UNHCR publishes new guidelines on protection of Somali refugees

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has published new guidelines on the eligibility criteria for refugee status of Somali citizens fleeing their country. Elizabeth Tan, UNHCR’s Director of International Protection,made the announcement during a press meeting on September 20 in Geneva.

The guidelines aim to support institutions responsible for examining the requests for international protection submitted by asylum seekers fleeing Somalia, as well as assist institutions in charge of defining government policies on this matter.

The new UNHCR guidelines note that countries must allow people fleeing from Somalia to seek safety and must assess their asylum requests in accordance with international law.

People found to be fleeing violence, human rights abuses and persecution would need to meet the criteria for refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention, or under regional instruments, or UNHCR’s broader mandate.

The agency noted that the country’s deteriorating security conditions has worsened the humanitarian crisis, undermining the government’s and the humanitarian agencies’ ability to respond to instability in Somalia. The country is also facing one of the worse cases of drought of the past 40 years, and is at risk of extensive famine.

At the end of 2021, there were a total of 836,300 Somali refugees and asylum seekers. Around 80% of them (approximately 650,000) were taken in by bordering or nearby countries such as Ethiopia.