BY SIMON NDONGA
Nairobi — Human Rights Watch has reiterated the need for the Kenyan government to abandon plans to relocate Somali refugees and asylum seekers from urban centres to refugee camps. According to the organisation, the plan is unlawful as it discriminates between Kenyan citizens and refugees.
Human Rights Watch Senior Refugee Researcher Gerry Simpson pointed out that transferring refugees from cities to closed refugee camps would limit their access to basic human rights. “The government’s plan to relocate 55,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers from Kenya’s cities to the camps is unlawful under international law as it includes a violation of refugees’ right to freedom of movement and a violation of their right not to have access to basic economic and social rights as these are reduced,” he said.
He further stated that the security situation in the refugee camps is deplorable. “This will also be a violation of the laws against forced evictions because to force people from the cities into camps will interfere with their rights,” he stated. “The Kenyan High court is due to rule on the matter in the next four weeks and we do not know which way the court will rule but we have set out clearly in our report why we think that plot is unlawful.”
This will also be a violation of the laws against forced evictions because to force people from the cities into camps will interfere with their rights – Simpson
He was speaking during the launch of a report on the abuse of Somali refugees living in the country where he indicated that the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government should liaise with other organizations to prepare the Kambioos camp in Dadaab for the voluntary transfer of refugees from other overcrowded camps in Dadaab.
He further emphasised that the government should not introduce any other measures or take actions aimed at forcing refugees and asylum seekers to leave urban centres. He stated that aid organizations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should be allowed to carry out and plan their work with all refugees in Kenya until it is safe for them to return to their country.
He called on the Department of Refugee Affairs to re start the registration of asylum seekers and renewal of refugees’ papers in urban areas immediately. Of the estimated 1.1 million refugees in Kenya, 735,800 are assisted by the UNHCR. UNHCR provides services such as registration in urban areas and healthcare support to dispensaries that serve the displaced people.
He said the influx of refugees to Kenya from Somalia had slowed down after the military incursion into that country by Kenyan forces made movement difficult. Data from the UNHCR shows that Kenya is hosting 623,000 refugees from Somalia. More than 400,000 refugees live in Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world.
The notice to have all refugees in urban areas got to the Dadaab camp came at a time when there have been a series of explosions in Nairobi, particularly in Eastleigh area where most Somalia refugees live.
Kenyan forces have been dealing with increased influx of refugees on the Kenya-Somalia border where cases of terrorism have been rampant. Various humanitarians organisation have also reported being overwhelmed by refugee influx adding that the order could further stretch their capacity to handle them.
