Skip to: Challenging Marginalisation in Digitisation

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Site-header

  • Grant

    Sudden Opportunity Grant

    Project Duration

    none

  • Rightsholder Groups

    • Indigenous People and ethnic minorities

    Impact Themes

      Improved Access to Social Services, Health and Education

  • Lead organisation

    Nubian Rights Forum

    Country

      Kenya
  • Organisation

    The Nubian Rights Forum is a human rights organisation that started in 1997 as a human rights movement that advocates for the rights of the Nubian ethnic minority in Kenya. The organisation is located in Kibera, Nairobi but operates country-wide through its networks of paralegals in the Nubian settlements.

    The Nubian Rights Forum has reported major landmarks in its growth. These include firstly the institutionalisation of the planning process. Secondly there has been a shift in orientation from civic education to paralegal work, assisting the community in applying for citizenship documents like birth certificates, National Identification cards and passports. Thirdly it has a radio show which is used for civic education and empowerment and its main focus is on public interest and litigation.

    • Organisation

      The Nubian Rights Forum is a human rights organisation that started in 1997 as a human rights movement that advocates for the rights of the Nubian ethnic minority in Kenya. The organisation is located in Kibera, Nairobi but operates country-wide through its networks of paralegals in the Nubian settlements.

      The Nubian Rights Forum has reported major landmarks in its growth. These include firstly the institutionalisation of the planning process. Secondly there has been a shift in orientation from civic education to paralegal work, assisting the community in applying for citizenship documents like birth certificates, National Identification cards and passports. Thirdly it has a radio show which is used for civic education and empowerment and its main focus is on public interest and litigation.

    • Project

      As Kenya moves rapidly towards a new digital identity and population register, the rights of all Kenyans are at stake. The register threatens to restrict access to services, to increase data protection risks and to exclude communities facing discrimination in access to documentation, At least 5 million Kenyan citizens (11% of the country) are citizens in law, but face discriminatory treatment when trying to acquire legal identity documents.
      Certain ethnic and religious groups such as the Nubians in Kibera, Somalis in Northeastern Province and the Swahili, Arabs, and Kenyans of Asian descent at the coast in Kenya (the majority of whom are Muslims) are subjected to an arbitrary vetting process and other difficulties when applying for identity cards, birth certificates, and passports.
      Based only on an applicant’s ethnicity or religion, she or he may be restricted in applying for legal paperwork on certain days of the week or on a seasonal basis, asked for burdensome supporting documents (even grandparents’ birth certificates), or required to go through additional scrutiny by security agents that cause delays of months or years.
      These are among the challenges minority groups face that lead them to be at risk of becoming stateless. At the same time, Kenyan is home to several stateless communities–who lack any nationality –such as the Pemba, Shona, and Wanyarundi. Many are without documentation completely and left vulnerable, unable to exercise their rights, access services, or be included in Kenya’s transition to a digital identification system.
      In late 2018, the Government of Kenya used a Miscellaneous Amendments, Bill, to establish the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS, popularly known as Huduma Namba), intended to create and operate a national population register as a single source of information about Kenyan citizens and residents.
      As the stakes of not having a Huduma Namba rise communities at risk for further exclusion. The project is seeking to ensure minority communities engage in the political process to ensure the transition to digital identity is an opportunity to right past wrongs rather than entrench discriminatory and unequal treatment.
  • Project
    As Kenya moves rapidly towards a new digital identity and population register, the rights of all Kenyans are at stake. The register threatens to restrict access to services, to increase data protection risks and to exclude communities facing discrimination in access to documentation, At least 5 million Kenyan citizens (11% of the country) are citizens in law, but face discriminatory treatment when trying to acquire legal identity documents.
    Certain ethnic and religious groups such as the Nubians in Kibera, Somalis in Northeastern Province and the Swahili, Arabs, and Kenyans of Asian descent at the coast in Kenya (the majority of whom are Muslims) are subjected to an arbitrary vetting process and other difficulties when applying for identity cards, birth certificates, and passports.
    Based only on an applicant’s ethnicity or religion, she or he may be restricted in applying for legal paperwork on certain days of the week or on a seasonal basis, asked for burdensome supporting documents (even grandparents’ birth certificates), or required to go through additional scrutiny by security agents that cause delays of months or years.
    These are among the challenges minority groups face that lead them to be at risk of becoming stateless. At the same time, Kenyan is home to several stateless communities–who lack any nationality –such as the Pemba, Shona, and Wanyarundi. Many are without documentation completely and left vulnerable, unable to exercise their rights, access services, or be included in Kenya’s transition to a digital identification system.
    In late 2018, the Government of Kenya used a Miscellaneous Amendments, Bill, to establish the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS, popularly known as Huduma Namba), intended to create and operate a national population register as a single source of information about Kenyan citizens and residents.
    As the stakes of not having a Huduma Namba rise communities at risk for further exclusion. The project is seeking to ensure minority communities engage in the political process to ensure the transition to digital identity is an opportunity to right past wrongs rather than entrench discriminatory and unequal treatment.