INTRODUCTION
Universal human right
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge, Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATION
Trafficking in Persons
The law does not explicitly prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, although it criminalizes trafficking of children and trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Persons were trafficked to, from, and within the country.
The country was a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Children were trafficked within the country for domestic servitude, street vending, agricultural labor, and commercial sexual exploitation, including in the coastal sex tourism industry. During the year there were reports that ethnic-based militia were recruiting youth, including those in IDP camps (see section 1.g.). Men, women, and girls were trafficked to the Middle East, other African nations, Europe, and North America for domestic servitude, enslavement in massage parlors and brothels, and forced manual labor. Foreign employment agencies facilitated and profited from the trafficking of Kenyan nationals to Middle Eastern nations, notably Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon, as well as to Germany. Chinese, Indian, and Pakistani women reportedly transited Nairobi en route to exploitation in Europe’s commercial sex trade. Brothels and massage parlors in Nairobi employed foreign women, some of whom were likely trafficked. Asian nationals were trafficked into the country and coerced into bonded labor. According to the 2006 UNICEF/Ministry of Home Affairs research report, 10,000 to 15,000 girls living in four main coastal resort areas were involved in prostitution, representing up to 30 percent of all 12- to 18-year-olds living in these areas.
Police reportedly investigated trafficking cases in the coastal and Rift Valley regions; however, the government was unable to provide statistics on trafficking-related investigations, arrests, and prosecutions during the year.
Victims trafficked abroad generally were recruited through employment agencies under false pretenses. Domestic trafficking victims were often lured by friends and relatives, who offered them false promises of marriage, good employment, or access to education. Poor families were misled into believing that their child was gaining the opportunity for a better life. The NGO Behavioural Change Plus Care of Humanity reported that traffickers targeted poor and illiterate girls in slum areas to work for little or no pay. For example, during the year a local NGO rescued six girls from Western and Nyanza provinces who had been lured to Nairobi to work as domestic servants.
Trafficking of Asians generally occurred through recognized border crossing points, using both legitimate and forged travel documents. However, nationals of neighboring countries were often trafficked using forged travel documents and entered the country through unmonitored border crossing points. In May The Standard newspaper reported that police arrested 15 Indian nationals who had been trafficked to the country. They were subsequently deported. In November the newspaper The Nation quoted an immigration officer saying that approximately 80 trafficked foreigners were repatriated monthly.
The minimum penalty for trafficking for sexual exploitation is 15 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to two million shillings ($27,400), or both. The minimum sentence for child trafficking is 10 years in prison and a fine of approximately two million shillings ($27,400). However, fines in practice were limited, and jail time was rarely imposed. Laws prohibiting the forcible detention of women for prostitution, child labor, transportation of children for sale, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children can also be used to prosecute trafficking-related offenses. In 2007 the National Steering Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, chaired by the vice president’s office and the Ministry of Home Affairs permanent secretary, selected a task force of government agencies, NGOs, and UN agencies to draft a national plan of action and a smaller group to serve as a secretariat.
During the year, police assisted with international trafficking in persons investigations in other countries. There were no reports that the government had received any requests to extradite citizens accused of trafficking in persons offenses in other countries.
The police antitrafficking unit, in conjunction with other police formations, has primary responsibility for combating trafficking. In 2007, 14 community policing and child protection police units were established. However, police had limited capacity to track data on trafficking arrests, and no year-end statistics were available.
In April police arrested a Congolese national for running a trafficking ring based in Nairobi. In May Nairobi police arrested two persons for running an international trafficking ring. These cases were ongoing at year’s end. In May the media reported that police closed a children’s home in Kajiado for trafficking a child to the United Kingdom.
Government collaboration with NGOs to combat human trafficking increased. Awareness among government departments continued to grow during the year, largely due to NGO efforts to study the issue, educate the media, and inform the public about the problem. The media, especially the government-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, reported cases of suspected human trafficking.
At year’s end six people were on trial for trafficking 14 children–aged six months to 12 years–in Bomet and Nandi districts.
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other state services; however, the government did not effectively enforce these provisions. The Ministry of Health is the lead ministry responsible for implementing the law, but implementation has been slow. The government has equipped some public buildings with wheelchair ramps, and wheelchair-accessible elevators and sanitary facilities. The government assigned each region a sign-language interpreter for court proceedings.
NGOs reported that persons with disabilities were disproportionately affected by postelection violence, especially in IDP camps. However, NGOs reported that camp administrators often failed to recognize those with mental disabilities.
