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  • Kenya: Government Directive Leads to Severe Abuses and Forced Returns
    02/26/2013

    In December 2012, the Government of Kenya announced a directive that would force all refugees living in cities to relocate to camps, and shut down all registration and service provision to refugees and asylum-seekers in cities. This effectively empowered Kenyan security services to unleash a wave of abuse against refugees. That Kenya has not yet gone ahead with a forced relocation plan has led some to believe that the worst has been averted. Yet the directive caused severe harm even without being implemented. Many refugees felt forced to leave Nairobi following severe harassment. The directive has also been a set-back to Kenya’s notable advances in enabling urban refugees to support themselves, and it has put the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) global urban refugee policy at risk. 

  • Somali Refugees: Ongoing Crisis, New Realities
    03/19/2012
    The United Nations has declared that famine conditions in south-central Somalia no longer exist. But the ongoing conflict in the country, coupled with a precarious food situation, will keep large numbers of Somali refugees from voluntarily returning anytime soon – this despite the rising insecurity in refugee-hosting areas of Kenya and Ethiopia. This insecurity poses a serious threat to protection and services for refugees. However, it also provides an opportunity to shake-up the unsustainable way that agencies have delivered services for decades. Despite security restrictions on access, donor governments must maintain their level of focus and funding for refugee operations in the region.
  • Horn of Africa: Not the Time to Look Away
    12/12/2011
    When famine was declared in Somalia in July, the world turned its attention to the crisis in the Horn of Africa. Since then, public and media attention has waned, despite the fact that the crisis is far from over. Food production in Somalia will not return to normal levels until the end of 2012 at the earliest. Rising insecurity inside Somalia and Kenya is impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid while greater numbers of Somalis are forced to flee violence and hunger. In the refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, UN agencies and NGOs have responded well to meet the basic needs of hundreds of thousands of new refugees, but protection monitoring and programming remains weak. In Mogadishu, non-traditional donor countries have created much needed new streams of assistance. However, their inexperience in aid distribution and coordination is resulting in vast disparities in the delivery of aid. Informal and unmanaged Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) sites inside the capital have become breeding grounds for waterborne diseases. And throughout Somalia, ongoing violence, banditry, and food shortages have trapped people who have nothing left, and nowhere to flee.
  • Age, Gender, Diversity Mainstreaming Initiative Key to Urban Protection
    11/30/2010
    The UN Refugee Agency’s approach to urban refugee protection in Nairobi, Kenya should serve as a model and best practice for programs worldwide.  By embracing the Age, Gender, and Diversity Mainstreaming Initiative, UNHCR has significantly improved their relationships with the refugee community and has drawn upon resources within that community to strengthen protection.
  • Somalis in Kenya: Invest in the Long-Term
    11/29/2010
    While the international community has not succeeded in bringing stability to Somalia, it can succeed in improving the lives of Somali refugees.  The single most important way the donor community can assist the Somali people is through increasing educational opportunities.  Humanitarian assistance alone cannot meet the needs of three generations of Somali refugees.  Donors and the United Nations must provide greater development funding to refugees and host communities living in and around Dadaab.  To improve urban protection, the UNHCR must dedicate more staff for registration in Nairobi and, along with donors, prioritize support for local Kenyan NGOs assisting urban refugees.
  • Somali Refugees: Protecting Their Rights in Cities
    06/16/2010
    Tens of thousands of Somali refugees have sought asylum in cities in neighboring countries but have long been overlooked by humanitarian actors. Registration and documentation should be the foundation of refugee protection in cities.
  • Somalia: Political Progress, Humanitarian Stalemate
    04/03/2009
    Somalia remains the site of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with regional consequences that require greater international attention. The formation of a new government has so far meant little to the more than three million Somalis in need of emergency assistance inside the country.
  • Kenya: National Registration Processes Leave Minorities on the Edge of Statelessness
    05/23/2008
    The ethnic divides that Kenya’s election crisis brought to light overshadow another longstanding form of marginalization: obstacles to citizenship faced by minority groups such as the Nubians, Kenyan Somalis, and coastal Arabs in the national identification (ID) card registration process.