Grassroots human rights defenders

PBI Kenya in collaboration with the members of the Social Justice Centers Working Group (SJCWG) conducted a Training of Trainers on safety and security for HRDs. Ten HRDs of Social Justice Centres in Nairobi were trained on risk assessments and security plans for HRDs. This included stakeholders analysis, digital security, organisational security and many other important topics. There was specific attention to training techniques in order for the participants to effectively train other HRDs.

The WHRD Toolkit Organizers involve their communities in the planning, designing, and creation of murals. They believe that the input of the communities is instrumental as the mural piece reflects the character, culture, and situation in the respective settlements.

During October and November 2020, the Women Human Rights Defenders Toolkit Organizers have been using murals to address the rise in child pregnancies and SGBV during Covid-19.

PBI Kenya began the year on a high note, by continuing to supporting the work of the HRDs of the Social Justice Centres in Kenya through a new project titled ‘Raising the voice, visibility and effectiveness of the human rights movement in Kenya’. This follows after the successful completion of the pilot project ‘Increased capacities, stronger networks’. Both are supported with German Federal Foreign Office’s funds by ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Funding Programme zivik.

International Women’s Day (IWD) takes place every year on March 8 to celebrate women’s rights and inspire people to act for gender equality. The theme for 2021 was #ChooseToChallenge. It highlighted the importance of challenging biases and misconceptions in the interest of creating a more inclusive and gender-equal world.

During November and December PBI organised a ‘Virtual Speaker Tour’, comprising of webinars, media engagement and meetings with the international community. The virtual nature of the Speaker Tour was necessitated by the global Covid-19 pandemic, which made international travel problematic.

On September 30, Peace Brigades International-Switzerland Advocacy Coordinator Kim-Mai Vu presented on the human rights situation in Kenya during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) general debate at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

She stated:

“We welcome the important contributions to the UPR of Kenya.

On 17 August, representatives from PBI Kenya and the Social Justice Centres Working Group had a meeting with Peace Cop Kenya to discuss the security concerns of communities, community dialogues, and the relationship between the police and community members in Nairobi’s urban settlements. Read this article, courtesy of PBI Canada, for more information.

The article “UK Lockdown in Perspective: Kenya and Honduras”, by Georgina Pressdee for the UK Country Group of PBI, addresses lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya, Honduras, and the United Kingdom.

Read the full article here.

‘Increased capacities, stronger networks - a pilot project in supporting Social Justice Center Working Group’s members in Nairobi’s urban settlements’ is a project supported with German Federal Foreign Office’s funds by ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Funding Programme zivik. This project, that will run from April to December 2020, will build on the results of the Ushirikiano Mwema kwa Usalama project.