31 January 2008
(Page 2 of 2)
- Immediate reinstatement of constitutional freedoms - the right to assemble, right to worship, right of media to broadcast live events. Citizens have a right to assert their constitutional rights without hindrance.
- Cessation of violence against civilians by the police, militia and others.
- Immediate cessation of hate propaganda currently on all media (by Legislation or administrative action).
- Resettlement: should take account of the special needs of women and children displaced by the violence. State should provide security for the civilian population.
- End to impunity for violations of human rights (by all parties) by investigating crimes that are being committed and prosecuting perpetrators.
- Strengthening of institutions that support democratic constitutional governance (The Electoral Commission, the Judiciary, the Anti Corruption agencies and Parliament). This can be done through immediate legislative reform pending comprehensive constitutional reform.
Medium and long term -Nation Building
Women acknowledge that they must embark on a process of Nation building for sustainable peace to be achieved. Important mid-term solutions include the following: The times call for Women of Kenya call fro transformative leadership at this time that brings values and ethics to the management of public affairs
- A minimum constitutional settlement and reform that would ensure an urgent reform of institutions that support a constitutional democracy grounded on sound legal framework followed by ;
- Comprehensive Constitutional Reform that would ensure equitable distribution of national resources, gender equality, affirmative action, equal rights for minorities and persons with disabilities including rights political participation. .
- Transitional Justice mechanisms that deal with the question of historical injustices that include gross human rights violations, massacre, assassinations, economic crimes and corruption , ethnic and political clashes .establishment a historical record, confronting and gaining truth about past injustices, creating accountability for human rights violations and ultimately reconciling Kenyan communities.
- Finalisation and adoption of the Peace and Conflict Prevention Policy.
- Peace education for prejudice reduction in primary schools.
Recommendations for the Process
- That there should be a mechanism for accountability by the mediation team to Kenyan women on the progress of the mediation. Such mechanism could be spelt out in a public mediation agreement.
- That there should be continued engagement with women as key stakeholders in all stages of the mediation.
- That a local gender advisor be appointed to provide the necessary expertise to the team of mediators. There is sufficient expertise within the women's movement in Kenya in the fields of gender, children's rights, women's rights, and peace and conflict transformation.
- Political parties should have women represented on their teams in keeping with the enabling instruments.
- That the mediation continues until such time as peace is restored in Kenya.
This statement is presented and signed by the Committee Nominated by the Women's Organisations 25th January 2008 (For a List of women attending the Women's consultations over the last three weeks, please contact Pambazuka News).
1 Florence Mpaayei -- Nairobi Peace Initiative -Africa
2 Atsango Chesoni --Member ODM and Consultant, Human Rights
3 Njeri Kabeberi ---Center for Multi Party democracy
4 Mildred Ngesa---Association of Media Women of Kenya
5 Margaret Shava-- International Alert
6 Catherine Mumma --Consultant, Human Rights & Governance
7 Kaari Betty Murungi --Urgent Action Fund-Africa
8 Saida Ali --Young Women's Leadership Institute
9 Rukia Subow --Maendeleo ya Wanawake
10 Josephine Ojiambo - Member of PNU 's National Coordinating Committee
11 Margaret Hutchinson --Education Centre for Women in Democracy
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Fahamu. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
