The International Criminal Court says Malawi failed to cooperate with the Court by not arresting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during his visit to the country, and said it is referring the matter to the U.N. Security Council.

The Hague-based Court said Monday it reminded Malawi of its obligations as an ICC member before Mr. Bashir arrived for a regional summit in October.

The Court has issued arrest warrants for Mr. Bashir on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan's Darfur region.

It said Monday that Malawi had confirmed the Sudanese leader's visit, but its foreign ministry argued it was not obligated to make an arrest because Mr. Bashir is a sitting head of state and has immunity under international law.

However, the ICC said that immunity for heads of state before international courts has been rejected time and time again, dating all the way beck to World War One.

Mr. Bashir has so far avoided arrest by traveling only to countries that will not hand him to the ICC.

Rebels in Darfur took up arms against the Bashir government in 2003, accusing the government of neglecting their region. The U.N. says more than 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and 2.7 million others displaced.