As a stable nation and a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol,it remains a safe haven of choice for many coming from an unsettled region.
Asylum in Kenya stretches back to the 1970s and 1980s. During these years, civil war,political instability and general insecurity disturbed peace in some Eastern Africa countries which led to outflowing of asylum seekers into Kenya.
After closure of refugee settlements in urban centres across Kenya such as Mombasa, Malindi, Thika, Moyale and Mandera in the early 1990s, Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps were designated as the official asylum settlements.
In 2016, Dadaab camp in Garissa County will mark 25 years since it was officially gazetted as a refugee settlement. The camp is predominantly occupied by Somali refugees but is home to other nationalities including Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Rwanda, Burundi and the DR Congo. As for today Dadaab is still the largest refugee camp in the world.
Kakuma camp in Turkana County was also established in the early 1990s and hosts nationals from over five neighbouring countries.
For many years, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR which works closely with partners to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees, has found good will in the people of Kenya. Its close collaboration with the government in helping refugees to rebuild their lives has been remarkable.
Refugee registration and issuance of identity cards, as well as enactment of a domestic refugee law are some of the biggest milestones made by Kenya in the last decade. The role of refugee status determination is now being fully taken up by the state after a long period of support from the UNHCR.
In 2006, thousands of refugees from South Sudan who had lived in Kenya for many years decided to voluntarily return home with support from UNHCR. The government played a significant role which resulted to a successful historical repatriation exercise.
Close to ten years later, the two partners continue to work together, this time in voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees from Kenya to Somalia.
This is being done through a Tripartite Agreement framework signed by Kenya, Somalia and the UNHCR in November 2013. In the context of an overall plan, UNHCR and partners implemented a pilot project between December 2014 and June 2015 that supported 2,500 Somali refugees to return home.
The exercise has since moved beyond the pilot phase and by end of September 2015, an overall number of close to 5,000
Somali refugees had arrived home safely. Many more continue to seek support to return.
Kenyan communities around camps play an important role in protecting refugees. For hosting them and sharing available resources without conflicts, UNHCR’s infrastructural support in camps is often extended into their neighbourhoods.
The ultimate goal of the UNHCR and partners that include refugee host communities is to find durable solutions for all refugees. There are three globally mandated durable solutions. They include voluntary repatriation; local integration or resettlement to third
countries in situations where the first two prove impossible. For refugees in Kenya, repatriation and resettlement continue to be the only options available.
It’s not easy to find these solutions without political good will from all involved. Kenya has by leaps and bounds tried to set a good precedent that should be inspirational across the world. The country is viewed as a progressive leader in matters of asylum and one that cannot afford to turn back the wheel.
The other mandate for the UNHCR is to prevent and reduce statelessness around the world and to protect the rights of
stateless people.
The international legal definition of a stateless person is set out in Article 1 of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, which defines a stateless person as “a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the
operation of its law.”
One major cause of statelessness is the existence of gaps in a country’s legal regime relating to nationality. Every country has a law, or laws, which establish under what circumstances one acquires nationality or can have it withdrawn. If nationality laws are not carefully written and correctly applied, some people can be excluded and left stateless.
Also, notwithstanding the fact that the UNHCR’s original mandate does not specifically cover internally displaced persons, the agency has for many years assisted IDPs in emergencies. It recently partnered with the government of Kenya and other stakeholders to assist displaced victims of the post-election violence.
There is no IDP law equivalent to the 1951 Refugee Convention but Kenya did well in 2012 by adopting a domestic IDP law.
The law largely exemplifies the International Human Rights and Humanitarian Laws and complements the UNHCR’s wishes.
Continued protection of refugees, IDPs and stateless people and progressive adoption of pertinent policies will promote
Kenya in its journey towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
As the UN turns 70 this October, it is a great moment for Kenya and the UNHCR to ponder on possible durable solutions
for all, even as they celebrate their partnership.
Duke Mwancha is a communication specialist and spokesperson for UNHCR-Kenya. Twitter: @Duke_Mwancha.
Source: The Star