UN votes to prosecute Sudan war crimes in world court

The UN Security Council approved a resolution to prosecute Sudanese war crimes suspects before the International Criminal Court, moving quickly after the US reversed a long-standing policy and agreed not to veto the document.

France, Britain and seven other Security Council members have ratified the ICC statute, while two more have signed and are expected to ratify. In total, 98 countries are parties to the treaty and 139 are signatories.

The US, which abstained with three other countries, got significant concessions yesterday, including ironclad guarantees it sought that Americans working in Sudan would not be handed over to either the ICC or any other nation’s courts if they commit crimes in Sudan.

With Secretary-General Kofi Annan looking on, the council voted 11-0 with four abstentions: Algeria, Brazil, China, and the US.

Acting US Ambassador Anne Patterson said the US still “fundamentally objects” to the court but was determined to get something done on Sudan.

“It is important that the international community speak with one voice in order to help promote effective accountability,” Patterson said.

Even with the legal concessions, the US decision not to veto was a major shift. Ever since he took office, US President George Bush had actively opposed the court, and American diplomats had repeatedly said they opposed any variation that referred the Sudan cases to it.

On Wednesday, Bush administration officials had already said they were dropping their objections to using the International Criminal Court for Sudanese suspects because of the legal guarantees it got for its citizens.

But the threat of a US veto loomed all day yesterday as diplomats grappled with language acceptable to all sides.

The resolution refers Darfur cases since July 1, 2002, to the court – a move in line with the recommendation of a UN panel that had concluded in January that crimes against humanity – but not genocide – occurred in the vast western region of Sudan.

The document is the last of three Security Council resolutions aimed at putting pressure on Sudan to stop a crisis in Darfur, where the number of dead from a conflict between government-backed militias and rebels in Darfur is now estimated at 180,000.

One of the resolutions strengthens the arms embargo and imposes an asset freeze and travel ban on those who defy peace efforts. The other will send 10,000 UN peacekeepers to monitor a peace deal between the government and southern rebels that ended a 21-year civil war. The council hopes the resolution will also help Darfur move toward peace as well.