Egypt gives UN until Sunday to assess Sudanese refugees
Jan 13, 2006 (CAIRO) — Egyptian authorities have given the U.N. refugee body until Sunday to assess the status of about 463 Sudanese refugees whom police violently evicted from a city park last month, a UNHCR spokesperson said Friday.
“UNHCR has so far received no guarantees from the Egyptian government that — as we have requested — no one will be deported,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Ron Redmond said in Geneva.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has said the authorities plan to release Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers but deport illegal immigrants.
The Egyptian police have released on Wednesday 164 Sudanese refugees, on the refugee body’s recommendation because they were registered with it either as refugees or asylum seekers.
Assessment teams of are working around the clock in an attempt to properly assess the status of the remaining Sudanese refugees, and recommendations will be made on Sunday, he said.
At first, Egyptian authorities gave UNHCR three days to assess the legal status of the detainees and their possible need for international protection. The agency sought a one-month extension to carry out a thorough review, but was only given one additional week.
UNHCR has recommended the immediate release of all women and children, of which more than 190 remain in detention, on legal and moral humanitarian grounds.
It recommended the immediate release of all Sudanese from Darfur in due to the current situation there.
Although UNHCR advises against forcible return to Sudan at this point in time, as many areas are not yet deemed safe, the agency said it can facilitate return for those Sudanese who explicitly express the wish to go back to safe areas.
The agency said that Egypt acceded in 1981 to the 1951 Refugee Convention and as a result has basic responsibilities towards refugees and asylum seekers, including registration and status determination. It considers the deportation of “persons of concern” a violation of the Convention.
(ST)