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A Review of the Legal Framework Relating to the Proposed Closure of the Dadaab Refugee Camp and Repatriation of Somali Refugees

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A Review of the Legal Framework Relating to the Proposed Closure of the Dadaab Refugee Camp and Repatriation of Somali Refugees A REVIEW OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK RELATING TO THE PROPOSED CLOSURE OF THE DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP AND REPATRIATION OF SOMALI REFUGEES November 2017 This Report was commissioned by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) through the Thomson Reuters TrustLaw programme. TrustLaw is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono legal programme. It connects leading law firms and corporate legal teams around the world with high-impact non-governmental organisations (“NGO”s) and social enterprises working to create social and environmental change. NRC was provided with assistance, through the TrustLaw programme, by an international law firm and a Kenyan law firm. Cover/back cover photos: © NRC/Fredrik Lerneryd, 2016 Layout & Design: BakOS DESIGN TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................................................................8 Factual Background ....................................................................................................................................................................................8 Plans to Close the Dadaab Refugee Camps ...............................................................................................................................8 The Situation in Somalia ...................................................................................................................................................................9 Legal Analysis ..............................................................................................................................................................................................10 Refugee Status and Rights .............................................................................................................................................................10 Voluntary Repatriation ....................................................................................................................................................................10 Precedents for the Voluntary Return of Refugees ..........................................................................................................................11 DEFINITIONS, REFERENCES AND ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................................13 A INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................................................15 A.1 Scope of this Report ..........................................................................................................................................................................15 A.2 Report Structure .................................................................................................................................................................................16 A.3 Contributors .........................................................................................................................................................................................17 B DADAAB FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT ................................................................................................................18 B.1 Overview of Dadaab ..........................................................................................................................................................................18 B.2 Reasons for Arrival: Seeking Refuge ............................................................................................................................................19 B.3 Current Security and Humanitarian Situation in Somalia ................................................................................................... 20 B.3.1 Civil War and Conflict in Somalia ...................................................................................................................................... 20 B.3.2 Somalia Under Strain .............................................................................................................................................................21 B.3.3 Deteriorating Humanitarian Situation ........................................................................................................................... 22 B.4 Overview of Refugee Treatment .................................................................................................................................................. 23 B.4.1 Registration and Refugee Status Determination (“RSD”) ........................................................................................ 23 B.4.2 Structural Encampment Policy ......................................................................................................................................... 24 B.4.3 Operation Usalama ............................................................................................................................................................... 25 B.4.4 First Steps Towards the Closure of Dadaab ................................................................................................................... 25 B.4.5 Camp Dependencies and Impact on Kenya ................................................................................................................. 26 B.5 Process of Repatriating the Somali Refugees From Dadaab to Somalia ........................................................................ 26 B.5.1 The Process for Repatriation .............................................................................................................................................. 26 B.5.2 Assistance Provided Upon Return to Somalia ............................................................................................................. 28 DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP 3 C RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................................................................... 29 C.1 International Legal Instruments to which Kenya has Acceded as a State Party .......................................................... 30 C.1.1 The 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees ................................................... 30 C.2 Soft International Law ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 C.2.1 Office of the UNHCR .............................................................................................................................................................. 35 C.3 Recent Developments in International Refugee Law and Policy ..................................................................................... 36 C.4 African regional legal instruments to which Kenya has acceded as a State Party ..................................................... 37 C.4.1 The OAU Convention ............................................................................................................................................................ 37 C.4.2 The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“The African Charter”)................................................... 39 C.5 Tripartite Agreement ........................................................................................................................................................................ 40 C.5.1 Safety ...........................................................................................................................................................................................41 C.5.2 Voluntariness ............................................................................................................................................................................41 C.5.3 Reintegration .......................................................................................................................................................................... 42 C.5.4 Access and Monitoring ........................................................................................................................................................ 42 C.6 Domestic Kenyan Laws and Case Law ....................................................................................................................................... 43 C.6.1 The Constitution ..................................................................................................................................................................... 43 C.6.2 The Refugees Act ...................................................................................................................................................................44 C.6.3 The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act ............................................................................................................... 46 C.7 Kenyan Jurisprudence...................................................................................................................................................................... 46 C.7.1 Recent Kenyan Court Judgment on the Kenyan Government’s Proposed Camp Closure Policy .............. 46 C.7.2 Recent Kenyan Court of Appeal Judgment Kituo Cha Sheria ...............................................................................
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