A/HRC/41/43/Add.2 Fund for the Disabled of Kenya; and reserving a minimum of 30 per cent of budgetary allocations for enterprises owned by women, youth, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups. The Working Group commends these initiatives and encourages the further adoption of effective enforcement mechanisms and sanctions for non-compliance, along with work and employment programmes in the open labour market aimed at persons with disabilities, as recommended by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2015 (ibid.). Examples of labour conditions in the horticulture sector 43. Agriculture is the most important economic activity in Kenya, contributing 25 per cent of GDP, 20 per cent of employment opportunities and 50 per cent of export revenues. 45 Women constitute 60 to 70 per cent of employees of agribusinesses, especially in flower farms. During its visit, the Working Group visited Kiambu and Nakuru Counties to assess the situation of human rights in this sector. Flower cultivation in Nakuru County 44. Women workers reported on the long hours that they had to work and the insecurity that they faced on their journey to and from work during the hours of dark. The experts were concerned to hear that despite some progress, sexual harassment was still rampant in this sector. According to the workers with whom the experts met, the gender committees established at the operational level to handle complaints of sexual harassment in more than 20 flower companies in Nakuru County have had good results and should be replicated. The experts were concerned to hear that the flower workers were routinely not provided with the required equipment and were exposed to chemicals, which have adverse effects on their health, including reproductive health. Agribusiness in Kiambu County 45. The Working Group met with workers, local residents and representatives of the company Kakuzi PLC. The Kakuzi farm covers an area of 30,000 hectares, dedicated to the cultivation of avocados, pineapples and macadamias, and to forestry. It employs more than 2,000 people. The experts welcomed the openness of company representatives to meet with them in a spirit of sharing of experiences, goodwill and willingness to learn. 46. The Working Group was encouraged to hear that the company and trade unionists negotiated a collective bargaining agreement every two years to ensure the well-being of the workers. However, workers pointed out that several former shop stewards had been laid off after raising grievances on behalf of workers. 47. The experts also heard testimonies from workers who had suffered serious workrelated accidents, such as falling from avocado trees, and had subsequently been dismissed. These accidents may have been encouraged by the current wage-incentive structure, which encourages workers to engage in dangerous activity to pick certain high-quality produce in order to earn bonus payments. The Working Group advised the company to look into the problem, including through a human rights due diligence process. The Working Group also recommended the use of accessible, transparent and independent grievance mechanisms to resolve worker complaints, rather than channelling them through a company email complaints system. 48. Another area where companies need to be particularly vigilant is its engagement with surrounding communities. The Working Group heard several cases of the use of violence by companies’ private security guards against community members. At the time of the visit, there was an ongoing investigation into allegations against security guards who had allegedly killed a young community member for having reportedly stolen avocados. The Working Group also heard of past incidents in the context of allegedly peaceful demonstrations in opposition to a blockade, caused by the extension of the company, to the 45 Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Kenya National Baseline Assessment on Business and Human Rights 2017 (Nairobi, 2017). 11

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