CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (TEH) – In a recent hearing at the Supreme Court of Gauteng, Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa, contended that if Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the upcoming BRICS summit and is arrested pursuant to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) order, it could instigate a perilous conflict with Russia. This information was reported by News24.
The case at the Supreme Court was premised on a petition from South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA). The opposition party urged that should Putin attend the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit, the South African government has a moral and legal obligation to enforce the arrest and subsequently extradite him to the ICC.
The 15th BRICS summit, scheduled for 22nd to 24th August 2023 in Johannesburg, is currently being overshadowed by this escalating controversy.
The DA’s stance recalls the 2015 decision by the Supreme Court of Appeals, which deemed the South African government’s refusal to arrest Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir during the African Union summit as unlawful. The ICC had previously issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir on allegations of war crimes perpetrated throughout his 26-year rule. His reign came to a turbulent end with a military coup in 2019.
In a sworn statement, President Ramaphosa argued that arresting Putin, should he attend the BRICS summit, would amount to “a reckless, unconstitutional and illegal exercise of the powers vested in the government,” potentially leading to a declaration of war with Russia. He emphasized that such a course of action is unacceptable due to the inherent risks it poses.
As the South African leader, Ramaphosa underscored his constitutional duty to uphold national sovereignty, peace, and security. “I have a constitutional obligation to protect the national sovereignty, peace and security of the Republic and to respect, protect, develop and realize the right to life and security of the people of the Republic,” he stated.
Ramaphosa deemed the call for Putin’s arrest as “inadequate,” arguing that the South African government is “not mentioned as a party in the arrest request,” hence, no charges could be leveled against it.
Seeking to maintain diplomatic discretion, Ramaphosa initially requested the court to keep his statement confidential to “keep confidential the interaction with the International Criminal Court regarding the arrest warrant of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”
The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Lvova-Belova in March 2023, accusing them of “harming Ukrainian children (as a result) of the illegal deportation of people from the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.” The Kremlin, however, dismissed the ICC’s jurisdiction, asserting that Russia, since 2016, has not been a party to the Rome Statute which established the court.
The South African President cited a clause from the Rome Statute emphasizing the necessity of maintaining confidentiality for any cooperation request and supporting documents, “except where disclosure of information is necessary to fulfill the request.”
Nevertheless, the Supreme Court ruled that the South African government’s reaction to the possibility of Putin’s arrest must be made public. In response, Ramaphosa clarified that he did not oppose the publication of his statement, but merely sought to uphold the ICC’s directive of confidentiality.
Earlier, Ramaphosa requested Russia to delegate Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as the head of the delegation in Putin’s stead, but the request was declined. Reports also suggest that South African officials previously requested Putin to attend the summit remotely, which was also rebuffed. Ramaphosa confirmed on July 14 that all heads of state of the association will physically attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg this August.
