UN action on Kenya ICC trials "condescending": IGAD

An east African regional bloc accused the United Nations of being "condescending" towards Africa by not formally discussing key continental issues, including Kenya's request to suspend election violence trials. President Mwai Kibaki has asked the U.N. Security Council to defer the trials of six suspects, including top cabinet officials, behind the deadly fighting that broke out after its last polls for a year and then have the cases heard in Nairobi. The plan is backed by the African Union but opposed by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who wants ICC trials, and his faction of Kenya's coalition cabinet has asked the Security Council to decline Kibaki's request. Although none of the 15 council members called for a formal council meeting with the Kenyans, they discussed the issue informally with a Kenyan delegation on Friday, after which a council member said Kenya's bid was doomed. "I don't understand why there should be an informal session on this serious issue, which touches on national stability," Mahboub Maalim, the secretary general of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), told Reuters. "I think this could be a delaying tactic by some of the big powers on the security council to avoid having to take an official position on this issue. They don't want this on the council's agenda. It's like having their cake and eating it." France, the United States and Britain -- all permanent members -- oppose a deferral, their Kenyan envoys have said. The dispute over the issue has polarised the cabinet and nation. Opinion polls show most Kenyans want the six suspects tried in The Hague because they have little faith in their judiciary. Rights groups say the plan will see the suspects let off the hook for political reasons. In December, ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo named senior politicians and a former police chief among six people suspected of orchestrating violence that followed the disputed 2007 general election. All six have said they will obey a summons to make an initial appearance before the ICC on April 7 and 8. KENYA'S REPUTATION More than 1,220 people were killed and 350,000 were displaced in the violence, severely denting Kenya's reputation for stability in a turbulent region. Analysts say the country's image has been soured by the efforts to block The Hague trials. Prominent among the six suspects are Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya's founding father Jomo Kenyatta, and William Ruto, the higher education minister who has been suspended to fight a corruption case. The Security Council helped set up the ICC and has control over its mandate, enabling it to postpone cases for one year, especially if the prosecution of such cases could cause further upheavals in the country or region where crimes occurred. It can however refuse, as it did when the AU sought a delay in the case against Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir -- a matter that Maalim said was also not discussed by the U.N. "Kenya is not alone in this issue. This is an African Union agenda and I do know there are a lot of members who are watching this closely. This is the second African case, after the Bashir one, that the council is seen to be rejecting," Maalim said. "People are wondering what is this all about. How can issues referred to the Security Council by the African Union, a whole continent, not even find their way to the U.N.'s agenda? This, in my view, is condescending to say the least." Source: Reuters < Prev   Next >