Human rights groups protest repatriation of four Turkish refugees

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei. [File, Standard]

Human rights groups have condemned the government over the repatriation of four Turkish refugees.

The 21 human rights organisations under the Police Reforms Working Group umbrella said the admission by Kenyan law enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of capture and repatriation of the four violates refugees' rights.

This comes after Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei announced that Mustafa Genç, Öztürk Uzun, Alparslan Taşçı, and Hüseyin Yeşilsu, were repatriated back to Turkey on the Turkish government's request.

The organisations said that there was no evidence that the four individuals posed any threat to warrant their return back Turkey.

“International refugee law recognizes that refugees may only be returned if they pose a danger to national security or, after due process, are found guilty of a crime that threatens the safety of others,” read the statement.

In his statement Monday, Korir confirmed that the four Turkish nationals were repatriated to their home country on October 18, 2024, at the request of the government of Türkiye.

“Kenya acceded to this request on the strength of the robust historical and strategic relations anchored on bilateral instruments between our respective countries,” said the
PS.

According to the human rights groups, the principle of non-refoulment which is recognised in international humanitarian law is the foundation of refugee protection.

The Principle of non-refoulement obliges States not to expel or return in any manner whatsoever a person to territories where their life or freedom would be threatened.

The obligation is set out under the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, regional refugee law instruments, international or regional human rights law instruments and is binding under customary international law

“The 1951 UN Convention and its 1967 Protocol, 1969 OAU Convention on refugees and 2021 Refugee Law of Kenya explicitly prohibits the return of refugees to a place where they are likely to face the very danger from which they fled,” read the statement.

It further reads, “These obligations cannot be traded for commercial, diplomatic or trade interests without violating both national and international law.”

However, the PS said that the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has received assurances from the Turkish authorities that the four will be treated with dignity in keeping with national and international law.

“Kenya is committed to the privacy and confidentiality of the repatriated individuals and will refrain from responding to media inquiries on the subject until the ongoing inter-agency review of the case is complete,” he said.

“Kenya assures the international community of its unswerving commitment to the protection and promotion of refugee rights as prescribed under national and international law,” Sing’oei added.

While the law recognises exceptions to the principle of non-refoulment, the human rights groups argued that the law also provides procedural safeguards.

“Rather than returning asylum seekers to governments that had fled from, a third country for safe resettlement could have been found,” they said.

According to them, the breach punctures Kenya’s legal commitments, its international moral standing and threatens three decades of confidence in Kenya’s humanitarian protection for the 780,000 refugees on Kenyan soil who need it today.

Among the organizations under PRWG include Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), Kariobangi Paralegal Network, Defenders Coalition, Katiba Institute, and the Social Justice Centres Working Group (SJCW).

Also included in this coalition are the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), International Justice Mission (IJM-K), HAKI Africa, Amnesty International Kenya, Women Empowerment Link, Social Welfare Development Program (SOWED), Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), and the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Kenya).

Others are International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ-Kenya), Transparency International Kenya, Shield for Justice, Wangu Kanja Foundation, Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO), Kenyans for Peace, Truth and Justice (KPTJ), and Peace Brigades International Kenya (PBI Kenya).