U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday he does not support the death penalty for Saddam Hussein and emphasized any court trying the former Iraqi leader had to meet international norms and standards.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan speaks in New York on December 15, 2003, about the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.  [Reuters]

Annan, who offered U.N. help in the judicial process, said he was encouraged by Bush administration comments that Saddam would be treated humanely "even though this is a treatment he in the past did not accord those who fell into his hands."

But he said the world body had not supported the death penalty in any court it set up previously. "So as secretary-general ... I am not going to now turn around and support a death penalty."

The president of Iraq's Governing Council, Abdelaziz al-Hakim, said in Paris that Saddam could face execution. He also said he recognized the need for an international role in the proceedings but gave no details.

Annan said he hoped the removal of Saddam's "rather long shadow" would speed Iraqi reconciliation but was cautious about when the United Nations, whose Baghdad headquarters were bombed on Aug. 19, would return to Iraq.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the senior British envoy in Iraq, said Annan was not expected to name a special representative to replace Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was killed by the bomb, until spring or summer.

Greenstock, who saw Annan during a brief stop in New York, said the secretary-general was unlikely to set up a U.N. presence in Iraq until after the U.S.-led occupation ended in July.

He said it was important for the United Nations to play a role once a transitional government took office this summer and planned for elections and a constitution in 2005.

Washington's closest Iraq war ally Britain said Dec.15, 2003 it would play 'no part' in any trial of Saddam Hussein that might lead to his death. Saddam Hussein is shown after his capture during a press conference in Baghdad, Dec.14, 2003.  [Reuters]

"That is when London wants to see the United Nations fully involved, take a leading role," Greenstock told reporters.

But he said Saddam's capture would probably mean an escalation of violence in the near future by Baathist party followers, al Qaeda members and others as a "last gasp to disrupt the system before it turns into a transitional arrangement they won't be able to affect."

"The number of incidents will be constrained but the seriousness of incidents will not go down," Greenstock said. "The violence will continue and in some ways will get worse."

Annan told reporters it was essential that Saddam's prosecution should be conducted fairly.

"I believe this should be done through open trials in properly established courts of law which will respect basic international norms and standards, including respect for international humanitarian law," he said.

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said earlier that Washington hoped for Security Council support for its timetable to transfer political power to Iraqis in July.

But Negroponte told reporters he did not expect a resolution from the council, which on Tuesday reviews the timetable for establishing a new Iraqi provisional government. It will also hear from Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

The council approved a terse statement welcoming Saddam's capture, reflecting members' wary approach to continued U.S. pleas to provide political and financial aid for Iraq and forgive some of its debts.

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