[JURIST] Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official websites] issued a statement [PDF] Wednesday that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir [case materials; JURIST news archive] has continued to commit crimes against humanity in Darfur [JURIST news archive]. According to Ocampo’s statement, al-Bashir continues to commit genocide, halt dissemination of information about displaced victims, and threaten the international community with retaliation. Ocampo called for cooperation from the international community:

The mandate of the International Criminal Court is to end impunity to prevent future crimes. We share this mission with the UN Security Council, the African Union and the Government of the Sudan. The efficacy of our common efforts will depend greatly on how we share information with each other and learn from it. The Prosecution is trying to improve its practice in this area, linking the information collected with the current behavior of the suspects.

Ocampo also asked [DPA report] the UN Security Council [official website], with the assistance of The Hague [official website], to use information gathered by the ICC to “stop the crimes in Darfur.” Ocampo also said that two Sudanese military commanders who had already surrendered to charges demanded that al-Bashir appear at The Hague before ICC judges. Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (Banda) and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus (Jerbo) filed a joint motion [JURIST report] with the ICC Prosecutors Office [official website] in October agreeing to the facts laid out in the prosecution’s description of charges.

Several countries have been reported for failing to arrest al-Bashir while he has been present inside their borders. In May, the ICC urged Djibouti [JURIST report] to arrest al-Bashir. In October, the ICC requested that Kenya arrest al-Bashir [JURIST report] while he visited that year for a second time. Previously, al-Bashir had visited Kenya for the signing of the country’s new constitution [JURIST report]. Following his visit, the ICC reported Kenya [decision, PDF; JURIST report] to the UN Security Council and the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute for the violation in not arresting al-Bashir. Also following his August visit, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Kenya to reaffirm its cooperation with the ICC by arresting al-Bashir [JURIST report]. In July, the ICC called for al-Bashir’s arrest [JURIST report] during his visit to Chad, marking the first visit to an ICC member state since the warrants were issued. The ICC also reported Chad [decision, PDF] to the Security Council and Assembly of States Parties.