Behind the Scenes, Kenya IDP Report - Danish Refugee Council

Chapter 1: Introductionby the MoSSP and the Legal and Advocacy Sub-Working Group (LASWG), a theme group underthe PWGID. Meetings were hosted at the ministryon a weekly basis with a technical advisor fromthe office of the Special Rapporteur on the HumanRights of IDPs (SR-IDPs) providing technicalsupport to the team. In March 2010, partnersreviewed a preliminary draft for the policy duringthe second stakeholders’ forum.From May to December 2010, the LASWG developedand disseminated a matrix auditing the legal,policy and institutional framework in relation tothe protection of IDPs. The matrix indicated theweaknesses in the existing framework and justifiedthe need for a concrete legal framework andfor implementing the draft Policy. In November2010, the team amended the draft policy to reflectthe provisions of the newly-promulgated KenyanConstitution so that it correlated with the frameworkfor devolution, human rights, values andprinciples of governance under the Constitution.Further revisions were made in July 2012 to makethe draft Policy compatible with the Land Act(2012), the Land Registration Act (2012) and theNational Land Commission Act (2012). On 16thMarch 2011, the group submitted a draft cabinetmemo to MoSSP to accompany the policy for itspresentation to cabinet.To further entrench its advocacy work, the PW-GID had engagements with other stakeholders likethe Parliamentary Select Committee on the Resettlementof IDPs (PSC) and the Labour and SocialWelfare Committee (LWSC), which resulted inthe development of the Bill on internal displacement.The Prevention, Protection and Assistanceto Internally Displaced Persons Bill has alreadyreceived Presidential assent while the broaderpolicy document has been approved by the Cabinetand is awaiting presentation to Parliament fordebate. 41.3. Purpose and Objectivesof the StudyThe purpose of this study is to capture and analysethe advocacy and engagement process that wentinto the preparation of the IDP Policy and Bill inKenya. By highlighting the challenges and lessonslearnt from the process, the outcome of this studyshould make a useful guide for discussions on advocacystrategies on forced migration policy at thenational, regional and continental level.According to the Brookings Institution’s databaseon national laws and policies on internal displacement,only four countries in the Great Lakes regionhave developed an IDP-specific policy to deal withparticular protection needs. 5 The Kenyan experiencecould therefore inspire other countries withinthe region and beyond, especially as momentumbuilds up for the implementation of the GuidingPrinciples, the Kampala Convention and the GreatLakes IDP Protocol. Beyond its particular contexton internal displacement, lessons learnt from theKenyan process could also be useful for reflectingon policy development work in other sectors.1.4. The Partnership betweenthe Refugee Consortium ofKenya and the Danish RefugeeCouncil (Great LakesCivil Society Project)The Great Lakes Civil Society Project is a regionalprogramme implemented since January 2010 bythe Danish Refugee Council in partnership withcivil society organisations in six countries of theGreat Lakes region: Burundi, Central African Republic,Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya,South Sudan and Uganda. The vision of the programmeis to build the capacity of civil society tohold governments accountable to their commitmentsto protect displaced persons by proposingrealistic policy solutions to conflict and displacement.The programme supports national civil societyorganisations in documenting and analysingspecific displacement and conflict issues, andtranslating these analyses into practical advocacygoals at the local, national and regional levels. Theproject relies on existing legal and political frameworksfor the protection of refugees and IDPs and,where possible, encourages cross-border learningbetween civil society organisations and regionalinitiatives aimed at providing joint solutions to regionaldisplacement problems.The Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK) is anational Non-Governmental Organisation thatworks to promote and protect the rights and dignityof refugees and other forced migrants. RCK wasconstituted and registered in 1998 in response tothe increasingly complex refugee situation in Kenya.RCK is distinct in the role it plays in promotingthe welfare and rights of refugees and other forcedmigrants. It focuses on refugee and IDP issues usinga human rights and social justice approach asit advocates for their rights. In partnership withits networks locally, regionally and internationally,RCK has been able to deal with a wide rangeof issues in forced migration. These include legalreforms, policy development, civic education, researchand information dissemination, refugeeand IDP empowerment and capacity building.Since 2010, RCK in partnership with DRC GreatLakes has been engaged in IDP work under threestrategic objectives for the year 2012: i) Lobbyingfor the enactment of the IDP Policy with differentduty bearers; ii) Creating awareness on the rightsand protection needs of IDPs in Kenya; and iii)Documenting the advocacy and engagement processtowards an IDP policy framework in Kenya.1.5. Methodology of the Study1.5.1. Desk ReviewThis study was informed by a review of a numberof secondary sources of information in the formof publications, reports, minutes, concept papers,as well as relevant national, regional and internationalframeworks on IDPs. This information wasused to build the context on IDP protection, identifygaps in existing protection and advocacy initiatives,identify the key stakeholders in IDP work,and establish benchmarks for protection and advocacywork.1.5.2. Key Informant InterviewsThe study made use of purposive sampling, interviewingvarious respondents from organisationsor institutions that have taken an active part in thepolicy development process. These respondentsincluded state and non-state actors and representedinternational, national and field-based level actors.The interviews were mainly conducted usingsemi-structured questionnaires as well as informaldiscussions.In total, 22 stakeholders were interviewed. 13 wererepresentatives of state institutions comprisingof four international (mainly UN Agencies), sixnational (from relevant ministries, Kenya NationalCommission on Human Rights – KNCHR,and Parliament) and three field-based ProtectionWorking Group members (mainly from the ProvincialAdministration in Nakuru and Eldoret).Nine non-state actors were also interviewed: twointernational non-governmental organisations,four national actors and three members from theIDP Network. Informal reflections were also undertakenwith members of the Eldoret field-basedProtection Working Group on 26 st July 2012.1.5.3. Internal RCK ReflectionWhile the consultants who conducted this studycarried out interviews with the relevant stakeholdersin an attempt to re-enact and re-examinethe policy development process, they also reliedon information accumulated by RCK from its ownadvocacy work. RCK has played a significant rolein the development of the policy framework oninternal displacement in Kenya. Initial efforts inthis respect have included preliminary discussionswith actors around the prospect of developing anIDP Policy. After the post-election violence, therole of RCK became more concrete with the inceptionof the Protection Working Group on InternalDisplacement and of the legal and advocacy subgroupfor longer-term interventions such as policydevelopment, promotion of access to durable solutionsand ensuring a holistic approach to internaldisplacement in Kenya. The specific role of RCK2Behind the Scenes – Lessons Learnt from Developing a National Policy Framework on Internal Displacement in Kenya 3