Minister withdraws ICC bill

JUSTICE Minister Michael Masutha has withdrawn South Africa’s decision to pull out of the International Criminal Court.

The decision has ended months of speculation after an earlier decision by the government to leave.

The official opposition said it welcomed the decision.

Last week, in the portfolio committee on international relations, ANC MP Bheki Hadebe warned that the withdrawal from the Rome Statute would be back on Parliament’s agenda in a year’s time.

But the DA said yesterday this was the best decision the government has taken, and it fully endorses it.

Speaker Baleka Mbete said in a note in Parliament that Masutha was withdrawing the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Repeal Bill.

The Bill would have started the process for South Africa to withdraw from the ICC.

DA federal executive chairperson James Selfe said the ANC had made the decision in haste sanity had prevailed.

“The DA believes that in light of the recent High Court decision, and now the decision of cabinet to withdraw this Bill, that we step back and properly assess the situation,” he said.

The DA accused the ANC of abandoning the principles of human rights by trying to block the arrest of leaders wanted for serious human rights violations.

Selfe said it hoped the government would stick to the course of human rights.

Today, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will face questions in the National Council of Provinces on the withdrawal, among others.

The government came under fire from opposition parties following a legal battle with the Southern Africa Litigation Centre to arrest Sudan President Omar al-Bashir. It was criticised for allowing Bashir to leave the country in 2015 despite a court order.

Opposition parties accused the ANC of protecting Bashir against the international criminal justice system.

President Jacob Zuma defended the decision, saying Bashir was in the country on AU business, and it would not have been appropriate to arrest him.

Recently, Gambia President Adama Barrow revoked the decision of predecessor Yahya Jammeh to leave the ICC.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had also pledged solidarity with South Africa and urged other African states to withdraw. African states have accused the court of targeting African leaders, and none from other countries.

The EFF warned Parliament last year that had South Africa allowed for Bashir’s arrest it would have created a conflict with Sudan. It said there could have been a fight between the two countries.