CAIRO: Egypt on Wednesday rejected criticism from the UN human rights chief of its policy of shooting African migrants trying to enter illegally into Israel as unprofessional.
The statement from Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “contains many errors and false allegations … and lacks professionalism and impartiality, foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said.
He said the infiltration attempts from Egypt amounted to “criminal acts … and damage the sovereignty of the state.
“You must bear in mind that this border is of a special military nature, he said, adding that most of the incidents took place at night, complicating the work of Egypt’s border forces.
According to security services in Egypt, which has a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, nine migrants have been shot dead on the border with the Jewish state so far in 2010, compared to 19 for the whole of last year.
On Tuesday, the human rights chief urged Egyptian forces to stop shooting at African migrants, pointing out that 60 of them have been killed in the past two and a half years.
“I know of no other country where so many unarmed migrants and asylum seekers appear to have been deliberately killed in this way by government forces, Pillay said.
“It is a deplorable state of affairs, and the sheer number of victims suggests that at least some Egyptian security officials have been operating a shoot-to-kill policy … Sixty killings can hardly be an accident.
Most of the migrants hail from Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia.
“The Egyptian government should issue an immediate order to its security forces to ensure that firearms are used in strict compliance with international standards, said the UNHCR chief.
She also urged an “independent and credible inquiry into the killings.
The Sinai desert border between Egypt and Israel has become a major trafficking route for migrants from Africa and east European women headed to work voluntarily or involuntarily in the sex trade.
Egypt has stepped up controls on the 250-kilometer border (150-mile) but drawn criticism from human rights watchdogs for its readiness to use force to prevent illegal crossings. -AFP
