In a move which ought to be welcomed by any and all conscientious people, the ICC (International Criminal Court) has moved to begin investigations into the shameful situation in Darfur, Sudan.
The International Criminal Court's announcement yesterday breaks new legal ground and places the Sudanese government under a formal obligation to assist with investigations.
Claims of mass murder and widespread rape in Darfur, where about 180,000 people have died in a vicious conflict, are to be investigated formally following a landmark decision by the world's first permanent war crimes court.
And for once reasonable people put aside politics in the interest of doing what is right ...
Many had expected such a move to be blocked by the US, which opposes the ICC in principle. Washington relented, abstaining in a tacit admission that there is no alternative forum in which to investigate such cases.
And ...
In deciding to start investigations, the prosecutor ignored advice to wait until the conflict is resolved. He knows that the Darfur issue will be the first big test of the ICC and that, if its work fails to match up to high standards, the court's enemies will seize on the opportunity to undermine it.
Since God establishes authority [Romans 13:1] lets pray that he uses the ICC's rather frightening powers to do good and expedite an end to this horror. A few Sudanese officials sitting before the bar is probably too much to expect though.
Sudan said on Monday it would not welcome investigations by the ICC with a view to prosecuting people for suspected war crimes in the Darfur region.
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