ICTJ Denounces South African Government
ICTJ Denounces South African Government’s Attempt to Exit
the International Criminal Court
NEW YORK,
October 21, 2016 — The International Center for
Transitional Justice (ICTJ) decries the announcement that South Africa will seek
to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the treaty that created
the International Criminal Court (ICC) and an international
framework for fighting impunity for egregious crimes. Reportedly, a document stating this
position, signed by Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's
minister of international relations and cooperation, dated
October 19, 2016, was submitted to the United
Nations.
The ICC is the world’s first permanent
international criminal court. Governed by the Rome Statute,
it provides for accountability for the most serious crimes
and aims to help prevent them from happening again.
One
year ago, South Africa ignored an ICC arrest warrant for
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir while he was visiting the
country, which was widely seen as avoiding its international
legal obligations and undermining the court and its aims.
Bashir is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and genocide in Darfur.
“This marks a
sad day for the fight against impunity, particularly in view
of the important role that South Africa played in the
creation of the ICC,” said David Tolbert, President of
ICTJ. “It is regrettable that South Africa appears to be
turning its back on the victims of the worst crimes known to
humanity. Given its oppressive past, South Africa should be
leading the struggle for global human rights, not
undermining it.”
In its attempt to shield leaders of
other nations from accountability for the worst
international crimes, the South African government has
claimed that its own implementing legislation for the Rome
Statute (Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Act of 2002) would require it to violate provisions of
another national law, the Diplomatic Immunities and
Privileges Act of 2001. This proposition does not stand up
to scrutiny, as the South African government not only
ratified the Rome Statute but also adopted implementing
legislation that is consistent with it.
Forty-five years
of apartheid rule cast a long shadow over South Africa, with mass violations such
as systemic racial discrimination, massacres, torture, and
lengthy prison terms for activists, including Nelson
Mandela. After apartheid officially ended, the South African
Parliament created the well-known Truth and Reconciliation
Commission to investigate and report on the gross violations
of human rights committed during the apartheid
period.
However, since the TRC concluded its work, the
South African government has essentially ignored victims’
rights and failed to pursue individual criminal
responsibility for abuses committed during apartheid, even
when the accused did not receive amnesty from the TRC,
either because they were denied amnesty or because they
chose not to participate in the process.
“Lamentably,
the South African government’s position is entirely
consistent with its domestic policy of impunity for
Apartheid-era atrocities by suppressing investigations and
prosecutions,” said Tolbert. “This is a dark day not
only for the fight against impunity but also for South
Africa itself, which should be at the forefront of justice,
not avoiding its moral responsibility to further
accountability for the serious crimes the Rome Statute
proscribes.”