By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 11 -- After Kenya wrote to the UN Security Council about the International Criminal Court cases against President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto, a length Council consultation took place on May 9.
Inner City Press covered it in detail, including the outcome: that Kenya will write a second letter to the Council to request to meet with the full Council.
Mid-day on May 10, Inner City Press asked the Security Council president for May, Kodjo Menan of Togo, for an update. He said that Kenya's Permanent Representative to the UN had indicate he would submit the second letter very shortly.
Among the issues that arose in Thursday's consultations was whether Kenya's Permanent Representative can meet and make his case to the full Council, or only to a working group.
Rwanda, whose Ambassador Eugene Richard Gasana led or initiative the push on this, told Inner City Press on the record that it would be insulting to refer a member state to a working group. A number of Council members supported and support this position.
But it's worth noting that when Reuters "reported" on the issue,it had nothing about the issue of the second letter, or with whom Kenya's Permanent Representative would meet.
Rather, Reuters quoted an unnamed "senior council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity" that the granting of even a deferral of prosecution for a year would be "unlikely."
So this Western view is presented, as the only view, with nothing on what actually took place in the Council. It's not just that it's one- (Western) sided: it's also lazy and incomplete.
But this is the agency which was unwilling to provide a copy or summary of any policy on crediting other media for use of their exclusive reports, and which in fact unethically bases compensation on how many of a correspondent's stories are called "exclusives," accurately or as often happens, inaccurately.
This is how the UN and Security Council are being reported on. Watch this site.
Footnote: Since the campaign involving Reuters UN bureau chief and UNCA First Vice President Louis Charbonneau continues and continues to evolve, it's worth noting that while Reuters' Kenya "story" was bylined by Michelle Nichols, it was re-distributed by Charbonneau. They call it (false) Buzz...
