ICMCEUROPE WelcometoEurope.pdf (5.89 MB)

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Chapter III – Refugee Situations in Focus
on voluntary repatriation for Somali
refugees in Kenya. The agreement is
for a tripartite conference to take place
in August 2013 to plan repatriation
measures and mechanisms, together
with the participation of UNHCR. While
both civil society organisations and
UNHCR have welcomed the availability
of voluntary repatriation for Somali
refugees who wish to return, they
have also strongly cautioned against
large-scale refugee returns given the
highly insecure nature of many areas
of Somalia. 30 At the time of writing, no
official plans for the August conference
or for repatriation measures more generally
have been announced by either
government.
Prospects for local integration are
highly limited. While both Kenya and
Ethiopia are signatories to the 1951
Convention, its 1967 protocol and the
1969 OAU Refugee Convention, they
both impose restrictions on refugees’
access to employment. In Kenya, for
example, work permits are not issued
to refugees. Additionally, in early 2013,
a number of civil society groups raised
concerns about a dramatic increase
in arbitrary arrests and attacks on
refugees of Somali origin in Kenya.
They also criticised media coverage
that often links refugees to insecurity
without evidence to corroborate such
30 Concern over planned relocation of refugees from
Kenya to Somalia www.irinnews.org/report/98308/
concern-over-planned-relocation-of-refugeesfrom-kenya-to-somalia
claims, as compounding existing xenophobic
attitudes towards refugees and
asylum seekers. 31
Resettlement is considered an
important viable durable solution for
Somali refugees in both Kenya and
Ethiopia. For 2014, UNHCR’s planned
resettlement submissions for Somali
refugees are 5,883 refugees – 3,673 in
Kenya and 2,210 in Ethiopia, respectively.
More broadly, UNHCR has projected
total multi-year resettlement
needs for 151,416 Somali refugees in
Kenya and Ethiopia – 141,511 in Kenya
and 9,905 in Ethiopia. 32
The resettlement process in Dadaab
has been complicated by growing
insecurity in the camp and subsequent
difficulties in accessing populations
living there, meaning progressively
smaller numbers of refugees
have been submitted for resettlement
in recent years (from 8,143 refugees
in 2010 to 2,170 in 2012) 33 and a lack
of resettlement places for refugees
in Dadaab. Besides the small number
of Somali refugees who can actually
be resettled, main challenges also
include long resettlement processing
periods with average processing time
between selection and departure of
31 Jesuit Refugee Service, Kenya, Civil society group
urges government to end abuse of refugees, January
2013
32 UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2014
33 Annex 3. UNHCR Global Resettlement Statistical
Report 2012 in UNHCR Projected Global
Resettlement Needs 2014