SUGGESTED LEAD:
A petition with the International Criminal Court requesting a probe into the deaths of foreign nationals in South Africa has been filed by The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project in Nigeria.
The petition has been received by the Hague but this will be a difficult call for the ICC as analysts say the Court is likely to refer the complaint to the South African courts.
South Africa recently had to deal with an outbreak of Xenophobia during which seven people lost their lives and many others were displaced.
Jack Parrock reports.
IN: The alleged
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REPORTER VO:
The alleged crimes committed across South Africa during the xenophobic attacks are ones the International Criminal Court could investigate under it's jurisdiction - due to the number of deaths and the motives for the violence.
The Nigerian human rights group, SERAP, has requested the ICC probe the allegations against Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini.
He made a speech which is alleged to have sparked the violence.
The King has since denied that he called for the killing of foreign nationals.
Experts say this case is unlikely to make its way to the ICC in The Hague however.
BITE: Niccolo Figa'-Talamanca - No Peace Without Justice
"The court can only work when crimes are committed in a country that is either an accomplice to the crimes or where the judiciary and the police investigation system has collapsed, or otherwise has demonstrated itself unable or unwilling to prosecute the crimes."
REPORTER VO:
The Office of the ICC Prosecutor has confirmed receiving such a complaint but says the reply to the SERAP petition was a standard response they send to the 10 thousand requests they receive of this nature per year.
BITE: Liz Evenson - Human Rights Watch
"There are lots of different way that the ICC can become seized of a case. And one way in fact is for individuals, NGOs, others, to submit information to the office of the prosecutor to consider. So then it's up to the office to make an independent decision about that information but it is indeed possible for NGOs to submit a petition."
REPORTER VO:
The fact that President Zuma's launched a full scale investigation into the attacks will calm international concerns.
Pretoria has also set up an inter-ministerial task team that will continue to address the impact of the xenophobic attacks.
Although the case of the Xenophobic attacks is unlikely to be taken up by the International Criminal Court, the development that groups in countries like Nigeria are turning to the ICC to step in in such cases, will only serve to solidify the court's place as a necessary international institution for justice.