Refugee Consortium of Kenya

jw489@duke.edu — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 19:15:28 +0000

Description:

Refugee Consortium of Kenya is a national NGO founded on creating and sustaining rights for forced migrants. Specifically, they are focused on three areas of aid; advocacy and policy development; legal and social justice, and communication; research and monitoring. Activist and legal professionals are working in all three of these branches to improve and promote the rights of refugees living in Kenya. RCK is joined by many partners from around the globe all collaborating to find applicable solutions for refugees. Some of these partners including the UNHCR, Austrailian Embassy, Danish Refugee Council and many others. The organization is commonly referred to by refugees as the Haki House or, Right House.

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Goals:

The overarching goal of RCK is to "Promote and protect rights and dignity of refugees, asylum seekers, and other forced migrants" by...

Protecting the basic needs of forced migrants by collaborating with other organizations to provide necessary resources. The main organization RCK works alongside is UNHCR. UNHCR is largely in charge of running the refugee camps in Kenya, such as Dadaab and Kakuma. RCK main goal within refugee camps is to aid individuals who are seeking refugee status by sitting in with them as legal assistance on the Status Determination Process (SDP) interview.
Supporting victims of trafficking in their struggle to regain freedom and establish new lives. RCK fights for individuals who are victims of sex trafficking or smuggling. These are children (under the age of 18) or adults who were kidnaped, transported, and now exploited for the benefit and gain of other. RCK’s goal is to represent these individuals because “stolen people are stolen dreams”.
Helping Stateless person apply and gain citizenship by aiding them through the process and informing them on their rights. The main avenue RCK uses to support refugees is through litigation. RCK lawyers defend not only refugees, but also asylum seekers, and returnees. The lawyers represent them in many situations such as, application for “refugee” status or as an asylum seeker, protecting their rights once status is gained, and if needed representing them to the Refugee Appeals Board (RCK.org, Our Work)

Historical/Political Context:

Refugees have been seeking residency in Kenya since the 1960's, and today there are over half a million refugee's. However the attitude towards refugees in east Africa has not been welcoming. Many locals believe myths about refugee's like; they are fully supported by the UNHCR and other NGO's, or they are wealthy but not contributing to the economy. These myths diminish their reluctance to allow or support refugees in their communities. RCK completed a study, with the support of its sponsors like Danish Refugee Council, to survey and put to rest these myths (Myths and Truths). The main findings were there is an increased demand for refugee financial, community, and government support. Without this support the future for forced migrants is extremely grim.

From 1963 till 1989 nearly 20,000 refugees from Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia sought refuge in Kenya were the government managed them using the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) process. During this time the first sources of “refugee law” came into existence to protect forced migrants’ rights. The main pieces of legislation were established at the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Later the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees was also created. The third and final main piece of international refugee legislation, which was specific to Africa, was the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. All of these conventions created precedents and legislation which RCK uses to represent and stand for refugee’s rights today in Kenya (RCK.org, RAR).

Due to political unrest and civil war in Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Rwanda the arrival of refugees in Kenya increased from 1990-2007. Roughly 400,000 entered the country, which sparked a demand and creation of four refugee camps that were later combined into two in Kakuma and Dadaab. Updated policy was called for and in 1999 the Kenyan government held a conference with major civil society players to discuss refugee law. RCK was among the groups asked to join this conversation along with other NGOs. As a result the Refugee Bill was created in 2000 and then after adjustments and being passed through parliament was official established in 2006.

Since the 2007/08 general election in Kenya there has been great unrest in the region over displaced individuals. Violence due to the election spread throughout the nation and hundreds were forced to leave their homes and nearly 1,300 displaced people were killed (Fulfilling the Promise Video). Hundreds of Internally Displaced People (IDP's) still live in refugee camps. Since RCK's creation in 1998 they have been advocating for victim of displacement and now also victims of the post-election violence. 2007 to present day is also marked by a great upsurge of terrorism and attacks throughout the country, including in camps. In 2014 a government Directive require all refugees to live inside one of the two refugee camps and limited the number of refugees inside Kenya to 150,000. The government wanted to round up the refugee’s and enforce strict encampment policy. This however, was challenged by movements, including RCK, as a violation to the freedom of movement establish in the Refugee Bill (Neil Wilson) .

