VP/HR — Violence against the Sengwer people in Kenya

31.1.2018

Question for written answer E-000557-18
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 130
Francisco Assis (S&D)

On 16 January 2017, a man from the Sengwer tribe was murdered by Kenya Forest Service Guards and another was seriously injured in the Embobut forest, where around a third of the tribe’s population lives. The latest wave of violence against the Sengwer people started in December 2017 and the purpose of it is to drive them out of their traditional land in the Kenyan forests: not only are they being murdered and physical attacked but also their homes and food stores are being burned.

In response, the EU condemned the attack and suspended a project to protect the region’s water sources which it funds. Despite the EU’s actions, according to NGOs on the ground, the forced evictions and destruction of homes and belongings are continuing.

In the light of those reports, how will the EU pressure the Kenyan authorities to take urgent measures to put an end to the eviction and persecution of the Sengwer people and ensure that the rights of the Sengwer and the Ogiek peoples are upheld?