New York, US - As Kenya prepares to go to the polls on Monday, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Zainab Hawa Bangura, has called on authorities to ensure the protection of civilians, especially women and girls, against sexual violence and abuses.
In a statement made available to PANA in New York on Sunday, Ms. Bangura recalled that thousands of cases of rape and other forms of sexual assault were documented during the violence that followed the 2007 elections.
'I urge the authorities in Kenya to ensure that civilians of all ethnic and political backgrounds can exercise their right to vote in safety and security, and to guarantee that in the post-election period we do not witness the rise in politically-motivated rape which occurred in the wake of the last elections.
'As Kenya goes to the polls, national and international observers and human rights actors have warned of the risk of election violence, including the deliberate targeting of civilians due to political or ethnic affiliations.
'I call on all candidates to speak out against election violence, and for the Kenyan authorities to take the necessary steps to avert the risk of increased sexual violence and ensure the protection of civilians, especially women and girls,” the UN official said.
Ms. Bangura also said above all, the Kenyan authorities must remain alert to the warning signs and send the signal that such crimes will not be tolerated.
Monday’s election will be the first presidential polls since the December 2007 vote, which was followed by post-election violence in which more than 1,100 people were killed, 3,500 injured and up to 600,000 forcibly displaced.
Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has said it is deploying a four-person team to monitor the human rights situation during the electoral period and to support the Kenyan National Commission of Human Rights as well as civil society groups.
Last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed the hope that all Kenyans will work together to ensure that Monday's election will be peaceful and credible, and said he trusted that efforts made at many levels to prevent a repeat of past violence would be redoubled during the
remainder of the campaign.
Pana 03/03/2013