HRLHA URGENT ACTION No 4 July 2010

Appeal To: The President of Puntland

His Excellency Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud (Farole),

President of the Puntland State of Somalia,
Garoowe.

Tel: + 2525 844151, or + 2525454764
Fax: + 2525 4 54764

Your Excellency,

First of all, Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) would like to express its appreciation to the people of the Republic of Puntland and to its government for their hospitality and kindness towards thousands of Oromo and Somalia and other refugees from Ethiopia who fled their home land to escape persecutions by the Ethiopian Government. Especially since the TPLF Government came to power, thousands of Oromo, Ogaden  and other nationals have run away from arbitrary detentions, degrading tortures and violent killings in Ethiopia to save their lives by seeking refuge in Puntland and other neighbouring countries. In the same way, since the collapse of the Somalia Government in 1991, thousands of Somali citizens have fled to the neighbouring countries including to the Puntland  State of Somalia in order to escape the civil wars among the war-lords.

However, HRLHA recently received a disheartening report that the Puntland  Government has started to expel all Oromos, Somalis  and other refugees currently staying in Puntland. According to the report HRLHA received from Bosasso, Garoowe and Galkayoo in Puntland on July 23, 2010, more than 900 Somali and 200 Oromo refugees have already been taken out of  Puntland  to the borders of Somalia and Ethiopia. HRLHA has also learned that most of the deported refugees are those who have been registered with the UNHCR and obtained refugee status. Among the hundreds of victims of this recent wave of depotationand arrests, HRLHA reporter has managed to obtain the names of the following Oromo nationals:

By so doing, the Puntland Government put the lives of hundreds of asylum seekers at risk. The reason given for such a decision was that “… all refugees are threat to the Puntland State and Government”.

Your Excellency, these asylum seekers are innocent people who escaped their homeland because of the reasons mentioned above; and cannot be a threat to the Puntland People and the Government. We would also like to bring to your attention that this is a reality that has already attracted international focus, including that of Ethiopia’s Western allies. For example, in its 2009 Country Report on Ethiopia, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor acknowledged that:

• “… there were widespread human rights abuses including: unlawful killings and beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of those suspected of sympathizing with or being members of the opposition; restrictions on freedom of the press; restrictions on freedom of assembly and association; and discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, among other human rights violations.”
• In the case of Somali refugees, it has been widely reported that there were civil wars for over nineteen years among different war- lords; and recently between acting government of Somalia and the Al Shabab militant group.

The HRLHA believes that, based on such facts, your government has a moral obligation and national, regional as well as international responsibilities to reconsider and reverse this very serious decision and refrain from deporting those people who are taking refuge in your state.

In the case of Oromo refugees from Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government has a well-documented record of gross and flagrant violations of human rights, including extra-judicial killings, kidnapping and disappearances, arrests and indefinite imprisonments and torturing of its own citizens; and this include those who were involuntarily returned to the country. There have been credible reports of physical and psychological abuses committed against individuals in Ethiopian prisons and other secret places of detention. This obligation, which is also a principle of customary international law, applies to both asylum seekers and refugees, as affirmed by UNHCR’s Executive Committee and the United Nations General Assembly.

By deporting refugees of Ethiopian Somalis, the Oromos and others, the Puntiland government will be breaching its obligations under international treaties as well as customary law.

Under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1465 U.N.T.S. 185), the Puntland Government has an obligation not to return a person to a place where they are likely to face torture or ill-treatment. Article 3 of the Convention against Torture provides that:

1. No state party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds to believe that they would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

2. For the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the state concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.

We strongly urge the Government of Puntland to respect these international treaties and obligations; and we are hopeful that the cases of Somalis, Oromos and other refugees from Ethiopia would be reconsidered accordingly.

The HRLHA is a non-political organization which attempts to challenge abuses of human rights of the people of various nations and nationalities in the Horn of Africa. It works on defending fundamental human rights including freedoms of thought, expression, movement and association. It also works on raising the awareness of individuals about their own basic human rights and that of others. It encourages the observances as well as due processes of law. It promotes the growth and development of free and vigorous civil societies.

Sincerely,
Garoma B. Wakessa,

Executive Director, HRLHA.

Cc: H.E. Abisamad Ali Shire, Vice President of the Puntland State of Somalia

Tel: + 2525454764
Fax: + 2525 4 54764

• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
  Palais Wilson
  52 rue des Pâquis
  CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland Telephone: +41 22 917 9656
  Mail: civilsocietyunit@ohchr.org
• UNHCR main office Geneva, Switzerland.
  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  Case Postale 2500
  CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
  Suisse. telephone number: +41 22 739 8111

• African Commission on Human and Peopls’ Rights

The Gambia Tel : (220) 4410 505 – 6 ,

Fax: (220) 4410 504

Email : achpr@achpr.org

• Amnesty International – London Telephone: +44-20-74135500 

Fax number: +44-20-79561157

Human Rights Watch – New York, Tel:  +1-212-290-4700
Fax: +1-212-736-1300

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