Impact of ‘Global War on Terror’ on the Rights of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Horn of Africa: An Analysis of the Somali Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Kenya

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the ‘Global War on Terror’ on the rights of Somali refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya. It proffers an overview of the ‘Global War on Terror’ and explains how this war has affected the viability of the international refugee law, and the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1969 OAU Convention in terms of refugee status. It argues that the terror attacks Kenya has been facing are neither caused by the presence of Somali refugees and asylum seekers, nor are they triggered by the deployment of Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) in the fight against terrorism in Somalia. This is asserted as fact by proving that Ethiopia and Uganda both accommodate Somali refugees and asylum seekers, and have sent their soldiers into Somalia to fight against terrorism, but neither are facing terror attacks like Kenya. The article concludes that mistreating and forcibly removing Somali refugees and asylum seekers from Kenyan territory and building a huge wall between Kenya and Somali are not durable solutions to terror attacks in the country. To arrive at those assertions, the article adopts a qualitative research methodology with an exploratory approach.