UNHCR rebuffs claim of 'misleading' Somali refugees

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is refuting a report by Human Rights Watch charging that the agency has not given adequate information to Somali refugees at Dadaab, to decide on returning home.

In a statement last evening, the UNHCR said that while it “shared some of the concerns” raised by Human Right Watch about the condition of refugees, it has always campaigned for voluntary return.

“In line with the principle of voluntariness, UNHCR is committed to ensure that all refugees receive adequate information about conditions in the country of origin and are able to make an informed decision regarding return,” the agency said.

“We regularly meet with refugees and broadcast radio messages in English and Somali, emphasising that returns must be voluntary and based on an informed decision."

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch published a report showing the announced voluntary repatriation of refugees from Dadaab has been against international standards.

The organisation, which often campaigns for human rights around the world, accused the Kenyan government of using intimidation to force the refugees to return to Somalia.

“The Kenyan authorities are not giving Somali refugees a real choice between staying and leaving, and the UN refugee agency isn’t giving people accurate information about security conditions in Somalia,” said Bill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch.

“There is no way these returns can be considered voluntary.”

HRW says it visited the camp, in existence since 1993, this past August where refugees claimed they had been threatened with deportation, denial of a UN cash grant of $400 (Sh40, 000) as well as insufficient information from UNHCR on alternatives.

“The Kenyan authorities are not giving Somali refugees a real choice between staying and leaving, and the UN refugee agency isn’t giving people accurate information about security conditions in Somalia,” said Bill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch.

But UNHCR said the situation is more complicated.

“The complex Somali refugee situation requires a comprehensive approach to solutions, which includes continued protection for those who remain in need of asylum, adequate support for those who choose to return voluntarily, as well as other alternatives such as third-country resettlement”, Raouf Mazou, UNHCR’s Representative in Kenya said in a statement.

Kenya, Somalia and UNHCR signed an agreement in 2013 to ensure voluntary repatriation of refugees from Dadaab by end of this year.

But the programme was met with financial problems, as well as the need to convince refugees to return home.

This year, the government announced it will close down Dadaab because the camp harbour terrorists’ sympathisers.

The UN and other rights groups say voluntary repatriation should not be time-bound.

Edited by Philip Momanyi