Country Watch
tion in respect to employment and occupation. The importance of these rights should not be overlooked. The freedom of association and col- lective bargaining are important tools for diminish- ing the inequality in labor relations. Furthermore, the elimination of compulsory work and abolition of child labor represents a step forward not only in relation to labor rights but also within the broader context of the development of human rights law.
In the words of the ILO Director General Juan Somavia, the adoption of Convention 189 was “a historic moment for the ILO, [and] particularly for domestic workers all over the world.” Celebra- tion, however, may be premature. The Convention is not yet in force, and will only enter into force twelve months after its ratification by two mem- bers. After that, the Convention is binding only upon those who ratify it, following the twelve month period rule.
* Submitted by Bruno Augustin 16
UK High Court Allows Kenyan Citizens to Sue for Torture
On July 21, 2011, the High Court of Justice in London granted four Kenyan citizens the right to sue the British government for torture alleg- edly suffered in the 1950s during the Mau Mau rebellion, a conflict between an anti-colonial group called Mau Mau and the British Army. The claimants allege ministers in London approved the systematic abuse of detainees held in spe- cial camps during Kenya’s colonial period, and that they specifically endured such offenses as castration, severe beatings, and violent sexual assault. The decision has potentially significant implications for others who suffered similar treat- ment under British imperial rule as they now may consider seeking damages.
Long before Kenya was formally declared a Brit- ish colony in 1920, and even before its designa- tion as a British protectorate in 1895, the Brit-
ish maintained an active role in opening up the country’s interior to new European settlers. The settlers discovered that Kenya’s diverse topog- raphy and temperate highlands produced soil rich in nutrients, which in turn provided optimal conditions for growing cash crops such as cof- fee and tea. These conditions were especially evident in the fertile lands of the Central and Rift Valley provinces surrounding Mt. Kenya, an area inhabited by the Kikuyu tribe.
Recognizing the importance of maintaining con- trol of such lucrative property, the British began dispossessing the Kikuyu of their ancestral lands. They enacted a policy that gave European farm- ers over 31,000 square kilometers of valuable real estate and forced vast numbers of Kikuyu— along with other tribes—to toil on overcrowded, low quality reserves.
By the early 1950s, the British government de- tected what became known as the Mau Mau, a secretive group of Kikuyu who had pledged to reclaim their stolen land. The origins of the name Mau Mau are largely unknown; members of the group claimed they preferred their original title, the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA). A four-year guerilla conflict erupted resulting in vi- cious settler vigilante attacks on suspected Mau Mau sympathizers, as well as Mau Mau assas- sinations of British and Kikuyu officials working for the British government.
In an effort to quell the movement, the British government declared a state of emergency in 1952 and enacted a mass detention program requiring all Kikuyu to be resettled into regu- lated villages and screened to determine their threat level. This screening process, known as the “Pipeline,” operated on a white-grey-black classification system: “whites” were coopera- tive detainees who were repatriated back to the reserves and often forced into becoming inter- rogators themselves; “greys” had sworn an oath to the Mau Mau but were compliant enough to
ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 1 » October 2011
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