ADDRESSING AFRICAN MIGRANTS/REFUGEES AND KILLINGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000965

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, PRM/AFR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2018
TAGS: PHUM PREF PREL EG ER IS SU
SUBJECT: ADDRESSING AFRICAN MIGRANTS/REFUGEES AND KILLINGS
ALONG EGYPTIAN/ISRAELI BORDER

REF: A. SECSTATE 31973

B. CAIRO 479 AND PREVIOUS

Classified by DCM Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: GOE interlocutors provide a varied and
contradictory explanation of when force can be used against
migrants seeking to cross illegally from Egypt into Israel,
but all say that GOE security personnel use deadly force due
to the difficulty of distinguishing between migrants and
terrorists or criminals along a politically tense and
physically challenging border. UNHCR and IOM contacts in
Cairo say the threat of violence on the border is the only,
albeit imperfect, deterrent to an increasing number of
African migrants transiting Egypt to reach Israel. To
encourage the Egyptians to seek a less violent solution, IOM
would be a more effective mediator between Egypt and Israel
than UNHCR. End summary.

GOE: Force Used Because Migrants Could Be Terrorists
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2. (C) Per ref A demarche, we again urged the GOE to limit
use of deadly force against migrants attempting to illegally
cross the Sinai border to Israel with interlocutors at the
Ministry of Interior (MOI),Ministry of Defense (MOD),and
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Minister of Interior
Habib Al Adly told the Ambassador on May 7 (septel) that the
violence results from a tense border situation and the
complexity of differentiating between migrants and terrorists
or weapons/drug smugglers in difficult terrain, often in the
middle of the night. Additionally, he said that exchanges of
fire sometimes occur between Egyptian forces and armed
Bedouin smugglers accompanying the migrants, injuring the
migrants collaterally. Egyptian security services endeavor
to identify potential migrants before they reach the border
by interviewing travelers at checkpoints throughout the
country and those seeking visas at Egyptian embassies abroad,
but "some get through." Al Adly noted that the situation has
become more tense since Hamas breached the Rafah border
crossing in early 2008, and that while Egyptian civilian
police were originally responsible for most encounters with
migrants, since then "military forces" are also involved
(NFI).


3. (C) State Security Investigative Service (SSIS) Director
of External Affairs General Salah Hegazy reinforced Adly's
statements on May 8. He elaborated that Egypt must guard
carefully against the threat of terrorists slipping into
Israel via Egypt, and African migrants often get fired upon
with that threat in mind. Additionaly, he noted that even if
the migrants are not involved in any other illicit
activities, attempting to illegally cross the border is
itself contrary to Egyptian law. General Hegazy confirmed
that the civilian Central Security Forces (CSF) are often the
Egyptian security personnel involved in these shootings, and
the rules of engagement are to first verbally warn would-be
crossers to stop, then fire in the air, at the ground, and at
the feet before resorting to deadly force.


4. (C) Major General Nagy, head of the Defense Military
Intelligence (DMI) LAWIO force responsible for liaison with
international organizations, said on April 30 that CSF
officers are most often the Egyptian personnel encountering
migrants attempting to cross into Israel. He confirmed the
rules of engagement for confronting any unknown individual
crossing the 150 meter-wide "security zone" on the Egyptian
side of the border. "They never stop" after being verbally
warned, he claimed, adding that some have continued to
struggle on to the border even after being wounded and that
Israeli patrols are often on the other side "waiting to pick
them up." Nagy claimed Egypt must act against
border-crossers because otherwise "the Israelis would
complain loudly," but contradictorily claimed that Israel was
welcoming African migrants to work in Israel.


5. (C) MFA Deputy Assistant Ministers Wael Aboulmagd (Human
Rights) and Tarek El Maaty (Refugees) on April 22 and 23,
respectively, echoed that the problem stems from a tense
political and security environment and difficult operating
conditions on the border. El Maaty confirmed the rules of
engagement stated by his security colleagues. Aboulmagd,
however, claimed that security forces have been ordered not

to use deadly force "except in self defense," but that
"things happen when you put men with guns on a dangerous
border." The GOE strategy to limit violence is thus to
improve training and devote more attention to the quality of
individuals assigned to border security, Aboulmagd said.


