United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has spoken to President Jacob Zuma telephonically, urging him to reconsider South Africa’s plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.
South Africa and Burundi have officially notified the UN of their intent to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty establishing The Hague-based court. The withdrawals will take effect in October 2017.
Last week, Gambia said it also planned to withdraw from the court but it has not yet notified the UN.
South Africa’s decision to withdraw from ICC is receiving mixed reactions. South Africa and the ICC are at loggerheads following the government’s failure to arrest Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir who was attending an African Union summit in Johannesburg in 2015.
The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa.
[Source: SABC]
