Someone Thank Kenya For Opening Her Doors To Somali Refugees

 "Dadaab refugee camp located on the Kenya- Somalia border is undoubtedly the largest refugee camp worldwide, housing some 400,000 refugees. The fall of Siad Barre in 1991 led to lawlessness as different militia groups stuggled for control, thousands of Somalis fled to Dadaab where the UNHCR built a camp whose initial capacity was 90,000."-Vollah Owino

Kenya has not failed its refugees and needs to be appreciated for hosting immigrants from nearby Somalia to the greater Horn of Africa for over 20 years. To the contrary, the international community has failed and continues turning a blind eye to the increasing refugee population in Daadab camp. I believe that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is not fully prepared to handle the influx of refugees at the Horn of Africa into the Kenyan territorial boundaries. For starters, Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp, is situated in North Eastern Kenya.

Human Rights Violations Under international law, States are prohibited from forcibly returning people to a place where they would risk human rights violations. This is known as the principle of non-refoulement. Kenya is a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1969 Organisation of African Unity Refugee Convention.

Refugees are also protected under the Kenya Refugee Act 2006 from forcible return to countries where their safety is not guaranteed. On 11 April, Deputy President William Ruto said the Government instructed the UNHCR to close Dadaab refugee camp within three months and return refugees to Somalia or else Kenya would take the initiative. The strong statement from the Executive prompted the question, ‘what about non-Somali refugees? Where do they go? What considerations have been made for this process? Refugee repatriation is not voluntary when host country authorities deprive refugees of any real freedom of choice through outright coercion or measures such as, for example, reducing essential services.

Refugees at Daadab Refugee Camp

Al Shabaab

The Government of Somalia does not have effective control over many parts of south and central Somalia. Violence and insecurity persists and residents are frequently subjected to indiscriminate and targeted attacks.

If refugees are sent back, they risk human rights abuses ranging from

rape, killings and extortion. While it is unclear who is responsible for attacks on civilians in all circumstances, it is believed all parties to the conflict carry out such attacks.

A lot has been done by Kenya in efforts to secure peace for neighbouring Somali by sending the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to seize territories held by Al Shabaab – a Somali terror group. The most unfortunate flip side of this are the intermittent attacks by Al Shabaab within Kenyan for vengeance. For instance, recent the killing of 147 college students at Garissa University on the 2^nd  of April. Garissa is 100 km from the Kenya – Somali border.

The African Union under the umbrella of Amison also has troops patrolling and monitoring situations in Somalia. If anything, the presence of troops is a sign of peace and not an engagement for war. It’s time for the Somali refugees to voluntarily move back to their country to help set up administrative structures and channels of authority.

Refugee Repatriation

This is not the first time that plans to return refugees to Somalia have been discussed. In November 2013, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Governments of Kenya, Somalia, and UNHCR, setting out a framework for the voluntary return of refugees to Somalia was agreed upon. The pilot phase began in December 2014.

For refugee repatriation to be lawful, they must be genuinely voluntary without undue pressure and with returnees’ safety and dignity guaranteed. What the Kenyan Government faces is a slow process in the voluntary return of the refugees and a continued attack on its citizens by Al Shabaab whose sympathisers allegedly entail some Somali refugees in Daadab. It is difficult to distinguish between a once innocent refugee seeking asylum and the converted Al Shabaab sympathiser in the same camp, targeting the citizens of the host country.

Militant Groups

Some of the reasons given by the detained refugees is the frustrations of staying in camps for decades with restrictions and a slow process of addressing their needs. The needs include asylum seeking processes and a means to earn income while in the camps to which case militant groups sway them with money to turn against the host country.

These are just a few examples of collective Government failures to protect refugees. But the United Nations, United States and other Western Governments, have further failed refugees across Africa and other parts of the world by allowing them to be warehoused in camps for decades without basic human rights as freedom of movement, protection from violence, and ability to support their families.

Before Kenya is condemned in the eyes of the international community, recognition of the difficulties it faces today have to be addressed for it’s a Government’s duty to provide security both internally and along its territorial boundaries.

-Mr. Migowe is a Fellow at Hesselbein Global LeadershipAcademy currently pursuing the Advocates Training Programme at the Kenya School of Law