The United Nations agency for refugees has indicated its willingness to roll out the facilitation for the Somalis in Daaadab willing to voluntary return to Somalia.
The first batch saw the return of over 10, 000 refugees and now the second barch will see the voluntary return of over 50,000 refugees.
Over 2 million Somalis remain trapped in what is one of the world’s most protracted displacement situations, lasting over two decades and impacting three generations. Approximately 1.1 million Somalis are displaced within Somalia. Nearly 1 million are refugees in the surrounding region: 12,044 in Djibouti, 420,711 in Kenya, 249,350 in Ethiopia, 32,447 in Uganda and approximately 240,000 in Yemen. Tentative security and political gains in Somalia, along with growing pressures on hosting countries, makes this a critical moment to renew efforts to find durable solutions for Somali refugees.
The voluntary return of Somalis to their country was reached at two years ago. The tripartite agreement, signed by the Government of Kenya, the Federal Government of Somalia and UNHCR in November 2013, guides dialogue on the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees living in Kenya.
Seeking international support towards the above goal, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the European Union, in partnership with the Republic of Kenya and the Federal Republic of Somalia, hosted a Ministerial Pledging Conference on Somali Refugees in Brussels on 21 October 2015. The conference was attended by over 50 States and organisations.
A number of Somalis trapped in largest refugee camp in Dadaab are going through a rough patch following controlled aid in order to encourage the refugees to voluntarily return to their country.
Financial pledges of Euro 94 million (USD 105 million) were made by donors towards the voluntary exercise.