The Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in northern Kenya together host more than 410,000 people, a small proportion of whom are from southern Sudan.
Authorities in Nairobi first announced their intention to close the Dadaab camp, which is closer to the border with Somalia than Kakuma in 2016, citing national security concerns.
Fred Matiang’i, the interior minister, has now given UNHCR 14 days to outline a plan for the closure of Dadaab and Kakuma, his ministry said in a tweet, adding that there was no room for further negotiations on the matter.
UNHCR urged Kenya to ensure that those in need of protection continue to receive it and has pledged to maintain the dialogue.
“The decision would have an impact on the protection of refugees in Kenya, including in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” the agency said in a statement.
The Somali authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Kenyan government’s attempt to shut down Dadaab in 2016 was informed by intelligence reports showing that two major attacks on Kenyan targets in 2013 and 2015 took place with the involvement of elements in the camps. The plan was blocked by the higher court, which considered the measure unconstitutional.
The camp was established three decades ago and was once the largest refugee camp in the world, which at its peak hosted more than half a million people fleeing violence and drought in Somalia.
Kakuma, located in the northwest, is home to more than 190,000 refugees, some from neighboring South Sudan.
Kenyan authorities informed UNCHR on Tuesday that it would take refugees to the border with Somalia if the camps were not closed, the Daily Nation newspaper reported. The Interior Ministry told Reuters the reports were accurate.
Kenya’s action comes at a time when relations with Somalia are getting worse after Mogadishu cut diplomatic relations with Nairobi last December, accusing it of interfering in its internal affairs.
The two nations are also facing the International Court of Justice over a maritime border dispute, although Kenya has boycotted the hearing on the case.
Kenya’s Interior Ministry told Reuters that the move to close the camps was not related to diplomatic difficulties with Somalia.