Amnesty International: Egypt must end forced returns and arbitrary detention of Sudanese refugees – JURIST

Amnesty International called on the Egyptian government to immediately end all forced evictions and arbitrary detention of Sudanese refugees, in a report released on Wednesday. The report documents more than 5,000 Sudanese nationals expelled from April to September 2023. The report also highlights the expulsions of 721 Sudanese refugees on June 13, reflecting the authorities’ systemic approach to collective expulsions.

The report highlights mass arrests of Sudanese women, men and children by Egyptian border forces and law enforcement since the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Facility (RSF) in April 2023. These refugees were held in cruel and inhumane conditions such as warehouses or stables, suffering from overcrowding, lack of medical care, insufficient food and water, and unsanitary conditions. . The organization says detained refugees are held awaiting forced return to Sudan, without the ability to seek asylum or legally challenge their deportation. Additionally, the report documents detentions tainted by serious violations of fair trials, including lack of legal representation, incommunicado detention and failure to comply with release orders, leading to arbitrary detention pending deportation .

Notably, on August 29, 2023, the Egyptian government issued Decree No. 3326 of 2023, allowing migrants to legalize their stay in Egypt by paying $1,000 and late payment fines. However, immediately after this decree, human rights groups said they had received and documented hundreds of reports of systematic arrests, arbitrary detentions and forced return campaigns carried out by Egyptian authorities against refugees and Sudanese migrants throughout the country. According to these organizations, the arrest and expulsion campaigns began in late August 2023 and are still continuing, with arrests taking place in cities including Cairo, Giza, Aswan, the Red Sea, Matrouh and Alexandria, as well as the along Egypt’s southern border.

Amnesty International’s report also highlights Egypt’s appalling human rights record, including violations against refugees and migrants, despite the EU announcing a strategic partnership deal with Egypt in March 2024. This agreement involves aid and investment of 7.4 billion euros aimed at deepening cooperation in this area. migration and border control. However, critics say that without promoting real human rights reforms or curbing Egyptian government abuses, EU support is unlikely to end the crackdown on migrants and could even exacerbate, as funds could directly support such repression.

In response to this situation, more than 25 organizations, including Statewatch, signed a joint statement calling on the Egyptian government “to immediately end serious abuses against Sudanese seeking refuge in Egypt.” The declaration demands an end to inhumane detention conditions, unfair procedures, forced returns, racial profiling and the extraction of payments on the promise of regularized status.