EU announces €60m for Somalia refugee support
The European Union has announced an additional 60 million Euros to support refugees in Somalia and Kenya at a Ministerial Pledging Conference in Brussels, Belgium.
Out of this amount, 50 million Euros will be used to support sustainable and durable re-integration of refugees and internally displaced persons in Somalia. This will cover increased access to basic services, enhanced livelihoods and reduced vulnerability in areas of return and departure.
The fund will also support voluntary return of Somali refugees from Kenya, Yemen and Europe.
The other 10 million Euros will be channeled to northern Kenya which houses the main refugee camp-Daadaab and a number of others. The EU said the funds will provide relief and better opportunities for Somali refugees in vulnerable situations before they leave. Host communities in northern Kenya will also benefit from these funds.
Somalia has an estimated 1 million refugees displaced by war in neighbouring countries-Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen and Djibouti. A further 1 million people are internally displaced.
The EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development. Neven Mimica said the peace building and state building in the Horn of Africa can only be made possible with durable solution for Somali refugees.
“The EU stands ready to further build on its long-standing partnership with the Horn of Africa and to give €60 million to support the Somali refugees in the neighbouring countries. There can be no real peace building, state building or development without a durable solution for the Somali refugees. They account for almost 20% of the Somali population,” said Mimica.
The UNHCR, which jointly organised the conference with the EU earlier said it was seeking $500 million to fund its Somali refugee repatriation and re-integration programme.
The EU said it was also devising a new approach to promoting stability and addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displacement. The three pronged approached includes supporting countries in the region increase their capacity to better handle migration flows and displacement. Secondly, the approach seeks to provide targeted response to the needs for resilience in the region’s most fragile areas. The third pillar promotes socio-economic development and increases work opportunities, especially, young people.
The EU Development Cooperation under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) for Somalia between 2014 and 2020 amounts to €286 million covering education, state and peace building, food security and resilience.
Donors pledged $2.4 billion for reconstruction of Somalia under the New Deal Compact in Brussels in 2013. However Somalia has complained on a number of occasions that donors did not meet their bargain. But donors have also been apprehensive channeling funds to Somalia for fear of misappropriation. Lack of strong fiscal policies and established central bank has been pointed out as one of the challenges Somalia faced in handling donor funds.