Appeal from the Ordinaries of the Holy Land regarding human trafficking and hostages in Sinai

Jerusalem, March 20, 2012




The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land expresses its deep concern about the horrific situation of African asylum seekers who are being held hostage in the Sinai and calls for an immediate end to human trafficking. On December 5, 2010, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI already drew the attention of the international community to "the victims of traffickers and criminals, such as the drama of the hostages, Eritreans and of other nationalities, in the Sinai desert". Since that time the situation of these victims has only worsened.



We, the heads of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, urge the civil authorities in Egypt and in Israel as well as the international community to intensify their efforts to fight the ongoing trafficking in human beings in Sinai, their abuse, humiliation, torture, rape and murder. Those fleeing their countries of origin because of war and violence must be protected from criminal abuse at the hands of those who seek to take advantage of them. We are particularly horrified to learn of the appalling fate of the women and children.



We remind the civil authorities in Egypt and in Israel of their obligations to respect international human rights law provisions and standards regarding the treatment, the protection of dignity and physical and psychological integrity, and the right to due process and fair trial of asylum seekers and migrants.



We congratulate those activists in Egyptian and Israeli human rights organizations who provide help to the victims of human traffickers and assure them of our moral support and prayers.



In communion with the organizations seeking to draw attention to the plight of these people and to help them, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land:



- calls for greater awareness regarding the plight of those being imprisoned, held for ransom, tortured and abused in Sinai;



- calls on the civil authorities in Egypt and Israel to act decisively against the traffickers, closing their bases of activities, prosecuting the criminal elements involved in these crimes on both sides of the Egyptian-Israeli border, assisting their victims and providing refuge for them as well as protecting these populations from the traffickers;



- calls for support of those organizations and individuals engaged in advocacy, assistance to and counseling of the victims.



Furthermore, the Catholic Ordinaries commit themselves to the spiritual care of the Catholics among the asylum seekers and ask the Israeli authorities to permit chaplains and their assistants access to those asylum seekers imprisoned in confinement facilities in Israel in order to offer them the spiritual solace they might seek from the Church.



« For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. » (Matthew 25:35-36)



+ Fouad TWAL

Patriarch of Jerusalem for Latins

President Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries

+ Giacinto-Boulos MARCUZZO

Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Israel



+ Michel SABBAH

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem emeritus

President Ep.Comm. Justice and Peace

+ William SHOMALI

Latin PatriarVicar for Jerusalem, Palestine



+ Antonio FRANCO

Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine

Apostolic Nuncio for Israel and Cyprus

+ Kamal-Hanna BATHISH

Latin Auxiliary Bishop emeritus



+ Giorgio LINGUA

Apostolic Nuncio for Jordan

+ Selim SAYEGH

Latin Auxiliary Bishop emeritus



+ Elias CHACOUR

Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Akka

Msgr Joseph KELEKIAN

Armenian Catholic Exarch of Jerusalem



+ Yaser Al-AYYASH

Melkite Cath. Archb. Petra&Philadelphia

Fr. Pierbattista PIZZABALLA, O.F.M.

Custos of the Holy Land



+ Boutros MOUALLEM

Melkite Cath. Archbishop of Akka emeritus

Fr. David NEUHAUS, S.J.

Patriarchal Vicar for Hebrew speaking



+ Gregoire Pierre MELKI

Syrian Catholic Exarch of Jerusalem

Fr. Evencio HERRERA DIAZ, O.F.M.

Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Cyprus



+ Joseph Jules ZEREY

Melkite Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem

Msgr George SHIHAN

Maronite Patriarchal Administrator



+ Maroun LAHHAM

Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan

Fr. Raymond MOUSSALLI

Patriarchal Vicar in Jordan for Chaldeans



P. Pietro FELET, scj

Secretary general



http://www.lpj.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1912%3Aappel-des-ordinaires-concernant-la-traite-de-personnes-et-les-prises-dotages-dans-le-sinai&catid=40%3Aassemblee-des-ordinaires-catholiques&Itemid=90&lang=en

Ethiopia 'launches military attack inside Eritrea'

Ethiopian forces have launched a military assault on positions inside Eritrea, Ethiopian officials have said. 

Ethiopia attacked because Eritrea was training "subversive groups" to carry out attacks inside Ethiopia, government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said.

A number of people were killed and others captured when three camps were attacked, a defence official said. Eritrea has not yet commented.

The two countries fought a border war from 1998 to 2000.

Thursday's dawn assault is the first attack by Ethiopian troops inside Eritrean territory since the end of the war in which 80,000 people died.

