E/C.12/KEN/CO/2-5
Forced evictions
47.
The Committee reiterates its concerns that pastoralist communities and persons
living in informal settlements are under constant threat of eviction due to the lack of legal
security of tenure and that forced evictions continue without prior notice and provision of
adequate alternative housing or compensation. It is also concerned that the State party has
not yet enacted a legislative framework to recognize and protect communities’ right to land
and to explicitly prohibit forced evictions and define the circumstances and safeguards
subject to which evictions may be carried out, despite the decisions of its own domestic
courts (art. 11).
48.
The Committee recommends that the State party take concrete steps to
guarantee security of tenure for all, including residents of informal settlements. It also
recommends that the State party prioritize the enactment of the Community Land Bill
and the Evictions and Resettlement Bill. The Committee further recommends that the
State party implement judicial orders that provide remedies to victims of forced
evictions as a matter of priority and adopt a moratorium on mass evictions at the
national level until adequate legal and procedural safeguards are in place. The
Committee draws the attention of the State party to its general comment No. 7 (1997)
on the right to adequate housing: forced evictions and the 2007 basic principles and
guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement (A/HRC/4/18).
Water and sanitation
49.
The Committee is concerned at the insufficient access to safe drinking water and
adequate sanitation with huge disparities between urban and rural areas, and formal and
informal settlements. It is also concerned at the lack of effective regulation of water prices,
particularly unregistered small-scale water vendors, and at the high prices that people living
in informal settlements and rural areas have to pay for water (art. 11).
50.
The Committee recommends that the State party increase the budgetary
allocation to improve access to water and sanitation, particularly in urban informal
settlements and rural areas. It also recommends that the State party intensify its
efforts to effectively regulate water prices and ensure compliance, particularly by
small-scale water vendors, with the tariff guidelines, which were set by the Water
Services Regulatory Board.
Access to health-care services
51.
The Committee is concerned at the inadequate budget allocation to the health sector,
very limited coverage of the National Health Insurance Fund and the significant share of
out-of-pocket payments in health expenditure, which limit access to health for
disadvantaged and marginalized persons. The Committee also regrets the regional
disparities in access to health-care services and the delay in enacting the Health Bill,
implementing the decision of the High Court in P.A.O. and 2 others v. Attorney General
(2012) and amending the Anti-Counterfeit Act, 2008 (art. 12).
52.
The Committee recommends that the State party take concrete measures to
enhance access to health services, particularly for disadvantaged and marginalized
individuals and groups, including through increasing budgetary allocation to the
health sector and expanding the coverage of the National Health Insurance Fund. It
also recommends that the State party expeditiously adopt the Health Bill and amend
the Anti-Counterfeit Act, 2008.
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