Insights on Kenya and the ICC
Council members will have an interactive dialogue tomorrow (Wednesday, 16 March) afternoon with representatives from Kenya and the AU.
Kenya is expected to request the Council to defer the proceedings for a year. (Article 16 of the Rome Statute allows the Security Council in exceptional circumstances to pass a resolution under its Chapter VII authority to defer an ICC investigation or prosecution for a renewable 12 months.)
In December 2010, ICC chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo named six people, including senior politicians and a former police chief for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 2007-2008 post-election violence. Last week all six were summoned to appear before the ICC on 7 April.
While there appears to be a sense that the Council should at least hear the request to consider this issue, there appears to be little support from most members to take concrete action on this issue. No member seems to be pushing very hard for the Council to apply Article 16 in this case.
A possible outcome from the interactive dialogue session is a letter from the Council to the Kenyan government indicating that they have considered the issue.
