South Africa's Foreign Ministry guarantees diplomatic immunity to BRICS summit participants, but this will not affect Putin's status

South Africa has announced that it has granted immunity to participants in the BRICS meetings. This is a standard procedure, and it will not affect the status of Putin, who is subject to an arrest warrant.

This is evidenced by a statement from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

On 19 May, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation issued a notice extending diplomatic immunities to participants in the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa summit. The summit will be held in August in Johannesburg, South Africa. Vladimir Putin will receive an invitation to this summit as the head of a BRICS member state.

In February 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of illegal deportation and transfer of people, including children, from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia.

This means that countries that have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are obliged to arrest Putin. To do so, he must be under their jurisdiction. South Africa has ratified the statute.

The decree of May 19 was published in the South African State Gazette on May 29. Its publication triggered discussions about how the granting of immunity would affect Putin's status.

On May 30, the Department clarified that this was a standard procedure. "These immunities do not supersede any order of an international tribunal against any of the participants in the conference," the Department said.