Today the Refugee Bill of 2006 is under review because it does not adequately deal with issues of refugee reception, registration and residence. RCK is working to advocate on behalf of refugees and be a voice for them in the process of this review by the National Assembly.

Structure:

The Executive Director of RCK is Eunice Edonga-Githinji, and Senior Program Officer is Leila Murithia Simiyu. Underneath them are numerous Assistants Program Managers for each of the three departments; Legal and Social Justice, Advocacy and Policy Development, and Communications, Research and Monitoring, as well as Institutional Support Development. RCK is run mainly as a top-down organization with the biggest decisions being made by the Executive Director then set into place by the Program Officers below. Within each of the three departments work is delegated among the Program Managers and Officers. However, if one of the lower level staff members has an idea for future plans, the leaders are open, in regional meetings, to discuss and act upon them.

Further details on the specific structure of the organization were not available on the website. During the interview process, which due to his busy schedule and the time difference was done via email, I asked Mr. Andrew Maina about the structure of RCK and the social composition of the group. He referred me to a document on the website which no long has an active link. He failed to get back to me when I inquired further. However, from my understanding of RCK, their work, and their other platforms, it can be assumed most activist working on behalf of RCK are mid to lower class individuals with a passion for giving a voice to the voiceless. As a whole much of the official staff is in their mid-20’s to 50’s. Many are local Kenyans of both sexes; however, others are former refugees from a variety of eastern African countries who now work with the organization to promote rights for future refugees (RCK.org, Our Team) .

Genealogy:

Refugee Consortium of Kenya was founded in 1998 to address the declining refugee situation in Kenya and the wider region. Specifically it was founded to respond to a gap in legal assistance faced by asylum seekers and refugees in Kenya. At the time there were no other organizations that provided legal assistance tailored for refugees and asylum seekers. RCK grew over the next two decades due to the increasing need of refugees and continued to attract professionals and activist who had a passion for human rights.

Since 1998 RCK has made great strides in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. A couple of the main accomplishments are as follows. In 2006 the Refugee Act in Kenya was enacted, greatly because of the lobbying done by RCK. Before RCK was founded there was very little refugee law to govern asylum management in this region. Through continued lobbying the 2012 IDP Act was also later passed. This Act focused on "prevention, protection, and assistance to internally displaced persons and affected communities" (Refworld). In the past twenty years over 10,000 individuals received documentation, resettlement, and other services because of RCK's work. In 2014, the government issued a security law, attempting to find all refugees living in communities and placing them into refugee camps. This was combated by RCK and partnering NGO’s as it was considered a violation to one’s freedom of movement. Today, RCK is currently lobbying to update the Refugee Bill of 2006 to further define and increase refugee rights. Further, they are working in both Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps, and in Nairobi to give legal assistance to forced migrants as well as trauma counseling.

Campaigns:

RCK has three main campaigns. The first and largest is their legal and social justice program. Its aim is to safeguard justice for all forced migrants (refugees, asylum seekers and returnees). RCK does this by offering legal aid services to refugees in a variety of manners. All are listed on their website, I attached the link below, but a few key ones are as follows. They offer legal counseling to refugees during the Refugee Status Determination process and on immigration cases. RCK will sit with refugees during their interview with UNHCR for RSD in camps. Also, if a refugee’s rights are being taken advantage of, RCK will represent them in a court of law pro-bono. RCK provides networking connections to other organizations to guarantee refugees are being provided for in a variety of critical issues. Other ways RCK hopes to ensure justice is through psycho-social counseling for those who have suffered severe traumas during their time as a migrant. This includes providing basic counseling support as well as micro-grants to gender violence survivors. They also create spaces for children to come and cope who have suffered from traumas. To increase community trust they have set up community based counselors who live within the neighborhood and can reference RCK resources when needed (RCK.org, LSJ).

The second of RCK’s campaigns is advocacy and policy development. This campaign is centered around lobbying for policy change to establish an environment where refugees feel they can live freely and with dignity. It encompasses three main areas; policy influence, capacity building, and protection monitoring. Policy influence is done by lobbying the government for more progressive laws which extend the rights of refugees and creating new advocacy tactics. Capacity building includes collaborating with state and non-state organizations to continue to promote the movement of protecting refugees by raising awareness. Finally, protection monitoring entails visits to the most travelled border routes and studying how to improve the protection of migrants then including this information in advocacy strategies RCK.org, APD).

