NEW YORK – The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor on Wednesday, called for end of impunity for crimes committed in Darfur, urging the UN Security Council to take action against Sudan.
Fatou Bensouda made the call in New York while briefing the council on the progress of the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation in which six persons have been indicted for crimes against humanity in the war in Darfur.
She also said that Sudan was yet to comply with arrest warrants issued by the court.
The prosecutor said that the Sudanese President, Omar Al-Bashir and four other senior Sudanese officials are wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity on charges relating to the war in Darfur, which began in 2003.
Bensouda said close to 10 years since the Security Council’s referral of the situation in Darfur to the ICC, systematic and widespread crimes continue to be committed with total impunity in Darfur.
“It is indeed an understatement to say that we have failed the Darfur victims who continue to bear the brunt of these crimes,” she said.
Bensouda said the resistance of Sudan and its allies to arrest the indicted suspects undermines the credibility of the ICC and the Security Council.
“Time is long overdue for the government of Sudan’s consistent defiance of UN Security Council resolutions to be matched by this council’s decisive action,” she added.
According to her, the court relies on member states to make arrests, al-Bashir, against whom the ICC issued arrest warrants in 2009 and 2010, but he has since limited his travels to African and Arab nations.
Reports say more than 200,000 people are believed to have died in the conflict, while more than 2.8 million were forced to flee their homes. (dpa/NAN)
