Displaced Persons from Somalia

There are over 1 million Somali refugees and more than 1.3 million internally displaced persons in Somalia, making displaced Somalis nearly a quarter of the country's population. In Kenya, displaced Somalis continue to arrive at overcrowded, under-served camps, many of which have housed refugees for more than 20 years; the camps are now the largest in the world.  Urban refugee programming in Nairobi is precarious. In South Africa, many of those who fled violence in Somalia years ago face xenophobic sentiment and attacks on themselves and their livelihoods.  In Yemen, Somalis who risked their lives crossing the Gulf of Aden are in limbo without basic necessities and rights protections.  Durable solutions for many displaced Somalis will include resettlement.  Repatriation is unlikely in the foreseeable future, and local integration remains impracticable where many of the largest Somali communities are established in the region.

To learn more about Somali refugees and internally displaced, see these reports:

Somali Refugees in the Region, UNHCR

Total IDPs by Region, UNHCR

Kenya: Government Directive Leads to Severe Abuses and Forced Returns, Refugees International

Gatekeepers and Evictions: Somalia's Displaced Population at Risk, Refugees International

Urban Displacement in Sub-Saharan Africa, RCUSA

In the shelter of each other:notions of home and belonging amongst Somali refugees in Nairobi, UNHCR/PDES

Criminal Reprisals: Kenyan Police and Military Abuses against Ethnic Somalis, Human Rights Watch

Somali Refugees: Ongoing Crisis, New Realities, Refugees International

Mission to East Africa: Vulnerable Refugee Populations and the Need for Solutions, USCCB/MRS

Somali Refugees: Protecting their Rights in Cities, Refugees International