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| Formation | 1992 |
|---|---|
| Type | nongovernmental organization |
| Purpose | Promote human rights |
| Location |
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Official language | English |
Chairman | Davinder Lamba |
Executive Director | Davis Malombe |
| Website | www |
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) is a non-government organisation founded in 1992 and registered in 1994. The Commission campaigns to create a culture in Kenya where human rights and democratic culture are entrenched. It does this through monitoring, documenting and publicising rights violations. [1]
The KHRC relies on donations from individuals and from organizations such as the Swedish International Development Agency, Christian Aid, Trocaire, Danish International Development Agency, United Nations Development Programme, UNIFEM, Canadian International Development Agency, The Ford Foundation, Swedish International Development Agency and others. [2] A board of directors provides oversight. The commission management is headed by an executive director, and programme officers are responsible for specific activities. [3] Programs involve Advocacy, Research, Monitoring and Documentation and Media, Publicity and Communication. [4]
The KHRC is a member organisation of the International Network for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights. [5] The KHRC is a partner of the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), a non-profit research and network organization that works on social, ecological and economic issues related to sustainable development. [6]
The KHRC tries to address the sustainability of the human rights movement, liberation of grassroots groups and organisations, social justice, accountability, and gender mainstreaming. [6] The KHRC has published a roadmap for achieving human rights in Kenya based on a six-point action plan for de-ethnicising Kenyan politics, entrenching the constitution-making process in the current constitution, implementation of Transitional Justice, preserving the independence of democratic institutions, realising gender equality and equity in Kenyan society and empowering the civic commons. [7]
Founded at a time when serious human rights abuses were prevalent in Kenya, between 1992 and 1998 the KHRC focused on monitoring, documenting and publicising violations of civil and political rights. The organisation helped strengthen the role of civil society, advocated democratic reforms and helped with the constitution-making process. Between 1999 and 2003 the KHRC began working on a broader range of economic, social and cultural rights. From 2004 onward, KHRC has been focusing on helping communities understand and claim their democratic and Human Rights. [8] In March 2004 the KHRC met with Kenya Police and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative to discuss a Strategic plan for Police Reforms in Kenya. [9]
After the flawed Kenyan presidential election in December 2007 the executive director of the commission, Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki received death threats due to statements she had made about the elections. She was described as a traitor to the Kikuyu people. [10] Wanyeki had said the Government had used public resources to support its campaign and had failed to guarantee voter security, particularly in areas hit by ethnic conflicts. The commission was compiling a comprehensive report on human rights violations during the elections. [11] In December 2009 Muthoni Wanyeki stated that the KHRC was in favour of having the International Criminal Court (ICC) launch investigations into the post-election violence. However, human rights activists were concerned about the safety of witnesses who provided evidence to the ICC, since the government was unlikely to give them any protection. [12]
In 2009 the KHRC filed a representative suit in the British High Court on behalf of survivors of the Mau Mau, an anti-colonialist movement, seeking reparations for abuses during the extended state of emergency between 1952 and 1960. One of the objectives was to implant the tools for comprehensive transitional justice in Kenya by addressing the problems of impunity for past abuse. [13]
In May 2011 the commission issued a report in which it called for the government to decriminalise homosexuality. [14] The commission stated that "LGBTI individuals in Kenya continue to be some of the most marginalized and discriminated individuals because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity." It criticized anti-gay violence and discrimination, and even was supportive of gay marriage. [15]
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists—including senior judges, attorneys and academics—who work to develop national and international human rights standards through the law. Commissioners are known for their experience, knowledge and fundamental commitment to human rights. The composition of the Commission aims to reflect the geographical diversity of the world and its many legal systems.
Torture, the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain upon an individual to extract information or a confession, or as an illicit extrajudicial punishment, is prohibited by international law and is illegal in most countries. However, it is still used by many governments. The subject of this article is the use of torture since the adoption of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which prohibited it.
The human rights situation in Cambodia is facing growing criticisms both within the country and from an increasingly alarmed international community. After a series of flagrant violations against basic human rights a feeling of incertitude regarding the direction the country is emerging, sometimes comparing the situation to a newborn Burma.
Torture in Bahrain refers to the violation of Bahrain's obligations as a state party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and other international treaties and disregard for the prohibition of torture enshrined in Bahraini law.
Human rights in Kenya internationally maintain a variety of mixed opinions; specifically, political freedoms are highlighted as being poor and homosexuality remains a crime. In the Freedom in the World index for 2017, Kenya held a rating of '4' for civil liberties and political freedoms, in which a scale of "1" to "7" is practised.
The Equity and Reconciliation Commission is a Moroccan human rights and truth commission created on January 7, 2004, when King Mohammed VI signed a Dahir. The commission was established to reconcile victims of human rights abuses, such as torture, forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, committed by the government and high-ranking officials during the Years of Lead, with the State. The commission investigates events from 1956 to 1999, spanning the reign of the two previous monarchs. The proclaimed objectives of the commission were the protection and the promotion of the human rights in Morocco.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Kenya face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Sodomy is a felony per Section 162 of the Kenyan Penal Code, punishable by 14 years' imprisonment, and any sexual practices between males are a felony under section 165 of the same statute, punishable by 5 years' imprisonment. While female same sex-sexual activity is not explicitly prohibited by law, lesbians, bisexual women and transgender people are not recognised in the Kenyan Constitution, and are discriminated against, covertly. They also undergo corrective rape practices by heterosexual men. On 24 May 2019, the High Court of Kenya refused an order to declare sections 162 and 165 unconstitutional. The state does not recognise any relationships between persons of the same sex; same-sex marriage is banned under the Kenyan Constitution since 2010. There are no explicit protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Adoption is prohibited to same-sex couples.
