April 08

Justice For The Poor (J4P). World Bank

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"Justice for the Poor (J4P) is an attempt by the World Bank to grapple with some of the theoretical and practical challenges of promoting justice sector reform in a number of countries in Africa (Kenya and Sierra Leone) and East Asia (Indonesia and Cambodia). J4P reflects an understanding of the need for demand-oriented, community-driven approach to justice and governance reform, which values the perspectives of the users, particularly the poor and marginalized such as women, youth and ethnic minorities..."
April 09

Report Of The Commonwealth Observer Group For The 2007 General Elections In Kenya

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Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group for the 2007 General Elections in Kenya
This site provides free access to the full text of the final report of the Commonwealth election monitoring group observing the 2007 Kenyan elections. It includes assessments of the state of democracy in kenya, the conduct of the election campaigns and media coverage. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/34293/152078/174418/report_of_the_common

March 20

OHCHR Fact-Finding Mission To Kenya - Report

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From 6-28 February 2008 a Fact-Finding Mission of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was deployed to Kenya to look into violence and allegations of human rights violations following the presidential election of December 2007. The OHCHR Mission analysed underlying civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights issues and formulated nine recommendations on possible accountability mechanisms. Read full report (pdf, 132 Kb).

See the OHCHR press-release and related articles from the UN News Centre.

Permanent Link: OHCHR Fact-Finding Mission to Kenya - report  UN Pulse

 

February 01

Human Rights Watch: 2008 Report

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2008 Report: Democracy Charade Undermines Rights [pdf]
Human Rights Watch Highlights Abuses in Pakistan, Kenya, China, Somalia

(Washington, DC, January 31, 2008) – The established democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections for political expediency, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2008. By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats, without demanding they uphold the civil and political rights that make democracy meaningful, the United States, the European Union and other influential democracies risk undermining human rights worldwide.

States claiming the mantle of democracy, including Kenya and Pakistan, should guarantee the human rights that are central to it, including the rights to free expression, assembly and association, as well as free and fair elections. But in 2007 too many governments, including Bahrain, Jordan, Nigeria, Russia and Thailand, acted as if simply holding a vote is enough to prove a nation “democratic,” and Washington, Brussels and European capitals played along, Human Rights Watch said. The Bush administration has spoken of its commitment to democracy abroad but often kept silent about the need for all governments to respect human rights.

“It’s now too easy for autocrats to get away with mounting a sham democracy,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “That’s because too many Western governments insist on elections and leave it at that. They don’t press governments on the key human rights issues that make democracy function – a free press, peaceful assembly, and a functioning civil society that can really challenge power.”

In its World Report 2008, Human Rights Watch surveys the human rights situation in more than 75 countries. Human Rights Watch identified many human rights challenges in need of attention, including atrocities in Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Sudan’s Darfur region, as well as closed societies or severe repression in Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Libya, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Abuses in the “war on terror” featured in France, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others.

To download report go to: http://hrw.org/wr2k8/pdfs/wr2k8_web.pdf

January 24

Kenya: FT Special Report

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Kenya in crisis: FT special report This site was created by the Financial Times to provide coverage of the political violence following the 2007 Kenyan presidential elections. It provides free access to photographs, newspaper articles and comment from the FT. Many materials focus on the economic impact of the violence. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.ft.com/indepth/kenya
January 18

Ushahidi, A Mashup On Violence And Kenya Elections

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Ushahidi
Ushahidi is an interesting example of web 2.0 technology being used by grass roots activists. It was created in the aftermath of the December 2007 Kenyan presidential elections for citizens to report incidents of political violence and human rights abuses. It uses mashup technology to provide summaries and locate on maps and satellite images the extent and nature of incidents. These are then sent for verification to NGOs and aid agencies. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.ushahidi.com/
January 15

Kenya

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Kenya Red Cross YouTube Channel
This is the official YouTube Channel of the Kenyan Red Cross. It provides access to videos and film clips of their aid programmes in Kenya. In 2008 it was used to provide free access to some videos showing their work in the aftermath of the 2007 presidential elections violence. Technical and copyright information is displayed on the website. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.youtube.com/KenyaRedCross
January 14

Kenya

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Breaking the Stalemate in Kenya
Source: Center for Strategic & International Studies

The historical origins of the violence that has engulfed Kenya since the discredited election of December 27 run deep, and it will take more than a recount of the vote and/or the formation of a government of national unity to resolve the crisis. Although nearly 9 million Kenyans went to the polls in what was to be the crowning event of the country’s two-decade struggle for democratic rule, the ingredients for post-election violence were clear. Public opinion polls conducted before the election indicated that the race between incumbent president Mwai Kibaki and his principal challenger, Raila Odinga, was too close to call. Outbreaks of violence had occurred in the run-up to previous elections in 1992 and 1997. Many Kenyans, especially the leaders of civil society, worried that unless the Election Commission of Kenya (ECK) conducted the December elections in a manner that was scrupulously “free and fair” and regarded as legitimate by all candidates, the losers would not accept the verdict, and violence would ensue.

Sadly, their fears were correct. Despite many warnings and pleas for restraint before the election—from Kenyan civil society, the Kenyan press, and the international community, including the United States—an election that started well has ended in crisis. Between 500 and 1,000 people have died in post-election violence, while more than 250,000 Kenyans, mainly Kikuyu settlers in the western Rift Valley, have been displaced from their homes. How and why did this crisis evolve, and how might it be resolved?

For more information on the Kenyan elections you can view the Kenya: A Post-Election Assessment event.

+ Full Paper (PDF; 164 KB)

Docuticker

January 11

Kenya. BBC

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Kenya in Crisis
Collection of news and analysis about the crisis following the December 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections in Kenya. Also includes photos, video clips, and eyewitness accounts. From the British Broadcasting Service (BBC). Annotation copyright LII.ORG
URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/africa/2008/kenya/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25195
January 08

Kenya

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EU Election Observation Mission to Kenya 2007

This site is maintained by the European Commission. It provides information about the EU observation mission to the 2007 kenyan elections. It includes background facts about the remit of the mission and EU relations with Kenya as well as all press releases and full text reports covering the elections and associated political violence.
http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/human_rights/eu_election_ass_observ/kenya

Kenya's elections: key challenges 2007

This site provides free access to a 5 page report of a meeting which took place as part of the Chatham House Africa Programme meeting on 14 December 2007.It features contibutions from Henry Maina, Warwick University and Jeremy Lind, Research Officer, LSE discussing issues faced by the 2007 Kenyan presidential elections. users should note that this discussion took place before the elections were held.
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/586/

Kenya votes

A voter education website created with the assistance of NDI (US non profit organisation the National Democratic Institute). to cover the 2007 presidential elections. It contains information on the process of voting, the political parties and candidates. This includes links to individual websites of candidates, election campaign manifestos and kenyan discussion forums. Users may also view comment submitted by Kenyan voters. These include interviews on YouTube, blog postings and emails.
http://www.kenyavotes.org/

From Intute.ac.uk