Nairobi, 21 October 2024:  The Police Reforms Working Group is shocked by the Government of Kenya’s admission that Kenyan law enforcement and foreign affairs agencies played a role in the refoulement and forced return of Mustafa Genç, Öztürk Uzun, Alparslan Taşçı, and Hüseyin Yeşilsu, four Turkish nationals from Kenya to Turkey.

The principle of non-refoulement is a cornerstone of refugee protection. It has been recognised in international humanitarian law for more than seventy years. The 1951 United Nations Refugee 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. These obligations cannot be traded for commercial, diplomatic or trade interests without violating both national and international law.

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. No evidence that the four individuals posed any such threat has been provided by the Government of Kenya.

While the law recognizes there are exceptions to the principle of non-refoulment, 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. 

Tragically, the Government has placed four human beings at grave risk as well as Kenya’s standing as a sanctuary nation for those fleeing persecution and war. It undermines Kenya’s credibility as the newest member of the United Nations Human Rights Council and torpedoes the United Nations Universal Periodic Review process planned for next year.

This weekend’s 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.

This statement is signed by the Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya, an alliance of national and grassroots organizations committed to professional, accountable, and human rights-compliant policing. They include:  Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), Kariobangi Paralegal Network, Defenders Coalition, Katiba Institute, Social Justice Centres Working Group (SJCW), 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), Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA- Kenya), 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)