[JURIST] The International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] should take steps to improve the enforcement of international justice, according to a report [text, PDF; press release] issued Tuesday by Aegis Trust [advocacy website], an advocacy group dedicated to eliminating genocide. The report, entitled "The Enforcement of Criminal Law," proposes reforms that would improve enforcement, including:

pooled financing, specialist units, a new treaty on crimes against humanity, an optional protocol to the Genocide Convention, and an increased role for the ICC in catalyzing domestic convictions, … [suggesting that] the plumbing of international justice requires much more work than the architecture.

Highlights in the report also made reference to a changing US policy as demonstrated by recent offers from the Department of State to work with the ICC prosecutor on shared interests, as well as to Africa's mixed record. Finally, the report recognized the important results that have come from the efforts of non-governmental organizations.

The report's release coincides with the eve of the ICC's decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant [JURIST report] for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] sought the warrant in July 2008 [JURIST report], accusing Al-Bashir of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes allegedly being committed in the Darfur region. Moreno-Ocampo made statements during a press conference [BBC report] in The Hague on Tuesday that among the very strong evidence documenting how Al-Bashir controlled and managed everything, the prosecution has 30 witnesses who are under protection. Al-Bashir has said that he and his government will disregard any ICC decision [AlJazeera report], despite calls from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon [JURIST report] in early February urging Al-Bashir to cooperate with any decision issued by the ICC.