To: Sudan Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Mohammed Ali Almardi
Ministry of Justice
PO BOX 744
Khartoum
Fax: + 249 183 78 07 96
October 23, 2007
Dear Minister of Justice and Attorney General Mr. Mohammed Ali Almardi:
First and foremost, we, the undersigned, would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of the Sudanese people and government for their kindness and hospitality to Ethiopian refugees over the years since the ascendancy to power of the dictatorial military regime in Ethiopia. People living along the border of both countries have lived in peace and exemplary neighbourliness for generations. However, the last few years have seen a growing collaboration between the governments of the two countries, often to the detriment of the interests of the Ethiopian people and to freedom and justice, especially with regard to Ethiopian refugees. Reliable news coming out of Sudan reveals constant harassment, imprisonment and deportation of Ethiopian refugees.
In the beginning of July, over 30 Ethiopians were arrested by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service. On September 27, at least 15 of them were handed over by Sudanese officials to Ethiopian authorities in violation of the principle of non-refoulement. As Your Excellency knows, this principle is the cornerstone of the 1951 Refugee Convention in which refugees will not be sent back to a country where their life or freedom would be at risk. A similar deportation that took place early in August 2007 aroused the complaint of the UNHCR to your government, but to no avail. The whereabouts of the deportees is not yet officially known and they may be subjected to physical and psychological torture under extremely inhumane prison conditions in their native country. The remaining group of Ethiopian refugees in detention in Sudan will also face the same risk of deportation and the same tragic fate awaits them in Ethiopia. As a contracting party of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention and as a member of the UN Human Rights Commission, your government is committing a breach of its obligations under international law. Confident that you will do everything in your power to save the lives of the victims and their families:
- We, the undersigned, humbly appeal to you to use your position as Minister of Justice and Attorney General to take action and bring an end to the involuntary repatriation of Ethiopian refugees.
- We call upon the Sudanese government to cease arbitrary detainment of innocent Ethiopian refugees and release those in jail without delay.
- We request that you use your good offices to urge the Ethiopian government to account for the whereabouts of the deportees, who might be subjected to extreme ill-treatment and torture.
Sincerely,
Click here to sign the petition
No comments:
Post a Comment