Giving due protection for refugees and asylum seekers is what Ethiopia has been and is still identified internationally. Refugees from all corners of the African continent regard Ethiopia as their safe haven.
As to sources, irrespective of size, refugees and asylum seekers are still flocking into the Ethiopia’s borders making the country their first choice to get the necessary humanitarian access in its territory. Now the nation has enacted a new refugee law that grants refugees almost the same rights and responsibilities with Ethiopian nationals.
This is not, of course, something new for Ethiopia that has a long history of hosting refugees historically. Estifanos Gebremedhin, Legal and Protection Department Head, with Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) told this reporter that currently, there are more than 955,000 registered refugees in various refugee camps across the nation. The majority of them, as to him, are from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan but there are also other refugees from the other countries.
Elaborating the significance of the new refugee law Ethiopia enacted in the past recent days, Estifanos said that it clearly stipulates both the rights and responsibilities of refugees. As said by him, Ethiopia has the 1996 proclamation on refugees and article 29 of it states the rights and responsibilities of refugees in one or two congested statements.
But, the current one tried to put in an international standard, visibly and in accordance with the Ethiopian law. It also reflected the pledges the Ethiopian government has entered in 2016 in New York. It was recalled that Ethiopia, during that meeting has made nine pledges, so it is these pledges which are reflected in the new refugee law, he added.
Accordingly, the new law granted refugees the right to stay in Ethiopia so long as they fulfill the minimum requirements of the conventions which Ethiopia is signatory in this regard such as the OAU conventions and the 1951 protocol among others, as he elaborated. In other words, Ethiopia is not going to receive any foreigner as a refugee unless and otherwise he/she fulfills the criteria indicated in these conventions of refugee status as their rights and responsibilities.
The new law also puts different procedures on how they should appeal in case they are denied the refugee status. The other one is the right to education. Accordingly, refugees are granted the right to equal access to primary education with Ethiopian nationals. But, in the case of secondary school, it depends upon the economic capacity of the hosting economy. However, if they can find a sponsorship, they can join these schools too.
For this reason, ARRA in collaboration with the government can help them by facilitating the process of looking for sponsorships to help them privately join higher government institutions, secondary and technical schools. But, all primary, secondary and technical education in all refugee camps are provided for free, he expressed. The other important right they are granted in this law is health rights that they, as any Ethiopian national do have the right to get all healthcare services so long as they can afford the fee.
This is another additional right refugees are granted away from the free health service in all camps. More importantly, this law, as could be learnt from the Head, has also granted refugees living in the Ethiopian territory the right to work and this was the burning question at the frontline of most refugees in refugee camps. “Now, we are going to provide this right like any foreigner in Ethiopia.
The law recognizes grants refugees and asylum seekers to have the right to engage in wage earning employment in the same circumstances as most favorable treatment accord to foreign nationals pursuant to relevant laws though there are also some privileges granted to refugees indicated in the 1951 convention,” he reiterated. According to Ethiopia’s pledge to the leader’s summit on refugees, Ethiopia is expected to promote the development of the infrastructure for industrialization to generate job opportunities both for nationals and refugees.
In this connection, Ethiopia is currently negotiating with international partners on the possibility of building industrial parks that could employ up to 100,000 employees, where a portion of the jobs would be committed to refugees. This project, when implemented would have several advantages. First, it would create opportunities for refuges to live a normal life in a country closer to their home countries and avoid taking the risk of a dangerous path to second migration.
Second, the creation of jobs in Ethiopia would also help reduce unemployment of nationals and alleviate the push factor for outmigration. Moreover, it would assist Ethiopia in its efforts to reintegrate the livelihood of refugees with host communities in the framework of national sustainable development. As to the Head, Ethiopia believes that projects like these should be expanded in cooperation with other international partners. For this to be effective, an integrated approach of national, regional and international actors is needed.
The right to movement from one place to another place is the other right the law granted for refugees. For instance, if they want to work to invest or work in industrial parks, the government immediately gives them a pass permit, or refugee ID card, so that they can go and work anywhere in Ethiopia. The right to access to justice is the other worth mentioning one in this regard. Refugees, if they encounter or face any illegal act against them, UNHCR and the government are there to ensure their rights.
In other words, they would protect and respect their rights to access justice so long as they respect and abide by the rule of the country. The other very important right they are granted are access to driving license, travel documents, banking and telecom services and to vital statistics . In the mean time, the government would also provide special protection for vulnerable refugee groups, Estifanos said.
As per him, the new law has also many more significances to the host nation. “We are, historically known for our open door policy for refugees, so we have a big history in this regard. What Ethiopia has pledged in 2016 in New York is a continuation of that. More important thing these days is that humanitarian assistances are not like before that it is decreasing. In other words, there is a shift from providing humanitarian assistances to development assistances, so we do not want to keep our refugees idle in the refugee camps for it has an impact to the local community.
“As a result, we want to engage both the locals and refugees so they can work and help themselves thereby we can change the lives of the local population and the refugees. In other words, they should not be dependent on and burden to our economy; rather they can contribute their share in the economy.” And the donors also become happy and expressed their being ready to help the nation. “In order to implement this, we should also change our laws in accordance to the current status,” he opined.
When Ethiopia changes or amends the law, it is in relation to its mandate, responsibility and with its own benefit. In other words, it does not regulate its law with the order and interest of other countries that it emanates from its policy, the commitment of 2016 and the geopolitics it is in. “If you go to a refugee camp, you will find both unemployed refugees and local population, so if the country follows its previous pattern, ignoring the local community without creating access to job, simply providing them a small aid, that inevitably can result in a skirmish among the refugees and the locals, so it is important to follow such a winwin approach,” the Head expressed. As to him, the mandate to help these refugees is not only the mandate of Ethiopia but also the international community that it is responsible.
That is why the international community expressed its readiness to support Ethiopia if the country implements the pledges it made, he mentioned. As to Estifanos, the new law has also more to do with promoting diplomacy, people to people relationship and image building. Biruktawit Getahun, an Ethiopian Singer who is working as a high profiled supporter of UNHCR on her part said that the critical challenge of refugees encounter before the new law was mainly related to work permit. It was, according to the Artist, very difficult to the refugees to sit idle expecting only for just a small amount of ration. “If they are permitted to work, they will stop the dangerous path of secondary migration.
Moreover, they can contribute their share to the growth of the Ethiopian economy apart from freeing themselves from the mindset of being dependent on aid,” she stressed. “Being dependent due to various factors beyond your control while you are capable enough to carry out any task is really psychologically hurting,” she accentuated. So, the new law enacted recently would ease almost all these challenges of refugees,” she reiterated. The very thing that should not be forgotten in this regard, as to Biruktawit, is that Ethiopia is really doing a great job which can be a lesson for others.
Ethiopia is a poor nation which still has tens of millions of unemployed citizens of its own. The reason behind Ethiopia to do that is not because the Ethiopia community is rich, but the deep rooted culture of sharing what it has with other brothers and sisters. Today, the developed world is closing its doors to refugees unlike Ethiopia, so the international community should at least be able to help the Ethiopian society which is sharing all what it has with refugees.
