recognition that states’ responsibilities towards refugees can be differentiated according to the scale and timing of the refugee movements states are confronted with. When faced with a sudden and a mass influx of refugees, some states may be not just unwilling, but simply unable to comply with their Convention obligations. As a result, while states do admit large numbers of refugees, they demand in exchange a “de facto suspension of all but the most immediate and compelling protections provided by the Convention.” This especially, is taking place on a continent on which all refugees hosting states are party to the Geneva Convention, the 1969 OAU Convention, and a number of human right treaties, which has contributed to undermining the importance of the Conventions. In light of this, the standard of treatment or protection accorded to prima facie refugees even become more complicated, in the absence of both clear legal status and clear guidelines on what they are entitled. Conventional rights would only be automatic, if they are presumed to be refugees within the definitions of the Geneva Convention. State practice in this regard especially in Africa varies considerably. This section will discuss the practical aspects of treatments offered in Africa, specifically Kenya; which is selected as a case study. The general legal framework and practice of refugees recognized through the procedure in the country will be addressed. 5. 2 Prima Facie Refugees in Kenya 5.2.1 Introduction The government of Kenya policy to restrict refugees in camps has violated rights of refugees guaranteed under the Geneva and Human Right Conventions. It has placed an “encampment policy” whereby refugees are obliged to reside in camps to qualify for assistance, and those found outside are classified as illegal aliens and subject to punishment including deportation. Most importantly the treatment offered contradicts the human right obligations of the government. In light of these restrictions, the rights of refugees in camps are grossly violated
persons arrival and admission into Kenya as a refugee; (d) has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations or the African Union; or (e) having more than one nationality, had not availed himself of the protection of one of the countries of which the person is a national and has no valid reason, based on well-founded fear of persecution. 5. Cessation of refugee status A person shall cease to be a refugee for the purposes of this Act if that person— (a) voluntarily re-avails himself of the protection of the country of his nationality; (b) having lost his nationality, voluntarily re-acquires it; (c) acquires the nationality of another country and enjoys the protection of the country of his new nationality; (d) voluntarily re-establishes himself in the country which he left or outside which he remained owing to fear of persecution; (e) can no longer, because circumstances in connection with which he was recognized as a refugee have ceased to exist, continue to refuse to avail himself of the protection of the country of his nationality; or (f) has committed a serious non-political crime outside Kenya prior to his admission to Kenya as a refugee; (g) having lost his nationality, continues to refuse to return to the country of his former habitual residence: Provided that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a person who has compelling reasons arising out of previous persecution for refusing to avail himself or herself the protection of the country of nationality or to return as the case may be. 6. Establishment of Department (1) There is established a Department of Refugee Affairs which shall be a public office.
Bibliography Books, Articles and Published Reports Albert. Mattew. (2010) “Prima Facie Determination of Refugee Status: An overview and its legal foundation”,Thesis for Master of Science in Forced Migration at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, [online] available at Albert, Mattew (2010) “Governance and Prima Facie Refugee Status Determination: Clarifying the Boundaries of Temporary Protection, Group Determination, and Mass Influx”, Refugee SurveyQuarterly,[online] available at Alice Edward (2012),“Temporary Protection Derogation and the 1951 Refugee Convention”, Melbourne Journal of International Law;, Vol. 13 [online] available at A Handy Guide to UNHCR Emergency Standards and Indicators” An extract from Handbook for Emergencies, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, 2000 Amnesty International (2010), ”Kenya: From life without peace to peace without life: The treatment of Somali refugees and asylum-seekers in Kenya” available at Amnesty International, (2002) Rights Wherever You Are, AI-index: POL 33/001/2002, November 4, 2002, available at Anna Lindley (2011),“ “Between a Protracted and a Crisis Situation: Policy Response to Somali Refugees in Kenya” The Path of Somali Refugees into Exile A Comparative Analysis of Secondary Movements and Policy Responses[online] available at
Kagan, M. (2003), “Assessment of Refugee Status Determination procedure at UNHCR’s Cairo office 2001-2002’, Forced Migration and Refugees Studies, Working Paper, Cairo, American University in Cairo, [online]available at Kate Jastram and Ms. Marilyn Achiron, “Refugee Protection : A Guide to International Refugee Law” UNHCR Handbook prepared by Officers of the Inter-Parliamentary Union's Committee on Parliamentary, Juridical and Human Rights Questions and of the IPU Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law: Kortsaris, Periklis (2003) ” People in Need of International Protection ;Alternatives in Europe for the status of refugee” Submitted for the partial fulfillment of Masters Studies Louise W. Holborn, (1975), “ Refugees: A Problem of Our Time: The Work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Scarecrow Press (July 7, 1975)supra note 84, at 103-05. Liv Halperin, (2003) “The Physical Security of Refugees in Kenya Camps Legal and Human Rights Implications” Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy Thesis Mariano-FlorentinoNCullar (2006), “Refugee Security and the Organizational Logic of Legal mandates’, Georgetown Journal of International Law, Vol. 37 no. 4, [online] available at , (2008)“The Legal Status of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan, a Story of Eight Agreements and Two Suppressed Premises” International Journal of Refugee Law, [online] available at Marina Sharpe, “The 1969 OAU Refugee Convention and the Protection of People fleeing Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence in the Context of Individual,” Legal and Protection Policy Research Series, [online] available at , (1974), “Protection of Refugees” Scandinavian Studies in Law, Vol. 18, pp. 151-178
Moret, Joëlle, (2006), “The Path of Somali Refugees into Exile A Comparative Analysis of Secondary Movements and Policy Responses” Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, [online] available at NOLL, G., (2005), “Proof, Evidentiary Assessment and Credibility in Asylum Procedures”, Working Paper No. 117, [online] available at Okoth-Obbo, G., (2001), “Thirty years on: a legal review of the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa’, Refugee Survey Quarterly, [online] available at O’NEILL, W, (2000) ‘Conflict in West Africa: dealing with exclusion and separation’, International Journal of Refugee Law 12 (Supplement 1): 171-194 Peter Kirui and Dr. John Mwaruvie, (2010), “The Dilemma of Hosting Refugees: A Focus on the Insecurity in North-Eastern Kenya” International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol. 3 No. 8 , [online] available at Rutinwa, B (2002) ‘Prima facie status and refugee protection’, UNHCR New Issues in, Refugee Research, Working Paper 69, Geneva, UNHCR, [online] available at Refugee Consortium of Kenya, “Asylum under threat Assessing the protection of Somali refugees in Dadaab refugee camps and along the migration corridor” A publication of the Refugee Consortium of Kenya with the support of the Danish Refugee Council June 2012,