In a historic move, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has charged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with genocide. After years of conflict in Darfur that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, the move would seem to have been obvious, but the decision to bring charges is a bold one that could ultimately threaten the credibility of the ICC.
For some, the question is whether there will be peace or justice in Darfur. For others, the real question is whether sovereign leaders enjoy immunity for their actions, no matter what the consequences.
In the five years since the Darfur region of Sudan ignited in conflict, some 300,000 people are said to have been killed and 2.5 million people forced from their homes through a campaign of state-sponsored violence. The government has reportedly used the Sudanese armed forces and an Arab militia known as the janjaweed to conduct genocide against the people of the region.