Short-sighted move

THE decision by South Africa to leave the `jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court is extremely significant and worrying. According to reports, Pretoria will soon begin the formal process of exiting the Rome Statute.

International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane was quoted as arguing that the provisions of the Rome Statute are in conflict with South African law, particularly the statute giving heads of state immunity.

We have heard this argument before. In Kenya, one of the principal objections to the ICC’s investigation of the campaign of killings and displacements that followed the 2007 election was that it was targeting elected leaders.

The Kenyan government successfully made this case at heads of state summits of the AU. One would have hoped, however, that the matter was concluded when both Kenyan cases at the ICC collapsed. Developments in the past week show that is not the case. The decision by Burundi, in the grip of Pierre Nkurunziza’s murderous administration, to pull out of the Rome Statute was not especially surprising.

The South African decision is a major development. That country has long been viewed as one of the more progressive ones on the continent.

Its leaders were upset by criticism over the failure to arrest Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir when he visited there. The decision to pull out of the ICC could signal to many others to take the same cue.

That would be a mistake. The court plays the essential role of serving as a check against individuals who feel they can cling to power by committing crimes against humanity and acts of genocide.

African countries can fight for reform of the court. Pulling out is wrong and short-sighted.