The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) under its agency has signed a tripartite agreement with the two governments of Kenya and Somalia to repatriate about 500,000 refugees who are living in Kenya back to Somalia.

The agreement will be executed within the next three years and the Somalis will be repatriated voluntarily.

Dozens of Somalis have sought refuge in Kenya for the past decade due to political instability that has rocked Somalia making it virtually a failed state.

Local reporters say the two of the camps where the refugees live now, Dadaab and Kakuma are now so large they are more like towns in Kenya.

Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Fowsia Yusuf Adam said her country was preparing for the safe return of its refugees.

“Terrorism is still a major threat to our region. The federal republic of Somalia is committed to creating conditions that will allow for the safe and dignified voluntary repatriation of the Somali refugees in Kenya and other neighboring countries’’, he said.

Kenya’s Deputy President, William Ruto told reporters on Sunday evening that the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees in Kenya could take three years to complete. He also added that already 80,000 refugees have left camps in Kenya and headed back to Somalia.

“Under the framework signed between Kenya, Somalia and the United Nations Refugee Agency, we estimate that the repatriation process could take up to three years, it is estimated that another 500,000 undocumented refugees reside in Kenya as well and we are confident that many would like to return home so that they can make a meaningful contribution to Somalia,” he said.

The United Nations High Commission Refugees representative in Kenya, Raouf Mazou said his organization will lead the way in mobilizing resources to ensure the repatriation of the refugees proves successful.

Mazou said that the international community is looking for a durable solution to the Somali refugee problem.

“For the past two decades Kenya has provided protection to the refugees and so the rest of world should join hands and help Somalia to reconstruct, there is need for additional resources to ensure that Somali state is fully restored so that the returnees can find a conducive environment to sustain live hoods’’, he said.

UNHCR estimates that there are approximately 1 million Somali refugees in Kenya, Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Tanzania and Uganda.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News