Nairobi – The United Nations has appointed Mohamed-Abdi Affey, former Kenyan Ambassador to Somalia, as its first special envoy for Somali refugees, to ensure they receive protection.
The UN said in a statement on Friday in New York said that the Special Envoy would first help to maximise efforts to search for solutions for Somali refugees and asylum seekers at national and regional level.
It added that the envoy would also strive to enhance dialogue to help maintain asylum seekers.
The statement said that this has become necessary because one million Somali refugees are living in exile in neighbouring Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and Yemen and some 1.1 million Somalis are displaced within Somalia.
Kenya hosts the world’s second largest Somali refugee population after Ethiopia.
It said that Affey, who also served as special envoy to Somalia for the east African bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has been appointed for an initial period of six months.
The UN said that he would work to boost funding for humanitarian and development projects supporting the reintegration of Somali returnees.
“Returns from Kenya to Somalia have increased since Kenya announced in May that it would close Dadaab, saying the camp had been infiltrated by “terrorist cells”.