PETITION AGAINST FORCED DEPORTATION OF ERITREANS FROM LIBYA

Mr. Antonio Guterres,
Commissioner,
United Nations High Commission for Refugees,
Case Postale 2500
CH- 1211 Geneve 2 Depot
Switzerland.

Dear Mr. Commissioner,

I am writing this letter of appeal to you, on behalf of 430 Eritrean refugeesmen, women and childrenwho are facing grave danger. These refugees, who fled persecution and sought temporary safe haven in Libya, awaiting resettlement in other countries, are now being held in a detention camp at a place called Almej, 100 kilometers from Bengazi. Out of the 430, 50 are women of whom five are pregnant and two are lactating mothers. Several of the children and some adults have been suffering from acute diarrhea and dysentery due to the harsh conditions under which they have been held.

This letter of appeal is urgentextremely urgentbecause these unfortunate human beings are facing deportation by the Libyan authorities, who have threatened to send them back to Eritrea, the very same place from which they fled. Let me also inform you that the Libyan authorities have deported other Eritreans in the recent past and that, immediately upon arrival at the Asmara Airport, the hapless deportees were taken into custody of military men who subjected them to cruel beating and a variety of other inhumane treatment. No one knows where the deportees were taken afterwards or what happened to them. Inhumane treatment of detainees is a common occurrence in Eritrean prison camps, as the reports of several international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, testify.

I dont have to tell you that it is contrary to universally accepted international norms to force refugees to go back to the place from which they fled. And in view of what happened to previous deportees, it would be unconscionable for the Libyan authorities to be the cause of another tragedy now by deporting these refugees and, above all, for the international community to keep silent or look the other way in the face of what would clearly be an egregious violation of human rights. Surely, there is a way out of this awful predicament, if the right word is sent forth to all concerned.

I appeal to you in the name of humanity to use your good offices to intervene on behalf of these unfortunate people and to prevail upon the Libyan authorities to cease and desist from carrying out the threat of deportation. I also urge you to find ways to help resettle these refugees elsewhere in the world and, meanwhile, call upon the concerned authorities to provide the necessary medical and other services to the sick.