AFRICAN MIGRANTS AND ASYLUM SEEKERS IN ISRAEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 125576

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
GENEVA FOR RMA
USEU FOR FRANCIS
JERUSALEM AND CAIRO FOR REFCOORDS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2012
TAGS: PREF PHUM EUN IS SU EG
SUBJECT: AFRICAN MIGRANTS AND ASYLUM SEEKERS IN ISRAEL

REF: A. STATE 103854

B. STATE 115776

C. GENEVA 1914

D. TEL AVIV 2536

E. CAIRO 2320 AND PREVIOUS

F. USEU BRUSSELS 2628

Classified By: PRM/AFR Dir. Margaret McKelvey-reasons 1.4(b/d)


1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraphs 7
- 10.


2. (C) Summary. Dept continues to be concerned about
African migrants, asylum seekers, and potential refugees
moving from Egypt to Israel -- an issue which is not likely
to go away soon and which has already resulted in some deaths
and very negative publicity for both countries. PRM hosted a
department-wide meeting on August 29 to discuss this issue.
PRM A/S Sauerbrey also raised our concerns with Israeli
Embassy in Washington DCM Issacharoff in a meeting on
September 4. This message reiterates our call for (1) humane
treatment by Egypt of would-be border crossers and deportees,
(2) protection in Israel and access to refugee status
determination procedures to determine those who may have
legitimate refugee claims, and (3) UNHCR-led tripartite
talks, with the USG as observer if desired, to help both
Egypt and Israel develop a better approach to this issue.
End Summary.


3. (C) PRM hosted a Department meeting on August 29 to
discuss what seems to be a growing phenomenon of African
refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Israel and to
develop a consensus on how the USG should approach this
issue. Other participants included representatives from
NEA/IPA, NEA/ELA, DRL, IO, and S/P. Noting that the growing
number of Africans entering Israel include Sudanese (some
from Darfur),Eritreans, Ethiopians, Somalis, and Ivoirians
-- all nationalities that might well have a valid persecution
claim -- and that most are coming via Egypt where only some
have sought and received asylum previously, the participants
discussed the state of play in light of several broad goals:
-- End the killing of African migrants seeking to enter
Israel by Egyptian border guards.
-- Prevent the refoulement of any recognized or mandate
refugee to his/her country of origin.
-- Maintain first asylum for refugees in Egypt, urging
Egyptians not to punish refugees for irregular departure.
-- Ensure that UNHCR is able to play its normal role in both
Israel and Egypt through a tripartite process, and through
bolstering its screening capacity in Israel and Egypt.
-- Assist Israel, as appropriate/desired, as it moves to
create an asylum system and to make changes to its process
for admitting migrants.
-- Consider for resettlement, based on referrals from
UNHCR,refugees from Darfur (including those in Israel) who
are in need of immediate protection or who have a genuine
reason for requiring third country resettlement, without
creating a magnet and/or fraud.
-- Encourage the GOI and GOE to resolve this with the help
of UNHCR and avoid any role for the USG beyond facilitation
and assistance on what is clearly the GOI and GOE's
"problem". This issue is likely to persist for some years
and needs a durable regional solution.


4. (C) Acknowledging that neither the reported (and
possibly misunderstood) terms nor the implementation of the
bilateral Olmert-Mubarak arrangement between Israel and Egypt
have been successful in either stemming population movements
from Egypt to Israel or ensuring protection for potential
refugees, participants agreed to press for a multilateral
approach with UNHCR in the lead and to press UNHCR to
accelerate planning for tripartite (UNHCR-Egypt-Israel)
discussions. Participants recommended that we ask the High
Commissioner himself or his deputy to convoke respective
Ambassadors in Geneva to encourage Egypt and Israel to meet
together with UNHCR. For our part, the USG would also urge
both governments to come to the table and would offer to
serve as an observer to the tripartite meeting(s). We would
also be willing to explore possible support for enhancing the
capacity of asylum systems in both countries as well as the
capacity of UNHCR offices to assist in making timely refugee
status determinations. Recognizing the European Union's
significant investment in migration management in the
Mediterranean region, it was suggested that the EU might also
be able to provide valuable advice and assistance -- probably
at some later point -- as the approach to the
asylum-seeker/migrant issue is internationalized.


5. (C) PRM A/S Sauerbrey met with Israeli Embassy DCM
Jeremy Issacharoff on September 4 on a number of issues of
shared concern, including Sudanese and other African
refugees/migrants in Israel. Issacharoff reported that
Israel was facing a steady stream of "refugees"
"infiltrating" Israel. While the GOI had agreed to provide
refuge to 500 refugees from Darfur already in the country,
Israel was seeking USG resettlement assistance with Darfuris
beyond the 500 ceiling. (note. Subsequent press reports
indicate that the GOI will even offer citizenship to some 300
people from Darfur now in Israel. end note.) On returns to
Egypt, Issacharoff said Israel was working with UNHCR and
wanted to do returns in cooperation with UNHCR. (note.
UNHCR/Israel advises that it has been informed of GOI plans
but has not approved/been involved with returns. end note.)
He noted that while 46 people were returned to Egypt (on
August 18),a subsequent group was refused by Egypt. He
described the Olmert-Mubarak agreement as "still very
embryonic" and presently "frozen". Despite this, Issacharoff
noted the sensitive nature of the relationship between Israel
and Egypt and said that the GOI's preferred mechanism was to
continue bilateral discussions with Egypt and to inform UNHCR
of the substance/conclusion of those discussions.


