According to the experts, hundreds of Eritreans were also subjected to collective displacement at the end of June.
“Collective deportations are prohibited under international law,” experts, including Mohamed Babiker, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, said in a press release of the World Organization for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“Deporting migrants, refugees and asylum seekers without conducting an individual and risk assessment of their exposure to human rights violations, including torture and refoulement upon return, is remedial.”
The principle of non-refoulement, contained in the Convention against Torture and other international human rights treaties, guarantees specific protection to all forms of exclusion, regardless of nationality or migration status.
“Immigration stabilization should be an exclusive measure of the last goal, used only for the elderly, for the shortest period and for the right reason,” the experts said. “It also appears that the authorities are targeting Eritreans in particular, an act that is discriminatory.”
According to data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), at the end of May, there were around 165,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers in Ethiopia, who fled violence and hardship in their country.
Children are separated from parents
Human rights experts say many cases of separation are reported after mass exodus, with parents forcibly returned to Eritrea and children left behind in Ethiopia.
The experts appointed by the Human Rights Commission also called on Eritrean officials to ensure that those deported are protected, amid reports of serious rights violations against them, including torture, ill-treatment, disappearance disappearance, trafficking and arbitrary detention.
“We urge the Eritrean authorities to provide information on their fate and where they are and to ensure that they can have access to their relatives, lawyers or anyone they want,” the experts said, calling on security forces refugees in Ethiopia to interact with Ethiopian authorities to support access to the asylum system and appropriate documents for those who are leaving.
In addition to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, experts who joined the call include the Special Representative on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Special Rapporteur on the human rights of immigrants; Working Group on coercion or neglect; and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Independent experts
Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts, and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
Experts are authorized to monitor and report on specific issues or national situations and work on a voluntary basis. They serve in their own capacity; They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary.
