VZCZCXRO9976
RR RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDS #0135/01 0280415
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280415Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7527
INFO RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0037
RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0002
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 000135 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/AFR, PRM/MCE, AF/E 
NAIROBI FOR REF 
GENEVA FOR IO MISSIONS 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
BRUSSELS FOR POL/PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: NA 
TAGS: PREF PGOV PREL EAID KE ET SO
SUBJECT: KENYA: CURRENT CONDITIONS IN DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP 
 
REF: NAIROBI 085 
 
Summary 
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¶1.  (SBU) The three camps that comprise Dadaab refugee camp 
currently house over 260,000 refugees, and the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expects the number could increase 
in the coming months due to the suspension of food assistance in 
al-Shabaab controlled areas of Somalia and increased fighting in 
that country.  UNHCR and NGOs have also ramped up security in Dadaab 
due to security alerts and an increase in reports of armed men in 
the camps.  UNHCR received permission from the Garissa County 
Council (GCC) for an extension of the Ifo camp but is waiting for an 
official report by the demarcation team sent by the GCC before 
developing a budget or starting to develop the site.  Host community 
relations and land encroachment by locals remain areas of concern 
for UNHCR and other agencies as they plan their activities for 2010. 
 In 2010, UNHCR selected Windle Trust Kenya to take over the 
management of secondary education from CARE, with CARE retaining 
responsibility for primary education in Dadaab.  UNHCR and NGOs also 
implemented a harmonized pay scale for refugee incentive workers to 
minimize staff turnover.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------ 
POPULATION AND BUDGET 
---------------------- 
¶2. (U) The population of Dadaab refugee camp stands at 260,443 as of 
24 January, with 2,730 new arrivals (2,581 from Somalia and 149 from 
Ethiopia) so far in January.  New arrivals cite heightened 
insecurity, especially in the Middle and Lower Juba regions, 
drought, and food insecurity as the main reasons for fleeing 
Somalia.  Despite the suspension of World Food Program (WFP) aid in 
al-Shabaab controlled areas, there has not been a dramatic increase 
in the number of asylum seekers (reftel), although UNHCR anticipates 
the arrival trend could increase over the next several months. 
UNHCR's current 2010 budget for Dadaab is $24.5 million and is based 
on a December 31, 2010 population of 325,000 refugees in the Dadaab 
camps.  The budget did not include the costs to extend Ifo or any 
other camp nor for a large Somali influx due to the suspension of 
WFP food in Somalia.  UNHCR staff in Dadaab admit that the current 
funding level barely covers the basic needs of the existing 
population and does not include such activities such as renovations 
or construction of classrooms or other infrastructure that is 
required for the burgeoning population. 
 
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SECURITY 
--------- 
¶3.  (SBU) UNHCR and the other agencies in Dadaab have ramped up 
their security posture since late November due to various security 
alerts, the fall of Doblei to al-Shabaab, and an increase in the 
reports of armed men in the camp.  The most recent alert was a 
report from local tribal leader(s) that thirty armed men, ten men 
per camp with trained drivers, were dispersed in the camp and 
seeking to carjack international agency vehicles for use in 
Somalia. CARE also reported that, around Christmas, armed men 
observing the new food distribution point in Ifo camp were sighted. 
In response to these reports, UNHCR requested and received a detail 
of armed police located at the entrance to the Dadaab Main Compound 
(DMO). Armed administrative police have also started patrolling 
inside the DMO at night.  UNHCR will be receiving an additional five 
vehicles to deploy to the camps to assist with police patrols. 
 
¶4. (SBU) While UNHCR has not restricted any of its staff movements; 
Save the Children/UK (STC/UK), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and 
CARE currently do not allow international staff to leave the DMO to 
travel or work in the camps.  Other NGOs like Handicap International 
and FilmAid have slightly limited their movements or modified their 
schedules (i.e. suspension of evening screenings by FilmAid, CARE 
delaying the early-morning refueling of generators by one hour). 
Only in one case was an international staff member, an Oxfam 
employee seconded to NRC, completely removed from Dadaab, and this 
was due to a specific threat against Oxfam staff in the neighboring 
Wajir district. 
 