A 2007 study conducted by KNCHR revealed that many students with disabilities were denied admission to regular schools, while in some cases the government declined to fund special schools. The Education Ministry permanent secretary stated that only 35,000 of the 147,000 children with special needs were enrolled in school, while the KNCHR commissioner contended that fewer than 10 percent of children with special needs were enrolled in school. However, the number of special education teachers who have graduated from the Kenya Institute of Special Education increased to 9,000 in 2007.
The KNCHR also stated that the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) failed to provide adequate testing facilities and resources for students with disabilities. KNEC claimed that it provided special accommodations, such as exams in Braille and in large print for visually impaired candidates and extra time to complete exams. The government was developing disability-specific curricula, but the process was slow because the government failed to allocate sufficient resources and staff.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The population is divided into more than 40 ethnic groups, among whom discrimination and occasional violence were frequent. The 1999 census indicated that Bantu ethnic groups constituted approximately 67 percent of the population, of which the Kikuyu and closely related Embu and Meru accounted for 32 percent, the Luhya 16 percent, and the Kamba 10 percent; Nilotic groups constituted 30 percent, of which the Kalenjin accounted for 12 percent and the Luo 11 percent; and Cushitic groups–mainly Somalis–constituted 3 percent of the population. The Kikuyu and related groups dominated much of private commerce and industry and often purchased land outside their traditional home areas, which sometimes resulted in fierce resentment from other ethnic groups. The numerically small and shrinking South Asian community controlled a disproportionate share of commerce.
The conflict between two Cushitic groups in the far northeast continued, with each group accusing the other of maintaining militias and receiving armed support from their ethnic kinsmen across the border in Ethiopia and Somalia to harass, intimidate, and kill members of the other group. In October the government sent a joint force of police and military personnel to interdict illegal weapons fueling the conflict. During the operation, security forces forcibly detained males in El Wak, Garri, and Mandera town. KNCHR accused police personnel of engaging in torture by whipping men with electrical cables and subjecting them to beatings while demanding that they surrender illegal weapons.
During the year postelection violence often had an ethnic component. Interethnic violence increased during the year after the December 2007 announcement of the presidential election results. In January mobs in opposition strongholds, such as the Rift Valley and the western provinces, violently targeted ethnic Kikuyu and others suspected of supporting the incumbent president. In retaliation, Kikuyu mobs perpetrated vigilante attacks on non Kikuyu residents in Central Province, Nakuru, Naivasha, and areas of Nairobi. The violence continued until the signing of a political power-sharing agreement in late February.
For example, in early January, a mob set fire to a church where Kikuyu residents sought sanctuary, killing 35 people, mostly women and children. On January 4, a Kikuyu mob stopped and burned a bus traveling to the western region of the country, killing all the passengers. The passengers were members of a tribe that supported the opposition. In late January Kikuyu mobs in Nakuru and Naivasha attacked non-Kikuyu residents of the town, killing 90 persons. NGOs and the media estimated that a total of 1,500 persons were killed, and the UN estimated that 500,000 persons were displaced during the postelection violence. In September KNCHR issued a report which concluded that much of the violence was organized and financed by politicians.
Through the provincial administrations, the government held public meetings to promote reconciliation in communities affected by the postelection violence and to establish a forum for dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts. NGOs reported that implementation of reconciliation efforts was not uniform. During the year NGOs and church organizations were also involved in attempts to reconcile communities affected by postelection violence. Land conflicts during the year took place between the Maasai and Kipsigis in southern Rift Valley Province in June and between Maasai and Kikuyu in Naivasha in September.
Many factors contributed to interethnic conflicts: longstanding grievances over land tenure policies and competition for scarce agricultural land, the proliferation of guns, the commercialization of traditional cattle rustling, the growth of a modern warrior/bandit culture (distinct from traditional culture), ineffective local political leadership, diminished economic prospects for groups affected by a severe regional drought, political rivalries, and the inability of security forces to adequately quell violence. Conflict between land owners and squatters was particularly severe in Rift Valley and Coast provinces, while competition for water and pasturage was especially serious in the northern districts of Rift Valley and Eastern Provinces and in North Eastern Province.
In private business and in the public sector, members of nearly all ethnic groups commonly discriminated in favor of other members of the same group. Some neighborhoods, particularly in slum areas of the capital, tended to be segregated ethnically, although interethnic marriage had become fairly common in urban areas.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination
There was societal discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2007 the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya and other civic leaders condemned homosexuality and argued against legalizing gay marriages. A group in Mombasa created the Muslim Youth Pressure Group to oppose homosexuality in 2007.
