Uphold the judgments of the African Court on Peoples and Human Rights
IPRI condemns the forced eviction of the Ogiek people which started today. More than 700 Ogiek men, women and children are now displaced with nowhere to go. This violent attack is unjust and in direct violation to the rights of the Ogiek people. We appeal to the government to stop the eviction and implement the decision of the African Court on Peoples and Human Rights as a matter of its obligation.
Gotop Sogoot Council of Elders
alias
Ogiek Council of Elders
To:
His Excellency,
Dr. William Samoei Ruto, CGH.
President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-chief of the Defence Forces,
State House
P.O. Box 40530-00100 NAIROBI
Cc:
Honorable Soipan Tuya,
Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry
Abdi Hassan,
Regional Commissioner for Rift Valley,
Mercy Kalondu Wambua, OGW
Chief Executive Officer,
Commission on Administrative Justice.
Alex Lemarkoko,
Chief Conservator of Forests,
Kenya Forest Service.
Prof. Julius Gordon Tanui, PhD, EBS
Chief Executive Officer
Kenya Water Towers Agency.
Dr. Bernard Mogesa PhD, CPM
Chief Executive Officer,
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights
Betty Sungura-Nyabuto, MBS
Chief Executive Officer,
National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC)
Isaac Masinde
Narok County Commissioner
RE: CEASE EVICTION ORDERS FROM THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND THE IMPENDING VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS MAU OGIEK PEOPLES; UPHOLD THE 2017 AND 2022 JUDGEMENTS OF THE AFRICAN COURT
Your Excellency,
The Ogiek community and allies from Kenya and the international community are deeply concerned about the eviction order issued by the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Soipan Tuya. We understand that the directive provides authority to the Regional Commissioner for Rift Valley to remove “trespassers” from the Mau Forest. Although the Ogiek are not trespassers on this land and have in fact been legally recognised as its owners, we are gravely concerned that this directive will lead to the illegal eviction of approximately 1500 indigenous Ogiek (including 400 women and 300 children), particularly those living in Nkareta and Sasimwani areas. Authorities have already started asking Ogiek community members to take their children and their valuables from their homes before the impending eviction. These orders were given on the morning of 26 October 2023.
In May 2017, the African Court on Peoples and Human Rights upheld our rights to our traditional lands in Mau Forest, including Sasimwani and Nkareta. The Court recognised the Ogiek as legal owners of the Mau Forest and found that our rights to property and natural resources under the African Charter, among other issues, have long been violated by the Kenyan Government. [1]
Moreover, in June 2022, the Court ordered the Government of Kenya to undertake ‘an exercise of delimitation, demarcation and communal land titling in order to protect the Ogiek peoples’ right to property, which in this case revolves around their occupation, use and enjoyment of the Mau Forest and its various resources.’[2] The Court required that this exercise should be undertaken in consultation with the Ogiek. The Court's judgment must be applied in the case of the Ogiek lands of Sasimwani and Nkareta. The Court also directed the Government not to repeat any further violations of the Ogiek’s rights.
In an effort to see the Court’s orders implemented and the evictions prevented, our elders and leaders have engaged with the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) in Nairobi. The Ogiek community members from Sasimwani have also appealed to the Narok County Commissioner, Isaac Masinde. But so far, our efforts have not yielded to anything fruitful.
Your Excellency, Kenya has ratified core international human rights instruments, among them the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, all of which impose duties and obligations on Kenya in relation to Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Kenya is internationally recognized as a leading advocate in the fight against climate change in Africa.
We believe the eviction order is linked to the protection of Kenya´s water towers, a conservation initiative for the Mau Forest’s supposed protection. The Kenyan Government has recognised in the past that the presence of the Ogiek in their traditional lands in Mau Forest is not linked to negative impacts in the forest, but mostly due to logging licenses and illegal trespassers. The African Court specifically recognised in its May 2017 judgment that conservation of the Mau Forest does not justify evicting the Ogiek.
