U.N.'s Ban tells Sudan to ensure safety of U.N. staff

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations called on Sudan on Monday to ensure the safety of U.N. staff there following charges against the country's president by the International Criminal Court prosecutor.

At the same time, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made clear that he could not intervene in the work of the U.N.-backed but independent ICC.

The U.N. Security Council can, however, delay a prosecution if the major powers agree to do so and Sudan's U.N. ambassador said he had begun moves to try to bring this about.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo charged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Monday with masterminding a campaign of genocide in Darfur, killing 35,000 people and using rape as a weapon of war. He asked the court for an arrest warrant for Bashir.

Ban "expects that the Government of Sudan will continue to cooperate fully with the United Nations in Sudan, while fulfilling its obligation to ensure the safety and security of all United Nations personnel and property," said a statement issued by his spokeswoman, Michele Montas.

Ban's statement, issued during a visit to Paris, said the Hague-based court "is an independent institution and that the United Nations must respect the independence of the judicial process."

U.N. peacekeeping missions in Sudan would continue to work "in an impartial manner," it said, and U.N. humanitarian and development work would also continue.

Some 9,000 U.N. and African Union peacekeepers are deployed in Darfur. There is also a separate 10,000-strong U.N. force monitoring a peace agreement between northern and southern Sudan, as well as civilian aid workers.

Khartoum, which is not a party to the ICC, said it would not cooperate with the ICC, but pledged to continue with peace moves in Darfur and said it would protect U.N. staff.

"DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES"

A U.N. spokesman said that under their current mandate U.N. forces in Sudan were not authorized to arrest Bashir, should an arrest warrant be issued by the ICC. Those forces have made no attempt to arrest two other Sudanese already indicted by the

ICC.

The spokesman, Farhan Haq, said the United Nations would continue to work with Sudanese authorities but stopped short of saying that Ban, who spoke with Bashir on Saturday, would continue to have contact with him directly in the event of an arrest warrant.

Sudan's U.N. Ambassador, Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem, warned that Moreno-Ocampo's move could lead to "disastrous consequences" for peace in Darfur, but added that "we are not threatening anybody."

"Some people are scared about what would happen to the peacekeepers," he said. "We told them we know our international obligations ... We will be very much faithful to our commitment regarding providing protection to our guests on the soil of Sudan."

Abdalhaleem said Sudan had started consultations with members of the Security Council to encourage them to take action to stop what he called "these adventures by the (ICC) prosecutor-general."

"We want the Security Council to be vigilant in safeguarding its constructive engagement of Sudan, if they are really serious about peace in Darfur," Abdalhaleem said.

He said the council had a variety of means, including use of article 16 of the ICC statute, under which the council can pass a resolution to temporarily halt a prosecution for up to a year. Such a suspension is renewable.

Diplomats say China and Russia might favor such a move but it would also require the acquiescence of the veto-holding Western powers -- the United States, Britain and France.

Abdalhaleem dismissed ideas that Bashir might now not travel, telling journalists: "Don't be surprised if you see President Bashir in the forthcoming General Assembly here in New York."

The annual U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders takes place in September. Legal experts say that if an indictment of Bashir is approved it is likely to come in October or November.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)