The People
in Main story
October 13, 2013
President Uhuru Kenyatta will, after all, not attend his trial
at The Hague after a meeting by his peers resolved that he should not
stand trial as a sitting head of state. African heads of state and
government meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia resolved that the President
should not stand trial at the ICC next month. The forum unanimously
resolved that no sitting head of state or any other person holding the
position will stand trial at the International Criminal Court. AU Chair,
Dlamini-Zuma said even Botswana, who have been cagey in supporting the
ICC pullout, approved the resolution.
The statement, in particular, implies that Deputy President William Ruto should also not be tried at the ICC. Kenyans and the world will be watching to see if Ruto will be returning to the Hague where he has been attending the hearing of his trial. He is scheduled to leave tonight. However, the African Union (AU) will hold another extraordinary session end of November to review compliance of its ultimatum to ICC.
In the resolutions, read by the current chair of the Union, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the meeting resolved that Kenya writes to the United Nations Security Council to seek a deferral or postponement of the Uhuru case. AU gave the UN Security Council and ICC until 12th November 2013 to defer the Uhuru-Ruto cases, or postpone them.
Au Chair, Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma told the forum that Kenya needs Kenyatta and Ruto’s undivided attention, adding that it will be AU’s problem if Kenya slides back to chaos in absence of the two. The summit further re-solved that that is in line with international protocol, that a sitting president be tried after his tenure in office expires. Desalegn told the forum that the ICC was working against itself by refusing to cooperate with Kenya and AU in the request for referral of the two Kenyan cases.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists after the meeting, “Sitting heads of state and government should not be prosecuted while in office. “We have resolved to speak with one voice to make sure that our concerns are heard loud and clear.” The AU summit in Addis Ababa is expected to formally adopt the request later in November during yet another session by the Heads of State.
The Ethiopian foreign minister said the AU would ask for the trials of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Sudan’s Omar al- Bashir to be deferred. He also said the AU would ask for a deferral of the trial of Mr Kenyatta’s deputy, William Ruto. “The International Criminal Court ( ICC) must give Kenyans an opportunity to reconcile without undue interference on their democratically elected leaders,” he said.
African Union chairman Hailemariam Delasegn told a special summit taking place in his country that the union was not hell bent to wage a crusade against the ICC but wanted the court to reciprocate. “Ours is not a crusade against ICC, but a call for Africa to be taken seriously,” Delesegn said in his opening remarks. Delasegn said that all requests made by the African Union concerning cases targeting its leaders to the UN security council have been ignored.
“It is a high time that Africa was taken seriously and be accorded the respect its people and leaders deserve,” the Ethiopian premier added. He noted that the ICC has continued to treat the 34 African member states to the Rome Statute in a manner that leaves a lot to be desired. The special summit has been convened to discuss the cases facing Kenyatta and Ruto, which the AU is pushing to have deferred to the continent.
Delasegn, however, lamented that, neither ICC nor United Nations Security Council has heeded the repeated requests made over several cases relating to Africa over the last 7 years. “I wish to note that 34 member states of our union joined the ICC perhaps fully convinced that the organisation would promote the cause of justice with a sense of impartiality and fairness.
The practice so far however leaves so much to be desired,” Delasegn said. “The unfair treatment that we have been subjected to is completely unacceptable,” he added, accusing the court of ignoring efforts in Kenya and Sudan — whose leaders have been indicted by the ICC — to resolve their problems internally. The leaders also revisited the situation in Sudan where its President Omar El Bashir is wanted by the ICC for his alleged role in arming rebels in the Darfur region. According to Delasegn the international community has continued to turn a deaf eye despite efforts made by the Sudanese authorities to restore peace in the warn torn Darfur region.
Sudan’s Bashir, who was among the heads of state seen arriving at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa for the summit, is wanted by the court in The Hague on 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region. “The international community should instead support the efforts spearheaded by El Bashir instead of imposing sanctions on his country,” said the premier.
And in her opening remarks, Dlamini Zuma said African states want the UN Security Council and the ICC to consider deferring the cases against President Uhuru and his deputy. The Kenyan leaders, she said, must be allowed to serve their term, as granted by the electorate without interference. Zuma told the extra-ordinary summit held in Addis Ababa yesterday that Kenya as a state party, has over time expressed willingness to cooperate with ICC even after the election of President Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto to office, who are currently facing trial.
She said the move was despite national and international customary laws included in many Western countries, which guarantee sitting heads of states and government immunity from prosecution during their tenure in office and most specifically when they are democratically elected. Zuma said that the AU and ICC have been communicating since the May fiftieth anniversary celebrations and have also sent letters requesting consideration of deferral stating it is critical that Africa remain within the legal framework of the Rome statute.
