Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The directorate of immigration, passports, and nationality issued a stern warning against human traffickers planning to use South Sudan as a gateway for their criminal activity.
The Director-General of Civil Registry, Immigration, Nationality and Passports Atem Biar, said Wednesday that the ongoing crackdown on illegal immigrants is in line with the regional bid to eradicate cases of human trafficking.
The immigration boss said that any aliens found moving without travel documents would be arrested, investigated, and deported ‘‘using the same route the person entered South Sudan.’’
He said that only those seeking asylum due to political violence in their country of origin are exempt.
“[The deportations] we are doing these days are according to what has been agreed on in the region. We conducted several meetings as heads of immigration concerning the issue of human trafficking. We agreed that people must fight human trafficking by deporting those who are moving without documents. “
On Monday, some immigration officials announced that over 20 immigrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea faced deportation for illegal entry into South Sudan.
The foreigners were reported to have come to Juba via Unity and Upper Nile states.
Provide asylum
However, the deportation move was criticised by the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, who urged the government to instead provide asylum to the individuals because they may have escaped inhumane conditions in their countries.
“The condition was very clear that South Sudan refugees sought refuge because of armed political violence, which is as equal as the situation in Eritrea [and] Ethiopia,”
“Let them have the right to take refuge in South Sudan even if they do not have the legal documents.” We must ensure that they are protected and they have undergone the requirements to be protected under the leadership of South Sudan,” appealed Yakani.
However, Atem reiterated said that “anyone travelling without documents must be captured and sent back to where he or she came from.”
“We are implementing what was agreed upon by all regions. So we cannot allow our country for people to use it as a place for human trafficking,” he stressed.
South Sudan in recent years has become a gateway to human trafficking. The International Organization for Immigration’s (IOM) May 2021 report places the new African country as a strategic ‘major route’ for human trafficking.
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