Kenya to shut 500,000 population refugee camp after new ultimatum
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenya has issued a final 14-day ultimatum to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to provide a roadmap on the permanent shutdown of the Dadaab and Kakuma Refugee camps in northeastern and northern Kenya respectively.
Kenya's Interior Ministry Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said on Wednesday there would be no room for further negotiations with the UNHCR on the extension of the deadline for the camps' closure.
The latest move comes in the wake of heightening diplomatic tension between Kenya and Somalia, which first ordered the camp in Daadab to be relocated at Somalia to allow for the shutdown of the camp by December 2016.
The UNHCR said it appreciated the generosity of the Kenyan government in allowing the refugees and asylum seekers over the decades and that this had unspecified "impact" on Kenya.
The UN Refugee agency said it had been informed of the intention to close the camps within a short time frame.
"The decison would have an impact on the protection of refugees in Kenya including the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue our dialogue with the Kenyan authorities on this issue," a UNHCR said in statement.
Attempts to shutdown the refugee camps in Kenya, which opened in early 1990s when the political crisis in Somalia broke out, have been hampered by the refugees, who have been weaned on free food, education and camp security, always coming back after travelling back to Somalia.
The voluntary repatriation processes launched as part of efforts to depopulate the camps continue to show little promise.
In 2015, authorities in Kenya mooted the idea of closing the refugee camps in Dadaab after claiming the terror attacks on Westgate Mall and the Garissa University, which killed hundreds of people and left scores of people wounded, were all planned under the cover of Dadaab.
While Matiang'i said there would be no room for further negotiations, the UNHCR appeared to retort to the ultimatum, saying the government should ensure any new decisions allow for suitable and sustainable solutions.
The UNHCR said such decisions must ensure those in need of support are able to receive the support.
-0- PANA AO/MA 24March2021
