UNHCR proposes new resettlement plan for refugees in Kenyan camps

Nairobi, April 11 : The United Nations refugee agency said it has shared with Kenya a proposed set of sustainable and rights-based measures aimed at identifying solutions for refugees living in camps in Kenya.
The Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, located in Kenya, host some 430,000 refugees and asylum-seekers of more than 15 nationalities, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.
Fathiaa Abdalla, the UNHCR representative in Kenya, said the UN agency has proposed enhanced voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity, while taking into account the movement restrictions related to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have heard the concerns expressed by the government of Kenya and hope that these measures will be a significant step forward in accelerating sustainable solutions for all those concerned,” she said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
The UNHCR supports speeding up the issuing of national identity cards to more than 11,000 Kenyans who have previously been identified as registered in the refugee database, and continuation of the vetting process for others in similar circumstances, Abdalla said.
She said the UNHCR recognizes the tremendous generosity that the people and Kenyan government have demonstrated towards refugees for many decades and the need to resolve situations of longstanding displacement.