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Israel using technicality to deport Eritrean asylum-seekers to Ethiopia

Under UN rules, Eritreans are automatically entitled to asylum, whereas Ethiopians have no such collective asylum right. By Talila Nesher The Interior Ministry is deporting Eritrean asylum-seekers to Ethiopia even though it admits it cannot guarantee their

Under UN rules, Eritreans are automatically entitled to asylum, whereas Ethiopians have no such collective asylum right.

By Talila Nesher

The Interior Ministry is deporting Eritrean asylum-seekers to Ethiopia even though it admits it cannot guarantee their safety there, a ministry document obtained by Haaretz shows.

Under UN rules, Eritreans are automatically entitled to asylum, whereas Ethiopians have no such collective asylum right. In 2003, however, Ethiopia passed a law granting citizenship to anyone whose mother or father was an Ethiopian citizen. That provision applies to many Eritreans, since Eritrea split off from Ethiopia in 1993.

The ministry’s Population Authority has therefore been deporting some Eritreans to Ethiopia on the grounds that they could obtain citizenship there. Yet the document obtained by Haaretz casts doubt on whether the new law is really being applied, and consequently, on whether Eritreans will really be safe there.

The interior and foreign ministries are currently investigating this issue, but the Population Authority hasn’t informed the courts of this when seeking permission to deport Eritreans to Ethiopia.

In July, the ministry’s advisory committee on refugees met and discussed the 2003 law and its subsidiary legislation. But according to the minutes of this meeting, the option of Eritreans obtaining Ethiopian citizenship is currently only “theoretical,” and the interior and foreign ministries are still trying “to understand whether these laws are being applied.”

The minutes also quote Danny Hass, head of the Interior Ministry’s research department, as saying, “this is a sensitive issue due to the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and it’s hard to get answers about what happens to those refugees who return once they land at the airport.”

Yet none of this is mentioned in the briefs the ministry files in court. In response to one Eritrean’s petition against his deportation, for instance, the ministry wrote simply that “even if the petitioner lost his Ethiopian citizenship at some point, he can, under Article 3 of the new Ethiopian citizenship law, reacquire Ethiopian citizenship if one of his parents (in this case, the petitioner’s mother ) is Ethiopian.”

Yonatan Berman, outgoing legal advisor for the Hotline for Migrant Workers and one of the attorneys representing that petitioner, said, “the minutes constitute evidence that the Interior Ministry is concealing information that could have led to different conclusions about the legal possibility of deporting people.”

Attorney Yuval Livnat of Tel Aviv University’s refugee rights clinic termed the minutes “extremely disturbing. The Interior Ministry tells the courts over and over that Ethiopians of Eritrean origin can return to Ethiopia without fear, but in private it admits there’s no certainty regarding the treatment that awaits them.”

In another case, Judge Rami Amir noted two other problems with the ministry’s position. First, he said, neither the Justice Ministry’s international department nor any expert on Ethiopian law has confirmed that the new law means what the Interior Ministry says it does. Moreover, another article in the law states that anyone with citizenship in another country shall be viewed as if he had given up his Ethiopian citizenship, unless he waives his foreign citizenship within a year of reaching his majority. That would seem to preclude most Eritrean asylum-seekers from acquiring Ethiopian citizenship under this law.

The Interior Ministry responded that it stands by its right to deport any Eritrean who has or could acquire citizenship in any other country, including Ethiopia. The fact that an asylum seeker also has Eritrean citizenship “does not entitle him to immunity” from deportation, it said.

Source:Haaretz.com

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14 COMMENTS
  • Dawit October 25, 2011

    According to the article “In 2003, however, Ethiopia passed a law granting citizenship to anyone whose mother or father was an Ethiopian citizen. That provision applies to many Eritreans, since Eritrea split off from Ethiopia in 1993.. Therefore, technically speaking almost all Eritreans who were born before 1993 are Ethiopians. Politically sounds great …Ethiopianaization of Eritreans is in a full swing. The Eritrean political situation is being well exploited by Ethiopia. Ethiopia has long been a haven for Eritreans.

    • Kibrom T. October 25, 2011

      Dawit,

      Your characterization of the Eritrean situation is not far-fetched. What the Ethiopians could not achieve by war, they are able to do it by simply watching Isaias behaving like an ass and self-destructing. Unintended consequences!

      • Temesgen Medhanie October 26, 2011

        Kibrom,

        In the pantheon of “isms”, Isaias-ism should as well be added as a moniker for self-induced-destruction.

