Does the current situation in Sudan merit a deferral by the Security Council under article 16?
There is no indication that the ICC investigations are detrimental to the maintenance of international peace and security or that suspending the court’s activities would contribute to peace in Sudan. The peace process in Darfur has been stalled for more than nine months on grounds wholly unrelated to the ICC investigations or to the requested warrant for President al-Bashir. A deferral of an ICC investigation risks legitimizing political interference with the work of a judicial institution and could set a dangerous precedent for accused in other situations. Any exception must be extremely rare. Human Rights Watch believes that the situation in Sudan does not meet the threshold set out under Chapter VII to warrant a deferral. When the Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC prosecutor in 2005, it recognized that the situation in Sudan constituted a threat to international peace and security. On June 16, 2008, the Security Council reaffirmed its commitment to this re
