North Eastern Regional Office
Training on monitoring, documenting and reporting human rights violations

Training on monitoring, documenting and reporting human rights violations

Commissioner Morara addressing participants at a training on monitoring, documenting and reporting human rights violations. The training was organized by WERO organized and it targeted civil society actors in Western Kenya

Prison Inspection

Prison Inspection

An inmate at Migori Women’s Prison speaks to Commissioner Jedidah at a meeting held in the course of an inspection exercise conducted in 2016.

Community Awareness and Sensitization

Community Awareness and Sensitization

Ms Mary Omulupi, a human rights defender, addressing participants during a community awareness forum in Teso North Sub-county, Busia County.

About North Eastern Regional Office

North Eastern Regional Office (NERO) was opened in the year 2006 in living with the Commission’s core value of accessibility. The regional office implements KNCHR’s mandate in Wajir, Marsabit, Garissa, Mandera and Isiolo counties. These five vast counties share certain features which make it possible to design programmatic interventions capable of working across the region. Most salient among these features is the pastoral nature of the inhabitants, very low literacy levels, structural marginalization and sore acts of historical injustices. The structural marginalization seems to have started during the colonial era and formalized vide the sessional paper number 1o of 1965 which sought to stop state investment in areas of ‘low returns’.

Key Focus Areas

Complaints and Investigation.

The Office carries out field investigations on thematic human rights issues within the North Eastern Region and advises the Commission on appropriate options for redress. 

Public Education & Training.

Legal clinics are conducted to reach out to people living in far-flung areas and address their human rights concerns. Public forums have included marking of calendar thematic observances and international human rights events. These forums are designed to enlighten the members of the public regarding their rights and the how of claiming the same.

Employment of ADR.

Competition for the ever-diminishing pasture and water has had the net effect of creating very solid clan and ethnic structures for protection of turfs. These structures have in turn formed building blocks for inter-clan and ethnic strife. On this front, NERO has adopted Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as a strategy to ensuring a peaceful coexistence of people as a precursor to enjoyment of human rights.

Strengthening of Alternative Justice Systems

Early childhood marriages, forced and arranged marriages, a gender-biased traditional justice system, discrimination against the female species and FGM are some of the features of the cultural life in the region. In response the regional office has adopted strengthening of traditional justice systems for purposes of making them comply with human rights standards and principles.

Historical Injustices/ Transitional Justice Focus

Kenya National Commission on Human rights has been at the forefront of spearheading and monitoring transitional justice processes in Kenya. This has been informed mainly by the need to secure justice for victims and their families and also to avoid recurrence of acts of injustices in the future. The National Commission strongly believes that impunity is a major impediment to realization and enjoyment of peoples’ rights.

 

Business and Human Rights.

Monitoring and inspection visits to prison facilities and police station to ensure that these facilities are in tandem with national and international human rights standards.

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