Amnesty International said that today’s announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an important step towards ensuring accountability for human rights violations in Sudan.

The organisation was talking in reaction to the announcement by the ICC Prosecutor to seek an arrest warrant against Sudanese President al-Bashir.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called for accountability for crimes under international law committed by parties to the conflict in Darfur.

The organisation called on the Government of Sudan to ensure that its reaction does not have an adverse effect on the deployment of the joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The government must guarantee that the civilian population in Darfur continues to receive protection from UNAMID and emergency humanitarian assistance.