France delayed a vote on a resolution that would authorise the prosecution of Sudanese war crimes suspects by the International Criminal Court in hopes of averting a US veto.
The move appears to have won over the US administration officials, who last night
said the United States was dropping its objections to using the court after concluding that opposition to the US stand was too strong, particularly among Europeans.
US President George Bush's administration had preferred that an African court try alleged perpetrators of war crimes, but the US proposal garnered little support among the 14 other Security Council members.
The US faced a dilemma: it 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.
In return for its concession, the US received assurances that Americans deployed in Sudan, in whatever capacity, would not be subject to ICC prosecutions, the officials said.
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 today after the US said it wanted to amend the draft resolution to ensure that no Americans could be handed over to the court in The Hague, the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, UN 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.
AP