Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Securitization of Humanitarian Aid: A Case Study of the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Refugees and Forced Migration in the Horn and Eastern Africa

Abstract

The delivery of humanitarian assistance has always been a risky business. Now more than ever, there are more humanitarian organizations delivering aid in high-risk environments like refugee camps and war-torn regions. Within this operating environment, humanitarian principles such as neutrality, impartiality, and humanity have often failed to protect aid workers from violent attacks as they increasingly venture into a world inhabited by “surplus populations.” As a result, security is now embedded in the conceptualization, planning, and delivery of humanitarian aid. Paradoxically, there is an enduring tension between humanitarianism and security especially at the operational level. This tension leaves frontline humanitarian workers exposed to the same elements of insecurity that persistently threaten the lives of those they endeavor to help. This contribution investigates how the securitization of humanitarian aid plays out in the Dadaab camp complex and how this affects aid delivery including the humanitarian community.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Personal Interview with a security Manager for an International NGO, May 24, 2016.

  2. 2.

    Personal Interview with a security Manager for an International NGO, May 24, 2016.

  3. 3.

    Linda Nchi is a Kiswahili phrase meaning protect the nation.

  4. 4.

    Personal Interview with a Community Leader in Hagadera Camp, May 22, 2016.

  5. 5.

    Personal Interview with a Program Manager for an International NGO in Dadaab, June 05, 2016.

  6. 6.

    Ibid.

  7. 7.

    Personal Interview with a Senior Field Safety Advisor International NGO in Dadaab, June 15, 2016.

  8. 8.

    This was a secessionist armed conflict between 1963 and 1967 in which ethnic Somalis in Kenya’s Northern Frontier District (NFD), in the northern part of Kenya, with the support of the Somali government launched an offensive to break away from Kenya and join Somalia in the Greater Somalia project.

  9. 9.

    However, securitizing aid delivery has always been a controversial concept. Humanitarianism has been used to justify military interventions in many areas including Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Angola, Mozambique, Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Zaire, Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

  10. 10.

    Personal Interview with a Senior Field Safety Advisor International NGO in Dadaab, June 15, 2016.

  11. 11.

    Personal Interview with a Protection Officer, Department of Refugee Affairs, June 20, 2016.

  12. 12.

    Personal Interview with a Senior Field Safety Advisor International NGO in Dadaab, June 15, 2016.

  13. 13.

    Personal Interview with a UNHCR security staff June 15 2016.

  14. 14.

    Personal Interview with an Executive Director for a National NGO May 27, 2016.

  15. 15.

    Personal Interview with a Senior Field Safety Advisor International NGO in Dadaab, June 15, 2016.

  16. 16.

    Ibid.

  17. 17.

    Personal Interview with a Woman Community Leader NGO in Dadaab, June 15, 2016.

  18. 18.

    Personal Interview with a Security Manager for an International NGO, May 24, 2016.

  19. 19.

    Personal Interview with a Human Affairs Coordinator for an International NGO, June 12, 2016.

  20. 20.

    Ibid.

  21. 21.

    Personal Interview with a Programs Officer for an International NGO, June 15, 2016.

  22. 22.

    Personal Interview with a Human Affairs Coordinator for an International NGO, June 12, 2016.

  23. 23.

    Personal Interview with a Programs Officer for an International NGO, June 15, 2016.

  24. 24.

    Personal Interview with a Security Manager for an International NGO, May 24, 2016.

  25. 25.

    Personal Interview with a Human Affairs Coordinator for an International NGO, June 12, 2016.

  26. 26.

    Personal Interview with an Emergency Coordinator for an International NGO, June 18, 2016.

  27. 27.

    Ibid.

  28. 28.

    Personal Interview with a Human Affairs Coordinator for an International NGO, June 12, 2016.

