South Africa vows to support deferring Bashir’s ICC warrant at UNSC

October 12, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – South Africa will support any initiative in the UN Security Council (UNSC) that seeks to freeze the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, its top diplomat said today.

On Tuesday India, South Africa, Germany, Portugal and Colombia won non-permanent seats on the UNSC to replace Japan, Austria, Turkey, Mexico and Uganda .

The South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane noted that “the majority of issues that go to the agenda before the Security Council are about the challenges of peace and security in Africa”.

Nkoana-Mashabane said South Africa would “synchronize” its agenda with the African Union (AU) and the Security Council. In that context she pledged that her country would support initiatives such as deferring charges against the Sudanese leader.

South Africa was last a UNSC member during 2007 & 2008 and has generally been supportive of Khartoum’s positions within the council.

The AU has relentlessly demanded a freeze to the warrant under Article (16) of the Rome Statute which is the ICC’s founding text. However, veto-wielding countries from Western countries threatened to use its veto power against any such proposal. The pan-African body in response instructed its member states including those signatories not to cooperate in apprehending Bashir.

Chad and Kenya, both full ICC members, allowed Bashir to visit their territories without any trouble and justified it by the AU resolutions. However, other African countries such as South Africa, Uganda and Botswana said they will not abide by the AU decision.

(ST)