June 20, 2002

STATEMENT ON WORLD REFUGEE DAY

More than 12 million refugees are found all over the world with 80% of them being women and children. Ethiopian refugees all over the world are part of this suffering humanity and it must be said that the UNHCR, which is supposed to assure their protection, has failed them in more than one instance and place.

Ethiopian refugees in the Sudan face forced repatriation and are routinely harassed, beaten up, jailed and mistreated. In Kenya too, the refugees are suffering and exposed to police brutality, rape and even mutilation and worse. In Djibouti, the Ethiopian refugee is always at risk of deportation and kidnapping. In South Africa too, the plight of Ethiopian refugees is deplorable. In all these places, the UNHCR has failed to provide protection to the refugees. The UNHCR itself has been forced to admit at least in Kenya that its local office is corrupt and has done disservice to the refugees. Worse still, the UNHCR has unilaterally and arbitrarily withdrawn the refugee status and protection from Ethiopian refugees in the Sudan for one claiming that "democracy and human rights are respected in Ethiopia". Officially denied refugee status and protection the refugees have become easy victims of the collusion of the EPRDF and the Khartoum authorities.

As we observe World Refugee Day, SOCEPP makes the call to all concerned to struggle against the fundamental causes creating refugees and appeals to the UNHCR once again to protect Ethiopian refugees and to withdraw its unwarranted and totally baseless conclusion that the EPRDF respects human rights and refugees can go back to their country.

SOCEPP