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International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda accused the United Nations on Wednesday of prolonging the conflict in Darfur by failing to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes.
Ms Bensouda said security council inaction in the face of increasing violence against civilians has emboldened Sudan to ignore council resolutions and left victims with no hope for justice.
Darfur has been gripped by bloodshed since 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum, accusing it of discrimination and neglect.
The UN says that 300,000 people have died in the conflict and 2.7 million others have fled their homes.
The security council referred the Darfur conflict to the ICC in 2005 but has failed to press the government to arrest Mr Bashir and others accused of war crimes.
Ms Bensouda minced no words in excoriating the council, saying "its inaction is a serious indictment on this council" and on parties to the Rome statute that established the war crimes tribunal.
She said Mr Bashir and Defence Minister Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, who is also wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, "have been able to travel to various countries without fear of arrest.
"This council's silence, even when notified of clear failures and violations by UN member states of their obligations to comply with this council's resolutions, only serves to add insult to the plight of Darfur's victims."
Ms Bensouda told the council that, in the past 10 years, the Darfur conflict had cost the UN and humanitarian aid organisations more than $10.5 billion (£6.4bn), as well as the lives of 47 aid workers and 57 peacekeepers.
This year alone 460,000 people had been newly displaced in Darfur.
"The numbers of people killed, abducted and displaced continues to grow with each year.
"Alleged perpetrators of serious crimes against the civilian population will continue to commit crimes unless they are brought to justice," she said.
"It is now up to this council and to the states parties to heed the cries of the millions of victims of crimes which continue unabated in Darfur."
