Mozambique: UNHCR calls on authorities to stop deporting asylum-seekers

The UNHCR has written to the Government of Mozambique reminding it of its obligations under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugee and the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention. This follows reports of deportations by the Mozambique authorities. In one report, 93 asylum seekers were deported to Tanzania in the early hours of Tuesday morning (21 June). The group, comprising 59 Somalis and 34 Ethiopians, had recently arrived by boat near Mocimboa da Praia in northern Mozambique. Most were young men but among them was a woman, four children, and three elderly men. Many were suffering medically as a result of their journey.