This photo taken on July 31, 2011, shows Somali refugees walking in the
new Ifo-extension at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, the largest
refugee camp in the world. AFP PHOTO | TONY KARUMBA
The debate on whether to close the Dadaab refugee camp appeared
settled on Monday evening when visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry
said “fundamental problems” in Somalia are yet to be solved.
Those
fundamental problems, he argued, include eliminating the threat of
Al-Shabaab, rebuilding Somalia’s security system and creating an
environment for refugees to go back home.
“I know some
people here feel it is a burden...it is completely understandable; but
on the other hand it shows, that Kenya has accepted people who are
running away from terror in their countries.”
“The key
is to accelerate efforts to have a plan in place for the ability of
refugees, not just in Dadaab but in all refugee camps, to be able to
return home in a voluntary manner in dignity and safety,” he told a news
conference in Nairobi.
In short, Mr Kerry was telling
the Kenyan government to forget about its 90-day notice it gave the UN
refugee agency (UNHCR) last month to relocate the camp.
“I
am confident that Dadaab will remain open while we work through a plan
on how people will be able to go home, by doing our job and finishing
our task in Somalia and in South Sudan.”
“What the
pressure of the refugee situation is doing is reminding everybody of the
need to accelerate efforts to solve the underlying fundamental problems
so people can go back to their homes in peace.”
SO, HOW LONG?
So how long will it take to repatriate refugees?
There are two perspectives about the Dadaab refugee camp.
For
one, it is the largest ‘asylum city’ in the world, representing Kenya’s
respect for international law on refugees. At 335,000, its population
is larger than Kenya’s fourth largest town, Nakuru.
But
the Kenyan government suspect it of being a breeding ground for
terrorists, some of who organised to massacre 148 people at the Garissa
University College on April 2.
Last month, Deputy
President William Ruto, based on this suspicion, told the UNHCR to close
the camp in 90 days, else Kenya forcibly relocates it.
That directive elicited a fierce debate; the government on one side and aid and human rights groups on the other.
“Closure
of the camps and forced return of the refugees to Somalia would violate
the right to seek and enjoy asylum and the principle of non-refoulement
as set out in international laws to which Kenya is party,” Raouf Mazou,
the UNHCR Kenya representative told the Nation.
“Under
international law, it is prescribed that return must be voluntary.
Forced returns would amount to refoulement, which UNHCR cannot associate
itself with,” Mr Mazou added.
Although Kenya later
backed down, insisting that the relocation will be done in conjunction
with UNHCR and Somalia, it argued the “bottom line” would be Mr Ruto’s
directive.
The camp, which at one time hosted up to
450,000 refugees, has been in existence since 1991 when Somalia fell
among warlords, famine and later, terrorists.
According
to Daoud Mohamed, the field coordinator for medical charity Medecins
Sans Frontieres in Dagahaley, there is no law or regulation indicating
the end date or a period of a refugee camp closure.
He
points out that the closure of a refugee camp is dependent on the home
country situation such as security and the basic needs of the returned
person are guaranteed.
“The Afghan refugee camps were
established in 1979 in Pakistan. The camps have been relocated several
time within the same territory of Khaibar province, but still exists
after 36 years,” he says.
ABOUT 50 NGOs
There
are about 50 NGOs in Dadaab involved in 17 areas of humanitarian work,
ranging from health, education, sanitation, food supply, transportation,
shelter to security.
They employ an estimated 10,000 people most of who are Kenyans. The organisations spend at least Sh10 billion a year.
Refugee camps are traditionally not eternal.
“Twenty
years is such a long time for anybody to be in a refugee camp. It was
not a choice,” said Somali Foreign Minister Abdusalam Omer told
reporters in Nairobi in April.
“We will make every
effort for these refugees, Somalis, to come back home to rebuild their
lives, to participate in the reconstruction of Somalia.”
The
problem is how long it should take to close it down. Kenya is a
signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention which forbids any state from
forcibly returning a person to their country if they fell unsafe about
it.
In 2013, Kenya signed a tripartite agreement with Somalia and UNHCR for “voluntary repatriation” of Somali refugees.
A
pilot programme for the initial 10,000 was launched in December to last
up to June. By April, just 2,060 of them had been relocated. Does the
agreement negate the voluntary nature of relocation?
“Setting
a timeframe for return implies Somalia is now safe for refugees, which
the UN refugee agency has said is not true. Some may choose to go home
now which is their right but until stability returns to Somalia, no one
should be forced to go home under a politically-driven deadline,” Ms
Leslie Lefkow, the Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch, Africa
Division told the Nation on Wednesday.
FOUR SUB-CAMPS
Occupying
about 50 square kilometres in Garissa County, it has four sub-camps of
Hagadera, Ifo I&II, Dagahaley and Kambios, making it the largest
refugee camp in the world by population.
They were
initially designed to host just 160,000, yet this population has risen
four times between 2010 and 2013, mostly due to famine.
The government says 200,000 refugees have since gone back to Somalia on their own means after famine eased.
Kenya
has experienced more than 130 terror attacks since the Kenya Defence
Forces went to Somalia in October 2011, killing more than 470 people.
But few of these have occurred inside the camp itself.
Between 2011 and 2015, there have been six terror incidents, mostly involving grenade attacks and improvised explosive devices.
The
most fatal came on January 17, 2012 when several police officers were
killed after an explosive went off inside Hagadera, the oldest and
largest of the four sub-camps, currently hosting about 103,000.
The theory that it harbours terror merchants could be valid, although the government has yet to provide evidence on it.
However,
the police have occasionally seized weapons among refugees mainly in
Hagadera. These weapons are said to be smuggled in by some of those who
claim to flee for their safety.
REFUGEE LIFESTYLE
On
two previous assignments to the camp, last year and in 2011, the Nation
team interviewed some of the host residents, aid workers and refugees
who told of refugees staying at the Camp, all of who agree some of the
‘refugees’’ lifestyle negates their refugee status.
UNHCR
has previously denied admitting terrorists, saying it only works with
refugees vetted by the Kenyan government, and it insists it can only
participate in voluntary repatriation.
“Voluntary
repatriation is a gradual process, for which budgets can be established
based on projections and trends, informed by tools such as return
intention surveys, which we conduct in such situations,” Mr Mazou
explained.
UNHCR would not comment on the cost of
forced relocation but an earlier analysis based on the tripartite
agreement shows it could require Sh9 billion to return them on the
voluntary basis.
Already, donors like the German government have put in Sh500 million for the programme.
The
US has announced $45 million for refugees. UNHCR, which is tasked with
convening a pledging conference, has approached the Islamic Development
Bank, the World Bank and other agencies for help.
“There are refugees who have not been in Somalia for 24 years and some who have never been there.
Significant
development inside Somalia is therefore required to facilitate the
successful reintegration of these refugees,” Mr Mazou added.
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