(English) Members of ESCR-Net (the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) working through the Adjudication Working Group have been given leave to intervene in a High Court case involving forced evictions in Medina Location, Municipal Council of Garissa, Kenya.
The petitioners (applicants) in this case were evicted and had their homes demolished in December 2010, rendering them homeless without the provision of alternative land or housing. Due process protections – adequate notice, the ability to make representations to challenge the eviction, or the opportunity for meaningful participation in decisions related to the eviction – were not provided. The eviction resulted in households being forced to relocate to areas with no access to free and compulsory basic education for children or to other essential services. Livelihood opportunities were compromised, affecting the rights to food, water and sanitation, and health care.
Kenya has recently concluded a constitutional revision process which has resulted in economic and social rights being explicitly included in the revised Constitution, including: protection of right to property, right to housing and sanitation, right to adequate food of acceptable quality, clean and safe water in adequate quantities. In addition, under international law – the focus of the collective intervention by ESCR-Net members – forced evictions and the attendant violations to the rights to food, water, sanitation, and education are prohibited under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter), both ratified by Kenya.
ESCR-Net member, Economic and Social Rights Centre (HAKIJAMII) in Kenya has taken the lead in representing the victims in this case. Odindo Opiata, Director of Hakijamii, noted “the intervention by some of the leading international organizations on economic and social rights litigation has given a crucial impetus to the implementation of the Bill of Rights under our new Constitution. There is no doubt that the immense knowledge accumulated over many years by the organizations has provided a unique opportunity for the Kenyan judiciary to chart new ground in economic and social rights jurisprudence”.
As a global network seeking economic and social justice through human rights, the Adjudication Working Group of ESCR-Net is seeking to support emerging cases on economic and social rights where collective intervention can bring important international pressure and support. The ESCR-Net members working together on this intervention include: Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI), Community Law Centre (CLC), Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR), Centre for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA), Social Rights Advocacy Centre (SRAC), and Malcolm Langford.
Here is a related article on this case and the collective intervention: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000037338&cid=4
For more information, please contact Rebecca Brown, info below.
Rebecca Brown
Program Officer
ESCR-Net / Red-DESC / Reseau-DESC
211 East 43rd St. Suite 906
New York, NY 10017
(212) 681-1236 ext. 24
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