Russian President Vladimir Putin will be attending a BRICS summit in South Africa, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Ahead of the summit, the South African government has granted diplomatic immunity to all participating officials, including Putin. This is important due to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The global court issued a warrant against Putin in March, marking the first such warrant for a leader among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. However, as South Africa is a member of the ICC, there is a requirement to detain him if he visits.
The South African government has published a notice granting diplomatic immunity and privileges to all international officials attending BRICS-related events in the country. This includes two upcoming events related to the BRICS group: the BRICS Ministerial Meeting scheduled for June 1 and 2 in Cape Town, and the 15th BRICS Summit set to take place in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24. The latter event has generated controversy in South Africa due to the expected attendance of Putin.
Although the ICC issued the warrant in March, it lacks its own police force to enforce its orders and relies on the police forces of other countries to arrest the indicted individuals. One obstacle to Putin’s arrest is that neither Russia nor the United States is a member of the court. As long as Putin avoids visiting countries that are ICC members, he remains immune from arrest.
