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{
    "id": 1194471,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1194471/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 25,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "people’s health or the environment, the people individually or as a community have recourse through the judicial or non-judicial remedies to ensure that they are adequately compensated. The third chapter is on the policy actions that have adopted the three pillar framework of the ENGPs, mainly the State duty to protect human rights. As I said, the State has a duty to protect human rights both individually and communally. Secondly, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, as I mentioned that our corporates, both State owned and private have a responsibility to respect human rights. Thirdly, the access to remedies, as I mentioned, should your rights be contravened whether you are a worker or a community. If you remember the case in point of the oil spillage in some river in Makueni, it ought to have had a remedy in law and this policy addresses some of those issues. This chapter also details key policy priority areas that the Government will focus on for the next five years in a bid to ensure that all businesses including State owned enterprises respect human rights. My point emphasizes that when our own State-owned agencies, for example road, agencies like Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) are building roads or whenever KenGen is extracting geothermal energy in Olkaria, in Menengai or wherever else, they have a duty to respect human rights. They should not have impunity because they are State owned or are excluded from the respect of human rights. The policy actions under Pillar One on the State duty to protect human rights include the introduction of human rights due diligence requirements for businesses before licensing. Before a business is licensed, the State will ensure that they have done some due diligence on how well that particular business adheres to the protection and respect of human rights. The use of public procurement systems to promote human rights is something that Members should keep in mind as we seek to begin our work in this 13th Assembly in matters legislation. We may think about the legislative interventions on how we incorporate human rights due diligence as part of the public procurement systems to ensure that every other corporate, be it private or corporate that is getting assistance from Government, have a duty and a responsibility to ensure that they protect human rights. It could be something that they are scored on. We get financial scores and technical scores when we are evaluating our public procurement bidders. It could be something to consider and I want to challenge Members to think around these issues especially on public procurement. Hon. Speaker, the element of all trade agreements to international human rights standards is also another issue. The development of guidelines for non-financial reporting under the Companies Act, as you remember in the 12th Parliament, we enacted the Company Laws, there is also an opportunity... I am only mentioning this to give Members, especially our new Members, ideas on some of the key areas that you could borrow from to develop Bills that will not only place you in good standing with your constituents and the nation but also borrow from such policies that you can introduce amendments to the company laws that we passed last year to ensure that there are guidelines on non-financial reporting and how well either State or non-state actors in the corporate world adhere to human rights. The other thing is the strength in the oversight mechanisms such as the labour inspectorate. It will ensure that our labour inspectorate department is well empowered and resourced to ensure that they are able to see to it that all our corporates adhere to the protection of human rights. Seeing the newly appointed Ministers, the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Alfred Mutua, has already taken his trip to Saudi Arabia and I really want to challenge this House that we have a duty to protect our young men and ladies who are working on the Gulf States, from the abuse that we have witnessed. It is such national action plans that will guide us to formulate laws that will protect our labour force. Hon. Speaker, another issue is the development of the National Resource Revenue Management Policy and the exhibition of land adjudication and registration processes. I do not The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}