Brushing aside warnings of retaliations against vulnerable refugees, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant this week for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir for atrocities committed in Darfur. A three-judge panel charged Bashir with war crimes and crimes against humanity for playing “an essential role” in the murder, rape, torture, and displacement of thousands of civilians. Although it is important that an international body has moved against the Sudanese leader–a radical Islamist who has waged war against Christians in the south and Muslims who resist his rule in the north–the court’s action is fraught with problems. Already it has exposed the moral liabilities of an international tribunal that lacks any means of enforcement.
Print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account
Digital subscriber? Click here to login/register your account.