      • Dawit October 26, 2011

        I call Ethioipa’s action a soft power-winning the hearts and minds of Eritreans. Ethiopia at the moment seems to be more concerned about winning the battle for the hearts and minds of Eritrans than relying upon good-for-nothing Eritrea’s possible future war-lords of political parties to topple Issayas. This may be a political strategy to achieve a goal-What ever that goal might be.

        • Temesgen Medhanie October 26, 2011

          Dawit,

          If I have to state the obvious, Weyanes sure enough are not doing the humanitarian gesture to secure a place in the after-life but of course, it is a political strategy as much as it is to narrow the gap between the Eritrean and Ethiopian people. But if we have to be truthful to ourselves, we shouldn’t be shy in recognizing the statesmanship which is displayed by the leaders of Ethiopia no matter what the need for cynicism is irresistible.

          • Dawit October 26, 2011

            Temesgen,

            I can’t agree more. This is not the first time Meles outsmarted the stubborn Issayas. Humans like electricity look for the path of least resistance. Eritreans chose Ethiopia to be the path of least resistance to live a relatively peaceful life.

  • sol October 26, 2011

    I do understand that neighboring nations like Sudan, Ethiopia ,Kenya,Uganda,Sudan, Puntland,Egypt and countries as far as South Africa, Israel,Yemen,Italy and many Western nations are affected by the influx of modern day refugees of Eritrea as a result they are paying a hefty price in their legal,security ,diplomacy, social security and their economy one way the other because of the irresponsible or failed government of Eritrea.The only way the world come out of these problem is solving the Eritrean problem once for all by forcing the government or removing the government as it does not protect the right of its citizens to live. We can not blame governments as they have the responsibility for their own citizens.Even though I strongly agree these nations abide by international law some times it is beyond their capability.

  • Barentu October 27, 2011

    We often read the Israeli NGOs and newspapers, either exposing the Israeli government or challenging its policies so as to defend the African or Eritrean asylum seekers in Israel, but I had never read the plight and suffering of Eritrean and African refugees exposed in the Arab media, be it Egyptian, Libyan, Qatari … or others.
    Is this all they have of the so called “Arab Spring”?

    • Abdi October 27, 2011

      Cause Arabs know who is behind this all,but they do report if it was genuine crisis,like the one in Somalia or Sudan,but eritrean issue is a fully fabricated crisis from the US/NGOs and their cheap African puppets.

  • robel October 27, 2011

    Unfortunately, NO body trusts weyane or ethiopia. We just use it as a bridge to go else where !
    they are dreaming the weyayane are winning our hearts and minds. Funny ethiopians !
    weather we like or hate the current regime in Eritrea. No question about burning love of our Eritreansm!!!!!

  • Abdi October 27, 2011

    Ha ha,Ethiopia is doing this for the sake of winning eritrean’s hearts?no way,its saving her own refugees who pretend to be eritrean from being deported to Eritrea and join the ethiopian oppositions there.Ethiopia claims to have hosted 200.000 eritrean refugees in her land but the reality is 60000 and the rest are tigrawot aiming to send them abroad for better life and education.recently the Australian authorities detected this issue after they brought refugees from Ethiopia,moreover even the eritreans knows that there are many tigrawot claiming asylum under Eritrean names but poor Eritreans do not take personally and expose them,but they help them with their cases.
    So the ones who have been deported or get assistance from the Ethiopian gov’t are tigrawot who failed in thier claims.hence our refugees and population number increasing day by day.
    No real eritrean will ask to be deported to Ethiopia.

  • seleman tombi October 28, 2011

    I think Meles is becoming a pan Africanist accidently.I urge Meles to continue doing so not only for ERITREANS but also for any human being.I know that Meles is another cruel leader towards his people,but atl east he is better than Isayas.But if Meles
    treats its own citizens fairly and invites every African with political,social and economic problem he is going to pave the way of
    peace and unity of Africans.I wish Meles to follow the ways of Kwame and Lubumba who dreamed for one Africa under one government.Stupid people like Isayas will never learn any lesson from his cousin Meles.Meles is becoming JIGNA.Please Meles do not let any Eritrean to be deported to Eritrea.You know now that Isayas is weak,allow all Eritreans in Ethiopia to be as they want going any where they want in Ethiopia either to work or live.This is what we must expect from all African leaders Abshirka MELES.

    SELEMAN TOMBI

    • Abdi October 29, 2011

      Complain about your cruel leader,we eritreans we don’t hold nothing against ISAYAS,and good for you collect all Africans in your country and sack more aid and teach them to beg like you.

  • Abdi October 29, 2011

    Lol look at the pic,is this an eritrean face?gunga agame gna ms fetlu ab ksadu.

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