A/HRC/4/32/Add.3 page 7 11. Government authorities and specialists recognize that historically the pastoralist and hunter-gatherer communities in the arid and semi-arid lands and forests were systematically marginalized on the basis of their economic, social and cultural characteristics, inextricably connected to the use of land and natural resources. One government report states that over the years policies directed at these communities were mainly top-down and discriminatory, and they often failed by marginalizing and impoverishing people in arid and semi-arid lands. 12. Indigenous peoples in Kenya have established numerous civil society organizations that are actively involved in promoting human rights, development issues and environmental concerns. Since the transition to a more democratic political regime in 2002, the visibility and public recognition of these organizations has grown, and a number of their leaders and members now cooperate closely with several government institutions. III. LEGAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT 13. Whilst Kenya has ratified most international human rights treaties and conventions, it has not ratified ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, and it has withheld its approval of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the current session of the General Assembly. The Government of Kenya has recently decided to update its reports to the various United Nations human rights committees, some of which are long overdue. 14. Kenya’s independence from British rule in 1963 brought about the Africanization of the economy and the public services. The continuation of previous colonial policies, as well as the co-optation of the State apparatus by majority ethnic communities under a one-party system, led to increased tribalism in the distribution of political power, government jobs and wealth, and the widening gulf between rich and poor. This tendency increased during the Government of President Moi, during which numerous ethnic clashes occurred and human rights were severely curtailed. 15. The new Government, elected by a large majority in December 2002, enabled a democratic opening that allowed many pent-up grievances out into the open, including the long-standing demands by indigenous and other ethnic minorities for human rights and the emergence of a vibrant and articulate civil society. The new Government promoted legal reform and the consolidation of institutions of democratic governance, including a constitutional review process, and special inquiries into corruption, land mismanagement and historical injustices. 16. Most indigenous peoples in Kenya live in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) which make up more than 80 per cent of the land mass and are home to more than 25 per cent of the national population, and include almost the majority of wildlife parks and reserves and protected forests. ASAL areas are predominantly pastoralist and agro-pastoralist, mainly suitable for livestock grazing due to low and erratic rainfall. These areas present the highest incidences of poverty and the lowest level of access to basic services in the country. Over 60 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, which is above the average of 50 per cent nationwide. 17. Pastoralism was for a long time neglected and held in disrepute by the country’s economic planners and political elites. Policies aimed at revitalizing ASALs since independence promoted sedentarization and crop farming, failing to take into account pastoralism as a