United Nations -- After weeks of intense negotiations, the U.N. Security Council March 31 adopted a resolution to refer the cases of those accused of murder, rape and pillage in the Darfur region of Sudan to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The resolution, drafted by France, passed by a vote of 11 to 0, with the United States, Algeria, Brazil and China abstaining.  The resolution was the third passed by the council in the last few weeks in an effort to put pressure on the parties in Sudan to end two years of bloodshed during which an estimated 180,000 have died.

There was broad agreement that those accused of atrocities in Darfur should be prosecuted. The United States, which has strong objections to the ICC, had pressed for a court made up of an African Union (AU) court and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson said,  "By adopting this resolution, the international community has established an accountability mechanism for the perpetrators of crimes and atrocities in Darfur.  While the United States believes that the better mechanism would have been a hybrid tribunal in Africa, it is important that the international community speaks with one voice in order to help promote effective accountability.

"We strongly support bringing to justice those responsible for the crimes and atrocities that have occurred in Darfur and ending the climate of impunity there," she said.  "Violators of international humanitarian law and human rights law must be held accountable."

The United States has fundamental objections to the ICC but did not veto the resolution "because of the need for the international community to work together in order to end the climate of impunity in Sudan and because the resolution provides protection from investigation or prosecution for U.S. nationals and members of the armed forces of nonstate parties," Patterson said.

The resolution refers all cases since July 1, 2002, to the ICC and says that "the Government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur shall cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the court and the prosecutor ... while recognizing that states not party to the Rome Statute have no obligations under the statute."

Nonetheless, Patterson affirmed that the United States "is and will be an important contributor to the peacekeeping and related humanitarian efforts in Sudan." 

All costs of the operation are to be borne by the states that are party to the Rome Statute, which established the court.  Other countries can make voluntary contributions to the operations, according to the resolution.

The Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, was adopted July 17, 1998, by 120 nation states participating in the "United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court," and entered into force on July 1, 2002. The International Criminal Court is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to promote the rule of law and ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished.

The resolution on Darfur marks the first time the council has referred a case to the ICC since the court came into existence.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan congratulated the council members for overcoming their differences to allow the council to act to ensure that those responsible for atrocities in Darfur are held to account, and "for using its authority under the Rome Statute to provide an appropriate mechanism to lift the veil of impunity that has allowed human rights crimes in Darfur to continue unchecked."

French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said: "Tonight there is only one winner, those who fight against terrorists.  There is only one loser -- all those who have committed crimes in Darfur."

Sudanese Ambassador Elfatih Erwa said his country is deeply opposed to the council's action.

Earlier in 2005, a five-member International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur found that the government of Sudan, its Jingaweit militia, and other local militias in Darfur systematically committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including indiscriminate attacks against civilians, murder, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape, pillage and forced displacement.  It turned over to the High Commissioner for Human Rights a sealed file containing the names of 51 individuals who should be investigated further and prosecuted.

The commission also concluded that even though it did not find the Sudanese government pursued a policy of genocide, individuals may have committed acts of genocide, and the other atrocities committed in Darfur are "no less serious and heinous than genocide."

On March 30, the council adopted a resolution imposing a travel ban on and freezing the assets of individuals who commit atrocities or impede the peace process in Darfur.  Earlier in March, it authorized a 10,000-strong peacekeeping force to monitor the peace accord that ended a 21-year civil war in the South.

U.S. Ambassador Patterson said, "The point of these three resolutions is to help the people of Sudan.  They have suffered through appalling civil conflicts that have resulted in untold suffering.

"We cannot bring justice to all the victims.  What we can do is help the people of Sudan turn a historic page and enjoy a much, much better future.  This month's three Sudan resolutions are designed to help reach that goal," she said.