{"id":398366,"date":"2017-07-07T05:59:12","date_gmt":"2017-07-07T05:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2017\/07\/07\/icc-declines-to-refer-s-africa-to-un-for-not-arresting-sudans-bashir\/"},"modified":"2017-07-07T05:59:12","modified_gmt":"2017-07-07T05:59:12","slug":"icc-declines-to-refer-s-africa-to-un-for-not-arresting-sudans-bashir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/07\/07\/icc-declines-to-refer-s-africa-to-un-for-not-arresting-sudans-bashir\/","title":{"rendered":"ICC declines to refer S.Africa to UN for not arresting Sudan’s Bashir"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The International Criminal Court on Thursday rebuked South Africa for not arresting Sudan\u2019s president on a genocide warrant when he visited Johannesburg in 2015 but declined to refer Pretoria to the United Nations for possible censure over the lapse.<\/p>\n

The ICC indicted Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2008 over the deaths and persecution of ethnic groups in Sudan\u2019s Darfur province between 2003 and 2008. But he has continued to travel internationally, visiting Jordan as recently as March.<\/p>\n

The first part of Thursday\u2019s ICC ruling was expected as the war crimes court has consistently rejected arguments put forward by the South African government, namely that it could not arrest Bashir because visiting heads of state at the African Union Summit held in the country enjoyed diplomatic immunity.<\/p>\n

ICC judges said that heads of state or government clearly fall under the court\u2019s jurisdiction and cannot be exempted at home or abroad, echoing the conclusion of a South African domestic court.<\/p>\n

The second stage of the ruling was surprising as it was the first time the ICC found one of its members had defied its rules, yet took no action by reporting South Africa to the U.N. Security Council or ICC member states for possible censure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision is something of an indictment of the U.N. Security Council and the (ICC\u2019s) Assembly of State Parties,\u201d ICC expert and legal scholar Mark Kersten told Reuters.<\/p>\n

Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser, reading a summary of the ruling, noted that past referrals of countries to the Security Council for noncompliance were \u201cfutile\u201d in terms of leading to further action and also \u201cnot an effective way to obtain cooperation\u201d with the ICC.<\/p>\n

BASHIR DENIES WRONGDOING<\/p>\n

Bashir denies wrongdoing and has rejected ICC jurisdiction. It was the Security Council itself that referred Sudan\u2019s case to the ICC in 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is shocking that other (ICC member states) such as Jordan are also failing in their obligations to arrest Bashir, and this decision makes it clear they do so in flagrant violation of international law,\u201d Amnesty International said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The ICC\u2019s decision not to refer South Africa might also be intended in part to dissuade it from pulling out of the court.<\/p>\n

In February, the African Union called for member states to leave the ICC over a perceived bias by prosecutors in focusing on African conflicts.<\/p>\n

Kenya, Namibia, Burundi and South Africa have threatened to ditch the ICC and Pretoria began the formal withdrawal process last year before being blocked by a domestic court for not getting parliament\u2019s approval first before pulling out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe (Thursday\u2019s) ruling will raise the costs of withdrawal for South African President Jacob Zuma,\u201d Kersten said.<\/p>\n

In The Hague, South African Ambassador Bruce Koloane said that for the time being \u201c(we are) still a member effectively of the ICC, we still have to honour all our obligations\u201d.<\/p>\n

In South Africa, opinions on what to do next were divided.<\/p>\n

Pretoria\u2019s foreign affairs department said the government would study the ruling \u201cand its implications and seek legal opinion on available options\u201d.<\/p>\n

Siphosezwe Masango, who chairs parliament\u2019s international relations committee, said he remained convinced South Africa was right not to arrest Bashir, \u201ca sitting head of state\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pretoria\u2019s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said the ICC ruling was an indictment of Zuma\u2019s ANC government, noting it had upheld the domestic court\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ANC seems intent on relegating South Africa to the status of a scumbag nation which protects the law-breakers and corrupter of this world,\u201d DA Federal Executive Chairperson James Selfe said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0648\u0631\u062f\u067e\u0631\u0633<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Criminal Court on Thursday rebuked South Africa for not arresting Sudan\u2019s president on a genocide warrant when he visited Johannesburg in 2015 but declined to refer Pretoria to the United Nations for possible censure over the lapse. 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