6. (C) Separately, CSF officers stationed near Egypt's border
with Gaza also told us during a recent visit to the border
that the standing order is to use deadly force "only in self
defense." However, they said that some local CSF commanders
along the border have told their personnel that they would be
held "personally responsible" if they allow anyone to
illegally cross the border, resulting in the use of deadly
force.


7. (C) Note: Separate Egyptian security organs share
responsibility for the border with Israel. The Egyptian
General Intelligence Service (EGIS) has the lead on border
policy, but the CSF are responsible for security on the
Egyptian side of the Egypt - Israel border, where most
attempted crossings occur, and which is demilitarized under
the terms of the Camp David Accords. This excludes the more
heavily-secured 14 kilometer border with Gaza, which is
patrolled by the MOD's Border Guard Force (BGF). The BGF is
limited to 750 personnel under a 2005 agreement with Israel
when Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip. Additionally,
SSIS, while a separate MOI body from the CSF, in reality has
weight within the MOI on all security issues. End note.

Migrant Flow Steady, Eritreans Becoming "Worrisome"
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8. (SBU) El Maaty said that the flow of migrants across the
border has remained at a constant level since the beginning
of 2008, but that the flow of Eritreans coming to Egypt
across the border with Sudan, mostly as a transit to Israel,
is becoming "worrisome" (ref B). Egyptian security has
detained 1200 Eritreans in Egypt since the beginning of 2008,
he said, although he claimed that all were released after
investigation. He attributed the continued flow to
encouragement from African migrants who have reached Israel
and are able to find work and an acceptable standard of
living. Security check-points in the Sinai and at the Suez
Canal have stopped some would-be migrants before reaching the
Israeli border, El Maaty continued, but not all. Egypt plans
to open discussions with Sudan, the first country of asylum
for Eritrean newcomers, to discuss a framework for sending
them back to Sudan.

Possible Role of UNHCR, IOM
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9. (SBU) El Maaty claimed that the GOE has a good working
relationship with both the UN High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration
(IOM). The GOE continues to refer cases of potential
refugees to UNHCR for refugee status determination, and UNHCR
has provided training to sensitize Egyptian security forces
to refugee issues, he said. UNHCR Deputy Regional
Representative Katharina Lumpp confirmed that the GOE has
been cooperative on referring cases of alleged
refugees/asylum-seekers to UNHCR, but said that the GOE has
not accepted UNHCR's offers to help address the migrant
situation more comprehensively. However, UNHCR is also wary
of getting too involved, Lumpp said, as since many of the
migrants are not refugees or asylum-seekers UNHCR's role is
by necessity limited. Additionally, she said, the
relationship between UNHCR and the GOE is still sensitive
after Egyptian security forces violently dispersed a Sudanese
sit-in outside UNHCR headquarters in Cairo in 2005, resulting
in almost 30 casualties.


10. (SBU) El Maaty and Lumpp agreed that Africans who have
successfully reached Israel have inspired others to attempt
the trek. Lumpp opined that the threat of violence on the
border may actually be the only factor hindering, albeit
imperfectly, an even greater number of attempted crossings.
Echoing this point, IOM Regional Representative Shahid Abdul
Haque told us that the only way forward is for Israel to
begin deporting illegal migrants back to their countries of
origin. African migrants would then cease to see Israel as a
viable destination and decrease their attempted border
crossings, allowing the GOE to take a less violent approach.

Haque said that IOM would be willing to be involved in
discussions with the GOE and GOI on this issue, and reports
that the Ministry of Interior (MOI) has already accepted in
principle IOM offers to provide training for its personnel on
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) as it relates to illegal
migration.

Comment
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11. (C) The fact that our GOE interlocutors had superficial
and sometimes contradictory explanations for the violence
indicates that bureacratic ownership of this issue is
unclear. Concerns that terrorists or criminals could be
mixed in with migrants on Egypt's border with Israel have
some weight, as the GOE would no doubt face heavy criticism
if a terrorist attack in Israel was found to be aided by
smuggling across the border from Egypt. The Egyptians would
prefer IOM over UNHCR to facilitate dialogue with Israel,
given its mandate more directly related to migration and its
better relationship with the GOE. We caution, however, that
the African migrant issue is only one aspect of the GOE's
political and security concerns on the sensitive
Egyptian-Israeli border. GOE officials have been
uncomfortable about Israel returning African migrants to
Egypt and are unlikely to consider accepting more, but may be
willing to engage on the issue of how to deal with migrants
crossing into Israel.
SCOBEY