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Eritrean refugees in Libya

eritreans_in_LibyaFollowing the article by Human Rights Watch on Eritrean refugees in Libya, the European Parliament will hold a meeting Tuesday 13th June on this issue.

Libya is far from a safe place.  Eritrean refugees have been imprisoned, abused, tortured and deported by force to Eritrea where they face extreme injustice. This include actions such as incarceration without a trial for a prolonged period of time or extra-judicial executions.

According to the latest reports, the Eritrean refugees are still in detention in Libya and only have the option to obtain delimited residency permits which last for a period of three months and limit the Eritreans to one district. After this period of time, they would have to ask for a passport to obtain a Libyan identity document, a process that requires them to act through the Eritrean Embassy. For this reason, most of the Eritrean refugees rightly fear for their families’ safety, as they are dependent on the Eritrean government which uses pressure and violence to oppress Eritreans both in Eritrea and abroad.

Under these circumstances, the international community should:

  • Remind Italy that Libya should be in a position to fulfil asylum obligations before pushing back refugees to any countries.
  • Emphasise to Libya that the Convention against Torture and the Convention of African Refugee forbid to send any individuals to countries where they face serious “danger of being subjected to torture” (Article 3 of the ICAT).
  • Refer the Libyan government to its 1966 Constitutional Proclamation as well as Law 20 of 1991 in which Libya is committed to the protection of refugees.

The Eritrean researcher on Human Rights Law and Human Rights activist, Dr. Mekonnen, emphasised that “the only lasting solution for Eritrean refugees in Libya would be a resettlement scheme to a third safe country, a commitment which is expected of all democratic countries of the world which respect international standards on the protection of refugees”.

More information:

An article Written by Arkokabay News Dpt. EU Called upon to help Eritrean Refugees in Libya.