Transitional justice is a process which responds to massive human rights violations through judicial redress, political reforms in a region or country, and other measures in order to prevent the recurrence of human rights abuse. Transitional justice consists of judicial and non-judicial measures implemented in order to redress legacies of human rights abuses. Such mechanisms "include criminal prosecutions, truth commissions, reparations programs, and various kinds of institutional reforms" as well as memorials, apologies, and various art forms. Transitional justice is instituted at a point of political transition classically from war to positive peace, or more broadly from violence and repression to societal stability and it is informed by a society's desire to rebuild social trust, reestablish what is right from what is wrong, repair a fractured justice system, and build a democratic system of governance. The core value of transitional justice is the very notion of justice—which does not necessarily mean criminal justice. This notion and the political transformation, such as regime change or transition from conflict are thus linked to a more peaceful, certain, and democratic future.
There were widespread reports of systematic and escalating violations of human rights in Zimbabwe under the regime of Robert Mugabe and his party, ZANU-PF, between 1980 and 2017.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea is the independent commission for protecting, advocating and promoting human rights. This commission, by law, is guaranteed the independent status regarding all human rights issues in South Korea. According to judgment of Constitutional Court of Korea in year 2010, NHRCK is an independent agency inside executive branch of South Korean government.
Reparations are broadly understood as compensation given for an abuse or injury. The colloquial meaning of reparations has changed substantively over the last century. In the early 1900s, reparations were interstate exchanges that were punitive mechanisms determined by treaty and paid by the surrendering side of conflict, such as the World War I reparations paid by Germany and its allies. Reparations are now understood as not only war damages but also compensation and other measures provided to victims of severe human rights violations by the parties responsible. The right of the victim of an injury to receive reparations and the duty of the part responsible to provide them has been secured by the United Nations.
The International Criminal Court investigation in Kenya or the situation in the Republic of Kenya was an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the responsibility for the 2007–2008 post-election violence in Kenya. The 2007–2008 crisis followed the presidential election that was held on 27 December 2007. The Electoral Commission of Kenya officially declared that the incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected however supporters of the opposition candidate Raila Odinga accused the government of electoral fraud and rejected the results. A series of protests and demonstrations followed, and fighting—mainly along tribal lines—led to an estimated 1,200 deaths and more than 500,000 people becoming internally displaced.
East Timor is a multiparty parliamentary republic with a population of approximately 1.1 million, sharing the island of Timor with Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara province. During the 24 years of Indonesian occupation and after the 1999 independence referendum, pro Indonesian militias committed many human rights violations. The country gained independence in 2002, and free and fair elections were held in 2007. The United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor (UNMIT) and the International Stabilization Force remain in the country while it develops its own security forces, the National Police (PNTL) and Defence Forces (F-FDTL).
FEMNET, also called the African Women's Development and Communication Network, is an organization established in 1988 to promote women's development in Africa. FEMNET helps non-government organizations share information and approaches on women's development, equality and other human rights.
Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki is a Kenyan political scientist, human rights activist, journalist, and the current Regional Director of Open Society Foundation's Africa Regional Office. Wanyeki is the former Regional Director of Amnesty International's Regional Office for East Africa, the Horn, and the Great Lakes. She is also the former Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission and the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET).
The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya (TJRC) was established in 2008. Kenya’s modern history has been marked not only by liberation struggles but also by ethnic conflicts, semi-despotic regimes, marginalization and political violence, including the coup d'état of 1982, the Shifta War, and the 2007 Post-election violence.
The Gor Sungu Commission was a Kenya Parliamentary Select Committee investigating circumstances leading to the death of the late Dr. Robert Ouko.
The Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists, also known as ICJ Kenya, is a Kenyan non-governmental organisation, a National Section of the International Commission of Jurists. It is composed of lawyers and works to promote human rights and the rule of law.
The National Reconciliation Commission was established in January 2002 by the Parliament of Ghana. The goal of the commission was to establish an "accurate, complete and historical record of violations and abuses of human rights inflicted on persons by public institutions and holders of public office during periods of unconstitutional government." The Commission was formed after a new democratic party won the elections in 2000. The Commission covered human rights violations in Ghana from 1957 to 1993. It looked into government abuses and military coups staged by former president Jerry Rawlings. The members of the Commission worked until the end of 2004.
Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a truth and reconciliation commission established by President Alejandro Toledo to investigate the human rights abuses committed during the internal conflict in Peru between 1980s and 1990s. The TRC was a response to the violent internal conflict between 1980 and 2000 during the administration of Presidents Fernando Belaúnde (1980–1985), Alan García (1985–1990), and Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000). The commission's mandate was to provide a record of human rights and international humanitarian law violations committed in Peru between May 1980 and November 2000, as well as recommend mechanisms to promote and strengthen human rights. The TRC reported on the estimated 70 000 deaths, assassinations, torture, disappearances, displacement, employment of terrorist methods and other human rights violations executed by the State, Shining Path, and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. The report concluded that there is both institutional and individual accountability, as well as identifying racial and cultural factors that became a catalyst for conflict.
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