24/09/2022
Formal Public Statement
Violent attacks continue daily
Against LGBTQIA Refugees in the kakuma refugee camp
Over the course of the last year, Throughout the refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya ..lgbtqia refugee group peer support leaders, global human rights defenders and organizations are receiving daily reports of homophobic violent attacks, r**es ,attempted r**es, harassment and murder attempts against the lgbtqia refugees. This report will include multiple human rights violations in addition to providing evidence to support thes human rights violations per your request. Our evidence includes multiple forms of documentation. A mountain of evidence has been uncovered to substantiate this information provided in this document to be factual. Additional Allegations stated can also be substantiated by victim witness reporting and it is in our opinion seen as credible to warrant further investigation to uncover additional evidence, proving these statements as factual. Many witnesses at this time, choose to remain anonymous based on fear of persecution from those in positions of authority who are currently oppressing and threatening their physical safety and ability to be resettled.
Lgbtqia asylum seekers and refugees are being attacked in every part of the refugee camp. There is also an ongoing issue at the wells. When lgbtqia community members are attempting to get water they are harassed, denied water and they are being violently attacked by homophobic refugees. This has been reported as happening in kakuma 1-2-3 and has been reported to the unhcr Kenya lgbtqia advocates and the DRC. They have taken no action to offer security to the lgbtqia community members at the wells. The block leaders are also aware and have taken no action to protect them. The Kenyan police when called do not show up or protect the refugees at the wells, or anywhere in the camp. The Kenyan Police are also aware of this ongoing problem and tell the lgbtqia refugees to report this to their block leaders. There are no security guards to date at the wells . The wells are located throughout the camp and dominated by the ethnic group majority living in that area. The majority of Ugandans are known to be lgbtqia so they are being denied water as well as other members of the community who have been outed by unhcr officials in reception and/ or other ways. The DRC and the Unhcr Kenya are aware of this issue, and all issues discussed in this statement, from multiple direct reports by lgbtqia asylum seekers to these agencies and advocates.
The refugees have no protection anywhere in the camp and are living in fear for their lives all the time. They are frequently attacked at night when they are sleeping. They are suffering in a constant state of emotional distress from trauma and the threat of violent attack or being murdered or s*xually assaulted. They receive no psycho/social support or counseling. They also lack support from the police and appropriate intervention. The victims of violence are told when attacked or s*xually assaulted to “ arrest the assailants “ themselves and bring them to the police station. There are also, in addition to these reports, several reports the police refuse to take OB reports to investigate violent attacks, blame the victims of violent crimes because they are Lgbtqia, encourage the LGBTQIA community members to “ not be lgbtqia “ and find God when reporting violent attacks, or prejudicially accuse them of lying and self injuring with no medical evidence or proof of self injury, even when refugees present valid medical reports. It’s important to keep in mind when refugees are attacked at night they donot see the faces of their attackers and can only identify them as members of a nationality from the language they are using during the attack.
We have also received reports from many transgendered members of the community they are being stripped naked by other homophobic refugees to show their genitalia to prove their gender. Many are beaten and forced to perform s*x acts… then threatened after being s*xually assaulted by these groups of homophobic men ,who state they will cut off their ge****ls or kill them. They are suffering horrific abuse and torture. The police refuse to help them. The UNHCR Kenya denies this is happening. The DRC , the Unhcr Kenya and the Kenyan police are aware this is happening and this is being reported to them, but they fail to take any measures of protection and often times blame the refugees for belonging to the lgbtqia community or being “visible “. They grossly neglect the safety concerns of this vulnerable at risk population of refugee throughout the camp and fail to acknowledge them as victims suffering human rights violations. This is gross neglect and incompetence and failure to report and neglect lgbtqia asylum seekers and refugees from human rights violations. It is the responsibility of all three groups, starting with the host state of Kenya to enforce the unhcr international protection mandate of lgbtqia social groups who have been deemed by the unhcr as a vulnerable at risk social group. It is our responsibility as human rights defenders ti report these multiple human rights violations occurring in a daily basis and hold these group accountable to enforcing this global mandate of unhcr protection policy.
