Registering Refugees: A Good Move by the NARC Government

The ongoing registration of refugees in Nairobi's Eastleigh area by theGovernment of Kenya is a milestone in the quest for increased protection of refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya. This also marks a departure in state practice from what scholars have described as what the 'eye refuses to see', in reference to refugees who choose to live in urban centres as opposed to settlements and camps in remote areas. The Refugee Consortium
of Kenya (RCK) supports this move and urges the Government to uphold the promise not to victimize those who present themselves for registration. Even without the necessary legal framework on refugees, RCK has constantly called upon the Government to respect the rights of refugees
and asylum seekers and especially in regard to the rights to movement, to identification and to earn livelihoods. In our view the benefit of screening and registering asylum seekers far outweighs ignoring the situation all together.

It has long been recognized by stakeholders that refugees who choose to live in urban areas do so to avoid the idle life in the camps. They are eager to develop themselves and go out to look for opportunities while avoiding to make their presence in towns' official due to unfriendly
government policies. Registering them therefore will for the first time allow government agencies and non governmental organisations to plan with statistics in mind. Since Criminals are not likely to bring themselves
forward for registration, the exercise provides an opportunity to separate genuine asylum seekers from cross border crooks.

Another benefit for the Government would come in the form of revenue from businesses that have previously fallen outside the tax net by virtue of the owners lacking legal basis. These businesses have survived over the years through payment of bribes to law enforcers for protection.
Registering and legalizing these businesses will in turn earn the Government revenue instead of fanning corruption.

Hopefully also the detention of refugees and asylum seekers living outside the designated camps will be a thing of the past. The past one year was especially challenging for asylum seekers as cases of detention
both at the police station and in prisons sharply increased. The transfer of the Refugee Department from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the new Ministry of Immigration and Registration of Persons meant that refugees
were now subject to immigration laws and no longer treated as a special category of aliens. This screening exercise should result in the provision of a uniform document of identification for all refugees to end the incessant harassment that has in the past been blamed on the lack of
uniformity in UNHCR documents.

The next appropriate step for the Government should be to put in place a clear policy and legal framework for the regulation and management of refugees in Kenya. This way, the Government will be able to negotiate with the international community to put in resources directly for support of public infrastructure and development assistance for both the local community and refugees. It will also provide a basis for agencies willing to assist refugees to do so without necessarily being labelled
hostile to government policies.

Judy Wakahiu, Executive Director

The Refugee Consortium of Kenya

REFUGEE CONSORTIUM OF KENYA
Advocacy and Policy Centre
Haki Hse, Muringa Road, Kilimani.
P.O. Box 25340,00603, Lavington,
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254-020-3875614/ 3860418
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.rckkenya.org