UNITED NATIONS, April 1: The UN Security Council voted on Thursday to approve war crimes trials over Sudan’s Darfur conflict at the International Criminal Court, ending weeks of deadlock over US opposition to the tribunal. The council voted 11-0 to refer the matter to the ICC two months after an international enquiry found evidence of war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region, where an estimated 300,000 have died in two years of violence.

The move clears the way for the Hague-based court to prosecute those behind the murder, rape and pillaging in the vast Darfur region, after weeks of tense diplomatic haggling over how to bring the guilty to justice.

Algeria, Brazil and China abstained along with the United States, which is not party to the Hague-based court and could have used its veto power to reject the measure — the first time the council has made an ICC referral. “It is important that the international community speak with one voice in order to help promote effective accountability,” deputy US ambassador Anne Patterson said.—AFP