UN Security Council coming to Kenya to press Uhuru on refugees
World Food Programme Director Ertharin Cousin speaks about the hunger crisis in Syria before the United Nations Security Council in New York City on January 27, 2016. Diplomats from the council departed New York on May 17, 2016 for a four-day visit to Kenya, Somali and Egpyt. They are expected to hold talks with President Kenyatta over the Dadaab refugee closure. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
Diplomats from the Security Council's 15 member states are scheduled to hold talks in Nairobi with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kenya's announced intention to evict Somali refugees from the Dadaab refugee camp are “likely to feature prominently” in those discussions.
The move to close the refugee camp has been met with criticism by a section of international humanitarian communities.
Council members are expected to tell Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud that they want elections to take place in August as scheduled.
NEW YORK/UNITED NATIONS
United Nations Security Council members left New York on Tuesday night for a four-day visit to Kenya, Somalia and Egypt.
The exact itinerary for the trip had not been released as of Wednesday morning in New York due to security considerations.
Diplomats from the Security Council's 15 member states are scheduled to hold talks in Nairobi with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kenya's announced intention to evict Somali refugees from the Dadaab refugee camp are “likely to feature prominently” in those discussions, according to the Security Council Report, an online publication covering the UN's key decision-making body.
The move to close the refugee camp has been met with criticism by a section of international humanitarian communities.
Ashley Wolfington of the International Rescue Committee says she is sceptical that Kenya will actually close the Dadaab camp.
She said: “It isn’t a good idea that they want to close the biggest refugee camp in the world. Instead of planning to close it, they need to address the issues that are not working to have the camp open.”
“Sending refugees back to where they fled from, especially women and girls have an implication to their health and safety. There might be need to come up with models and discussions as evidence of why closing the camps is not a good idea and the possible scenarios of what happens when the camps close,” the reproductive health expert added.
She spoke on Wednesday in Copenhagen, Denmark, during the fourth Women Deliver Global Conference. The four-day meeting ends on Thursday, May 19.
AL-SHABAAB THREAT
The security threats posed by Al-Shabaab in Kenya will also be on the agenda, as will Kenya Defence Forces’ participation in the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).
Kenya accounts for about 3,650 soldiers of Amisom's current level of some 21,500 uniformed military personnel.
The Security Council delegates' visit to Somalia will focus on Al-Shabaab's upsurge in lethal operations as well as the council's expressed concerns over “the protracted process to approve the 2016 electoral model.”
Council members are expected to tell Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud that they want elections to take place in August as scheduled.
The diplomats will also be calling for prompt completion of the federal state formation process and a constitutional review, according to the Security Council Report.
The UN refugee agency has expressed “profound concern” regarding Kenya's warning that it will forcibly repatriate hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees.
The United States has joined the UN in suggesting that such a move would be a violation of Kenya's international obligations.
In Egypt, council members will be meeting with the Arab League to discuss Somalia, Libya and mass migration from parts of North Africa and the Middle East.
Additional reporting by Eunice Kilonzo in Copenhagen, Denmark.
