Kenya/Somalia: Status of Somali refugees in Kenya when their refugee camp closes; status of UNHCR-recognized refugees in Kenya; whether Somali refugees who have left Kenya have the right to return and stay in Kenya if their camp closed in their absence
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 20 June 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ZZZ34534.E |
| Reference | 4 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Kenya/Somalia: Status of Somali refugees in Kenya when their refugee camp closes; status of UNHCR-recognized refugees in Kenya; whether Somali refugees who have left Kenya have the right to return and stay in Kenya if their camp closed in their absence , 20 June 2000, ZZZ34534.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad8268.html [accessed 7 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to the U.S. Committee for Refugees, Kenya has no refugee law and "refugees have no legal status in Kenya" (USCR 2000).
A United Nations news report on 4 August 1999 indicated that on 3 August 1999 the government of Kenya had ordered the closure of an illegal Somali refugee camp, St. Ann's, near Mombasa (IRIN 4 Aug. 1999). The Mombasa District Commissioner (DC) gave the 2,500 inhabitants of the camp until 6 August to evacuate the camp or be arrested (ibid.). The DC added that all refugee camps in the Mombassa area had been ordered closed the previous year, with the camp's inhabitants being transferred to the two recognized camps of Dabaab and Kakuma (ibid.). Regarding the St. Ann's camp, the DC was quoted as saying that any refugees who refused to move would be sent back to Somalia (ibid.). On 8 and 9 August 1999 several hundred Somali refugees were transferred from St. Ann's to the Kakuma camp (IRIN 10 Aug. 1999; USCR 2000).
According to the U.S. Committee for Refugees, in 1999:
Kenyan police mounted a round-up of 2,000 refugees and other foreigners in Mombasa in August. A similar police sweep in Nairobi in August September detained 600 persons. After UNHCR intervened, the government transported detained refugees to camps in Kakuma and Dadaab and did not forcibly return them to Somalia, aid workers reported. (ibid.)
No information on whether a Somali refugee who left Kenya would be allowed to re-enter Kenya and stay there if his or her refugee camp was closed during his or her absence could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN). 10 August 1999. "Somalia: IRIN News Briefs." (Africa News/NEXIS)
_____. 4 August 1999. Somalia: Kenya Orders Closure of "Illegal" Refugee Camp." < http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Hornet/irin_8499b.html > [Accessed 15 June 1999]
U.S. Committee for Refugees. 2000. Worldwide Refugee Information: Country Report: Kenya < http://www.refugees.org/world/countryrpt/africa/kenya.htm > [Accessed 15 June 2000]
Additional Sources Consulted
Letters to the Kenyan High Commission, UNHCR
