Egypt: The situation of Sudanese citizens legally residing in Egypt; whether they are targeted by the Sudanese government; state protection available from Egyptian authorities (1985-2002)

Prior to 1995, Sudanese citizens who migrated to Egypt were accorded permanent residence status (Danish Immigration Service Sept. 2000, section A; USCR June 2001; AUC 16 Apr. 2002). The Wadi El-Nil treaty of 1978 between Egypt and Sudan granted Sudanese citizens the right to live in Egypt without having to obtain an entry visa or residence permit (Egypt Today Aug. 2001). The provisions of this treaty, which allowed Sudanese to live and work in Egypt indefinitely, barred them from the right to refugee status because they were to consider Egypt a "second home" (Washington Report on Middle East Affairs May/June 1996).

Since 1995 Sudanese citizens require a visa to enter and remain in Egypt (ibid.; Middle East Times 20 May 2000; Danish Immigration Service Sept. 2000, section A). Although obtaining an initial one-month visitor's visa is "generally straightforward" (Egypt Today Aug. 2001), those wishing to extend their visas must explain why they want to stay in Egypt, and therefore many Sudanese, fearing deportation, do not apply for visa renewals (ibid.; Middle East Times 20 May 2000).

The following information was provided by representatives of the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Programme of the American University of Cairo (16 Apr. 2002).

Sudanese citizens who arrived in Egypt before visa requirements were imposed in 1995 are considered to be permanent residents of Egypt, and their passports contain a "permanent residence" stamp. The difficulty arises when their passports expire, as some are unwilling or unable to approach the Sudanese Embassy to renew their passports. Without a valid passport, and therefore a valid permanent residency permit, they may be subject to deportation.

Information on the situation of Sudanese citizens who have arrived in Egypt since 1995 is vague and conflicting. A January 1999 Cairo Times article reported that although Sudanese in Egypt were not recognized as refugees, their situation was similar as they were unable to obtain legal work (7-20 Jan. 1999). Because Egypt has no national legislation governing the determination of refugee status, this function is performed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (Country Reports 2001 2002, section 2d). The UNHCR provides recognized refugees with an identification card that is "considered a resident permit and bears the stamp of the national authorities" (ibid.). However, very few Sudanese are recognized as refugees (WCC 29 Sept. 2000). The Sudan Cultural Digest Project estimated that there were between 25,000 and 30,000 displaced Sudanese in Cairo and Alexandria in 1999 (Cairo Times 7-20 Jan. 1999); UNHCR figures from 1 January 2000 indicated that there were some 2, 577 registered Sudanese refugees living in Egypt (Danish Immigration Service Sept. 2000, section A). Total figures of Sudanese in Egypt range from two to five million (ibid.; WCC 29 Sept. 2000; Middle East Times 20 May 2000), the majority of whom arrived prior to 1995 (Danish Immigration Service Sept. 2000, section A).

Until recently, refugees in Egypt were not allowed to work (WCC 29 Sept. 2000; Cairo Times 7-20 Jan. 1999; Egypt Today Aug. 2001) and had no access to health care, government schools or subsidized housing (ibid.; USCR 2001). Egyptian authorities announced in December 2000 that children of Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers would be allowed to attend public schools (ibid.), and a 4 August 2001 Financial Times article reported that the Egyptian government had lifted a prohibition on refugees seeking employment.

In correspondence received by the Research Directorate on 16 April 2002, a representative of the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Programme of the American University of Cairo wrote that while some Sudanese citizens in Egypt fear Sudanese officials, there is no evidence of Sudanese citizens in Egypt being targeted by the government of Sudan. The representative also wrote that "given the position of the Egyptian government on the Sudan question" it was unlikely that the Egyptian authorities would provide state protection to Sudanese citizens in Egypt. Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

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

American University of Cairo (AUC), Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Programme. 16 April 2002. Correspondence received from representatives.

Cairo Times. 7-20 January 1999. Vol. 2, Issue 23. Diana Digges. "Anywhere But Here." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2002]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001. 4 March 2002. "Egypt." US Department of State, Washington, DC. [Accessed 20 Apr. 2002]

Danish Immigration Service. September 2000. "Report on the Fact-Finding Mission to Cairo (Egypt) and Geneva (Switzerland)." [Accessed 15 Apr. 2002]

Egypt Today [Cairo]. August 2001. Abdalla F. Hassan. "Seasons of Migration." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2002]

Financial Times [London]. 4 August 2001. Heba Saleh. "Sudanese Refugees Have a Long, Hot Wait: The Cairo Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is Besieged by Asylum-Seekers." [Accessed 16 Apr. 2002]

Middle East Times [Cairo]. 20 May 2000. Simon Apiku. "Sudanese Rounded Up in Cairo." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2002]

United States Committee for Refugees (USCR). 17 May 2001. "2001 Country Report: Egypt." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2002]

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. May/June 1996. Sybella Wilkes. "As Sudan Instability Mounts, Sudanese Congregate in Egypt." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2002]

World Council of Churches (WCC). 29 September 2000. Elizabeth Ferris. "Churches Reach Out to Refugees in Egypt." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

Embassy of Egypt, Ottawa

NEXIS

WNC

Internet sites including:

Al-Ahram

Amnesty International

BBC

Global IDP Project

Human Rights Watch

IRIN

Middle East Media Research Institute

Middle East Review of International Affairs

UNHCR