Even educated Darfuris know little about the court and often misunderstand what it is trying to do.

   Those who are aware of its existence say they are frustrated that so few of those responsible for their plight have been arrested.

   Since the conflict started in 2003, about 2.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes, while more than 200,000 have been killed. The United Nations describes the current situation in Sudan as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The United States has called what's going on in Darfur genocide.

   For its part, the court, which has been blocked by the Sudanese government from actually operating in the country, believes the threat of bringing to justice those responsible for crimes committed during the conflict may help end the fighting.

   So far, it has issued arrest warrants for two individuals, including a minister in the Sudanese government. They face charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

   When the arrest warrants were first announced earlier this year, those Darfuris who were aware of the court's existence rejoiced, believing that it was a sign that the international community was finally intervening to end their plight.

   But they were quickly disappointed when the accused were not quickly taken into custody by the world body.

   And others wondered why other high-level officials in the Sudanese government weren't indicted as well.

   "People in the camps were expecting those higher up, in real command, to be implicated," said a Sudanese psychologist working to rehabilitate torture victims in Darfur, who asked that her name not be used out of concern for her security.

   "They thought evidence was collected by the court against people higher up the chain of command, and were expecting more than two people to be mentioned," she said. "People wanted more."

   And because the court has no enforcement arm, it must rely on third parties to actually take the accused into custody. Many argue that outside forces should be used to arrest those indicted.

   But despite pleas from the court's prosecutors, neither Sudan's neighbors nor the international community have shown any inclination to do so.

   Yet, despite the court's inability to act and the widespread ignorance about its actual role, a surprising number of Darfuris continue to have faith in an international justice system represented by the court.

   Mohammed Adam Ali Sarraj, a farmer who was driven from his land and now lives in the al-Salam camp in north Darfur, still believes that the court represents a means to bring justice to his community.

   "Those who committed crimes in Darfur should appear before the just court, the International Criminal Court, in order to clear Darfur of those murderers who expelled, plundered and killed the people there," he said.

  "We were expelled from (our village) naked, barefooted and hungry. They raped our women. We refugees consider the International Criminal Court as the only just court in the whole world," he said. "We have learned that those who committed crimes in Darfur will appear before the just International Crime Court. This is one of our demands as citizens of the provinces of Darfur."

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About the Writers:                                                                                                                                                             Katy Glassborow and Lisa Clifford are reporters in The Hague who write for The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization that trains journalists in areas of conflict. Readers may write to the authors at the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, 48 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8LT, U.K.; or visit their Web site. For more information about IWPR's funding, please go here.