Kenya has began intense lobbying for its bid to join the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member.
This comes ahead of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) set to commence on September 25th in New York, US.
Speaking during a media briefing in Nairobi, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma said Kenya has already written to member states seeking their support to have the country play a key role in the council.
The Cabinet Secretary noted that Kenya’s influence in the region has contributed to reduction in cases of insecurity in countries rocked by perennial conflict such as Somalia and South Sudan.
“We’re hoping that we can get an endorsement at the AU level. If that endorsement comes through, the campaign will be very easy,” ambassador Juma said.
Juma said the scope of Kenya's campaign will be influenced by the number of countries contesting in the election set for September 2019.
“If there’s anyone within our region who is interested in the non-permanent membership then we’re going to launch a global campaign,” she said. She added that a number of countries had already thrown their weight behind Kenya’s bid.
“Indications we’re getting are positive and this is because people are able to look at us (Kenya) in terms of what we’re able to bring to the UNSC,” the CS pointed out.
The UNSC is made of five permanent members with veto powers namely China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Five of the 10 non-permanent slots are shared between African and Asian countries.
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