UN criticizes Libya for deportation of potential Eritrean refugees

AP Worldstream; Sep 21, 2004 - The U.N. refugee agency Tuesday criticized Libya for its deportation of Eritreans last month, calling it a "severe violation" of African and international rules of protection.

"UNHCR is concerned over the ongoing forcible return of potential refugees from Libya," said Ron Redmond, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "It also raises concerns over the intentions of the Libyan government to ensure minimum standards of treatment for persons who might be in need of international protection."

Although Libya is not party to the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention, it has signed the 1969 refugee accord of the former Organization of African Unity. The country has so far adopted a generous open-door policy toward African and Arab refugees, UNCHR said. There is no agreement for a formal UNHCR presence in Libya.

Sudan, which borders Eritrea, has now granted refugee status to 60 of the deportees who arrived in Khartoum on a plane that was hijacked when it was returning them from Libya to Eritrea last month, UNHCR said.

A Sudanese court has sentenced the other 15 Eritreans on the Aug. 27 flight to five years in jail each for carryingout the hijacking, followed by deportation.

UNHCR said it conducted interviews with the 60 Eritreans after their arrival in Khartoum. They told the refugee agency that they had been detained without charges for a long time in Kufra, Libya, and had suffered physical abuse. They were denied access to UNHCR and to any asylum procedure.

"The group was never informed of the decision to deport them to Eritrea, were forced to board a special charter flight, and only found out after their plane took off that the destination was their country of origin," Redmond noted.

"UNCHR is aware of the challenges face by the Libyan authorities in dealing with mixed flows of irregular immigrants and asylum seekers, and is appreciative of the government's efforts to address some of these issues," he added.

The refugee agency also called for unhindered access to people wanting to launch asylum applications in Libya and an end to deportations of asylum seekers from the country.