South Africa to quit war crimes court

Pretoria, October 21

South Africa said on Friday it was quitting the International Criminal Court (ICC) because membership conflicted with diplomatic immunity laws, dealing a new blow to the struggling court and angering the political opposition.

Pretoria last year announced its intention to leave after the ICC criticised it for ignoring a court order to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide and war crimes, when he visited. Bashir has denied the accusations.

The ICC was not immediately available for comment, but the announcement puts new pressure on the world’s first permanent war crimes court, which has had to fight off allegations of pursuing a neo-colonial agenda in Africa, where all but one of its 10 investigations have been based. Burundi has already said it plans to leave and Kenya’s parliament is considering following suit.

Justice Minister Michael Masutha told reporters in Pretoria that the government would draft a Bill to repeal South Africa’s adoption of the ICC’s Rome Statute in order to preserve its ability to conduct active diplomatic relations, and had given formal notice. He said the statute conflicted with South Africa’s Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act, but that the government remained committed to the fighting against impunity.

A document seen by Reuters at the United Nations on Thursday showed the move would take effect one year after notice was formally received by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. 

James Selfe, a senior executive at the main opposition Democratic Alliance, said in a statement that the party would file a court application on Friday to set aside the plans “on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, irrational and procedurally flawed”. — Reuters

Dispute that led to withdrawal

• South Africa’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court stems from a dispute last year over a visit by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir who is wanted by the tribunal for alleged war crimes
• Under the Rome Statute, South Africa as a party to the ICC has an obligation to arrest anyone sought by the tribunal. In June 2015, Al-Bashir went to South Africa to attend a summit but the government didn’t arrest him
• The “Instrument of Withdrawal” issued by South Africa states that “its obligations with respect to the peaceful resolution of conflicts at times are incompatible with the obligations contained in the Rome Statute”

African nations feel court biased

• The International Criminal Court is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes
• But it has secured only five verdicts in its 14-year history, all of them on African suspects, and several African countries have expressed concern that the continent is being picked on
• The African Union has asked the court to stop proceedings against sitting presidents