Behind the Scenes, Kenya IDP Report - Danish Refugee Council

Chapter 4: The Role of Civil SocietyMilestones in Developingthe IDP Policy:Chapter 5:Navigating through a ToughPolitical Environment• The need for a policy was identified during aworkshop held for national and internationalstakeholders in March and April 2007.• The need to develop a policy was agreedupon during the National Stakeholders Forumheld in Nairobi on 30 th and 31 st July2009. MoJNCCA and ASWG were tasked toprovide leadership.• In October 2009, MoJNCCA agreed to spearheadthe process following a meeting betweenASWG and Prof. Walter Kälin, UN-SRon IDPs.• Preparatory work on policy drafting was initiatedbetween August and December 2009.The actual drafting took place between Januaryand February 2010.• Prof. Kälin seconded his legal adviser on IDPprotection to advise and support the draftingin January 2010.• MoSSP took over the policy drafting processfrom MoJNCCA following a meeting withtheir PS, Prof. Kälin’s advisor and the AWSGon 13th January 2010.• The draft policy was submitted to stakeholdersfor validation at a forum hosted by thePWGID in Nairobi on 14 th March 2010.• The policy was revised and adopted byMoSSP in April 2010. It was amended in Octoberand December 2010 in line with thenew Constitution.• PWGID prepared a Cabinet Memo betweenDecember 2010 and February 2011. TheMemo was submitted to the Minister ofMoSSP on 16 th March 2011.• Further discussions with respect to the policywere held with PSC, MoSSP and PWGIDat Pangoni Hotel in Mombasa on 30th September-1 st October 2011; 4-6 December 2011and 29-30 July 2012.• On 18 th July 2012, ASWG, MoSSP and LandsMinistry revised the draft policy to complywith the Land Act 2011, Land RegistrationAct, 2012 and National Land CommissionAct, 2012.• On 14 th September 2012, MoSSP Ministerconfirmed that the Minister of Lands hadsigned the IDP Policy with a few recommendations.• The Cabinet approved the IDP Policy on 25 thOctober 2012 and MoSSP is preparing a Sessionalpaper on the Policy which will be debatedin Parliament for it to be approved as aNational Policy.Allowing IDPs to vote in areas where they have beenresettled will encourage the use of options for a durablesolution as a political tool to influence local politicsthrough strategic relocations. If that is the position inthe IDP Bill, then I will make sure that the bill neversees the light of day in the house. 75Policymaking closely relates to the politics of thejurisdiction in which it takes place. This is becausepolicymaking involves building consensus or establishingcooperation among various actors within thepolitical field. The interaction between advocacywork and politics contributes to the quality of the resultingpolicies and determines to a great extent theirdurability by either hindering or facilitating their implementation.The Kenyan experience in developingthe IDP policy framework provides a rich case studyof how political factors affect policymaking.5.1. Sensitivity of the Topic ofInternal Displacement inKenyaThe recognition of the existence of IDPs in Kenyahas generally faced resistance from Government,mainly because of its political and financial implications.IDPs are perceived to be a national shameand a reminder of the events of the 2007/2008post-election violence. Granting official recognitionof an IDP status implies providing resettlement,which in turns compounds already existingland problems. Consequently, when engagingwith politicians on the subject of internal displacement,undue focus is often placed on whatthis might demand of Government resources andhow it might affect voting patterns if resettlementwere the prime solution for resolving the situationof IDPs.5.1.1. Post-election violence 2007Arguably, the violence that erupted after the electionsin 2007 marked the turning point in effortsto deal with internal displacement. The violencecame to a close after a National Dialogue and ReconciliationProcess that resulted in the formationof a coalition government and a comprehensivereform agenda designed to resolve the politicalcrisis and its root causes. 76 The comprehensivereform agenda provided a context for calls to theGovernment to respond to internal displacementand provided a basis upon which discussions ona policy framework for IDPs began. The PWGIDused this context to call upon the President andthe Prime Minister to establish a comprehensiveframework for the protection of IDPs, since thefour agendas developed through the reconciliationprocess were to be implemented within a periodof one year from 28 th February 2008. 77 While thepost-election violence acted as catalyst for advocacywork on the protection of IDPs, in some instancesit acted as a distorting factor by introducingsubjective standards and concentrating moreon displacement caused by the violence in 2007 tothe exclusion of other categories of IDPs.5.1.2. Ethnic DimensionAlthough the Constitution of Kenya characterisesthe country as a multi-party democratic state, ethnicaffiliation plays a prominent role in national debates,where actors analyse situations through partisanlenses. Discourses on internal displacement wereassessed through this same lens, with the Parliamentaccusing the Executive of favouring particularinterest and ethnic groups in its interventions. Thisperception was compounded by the failure of the22Behind the Scenes – Lessons Learnt from Developing a National Policy Framework on Internal Displacement in Kenya 23