EDITORIAL: Squandering a great legacy
SA is giving up the one diplomatic tool it had in its arsenal: the soft power of righteousness
How is it possible not to be cynical about this statement: "SA reiterates its total commitment to the principles of international justice"? The statement was made by the Department of International Relations and Co-operation in response to the pretrial chamber of the International Criminal Court in connection with the visit by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to the AU summit hosted in SA in June 2015. SA argued before the court that Bashir had immunity under customary international law because he was, and is, a sitting head of state. The court, completely unsurprisingly, found that SA failed in its duty to comply with the court’s request for his surrender. The reason the finding is unsurprising is that the court’s founding document, the one SA signed on joining, specifically says heads of state are not immune. Article 27.2 of the statute excludes immunity for heads of state from arrest. Furthermore, the court’s jurisdiction to act was triggered by the UN Security Council resolutio...
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