Many Issues of Religon and Human Rights Remain In Latest Kenya Draft Constitution

Kenya is in the complex process of drafting and adopting a new constitution. (See prior posting.) The public comment period on the Committee of Experts' draft expired Dec. 15. It was supposed to be redrafted taking the comments into account, forwarded to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution, and then forwarded to the National Assembly which is to hold a referendum on it. (Sunday Nation 12/11/09). However today's Sunday Nation reports that the redraft forwarded to the Parliamentary Select Committee does not reflect some of the changes to the Bill of Rights proposed by churches, civil society organizations and human rights lobbies. Issues still remain over the document's language on abortion, its provisions on Islamic law, issues of family, of same-sex marriage, protection of religious institutions that wish to hire on the basis of religion, protection of children and the right to education and housing. The Parliamentary Select Committee is now expected to seek consensus on various issues and return the document to the Committee of Experts for redrafting.