Global Overview 2015: People internally displaced by conflict and violence - Protracted displacement in Kenya

Data collection challenges

Political, ethnic and land-related violence, disasters and development projects have all repeatedly triggered displacement in Kenya since independence. The worst violence took place in the aftermath of the disputed December 2007 presidential election, and forced nearly 664,000 people to flee their homes. Inter-communal violence attributed to competition over resources such as land and water, cattle rustling and struggles for political representation also continue to cause displacement. According to OCHA, more than 220,000 people were newly displaced in 2014 alone.

Some episodes of displacement have been short lived, but many have become protracted, the result of a combination of factors. Some national authorities only recognise those who were registered as displaced by the 2007 to 2008 post-election violence as IDPs. The registration process also excluded so-called "integrated" IDPs, an estimated 300,000 people who found shelter with host communities or in rented accommodation in urban areas. Given that assistance was limited to those registered, "integrated" IDPs were always less likely to achieve durable solutions to their displacement.

People forcibly evicted, those displaced by disasters, displaced pastoralists, and those who have fled violence other than that associated with the December 2007 election are not considered IDPs at all, and tend to be unable to achieve durable solutions on their own for years. Even many of those registered are still struggling to do so, despite government efforts to resettle or assist them.

The ICC's investigations into responsibility for the 2007 to 2008 post-election violence increased political interest in showing that displacement had been fully addressed. As highlighted by the special rapporteur on IDPs' human rights, however, "the end of displacement cannot be determined by a political decision, but by reality, and solutions must be pursued more rigorously for all IDPs in an equal manner".^[105]

The lack of official, comprehensive and up-to-date data on IDPs also helps to perpetuate displacement. Data gathering has focused on new displacements caused by violence and rapid-onset disasters, and there is little quantitative or qualitative information on IDPs' movements beyond their initial flight.

The most recent informed estimate, provided by OCHA in December 2014, put the number of IDPs at 309,200, but the figure accounts mainly for people displaced by election-related violence between 1992 and 2008. It does not include those displaced by disasters and development projects, or displaced pastoralists. Nor does it include those more recently displaced by violence, though some remain in displacement, particularly in the Coast region and the northern pastoralist areas. Humanitarian assessments suggest that at least 60,000 of those displaced in Mandera county in 2014 were still living in camps or with host communities as of the end of the year.

Over the years, many others have integrated locally, settled elsewhere in the country or returned to their places of origin, but there has been no official assessment of their number or their outstanding protection needs.

The achievement of durable solutions for Kenya's IDPs depends on ensuring access to services and livelihood opportunities, and dealing with complex issues of land tenure. Forced evictions and violence are closely linked to tenure insecurity, arising from competing land claims and incompatibility between formal and informal tenure systems. Disasters increase competition for limited resources, including land, and contribute to violence between herders and farmers, and among different pastoralist groups, leading to displacement.

Many IDPs live in marginalised areas that are environmentally and economically vulnerable, with poor infrastructure and extremely limited access to basic services such as water, healthcare, education and markets. In Mandera county almost 3,800 women in every 100,000 die during childbirth each year, compared with the national average of 360, and 860 in Somalia.

The government's response to protracted IDPs' protection needs and support for their pursuit of durable solutions could be improved by the application of the existing national legal and policy framework on displacement, which Kenya has made progress towards putting into place. The cabinet endorsed a draft national policy in October 2012 and parliament adopted an Act on IDPs in December of the same year. Since then, however, there has been little progress towards implementing the Act or moving the national policy beyond the draft stage. Kenya is also still to sign and ratify the Kampala Convention.

105. OHCHR, Solutions for Kenya's displaced require urgent action determined by reality – UN expert, 7 May 2014, available at: http://goo.gl/dSGzNM