UN Security Council to meet Thursday over Kenya
PHOTO | FILE Kenya's ambassador to the UN Macharia Kamau. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) holds its first sitting Thursday in New York to discuss the African Union’s request for the deferral of Kenya cases at the ICC.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold its first sitting Thursday in New York to discuss the African Union’s request for the deferral of the International Criminal cases facing Kenya’s president and his deputy.
The meeting will be interactive and will be attended by all Council members, representatives of the African Union as well as Kenya’s Foreign Secretary, Amina Mohamed.
Speaking to the Nation by phone on Tuesday evening, Kenya’s ambassador to the United Nations, Macharia Kamau, said the meeting will set the stage for a plenary session expected to take place next week, which will only be attended by members of the Security Council.
“Thursday’s meeting is critical as it will set the parameters within which the members of the Council will evaluate Kenya’s case,” said Mr Kamau.
The envoy said that the African Union had already held meetings with the UN Secretary General and the President of the UN Security Council to brief them on why the AU delegation is in New York.
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Interestingly, the presidency of the Security Council, which is currently held by the Eastern Europe’s nation of Azerbaijan, will on Friday November 1 be taken by China.
The Council’s presidency is held on a rotational basis by each of the members for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the Member States names.
Asked whether the Kenyan government was optimistic over the outcome, Mr Kamau said he hoped the concerned parties would “see the sense in our quest to maintain peace and security in the region.”
He however added that it was entirely up to the individual members of the Council to take their own stand.
COMPLEX MATTER
“This is a complex matter which requires the diplomats to consult and brief their heads of state and government before a decision can be reached,” he said.
The Security Council has fifteen members and for Kenya to get a deferral, the UN body would have to pass a resolution which would require a minimum of nine “yes” votes.
But the greatest hurdle seems to lie in the fact that should any of the veto-holding permanent members — the US, Russia, China, Britain and France – vote against the resolution, the motion will be defeated.
Of the five veto holding members, the United States, United Kingdom and France have previously expressed their disapproval of Kenya’s request.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is the chairman of the AU’s Executive Council, is leading about half a dozen top AU officials to push for Kenya’s case at the Security Council.
Last week, the African Union secretariat wrote to the United Nations Security Council seeking the deferral of the Kenyan cases.
Ms Mohamed arrived in New York on Sunday to join the AU delegation in its pitch to the Security Council.
Under the United Nations Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.
The Security Council is mandated to take the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression.
The Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, mandates the U.N. Security Council to refer cases to the court, and, if deemed necessary, to defer an investigation or a prosecution for up to a year. Together with the General Assembly, it elects the judges of the International Court of Justice.
