Strengthening Kenya’s Legal Framework for Protection of Environmental Human Rights Defenders

This policy recommendation by Natural Justice advocates for the creation of a specific legal framework in Kenya to protect Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs), arguing that current protections are only inferable through the interpretation of various existing laws.

• Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs) globally face an environment of impunity characterized by increasing instances of murder, criminalization, stigmatization, harassment, intimidation, and assaults.
• Kenya currently lacks express legislative recognition for EHRDs; instead, their protection and recognition must be inferred from the interpretation of several laws, including the Constitution of Kenya, the Witness Protection Act No. 16 of 2006, the Legal Aid Act, No. 6 of 2016, the Access to information Act, No. 31 of 2016, the Prevention of Torture Act, No. 12 of 2017, and the Public Order Act (Cap 56).
• Establishing express legislative recognition of EHRDs and defining the responsibilities of state and non-state actors to respect their rights would help prevent attacks and foster an environment conducive to activism.

APA

Natural Justice (2023). Strengthening Kenya’s Legal Framework for Protection of Environmental Human Rights Defenders. https://naturaljustice.org/publication/adopting-a-national-law-to-protect-environmental-and-human-rights-defenders-in-kenya/

Chicago

Natural Justice. Strengthening Kenya’s Legal Framework for Protection of Environmental Human Rights Defenders. 2023. https://naturaljustice.org/publication/adopting-a-national-law-to-protect-environmental-and-human-rights-defenders-in-kenya/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=Strengthening Kenya’s Legal Framework for Protection of Environmental Human Rights Defenders |date=6 July 2023 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/publication/adopting-a-national-law-to-protect-environmental-and-human-rights-defenders-in-kenya/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2023strengthening, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Strengthening Kenya’s Legal Framework for Protection of Environmental Human Rights Defenders}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/publication/adopting-a-national-law-to-protect-environmental-and-human-rights-defenders-in-kenya/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }