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Scoop
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Kenya: UN Expert Urges Immediate Halt To Land Demarcation Violating Ogiek Rights And African Court Judgments
GENEVA (4 June 2025) – A UN expert* today expressed grave concern over the ongoing land demarcation by the Government of Kenya in the Eastern Mau Complex, which threatens ancestral lands of the Ogiek Peoples and contravenes binding judgments of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR). 'These actions risk causing irreparable harm to the Ogiek's land rights, which have been unequivocally upheld by the African Court,' said Albert K. Barume, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. 'I urge the Government of Kenya to immediately cease all activities that undermine the Ogiek's rights and to fully comply with the Court's rulings.' Despite the AfCHPR's 2017 and 2022 judgments affirming the Ogiek's ownership of their ancestral landsand requiring their restitution, the Kenyan Government has yet to take any actions to return Ogiek lands. A hearing scheduled for November 2024 was postponed at the State's request and is now set for June 2025. In September 2024, Kenya's Environment and Land Court in Nakuru dismissed the Ogiek's claims to their ancestral lands in East Mau, contradicting the AfCHPR's decisions. Meanwhile, from December 2024 to April 2025, the Government convened a series of public forums to discuss how to implement the Nakuru court ruling, criticised as exclusionary and politically driven. These culminated in a rushed demarcation process beginning on 25 April 2025, without the necessary consultations with Ogiek Peoples. 'The demarcation threatens the rights of more than 8,500 Ogiek people in Nessuit, Mariashoni, and Sururu, and endangers ecologically sensitive areas vital for water catchment sustainability,' Barume said. On 6 May 2025, the President of Kenya issued a 250,000-acre land title deed for parts of the Maasai Mau Forest to Narok County, further alarming the Ogiek of Sasimwani, who remain displaced following the 2023 forced evictions of over 700 families. 'We call on Government, all states institutions and Indigenous Peoples to engage in dialogue grounded in mutual respect and human rights,' the Special Rapporteur said. He expressed readiness to visit Kenya to support efforts toward a just and rights-based resolution in line with the AfCHPR's judgments.
Scoop
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Youth Justice Systems Across Australia In Crisis: UN Experts
GENEVA (19 May 2025) – Two independent human rights experts on torture and indigenous peoples respectively* today sharply criticised state and territory youth justice systems in Australia, where disproportionately large numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be jailed. 'The various criminal legal systems operating in Australia appear to be in crisis nationwide,' said Alice Jill Edwards, the Special Rapporteur on torture and Albert K. Barume, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. 'Children are suffering undue harm to their safety and well-being, as well as to their educational and life prospects as a result of short-sighted approaches to youth criminality and detention.' In a letter to Australian authorities, the experts expressed considerable concern about a bill proposed in Queensland that is due to be adopted this week. 'Many new or proposed state laws, including Queensland's Making Queensland Safer (Adult Crime, Adult Time) Amendment Bill, are incompatible with basic child rights,' the experts said. 'If passed, the Queensland bill would result in additional adult penalties being applied to children for a wide range of offences. This would have an especially negative impact on the lives of indigenous children, who are already disproportionately represented in the criminal legal system. We urge members of the Queensland Parliament to vote against the bill.' The experts propose a child-centred approach that reflects international law and best practice. This should involve more comprehensive strategies in tackling young people's anti-social and criminal behaviour. The age of criminal responsibility in most Australian states and territories is 10. This is younger than in most other industrialised countries. Australia has been widely criticised for not adhering to international recommended standards. 'The first goal should always be keeping children out of prison. We are extremely concerned that present approaches are creating a future under-class of Australians,' the experts said. 'Juvenile facilities should prioritise education and rehabilitation to support childhood development. Criminal justice reform alone does not result in fewer anti-social or criminal behaviours.' The experts stressed that the allegations constitute violations of Australia's international obligations with regard to children, including the obligation to protect them from torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, treat them humanely and with dignity at all times, and prioritise their best interests in all decisions affecting them.
