Israeli High Court Outlaws Detention Centre for African Migrants

The Israeli high court on Monday, 22 September 2014 ordered for the closure of a detention facility for African migrants. The court further directed that close to 2,000 inmates currently held at the facility — known as Holot Residency Centre — be released within the next 90 days.

The court ruling was in response to an appeal by human rights groups against the decision by Israel’s parliament (Knesset) to enact a law that authorised the indefinite incarceration of migrants — mostly from the Sudan and Eritrea.

The law, which was passed in December 2013, allowed for the detention of illegal African immigrants for up to one year without trial. Proponents of the law had cited the migrants as illegal job seekers whereas it opponents had defended the migrants as asylum seekers who were escaping persecution and hardships in their countries.

The Knesset’s decision sparked widespread protests by tens of thousands of African refugees who wanted the former to rescind the decision. Efforts by close to 10,000 African refugees to seek audience with the speaker of Knesset were unsuccessful after they were barred from accessing parliament buildings. 

 Protests by these immigrants fell on deaf ears as the Knesset refused to rescind its decision (Image cerdit: www.forward.com)

Seven judges out of the nine-judge bench that presided over the case agreed that incarceration of the migrants would be a gross violation of their rights to freedom in addition to infringing on their right to dignity.

Justice Uzi Vogelman, one of the seven judges who argued for the closure of the detention centre, stated that under the circumstances, there was no option other than to order for the repeal of the law. “The measure is disproportionate and unconstitutional. There is almost no right that isn’t violated as a result of incarceration,” Justice Vogelman stated.

Reacting to the ruling, Bill Frelick, the Refugee Programs Director at Human Rights Watch urged the Israeli government to comply with the order. “The Israeli government should treat the people it locks up with basic dignity,” Frelick added.

However, Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s Interior Minister, criticised the ruling adding that it would be hard to accept the ruling. “This is a mistake that means we cannot achieve a Jewish democratic state because our borders will be infiltrated by the illegal immigrants,” Sa’ar claimed.

Construction on the Holot Residency Centre began in 2012 in the Negev desert and was meant to house close to 8,000 migrants. The facility accommodated both male and female migrants including children and initially detained them for up to three years before deportation to their countries of origin. However, refugees from Sudan who could not be deported would be detained indefinitely. 

Refugee camp or detention centre? The Holot Residency Centre (Image courtesy of www.newsdaily.com)

 In September 2014, a Human Rights Watch report criticised Israeli authorities for using an unlawful coercion policy to force close to 7,000 African asylum seekers to return home — of this number, 6,400 were Sudanese whereas 367 were Eritreans. These actions, according to the report, put the returning refugees at the risk of torture and imprisonment in their home of countries.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Eritreans constitute the largest number of asylum seekers in Israel. Its statistics indicate that there were over 37,000 Eritrean asylum seekers in the country as at 2012; up from over 31,000 recorded in 2011. During the same period (2012), there were over 10,000 Sudanese asylum seekers up from 9,000 in 2012.

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South African Immigration Chief Assures Zimbabweans over New Visa Rules

South Africa’s Immigration Director Apleni Mkuseni has sought to calm Zimbabwean migrants in the country regarding the new visa rules that were introduced in late May. Mkuseni has urged them to be patient and avoid panicking as the South African government deliberates on their status. 

More than 250,000 migrants from Zimbabweans stand the risk of losing their jobs in South Africa upon the expiry of their special permits in December 2014. There are also fears of mass deportations if no consensus is reached with the Department of Home Affairs regarding the fate of these Zimbabweans. 

The permits — mainly for study and work purposes — were granted under the Special Dispensation period in 2010 in which Zimbabweans working illegally in South Africa were given a chance to regularise their stay in the country. This was in the aftermath of the political upheavals in Zimbabwe, which saw over two million people flee to the neighbouring South Africa. Upon the expiry of the permits, those affected can apply for renewal but would have to do so from Zimbabwe. 

Fears have heightened after Zimbabwean Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi stated that the government could only offer permits to foreigners who seek to work in Zimbabwe. “As far as I am concerned, Zimbabweans who wish to work in South Africa cannot apply for permits in Zimbabwe. They must do so in South Africa,” he explained. 

Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa queuing to process their paperwork for residency (Image Credit: www.nehandaradio.com)

However, Braam Hanekom, the Director of People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP), expressed optimism that deliberations with the South African government would bear fruit. “We plan to engage the government to understand the details as well as the logistics. We will see if there is an alternative way for those affected to renew their permits by not returning to Zimbabwe,” he assured. PASSOP is a human rights NGO that fights for the rights of asylum seekers, immigrants and refugees in South Africa. 

