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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Refugee camps in the Horn of Africa at risk
13 Jan 2012 ... The situation is particularly worrying, complex and tenuous in the Dadaab refugee camps in northern ... Both were involved in the work of Community Peace and Safety Teams (CPST) in Dadaab's Hagadera and ...... -
UN High Commissioner calls for urgent international action to remedy "dire" situation in Somalia
6 Aug 2009 ... centred on the chronic overcrowding at the Dadaab refugee complex in north-east Kenya, which now ... In addition to improving the living conditions of the refugees in Dadaab by upgrading the aging ...... -
UNHCR resumes repatriation from Kenya to Somalia's Puntland
21 Jul 2003 ... refugees from Kenya's Dadaab camp while trying to build more confidence for further returns to Puntland in north-eastern Somalia. More than 80 Somali refugees have left Dadaab camp since Saturday ...... -
Kenya floods: UNHCR's sanitation and disease concerns
6 May 2003 ... Flood waters in Dadaab area refugee camps in north-eastern Kenya have begun receding, several days ... provincial capital, as parts of the road linking Garissa and Dadaab remained impassable. ...... -
UNHCR seeks to reassure refugees in Kenya facing food shortages
21 Nov 2014 ... for a total 490,000 refugees in Kakuma and Dadaab camps. "We did not expect that we would reach ... until the end of January for refugees in Kakuma (mainly South Sudanese) and Dadaab (mainly Somalis). ...... -
Kenya: Mandera Somalis to be moved to Dadaab
21 May 2002 ... preparations to move some 3,500 Somali refugees to Dadaab refugee camp, some 500 km to the south. ... The first transfer convoy of up to four buses to Dadaab is expected to depart this week. UNHCR ...... -
UNHCR readies for transfer of Somali refugees to new camp areas
12 Aug 2011 ... DADAAB, Kenya, August 11 (UNHCR) - Staff from UNHCR and partner organizations were on Friday completing preparations for moving Somali refugee families from this weekend into a new area of the Dadaab ...... -
Famine victims converge on Mogadishu; region's camps report deaths
22 Jul 2011 ... Driven to desperation, many Somalis are still making that journey. Kenya's Dadaab camps are still ... UNHCR staff in Dadaab are also reporting a rise in the number of deaths due to acute malnutrition, ...... -
Love of family, country draw first refugees back to Somalia from Kenya
9 Dec 2013 ... DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP, Kenya, December 9 (UNHCR) - When the UN refugee agency starts helping refugees ... Some 388,000 Somali refugees live in the Dadaab refugee camp complex in north-eastern Kenya, the ......