Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi on Monday claimed Kenya remains committed to human rights at home and abroad despite rights abuses in the country.
Addressing the Opening of the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mudavadi, who is also the Prime Cabinet Secretary, “reaffirmed Kenya’s unwavering commitment to human rights both at home and on the global stage”
Mudavadi said Kenya’s progressive 2010 Constitution guarantees fundamental freedoms, and they continue strengthening institutions to combat corruption a direct threat to human rights.
“Kenya also champions the rights of refugees through the Shirika Plan and remains open to international scrutiny, actively engaging civil society in our policymaking,” he said, adding that, “Kenya stands firm in defending freedom of expression, press freedom, and the sanctity of life while combating all forms of violence, including gender-based violence and femicide.
“Guided by our Constitution and the UDHR, we remain committed to a just and rights-driven global order”.
Kenya was in October 2024 elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for a three-year term starting in January 2025 despite concerns of human rights abuses in the country, especially following the Gen Z protests in June.
The Council’s role is vital in tackling human rights violations that both fuel and result from conflict.
Kenya was elected alongside the DRC, Ethiopia, The Gambia and Benin from Africa and committed to “advance and protect human rights for all.”
CIVIL GROUPS PROTEST
This was despite human rights groups in Kenya opposing the candidature citing the government’s “gross and systemic human rights violations”.
The organizations led by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), accused the government of violating international laws, treaties and conventions on the protection of human rights.
They cited among other violations, defiance of court orders, unlawful killings, abductions and enforced disappearances, much of which the government has denied involvement and vowed to investigate and prosecute.
“The regime has committed serious atrocities and crimes against the public with little to no redress,” the rights groups said in a letter to President of UN Human Rights Council.
“Many have fallen victim to gross and systemic human rights violations that verge on crimes against humanity. The Kenya police and other state institutions have been the main perpetrators of these violations and abuses,” they said.
ABDUCTIONS
Kenya in October was also accused of abducting and repatriating to Turkey four Turkish nationals residing in the country as refugees.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei confirmed the repatriation was at the request of Turkish authorities, which effectively means the Kenyan government contravened the 1951 Refugee Convention in which it is a party.
Article 33 (1) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees: Non-Penalization, Detention and Protection provides, “No Contracting State shall expel or return (” refouler “) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
Article 33 (2) further provides that, “The benefit of the present provision may not, however, be claimed by a refugee whom there are reasonable grounds for regarding as a danger to the security of the country in which he is, or who, having been convicted by a final judgement of a particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the community of that country”.
Uganda opposition figure Kizza Besigye and his ally were also abducted in Nairobi in November and handed over to Ugandan authorities. They have been undergoing trial in a military court in Uganda.
