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South Africa: IBA Urges Authorities to Act on Zimbabwe Dossier
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International Bar Association (London)
PRESS RELEASE
26 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute has written to the National Director of Public Prosecutions in South Africa, Mr Vusi Pikoli, to urge the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to act on evidence of serious international crimes alleged to have been perpetrated by Zimbabwean officials.
A dossier of evidence of serious breaches of international law by Zimbabwean officials was submitted by the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) to the NPA. The SALC petitioned the NPA to investigate the allegations in accordance with South Africa’s obligations under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC Rome Statute allows for the investigation and prosecution of foreign individuals suspected of having committed crimes against humanity, even when those crimes have been committed in other jurisdictions.
Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the International Bar Association, stated, ‘We urge the NPA to give the submission by the Southern African Litigation Centre serious consideration and to take this opportunity to hold alleged perpetrators of serious human rights violations to account in accordance with the ICC Rome Statute. He added, ‘We are concerned that without the assistance of the NPA to bring perpetrators of these serious international crimes to justice, the Zimbabwean officials implicated will evade accountability and could also use South Africa as a ‘safe haven’.’
The Southern African Litigation Centre was established by the IBA in partnership with the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa. It was designed to promote the effective implementation of human rights in the region, with a focus on three principal areas: support for human rights cases; advice on constitutional advocacy in the Southern African region; and training in human rights and rule of law issues.
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