For Immediate Release Kenya: Protect Somalis Facing Conflict, Abuses, Drought Make Concrete Commitments During Summit
(Nairobi, March 23, 2017) –Kenyashould protect and assist Somali refugees and asylum seekers facing ongoing conflict and a humanitarian crisis inSomalia,Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. In line with a recentHigh Court decision, the authorities should abandon their decision to close the Dadaab refugee camp and publicly declare that the more than 249,000 Somali refugees living there can remain in Kenya until conditions exist for them to return in safety and with dignity. On March 24-25, 2017, Kenya will host anIntergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit that will bring together Eastern
African
heads of state to discuss the situation of Somali refugees in the region, as the threat of pervasive drought and food insecurity in Somalia looms. Kenya’s role as host is marred by its continued insistence on closing Dadaab refugee camp, host to over 249,000 Somali refugees, by May.
"Kenya should demonstrate leadership by declaring that Dadaab will remain open and that it will resume prima facie recognition of Somali refugees,” saidBill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch. "Kenya and neighboring Eastern African countries, supported by international partners, should urgently assist and protect refugees facing continuing conflict and drought in Somalia.”
In May 2016, the Kenyan government removed prima facie refugee status –meaning recognizing refugee status based simply on nationality–for Somalis and disbanded its Department of Refugee Affairs, charged with processing asylum claims. Italso
announced
plans
to speed up the repatriation of Somali refugees, and to close Dadaab camp in north-eastern Kenya by November,
subsequently
extended to May.
OnFebruary 9, Kenya’s High Court ruled that the government’s May 2016directives
were unconstitutional and discriminated against Somalis. The High Court also ordered the Kenyan government to restore the administration of refugee affairs to the status quo prior to the government’s decision.The Kenyan government has not taken steps to carry out the ruling. On March 8, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya repeated that Kenya’s decision to close Dadaab camp was final.
In 2016, Kenyan authorities, with officials from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, stepped up a 2013"voluntary”
repatriation program.Human Rights WatchandAmnesty
International
research in Dadaab and interviews with more than 100 Somali refugees found that
Kenya
had not given them a real choice between continuing to receive asylum in Kenya and returning to Somalia, and
that
the program violated the international principle
of
non -refoulement– forced return of people to places where they would face persecution, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, or other threats to their lives or freedom – which is binding on Kenya as party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1969 African Union Refugee Convention.
Registration of refugees in Dadaab has been sporadic since 2011 and has been entirely suspended,with
some exceptions, since August 2015. In 2016, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International spoke to many unregistered people in Dadaab, including new arrivals and people who had already returned under the repatriation program but then fled back to Dadaab. The people interviewed said they feel particularly vulnerable both due to their lack of legal status and because of their lack of access to food rations. Most recently, in mid-March, over 100 Somali refugees and asylum seekers were arrested in a security operation in Dadaab. According to a refugee agency, those with refugee documentation were released, while 28 Somali asylum seekers were charged with unlawful presence.
Under Kenya’s Refugee Act, the Commissioner of RefugeeAffairs
must recognize people as refugees if they meet the definition
of
the 1969 African Union Refugee Convention.
The
African Union
definition
includes people
fleeing
events
seriously disturbing public order.
The
lack of sufficient international support for Kenya, including through consistently underfunded UN humanitarian appeals and very limited refugee resettlement, has contributed to the appalling situation in Dadaab, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.The World Food Program has repeatedly cut food rations to people in Dadaab due to funding shortfalls. The most recent cut, inDecember, reduced rations by 50 percent.Refugees interviewed by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in 2016 who had signed up to return to Somalia often cited the ration cuts as a factor influencing their decision to return, and to accept a one-time UNHCR repatriation package – despite fears for their security and survival in Somalia.
UNHCR’s own assessments indicate that conditions in south-central Somalia are not conducive to mass refugee returns due toongoing conflict, insecurity, and humanitarian conditions. In May 2016UNHCR’s
guidelines
on returns to
Somalia
found that: "Civilians continue to be severely affected by the conflict, with reports of civilians being killed and injured in
conflict-related violence, widespread sexual and gender-based violence against women and children, forced recruitment of children, and large-scale displacement.”
The humanitarian situation remains dire. According to theUN,
half of Somalia’s population – 6.2 million out of 12.3 million people – are currently in need of humanitarian assistance.Many of
the
communities affected by the 2011famine
are
once again at risk.
