NAIROBI, (Xinhua) — The UN refugee agency on Tuesday called for continued protection for asylum seekers from southern and central Somalia, saying there are still armed conflicts despite relative stability in some regions.
The UNHCR which released revised guidelines on the international protection needs of people fleeing southern and central Somalia, Somalis should not be forcibly returned home unless the returning state is convinced that the persons involved would not be at risk of persecution.
“We are appealing to all states to uphold their international obligations with regard to no forced returns, or non-refoulement. Although security has improved in some parts of Southern and Central Somalia, armed conflict continues,” the UNHCR said in a statement.
The statement comes Kenya has kicked off voluntary repatriation process of the Somali refugees who have been living at the camp for more than two decades.
The East African nation is hosting about 610,000 Somali refugees, the majority of whom are in the large Dadaab refugee camps complex in the north-east of the country.
With parts of Somalia showing signs of increasing stability, countries hosting Somali refugees are considering the potential to encourage them to return, while some Somalis have spontaneously decided to move back to areas under government control.
A tripartite agreement signed last year by Kenya, Somalia and the UNHCR establishes a legal framework and other support for Somali refugees in Kenya, who might eventually wish to return to their homeland.
However, the international aid agencies working in search for durable solutions for Somali refugees in Kenya have urged Kenya to safeguard the global principle of non-refoulement in the implementation of the tripartite agreement.
“We consider the options for Somalis to find protection from persecution or serious harm within Southern and Central Somalia to be limited. This is especially true for large areas that remain under the control of Al-Shabaab and its allies,” the UNHCR said.
“At the same time, in Mogadishu protection to people at risk of persecution at the hands of Al-Shabaab is also generally not available.”
The Horn of Africa nation has been torn asunder by factional fighting since 1991 but has recently made progress towards stability.The conflict has left some 1.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and over 1 million more living in exile in neighboring countries, mostly in Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen.
Source: Shanghai daily
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