Summary

The Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises conducted a visit to Kenya from 2 to 11 July 2018.

Kenya has adopted and initiated important regulatory initiatives to implement the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, including the development of a national action plan on business and human rights. However, additional efforts should be made in order to translate the policy commitment into reality, including by establishing enforcement mechanisms for the effective implementation of State obligations and business responsibilities to prevent, mitigate and remedy adverse business-related human rights impacts.

The Government should also take additional steps to systematically embed respect for human rights in all its activities as an economic actor, and set clear expectations for companies to respect human rights by conducting proper human rights due diligence processes. Obstacles remain for victims of human rights abuses to gain access to an effective remedy, and mechanisms should be aimed at strengthening accountability, including through the creation of grievance mechanisms at the operational level.

Equal and meaningful participation of all stakeholders, particularly affected community members and human rights defenders, remains a challenge. More efforts should be made to ensure access to information and technical assistance for rights holders in relation to all business-related questions that may have an impact on them. This includes measures to build trust and remove barriers such as power asymmetry between actors, which hamper inclusive negotiation and collaboration.