HIGHLIGHTS
Government of Kenya announcement to close Dadaab Camps
On Friday 6th May, the Government of Kenya announced that it intended to close the refugee camps in Kenya, citing economic, security and environmental burdens. A statement issued by the Ministry of Interior, said the Government had disbanded its Department of Refugee Affairs (DRA) and was working on a mechanism for the closure of Kenya’s refugee camps. On 9th May UNHCR issued a statement appealing to Kenya over decision to end refugee hosting. “It is with profound concern that UNHCR takes note of this announcement. For almost a quarter of a century Kenya has played a vital role in East Africa and the Horn of Africa in providing asylum to people forced to flee persecution and war.” The statement said. “The safety of hundreds of thousands of Somalis, South Sudanese and others has hinged on Kenya’s generosity and its willingness to be a leading beacon in the region for international protection. Tragically, the situations in Somalia and South Sudan that cause people to flee are still unresolved today.” The statement added. Click here to read the full statement.
Following the statement above as well others by Kenya Government Officials, refugees have been visiting various UNHCR field offices seeking to know their plight. In addition, UNHCR held meetings with refugee leaders and representatives in the camps to share with them UNHCR’s stands on the Government statement.
The Dadaab refugee complex has a population of 343,884 refugees and asylum seekers and consists of five camps. 95.3% of the refugees are from Somalia. The first camp was established in 1991, when refugees fleeing the civil war in Somalia started to cross the border into Kenya. A second large influx occurred in 2011, when some 130,000 refugees arrived, fleeing drought and famine in southern Somalia. The five Dadaab camps are Dagahaley, Ifo, Ifo 2, Hagadera and Kambioos.