The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) is an autonomous

national human rights institution A national human rights institution (NHRI) is an independent state-based institution with the responsibility to broadly protect and promote human rights in a given country. The growth of such bodies has been encouraged by the Office of the United ...

, established by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Act, 2011. It is a successor to the body of the same name established by an earlier Act of Parliament in 2002. The original KNCHR became operational in July 2003, and following the promulgation of the

Constitution of Kenya The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme lawof the Republic of Kenya. There have been three significant versions of the constitution, with the most recent redraft being enabled in 2010. The 2010 edition replaced the 1963 independence constitu ...

in August 2010, was legally reconstituted as the Kenya National Human Rights and Equality Commission (under Article 59 of the Constitution). The 2011 legislation restructured the body, assigning the equality function to a new National Gender and Equality Commission and reestablishing the name of the KNCHR. The main mission of the KNCHR, in its successive legal embodiments, has been to investigate and provide redress for

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

violations in

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, to research and monitor the compliance of human rights norms and standards,

human rights education Human rights education (HRE) is the learning process that seeks to build up knowledge, values, and proficiency in the rights that each person is entitled to. This education teaches students to examine their own experiences from a point of view t ...

and training and campaigns, advocate, and collaborate with other stakeholders in Kenya. The KNCHR has six programmes to implement its strategic goals. The KNCHR is led by a Chairperson and four other Commissioners appointed by the President of Kenya after nomination by a selection panel consisting of governmental and non-governmental interests. The current Acting Chairperson is Dr Samuel Kipng'etich arap Tororei who took over from Florence Simbiri-Jaoko whose term of office expired on January 9, 2012. Under the earlier legislation the KNCHR had nine Commissioners, four of whom also left the Commission on January 9, 2012, at the expiry of their terms of office. A new substantive Chairperson is expected to be appointed in November 2012. A Secretariat headed by the Commission Secretary runs the KNCHR's programmatic areas. The mandate of the KNCHR is to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Kenya. Although established by the Government, the KNCHR is independent. The KNCHR is a watchdog body. It monitors Government institutions, carries out investigations on alleged human rights violations, and in appropriate cases provides redress to those whose rights have been violated. KNCHR is also an advisory body. The Commission gives advice to the Kenyan Government on how to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights. It also monitors the enactment of legislation in Kenya and recommends existing legislation for review to ensure they comply with human rights standards. The KNCHR's main office is at CVS Plaza, Kasuku/Lenana Road in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

with two regional offices, one in

Wajir Wajir ( so, Wajeer) is the capital of the Wajir County of Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province. History A cluster of cairns near Wajir are generally ascribed by the local inhabitants to the Maadiinle, a semi-legendary peo ...

in the North Eastern province and another in

Kitale Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills at an elevation of around . Its population is 106,187 as of 2009. Kitale is the headquarter town of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is r ...

in the

Rift Valley Province Rift Valley Province ( sw, Mkoa wa Bonde la Ufa) of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the Kenyan general election, 2013. Rift Valley Province was the largest and one of the most economically important provinces i ...

launched in September 2007.

International status

The KNCHR aims to comply with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

-approved

Paris Principles Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germa ...

on the establishment and functioning of independent

national human rights institutions A national human rights institution (NHRI) is an independent state-based institution with the responsibility to broadly protect and promote human rights in a given country. The growth of such bodies has been encouraged by the Office of the United ...

. The Commission has been accredited as an 'A status' institution by the

International Co-ordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), formerly known (prior to 2016) as the 'International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions' (sometimes shortened to the International Coordinating Committee ...

(ICC), which is based in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and is supported by the

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the United Nations Secretariat, Se ...

. This means that the Commission has been evaluated by its peers as generally in compliance with the Principles. The KNCHR is a member of the

Network of African National Human Rights Institutions The Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) is one of four regional groupings within the global network, the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). NANHRI promotes the establishment of national hum ...

(NANHRI), the ICC's regional grouping for Africa.

References

External links

Kenya National Commission on Human RightsThe 2011 Act
{{authority control National human rights institutions

Human Rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

Government agencies established in 2002 Human rights organisations based in Kenya 2002 establishments in Kenya

International status

See also

References

External links