1 4 5 . On the Respondent's purported justification that the evictions of the Ogieks were
prompted by the need to preserve the natural ecosystem of the Mau Forest, the Court
considers that this cannot, by any standard, serve as a reasonable and objective
justification for the lack of recognition of the Ogieks' indigenous or tribal status and
denying them the associated rights derived from such status. Moreover, the Court
recalls its earlier finding that contrary to what the Respondent is asserting, the Mau
Forest has been allocated to other people in a manner which cannot be considered
as compatible with the preservation of the natural environment and that the
Respondent itself concedes that the depletion of the natural ecosystem cannot be
entirely imputed to the Ogieks. 36
146. In light of the foregoing , the Court finds that the Respondent,
by
failing to recognise the Ogieks ' status as a distinct tribe like other similar
groups and thereby denying them the rights available to other tribes ,
violated Article 2 of the Charter .
D.
Alleged violation of Article 4 of the Charter
Applicant's Submission
147.
The Applicant submits that the right to life is the first human right, the one on which
the enjoyment of all other rights depend and that it imposes both a negative duty on
States to refrain from interfering with its exercise and the positive obligation to fulfil
the basic necessities for a decent survival. 37 The Applicant contends that
forced ev ictions may violate the right to life when they generate
c o n d i t i o n s t h at impede o r obstruct access to a decent exist en c e . 38
See paragraph 130 above.
See African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR/Commission) Communication No
223/98 Forum of Conscience v Sierra Leone 6 November 2000 paragraph 20 14th Annual Activity Report
2000 to 2001 .
36
Citing the General Comment of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(UNCESCR) on the Right to Adequate Housing: Forced Eviction, UN CESCR General Comment No 7 20
May 1997; the Commission's jurisprudence i n the End oro is Case Communication No 276/03 Centre
for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rig/7ts Group lntemational (on behalf of Endorois
Welfare Council) v Kenya 25 November 2009 paragraph 216 27th Annual Activity Report: June to
November2009; andthedecisionofthelnter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR)
36
37
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