The United Nations Security Council on 1 April voted to refer the "heinous" crimes committed in Darfur, Sudan to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This is the first time the Security Council has referred a case to the international court.

In January, the UN Commission of Inquiry for Darfur found that grave crimes, including slavery, were being committed in the western province and strongly recommended the Security Council refer the case to the ICC. The Commission provided a sealed list of 51 suspects who need to be investigated.

The action was passed by 11 votes to four abstentions, made by the United States, China, Brazil and Algeria.

Millions of people have been displaced by the fighting in Darfur which has raged since early 2003, and around 300,000 killed. In February, a coalition of non-governmental organisations, including Anti-Slavery International, sent three delegations to Darfur to investigate human rights abuses, but entry was refused.

Representatives from the coalition, the Darfur Consortium, interviewed refugees in Chad gaining important information of the abuses committed by the government-backed militia, the Janjaweed. The Consortium urged referral of the crimes to the ICC as an important start in holding those responsible for the abuses accountable and in ending the violence.