The Kenyan government on Thursday said it has informed the United Nations about its decision to shut down two refugee camps hosting over 430,000 refugees, who fled from wars in the East and Horn of Africa, by June 2022, reported Reuters.
The Kenyan Interior Ministry made the announcement on Twitter almost five weeks after ordering the closure of the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps and giving two weeks timeframe to the United Nations to present a plan to carry out the closure of the decades-old camps.
Following a meeting between President Uhuru Kenyatta and UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi, the Kenyan ministry said that it planned to repatriate some of the refugees and give others residency. The majority of the people at the two camps are from Somalia and South Sudan.
A joint statement released by the Kenyan government and the (UN Refugee) agency said a joint team will be formed to finalize and implement a road map on the next steps towards humane management of refugees in both camps.
The statement said the Kenyan government and the UNHCR agree that refugee camps are not a long-term solution to forced displacement. It added that the two are committed to working together to find alternative solutions in line with the Global Compact on Refugees.
Kenya’s Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i said the government is serious about completing the repatriation program, which began in 2016, in line with the country’s international obligations and domestic responsibility. He said the government plans to shut down both Dadaab and Kakuma camps by June 30, 2022.
“I believe that the government and people of Kenya will continue to show their generous hospitality towards refugees as they have done for nearly three decades, while we carry on discussions on a strategy to find the most durable, appropriate, and rights-based solutions for refugees and asylum-seekers residing in the refugee camps in Dadaab and Kakuma,” Grandi said.
