ICC prosecutor urges UN action in Darfur News
ICC prosecutor urges UN action in Darfur

[JURIST] Chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] Fatou Bensouda on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to take action to end the conflict in Darfur [JURIST news archive] and bring perpetrators to justice [UN News Centre report]. Bensouda noted that it has been nearly 10 years since the UNSC referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC. She sharply criticized the UNSC for failing to take action against the Sudanese government and to press for the arrest of President Omar al-Bashir [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], who was indicted [JURIST report] by the ICC on five counts of crimes against humanity more than five years ago. Bensouda said, “the ICC’s judicial process cannot take place without arrests. Darfur suspects remain at large and no meaningful steps have been taken to apprehend them and bring them to justice.” Bensouda also called for an investigation into recent allegations that the African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) [official website] has covered up crimes committed by the Sudanese government.