Why Dadaab refugee camp is still a long way from closure, 24 years on

Somali refugees walking in the new Ifo extension at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya on July 31, 2011. Dadaab is the largest refugee camp in the world. AFP PHOTO | TONY KARUMBA

What you need to know:

  • 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.
  • US Secretary of State John Kerry said “fundamental problems” in Somalia are yet to be solved for refugees to return home.
  • "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,” Kerry said.
  • 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.

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 the 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,” Kerry said.

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 suspects it of being a breeding ground for terrorists, some of whom 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 relocate 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 the 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's closure.

He points out that the closure of a refugee camp depends on the home country situation such as security and whether 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 times 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 and shelter to security.

They employ an estimated 10,000 people, most of whom 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,” 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 poople to their country if they feel unsafe about it.

In 2013, Kenya signed a tripartite agreement with Somalia and the 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 time frame 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's Africa Division told the Nation on Tuesday.

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.

The camps were initially designed to host just 160,000, yet this population rose four times between 2010 and 2013, mostly due to famine.

The government says 200,000 refugees have since gone back to Somalia through on 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 of 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 be fleeing 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 said some refugees led a lifestyle incongruent with that of a refugee.

The 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.

The 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 a voluntary basis.

Already, donors like the German government have put in Sh500 million for the programme.

The US has announced $45 million (Sh4.2 billion) for refugees. The 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.