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Kakuma refugee camp: UNHCR calling for calm after confrontation between refugees and the local community
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is appealing for calm and the easing of tensions in Kakuma refugee camp after yesterday’s violent confrontation between some LGBTI refugees and members of the local community. The incident left one female refugee sustaining minor injuries and a local young man suffering serious injuries requiring […]
Refugee Olympian Yiech Pur Biel named UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, today announced the appointment of South Sudanese track and field athlete Yiech Pur Biel as their newest Goodwill Ambassador. A refugee, Pur was forced to flee the conflict in South Sudan in 2005, journeying alone to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya when he was only […]
World Refugee Day 2020 Blog
Message from Fillipo Grandi during the WRD2020 On #WorldRefugeeDay, we celebrate and honour refugees across the world. You never cease to inspire us. From the UN High Commissioner for Refugees @FilippoGrandi to you: pic.twitter.com/eT7Y7y0GAu — UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) June 20, 2020 Bahati Ernestine , a refugee living […]
UNHCR and humanitarian agencies strengthen health response in Kenya refugee camps
Nairobi/Geneva, Kenya, 20 May 2020 – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, humanitarian agencies and the Government of Kenya are strengthening their COVID-19 response, after it was confirmed by the Government that two individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Dadaab refugee camps. In line with the Government of Kenya’s directives, […]
UNHCR deplores tensed situation in Kakuma, renews call for dialogue and peaceful solutions
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, expressed today its concerns about the increasingly tensed situation involving a group of some 20 refugees who self-identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Intersex (LGBTI) in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. In total, there are nearly 300 LGBTI refugees and asylum-seekers currently living in […]
UNHCR urges dialogue and peaceful coexistence among refugees in Kakuma refugee camp
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, called today for enhanced dialogue among refugee communities living in Kakuma to help reduce the tensions which have emerged in a specific area of the refugee camp. In recent weeks, UNHCR has received conflicting reports from different communities who have been accusing each other of […]
Kenya Live Blog: COVID-19
UNHCR, Government, donors, partners and refugees are all partnering together in Kenya to fight the spread of the corona virus in refugee camps.
UNHCR Ramadan Appeal calls for support for refugees and displaced people amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Nairobi, Kenya, 5 May 2020 – Hundreds of thousands among the 70.8 million refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons worldwide are among those observing the holy month of Ramadan. However, the pandemic has made them particularly vulnerable due to their limited access to clean water and quality sanitation and […]
UNHCR deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in Kakuma refugee camp
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply saddened by the recent tragic loss of two refugee lives in two separate incidents in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya. We wish to express our most sincere condolences to their families and friends. Last night, a refugee was killed and another one wounded during […]
UNHCR Kenya Statement on false claims about transfer of refugees from Kakuma to Nairobi
This statement is issued in response to recent false claims on social media that UNHCR was involved last week in transferring refugees from Kakuma refugee camp to Nairobi. The encampment policy of the Government of Kenya dictates that all refugees and asylum-seekers on Kenyan territory must reside in one of […]
Soap maker in Kenya refugee camp lowers prices to fight COVID-19
When Innocent Havyarimana, a Burundian refugee, first heard handwashing was crucial in preventing coronavirus, he did something few businessmen would do – he lowered his prices. Others might have raised prices to increase profit, but his aim was to make his soap as accessible as possible, so he also boosted […]
Kakuma refugee camp: update on the sit-in protest in front of UNHCR office
After several efforts over the last three days by UNHCR, the National Police Service and the Refugee Affairs Secretariat to resolve peacefully a sit-in protest outside the UNHCR’s office in Kakuma, Kenya, and offer realistic solutions to the 60 refugees and asylum seekers involved, they were moved today by the […]