Assessing the Effectiveness of Refugee Settlement from Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya

Civil war in Africa has brought about a huge influx of refugees into the neighboring countries including Kenya; specifically Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya host about 630,926 refugees and asylum seekers with most of them residing in these two camps. The number has never been this high since the fonnation of the UNHCR in the 1950s with the African continent having about 16 million people either displaced or forced to flee from their country of origin.

The study focused on refugees living in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya while identifying, analyzing and comparing the different methods of refugee settlement with a main focus on the most viable solution that can be offered to most refugees. The main argument was that local integration and third country resettlement are rarely available to most refugees and therefore, voluntary repatriation can be a very successful solution if executed well. Therefore, most refugees would actually consider returning to Somalia if the conditions are conducive. The study sought to avail information on the three solutions by looking at the effectiveness of each method. Additionally, it looked into the Tripartite Agreement made between Kenya, Somalia and the UNHCR on the repatriation of Somali refiigees from Dadaab to Somalia while giving recommendations for the successful implementation of the repatriation process. This was achieved by using secondary sources of data including books, articles, and journals.

The study is hoped to be beneficial to- all entities that deal with refugees by enhancing an understanding on the three refugee solutions and some of the issues involved in the implementation of the three solutions. The study established that voluntary repatriation is the most viable refugee solution to most refugees in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya but depending on the situation, other solutions can also be used.