Chairman Smith reminded the committee of prior U.S. actions on Darfur and the International Criminal Court indictments against former President Omar al-Bashir, noting the ICC charged Bashir in February 2009 and again in February 2010 for crimes including genocide.

Witnesses said accountability is essential but contested whether local courts or the ICC are practical mechanisms while fighting continues. Cameron Hudson and other witnesses said domestic courts are currently nonfunctional in many parts of Sudan and that some senior figures remain politically useful to current powerholders. Isaacson and other witnesses told the committee that turning Bashir over to the ICC would signal a commitment to accountability, but acknowledged political constraints: General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and other actors have complex incentives and alliances that make transfers unlikely at present.

Members and witnesses noted prior U.S. laws intended to address mass atrocities in Sudan, including the transcript references to a 2006 law that declared the slaughter in Darfur was genocide and earlier statutes such as the Sudan Peace Act of 2001 and the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004. No new indictment, transfer, or judicial action occurred during the hearing; members discussed policy tools Congress could use to press for accountability, including documentation, support for hybrid or international tribunals, and sanctions targeting those who facilitate or profit from abuses.