1 - The 2007-08 Post-Election Crisis in Kenya: A Success Story for the Responsibility to Protect?

Summary

‘The situation in Kenya constituted the “purest” version of responsibility to protect … Within days, literally, the international community was on the move’.

‘[RtoP] … has had a rough start … on a Kenyan model … it might have a brighter future’.

Introduction

In the aftermath of the disputed national election on 27 December 2007, Kenya descended into its worst crisis since independence. After nearly eight weeks, the post-election clashes had claimed over a thousand lives, forced hundreds of thousands to flee from their homes, and brought extensive economic losses to the country and the region as a whole. As Kenya burned, scenes of ethnically-based killing evoked memories of neighbouring Rwanda, where 13 years earlier the international community had stood by and watched the slaughter of hundreds of thousands. Yet, the responses to these two situations could not have been more dissimilar. Almost immediately, the crisis in Kenya captured the attention of concerned international actors, united in their determination to halt the spiralling violence.

A key component of the international response was the African Union (AU) sponsored mediation, led by former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. After 41 days of intense negotiations, a compromise was reached between President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. The mediation process effectively forestalled the violence, established a government of national unity, and put in place an ambitious reform agenda to tackle the causes of the violence.

Shortly after the Kenyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation Act was signed, commentators began to dub the international response to this crisis a ‘success story’ for the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). Adopted by the UN General Assembly during the 2005 UN World Summit, RtoP involves a subsidiary responsibility of the global community to protect populations from conscience-shocking human rights violations when state authorities prove unable or unwilling to do so. Prompted in no small part by the failure to act in Rwanda, the speed and scope of the international response to Kenya's crisis seemed to epitomise the spirit and intentions of RtoP. Consequently, the resolution of the Kenya crisis has featured in plans to implement RtoP within the UN system.