afrol News, 18 June - At last, the government of Egypt has allowed staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to have unhindered access to a number of assylum-seekers in the North African country's detention camps.

This development followed the Egyptian government's suspension of UNHCR protection staff from accessing asylum seekers in detention centres to determine their status last February. UN refugee agency officials kept piling pressure on Egyptian authorities to allow protection officers to evaluate the situation of the detainees.

UNHCR staff had arrived in Aswan on Sunday night to prepare to make preparation for UNHCR teams to carry out interviews and individual assessments of assylum-seekers in detention centres. UN staff would pay particular attention to Eritrean nationals in detention centres.

"Egypt has seen a surge of Eritreans entering the country illegally in recent months by land from Sudan or directly from Eritrea via the Red Sea," UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagnonis told journalists in Geneva.

On Monday, the UN team visisted detention centres in Aswan and Nasr ElNouba where they had access to some asylum-seekers. "The teams reported they saw close to 180 asylum-seekers, including a group of 40 Ethiopians," she said, adding that similar preparatory team would be sent to Hurghada to prepare the ground for the deployment of more teams.

"We also plan to send UNHCR teams to other locations in Egypt where reportedly asylum-seekers are in detention. In the coming days we will be discussing and reviewing the operational details with our governmental counterparts and proceed with the determination of the status of the concerned group."

By staff writer

© afrol News

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