Tensions have risen in recent weeks - with Addis Ababa blaming Eritrea for backing Ethiopian rebels who staged a January raid in the northern Afar region that killed five Western tourists.

Two German nationals were taken hostage during that attack - there has been no official word of their condition since.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17386161 

"No a tutti i razzismi"

L’UNAR – Ufficio Nazionale Antidiscriminazioni Razziali ti invita ad unirti alla                   "Catena Umana" che il 21 marzo alle 10.30 circonderà  le piazze ed i monumenti di 35 città italiane per dire "No a tutti i razzismi"     Un'azione simbolica, ma concreta, nella Giornata Mondiale Contro il   Razzismo.     Trova la città più vicina ed unisciti a questa grande manifestazione nazionale.     L'appuntamento è per le ore 10.30 in punto nelle piazze indicate dal programma. Clicca qui per scaricare il programma. Per maggiori informazioni visita il sito dell’UNAR.

Maid in Lebanon abuse video kills herself

Suicide comes days after footage emerged of Ethiopian woman being violently dragged on Beirut street by male employer. Last Modified: 14 Mar 2012 16:03 Video of Dechasa being abused outside the Ethiopian embassy sparked outrage in Lebanon [YouTube] An Ethiopian domestic worker in Lebanon who was filmed being physically abused in public has committed suicide, local media have reported. The video, first aired by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) last week, caused outrage by showing a man abusing Alem Dechasa as she cried on a street outside the Ethiopian embassy in Beirut. The man was shown grabbing Dechasa and telling her, "get into the car" while she screamed out, "no, no, no". Another man then assisted in dragging Dechasa into the back of a car as she struggled to resist. Asaminew Debelie Bonssa, Ethiopian general consul in Lebanon, told The Daily Star newspaper in Beirut that Dechasa committed suicide by hanging herself early on Wednesday morning at a psychiatric hospital where she had been taken after the incident. Bonssa told The Daily Star that he had seen Dechasa on Saturday in the hospital and that she was making plans to return to Ethiopia. 'Larger issue' After the video was aired, LBCI used the car’s license plate number to identify the man. “[The man] tried to justify his act by denying that he beat her. He stressed that the worker tried to commit suicide more than once, and that he tried dealing with her humanely, but she refused to go to the airport for deportation,” LBCI reported on its website. Activists in Lebanon, outraged by the video, posted the man's contact information on internet social media sites and called for action against him. Reports of domestic worker abuse are widespread, with many allegedly locked in employers’ homes. Rola Abimourched, programme co-ordinator at KAFA (Enough) Violence and Exploitation, told Al Jazeera that Dechasa's case may increase scrutiny into the problem. "This case may indicate the larger issue of migrant domestic workers' vulnerability to abuse in Lebanon, which puts the whole system in question. Namely, the sponsorship system which ties the domestic worker to one employer and does not guarantee her basic human rights," Abimourched said. "We hope that an investigation into her death will determine what happened." http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/03/2012314142844277446.html

A joint statement of over 40 countries on the human rights situation in Eritrea in HRC 19th Session

Wednesday, 14 March 2012 00:17 HRC

HRC 19th Session

Joint Statement under Item 4


The Human Rights Situation in Eritrea


Madam President,
Somalia has been a strong supporter of the rights of the Eritrean people during their struggles for self-determination, even though this support came at a cost to Somalia.  Somalia is greatly concerned, therefore, at the deteriorating human rights situation in Eritrea.  After such a long struggle, the Eritrean authorities’ highest priority must be the rights of their people.

Madam President,
Somalia has itself suffered through long struggles.   Somalia has repeatedly asked the Human Rights Council for assistance in overcoming its own problems, and we now bring the situation in Eritrea to the Council in the hope that the international community can help Eritrea to avoid the nightmare situation that has plagued Somalia for so long.  For these reasons, Madam President, Somalia has the honour to deliver the following joint statement on behalf of over 40 countries.

The States that have joined together to make this Statement are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Eritrea.

The Government of Eritrea has never held national elections and there are no political parties except the ruling party It does not allow independent media or international NGOs to operate.
Furthermore, the Government of Eritrea severely restricts freedom of religion and of belief, including through the use of arbitrary detention and physical abuse.

We are especially troubled by reports of inhumane prison conditions, disappearances, arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killings.

Many people continue to flee the country to avoid forceful conscription into mandatory national service which requires men and women to serve for an indefinite period of time, with no clear criteria for completion of service. The government has detained family members of persons thought to have evaded national service, and operates a shoot to kill policy on its borders.

