Kenya plans to shut down the largest refugee camp in the world by November.

The Dadaab refugee camp, located on the Kenya-Somalia border, has been at the centre of a heated debate recently. Kenya has announced its intention to close the camp by November this year, a decision that has sparked concern from rights groups, charities, and the United Nations (UN).

The Interior Minister of Kenya, Joseph Ole Nkaissery, has declared the decision to close the camp as final. However, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and various rights groups have voiced their dismay at this closure plan. Victor Nyamori, Amnesty International's refugee affairs officer in Kenya, is "totally opposed" to the closure but agrees that "the international community does not do its part."

Experts have cast doubt on whether the closure of the Dadaab camp would be legal, with rights groups warning that forcibly repatriating refugees could break international law. The UNHCR has voiced "profound concern" over any move to shut Dadaab, citing humanitarian concerns and the legal protection of refugees.

Kenya's plan to close the camp was revealed ahead of an international humanitarian summit in Istanbul. The report on the closure of the Dadaab camp is clear on the timelines to ensure refugees leave. Kenya will prepare security for the closure of the camp and ensure it is done in a humane way.

The UNHCR will lead the exercise to return refugees from the Dadaab camp. The majority of refugees in the camp fled Somalia's more than two-decade long conflict. Kenya is assisting the UNHCR in returning refugees from the Dadaab camp.

The international community, via the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), covers most costs of maintaining the Dadaab camp. The UNHCR hailed Kenya's "extraordinary role over the years in hosting refugees." Analysts suggest that Kenya's plan to close the Dadaab camp is a means to put the issue back on the international agenda.

Charities and the UN have voiced their dismay at the closure plan of the Dadaab refugee camp. The head of the UN refugee agency was scheduled to visit Kenya before the expiry of a 2013 deal on Somali refugees. It remains to be seen how this issue will unfold in the coming months.