The Constitutional Context of Human Rights Defenders in Kenya under the 2010 Constitution.

Abstract

The universally accepted construction and or perception of Human Rights Defenders is that it is a term used to describe people who individually or with others, act to promote or to protect human rights. The test for Human Rights defenders is that their actions must reflect an impact on Human Rights in the form of promotion or protection of the same.

In this essay I will draw my attention to the constitutional framework of the 2010 constitution that encapsulates the standing, the role and the avenues human right defenders exploit in order to achieve their core mandate of defending human rights. The essay is organized as follows: Part 1 gives an overview of Human Right Defenders and will seek to address the issues of the recognition of Human rights defenders by the law, who can be a human right defender, what substantive and procedural role do human rights defenders play and how they achieve their mandate in so doing. Part 2 deals with the recommendations that this essay puts forth in order to increase the efficacy of Human Rights Defenders.