East African states should open their doors to asylum seekers due to the continued conflicts in Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo despite the Covid-19 pandemic, a coalition of refugees’ organisations in the Horn, East and Central Africa (HECA) has said.
“Governments should consider measures such as medical screening or testing, preventative and time-bound quarantine facilities at border crossing points to allow access to asylum seekers,” said Mr Muchena in a joint statement released on June 22.
HECA, which boasts 39 members, wants Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda and Tanzania to reopen borders to asylum seekers.
Currently, tens of thousands of refugees are stranded in the borders between Uganda and the DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan; Kenya and Somalia, and Kenya with South Sudan.
HECA argues that blanket border closures contravene international refugee law by denying people in need of international protection an effective opportunity to seek asylum.
