“The duty of our generation is to be in solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to community in which all members define themselves not by their identity but by that of others.” This simple yet powerful statement by Elie Wiesel can be used to sum up the work of Human Rights Defenders in our society. However, despite the key role they play, they face a myriad of challenges in their day to day activities.
For many women, there is no greater joy than that of bringing another human being to life. The thought of another life developing within her for nine months and thereafter holding a newborn is immeasurable. This is the feeling that Beatrice had for five months before her joy was tragically cut. Beatrice, a human rights defender based in Mathare, suffered a miscarriage while taking part in a demonstration to protest extrajudicial killings in the area. She was shot, beaten and seriously wounded and those injuries eventually led to a miscarriage. Her story is just but a reflection of what most Human Rights Defenders face.
She was giving her testimony during the launch of a report, ‘Champions of rights – a report on the situation of human rights defenders in Kwale, Busia and Marsabit counties’. The report is part of a two year project the Commission will be undertaking on strengthening grassroots human rights defenders that will be funded by the European Union. The aim of the project is to mobilize community support for the work of Human Rights Defenders for greater understanding on the role played by HRDs in the promotion and protection of human rights.
“The worsening insecurity combined with strained institutional reforms and governance issues have made the fight for human rights more mirage. General public perception especially with the spate of violent attacks has to some extent affected support for human rights,” noted KNCHR Commissioner Suzanne Chivusia during the launch. Speaking at the same function, European Union’s deputy head of Mission Ms. Marjaana SALL pointed that competing interests between national security and individual rights usually end up clashing. “Never has the debate between national security and individual rights been so important and a challenge. They are both important in building long term stability hence the need to find and maintain a balance,” added Ms. Marjaana.
She went on to state EU’s vision of a society where security is protected and rights respected. Some of the challenges faced by HRDs as documented in the report include threats and illegal detention police. They are labeled as busy bodies, noise makers and enemies of development in their communities and this is evidenced by the manner in which they are forcefully disrupted during peaceful demonstrations, denial of permission to carry out demonstrations, hacking into their email accounts, listening to their phone conversations, physical surveillance, and enforced disappearance and alleged extra-judicial killings.
Through this two year project, the Commission seeks to improve compliance with the rule of law in the interactions between security agencies and Human Rights Defenders.