UNHCR statement on the future of Kenya's Dadaab refugee camps
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Karin de Gruijl – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The Government of Kenya has announced that the Dadaab refugee camps should be closed within three months and the 350,000 Somali refugees living there returned to their country. The Government's decision was announced this past weekend following the horrific attack at Garissa University earlier this month.
UNHCR too has been shocked and appalled by the Garissa attack. High Commissioner António Guterres and his staff stand in solidarity with the people of Kenya. We reiterate our condolences to the families of all the victims.
Kenya has been generously hosting and protecting refugees from violence and persecution in neighbouring Somalia for more than two decades. UNHCR works closely with the Government of Kenya and we understand well the current regional security situation and the seriousness of the threats Kenya is facing. We also recognize the obligation of the Government to ensure the security of its citizens and other people living in Kenya, including refugees.
UNHCR is nevertheless concerned that abruptly closing the Dadaab camps and forcing refugees back to Somalia would have extreme humanitarian and practical consequences, and would be a breach of Kenya's international obligations.
We are thus urging the Kenyan authorities to give the matter further consideration. UNHCR stands ready to work even more closely with the Government of Kenya to strengthen law enforcement at Dadaab and support other measures to protect refugees and Kenyans alike against possible intrusion by armed actors from across the border.
In December 2014, a pilot scheme was launched to support people who seek to voluntarily repatriate to one of three relatively safe areas of Somalia, namely Luuq, Baidoa and Kismayo. We are ready to work with the Governments of Kenya and Somalia to step up this program where there are opportunities for voluntary repatriation. Nonetheless, for now UNHCR considers that large-scale returns are still not possible in many parts of the country, in particular to South Central Somalia.
UNHCR reiterates it continued commitment to supporting the Government of Kenya in its protection of Somali refugees going forward.
For further information on this topic:
- In Nairobi: Raouf Mazou,mobile +254 716 359 655
- In Nairobi: Emmanuel Nyabera,mobile +254 733 995 975
- In Geneva: Karin de Gruijl, mobile +41 79 255 9213
- In Geneva: Babar Baloch, mobile +41 79 557 9106
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Your search for « Dadaab » matched 1263 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 13 of 112 pages.
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Kenya: Refoulement of Somali asylum seekers
3 Apr 2009 ... 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 ...... -
UNHCR starts emergency airlift of tents to Kenya, Ethiopia
18 Jul 2011 ... The 2,300 tents were loaded onto trucks and taken to the remote Dadaab refugee complex in eastern ... said UNHCR spokesman in Nairobi, Ron Redmond. "Dadaab is absolutely packed, it's now four times the ...... -
UNHCR statement on the future of Kenya's Dadaab refugee camps
14 Apr 2015 ... The Government of Kenya has announced that the Dadaab refugee camps should be closed within three ... UNHCR is nevertheless concerned that abruptly closing the Dadaab camps and forcing refugees back to ...... -
UNHCR urges Kenyan government rethink on Dadaab closure announcement
14 Apr 2015 ... GENEVA, April 14 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency, responding to Kenya's announcement that the Dadaab ... concerned that abruptly closing the Dadaab camps and forcing refugees back to Somalia ...... -
IKEA Foundation gives UNHCR US$62 million for Somali refugees in Kenya
30 Aug 2011 ... of thousands of Somali civilians at the huge Dadaab refugee complex in north-east Kenya. "The ... who have recently arrived from neighbouring Somalia at Dadaab, the world's largest refugee complex. ...... -
Somali DAFI graduates return to school to teach other refugees in Kenya
20 Apr 2010 ... The newly qualified teachers have started working at primary schools in the sprawling and crowded Dadaab refugee complex in north-east Kenya. The three camps at Dadaab are home to almost 300,000 ...... -
UNHCR sounds alert on deteriorating Somalia situation
12 May 2010 ... Somalia and four neighbouring countries as well as the extension of the Ifo camp in Dadaab, Kenya. ... The situation is particularly dire in Dadaab, Kenya - one of the world's oldest, largest and most ...... -
One year on, thousands flee Somalia every month, but successes too
5 Jun 2012 ... Meanwhile, at Dadaab in north-east Kenya, more than 460,000 refugees continue to live in a ... "Despite life-saving medical care and therapeutic feeding programmes in the Dadaab and Dollo Ado ...... -
UNHCR launches US$92 million appeal to assist Somali refugees in Kenya
19 Dec 2008 ... The emergency assistance to Somali refugees in Dadaab, Kenya, focuses on relieving dramatic ... The 17-year-old Dadaab camp complex is located in remote north-eastern Kenya, near the Somali ......