STUDENTS
4 REFUGEES
"Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution."
Article 14, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Eritrea
Following over 30 years of conflict, Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Since the referendum on independence, the country has not held elections or instituted its constitution. Political parties are banned and Eritrea has remained under a twenty-year rule of President Isaias Afewerki who has no institutional restraints to his power. It remains largely isolated from humanitarian organizations and there are severe restrictions on freedom of expression and religion. Routine reports document incidences of torture, arbitrary detention, forced labor, and indefinite military service, which cause thousands of Eritreans to flee each year. UNHCR's 2010 report notes that most (77%) of Eritreans aplying for asylum abroad were recognized as refugees.
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Sudan
Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Sudan and is declared an enemy state by the government, led by President Omar al-Bashir. Sudan has been a volatile region for many years leading many people to flee, particularly from the Darfur, Nuba Mountains, and Blue Nile regions.
Darfur
The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 and includes racially-based violence and displacements. A peace agreement in 2011 has not yet stopped human rights abuses in the region. The government continues to carry out and fund attacks that target civilians indiscriminately and have dispaced over 2 million people. The government has restricted humanitarian access to the area and both militias and government forces have carried out arbitrary arrests, detention, torture, and sexual violence.
Nuba Mountains & Blue Nile
The Nuba peoples represent a diverse region of southern Sudan, which was supposed to vote in 2011 on their inclusion with the formation of South Sudan. However, the process has been halted and conflict between rebels and government forces has been ongoing. Armed conflict also began in 2011 in the Blue Nile region between government and rebel forces, displacing over 555,000 people. In both instances, the government has denied access to international human rights monitors and humanitarian aid. Tens of thousands of refugess have fled and faced weeks of sleeping out in the open before reaching refugee camps.
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There are approximately 55,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Africa in Israel today. Most (85%) are from Sudan and Eritrea and have fled oppression, civil wars, slavery, torture, religious and political persecution and ethnic genocide. Asylum seekers who are in Israel arrived here after losing their homes and often their livelihoods. Israel's current policy towards refugees and asylum seekers grants "temporary protection" status that prevents deportation but does not afford the right to work and benefit from other social services.
The state of Israel is a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which obligates the state to consider the application of asylum seekers seriously and grant refugee status and rights when the life of the applicant is considered to be in danger in their home country. Israel has never formalized in law its obligations towards these refugees and their rights, ignoring their claims as asylum seekers and claiming them as migrant workers. However, utilizing 2009 Israeli government data, UNHCR asserts that over 90% of people entering Israel from Egypt are categorized as refugees.
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"United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) 1951 Refugee Convention"
Recent News:
African migrants in Israel protest in Tel Aviv
UN refugee agency: Israel anti-infiltration could be breaking int'l law
Let my people stay. In Israel. Even if they're Africans. Or Arabs.
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South Sudan
Africa's youngest country, South Sudan, gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long civil war. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country with major ethnic groups including the Dinka and the Nuer, among the nearly 200 others. In mid-December 2013, fighting began in the capital, Juba stemming from a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and former deputy Riek Machar. Fighting has spread throughout the country leading tens of thousands of people to take shelter at UN compounds. Peace talks between the two sides have been slow to star in neighboring Ethiopia. The UN estimates deaths from the conflict to be in excess of 1,000 people.
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