There was societal discrimination against homosexuals and persons with HIV/AIDS during the year. The common view of HIV/AIDS as a stigma made it difficult for many families to acknowledge that a member was HIV-positive, and to date no socially or politically prominent individual has admitted being HIV-positive. However, there were fewer reports of violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. During the year courts awarded legal judgments which recognized discrimination against persons with HIV. For example, in July a Nairobi high court awarded 2.2 million shillings ($28,000) to a woman who had been wrongfully discharged from her job due to her HIV-positive status.
The Ministry of Defense arranged for uniformed personnel, their families, and some local persons to have access to HIV counseling and testing, prevention programs, and antiretroviral treatment during the year.
The government worked in cooperation with international donors on programs for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. This cooperation enabled a continued expansion of counseling and testing as well as care and treatment. During the year, the number of people with knowledge of their HIV status and those able to achieve improved health if found to be infected more than doubled. These developments were seen as key to reducing stigma and discrimination.
Organizations representing persons with albinism claimed that they suffered widespread discrimination. On December 25, a child with albinism was killed in Namangan because the perpetrators believed that the death of a person with albinism would bring wealth and fortune. By year’s end the investigation was still ongoing.
Worker Rights
The Right of Association
The law provides that all workers, including those in the export processing zones (EPZs), are free to form and join unions of their choice, and workers exercised this right in practice. Workers numbering seven or more in an enterprise have the right to form a union by registering with the trade union registrar. If the registrar denies registration, a union may appeal to the courts. The armed forces, police, prisons service, and the administration police are explicitly prohibited from forming or joining unions. There were 42 unions representing an estimated 500,000 workers, approximately one‑third of the formal sector work force. The law allows unions to conduct their activities without government inference, including the right to strike, but this right was not always protected.
The law permits workers to strike, but requires formal conciliation procedures to have been exhausted and seven days notice to both the government and the employer. The law permits the government to deny workers the right to strike under certain conditions. For example, members of the military, police, prison guards, and the National Youth Service are prohibited from striking. Other civil servants are allowed to strike following the seven day notice period.
The Ministry of Labor typically referred disputes to mediation, fact‑finding, or binding arbitration at the Industrial Court; during mediation any strike is illegal, thus removing legal prohibitions on employer retaliation against strikers. In practice, a Ministry of Labor referral to dispute resolution nullifies the right to strike. For example, in 2006 the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) sought wage rises varying from 298 to 520 percent. In 2006 the government referred the dispute to the Industrial Court, which awarded UASU a 30 percent pay rise in September 2008.
The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
While not having the force of law, the Industrial Relations Charter (IRC), implemented by the government, Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), and the Federation of Kenya Employers, gives workers the right to engage in legitimate trade union organizational activities, and the government protected these rights. Both the Trade Disputes Act and the IRC authorize collective bargaining between unions and employers, and unions and management establish negotiated wages and conditions of employment.
Security forces cannot bargain collectively but have an internal board which reviews salaries. Other groups that cannot bargain collectively, such as health sector workers have associations, not unions, which negotiate wages and conditions that match the government’s minimum wage guidelines; however, these agreements were not legally enforceable. Workers in the military, prisons, the National Youth Service and teachers under the Teachers’ Service Commission do not have the right to bargain collectively.
Except for the Factories Act, all labor laws apply in the EPZs; however, the EPZ Authority and the government granted many exemptions to applicable laws. For example, the government waived a provision of the law that prevents women from working in industrial activities at night. The Tailors and Textiles Workers Union claimed that a number of garment producers in the EPZs have refused to recognize the union and resisted its efforts to organize their workers. The law prohibits employers from intimidating workers; however, some antiunion discrimination occurred, including in garment plants in the EPZs. The Industrial Court, a body of up to five judges appointed by the president, can order reinstatement and damages in the form of back pay for employees wrongfully dismissed for union activities. The government voiced its support for union rights but did not protect them fully. Some unions complained that employers resisted efforts to establish unions in their factories, even where most workers indicated a desire for union membership, and that the Industrial Court and Ministry of Labor and Human Resource Development were ineffective in compelling employers to comply with the law.
During the year the government strengthened the labor dispute system by giving the Industrial Court the ability to enforce its decisions. However, union leaders reported that employers often did not comply with reinstatement orders, and workers often accepted payment in lieu of reinstatement.
Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits slavery, indentured servitude, and forced and bonded labor, including by children, but such practices reportedly occurred. Women, children, and men were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and labor (see section 5.).
Forced child labor occurred.
- Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The law prohibits all forms of child labor that are exploitative, hazardous, or would prevent children under age 16 from attending school. However, child labor was widespread, particularly in the informal sector, and children were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and labor. The Ministry of Labor and Human Resources Development nominally enforced the minimum age statute.
The law defines child labor, and the worst forms of child labor can be prosecuted, both under the Children’s Act, which prohibits child sexual exploitation, and under the penal code. The Employment Act of 2007 also prohibits the employment of a child (defined as a person under the age of 18) in any activity that constitutes a worst form of child labor, includes fines of up to 200,000 shillings ($25,000) and/or imprisonment for up to 12 months. The penal code prohibits procurement of a girl under 21 for unlawful sexual relations and criminalizes child commercial sexual exploitation, child labor, and the transport of children for sale. Persons under 18 may not be employed in any industrial undertaking at night, employment should not cause children to reside away from parents without their approval, and permission to work in a bar, hotel, or restaurant requires annually-renewed consent from the labor commissioner. Children under 13 are prohibited from working; also, children between 13 and 16 years of age may only perform “light work” which is not harmful to their health or development and does not interfere with their schooling. However, the law does not apply minimum age restrictions to children serving as apprentices under the terms of the Industrial Training Act.
An estimated one million children between five and 17 years of age–most between 13 and 17 years old—-worked; approximately 773,000 of those children were classified as child laborers. The employment of children in the formal industrial wage sector in violation of the Employment Act was rare. Children worked primarily in the informal sector, which was difficult to monitor and control. Many children worked on family plots or in family units on tea, coffee, sugar, and rice plantations. Children also worked in mining, including abandoned gold mines, and small quarries, breaking rocks and sifting through tailings. Children often worked long hours as domestic servants in private homes for little or no pay, and there were reports of physical and sexual abuse of child domestics. In addition thousands of children were exploited in the sex industry. Forced or compulsory labor by children, such as agricultural labor, prostitution, and domestic servitude sometimes were initiated by their parents. During the year there were reports that ethnic-based militia recruited children.
The government worked closely with COTU and the International Labor Organization to eliminate child labor. In 2004 the government prepared a practical guide to labor inspection and trained labor inspectors and occupational health and safety officers to report on child labor. In 2006 the government renewed the three-year mandate for the National Steering Committee on the Elimination of Child Labor, which includes the attorney general, eight ministries, representatives of child welfare organizations, other NGOs, unions, and employers. An Interministerial Coordination Committee on Child Labor, chaired by the minister for gender and children’s affairs, was responsible for setting general policy.
Many NGOs were active on child labor issues and assisted in the return to school of child laborers. During the year the government continued to implement 73 programs for the elimination of child labor with 25 partner agencies. The partners placed the children in schools, vocational training institutions, and apprenticeships, and supported income‑generating activities for an estimated 10,000 parents. Partners also provided support to schools for income‑generating activities to help keep children from poor families in school.
UNICEF, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, the World Tourism Organization, and NGOs continued to work with hotels and tour operators to increase their awareness of child prostitution and sex tourism. They encouraged all hospitality-sector businesses to adopt and implement the code of conduct developed by the NGO End Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT). In 2006, 30 hotels on the coast signed the ECPAT code of conduct. The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife’s campaign to register villas and cottages and impose the same requirements as on hotels resulted in an estimated 1,200 registrations. In 2007, 20 more hotels had signed the code of conduct; by year’s end 10 additional hotels had signed the code of conduct.
During the year the Child Protection Department of the Ministry of Gender and Child Services hired 150 new children’s officers. This followed the hiring of an additional 160 officers in 2007. The government’s cash transfer program for orphans and vulnerable children (partially funded by UNICEF) expanded during the year to reach more than 25,000 children in 17 districts, providing approximately 500-1,000 shillings ($8-$15) per child per month to help fund basic needs, including school costs, so that the children would not have to work.
- Acceptable Conditions of Work
Labor laws passed in 2007 established two weeks’ paternity leave, increased maternity leave with full pay from two to three months, and compensated both public and private employees for work-related injuries and diseases contracted at work, among other provisions. However, during the year employers challenged these provisions in court. At year’s end the case was ongoing.
