Kenya: ‘Statelessness’ fears to delay Dadaab closure

Kenya may be forced to delay the closure of Dadaab Refugee Camp to avoid rendering thousands of people stateless.

Nairobi’s delegation attending this year’s intergovernmental meeting on refugees and statelessness, in Geneva, Switzerland, last week admitted there are still people in Dadaab who may not need repatriation because they are Kenyans or qualify to be citizens.

For a long time, cited as the World’s largest refugee camp (it no longer is), Dadaab, which used to have five sub-camps, has gradually been reduced as the population leaves in what officials say is mostly through voluntary repatriation.

In April, for example, Kenya degazetted Kambios and Ifo 2 Camps “which had been emptied of refugees, who voluntarily returned home,” according to the official narrative.

And the earlier announcement by the Refugee Affairs Secretariat was that the camp could be shut down as early as 2020.

Read further: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/economy/fears-to-delay-Dadaab-closure/3946234-5313280-15pxhiz/index.html