ghts Development (CEMIRIDE) & 2 others v Attorney General & 2 others; Independent Electoral and BoundariesCommission (Interested and fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights Article 21 on the obligation of the State and every State organ to observe, respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights and fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights and on all State organs and public officers to address the needs of vulnerable groups within society, including women, older members of society, persons with disabilities, children, youth, members of minority or marginalised communities, and members of particular ethnic, religious or cultural communities; Articles 22(1) and 258(1) on the right to institute court proceedings, claiming that this Constitution has been contravened, or is threatened with contravention; Article 23 on the powers of the High Court to hear and determine applications for redress of a denial, violation or infringement of, or threat to, a right or fundamental freedom in the Bill of Rights and to grant appropriate relief; Article 27 on the equality before the law and the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law while including the equality to the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and fundamental freedoms as well as prohibition of the State from discriminating directly or indirectly against any person on any ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth; Article 35(1) (a) on the right of access to information held by the state; Article 38(1) on the right of every citizen to make political choices including the right to form, or participate in forming, a political party, to participate in the activities of, or recruit members for, a political party or to campaign for a political party or cause; Article 48 on the right to access to justice; and Article 56(a) on the State’s obligation to put in place affirmative action programmes designed to ensure that minorities and marginalised groups participate and are represented in governance and other spheres of life. 16. In addition, the Petitioners cited Sections 6 and 7 of the Political Parties Act, on the process and procedure to be followed in applying for provisional registration of a political party and Section 14 of the Political Parties Act, that states in part that a member of a political party who intends to resign from the party shall give a written notice prior to his resignation; to the political party, to the clerk of the relevant House of Parliament, if the member is a member of Parliament or to the clerk of a county assembly, if the member is a member of a county assembly. 17. In addition, the Petitioners relied on Article 1 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“UDHR”) that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights; Article 2 thereof which asserts that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status and that no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-selfgoverning or under any other limitation of sovereignty; Article 7 that states that all are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law and that all are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. 18. In support of their petition, the Petitioners also cited The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”) which provides in Article 2(1) requires each State Party to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory the rights recognised in the Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. The Petitioners further relied on Article 2(3) that commits states to ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognised are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity; Article 25 that states that every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions, to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; Article 26 that states that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. According to the Petitioner, in this respect, the law prohibits any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. 19. As regards the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, it was pleaded that Article 1(2) requires that States do undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the Covenant be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Similarly, Section 2 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (“ACHPR”) which expresses that every individual is entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognised and guaranteed in the Charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or any status. Article 3 thereof, stresses that every individual is equal before the law and shall be entitled to equal protection of the law, while Article 9(1) guarantees to every individual the right to receive information. In order to ensure for all people equality before the law, Article 19 sets out equality before the law and respect for the rights. 20. In expounding on the above principles, it was contended that since Article 6(3) enjoins all national State organs to ensure reasonable access to its services in all parts of the Republic, the IPPMS does not afford the most members of minority and http://www.kenyalaw.org - Page 4/29