Kenya signs pact for refugees return to Somalia

Kenya and Somalia have signed a tripartite agreement that paves the way for the repatriation of one million refugees to Somalia. The agreement was signed on Sunday by Kenya’s Foreign Secretary Amina Mohamed, Somalia’s deputy premier and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Deputy President William Ruto who witnessed the signing, said the pact provides for the establishment of a repatriation commission which will be charged with undertaking a harmonised regulatory framework for the voluntary repatriation of the refugees to Somalia, which has witnessed civil strife for more than 20 years. “We are the happiest people today as the people of Kenya, as we participate in this exercise that will see the biggest ever refugee camp in the whole world (Dadaab) begin the process of orderly, voluntary repatriation of citizens to their homeland where they can go back and participate in their communities and in building their country,” said Ruto at the event attended by officials from various UN bodies and ambassadors. Somalia’s Deputy Premier and Foreign Affairs Minister Fawzia Yusuf Adan observed that some peace had been restored in the troubled Horn of Africa state under the leadership of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, and it was time the refugees returned home to reconstruct the country. She added that the Federal Republic of Somalia is committed to creating conditions that will provide for the dignified repatriation of Somalia refugees from Kenya and other neighbouring countries. The repatriation plan is expected to take three years and the commission will tasked with working on the logistics of moving the over 560,000 refugees from Kenya back to Somalia.