KENYA: AGOA ELIGIBILITY REVIEW 2010

UNCLAS NAIROBI 002184 STATE PASS USTR CONSTANCE HAMILTON STATE FOR AF/EPS GABRIELLE MALLORY TREASURY FOR ANTHONY IERONIMO COMMERCE FOR KEVIN BOYD AGRICULTURE FOR DON EVANS AND CATHY MCKINNELL LABOR FOR SUDHA HALEY AND MAUREEN PETTIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR EAID ECON ETRD EINV ENRG ELAB AGOA PGOV PREL KE SUBJECT: KENYA: AGOA ELIGIBILITY REVIEW 2010 REF: STATE 97769 ¶1. This cable is not/not for internet distribution. ¶2. Country: Kenya ¶3. Current Status: Eligible ¶4. Country Background Summary: The population of Kenya is 38.6 million (mid 2008 estimate),estimated 2008 GDP is $30.4 billion, and per capita income is $770. An estimated 54% of the population (an 8% increase over the 2007 figure of 46.1%) lives on less than one U.S. dollar per day. The increase in poverty is largely attributable to January-February 2008 post-election violence, global economic slowdown, drought, and high food prices. The economy experienced 1.7% growth in 2008, but rebounded with 4% growth in the first quarter of 2009 and 2.1% growth in the second quarter. About 80% of the country's workforce is employed in the agriculture and livestock sectors. Of an estimated 9.9 million workforce, 2 million Kenyans hold jobs in the formal sector while 7.9 million are in the informal sector. About 467,000 new jobs were created in 2008. The Ministry of Labor puts the unemployment rate at over 40%. Real wages dropped heavily in 2008 by 16.2% due to high inflation after falling .3% in 2007. Inflation almost tripled in 2008 to 26.2% from 9.8% in 2007 and 14.5% in 2006. Bilateral trade dropped to $786 million in 2008 from over $900 million in 2007. U.S. exports to Kenya fell to $442.4 million in 2008 from $576.2 million in 2007. In 2008, U.S. imports of Kenyan goods totaled $343.5 million, an increase over the 2007 figure of $326.1 million. The U.S. enjoyed a trade surplus with Kenya of $99 million. AGOA duty free and GSP imports constituted over $255 million. Kenya's total foreign trade was over $16 billion, up from almost $12.5 billion in 2007. Although its exports increased 25% to almost $5 billion, Kenya saw its trade deficit jump 28.8% to $6.15 billion. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is Kenya's biggest export market. Horticulture, both fresh and processed, continued to be the primary export earning $1.03 billion. Agriculture (horticulture, tea, and coffee are the main exports) accounts for 23% of GDP while the manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and transport and communications sectors account for approximately 10% each. Kenya is a constitutional, multiparty democracy. Following a disputed presidential election on December 27, 2007, Kenyans endured two months of ethnically motivated political violence which left approximately 1,500 dead and 500,000 displaced. International mediation efforts resulted in a late February 2008 power-sharing agreement whereby the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki, retained office and the opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, was appointed to a newly created prime ministerial position. With peace restored, a Grand Coalition Government with a 42-member Cabinet was formed. Throughout the disturbances the military remained apolitical. Voters removed over 70% of the sitting parliament in the December 27, 2007 general elections. This power-sharing agreement also outlined an ambitious reform agenda, including land, electoral, police, and judicial reform and the drafting and passage of a new constitution. As of October 2009, progress on reforms, as well as bringing to justice those responsible for post election violence, remained disappointingly slow. -------------- Comments on Eligibility Requirements -------------- -------------- ¶I. Market-Based Economy -------------- ¶A. Major Strengths Identified -- The Government of Kenya (GOK)generally maintains sound fiscal and monetary policy. -- Kenya has a relatively stable banking sector that was not severely affected by the global financial crisis. -- In 2008, Kenya began 24/7 operations at the Port of Mombasa to increase efficiency; Businesses report the improvement has significantly decreased the time required to ship their goods. -- In 2008, he Kenyan Revenue Authority implemented an online customs clearance system, further increasing efficiency and transparency. -- The majority of Kenya's AGOA exports are produced in Export Processing Zones (EPZs) where total investment increased 5.8% to $290.9 million in 2008. Over 50% of EPZ manufactures enter the U.S. market under AGOA provisions. In 2008, 74 companies operated in Kenya's EPZ employing more than 30,000 employees. -- As a direct result of AGOA, 19 apparel/garment firms operate within the