|2016

WORLD REPORT 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
zovka, a village whose residents, particularly children, continue to live in a toxic
environment and suffer chronic health problems.
In April, Kazakhstan ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
and in August, signed on to the Safe Schools Declaration, a political
commitment to better protect students, teachers, schools, and universities in
armed conflict.
In its October concluding observations on Kazakhstan, the UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child issued comprehensive recommendations, including on the
prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, corporal punishment, and sexual violence
against children, and addressing the needs of children with disabilities.
Kenya
Kenya’s human rights environment faced serious challenges in 2015 as the security
crisis escalated. Persistent deadly attacks by Al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based
Islamist armed group, culminated in the April 2 massacre of 148 people, including
142 students, at Garissa University in the northeast. The government responded
to Al-Shabaab attacks with efforts to expand police and security agency
powers, and curtail basic rights through new legislation. Government policies
have targeted human rights organizations for closure, tried to stifle media, and
threatened refugee communities with forced returns to Somalia.
Security forces continued to be implicated in extrajudicial killings, torture, disappearances
and arbitrary detentions, particularly during counterterrorism operations
in Nairobi, Mombasa, the coast and in the northeast, and rarely faced
investigations or prosecutions.
At least 28 bills necessary to implement the 2010 constitution had not been
passed by the five-year deadline on August 27. The constitution was negotiated
after the 2007-2008 post-election violence as key in addressing past injustices.
There has been no tangible progress on accountability for crimes committed during
the post-election violence, which left at least 1,100 dead and 650,000 displaced.
Key security sector, land, and accountability reforms identified in 2008 as crucial
to address Kenya’s political crisis have also not been implemented. Throughout
the year, human rights activists and civil society groups reported harassment
and threats for their work on justice and accountability.
Abuses by Al-Shabaab
Suspected Al-Shabaab fighters targeted and killed at least 226 unarmed people
between November 2014 and July 2015, along the coast and in the northeast.
During three separate attacks on quarry workers and on a bus in Mandera county
and in another attack on Garissa University, Al-Shabaab fighters singled out and
killed those who could not recite an Islamic creed.
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