Human Rights and Refugees: The Case of Kenya

In: Journal of refugee studies, Band 12, Heft 1, S. 54-77

Abstract

Addresses human rights aspects related to the treatment of refugees in Kenya, based on interview data obtained 1997/98 from the refugees. Following a brief background on refugee policy developments in Kenya, presented are observations on the situation of refugees living in camps, particularly in Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya. Focus is on the refugees' problems in this camp, stressing the fact that camps are legal anomalies, in which the administration of justice is virtually in the hands of the humanitarian agencies that exercise this function, either directly, or by delegating it to community leaders. After looking at an example of a human rights violation carried out with at least the complicity of humanitarian organizations -- the forcible relocation of refugees from the camps in Mombasa -- some of the more classic human rights issues found among refugees living in Nairobi are considered: police harassment, arbitrary arrest, & detention without trial. 16 References. Adapted from the source document.