Kenya to close down Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps 'by June 2020'
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenya has reiterated that it will close down the sprawling Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps by June 2020.
“We are serious about completing the repatriation programme which we started in 2016, in full view of our international obligations and our domestic responsibility. We therefore reiterate our earlier position to close both Dadaab and Kakuma camps by 30 June, 2022,” said Interior Ministry Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i.
He was speaking on Thursday at during a meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi to discuss issues surrounding refugees and asylum seekers in the region.
Mr. Grandi had also received a briefing on the status of two refugee camps from Matiang’i and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amb. Raychelle Omamo.
The meeting comes in the wake of the Government’s communicated intention to work toward the closure of the refugee camps.
The UNHCR quoted a joint statement as saying a joint team comprising officials from the Government and the UN refugee agency will therefore be formed to finalise and implement a roadmap on the next steps towards a humane management of refugees in both camps.
The statement said the Government of Kenya and UNHCR agree that refugee camps are not a long-term solution to forced displacement and are committed to working together to find alternative solutions that are in line with the responsibility sharing principles and goals of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR).
The roadmap, which was presented to the Government of Kenya in the beginning of April, includes voluntary return for refugees in safety and dignity, departures to third countries under various arrangements, and alternative stay options in Kenya for certain refugees from East African Community (EAC) countries.
“I believe that the Government and people of Kenya will continue to show their generous hospitality towards refugees as they have done for nearly three decades, while we carry on discussions on a strategy to find the most durable, appropriate and rights-based solutions for refugees and asylum-seekers residing in the refugee camps in Dadaab and Kakuma,” said the UN High Commissioner.
“Closure of the camps must be seen as an aspiration. We are not chasing people away, but a camp is not a permanent thing. It is a place of limbo. No one should live in a place of uncertainty or indignity generation after generation. What we are now working on is how to achieve this cooperatively which is in line with Global Compact on Refugees,” said Amb. Omamo.
The statement said Mr. Grandi welcomed the government’s continued commitment to the GCR during this process. “I am reassured by the government’s assurances that they will continue to provide protection and services for asylum-seekers and refugees in Kenya while various solutions are pursued.”
It said among the precursory activities contained in the government’s roadmap is a unanimous resolution that was recently endorsed by ambassadors and representatives from East African countries which have a mutual diplomatic relationship with Kenya when they met a delegation led by Dr. Matiang’i.
“Refugees from East African countries will be given the option of being issued a work permit for free so that they can integrate into Kenyan communities or return to their country of origin,’’ said Dr. Matiang’i.
The statement sad digital verification of Kenyans currently also registered as refugees is set to begin in due course. This will inform the issuance of appropriate documentation to Kenyan citizens and ensure their removal from the refugee database.
Kenya has shouldered the burden of sheltering refugees for almost three decades, and the swelling camps have overstretched their capacity to host populations. The government has also expressed grave concerns over the security of both Kenyans and refugees at the camp.
There are currently 433,765 refugees living in Dadaab and Kakuma camps.
Kenya recently threatened to close the two refugee camps and gave the UNHCR a 14-day ultimatum to have a roadmap on their definite closure. It was only blocked after the High Court issued a temporary 30-day order following a legal challenge.
The Interior ministry said at the time that there was “no room for further negotiations”.
The government gave no reason for the orders but observers said it could be linked to Kenya’s deepening row with Somalia that has resulted in the latter severing diplomatic relations.
The two countries are embroiled in a maritime delimitation in the Indian Ocean that led Somalia to refer Kenya to the international court of justice.
Dadaab camp is situated in Garissa county, which borders Somalia, and Kenya says it is a source of insecurity.
-0- PANA MA 30April2021
