The inadequate respect of some of the rights of refugees in the Dadaab camps in Kenya in particular and Africa in general has left some of the refugees dependent on international rations for a long time and has made it difficult for them to thrive in the camps that they lived in. Governments, Humanitarian Organisation and Non-Governmental Organisation have often paid more attention on the immediate needs of refugees rather than working the route towards self-sufficiency of these refugees. the inadequate respect of some of their basic rights has not given them the necessary tools to work their way out of dependency of international rations. This Thesis generates qualittative data to show that competing norms within the Dadaab camps in Kenya in particular and Africa in general has not worked the path towards self-sufficiency but rather dependency. The non-respect of some of the basic rights of refugees in the Dadaab camps as spelled out by the 1951 Refugee Convention and the OAU Refugee Convention or the non-respect of legal international law or norms guiding refugees by the Kenyan government which is a signatory to both instruments has not paved the way towards reducing dependency on international rations. Thus, competing legal norms within the Dadaab refugee camps has limited the tools necessary for the refugee to be politically, socially and economically independent to face the future. The outcome of this study contributes to the critical understanding of the basic rights of refugees and the respect of international norms.