ICC Set to Prosecute for Darfur War Crimes, But...

On February 27, the chief prosecutor to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, applied to the judges of the court to issue summons for the appearance of two Sudanese, Ahmad Harun and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, whom the prosecutor said there is reason to believe bear criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed between 2003 and 2004 in Darfur.

This is a commendable step in what is hoped would broaden into holding all perpetrators of the heinous crimes in Darfur criminally accountable, culminating with the chief commander of the crimes, President Omar al-Bashir.

But the challenge before the ICC is enormous. First, Sudan is not a party to the court and so has not officially recognized the ICC. This fact was rightly pointed out by the Sudanese minister of justice in his statement in reaction to the ICC announcement. Although the ICC was empowered by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1593 of 2005 to investigate the situation in Darfur, it remains a tough task for the court to successfully prosecute offenders without the cooperation of the Sudanese government. The court has no police force and Sudan is a sovereign nation. It is therefore difficult for the court to make arrests and ensure the appearance of relevant witnesses in court.