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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Repatriation from Kenya to Ethiopia
16 Jul 1999 ... UNHCR yesterday began the return of more than 1,400 Ethiopian refugees from the Dadaab camps in ... where they have been assisted by UNHCR in the Dadaab camps since 1991. The airlift marks the last ...... -
Kenya: Tanzanians accept transfer offer
27 Apr 2001 ... a temporary site in the coastal Kenyan town of Shimoni to the Dadaab refugee camps in the country's north-east. Around 300 refugees left Shimoni early this morning aboard six UNHCR buses for Dadaab. ...... -
Dadaab: Walking the fine line between helping refugees and risking lives
28 Nov 2011 ... DADAAB, Kenya, November 28 (UNHCR) - Ibrahim held up an X-ray of his broken thigh bone, taken when he first arrived in the Dadaab refugee complex of north-eastern Kenya. Five months later, he still ...... -
Helping the most vulnerable in Dadaab
10 Aug 2011 ... DADAAB, Kenya, August 10 (UNHCR) - Her right leg is twisted outward at a 45-degree angle just below ... It's hard to believe that she recently travelled for seven days to reach Dadaab in northern Kenya ...... -
Action plan
14 Oct 2015 ... MIDDLE SHABELLE BANADIR SOMALIA ETHIOPIA KENYA Dadaab Modika G arissa Xudur Marka Jowhar Bu'aale ... process and spontaneous returns. 2016-2017 • Dadaab • Kakuma • Nairobi and urban areas • ...... -
Innovation: UNHCR and Vodafone bring tablet-based learning to 18,000 Somali refugees
9 Oct 2014 ... DADAAB, Kenya, October 9 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency and the Vodafone Foundation have this month ... to complement, supplement and further their studies in Kenya's sprawling Dadaab refugee complex. ...... -
Angelina Jolie visits "dire" refugee settlement on Kenyan border with Somalia
12 Sep 2009 ... DADAAB, Kenya, September 12 (UNHCR) - UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Saturday visited Dadaab, the world's largest refugee settlement. Describing the three-camp complex close to north-east ...... -
Kenya: Joint Assessment Mission. Dadaab (23 - 27 June 2014) and Kakuma (30 June - 1 July 2014) Refugee camps
31 Jul 2014 ... -
More support needed for Somali refugees going back home from Kenya
16 Oct 2015 ... GENEVA, Oct 16 (UNHCR) - Nearly 5,000 Somali refugees from Kenya's Dadaab camps have returned home ... The majority (420,000) are living in Kenya, mostly in the five refugee camps in Dadaab in the ......