Amnesty Kenya welcomes closure of Dadaab, Kakuma refugee camps by 2022
Amnesty International Kenya has welcomed the revised timeframe of the closure of Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps by June 30, 2022.
In a statement, the group said that neither permanent refugee camps, rushed camp closures or violating international principles of nonrefoulment are solutions.
“We trust the Government of Kenya and UN High Commissioner for Refugees
shall work towards identifying more opportunities for resettlement or voluntarily repatriation of willing refugees in dignified manner,” it stated.
“We note the intention to integrate refugees from the East Africa Community by offering them free work permits (Class M) and trust that current administrative hurdles will be removed to allow all refugees access to work permits.”
According to the group, refugees who would face cruelty, inhuman or degrading treatment, or irreparable harm should not be returned to their home country.
“The principle of non-refoulement guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm,” they stated.
Further, Amnesty urged the government not to abandon its history as a sanctuary nation while embroiled in a diplomatic dispute with Somalia.
“We further urged the Government of Kenya to not abandon its history as a sanctuary nation in the middle of a pandemic or a diplomatic dispute with the Government of Somalia but instead use its international leadership on the UN Security Council to advocate for more resources and opportunities for both host nations and refugees,” said the group.
The country yesterday formally communicated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) its decision to close Dadaab and Kakuma camps by 30 June 2022.
In a tweet, the interior ministry made the announcement about five weeks after ordering the closure of the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps and giving the United Nations two weeks to present a plan to carry this out.
The government at the same time has said among the precursory activities in the roadmap is repatriation of refugees to countries of origin and socioeconomic integration of some of them through Work/Residence Permits.
“Among the precursory activities in (the government’s) roadmap is repatriation of refugees to countries of origin and socio-economic integration of some of them through Work/Residence Permits (in Kenya),” read the tweet.