When the lgbtqia refugees post on line to expose the human rights they are suffering in social media human rights campaigns ,they are being arrested and tortured or threatened with arrest and told to remove their posts off of social media. When they are arrested, the police require high dollar cash bribes to release them even though they have committed no crimes. We have received many reports these lgbtqia community members are being tortured, violently attacked, and s*xually abused by the Kenyan police while in police custody, as well as being homophobicly violently attacked by other refugees also in the jails . Amnesty international has issued a public statement about numerous reports and complaints about coerced silencing of the LGBTQIA refugees when speaking out about the human rights violations they are suffering . Using coerced methods of arrest or threats to silence a group of people being victimized ,violently attacked and tortured ,are human rights violations. The lgbtqia refugees are also being coerced by the Kenyan unhcr as well as some NGOs such as the AHRC under the direction of executive director, Melanie Nathen,..and told that they will not work on their cases, or will deny them RSD, if they speak out against the unhcr Kenya or the Kenyan government . We also have reports refugees are being offered RSD as a reward for unaligning themselves with vocal lgbtqia refugees speaking out publicly against the unhcr and Kenyan government about human rights violations they are legitimately experiencing as documented and reported. The refugees are manipulated through the use of coercive propoganda: for example they are told by protesting the RSA and Kenyan Government and speaking out about the human rights violations they are suffering, including their ongoing lack of safety, this is creating a bad situation between the lgbtqia community and the Kenyan government. They will not have their cases worked in if they donot stop and they are hurting the chances of resettlement for all lgbtqia refugees. They are hurting the whole lgbtqia community by being vocal. The Unhcr Kenya the RSA and the DRC in the camp are is fascilitating the continuance of human rights violations, By denying they are occuring, mimimizing frequency of occurrence, and fascillitating a system of coercion by not reporting it to proper authorities and enforcing protection policies and mandates. It seems these groups are more concerned with maintaining a positive public image for the hostile host country Kenyan. It is clear by their Public solidarity in their public statements, the AHRC NGO, the Unhcr Kenya, and the Unhcr top officials Have prioritized protecting the hostile host country and not the lgbtqia refugees and asylum seeking suffering g security issues, violent attacks and multiple human rights violations. These organizations are publicly denying the magnitude of this situation downplaying it as minimal in occurrences and or blaming the refugees because they are visibly lgbtqia. Their have been numerous false accusations discrediting the refugees as self harming for RSD and not credible. There is no evidence to substantiate this. Quite the contrary, the evidence that Wiley exists, are hundreds of OB reports and medical reports and not one Of these documents says the lgbtqia refugee/s have self injured committed fraud and or was arrested or repatriated for committing a crime. The AHRC representatives have also claimed the lgbtqia asylum seekers are lying about their lgbtqia status. However, none of these refugees have been given aN RSD interview to even determine this … in which if they were lying they would be repatriated. An NGO does not have the authority to determine someone’s lgbtqia status or knowledge of confidential refugee cases within the unhcr system. The refugees are told to remain silent about the human rights violations they are suffering and coerced with threats of not having their cases worked in for RSD and resettlement . This nefarious and corrupt system is working to keep the refugees silenced and to silence their social media campaign ,outlining the various human rights violations they are experiencing. That is why very few refugees are speaking out publicly … they have been threatened and forced into submission by the people and institutions they are dependent on for survival. The same institution’s receiving millions of dollars in aid from governments globally to protect them from human rights violations. The same human rights violations they are experiencing in the countries they are fleeing .This is why I am speaking out today on their behalf to prevent arrests, torture, violent attacks and containment in the camp with no RSD, yet another human rights violation.
These hundreds of unsolved documented cases of violence and r**es, murder attempts and murders are the basic criteria for emergency group resettlement. There are hundreds of OB reports, police reports and medical reports that act as proof this is occurring. In this documented evidence, there is not one single notation the lgbtqia victims of violent crimes are self injuring or lying in these reports, or arrests based on fraudulent claims. The Kenyan government and the unhcr refuses to give the lgbtqia asylum seekers emergency group resettlement which they qualify for ..instead they have lied and denied these violent attacks are happening publicly in formal statements . This is the main reason the refugees are being silenced. So the unhcr Kenya does not have hto resettle them as a group based on the fact they are in an ongoing life threatening situation in the camp ..with no way to protect this vulnerable group. The government is homophobic and unwilling to protect the lgbtqia communities human rights , because they donot think they deserve human rights . They refuse to prioritize their resettlement claims over heteros*xual cases for RSD for these reasons even though RSD emergency group resettlement is the only viable course of action. All other avenues of intervention for lgbtqia protection have been exhausted and have failed.
