UN, Kenya to discuss refugee camps closure

UN top officials are to visit Kenya to discuss the way forward after the country said it was closing some refugee camps.

Kampala - The UN Deputy Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Refugees are to visit Kenya at the end of May to discuss challenges of hosting thousands of refugees and the way forward after that country said it was closing some refugee camps.

This was confirmed in a telephone call on Wednesday between the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, during which they discussed the Kenyan government’s decision to close Dadaab refugee camps.

On May 6, Kenya’s Ministry of Interior said that the Government had disbanded its Department of Refugee Affairs and was working on a mechanism for the closure of the country’s refugee camps - a decision that could affect as many as 600 000 people, according to UNHCR.

Following the telephone call Ban Ki-moon expressed his appreciation for Kenya’s decades of generosity to asylum seekers, in a press statement.

“The Secretary-General told Kenyatta that he appreciated the enormous task and responsibility involved in hosting large numbers of refugees, amidst daunting security challenges,” the statement said.

It also noted that Ban Ki-Moon urged Kenyatta to continue to use the 2013 Tripartite Agreement, signed with Somalia and the Office of the UN high Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as a basis for the voluntary return of Somali refugees in safety and dignity.

Ban Ki-moon also expressed the United Nations’ support for Kenya, including the proposal by the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, that a high-level bilateral review on the refugee situation in Kenya be conducted by the Government of Kenya and UNHCR.

“They look forward to discussing this issue with Kenya, and will underline the readiness of the United Nations to garner the support of the international community in addressing Kenya’s refugee challenges, with consideration for the host communities in Kenya as well as the sub-regional security concerns, the statement concluded.”

– African News Agency