PETITION No. 22 OF 2012

This document is an amicus curiae intervention submitted by the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) to the High Court of Kenya. The intervention argues that the Lamu Port – Southern Sudan – Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) project, as planned, violates the Constitution of Kenya and various international treaties regarding the right to development, environmental protection, the prohibition of forced evictions, and the rights of indigenous peoples and cultural heritage.

• The Amici argue that the LAPSSET project violates the right to development because affected rights-holders have been denied the right to active, free, and meaningful participation in the project's planning and design, exacerbated by a lack of available information.
• The intervention asserts that the project poses a substantial risk of violating fundamental human rights—including the rights to adequate housing, water, sanitation, food, and the highest attainable standard of health—due to potential environmental degradation.
• The Amici contend that the project would lead to unlawful forced evictions, which they define as the removal of people from their homes or land against their will without appropriate legal protection, in violation of the ICESCR and the Constitution of Kenya.
• The document argues that the project harms the rights of the Lamu people as indigenous or tribal peoples by failing to obtain their free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) regarding the use of their ancestral lands and resources.
• The intervention states that the project would disrupt the natural and cultural balance of Lamu Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, thereby violating Kenya's obligations under the World Heritage Convention to protect and conserve the site.
• The Amici emphasize that international law, including treaties ratified by Kenya such as the ICESCR, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, must be used to interpret the Kenyan Constitution and be enforced by the Court.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). PETITION No. 22 OF 2012. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/GIESCR_Intervention_27Feb2012.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. PETITION No. 22 OF 2012. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/GIESCR_Intervention_27Feb2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=PETITION No. 22 OF 2012 |url=https://www.ciel.org/Publications/GIESCR_Intervention_27Feb2012.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndpetition, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{PETITION No. 22 OF 2012}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/Publications/GIESCR_Intervention_27Feb2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }