Dear Editor
The unfounded criticism of the International Criminal Court by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, has now proven beyond any doubt that the ANC government has no intention to act on the warrant of arrest issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin by the ICC.
The DA is now calling on the President and Chief Prosecutor of the ICC to consider triggering a United Nations Security Council resolution that will compel the ANC government to honor its obligations under article 86 of the Rome Statute. If the ANC government fails to act, the resolutions should give the ICC authority to use third parties to effect an arrest warrant on Putin should he set foot on South African soil. According to the ICC, the court may invite any non-State Party to provide assistance in the arrest and surrender of a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued. The decision on which third parties to use, rests within the exclusive jurisdiction of the ICC.
The behaviour of Minister Pandor, in her utterances against the ICC at the Union Buildings on 23 March 2023 is shameful.
It has only been a few weeks since South Africa has made the decision to withdraw its application to withdraw from the ICC and here we have the minister irresponsibly shooting her mouth off when South Africa has a demonstrated track record of failing to arrest international war criminals – as it did when allowing Omar Al Bashir to escape justice.
The DA warns that the ANC government has put our country on a collision course with major trading partners by continuously positioning South Africa on the wrong side of history. The recent diplomatic embarrassment caused by the South African government to the Belgian royal family further entrenches the perception that our country is aligned with the Russian-Chinese axis at the expense of the free world.
Given that the South African government has made it clear that it does not want to arrest war criminals that enter our country, the DA calls on the ICC to use every tool at its disposal to uphold international law.
Regards
Darren Bergman MP
DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
