NEW YORK – Kenya has reiterated its condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine, called on Russia to respect international borders and expressed solidarity with the people of Gaza.
Kenya Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. Martin Kimani on Monday called on the UN Security Council to intensify mediation efforts, noting that frequent inability to act on the most pressing matters shows the urgent need for the reform of the Security Council
“Kenya stands in solidarity with the besieged people of Ukraine and Gaza, and the Israeli victims of the 7th October Hamas terrorist attacks. We condemn aggression, terrorism, and the flouting of international humanitarian law and urge for mediation based on UN principles,” Ambassador Kimani said at the UNGA 57th Plenary meeting on agenda Item 62- Situation in The Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.
Kimani said Ukraine is bleeding, a stark reminder that unchecked aggression devastates lives and the global order.
“Kenya condemns the invasion and calls for peace and respect for sovereignty. We are at a crossroads for the UN . The choices we make — in the Pact For The Future — could make it obsolete or reinvigorated. Major powers must act in enlightened self-interest, recognising that the pursuit of dominance is a threat to all, including themselves,” the Kenyan envoy noted.
UN INEFFECTIVENESS
He added that the path the UN choses this year will determine whether it become irrelevant like the League of Nations or become a moment to to bolster it, restore its influence and strengthen collective resolve.
“The enduring fact is that the major powers will always act in their perceived self-interest; to believe otherwise is naive. Yet, history offers a harsh lesson: aggression against neighbours or militarily weaker states, very often, ultimately endangers the aggressor’s own security. This is the sad hard-nosed pragmatism which our collective peace must rest,” Kimani said.
He warned that the wars in Ukraine and Gaza undermine UN’s credibility and the fragile trust upon which it depends.
Kimani, whose speech as soon as the Russia aggression started in February 2022 drew praises from the West, further said the protracted war in Ukraine jeopardises Europe and disrupts the flow of goods critical to the lives of the most vulnerable globally.
“This prolonged instability is not in their [major powers] interest, including the interest of Russia itself, Thus, a mediated settlement, which Kenya strongly believes should accord to the UN charter in regard to Ukraine’s sovereignty and standing, serves as a strategic necessity for all parties,” Kimani said.
When Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Nairobi in May 2023, President William Ruto said Kenya wouldn’t take a side in the conflict but reiterated the country’s “steadfast position on respect for territorial integrity of member states as outlined in the UN Charter”.
“Kenya won’t take sides on a matter that has friends on both sides. However, we call for a resolution of the conflict in a manner respectful to the two parties,” he said.
MIDDLE EAST
On Middle East, Kimani said the Israeli-Palestine conflict undermines security in the region, and only a two-state solution is a logical path to lasting peace.
“Within this framework the immediate humanitarian crisis in Gaza demands a ceasefire based on international law and the unconditional release of all hostages by Hamas and its cessation of terrorism,” he added, noting that all human lives hold equal value.
In his February 2022 speech that condemned Russia’s invasion, Kimani used Africa’s colonial past to highlight the dangers of stoking the “embers of dead empires.”
“Rather than form nations that looked ever backward into history with a dangerous nostalgia, we chose to look forward to a greatness none of our many nations and peoples had ever known,” Kimani said.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 24 said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in action in the two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
He added that “tens of thousands of civilians” had been killed in occupied areas of Ukraine, but said that no exact figures would be available until the war was over. It’s the first time that Kyiv has confirmed the number of its losses since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
On the other hand, independent Russian news outlet Mediazona said on Saturday that about 75,000 Russian men died in 2022 and 2023 fighting in the war.
In the Israel-Hamas war, as of February 18, 2024, over 30,000 people (28,473 Palestinian and 1,410 Israeli) have been killed, including 88 journalists (83 Palestinian, 2 Israeli and 3 Lebanese) and over 136 UNRWA aid workers.
