The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has issued a ruling against Kenya, finding it in violation of Articles 1 (obligation of states parties), 8 (right to practice religion), 14 (right to property), 17 (right to culture), 21 (right to free disposition of natural resources), and 22 (right to development) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and has ordered Kenya to return the ancestral land originally belonging to the Endorois, an indigenous community living in Kenya. Kenya was also ordered to pay the Endorois compensation for losses suffered due to unlawful eviction by the Kenyan government.
The complaint, which was filed by two nongovernmental organizations on behalf of the Endorois, alleged numerous violations resulting from the unlawful displacement of the Endorois from their ancestral lands, failure to properly compensate them for their property, interference with their religious and cultural rights and the "overall process of development of the Endorois people." Allegedly, in 1973, after hundreds years of having "customary" rights to the lands the Endorois did not have actual title to the land, but always considered themselves to be the rightful and bona fide owners of it the Endorois were evicted by the Kenyan government without compensation.
The Commission determined that the Endorois had property rights over their land, even though Kenyan authorities had denied them a legal title. The Commission ordered that Kenya take steps to return the disputed land to the Endorois and compensate them within three months for the damages.
According to a press release by the Human Rights Watch, this ruling is the first time an international tribunal found "a violation of the right to development" and also "determined who are indigenous peoples in Africa, and what are their rights to land."
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