Today, we mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under the theme “#StandUp4HumanRights”.
As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.... Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."
The 2018 commemoration of Human Rights Day will mark the beginning of a yearlong celebration of 70 years since the international community adopted the Declaration. We commemorate all our undeniable rights and freedoms comprising of the right to education, a decent living, healthcare and a right to live uninhibited from any form of discrimination among others.
Notwithstanding the struggles to protect human rights, the hostility towards the defenders continues to rise in Kenya. As a result, this year’s Human Rights Day advocates everyone to stand up for their rights and those of others – civil, economic, political and cultural rights. Furthermore, the day aims to inform how our rights are a basis for sustainable development and peaceful societies.
Muslims for Human Rights in partnership with other organisations such as Haki Yetu, InformAction, Manyunyu, Lonamac, MTY, Pamoja Trust are marking this day in various ways. One is having a procession from to Mama Ngina Drive and awarding local voiceless human rights defenders.
A number of human right organisations, including Muhuri, have received fresh complaints and petitions from communities, families and individuals in Tana River, Lamu, Kilifi, Mombasa, Garissa, Wajir and Kwale counties relating to gross human rights violations. These include torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and sometimes killings by security agencies in the context of extortion or of a ransom demand. Often they kill or torture in the name of fighting terror or crime control, even in circumstances where they could readily make an arrest.
For instance, there is overwhelming evidence of police shootings with explicit mandate to exterminate suspected gang members in Mombasa county. While it is the sole responsibility of the government and its security agencies to maintain law and order, all interventions employed should always respect the rule of law, human rights and the spirit of the Constitution.
Wanton killings and forceful detainment and disappearances of civilians without following the due process is a blatant violation of human rights.
We cannot have a system where security agencies, especially the police, are free at will to kill. For several years, the gang groups terrorised Mombasa residents and the government did far too little, and when they did finally act, they responded with their own method of terror and brutality.
We must understand that equality, justice and freedom prevent violence and sustain peace. The government cannot respond to security concerns with their own form of terror and brutality.
MUHURI is an ardent believer in the rule of law and equal application of the law to all Kenyans without prejudice of whichever form just as much as it is concerned with the various challenges caused by pre-existing risks and prevalence of violent extremism, criminal gangs and insecurity.
It Is because of the appreciation of the complexity of the issue of insecurity and extremism within the coastal counties that Muhuri has constantly worked with other development partners and security agencies to find sustainable and holistic solutions to these challenges. Measures, which involve extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances have been counterproductive and will only embolden and aggravate the situation.
It will also feed into these narratives of recruitment into gangs and terrorism where vulnerable communities and individuals who are aggrieved by the acts of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance by government security actors get recruited into gangs and violent extremist groups. MUHURI believes extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances are not the solution. In any case, it further polarises, strengthens and plays straight into the narratives of those who recruit the gangs and violent extremist groups whose intentions are to place the community at loggerheads with security agencies. We urge to the adherence to the rule of law and human rights in prosecuting cases of insecurity in the region both in intelligence collection and handling of persons suspected to be involved in crime.
President Uhuru Kenyatta should publicly acknowledge the widespread problem of gross human rights violations and commit to systematic reform of the security sector.
Executive director, Muslims for Human Rights