South Africa Withdraws From ICC

South Africa Withdraws From ICC

South Africa withdraws – South Africa on Friday announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, the institution that has been set up to have a trial on the world’s worst crimes.

According to a report by GMA News, the said decision of the South Africa was after a dispute that happened on 2015 when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the Philippines for an African Union Summit. Al-Bashir was facing an ICC warrant of arrest for alleged crimes.

The ICC was often alleged of running after African leaders and has been said to be struggling with lack of cooperation, even with the United States.

According to the Human Rights Watch, the withdrawal of South Africa seemed to be a “disregard from a country long seen as global leader” on different accounts of worst crimes.

“It’s important both for South Africa and the region that this runaway train be slowed down and South Africa’s hard-won legacy of standing with victims of mass atrocities be restored,” it said as quoted in the report.

After failing to sign an ICC signatory to arrest al-Bashir, the country has received lots of condemnation. Moreover, it was met with a threat from the government to withdraw from the said court.

The report added that the al-Bashir has already evaded arrest since 2009 for accusations of war crimes in Darfur in Sudan which took the lives of about 300,000 and two million have been forced to flee their homes.

Also, there are several African governments who say that the ICC has shown a “post-colonial bias” against the said leaders in the recent years.

South Africa has already delivered a formal letter to the United Nations on Wednesday its withdrawal from the international court which process will be complete in a year.

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