Country Operations Profile

Working environment

The context

Conditions both in Kenya and the countries around it have been marked by complex population movements - including internal displacement, new refugee outflows, and the repatriation of refugees. The results of the Kenyan presidential elections in 2007 were contested by the country's main opposition party. The country-wide violence that ensued plunged Kenya into political uncertainty, as well as a humanitarian crisis which claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people and displaced over 300,000. Although a power-sharing settlement between the Government and the opposition was finally reached, more effort is needed to put an end to simmering tensions.

As Kenya's neighbour Sudan continues to recover from a two-decade long civil war, hopes for a new future have grown among Sudanese refugees. This triggered the voluntary repatriation of an estimated 50,000 Sudanese refugees from Kenya between 2005 and 2008.

The security situation in Somalia has remained volatile, resulting in continuous displacement to Kenya. In 2006 and 2007, Kenya received nearly 60,000 refugees from Somalia; in the first half of 2008 some 30,000 new asylum-seekers have arrived in the country. The total number of Somali refugees in Kenya stood at more than 205,000 in July 2008.

The needs

In view of the ongoing civil war in Somalia, UNHCR does not foresee the organized voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees in 2009. The Office will thus continue to provide for the basic needs of Somali refugees in Kenya. For many Somali refugees, resettlement is the most viable durable solution.

The Government and civil society in Kenya do not have the capacity to provide strong protection management or to process asylum claims rapidly. These gaps must be addressed, as UNHCR plans to hand over responsibility for registration and refugee status determination (RSD) to the Government in 2009.

Main objectives

Annual programme

• Maintain international standards of protection and legal assistance for displaced people.

• Refer some 5,000 refugees for group or individual resettlement.

• Facilitate the local integration of at least 200 refugees within the framework of the 2006 Refugee Act.

• Improve refugee self-sufficiency by strengthening sustainable-livelihoods projects.

• Support refugee women and youth with skills training.

• Rationalize and prioritize activities in Kakuma camp and consolidate camp structures.

• Build the capacity of the Government to implement the 2006 Refugee Act.

Supplementary programmes

Somalia Situation

• Provide emergency assistance to new arrivals from Somalia and develop a new camp to reduce congestion in the three refugee camps in Dadaab.

IDPs

• Ensure that the protection concerns of displaced people are addressed through timely interventions in close coordination with the Government and cluster partners.

• Facilitate the return of IDPs to their places of origin, their integration in the place of displacement, or relocation to another part of the country.

Voluntary repatriation of Sudanese refugees

• All Sudanese refugees who wish to return to Southern Sudan are repatriated and granted a returnee package.

Key targets

Annual programme

• No refoulement or abuse of new arrivals.

• No arbitrary arrest or unwarranted detention of refugees and asylum-seekers.

• Incidents of sexual and gender-based violence are reduced by 60 per cent and cases of child abuse and neglect are documented and reviewed regularly in all refugee settlements.

• All survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in refugee hosting areas receive medical certificates for use in court (up from 60 per cent in 2008).

• The provision of at least 17 litres of drinking water per person per day to camp-based populations is maintained.

• All refugees have access to primary health care, sanitation facilities and other camp-based services.

• All refugee children have access to primary education.

• At least 90 per cent of newborn babies are vaccinated.

• Community awareness on HIV and AIDS is increased; 65 per cent of HIV and AIDS patients receive care and counselling in refugee settings.

• All returns are conducted in safety and dignity.

• The protection management capacity of the Government and other state institutions is built up to manage refugee issues in line with international standards.

Supplementary programmes

Somalia Situation

• Protection and emergency relief assistance is provided to all new arrivals from Somalia.

• Camps and their infrastructure are developed to cope with new arrivals from Somalia.

• Kenya IDP

• All IDPs are provided with information, counselling and legal assistance.

• All persons with specific needs receive appropriate support, including transitional shelter.

• Voluntary repatriation of Sudanese refugees

• Promote the return of 10,000 refugees in safety and dignity to Southern Sudan.

Strategy and activities

To accommodate a steady stream of new arrivals from Somalia, UNHCR will expand the refugee camps in Dadaab, as well as build a new camp.

UNHCR and its partners anticipate that some 10,000 of the 25,000 Sudanese refugees in Kenya will repatriate voluntarily by the end of 2009. While waiting for the repatriation to Sudan, refugees will benefit from skills development. Individuals who are not willing or able to repatriate will receive protection and assistance. Some will also be resettled in third countries.

Kakuma camp, which has been hosting refugees for the past two decades, will be rehabilitated through a post-repatriation, rehabilitation and livelihoods project. UNHCR plans to review the camp's lay-out to address its water supply problems. The Office also plans to consolidate camp facilities to allow the remaining refugees to access assistance easily.

Prospects for the repatriation for refugees from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda are limited. UNHCR will nonetheless continue to facilitate individual repatriation while enhancing the protection and self-sufficiency of those who are not able to return to their countries of origin.

UNHCR will advocate for accession to the statelessness conventions and promote awareness of the situation of stateless people. Activities will include cooperation with actors interested in statelessness issues and interventions on behalf of stateless individuals.

In view of the volatile political situation in Kenya, UNHCR continues to protect IDPs through the UN cluster approach, providing transitional shelter kits for returning or relocating IDPs and building the protection capacity of governmental and non-governmental partners.

Constraints

Instability in Somalia continues to drive a constant flow of asylum-seekers into Kenya. This volatile situation makes planning particularly difficult because initial assumptions of resource requirements need to be changed. The encampment policy of the Government of Kenya and the attitudes among security personnel hinder the efforts of refugees to achieve self-sufficiency.

Organization and implementation

Coordination

UNHCR's main government counterpart is the Department of Refugee Affairs. The Office is also training the police, the Immigration Department and the judiciary in the implementation of international refugee law. The Sudanese repatriation operation will be coordinated and implemented in cooperation with the Kenyan and Sudanese authorities as well as UN agencies and NGOs. UNHCR will also collaborate closely with the embassies of resettlement countries.

Financial information

UNHCR's requirements in Kenya, which hosts the largest refugee population in eastern Africa, have increased significantly since 2005 as a result of multiple, complex emergencies. The increase has been compounded by the appreciation of the Kenyan currency and higher operating costs of the Nairobi regional hub, which provides administrative, logistical and technical support to UNHCR offices in 17 countries.

In 2008, UNHCR created a supplementary programme to provide protection and basic assistance to Kenyan IDPs. This programme will continue in 2009. The needs of new arrivals from Somalia will be addressed under a supplementary programme, as will the repatriation to Southern Sudan.

It is foreseen that a supplementary programme to address environmental damage associated with Kakuma camp through rehabilitation and livelihood projects will be established in 2009.