Indigenous peoples have long been rights holders recognized by the international community. They are recognized as leaders in conservation and strategic allies in addressing the global environmental and climate change challenges we face. The order to evict the Ogiek is contrary to Kenya's obligations under international human rights law, its compliance with African Court judgments, its commitments on environmental issues, and its advocacy to combat climate change.
We ask Your Excellency to cease the eviction order, thus avoiding human rights violations of the indigenous Ogiek and Mau Forest communities. We urge the opening of a space for dialogue with the Ogiek for the implementation of the 2017 and 2022 judgments of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.
Respectfully,
John Lobolo Sironga, Chairperson – Ogiek National Council of Elders
Wilson Memusi, Chairperson – Ogiek Council Narok Chapter
Martin Kiptiony Lele, Secretary – Ogiek Council of Elders
Daniel Kobei, Executive Director - Ogiek Peoples Development Program, OPDP
Joan Carling, Executive Director - Indigenous Peoples Rights International, IPRI
Leonidas Iza Salazar, Chairperson, CONAIE, Ecuador
Chandra Singh Kulung, Chairperson, Nepal Kirat Kulung Bhasa Sanskriti Utthan Sangh, Nepal
Kathrin Wessendorf, Executive director, IWGIA, Denmark
Dilip Chakma, National Coordinator, Indigenous Rights Advocacy Centre, India
Michelin Sallata, Chairperson, Barisan Pemuda Adat Nusantara, Indonesia
Nukila Evanty, Executive Director, Inisiasi Masyarakat Adat (IMA), Indonesia
Rukka Sombolinggi, Secretary General, Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of the Archipelago (Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara/AMAN), Indonesia
Pallab Chakma, Executive Director, Kapaeeng Foundation, Bangladesh
Bouba Njobdi Amadou, Executive Director, Lelewal Foundation, Cameroon
Dr. Deborah S. Rogers, President, Initiative for Equality
James Forole Jarso, Founder & Executive Director, Saku Accountability Forum (SAF), Kenya
Edgardo Benítez Maclin, President, Instituto para el Futuro Común Amerindio IFCA, Honduras
Fidèle Mbilizi Mutimanwa, Directeur Pool Est, Ligue Nationale des Associations Autochtones Pygmées du Congo, Congo-Kinshasa
Ingrid García Minda, Directora Ejecutiva, INREDH, Ecuador
Audace Kubwimana, Africa Regional Coordinator, International Land Coalition (ILC), Kenya
Dr. Rosalee Gonzalez, Co-Coordinator, North Región, Continental Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas, USA
Kepa Fernández de Larrinoa, Director, Lera-Ikergunea, Nafarroa
Juana Vera Delgado, Director, Water Justice and Gender
Jackson Shaa, Executive Director, Narasha Community Development Community, Kenya
Diana Villalobos Díaz, Director, Consultoría Técnica Comunitaria, A.C., Mexico
Isela González Díaz, Director, Alianza Sierra Madre, Mexico
Colin Nicholas, Coordinator, Center for Orang Asli Concerns, Malaysia
Gibran Abubakar, Legal Officer, NCIP Basilan, Philippines
John Cunnington, Senior RD Advisor, Development Alternatives, United Kingdom
Patricia Borraz Fernández , ALMACIGA Grupo de Trabajo Intercultural, Spain
Citlalli Hernández Saad, National Coordinator, IPRI México, Mexico
Rehanna Thomas, Policy Officer, Kayonok Council, Guyana
Sonia Hernández, Coordinator, Misioneras de la Inmaculada Concepción, Venezuela
Perla Medina, Director, Somos Viento, Mexico
Gwendolyn Gaongen, Station Manager, Radyo Sagada, Philippines
Meena Kumari Lama, Administrative and Finance Officer, National Indigenous Women's Federation-NIWF, Nepal
Yannick Lokima Ramazani, Avocat près la cour d'appel de la tshopo, Étoiles du sud, République démocratique du Congo
