Sanity prevails by remaining in ICC

THE Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the decision by the cabinet to withdraw the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Bill (B 23–2016).

The DA believes that in light of the recent decision in the high court in Pretoria, and now the decision of the cabinet to withdraw this bill, that we should all take the opportunity to step back and properly assess the situation.

It may well be that the ICC requires reform.

However, this does not mean South Africa should join the polecats of the world in abandoning our commitment to human rights by leaving the ICC entirely.

In recent years, numerous decisions by the ANC-led national government have made clear and dangerous departures from the human rightsbased foreign policy which was promoted by former president Nelson Mandela and which aligns with our constitutional democracy.

The original decision was made by the ANC in haste, and we are glad that sanity has now prevailed.