Court Rejects Petition against Deportation of Asylum Seekers to South Sudan

Photo by Haggai Matar

Today (7 June 2012), the Jerusalem District Court rejected a petition filed by human rights organizations against the collective deportation of asylum seekers from South Sudan. The petition focused on the risk to the safety and well-being of those deported back and argued that the current situation in South Sudan is not safe nor stable. Following the petition, the court issued a temporary order postponing the collective deportation of the South Sudanese community in Israel until further notice.
 
As stated above, the appeal was rejected today. The petitioners – ASSAF Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel, the African Refugee Development Center (ADRC), the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Hotline for Migrant Workers, and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel – were disappointed to hear the court’s decision. We fear for the well-being and for the safety of those deported and particularly the children who are about to be sent to such a dangerous place.
 
The South Sudanese community has been struggling by legal means in the past few months in order to protect itself, and today it asks that the Immigration Authority enable the community to prepare to leave in a dignified manner and not as criminals.
 
We ask that the State honor its obligation, which was enshrined in this ruling, to enable South Sudanese to file individual requests for asylum, and that the State will review these requests fairly and appropriately.
 
We can only hope that the situation in South Sudan will improve and stabilize over the next few months, so that the decision to deport will not carry the heavy price of human life.