We noted Friday that reports were circulating that ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo would ask the Court to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. CNN reports that Moreno-Ocampo sought an indictment this morning. In it, the Prosecutor's Office alleges that the Sudanese military coordinated with janjaweed militias, targeting villages occupied by minority groups, killing civilians, and providing air support.
The indictment will be a major test for the ICC. Sudan has not yet turned over the two suspects already indicted for crimes in Darfur, and one continues to serve in Al-Bashir's cabinet. Moreover, Al-Bashir is the first sitting President charged by the ICC, and Sudan is a non-party to the Rome Treaty establishing the Court. Nonetheless, at the very least an indictment would represent an additional diplomatic tool to bring the genocide to an end.