References

  • Bocha, G. (2010, June 8). Security alert over Al-Shabaab man. Daily Nation, Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danish Refugee Council. (2014). The Dadaab dilemma: A study on livelihood activities and opportunities for refugees in Dadaab. Nairobi: Danish Refugee Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffield, M. (2001). Global governance and the new wars: The merging of development and security. London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Echo. (2004). Generic security guide for humanitarian organizations. Brussels: European Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edward, N. (2004). Refugees and forced displacement: International security, human vulnerability, and the state. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Egeland, J, (2004). Humanitarianism under fire. Christian science monitor. Retrieved May 12, 2016, from https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0805/p09s01-coop.html

  • Fast, L. (2010). Mind the gap: Documenting and explaining violence against aid workers. European Journal of International Relations, 2(16), 365–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government of Kenya. (2015). 2015 Economic survey. Nairobi: Ministry of Finance.

    Google Scholar 

  • Government of Kenya. (2016). Government statement on update and repatriation of refugees and scheduled closure of Dadaab camp. Nairobi: Office of the President.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammerstad, A. (2010). UNHCR and the securitization of forced migration. In A. Betts & G. Loescher (Eds.), Refugees in international relations (pp. 237–260). Oxford: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimathi, L. (2013). Personal safety and security for women political aspirants: A training manual. Nairobi: Center for Rights Education and Awareness.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirui, P., & Mwaruvie, J. (2012). The dilemma of hosting refugees: A focus on the insecurity in North-Eastern Kenya. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(8), 213–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lischer, S. (2005). Dangerous sanctuaries: Refugee camps, civil war, and humanitarian aid. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, C. (2007). Securitizing Canadian policing: A new policing paradigm for the post 9/11 security state? Canadian Journal of Sociology, 32(4), 449–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mutambo, A. (2016, May 11). How Kenya sealed the repatriation of refugees. Daily Nation, Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogodo, O. (2016). Enterprise: The key to survival in Dadaab. Retrieved June 2, 2016, from http://www.fcaea.org/aid=546.phtm

  • Refugee Consortium of Kenya. (2013). Asylum under threat: Assessing the protection of Somalia refugees in Dadaab refugee camp. Nairobi: Pann Printers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rudolph, T. (2015). A tale of two Kenyas: An African case of societal securitization. Nairobi: University of Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoddard, A., Harmer, A., & Renouf, J. (2010, February). Once removed: Lessons and challenges in remote management of humanitarian operations in insecure areas. Humanitarian Outcomes. Retrieved June 24, 2016, from https://www.humanitarianoutcomes.org/publications/once-removed

  • Stoddard, A., Harmer, A., Hughes, M. (2012). Host states and their impact on security for humanitarian operations. Humanitarian outcomes. Retrieved December 14, 2016, from https://www.humanitarianoutcomes.org/publications/aid-worker-security-report-2012-host-states

  • Sweeny, D. (2012). Conflict and deteriorating security in Dadaab. Humanitarian Practice Network. Retrieved June 5, 2016, from http://odihpn.org/magazine/conflict-and-deteriorating-security-in-dadaab/

  • Terry, F. (2002). Condemned to repeat? The paradox of humanitarian action. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2014). Dadaab refugee camps, Kenya: Status Report. Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2015). Dadaab operation: Sexual and gender based violence dashboard, Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2016). Dadaab refugee camps, Kenya: UNHCR Monthly Update June 2016, Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughn, J. (2009). The unlikely securitizer: Humanitarian organizations and the securitization of indistinctiveness. Security Dialogue, 3(40), 263–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaux, T., et al. (2001). Humanitarian action and private security companies: Opening the debate. International alert. Retrieved June 24, 2016, from http://reliefweb.int/report/world/humanitarian-action-and-private-security-companies

  • Williams, S. (2011). Famine in Africa: Inside Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/sally-williams/8762161/Famine-in-Africa-inside-Dadaabthe-worlds-largest-refugee-camp.html

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

    Leah Kimathi

Authors
  1. Leah Kimathi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Johannes Dragsbaek Schmidt

  2. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

    Leah Kimathi

  3. Department of Political Science, School of Development and Strategic Studies, Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya

    Michael Omondi Owiso

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kimathi, L. (2019). The Securitization of Humanitarian Aid: A Case Study of the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. In: Schmidt, J.D., Kimathi, L., Owiso, M.O. (eds) Refugees and Forced Migration in the Horn and Eastern Africa. Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03721-5_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation