South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor expressed frustration with the International Criminal Court's (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan for issuing an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin while apparently making no progress with regard to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pandor voiced her concerns during a visit to the ICC headquarters in The Hague ahead of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling ordering Israel to take urgent measures to prevent acts of genocide and ensure the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
The South African diplomat recounted her interaction with Khan and expressed disappointment at the lack of clarity regarding the investigation into Netanyahu's actions in the Palestinian enclave.
"On the ICC referral, we thought it's important, since we were in The Hague last week to meet the ICC. We met the President of the council and the prosecutor. While it’s imperative that we don’t interfere in processes of independent organs, it is vital that we alert them to our concern and the slow pace of action on matters we referred to them as urgent matters," Pandor said.
Despite Khan's assurances that the matter was under consideration, Minister Pandor underscored her dissatisfaction by emphasizing the urgency of the issue and her intention to persistently pursue a resolution. She also reiterated South Africa's determination to continue to seek answers on the progress of the investigation.
"The prosecutor assured us that this matter is in hand and being looked at by his office. He gave us an elaborate explanation as to personnel assignments and the work that the prosecutor is currently undertaking," Pandor said. "What I felt he did not answer me sufficiently on was, I asked him, ‘why was he able to issue an arrest warrant for Mr Putin and is unable to do so for the Prime Minister of Israel’. He could not answer and did not answer that question."
In March 2023, the Hague-based ICC, issued an arrest warrant for Putin in connection with the alleged illegal transfer of children from the combat zone in Ukraine to Russia.
South Africa made a referral to the ICC in late 2023, asking the court to open an investigation into Israel's actions in Gaza, with the aim of issuing an international arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials.
It's also noteworthy that ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has been making statements about investigating the Gaza issue for the past three years, underscoring the gravity and protracted nature of the situation in Gaza. During the ongoing Israeli operation in Gaza, Khan visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, but was unable to enter the enclave due to intense Israeli attacks.
On January 26, in response to South Africa's Gaza genocide case against Israel, the International Court of Justice issued interim measures ordering the Jewish state to take urgent measures to prevent acts of genocide and to ensure unhindered humanitarian aid to Gaza, but did not order an immediate cessation of hostilities.
These developments were followed by Algeria's initiative to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council to enforce the court's decision on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and South Africa's Justice Minister reiterating the country's readiness to take the matter to the UN General Assembly if opposition from the US, a staunch supporter of Israel, impedes the enforcement of the ICJ ruling.
Earlier on Friday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Ansari said that Israel had agreed to a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, and that the Palestinian movement Hamas had also responded positively.