Cape Town — Minister Naledi Pando is reportedly set to meet with Parliament’s international relations and co-operation portfolio committee in the next two weeks to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin’s planned visit to South Africa.
This comes after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin on March 18, accusing him of committing war crimes regarding the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.
According to SABC, Human Rights Attorney Richard Spoor said the ICC arrest warrant for Putin has put South Africa in a precarious position.
“A constitutional crisis is threatening; I cannot see the government arresting Vladimir Putin. But what I do anticipate is that people could approach the courts and the fact that we are signatories means that it would be possible to compel the courts and ask for an order to compel the government to issue a warrant for his arrest and that is going to put the courts and the government in a fundamentally contradictory position.
“The only way out is to withdraw from the ICC in order to avoid this crisis,” the report quoted Spoor as saying.
South Africa is hosting this year’s Brics summit in August, which is expected to be attended by all heads of state in the organisation, including Russia.
Committee chairperson Supra Mahumapelo said he had spoken to Pandor about the possibility of Putin being arrested in the country, EWN reported.
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“I spoke to the minister a day before yesterday about this new development of a possibility of President Putin being arrested when he comes to attend BRICS where South Africa will be the host later during the year. The minister has agreed to meet with us, we are just synchronising the diaries,” the report quoted Mahumapelo as saying.
South Africa is a signatory of the Rome Statute and, therefore, has the responsibility to execute an ICC arrest warrant, if the person against whom it is issued sets foot in South Africa, the report said.
In 2015, following the controversy over former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who the government allowed to leave South Africa without being detained under International Crimes Court law, the SA government applied to withdraw from the ICC.
However, in 2017 the country revoked its withdrawal after a High Court ruling found that the move was unconstitutional.
Mahumapelo said that any concerns about a repeat of 2015 are matters to be addressed by the department.
“Remember, as a portfolio committee we only do oversight on what has been done. So, if there are any concerns which must be raised or may emerge, Dirco are the ones that must be responsible,” he said.
Last week, reports said that South Africa is seeking legal advice on how to handle the arrest warrant for Putin.
“We are awaiting a refreshed legal opinion on the matter,” International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor told the SABC on Friday, according to Bloomberg.
“We are concerned about the situation of the people of Ukraine. What we would want to do is be in a position where we could continue to engage with both countries to persuade them towards peace,” Pandor said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
