South Africa withdraws from the International Criminal Court

World News Rudolph Rodriquez
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South Africa withdraws from the International Criminal Court (ICC) because the obligations for the assumed membership are not consistent with the law to ensure their political leaders according to diplomatic immunity, announced on Friday the Minister of Justice, Michael Masutha, quoted by Reuters.

Pretoria announced early last year that it intended to withdraw from the ICC after being criticized that they ignored a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of genocide and war crimes, as he visited South Africa.

Masutha said that in order to ensure and further the country’s ability to maintain diplomatic relations active in the country’s parliament will be submitted soon a bill that repeals the adoption by South Africa of the Rome Statute, the document founder of the ICC.

He told journalists in the capital Pretoria that the implementation status is conflicting and inconsistent with the law on diplomatic immunities and privileges of South Africa.

According to a UN document consulted by Reuters on Thursday the decision shall enter into force one year after the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will receive an official notification in this regard.

The document was signed by the Minister of South African International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, dated on October 19th.

ICC, which began operating in July 2012, has 124 member states and is the first permanent international legal body with jurisdiction to hear cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Several African countries have expressed concerns that the Hague tribunal was focused primarily on Africa, to the detriment of other areas of the world, Reuters noted.