R 051115Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4028
INFO AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 
SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
USMISSION GENEVA 
USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 000574 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/AFR, PRM/MCE, AF/E 
NAIROBI FOR POL/PRM 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
BRUSSELS FOR POL/PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: NA 
TAGS: PREF PGOV EAID KE ET SO
SUBJECT: KENYA: DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP CONDITIONS 
 
Summary 
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¶1. (U) Regional Refugee Coordinator (Refcoord) Inga Heemink and 
Refugee Program Officer Matt Austin visited Dadaab Refugee Camp in 
Kenya January 19-26 to review current conditions at the camp, 
discuss ongoing negotiations for additional land allocation, and 
monitor PRM-funded projects.  Despite the closure of the 
Kenya/Somali border, more than 62,000 refugees sought shelter in the 
three Dadaab camps in 2008.  As of January 31, the camps have now 
reached a total population of more than 248,000, an increase of more 
than 45% since January 2008.  In January 2009, new Somali arrivals 
exceeded 8,200, reversing the downward trend of new arrivals from a 
peak of 7,500 in August 2009.  The last plot of land in Dadaab was 
issued on 22 August 2008; since then, new arrivals must find space 
with family or clan members already in the camps.  The influx of new 
arrivals has severely taxed the water system, and the congested 
conditions threaten health and stability within the camp. 
 
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Registration 
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¶2. (U) With the hiring of additional staff, UNHCR reduced the 
registration backlog from four months to less than a week. 
Previously, new arrivals were wrist-banded and registered based on 
the serial number on the wrist-band but this operation has now 
stopped.  Registration currently only occurs at Dagahaley camp and 
UNHCR has the capacity to register 500 individuals/day. 
Fingerprinting of all residents of Dagahaley camp has also been 
completed, and UNHCR hopes to do the same for Hagadera and Ifo in 
2009 if supplemental funds become available. 
 
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Protection Issues and Security 
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¶3. (U) UNHCR and the NGOs operating in Dadaab all report increased 
levels of violence in the three camps.  The Lutheran World 
Federation (LWF), who established community peace committees for 
community policing, receives daily compilations of all the security 
incidents.  According to LWF, the top three most common security 
incidents include 1) armed individuals within the camp, 2) fighting 
over land, and 3) fighting over water.  On January 17, a 10-hour 
mini riot occurred over water when one borehole broke down for a few 
hours in Hagadera.  While UNHCR pays the salary of 117 police 
officers in Dadaab town, all but approximately 45 have been diverted 
to Mandera to deal with the security situation there.  This leaves 
only one police officer for around 5,500 refugees if they are all on 
duty at the same time.  UNHCR and NGOs also report active 
recruitment by Al-Shabab and militia groups of the out-of-school 
youth and young men; however, the extent of this recruitment cannot 
be confirmed. 
 
¶4. (U) Due to the overcrowded conditions, the transit centers 
located in each camp no longer serve as reception sites for new 
arrivals but rather have been converted into safe havens for 
high-profile cases and other vulnerable populations.  At the time of 
the PRM visit, the transit center in Hagadera housed some 
high-ranking TFG officials, including a Brigadier-General, ethnic 
minorities who have been targeted in the camps, domestic abuse 
survivors, and those threatened by their community for marrying 
outside their clan or ethnic group. 
 
¶5. (U) There is also concern of refoulment of asylum seekers at the 
border.  While the Liboi transit center is currently closed, LWF 
retains a clerk there to serve as listening post to advise LWF of 
daily estimates of new arrivals and arrests by the local police. 
When notified of these arrests by LWF, UNHCR tracks down the 
individuals in question to ensure that legitimate asylum seekers are 
not refouled and are instead transferred to Dadaab. While this 
system generally works, an incident occurred during the PRM visit 
when a vehicle carrying Somali asylum seekers refused to stop for 
the police.  The police opened fire and three were injured and 
transferred to Dadaab.  Several days later, the three asylum seekers 
were forcibly returned to Somalia even though UNHCR had requested 
that they be turned over to the Kenyan Department of Refugee Affairs 
and UNHCR. 
 
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Health Activities 
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¶6. (U) On the first of January, the International Rescue Committee 
(IRC) took over healthcare operations from GTZ in Hagadera camp (GTZ 
remains the implementing partner for healthcare in Ifo and Dagahaley 
camps).  The priorities for IRC during this initial stage include 
properly equipping the laboratory (as GTZ unexpectedly removed all 
equipment except for one microscope), ensuring a consistent quality 
of care, and increasing the capacity of the local staff.  IRC has 
noted an increase in the number of malnourished children, especially 
with the new arrivals.  The stabilization ward for severely 
malnourished children usually averages 10 patients but now houses 
around 20 patients. 
 
