Johannesburg - The Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) issued a notice in the government gazette on diplomatic immunity and privileges for the upcoming BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in Cape Town and the BRICS Summit to be held in Johannesburg in August.
According to the department, this is a standard conferment of immunities that we do for all international conferences and summits held in South Africa, irrespective of the level of participation.
"The immunities are for the conference and not for specific individuals. They are meant to protect the conference and its attendees from the jurisdiction of the host country for the duration of the conference. These immunities do not override any warrant that may have been issued by any international tribunal against any attendee of the conference," said the department.
Minister Naledi Pandor will host the Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations on June 1, 2023, in Cape Town. The mid-term meeting provides an opportunity for BRICS foreign ministers to reflect on regional and global developments.
According to the department, Pandor, the chairperson of the BRICS Ministerial Meeting, will continue with the policy of inclusive engagement by inviting 15 foreign ministers from Africa and the global south to a "Friends of BRICS" meeting to be held on June 2, 2023.
Meanwhile, the DA has launched a court application in the Gauteng High Court requesting a declaratory order to the effect that if President Vladimir Putin arrives in South Africa to attend the BRICS Summit and upon receipt of a request from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Putin, the South African government must immediately detain and surrender Putin to the ICC.
The DA said that Putin was accused by the ICC of being responsible for the war crimes of unlawful deportation of children and the unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation under Articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute.
"The DA’s court application outlines the precise steps to be taken should a request for President Putin’s arrest and surrender be forthcoming from the ICC. These steps include that the director-general of Justice and Constitutional Development must immediately forward the request to a magistrate in terms of Section 8(2) of the Implementation Act."
"Subsequently, any warrant of arrest endorsed by a magistrate must be given effect by the government, following which President Putin must be detained and surrendered to the ICC," read a party statement.
The Star