News & Visuals

Panel Issues Notice of Non-Registration for Request for Inspection of Three Kenya Projects

The Inspection Panel on May 31, 2019, issued of Notice of Non-Registration for a Request for Inspection of three projects in Kenya: the Natural Resource Management Project (NRMP), the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) and the Urban Support Program (USP).

The Panel received the Request for Inspection on April 15, 2019, from seven community members who live and represent others in the Cherangany Hills in Kenya. The Requesters consider themselves indigenous and raised concerns about the lack of recognition of their indigenous identity, which in their view has contributed to the loss of their traditional lands and territories. They also alleged a lack of consultations in the design and implementation of the KCSAP and USP, and ethnic discrimination and exclusion from the benefits of these two projects.

The development objective of the NRMP, which closed in June 2013, was to “enhance the institutional capacity to manage water and forest resources, reduce the incidence and severity of water shocks such as drought, floods and water shortage in river catchments and improve the livelihoods of communities participating in the co-management of water and forest resources.” The development objectives of KSCAP are to “increase agricultural productivity and build resilience to climate change risks in the targeted smallholder farming and pastoral communities in Kenya, and in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, to provide immediate and effective response.” The development objective of the USP is “to establish and strengthen urban institutions to deliver improved infrastructure and services in participating counties in Kenya.” 

The Panel did not register the Request after determining the claims regarding the NRMP were inadmissible under the Panel rules because the project is closed. With regards to claims against the KCSAP and USP, the Panel did not find any discriminatory elements in the projects and a plausible link between the harms alleged by the Requesters and the projects. More