Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reported human rights abuses by Kenyan security forces in response to terror attacks in the north-eastern region of Kenya.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We take human rights very seriously and strongly oppose human rights abuses in all circumstances. We continue to believe that a human rights compliant approach is the most effective way to secure long-term peace and stability. Where allegations of abuses have been made, we urge the Kenyan government to fully investigate any credible allegations of non compliance and hold those responsible to account.

The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), signed a bilateral Security Compact with the Kenyan government in September 2015 aimed at enhancing our security cooperation. The Compact provides assurances on Kenya’s commitment to adhere to its international human rights obligations. The Conflict, Security and Stability Fund is working to build capacity to ensure security forces in the region are better governed, more accountable and more effective, and to build community resilience to respond to security challenges through work with civil society.