President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated that the West has threatened African countries with sanctions if they refuse to take sides in the conflict in Ukraine.
He said South Africa was one of those countries that have been threatened by the West.
Ramaphosa was in Ukraine and Russia last month on a peace mission with six other heads of state and government from Africa.
The African leaders said the continent was affected by the war because of the increase in food and fuel prices.
Ramaphosa, who was replying to a written parliamentary question from DA MP Dean Macpherson, said he stands by his comments in May that many countries in Africa were threatened with sanctions for not taking sides in the conflict.
“The pressure that has been placed on South Africa and other African countries to adopt a particular position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict takes different forms.
“Some of these are direct in nature, such as the Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act, which was introduced in the United States Congress in March 2022.
“Pressure is also applied through other means, some of which are informal, unofficial and indirect. It is in the nature of the conduct of international relations that these matters be attended to through diplomatic engagement,” said Ramaphosa.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said also there was no decision yet to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.
Lamola, who was replying to a written parliamentary question from EFF MP Vuyani Pambo, said a decision was taken to withdraw the bill in parliament in 2016, but the court overturned it.
There was a huge political storm in 2015 when South Africa refused to arrest then president of Sudan Omar al-Bashir who was wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes.
Lamola said the North Gauteng High Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for South Africa to unilaterally withdraw from the ICC. This had to be done after a parliamentary process.
“There is currently no intention to introduce a Bill with the aim of withdrawing the Republic’s participation in and membership of the ICC,” said Lamola.
“The International Crimes Bill, introduced in Parliament in 2017, whose purpose was to withdraw South Africa from the ICC by repealing the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act 27 of 2002, has been withdrawn from Parliament,” he said..
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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