The Impact of National Interests of Host States on Refugee Rights: a Case Study of Kenya

Abstract

All the existing measures which have been taken to promote the fundamental rights of asylum seekers and refugees by local, national, regional to global communities seems to be unsuccessful. Refugees and asylum seekers remain one of the fundamental issues affecting the world in the 21st Century. While refugee numbers continue to grow in different parts of the world, the existing literature has not quite explained how their rights can be upheld and also fails to focus on all their rights collectively. My study will therefore increase knowledge and help in filling the gap on this issue. This study focuses on how different states national interests have made international refugee rights succumb at the expense of the refugee population. The main objective of the study is to identify the impact of national interests of host states on refugee rights with a keen interest in Kenya. The research employs a mixed-methodology of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods at Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. The findings of the study indicate that the host state should instead look for ways of absorbing the refugees and making them part of its citizens, which will add a larger workforce and result in a better economic position for the nation. Additionally, the state should enforce security in the camps to ensure that the refugees are protected from harm. The state should also ensure more programs are introduced to ensure that the refugees are free to access certain services such as educational scholarships within the state, documentation that allows them to travel and distribute camps within the country. Additionally, further research on the effects of migrations on the refugees themselves and how they have handled the new world they find themselves in would give the state an insight into the perspective of the refugees with regards to the repatriation program.