EPZs. These firms employ over 25,000 workers and exported $226 million worth of goods to the U.S. In an effort to diversify, the firms exported $2.5 million to Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Central America. -- AGOA exports, primarily apparel but also including cut flowers, nuts, pineapple, and light manufactures, stayed steady at $255 million despite the economic slowdown in the U.S. -- In 2008, horticulture exports stood at $1.03 billion, Kenya's largest foreign exchange earner. Tea exports were a close second at $922 million. Agricultural exports to the United States increased to over $65 million. -- Tourism receipts in 2008 totaled $762 million from 936,000 tourists. -- Fresh horticultural exports, cut flowers, fruits and vegetables, primarily destined for Europe, stood at $838 million. -- Despite the economic slowdown in Kenya, the manufacturing sector grew 3.8% in 2008 after a 6.5% gain in 2007. -- Approximately 467,000 new jobs were created. -- In September 2007, Kenya established a National Codex Council to comply with Codex Alimentarius Commission international standards and guidelines. -- The Licensing Act of 2007 has so far eliminated and/or simplified 694 licenses. In 2008, the government also reduced the number of licenses to set up a business from 300 to 16 and is reviewing another 337 licenses. The Business Regulation Act of 2007 established a "Business Regulatory Reform Unit" within the Ministry of Finance to continue the deregulation process. -- In 2009, Kenya launched a national e-Registry to ease business license processing and help improve transparency. -- In 2008, the Anti-Counterfeit Act was signed which establishes an agency and a strong legal framework to police counterfeit goods. -- In addition, the Kenyan Copyright Board was turned into an independent watchdog group. -- In January 2006 Kenya established a "Public Procurement Oversight Authority" to minimize graft. To further ensure transparency, in September 2007 Kenya enacted the "Supplies Practitioners Management Act." -- The GOK continues to increase the role of private sector in the economy. Enacted in 2005, the Privatization Act went into effect on January 1, 2008. In 2009, the government plans on divesting holdings in Kenya Pipeline Corporation, Kenya Wine Agencies, National Bank of Kenya, New Kenya Cooperative Creameries and the Kenya Tourism Development Corporation. In June 2008, it sold 25% of its Safaricom (the national cellular network) shares, reducing its holdings to 35%. In 2007 government divested its shares in the Kenya Electricity Generating Company, the Mumias Sugar Company, Kenya Reinsurance, and Telekom Kenya (the public fixed-line telephone monopoly). -- Kenya is compliant with the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, a member of WIPO, and a Paris (industrial IP) and Berne (copyright) Conventions signatory. ¶B. Major Issues/Problems Identified -- As a result of January-February 2008 post-election violence, economic growth slowed to 1.7% in 2008. The Kenyan economy suffered losses totaling $1.5 billion. Inflation stood at 26.2% for 2008, the highest rate since 1994. Inflation reached an all-time high of 31.5% in May 2008. -- Tourism receipts dropped 19.2% in 2008 from 2007 levels, while tourist arrivals were off 34%. Some 20,000 hospitality workers lost their jobs. -- In the past six years, about 40 investors have pulled out of Kenya, while 106 companies have closed down, according to the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE). With the conclusion of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement, seven garment factories closed, resulting in the loss of over 10,000 jobs. Several more apparel factories closed in early 2008 as a result of the political turmoil. -- Slow courts, degraded infrastructure, high crime, high power costs, and corruption are deterrents to investment. Electricity tariffs rose 65% in 2008. -- Kenya fell five places to 98 in the 2008 World Economic Forum's global competitiveness index. The issues leading to the drop include increasing insecurity, inefficient government, rising corruption and insecurity, as well as major health issues. -- Pirated and counterfeit products mostly from East Asia are an impediment to U.S. business. Infringement of copyright, especially on music and films, is pervasive. -- Parliament's FY08/09 budget projects an overall fiscal deficit of approximately $1.7 billion, Kenya's biggest ever at 5.6% of GDP, drawing concerns from the IMF that the budget is unsustainable and inflationary. -------------- -------------- II. Political Reforms/Rule of Law/Anti-Corruption -------------- -------------- ¶A. Major Strengths Identified -- On December 27, 2007 Kenyan voters turned out in record numbers to vote in multiparty elections