In the coming days, President Barack Obama will be presented with an opportunity to tackle a foreign policy challenge frequently raised on the campaign trail: the human rights crisis in Darfur.

Since 2003, the Sudanese government and its militia allies have killed and displaced hundreds of thousands of Darfur’s civilians. The government has also obstructed international efforts to stop the killing. As a consequence, the U.N. Security Council authorized the International Criminal Court to address this matter. The ICC is expected to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on war crimes charges within the next week or two.

Such action would make Mr. al-Bashir the first sitting head of state to be subjected to an arrest warrant in the court’s history. The challenge for the Obama administration is to leverage the pressure the court’s action will bring to bear on the Sudanese leader. Mr. Obama should publicly support the arrest warrant and make clear that the U.S. will not sit idly by if any member of the Security Council – notably China – attempts to shield Mr. al-Bashir.

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