Government has a responsibility to protect Kenyans working abroad

A section of young people who turned up for the Meru Diaspora job fair at Kinoru stadium in Meru County. Young people out of various tertiary institutions attended the jobs fair organized by State Department for Diaspora Affairs. [Phares Mutembei/Standard]

Last week, I had the honour of officiating the launch of the training programme for a new cohort of our foreign service cadet officers run by the Foreign Service Academy. These young diplomats going into the service of this country have great ambition fuelled by patriotism, honour, courage and a love for the unknown.

As I reflected on what words might inspire them at the start of their career, I knew that, as the inaugural Principal Secretary for the State Department for Diaspora Affairs, it was important to share not only my vision but also Kenya’s strategic approach to serving its diaspora.

With over 4 million Kenyans living abroad, the diaspora forms an integral part of Kenya’s socio-economic fabric. These citizens are not not only contribute to our economy, they are cultural ambassadors, global connectors and potential returnees whose network, skills and resources can transform our nation. I told them that the duty of a government to its diaspora, and therefore my cadets’ duty, is four-fold: To protect, engage, empower, and prosper. I reminded them that through this framework, we build meaningful and lasting relationships with our citizens abroad.

The doctrine of the protection of one’s citizens lies at the core of the social contract. Philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both agree that human beings, in the state of nature, give up their rights and freedom to self-rule for the protection that a sovereign offers;r, of course, that protection is harder to provide when a citizen lives within the jurisdiction of another sovereign. However, with more and more people migrating out of their home countries, governments have to learn to protect their citizens in the diaspora. This is the government’s foremost responsibility.

Protection takes different forms depending on the context. It ranges from providing citizenship documents in a timely and cost-efficient way to evacuating citizens from foreign countries in times of war, and everything in between. It means taking on errant and abusive employers and getting justice on behalf of citizens.

It means ensuring due process, such as providing translators when court proceedings are conducted in a foreign language. Protection by the sovereign means giving sanctuary to your nationals at the Embassy and High Commission and espousing their claims. It means providing consular services, visiting the sick, repatriating the bodies of those who die abroad and extending every form of support that a sovereign can provide to its people.

Indeed, protection has its limitations. Nationals, for example, must abide by the laws of their host country, abide by local laws, and integrate into their new environments. This includes observing local customs and showing respect for the culture of the country in which they now live. Protection requires creativity, partnerships and sometimes, navigating difficult diplomatic terrain. This duty, therefore, must be exercised with sensitivity and balance, recognising the sovereign rights of the host nation while still advocating for the dignity and rights of one’s citizens.

My message to my young officers, however, was that while limitations exist, the responsibility to protect must endure. Protection is the foundation upon which the Diaspora House is built. I drew their attention to our flag, with its beautiful black, white, red and green stripes, but most importantly, to the shield that stands boldly in its centre. That shield is not ornamental; it is symbolic. It represents the promise of protection that the State makes to its people.

I reminded them that they will carry many titles throughout their careers; diplomats, diaspora officers, foreign service officers, mabalozi b,u t the name they must always be prepared to answer to is 'Protection Officer.' It is their solemn duty to bear the shield, to carry it with honour, and to use it in defence of every Kenyan abroad who looks to their country for dignity, justice and care.

To every Kenyan abroad, we see you, hear you and stand with you. And to my fellow Kenyans at home, I ask for your continued support in upholding this solemn duty to protect our own, wherever they may be.