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IFO EXTENSION 
------------- 
¶5.  (SBU) While negotiations with the central government for a 
fourth camp remain stalled, UNHCR has received permission for an 
extension of Ifo camp in the Lagadera district.  The camp extension 
can potentially house up to 80,000 refugees and will border Section 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000135  002 OF 003 
 
 
N of the existing Ifo camp.  UNHCR hopes to divide the 3.5km x 4km 
plot into two sections (Ifo 2 and Ifo 3) with a one kilometer green 
corridor between the two sections.  Each mini section could 
potentially house 30-40,000 refugees each with the central green 
corridor housing the office and accommodation compounds of the 
agencies working in the camp.  The immediate aim is to relocate 
around 20,000 refugees from the floodplain in the existing Ifo camp 
with the remaining space for new arrivals and possibly relocating 
some refugees from the overcrowded Dagahaley camp.  UNHCR will 
develop a budget for the extension and begin developing the site 
after the demarcation team from the Garissa Country Council 
demarcates the land. As of January 25, the Garissa County Council 
had sent a demarcation team to Dadaab but has not officially 
informed UNHCR of its results. As reported reftel, UNHCR is 
currently unsure of how it will fund the extension but speculates 
that it could draw upon the UNHCR Reserve Fund or possibly launch a 
separate appeal. 
 
 
------------------------------- 
HOST COMMUNITY AND ENCROACHMENT 
------------------------------- 
¶6. (U) Relations with the host community remain problematic though 
relations have been slowly improving over the past year. 
Encroachment by both refugees and locals erecting shelters and shops 
into areas not designated for these activities, especially in the 
market areas and green spaces, continues to concern both UNHCR and 
the other agencies.  WFP has difficulty in bringing trucks to the 
food distribution points (FDP) due to the expansion of local 
businesses around the FDPs and subsequent constriction of truck 
routes.  Lutheran World Federation (LWF), in charge of camp 
management, also reported that the local councilors continue to sell 
plots to both refugees and locals even after a decree by the Garissa 
County Council that all unauthorized structures will be dismantled. 
Even after the issuance of this decree, LWF heard that the councilor 
from Hagadera sold an additional four plots of land.  All the NGOs 
continue to report difficult encounters with the local authorities 
and tribal leaders over their hiring decisions; in many cases not 
because they did not hire locals but because they did not hire the 
"right" locals (those affiliated or related to councilors or other 
local leaders). 
 
--------------------- 
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS 
--------------------- 
¶7. (U) UNHCR continues to review its distribution of implementing 
partners by sector or camp in order to better meet minimum 
international standards.  In 2009, UNHCR divided the health care 
activities, previously managed solely by the German Technical 
Cooperation (GTZ), between the International Rescue Committee (IRC) 
now working in Hagadera, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Dagahaley, 
and GTZ in Ifo. For 2010, UNHCR divided the education sector, 
previously managed solely by CARE, into two sections. CARE will 
continue to manage primary education, but Windle Trust Kenya will 
assume responsibility for secondary education at the beginning of 
January (septel). In addition, IRC has been designated to take over 
gender-based violence (GBV) prevention activities in Hagadera from 
CARE in August, and STC/UK is discussing with UNHCR the possibility 
of taking over infant and child feeding awareness and education 
activities. 
 
 
¶8.  (U) On January 1, UNHCR and the NGOs also implemented a new 
harmonized pay scale for refugee incentive workers in order to 
minimize high staff turnover.  The new pay schedule is based on 
generic job functions and qualifications instead of NGO-specific 
position descriptions. The different incentive scales between NGOs 
had been a serious constraint to agencies, especially those in the 
education sector, as staff constantly switched between NGOs seeking 
higher incentives with many NGOs losing staff after they had spent 
considerable fund training the staff. 
 
------- 
Comment 
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¶9. (SBU) UNHCR and NGO staff in Dadaab have very different views of 
the current security situation in Dadaab.  Some believe that NGOs 
overreacted with their decision to restrict international staff to 
the DMO.  Others cite the ever-increasing number of security alerts 
and reports of armed individuals in camp and fear that it will just 
be a matter of time before a kidnapping or other serious security 
incident occurs.  All agencies working in Dadaab do hope that UNHCR 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000135  003 OF 003 
 
 
will be able to proceed with the Ifo extension in order to provide 
some relief from the seriously overcrowded conditions but stress 
that that the extension does not solve the problem -- a fourth camp 
is still needed, especially if there is a mass influx of new 
arrivals over the coming months. 
 
YATES 
6