France, July 24 -- Submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 15 July, the petition alleges a "pattern of widespread and systematic attacks" against migrants in South Africa and accuses President Cyril Ramaphosa's government of failing to prevent or punish those crimes.

The petition was filed by Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, a former Ghanaian government spokesperson on governance and security, and Emmanuel Kotin, a counter-terrorism and security analyst.

"For years, African brothers and sisters have been killed, beaten and driven from their homes in South Africa," they said in a press release.

South Africa has been gripped by a surge in anti-immigrant protests in recent months, accompanied in some cases by violence against forei...