Kenya: Climate Change Threatens Rights

(Nairobi, October 15, 2015) – Climate change and regional development projects are threatening the health and livelihood of indigenous peoples in the Turkana region of northwest Kenya, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The report and accompanying video were presented to environmental and human rights groups in Nairobi in advance of climate change negotiations in Bonn, Germany, from October 19 to 23, 2015.

The 96-page report, “There Is No Time Left: Climate Change, Environmental Threats, and Human Rights in Turkana County, Kenya,” highlights the increased burden facing the government of Kenya to ensure access to water, food, health, and security in the Turkana region. The region also presents an example of how climate change, with rising temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns, disproportionately affects already vulnerable people, especially in countries with limited resources and fragile ecosystems.