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Ethiopia acknowledged Thursday that it was “not doing enough” to help migrants detained in detention centers in Saudi Arabia, but did not criticize Riyadh’s treatment of them.
The statement by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry came as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government faces mounting pressure at home and abroad to facilitate the return of migrants languishing in Saudi custody amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Ethiopian government should make a greater effort in fighting human smugglers and intermediaries, make border controls more effective and raise awareness for young people,” the statement said.
“We are not doing enough.”
Ethiopians have long viewed Saudi Arabia as an escape from poor economic prospects and state repression, hoping to find work despite not having legal status.
To get there, many board overcrowded vessels that are at constant risk of sinking during sea voyages that can last up to 24 hours.
Up to half a million Ethiopians were in Saudi Arabia when officials launched an offensive against illegal immigrants in 2017, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
From that point. On average, around 10,000 Ethiopians were deported monthly until the beginning of this year, when Ethiopia requested a moratorium due to the pandemic.
Human Rights Watch estimates that “hundreds, if not thousands” of migrants are still in detention and describes the detention as “arbitrary and abusive.”
In recent days, the British newspaper The Telegraph has published interviews with migrants, as well as photos and videos showing unsanitary detention centers where floors are covered in sewage from clogged toilets.
Saudi authorities in Riyadh could not be reached for comment.
The kingdom’s embassy in London told The Telegraph that Ethiopian authorities “have refused” to bring the migrants back “under the allegation of failing to provide adequate quarantine facilities upon arrival.”
Ethiopia refuted this in its statement on Thursday, saying that it “has never refused to receive its citizens from any country, but operates according to principles and the availability of resources.”
In July, the president of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, home to many of the migrants, wrote a letter to King Salman of Saudi Arabia requesting that the migrants be airlifted directly to the regional capital, Mekele.
Thursday’s government statement went to great lengths to praise Ethiopia’s collaboration with Saudi Arabia, a major source of funding, and cited Riyadh’s “exceptional support for our citizens in general and Ethiopian irregular migrants in particular.”
