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	Dedicated to the implementation of international law and human rights by International Commission of Jurists   The International Commission of Jurists is dedicated to the primacy, coherence and implementation of international law and principles that advance human rights.   What distinguishes the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is its impartial, objective and authoritative legal approach to the protection and promotion of human rights through the rule of law.   The ICJ provides legal expertise at both the international and national levels to ensure that developments in international law adhere to human rights principles and that international standards are implemented at the national level.   Since the founding International Congress of Jurists hosted in West Berlin in 1952, the International Commission of Jurists has through the ensuing decades and numerous subsequent conferences defined the Rule of Law and made important contributions to the elaboration of principles and norms of international human rights law, especially in respect of the administration of justice.   For over five decades, the ICJ has played a seminal role in establishing international human rights standards and working towards their implementation. Through pioneering activities, including inquiry commissions, trial observations, fact-finding missions, public denunciations and quiet diplomacy, the ICJ has been a powerful advocate for justice.   The International Commission of Jurists has during its prestigious history received a number of leading international human rights awards recognising its legal contribution to the promotion and development of international human rights standards and practice. Visit the related web page
	Massacres in Darfur - ICC Investigation by AFP Sudan - Darfur   15.6.2006.   The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says massacres involving hundreds of victims have taken place in Sudan"s war-torn Darfur region and there have been hundreds of rape cases.   In a report to the UN Security Council, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the office had documented "thousands of alleged direct killings of civilians by parties to the conflict," including "a significant number of large-scale massacres, with hundreds of victims in each incident."   Mr Ocampo told the council that his office was investigating allegations that some of the groups implicated in the crimes in Darfur "did so with specific genocidal intent".   He said identifying those with the greatest responsibility for the most serious crimes in Darfur was a key challenge for his probe. But said he would not draw any conclusions pending the completion of a "full and impartial investigation".   Mr Ocampo said interviews of victims and witnesses reported that men perceived to be from the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups were "deliberately targeted."   Evidence cited eyewitness accounts that "the perpetrators made statements reinforcing the targeted nature of the attacks, such as "we will kill all the black" and "we will drive you out of this land."   The report also said there had been a "significant amount of information indicating that thousands of civilians have died since 2003” as a result of lack of shelter and basic necessities for survival after their homes and food stocks were destroyed and their property looted.   Mr Ocampo"s office also recorded "hundreds of alleged cases of rape", which the report said was indicative of an endemic practice among some groups involved in the conflict.   It highlighted a "widespread pattern of displacement of civilians, with recent estimates of some two million displaced persons and refugees from Darfur.   The study covering the October 2002-May 2006 period, also referred to continued reports of direct attacks on humanitarian workers and peacekeepers, including the killing of African Union peacekeepers in 2005 and 2006.   The ICC, based in The Hague, is mandated to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It can also try crimes of aggression although member states have not yet agreed on the legal definition for such crimes.
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