海角大神

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir landed in Khartoum聽Monday聽evening after a dramatic two-day visit to Johannesburg, where he came closer than ever before to facing charges of crimes against humanity聽brought against him by the International Criminal Court.聽

For more than six years, President Bashir has聽聽the ICC's warrants for his arrest, becoming the most glaring example of the court's failure to compel states to comply with its rulings.聽

When Mr. Bashir鈥檚 plane touched down here Saturday聽night for an African Union summit, it seemed the jig was finally up. One of Africa鈥檚 most wanted criminals had walked straight into one of the continent鈥檚 most muscular democracies, and within hours of his arrival, a judge had barred him from leaving the country until the courts could decide if聽South African was obliged to arrest him under international law.聽

On Monday聽morning, however, Bashir boarded his jet at a military air base and flew home to Khartoum, defying the judge's ruling. His flight has raised questions over聽South African's complicity and put another dent in international efforts to hold the Sudanese ruler to account聽for his聽involvement in聽the 300,000 people killed in Darfur鈥檚 ethnic genocide. And it marks another聽blow to the ICC鈥檚 credibility on the continent, where it has repeatedly struggled to convince African leaders to turn over their own for prosecution.聽

鈥淭he ICC is wounded, it鈥檚 really wounded,鈥� says Gilbert Khadiagala, head of the international relations department at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. 鈥淏etween the ICC withdrawing from prosecution of [Kenyan President] Uhuru Kenyatta and now South Africa letting Bashir go instead of carrying out its international obligation to send him to the ICC, it鈥檚 clear that the court鈥檚 legitimacy is on a serious downward slope in Africa.鈥�

Africa bias

Since the ICC began its work in 2002, it has opened nine cases in eight countries 鈥� all of them in Africa 鈥� raising the聽hackles聽of African leaders who argue its policing of war crimes is聽biased.聽

"This world is divided into categories,鈥� said Rwandan President Paul Kagame in 2013. 鈥淭here are people who have the power to use international justice or international law to judge others and it does not apply to them.鈥澛�

In 2013, the AU passed a resolution that no sitting African head of state should be tried before the ICC 鈥� a direct jab at the court鈥檚聽聽of Kenya鈥檚 president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto on charges of instigating violence in aftermath of the country鈥檚 2007 election. The following year, the ICC officially withdrew its charges against Mr. Kenyatta.聽

But if the continent has largely rejected the mandate of the court, South Africa's position is more ambiguous, says聽Azwimphelele Langalanga, a researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs who studies South African foreign policy.聽A signatory to the Rome Statutes that created the ICC, the country has pledged to arrest any fugitive聽within its聽borders. Yet the diplomatic fallout of聽arresting an African president during a continental summit seems to have trumped this commitment.聽

鈥淪outh Africa generally suffers from a crisis of legitimacy in Africa 鈥� it wants to play a leadership role but it鈥檚 not always seen as deserving,鈥� Mr. Langalanga says. 鈥淚f it had gone ahead and arrested Bashir, it would have further isolated Pretoria from the continent.鈥澛�

A divided South Africa

South Africa鈥檚 decision to let Bashir leave also exposed rifts between the country鈥檚 executive and its courts. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) had promised diplomatic immunity to any heads of state traveling to its summit, and its national executive said in a statement聽Sunday that聽African countries 鈥渃ontinue to unjustifiably bear the brunt of the decisions of the I.C.C., with Sudan being the latest example.鈥澛�

And although the ANC has yet to make an official comment on Bashir鈥檚 departure, any plane taking off from a military air base could have done so only with clearance from the executive, Langalanga says, particularly since a court order had sealed all borders to Bashir until his case could be settled. 聽聽

鈥淚n a way it鈥檚 actually heartening because [the court challenge] shows how willing civil society in this country is to really push the envelope and be aggressive in its pursuit of justice,鈥� Mr. Khadiagala says, referring to a civil-rights group that petitioned the court to arrest Bashir.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 also a statement about how independent the courts here are 聽鈥� government knew it was likely that they would rule in favor of Bashir鈥檚 arrest, and so they had to circumvent that.鈥�

The Pretoria High Court was in recess midday聽Monday聽when the news trickled out that 鈥淪udan 1鈥� had taken off from Waterkloof Air Force base. A few minutes later, the court resumed proceedings on the legality of arresting Bashir. But its work 鈥� like much of the ICC鈥檚 鈥� felt suddenly and profoundly distant.