Sudan trials vote postponed at UN Security Council

UNITED NATIONS, March 30 (AFP) — A controversial vote on whether to refer war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region to the International Criminal Court (ICC) was postponed on Wednesday after a US request, diplomats said.

The village of Tundubai in Sudan’s Darfur region, presumed to have been burnt down by the marauding Janjaweed Arab militias, is seen in 2004. (AFP).

The council, which late Tuesday authorised sanctions for Sudan, was mulling a vote Wednesday morning on a French resolution that would bring the matter to the ICC, which is opposed by the United States.

But Washington said it wanted to propose some changes and France agreed, putting off one of the thorniest issues on the council related to the Darfur crisis.

“We are in a situation where there are still ongoing discussions between council members,” US envoy Stuart Holliday told reporters.

The French resolution could draw a US veto, a move that carries political risk after the United States pushed to bring the atrocities in Darfur to worldwide attention and said a genocide had occurred.

The United States opposes the ICC in The Hague, the world’s first permanent tribunal to handle genocide and crimes against humanity, but has got little support for its counter-proposal for an ad-hoc court in Tanzania.

“My understanding is that we’re all pitching in there to try and make sure this resolution, when it’s put to a vote, actually passes,” said Britain’s UN ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry.

“The British position is very clear. We want that referral to the ICC,” he said.

The 15-member council voted unanimously last week to approve a 10,000-strong peace force for southern Sudan to monitor the January accord that ended the country’s 21-year north-south civil war.

But there are sharp disagreements on how to handle Sudan’s western region of Darfur, where a new report on Wednesday said an estimated 300,000 people have died from a separate conflict between rebels and government-backed militias.

The council voted 12-0 to slap new sanctions on Sudan but the United States could not get unanimous support as Algeria, China and Russia abstained.

The resolution allows for the seizure of assets and a travel ban against individuals who commit atrocities, impede the peace process in Darfur or “constitute a threat to stability” in the region.

Violators will be identified by a new committee that will include all 15 Security Council members.

The resolution also extended an existing arms embargo in Darfur to the Sudanese government and specifically prohibited Khartoum from offensive military flights into the region.

In Khartoum, the Sudanese foreign ministry blasted the measure as “unbalanced and inappropriate,” saying it ignored government efforts to stop the violence.

Violence in Darfur exploded when rebels in the western Sudanese region rose up against the government in February 2003.

The government put down the rebellion with the help of proxy militias known as Janjaweed, which have been accused of widespread murder, rape and pillaging.

Richard Dicker, who heads the international justice division of Human Rights Watch, said talks with Sudanese government leaders had shown that Khartoum takes the threat of ICC prosecution “very seriously.”

The proposed resolution “sends a real clear message — that they are sensitive to in Khartoum — that those most responsible will be held to account,” Dicker said. “And that’s the message this council needs to send.”