Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-12-16-Speech-4-317"
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"en.20101216.21.4-317"2
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"Mr President, the Commission shares the concerns of the European Parliament. The reports received speak of several hundred refugees, from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, apparently being held hostage in Sinai by traffickers requesting hard payment for their release.
Since the first notification, we have been following the case, establishing the facts, assessing the situation and taking appropriate action. The European Union delegation in Cairo has close contacts with local civil-society organisations and liaises with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ regional representation in Cairo.
They are very much following the case. In coordination with the embassies of the EU Member States, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been approached. The EU has expressed our concerns, as well as our strong belief, that the Egyptian authorities should take appropriate measures to liberate these people and grant them appropriate protection. There are reports of ongoing investigations to find the group of refugees, and we hope that things will be clearer in the next few days.
This case is not the only cause for concern. Migrants and refugees in Egypt still suffer from many protection gaps. The most serious incidents are reported in the Sinai. Many migrants intending to cross to Israel via the Sinai border are subject to abuse and mistreatment. We have raised this issue several times with our Egyptian counterparts in the framework of the regular subcommittee meetings discussing either migration issues or political affairs, including human rights.
The latest occasion when the point was raised was at the meeting of the EU-Egypt Association Committee on 14 December in Cairo. The EU has regularly invited Egyptian authorities to improve the quality of the assistance and protection offered to asylum seekers and refugees, and has offered financial and technical assistance in this endeavour. The EU has also invited the Egyptian authorities to ensure that the principle of non-refoulement is observed for all migrants in need of international protection, including Eritreans.
The EU has asked that the UNHCR be given full authorisation to implement its mandate throughout the entire territory of Egypt, including in the Sinai region. There have been some positive developments that should be stressed. In the spring of this year, Egypt adopted new legislation criminalising human trafficking and also protecting its victims.
Another welcome development was the adoption of a Transplant Act, which criminalises organ trafficking. We hope that the Egyptian administration will now take effective measures to ensure efficient implementation of this legal framework, and we have offered our cooperation in this field.
We will continue to support the work of the UNHCR and civil-society organisations to ensure better living conditions, as well as proper legal protection, for migrants and refugees living in the country. We will continue to follow with care the case of the hostage refugees in Sinai and we will pursue our contacts with the Egyptian authorities in this regard.
I truly hope for an early solution to this case and I regret the reported loss of eight lives so far."@en1
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