[JURIST] The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] on Wednesday expressed frustration and disappointment over the situation in Darfur [JURIST news archive]. Presenting the ICC’s briefing [text, PDF] to the UN Security Council [official website], Fatou Bensouda characterized the situation as having “gone from bad to worse,” citing the fact 300,000 people have been displaced in the first five months of 2013, more than were displaced in the last two years. Bensouda outlined the continuing humanitarian crisis in Darfur:

[T]he ongoing aerial bombardments in Darfur, which can only be attributed to one party in this conflict; the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war; the deliberate imposition of restrictions on delivery of humanitarian aid even in the face of an urgent humanitarian crisis; and the ongoing impunity for these crimes are major problems for Darfur and for all of us who care about what happens to the Darfuri victims who suffer the brunt of these crimes.

She also voiced encouraged both the UN and the African Union [official website] to work together to end criminal impunity of Sudanese government groups. The prosecutor expressed a need to strengthen the relationship between the ICC and the Security Council, as a way to better combat human right violations around the globe. The briefing is the seventeenth provided by the court since the situation was referred to the ICC through Resolution 1593 [text, PDF] in 2005.

The continued violence has been a major issue in Sudan. In June Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported that Ali Kosheib, former militia leader turned officer of the Sudan Central Reserve Police, was spotted in an attack [JURIST report] against Salamat communities in Central Darfur in April. Last December Bensouda told the UN Security Council that they are not doing enough [JURIST report] to root out Sudanese war criminals. In October the UN urged [JURIST report] the Sudanese government to investigate an attack on one of its convoys, noting that since the establishment of African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) [official website] in December 2007, 43 peacemakers have been killed. In August the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] urged [JURIST report] Sudan to investigate violence against protesters in Darfur.