Amina defends new law to limit refugees
What you need to know:
- The CS was referring to amendments made to the Refugee Act of 2006 last week. The changes made included the capping of the number of refugees to 150,000 at a given time, although Parliament will have powers to vary this number from time to time.
- Ms Mohamed spoke to the Nation after meeting Sudan’s Foreign Affairs minister Ali Ahmed Karti. The two discussed peace in the region, including supporting peace efforts in South Sudan.
- “Regional neighbours have been very generous and we thank them. However, the situation in South Sudan is still dire and we expect further displacements into 2015,” she said.
Kenya says the amended refugee law will not be an arbitrary licence to turn away those seeking safety.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed ,Monday told the Nation the changed law was a precautionary measure on ability to accommodate refugees rather than a policy to refuse them entry.
“The law is a proactive measure to be used in dealing with future refugees,” she said. “It is not about chasing them away. It is about knowing whether the country has capacity. It is a projection into the future.”
The CS was referring to amendments made to the Refugee Act of 2006 last week. The changes made included the capping of the number of refugees to 150,000 at a given time, although Parliament will have powers to vary this number from time to time.
The new law says: “The number of refugees and asylum seekers permitted to stay in Kenya shall not exceed one hundred and fifty thousand persons.”
PEACE
Ms Mohamed spoke to the Nation after meeting Sudan’s Foreign Affairs minister Ali Ahmed Karti. The two discussed peace in the region, including supporting peace efforts in South Sudan.
Last week, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced that there could be further refugees pouring into Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda from South Sudan because there could be renewed violence in 2015.
At the briefing held at the APHCR Campus in Nairobi, UNHCR official Ann Encotre said the number of South Sudan refugees in the region could rise from the current 478,109 to 821,000 if fighting continued.
“Regional neighbours have been very generous and we thank them. However, the situation in South Sudan is still dire and we expect further displacements into 2015,” she said.
Kenya is already hosting 44,282 South Sudanese at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. UNHCR expects this number to rise to 75,000 by the end of 2015. Kakuma currently hosts 180,000 refugees from the region.