We also recall that the Security Council in UNSCR 2023 has condemned the use of the “Diaspora Tax” on the Eritrean Diaspora by the Eritrean Government to destabilise the Horn of Africa, deciding that Eritrea should cease using extortion, threats of violence, fraud and other illicit means to collect the tax.  The Government of Eritrea to date has failed to comply.

Madam President,

The Eritrean Government has failed to address the two decisions by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which inter alia criticized the detentions of 21 prominent political prisoners and journalists in 2001 and called for their release.

As a result of our concerns:

•    We call on the Government of Eritrea to end its use of arbitrary detention and torture of its citizens, and to release all prisoners of conscience

•    We call on the Government of Eritrea to provide all relevant information on the safety, well being and, whereabouts of all detained persons, including persons missing in action, inter alia information pertaining to Djiboutian combatants.

•    We strongly urge the Government of Eritrea to grant UN special procedures as well as international human rights and humanitarian organisations and NGOs access to the country and to permit them to operate without hindrance.

•    We call on the Government of Eritrea to fulfill their international obligations and honour its commitments and abide by the terms of all relevant Security Council resolutions, including UNSCR 1907 (2009) and UNSCR 2023 (2011)

•    Finally, we invite on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to brief the Human Rights Council on the ongoing Human Rights violations in Eritrea at the 20th Human Rights Council.

This statement was delivered on behalf of the following countries:

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Somalia, St Kitts and Nevis, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America,

http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/03/somalia-general-debate-item-4-34th-meeting.html 

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

	EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT	2009 - 2014

Plenary sitting

{13/03/2012}13.3.2012                                                                                                                B7‑0161/2012

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law

pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure

on human trafficking in Sinai, in particular the case of Solomon W.

Véronique De Keyser, Ana Gomes, Richard Howitt, Saïd El Khadraoui, María Muñiz De Urquiza, Kristian Vigenin, Rovana Plumb

{S&D}on behalf of the S&D Group

B7‑0161/2012

European Parliament resolution on human trafficking in Sinai, in particular the case of Solomon W.

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions, in particular that of 16 December 2010 on Eritrean refugees held hostage in Sinai,

- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

- having regard to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951,

- having regard to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984,

- having regard to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000,

- having regard to Rule 122 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Sinai is a principal transit route for asylum-seekers and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa escaping extreme poverty and political turmoil and seeking refuge in Israel and beyond,

B. whereas reportedly an average of 2,000 people enter Israel through Sinai each month, many of them with the assistance of smugglers who have established a sizable network in this area; whereas, according to Israeli government estimates, around 50,000 Africans have illegally entered Israel through Sinai since 2005;

C. whereas thousands of asylum seekers and migrants lose their lives and disappear in Sinai every year while others, including many women and children, are kidnapped and held hostage for ransom by human traffickers; whereas victims of human traffickers are abused in the most dehumanising manner and are subject to systemic violence and torture, rape and sexual abuse, and forced labour;

D. whereas many female asylum seekers and migrants, who are in a particularly vulnerable situation, fall victim of human trafficking and the vast majority of them are repeatedly tortured, gang-raped and sodomised; whereas hundreds of them arrive in Israel pregnant as a result of rape; 

E. whereas Egypt's border area with Israel in Sinai is a restricted military zone to which the country prohibits unauthorized entry; whereas a significant number of illegal migrants have been killed by Egyptian security forces in Sinai or have been prosecuted before military tribunals in the country; whereas UN agencies and human rights organisations have no or only limited access to the area affected by human smuggling and trafficking in Sinai;

F. whereas Egypt adopted an anti-trafficking law in 2010, which prohibits and punishes all forms of human trafficking, but the implementation of this legislation requires further significant efforts; whereas Egypt established a National Coordination Committee to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking in 2007;

G. whereas Israel reviews very few asylum requests but grants temporary protection to many migrants arriving to the country through Sinai; whereas illegal migrants in many cases continue being returned to Egypt by Israeli authorities without having a genuine opportunity to claim refugee status,    

H. whereas the Knesset approved, in January 2012, a new law on illegal immigrants which has provoked widespread criticism from human rights organisations; whereas about 60 miles of the fence Israel builds along her border with Egypt, with the aim of preventing infiltrators and illegal migrants to enter the country, has been completed with plans to complete the rest by the end of this year;

I. whereas Egyptian and Israeli human rights organisations, such as Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, make considerable efforts to help, assist and provide medical treatment to victims of human traffickers in Sinai,

J. whereas the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children defines trafficking in persons as „the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation”,

1. Expresses its deep concerns that, despite widespread international appeals, human smuggling and trafficking in Sinai continues and further increases;

