Human rights Archives – Page 16 of 16 – Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

18Nov

Amplifying Community Rights Through Social Media in Kenya

admin November 18, 2016

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By Ashnah Kalemera |
Human rights violations incidents are on the rise in Kenya with extrajudicial killings and police brutality among the cases reported recently. Social media has enabled quick reporting of such cases while also creating increased awareness of the reported incidents. Through a mix of Twitter, radio and physical engagements, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) is improving its effectiveness in promoting human rights and documenting violations in the lead up to the 2017 national elections.
The commission is seeing success in mobilising citizens for protests and marches, as well as getting stakeholders to participate in debates related to human rights. Through quarterly Twitter chats, the KHRC is popularising various human rights issues and bringing to the fore struggles faced by communities that have little online presence and who have limited avenues for participating in community affairs.
A Twitter chat hosted in September 2016 to promote dialogue on governance and anti-corruption drew panelists from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya), Transparency International Kenya, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)-Kenya, Society for International Development and Kenya Association of Manufacture (KAM).
Another chat on insecurity (under the hashtag #InSecurityKE) hosted in July 2016 explored the causes of social insecurity, challenges faced in addressing it and proposals for over untitled coming those challenges. Panelists included the Kenya National Commission
on Human Rights, Amnesty International Kenya, Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) and ICJ-Kenya.
In another drive, the KHRC on October 10-13, 2016 mobilised 300 members of the Makonde community who live along the south eastern coast of Kenya for a walk dubbed “Trek against Statelessness”, from Kwale county to the capital Nairobi. The walk was in protest against the exclusion of the community from attaining formal national recognition and identity documentation. Several members of the Makonde community have lived in Kenya for about half a century after many of them immigrated from Mozambique.
Upon arrival at the State House, President Uhuru Kenya gave audience to the community and promised that all of the members would be registered as citizens. The registration process kicked off on October 24 and ended on November 10, 2016.
In the weeks leading up to the walk, among the channels utilised by the commission to mobilise participants were online platforms, with the hashtag #MKenyaNiWho (“Who is a Kenyan”) used to raise awareness of the Makonde community’s plight. Furthermore, a radio talk show was hosted on Citizen Radio for the Kwale Human Rights Network to discuss issues of registration of the Makonde community as Kenya Citizens.
Earlier in July, citizenship and statelessness, identity and belonging were also discussed at the Samosa Festival in Kenya. Among the key areas of discussions were the difficulties faced by Kenyans of Somali descent when applying for national identity cards and birth certificates in the northern part of the country. The discussion attracted members of parliament and members of communities that are struggling with the issue of citizenship.
Meanwhile, to support its efforts at grassroots level, KHRC has built the capacity of 14 Human Rights Networks (Hurinets) in four regions – Mombasa, Nairobi, Kisumu and Nyeri – to engage on issues of electoral governance and devolution including through social media. The beneficiary Hurinets included Kwale, Mombasa, Kinangop, Taita Taveta, Kakamega, Siaya, Migori, Nairobi, Makueni, Wajir, Nakuru, Nyeri, Kiambu and Isiolo. A total of 103 members of the networks (57% male and 43% female) have benefitted from the training.
The increased capacity of the Hurinets in Kenya to promote discussions on human rights issues in remote and rural areas where the Hurinets are based is expected to contribute to more issues being brought to the attention of local and national government primarily through social media. In 2015, the Midrift Hurinet in Nakuru County started #UwajibikajiMashinani “AccountabilityInRuRalAreas” hashtag campaign to get more citizens to deliberate on issues of accountability in the county. The Kwale Hurinet started #OkoaKwaleInitiative and “SaveKwaleInitiative” hashtag campaigns that asked Kwale county government leaders not to allow petty, personal differences to influence community decisions.
KHRC is a member of the ICT4Democracy in East Africa Network whose work is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swedish Programme for ICT in Developing Regions (Spider). The network is coordinated by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).
See also ICT4Democracy in East Africa Annual Report 2015 and using technology to advance human rights in Kenya.