More than 260,000people have been displaced by the drought within Somalia since November, adding to the country’s 1.1 million internally displaced people, who live in deplorable and unsafe informal displacement camps in the country’s main towns.Most of those recentlydisplaced
in south-central Somalia have fled into Baidoa and Mogadishu, among the areas to which UNHCR is facilitating returns from Dadaab. The UN has also recorded an increase in displacement into neighboring Ethiopia, which currently hosts245,500registered Somali refugees. So far, contrary to the
period
leading up to the 2011famine, very little movement into Kenya has been recorded.
According to UN data on returns, over half of those returning from Dadaab to Somalia said they would not returnto
their areas of origin. Returning refugees, especially those unable to return to their home areas or those who have been gone for many years, risk ending up internally displaced in Somalia, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among others, have continued to document serious abuses against internally displaced communities in Somalia at the handsof
government
and non-state actors, including sexual violence
and
violent forced
evictions
from their temporary shelters.According to a UN monitoring network, forced
evictions
increased in late 2016, with more than 60,000 new evictions since November alone.
"Given the ongoing drought and security crisis in Somalia, it’s high time Kenya’s international partners help to ensure that Somalis can find safety and humanitarian assistance in neighboring countries,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International. "International community and donor countries should guarantee adequate technical and financial support to the Kenyan government and civil society to come up with sustainable,long term durable solutions for refugee integration into the country.
For more information, please contact:
In Rome, for Human Rights Watch, Laetitia Bader (English, French, Italian): +39-366-284-5295; orbaderl@hrw.org. Twitter: @LaetitiaBader
In Washington, DC, for Human Rights Watch, Bill Frelick (English): +1 202-612-4344; or +1-240-593-1747 (mobile); orfrelicb@hrw.org. Twitter: @BillFrelick
In Geneva, for Human Rights Watch Gerry Simpson (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian): +33-6-83-74-56-07 (mobile); or +1 917 969 7982 (Whatsapp); orsimpsog@hrw.org. Twitter: @GerrySimpsonHRW
In London, for Amnesty International press queries: +44-777-847-2126; orpress@amnesty.org
"Kenya should demonstrate leadership by declaring that Dadaab will remain open and that it will resume prima facie recognition of Somali refugees,” saidBill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch. "Kenya and neighboring Eastern African countries, supported by international partners, should urgently assist and protect refugees facing continuing conflict and drought in Somalia.”
In May 2016, the Kenyan government removed prima facie refugee status –meaning recognizing refugee status based simply on nationality–for Somalis and disbanded its Department of Refugee Affairs, charged with processing asylum claims. It
OnFebruary 9, Kenya’s High Court ruled that the government’s May 2016
In 2016, Kenyan authorities, with officials from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, stepped up a 2013
Registration of refugees in Dadaab has been sporadic since 2011 and has been entirely suspended,
Under Kenya’s Refugee Act, the Commissioner of Refugee
UNHCR’s own assessments indicate that conditions in south-central Somalia are not conducive to mass refugee returns due to
The humanitarian situation remains dire. According to the
More than 260,000people have been displaced by the drought within Somalia since November, adding to the country’s 1.1 million internally displaced people, who live in deplorable and unsafe informal displacement camps in the country’s main towns.Most of those recently
According to UN data on returns, over half of those returning from Dadaab to Somalia said they would not return
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among others, have continued to document serious abuses against internally displaced communities in Somalia at the hands
"Given the ongoing drought and security crisis in Somalia, it’s high time Kenya’s international partners help to ensure that Somalis can find safety and humanitarian assistance in neighboring countries,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International. "International community and donor countries should guarantee adequate technical and financial support to the Kenyan government and civil society to come up with sustainable,
For more information, please contact:
In Rome, for Human Rights Watch, Laetitia Bader (English, French, Italian): +39-366-284-5295; orbaderl@hrw.org. Twitter: @LaetitiaBader
In Washington, DC, for Human Rights Watch, Bill Frelick (English): +1 202-612-4344; or +1-240-593-1747 (mobile); orfrelicb@hrw.org. Twitter: @BillFrelick
In Geneva, for Human Rights Watch Gerry Simpson (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian): +33-6-83-74-56-07 (mobile); or +1 917 969 7982 (Whatsapp); orsimpsog@hrw.org. Twitter: @GerrySimpsonHRW
In London, for Amnesty International press queries: +44-777-847-2126; orpress@amnesty.org
For Immediate Release Kenya: Protect Somalis Facing Conflict, Abuses, Drought Make Concrete Commitments During Summit
(Nairobi, March 23, 2017) –Kenyashould protect and assist Somali refugees and asylum seekers facing ongoing conflict and a humanitarian crisis inSomalia,Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. In line with a recentHigh Court de