Addis Ababa, October 9, 2020 (FBC) – In a press release issued today, the Office of Spokesperson of Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the government of Ethiopia is closely working with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the repatriation and handling of Ethiopian migrants who ended up in Saudi Arabia crossing through Yemen.
The Ethiopian Embassy in Riyadh and its Consulate in Jeddah are in the process of visiting the different detention centers to produce a comprehensive report for action, the press release underlined.
According to the press release, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has informed the Ethiopian government that there is a continuous influx of migrants crossing the border that exacerbates the already existing problem.
Since May 2017, approximately 400,000 Ethiopian irregular migrants (90% male, 10% female) have returned to Ethiopia from the KSA following the announcement of the amnesty and the full coverage of transport costs by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Among the returnees, almost 90% have remigrated- some of them as many as 20 times.
The government of Ethiopia does not want to repeat this unfortunate mistake, which left our migrants, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as Ethiopia, with no longlasting benefits, but a waste of resource and efforts.
As stated by the Human Rights Watch report of last year, Ethiopia has continued to receive its most vulnerable citizens from the United Kingdom of Saudi (KSA). The nation has already implemented most of the recommendations in the report, the office stated.
Ethiopia has identified and processed the data of 2000 women, infants, and minors it is receiving in batches of 300 for the 5th time in the last month and will continue to do that, the Spokesperson Office underlined.
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has covered all of the flight costs, while the Ethiopia participated in receiving, transiting, and reintegrating the migrants with the coordination of sector Ministries and assistance of partners.
The African Union, the European Union, and the United Nations are among the primary partners working Ethiopia, the statement said.
Per the request of the European Parliament issued yesterday, October 8th, 2020, the Government will continue to address all humanitarian issues by closely working with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Government of Ethiopia remains committed to working with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on safe and dignified repatriation of its citizens. The government’s priorities are the welfare of its citizens wherever they are, the office stressed.
In this regard, Ethiopia identified the gaps in safe and dignified repatriation, proper data management, securing border, as well as an orderly reintegration.
The visit by EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy/vice president of the European Commission, Josep Borrell Fonteles and the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic provides Ethiopia the opportunity to demonstrate the complexities migration and underline the need to work on proper reintegration to end cyclic remigration, the Spokesperson Office added.