Ethiopia: Whether Ethiopian citizens of Eritrean descent, who were expelled from Ethiopia during the war with Eritrea (1998 to 2000), or who left involuntarily to avoid expulsion, can return to Ethiopia
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 21 August 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ETH37357.E |
| Reference | 4 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ethiopia: Whether Ethiopian citizens of Eritrean descent, who were expelled from Ethiopia during the war with Eritrea (1998 to 2000), or who left involuntarily to avoid expulsion, can return to Ethiopia, 21 August 2001, ETH37357.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be308.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
What follows are answers to questions posed by the Research Directorate to the Ethiopian Embassy in Ottawa.
On 22 August 2001, in correspondence received from the Ethiopian Embassy in Ottawa, the First Secretary stated that:
"Ethiopian citizens of Eritrean descent" is a controversial concept. Of course, there are many Ethiopian citizens with Eritrean parents (both or partial). But the problem arises during the vote of referendum on the independence of Eritrea. All those who voted for the independence of Eritrea are Eritrean citizens. This is the official line of thinking of the Ethiopian government. Those Ethiopians who did not vote for the independence of Eritrea on their own volition are Ethiopian citizens. In any case, this big issue will be decided by parliament some time in the future. Turning back to your question, all Ethiopians who were expelled from Ethiopia during the invasion of the Eritrean regime against Ethiopia will not return to Ethiopia until normalization of relations between the two countries resume. By the way, all Eritreans who were expelled from Ethiopia were those who were considered to be a security threat and had connections with the Eritrean regime.
... . In any case, all Eritreans who left involuntarily to avoid expulsion have also to wait until the Ethiopian government gives public notice. We don't know yet the exact time in this situation.
Several sources report on the repatriation of Ethiopians from Eritrea (Radio Ethiopia 13 July 2001; ibid. 15 June 2001; AFP 7 June 2001; ibid. 3 March 2001; Voice of the Tigray Revolution 5 May 2001; PANA 14 April 2001; ibid. 31 March 2001; ibid. 24 February 2001; ibid. 4 February 2001; Addis Tribune 23 February 2001). However, these sources only identified the people as "Ethiopians," "Ethiopian citizens," or "Ethiopian civilians." No specific mention was made of whether any of those who returned to Ethiopia are of Eritrean descent.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Addis Tribune [Addis Ababa]. 23 February 2001. "ICRC Repatriates Ethiopian POWs, Civilians." (NEXIS)
Agence France Presse (AFP). 7 June 2001. "More than 1,300 Repatriated in Horn of Africa by Red Cross." (NEXIS)
_____. 3 March 2001. "Over 1,000 Ethiopians and Eritreans Go Home with Help from ICRC." (NEXIS)
Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. 22 August 2001. Correspondence from First Secretary.
Panafrican News Agency (PANA). 14 April 2001. "ICRC Repatriates 1,721 Ethiopian Civilians from Ethiopia." (NEXIS)
_____. 31 March 2001. "ICRC Repatriates 851 Ethiopians from Eritrea." (NEXIS)
_____. 24 February 2001. "Eritrea Repatriates 980 Ethiopian Civilians." (NEXIS)
_____. 4 February 2001. "ICRC Repatriates 873 Ethiopians from Eritrea." (NEXIS)
Radio Ethiopia [Addis Ababa, in English]. 13 July 2001. "Eritrea Repatriates 524 Ethiopians." (BBC Worldwide Monitoring 13 July 2001/NEXIS)
_____. 15 June 2001. "Ethiopia: International Red Cross Repatriated 1,121 Citizens from Eritrea." (BBC Worldwide Monitoring 15 June 2001/NEXIS)
Voice of the Tigray Revolution [Mekele, Ethiopia, in Tigrinya]. 5 May 2001. "Ethiopia: Some 1,229 Citizens Return Home from Eritrea." (BBC Worldwide Monitoring 5 May 2001/NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Two non-documentary sources did not respond within the time constraints of this Response.
IRB databases
Africa Confidential
Africa Research Bulletin
Internet sites including:
allAfrica
Amnesty International
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Office of the Government Spokesperson
Human Rights Watch
Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
United States Committee for Refugees (USCR)
Walta Information Center
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