Kenya

Status

The Kenyan National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP) process was formally launched by the Attorney General on February 9, 2016.

On the 24 July 2019 the Attorney General published a finalised NAP. This still needs to be approved by the Attorney General, after which he will table it for cabinet approval. If approved by cabinet it will pass to the National Assembly for discussion and adoption.

Process

The Kenyan government announced its intention to develop a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights on February 9, 2016.

The Department of Justice is leading the process under the Attorney General’s Office and in collaboration with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and the Kenya Human Rights Commission. A National Steering Committee whose members come from the government, private sector, and non-governmental organizations (including the United Nations) is supporting the process. Its mandate is to provide overall strategic guidance and direction for the development of the NAP.

Kenya adopted the five-phase process outlined in Guidance issued by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. The five-phases are: 1) initiation; 2) assessment and consultation; 3) drafting; 4) implementation; and 5) update. They form the basis of Kenya’s NAP roadmap. The entire process is expected to take eighteen months, with an expected completion date of June 2018.

Following initiation in February 2016, a consultation phase commenced in April 2016, with briefings for the National Steering Committee Steering and other stakeholders. There are active efforts to align the NAP with the SDGs and to enhance coordination between the NAP process and the national SDG mainstreaming process.

The process has financial support from the Kenyan government, Kingdom of Norway (through the Norwegian Embassy in Nairobi) and the United States of America (through the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour (DRL)).

Stakeholder Participation

Nine consultations had been held by the end of September 2017.

To ensure fair coverage and wide-ranging participation, a regional approach was adopted, with eight hearings conducted across the breath of the country. Consultations were undertaken with government, business and communities, together with civil society. These were preceded by a mapping exercise with each of the three stakeholder groups to identify participants at the regional level. Furthermore, indigenous people were separately consulted.

Additionally, targeted consultations are planned with business leaders later in 2017.

The NAP is focusing on five areas: 1) land and natural resources; 2) labour; 3) environment; 4) revenue transparency and 5) accountability. Priority areas were selected based on deliberations with stakeholders at the initial briefing stage and from a non-scientific survey of the common areas of tension between business and human rights in Kenya.

The structure of each consultation includes an awareness raising session introducing the UNGPs framework and other human rights frameworks (national, regional and international). Using participatory methodology, participants identify issues of concern, possible solutions, and responsible actors. Information gathered over the cause of the consultations is then synthesized into reports that will be collectively analyzed and provide a basis for formulating the NAP.

An additional structure put in place to support the NAP formulation is ‘thematic working groups’. There is one working group for each thematic area, which in turn comprises subject matter experts. The thematic working groups help deepen analysis of issues, sharpen recommendations or action points and suggest monitoring mechanisms.

Transparency

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has created a website for sharing relevant information and documents.

The website presents an opportunity for continuous engagement during and after the process. Continuous updating will ensure that it serves that purpose.

National Baseline Assessment (NBA)

In 2017 an NBA was published. This was jointly undertaken by the Department of Justice, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and the Kenya Human Rights Commission.

In 2016, a Human Rights and Business Country Guide on Kenya was developed by the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC). The guide provides country-specific guidance to help companies respect human rights and contribute to development. The Country Guide is a compilation of publicly available information from international institutions, local NGOs, governmental agencies, businesses, media and universities, among others. International and domestic sources are identified on the basis of their expertise and relevance to the Kenyan context, as well as their timeliness and impartiality.

Follow-up, monitoring, reporting and review

Not yet in place.

Stakeholders views and analysis on the NAP

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights: The National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in Kenya

Institute for Human Rights and Business: Lessons Learned on Building Better National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights, April 2016