[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13682]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           U.N. KENYA REPORT

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, this week the U.N. Special Rapporteur, 
Mr. Philip Alston, has released his final report on extrajudicial, 
summary or arbitrary executions in Kenya. His report states that, 
despite significant investigative work, no concrete steps have been 
taken to prosecute perpetrators of the violence after Kenya's December 
2007 election. It also finds that both the Sabaot Land Defense Forces--
SLDF--and the Kenyan government's security forces engaged in widespread 
brutality in Mount Elgon, including torture and unlawful killings. 
These alleged abuses have not been seriously investigated by the police 
or the military. Finally, the report concludes that the police in Kenya 
continue to carry out extrajudicial killings and that death squads 
continue to exist within the police to assassinate high-profile 
suspected criminals.
  The report makes a number of detailed recommendations for how Kenya 
can address these problems, beginning with the replacement of the 
existing police commissioner and a clear public order that 
extrajudicial killings will not be tolerated, then followed by a 
comprehensive reform of the police. In addition, the report calls for 
the attorney general to resign and for the Kenyan government to take 
steps to reduce corruption and incompetence in the judiciary. With 
regard to the postelection violence, the report calls for the Kenyan 
government to establish a special tribunal to seek accountability for 
persons bearing the greatest responsibility for the violence after the 
elections. And with regard to the killings in Mount Elgon, the report 
calls on the government to immediately set up an independent commission 
to investigate human rights abuses, including those committed by the 
SLDF.
  I urge the Obama administration to issue a strong response to the 
release of the Special Rapporteur's final report and press for the 
implementation of these recommendations. I was pleased that Assistant 
Secretary Carson traveled earlier this month to Nairobi as part of his 
first trip to Africa following his confirmation. He met with government 
leaders there and delivered a strong message of concern. This was an 
important step. It must now be followed by concrete actions that both 
support reforms and press for individuals found guilty of killings and 
kleptocracy to be held accountable. To that end, I noted with interest 
that the President's budget request included increased military 
assistance for Kenya. Such assistance may be justified, but before we 
provide it, we need to make sure that steps are being taken by the 
Kenyan government to investigate past abuses and stop continuing ones. 
We need to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars do not enable a pattern of 
impunity in Kenya's security forces.
  For some time I have worried about the very real possibility that 
political instability in Kenya could worsen and that armed conflict 
could return if these underlying rule of law problems are not 
addressed. That backsliding would be tragic, not least because Kenya is 
an extremely important country for the stability of the Horn of Africa 
and east Africa. Moreover, it is a country with vast potential that has 
been and continues to be a leader on the African continent. The United 
States, given our longstanding and historic partnership with Kenya must 
step up to the plate and work to ensure Kenya achieves its full 
potential. We can begin by ensuring the U.N. Special Rapporteur's 
report serves as a guide and a catalyst for needed reforms and renewed 
progress.

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