COLLECTIVE DEMARCHE TO PRESIDENT KIBAKI ON DADAAB

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 002594 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E DRIANO, PRM, FO, PRM/AF DEUTCH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF KE SO SUBJECT: COLLECTIVE DEMARCHE TO PRESIDENT KIBAKI ON DADAAB REF: 09 NAIROBI 2364 ¶1. During the visit of PRM Assistant Secretary Eric Schwartz to Kenya on October 17 - 22, the donor community agreed to a collective demarche urging President Kibaki to authorize the opening of a fourth Dadaab camp (09 Nairobi 2363). Ten Ambassadors signed a joint letter which was sent to President Kibaki on November 23, 2009. ¶2. Begin Text. ¶3. His Excellency Mwai Kibaki President of the Republic of Kenya Nairobi ¶4. Dear Mr. President : ¶5. We the members of the International Donor Community and friends of Kenya represented by the undersigned, present our compliments to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya. We want to underscore our continued support for Kenya's longstanding history of generously hosting and protecting refugees. We recognize and applaud Kenya's tradition of solidarity with those who have sought refuge in her territory and we stand resolute in our support of Kenya's efforts to uphold its international obligations towards refugees and asylum seekers. ¶6. It is in this spirit of international solidarity and support that we reiterate our concern that the humanitarian conditions in the Dadaab refugee camps are rapidly deteriorating. Concerted action is called for to avoid a humanitarian disaster. ¶7. While we acknowledge Kenya's serious and legitimate security and environmental concerns due to the expanding refugee population in North Eastern Province, we encourage the establishment of a fourth camp and a screening center as a means to avert a looming crisis and to effectively address security concerns. ¶8. Your Excellency, the camps in Dadaab were designed for 90,000 refugees in the early 1990's. The number of refugees due to the worsened situation in Somalia has now reached 272,000 and is estimated to reach 330,000 by the end of this year. We note UNHCR's alarm at the rapid deterioration of living standards and access to basic services available to refugees. ¶9. Since our last letter to you on 4 May 2009 expressing our concern about the deterioration of humanitarian standards in Dadaab, we have been encouraged by the progress UNHCR has made in addressing the concerns raised by your Government. UNHCR has relocated some 12,900 refugees to Kakuma, has improved its registration and verification of refugees and has launched, together with other UN agencies in Kenya, community development and environmental rehabilitation proposals for refugee hosting communities. ¶10. We were also encouraged by the August meeting between Your Excellency and UNHCR High Commissioner Antonio Guterres, anticipating that the senior level mission Your Excellency ordered to Dadaab would provide recommendations for the way forward soon and would endorse the Fafi District and Garissa County Council's approval for the allocation of 2,000 hectares for the fourth camp. NAIROBI 00002594 002 OF 003 ¶11. As part of a coordinated approach as agreed between Your Excellency and UNHCR Guterres, additional efforts, supported by the international community and the UN in close collaboration with your government, to address the security concerns at the border and the need for enhancement of the refugee and asylum capacity of the Kenyan government, are being implemented at the moment or are underway. The international community is clearly committed to support Kenya on these broader security, environment, local development and migration issues. ¶12. We remain gravely concerned over the situation for the refugees in Dadaab. We encourage measures on the part of the Kenyan Government that will allow refugees to be hosted and protected within acceptable standards of dignity and avert the threat to their health and welfare. ¶13. We respectfully ask for Your Excellency's positive and expeditious response to this matter. A letter with a same content has been addressed to the Right Honourable Prime Minister Hon. Raila Odinga and to the Honourable Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Provincial Administration and Internal Security and Immigration and Registration of Persons. Respectfully, Signatories: ¶14. H.E. Mr. Michael Ranneberger Ambassador Embassy of the United States ¶15. H.E. Ross Hynes High Commissioner Canadian High Commission ¶16. H.E. Igor Haustrate Ambassador Embassy of Belgium ¶17. H.E. Ms. Elisabeth Jacobsen Ambassador Royal Norwegian Embassy ¶18. Mr. Eric Van der Linden Head of Delegation Delegation of the European Commission ¶19. H.E Mr. Robert Macaire High Commissioner British High Commission NAIROBI 00002594 003 OF 003 ¶20. H.E. Bo Jensen Ambassador Danish Embassy ¶21. H.E. Ms. Laetitia Van Den Assum Ambassador Royal Netherlands Embassy ¶22. H.E. Ann Dismorr Ambassador Embassy of Sweden ¶23. H.E. Shigeo Iwatan Ambassador Embassy of Japan ¶24. End Text RANNEBERGER