South African Presidential Office Denies Statement On Possible Withdrawal From ICC

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th April, 2023) The South African presidential office has provided clarifications on President Cyril Ramaphosa's statement regarding the country's possible withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and said that the nation will remain in the institution.

On Tuesday, Ramaphosa said the South African authorities would proceed to consider the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party's decision that the country should withdraw from the ICC in view of the upcoming BRICS summit. The event will be attended Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom the ICC has issued arrest warrant.

"This clarification follows an error in a comment made during a media briefing held by the governing African National Congress (ANC) on South Africa's status with regard to the ICC ... South Africa remains a signatory to the ICC in line with a resolution of the 55th National Conference of the ANC - held in December 2022 - to rescind an earlier decision to withdraw from the ICC," the statement read.

The South African presidential office added that the country would continue "to campaign for equal and consistent application of international law.

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In March, the Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin, as well as Russia's commissioner for children's rights, citing the alleged unlawful transfer of children out of the combat zone in Ukraine. The Kremlin said Russia is not party to the ICC and the court's decision is legally null and void for the country.

In April, senior ANC lawmaker Obed Bapela told Sputnik that South Africa had made the decision to withdraw from the court and would try to update domestic laws accordingly by August, when the country will host a summit of BRICS leaders.

BRICS unites the world's largest developing economies � Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. A number of other countries intend to join the economic bloc, including Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. South Africa, which assumed the rotating BRICS presidency in January, is hosting the 15th BRICS summit in August.