August 26, 2017
August 26, 2017 – The government of Saudi Arabia announced plans to expel 450,000 Ethiopian migrants yesterday. Following Saudi Arabia’s announcement human rights groups, including the Human Rights Watch, urged the Gulf’s nation to reconsider it mass deportation plan.
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According to the rights group, only 45,000 Ethiopians had registered with the Saudi government and returned to Ethiopia voluntarily as of June. The remaining Ethiopians did not do so for several reasons, including a fear of the Ethiopian authorities.
The HRW statement stressed that while many Ethiopians go to Saudi Arabia for economic reasons, a large number of them flee from serious abuses at the hands of their government, especially in the Oromia region. The group warned that Ethiopian migrants may be at serious risk should they be forced to return home to face the persecution from which they fled. However, Saudi Arabia has no refugee law and no asylum system and is not a party to the UN Refugee Convention.
HRW added that Saudi Arabia has already deported 160,000 Ethiopians, many of whom were subjected to torture in their country after being held in detention camps.
Source:- Middle East Monitor