page_title: Dadaab
section_title: Security
hierarchical_section_title: Dadaab / Living conditions / Security
caption_attribution_description: Nearly 60,000 people arrived in Dadaab last month, fleeing the food crisis in Somalia. The majority are women and children, many of whom have braved a difficult and dangerous journey across the desert to get here. These new arrivals wait to be registered - many of them face a wait of more than six weeks for registration due to delays and the massive influx. In the meantime they receive food rations that will last 21 days at most. Photo: Andy Hall/Oxfam
context_page_description: Dadaab is a semi-arid town in Garissa County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR base hosting 211,365 registered refugees and asylum seekers in three camps as of the 13 May 2019, making it the third-largest such complex in the world. The center is run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and its operations are financed by foreign donors. In 2013, UNHCR, the governments of Kenya and Somalia signed a tripartite agreement facilitating the repatriation of Somali refugees at the complex.
context_section_description: Refugees at the UNHCR center are not protected by the Government of Kenya (GOK). This has contributed to dangerous living conditions and outbreaks of violence. Because they are not protected under the law and are unable to possess a Kenyan national identification card, refugees are constantly at risk for arrest. Additionally, the Kenyan government screens ethnic Somalis and Ethiopians separately from other residents due to their different physical characteristics. A special category in local police documents is earmarked for "Kenyan-Somalis".
  While all refugees at the camp are at risk of violence, the UNHCR and CARE have identified women and children as being particularly vulnerable. They have created a department called 'Vulnerable Women and Children' (VWC) to tackle the issues surrounding violence against these populations. As of August 2015, 60% of Dadaab's total population is under the age of 18, and there are equal numbers of men and women, so women and children make up a significant portion of the camps' demographics. Specifically, the VWC department has identified orphans, widows, divorcees, rape victims and the disabled as the most vulnerable among all women and children. They offer counseling, additional food rations and supplies, and advice on how to earn an income and be financially self-sufficient. However, the effectiveness of these efforts has been questioned, and following an analysis by Dr. Aubone at St. Mary's University, more research and data is required to identify the best ways to prevent gender-based violence at the complex.
caption: New arrivals wait to get processed
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "New arrivals wait to get processed. Ifo section, Dadaab camp.\r\nDadaab camp is the largest refugee camp in the world with people fleeing the civil war in Somalia.  In recent months the rate of new arrivals has increased dramatically due to the added factor of drought that is affecting the region. It has now become severely overcrowded.", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark II", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}