The Human Rights Committee today adopted reports on follow-up to concluding observations concerning Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Lao People's Democratic Republic.
Imeru Tamerat Yigezu, Committee Expert and Special Rapporteur on follow-up to concluding observations, presented the assessment of the responses provided by these States. He said the overall recommended action for all assessments was to discontinue the follow-up procedure. Further information requested by the Committee needed to be addressed in the States parties' next periodic reports, which were due in 2028 for all States parties.
The draft reports were adopted by the Committee as amended during the discussion and will be available on the webpage dedicated to the follow-up procedure for concluding observations.
Concerning Kenya, the Committee welcomed the State party's continued efforts to prevent and address female genital mutilation, child marriage, and sexual and gender-based violence. However, it was concerned about reports of a lack of awareness of Government measures; a lack of efforts to address harmful cultural practices, including wife inheritance and ritual cleansing; the lack of reparations for women victims of sexual violence in the context of the 2017 elections; the failure to criminalise marital rape; gaps in access to essential services for victims of violence; the lack of resources for safe houses for victims; and a lack of data on violence against minority women.
Mr. Yigezu said the Committee was concerned that forced evictions continued to take place in Kenya without sufficient advance notice; that allegedly no compensation or alternative location for resettlement had been offered to the 40,000 people allegedly forcefully evicted in November 2021; and that no cases for violations during evictions had been brought to court. The Committee called for information on proposed revisions to legislation concerning evictions, and on funding allocated to communities as reparation for land lost due to government acquisition and for reparation of squatters.
On participation in public affairs, the Committee welcomed the State party's efforts ahead of and during the 2022 election period to prevent violence and to ensure transparency in voting and in vote-counting procedures, and reports that 12 police officers would face charges for crimes committed during the post-election protests in 2017. However, the Committee regretted the lack of information provided on efforts to provide remedies to all victims of violence in the context of the 2017 elections.
