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Around 100 persons were killed in Rift Valley province in the past 4 days

28/01/2008

Fear of future massive ethnic clashes if the international community does not strongly react

Post electoral violence resumed in the Rift Valley Province, notably in Nakuru town, where around 100 persons died since Thursday 24, January, in political and ethnic clashes. Kalenjin and Kikuyu young men are fighting each other armed with machetes, wooden clubs and bows and arrows. The crisis seems to have mutated from an electoral dispute into much deeper problems: notably, ethnic and economical rivalries based on land issues.

Independent sources also recently report extra-judicial killings by police forces and private militia, burnings and looting of private property in Nairobi's informal settlements, Eldoret, Kisumu, Kericho, Mombasa and other parts of the country. UNICEF also indicated that cases of rape are increasing notably in the informal internally displaced persons' camps. According to the African Union (AU) mediator, Kofi Annan, Kenya faces "gross and systematic human rights abuses".

Post electoral violence has so far caused the death of around 800 people and forced the displacement across the country of 260,000 others since the disputed presidential poll on December 27, 2007.

"It is now time for the international community to strongly react before the country turns into massive political and ethnic violence. Perpetrators of the most serious crimes committed in Kenya since the recent elections should be immediately brought to justice", said Souhayr Belhassen, president of FIDH.

FIDH and KHRC urge:

Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga

• to call their supporters for calm and to engage in effective dialogue under the mediation of Kofi Annan to achieve a political settlement of the crisis in Kenya

the African Union Heads of State and Government:

• to recognise that an unconstitutional change of government has taken place and activate the necessary consequences under Article 30 of the Constitutive Act of the AU which stipulates that "Governments which shall come to power through unconstitutional means shall not be allowed to participate in the activities of the Union "

the African Union Peace and Security Council:

• to grant an immediate audience to international and local CSOs willing to make presentations on the situation in Kenya;

the UN Security Council:

• to decide the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to shed light on the conditions of the December 2007 electoral process, investigate on the massive human rights violations, identify their perpetrators to bring them to justice, as requested by the AU Peace and Security Council

the UN Human Rights Council:

• to hold a special session on the human rights situation in Kenya

the European Union Executive Council:

• to take appropriate sanctions according to Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement

Topics: Ethnic persecution, Extrajudicial executions,