EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT ON ERITREAN AND SUDANESE

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000570 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/SPG, AF/E, PRM FOR LANGE, PRM FOR BROOKS-RUBIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019 TAGS: PREL PREF PGOV ER SU EG SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT ON ERITREAN AND SUDANESE REFUGEES, AND UNHCR REF: A. CAIRO 378 ¶B. CAIRO 267 ¶C. 08 CAIRO 1651 ¶D. 06 CAIRO 170 Classified By: Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Key Points -- There are 118 Eritreans in Aswan in detention, who will be accepted for resettlement by Canada if they pass the required consular and medical examinations (reftels A-C). However the Government of Egypt (GOE) refuses to make them available for processing in Cairo. This could potentially result in their being returned to Eritrea. -- Egypt signed a MOU with the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) for a voluntary return program. However, the GOSS does not have funding to implement the program and has asked for USG assistance. -- Egyptian State Security (SSIS) plays a significant role in refugee affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Refugee office coordinates with SSIS and is sometimes able to influence security decisions. The SSIS-UNHCR relationship has not recovered from the December 2005 Mustafa Mahmoud incident that resulted in the deaths of 27 Sudanese refugees (reftel D). --Egypt believes there may be a potential increase in refugee flows due to the global economic crisis. It is discussing this idea with UNHCR. ¶2. (C) Comment: There is a strong possibility that if Canada and Egypt cannot reach a compromise on access to the 118 Eritreans, they could be sent back to Eritrea. We heard from other Sudanese contacts in Cairo that due to the fall in oil prices the GOSS was not making its payroll payments. The GOSS, admission that it has no funds for a voluntary return program confirms its dire financial situation. This is the first occasion that MFA Refugee Office Director Maaty has admitted to the large role that SSIS plays in the refugee file. End Comment. -------------- Impasse over Eritreans in Aswan -------------- ¶3. (C) Canada has agreed to review the cases of all 118 Eritrean in Aswan and accept for resettlement all those that meet the Canadian refugee processing criteria. In September 2008 the Canadian Immigration officer met with seven Eritreans in Aswan, of which six passed the refugee criteria. However, the Eritreans must receive medical clearances, which can only be done in Cairo. To date the GOE has not allowed the Eritreans to come to Cairo for the required medical processing. On March 30, we met with Egyptian MFA Refugee Office Director Tarek Maaty. He advised us that his office communicated to the Canadian Embassy that it needs to send an Embassy officer and a doctor to Aswan to conduct the necessary consular and medical evaluations for the 118 Eritrean refugees that are being held there. Maaty said that SSIS told him that this process needs to be accelerated because the Eritreans are getting harder to control and they cannot continue to detain them. (Note: There are rumors that the 118 Eritreans are considering going on a hunger strike to protest the slow movement in the process. We have advised them through our contacts in the Eritrean community to avoid such a provocative action. End Note.) ¶4. (C) The Canadian Embassy's DCM told us on March 31 that Canada was willing to send an immigration officer to Aswan to perform the refugee examinations, but he does not have approved doctors in Aswan to perform the medical examinations. He said that the Canadian Embassy asked the Government of Egypt (GOE) to bring the Eritreans to Cairo for their medical examinations. SSIS however, he rejected UNHCR and Canada's proposal to bring the Eritreans to Cairo because there is no place to hold such a large group. ¶5. (C) On April 2, the Canadian DCM and refugee officer told us they have a joint meeting set up with the Egyptian MFA and SSIS for April 6. We offered to speak with SSIS if their meeting did not produce results. We also provided contacts for a qualified doctor in Aswan, who told us that he and a team of doctors were willing to perform the medical examinations on the refugees. The refugee officer said that this idea would need clearance from their Regional Medical Officer in London. -------------- Voluntary Return for South Sudanese -------------- ¶6. (C) Maaty advised us that the GOE reached an agreement in principle with the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) for the voluntary return of Sudanese to the South and Nuba Mountain areas. Egypt agreed to waive the exit fees for the refugees and to organize their trips. However, to date they have received no communication from the GOSS Liaison office on how it will proceed. Parmena Makuet Mangar, the GOSS Principle Liaison Officer in Cairo, told us on March 31 that the GOSS is anxious to start a voluntary return program as there are more than 300,000 South Sudanese refugees living in Cairo. (Note: UNHCR statistics for January show only 23,312 registered refugees from all of Sudan. End Note.) He said that many are desperate to leave because of discrimination and GOE policies (NFI). The GOSS does not have funding for its voluntary return program, and Mangar asked for U.S. assistance to help start the program. -------------- State Security Role on Refugee Affairs -------------- ¶7. (C) Maaty said that his job requires that he is in constant communication with SSIS. He told us that "sometimes the Security Services listen to the MFA refugee office." He pointed to his intervention last week on the planned refoulement of three Eritrean refugees. He said that SSIS does not trust UNHCR, and still blames UNHCR's local management for the Mustafa Mahmoud incident in December 2005 that left 27 Sudanese refugees dead (reftel D). He opined that obtaining new UNHCR management may go a long way to repairing the SSIS-UNHCR relationship. He also stated that a successful resolution to the situation in Aswan could build the confidence of SSIS in the international "refugee system." -------------- Potential Increase in Refugee Flows -------------- ¶7. (C) Maaty said that Egypt was expecting an increased flow of third-county refugees from the Gulf States due to the global economic crisis. When queried, Maaty explained that many Sudanese working in the Gulf will return to Egypt instead of their homeland due to the uncertainty surrounding the ICC arrest warrant for Sudanese President Bashir. He said that he had spoken with UNHCR's Cairo Office, which has no plans for an influx, but said it would grant the refugee status to the returnees if they feared returning to their home countries. Maaty stated that he was not in favor of this approach, and said he would discuss the issue with UNHCR Regional Representative Saad al-Attar. Maaty said he has a good working relationship with al-Attar because he is Iraqi and "understands our culture." SCOBEY