On behalf of Dreikönigsaktion – Hilfswerk der Katholischen Jungschar (DKA Austria), and representing five partner organizations in Kenya, on 26 September 2025, Ms. Denise Mghoi Kighombe delivered an oral statement (via video message) during the adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) outcomes of Kenya under Item 6 at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC).
The CCIG was happy to provide the speaker and the other partners with technical support to prepare and submit the statement, which was part of the wider Human Rights Capacity-Building Project, implemented by CCIG and DKA Austria from November 2024 to October 2025, to empower children’s rights defenders from Ghana and Kenya. The project aimed to enable local and international civil society actors to gain a better understanding of and make use of the UN human rights mechanisms, such as the UPR and the HRC, to advocate for their communities’ rights.
In her statement, Ms. Denise Mghoi Kighombe welcomed the acceptance by Kenya of several UPR recommendations received during the country’s last UPR, in particular those recommendations aimed at addressing the digital divide in education, the promotion of women’s political participation ahead of the 2027 general elections, and the strengthening of accountability for abuses by security forces. It also called on the Government of Kenya to urgently develop and implement inclusive strategies to realize these commitments.
DKA partners in Kenya, expressed their appreciation for the possibility to jointly submit this statement at the HRC, stating: “We truly value this opportunity and the space created for us to contribute to strengthening human rights in our country.”
Previously, the CCIG had also supported local partners in parallel with the UPR session of Kenya held on May 1, by providing access and insights on relevant documentation, facilitating their remote attendance of the UPR session, as well as by encouraging them to joint forces to boost sensitization on key UPR recommendations in Kenya and to identify UPR recommendations to be prioritized for implementation.
We are pleased to see the first outcomes of the year-long project implemented by the CCIG in partnership with DKA Austria, and to remain committed to supporting local civil society actors through various human rights capacity-building initiatives on the effective use of UN mechanisms to better protect human rights locally.
The text and video of the oral statement are available on CCIG website.
To watch the whole discussion on the UPR outcomes of Kenya at the 60th HRC through UN WebTV, please click here: part 1 & part 2.
To watch Kenya UPR session: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1i/k1ia89rm3j
For more information about the statement on Ghana submitted as part of this project click here.
To consult other UPR oral statements delivered with the support of CCIG click here.