Pretoria - South Africa has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) member states to interrogate whether it is still reflective of the principles and values which guided its creation.
“Has this court become the universally accepted institution for justice as initially hoped for when we established it? Or has the fact that some permanent members of the Security Council remain outside the court with the ability to protect themselves and their allies from the reach of the court endangered the ideal of universality and equality before the law?” said International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on Wednesday.
She was speaking as debates among members of the ICC get underway in the Netherlands.
Minister Nkoana-Mashabane's questions come as tensions grow over the court's relationship with Africa, especially with the recent row over Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir.
The Minister said perceptions of inequality and unfairness in the practice of the ICC do not only emanate from the court's relationship with the Security Council.
“We ask ourselves, as have many, why no investigations have been opened in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine after long periods of preliminary analysis, notwithstanding clear evidence of violations.
“Is it because those investigations have the potential to implicate the ‘great powers’?”
Minister Nkoana-Mashabane said South Africa was only raising these issues because of the events of June this year.
“During the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly, for example, we questioned the decision of the former prosecutor regarding Palestine.
“In the 65th session of the General Assembly, we observed that the one-sided justice being dispensed by the ICC 'will have a negative impact on the image, credibility and integrity of the Court'. So these are issues we have been raising for some time, and it is time that the ASP [Assembly of States Parties] seriously consider them.”
Despite the criticism, Minister Nkoana-Mashabane said South Africa remains committed to human rights and the fight against impunity beyond question.
The Minister said Pretoria condemns in the strongest terms human rights violations and international crimes wherever they may occur.
“However, South Africa cannot and will not be silent in the face of serious flaws in some of the practices of the court in the interpretation of the statute. We will not join in the dangerous chorus of uncritical loyalty.” - SAnews.gov.za