The AU Chief called upon the UN Security Council and the ICC to work to ensure that the process of stability, reconciliation security and peace is consolidated in Kenya, in a bid to embrace homegrown solutions. “The UN Security Council and ICC should work with us to enable the elected leadership of Kenya fulfill their constitutional obligations by urgently considering deferment of the ICC process in accordance with Article 16 of the Rome statute,” she said “This will allow the leadership of Kenya ensure that it does not slide back into violence and instability.
In our view, it will give parties time and space to place matters of concern to Africa on the agenda of the coming Assembly of State Parties where we shall discuss approach to ICC disproportionately and calmly,” added Zuma Yesterday was not the first time that the AU has called for the deferral of cases against President Kenyatta and Ruto, amid criticism over the manner that the ICC has been handling African cases.
She said peaceful elections that Kenya held in March 2013 with high participation of the population and the commitment by all parties to resolve disputes through the legal system was testimony that Kenya has indeed come a long way since the 2008 tragic events. Similarly, Zuma explained that the security situation in Kenya, remains fragile, which requires the undivided attention of the leadership to consolidate and create conditions for lasting peace, security and reconciliation. “Given the challenges and the security threats Kenya continues to face, the elected leadership must be allowed to serve their term as mandated by their people.
They must be allowed to lead the country into consolidation of peace and reconciliation structures as per the will of Kenyans who voted,” she pointed out. She reiterated Africa’s commitment to the ICC process against impunity saying that the African states played an important role in the adoption of the Rome statute and the establishment of the ICC in recognition of justice and promotion of peace and security.
In May, the AU undertook to strengthen its mechanism to deal with African challenges and says implementing security architecture at national and continental level is receiving progress. African countries account for 34 of the 122 parties to have ratified the ICC’s founding treaty, which took effect on July 1, 2002. A mass pull-out from the court, as some countries have demanded, could seriously damage the institution. The meeting at the African Union headquarters comes amid mounting tensions with the ICC, which has been accused of acting like a neo-colonialist institution that has singled out Africans since being set up as the world’s first permanent court to try genocide and war crimes. Should the accused fail to turn up for any of the hearings that could trigger arrest warrants, Kenya runs the risk of diplomatic isolation. Sudan’s Bashir has refused to go to The Hague and is the subject of ICC arrest warrants. He has travelled to several African countries, however, since then.
By ANTHONY MWANGI, IRENE GITHINJI and AGENCIES
The statement, in particular, implies that Deputy President William Ruto should also not be tried at the ICC. Kenyans and the world will be watching to see if Ruto will be returning to the Hague where he has been attending the hearing of his trial. He is scheduled to leave tonight. However, the African Union (AU) will hold another extraordinary session end of November to review compliance of its ultimatum to ICC.
In the resolutions, read by the current chair of the Union, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the meeting resolved that Kenya writes to the United Nations Security Council to seek a deferral or postponement of the Uhuru case. AU gave the UN Security Council and ICC until 12th November 2013 to defer the Uhuru-Ruto cases, or postpone them.
Au Chair, Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma told the forum that Kenya needs Kenyatta and Ruto’s undivided attention, adding that it will be AU’s problem if Kenya slides back to chaos in absence of the two. The summit further re-solved that that is in line with international protocol, that a sitting president be tried after his tenure in office expires. Desalegn told the forum that the ICC was working against itself by refusing to cooperate with Kenya and AU in the request for referral of the two Kenyan cases.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists after the meeting, “Sitting heads of state and government should not be prosecuted while in office. “We have resolved to speak with one voice to make sure that our concerns are heard loud and clear.” The AU summit in Addis Ababa is expected to formally adopt the request later in November during yet another session by the Heads of State.
The Ethiopian foreign minister said the AU would ask for the trials of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Sudan’s Omar al- Bashir to be deferred. He also said the AU would ask for a deferral of the trial of Mr Kenyatta’s deputy, William Ruto. “The International Criminal Court ( ICC) must give Kenyans an opportunity to reconcile without undue interference on their democratically elected leaders,” he said.
African Union chairman Hailemariam Delasegn told a special summit taking place in his country that the union was not hell bent to wage a crusade against the ICC but wanted the court to reciprocate. “Ours is not a crusade against ICC, but a call for Africa to be taken seriously,” Delesegn said in his opening remarks. Delasegn said that all requests made by the African Union concerning cases targeting its leaders to the UN security council have been ignored.
