150,000 refugees to leave camp by December

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi (left) and Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion Minister of Somalia Dr Abdusalam Hadliye Omer in Nairobi yesterday. [PHOTO: DAVID NJAAGA/STANDARD]

Kenya re-emphasised its position on the world’s largest refugee camp yesterday, stating that plans for the repatriation of the more than 360,000 Somali refugees within the camp will proceed as planned.

According to Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed, more than 16,000 refugees have already returned home on the voluntary repatriation programme that was agreed upon by refugee agency United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the Somali Government as well as the Kenyan government.

Ms Mohammed said the process will be implemented with continued support of the governments of Kenya and Somali and other international partners. “The process is ongoing and began a week ago.

It is going to be complex but we are ready to take the challenges on,” said the CS who spoke yesterday in Nairobi during a ministerial tripartite commission meeting between the governments of Kenya and Somalia and the UNHCR.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion Minister of Somalia Dr Abdusalam Hadliye Omer and UNHCR’s Filippo Grandi.

The CS said: “The commission directed the tripartite technical committee to conclude concrete operational modalities and support measures which will be provided in Kenya and Somalia.

This will ensure safe, dignified, voluntary return and sustainable reintegration of Somali refugees from Kenya.” Considering the report of the national task force on repatriation of refugees from the Dadaab refugee complex, the CS said the parties noted the prospect of the reduction of the population in the Dadaab refugee camp by 150,000 by the end of 2016.

She said this was as a result of voluntary returns to Somalia, relocation of non-Somali refugees and de-registration of Kenyan citizens who registered as refugees and a population verification exercise. Dr Omer added that the two governments have agreed to conduct the exercise in a humane and dignified way: “Twenty-five years is a long time to live as a refugee.

Their safety is assured and land has been set aside for refugees. All the work is in progress and 20,000 Somalis have expressed their willingness to go back home,” said Dr Omer.

Furthermore, the parties noted that at the end of May this year, the number of Somali refugees registered in Dadaab had decreased to 326,000, a reduction of over 100,000 individuals in the past five years. It is believed that many of them may have since returned voluntarily to Somalia.

Consequently, Mr Grandi clarified that rehabilitation projects and extension of basic services and infrastructure will be implemented in synergy with ongoing humanitarian and development actions.

“We will increase the repatriation package and we appeal to donors to respond to this plan with adequate resources,” Grandi said. The commission also recognised the need for similar initiatives to strengthen the resilience of host communities which are affected most by refugee settlement programmes.

“The need for quick impact projects also in Kenya will ensure that livelihoods are not adversely impacted and environmental restoration occurs,” said Grandi.

However, he said, the commission will engage various development partners to raise funds and resources to facilitate the repatriation and restoration programmes. In the meeting by the tripartite commission members, a reference was made to the potential role of Intergovernmental Authority for Development  (IGAD) in facilitating the provision of international development aid to Somalia and in supporting regional approaches to the Somali refugee crisis.

The members agreed to meet in October this year to review progress made on the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees from Kenya.

Last month, President Uhuru Kenyatta told a United Nations Security Council team at a meeting in State House Nairobi that the Government’s decision to close the Dadaab refugee camp was as a result of national security concerns.