ICC withdrawal marks a sad day for human rights - SALC
21 October 2016
Cape Town - The South African Litigation Centre (SALC) says it is disappointed by the government's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Justice Minister Michael Masutha said on Friday the government decided to remove itself as a signatory of the Rome Statute because there was a conflict between its obligations to the African Union to grant its heads of state immunity.
The SALC brought the original application to the High Court in June 2015 to enforce an ICC arrest warrant on Sudan President Omar al-Bashir when he was in Johannesburg for an AU summit. The court granted the order but was subsequently ignored by government and al-Bashir was allowed to leave the country.
SALC advocate Angela Mudukuti told News24 on Friday that the centre is now reviewing all its legal options following the announcement.