There is no national minimum wage. However, the government established minimum wages by location, age, and skill level. In many industries the legal minimum wage equaled the maximum wage. The lowest urban minimum wage was approximately 7,578 shillings ($105) per month, and the lowest agricultural minimum wage for unskilled employees was 2,536 shillings ($35) per month, excluding housing allowance. In 2007 the Productivity Center of Kenya, a tripartite institution including the Ministry of Labor, the Federation of Kenyan Employers, and COTU, set wage guidelines for various sectors based on productivity, inflation, and cost of living indices. The minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and his or her family. Most workers relied on second jobs, subsistence farming, other informal work, or the extended family for additional support. A large percent of the labor force worked in the informal sector and were not covered by these provisions.
The law limits the normal workweek to 52 hours (60 hours for night workers); some categories of workers had lower limits. The law specifically excludes agricultural workers. An employee in the nonagricultural sector is entitled to one rest day per week, and there are provisions for 21 days of combined annual and sick leave. The law also requires that total hours worked (regular time plus overtime) in any two‑week period not exceed 120 hours (144 hours for night workers). The Ministry of Labor and Human Resources Development was responsible for enforcing these regulations. Violations were reported during the year. Workers in some enterprises, particularly in the EPZs and road construction, claimed that employers forced them to work extra hours without overtime pay to meet production targets. In addition employers often did not provide nighttime transport, leaving workers vulnerable to assault, robbery, and sexual harassment.
The law detailed environmental, health, and safety standards; however, the government did not effectively enforce the law. Fines generally were too low to serve as a deterrent to unsafe practices. EPZs are excluded from the Factory Act’s provisions. The Ministry of Labor’s Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety Services (DOHSS) has the authority to inspect factories and work sites, except in the EPZs; it had 75 inspectors, an increase of 25 from the 2006-07 fiscal year, but far short of the 168 reportedly needed to inspect factories adequately and enforce its safety and health orders. Informal surveys found widespread hazards such as lack of basic safety equipment and emergency escape routes. DOHSS occupational safety and health advisers made 405 safety audits from July 2007 through June. DOHSS prosecuted 29 firms for violating occupational health and safety regulations during the same period. Labor unions and NGOs continued to criticize health and safety conditions in the EPZs and other sectors, such as small horticultural producers.
DOHSS health and safety inspectors can issue notices against employers for practices or activities that involve a risk of serious personal injury. Such notices can be appealed to the Factories Appeals Court, a body of four members, one of whom must be a high court judge. The law stipulates that factories employing 20 or more persons should have an internal health and safety committee with representation from workers. DOHSS developed a program to help factories establish the committees and trained them to conduct safety audits and submit compliance reports to DOHSS. However, according to the government, fewer than half of the largest factories had instituted health and safety committees.
Workers, including foreigners and immigrants, theoretically have the right to remove themselves from situations that endanger health or safety without jeopardy to their employment; however, this right was not effectively enforced, and workers were reluctant to risk losing their jobs.
Stateless Persons
UNHCR estimated that 100,000 stateless Sudanese Nubians, reportedly the descendants of Sudanese forcibly conscripted by the British in the early 1900s, lived in the country. UNHCR also reported that the Nubians should have been granted citizenship under prevailing nationality law. In 2003 the Nubians sought judicial relief from the Constitutional Court to be declared citizens by birth. Citizenship is determined by jus sanguinis (based on parentage), but the law also provides citizenship for Africans brought to the country by colonial authorities. In 2005 they filed a memorandum of admissibility with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) under the African Charter on Human Rights. In 2007 the ACHPR heard arguments on the admissibility of the case. The government presented its arguments and filed a brief on the merits of the case. No further information on the case was available at year’s end.
According to the UNHCR, an unknown number of descendants of mixed Eritrean-Ethiopian marriages also were stateless. They were unable to obtain citizenship in either of those countries due to strong nationalist prejudices. The lack of proper documentation resulted in difficulties finding employment.
ADVOCACY AND LOBBYING IN HUMAN RIGHTS
Some key stakeholders and their sources of power are:
Government
Election mandate, political authority, access to state resources, access to civil service, access to business, access to donors, access to other governments, membership of international organizations, influence over provincial and local government
Civil society organizations
Constituency / membership base, information drawn from development work, expertise, credibility, access to international networks / sector organizations
Union federation
Membership, money, access to union media, mobilization skills
Business
Money, capacity to buy intellectual power, access to officials, access to media, power as employers
Religious organizations
Membership, moral authority, outreach
Media
Access to the public, variety of sources of information, communication skills, captive audiences
WHY IS INFORMATION A SOURCE OF POWER?
