Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 00:36:05 -0500 (EST)
From: Gordon
Kenyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation
TRUTH, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
Background
Recalling the 14 February 2008 agreement by the Parties for a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and in a spirit of reconciliation and national healing;
The Parties to the Kenyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation agree to the following general parameters and principles for the establishment of such a commission:
General Parameters
A Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (“the Commissionâ€) will be created through an Act of Parliament, which will be adopted by the legislature within the next four weeks.
The Commission will inquire into human rights violations, including those committed by the state, groups, or individuals. This includes but is not limited to politically motivated violence, assassinations, community displacements, settlements, and evictions. The Commission will also inquire into major economic crimes, in particular grand corruption, historical land injustices, and the illegal or irregular acquisition of land, especially as these relate to conflict or violence. Other historical injustices shall also be investigated.
The Commission will inquire into such events which took place between December 12, 1963 and February 28, 2008. However, it will as necessary look at antecedents to this date in order to understand the nature, root causes, or context that led to such violations, violence, or crimes.
The Commission shall receive statements from victims, witnesses, communities, interest groups, persons directly or indirectly involved in events, or any other group or individual; undertake investigations and research; hold hearings; and engage in activities as it determines to advance national or community reconciliation. The Commission may offer confidentiality to persons upon request, in order to protect individual privacy or security, or for other reasons. The Commission shall solely determine whether its hearings shall be held in public or in camera.
No blanket amnesty will be provided for past crimes. Individual amnesty may be recommended by the Commission in exchange for the full truth, provided that serious international crimes (crimes against humanity, war crimes, or genocide) are not amnestied, nor persons who bear the greatest responsibility for crimes covered by the Commission.
The Commission will complete its work and submit a final report within two years. The final report shall state its findings and recommendations, which will be submitted to the President and will be made public in fourteen days and tabled in Parliament.
Guiding Principles
The Commission will reflect the following principles and guidelines, taking into account international standards and best practices:
Independence: The Commission shall operate free from political or other influence. It shall determine its own specific working methodologies and work plan, including for investigation and reporting, and will set out its own budget and staff plan.
Fair and balanced inquiry: In all of its work, the Commission shall ensure that it seeks the truth without influence from other factors. In representations to the public through hearings, statements, or its final report, the Commission shall ensure that a fair representation of the truth is provided.
Appropriate powers: The Commission shall be given powers of investigation, including the right to call persons to speak with the Commission, and powers to make recommendations that shall be considered and implemented by the government or others. These recommendations may include measures to advance community or national reconciliation; institutional or other reforms, or whether any persons should be held to account for past acts.
Full cooperation: Government and other State offices shall provide information to the Commission on request, and provide access to archives or other sources of information. It is urged that other Kenyan and international individuals and organizations also provide full cooperation and information to the Commission on request.
Financial support: The Parties encourage strong financial support to the Commission. It is expected that the Government of Kenya will provide a significant portion of the Commission’s budget. Other funding may be obtained by the Commission from donors, foundations, or other independent sources.
Selection and Composition
The Commission will consist of seven members, with gender balance taken into account.
Three of the members shall be international. The members shall be persons of high moral integrity, well regarded by the Kenyan population, and shall include a range of skills, backgrounds, and professional expertise. As a whole, the Commission shall be perceived as impartial in its collectivity, and no member should be seen to represent a specific political group. At least two but no more than five of the seven commissioners should be lawyers.
In keeping with international best practices, and to ensure broad public trust in and ownership of the process of seeking the truth, the national members of the Commission shall be chosen through a consultative process. The Commissioners shall be named no more than eight weeks after the passage of the Act that establishes the Commission.
The three international members shall be selected by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, taking into account public input.
SOURCE: http://jukwaa.proboards58.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1204775622
Subject: Kenyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation: TRUTH, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 00:33:23 -0500 (EST)
From: Gordon
Agenda 4: Independent Review Committee
« Thread Started on Today at 7:24am »
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Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation
INDEPENDENT REVIEW COMMITTEE
Terms of Reference
The members of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities (The Panel), together with the Parties to the National Dialogue and Reconciliation:
Recalling the 14 February 2008 agreement by the Parties, witnessed by H.E. Kofi Annan for the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, to establish an Independent Review Committee, a non-judicial body, which would be mandated to investigate all aspects of the 2007 Presidential Election and make findings and recommendations to improve the electoral process;
Agreed that the Independent Review Committee (IREC) will be established under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, and will conduct its mandate in accordance with the following Terms of Reference:
Key Activities
The activities of the IREC shall be:
a. Analysis of the constitutional and legal framework to establish the basis for the conduct of the 2007 elections and to identify any weaknesses or inconsistencies in the electoral legislation;
b. Examination of the organizational structure, composition, and management systems of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) to assess its independence, capacity and functioning during the preparation and conduct of the 2007elections;
c. Examination of the public participation in the 2007 electoral process and the electoral environment, including the roles and conduct of the political parties, media, civil society and observers;
d. Investigation of the organization and conduct of the 2007 electoral operations including: civic and voter education; training; voter registration; logistics and security; polling and counting; vote tabulation and results processing; and dispute resolution;
e. Investigation into the vote counting and tallying for the entire election with special attention to the presidential elections in order to assess the integrity of the results and make recommendations for improvements, adjustments or overhaul of
the system.
f. Assess the functional efficiency of the ECK and its capacity to discharge its mandate;
g. Proposal of recommendations on electoral reform including constitutional, legislative, operational and institutional aspects, as well as on accountability mechanisms for ECK Commissioners and staff pertaining to electoral malpractices, in order to improve future electoral processes;
h. Presentation of its findings on the above activities;
i. Any other tasks that the IREC may deem necessary in fulfilling its mandate.
