Abstract (eng)
The conflict in Darfur from the year 2003 on constituted a situation, in which the Responsibility to Protect should have come into effect. The international community took responsibility in accordance with that principle for the protection of civilians in Darfur. The Darfur conflict was on the agenda of the UNO and the Security Council many times and was addressed through Resolutions, Commissions of Inquiry and Mediations. With the referral of the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2005, the Security Council chose the path of judicial intervention to bring the perpetrators in Sudan to justice and end the ongoing violence. But the lack of support for the ICC through the international community minimizes the court’s effectiveness, particularly because the permanent members of the Security Council pursue their own interests in Sudan. It appears, as if the Security Council had handed over its responsibility of ending the conflict to the court.
Without stronger international political commitment and pressure on the regime in Khartoum, the ICC is in danger of failure. Its intervention could even have a negative impact on the resolution of the conflict in Darfur.
The ICC can provide important contributions to ending the conflict in Darfur. But eventually the conflict will have to be resolved through political and diplomatic means.