Putin's ICC arrest warrant: Will South Africa arrest Russian leader?
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with Russian President Vladimir Putin
An arrest warrant was issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week for the alleged war crime of unlawfully deporting children from areas of Ukraine under Russian control to the other parts of Russian Federation.
While Moscow has denounced the ICC arrest warrant issued against Putin, countries supporting Ukrainehave supported it. Amid the evolving geopolitical landscape surrounding the war in Ukraine, spotlight is on South Africa if it will follow International Criminal Court's mandate or not.
Putin ICC arrest warrant: South Africa and International Criminal Court's mandate
South Africa is one of 123 signatories to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court. This means that these 123 countries hold the mandate to arrest the Russian leader if he sets foot in any of these member countries.
Later this year in August, South Africa is due to host BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in Durban. It remains unclear if the Vladimir Putin will turn up for the summit in-person. In case he does, President Cyril Ramaphosa's government will be facing a tough geopolitical dilemma.
Meanwhile, the leader of South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters political party, Julius Malena, has already said that Putin would be "welcome" in South Africa.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has remained silent so far.
Putin's ICC arrest warrant: Is there a precedent?
In 2015, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir turned up in South Africa for a meeting of the African Union. He, like Putin now, was under an ICC arrest warrant. However, the South African government issued immunity to all delegates who were attending.
This was challenged in court, then appealed and by the time the courts had finished arguing, al-Bashir had caught his plane home.
ICC's Putin warrant: Questions raised on 'double standards'
Among the most vocal critics of the ICC's arrest warrant has been China.
Beijing appealed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this week to avoid what it termed as "double standards" and respect the immunity of heads of state.
ALSO READ -China calls ICC to avoid 'double standards' after Putin's arrest warrant
At the same time, not only is Russia not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court in 1998, neither is Ukraine.
ALSO WATCH -ICC judges issue arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes
It remains unclear, that despite not being a signatory to the relevant convention, how the ICC has been given the authority by Kyiv to act against the alleged war crimes on the Ukrainian land under Russian control after Moscow began its offensive last year.
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