National Cooperation
All national authorities whose activities have a substantive relationship to the above activities are requested to extend maximum cooperation to the IREC. The IREC shall be permitted access to all electoral materials.
Composition
The IREC will comprise seven members, including a Chair, all of whom having the highest professional standing and personal integrity. The Chair will be an internationally recognized eminent jurist. The other members of the Committee will be experienced
electoral experts:
· Four will be Kenyan, two of whom will be nominated by the Government/PNU and
two nominated by the ODM.
· The remaining three members will be international experts, nominated by the Panel, following consultation with the Government/PNU and the ODM.
A Support Office will be established to provide substantive and administrative support to the Committee. It will be based in Nairobi and headed by an international electoral expert.
Methodology
In the performance of its functions, the Committee:
a. Shall hold public hearings in Nairobi and at such other places as it shall deem necessary for the proper discharge of its mandate;
b. May hold private hearings whenever it becomes necessary to instill confidence in the people appearing before the committee or to allay their fears of adversity or reprisals;
c. May carry out or cause to be carried out such studies or research as may inform it on its mandate;
d. May receive written memoranda from individuals and groups on all issues relevant to its mandate;
e. Shall have access to all the electoral and related documents necessary for the effective discharge of its mandate;
f. Shall publish its rules of procedure in the Kenya Gazette; and
g. Subject to the foregoing, the Committee shall develop its own work plan and procedures.
Outputs and Timeline
The IREC should start its work no later than 15 March, 2008.
Within three to six months of the commencement of its work, the IREC will produce a final report of its findings and recommendations that will be submitted to the President, with a copy to the Panel. The report will subsequently be made public, in English and Swahili, within 14 days of submission.
Financing/Logistics
The Committee will be funded by the Kenyan Government and the Trust Fund for National Dialogue and Reconciliation, and with logistic support from the African Union and the United Nations.
Signed on this day, 4 March 2008:
On behalf of Government/PNU: On behalf of ODM:
__________________ ___________________
Hon. Martha Karua Hon. Musalia Mudavadi
__________________ ___________________
Hon. Sam Ongeri Hon. William Ruto
_________________ ___________________
Hon. Mutula Kilonzo Hon. Sally Kosgei
___________________ __________________
Hon. Moses Wetang’ula Hon. James Orengo
Witnessed by:
For the Panel of Eminent African Personalities
__________________
H.E. Oluyemi Adeniji
Session Chair
SOURCE: http://jukwaa.proboards58.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1204777466
Subject: Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation: Agenda 4: Independent Review Committee
Posted on behalf of Gordon by Jaluo Press.
There have been many inquiries in Kenya before. Why do Kenyans think that this one wiill be successful?
This is because we are Kenyans we peg our Development holistically on hope, and i think its a good thing, I guess the questions you should be asking is; Why shouldn’t it work?
Dear Sir,
First of all, we would like to send you our hearty greetings on the occasion of forthcoming New Year 2010, and hope that bilateral relations will grow in future. We beg to send you brief information of Society for National Dialogue(SND).
SND believes in peace, progress, democracy always works environment awareness to protect human rights. SND representing all dedicated to elevating of the country and has contribution well informed to people. We work hard under the UNESCO principles.We extend our bilateral relations. SND to fulfill the following aims
-to exchange the ideals .
-to exchange views with science & technology.
-to work for peace, environmental and friendship.
-believe in democracy.
We are decided to publish a Publication : BISWASH: on the occasion of New Year 2010. It will include short article of your organization.We hope that you will send us an article with upcoming events as soon as possible.
With best regards.
Yours,
Ram K.Karmacharya
Secretary General,
Society for National Dialogue
G.P.O.Box 4657 Kathmandu,Nepal.
Mr Kibunjia’s commision should ban use of colours as symbols party loyalty ahead of 2012 elctns, bcoz i had a dream. In the dream; since politics is a no go zone to me, i unknowingly traversed the streets of a town that did hate a party so mch tht a hen would lose its head if two or three of its feathers had the colours of the opposing party. Thank God am a karate expert so i survived wen iwas attackd by a gang of five young men armed with hand proppelled missiles. Please Mr Kibunjia sir, hear me out i dont want my friend,cousine,sisterg, brother or even my enemy to lose his or her life bcoz of wearing a certain colour.