THE South African Communist Party (SACP) denounced the “imperialist bias” of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the weekend after it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

In a statement, the SACP said that the The Hague-based court had “proven itself to be a supranational institution at the service of imperialist states under their hegemony.”

Africa’s oldest communist party said the behaviour of the ICC “clearly shows why other states have not even bothered” to sign up to the  treaty establishing the court and why others are considering withdrawal.

The SACP said: “March 2023 marks 20 years since the imperialist United States, as usual automatically supported by former colonial powers from Europe, invaded Iraq.

Using a “big and costly lie of the decade,” the US-led imperialist forces spread propaganda that Iraq had developed and stockpiled weapons of mass destruction.

The SACP noted that, 20 years later,“the ICC has not issued a single warrant of arrest for or prosecuted any United States or European president, prime minister or monarch as head of state.”

The party called on the worldwide anti-imperialist movement to strengthen and intensify the struggle against imperialism, including the unjust role played by the ICC.