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Human R,ghts ou,
Human and Peoples' Rights
Collecrive Responsibility
105. The Complainants base the premise for their right to recognition as an indigenous
community on Article 260 of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, which defines
"marginalized community" as being
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A community which, owing to its relatively small population or for any other
reason, has not been able to participate fully in the integrated social and economic
life of Kenya as a whole; a traditional community which, out of necessity or desire
to preserve its unique culture and identity from assimilation, has remained outside
the integrated social and economic life of Kenya as a whole; an indigenous
community that has maintained and maintained a traditional lifestyle and
livelihoods based on a hunter-gatherer economy; or pastoral people and
communities, whether nomadic; or an established community which, due to its
relative geographical isolation, has had only marginal participation in the
integrated social and economic life of Kenya as a whole.
106. They allege that, pursuant to Article 2(5) of the Respondent State Constitution,
2010, any treaty or convention ratified by the Respondent State shall form part of its
legislation. It affirms that the Respondent State has ratified international instruments,
including the lnternation Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
and the African Charter, which recognize indigenous peoples and their rights.
107. Citing the decision of the African Commission in Centre for Minority Rights
Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International, on behalf of the
Endorois Welfare Council v. Kenya, they argue that the Commission considered
indigenous peoples to be communities that"... have not been accommodated by the
dominant development paradigms and, in many cases, are being victimized by the
dominant development policies and ideas, and their basic human rights are being
violated .... Indigenous peoples, due to past and ongoing processes, have become
marginalized in their own country and need recognition and protection of their basic
human rights and fundamental freedoms.21
108. The Complainants state that in its fourth periodic report on the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) submitted to the United Nations
Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) pursuant to Article 1 on self-determination, the
Respondent State officially recognizes the existence of indigenous peoples in its
territory, stressing that they are part of marginalized communities, and declares that
they must be protected through specific affirmative action to ensure that they en·o
their human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal footing with ot
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21 Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v.
148).
22 See the rerort.
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