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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Youth Skills Training in Ifo Camp, Dadaab, Kenya: A UNHCR Women Leading for Livelihoods Project
5 Feb 2009 ... Youth Skills Training in Ifo Camp Dadaab, Kenya A UNHCR Women Leading for Livelihoods Project ... Among the 220,000 refugees living in the three Dadaab camps, where most of the population is from ...... -
UNHCR transfers Somalis to new camp as fresh fighting erupts in Mogadishu
29 Jul 2011 ... In the sprawling Dadaab refugee complex, UNHCR staff are working flat out to relocate refugees who ... and we are very grateful for that," said Fafa Olivier Attidzah, head of UNHCR's office in Dadaab. ...... -
Kenya: concern for Somali refugee security
24 May 2002 ... from the north-eastern Kenya border town of Mandera to Dadaab - a three-day, 500-km journey. ... On the three-day journey to Dadaab, the refugees will pass through remote, bandit-prone terrain ...... -
Heavy rains kill boy, leave over 25,000 refugees homeless in Kenya
3 May 2005 ... DADAAB, Kenya, May 3 (UNHCR) - Thousands of Somali refugees have been left homeless after heavy rains destroyed shelters in Dadaab camp, north-eastern Kenya. Food and relief items have been ...... -
"Before it comes to my house, let me run"
22 Jun 2009 ... DADAAB, Kenya, June 22 (UNHCR) - Habiba Abdi Rahman Mude is from the Medina district in Mogadishu. ... recently arrived with her son, Muse, in the Dadaab refugee settlement in north-east Kenya, where ...... -
Somali refugees suffer as Dadaab camp populations swell to 230,000
23 Dec 2008 ... DADAAB, Kenya, December 23 (UNHCR) - The rows of emergency tents have reached the perimeter of Ifo camp in Dadaab, which means that the UN refugee agency has finally run out of space to put newly ...... -
Deputy High Commissioner Chamberlin visits flood-hit camps in Kenya
18 Dec 2006 ... DADAAB, Kenya, December 18 (UNHCR) - UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Wendy Chamberlin ... "This is my second visit to Dadaab this year. When I came in February, you were facing ...... -
Kenya floods
3 May 2005 ... north-eastern Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp, leaving more than 25,000 Somali refugees homeless. A majority of refugees' shelters in Ifo - one of the three camps in Dadaab - collapsed or were washed ...... -
Conflict and drought force more Somalis to flee to Kenya
25 Sep 2009 ... in Dadaab camps in northern Kenya, which currently host three times the population they were designed to hold. In mid-August, we embarked on a programme aimed at decongesting Dadaab and ......