War crimes court faces biggest test with Darfur

BRUSSELS - Claims of mass murder and widespread rape in Darfur, where about 180,000 people have died in a vicious conflict, are to be investigated formally following a landmark decision by the world's first permanent war crimes court.

The International Criminal Court's announcement yesterday breaks new legal ground and places the Sudanese government under a formal obligation to assist with investigations.

In March the UN Security Council voted to refer the situation in Darfur to the ICC, which is based in The Hague - the first time such a decision has been taken.

Many had expected such a move to be blocked by the US, which opposes the ICC in principle.

Washington relented, abstaining in a tacit admission that there is no alternative forum in which to investigate such cases.

Darfur is now set to become a test case that will make or break the court's reputation.

The US has played a key role in trying to curb the violence it has characterised as genocide.

The ICC promised yesterday that the investigation will be "impartial and independent, focusing on the individuals who bear the greatest criminal responsibility for crimes committed in Darfur".

In deciding to start investigations, the prosecutor ignored advice to wait until the conflict is resolved.

He knows that the Darfur issue will be the first big test of the ICC and that, if its work fails to match up to high standards, the court's enemies will seize on the opportunity to undermine it.

Human rights groups welcomed the announcement as bringing hope for justice to victims of killings, rape and displacement and urged the Sudanese government to support the investigation.

But Sudan said on Monday it would not welcome investigations by the ICC with a view to prosecuting people for suspected war crimes in the Darfur region.

However, Majzoub al-Khalifa, the head of the government's Darfur talks team, said the ICC and others were welcome to send observers to trials in Sudanese courts.

"If they want to observe what is going on from the ICC and others, they are welcome (but) if they want to start trials of the Sudanese this is not acceptable," Khalifa told Reuters. "The investigation is part of the trial system."

The ICC did not name any individuals, although the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, has given the court a sealed list of 51 people suspected of crimes, including murder and rape.

Though the men have not been named, they are believed to include senior Sudanese government and army officials, militia leaders, and rebel and foreign army commanders.

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he had requested information from several sources, collecting thousands of documents, and that more than 50 independent experts had been contacted.

The Darfur conflict broke out in February 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government, accusing Khartoum of discrimination against non-Arabs in the arid region.

Sudan's government is accused of retaliating by arming the local Arab militia, whom rebels accuse of burning down villages and killing and raping civilians. Khartoum denies the charge.

As well as the tens of thousands of those who have died in Darfur through violence, hunger and disease, more than two million people have fled their homes.

Sudanese officials have rejected handing over the country's citizens for trial in a foreign court, saying Sudan will prosecute war crimes suspects itself. It says it has already arrested members of the military and security forces for trial.

"The priority of the international community should be to secure a ceasefire in which people could trust for the rendering of justice," Najeeb al-Kheir Abdul Wahab, Sudan's state minister for foreign affairs, said after news of the ICC announcement.

Rebels have welcomed the Security Council referral and said they will hand over any of their members indicted by the ICC.

Human rights groups pointed to the arrest by Sudan last week of two aid workers from Medecins Sans Frontieres over a report detailing about 500 cases of rape in Darfur as proof the government could not and would not pursue suspects itself.

Richard Dicker, of Human Rights Watch, said: "The decision of the prosecutor to investigate mass slaughter and rape in Darfur will start the wheels of justice turning for the victims of these atrocities. As a UN member state, Sudan is obliged to co-operate with the ICC investigation."

Mr Moreno-Ocampo called for co-operation from national and international parties.

"It will form part of a collective effort, complementing African Union and other initiatives to end the violence in Darfur and to promote justice," he said.

The 53-nation AU has deployed about 2300 troops to monitor a shaky ceasefire in Darfur, but sporadic violence continues. AU-mediated peace talks are expected to resume by June 10.

The court launched its first investigations last year into crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda - though in both cases the government involved referred the cases.

It has yet to issue its first indictment or arrest warrant but Mr Moreno-Ocampo says he should be ready to launch cases this year.

- INDEPENDENT and REUTERS