Nairobi, 21 September 2024: Fellow activists, friends, and defenders of human rights. Today, we stand here as fellow Kenyans outraged by the ongoing tragedy in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Livestreamed into all our homes, we are witnessing the staggering loss of Palestinian lives and a relentless assault on the universal values that bind us together as a global family.
In another act of complete disregard for the international community, Israeli forces have escalated their assault on Gaza, killing at least 79 people this week, just days before the UN General Assembly convenes in New York. A new Amnesty International report released yesterday reveals why some of the gravest crimes against humanity continue, despite global outrage.
On Wednesday, one of the world’s worst conflicts entered its third year with no end in sight. Attending the Sudan London conference this week, the Kenya Government struggled to refute accusations of its support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and that it has developed economic interests.
As Heads of States arrive in Dar es Salaam today for a joint Summit of the East African Community and Southern African Development Community, close to a million Congolese are on the run. While primarily a conflict between the M23 armed group and the Government of Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo’s vast mineral wealth has attracted several interests who threaten to escalate the war regionally.
Five days before International Human Rights Day, Amnesty International released its report documenting the many crimes that have taken place against Palestinians in Gaza. While the charge of “genocide” has been on the lips of millions of protesters and observers worldwide for months, the report provides empirical and irrefutable evidence that a genocide has taken place in Gaza.
President William Ruto’s May 2024 visit to Washington marks a milestone in the 60-year relationship between the United States and Kenya. Prior to the trip, Amnesty International Kenya and Amnesty International USA Section Directors Irũngũ Houghton and Paul O’Brien delivered two separate open letters calling on both Heads of State to uphold justice, equality, and human rights in their respective countries.
The world is reaping a harvest of terrifying consequences from escalating conflict and the near breakdown of international law, said Amnesty International as it launched its annual The State of the World’s Human Rights report today, delivering an assessment of human rights in 155 countries.
With Gaza rapidly transformed from the world’s biggest open-air prison to a giant graveyard before the world’s eyes, thousands of street protests and several blocked United Nations decisions, international legal action was predictable. What is the significance of the South Africa petition before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)? More importantly, can it bring the atrocities to an end?
Bombs are raining down on the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza with devastation that makes even the horror of El Nino seem mild. Meanwhile, an eight-month-old Sudanese conflict seems to have dropped off the Kenyan government and the international community’s radar. With the National Assembly on recess from today until 13 February 2024, all eyes must now turn to the National Executive to speak up and act now on these two massive global human rights violations as we celebrate International Human Rights Day.
By Irũngũ Houghton
Israeli security forces and Palestinian armed groups must make every effort to protect the lives of civilians in today’s outbreak of fighting in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said Amnesty International amid a mounting civilian death toll.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL KENYA RESPONDS TO THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL’S DECISION TO DEPLOY INTERNATIONAL SECURITY FORCES TO HAITI LED BY KENYAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS