President Uhuru Kenyatta is facing an uphill task in his quest to delay his trial at The Hague after it emerged that UN Secretary-General Ban K- moon could reject a plea by the African Union for the ICC to defer the Kenya cases. Despite this setback, sources have told the Nation that the UN Security Council is likely to discuss the proposal for a one-year deferral of Mr Kenyatta’s trial. The last time Kenya put in such a request, it was not discussed. But sources said the 15-member council will consider the AU and Kenya’s request under a section of the ICC treaty which allows for a deferral on the basis of a perceived threat to international peace and security. Kenya’s allies in the Security Council are expected to argue that the Westgate terror attack constitutes a threat to international peace and security. They will further argue that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto must be able to focus on countering that threat without having simultaneously to answer charges at a court in Europe. The United States, the most powerful member of the Security Council, is yet to state its view on the AU’s call for a deferral and for African heads of states to be made immune from prosecutions while they are in office. The US has twice opposed moves to defer or terminate the cases against Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto in the past. A UN spokesman has said Mr Ban had asked the nations which signed the Rome Statute — which created the ICC — to “continue honouring their obligations”. Wednesday’s remarks by Mr Martin Nesirky suggest that Mr Ban is unlikely to respond favourably to the African Union’s request that the Kenya cases be deferred. But he also said that Mr Ban has been studying the AU’s position “very closely” and has expressed optimism that African countries will continue to engage with the ICC “in a constructive manner”. And in Bucharest, Romania, ICC president Sang-Hyun Song yesterday said the court has never targeted any African country and described such criticism as “regrettable”.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 04:50:27 +0000
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