Capacity Building

As UNHCR is mandated to oversee globally the protection of refugees and availability of durable solutions to their problem, it is essential that UNHCR Kenya builds the effective capacity of the Government and relevant stakeholders to uphold UNHCR’s mandate.

Capacity building activities are geared towards strengthening the Kenyan authorities’ ability to manage refugees according to international norms, to ensure that adequate laws are passed and relevant policies implemented so that refugee issues such as access to asylum, reception and care of refugees, promotion of self-reliance of refugees and the realization of durable solutions are handled effectively. These objectives cannot be accomplished alone. It requires a partnership framework involving host and donor governments, humanitarian assistance and developmental agencies, civil society, NGOs, as well as the refugees themselves.

UNHCR has provided intense training on Refugee Status Determination (RSD) to enable the Government of Kenya to take over this function from UNHCR. UNHCR has supported the Government to develop its capacity to manage and implement the RSD system and to reduce the long waiting times for asylum-seekers to get a RSD decision. From 1 April 2016 the RSD process had become Government-led moving from the joint process implemented since 1 July 2014. UNHCR’s capacity development focus is being reinforced to ensure that critical infrastructure, human resources, knowledge, skills and procedural gaps are addressed and quality assurance becomes central to the process.

UNHCR conducts training workshops for Kenyan parliamentarians involved in the development of the Refugee Law. 45 stakeholders, mainly parliamentarians, were targeted for sensitization.
In line with the ongoing review of the Refugee law, UNHCR facilitated a mission of 16 members of parliament (MPs) and their 5 clerks to Dadaab from 18th to 21st March. The objective of the mission was for the MPs to better understand the refugee situation before considering a proposed draft Refugee Bill.

UNHCR Kenya has launched several training activities and workshops to enhance the skills of government officials such as court users committee, police officers, immigration officers as well as the judiciary on refugee rights and international protection principles. For 2016, there are 5 training activities planned for the Court Users Committee targeting approximately 140 mainly judicial officers but including all other officers working in the courts e.g. prosecutors, welfare officers etc. There are 5 training activities and workshops planned for the police, prison and immigration officers targeting approximately 200 officers.

UNHCR conducts training workshops at universities throughout Kenya as a way of raising awareness on refugees and to enhance the knowledge of students on refugee matters. There are 5 training workshops planned targeting approximately 130 university students and 8 lecturers at those universities.