Cape Town - While the South African government is yet to confirm what it will do following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrant of arrest for Russian President Vladimir Putin, some experts say South Africa should have long withdrawn its membership from the “Eurocentric” institution.
This comes as the EFF on Thursday vowed to protect Putin if necessary.
South Africa will host the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China at the 15th BRICS Summit from August 22 to 24 this year, raising questions around whether or not the government should act, if Putin attends.
International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Naledi Pandor said discussions were still needed.
“Many countries that should sign on are not members of it. We had hoped other forms of warrants would be issued by the ICC because there are many countries and leaders who have practised very serious abuses in situations of conflict but they remain unscathed in terms of the ICC.
“This is a worrying aspect we’ve raised previously. South Africa will have to look at existing provisions of our legislation, we also will have to have a discussion as Cabinet as well as with our colleagues in the Russian Federation and determine the way forward. We’ve not had such a discussion as yet but I think it's critically necessary,” she said.
EFF leader Julius Malema said no one would block or arrest the Russian president should he visit the country for the BRICS summit.
“President Putin is welcome here, and no one is going to arrest Putin. If need be, we are going to fetch Putin from the airport, take him to his meeting where he will address and finish his meetings, and we will take him back to the airport,” Malema said.
“We are not going to be told by these hypocrites of the ICC who know the real violators of human rights, the murderers of this world. The former prime minister (of England) Tony Blair admitted that they made a horrible mistake when it comes to Saddam Hussein – they have not been charged today. Bush is still there, and they have not been charged. President Putin is welcome; we know our friends, we know the people who liberated us, we know the people who supported us.”
North West University politics and international relations lecturer, Dr Pumlani Majavu said South Africa should have long withdrawn its membership from the Western and eurocentric ICC.
“The ICC has repeatedly proven that its purpose is to punish people that the West has identified as its political enemies.
“Allies of the West, on the other hand, have a political licence to commit all sorts of atrocities with impunity.
“Hence, the so-called court has yet to issue any form of arrest warrant for crimes committed by the West and or its political allies.
“The crimes that Putin is committing in Ukraine are no different to the crimes committed by George W Bush and Tony Blair in Iraq – as Bush unintendedly admitted.
“And of course, Putin’s crime is no different to that committed by the likes of Benjamin Netanyahu in Palestine.
“The South African government’s decision to rescind its withdrawal from the ICC partly reflects the timidity and indecisiveness of the current administration,” Majavu said.
Surgetower Associates Foreign Policy Specialists director Siseko Maposa, said the current situation brought to mind the 2017 Al-Bashir matter – where South Africa’s granting of immunity to the then South Sudanese president, on the basis that he was a sitting Head of State, was overruled by not only the South African Supreme Court of Appeal, but also by the ICC.
“In the ICC ruling, the judges did not refer the matter to the UN Security Council (UNSC), which meant that South Africa would not be punished with any sanctions for breaking international law.
“The referral did not happen because in six previous referrals the ICC made to the UNSC or ASP, where nation states failed to arrest Al-Bashir, no action was taken by either body. Simply put, the ICC struggles to deliver international justice and as such, I do not believe that there are many fears within the South African government of sanctions being imposed for the non-arrest of President Putin should he set foot in the country later this year for the BRICS Summit. It is more likely that South Africa will opt for diplomacy,” he said.
Angela Mudukuti, a lawyer specialised in international criminal law and human rights said South Africa has a duty as a Rome Statute signatory and as a nation that has committed to not being a safe haven for alleged perpetrators of egregious crimes, to arrest Putin for subsequent transfer to the Hague.
“The court has been accused of only investigating situations in states that are perceived to be ‘weaker’ and this arrest warrant signals that the court is willing to act without fear or favour. However, it also raises fair questions about how the court has shied away from alleged crimes committed by UK soldiers in Iraq and US troops in Afghanistan. There will be renewed calls for international criminal law accountability in these and other matters.”
Cape Times