Kenya has condemned racism against Africans fleeing from war in Ukraine, at border points with neighbouring countries and in the media.
Addressing the UNSC on Monday, Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Martin Kimani called for non-discrimination against humanitarian responses.
“… it has been deeply disturbing to observe the racism that has characterized the expressions of solidarity in parts of Europe. Prominent figures in multiple media channels are expressing their solidarity in shockingly racist terms,” Ambassador Kimani said.
He added that the voices are pushing demeaning narratives that violent conflicts only belong to the global South.
Videos shared online show Ukrainian civilians, police and military denying blacks access to trains evacuating people from the regions under siege.
They are also being refused the right to cross over to neighbouring countries.
“There is credible news of African students being made to stand in the back of the queue when getting on trains and buses to safety. At some border crossings, they have been treated in a racist and undignified manner,” Kimani said, further adding that the evidence of racist treatment is widely available and has been confirmed by various states in Africa and the Caribbean.
“We wholeheartedly condemn such racism against Africans and people of African descent. We resist any view that expressing these concerns is a distraction because the safety and dignity of African people will never be secondary to us. We reject racism at all times and in all places for its inhumanity, at the very same time as we denounce the illegal and inhumane nature of the war in Ukraine,” Kimani added.
The envoy also thanked countries neighbouring Ukraine that are assisting Kenyan students make the border crossings.
“I urge them to redouble their efforts to crack down on individual officials or units that may be reflecting attitudes and behaviours that are unacceptable,” he said.
This comes after the African Union also condemned the racism against Africans in the war-torn country, saying denying Africans right to cross Ukraine border to safety racist.
In a statement Monday, the AU said the chairman and Senegal President Macky Sall and African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said all people have the right to cross international borders during conflict.
As such, they said, everyone should enjoy the same rights to cross to safety from the conflict in Ukraine, notwithstanding their nationality or racial identity.
“Reports that Africans are singled out for unacceptable dissimilar treatment would be shockingly racist and in breach international law. In this regard, the chairpersons urge all countries to respect international law and show the same empathy and support to all people fleeing war notwithstanding their racial identity,” the statement said.
