The African National Congress (ANC), which governs South Africa, has urged the country to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). This move comes after South Africa received criticism for its perceived alignment with Moscow since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed the ANC’s stance on Tuesday.
The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, recently issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The warrant accuses Putin of committing war crimes by forcibly “deporting” Ukrainian children.
In August, Pretoria is scheduled to hold a summit of the BRICS, a coalition made up of South Africa, Brazil, China, India, and Russia. As a participant in the International Criminal Court (ICC), South Africa is obligated to detain the Russian president if he sets foot on its soil.
President Ramaphosa confirmed that the ANC’s call for South Africa to exit the ICC was primarily driven by concerns over the court’s perceived bias against certain nations.
South Africa had previously sought to withdraw from the ICC in 2016 after a visit by former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Pretoria had refused to arrest the latter, who was also the subject of an arrest warrant from the court.
But Pretoria’s withdrawal was hindered by the country’s judiciary, which ruled that such a decision would be unconstitutional.