The relationship between Human Rights Defenders and Security has not been a cordial one for the longest time possible not just in Kenya but in most countries of the world. This poor relationship has meant that the two groups that should actually complement the work of each other as they all work for the protection and promotion of human rights, work at cross – purposes and this eventually affect the work that they do.
This frosty relationship and the need for the two to work together has prompted the KNCHR through this project to build the capacity of the Security Agencies so that they can clearly understand the work that Human Rights do and how the two can collaborate with each other. This has seen the training of Police officers carried out in Kwale, Busia and Marsabit.
A total of 60 police officers have been offered the training and this is a group that the KNCHR shall be working with throughout the project period in providing the HRDs with an enabling environment for the work of HRDs in all the three sites. The contents for the trainings have largely been drawn from the international instruments that guide the work of HRDs, the EU guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Kenyan Constitution among others.
The training has provided the police officers with an opportunity to clearly understand the work that HRDS engage in so that they stop seeing the HRDs those that are out to cause trouble to the Government and people who do not respect the laws. The training further provided an opportunity for the police officers to begin viewing HRDs as those who they should actually use in helping them carry out their work that include investigations, public outreach among others. The group that has been trained would be the KNCHR ambassadors on matters of Human Rights Defenders even beyond the project period.
We would in next few months be having a joint forum between the Police, the media and the HRDs where the three can openly share their views on how best the three can work complementarily for the benefit of the local population.