2019–20 Kenya highlights

Kenya faces a variety of challenges including election-related violence; sexual and gender-based violence; an increasing number of terrorist attacks; and intercommunal violence stemming from ethnic divisions and competition over natural resources such as land. Our work in Kenya focuses on supporting communities to prevent electoral violence, improving security and justice, and working with authorities to address the effects of climate change.
 
Over the past year, we worked in northern Kenya where the effects of climate change have exacerbated conflict, with communities competing over scarce pasture and water. We supported dialogues between communities and county governments, which led to the development of rangeland management and planned grazing policies that set out guidelines on how to access, use and manage shared resources. This reduced the level of conflict between communities.
 
In Nairobi, we worked in informal settlements that have a history of extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses by the police. We conducted training for security and justice authorities on adopting human rights approaches in their work, as well as sensitisation workshops for editors and journalists to encourage balanced reporting of extrajudicial killings. We also worked with partners to develop a handbook that facilitates better understanding of access to justice for citizens.
 
With our partner the Drylands Learning and Capacity Building Initiative, we supported the Frontier County Development Council to establish a multi-county platform for collective planning, helping communities to respond to conflicts that transcend county borders. Previously there were no mechanisms for cross-county consultation, so this has been an important step for helping counties find shared solutions.