Kenya has not honoured human rights promises it made to the UN, a report submitted by Human Rights Watch to the UN council last week reveals.
The report highlighted key concerns in Kenya. It shows that the government has not lived up to its word.
The government promised in the 2015 review to ensure greater accountability and transparency of its police and security forces. It was to put up measures to prevent abuse, investigate and prosecute violations “but the authorities have not done enough”.
Kenya Police, according to the report, are responsible for enforced disappearances and killings of people suspected of links to al Shabaab who were not investigated or prosecuted as required by the law.
The organisation also found that during the 2017 election, the police and pro-government militia were responsible for more than 100 deaths of opposition supporters in Nairobi and Western. Nairobi police are widely blamed for extrajudicial killings where theyprofile young people living in informal settlements as suspected criminals and kill them, the report says.
Rights activists continue to face threats and harassment from the police as well, even though they comply with the law. They experience unlawful arrests and malicious prosecution from the law enforcement agents in their line of duty, the report adds.
“It is a critical moment for UN member states to push the Kenyan government to confront security force abuse. They should allow UN officials to visit the country and investigate violations.”
The UN Human Rights Council is set to review Kenya's human rights record in 2020 as part of the third Universal Review Cycle. This is going to be an opportunity for Kenya to show the improvements it has made.
Edited by R.Wamochie
