This archive report was first published on 16 July 2020.
Kenya has expressed its dissatisfaction with the shortlisting process for the position of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing concerns over the fairness and transparency of the process.
On July 13, 2020, Kenya's ambassador to the Netherlands, Lawrence Lenayapa, wrote to the ICC to express the country's objections to the four candidates shortlisted for the position.
According to Lenayapa, the recruitment process is biased in favor of one applicant, and the shortlist favors candidates from outside Africa, denying member states the opportunity to identify a consensus candidate through open and transparent consultations.
Lenayapa called for a reconsideration of all applicants, allowing States Parties to restart the nomination of candidates that can be presented for election during the upcoming Assembly of States Parties.
The shortlisted candidates include Irishman Fergal Gaynor, Morris Anyah (American), Susan Okalany (Uganda), and Richard Roy (Canada), who was disqualified due to Article 42(2) of the Rome Statute, which requires the Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutor to be of different nationalities.
