Majority of Somali refugees in Kenya do not want to return home: report

Majority of Somali refugees at the Dadaab camp in northeast Kenya are not willing to return home, a new report by international medical charity, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) revealed on Thursday.

The charity said the current humanitarian situation in many parts of Somalia, with high levels of insecurity and a widespread lack of medical care, means that the necessary conditions for a safe and dignified return are simply not met today.

According to the report, 86 percent of surveyed refugees in Dadaab do not want to go back to Somalia. Fears around insecurity were acute with nearly all -- males and females -- stating that the risk of sexual violence is high. MSF is therefore questioning the "voluntary" nature of the returns that the UNHCR is helping facilitate.

"The fears that the refugees tell us about are real. It is crucial that any return is voluntary, and refugees must have all necessary information about the services and conditions which will meet them in Somalia," said Liesbeth Aelbrecht, Head of Mission for MSF in Kenya.

MSF reiterated that setting up Dadaab style camps across the border is shifting responsibility and abandoning the protection of refugees. It called on international community to share responsibility with Kenya.

It said other more durable solutions, such as smaller camps in Kenya, increased resettlement to third countries, or integration of refugees into Kenyan communities, should be urgently considered.

As the announced closure of the world's largest refugee camp draws closer, and thousands begin the return to war-ravaged Somalia, MSF called for other alternatives to be urgently considered by Kenya and the UNHCR, supported by donor countries. Endit