http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-begins-sweeping-rejection-of-eritrean-asylum-claims.premium-1.530332
Israel begins sweeping rejection of Eritrean asylum claims
More than 1,400 African migrants held in Israeli detention facilities have filed asylum requests to date. Until two weeks ago, state hadn't responded to any, but since it started, it has rejected every claim.
By Ilan Lior | Jun.17, 2013 | 3:54 PM
Israel has rejected 17 asylum requests by African migrants being held in detention facilities over the past two weeks. Not a single request for asylum has been granted since the state began processing asylum seekers' claims two weeks ago.
The vast majority of the 17 rejected requests appear to have been filed by Eritrean citizens who either evaded military service there or left the country illegally.
The claimants were informed by the interior minister's advisory committee on refugee affairs that they do not meet the criteria of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, to which Israel is a signatory. The committed pointed out that, according to a decision by the interior minister, evasion or desertion of military duty is not enough to claim political persecution.
To date, more than 1,400 of the 2,000 African migrants being held in Israeli detention facilities have filed requests for asylum. Until two weeks ago, the state hadn't responded to a single one.
Since then it has rejected every claim it has processed.
However, the state is granting temporary group protection to Eritrean and Sudanese citizens in the meantime. As such, asylum seekers whose individual requests are rejected will not be deported at this time, according to the state.
The slew of rejected requests follows State Prosecutor Yochi Gnessin's statement two weeks ago during a High Court hearing that the vast majority of asylum requests by Eritrean citizens would be rejected.
This appears to contravene the position of the United Nations. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated in 2011 that evading military service is the main cause of political persecution in Eritrea and is likely to lead to imprisonment in inhumane conditions, torture and even execution.
Unlike Israel, most countries around the world accept a large proportion of asylum claims by Eritrean refugees. In 2011, 74 percent of Eritrean asylum claims were accepted worldwide.
An estimated 55,000 African migrants currently reside in Israel – 36,000 from Eritrea and 14,000 from Sudan. Many entered the country by way of the border with Egypt. Nearly 2,000 of these migrants are being held in detention facilities in Israel.
Under the Infiltration Prevention Law, the state is required to review requests for asylum within three months of their filing, and to respond within nine months. If nine months go by without a decision, the court has the authority to free the claimant from detention.
Israel confirmed last week that it had reached an agreement with an unnamed country willing to accept illegal migrants residing in Israel. Israeli officials said they were also conducting negotiations with four other countries.
Several days later a Sudanese media outlet reported that the authorities in Khartoum were interrogating Sudanese citizens who had resided in Israel and returned to Sudan by way of Jordan. Israel recently admitted it had returned 2,100 Sudanese migrants to their home country in recent months via a third country, though Israeli officials refused to name the country.
On Sunday the Knesset committee on foreign workers visited the Saharonim detention complex, where some 1,750 migrants are being held. Committee chair MK Michal Rosin (Meretz) said that the conditions at the facility were reasonable but criticized the government's policy.
"It is a prison with barbed wire fence and gates and people in prison conditions," said Rosin. "These are people whose only sin is that they sought to improve and better their lives, and they are being imprisoned for at least three years."
Received on Mon Jun 17 2013 - 10:48:59 EDT