Frances Jenner, Forest Peoples Programme, United Kingdom
Margarita Pineda Rodríguez, Secretary of minutes and agreements, Murilpaz:mujeres referentes indígenas lencas paz, Honduras
Mina Beyan, Program Director, Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development, Liberia
Shanta Ruth Odera, Programme Officer, National Gender and Equality Commission, Kenya
Rigan Chakma, Research Assistant, FGCSS, Germany
Francisco Soares, Staff Member, Azimuth World Foundation, United States of America
Carla Santos, Grants Manager, Azimuth World Foundation, Portugal
Jiten Yumnam, Secretary, Centre for Research and Advocacy Manipur, India
Evangelina Contreras Ceja, Deputy Director, Desaparecidos de la costa y feminicidios de Michoacán, Mexico
Maaike Hendriks, senior program coordinator, Both ENDS, Netherlands
Joseph ITONGWA, Directeur Exécutif National, ANAPAC-RDC, RDC
Diana Mendoza, Iwgia, Colombia
Ivonne Arroyo, Consejero, Contec, Mexico
Ram kumar Tamang, Spokeperson, Struggle Against Marginalization of Nationalities (SAMAN-Nepal), Nepal
Horacio Lagunas Cerda, Secretario, Fideicomiso de Desarrollo Comunitario de Mogótavo, Mexico
James Christopher Desmoulin, Member, Biitigong Nishnaabeg, Canada
Nicole Redvers, Board member, Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation, Canada
Monika Rajput, Local Deligated, Parents for Future, Germanx
Brijlal Chaudhari, President, Global Home for Indigenous Peoples, France
Robie Halip, Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples (REP), Philippines
Leonor Zalabata, Defensora de Derechos Humanos, CIT Pueblo indígena Arhuaco, Colombia
Datu Edelverios A. Paundog, Rajah Datu, Rajagnate of Sanmalan / Subano Tribe, Philippines
Gasselin Sacha, Secretaire, T'as quel âge ?, France
Alexandra Tomaselli, Senior Researcher, Eurac Research, Italy
Daniella Vanêssa Abrantes Martins, Sócia administradora, Mira Socioambiental, Brasil
Cornelia Flora, Distinguished Professor Emerit, Iowa State University, USA
Coro Jimenénez-Arellano, Coordinadora, Kolonialismo Osteko Ikasketa Zentroa Elkartea, País Vasco
Aminatu Gambo, Program Officer, IWBN, Cameroon
Jean Claude Kalingsnire, Représentant Légal, ADBR, Rwanda
Pirita Näkkäläjärvi, Doctoral Researcher, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland
Ivette Gonzalez, , Proyecto sobre Organización, Desarrollo, Educación e Investigación (PODER), Mexico
Cecilia Maho, , El Pueblo Indígena Bubi de la Isla de Bioko, Isla Bioko
John Cunnington, DIRECTOR, Development ALTERNATIVES, United Kingdom
Levi Sucre Romero, Director General, Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y Bosques, Mesoamérica
Colin Nicholas, Coordinator, Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), Malaysia
Bipin Jojo, convenor, Sundargargh Adivasi Manch, India
CIZA Charles, Président et Représentant Légal, Action Batwa Pour Le Développement Intégral et l'Assistance Aux Vulnérables, Burundi
Margarita Pineda Rodríguez, Secretaria de actas y acuerdos, Murilpaz :mujeres referentes indígenas lencas paz, Departamento de la Paz Honduras Centro America
Signe Leth, Senior advisor, IWGIA, Danmark
Meena Kumari Lama, Administrative and Finance Officer, National Indigenous Women's Federation-NIWF, Nepal
Núria Reguart-Segarra, Lecturer, Universitat Jaume I, Spain
Md. Ilias Miah, Chief Executive, Centre for Environment, Human Rights & Development Forum - CEHRDF, Bangladesh
Belkacem Lounes, Président, Congrès Mondial Amazigh, Algérie
Tshepo Nnini Fokane, Acting National Coordinator, Alliance for Rural Democracy, South Africa
Lokima Ramazani Yannick, Avocat près la cour d'appel de la tshopo, Étoiles du sud, République démocratique du Congo