for the Presidency, Parliament, and local government. -- In an effort to end two months' post-election violence, Kenya's rival political leaders - incumbent President Mwai Kibaki of the Party of National Unity (PNU) and Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) - agreed to form a Grand Coalition Government on February 28, 2008. Under the auspices of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and a "Panel of Eminent African Persons," the two signed a power-sharing agreement, which provided for the establishment of a prime minister (a position assumed by Odinga) and two deputy prime ministers (one nominated by the PNU, the other by ODM). It also provided for the division of Cabinet posts according to the parties' proportional representation in Parliament. -- On March 18, 2008, Parliament amended the constitution to create the position of prime minister and adopted legislation to establish the coalition government. On April 17, 2008, Prime Minister Odinga and the new 42-member Cabinet, the largest in Kenya's history, were sworn in. Kibaki retained the presidency for a second five-year term. -- With the Grand Coalition Government in place, the ODM took control of the Parliament, holding 105 of 222 seats, with the PNU holding 46. -- The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) became fully operational and sufficiently funded in 2005. However, public and parliamentary disappointment with the lack of progress in investigations of corrupt high-level public officials led to the resignation of the KACC's chairman in September 2009. -- In late September 2007, President Kibaki vetoed portions of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous amendments) Bill of 2007, adopted by Parliament, that would have otherwise effectively barred the KACC from probing corruption cases committed before it was established in 2003, namely the Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing Scandals. -- In August 2008, the Witness Protection Act became law. No witness has yet been enrolled in the program, over which the Attorney General has sole control. -- Parliament effectively forced former Finance Minister Amos Kimunya to resign in early July 2008 after Lands Minister James Orengo alleged that Kimunya had approved the sale of a government-owned property, the Grand Regency Hotel, to a Libyan group, without a public tender being executed and then giving misleading statements to Parliament about it. Parliament subsequently held public hearings on the matter. However, President Kibaki subsequently appointed Kimunya as Minister of Trade in January 2009 after a November 1998 government inquiry cleared him of any wrongdoing in the Grand Regency sale. -- As part of the February 28 power-sharing agreement, the parties agreed to appoint an "Independent Review Commission" (IREC) to investigate the conduct of the December 2007 elections. Its report, released on September 19, 2008, concluded that allegations of vote-rigging related to the presidential election had not been proven, but that the conduct of the local, parliamentary, and presidential elections was "so materially defective" that the results announced by the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) had no integrity. It proposed a series of reforms to strengthen Kenya's electoral system. -- The discredited ECK was disbanded and an Interim Independent Election Commission (IIEC) was established in May 2009. The IIEC successfully oversaw two parliamentary by-elections in August 2009. However, it has yet to begin a new national voter re-registration exercise as required by the power-sharing agreement. -- The government established a Committee of Experts charged with drafting a new constitution, as provided in the power-sharing agreement. The new constitution will need to address land rights issues, which fuel inter-ethnic hostility in Kenya, and to restructure the government by strengthening institutions to create a more equitable distribution of power and a more effective system of checks and balances. The draft, if approved by Parliament, will be submitted to a national referendum to be administered by the IIEC. -- In October 2008, the Commission to Investigate Post-Election Violence (CIPEV),commonly known as the Waki Commission after its chairman, submitted its 529-page report to Parliament. In the report, the Commission outlined a series of reforms, notably in the police and judicial sectors, designed to prevent a recurrence of the post-election violence of late 2007 and early 2008. The Waki Commission also handed a sealed envelope identifying chief perpetrators and/or financiers of the post-election violence to mediator Kofi Annan. -- The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) was established and commissioners were