 |
| Amina Mohamed |
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 18 – Kenya is sending a strong delegation to
The Hague, Netherlands to attend the 12th session of the Assembly of
State Parties (ASP) that kicks off on Wednesday.
The delegation includes top officials from the
offices of the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Amina Mohamed, Attorney General Githu
Muigai and the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko are
leading teams from their offices to represent Kenya in the ASP that ends
on November 28.
Officials from Deputy President William Ruto’s office could not
confirm if he will attend the ASP since his trial resumes at The Hague
this week.
International Criminal Court (ICC) Deputy Prosecutor James Stewart
told Capital FM News that this year’s ASP is dedicated to the African
Union to air issues that have resulted in bad blood between the court
and Africa.
The AU has complained that the ICC has been targeting African states
and has particularly been opposed to President Uhuru Kenyatta and his
deputy William Ruto attending their trials.
According to Stewart, the ASP will be one of the ways the ICC will
try to reach out to the African continent which forms majority of
members with 34 countries having ratified the Rome Statute.
The President of the ASP, Ambassador Tiina Intelmann is expected to
address a press conference on Wednesday afternoon at the World Forum
Convention Centre where the ASP will take place.
In the Kenyan case, the ICC has been accused of usurping Kenya’s
sovereignty by pursuing the case against Kenyatta and Ruto while they
are still in office.
The ASP also comes days after the UN Security Council blocked an AU bid for the Kenyan cases to be deferred for a year.
This has angered Kenya which expected the UN Security Council to vote
in its favour based on security threats Kenya is facing from
terrorists.
The decision too has not augured well with other African countries that were supporting Kenya’s bid for a deferral.
The UN Security Council decision is likely to be a subject during the ASP.
No comments:
Post a Comment