Two Ghanaians have formally petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate xenophobic killings in South Africa.
They have appealed to the ICC to "commence a preliminary examination into the repeated xenophobic attacks in the Republic of South Africa that have led to the illegal killings, assaults, displacement and destruction of property belonging to civilians and foreign nationals, particularly African migrants".
The two personalities are a former Government Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Dr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, and Counter Terrorism and Security Analyst, Emmanuel Kotin.
Years
The petition said for years, African “brothers and sisters” had been killed, beaten and driven from their homes in South Africa in the name of "xenophobia".
While it commended individuals in South Africa who had condemned those acts, the pattern, scale and recurrence of the violence raised serious questions about the failure of state authorities to prevent, investigate and punish the crimes.
Under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, it said such, widespread and systematic attacks against a civilian population may constitute Crimes Against Humanity.
Call
Aside from the preliminary examination into the situation in South Africa, it said the ICC must summon and question President Cyril Ramaphosa and other senior officials to determine the extent of command responsibility.
It said the ICC must ensure accountability so that impunity did not continue to fuel further violence.
“We make this comparison with a heavy heart, but with historical clarity.
Africa has seen this before.
Leaders such Charles Taylor of Liberia was held accountable when state power failed to protect human life.
We cannot allow the killing of Africans by Africans to be normalised,” the petition, said.
Position
This petition, it said, was not an attack on the people of South Africa and that the country remained a sister nation and a leader on the continent.
It said the call was for justice, the protection of human dignity, and for Africa to live up to the spirit of Ubuntu (I am because we are).
“We are Africans.
The blood of a Nigerian, Ghanaian, Zimbabwean, Mozambican, or Malawian killed in Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape is the blood of all of us.”
“We urge the African Union, ECOWAS, and all human rights institutions to support this process and to speak up against xenophobia in all its forms.
We stand ready to cooperate fully with the Office of the Prosecutor and to provide further evidence,” it emphasised.
