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Mr. President,
I am taking the floor to explain Pakistan's vote.
Pakistan is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and thus it is not a member of the International Criminal Court. However, we recognize the rights and obligations of the States that are members of the ICC.
Pakistan has voted for the draft resolution because of the following reasons.
The African Union, as a whole and unanimously, has repeatedly requested the Security Council for the deferral of the cases against Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto, in accordance with Article 16 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, for a period of one year.
The African Union has made a determination that the proceedings of the ICC may pose a threat to the efforts in the promotion of peace, as well as national healing and reconciliation in Kenya.
It has further determined that Kenya is a frontline state in the fight against terrorism at the regional, continental and international levels, as was demonstrated by the terrorist attacks in Nairobi in September this year ; and that the ICC proceedings against the President and the Vice President of Kenya will distract and prevent them from fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities, including the oversight of national and regional security affairs.
This request was made on sound and solid strategic, political, and legal grounds. Its logic is compelling.
In making this request, the Government of Kenya and the African Union have been fully conscious of the complexities of the case and its repercussions for peace and security in the region.
The African Union is a close partner of the Security Council in the maintenance of regional and international peace and security.
Almost two thirds of the issues on this Council's agenda relate to Africa. In addressing these issues, the support and involvement of the African Union and Africa's subregional organizations are crucial.
The African Union has actively cooperated with the international community, the United Nations, and the ICC to end impunity and to administer international criminal justice. In all the eight cases before the ICC, the African Union has provided critical assistance to the Court.
Mr. President,
The African Union has also reached out to the Council and engaged it.
We appreciated the detailed briefings to the Council given by its ministerial delegation, led by the Ethiopian Foreign Minister, on October 31.
The delegation drew the attention of the Security Council to the peace and security challenges in the Horn of Africa.
This Council's members are unanimous in recognizing the crucial role being played by Kenya in countering the terrorist threat in the region and in promoting peace and stability in Somalia.
There is a shared desire amongst us to further strengthen the cooperation between the African Union and the Security Council.
The ICC's proceedings in the Kenyan case illustrate a tension between demands for justice by international courts and respect for democratic choice of people.
This is a new situation. Therefore, there should be a new solution that addresses this genuine political and legal predicament.
Mr. President,
From the strictly legal standpoint, the principle of complementarity is important. The ICC is a court of last resort. The primacy of national jurisdiction needs to be respected.
The legal norms of immunity have further complicated the case.
The core legal argument thus is the functionality of the offices of the elected President and Vice President.
Demands for criminal justice and international prosecutions should help, not hinder, efforts undertaken to create a stable order, reconciliation and sustainable peace.
A provision already is available in Article 16 of the Rome Statute for the deferral of the case for a year and its renewal. The article can be justifiably invoked to reconcile the demands of justice and the requirements of peace and stability in the region.
The considerations that enabled the Court to postpone, by four months, the case of the Kenyan President, primarily on the grounds of functionality of his office, could also provide for a longer deferral as requested by Kenya.
In the light of above, we have supported the draft resolution on the request for the deferral of the Kenyan case.
The text reaffirms the commitment of the Council to end impunity; and highlights various developments including the cooperation of Kenya with the ICC during the last five years.
While the resolution could not be adopted, we hope that the dialogue between the Council and the African Union would continue in order to find a pragmatic solution that is acceptable to all, for this would be in the best interest of this Council, the African Union and the Court.
We have voted for the draft resolution to express our solidarity with the African Union and Kenya on political and legal grounds.
I thank you Mr. President.