PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
UNHCR, AI decry Kenya's plans to confine asylum seekers to refugee camps
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Amnesty International (AI) have expressed concern over Kenya's recent plans to confine asylum seekers to refugee camps in the northern parts of the country.
The UN refugee agency is also disturbed by recent attacks by suspected terrorists which it says left a number of Kenyans and refugees dead.
In a news dispatch, UNHCR said: "We condemn these attacks and extend our sympathy and solidarity to all victims, the Kenyan people and their government."
It said it had noted recent public statements linking the presence of refugees to these security incidents, saying "We caution against stigmatization of refugees and asylum-seekers."
On its part, Amnesty International said Kenya’s decision to place refugees and asylum seekers in camps away from urban centres is a discriminatory and unlawful restriction on freedom of movement.
“This restriction on freedom of movement is likely to lead to other serious human rights abuses in already overcrowded, insecure refugee camps,” said Kathryn Achilles, Amnesty International’s East Africa expert
Under the Kenyan plan, "thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers from Somalia living in urban centres, including the capital, Nairobi, will be required to move to the Dadaab refugee camp complex in north-eastern Kenya, while those from other countries will be required to move to the Kakuma camp.
"The Dadaab complex in particular is already extremely overcrowded, even without the additional influx of refugees required to move from urban areas.
"Overcrowding has placed a strain on the provision of essential services to asylum-seekers and refugees, including access to shelter, water and sanitation.
"The government cannot simply scapegoat refugees and asylum-seekers en masse for security incidents," said the global human rights body in a press release.
UNHCR also said it noted the Kenyan Government's recent decision to discontinue the reception and registration of asylum-seekers in Nairobi and other cities and move these activities to the refugee camps in Dadaab and Kakuma.
UNHCR understands that registered refugees will be allowed to remain in the places where they have established themselves.
Recognizing Kenya's long-held commitment to refugee protection, UNHCR urged Nairobi to continue to uphold the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, who have fled to Kenya in search of protection.
It pledged that it will continue to support the Government of Kenya in ensuring that asylum-seekers have access to reception and registration procedures, as well as other services to meet their protection and assistance needs.
"UNHCR counts on the authorities to ensure that adequate land and facilities are made available so that the provision of asylum in Kenya remains in line with international standards," said the agency.
Kenya, a signatory of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, has generously been providing a safe haven for refugees for decades.
Currently, the country hosts some 630,000 refugees, of whom more than half a million are from neighbouring Somalia
Kenya, disturbed by terrorist attacks mounted by outlawed Somalia militia group Al Shabab and their sympathisers in Kenya, was contemplating confining Somali refugees to the Daddab refugee camp in north eastern Kenya, technically blaming the refugees, some of whom obtained Kenyan national identity cards through dubious means, for the terror attacks.
-0- PANA DJ/VAO 25Dec2012
The UN refugee agency is also disturbed by recent attacks by suspected terrorists which it says left a number of Kenyans and refugees dead.
In a news dispatch, UNHCR said: "We condemn these attacks and extend our sympathy and solidarity to all victims, the Kenyan people and their government."
It said it had noted recent public statements linking the presence of refugees to these security incidents, saying "We caution against stigmatization of refugees and asylum-seekers."
On its part, Amnesty International said Kenya’s decision to place refugees and asylum seekers in camps away from urban centres is a discriminatory and unlawful restriction on freedom of movement.
“This restriction on freedom of movement is likely to lead to other serious human rights abuses in already overcrowded, insecure refugee camps,” said Kathryn Achilles, Amnesty International’s East Africa expert
Under the Kenyan plan, "thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers from Somalia living in urban centres, including the capital, Nairobi, will be required to move to the Dadaab refugee camp complex in north-eastern Kenya, while those from other countries will be required to move to the Kakuma camp.
"The Dadaab complex in particular is already extremely overcrowded, even without the additional influx of refugees required to move from urban areas.
"Overcrowding has placed a strain on the provision of essential services to asylum-seekers and refugees, including access to shelter, water and sanitation.
"The government cannot simply scapegoat refugees and asylum-seekers en masse for security incidents," said the global human rights body in a press release.
UNHCR also said it noted the Kenyan Government's recent decision to discontinue the reception and registration of asylum-seekers in Nairobi and other cities and move these activities to the refugee camps in Dadaab and Kakuma.
UNHCR understands that registered refugees will be allowed to remain in the places where they have established themselves.
Recognizing Kenya's long-held commitment to refugee protection, UNHCR urged Nairobi to continue to uphold the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, who have fled to Kenya in search of protection.
It pledged that it will continue to support the Government of Kenya in ensuring that asylum-seekers have access to reception and registration procedures, as well as other services to meet their protection and assistance needs.
"UNHCR counts on the authorities to ensure that adequate land and facilities are made available so that the provision of asylum in Kenya remains in line with international standards," said the agency.
Kenya, a signatory of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, has generously been providing a safe haven for refugees for decades.
Currently, the country hosts some 630,000 refugees, of whom more than half a million are from neighbouring Somalia
Kenya, disturbed by terrorist attacks mounted by outlawed Somalia militia group Al Shabab and their sympathisers in Kenya, was contemplating confining Somali refugees to the Daddab refugee camp in north eastern Kenya, technically blaming the refugees, some of whom obtained Kenyan national identity cards through dubious means, for the terror attacks.
-0- PANA DJ/VAO 25Dec2012