2. Urges Egypt, Israel and the international community to continue and further intensify their efforts to fight human smuggling and trafficking in Sinai;

3. Acknowledges that illegal migrants in Sinai pose a security risk for Egypt and Israel; however, urges again Egyptian and Israeli security forces to avoid the use of lethal force against illegal migrants;

4. Stresses the responsibility of Egyptian and Israeli authorities to stop the human traffickers in Sinai as well as to protect the victims; welcomes the efforts of the Egyptian and Israeli governments in this regard; calls, however, for more assistance and support for the victims, with special regard to women and children;

5. Reminds Egyptian and Israeli authorities of their obligations to fully respect international human rights law provisions and standards regarding the treatment, the protection of dignity and physical and psychological integrity, and the right to due process and fair trial of asylum seekers and migrants as well as to guarantee that detained migrants have the ability to contact UNHCR and allow UNHCR access to all asylum seekers and refugees in state custody;

6. Reminds Egyptian and Israeli authorities of their obligations under international law to detain asylum seekers only as necessary to ascertain their identity and the basis of their asylum claims, allow detained migrants to present asylum claims and have those claims adjudicated prior to any decision to deport, refrain from returning asylum seekers and refugees to countries where they have a well-founded fear of persecution or face a real risk of torture, or to third countries that might not respect that prohibition, and ensure that detention of children is in line with international conventions and standards concerning the best interest of the child and family unity;

           

7.  Calls for full access of UN agencies and human rights organisations to the areas affected by human smuggling and trafficking in Sinai;

8.  Applauds the activities of Egyptian and Israeli human rights organisations providing help, assistance and medical treatment to victims of human traffickers in Sinai and urges the international community and the EU to support their work;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative/Vice President of the Commission, the Parliaments and Governments of the Member States, the Parliament and Government of Egypt, the Knesset and the Government of Israel, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B7-2012-0161&format=XML&language=EN 

19th Session of the Human Rights Council

Statement by His Excellency Silvano M. Tomasi

Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva

at the 19^th Session of the Human Rights Council –

“Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious

and linguistic minorities”.

Panel on Declaration of Rights of Minorities (res 18/3)

March 14, 2012

Madam President,

The 20^th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities invites the international community to examine,  with a more critical eye, the situation of minorities in the world, as the Report of the Independent Expert on Minority issues has rightly emphasized. The awareness of their own rights has greatly increased among the persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, but, at the same time, the violations of theses rights, on the part of States or of groups in society, have not ceased. Such problems are due, either to indifference or to the political will to marginalize or to suppress, or even to eliminate, communities with a different ethnic or religious or linguistic  identity. If a just participation by all is fostered in the governance of a State, all persons enjoying  citizenship in its territory should have a right to be included. On the basis of such participation, peaceful coexistence, social development and prevention of conflicts will be the outcome.

Madam President,

The foundation upon which all existing communities in a State can cooperate constructively for the common good is well articulated in the Declaration, which affirms the “inherent dignity and worth of the human person…[and] the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small ..., without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion”[1]

Distinct ethnic, religious or linguistic groups within a State can enrich its cultural and social life. The success of such contribution, however, is linked to the ability and duty of each respective group to be open to dialogue as “individuals do not exist for themselves alone, but achieve their full identity in relation to others. The same can be said about groups of people. They indeed have a right to a collective identity that must be safeguarded, in accordance with the dignity of each member.:[2]

The Special Rapporteur might consider the usefulness of abolishing the concepts of “majority” and “minority” populations. Such development would be in accord with  the foundational human rights principle that  everyone is equal in rights and duties while also maintaining his right to associate with others in the preservation and development of cultural, religious and political identities and activities. This basic belief becomes the appropriate foundation of citizenship A State in which all are partners through common citizenship, and which maintains  laws and institutions that are at the service of everyone, can effectively carry out its responsibility to guarantee peace and promote the constructive contribution of all citizens. The selection of sectarian or ethnic or religious affiliation as criteria for belonging to a State runs contrary to the universality of human rights and lends itself to manipulation and abuses.

In a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect, educational programs that support a culture of dialogue, peace-building, democracy and pluralism can encourage a new start, in line with on-going political, social  and cultural changes in some regions of the world, and can open the way to a more peaceful future when the dignity of every person will be respected without such classifications as “majority” and “minority” but by virtue of our common God-given humanity.

Thank you, Madam President.

---

[1]             Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, PP2 and PP1.

[2]           Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, 1^st January 1989.


http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/03/holy-see-id-on-minorities-35th-meeting.html