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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After fleeing conflict, refugees uprooted again by Kenya floods
22 Nov 2006 ... of refugees at UNHCR's sprawling Dadaab camp complex without shelter and facing extreme hardship. ... have displaced more than 100,000 of the estimated 160,000 mainly Somali refugees in Dadaab's camps. ...... -
Somali refugees in Kenya: approval for movement
14 Jun 2002 ... relocation of refugees from the border zone to the established Dadaab refugee camp, 500 km away. ... The first convoy is expected to take up to 180 refugees on a two-day journey by road to Dadaab. The ...... -
Last Tanzanian refugees scheduled to fly home from Kenya
6 Nov 2001 ... DADAAB CAMP, Kenya, Nov. 6 (UNHCR) - The U.N. refugee agency Tuesday began repatriating the last ... A UNHCR-chartered aircraft was scheduled to make two flights from the Dadaab Camp in north-eastern ...... -
UNHCR workers rush to reinforce dykes around flooded camps in Kenya
15 Nov 2006 ... DADAAB, Kenya, November 15 (UNHCR) - UN refugee agency workers were rushing on Wednesday to protect ... Dagahaley camp, one of three settlements at Dadaab holding some 90,000 mainly Somali people. ...... -
Last Tanzanian refugees fly home from Kenya
6 Nov 2001 ... flights today from Dadaab camp to Pemba island. Two more flights will follow Wednesday from Dadaab, in north-eastern Kenya, to Zanzibar, returning the final 86 Tanzanian islanders still in the camp. ...... -
Kenya: Airlift to flood-affected refugee camps in Dadaab
28 Nov 2006 ... Our airlift of emergency supplies for thousands of refugees in Dadaab refugee camp complex in ... The flights are delivering plastic tarpaulins and medical supplies. Dadaab - a three-camp complex ...... -
Life-saving work continues in Kenya's Dadaab camps
21 Oct 2011 ... In the Dadaab refugee complex in eastern Kenya, we are seeing a sharp drop in the number of new ... Following last Thursday's security incident in Dadaab, UNHCR and partner agencies have been ...... -
UNHCR airlifts supplies to flooded refugee camps in north-east Kenya
20 Nov 2006 ... made three flights from Nairobi to the town of Dadaab, delivering 2,500 plastic sheets, 28 emergency ... in three refugee camps around Dadaab, two of which have been badly affected by the floodwaters. ...... -
The power of radio helps ease the hardship of Somali refugee granny
12 Jun 2014 ... DADAAB, Kenya, June 11 (UNHCR) - In northern Kenya, a community radio station funded by UNHCR is working to help struggling refugees at camps in Dadaab, attracting donations from across the globe and ......