Nearly 5,000 Somali refugees from Kenya’s Dadaab camps have returned home since December 2014, the UN refugee agency has said.
In an update issued during a press briefing in Geneva on Saturday, the agency said 4,500 more have signed up to go back in the coming months.
“They receive a cash grant, food and basic domestic items such as sleeping mats, mosquito nets, a solar lantern, hygiene supplies and kitchen utensils to help them start a new life,” said UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards.
Edwards said security and socio-economic conditions in many parts of Somalia are not right for large-scale refugee returns, but noted that some are eager to return and rebuild their country.
He said; “To end one of the world’s most complex refugee situations, it is vital to make sure the small number of returns can be successful and contribute to a more peaceful and stable Somalia.”
Edwards added that more support and investment in Somalia’s social and economic infrastructure are urgently needed.
“While security remains a concern, the lack of equipped public schools and job opportunities is cited by many as stopping them from going back,” he said.
Foreign Affairs CS Amina Mohamed is expected to take part in a major pledging conference for Somali refugees in Brussels on Wednesday.
UN High Commissioner António Guterres, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica will attend the conference.
Others will be Somalia’s Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke and high-level delegations from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Yemen.
They will present an action plan on the sustainable return of refugees from the region to Somalia, and rebuilding areas of return.
The main focus will be infrastructure, law enforcement, education, water and sanitation, health care provision, shelter, agriculture and job opportunities
The plan that will be presented to representatives of more than 30 donor countries and organizations requires US$500 million (Sh51.2 billion) and will run for two years until the end of 2017.
More than two million Somalis remain displaced in the region, including more than 1.1 million in their own country, and 967,000 as refugees in neighbouring nations.
The majority (420,000) are living in Kenya, mostly in the five refugee camps in Dadaab in the north-east. Nearly 250,000 are in Ethiopia and an estimated 200,000 in Yemen.
– See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/5000-somali-refugees-repatriated-kenya-december-2014-unhcr#sthash.7Dl80Lv0.dpuf