Uhuru presses for Kenya to get a seat on the UN Security Council

President Uhuru Kenyatta leads a charm offensive in foreign countries to secure Kenya a seat on the UN Security Council and press for support on his position in Somalia as the confrontation between the two countries increases.

In the last three weeks, the President has met with Heads of State or their representatives from 18 countries in Kenya and abroad.

EVASIVE

The Comptroller of the Budget figures already show that the presidency, occupied by Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, spent 190 million sh in the last nine months compared to only 36.5 million sh in 2017/2018, which means the increase in foreign activities

On Saturday, President Kenyatta met with the Head of Caribbean States under the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECC) and the Caribbean Community (CARRICOM), in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Apart from the meeting, the President contacted 10 leaders of the region, asking them to support Kenya's offer for a non-permanent position in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the period 2021 to 2022.


"The Kenyan candidacy is informed by the fundamental role played by the UN Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security," President Kenyatta said in a statement sent to the newsrooms by the Communications Unit. Presidential Strategic

At home, President Kenyatta has pressured the East African community and the leaders of Botswana and Namibia.

Abroad, he has sent emissaries to meetings with leaders from China, Russia and the United States, even though they have not yet committed.

Kenya seeks to win the seat when the General Assembly of the United Nations takes the vote in June next year, hoping to join the Council from January 2021 to December of the same year.

The UN Security Council, the most powerful body of the UN, is charged with maintaining international peace and security. He is also in charge of admitting new members to the UN and can approve any change in the UN Charter, the United Nations training law.



It has 15 members, but only five of them are permanent and have veto powers, which means they can stop a substantive decision such as sanctioning a Head of State seen as a violator of global peace. They include Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

There will be a free seat for the African continent when the UN General Assembly meets to vote in New York in June 2020.

MARITIME DISPUTES

A brochure about the campaign says that Kenya wants to contribute to the "times we live in" agenda, citing new areas of economic construction by harvesting what is in its waters and avoiding the exploitation of its resources.

However, this strategy is in danger due to a slow fire dispute with Somalia, which sued Kenya in the International Court of Justice, seeking to redraw the maritime boundary in an area believed to have oil deposits.

The president's travels occur when Parliament encourages the government to intervene militarily to prevent Somalia from claiming a piece of Indian Ocean islands, which have oil and gas deposits.

If elected as a non-permanent member, Kenya cannot vote on substantial matters such as security; but being on the Council allows the opportunity to lobby, officials argue. For example, the UN Security Council, if it considers the dispute to be a potential threat to world peace and security, may encourage the parties to negotiate.

Kenya is also pushing for the inclusion of Al-Shabaab as a terrorist organization to stop the flow of goods in the area they control, which deprives the terrorist organization of the funds it uses to launch attacks in Kenya.



Kenya launched a diplomatic offensive at the UN last week, and Foreign Affairs Minister Macharia Kamau said that the incorporation of Al-Shabaab into the al-Qaeda / ISIL sanctions category would focus "global efforts to address the group. ".

"It has caused serious