Ethiopia: Information regarding the fate of those forcibly returned to Ethiopia
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ETH6041 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ethiopia: Information regarding the fate of those forcibly returned to Ethiopia, 1 June 1990, ETH6041, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acf94.html [accessed 21 May 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. |
Leaving Ethiopia illegally is a serious offence reportedly punishable by five to 25 years' imprisonment or, in exceptional cases, by death. [
FootnoteS:
George T. Kurian, Encyclopedia of the Third World, Third Edition vol.I, ( New York; Facts On File, Inc., 1987), p. 665.] Illegally leaving or attempting to leave Ethiopia is considered to be an act of treason against the country, and the Constitution states that "treason against the Motherland is the gravest crime committed against the people, entailing severe punishment". [Constitution, Part 2, Chapter 7, Article 53(2).] According to Amnesty International's 1988 Report, many Ethiopians were reportedly imprisoned for attempting to flee the country and some relatives of those who left the country for political reasons were arrested in reprisal. [ Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 1988 (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1988), p. 38.]
The May 1987 issue of Refuge, reports that several organizations, including the British Refugee Council, voiced strong objections to the UNHCR, emphasizing the reluctance of Ethiopian refugees in Djibouti to repatriate for fear of reprisal from the Ethiopian government. [ "Report on the Djibouti Refugee Situation", Refuge, May 1987, pp. 8-10.] According to the U.S. State Department, the legislation covering illegal emigration remains in effect. [U.S. Department of State, p. 116 and U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989, Washington: U.S. Government Printers, 1990, p.118. Attached.]
According to the Director of the Ethiopian Community Centre in Washington DC, there were reports of Ethiopians imprisoned upon being forcibly returned to Ethiopia around 1983. [ As stated by the Director of the Ethiopian Community Centre in Washington DC during a telephone interview with a member of the IRBDC on 21 July 1990.] Cases of failed political asylum seekers being forcibly deported back to Ethiopia are very few and the Ethiopian Community does not have a list. The very act of applying for political asylum itself is viewed as unpatriotic and anti-government by the Ethiopian authorities and would likely subject the individual concerned to various forms of "persecution". [ Ibid.] According to the above source, seeking political asylum is seen as the purposeful exposition of the native country's faults, human rights violations and an "insult" to the governing authorities. It is therefore extremely difficult to obtain information on this topic because of the cloak of fear and secrecy surrounding the issue of political asylum. [ Ibid.]
Attached please find a copy of Response to Information Request No. 5160 and an excerpt from the Negarit Gazeta, published by the Ethiopian Government in Addis Abeba on 5 November 1981. The document contains the Revised Special Penal Code Proclamation No. 214 of 1981, addressing the issue of illegal departure.
