Human Wrongs Watch
Geneva – A record number of African migrants fled to Yemen this year, with 43,000 people having reached the Middle Eastern country in only four months, the UN refugee agency reports.
“All those who had decided to make the crossing exposed themselves to extreme risks and dangers at every stage of their journey,” a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Andrej Mahecic, said.
Picked Up on the Beaches by Criminal Groups
According to UNHCR, while all Somali arrivals were automatically recognized as refugees in Yemen and had access to documentation and freedom of movement, this has not been the case for Ethiopian nationals.
“The situation was profoundly different and more difficult for Ethiopian nationals,” Mahecic said. “Few Ethiopians decided to seek asylum upon arrival to Yemen – to avoid detention and deportation, they attempted to evade contact with the authorities.”
Many Ethiopians were then picked up on the beaches by criminal groups involved in the trafficking and smuggling of people to other Gulf States, and there have been reports of consistent violence and abuse as many Ethiopian migrants fell victims to robberies, abuse and extortion.
Prey for Traffickers and Smugglers
“For Ethiopian nationals who did not fall under the protection of the Refugee Convention, there was virtually no protection space,” Mahecic said. “They were extremely vulnerable and often became easy prey for traffickers and smugglers.”
In addition to the influx of migrants, Yemen is also coping with a significant internal displacement. There are currently 470,000 people who are registered as internally displaced, and UNHCR estimates that there are an additional 95,000 people who are still unregistered.
Some 103,000 people arrived in Yemen last year, which is also a record number since UNHCR began compiling statistics in 2006. This year, UNHCR has appealed for $60 million to address the humanitarian needs of the nearly 220,000 refugees and almost half a million internally displaced people in Yemen. So far the agency has received a third of the funds.
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