African ministers back Kenya bid on ICC

BY MICHAEL MUMO

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null 1/1 President Kibaki addresses the AU summit/File NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 28 - Kenya's bid for a referral of the International Criminal Court case against the Ocampo Six got a major boost on Friday when the African Union Council of Ministers unanimously ratified the move. Sources in diplomatic circles said the decision was passed at a ministerial meeting taking place in Addis Ababa, ahead of an AU Heads of State summit that takes place this weekend. "The proposal was moved by Tanzania and got crucial backing from all six speakers among them Botswana," the source said. The resolution is now expected to be tabled when the summit proper kicks off on Sunday where President Mwai Kibaki will seek the backing of fellow Heads of State in asking the United Nations Security Council to seek a deferral of the Kenya case at The Hague. President Kibaki is due to depart for Ethiopia on Saturday for the 16th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. The theme of the summit is "Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values." Among the issues that are expected to be discussed during the two-day Heads of State and Government summit include the report of the AU Peace and Security Council. The AU Peace and Security Council (PSC), of which Kenya is a founding member, is a standing decision-making organ for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts in Africa. It is also a collective and early warning arrangement to facilitate timely and efficient response to conflicts and various crisis situations in Africa.  The summit will also discuss the report of the Committee of Heads of State and Government on Climate Change. Also included on the agenda of the summit is the consideration of the report of the Chairperson of NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee. One of NEPAD's programmes is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an African self-monitoring instrument which Kenya voluntarily acceded to in March 2003. Other matters that will be debated by the Heads of State and Government are the reports on the United Nations Reforms and the transformation of the African Union Commission into the African Union Authority. Follow the author http://twitter.com/m_mumo

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