- Information can be a source of power in advocacy for several reasons:
- Information drawn from advocacy groups’ own work can provide them with credibility and with the basis for alternative analysis to counter positions.
- Information or data, which is only available to government institutions can be used by government to influence arguments in favour of their own positions.
- Information provided by advocacy groups to communities regarding their constitutional rights empowers the people in those communities to assert their rights.
- Information collected by advocacy groups from other advocacy groups in regional, national, or international organizations about experiences and policies elsewhere, and used in an advocacy campaign, can help to influence local or national policy decisions.
ADVOCACY TOOLS
In advocacy, each issue demands different approaches and strategies, partners, tactics, methods, resources, materials, and so on. In embarking upon an advocacy campaign, it is important to have the capacity to consider all available options and to make strategic choices amongst them. We call these options the “tools” of advocacy. Skilled and informed use of these tools results in greater advocacy impact. The most important of these tools include:
- Information: Gathering, managing and disseminating information lays the basis for determining the direction of an advocacy campaign. Research is one way of gathering information.
- Research: Conducting research and policy analysis uses the information from various sources and develops it into policy options which become the key content of an advocacy campaign.
- Media: Various media are used to communicate the campaign’s message(s) to the different stakeholders.
- Social mobilization: Mobilizing the broadest possible support from a range of stakeholders, including the public at large, is essential to building the influence of the campaign.
- Lobbying: Convincing the decision-makers who have the power to make the desired change involves a set of special knowledge and skills.
- Litigation: Sometimes, using the court system to challenge a policy or law can reinforce an advocacy campaign.
- Networks, alliances and coalitions: Sharing of information and resources, and strength in unity and commonality of purpose are key to the success of advocacy work.
The choice of tools will vary, even in the context of a single campaign. It will depend on:
- The issue at hand;
- The strategic objectives;
- The message to be communicated;
- The stakeholders targeted;
The relevant structures and processes involved;
- The time frame available;
- The resources available;
- The capacities of the advocacy organization(s) and their allies;
- The overall cultural, social, political and economic context.
Advocacy is a complex task. Its objectives will not be achieved through the use of only one tool or method, but rather will require a carefully designed mixture of approaches. Groups should be flexible throughout their advocacy campaign so that if one tool does not have the expected results, another can be tried.
The Media
The media can be used in various ways to convey a message to different target audiences as part of an advocacy campaign. While stressing the potential impact of the media, we need to first understand issues such as what do the media look for, what actually makes news, how advocacy organizations can interact with different media, and importantly, the type of preparation that is required.
It is essential, for the greatest impact in each case, to be strategic in the choice of media and the formulation of appropriate and clear messages. It is also important for advocacy
Organizations to develop ongoing relationships with the relevant media organizations and individuals so as to build mutual respect and confidence.
Social Movements
Social movements are mass-based movements of the people which unite the people in a cause which cuts across their traditional barriers. They have played a crucial role in South African history. Mass mobilization remains an important advocacy tool. The advantages noted above may strengthen an advocacy campaign and speed its success. However, mass mobilization may also create situations which the advocacy leadership is unable to control and result in problems which damage the campaign. Therefore, as with all other advocacy tools, careful consideration must be given to the benefits and risks before proceeding with mass mobilization.
Networks, alliances and coalitions
Networks, alliances and coalitions can be potentially powerful tools in advocacy work. However, advocacy groups who are contemplating either forming or joining any one of them must give careful thought to the costs and benefits for their organization as well as for the advocacy campaign itself. Co-operation and co-ordination require planning, time and often money. Different forms of co-operation and co-ordination will suit different situations, and advocacy groups should not feel locked into any one model. However, the key principles underlying such relationships – sharing information, experience and resources; building strength through unity; broadening support on important issues; and so on – should always be a part of CSO advocacy work.
HOW TO MAKE A CASE TO SUPPORTER OF LOBBYING
- Tell the truth. This is because lobbyist is good and their words legislator relief upon.
- Never promise more than you can deliver.
- Know how to listen and understand
- Always remember that stuff is there to be worked with and not to be circumvented.
- Spring no surprise. Legislator and their staff need to know the resource and support.
REVISION QUESTIONS
- Explain the universal human rights
- Discuss human rights violation
- Describe advocacy and lobbying in human rights
