Kenya

Abstract

Kenya’s asylum policy was profoundly affected by the arrival of over 400,000 refugees from Somalia in 1991 and 1992. After initially trying to prevent their arrival, Kenya opened its borders and allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees to enter its territory, a move that won praise from the international donor community for the regime of President Daniel arap Moi. At the same time, however, Kenya placed significant restrictions on the quality of asylum it extended to refugees. Claiming that the sheer number of new arrivals had caused the collapse of Kenya’s previously open asylum policy, the government ceased to conduct individual status determination interviews for new asylum seekers. Refugee affairs were transferred almost exclusively to UNHCR, who became responsible for the establishment and running of camps in government-designated areas. Finally, Kenya imposed restrictions on access to employment and freedom of movement for refugees, stipulating that refugees live in designated camps.