S.Africa grants diplomatic immunity to attendees of BRICS conferences.

Johannesburg, May 31

South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation said that it would provide diplomatic immunity to all attendees of the two BRICS meetings.

BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, reports Xinhua news agency.

South Africa assumed the BRICS presidency on January 1, 2023, taking over from China.

"This is a standard conferment of immunities that we do for all international conferences and summits held in South Africa, irrespective of the level of participation. The immunities are for the conference and not for specific individuals," the Department said in a statement.

The announcement came after the department issued a notice in the government gazette Monday in terms of the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act for the upcoming BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting in Cape Town in June and the bloc's summit to be held in Johannesburg in August.

"They are meant to protect the conference and its attendees from the jurisdiction of the host country for the duration of the conference.

"These immunities do not override any warrant that may have been issued by any international tribunal against any attendee of the conference," the statement said.

--IANS