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South Africa guarantees immunity for participants in June meeting, August BRICS summit

The BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting to be held on June 1-2 and the BRICS summit to be held from August 22-24

© REUTERS/Wu Hong/Pool

PRETORIA, May 30. /TASS/. South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation has guaranteed diplomatic immunity to participants in the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting to be held in Cape Town on June 1-2 and the BRICS summit to be held in Johannesburg from August 22-24, according to a document published on the South African government website.

"On 29 May 2023, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation issued a notice in the government gazette on Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges for the upcoming BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting in Cape Town and BRICS Summit to be held in Johannesburg in August. 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 document said.

The South African authorities justified their decision by the provisions of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and the 1947 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies, adopted by a resolution of the UN General Assembly.

On May 26, a source told TASS that Russia did not intend to withdraw from the BRICS summit.

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