Calls to investigate refugee riots as death toll hits 30

Human rights groups are calling for an independent investigation into violent clashes between Egyptian security forces and Sudanese protestors last week that left some 30 people dead and scores injured. “Egyptian Security Forces should immediately investigate these deaths and unjustified violent incidents,” read a statement from the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR). The police used “excessive force” in breaking up a three-month long peaceful demonstration, it noted, urging that all those responsible be brought to trial. Precise figures were unclear on Tuesday, but reports indicated that the death toll had risen to 30, with over 70 injuries of various degrees of severity, according to a spokeswoman from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Astrid van Genderen Stort. About 15 children were among the dead, she added, noting that medical reports indicated that most had been trampled on. Between 11 pm and 5 am on the night of 29-30 December, several thousand Egyptian police broke up a three-month long sit-in protest by Sudanese refugees and failed asylum seekers in Cairo's Moustafa Mahmoud Park, located in the relatively upscale Mohandiseen district. Arriving with interior ministry officials and armed with truncheons, police reportedly spent several hours using loud-speakers to demand that the refugees vacate the premises. Shortly before 5 am on 30 December, security forces “moved in with their whole force,” removing the protestors using water canons, said van Genderen Stort, who went on to describe the ensuing riot. “The crowd took whatever they could get, throwing them at the police, including knives, stones, cylinder gas bottles and personal belongings,” she said. New York-based Human Rights Watch has expressed concern that the refugees are now being blamed for the violence. “The blood is still on the sidewalks, and already the government is blaming the Sudanese refugees and migrants,” said Joe Stork, deputy director of the rights group’s Middle East and North Africa division. “Given Egypt’s terrible record of police brutality, an independent investigation is absolutely necessary,” he added. Since 29 September, up to 3,000 Sudanese have been living in the square in makeshift camps made of plastic sheeting, often defecating in the open. Their protest has focused on a demand for resettlement in a third country. In 2004, the UNHCR changed its policy on Sudanese refugees due to an ongoing peace process and improved conditions in Sudan, leading to disgruntlement among Egypt’s Sudanese refugee community. Between 1994 and 2004, 31,000 Sudanese were given refugee status and more than half were resettled. Now, however, the vast majority of asylum seekers are provided with basic services and renewable six-month visas, but without refugee status, explained van Genderen Stort. The lack of refugee status precludes the possibility of resettlement and has led to a perception among Sudanese refugees that their rights have been infringed. However, those who do meet the necessary requirements continue to be recognized as refugees and resettled. In 2005, close to 3,000 Sudanese were given the opportunity to live in third countries. According to the EOHR, refugee children in Egypt are unable to get public elementary-school education, while their parents are discriminated against when looking for work. “The EOHR calls upon the People’s Assembly to draft a bill on refugee protection in Egypt and to amend the Unified Labour Law of 2003 so that a refugee can find a job easily without being discriminated against,” read a statement from the rights group. The EOHR statement added that the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, ratified by Egypt in 1981, should be implemented through legislation consistent with the Egyptian constitution, which guarantees the right of refuge. Following the riot, the refugees were moved by Egyptian authorities on Friday morning to seven military centres, where they were given food and medical care. “We believe most have been released, but it has been difficult to track them down,” said van Genderen Stort. Two Sudanese protestors – a diabetic and a child with pneumonia – had already died in the square before the riots, she added.