appointed in July 2009. However, the TJRC has not yet formulated its plan of work or held any public hearings. ¶B. Major Issues/Problems Identified -- As determined by the IREC report, Kenya's electoral system is in need of significant reform. -- Post-election violence left 1,500 dead, thousands injured, and 500,000 Kenyans displaced. Most internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home but some (notably the landless, squatters, and former slum residents) remain displaced and have not received promised government compensation. -- None of the Waki Commission's major recommendations for police and judicial reform have been implemented. Further, after the government of Kenya failed to act against suspected perpetrators of post-election violence, Kofi Annan turned over the confidential list of suspects in July 2009 to the International Criminal Court for possible indictment and prosecution. -- Serious human rights problems remain, particularly with regard to abuses by the security forces. Some elements of the security forces continued to commit abuses, including extra-judicial killings and the torture and beating of detainees, particularly during a March-April 2008 sweep of rebels calling themselves the Sabaot Land Defense Force in the Mt. Elgon area. Other security operations in the Mandera area of northeastern Kenya in November 2008 and against suspected Mungiki members in Central province also gave rise to allegations of abuse. -- According to the 2009 Transparency International-Kenya East Africa Bribery Index, Kenyans still consider the police force the most corrupt government institution. -- The government arrested some police officers for abuses; however, most police who committed abuses were neither investigated nor punished. There were no successful prosecutions against any police officer for abuses. -- Corruption is endemic. According to Transparency International's 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index, Kenya is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It ranked 147 out of 188 countries surveyed with a score of 2.1. Freedom House's Freedom in the World index ranks Kenya "Partly Free". -- The government commissioned the Kroll Report in 2003 to identify and recover the proceeds of corruption and crimes. Although the report was completed in 2004, the government has yet to use its findings to prosecute any senior politicians for corruption. To date, there have been no prosecutions of senior government officials, despite strong indications of high-level graft. -- The government has not enacted anti-money laundering legislation. Kenya will continue to remain vulnerable to corruption, tax evasion, narcotics trafficking, trafficking in persons, and terrorism financing. -- The judiciary remains subject to executive branch influence and corruption. -- The Attorney General lacks the capacity to handle the volume of cases referred to his office and frequently declines to prosecute, especially in corruption cases or cases involving politically powerful individuals. -- The KACC does not have prosecutorial powers rendering it at the mercy of the Attorney General to prosecute corruption cases. Only 74 convictions had been achieved out of 383 files forwarded to the Attorney General for prosecution. No high-level government officials have been convicted over the last five years. -- No convictions or serious prosecutions came out of the two massive scandals the past two decades; the Anglo Leasing scandal and the Goldenberg scandals, both of which implicated high-level officials. -- Kenya's ranking on the October 2009 Ibrahim Index of African Governance fell ten places to 27 based on setbacks in insecurity, rule of law, transparency, and corruption. -- Major scandals worth tens of millions of dollars erupted in ¶2009. One scandal involved the illegal re-selling of grain from the national food storage system. Another scandal involved the misappropriation of money from the Education Ministry. -- Drought-related conflicts, especially in arid and semi-arid pastoralist regions of Kenya, escalate and increasing food shortages and malnutrition, exacerbated by government mismanagement of food resources (i.e. maize scandal) require extensive additional food aid funded by the international community. -- The issue of evicting both titled landholders and squatters from the protected Mau forest causes intense political conflict and is complicated by a lack of a comprehensive national land use policy or implementing legislation. -- Reports of ethnic militias arming or re-arming themselves in preparation for further conflict before or during the 2012 elections are widespread. -- The coalition government lacks cohesion and the political will to advance the reform agenda; despite the establishment of the