Deportations of Eritreans by Ethiopia to Eritrea

The most recent information on deportations of Eritreans to Eritrea by Ethiopia was found in Human Rights Watch's 30 January 2003 report entitled The Horn of Africa War: Mass Expulsions and the Nationality Issue (June 1998-April 2002). The report states that a group of 100 Eritreans, 92 from the Tigray region and eight from the Addis Ababa area, were deported on 16 March 2002 (HRW 30 Jan. 2003). The deportees were fleeing from "discrimination in access to employment and services or seeking to join relatives who had been deported before them" (ibid.). In 29 July 2004 correspondence, a senior researcher in the Africa division of Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that he was unaware of any deportations of Eritreans to Eritrea by the Ethiopian government in the last two years.

Ethiopian nationality

Two sources report that the Ethiopian government issued a directive in January 2004 allowing Eritreans in Ethiopia to become Ethiopian citizens or to take up official residency (AFP 23 Jan. 2004; Ethiopian News Agency 19 Jan. 2004). In an official statement by the Security, Immigration and Refugee Affairs Authority, government officials stated that the directive did not apply to bearers of Eritrean passports or of any other document proving Eritrean citizenship, or those persons who served in the Eritrean government; these persons, according to the government statement, are considered Eritrean citizens (ibid.). The directive further states that those who did not choose Eritrean citizenship will be considered Ethiopian citizens (ibid.). The directive also allows for eligible Eritreans to own property and the right to own a private business without a work permit (ibid.). Another Ethiopian News Agency report adds that the directive only applied to those Eritreans who resided in Ethiopia prior to the independence of Eritrea and "afterwards permanently...and doesn't include those Eritreans deported from Ethiopia posing [a] threat to the national security of the country" (22 Jan. 2004). Furthermore, the directive does not apply to those Eritreans who voted in the referendum on Eritrean independence (ibid.). The stated objective of the government policy was to ensure that Eritreans did not find themselves in a situation where they were the subject of both the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments; Ethiopian nationality law forbids dual citizenship (ibid.). A senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, Africa Division, stated that he has no information as to how this Ethiopian government policy has operated in practice and is unaware of any applications for Ethiopian citizenship being denied (29 July 2004).

For additional information on Ethiopian citizenship, please consult ETH42083.E of 3 October 2003. Consult also "The War and the Question of Nationality" section of the Human Rights Watch report entitled The Horn of Africa War: Mass Expulsions and the Nationality Issue (June 1998-April 2002) for information regarding the complexity of the Ethiopian nationality issue within the context of war, available on the Internet at http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/ethioerit0103.

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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 23 January 2004. "Ethiopia Allows Resident Eritreans to Opt for Citizenship." (Dialog)

Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) [Addis Ababa, in English]. 22 January 2004. "Ethiopia Says Directive Benefits Eritreans Who Lived in Country Permanently." (FBIS-AFR-2004-0120 22 Jan. 2004/WNC)

_____. 19 January 2004. "Ethiopian Government Issues Directive on Resident Eritreans." (FBIS-AFR-2004-0122 19 Jan. 2004/WNC)
Human Rights Watch (HRW), New York. 29 July 2004. Correspondence by a senior researcher, Africa Division.