IHR challenges diplomats over Kenya's human rights record

 

 IHR president David Koros has challenged European and American diplomats in Africa to prevent human rights violations. [Steve Mkawale, Standard]

The Geneva-based Institute of Human Rights (IHR) has challenged European and American diplomats in Africa to prevent human rights violations.

According to IHR president David Koros, while international bodies and Western nations publicly champion democratic values, their actual diplomatic actions frequently favour maintaining relationships with ruling elites.

He pointed to the situation in Kenya, which he claimed has the highest number of human rights violations in Africa.

"The primary mandate ranges from hardline stances on human rights and safeguarding and promotion of human rights.

Why did the head of the European diplomatic office in Nairobi fail to condemn the Ruto administration over the violations of human rights being perpetrated by the Kenya Kwanza government?" Koros posed.

The human rights defender said his organisation was disappointed and disturbed when state-sponsored militia/police abduct innocent Kenyans, yet the diplomats do not condemn. What is their role? Are they supporting human rights violations?" he said.

Koros particularly took issue with Mr Andreas Peschke, the Head of the European Mission in Nairobi, wondering why he had been silent while the Kenyan government abducted journalists, opposition leaders and foreigners seeking shelter in Kenya over the political situation in neighbouring countries.

He cited Amnesty International's recent report on the human rights situation in Kenya.

The report, dubbed "Human rights under siege: Authoritarian practices and economic pressure amid youth-led protests in Kenya" (part of the broader State of the World's Human Rights release), documents a severe escalation of human rights violations by Kenyan authorities.

The report's findings cited the crackdown on protests, during which security forces used unlawful and lethal force against largely peaceful, youth-led ("Gen Z") demonstrations demanding economic justice and accountability.

It also focused on abuses and forced disappearances.

Amnesty International documented thousands of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings linked to protests and state repression between 2023 and 2025.

Koros explained that diplomats' silence regarding human rights violations in Africa is a well-documented phenomenon, often driven by geopolitical interests, economic dependencies and the strategic prioritisation of regional stability over democratic governance.

"While international bodies and Western nations publicly champion democratic values, their actual diplomatic actions frequently favour maintaining relationships with ruling elites," he said.

Koros challenged the diplomats to speak out clearly and condemn incidents of human rights violations in Africa, especially in Kenya, where he claimed the situation was worse.

Human rights violations in Kenya include extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and police brutality linked to protests, as well as a rise in organised political violence ahead of the 2027 elections.