The South African government has said it would consider leaving the International Criminal Court following a row over its failure to arrest Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir last week.
Bashir, who is wanted by the ICC on charges of genocide and war crimes, fled South Africa after attending an African Union summit despite a court order barring him from leaving the country.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Today the government, which argued that Bashir held diplomatic immunity at the summit and so could not be arrested, has announced that it is reviewing its membership of the international court. It says it needs to establish how to "balance its obligations to the ICC with its obligations to the AU and individual states".
There are growing calls for Pretoria to cut ties with the international court, reports the South African Times. Earlier this week, the secretary general of the ruling ANC called the ICC "dangerous" and urged the government to withdraw from it.
Africa and the ICC have a notoriously troubled relationship, with the AU arguing that the organisation is biased against its members. It has advised African leaders not to co-operate with the court – despite the majority of African nations being ICC signatories.
If South Africa did decide to withdraw from the international court, it would become the first country in the world officially to do so, causing damage to its international reputation.
"First South Africa lets a mass murderer go; now it threatens to let go of the very idea of international justice," tweeted Andrew Stroehlein, media director at Human Right Watch.
But removing the Rome Statute from South African law would not end the country's obligations to the ICC immediately, points out the Mail and Guardian's associate editor Phillip de Wet.
Withdrawal from the ICC would not be immediate as it requires a minimum notice period of one year, during which time South Africa would be legally obliged to fulfil its commitments to the court.
-
Political cartoons for November 6Cartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include the Blue wave, Dick Cheney's legacy, and Zohran Mamdani's historic win
-
Bugonia: ‘deranged, extreme and explosively enjoyable’Talking Point Yorgos Lanthimos’ film stars Emma Stone as a CEO who is kidnapped and accused of being an alien
-
The Revolutionists: a ‘superb and monumental’ bookThe Week Recommends Jason Burke ‘epic’ account of the plane hijackings and kidnappings carried out by extremists in the 1970s
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sudan stands on the brink of another national schismThe Explainer With tens of thousands dead and millions displaced, one of Africa’s most severe outbreaks of sectarian violence is poised to take a dramatic turn for the worse
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
What are the Abraham Accords and why are they under threat?The Explainer The 2020 agreements would be 'undermined' if Israel annexes West Bank, UAE warns
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
