On February 10, 2010, Jesuit Hakimani Centre joined other civil society organisations (CSOs) in a meeting held at HakiJamii office, Naiorobi to assess the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the Harmonised Draft Constitution to the Committee of Experts. According to the Constitution of Kenya Review Act 2008, the Committee of Experts were mandated to finalise the constitutional review process and deliver a new constitution; while the PSC is supposed to deliberate and build consensus on the contentious issues on the basis of the recommendations of the Committee of Experts.

There are concerns among civil society organisations and other stakeholders that the PSC went beyond its mandate and altered some chapters that were not contentious. It is for this reason that CSOs met to come up with strategies that could be critical for lobbying CoE and the members of PSC to ensure that social and economic rights are not adulterated in the final draft that will be subjected to a referendum later this year.

Generally, the CSOs and other human rights groups had been satisfied with the Bill of Rights as presented in the Harmonised Draft Constitution. After changes made by the PSC in Naivasha meeting, there are growing concerns that the Bill of Rights especially the social and economic rights have been diluted in the PSC draft.

The CSOs meeting deliberated on a number of issues: To prepare a document outlining what the civil society would like to be included in social and economic rights of the Bill of Rights. To submit a proposal on these issues to the COE before they present the draft constitution to the National Assembly. The members of civil society should engage legislators at various levels to ensure that social and economic rights are entrenched in the new constitution in a non ambiguous manner. Finally, the civil society organisations present at the meeting also observed that communities should be mobilised to present their petition on social and economic rights to the authorities in the constitutional review process.

The Haki Jamii meeting also observed that community radio stations and other media could be used to educate the public on these critical issues in the constitution-making process. The following organisations were present at the meeting: Amnesty International, Kituo Cha Sheria, HakiJamii, Jesuit Hakimani Centre, Pamoja Trust, Kenya Land Alliance, Eastern Africa Coalition on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (EACOR), Muungano ya Wanavijiji, Nairobi Youth Human Rights Network, Kasarani Youth Congress, Nairobi People’s Settlement and Students Consortium for Human Rights Advocacy and representatives from community based organisations within Nairobi.