V. RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Government of Kenya
The new government should eradicate the culture of impunity, tackle the pervasive corruption that is so closely linked to continuing human rights abuses, and strengthen the rule of law. The government must investigate, prosecute, and punish human rights violators according to the law. It should attack chronic violations in the areas of personal security, justice, freedom of assembly, free and fair elections, and freedom of expression. The police and prisons are of particular concern. Steps must be taken to reduce bribery, and human rights training should be integrated into all levels of law enforcement to end arbitrary arrests and detentions, brutality, torture, extrajudicial executions, and inhuman conditions in jails and prisons.

The new government should ensure that the constitutional review process moves forward quickly and without interference from government. Key recommendations in the draft on reducing executive power and creating an independent judiciary should be adopted. The biased and ineffective court system must be overhauled to protect Kenyans' right to a fair trial and restore respect for the rule of law.

Kenyans must enter into a national debate about the issue of accountability for past crimes by high-ranking individuals. Long-awaited government inquiries into political and economic crimes should be released to the public, and individuals implicated by the inquiries brought to justice. A permanent, independent anti-corruption authority should be established, with the powers to punish those found to have engaged in graft.

Clear policies must be established to protect the rights of the millions of Kenyans who live and work in the informal sector. The government should investigate violations of civil rights related to illegal land grabbing and attacks on slum residents, hawkers, and kiosk owners.

The new president should sign into law a bill passed by Parliament to set up a permanent Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. The government should ensure its independence and give it adequate support as well as the power to punish offenders. The government should also support the drafting of a National Action Plan on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, and expedite its parliamentary review and delivery to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Kenya has signed most of the major international human rights treaties, and it should now articulate their principles clearly in the new constitution, and repeal or amend domestic laws that contradict the provisions of the treaties. The new government should also submit long-overdue reports required under those treaties to the appropriate international bodies.

To Donors (Including the IMF, World Bank, E.U., and U.S.)
The International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and donor nations should call on the new government to encourage the rule of law and respect for human rights. They should press the government on the issue of accountability for past injustices, including releasing withheld reports of official inquiries and prosecuting major crimes.

Donors should continue to condition financial aid on anti-corruption and good governance reforms, but they should also tie aid to credible efforts to investigate and prosecute serious human rights abuses.

The international community should continue to provide long term and consistent support to human rights groups, but they must also support governmental institutions, in particular the strengthening of judicial and parliamentary independence. More open communication between donors and Parliament should encourage more effective use of development loans and grants.

Donors should increase support for the constitutional review process and civic education about the draft constitution.

The U.S. and E.U. should not abate pressure on the new government to act on longstanding human rights violations, simply because of Kenya's strong support in the war on terror.