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{
    "id": 1559957,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559957/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 948,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Caroli Omondi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "large document. Even if you read through it, it is very difficult to understand what the core pillars of our foreign policy are. Foreign policy is simply a set of principles and objectives that guide the conduct of a State in terms of relations with other States or international organisations at bilateral or multilateral level. So, my proposal is that we need to do a bit of refinement. This is a very lengthy document but if you look at it keenly, you will see that the key objective of our foreign policy is the pursuit, protection and promotion of the national interest. That interest could be military interest, economic interest or political interest. That is the overarching objective. If you read this document, you will clearly see what you may call ‘traditional values’ that have anchored our policy since Independence. Those traditional values are reciprocity, non- alignment, Pan-Africanism, non-interference and good neighbourliness. Modern foreign policy has adopted – if you study other countries’ foreign policies – new non-traditional values and principles upon which they anchor their foreign policy. For example, today, countries anchor their foreign policy on certain values like democracy. If you adopt such values, you will not associate with pariah States that kill their citizens as they stifle democracies, or countries which do not respect human rights and the rule of law; countries that do not pursue peace and peaceful resolution of conflicts and are always at war; countries that dismember the environment; countries that do not respect the international law and international decisions or countries that undermine multilateralism. Why am I saying this? Our foreign policy should not just set the objective of promotion, protection and pursuit of the national interest. It must send a very clear light of what our country’s value system is. What is it that we want to promote in relations we have with other States and international organisations? We need that clarity in this Sessional Paper. We must clearly state what the objectives are and what the values are. Secondly, from the current observations in our country, Nairobi is supposed to be a diplomatic hub. We host many international organisations but there is a trend where we are not respecting what are called diplomatic privileges and immunities for the international organisations that we host. In particular, there is the question of taxation. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations extends to those international organisations certain privileges because the money they bring into this country is collected from several countries and, therefore, tax exemption is granted. Today, we are harassing many international organisations. Some are established by African countries while others are more global in nature and yet, we are bringing in a lot of conditionalities around them. This makes Nairobi not attractive to host international organisations. The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs should get its hands on this matter. International organisations not only bring multiculturalism to Kenya and create Nairobi as a good centre for people of the world to come and work; they also bring jobs and money. We get more out of hosting them than tax collection from members of staff. We even harass Kenyan staff in those organisations by insisting on taxing them. However, when you tax them, it is the organisation that will compensate them for the tax. Other countries that are putting their money in those organisations would not want to pay tax. There is a lot of work that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to do to maintain the status of Nairobi as a diplomatic hub. Thirdly, I am a little disappointed that the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has literally remained mute on the impact of Trump-related policies on our diaspora. Kenyans are being harassed in the United States of America. Some Kenyans are facing deportation. Some are hiding in churches. They cannot even go to pray for fear of deportation. I have not heard any comments or interventions and yet, this policy document talks a lot about the diaspora. On the element of diaspora, we are talking about Kenyans who are living and working outside the country, and sending money back home. But we are not talking about other people who could become Kenyans, who are also Kenyans in diaspora. We talked about this earlier The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}