20Sep

Strengthening Africa’s Conversation and Actions on Internet Freedom

admin September 20, 2016

By Juliet Nanfuka |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) with the support of Facebook, the Ford Foundation, Google, Hivos, Open Technology Fund (OTF) and Small Media will assemble an audience in Kampala, Uganda for the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2016. Set to take place on September 27–29, the Forum has become a crucial convening for actors on online freedom of expression and association, and the free flow of information in Africa.
Panel discussions at this year’s Forum will explore the growing trend of internet shutdowns, the increasing presence of violence against women online, the intersection of open data and human rights, African frameworks that protect online rights and their conflicts with outdated laws, amongst others.
“Recent events across various African countries make the Forum as indispensable as it ever has been in discussing challenges to online rights and the opportunities for collaborative efforts by state and non-state actors to meaningfully protect and advance internet freedom on the continent,” says CIPESA Executive Director Dr. Wairagala Wakabi. “We are glad to be facilitating growing awareness of online rights in Africa and are keen to continue contributing towards building this awareness amongst different stakeholders.”
Indeed, one of the pre events at the Forum will be the training of journalists and human rights defenders on human rights and internet policy. The training will be hosted by CIPESA, together with Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Uganda.
The Forum, set to coincide with the International Day for Universal Access to information (September 28), will also serve as an opportunity to delve into the current trends on access to information on the continent. In partnership with the Africa Freedom of Information Center (AFIC) and Office of the Prime Minister (Uganda), a public dialogue on access to information as a driver to achieving the 2030 Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will also be held.
A key highlight of the Forum since its inception is the launch of the annual State of Internet Freedom in Africa regional reports. Previous editions of this report have focused on seven African countries – Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda – with a stand-alone report produced on South Africa. This year’s report has been expanded to include 10 countries. The countries featured in the 2016 State of Internet Freedom in Africa report are Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Dr. Wakabi adds, “Access to information and the state of internet freedom are closely interlinked. Countries with higher levels of information access tend to have more online liberties than those without, and they also generally have a healthier democratic culture. The power of public information, open data and a free and open internet should not be undermined if we are to achieve effective civic participation, respect for human rights, transparent, accountable and democratic governance, and realisation of the 2030 Development Agenda.”
The Forum serves as an opportunity to gather insights from the different stakeholders in the information society ecosystem towards promoting a free and safe internet, hence the key themes that emerge from the Forum are widely disseminated. The 2015 outcomes and recommendations were shared in spaces such as the Internet Governance Forum (Brazil), the Africa IGF (Cameroon) and the Stockholm Internet Forum, and in various national convenings.
The Forum has confirmed participants from at least 23 countries and speakers from over 46 organisations including the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, Panos Institute Southern Africa, BudgIT (Nigeria), Article 19 (Kenya), Digital Society of Zimbabwe, the Web Foundation, Association for Progressive Communications (APC), iAfrikan, Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Access Now, Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANET), National Information Technology Agency (NITA) Ghana, and Research ICT Africa. Others include Hivos, Nation Media Group, Africa Media Institute, Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe Chapter, Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), Privacy International (PI) , Uganda Police, Zambia Police Service, University of Malawi, Communications Regulators Association of Southern Africa (CRASA) and the Ministry of Information, Communications and National Guidance (Uganda).
Follow the conversation at #FIFAfrica16.

17Jun

Announcement: Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2016

admin June 17, 2016

The Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa is scheduled to take place on September 27–29, 2016 in Kampala, Uganda.
The Forum provides a unique opportunity to deliberate and build a network of supporters of internet freedom in Africa. It brings together a wide range of civic actors such as journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders, and activists, private sector actors such as telecom companies, as well as communication regulators and law enforcement.
In 2015 the Forum assembled panelists from a diversity of backgrounds, which facilitated spirited discussions as captured in this report.

See the 2015 Forum Highlights video

A key highlight at the Forum is the launch of the State of Internet Freedom in Africa report that captures trends on internet freedom in select African countries. The 2016 report will cover the most number of countries so far.
These deliberations come as various African countries witness a slide in online freedom of expression and association, as well as breaches of the rights to privacy and access to information.
Visit the Forum page for more information.