TJRC, it also fails to undertake any comprehensive government-led reconciliation efforts, resulting in continued interethnic mistrust on the ground. -------------- III. Poverty Reduction -------------- ¶A. Major Strengths Identified -- The Government of Kenya, working closely with its development partners - including the private sector -- has made progress in recent years toward creating a market-driven enabling environment for agricultural sector development. -- The GOK removed the white maize import tariff through June 2010 to facilitate commercial imports that have since helped reduce the current food deficit and make maize more affordable for Kenya's citizens. -- The GOK, through a third-party, conducted an audit of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) and the Strategic Grain Reserve. -- In addition, the NCPB has begun to engage with the Eastern Africa Grains Council (EAGC) to make available some of its warehouses for inspection and certification under the EAGC's pilot grain warehouse receipts system. Ultimately this partnership could lead to more efficient and structured grain trade in the region and more effective use of the strategic grain reserve and famine mitigation mechanism by NCPB. -- Kenya has a dynamic, well organized private sector, with businesses ranging from cottage industries and "Jua Kali" artisan shops in the informal sector to domestic and multinational corporations in manufacturing, agro-processing, horticulture, fishing, tourism, shipping and commercial transport, telecommunications, construction, banking, finance, and insurance in the formal sector. -- Government is initiating new policies to improve informal settlements and provide more low cost housing. One project was recently completed which moved 1500 residents of the Kibera slum into new low cost housing. -- The government allocated 2.5% of total revenue collection (about $198 million) in the current year to 210 local Constituency Development Fund (CDF) accounts throughout the country. CDFs are designed to meet communities' most pressing infrastructural needs. These decentralized block grants support the construction of water projects, classrooms, roads, and police posts. A quarter of the fund is allocated according to population size, poverty index, state of infrastructure, and the desire to improve the local economy to match the rest of the country. -- The government also initiated Youth Enterprise Development Fund and Women Enterprise Fund, all geared towards uplifting the standards of living of targeted groups. To date, the government has allocated $398 million to support these initiatives. -- With the implementation of an "Integrated Financial Management Information System" and further progress in public enterprise reform, business regulation has been streamlined and public financial management strengthened. -- Primary school enrolment increased 2.8% from 8,330,100 to 8,563,800 students; secondary school enrolment leaped 17.1% from 1,180,300 to 1,382,211 students. ¶B. Major Issues/Problems Identified -- Food insecurity was exacerbated this year by severe drought. Chronic food insecurity combined with a continued rise in food prices (white maize prices remain 70% above the five-year average) and poor urban and rural purchasing power has contributed to increased malnutrition. -- Humanitarian agencies estimate that approximately 3.8 million (an increase from 2.6 million last year) pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, and marginal agricultural households require emergency food aid this year. -- In addition, there are other populations that are chronically food insecure including: 1.5 million school children in drought-affected areas who require school feeding programs, 2.5 million persons in urban areas who are unable to meet 50% of their daily food requirements, 2 million vulnerable poor in rural areas who are affected by HIV/AIDS, and 100,000 persons displaced by the post-election crisis whose livelihoods have not fully recovered. -- According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF),more than 200,000 children five years of age or younger are affected by moderate malnutrition and more than 30,000 children five years of age or younger are severely malnourished. -- Kenya remains uncertain about seeking another Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) agreement after the one signed on November 21, 2003 ended last year. A mid-2008 IMF mission carried out an Ex-Post Assessment (EPA) of the Kenya-IMF PRGF program which was presented to the IMF Board in September 2008. However, the IMF disbursed $209 million to Kenya under the Exogenous Shocks Facility as a result of the global economic slowdown. -- Since the outbreak of violence on December 30, 2007, the cost of living has risen by 25 