“It is a high time that Africa was taken seriously and be accorded the respect its people and leaders deserve,” the Ethiopian premier added. He noted that the ICC has continued to treat the 34 African member states to the Rome Statute in a manner that leaves a lot to be desired. The special summit has been convened to discuss the cases facing Kenyatta and Ruto, which the AU is pushing to have deferred to the continent.
Delasegn, however, lamented that, neither ICC nor United Nations Security Council has heeded the repeated requests made over several cases relating to Africa over the last 7 years. “I wish to note that 34 member states of our union joined the ICC perhaps fully convinced that the organisation would promote the cause of justice with a sense of impartiality and fairness.
The practice so far however leaves so much to be desired,” Delasegn said. “The unfair treatment that we have been subjected to is completely unacceptable,” he added, accusing the court of ignoring efforts in Kenya and Sudan — whose leaders have been indicted by the ICC — to resolve their problems internally. The leaders also revisited the situation in Sudan where its President Omar El Bashir is wanted by the ICC for his alleged role in arming rebels in the Darfur region. According to Delasegn the international community has continued to turn a deaf eye despite efforts made by the Sudanese authorities to restore peace in the warn torn Darfur region.
Sudan’s Bashir, who was among the heads of state seen arriving at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa for the summit, is wanted by the court in The Hague on 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region. “The international community should instead support the efforts spearheaded by El Bashir instead of imposing sanctions on his country,” said the premier.
And in her opening remarks, Dlamini Zuma said African states want the UN Security Council and the ICC to consider deferring the cases against President Uhuru and his deputy. The Kenyan leaders, she said, must be allowed to serve their term, as granted by the electorate without interference. Zuma told the extra-ordinary summit held in Addis Ababa yesterday that Kenya as a state party, has over time expressed willingness to cooperate with ICC even after the election of President Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto to office, who are currently facing trial.
She said the move was despite national and international customary laws included in many Western countries, which guarantee sitting heads of states and government immunity from prosecution during their tenure in office and most specifically when they are democratically elected. Zuma said that the AU and ICC have been communicating since the May fiftieth anniversary celebrations and have also sent letters requesting consideration of deferral stating it is critical that Africa remain within the legal framework of the Rome statute.
The AU Chief called upon the UN Security Council and the ICC to work to ensure that the process of stability, reconciliation security and peace is consolidated in Kenya, in a bid to embrace homegrown solutions. “The UN Security Council and ICC should work with us to enable the elected leadership of Kenya fulfill their constitutional obligations by urgently considering deferment of the ICC process in accordance with Article 16 of the Rome statute,” she said “This will allow the leadership of Kenya ensure that it does not slide back into violence and instability.
In our view, it will give parties time and space to place matters of concern to Africa on the agenda of the coming Assembly of State Parties where we shall discuss approach to ICC disproportionately and calmly,” added Zuma Yesterday was not the first time that the AU has called for the deferral of cases against President Kenyatta and Ruto, amid criticism over the manner that the ICC has been handling African cases.
She said peaceful elections that Kenya held in March 2013 with high participation of the population and the commitment by all parties to resolve disputes through the legal system was testimony that Kenya has indeed come a long way since the 2008 tragic events. Similarly, Zuma explained that the security situation in Kenya, remains fragile, which requires the undivided attention of the leadership to consolidate and create conditions for lasting peace, security and reconciliation. “Given the challenges and the security threats Kenya continues to face, the elected leadership must be allowed to serve their term as mandated by their people.
They must be allowed to lead the country into consolidation of peace and reconciliation structures as per the will of Kenyans who voted,” she pointed out. She reiterated Africa’s commitment to the ICC process against impunity saying that the African states played an important role in the adoption of the Rome statute and the establishment of the ICC in recognition of justice and promotion of peace and security.
In May, the AU undertook to strengthen its mechanism to deal with African challenges and says implementing security architecture at national and continental level is receiving progress. African countries account for 34 of the 122 parties to have ratified the ICC’s founding treaty, which took effect on July 1, 2002. A mass pull-out from the court, as some countries have demanded, could seriously damage the institution. The meeting at the African Union headquarters comes amid mounting tensions with the ICC, which has been accused of acting like a neo-colonialist institution that has singled out Africans since being set up as the world’s first permanent court to try genocide and war crimes. Should the accused fail to turn up for any of the hearings that could trigger arrest warrants, Kenya runs the risk of diplomatic isolation. Sudan’s Bashir has refused to go to The Hague and is the subject of ICC arrest warrants. He has travelled to several African countries, however, since then.
By ANTHONY MWANGI, IRENE GITHINJI and AGENCIES
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