The United States then abstained from the vote late on Thursday in the 15-member council, withdrawing its threat of a veto after insisting for weeks it would reject any move that would give the Hague-based court legitimacy.

The resolution marked the first time the council referred a case to the ICC, which opened its doors a year ago. It is the first permanent global criminal court, set up try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and mass human rights abuses.

The vote was 11 in favour and four abstentions. In addition to the United States, abstentions came from China and Algeria, which opposed any international trials, and Brazil, a supporter of the court, which objected to exemptions the United States demanded as a contravention of ICC statutes.

The 11 "yes" votes came from France, Britain, Russia, Denmark, Greece, Argentina, Benin, Tanzania, Romania, the Philippines and Japan.

The Bush administration was in the difficult position of either modifying its fierce opposition to the ICC or vetoing a resolution that would try people for the arson, slaughter and rape in Darfur that Washington has itself called genocide.