This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
On June 17, 2021, Kenya secured a historic win at the United Nations Security Council, marking its third term as a non-permanent member for the period 2021-2022.
The campaign towards this feat was a diplomatic rollercoaster, replete with adrenaline and sharp twists and turns. Kenya had previously offered its candidature for the non-permanent seat in 2013-2014 and 2018-2019, but withdrew in favor of Rwanda and Ethiopia, respectively, with the understanding that the 2021-2022 term would go to Kenya.
However, when Kenya declared its candidature in 2017, Djibouti, which had been part of the initial consensus, surprisingly expressed interest in the same seat in January 2018. For the next 19 months, Kenya engaged Djibouti in intense consultations to find the consensus that would best serve Africa's interests.
When no breakthrough was forthcoming, the African Union Executive Council of Ministers decided to delegate to the AU Permanent Representatives' Committee the responsibility of endorsing the African candidate. After a series of sessions, the committee, on August 21, 2019, took a vote, and Kenya won, surpassing the required threshold of two-thirds majority and was declared the AU-endorsed candidate.
Despite this, Djibouti made an improbable turnaround and declared that it was still in the race, forcing Kenya to reassemble its diplomatic resources and brace itself for an energy-sapping campaign. The campaigns were off to a great start, with a hugely successful launch on November 7, 2019, in New York.
However, the implementation of the strategy came to an abrupt halt in March 2020 as Covid-19 struck, canceling regional and multilateral events that the country intended to use to reach out to many countries. The novel coronavirus paradoxically became a key element of Kenya's campaign strategy, and the government used its advantages as a member of the Bureau of AU Heads of State and Government, AU Peace and Security Council, and President in Office of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) to engage global leaders on solutions to the pandemic.
Kenya was able to pull off a successful virtual summit of OACPS and other Covid-19-related webinars at regional and global levels, raising the country's profile and keeping its brand and agenda alive throughout the world. The past two weeks of the campaign were marked by outreach to all capitals around the world through letters, telephone and video calls, and social media messaging.
Kenya's missions abroad were activated to cause opinion editorials showcasing Kenya's capacity to deliver on its 10-point agenda to be published in widely read dailies and periodicals in all their countries. In less than two weeks, articles on Kenya appeared in more than 40 countries and in more than 15 languages, including all the UN languages.
By the time a virtual reception for all the Permanent Representatives based in New York and addressed by President Uhuru Kenyatta took place on the eve of the June 17 elections, Kenya was confident of a win. Managing the elections in New York is an alchemist, diplomatically idiosyncratic practice known to very few, but Kenya has the know-how and the experience.
Kenya received 129 votes, cutting Djibouti's to 61, and was able to come through successfully because it ran its own race, selling its agenda and showcasing its credentials to deliver on it, exercised extreme restraint from engaging in altercations, and systematically deployed an array of diplomatic arsenal, including and particularly, soft power that ensured continuous visibility on the world stage.
The writer is the Principal Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
