UN concerned over police treatment of street children

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has said it is concerned over the incidence of police brutality against Kenyan children living and working on the streets. In its "Final Conclusions and Recommendations" on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Kenya, the Committee said there was inadequate enforcement of existing legislation to ensure the "physical and mental integrity" of all children was respected. The Committee added that "greater efforts should be made to prevent all forms torture, inhuman or degrading treatment by police forces".

The Committee strongly recommended that all appropriate measures be taken to fully implement the provisions of the Convention. As one of the 191 signatories, Kenya is obliged to submit a report to the Committee, a component of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on progress on the Convention's implementation.

Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, Heritage and Sports Wycliffe Osundwa said in September that a draft children's bill was now before the Kenyan parliament. The Children Bill 2001 would be the first comprehensive child-law statute in the country and would strengthen the rights of children in Kenya if passed, he said.