From ‘refugee’ to ‘new arrival’: The challenges faced by repatriated Somali refugees returning to Dadaab

Some of the more than 80,000 Somali refugees who were supported to return to Somalia from Dadaab under the 2013 Tripartite Agreement facilitated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have returned to Kenya without assistance. Interviews with 10 Dadaab refugees who underwent voluntary repatriation illustrate how those who return to Kenya may be worse off than those who were not repatriated. Having given up their refugee status, the returnees now face challenges in accessing the humanitarian assistance to which they previously had access.