Africa-Press – South-Africa. Hours after the gazetting of diplomatic immunity for BRICS attendees, international relations officials have clarified that the decision did not override existing arrest warrants issued by international tribunals, including the International Criminal Court (ICC).
This is as South Africa is under pressure to pronounce on the fate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is set to attend the summit in August despite the arrest warrant issued against him by the ICC.
On Tuesday, in a press statement, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) stated that issuing diplomatic immunities and privileges was standard procedure when hosting international summits and conferences in the country.
The statement read: “This is a standard conferment of immunities that we do for all international conferences and summits held in South Africa irrespective of the level of participation.”
It further stated, “The immunities are for the conference and not for specific individuals. They are meant to protect the conference and its attendees from the jurisdiction of the host country for the duration of the conference.”
The comments from the department come after the DA decided to pursue legal action on Monday to pressure the South African government into arresting Putin.
In an application filed on Monday at the High Court, party leader John Steenhuisen sought a declaration holding South Africa legally obligated as a signatory of the Rome Statute to comply with the warrant.
News24 earlier reported that DIRCO spokesperson Clayson Monyela emphasised that the department’s gazetting of the immunity notice was not linked to Putin but was a “normal routine”.
He added that this decision was implemented before the upcoming BRICS foreign ministers meeting on 1 June in Cape Town.
In a tweet on Tuesday morning, Monyela further said the decision was not unique nor foreign to South Africa, adding that “all countries issue similar immunities” and gave previous examples of when the country gazetted exemptions.
The tweet read: “All countries issue similar immunities. We did this previously when hosting the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17), and African Union (AU) Summits. The exemptions DO NOT override any warrant issued by any international tribunal (like the ICC) against any attendee.”
To avoid arresting Putin and violating the country’s legal obligations to the ICC, an inter-ministerial task team chaired by Deputy President Paul Mashatile was set up in May.
The committee is set to address the legal implications of Putin attending the summit and find possible loopholes.
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