6. (C) A/S Sauerbrey stressed the importance and advantages
of involving UNHCR in the Israel-Egypt discussions on asylum
seekers, in the process of refugee status determinations in
Israel, and in the search for third-country resettlement
opportunities. She noted that if UNHCR were to refer refugee
cases in Israel to the U.S. for resettlement, we would be
prepared to consider them and would encourage other
resettlement countries to do the same. She added a note of
caution, however, about potential U.S. resettlement creating
a strong magnet for others seeking to enter Israel. She also
offered USG technical assistance in the areas of improving
asylum procedures and/or increasing capacity for processing
refugee status determinations, asking Issacharoff if he
thought that might be helpful. He sidestepped the question
saying that the Israeli asylum system "still has to be
stabilized" (including sorting out which of multiple GOI
entities should do what).


7. (C) For Geneva: Dept requests that Mission meet soonest
with UNHCR to make the following points:

-- The USG appreciates UNHCR/Geneva's willingness to host
tripartite talks with the governments of Israel and Egypt to
help both governments develop a more humane approach to
migrants, asylum seekers, and potential refugees seeking to
move from Egypt to Israel. We believe these talks should be
held as soon as possible given the continued population flow
into Israel and the threats (border shootings, deportations)
faced by border crossers.

-- We would urge that the High Commissioner or his Deputy
meet with the Ambassadors from Egypt and Israel to encourage
both countries to participate in tripartite discussions.
(Note. Given what appears to be some friction between
UNHCR/Cairo and UNHCR/Tel Aviv and the repeated refrain that
UNHCR has difficult relations with the Egyptian Government as
a result of the 2005/06 Sudanese sit-in/Egyptian riot police
action, we think it would be important to demonstrate UNHCR
resolve at the highest levels to help with the current and
prospective situations. end note.)

-- The USG is willing to serve as an observer to these
discussions, if desired, and to also encourage Egyptian and
Israeli participation.

-- We would also be willing to consider referrals of Darfur
refugees in Israel on the usual international burden-sharing
basis.

-- We believe that UNHCR operations in both Egypt and Israel
need strengthened capacity to assist those governments to
conduct refugee status determinations and would be prepared
to help support more robust UNHCR programming.



8. (C) For Cairo -- Dept requests that post again meet
with Egyptian authorities to make the following points:

-- While the USG recognizes Egypt's legitimate concerns
about border security and the need to aggressively address
smuggling operations, we again reiterate that shooting or
beating would-be border crossers is not a humane approach to
migrants, asylum seekers, and potential refugees.

-- We are also concerned about the fate of Africans deported
from Israel to Egypt, most notably the 46 deported in August,
and urge Egypt to ensure that none is mistreated or further
deported to countries such as Eritrea, Somalia, or the Darfur
region of Sudan, where their lives may at risk.

-- We also urge Egypt to continue to work with UNHCR to
develop a stronger refugee status determination capacity.

-- Recognizing that bilateral discussions between Israel and
Egypt have not successfully resolved this issue and that the
asylum-seeker/migrant flows are likely to continue, we urge
Egypt to participate in UNHCR-hosted tripartite discussions.
We would be happy to serve as observer to these discussions.


9. (C) For Tel Aviv -- Dept requests Embassy meet again
with Israeli authorities to make the following points:

-- While the USG recognizes Israel's concern about becoming
overwhelmed with African migrants and asylum seekers, we are
concerned that those being deported from Israel may include
potential refugees who face security risks if further
deported by Egypt.

-- Israel's bilateral agreement with Egypt is clearly not
working, leading us again to press for a multilateral
approach to this issue with UNHCR-HQ -- the only
international body with the legitimacy and experience to
mediate in cross-border agreements such as this -- playing a
lead role.

-- While acknowledging the GOI,s concern about the recent
troubled history between the GOE and UNHCR, we are concerned
that a lack of involvement by UNHCR could lead to further
misunderstandings between the two countries, additional
incidents at the border, and further negative press for
Israel.

-- A formal UNHCR-GOI-GOE tripartite agreement would seek to
formalize the commitments of both governments in accordance
with refugee conventions and current realities on the ground
with the dual goals of identifying/finding durable solutions
for genuine refugees and stemming the migrant flow at the
border in a safe and humane way.

-- As such, we urge Israel to participate in UNHCR-led
tripartite discussions with Egypt. We would be happy to
serve as observer to these discussions.

-- We appreciate Israel's stated willingness to accept 500
already-arrived refugees from Darfur. However, we also urge
Israel to address all asylum seekers on a case by case basis,
not delimited by time of arrival or nationality. In addition
to Darfur refugees, Somalis and Eritreans as well as some
Ethiopians and Ivoirians are likely equally in need of
Israel's protection.

-- The USG is happy to explore technical support through
UNHCR or directly with the Israeli government to augment
Israel's capacity to conduct refugee status determinations or
refine asylum procedures.

-- We are also willing to consider for U.S. resettlement
those cases referred to us by UNHCR, although we would be
concerned about U.S. resettlement creating a magnet for new
population flows to Israel.


10. (C) For USEU -- Department is not requesting any
specific action on your part at present; however, please find
a way in the course of your ongoing discussions with EU
interlocutors on refugee/migration issues -- possibly
regarding the plans for a common EU position on interceptions
at sea (ref F) -- to gauge whether they could eventually be
helpful in internationalizing this issue further, possibly
drawing on the Aeneus Fund for helping countries with
migration management.
RICE