Johannesburg: Africa has dumped the International Criminal Court (ICC) – at least in terms of prosecutions in Africa.
South Africa may have been slow to come on board the boycott of the ICC, but its position has now been clarified by the ruling party.
The ANC has released a statement that its highest decision-making body, the National Executive Committee, is of the view that the ICC is no longer useful to prosecute crimes against humanity.
“The ANC is calling for universal justice and for all members of the UN to be signatories to the ICC,” the party said.
Knowing that the US, Israel and many other countries will never agree to become signatories to the Rome Statute, the ANC is now of the opinion that the country must withdraw from the court.
“We no longer recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction over Africa,” said a South African minister, on condition of anonymity, “and will start the necessary proceedings in Parliament to release us from the ICC.”
The chairperson of the ANC’s International Relations Portfolio Committee in Parliament, Siphosezwe Masango, announced yesterday that the committee may advise government to rethink its membership of the ICC.
Of notable importance is the fact that Masango has called on the entire continent to follow suit.
Masango welcomed the fact that the government did not arrest wanted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, as it was obliged to as a signatory of the ICC, when he was in the country for the African Union (AU) Summit.
“The court application to arrest Bashir was an opportunistic act by civil society meant only to pit African leaders against each other.”
Criticism of South Africa’s protection of Bashir in the face of the ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity goes all the way to the top at the UN.
“The ICC warrant for the arrest of Bashir must be implemented by countries who have signed up to the Hague Court’s statutes,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said.
Speaking from Geneva, Ban insisted that the authority of the ICC must be respected and its decisions implemented.
These sentiments were echoed by the UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, who was attending the AU Summit in Sandton yesterday.
Speaking to Independent Media, Eliasson said: “We expect full respect for the decisions taken by the ICC.”
Outrage that the government allowed Bashir safe passage to leave the country on the basis that it had granted immunity to all attendees at the AU Summit continues to escalate within South Africa and in the international community.
The government appears unfazed by all the fuss, quite confident it has done the right thing in giving the AU decision to invite Bashir precedence over the dictates of the ICC.
“There are legal implications for South Africa,” said Professor Max du Plessis of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
“We have domesticated the Rome Statute into our own national legislation and if we want to pull out of the ICC we will have to pass legislation to that effect. South Africa is obligated to adhere to the ICC’s decisions until we finalise our exit from the treaty. Given that the Rome Statute is a voluntary treaty, South Africa can withdraw from it, but it would have been advisable to have withdrawn prior to hosting Bashir on South African soil.”
Du Plessis said it would be tragic for South Africa to withdraw from the ICC given its previous support for the court.
“It would not send the right message to the victims of such crimes, and it would undermine our commitment to the rule of law.”
Du Plessis had played a part in trying to address the double standards of the ICC previously, when he had worked on getting a warrant for the arrest of Israel’s Foreign Minister Tvipi Livni when she planned a visit to South Africa.
The goal was to surrender Livni to the ICC for the crimes against humanity that Israel had committed in the occupied territories. In the end, Livni cancelled her trip. - Cape Times