To:  His Excellency Mr. Sameh Hassan Shoukry

        Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Cairo.

       His Excellency Mr. Filippo Grandi

       United Nations Higher Commissioner of Refugees

       Geneva, Switzerland.

Re: An appeal on behalf of some Eritrean refugees arrested in Cairo on July 21, 2019.

Your Excellencies,

The Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC) an umbrella of 21 divergent Eritrean opposition parties and organizations would like to express our gratitude to the people and the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt as well as the UNHCR for their continuous and restless support of generations of Eritrean refugees.

It is, therefore, with distress and a sense of urgency, Your Excellencies, that we appeal to You on behalf of the Eritrean refugees still in detention, arrested on July 21, 2019 during a peaceful demonstration organized by the Eritrean refugees in Cairo directed at the malpractices and negligence of few employees in the UNHCR office in Cairo.

ENCDC is well aware that Egypt abides by the rule of law and is signatory of international conventions on refugees. We strongly believe that the Egyptian authorities and their UNHCR counterparts will pursue and fulfill their legal obligations and moral responsibilities in safeguarding the wellbeing and safety of Eritrean refugees in Egypt.

We appeal to Your Excellencies:

• to ensure the release of all the Eritrean refugees detained,
• to give due attention to the grievances of the refugees and induce a reasonable hope,
• to stop all plans, if there are any, of deporting Eritrean refugees to Eritrea,
• to facilitate their asylum process and determine their status at faster pace.

Thank you for giving Your attention to this matter.    

Yours sincerely,

Hailemariam Tesfay

Head of Foreign Relations & Humanitarian Affairs Office

July 24, 2019