South Africa’s pull-out from ‘biased’ ICC could prompt mass withdrawal

SOUTH AFRICA has announced it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court so it can continue to give diplomatic immunity to heads of state accused of war crimes and genocide in its role as a regional mediator.

The shock move came just a week after Burundi, whose president has been accused of torturing and murdering his political opponents, said it too would withdraw from the court in The Hague.

It is expected to prompt other African countries, who have accused the tribunal of a bias against the continent, to announce their own plans to withdraw. It is also likely to bring further controversy for president Jacob Zuma, who is facing protests over high university fees and scandal over his close relationship with a trio of Indian businessmen who he allegedly allowed to appoint ministers on his behalf.

In its one-page notice of withdrawal delivered to the UN in New York, South Africa argued that the court’s rulings were sometimes “incompatible” with the “peaceful resolution of conflicts”.

“There are perceptions of inequality and unfairness in the practice of the ICC by the perceived focus of the ICC on African states, notwithstanding clear evidence of violations by others,” an explanatory note added.

Michael Masutha, the justice minister, insisted that South Africa could champion human rights and peace on the continent more easily without ICC constraints. “We wish to remain a key player in conflict resolution in Africa and what may need to happen is that we host conflicting parties,” he said.

South Africa was furious after the ICC refused its request to extend im- munity to Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for alleged genocide and war crimes, so he could attend an African Union summit in Johannesburg in June last year. It invited him regardless and when it was ordered by a Pretoria court to detain him, it let him fly home.

Chris Lansberg, an international relations expert at the University of Johannesburg, said South Africa was exiting the ICC to avoid the “political embarrassment” of a Constitutional Court ruling due next month that it broke the law by letting Mr al-Bashir go.

Kenya, whose president, Uhuru Kenyatta, was prosecuted by the ICC over tribal violence before the case was dropped due to witness intimidation, has already indicated it will pull out. Uganda’s deputy foreign minister said yesterday that mass withdrawal would be a “hot issue” at the next AU summit.

Netsanet Belay, from Amnesty International, said: “The country is betraying millions of victims of the gravest human rights violations and undermining the international justice system.”

The ICC has drawn criticism because all four people it has convicted so far are Africans, as are all 32 it has indicted.