According to Prof. Loren B. Landau, Director of the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS), Zimbabweans constitute the largest single group of foreigners in South Africa whereas there are significant portions of Basotho and Mozambicans. He, however, concedes that the data obtained from various sources is often unreliable adding that there are no precise figures for the number of Zimbabwean nationals in the country. 

On the other hand, a report in 2012 titled Documented Immigrants in South Africa, by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) reveals that over 24,000 Zimbabweans were issued with temporary residency permits by the Department of Home Affairs in 2012. Only 251 Zimbabwe nationals applied for permanent residency in South Africa, which were processed by the same department. 

One of the changes to the visa rules is that of the Life Partner and Spouse visas, which decree that couples seeking a permanent or temporary residency permit will have to attend an interview concurrently — at the same time and date to establish the authenticity of their relationship. The application period for people who want to change their visa status while still in South Africa has also been extended from 30 to 60 days, which would negatively prolong the approval process. 

It will also be impossible for foreigners in possession of a visitor’s visa to apply for temporary residence permit while in South Africa. They would have to leave the country and apply for the permit from their country of origin. Those whose visas have expired and choose to overstay may be banned by being labelled as undesirable persons for minimum and maximum periods of 1 and 5 years respectively.

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Crackdown on Migrants in Brazzaville, Congo as Thousands Flee

Over 60,000 nationals have fled the Republic of Congo (RoC) into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) as the government in Brazzaville intensifies its crackdown on illegal immigrants in the country. DR Congo authorities stationed at Ngolia Beach, the country's border with Brazzaville, Congo, have confirmed receiving ferries packed with close to 4,000 people on a daily basis.

According to a report by the Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN), most of the return migrants have cited harassment by RoC security authorities as a reason for their departure from the country. One of the returnees recounted, “Even those with proper residency permits have not been spared. In some cases, the police have burnt or tore these papers”. Red Cross officials, who have been on hand to receive them, have also admitted that most of the returnees had bruises and wounds. 

Going home: DR Congo nationals board buses supplied by their government to take them back home (Image Credit: www.news.yahoo.com)

On its part, top security chiefs in Brazzaville have conceded that there were violations in the operation, which was intended to weed out illegal and undocumented migrants in the country. Officials from the police department further announced that disciplinary action had been meted on policemen who were found to have used brute force in the exercise.

Government officials from Kinshasa, however, told reporters that only 1,000 people out of the overall return migrants were formally deported because they did not have the documents to stay in RoC.  Lambert Mende, the government spokesperson revealed, “A large percentage of the returnees fled the country out of fear of forceful expulsion”.

The migrants have been huddled in a sports stadium as well as the Kinshasa Town Hall where they have been provided with food and water. Their swelling numbers have, however, mushroomed into a humanitarian crisis. The head of Red Cross Kinshasa, Doris Muyembe revealed that some of the returnees were suffering from malaria, headaches, diarrhoea as well as malnutrition in children. Muyembe revealed, “We do not have enough medical supplies and this makes it hard to take care of everyone”.

Due to the proximity of the two countries, DRC citizens constitute the largest foreigners in RoC where they mainly engage in menial occupations, such as, domestic work, driving, garbage collection and hawking. The 2010 Migration and Remittances Factbook by World Bank revealed that RoC was one of the top destinations in Africa for immigrants from DR Congo; other immigrants who reside in RoC in large numbers include those from France, Central African Republic (CAR), Cote d’ Ivoire, Mali and Angola. Other top destinations in Africa for DR Congo nationals include Burundi, Rwanda, CAR, Uganda and Zambia. It also has one of the highest emigration rates in sub-Sahara Africa where in 2010, over 900,000 people emigrated from the country, which constituted 1.3 per cent of its total population.  

Return migrants are concerned about securing employment to earn a livelihood. Some of them urged their government to initiate programmes to enable them earn a living and avoid having to emigrate as an escape mechanism from poverty. 

Their unease for their economic welfare is something that usually resonates with other return migrants around the world. A 2013 report by the Transatlantic Forum on Migration and Integration titled Return Migration: Challenges and Opportunities  highlights the economic challenges faced by Cameroonian return migrants from various countries worldwide who have to compete for the scarce jobs available in their country. 

Some of them possess creative ideas for business and politics, which further earns them disdain and rejection from fellow Cameroonian citizens who consider them an unwanted and additional competition for the scarce employment opportunities. They also have to contend with the low salaries, which is a mismatch with their expertise. As a result, most of the return migrants have resorted to entrepreneurship ventures to fend off the ravages of poverty.

What are your views concerning the activities of the officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

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