Kenya: Refoulement of Somali asylum seekers
Briefing Notes, 3 April 2009
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 3 April 2009, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR wishes to express its concern about the increasing trend by the Kenyan authorities to forcibly return Somali asylum seekers to their country. On Wednesday, 31 March, 31 asylum seekers, including nine men, eight women and 14 children, traveling by bus to Dadaab refugee camps were forcibly returned to Somalia. UNHCR received information from a government official that the military intercepted the bus and took the asylum seekers to Dadaab police station then later escorted the bus back to Dobley, a centre near the Somali border.
When we requested intervention, we were informed that the police and military continue to return asylum seekers to Somalia acting on instructions from the authorities in the Provincial Headquarters in Garissa.
Police in Dadaab also confirmed that there was a similar incident on 23 March where 61 asylum seekers, including 25 woman, 22 men and 14 children were arrested by military officers and taken to Dadaab Police Station and later returned to Liboi. Earlier in January, three asylum seekers were forcibly returned to Somalia by the authorities.
UNHCR has sent a formal complaint to the Minister of Immigration and Registration of persons protesting these actions. Our concern is that despite bringing such cases to the attention of the government, no action has been taken. UNHCR reiterates that the Kenyan government must adhere to and show full respect for the principle of non-refoulement, as enshrined in Kenya's Refugees Act and International Law, with regard to Somali asylum seekers in particular.
Tens of thousands of Somalis are fleeing conflict and drought into Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya.
UNHCR advocates fair and efficient procedures for asylum-seekers
Kenya Floods Threaten Refugees
Flood waters in north-eastern Kenya in mid-November, caused havoc in the Dadaab refugee complex of three camps. Over 100,000 of the 160,000 refugees have been badly affected by the flooding, particularly in Ifo camp. Refugees' homes were swept away and latrines have overflowed and collapsed. The main supply route linking Dadaab to the rest of Kenya has been cut by the rains, blocking all aid deliveries by road.
To get refugees to safety on higher ground, UNHCR started transferring people to Hagadera camp, 20kms away – often using donkey carts. A series of airlifts has brought in fuel for generators, emergency health kits, tarpaulins, and shovels to fill sandbags to keep the flood waters at bay. Essentials items such as plastic tarpaulins, sleeping mats, and food have been distributed to refugees who lost everything.
These floods have been compared to the massive flooding which followed the record 1997 El Nino rains that swamped much of low-lying eastern Kenya.
Posted on 29 November 2006
Kenya Floods Threaten Refugees
Post-Tsunami Recovery in Puntland
Away from the glare of the international spotlight, Somalia in the Horn of Africa was also hit by last December's Asian tsunami which rolled across the Indian Ocean. UNHCR, as part of an integrated UN emergency response, distributed life-saving supplies, including plastic sheets, blankets, and kitchen sets, to some 45,000 Somalis living along a severely damaged 650km strip of coast in the northeast.
A year on, the area is getting back to its pre-tsunami state with UNHCR and its partners now making the leap from providing emergency aid to investing in development projects. In an effort to improve the lives of the inhabitants of one of the poorest places on Earth, UNHCR has begun rehabilitating schools, building markets and women's centres, as well as constructing roads to help economic development.
The UN's relief efforts are concentrated in a 650km stretch of coastline between Hafun and Garaad in northeast Somalia, an area also known as Puntland. In war-ravaged Somalia, Puntland is a relatively peaceful self-declared autonomous enclave.
Post-Tsunami Recovery in Puntland
Flood Airdrop in Kenya
Over the weekend, UNHCR with the help of the US military began an emergency airdrop of some 200 tonnes of relief supplies for thousands of refugees badly hit by massive flooding in the Dadaab refugee camps in northern Kenya.
In a spectacular sight, 16 tonnes of plastic sheeting, mosquito nets, tents and blankets, were dropped on each run from the C-130 transport plane onto a site cleared of animals and people. Refugees loaded the supplies on trucks to take to the camps.
Dadaab, a three-camp complex hosting some 160,000 refugees, mainly from Somalia, has been cut off from the world for a month by heavy rains that washed away the road connecting the remote camps to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Air transport is the only way to get supplies into the camps.
UNHCR has moved 7,000 refugees from Ifo camp, worst affected by the flooding, to Hagadera camp, some 20 km away. A further 7,000 refugees have been moved to higher ground at a new site, called Ifo 2.
Posted in December 2006
Flood Airdrop in Kenya
Kenya: In Need of Protection
The legacy of Sudan's civil war haunts many refugees. In Kakuma camp some need special protection to ensure their safety.
Somalia: No Peace Here
Fighting continues to force people to leave areas of the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Abduallahi Ali is fleeing from one makeshift camp to another, saying he fears for his life.
Suad's Story
Suad, a student and teacher in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, tells how she's using technology to become self-sufficient and what this means for her family and community.
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