Geneva – Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties (GCRL) sent an urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Mr. Felipe Gonzalez Morales, regarding the horrible abuses hundreds of African migrants are currently subjected to in Saudi Arabia’s coronavirus detention facilities and urged him to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the Kingdom will put an end to the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of migrants. Geneva Council drew the attention of the Special Rapporteur to a recent report by the British Sunday Telegraph newspaper based on images and videos containing migrants’ testimonies that reveal the suffering they are enduring. They were beaten using electric cords with guards hurling racial abuse at them. It was reported that one of the migrants has committed suicide by hanging himself.
Since the start of the Corona pandemic crisis, the Saudi authorities feared migrants act as vectors for the virus due to the crowded conditions in which they live, and almost 3,000 Ethiopians were deported by the Saudi security services back to Ethiopia in early April.
The letter further sheds light on information obtained by IMPACT International for Human Rights Policy, a London-based research center, about the miserable conditions of dozens of Ethiopian workers hiding in caves in remote areas of Riyadh to escape deportation amidst the deteriorating humanitarian and health conditions. In light of these horrific violations, Geneva Council on Rights and Liberties urged the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants to take all necessary measures to halt the alleged violations and prevent their re-occurrence and to bring the matter to the attention of the Human Rights Council during its regular session next week. It also called on Saudi authorities to stop mass expulsions of Ethiopian and other foreign workers and protect their human rights.
Appeal to United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
