Local Integration of Refugees in Kenya: the National Security Challenge

Abstract

Kenya is a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention which provides for the principle of non-refoulment that prohibits the country from returning refugees to the countries of origin where they would otherwise face persecution. Additionally, the Convention provides for durable or otherwise long-term solutions to the refugee problems key among them local integration which is the focus of this study. The Kenyan Refugee Act 2021 provides for these elaborate principles which require Kenya to accept refugees and to locally integrate them into the Kenyan community. It is particularly noticeable that Kenya has always failed to fulfill this legal obligation to protect refugees because of national security interests and the fact that the country accepts refugees without adequate capability to protect them. This study therefore inquires into what national security is indeed demonstrating how national security affects refugee protection in Kenya. The study further inquires into the balance between the protection of national security and the protection of refugees. In doing so the study highlights the test that must be adhered to in protecting refugees as far as national security is concerned and how Kenya has managed to navigate these mucky waters. The study also looks at how the Kenyan courts have balanced the country's national security interest and refugee protection. Further, this study takes a gradual but concise step to demonstrate the findings of the study that the Kenyan Law is facilitative of refugee protection and that the problem with refugee protection is inadequate enforcement of the law. Additionally, the study demonstrates the finding that terrorists disguise themselves as refugees but this fact should not be interpreted to mean that all refugees are terrorists. In the upshot, the study concludes that refugees are not a security menace much as some of them can pose security threats just like Kenyan citizens. In the end, this study demonstrates how enhanced enforcement of refugee laws, enhanced screening of refugees at the point of entry into Kenya, and a careful balance between refugee protection and national security are indeed solutions to the protracted refugee crisis in Kenya as far as national security is concerned. To this end, the study recommends expeditious processing of asylum applications to reduce the time within which refugees have to wait before they can legitimately be allowed to seek livelihood opportunities. This will reduce frustrations that lead asylum seekers to resort to illegal activities to make ends meet hence interfering with national security in Kenya