Arabic version: جنوب أفريقيا ترفض التماساً غانياً إلى المحكمة الجنائية الدولية

According to BBC News, South Africa has dismissed as “opportunistic” a petition submitted to the International Criminal Court by two Ghanaians seeking an investigation into attacks on foreigners. The petition was filed at the Hague-based court last week and argues that the violence could amount to crimes against humanity.

The petition was filed by Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, a former Ghanaian government spokesperson on governance and security, and Emmanuel Kotin, a counter-terrorism and security analyst. They allege a “pattern of widespread and systematic attacks” against migrants and say the scale and recurrence of violence raise questions over whether state authorities have failed to prevent, investigate and punish crimes.

South Africa’s foreign ministry said the petition did not meet the ICC’s legal threshold and maintained that the country’s own legal system could deal with such cases. It said South Africa remained committed to the rule of law and would ensure that people responsible for violence or unlawful acts were held accountable. The ICC has not publicly commented on whether it will consider the petition.

Tensions between Ghana and South Africa have grown after the latest anti-migrant protests. Ghana said one of its citizens was killed in related violence, a claim South African authorities have denied. Ghana was among the first African countries to repatriate citizens, while Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda have also organised transport for nationals returning home.

Anti-migrant groups set 30 June as a deadline for undocumented migrants to leave. The South African government said more than 53,000 foreign nationals had recently been deported or voluntarily repatriated, while an AFP tally based on migrants’ home governments put the number who left over two months at more than 160,000. Ecowas leaders have condemned reported attacks and called for swift action to protect foreign nationals.