Forwarded by: Robert Alai

Forwarded by: Shailja Patel

From: ANICJ

Dear Colleagues,

You may be aware of reports of a possible return visit to Kenya by Sudanese President Omar al Bashir for an upcoming Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) meeting likely to be held in Nairobi. A group of concerned civil society organizations have put together a letter to the Government of Kenya, with regard to this possible second visit.

Attached, please find the letters for your information and possible dissemination to other networks and Kenyan High Commissions in your capitals. A press release will follow shortly, and the French version as well.

Sincerely,

Jemima Njeri Kariri
Senior Researcher/ Chercheur Principal
International Crime in Africa Programme (ICAP)/ Programme de crime international en Afrique
Institute for Security Studies / Institut d’Études de Sécurité
PO Box 1787, Brooklyn Square, 0075
Tshwane (Pretoria), South Africa / Afrique du Sud
Tel: +27 (0)12 346 9500
Fax: +27 (0)12 3464569
Cell:083 234 6566
www.issafrica.org
jnjeri@issafrica.org

October 21, 2010

His Excellency Hon. Mwai Kibaki
President of the Republic of Kenya
Harambee House, Harambee Avenue
P.O. Box 30510
Nairobi, Kenya

Via Fax: 254-020-243620/254-20-313600

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned organizations, are seriously concerned over reports of a possible return visit to Kenya by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir—sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of international crimes committed in Darfur—for a meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that will discuss the January 2011 referendum on Southern Sudan in late October or November.

Kenya and other neighboring states may understandably have serious concerns about stability in the region, particularly in the lead-up to the referendum. However, even under these circumstances, it remains incumbent that states that are dedicated to justice for serious crimes in violation of international law manage security challenges in ways that do not undermine the fight against impunity and the upholding of the rule of law.

A visit by President al-Bashir would run counter to Kenya’s declared commitments to the International Criminal Court. It would also send damaging signals to victims of mass atrocity in Darfur and globally, and undermine Kenya’s credibility on issues of justice.

Following the visit of President al-Bashir to Kenya in August 2010, Kenyan officials cited the African Union (AU) July summit decision calling for non-cooperation in the arrest of President al-Bashir as grounds for welcoming him in Kenyan territory without arrest in August. This decision is contrary to Kenya’s obligations as a state party to the ICC. Moreover, Kenya’s own domestic law—the International Crimes Act and the Kenyan Constitution (under section 2(6))—require that the Kenyan government uphold its commitment to cooperate with the ICC.

For all of these reasons, we urge the Kenyan government to clearly affirm its commitment to cooperate with the ICC, as states such as South Africa and Botswana have done, and clarify that President al-Bashir will be arrested should he enter Kenya. This will be an important way to show respect for victims in Darfur, along with Kenya’s commitment to accountability for crimes committed during electoral violence in Kenya.

Sincerely,

Action of Christian Activists of Human Rights in Shabunda, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
Amnesty International, Cotonou, Benin
Association for Human Rights and the Penitentiary World, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
Burkinabe Coalition for the ICC, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Cameroonian Coalition for the ICC, Douala, Camerooon
The Center for Research on Environment, Democracy and Human Rights, Goma, DRC
Central African Republic Coalition for the ICC, Central African Republic
Children Education Society, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Civil Resource Development and Documentation Center, Enugu, Nigeria
Coalition Congolaise pour la Justice Transitionnelle, Bukavu, DRC
Coalition for the ICC, Cotonou, Benin
East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Kampala, Uganda
Human Rights Network-Uganda, Kampala, Uganda
Human Rights Watch, Johannesburg, South Africa
International Center for Transitional Justice, Nairobi, Kenya
International Crime in Africa Programme, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, South Africa
Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists, Nairobi, Kenya
Nigerian Coalition for the ICC, Abuja, Nigeria
Southern Africa Litigation Center, Johannesburg, South Africa
Uganda Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Kampala, Uganda
Uganda Victims Foundation, Lira, Uganda
West African Human Rights Defenders Network, Lomé, Togo

(List of signatories updated October 21, 2010.)

The signatories are among the most active members of an informal network of African civil society organizations and international organizations with a presence in Africa who have been working on Africa and the International Criminal Court.

cc: Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga, Prime Minister
Hon. Moses Wetangula, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Hon. Amos Wako, Attorney General
October 21, 2010

The Right Honorable Raila Odinga
Office of the Prime Minister
Harambee Avenue
Nairobi, Kenya

Via Fax

Dear Prime Minister,

We, the undersigned organizations, are seriously concerned over reports of a possible return visit to Kenya by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir—sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of international crimes committed in Darfur—for a meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that will discuss the January 2011 referendum on Southern Sudan in late October or November.

Kenya and other neighboring states may understandably have serious concerns about stability in the region, particularly in the lead-up to the referendum. However, even under these circumstances, it remains incumbent that states that are dedicated to justice for serious crimes in violation of international law manage security challenges in ways that do not undermine the fight against impunity and the upholding of the rule of law.

A visit by President al-Bashir would run counter to Kenya’s declared commitments to the International Criminal Court. It would also send damaging signals to victims of mass atrocity in Darfur and globally, and undermine Kenya’s credibility on issues of justice.

Following the visit of President al-Bashir to Kenya in August 2010, Kenyan officials cited the African Union (AU) July summit decision calling for non-cooperation in the arrest of President al-Bashir as grounds for welcoming him in Kenyan territory without arrest in August. This decision is contrary to Kenya’s obligations as a state party to the ICC. Moreover, Kenya’s own domestic law—the International Crimes Act and the Kenyan Constitution (under section 2(6))—require that the Kenyan government uphold its commitment to cooperate with the ICC.

For all of these reasons, we urge the Kenyan government to clearly affirm its commitment to cooperate with the ICC, as states such as South Africa and Botswana have done, and clarify that President al-Bashir will be arrested should he enter Kenya. This will be an important way to show respect for victims in Darfur, along with Kenya’s commitment to accountability for crimes committed during electoral violence in Kenya.

Sincerely,

Action of Christian Activists of Human Rights in Shabunda, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
Amnesty International, Cotonou, Benin
Association for Human Rights and the Penitentiary World, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
Burkinabe Coalition for the ICC, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Cameroonian Coalition for the ICC, Douala, Camerooon
The Center for Research on Environment, Democracy and Human Rights, Goma, DRC
Central African Republic Coalition for the ICC, Central African Republic
Children Education Society, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Civil Resource Development and Documentation Center, Enugu, Nigeria
Coalition Congolaise pour la Justice Transitionnelle, Bukavu, DRC
Coalition for the ICC, Cotonou, Benin
East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Kampala, Uganda
Human Rights Network-Uganda, Kampala, Uganda
Human Rights Watch, Johannesburg, South Africa
International Center for Transitional Justice, Nairobi, Kenya
International Crime in Africa Programme, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, South Africa
Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists, Nairobi, Kenya
Nigerian Coalition for the ICC, Abuja, Nigeria
Southern Africa Litigation Center, Johannesburg, South Africa
Uganda Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Kampala, Uganda
Uganda Victims Foundation, Lira, Uganda
West African Human Rights Defenders Network, Lomé, Togo

The signatories are among the most active members of an informal network of African civil society organizations and international organizations with a presence in Africa who have been working on Africa and the International Criminal Court.

cc: Hon. Amos Wako, Attorney General
Hon. Moses Wetangula, Minister of Foreign Affairs