow the high-level UN mission to complete its work. The justice minister has also urged the experts to conduct a "balanced" investigation. AFP has more.

Meanwhile, in an interview [text] with the Sudan Tribune, Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile], chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court [official website], said that his office is currently interviewing senior government officials in Sudan in connection with his investigation [ICC materials] into crimes committed in Darfur. Moreno-Ocampo also said that the Sudanese government has been cooperating with his investigation. Last week, Moreno-Ocampo told the UN Security Council that he expects to present the Darfur case to ICC judges by February 2007 [JURIST report]