In a joint statement made earlier this week, several prominent international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, the Minority Rights Group International and Survival International, have called on the Kenyan government to put an immediate stop to both illegal and forceful evictions taking place in Kenya’s Mau Forest, believed to have displaced more than 700 people so far.
Located in the Rift Valley, the Mau Forest serves as home to several Indigenous groups who are now in danger of losing their ancestral lands. These organizations firmly state that the actions taken by the Kenyan government contradict the protections afforded to indigenous peoples by the Constitution of Kenya. In their statement, they remind the government of the 2017 ruling by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the Ogiek case, noting that any displacement within the boundaries of the Mau Forest equates to not only illegal eviction, but also a blatant violation of the UN Refugee Agency’s guiding principles on internal displacement.
Moreover, a meeting held in November saw elders from the Ogiek tribe arranging a lobby for dialogue and co-operation. During which, they insisted that the government must establish plans for the sustained restoration and protection of the Mau Forest, while also respecting their right to ancestral lands according to Article 63(2)(d)(ii) of Kenya’s constitution.
The Ogieks are stuck in an escalating crisis as illegal settlers continue to encroach onto their lands, and the forest that is vital for their way of life, is being severely degraded. The recent implementation of Kenya’s Climate Change Amendment Act, which allows the nation to partake in carbon markets, has raised concerns about how this will affect indigenous lands moving forward.
In conclusion, the human rights organizations issuing the joint statement re-iterate, “We stress that any forest conservation initiative connected to the forced eviction of Indigenous Peoples is illegal and in violation of international law. We cannot protect our planet without recognizing and respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their lands.”
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