President Uhuru Kenyatta made a case for Kenya to secure a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council during the elections slated for June next year during the General Debate at the 74 UN General Assembly in New York.
President Kenyatta on Wednesday said Kenya deserves the seat because of its leading role in regional peace and stability in Eastern Africa as well as the Horn Africa, and it’s contribution of troops to UN peacekeeping operations across the world.
“When the world had given up on our region, we opened our doors to millions of people fleeing insecurity. To this day, we host hundreds of thousands of refugees. Our investment in the Sudan negotiations led to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. We continue to support stabilization efforts in both Sudan and South Sudan,” Uhuru said.
“When the world had turned away from Somalia, we engaged and invested in the Eldoret and Mbagathi peace processes that led to the formation and hosting of the Transitional National Government in Kenya, and formation of Transitional Federal Government in Somalia.
He said Kenya has contributed more than 40,000 peacekeepers and engaged in post-conflict reconstruction and development efforts across the world.
“We, therefore, hope that our experience, competencies and unrelenting search for peace and prosperity in our neighbourhood, on the continent and the wider world, will persuade the entire UN Membership to support the African Union candidate, for the non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council during the elections slated for June 2020.
“I request for the vote of each and every member of the United Nations family,” President Kenyatta appealed.
