A/HRC/7/22 page 13 crimes or crimes against humanity. To date, only 13 cases have come before the special courts1 and they have all involved ordinary crimes such as theft, possession of stolen goods and murders unrelated to any of the large-scale attacks that have characterized the Darfur conflict. Of the 31 defendants who have appeared before the court to date, 9 were civilians involved in non-conflict-related activities such as armed robbery, unlawful possession of weapons or murder. Only one case before the special courts was related to a large-scale attack against civilians in Tama, South Darfur, in October 2005. The men charged in relation to the attack were found guilty of stealing property at the site of the attack. No one was found guilty of being part of the attack or responsible for orchestrating it. One high-ranking official was charged on the basis of command responsibility but was subsequently acquitted. A total of 10 officials were convicted by the special courts, but they were all low-level officers. Of these, two military intelligence officers were convicted for the murder of a 13-year-old boy who died as a result of torture while in custody. Although the two defendants were subsequently pardoned for the crime under a settlement reached between them and the relatives of the victim, they were nevertheless sentenced to two years of imprisonment by the court. The defendants were later released pursuant to a presidential amnesty decree issued on 11 June 2006 for rebels who had signed the Darfur Peace Agreement and parties to tribal reconciliation endorsed by the Government. Two other low-ranking military intelligence officers were also convicted and sentenced to death for their role in the death in custody of a 60-year-old man. The two men were hanged on 22 April 2007. No one has been found guilty of war crimes or crimes against humanity. The issue of command responsibility and holding high-ranking officials accountable is effectively being ignored. 52. The situation in Darfur was transferred to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court by Security Council resolution 1593 (2005) of 31 March 2005. On 27 April 2007, after two years of criminal investigation, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of two persons who had committed crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Court transmitted a request to execute the warrants to the Government of the Sudan on 16 June. Interpol red notices were subsequently disseminated. On 5 December, the Prosecutor reported to the Security Council that the Government of the Sudan had not complied with its legal obligation under resolution 1593 (2005) to arrest and surrender the accused persons. 53. Humanitarian services continued to be provided despite the obstacles to the majority of the conflict-affected civilians; however, access to parts of Darfur is very limited owing to increasing insecurity. As a result, humanitarian operations are unable to travel or are forced to relocate staff, thereby leaving hundreds of thousands of people in need without access to humanitarian aid. 54. The Arche de Zoé case of alleged child abduction, allegedly involving some children of Sudanese origin, underscored the importance of international legal instruments on the protection of the rights of the child, strengthening the rule of law in the region and justice in accordance with international standards. On 26 December, members of Arche de Zoé were found guilty and 1 Four additional cases were referred to the special courts in Al Geneina, but it did not appear at the time of writing that the cases would be tried.