Cablegate: Collective Demarche to President Kibaki On Dadaab

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R 170633Z DEC 09
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INFO EAST AFRICAN ESC POSTS COLLECTIVE
GENEVA IO MISSIONS COLLECTIVE
SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 002594

SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E DRIANO, PRM, FO, PRM/AF DEUTCH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF KE SO
SUBJECT: COLLECTIVE DEMARCHE TO PRESIDENT KIBAKI ON DADAAB

REF: 09 NAIROBI 2364

1. During the visit of PRM Assistant Secretary Eric Schwartz
to Kenya on October 17 - 22, the donor community agreed to a
collective demarche urging President Kibaki to authorize the
opening of a fourth Dadaab camp (09 Nairobi 2363). Ten Ambassadors
signed a joint letter which was sent to President Kibaki on
November 23, 2009.

2. Begin Text.

3. His Excellency Mwai Kibaki

President of the Republic of Kenya

Nairobi

4. Dear Mr. President :

5. We the members of the International Donor Community and
friends of Kenya represented by the undersigned, present our
compliments to His Excellency the President of the Republic of
Kenya. We want to underscore our continued support for Kenya's
longstanding history of generously hosting and protecting refugees.
We recognize and applaud Kenya's tradition of solidarity with those
who have sought refuge in her territory and we stand resolute in
our support of Kenya's efforts to uphold its international
obligations towards refugees and asylum seekers.

6. It is in this spirit of international solidarity and
support that we reiterate our concern that the humanitarian
conditions in the Dadaab refugee camps are rapidly deteriorating.
Concerted action is called for to avoid a humanitarian disaster.

7. While we acknowledge Kenya's serious and legitimate
security and environmental concerns due to the expanding refugee
population in North Eastern Province, we encourage the
establishment of a fourth camp and a screening center as a means to
avert a looming crisis and to effectively address security
concerns.

8. Your Excellency, the camps in Dadaab were designed for
90,000 refugees in the early 1990's. The number of refugees due to
the worsened situation in Somalia has now reached 272,000 and is
estimated to reach 330,000 by the end of this year. We note
UNHCR's alarm at the rapid deterioration of living standards and
access to basic services available to refugees.

9. Since our last letter to you on 4 May 2009 expressing our
concern about the deterioration of humanitarian standards in
Dadaab, we have been encouraged by the progress UNHCR has made in
addressing the concerns raised by your Government. UNHCR has
relocated some 12,900 refugees to Kakuma, has improved its
registration and verification of refugees and has launched,
together with other UN agencies in Kenya, community development and
environmental rehabilitation proposals for refugee hosting
communities.

10. We were also encouraged by the August meeting between Your
Excellency and UNHCR High Commissioner Antonio Guterres,
anticipating that the senior level mission Your Excellency ordered
to Dadaab would provide recommendations for the way forward soon
and would endorse the Fafi District and Garissa County Council's
approval for the allocation of 2,000 hectares for the fourth camp.

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11. As part of a coordinated approach as agreed between Your
Excellency and UNHCR Guterres, additional efforts, supported by the
international community and the UN in close collaboration with your
government, to address the security concerns at the border and the
need for enhancement of the refugee and asylum capacity of the
Kenyan government, are being implemented at the moment or are
underway. The international community is clearly committed to
support Kenya on these broader security, environment, local
development and migration issues.

12. We remain gravely concerned over the situation for the
refugees in Dadaab. We encourage measures on the part of the
Kenyan Government that will allow refugees to be hosted and
protected within acceptable standards of dignity and avert the
threat to their health and welfare.

13. We respectfully ask for Your Excellency's positive and
expeditious response to this matter. A letter with a same content
has been addressed to the Right Honourable Prime Minister Hon.
Raila Odinga and to the Honourable Ministers of Foreign Affairs,
Provincial Administration and Internal Security and Immigration and
Registration of Persons.

Respectfully,

Signatories:

14. H.E. Mr. Michael Ranneberger

Ambassador

Embassy of the United States

15. H.E. Ross Hynes

High Commissioner

Canadian High Commission

16. H.E. Igor Haustrate

Ambassador

Embassy of Belgium

17. H.E. Ms. Elisabeth Jacobsen

Ambassador

Royal Norwegian Embassy

18. Mr. Eric Van der Linden

Head of Delegation

Delegation of the European Commission

19. H.E Mr. Robert Macaire

High Commissioner

British High Commission

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20. H.E. Bo Jensen

Ambassador

Danish Embassy

21. H.E. Ms. Laetitia Van Den Assum

Ambassador

Royal Netherlands Embassy

22. H.E. Ann Dismorr

Ambassador

Embassy of Sweden

23. H.E. Shigeo Iwatan

Ambassador

Embassy of Japan

24. End Text
RANNEBERGER

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