Roundup: UN urges Kenya to reconsider repatriation of Somali refugees

Members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday urged Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to reconsider the repatriation of Somalia refugees saying the move could jeopardize regional peace and security.

The UN Security Council delegation led by Egyptian Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Abdellatif Aboulatta told journalists in Nairobi that Kenya and the international community will partner to find durable solutions to the humanitarian crises in Somalia.

"During our meeting with President Kenyatta and his cabinet, we discussed terrorism and refugee issues. We also shared our concerns over closure of Dadaab refugee camp that hosts Somalia refugees," said Aboulatta.

The East African nation last week announced plans to close Dadaab refugee camp, the world's largest human settlement sheltering more than 350,000 refugees from Somalia.

Kenya has maintained that Dadaab refugee camp become centers of poaching, human trafficking, illegal arms and where terror attacks are plotted, among other ills hence the decision.

However, both local and international pressure has been mounting on Kenya to rescind its decision to close the camp in the northeast region.

During a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta, the UNSC delegation said Kenya has a moral and legal obligation to shelter refugees from Somalia until the Horn of African state has stabilized fully.

Aboulatta said the international community shared Kenya's security concerns due to infiltration into refugee camps by terrorists but urged the East African nation to abide by global instruments on respect for people displaced by conflicts.

"Our position is that refugee crisis is a shared burden and closure of Dadaab refugee camp may not be the best decision," said Aboulatta, adding the international community will assist Kenya combat terrorism.

A statement issued from Kenyatta's office said the president and the diplomats from the 15-member Security Council held lengthy discussions on the situation in Somalia and the work of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), whose troop contributing countries include Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.

Kenya says AMISOM has considerably degraded the capability of Al-Shabaab and liberated large areas previously held by the group, noting that Somalia is now safer than it has ever been in 25 years.

It says the liberation of these areas has altered the security landscape and offers a rare opportunity for the Government of Somalia to initiate the process of state building, and create public safety and security for its people.

The statement said Kenya's decision to close the Dadaab refugee camp was also discussed at length.

Kenya's Interior ministry has already set up a 14-member taskforce, the National Taskforce on Repatriation of Refugees, whose role is to develop modalities, timelines and costs for the repatriation of refugees in Kenya.

The taskforce has also been tasked with developing refugee management and control strategies during the period of repatriation as well as developing a verification criterion for refugees that will feed into a comprehensive database. Endit