by Chrispinus Omar and Njoroge Kaburo
NAIROBI, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A summit of East African leaders agreed on Saturday to facilitate the voluntary return of Somali refugees but the UN refugee agency immediately announced that it would not back the returns to a country facing threats of severe famine.
The leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) resolved to support the Nairobi Comprehensive Plan of Action for Durable Solutions for Somali Refugees and a separate plan for regional response to the refugee crisis meant to assist Somalia in surviving the ongoing drought and looming famine.
The leaders, who met in Nairobi for the Special Summit of IGAD, the first such meeting of its kind on the crisis in Somalia, agreed that they would create an enabling environment for safe, sustainable and voluntary return and reintegration of Somali refugees.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) official, George Okoth-Obbo said the UNHCR would not facilitate the return of refugees to Somalia because of the drought and the looming famine.
At the end of a summit, which the leaders from the seven countries in the East African region, termed "cordial and frank," the leaders called for the strengthening of security and stability in Somalia.
In a communique issued at the end of an IGAD special summit on durable solutions for Somali refugees hosted by President Uhuru Kenyatta in his capacity as the regional body's rapporteur, the leaders urged the international community to immediately increase assistance to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to discharge its mandate.
They cited enhancing the discharge of the mandate of the AMISOM and reinforcing the capacity of the National Security Forces of Somalia as key components of boosting security and stability in the Horn of Africa nation.
The regional leaders also agreed to bolster the protection of refugees and respond effectively to the drought in the region to prevent new forced displacement.
The day-long summit agreed to maintain the asylum space and to support the integration of the refugees in the communities.
The leaders declared the seven-member states of IGAD -- Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia -- would work toward aligning their domestic laws and policies, civil documentation and other administrative procedures affecting the protection of the refugees.
They also agreed to facilitate the refugees to access paid jobs and to work toward creating policies to facilitate the assistance to refugees in their national policies.
The leaders have pledged to continue the strengthening of capacity of the countries of the region to enhance the assistance provided to refugees.
"We are in the grip of a serious drought and loss of livestock," said Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who chaired the Summit on Somali refugees.
He said the refugee crisis in Somalia is a global crisis whose resolution requires the contribution of all organizations and states concerned.
The IGAD Summit was held amid a pending closure of the Dadaab Refugee Complex in northeastern Kenya, home to some 270,000 Somali refugees.
Other recommendations of the summit included the strengthening of the capacity of countries in the region to contribute to the protection and provision of assistance to Somali refugees, continue enhancing security within refugee camps and out-of-camp refugee population, and ensure the civilian and humanitarian character of refugee camps and settlements.
The special summit decided to: "strengthen regional cooperation on durable solutions for Somali refugees through the creation of an IGAD multi-donor trust fund designed to support and facilitate the creation of an enabling environment and the rolling out of durable solutions including safe, sustainable and voluntary return of refuges."
