Breaking News: At least 10 feared to have drowned in Makueni river
Ministry seeks ways to speed up closure of Dadaab camp
What you need to know:
- Deputy President William Ruto said last week that if the refugees were not moved within 90 days, the government would use force to repatriate them.
- A senior Interior ministry official said the government was frustrated by delays in implementing the deal after Somalia politicians failed to agree on where to resettle their people.
- It said it spent $21.4 million protecting refugees “from violence and exploitation” at Dadaab in 2014 following a rise in insecurity in the region.
Ways are being crafted to speed up the repatriation of refugees from the Dadaab camp.
The repatriation will be carried out by the Interior Ministry, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Somalia.
This will be in accordance with an agreement signed in November 2013.
The ministry said the repatriation of the 600,000 refugees from the camp would be complicated and costly but Kenya was determined to carry out through.
Deputy President William Ruto said last week that if the refugees were not moved within 90 days, the government would use force to repatriate them.
This drew strong reactions from the international community and non-governmental organisations, which warned that Kenya could be breaching conventions on refugees.
“There is an agreement signed in November 2013 that provides guidelines on the closure of the camp,” said Interior ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho said yesterday the tripartite agreement states that the camp should be closed within three years after the signing of the deal. He said this was the guideline Kenya was following.
“There is no requirement in the agreement for fresh letters,” he said on the phone.
FRUSTRATED WITH DELAYS
A senior Interior ministry official said the government was frustrated by delays in implementing the deal after Somalia politicians failed to agree on where to resettle their people.
“We are seeing very little progress on the repatriation yet the agreement we have expires in 2016,” he said.
Kenya has vowed to close down the world’s largest refugee camp, which it asserts is used as a breeding ground for terrorists. Some of the terrorists were behind the killing of 148 people at the Garissa University College two weeks ago.
“The majority want the refugee camp closed because it is the genesis of social, environmental and economic problems,” said Mr Njoka
But the UN agency said it would not take part in forcing refugees out of the camp.
It said it spent $21.4 million protecting refugees “from violence and exploitation” at Dadaab in 2014 following a rise in insecurity in the region.
Its spokeswoman, Ms Karin de Gruijl, said there were still many obstacles to be surmounted before the camp can be closed.
She said that would take longer than three months.
