Kenya: South Sudan Regional RRP 2019 Mid Year Report - January - June 2019

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Situation Overview

Kenya is hosting 110,600 South Sudanese refugees as of end of June 2019. It continues to provide asylum and protection to those and other refugee populations mainly from the Horn and Great Lakes regions of Africa. There has been a steady influx of South Sudanese refugees into Kenya since the conflict in South Sudan in December 2013. Although, it was expected that the number of new arrivals would decrease in 2019 as a result of the implementation of the Peace Agreement signed in August 2018, Kenya received a triple number of South Sudanese new arrivals, 9000 in the first six months of 2019. At the same time, UNHCR began to receive details of nine South Sudanese spontaneous departures since the beginning of June 2019 from Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS) staff present at Nadapal Transit Centre.

The Government of Kenya maintains an open door asylum policy for new arrivals including from non-neighbouring countries such as Eritrea, Burundi, the Central African Republic and others. The Government is taking on an increased role in the delivery of protection services and significant achievements have been made in handing over critical processes such as running the reception facilities and conducting registration and Refugee Status Determination (RSD), with the aim of strengthening the national refugee management system. All South Sudanese PoCs are currently recognised on a prima facie basis as refugees. A challenge faced is the considerable delays and obstacles for refugees in accessing documentation such as refugee ID cards and dissemination of birth and death certificates.

In partnership with the Government of Kenya, RRP partners have adopted a comprehensive protection and integrated development approach that focuses on providing refugees with protection and assistance; promoting refugee and host community access to sustainable quality basic services (health, education, and water) and promoting economic inclusion and business opportunities. This will enhance peaceful coexistence between refugees and the host community. Gradually, the RRP partners will reposition themselves as a catalyst for change and provide technical assistance to the government, rather than direct protection and assistance to persons of concern (PoCs).

With the leadership of the Government and in close collaboration with actors from the humanitarian and development sectors, Kalobeyei Integrated Socio-Economic Development Plan (KISEDP) was locally launched on 1 April 2019, however, the long-term success of this approach requires significant investment in existing national services as well as in development projects and infrastructure in the refugee-hosting counties.