Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court promises justice for Darfur crimes

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) gave an update on his meeting with the Security Council on criminal charges being filed against the Sudanese government. Al-Bashir, head of state in Sudan, and his Minister of Interior Momammed Hasoon, are two of the six persons being investigated by the ICC for war crimes, genocide and rape in the camps in and around Darfur. The Sudanese government has vehemently denied any wrong-doing against civilians in the camps.

In January, the ICC is expected to have all judges on board to begin the judicial process and investigation into these crimes against humanity.

The International Criminal Court is based in the Hague, Netherlands. The Court  is an independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The ICC is a court of last resort.  It will not act if a case is investigated or prosecuted by a national judicial system unless the national proceedings are not genuine, for example if formal proceedings were undertaken solely to shield a person from criminal responsibility.  In addition, the ICC only tries those accused of the gravest crimes as governed by the Rome Statute.

Ocampo said the main goal now is to “get the Sudanese officials to hand over these war criminals to be tried.” When asked by TRNS on whether the government of Sudan has been at all cooperative, he replied “not at all”.  The ICC mandate established in 2002, is to investigate crimes against humanity in countries including Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and others, as presented by the Security Council and state parties. There are currently 108 state parties in the ICC. The Security Council has the option to investigate cases outside state parties jurisdiction as well. In recent months, the United States has increased cooperation with the Court on these investigations in Sudan–although the current administration has refused to sign on as a member.