Watchdog criticises Sudan's special Darfur court

KHARTOUM, June 9 (Reuters) - Sudan formed a special court in Darfur to undermine an International Criminal Court probe into alleged war crimes and had not demonstrated any genuine will to try those accused of atrocities, a rights group said on Friday.

"Statements made by senior Sudanese government officials made clear that one goal for establishing the (court) was to divest the ICC (International Criminal Court) of jurisdiction," New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a 32-page report.

Under the Rome Treaty, The Hague-based ICC cannot prosecute suspects who have already been tried in fair trials in their home countries.

Tens of thousands have been killed and 2.5 million forced from their homes in three years of conflict in Sudan's remote western Darfur region. The United States has called the violence genocide, blaming the government and its allied militia.

Khartoum denies the charge and signed a May 5 peace deal undertaking to disarm the militia by the end of October.

Human Rights Watch said the court had tried only 13 cases in the year since its formation in June 2005 and those were just ordinary crimes.

"Sudanese authorities have failed to press charges before the (court) for a single major atrocity in Darfur," the report said.

The ICC is due to give a report to the U.N. Security Council this month on the progress of its investigation.

Sudan says ICC investigators are not welcome to work in Darfur. The ICC has expressed concern conditions are not safe for its staff to travel in the region.

The report said rape victims were harassed instead of helped and laws covering army officers in Sudan rendered any trials ineffective.

"The information that Human Rights Watch has been able to gather on the court's first year of operations indicates there is no genuine willingness on the part of the Sudanese authorities to ensure that the perpetrators of the atrocities in Darfur are brought before (the court) for prosecution," it said.

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