23Jun

SMS System Boosts Reporting of Human Rights Abuses in Tanzania

admin June 23, 2014

Growing the capacity of citizens and civic groups including human rights networks to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to foster free speech, human rights, access to information and open governance is one of the objectives of the ICT4Democracy in East Africa Network. Since April 2014, the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) in Tanzania has conducted a campaign to raise awareness about the SMS for Human Rights system throughout Tanzania.
The system, which was launched on Human Rights Day in December 2012, has made it easier for citizens to report human rights violations to the Commission. In 2013, a total of 173,493 complaints were received through the system. Since then, the number of complaints filed with the Commission has averaged more than 100 per week compared to 10 per week prior to the system’s installation.
Given that CHRAGG has only four regional offices to cover a large country, the system has reduced the amount of time, inconvenience and cost to citizens for submitting complaints and following up on case progress, particularly for those in rural areas. The electronic case handling system has also eased the work of investigators by reducing their travel burden and enabling more efficient evidence gathering. Besides text message, the platform allows for video and image capabilities for complainants and informers.
The SMS for Human Rights System is a mobile phone based Complaints Handling Management Information System aimed at expanding CHRAGG’s case handling and tracking. An individual is able to file a complaint by texting the word ‘REPORT’ or ‘TAARIFA’ to the toll free number: +255 (0) 754 460 259. The individual receives a text message confirming receipt of the complaint. Thereafter, a follow up phone call is made by investigators at the Commission to obtain further information, authenticate the report and assign the individual a reference number. The same number can be used to track the progress of a complaint by texting the word ‘STATUS’ followed by the reference number.
However, although many complaints are received through the system, many citizens, particularly on the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, were not aware of its existence. With an estimated population of 45 million people, Tanzania has about 28 million mobile phone subscriptions representing a teledensity of 61 phones per 100 inhabitants.
The system’s awareness campaign launch in Zanzibar in April was officiated by CHRAGG’s Commissioner Zahor Kharmis. CHRAGG’s Director of Human Rights Francis Nzuki and Wilfred Warioba, the Head of Management Information System Unit demonstrated how the system works and fielded questions from the attendees who included journalists, representatives from civil society organisations and ordinary citizens.
The event was televised live on Television Zanzibar (TVZ) and broadcast on Coconut FM radio station. It was also featured on Zanzibar Broadcasting TV and Radio, Independent TV, Radio Coconut, Radio Chuchu, Radio Hits, Radio Zenj, Radio Alnoor and two local print newspapers.
Since the launch, two public awareness meetings have been held in the North Unguja and Urban West regions of Zanzibar island. Furthermore, five similar events have been held in Mtwara, KilwaKivinje, Pwani and Dar es Salaam regions on the mainland.
In addition to the meetings, over four million print leaflets have been distributed encouraging citizens to seek redress for human rights violations particularly in the areas of poor service delivery, police brutality, corruption and employment rights.
The awareness raising campaign is expected to cover at least 18 more regions in the coming months. It is expected to incorporate nationwide TV and radio talk shows as well as social media as part of its outreach campaign.
Established in 2001 in fulfillment of Tanzania’s national constitution, CHRAGG plays the dual role of an ombudsman and a human rights commission for the protection and promotion of human rights as well as good governance.
CHRAGG is a member of the ICT4Democracy in East Africa Network whose work is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swedish Programme for ICT in Developing Regions (Spider). The network is coordinated by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).

08Aug

East African Region New Media and Human Rights Institute workshop

admin August 8, 2012

In collaboration with the African Human Rights Consortium, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) conducted a four-day new media, research and advocacy workshop aimed at scaling-up the use of ICTs in human rights and democracy within East Africa. The workshop attracted 14 participants drawn from civil society and media in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Burundi. During the workshop, KHRC took the opportunity to share information on the activities of the ICT4Democracy in East Africa network attracting a lot of interest from participants. Emphasis was placed on the importance of involvement of civil society actors in various ICT forums and projects.

Civil society organisations in East Africa were urged to embrace ICTs in their advocacy interventions.

This article was published on July 24, 2012, about the ICT4Democracy in East Africa project, which brings together various partners in the region

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