SA wrapped up in world court crisis
Travel ban on AU summit guest
THE government is sitting on a diplomatic time bomb with the world’s attention focused on the outcome of a court bid today to have Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrested in South Africa on charges of war crimes.
The Pretoria High Court yesterday temporarily barred al-Bashir, who is attending an African Union summit in Johannesburg, from leaving South Africa.
He must await the outcome of an application for an order that would oblige Pretoria to execute an International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest.
Judge Hans Fabricius yesterday ordered the government to ensure that alBashir stay put until after the application, brought by the Southern African Litigation Centre, is heard today.
Earlier yesterday, reports from Sudan said al-Bashir had left South Africa – but late last night Sudan said Bashir had not slipped out of the country.
“President Bashir is here in Johannesburg,” presidency spokesman Mohammed Hatem said.
Attempts to get comment from International Relations spokesman Nelson Kgwete and Presidency spokesman Harold Maloka were unsuccessful.
South Africa’s hosting of al-Bashir and its granting of diplomatic immunity to all heads of state and government at the summit aligns this country with Malawi, Egypt and others in showing contempt for international law obligations.
The ANC has accused the ICC of unfairly targeting African leaders and of allowing human rights violations by countries that are not signatories to the ICC convention to go unpunished.
In court, the litigation centre alleges that al-Bashir is responsible for murder, rape, torture, extermination and moving large numbers of civilians in Darfur during a five-year counter-insurgency campaign from 2003.
The conflict resulted in the deaths of more than 300 000 people and displacement of 2.5 million‚ according to the UN.
South Africa is on record as saying in 2009 that it would be obliged, in terms of international legislation called the Rome Statute, to arrest al-Bashir if he set foot in the country.
In its attack on the ICC, the ANC said: “Countries, mainly in Africa and Eastern Europe which, due to their unwavering commitment to upholding human rights and universal justice have elected to be signatories to the ICC, continue to bear the brunt of the decisions of the ICC, with Sudan being the latest example.”
Centre for Constitutional Rights director Johan Kruger said the immunity granted to AU delegates would fail to meet constitutional muster if its purpose was to protect al-Bashir.
Political analyst Adam Habib said al-Bashir was unlikely to be arrested in South Africa, while Steven Friedman described the case as a “no-win” situation for the government. – Additional reporting by Reuters