• Commentary
    May 5, 2012
    On a sizzling Saturday in January, I visited the home of Dakan G., down a dusty path off the main gravel road running through Wajir, at the heart of Kenya’s North Eastern province. Dakan’s grandchildren milled around outside the tukul’s narrow entryway. Her daughter lingered in the doorway.
  • Press release
    May 4, 2012
    The Kenyan security forces have committed widespread human rights abuses against ethnic Somalis with total impunity. Between November 2011 and March 2012, Kenyan police and soldiers arbitrarily arrested and mistreated Kenyan citizens and Somali refugees in North Eastern province in response to attacks by militants suspected of links to Somalia’s Islamist armed movement al-Shabaab.
  • Press release
    Apr 27, 2012
    The Kenyan government should reaffirm its commitment to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in cases stemming from the 2007-2008 post-election violence, while establishing a local judicial mechanism to investigate and prosecute other suspects.
  • Press release
    Mar 30, 2012
    Kenyan authorities should not return refugees to Somalia because of ongoing fighting and abuses against civilians in areas controlled by Kenyan forces and allied militias. Instead of claiming that “newly liberated areas” are safe for refugee return, Kenyan authorities should reopen the screening center at Liboi and resume registration of new refugees to ensure they receive assistance.
  • Press release
    Jan 23, 2012

    The decision on January 23, 2012 of an International Criminal Court (ICC) pre-trial chamber to send cases to trial against four Kenyans opens the door to justice for victims of Kenya’s 2007-2008 election violence. Kenya’s authorities should take all reasonable steps to ensure that the decision does not lead to violence, and to stop violence if it does break out, given that people thought to have been cooperating with the ICC investigations have been threatened.

  • Press release
    Jan 12, 2012
    The Kenyan security forces are beating and arbitrarily detaining citizens and Somali refugees in Kenya’s North Eastern province, which borders on Somalia, despite repeated pledges to stop such abuses.
  • Press release
    Dec 21, 2011
    The government of Kenya should investigate the death of as many as 11 civilians during a Kenyan air force raid on Hosingow village in Somalia on December 20, 2011. Both the Kenyan armed forces and the armed group al-Shabaab should take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian casualties during military operations.
  • Press release
    Dec 9, 2011
    Four years after the 2007-2008 post-election violence, the Kenyan police and judicial system have failed to adequately investigate and prosecute crimes and to ensure justice for victims. While the International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken on a handful of cases, Kenya should establish a special judicial mechanism in its justice system to bring broader accountability. It should also provide compensation for victims, starting with the 21 or more victims of police shootings who have won civil suits against the Attorney General, but to whom the government has failed to pay court-ordered compensation.
  • Press release
    Nov 28, 2011
    The Kenyan police and military should stop using illegal mass-round-ups and beatings as a substitute for proper police investigative work. Attacks by suspected al-Shabaab sympathizers on the military and civilians inside Kenya do not justify violating the rights of civilians.
  • Press release
    Nov 18, 2011
    The Kenyan government should ensure that its forces in Somalia abide by the laws of war and avoid harm to civilians. The government should also promptly and impartially investigate recent incidents in which Kenyan forces may have violated international humanitarian or human rights law.