An alliance of Kenyan charities has urged the government to withdraw from the US-led Geneva Consensus that critics say weakens global efforts to safeguard women's sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Thirty-three nations, including Kenya, signed the Geneva Consensus Declaration (GCD) – which was co-sponsored by the US, Brazil, Uganda, Egypt, Hungary and Indonesia – on 22 October. The US Department for Health says the declaration seeks better healthcare for women and the preservation of human life, while also strengthening the family unit and protecting each nation's sovereignty.
The pact is not legally binding, but charities working to promote women's sexual and reproductive health and rights in Kenya say ‘it totally undermines the mandate and ability of the UN to develop harmonised policies’. A report on the allAfrica site notes that the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network (KELIN) said ‘it will encourage states notorious for human rights violations to fashion punitive laws against women’. KELIN is one of 20 charities that have written to Kenya's Foreign Ministry demanding Nairobi withdraw from the GCD.
[link url="https://allafrica.com/stories/202011040075.html"]Full allAfrica report[/link]