The following actions as solutions have been implemented in the camp by the DRC and the UNHCR to solve the issues surrounding a lack of protection and safety for the lgbtqia refugees in the camp:
1) The majority of the lgbtqia asylum seekers were placed in block 13 kakuma 3. They were grouped in a large group of 300+ lgbtqia and they were continuously violently attacked . One refugee was burned alive and murdered during many petro bombings from homophobic groups of refugees . This vulnerable group of lgbtqia asylum seekers were attacked numerous times sustaining severe injuries, machete slashing, beatings , r**es , poisoning, and murder attempts to burn them alive. A Sudanese refugee who was filmed threatening to burn the refugees alive and kill them in block 13 may have been responsible for the petro bombing and killing of Trinidad who was burned alive whom he publicly threatened to burn alive and kill. The murder suspect was never investigated and is currently acting as the block leader for block 13. This has traumatized the remaining refugees in block 13 and seems to be a deliberate move by the unhcr Kenya to further intimidate and silence the lgbtqia refugees remaining in this block. This remedy of putting the refugees in a large group for safety has failed but did provide more protection from violence than if they are not living in a large group.
2) The unhcr and DRC than dispersed the lgbtqia asylum seekers and placed them throughout the camp dividing up this group into various blocks. This option for solution has also failed .The lgbtqia community members are being attacked all over the camp continuously on a daily basis , to date . This has also failed as a solution to tapering violent attacks and mass discrimination against this vulnerable at risk group of lgbtqia refugees.
3) The lgbtqia community of Asylum seekers were asked to dialogue with the DRC and the unhcr Kenya … they complied..they have explained their situation and no viable solution has been found to date to resolve any issues they are passing through. Or secure their safety from homophobic violence and discrimination in the refugee camp
4) The last and final solution proposed by the DRC and the unhcr Kenya: they have asked the lgbtqia asylum seekers to keep a low profile and “ self protect” by not being visibly lgbtqia and attempt to integrate into the camp. This has failed and is a violation of their human rights article number one in the international declaration of human rights. They tell the refugees “ if you cannot be visible in your countries of origin, what makes you think you can visible in the camp? “ The lgbtqia refugees are seeking asylum in the camp which means protection. This is a commitment made to them by the state of Kenya and the unhcr Kenya under the global unhcr mandate. The refugees expecting protection are acting in good faith in this expectation..they are holding the unhcr to their policies, mandate and expectation of safety and protecting them from human rights violations within their mandate. This is what granted asylum in another country is .. as defined by this global institution. This is clearly stated in the unhcr written policy. Failure to carry this out isn’t the fault or responsibility of the refugee, it is the failure and responsibility of the institutions who fail to protect them. An Immediate remedy needs to be put into action by these institutions. One that provides protection, human rights and security to this vulnerable at risk group of lgbtqia.
Human rights activists and organizations have an overwhelming amount of evidence supporting 100s of violent attacks that are happening throughout the camp. Some of this evidence has been published publicly such as in the ORAM Report. This information has been taken to the unhcr directly, all the way to Geneva ,yet the unhcr continue to deny this is happening and have the audacity to blame the victims.. falsely accusing the lgbtqia refugees of self harming or lying ..which they have no evidence of ..or if any exists, it has been coerced through bribes as allegedly reported ..in addition to exploitive methods of coercion manipulating lgbtqia refugees into signing NDA s in exchange for food or RSD . The individuals providing such false reports are not credible, and are In fact promoting public propaganda to cover up these human rights violations. Human rights defenders globally have evidence of this corruption all which will be released to the proper authorities in due time.
This vulnerable at risk group of lgbtqia refugees is living in fear for their lives on a daily basis with no hope of resettlement and the unhcr refuses to stand by their mandate of protection and emergency group resettlement Apparently, the unhcr believes this group of Lgbtqia people donot deserve to have their human rights protected or to be safe from violence, death or r**e. In the eyes of the unhcr these black lgbtqia lives donot matter and have no value. They only have excuses for not intervening and have no doable working solutions. The only protection being offered at this time, is public image protection for the Kenyan government, the unhcr Kenya and the nefarious system of corruption.