¶7. (U) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also operates in 
Hagadera and hopes to implement a febrile surveillance system in 
Dadaab in 2009.  CDC plans to share laboratory space with IRC in the 
Hagadera health center and provide additional equipment and 
personnel for blood culture analysis.  Through its current 
surveillance activities, CDC has identified seven cases of 
multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB).  CDC expressed great 
concern about these cases due to the high cost of treatment (over 
$20,000/case in Kenya), continued transmission in the camps from 
yet-to-be identified cases, and the negative impact a high MDR TB 
rate might have on the refugee resettlement program. 
 
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Water 
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¶8.  (U) Along with land, water is a major limiting factor for 
population growth in the Dadaab Camps.  The NGO CARE is responsible 
for providing refugees water at international standards for quality 
and quantity.  Despite running boreholes at maximum capacity, 
Refcoord and PRM Program Officer found that the most congested tap 
stands in the most congested camp only provide 7 liters per person 
per day, well below the UNHCR standard of 20 liters.  Concerns have 
also been raised by CDC and UNHCR based on independent testing of 
water quality which found certain tap stands to lack adequate 
chlorine levels.  Deficiencies in the quantity and quality of water 
raise serious concerns over hygiene and sanitation in the camp and 
the spread of contagious disease.  Tension over user rights at tap 
stands has already led to violence, including a riot that put 
several refugees in the hospital.  PRM was pleased to learn that 
ECHO is close to funding CARE for a large scale water system 
improvement project, to include replacing leaking pipes, which will 
solve 60% of the quantity problem.  Dovetailing with the ECHO 
project, PRM has increased funding to make improvements in water 
quality, including a more rigorous testing regimen. 
 
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Land Allocation 
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¶9. (U) The three camps of the Dadaab complex have become extremely 
congested due to the large influx of refugees from Somalia in 2008. 
On August 22, LWF assigned the last plot of land for shelter 
construction.  Since then, all new arrivals have been forced to find 
shelter within existing compounds inhabited by kin or clansmen, 
taxing sanitation, water, and hygiene systems beyond acceptable 
international standards.  Dadaab now accommodates almost 250,000 
refugees, well beyond its originally designed capacity of 90,000. 
The congestion has increased tensions between long-stayers and newly 
arrived refugees and between the host population and residents of 
the camp.  Encroachment by refugees onto local land and into empty 
land left for firebreaks is becoming common. 
 
¶10. (U) UNHCR has been conducting negotiations for additional 
allocations of land to expand the Dadaab camps since March 2008 with 
little success.  That this expansion would be the first under the 
2006 Refugee Act has made for a confused process.  Negotiations have 
been complicated by disorganization among the competing Kenyan 
stakeholders, including the local constituencies and MPs, the 
Provincial Commissioner, and central government ministries.  A 
promise from the MP of the Lagadera Constituency to allow expansion 
of the Dagahaley Camp in return for UNHCR-funded development 
activities in the local community has not been honored.  Months of 
fruitless UNHCR requests to the Ministry of Immigration, the 
Commissioner for Refugees, and the Hagadera and Fafi Constituencies 
finally led the UNHCR representative to agree to an ill-conceived 
transfer of 50,000 refugees to Kakuma Refugee Camp, an offer that 
has since been rescinded by UNHCR headquarters in Geneva. 
 
¶11. (U) Donor and UNHCR headquarters reaction to the transfer plan, 
estimated to cost between $10 and $15 million without any 
concessions from the Kenyan government for new land, led UNHCR to 
reexamine its options and send the UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner 
(DHC), Craig Johnstone, to Kenya.  The DHC, in meetings with the 
Kenyan Prime Minister, agreed to a comprehensive package that would 
include 2000 hectares for a new camp in Dadaab, a transfer of an 
unspecified number of refugees to Kakuma, and addressing the 
development needs of the host community.  However, to date, the 
local constituencies have not agreed to the deal, as required under 
the Refugee Act for the land allocation to go forward. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶12. The current conditions in Dadaab are untenable and will 
inevitably lead to disease outbreaks and increased violence in the 
camps. While the transfer of some refugees to Kakuma might be a good 
symbolic gesture, the only viable solution to the problem is quick 
approval for the allocation of new land. The international community 
must continue to pressure the GOK for a quick resolution. 
 
 
 
YAMAMOTO