Kenya defending move to close Dadaab Camp in UN Summit

The fate of refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab Camp will now be decided in Instanbul, Turkey during the ongoing World Humanitarian Summit, the first in history of the United Nation’s 70-years of existence.

World leaders and other stakeholders such as non-governmental and international organizations, private sector actors and relevant institutes better tackle what the United Nations describes as the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. Nearly 100 million people across the world are struggling to meet fundamental needs they have been deprived of due to war and conflicts or natural disasters and calamities.

This comes barely two weeks after Kenya declared, against the will of the international community, that it will shut down the Dadaab Refugee camp accusing the international community of failing to meet its obligation of supporting the refugees thereby leaving the country to shoulder all the responsibilities.

Kenya argues that besides the huge economic burden, the Dadaab Refugee is posing a serious security threat and immense environmental pressure.

The decision has shocked the United Nations with human rights bodies describing it as reckless. However, Kenya still stands her ground.  A high level delegation of the UN Security Council, led by its President, Amb. Abdelattiff Aboulatta, flew to Nairobi last week to hold talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta, hoping to convince the government about pausing the repatriation plans.

There were no promises, but the UNSC told a news conference in Nairobi that the government expressed willingness to halt the plan. The UNSC is, however, banking on the indication that there is room for negotiations.

Nonetheless, Deputy President William Ruto is defending Kenya’s decision before the international community at the Istanbul Congress Centre. But the world certainly hopes that this summit will change Kenya’s mind about repatriating all the 350,000 plus refugees at the Dadaab Refugee Camp, particularly because it is expected to specify the distribution of roles among countries in helping people struggling to meet their fundamental needs.

“We have tremendous suffering in the world today. There is huge need for us to show solidarity with those who are affected by natural disasters and man-made disasters,” UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, told reporters at a press conference in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday ahead of the opening Monday.

The gathering was conceived four years ago by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and saw 23,000 people in over 150 countries consulted.

The summit calls on world leaders to commit to five core responsibilities; preventing and ending conflict, respecting the rules of war, leaving no one behind, working to end need and investing in humanity.