Government of Kenya validates implementation plan for ICCPR recommendations, with participation from civil society
Published on 28 Apr 2022, 03:02 PM
In March 2021, Kenya was reviewed by the UN Human Rights Committee
In February 2022, the Centre organized a follow up mission on the implementation of key priority recommendations to Kenya, led by CCPR Centre’s Paola Barioli and member of the HRCttee Prof. Hélène Tigroudja.
Validation forum
On 4 April 2022, the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice organized a one-day stakeholders validation forum, to which they invited several stakeholders: participants from the Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the National Human Rights Institution, and as a result of the Centre’s activities in Kenya, civil society organizations. The purpose of the event was to sensitize the participants on the provisions of the ICCPR; to disseminate the Concluding Observations to Kenya’s 4th periodic review; and to share and get input on the draft Implementation Plan. This Plan is of great importance and facilitates to track progress made regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee between 2022 and 2027.
Agenda and topics discussed
In the opening of the event, the importance of civil society in review processes was highlighted, especially towards the full implementation of the ICCPR.
The forum started with an overview of the ICCPR, which Kenya ratified in 1972. The presentation took members of the forum through the history of the ICCPR, its main provisions and the work of the Human Rights Committee as a monitoring body.
During the event, several questions were answered about the reporting procedures to the Human Rights Committee and the Human Rights situation in Kenya.
In an overview of the Concluding Observations, Mr. Thomas Kibunja, State Counsel Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice, noted the three priority areas identified for follow-up by the Committee: violence against women, forced evictions and participation in public affairs – areas of focus in the above-mentioned follow-up mission to Kenya in February 2022.
The main focus of the forum was the overview of the Draft Implementation Plan. The participants to the meeting, including civil society, divided into groups, reviewed the plan, and provided important feedback. This was a very fruitful exercise that resulted in the improvement of the Plan, after the incorporation of the comments and remarks. The main remarks included: the replacement of the Registrar of Treaties under specific Government Actor with the MFA; the removal of the KNCHR from the partner column to the specific Government Actor column and the fact that the Refugee Bill 2019 had been enacted into law with the passage of the Refugee Act 2021 thereby requiring an amendment of the specific action by Government from enacting the bill to the formulation of regulations.
In the closing of the forum Ms. Claris Kariuki, Senior State Counsel, Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice, thanked all the participants for engaging in implementation process and noted that the feedback provided would highly enrich the Draft Implementation Plan.
