CLARION is a membership Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) founded in 1993 and registered in 1994, to enhance democratic governance through research, advocacy and public education in Kenya, regionally and internationally. CLARION's mission is to promote and enhance constitutionalism, good governance and human rights through systematic generation of knowledge, advocacy and public education.

CLARION has evolved from a small group of university academicians, pursuing their research interests in the area of constitutionalism, human rights and governance in their university offices to a full-fledged institution. This evolution has seen CLARION move from university corridors, to a semi-formal institution without membership and with a management committee doubling up as a policy making arm to a complete separation of powers with a General Assembly, Board of Directors, Management Committee and Secretariat. It has been a long journey towards institutionalisation that has taken CLARION one decade to finish.

CLARION was registered as a Non-Governmental Organisation [NGO] under the NGO Coordination Act in 1994 with a mission of enhancing constitutionalism, human rights and good governance in Kenya and elsewhere. This was a period of strict government control aimed at censoring civil society organisations' operations. Government intolerance during this time resulted in the de-registration of CLARION in 1995.

The de-registration was lifted in 1996 following both local and international pressure, and a legal challenge in the law courts. This was after CLARION disseminated its first major publication focusing on corruption. During the period of de-registration, CLARION founded the Research and Civil Awareness Programme [RECAP]. RECAP became a programme of the International Commission of Jurists [ICJ], Kenya Chapter, through legal hosting. CLARION continued to pursue her vision through RECAP.

Our Mission

CLARION's mission is to promote and enhance constitutionalism, good governance and human rights through systematic generation of knowledge, advocacy and public education.

Our Vision

CLARION's vision is a society where people live in dignity and where justice and equity prevail.

The mission and vision of CLARION arose out of the poor political, economic and social environment that Kenya like most other African countries found themselves in during the late 1980s/1990s. The experience of bad governance demonstrated in the lack of respect for rule of law and abuse of human rights pushed CLARION into research aimed at availing information and strategies for addressing the same.

CLARION's current mission and vision build on the work it has done since its conception. It has not been easy to work in the areas of constitutionalism, governance and human rights during Kenya's past autocratic regime. The regime operated a closed society where citizens could neither question government actions nor engage in civic activities without being victimised. To complete the autocracy, Kenya was made a de jure one-party state in 1982, thereby denying citizens the freedom of association.

In 1992, section 2A of Kenya's constitution was deleted to allow pluralism of political ideas. The hitherto closed system kept CLARION founders within the university corridors, until after 1992, when the multi-party pressures pushed the Kenya government to open the political space. CLARION found itself having an upper hand in its areas of work, since its key personnel were already in business before the opening of the political space and establishment of CLARION as a legal entity.

Our Objectives

CLARION has the overall objective of using action research to enhance constitutionalism and democratic governance. CLARIONS's specific objectives include:

• Generation of knowledge and information around the tenets of constitutionalism such as respect for human rights and rule of law;
• Empowering the public to use law as a resource for social transformation through civic education, training and lobbying;
• Developing information, education and communication materials;
• Networking with organisations and individuals to enhance constitutionalism in Kenya; and
• Being a legal resource centre.

Networks & Collaborators

CLARION is member of the Non Governmental Organisations [NGO] Council. Apart from this, CLARION networks and collaborates with many like-minded organisations including Community Based Organisations [CBOs], national and international NGOs as well as various institutions of learning.

Specifically, CLARION belongs a number of networks that include: The Constitution and Reform Education Consortium [CRE-CO], Kenya Human Rights Network [K-HURINET], Human Rights House [HRH], the Citizens' Coalition for Constitutional Change [4Cs], Forum for Legal and Human Rights Education [FLEHURE], and Paralegal Support Network [PASUNE].