The final campaign is communication, research and monitoring which hopes to find new ways to protect refugees then spread this information. RCK is aiming to influence two groups, the public and policymakers. Some of the main goals of this program are to create new education materials for to distribute, hold meetings within refugee communities about their rights, and do occasional research which will advance their advocacy tactics and interventions (RCK.org, CRM).

Ideological Composition:

Due to the nature of RKC, the desire for opportunity and equality for all refugees, the ideological composition of the members is predominantly liberal. From the organizations strategies, like lobbying the government and their partnership with UNHCR, it is evident they believe in the importance of governments’ role in providing for the people and combating social injustices. Also, RCK strongly believe individuals, including refugees, should have the right to move freely between borders and establish themselves in different communities.

RCK is part of a network of organizations that works to address the needs of persons of concern therefore most of its’ members have progress ideologies. Each organization in this consortium differs slightly in their ideological beliefs but all share the same end goal. Some of these organizations include: the Urban Refugee Protection Network (Kenyan), International Detention Coalition and International Council for Voluntary Agencies (International).

Communication Strategy:

The group largely uses social media to keep its fellow activist and supporters up to date. However within the organization the main communication strategy is through email, and when possible, face-to-face.

Created New Spaces:

One of RCK's main initiatives is taking on court cases to address the rights of refugees. This has created new avenues for change in a different realm, the realm of litigation. As more cases have been resolved in favor of refugee rights it has propelled the discussion and creation of new laws. Now, not only are precedents set in the legal field, but also refugees automatically have more rights immediate rights in Kenya and the surrounding areas.

The organization has also appeared before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to raise issues of concern to refugees. The ACHPR was created in 1986 as part of the African Union as a quasi-judicial body to "enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa" (African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights). Together with ACHPR, RCK has been able to expand the basic rights of forced migrants and asylum seeks in Kenya. This collaboration has paved the way for increased discussion and a unified desire for human rights, not only in Kenya, but through Africa (Maina Interview).

Incorporated Cultural Forms:

At the core of the Refugee Solidarity Movement is hospitality. Recognizing that other human beings belong on this Earth and sharing ones home country with others. In order to be welcoming, the movement has embraced refugee's cultures. RCK specifically, creates spaces for refugees to connect with fellow individuals from their country of origin (Maina Interview). In the image below a group of refugees and asylum seekers are performing a dance at an RCK event.

Oppositional Forces:

RCK is fighting against powers who do not believe in equal rights for forced migrants. Mainly this includes right wing governments and local communities who are opposed to welcoming new members to the community, or do not believe there are resources to support them. For example, the Kenyan government security demonstrates their xenophobia, with respect to refugees, in their treatment of refugee camps. The government opines that the Dadaab refugee camp has lost its humanitarian character and thus must be shut down. However there has been little proof provided to support such a move (Maina, Interview). Another example of the Kenyan government working against the refugee community is in the Security Bill in 2014. After two attacks claimed by terrorist group Al-Shabaab, the Parliamentary Committee on National Security produced a bill with 21 laws which expand the powers of National Intelligence Services while infringing on refugee rights. Also, with the implementation of this Bill, Kenya would have a refugee-cap at 150,000 people and families could only reside in designated camps (Human Rights Watch).

The principle of burden sharing appears to be limited when providing funds for asylum hosting nations, as resettlement slots continuously dwindle. The provision of funds for refugees appears to be limited for humanitarian assistance and little thought has traditionally been put into prevention building (Maina, Interview). Other forces are increased conflict in the region has contributed to fresh displacement and protracted existing displacement situations, especially in eastern Kenya near the Somalian border. Another forced opposing Refugee Consortium of Kenya is climate change propelled displacement which is on the rise. However, because there are few legal regimes that recognize climate-change-induced-displacement, RCK work to influencing policy is increasingly difficult (VOA News).

Textual Artifacts:

Social Movements - Community forums

Refugee Consortium of Kenya