South
Africa threatened Tuesday to withdraw from the International Criminal Court
after an outcry over the government’s refusal to detain Sudanese President Omar
al-Bashir on genocide charges. Bashir flew out of Pretoria last week
after attending a meeting of the African Union despite a court order that
barred his departure, sparking international criticism of President Jacob
Zuma’s government.
In a
heated parliamentary debate, the lead speaker for Zuma’s ruling African
National Congress said South Africa would press for reforms of the ICC,
accusing it of losing credibility because countries such as the United States
had failed to place themselves under the control of the organization.
In
parliament, the ANC made its case clear, claiming that because Bashir was
attending a meeting of the AU he was entitled to immunity, in the same way
heads of state received immunity from arrest in the United States when they
attended the United Nations general assembly
No comments:
Post a Comment