to 30% throughout Kenya as prices of all basic goods have increased. The cost of electricity has also risen dramatically. -- The Kenyan government has rhetorically vowed to stamp out graft and push ahead with economic liberalization, but entrenched private interests and political in-fighting threaten the agenda. Corruption on a grand scale continues to alarm the public and turn away potential donors and investors. -- Relations with major international donors are dependent on the government's commitment to its economic and governance reforms and its anti-corruption agenda. -- Greater efforts are needed to improve the legal framework for public finance management and to accelerate financial sector reform. -- Garment exports to the U.S. under AGOA are likely to decline if Kenyan producers do not enhance their global competitiveness or seek niche markets. -- A July 2008 World Bank assessment concluded that economic growth in Kenya is insufficient to reduce poverty. The World Bank estimates that growth in Kenya would need to reach 8% at the current population growth figures to reduce poverty. First projected to reach 8% in 2008, economic growth was waylaid by the January-February violence and did not reach 2%. -- According to a September 2007 Adult Literacy survey, 7.8 million Kenyans cannot read and write. Most are women and youth. -- The Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey 2007 (released in July 2008) indicates that 7.4% of Kenyans ages 15-64 are infected with HIV, with considerable disparities in prevalence among provinces. While over 220,000 Kenyans are receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART),up from approximately 10,000 in 2003, many of those in need still do not receive ART. -------------- IV. Workers' Rights/Child Labor/Human Rights -------------- ¶A. Major Strengths Identified -- Existing legislation protects workers' rights and rights to organize and bargain collectively are well established. -- During its fall 2007 session, Parliament passed and President Kibaki signed five new labor laws, drafted by the Task Force on Labor and supported by Kenya's Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU),to improve the status of workers, namely the Labor Institutions Act, the Labor Relations Act, the Employment Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Work, Injury and Benefits Act. These measures establish two weeks' paternity leave for fathers, increase maternity leave with full pay from two to three months, and compensate both public and private employees for work-related injuries and diseases contracted at work, among other provisions. There are continuing court challenges to provisions of the new labor law as employers are arguing about the cost implementation, particularly the provision regarding workers compensation. The labor bills ensure compliance with ILO core-labor standards and better enforcement of occupational health and safety standards. U.S. companies typically meet the new labor requirements. -- The Industrial Relations Charter, executed by the government, the Confederation of Trade Unions (COTU),and the Federation of Kenya Employers, gives workers the right to engage in legitimate trade union organizational activities. Both the Trade Disputes Act and the Charter authorize collective bargaining between unions and employers, and wages and conditions of employment are established in negotiations between unions and management. -- Kenya has ratified ILO Conventions 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor and 138 on Minimum Age. -- In an effort to reduce child labor, the government collaborates with COTU, ILO, and NGOs to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Child Labor Division in Ministry of Labor has been implementing the "Time Bound Program for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor" from April 2005- April 2009. In July 2008, the government signed an MOU with the ILO to implement a four year program, TACKLE, which will combat child labor through improved opportunities to acquire a basic education. