Unic Press UK: The United Nations has appealed to the Israeli Government to rethink its decisions to forcibly repatriate more refugees or asylum seekers to sub-Saharan Africa in the wake of several cases in which about 80 cases of people who were relocated by Israel, risked their lives having journeyed to Europe via dangerous routes.
Speaking on Tuesday, the spokesperson of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) William Spindler, told reporters in Geneva that it was necessary that Israel takes into consideration the grave risks the affected people had gone through in their journey via the Mediterranean Sea. He said:
“Feeling they had no other choice, they traveled many hundreds of kilometres through conflict zones in South Sudan, Sudan and Libya after being relocated by Israel. They suffered abuse, torture and extortion before risking their lives once again by crossing the Mediterranean to Italy. At a time when UNHCR and partners in the international community are engaged in emergency evacuations from Libya, forced relocation to countries that do not offer effective protection and the onward movement of these people to Libya and Europe is particularly worrisome,” the UN News Centre reported.
