Kenya: Democratic policing and respect for international human rights standards

WORLD ORGANISATION AGAINST TORTURE (OMCT)

PRESS RELEASE

Democratic Policing and Respect for International Human Rights Standards

Capacity building workshop for Administration Police Officers in Kenya

Geneva, 22 November 2010: How respect for human rights and effective law enforcement can go hand in hand was the subject of a workshop for 26 officials of the Kenyan Administration Police that took place at the Kenya School of Law in Nairobi from 25 to 29 October 2010.

Organised by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in partnership with the Administration Police in Kenya within the framework of a project supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the workshop sought to familiarise the participants with the basic principles of respect for human rights as an integral part of effective police work in a democratic society. This was done within the context of Kenya’s international human rights obligations under United Nations Human Rights Treaties with particular reference to the recommendations made by key United Nations Treaty Bodies with regard to improving respect for human rights in law enforcement in Kenya.

The workshop took place at a crucial time for police reform in Kenya with an increasing emphasis by Government Officials and senior Administration Police Officials on the necessity to respect human rights in law enforcement activities. The new Kenyan Constitution, approved by referendum on 4 August 2010 and promulgated by President Kibaki on 27 August 2010, contains a detailed Bill of Rights along with mechanisms to ensure respect for them, including the possibility for victims of violations to directly address the High Court for purposes of obtaining redress. The Constitution also explicitly provides that Kenyan Police shall “comply with constitutional standards of human rights and fundamental freedoms” and that police staff shall be trained “to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and dignity”. In addition, an in-depth reform of the police in Kenya is being carried out by the Police Reform Implementation Committee.

The 26 participants in the workshop were law enforcement officers with management responsibilities from all of Kenya’s eight regions and the purpose of the workshop was to build their capacity to understand and act on the principles of democratic policing and respect for human rights in their daily law enforcement activities and to enable them to transmit that knowledge to their colleagues and the officers under their responsibility.

Workshop topics

In a plenary presentation the workshop first dealt with Kenya’s legal obligations under international human rights law with particular attention given to selected recommendations of United Nations Treaty Bodies with regard to law enforcement in Kenya. Then, through other plenary presentations and working groups that focused on case studies, the participants considered a number of specific issues related to democratic policing that were approached from the dual perspective of international human rights standards and how those standards can be implemented practically in the daily work of police officers.

What democratic policing means and its consequences for law enforcement officials including issues of human rights, police deontology and ethics was a key topic that included a discussion of examples from police services in other countries. Other important topics dealt with were the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials; respect for human rights in arrest and detention; ensuring respect for human rights in connection with interrogations and with regard to the prevention and detection of crime, in particular respect for human rights in connection with searches and seizures; and maintaining public order while respecting human rights. Throughout the workshop a main underlying theme was that, rather than hindering effective police work, respect for human rights and the dignity of every person is in fact an essential element to make that work successful and to create trust and confidence between the police and the community it serves.

As part of the reform of the Kenya police, an independent policing oversight authority is being prepared to monitor police activities including respect for human rights and thus an important topic of the workshop was ensuring effective accountability of law enforcement officials. This included a discussion of the international rules on accountability for law enforcement personnel and selected practices from other countries. In this connection, there was a detailed presentation of the new Kenyan oversight authority.

In light of the specific recommendations made by United Nations Treaty Bodies concerning the need to protect particularly vulnerable groups in Kenya, a discussion took place on protecting the human rights of women, children and other vulnerable persons in law enforcement activities, in particular in relation to arrest, detention and interrogations. Here, OMCT’s work on the economic, social and cultural root causes of violence provided a framework for the discussion and enabled participants to address the issue of identifying and combating the use in law enforcement of subjective grounds for interventions with regard to vulnerable persons, for example in connection with arrest and detention.

The Way Forward was the topic of the final session of the workshop. In small groups and then in plenary session, the participants made proposals for concrete and practical measures that could be taken to improve democratic policing and respect for human rights in the daily activities of law enforcement officials in Kenya.

Opening and closing sessions

The seminar was opened on behalf of OMCT by Ms. Anna-Lena Svensson-McCarthy, who expressed appreciation to the Administration Police for the opportunity given to OMCT to assist in promoting respect for human rights through democratic policing as well as for the excellent cooperation in preparing the workshop. She then stressed that, through the new Constitution, including its impressive Bill of Rights, the police in Kenya now has an important tool to use, which should not be seen as an additional burden on police activities but as a means of making the police work more effective. Indeed, with the new Constitution, the police in Kenya could, in her view, be considered to be the most prominent human rights defenders. In his subsequent address to the participants, Mr. Fred Mwei, Deputy Commandant and Chief of Planning, Training & Research, transmitted the greetings from the Administration Police Commandant, Mr. Mbugua, and noted that he particularly liked the reference to the police being human rights defenders. Referring to the Bill of Rights, Mr. Mwei pointed out that it is effectively in force and needs no implementing legislation. This meant in particular that police officers violating the rights contained therein, including the right to be free from torture and other forms of ill-treatment can now be taken to court and be given stiff sentences in case of conviction. Consequently, police attitudes and conduct had to change.

At the closing ceremony on 29 October, Mr. Omar Shurie, Senior Deputy Commandant of the Administration Police and Commandant of the Administration Police Training College, delivered a statement on behalf of Mr. K. Mbugua, Administration Police Commandant, in which the Commandant underlined the importance of human rights and, addressing the police officer participants, urged them to familiarise themselves and comply with the new Constitution’s Bill of Rights and in carrying out their mandate to pay particular attention the vulnerable groups and less privileged in society. It was important in returning to their respective stations, that they carry the lessons from the workshop with a lot of seriousness and share their knowledge with workplace colleagues and apply the skills and knowledge gained during the workshop. He also thanked the sponsors and organisers of the workshop, the World Organisation Against Torture, that have become important partners in helping offer better service to the Kenyan people and in assisting the government’s reform efforts.

During the closing ceremony the participants also expressed their thanks for the knowledge and skills gained during the workshop, undertook to apply them in their daily work and to transmit them to their colleagues. It was clear from their enthusiasm that a successful transition had been made from an initial perception of human rights as a hindrance to their police work to an understanding of how respect for human rights can be an essential and positive element in their work.

Resource persons

The presentation and discussion of the international human rights standards with regard to democratic policing and the recommendations of the United Nations Treaty Bodies was provided by Ms. Anna-Lena Svensson-McCarthy who was also responsible for the overall organisation of the seminar. Mr. Klaas Stad, police officer from the Netherlands and an experienced trainer in democratic policing, in particular for the International Committee of the Red Cross, dealt with the seminar’s issues from the point of view of the challenges active police officer face in respecting human rights in their daily activities and provided information on the approach and experiences in other countries. A presentation on human rights from the Kenyan perspective was made by Ms Nanjala Wandibba of the Kenyan National Human Rights and Equality Commission and Mr. Mwinyi Masoud, Senior Superintendent, Administration Police, provided the participants with an in depth analysis of the nature and implications for police officers of the police reform process, including the independent policing oversight authority.

For more information, please contact Ms. Anna-Lena Svensson-McCarthy; e-mail [email protected], phone +41 (0) 22 809 49 30 and fax +41 (0) 22 809 49 29.