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a four-year project with the ILO to combat the worst forms of child labor in three Kenyan districts, Kilifi, Kitui, and Busia. -- The Constitution prohibits slavery, servitude, and forced labor. Additionally, the Children's Act of 2001 prohibits all worst forms of child labor as defined by ILO Convention 182. The Department of Children's Services (Office of the Vice President and the Ministry of Home Affairs) is responsible for the administration of all laws regarding children. -- On July 14, 2006, Kenya adopted the Sexual Offenses Act, which criminalizes rape, defilement of a minor, child pornography, sex tourism, sexual harassment, and trafficking for sexual purposes. ¶B. Major Issues/Problems Identified -- The Ministry of Labor's inspection and enforcement functions are weak. -- Trade unionist complained of labor inspectors routinely accepting bribes from employers. -- Trade unionist reported a trend towards employers sacking workers in lieu of casual or contract labor. -- Kenya has not ratified ILO Convention 87 on the right to organize and collective bargaining. -- The private sector has expressed concerns about the financial burden imposed on business by the 96 months of full disability leave requirement. -- The ILO has urged repeal of provisions of labor laws that contravene ILO conventions on forced labor and is critical of legislation not in conformity with ILO conventions governing freedom of association. -- Workers have been fired for participating in trade union activities, especially in export processing zones. -- The law allows employers in some industries to dismiss workers regardless of the provisions of their collective bargaining agreements. -- Child labor remains a serious problem in the informal and agricultural sectors. -- Government agents conducted at least three extrajudicial killings in 2009, targeting two human rights advocates and one journalist. The government has not investigated nor prosecuted any suspects in these three incidents. -- While the government is taking steps to address trafficking, and there are laws that could be used to prosecute various aspects of trafficking, Kenya has not yet passed a law defining and prohibiting human trafficking. There have been reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and within the country. -- Abuse and discrimination against women occur frequently and include forced marriage. -- Certain ethnic groups commonly practice female genital mutilation (FGM) on young girls, particularly in rural areas. -- Violent clashes among ethnic groups and vigilante justice were problems. -- The government has attempted to forcibly resettle citizens who were internally displaced after the post-election violence. -- The government has failed to investigate security officers suspected of extrajudicial killings, torture, and other human rights abuses in Mt. Elgon, the Mandera triangle, and Mt. Kenya. ¶V. International Terrorism/U.S. National Security ¶A. Major Strengths Identified -- Kenya is an active supporter in the global coalition against terrorism. -- Kenya is a key player and cooperates closely with USG in promoting peace and regional stability in neighboring Sudan and Somalia. -- Kenyan forces are frequent participants in UN peacekeeping operations. -- Kenya is a leading participant in U.S. African Contingency Operations and Training Assistance (ACOTA) peacekeeping training program. -- Kenya is a major recipient of Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) programs. ¶B. Major Issues/Problems Identified -- The volatile Kenya-Somalia border region sees an increase in instability, including successful cross-border kidnapping raids by Somali militias and a continued flow of small arms into Kenya. Incidence of recruitment efforts by al-Shabaab and other Somali militia groups and terrorist organizations (i.e. Al Qaeda East Africa) among Kenyan Muslims increased, including in Nairobi, Dadaab refugee camp, Isiolo town, and throughout Northeastern Province. -- The U.S. Travel Warning for Kenya was reissued (addressing recent warnings on travel near the porous border of Somalia) on July 24th, 2009, advising U.S. citizens of ongoing terrorist threats and continuing incidents of violent crime. Violent criminal attacks, including armed carjacking and home invasions/burglary, can occur at any time and in any location, and continue to be brazen, vicious, and often fatal. Kenyan authorities appear to have limited capacity and will to deter and investigate such acts. Recently, an American citizen was kidnapped, transported into Somalia and held for ransom by fundamentalists while working in Mandera, Kenya, abutting the Somali border. -- Terrorists and their supporters reside in Kenya as well as in neighboring Somalia. -- Counter-terrorism and Anti-Money Laundering legislation is still on the Parliamentary agenda but has not yet been debated or voted on. -- The acquittal and release in June 2005 of seven terrorist suspects implicated in the November 28, 2002 attack on the Paradise Hotel in Kikambala and attempted downing of an El Al jetliner carrying 200 passengers reveal legislative and prosecutorial weaknesses. One suspect was rearrested and charged with being in possession of dangerous weapons. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to eight years imprisonment. On September 14, Ali Saleh Nabhan, one of the suspects and influential al Qaeda operative in East Africa, was killed in Somalia. Ranneberger