US calls on Kenya to cooperate with ICC

The United States has asked Kenya to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in dealing with the perpetrators of 2007 post-election violence.

U. S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger on Sunday said there was need for the Kenyan government to collaborate with ICC on the technical issues so as to enable them to begin prosecution work.

At a press conference held in the coastal town of Malindi, the envoy commended the government for setting a good example in the implementation of the draft constitution, saying Kenyan officials should continue working together.

Ranneberger pledged the continued U.S. support for the implementation process of the draft constitution until everything is in place. "The U.S. is happy about the decision made by Kenyans to promulgate the new constitution and will continue to support the implementation process ," he said

The ambassador spoke after the government signed 16 articles of understanding to allow ICC to set up local offices to ease the work of collecting and bringing together evidence, and tracking down post-election violence suspects.

On a separate occasion, the envoy met with Malindi District Commissioner Arthur Mugira on issues of security, drug abuse and sex tourism.

He asked the government to prosecute all child traffickers promoting sex tourism in order to protect the integrity of the country.

"The legislative should introduce tough laws that would protect children from trafficking or else some tourists will begin shunning away from visiting the country due to the bad image," he said.

Ranneberger noted the fight against sex tourism required joint efforts of all stakeholders in the hotels, NGOs, the government and the private sector.

He said there has been progress since the formation of the organizations to fight against child trafficking two years ago.

Source:Xinhua