''Obviously, you must aim for a statute (to create the ICC) accepted and implemented by as many states as possible,'' Annan told delegates from 186 nations Monday morning. ''But the overriding interest must be that of the victims, and of the international community as a whole. I trust you will not flinch from creating a Court strong and independent enough to carry out its task.''

Still, he said, many nations' concerns about the Court are serious and must be dealt with fairly. ''Some small states fear giving pretexts for more powerful ones to set aside their sovereignty,'' he said. ''Others worry that the pursuit of justice may sometimes interfere with the vital work of making peace.''

As many diplomats here conceded, the choice may be between a Court which has strong powers and substantial independence, but few adherents, and a weaker body which could be ratified by a wider number of nations.

Tony Lloyd, secretary of state for the British foreign ministry, admitted that it could be better to have a Court granted considerable jurisdiction, even if some nations stay outside the treaty governing the Court for a few years. But the ICC would need at least some 50 adherents to be effective initially, Lloyd added.

Annan also sided with efforts to push first for a strong Court and later for one that has a wide number of adherents. ''For the Court to be credible and to stand the test of time, it has to be seen as independent and strong,'' he told reporters.

''I think for a court to be independent...it implies that no one body, no unit and no organisation should be able to influence unduly what the court does,'' he added. ''To have a weak and ineffective Court will not solve the problem.''

The secretary-general remained optimistic that over time, ''tremendous international pressure'' could rally latecomer nations - the ranks of which already are expected to include the United States - to sign on board.

In that respect, Annan argued, the treaty might be part of the same trend as last year's Landmines Convention, which opened for signature last December in Ottawa despite Washington's public opposition to the treaty's strict terms. Massive grassroots pressure helped swing support behind the treaty, and the U.S. government has indicated it may join the landmines ban, although not immediately.

''In my judgment, it is a new diplomacy,'' Annan said of the grassroots-led campaigns. ''It doesn't threaten me and it doesn't worry me -- in fact, I welcome it.''

Nevertheless, the diplomats gathered for the ICC meetings will face an uphill challenge in preparing a document that can be both the basis for a strong court and a widely-acceptable text. Already, Ambassador David Scheffer, head of the US delegation, warned that Washington will not be willing to accept debate on certain topics that infringe either on sovereignty or Security Council powers.

Principal among US demands are that the Court handle ''mass killings'' and other major crimes, rather than individual acts committed by military officers or isolated instances of malfeasance, Scheffer said. If the threshold requirement for the Court's actions involves sufficiently major, large-scale crimes, he argued at a week-end panel organised by the group 'No Peace without Justice', many of the disputes over the ICC ''will dissipate very quickly.''

The United States has also been insistent on other issues, such as some form of restriction on the authority of the prosecutor and a degree of Security Council control over the ICC docket.

Morton Halperin, vice president of the Twentieth Century Fund and a former Pentagon official, said that the White House is considering support for the 'Singapore compromise', under which the Council could temporarily remove items from the ICC's agenda but would not oversee its entire docket.

Scheffer did not specify what option Washington will back during the coming weeks. But he insisted that ''if the debate descends to there being no role whatsoever (for the Security Council), then I think we will have a very difficult discussion here at Rome.''

Already, Annan said, the road to the conference has been a long one. ''It is said all roads lead to Rome,'' he said Monday. ''But not all lead there directly.''