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AU calls for halt to ICC cases against Kenyan and Sudanese leaders

11 October 2013 23:20 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. African leaders called on Saturday for the prosecutions of Kenya's and Sudan's presidents by the International Criminal Court to be halted, amid complaints the body has only ever pursued Africans, APA reports quoting Reuters.

An African Union summit in Addis Ababa was held to discuss Africa's relations with the court, which has convicted just one man, a Congolese warlord, and has only charged Africans.

It said the U.N. Security Council should defer the trial of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta under article 16 of the court's Rome Statute, which allows for an initial delay of a year, or it would seek an alternative means of postponement.

"If that is not met, what the summit decided is that President Kenyatta should not appear until the request we have made is actually answered," Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom told journalists in Addis Ababa after the meeting.

Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, have been accused of orchestrating large-scale violence after a disputed 2007 election, charges they deny. Kenyatta's trial is due to start on November 12, while Ruto's began last month.

The African Union stance challenges the Hague-based court in its most high-profile case to date - its first trial of a sitting president.

Without an agreed legal delay in court proceedings, any decision by Kenyatta not to attend could prompt an arrest warrant, a step Western nations have wanted to avoid as it would complicate already tricky relations with a regional ally.

Until now, both Kenyans have said they will cooperate to clear their names and both have attended hearings. There was no immediate comment from the two politicians or their lawyers.

"It's a good outcome," Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed told Reuters shortly after the summit closed. "We have been given instructions by the AU summit on what we should do next. We will work together with the African Union."

African nations say the court has ignored earlier demands that the cases be delayed while the men are in office or moved closer to home.