Communication blunder: South Africa backtracks on ICC withdrawal

South Africa remains a signatory to the ICC in line with a resolution of the 55th national conference of the ANC, held in December 2022, to rescind an earlier decision to withdraw from the ICC, says Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.The ANC and its president, Cyril Ramaphosa, have done an about-turn on South Africa’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

This appears to be a case of miscommunication on the part of government and the ANC, with Ramaphosa and party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula on Tuesday contradicting one another on South Africa’s position on withdrawing its membership of the court. Sauli Väinämö Niinistö, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said the country was pulling out because of “unfair treatment” by the ICC.

He said the manner in which the UK domesticated the Rome Statute to incorporate the provisions of article 98 has been recommended as a guideline case study.The communication blunder comes as South Africa prepares to host the Brics summit in August that Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend.As a member of the ICC, South African authorities would be obliged to arrest Putin under a warrant issued by the court in March for alleged war crimes related to the conflict in Ukraine.

“An unintended impression may have been created that a categorical decision for an immediate withdrawal had been taken. This is not so. We reiterate the resolution of conference remains our policy position until such a point where its implementation does not yield the required result.” ANC NEC member and deputy minister of public enterprises Obed Bapela told the Sunday Times earlier this month the party’s position on Putin was that no sitting head of state would be arrested in the country.

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