The high-level African Union (AU) panel appointed to help end the Darfur conflict is reported to be advocating a South African-style "truth and reconciliation commission" and special courts to try war crimes suspects in the region.
The Sudan Tribune reports that unidentified Sudanese government officials have told the newspaper, Al-Sahafa, that the panel - headed by former South African president Thabo Mbeki - will recommend "home-grown justice mechanisms" as part of efforts to achieve a settlement in Darfur.
The AU has said it appointed the panel to make recommendations on how to "expedite and harmonise the processes of peace, reconciliation and justice" in Darfur.
The reported proposal would constitute a "middle way" between prosecuting Sudanese government officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and granting them effective immunity.
The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and two other senior officials on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity arising out of the Darfur conflict. The court investigated alleged crimes in Darfur on the basis of a mandate, issued in 2005, by the United Nations Security Council.
But this year's AU summit, apparently under heavy pressure from Libya, resolved not to cooperate with the ICC in arresting the Sudanese leaders. Botswana accused Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who chaired discussion of the matter, of allowing little debate.
The Sudan Tribune reported Tuesday that Mbeki had lobbied intensively to prevent the summit from taking its stand, arguing that it would undermine the work of his panel.
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The Tribune said Sudanese officials had now told Al-Sahafa that the panel would recommend "special or hybrid courts and a prosecutor in Sudan" to bring Darfur war crimes suspects to trial. The officials suggested that "all people would be equally treated before the judiciary."
However, Darfur rebel groups told the Tribune that Mbeki's panel was trying to circumvent the ICC. The Tribune quoted Justice and Equality Movement spokesman Ahmed Hussein as saying: "We reject in its entirety any direction to establish courts or venues for justice in the manner described in this report. This is nothing short [of]... an attempt to find an exit for Bashir. Only the ICC can handle the Darfur prosecutions."
Other members of the AU panel include the former Nigerian president, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Burundian president Pierre Buyoya and Zambia's Justice Florence Mumba.
