http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=272015
'J'lem could use Eritrea ties to solve migrant issue'
By BEN HARTMAN
05/30/2012 14:01
Expert says Israel can return some illegal migrants as Eritrea has encouraged migration in violation of ties with Israel.
Israel should use its diplomatic ties with Eritrea to reach agreements on returning some of the tens of thousands of Eritrean migrants currently in Israel illegally, Prof. Galia Sabar, African studies chair of the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University, said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting held by a special Labor Party task force on migrants and foreign workers in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Sabar said that though some of the Eritreans who arrived in Israel might qualify as refugees according to UN conventions, others do not. She specifically referred to the fact that the government of Eritrea has actively helped discharged soldiers attain passports and make their way to Israel because of the lack of jobs in their home country, which she called a clear violation of the country's ties with Israel.
Related:
Rivlin: Government must solve migrant problem
Likud MK warns ‘south Tel Aviv under siege’
"It's a much more complicated issue in Eritrea than just that everyone there is tortured, or that all those who come here are labor migrants," Sabar said. She added that the situation is not black and white, and due to Eritrea's diplomatic ties with Israel, efforts should be made to reach agreements on repatriation of migrants something that cannot be done with migrants from Sudan, which has no diplomatic ties with Israel.
Sabar said that Israel, which trades arms and agricultural equipment with Eritrea, should invest a great deal of resources in refugee status determination (RSD) in order to clearly determine which of the African asylum seekers in Israel are eligible for refugee status and which can potentially be repatriated.
She said that the concept of returning Eritreans to their homeland is not unheard of, and that it is something that some Western countries have already done. In terms of the wider migration policy, Sabar said that 'there is no magical solution," and Israel needs to set up a multifaceted policy, beginning with the immediate cessation of work permits or entry for new foreign workers.
Sabar called on the government to help migrants who are already in the country integrate into the job market and to guard their basic rights, instead of bringing in new foreign workers. Additionally, while she was in favor of an increased investment in RSD, she also supported enforcing the return of migrant workers whose contracts have ended.
'Anyone who thinks that a fence can be put up and we can stop the entry [of migrants] altogether is mistaken," argued Sabar.
----[Mailing List for Eritrea Related News ]----
Received on Wed May 30 2012 - 14:04:06 EDT
