African Union to push for deferral of Ruto ICC case through UN General Assembly

African Union chairman Robert Mugabe speaks at the UN headquarters in New York on September 25, 2015. AFP PHOTO | TIMOTHY A CLARY

What you need to know:

  • The committee met in New York to discuss and seek the way forward on relations with the ICC, which is accused of targeting leaders from the continent.
  • The 13-member committee also resolved to use the floor of the UN General Assembly to push for the deferral of the case facing Sudan President Omar al-Bashir.
  • The committee agreed to speed up the establishment of the African Court of Justice on Human and Peoples’ Rights to try the cases that are at The Hague.

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

African Union chairman Robert Mugabe is on Monday expected to push for the inclusion of the drive to defer the case facing Deputy President William Ruto at the International Criminal Court on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly.

Mr Mugabe will be acting on the recommendations of a committee of the AU that met Sunday at its offices in New York to discuss and seek a way forward on relations with the ICC, which is accused of targeting leaders from the continent.

The 13-member committee, chaired by Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also resolved to use the floor of the UN General Assembly to push for the deferral of the case facing Sudan President Omar al-Bashir.

The three-hour meeting, which was attended by Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, members of the National Assembly Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations, and Solicitor-General Njee Muturi was critical of the way the ICC judges have been making rulings and the manner in which Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has been conducting her case.

REQUEST FOR DEFERRAL

“The chairperson of the African Union and President of Republic of Zimbabwe should request the United Nations Security Council to inscribe on its agenda, the request for the deferral of the proceedings against President Omar Hassan Bashir of The Sudan and Deputy President William Ruto of Kenya,” they said in recommendations.

The committee, established during the last AU meeting in June in Johannesburg, South Africa, agreed to work as the African team to lobby members of the UN Security Council on the need to suspend the cases facing Mr Ruto and President al-Bashir until the next meeting of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute is held in November 2015.

“The Committee will engage with Members of United Nations Security Council and particularly the Permanent Members on the deferral requests as well as other concerns of the African Union on its relationship with the International Criminal Court,” they said.

In one of the far-reaching recommendations, the committee agreed to speed up the establishment of the African Court of Justice on Human and Peoples’ Rights to try the cases that are at The Hague and review its relations with the ICC with a view to pulling out.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Burundi, Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Sudan, South Sudan and Senegal.

Burundi and Senegal were elected as vice-chairmen.

TRIAL CHAMBER RULING

The decision to converge at the seat of the UN was triggered by the Trial Chamber judges’ ruling four weeks ago that allowed Ms Bensouda to use recanted testimonies from hostile witnesses under Rule 68.

Tetu MP Ndung’u Gethenji, who chairs the Committee on Defence, said the meeting agreed that the ICC judges were using Rule 68 contrary to the way it was formulated in 2013.

“The meeting was shocked at the manner in which the ICC has been applying Rule 68.

“They want Rule 68 to be reviewed and the rule of law applied because it is being applied retroactively,” he said after the meeting.

National Assembly Majority Whip Katoo ole Metito said the 34 African countries who are members of the ASP were working together to ensure that the court respects international justice.

“These were consultations of African states because it is clear that there are two sets of rules one for the African countries and the second for the rest of the world,” he said.

LOBBIED UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS

Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen said he and his colleagues had lobbied members of the UN Security Council to ensure that Kenya and Sudan were heard at the meeting.

“We are here to explain to the people what is going on with the cases.

“Someone had been tasked to ensure the matters gets to the floor of the UN General Assembly so that the rule of law can be followed,” Mr Murkomen said.

Pokot South MP David Pkosing said the AU had agreed that they would no longer get divided as the ICC targeted its leaders.

“It is not going to be business as usual,” he said.

Narok County Woman Representative Soipan Tuya said the AU had resolved to speed up the implementation of the African Court of Justice to try cases of crimes against humanity on the continent’s soil.

“The African Union has gone back to the drawing board and talks are ongoing on how to expedite the operationalization of the African Court of Justice,” she said.

However, there were fears that some countries from Africa such as Tanzania and Francophone members from West Africa could oppose the bid to withdraw from the ICC and bring into force the African Court of Justice.