Turkish authorities forcibly deport 300 Eritreans despite high risk of human rights violations: UN special rapporteurs

The Turkish government forcibly deported 300 Eritrean migrants to their home country, where they face a grave risk of human rights violations, according to official documents published on Monday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In a joint letter dated October 16, 2024, three UN special rapporteurs asked the Turkish government about the “alleged arbitrary detention and forcible return” of Eritrean migrants and the imminent risk of refoulement (forcible return) of an additional group of approximately 50 Eritreans.

The rapporteurs alleged that Turkey’s deportations violate the fundamental principle of international human rights and refugee law that prohibits the return of individuals to countries where they may face serious harm.

The principle was outlined in international law and the Convention Against Torture, which Turkey ratified in 1988 and prohibits deporting individuals to countries where they are at risk of torture or other gross human rights violations.

“Detention in Eritrea places individuals at a heightened risk of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment,” the rapporteurs said, adding that many deportees have reportedly been detained or conscripted into military service. Eritrea’s indefinite conscription system has been widely linked to forced labor, sexual violence and inhumane treatment.

Moreover, Eritreans who have been deported have previously faced severe torture and enforced disappearances.

The UN also condemned conditions at Turkey’s Aydın Repatriation Center, where 50 Eritrean migrants currently remain detained. According to the letter, detainees have reported being beaten by guards, held in metal container cells under conditions of extreme heat and denied medical care. They also reported a lack legal representation and contact with their families.

The UN experts urged Turkey to immediately halt deportations to Eritrea, improve conditions for detained migrants and conduct individual assessments of asylum claims. Turkey’s response has not been made public yet.

The letter was authored by three UN special rapporteurs:  Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea; Gabriella Citroni, chair-rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; and Gehad Madi, special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.

Turkey has emerged as both a perpetrator and facilitator of transnational repression, targeting dissidents abroad while aiding other authoritarian regimes in silencing their critics. Reportedly Turkey has assisted authoritarian regimes by deporting asylum seekers despite clear risks of torture and persecution. Many asylum seekers from such countries as Iran, Syria and Afghanistan among other have been held in repatriation centers and later sent home to an uncertain fate.