GENEVA, May 11 (Reuters) - A peace deal between the Ugandan government and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels must not offer an amnesty to those guilty of war crimes, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said on Friday.

Arbour, in a statement released ahead of the resumption of talks between the parties to Uganda's two-decade civil war, said it was critical that those responsible for gross violations against civilians and children be held to account.

"Any accord must reaffirm the commitment of both parties to the core principle of international law that there can be no amnesty for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and gross violations of human rights," she said.

Tens of thousands of people died and 1.7 million were uprooted in northern Uganda after a popular uprising in 1986 sparked one of Africa's longest wars.

Peace talks that began last year produced a truce in August, but little progress has been made since and the rebels have frequently walked out of negotiations. The government and LRA are now set to embark upon the thorny issue of accountability for war crimes, with talks held in Juba, south Sudan.

LRA leader Joseph Kony and four other commanders are wanted in the International Criminal Court (ICC) over allegations of wholesale killing of civilians, rape and child abduction. The rebels have repeatedly said they would never make peace unless the indictments are dropped.

In her statement, Arbour stressed that those indicted by the ICC must be brought to the Hague-based court.

"Discussions concerning those persons should be focusing on the terms and circumstances of their surrender so they can go and address the charges against them before the ICC," she said.

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