Derechos: Human Rights Listings

This violence has resulted in the reported killings of hundreds and
displacement of thousands of people, particularly in the Rift Valley and
elsewhere, who have apparently been targeted for belonging to ethnic
communities perceived to be affiliated with specific political parties, the
reported shooting to death of unarmed demonstrators by security forces, and
has included widespread sexual offences. The violence seems to be
characterised in four broad categories: organised militia activity in various
locations; disorganised protest and violence; disproportionate use of force by
the Kenya security forces; and retributive communal actions.

The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights has been very strong in
condemning the election irregularities and have filed a criminal complaint
against the Electoral Commission of Kenya for various serious criminal
offences committed by ECK officers in the processing, management and control
of the December 2007 general elections. They have also made strong calls for
the post-election violence to stop, stating that there is a need to reach
peace through justice.

The KNCHR has commenced investigations and documenting the large scale human
rights violations and violations of international criminal law during the post
election period in Kenya. They aim to establish to what extent the violence
may have been committed pursuant to a policy to commit systematic attacks
against a civilian population, and to what extent they were ordered, directed
or coordinated by persons or groups of persons acting with a common purpose.
The first preliminary report should be completed by the end of March.

The KNCHR has already deployed their staff and partners in the field,
believing that there is a limited window of opportunity within which to begin,
in order to maintain public faith in the Commission ­ and hence in the results
of the investigations ­ and to ensure that investigations begin prior to any
political resolution that may exclude justice and accountability. Alongside
this work, the Commission is also participating in international mediation
efforts to represent the view that any options on addressing the political,
legal, and human rights situation in the country needs to provide for
accountability for those who bear the greatest responsibility for the violence
on all sides, and develop so that at a very minimum violence is not rewarded.

The KNCHR has requested the assistance of No Peace Without Justice, to help
with the training of KNCHR staff and partners on the investigations (from the
initial interview to analysis and report phases) and to help identify, bring
in and coordinate assistance from other foreign organisations and experts.

Following the request from KNCHR, we have just completed the initial round of
training in the documentation of widespread violations of human rights and
humanitarian law. This training, which was conducted by experienced
investigative, legal, IT and management experts, covered the principles and
purposes of documentation; how to conduct investigations, including the
gathering of pattern of violence information; an overview of crimes under
international law; data management and security; and the management of complex
field operations from the logistical perspective. The marked developments in
the participants' knowledge, skills and confidence from the beginning to the
end of the training is a testament both to the calibre of the participants
themselves and to the professionalism and experience of the foreign team.

In addition, we are currently providing assistance with the development of a
relational database management system for organisation and categorisation of
information gathered in the field, through open sources and via other means
(we are using Firebird, largely with a php interface, using an apache server).

The KNCHR has also requested ongoing, medium-term assistance, for the purposes
of: (a) assisting with the analysis of the information gathered; and (b)
participation in field teams to gather information (for up to six weeks); with
a view to (c) assisting the KNCHR to produce a comprehensive report on the
post-election violence. During this second stage, which started at the end of
January, with funding being sought and secured on an emergency basis, we are
looking for additional experts and volunteers who we can continue to provide
to the KNCHR that can assist them in the management and analysis of the
information, and to some extent also deploy with the teams in the field.

We are looking for people with knowledge and experience in international law
and human rights, or in field operations management or in IT management and
support management and support, interested in taking part in this project,
starting immediately until the end of March.

Successful applicants will be selected in cooperation with the KNCHR, and will
be able to join the growing team of Kenyan and foreign professionals who are
volunteering their time while gaining considerable field experience in
documenting mass violations of human rights and international criminal law and
working along side very experienced Kenyan and foreign human rights
professionals.

The job in practice will entail assisting the KNCHR staff and other volunteers
in gathering information comprehensively but compassionately from witnesses,
analysing open and other sources and reconstructing events soundly based on
information from different sources.

Requirements include excellent oral and written English, excellent analytical
skills, proven ability to work well in a team, interacting effectively with a
wide range of cultures; and preferably with prior experience working in Africa.

If you are interested, and you think that you might be available to deploy
within a few days, please send your CV and dates of availability to
asmith@npwj.org.

Also, please feel free to pass this email along to persons who you think may
be interested and available.

Best regards,

Alison Smith
Legal Counsel/Coordinator International Criminal Justice Program No Peace
Without Justice