By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) gazetted a declaration on Monday (29 May), recognising two BRICS meetings will be covered by diplomatic immunity in terms of the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act.
The first is the BRICS Ministerial Meeting to be held in Cape Town on 1 and 2 June 2023, and the second is the 15th BRICS Summit to be held in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August 2023. The latter event is expected to be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It is hereby published for general information that the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, in terms of section 6(2) of the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act 2001, has recognised (the meetings),” the department said.
“In accordance with section 6(1)(a) of the said Act, the immunities and privileges to be accorded to the participants of (the meetings) are those provided for in the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and the 1947 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of Specialised Agencies, as may be applicable and for their effective participation in the Ministerial Meeting and the Summit.”
While the United Nations Conventions apply the representatives and missions from the UN, South Africa’s Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act allows the department to extend the same privileges to specialised agencies and representatives of any state being hosted in international conventions within the republic.
Notably, the immunities and privileges granted in terms of the United Nations Convention grant immunity from personal arrest or detention.
According to the UN document: “Representatives of Members to the principal and subsidiary organs of the United Nations and to conferences convened by the United Nations, shall, while exercising their functions and during the journey to and from the place of meeting, enjoy the following privileges and Immunities: (a) Immunity from personal arrest or detention and from seizure of their personal baggage, and, in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in their capacity as representatives, immunity from legal process of every kind;
Putin’s planned presence at the conference has put South Africa in a tight spot, as the Russian president has a warrant out for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes related to the invasion of Ukraine.
As it stands, the country remains a signatory to the Rome Statutes and the ICC, and is therefore obligated to act on the court’s arrest warrants.