UNHCR granted more time to interview Sudanese

The Egyptian government granted UN refugee agency UNHCR an unspecified amount of time to continue interviewing hundreds of Sudanese. They are still being held in detention centres after their involvement last month in a violent confrontation with police. “We have been given more time,” said Astrid van Genderen Stort, spokeswoman for the UNHCR office in the capital, Cairo. “The government has not yet specified how long.” The time period initially given the refugee agency for conducting interviews, aimed at determining the official status of Sudanese detainees, elapsed on Monday. Following a meeting between the UNHCR and foreign ministry officials on the same day, however, the deadline was extended indefinitely. Hundreds of Sudanese, including women and children, have been held in two prisons and one detention centre on the outskirts of Cairo over the past three weeks. They were detained when Egyptian police carried out a massive security operation on 29 December to break up a three-month sit-in protest in the capital by some 3,000 Sudanese demanding asylum and resettlement. Twenty-seven Sudanese protestors died in the ensuing violence. While an estimated 1,500 of those who could prove their status as refugees or asylum seekers were released by authorities shortly after the confrontation. Since then, small numbers have been let go once their legal statuses were verified by the UNHCR. Some 462 remain in detention. The question of deportation, meanwhile, continues to loom large over the fate of those lacking refugee/asylum seeker status. Initial reports suggested that the Sudanese would be protected from forced repatriation under the terms of the so-called “Four Freedoms” Agreement. That accord, signed by Cairo and Khartoum in 2004, guarantees visa-free freedom of movement for Sudanese women and minors in Egypt. While men are also granted freedom of movement under the agreement, they are expected to renew their residency permits every six months. But the government later issued statements suggesting that many of the Sudanese in question were illegal immigrants – rather than refugees or asylum seekers – and were thus subject to possible deportation. “The government has given us no assurances” on the question of repatriation, said van Genderen Stort. According to government spokespeople, however, no deportations are in the offing, at least for the time being. "They will not be deported in the near future," said Ashraf Shiha, an official at the foreign ministry’s Department of African Affairs. He added that refugees and asylum seekers would continue to be granted residency permits, but said those not officially recognised as such could eventually face repatriation, depending on conditions in Sudan. Shiha went on to note that Cairo was working closely with Khartoum on the issue, pointing out that Sudanese authorities had declared the country safe enough to allow for the voluntary return of its nationals presently living in Egypt. Although 164 Sudanese were released from detention last week after their statuses were verified, only one has been released since. “This is a long, ongoing process. At this point, we can only recommend and appeal, and follow the legal procedures through,” said van Genderen Stort. “We will continue to press for the immediate release of women, children and people from Darfur.” Although the refugee agency has not yet received concrete assurances ruling out eventual deportation, the UNHCR remains hopeful that a solution to the crisis will present itself. “The fact that we are in discussion with the government is a good sign,” said van Genderen Stort.