UNHCR Kenya Backs Closing Refugee Camps In Favor Of Inclusion-Based Solution - Spokeswoman

UNHCR Kenya Backs Closing Refugee Camps in Favor of Inclusion-Based Solution - Spokeswoman

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) advocates for the shutdown of refugee camps in Kenya as soon as possible, as long as there are viable alternatives for refugees in the country, Yvonne Ndege, spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Kenya, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2018) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) advocates for the shutdown of refugee camps in Kenya as soon as possible, as long as there are viable alternatives for refugees in the country, Yvonne Ndege, spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Kenya, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

On Sunday, the UNHCR organized a public walk titled "Step for Safety" in Kenya's capital of Nairobi to highlight the plight of refugees in the country.

"I would say that UNHCR would advocate for the encampment policy to be phased out as soon as possible, but obviously ensuring that there are alternatives and solutions to those displaced people here," Ndege said.

Ndege stated that the policy of encampment in Kenya is opposed to the principle of socioeconomic inclusion of refugees, for which the UNHCR advocates.

"Obviously when you keep people in a specific location you are taking away some level of their ability to move around and to be active. This is obviously a hindrance to the inclusion of refugees and it also contradicts the policies and approaches that we are showing and demonstrating ... including refugees means getting rid of the encampment policies. Encampment policies are a major obstacle to inclusion," Ndege said.

Ndege noted that greater inclusion of refugees would benefit both the refugees and the host communities.

The UNHCR operates in the Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya, the second biggest refugee-hosting country in Africa after Ethiopia. According to UNHCR data, Somali refugees mainly settle in the Dadaab refugee complex, while refugees fleeing the conflict in South Sudan arrive in the Kakuma refugee camp.

The UNHCR states that as of January 2018, Dadaab has a population of 235,269 registered refugees and asylum seekers, while the Kakuma camp, and its closely linked Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, has a population of 185,449.