Jubaland, the UN and international partners have agreed to address the humanitarian needs of refugees returning from Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp.
A delegation of representatives of UN agencies, World Bank and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation met with second deputy President Abdulkadir
Dhere
to discuss their reintegration.
They were led by Peter de Clercq, deputy special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia .
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The meeting in Kismayo on Monday also addressed lasting solutions for internally displaced persons living in the town.
"We will have a coordination committee based in Kismayu... We will discuss concrete programmes that we will go to the donors with, to increase our cooperation with Jubaland authorities, and activities around the reintegration of displaced persons and refugees,” said de Clercq.
He also handed over two vehicles
donated by the United Nations Development Programme
to Jubaland's Justice minister Adan Ibrahim.
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Dhere expressed satisfaction with the talks, saying they also discussed the initiation of development projects.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of our discussions. I thank the United Nations for their assistance and welcome any other organisations working on humanitarian aid in Jubaland region to work with us,” he stated.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said the decision to close the Dadaab camp as part of the war on terror was final, despite protest by rights organisations.
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In a statement on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs CS Amina Mohamed urged the global community to support countries hosting a huge number of refugees.
“Kenya has hosted the largest number of refugees in the world in the last three decades
and the burden our country has continued to endure remains disproportionate to support received,” the CS said.
She spoke during the 71st
Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA71) at UN headquarters in New York.
Amina
defended the decision to close Dadaab saying there was adequate evidence
the camp has been infiltrated by terrorists' cells.
She noted its populations had declined by at least 150,000 by the end of 2016.
“I must mention that refugees have been living in crowded, insecure and squalid conditions that are simply unacceptable," she said. "The closure of Dadaab camp, which has been in existence for over 25 years, will therefore not only end a life of decades in exile, but also enable the refugees to regain their human dignity."