Do not forget the Nubians : Kenya's compliance with the decisions of African regional treaty bodies on the plight and rights of Nubians

Abstract

In 2006 and 2009, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (African Commission) and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Committee) respectively, received communications on behalf of the people of Nubian descent in Kenya. These communications alluded to the government’s violation of several provisions of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (African Charter) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter). In 2011 and 2015, both treaty bodies found the government of Kenya in violation of several provisions of the Children’s and the African Charters, respectively. As discussed further in this article, the recommendations from both treaty bodies on the Nubian communications have been celebrated as groundbreaking. More than ten years after these recommendations were made, the objective of this article is to reflect and track the level at which the state of Kenya has implemented the recommendations. Using an analytical human rights approach, guided by the facts and recommendations of both communications, this article further seeks to suggest a way forward to Kenya to expedite compliance with the recommendations from the African Children’s Committee and the African Commission.