The Danish refugee council insists the refugees self protect and keep a low profile by not being visibly lgbtqia. This is a human rights violation. Integration into the the community is not possible if they are visibly lgbtqia. Integration into the community isn’t possible without violating their human rights insisting they remain invisible. In fact, the basis of their asylum criteria at outlined in the United Nations international protections no 9, states the criteria for asylum is they cannot visibly be who they are in their countries of origin without persecution. The reason why this is outlined in the UN policy as means/criterium for asylum ..is it is a violation of their human rights. So not being safe when visibly gay is in fact a human rights violation specifically the first article, “ that all human beings are entitled to freedom and human dignity to be who they are “… which means visible. It is the state of Kenya’s obligation and responsibility as a host country for asylum ..to protect this vulnerable at risk group but they refuse to protect them and cannot protect them. In fact, lgbtqia persons are criminalized in Kenya which has created an impossible culture for lgbtqia to assimilate into … or integrate into … since homophobia is the cultural norm, socially acceptable, and enforceable by law and homophobic police departments. This is considered “ a hostile host country” for these reason. There is a huge distinction between a humanitarian effort … and protecting people human rights .
Asylum means protection ..and the lgbtqia refugees are not being protected. This is not asylum. To not protect the lgbtqia community of asylum seekers is a violation of their human rights in the international declaration of human rights. As well a multitude of international laws are being broken.
The unhcr is obligated to report all human rights violations of the state of Kenya to the top officials of the unhcr ..but they are not fulfilling their role as a check and balance within this system. In fact they are denying its happening Human rights activists demanding emergency group evacuation or resettlement for the lgbtqia community in kakuma refugee camp have met with the top officials in the unhcr ..and they were told “ this isn’t really happening “
To current within this system of negligence The Kenyan government and the Kenyan unhcr is responsible for violating 20 out of 30 of the lgbtqia refugees human rights in the Declaration Of International Human Rights of the United Nations.
Now let’s discuss the issue of self protection and visibility as a potential remedy …
In addition to this being a human rights violation, not being visible is not an option for most lgbtqia refugees. They are outed in the reception area when the apply for asylum when they first arrive in the camp ..so everyone knows they are gay. This can’t be undone. The majority of the lgbtqia refugees are Ugandan. Most Ugandan refugees are known throughout the camp as lgbtqia because there is no war or famine in Uganda. The other nationalities know the ugandans are lgbtqia because the majority of them are. This is common knowledge within the milieu of the camp . Also some lgbtqia are visibly gay without trying and there are many other reasons why most of the lgbtqia refugees are unable to conceal their lgbtqia status without advertising it. Including “ fear” of being outed. This is important to note since it is a guideline for criteria for asylum in unhcr policy. If the lgbtqia asylum seekers could hide their identities in a life threatening situation they would have stayed in their countries of origin and done that. This is an unrealistic and insulting remedy. Asking the refugees to self protect in this way is a human rights violation and is outlined specifically in the declaration of international protections no 9. This is UN policy. And clearly written. Also, it is noted in this document, that lgbtqia community members suffer both long and short term psychological and emotional trauma from not being able to be visible. For some lgbtqia community members it is more than reasonable to state not being able to be visibly who they are is a form of psychological torture.. and is extremely psychologically harmful to them …in some cases even leading to su***de. So since integration is not possible ..and they are in a life threatening situation where murder attempts r**es torture and murder has and is occurring, The refugees cannot be protected and there is no remedy. All potential viable remedies have been exhausted. There is no other solution but for emergency group resettlement. We are calling upon all countries willing to protect lgbtqia refugees,to open their borders for this extremely vulnerable at risk group to resettle for their immediate protections.
International human rights defenders and organizations are tired of this ongoing situation of human rights violations and inaction on the part of the unhcr all the way to Geneva. We are United globally and committed to doing whatever we have to force the hand of the unhcr to fulfill their mandate and protect. resettle and free the lgbtqia community in kakuma. We are not going away. Our fight on their behalf is just getting stronger and our evidence is accumulating like a mountain. Your days of continuing to hide the truth Unexposed are very few. The world is watching you and you will be tried in the court of public opinion.
Aluta continua
