UNITED NATIONS, {After the Security Council met Tuesday on the African Union’s draft resolution for the UN Security Council to defer the International Criminal Court’s Kenya proceedings for a year, Rwanda’s Ambassador Gasana said the resolution will be put to the vote “this week.”}
Another Security Council member told Inner City Press it would be Friday, rejecting the argument that the issue could instead be referred to the ICC’s Assembly of State Parties — “we’re not members!”
They’re in a tough spot, the argument continued, having to disrespect Africa while “using” it.
Inner City Press put this question to November’s Council president Liu Jieyi, who replied that China is not a member of the ICC and is only considering this in terms of the draft Security Council resolution.
Western Ambassadors leaving didn’t speak. US Ambassador Power left at 5:14 pm, saying goodbye but offering no comment.
The mood going in was more jocular. French Ambassador Araud bantered with a scribe who name-dropped about Iran, then disappeared. During most of the meeting, the stakeout consisted of media from South Africa and Benin, then Al Jazeera. Western wires and one “TV” belatedly showed up — then tried to ask all the questions.
An hour and a half, the spin that emerged that was “one member” inside had suggested not putting the draft resolution to a vote, to not “humiliate” the African Union ministers who came, offering instead “a paper” which would refer to the Assembly of State Parties meeting.
But earlier one of the African sponsors of the draft said this was the last chance, they were going to put it to the vote later this week. They knew the vote count. So what could this offer, called condescending, change?
Inner City Press on Monday asked Kenya’s Permanent Representative Macharia Kamau about the timing. Thursday or Friday, he replied. “It’s sad,” he told Inner City Press exclusively, “it’s a very simple issue, the Security Council would lose nothing. They’d grant the request of forty nine [heads of state or] the whole of Africa, and be back here in twelve months.” He said there might be headlines for one day after such a deferral, calling it “knee jerk.”
He contrasted it, “if we’d come here asking for war, or to send a ‘war lord’ to The Hague, there’d be consensus.”
Macharia Kamau paused and said, “The Security Council is not a destination for solutions.” He said others would realize that too, whenever they had an issue before the Council.
Inner City
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