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Kenya: Rights of a person who has obtained refugee status in Kenya, including the right to travel outside Kenya, the validity period of the refugee status and the circumstances in which a person can lose that status (August 2001-May 2004)

According to a report on Kenya published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR), Kenya is party to the United Nations Refugee Convention but has no law concerning refugees (USCR 2004). The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for determining refugee status and for managing refugee assistance and protection (ibid.). The same report states that "Kenyan authorities required most refugees to live in three designated camps near the village of Dadaab in the country's remote east" (ibid.). Consequently, thousands of refugees live without humanitarian assistance in urban areas, and some are arrested as illegal immigrants by the Kenyan police, even if they are officially registered as refugees with the UNHCR (ibid.).

After consulting colleagues in Kenya, a legal officer with the UNHCR in Ottawa provided the following information to the Research Directorate (UNHCR 21 May 2004). In Kenya, refugees are subject to the basic principles of the Convention and they keep their status until they are no longer considered Convention refugees or until it is proved that they obtained their status fraudulently. Some people may be considered prima facie refugees when they arrive in the camps, but once their claim has been reviewed, they are not given refugee status. The UNHCR office in Nairobi issues each refugee a certificate that indicates to which camp he or she must proceed. The certificates have an expiry date and can be renewed by the UNHCR representative in the camps. This is only an administrative procedure, and the certificates are automatically renewed on request. However, since the certificates are not normally renewed in Nairobi, refugees who are not at their designated camp end up carrying expired certificates.

The representative provided the following information about the right to travel abroad:

Refugees recognized by the Government under CSR51 (the procedure was discontinued at the beginning of the nineties) usually have no difficulty obtaining a Convention Travel Document (CTD). Mandate refugees may obtain one, at UNHCR's request. This was, however, not automatically granted, and usually it was necessary for UNHCR to explain the reasons for the request, and certify that a visa would be issued to the applicant, etc. Today it is relatively easier to obtain a CTD than in the past.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection.

References

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 21 May 2004. UNHCR in Canada, Ottawa. Correspondence sent by a legal advisor.

U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR). 2004. World Refugee Survey 2004. "Country Report: Kenya." <http://www.refugees.org/wrs04/country_updates/africa/kenya.html> [Accessed 27 May 2004]