Paul Belisario, Coordinator, International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), Philippines
Akina Singh Suwal, Vice-president, Forum for Indigenous Girls (FIG) Nepal, Nepal
Buddha Tsering Moktan, Director, Struggle Against Marginalization of Nationalities, Nepal
Julie Marion, Donor Relations Manager, IWGIA, Denmark
Dulcy Cotes, Coordinadora zona Ríohacha, Fuerza de Mujeres Wayuú, Colombia
Bernice See, Chair, Board of Trustees, Indigenous Peoples Rights International, Philippines
Kay Kimura, Pirika, JP
Yasso Kanti Bhattachan, Vicechair, National Indigenous Women Forum (NIWF), Nepal
Floralie Dupré, ENS de Lyon, France
Cecilie Guldager Søborg, Iwgia, Denmark
Shawna Farrell, Owner, LotusOak, USA
Natalia Jones Herrero, Advocacy associate, Cultural Survival, Spain
Nataly Allasi Canales, Researcher, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Smriti Rijal, Co-founder, Project Loud, 106
Lene Rønnest, member, IWGIA, Denmark
Mathilde Roza, Professor, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
Knud Klarskov Vilby, Danmark
Mary Taylor, IWGIA, Italy
Cathrine Bye, IWGIA, Norway
jenneke arens, occhtc, netherlands
Bhim Rai, Secretary, LAHURNIP, Nepal
Annika Friese, IWGIA, Germany
Laura Nieto Sanabria, Colectivo de Solidaridad en la Acción, México
Joel Ortega Erreguerena, Professor, UNAM, México
Jenny Davies, Internews, England
Wolfgang Kuhlmann, Policy Director, Global Forest Coalition, The Netherlands
Otto R. Wellington, WWF, Liechtenstein
Diana Vinding Bergsoe, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), Denmark
Sujina Dhonju, Student, Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal
Lisi WahlKleiser, Independent Researcher, Social Medicine, United States
Claudio Figueroa, Integrante Área Acción par la Defensa del Territorio, Instituto Mexicano para el Desarrollo Comunitario, México
Edgardo Benítez Maclin, Presidente, Instituto para el Futuro Común Amerindio IFCA, Honduras
Miriam Pelis Shog-oy, Katinnulong Daguiti Umili iti Amianan, Inc. (KADUAMI), Philippines
Ariong Geoffrey Lokol, Executive Director, Agency for Turkana Development Initiatives-ATUDIS, Kenya
Matiur Rahman, Working President, Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha, the Indigenous Peoples Confederation of Assam, India
Morgane Jaouen, Terra omnius, France
Maireth Sampayo, Comunicadora social, Ipri, Colombia
Sonia Catalina Fracica, Coordinación técnica, IPRI Colombia, Colombia
Arukingumu Torres, Coordinación General, IPRI Colombia, Colombia
Joven Jacolbia, University of the Philippines, Philippines
LJ Queroljico, Rotary Club of Metro Escolta, Philippines
Luis, En contra, Ñamarines por el mundo, Ecuador
Andy Wanning, Administrative Officer, Tribal Link Foundation, USA
Nanki Wampankit, Former CONFENIAE's Territory Leader, Confeniae, Ecuador
Natalia Ramírez Gutiérrez, LatAM Comms, IPRI, Mexico
Cynthia VonHolt-Cheyne, The Grail, USA
Princess Monique Aldaba, Finance Staff, Indigenous Peoples Rights International, Philippines
Lazarus Joseph, South Africa
Josephine Chiname, Zimbabwe
Aaliya Hong, United States
Alice Carey, UK
Zugeith Carine Soleno Arias, Colombia
Daniel Vargas, Mexico
Camille Parguel, Sweden
María Benítez, Mexico
Andreas Bethmann, Germany
Marius, Denmark
Jorge Hernández, México
Daniel Etter, United States
Margareta Nilsson, artist, Sweden
Anne-Marie Tupuola-Plunkett, USA
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[1] https://www.african-court.org/cpmt/details-case/0062012
[2] https://www.african-court.org/cpmt/storage/app/uploads/public/62b/44e/f59/62b44ef59e0bc692084052.pdf
