The decision by Kenya to stop hosting refugees could have “devastating consequences” for the hundreds of thousands of people warned the UN on Monday, urging the east African nation to reconsider.
“In light of this, and because of the potentially devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands of people that premature ending of refugee hosting would have, UNHCR is calling on the government of Kenya to reconsider its decision,” it said.
Kenya said Friday that it planned to close refugee camps on its soil citing security concerns and would no longer automatically grant refugee status to arriving asylum seekers.
The UN refugee agency voiced alarm at the announcement, warning against “the potentially devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands of people that premature ending of refugee hosting would have.”
Kenya which has the world’s largest refugee camp, Dadaab, hosts some 550 000 refugees in camps in the north of the country. The camp mainly accommodates refugees from neighbouring Somalia.
Kakuma camp in the north-west principally hosts people fleeing a civil war in South Sudan.
“The safety of hundreds of thousands of Somalis, South Sudanese and others has (long) hinged on Kenya’s generosity and its willingness to be a leading beacon in the region for international protection,” UNHCR said in a statement.
“Tragically, the situations in Somalia and South Sudan that cause people to flee are still unresolved today,” it added.
A Kenyan interior ministry spokesman said last week that the decision to stop hosting refugees was aimed at Somalis, but that people from other countries might also be affected.
Kenya said new arrivals from Somalia will no longer receive ‘prima facie’ refugee status but will have to argue their cases individually.
However, it also said that the agency tasked with processing those applications, the Department of Refugee Affairs, would be shut down.
