Nairobi, 29 January 2010

The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) yesterday joined the Kenyan Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya (FIDA) in calling on Kenya’s parliamentarians to put the rights to equality and non-discrimination at the heart of the country’s new Constitution.

The three organisations issued a joint communiqué amid fears that the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to resolve controversial issues in the draft Constitution might remove or amend key equality provisions in the search for compromise.  The PSC published its report today, 29 January. The report is being passed to the Committee of Experts who will undertake a further review before a final draft is debated in parliament.

The communiqué was issued following a successful roundtable meeting in Nairobi at the beginning of the week with human rights organisations, politicians and officials on the subject of priorities and opportunities for legislative reform on anti-discrimination. The roundtable is the first activity in ERT’s two year project in Kenya, Empowering disadvantaged groups through combating discrimination and promoting equality, which will involve training for NGOs in anti-discrimination law, development of draft legislation and the creation of a joint advocacy strategy. 

Roundtable participants agreed on the need to retain the improved equality and non-discrimination provisions in the draft Constitution and on the need to introduce comprehensive legislation to give effect to the right to non-discrimination.  Participants also agreed to work together to implement a five-strand joint advocacy strategy to raise awareness of different forms of discrimination and of the need for comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation.

Speaking after the roundtable, ERT’s Executive Director Dimitrina Petrova said:

“Given the role which tribal and ethnic inequalities played in sparking the post-election violence, and the fundamental role of discrimination as a driver of poverty in Kenya, the rights to equality and non-discrimination must be at the centre of the new Constitution.

“We fully support KHRC and FIDA in their determination to ensure that these provisions are not sacrificed in the search for consensus and look forward to working with them to develop legislation to give effect to these rights in practice.”

To read the text of the joint communiqué, click here.