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| France Expects U.N. to Vote on Resolution |
| 2005-03-31 |
| France said it expects the U.N. Security Council to vote Thursday on a resolution that would authorize the prosecution of Sudanese war crimes suspects by the International Criminal Court, and U.S. officials said Washington had dropped its objections to using the court in this conflict. But France and the United States were struggling over the language in the resolution, with Washington demanding ironclad guarantees that Americans working in Sudan would not be handed over to the court and still holding out the possibility of a veto if it doesn't get them. The Security Council scheduled a meeting on Sudan at 5 p.m. Thursday. "U.S. officials have given a plethora of ideas to the French that would guarantee that Americans wouldn't be vulnerable to prosecution by the ICC and are awaiting their reply," a U.S. official said, using the initials of the court. France and the eight other council nations that are parties to the ICC met Thursday to discuss the proposed U.S. amendments, council diplomats said. The Bush administration wanted an African court to try those accused of war crimes, but the U.S. proposal had little support among the 14 other Security Council nations. The United States wants the perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan's western Darfur region brought to justice, but it vehemently opposes the International Criminal Court on grounds that Americans could face politically motivated or frivolous prosecutions. The U.S. decision to allow the court to prosecute war crimes perpetrators could raise hackles among conservatives for whom the court is an unaccountable body that cannot be trusted. The 97 countries that have ratified the 1998 Rome Treaty establishing the court _ including all European Union nations _ maintain that there are sufficient safeguards built into the process to prevent unwarranted prosecutions. France agreed to postpone a vote until Thursday after the United States said it wanted to amend the draft resolution to ensure that no Americans could be handed over to the court, the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, U.N. diplomats said. The 15 Security Council nations have been deadlocked for weeks on the issue of holding people accountable in Sudan, and the court's supporters have demanded a vote on the French resolution. The French draft introduced last week would refer Darfur cases since July 1, 2002, to the International Criminal Court. That was the recommendation of a U.N. panel that had found crimes against humanity _ but not genocide _ occurred in the vast western region. In a clear concession to the United States, the resolution said citizens of countries that have not ratified the treaty establishing the court will not be subject to prosecution there if they take part in activities in Sudan. Negotiations on the resolution's final draft have been going on in key capitals, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw trying to agree on wording that would allow the United States to abstain rather than veto the resolution, the diplomats said. Details of the final text were not disclosed in Washington or New York. A veto could be politically damaging because it could give the appearance that the United States opposed the punishment of those responsible for atrocities in Darfur, where the number of dead from a conflict between government-backed militias and rebels is now estimated at 180,000. The United States itself has declared genocide has occurred in Darfur and demanded swift action. On Tuesday, the Security Council passed a resolution strengthening the arms embargo in Darfur to include the Sudanese government and imposing an asset freeze and travel ban on those who defy peace efforts. Last week, the council voted to deploy 10,000 U.N. 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. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 The Security Council scheduled a meeting on Sudan at 5 p.m. Thursday. Well, they can still get decent reservations at Spark's for 7:30... |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-03-31 12:53:20 PM |