The UK government has pledged Sh2.2 billion to facilitate the resettlement of Somali refugees in Kenya.
The funds have been set aside to ensure
refugees who want to return home have support and livelihoods in place to ensure their safe, long-term resettlement in Somalia.
This is a boost to the ongoing
resettlement
plans the UK government has been implementing with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to support voluntary returns. The programme has so far helped over 12,000 people return to Somalia.
In her first address to the UN General Assembly in New York, UK Prime Minister Theresa May acknowledged the challenges of refugees and host countries and reiterated the UK’s commitment to global humanitarian assistance.
“Across the world today, there are 65 million people who have been forcibly displaced. That it is equivalent to the entire population of the United Kingdom. It is an unprecedented figure, one that has almost doubled in a decade," she said.
She noted that UN appeals are underfunded since host countries are not receiving adequate support.
"Refugees are not getting the aid, education and economic opportunities they need. We must do more. And as the second largest bi-lateral provider of assistance, the UK remains fully committed to playing a leading role," she said.
British Charge d’Affaires to Somalia Andrew Allen lauded the Kenyan government for having been a host of refugees from other countries and assured a smooth transition in the resettlement plan.
“The UK has long supported Somalia and Kenya as it provides refuge to those fleeing conflict and hunger and this new funding will go directly to helping Somali refugees returning voluntarily from Dadaab, in a way which is safe, dignified, and allows them to build a better future for themselves and their families in line with international law," he stated.
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Allen said they are working with the UNHCR and NGO partners such as UNICEF and WFP to provide food, education, shelter, healthcare and other urgently needed essentials, making Somalia a safer place for refugees to return to.
Kenya had on Wednesday called for more
funding for its plan to repatriate more than 300,000 Somali refugees living in Dadaab citing world leaders' commitment to burden-sharing.
“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 Foreign Affairs CS Amina Mohamed
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," she added.
In May, Kenya announced its plans to close the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, saying it had been infiltrated by terrorist cells. Since then, many refugees have left the camp, with
This is as
Jubaland, the UN and international partners have agreed to address the humanitarian needs of refugees returning from Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp.
Early this month, some refugees who had left Dadaab were stranded near the Somali border after authorities in Jubaland refused to receive them, saying they could not provide enough assistance, local media reported.
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