The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) joins Kenyans in celebrating the International Minorities Day 2025. This day serves as an opportunity to reaffirm our shared commitment to equality, dignity and inclusion of minority and marginalized communities in the national development agenda. It is a time to reflect on the strides Kenya has made, recognize contemporary challenges and renew Kenya’s dedication to protecting the rights of all minority populations in Kenya.
Kenya is a nation comprising a multiplicity of communities each with its own unique languages, cultures, knowledge systems and identities. Many groups including pastoralists, forest dwellers, fishing communities and hunter-gatherers face structural exclusion and unequal access to opportunities. These are greatest measures of inequality. These inequalities reflect in various ways, limited access to land and natural resources, insufficient representation in governance, socio-economic marginalization, and heightened vulnerability to climate change, conflict, and displacement.
These groups face significant barriers to accessing justice particularly those that have faced historical land dispossession, or forced evictions and conflicts over resources. Minority-dominated areas have historically suffered limited investment in crucial services like education, healthcare, infrastructure and industrialization. With increasing post modernization, cultural erosion has become a real concern. Minority languages, traditional knowledge systems and livelihoods are threatened by environmental degradation and negative investments in AI. Gender-specific vulnerabilities within minority groups have negatively impacted specifically on women and girls who face intersecting forms of discrimination.
Despite these, the Commission commends the Government and non-state actors on the myriad of measures taken to redress the vulnerabilities facing minority groups and communities. These include among others, the drafting and recent validation of a policy and bill on ethnic minorities and marginalized communities, investments in regions occupied by minority groups, the establishment of the Minorities and Marginalised Affairs Unit (MMAU) under the Presidency, and the Government’s formal recognition and gazettement of previously stateless or unrecognized minority groups.
As we mark the National Minorities Day 2025, the Commission advocates for:
- Sustained political commitment and adequate funding to minorities groups agenda.
- Increased attention to development of legislations and policy put in place laws and policies that protect minority groups.
- Deliberate inclusive development and planning to ensure that infrastructure, social services, and economic investments benefit communities that have been historically marginalized.
- Renewed safeguarding of cultures and languages, as they are a vital to Kenya’s national identity.
- Increased involvement of organizations of (and for) minority groups with a focus on women, youth, and people with disabilities in decision-making, policy creation, and leadership.
- Continued partnerships (government, the private sector, development partners and civil society) to support sustainable development for minority communities.
The Commission affirms that safeguarding the rights of minorities is not just a constitutional duty but a fundamental human right. As we commemorate and honor this day, we celebrate the strength, wisdom, and contributions of Kenya’s minority communities.
Happy National Minorities Day 2025!
SIGNED
Hon. Rehema Jaldesa
CHAIRPERSON
