Policy and Legislative Advocacy

The primary objective of the program is to:

• Work towards a child-friendly legislative and policy framework;
• Ensure the legislative and policy framework conforms to international standards;
• To enhance access to justice for children;

Under this program, The CRADLE runs the following projects:

• Mainstreaming In Action, (MAINAC): This project is undertaken under The CRADLE’s Technical Support Arm: The CRADLE of Human Kind-Africa, (a human rights and development initiative of The CRADLE), in collaboration with the Swedish Development Agency, SIDA and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. Through this project The CRADLE mainstreams human rights with a focus on child rights in government policies; trains government personnel on the rights’ based approach and is in the process of developing manuals for various ministries on the same. The CRADLE has worked with the ministries of Agriculture under the National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Programme, (NALEP); Ministry of Works (ROADS 2000 Programme that is a labor-based feeder roads construction project); Ministry of Water (Water Sector Reform Program); Ministry of Health; Ministry of Lands and Planning; Ministry of Justice (Under the Governance Justice Law and Order Sector Program, GJLOs).
• Parliamentary and Legislative Advocacy: Under this project, The CRADLE works towards mainstreaming child rights in legislation and development of laws and policies that are friendly to the child. The CRADLE has been instrumental in the development and audit of several laws relating to children. The Children Act: The CRADLE was one of the key actors in the development of the Children Act and has more recently been involved in the review of the said law under the auspices of the Kenya Law Reform Commission. The Sexual Offences Act : The CRADLE took the lead in the development of a draft Sexual Offences Bill together with the Juvenile Justice Network and handed the same to the Honorable the Attorney General in September 2004. This progressive legislation, brought to parliament by Hon. Njoki Ndungu, was passed into law in July 2006 and The CRADLE now sits in the Task Force set up by the Attorney General on the Implementation of the said law. The CRADLE together with other NGOs have also worked on the stepping down of law through development of a simplified version of the Act, undertaking a colloquium for judges, magistrates and lawyers and through public awareness. Trafficking Bill: The CRADLE initiated a draft Trafficking in Persons Bill and has since then worked together with IOM, FIDA, AMWIK, UNODC, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice to refine the said draft. The CRADLE has also trained members of Parliament on some of the laws such as the Sexual Offences and Anti-Trafficking Law. Other Laws: The CRADLE has also made presentations to the relevant parliamentary committees on various pieces of legislation, together with other actors such as UNHCR and RCK e.g. on the Criminal Law Amendment Act, Refugee Act, HIV/AIDs Act, Disability Act, amongst others.
• Constitutional Review Process The CRADLE has taken a leading role in championing the children’s voice in the constitutional review process. The CRADLE was represented in the national delegates’ conference under the Bill of Rights sub-committee. The CRADLE developed materials for delegates and in particular “ Absent Voices” and together with KAACR, produced handbills on the review process. As a member of the Kenya Women Political Caucus, The CRADLE was involved in the training of delegates from all over the country. The CRADLE also took a leading role in advocacy and did several media programs with KBC, KTN, Kiss, Nation and others, especially during the referundum.
• Trafficking Project The CRADLE has taken the lead in working on anti-trafficking initiatives in Kenya, especially with the support of the British High Commission. This it has done through: Rapid assessment: on the nature and extent of trafficking in Kenya; Training of Parliamentarians: On Trafficking and the provisions of the trafficking bill; Training of other stakeholders: In liaison with the American Bar Association, the Law Society of Kenya and others, The CRADLE has trained judges and magistrates in Eastern Africa; lawyers; nuns and other religious leaders; Kenya police; trade unionist and members of Civil Society Organizations. International Cooperation: The CRADLE has trained students of Friboug University on trafficking, has collaborated with UNODC and gave input into a regional strategy on anti-trafficking in Africa in Abuja; and is working with African organizations in the diaspora such as AFRUCA in the UK on anti-trafficking. Developed an infomercial on Trafficking in Persons: Aired on one of the leading national television stations, KTN; Children’s Comic Book: Developed a Comic Book for Children on Trafficking in Persons; IEC Materials: Developed other IEC Materials on Trafficking including Info-packs for MPs, pocket protocol and desk calendars; Developed a training Manual. To offer standardized training on trafficking in persons. Developed a Bill on Trafficking : Which was handed over to the Attorney General in May 2006 at a function also presided over by the British High Commissioner.
• Child Justice Reform Initiatives The Governance, Justice, Law and Order Sector Reform Program (GJLOS): The GJLOs is a product of a long history of initiatives to reform the legal and governance sector in Kenya, dating as far back as 1982 with the establishment of the Law Reform Commission to the development of the Expanded Legal Sector Reform Program (E-LSRP) in 2000. It is a successor to these initiatives and seeks to focus on better governance and the restoration of investor confidence through extensive reforms. It involves several ministries and departments and is supported by 17 development partners. Non-state actors are critical players in the implementation of GJLOs. The program is to be implemented in a 5-year phase divided into a 1 and 4 year framework of implementation contained in the Short Term Priority Program (STPP) and Medium Term Strategy (MTS) that runs from July 2004 to June 2009. The CRADLE involvement with the GJLOS Program The CRADLE is part of the 5 CSOs that sit in the Technical Coordination Committee (TCC) of GJLOs. This is one of the organs that offers overall leadership and coordination to the program, the highest being the Inter Agency Steering Committee. The CRADLE was also elected and has been acting as the interim focal point for GJLOs for CSOs. The CRADLE has been offering leadership, coordination and technical input through mainstreaming child rights in the MTS and other key policy documents, through thematic groups and by providing information to other members of the CSOs Social Budgeting: The CRADLE has over the years participated in the social budgeting process under the leadership of the Institute of Economic Affairs that has taken the lead in the development of social budgeting for parliament. The CRADLE gives input on issues of concern to the children sector in collaboration with KAACR.