Government pushes for ICC removal

Despite a call for government to review its decision to remove itself as a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the parliamentary portfolio committee on justice and correctional services, under Dr Mathole Serofo Motshekga, on Sunday invited “stakeholders and interested persons to make written submissions on the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act Repeal Bill [B23- 2016]”.

Since 2015, government has lurched from one disastrous court appearance to another, beginning with its failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashi during a visit to South Africa at President Jacob Zuma’s invitation and ending in its attempt to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

South African courts have repeatedly slammed government for acting unconstitutionally and unlawfully throughout the entire saga.

“The legal advice the South African government is receiving is abysmal. It should ask for its money back,” said the DA’s James Selfe.

He urged the public to make submissions.

“We will be very vigilant and make sure those submissions are listened to,” Selfe said.

He noted if the procedure was not followed properly this time around, the latest court judgment had left the door open for the DA to challenge to repeal again.

In a nutshell, the proposed bill’s preamble states that because South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute, we cannot recognise diplomatic immunity of heads of state so we can talk to them and ask them to be benevolent presidents for life and not kill everyone.

Conflicts SA presidents have been involved with include the Burundi conflict (Mandela and Zuma), in the DRC, Cote d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe (Mbeki and Zuma) and the Libya conflict (Zuma), according to a paper by Katabaro Miti at the University of Pretoria for Southern African Peace and Security Studies.

Miti commended the presidents for getting involved but drew an ominous conclusion: negotiations are not always the best way to resolve African conflicts.

“In many instances antagonists have entered into negotiations as a means of buying time rather than reaching an agreement. This is what accounts for the mostly lengthy and costly negotiations,” Miti said.

Motshekga did not respond to requests for comment.

Submissions must be received by Parliament no later than March 8, and public hearings will be held in parliament.

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