Annan gives Hague court list of accused in Darfur

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has given the International Criminal Court a list of 51 people suspected of slaughter, rape and pillaging in Sudan's Darfur region, the first step toward a war-crimes prosecution.

The sealed list was gathered by an independent commission sent by the UN Security Council to Darfur last year, which reported mass killings of civilians, systematic rape and burning of villages.

The Darfur case is the first referred by the Security Council to the tribunal, the world's first permanent criminal court. The United States, which opposes the court, gave it some legitimacy last week, by abstaining in the referral vote rather than using its veto power to block the action

Earlier on Tuesday the court, based in the Hague, received nine boxes of documents the commission had gathered in Darfur.

Annan passed on the list of 51 suspects recommended for trial to Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor of the criminal court. The list includes the names of government officials, leaders of Arab militia known as Janjaweed, and rebels.

Moreno-Ocampo, an Argentine, said that before beginning his own investigation, he would analyse the documents and "admissibility" of the case and called on nations, individuals and organisations to give him information.

"We all have a common task to protect life, ending the culture of impunity," he said in a prepared statement read to reporters. Moreno-Ocampo declined to answer questions.

Because of the Security Council's involvement, the Darfur case has become a test of effectiveness of the court, set up to try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and mass human rights violations.

The impact of a court indictment is uncertain. The Sudanese government has said that it would refuse to hand over its citizens to face trial abroad and it would prosecute alleged criminals itself. Sudanese rebels have said they are prepared to surrender to the court if they are indicted,

More than 2 million people have fled their homes and thousands have been killed each month in fighting in Darfur.

In The Hague, Serge Brammertz, deputy criminal-court prosecutor for investigations, who took charge of the document boxes, said it was too early to say when the tribunal might issue indictments or arrest warrants over Darfur. He said he hoped the Sudanese government would help with the investigation.

A total of 98 countries have ratified a 1998 Rome treaty setting up the International Criminal Court. The Bush administration rescinded the US signature, fearing politically-motivated prosecutions.

- REUTERS