Recommendations

To the Government of Kenya

• Investigate all claims of arbitrary detention, torture, inhuman treatment, rape, and looting by security forces and prosecute those responsible for the October 2008 Mandera disarmament operation, including the commanding officers who supervised the operation and did nothing to stem abuses by subordinates.
• Establish an independent judicial inquiry into the conduct of the October 2008 disarmament operation in Mandera East and Mandera Central districts. The inquiry should examine the formation of policy, operating procedures, and command responsibility for such joint operations. It should alsorecord complaints from victims as evidence and facilitate the provision of compensation to victims of abuse by state security forces. Special attention should be paid to creating a conducive environment for women and girls who have been sexually assaulted to record their complaints; the inquiry should include trained female investigators and take steps to protect the identity of rape complainants.
• Implement the recommendations of the Waki Commission and the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions as part of the national task force on police reform, chiefly, the establishment of an independent police conduct authority, the merging of the administration and regular police, and the overhaul of police command structures.
• Establish a civilian-led inspectorate to investigate allegations of abuses committed by the military.
• Publicly apologize for the torture, rape, and degrading treatment meted out to civilians in the course of the Mandera disarmament operation of October 2008.
• Pass the National Policy on Small Arms and Light Weapons and conduct future disarmament operations in line with its provisions.
• Sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).

To the Kenyan Parliament

• Establish a parliamentary inquiry into the allegations of abuses in Mandera in October 2008 and promptly publish its findings.
• Establish a parliamentary committee to examine the structure, mandate, and rules of engagement of joint security operations between the police and military, and consider the responsibility of ministers for crimes resulting from abusive policies and strategies approved by them.

To the Ministry of Health and Nongovernmental Organizations Working on Women’s Rights, Health Services, and Sexual Violence in Kenya

• Provide accessible and culturally appropriate information to victims about the health-related consequences, including mental health, of sexual assault to enable women to protect their health following sexual assault.
• Provide HIV testing and testing for other sexually transmitted infections, access to available treatment, and counseling services to female victims of sexual abuse by security forces in the Mandera triangle.

To the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights

• Use the commission’s statutory authority to bring a collective legal case against the state for gross violations of the rights of the victims of the Mandera disarmament operation and seek redress and compensation. To that end, engage lawyers to collect affidavits from the affected parties in Mandera.

To the United States, the United Kingdom, and Other International Partners of Kenyan Security Forces

• Support the Kenyan government’s proposed process of police reform as a matter of urgency.
• Vet all individuals for training or assistance programs to ensure that they were not deployed to Mandera as part of the operation in October 2008.
• Condition security sector assistance on accountability for past abuses during operations by the security forces in Mount Elgon, Mandera, and other locations.
• Insist on a human rights component for all security force training programs as a condition of security assistance.

To the United Nations Secretary-General

• On behalf of the whole UN system, urge the government of Kenya to implement the recommendations contained in this report as well as the recommendations of the UN special rapporteur for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and pledge the support of the UN system to address the concerns raised in this report.

To the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations

• Bar all Kenyan military and police units suspected of committing human rights violations from participating in UN peacekeeping missions until an independent investigation has cleared them of wrongdoing.