A SOBER session at The Hague confirmed the obvious. On July 6th the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled that South Africa flouted its duty to international law when it failed to arrest Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, when he visited in 2015. The court ruled that when President Jacob Zuma’s government welcomed Mr Bashir, it did so in brazen defiance of the ICC warrants against him for genocide and war crimes in Darfur. And it rejected South Africa’s thin argument that it could not arrest Mr Bashir because he had immunity as a head of state attending a summit of the African Union.
The episode marks a new low point for South Africa, a founding member of the court. But the ruling also offered some redemption. The ICC’s panel of judges chose not to refer South Africa to the UN Security Council for further sanction. In its decision, the ICC noted that South Africa’s own courts had already ruled sharply against the government. Meanwhile an attempt by South Africa...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2sOftdS
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