JERUSALEM – August 19, 2007 – The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) strongly condemns the state’s decision to deport African refugees and asylum seekers to Egypt without following the internationally recognized procedures for determining whether they are refugees. Some of the deportees are Sudanese, and have fled genocide in their home country.
Shortly after the Holocaust, Israel was one of the first signatories to the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. As such, it is Israel’s moral and legal obligation to accept any refugees or asylum-seekers facing life-threatening danger or infringements on their freedom. Israel is also bound by the treaty not to send refugees back to countries where their lives will be endangered. Ultimately, Israel must follow specific procedures to determine whether any individual crossing its borders is a refugee and treat each case according to the results of these investigations.
