Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 15 March 2012 - Strasbourg

16.1. Human trafficking in Sinai, in particular the case of Solomon W.

  President. – The next item is the debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law and first of all the debate on human trafficking in Sinai, in particular the case of Solomon W.

  Judith Sargentini, author. – (NL) Madam President, refugees from the Horn of Africa seeking safety often travel to Israel via Egypt. That means that they have to cross the Sinai Desert. This desert is a no-man’s land on which the Egyptian Government seems unable to get a grip. The journey through the desert is facilitated by Bedouins, people smugglers, who exploit the vulnerability of these refugees. Women are raped, people are locked up for months on end in order to extort even more from them, people are killed for their organs or just because it is possible.

This resolution takes the example of a young Eritrean named Solomon, but there are many, many more Solomons and Myriams who find or have found themselves in the same circumstances in the Sinai Desert. It strikes me as telling that female refugees are asking for an abortion as soon as they manage to get to Israel. They have become pregnant in the desert.

Egypt is making too little effort to bring the Sinai under control and to prosecute the gangs and smugglers. Egypt also still lacks a working asylum policy, which raises the suspicion that it would rather see the back of the refugees and that it is not interested in their welfare.

The European Union is attempting to help get democracy going in Egypt after the Arab Spring. This is not how refugees are treated in a democracy, and Europe should make recognition of the Geneva Conventions a prerequisite for its help.

However, it is not only Egypt that is guilty of abusing refugees. Israel sends people back to the desert. Israel is currently building the world’s biggest detention centre for refugees, but you do not lock up refugees. Imagine you have fled from Sudan, Eritrea or Somalia. What happens? You get to Egypt or Israel, and end up in a situation that is barbaric. I call on Baroness Ashton to point this out to Egypt and Israel and to firmly protest about it.

  Ana Gomes, author. − Madam President, the CNN reportage ‘Death in the desert’ broadcast last November gave me the shivers. It exhibited the horrific and inhumane trade going on in the Sinai Peninsula with tremendous specificity at best, or deep complicity – most likely of the Egyptian authorities – with the organised criminal networks that kidnap refugees in order to extract and sell their organs, butchering their bodies cruelly and disrespectfully.

This resolution of the European Parliament is long overdue, since the monstrosity of the criminal activity conducted by some Sinai Bedouin tribes, at the service of some well-known health professional vultures with connections well beyond Egypt, is undeniably documented, and it is the poorest of the poor – men, women and children, refugees trying to escape oppression and misery such as the Eritrean Solomon W. whom we speak about in this resolution – who, instead of protection and support, are experiencing detention, rape, forced labour, ransom, torture and death in the most obscene and primitive ways.

This is a matter that must be taken up as a priority by the European Union High Representative, with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities at the highest level, and that should be referred by the European Union to the UN Security Council if no resolute action is taken soon to stop the criminal networks operating in the Sinai, to make stringent efforts to punish those responsible and to afford protection to the victims and any passing refugees.

  Mario Mauro, author. −(IT) Madam President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, last December, yet another group of Eritrean refugees was kidnapped by human traffickers from Rashaida and sold to a gang belonging to the Ramailat tribe. Amongst them was a group of 27 Eritreans, including four girls and a woman with a small infant who were taken to Rafah. The group was subjected to terrible violence. Several were killed and their bodies abandoned in the desert.

One of these refugees, twenty-five-year-old Solomon, a few weeks later managed to escape from the prison where he was being held and took refuge in a mosque run by a group of Salafis who for the moment have not agreed to hand him back to his torturers. A bounty of USD 50 000 has been placed on his head. The European Union must make it clear whether the lives of Eritrean refugees are worth less than others.

We need a coordinating body to go via the African Union, as European Union partners, explicitly committed to the universal values of democracy and human rights. Given what is happening in the Sinai, one wonders what the point of the revolutions of the Arab Spring was. If no one does anything to free Solomon, what is the point of our proclamations about models of democracy?

  Charles Tannock, author. − Madam President, the current situation in Sinai is deplorable. Many asylum seekers are reported to lose their lives there each year, with still more being kidnapped and held hostage.

Others are arrested by the police and are then detained and denied the right to make an asylum claim. It is also reported that those that do not manage to pay the price for their release are killed and their organs traded.

We welcome the efforts of human rights organisations in Israel and Egypt in providing medical assistance to the victims of trafficking in Sinai, and we urge the governments of Egypt and Israel, as well as the rest of the international community, to intensify their efforts to combat the atrocious human smuggling and trafficking that seems to be taking place.

Of particular concern today is the case of Solomon W. and we urge the Egyptian authorities to intervene as quickly as possible to ensure his protection from the organ traffickers that are currently in pursuit of him, given the huge price that his pursuers have placed on his head and the fact that he knows the exact location of their prisoners and apparently has witnessed the atrocities committed against these prisoners.

  Jiří Maštálka, author. – Madam President, I too am deeply outraged by the tragic fate of the migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa. I support the proposal for the European Parliament to join those demanding that the Egyptian authorities review their policy towards migrants and people traffickers. However, I do not want it to be said again that we notice the problems of others while ignoring our own. I would like to emphasise above all that not every refugee is a political refugee. Many are fleeing for religious reasons and most are social migrants. Do we know how many of these migrants perished last year on the borders of Europe - or the Schengen borders, if you prefer? Piecemeal measures cannot prevent people being treated like commodities. In today’s world, rich nations, states and regions have a specific responsibility - a responsibility for the development of poor countries, so that there will be no reason to flee Sub-Saharan Africa, whether for social, religious or political reasons.

  Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, author. – (NL) Appalling things are happening in the Sinai, where hundreds, if not thousands of people who have fled insufferable situations in their African homelands fall into the hands of human traffickers, are treated appallingly if they do not bring enough money or are even murdered and have their organs removed.

We are also very concerned about the fate of Solomon W., who, as mentioned earlier, knows a great deal about this situation and is being pursued by human organ traders, who have even put a price on his head.

We applaud both the Israeli and Egyptian NGOs who look out for the fate of these people. However, we call on the authorities in Egypt and Israel to live up to their international obligations and to prevent this calamity from growing still further and to help those who have fallen into the hands of these human traffickers.

  Edit Bauer, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, this week, besides this case, I have some other news about trafficking in human beings: one case from Sweden and one from China, where more than 24 000 victims were discovered last year.

As CNN reported (as was mentioned), bodies of African refugees have been found in the Sinai Desert with organs missing. According to the testimony of victims and witnesses, corrupt Egyptian doctors are directly involved in organ theft, coming to the Sinai region with mobile hospital units, buying organs from Bedouins and performing operations, mostly removing corneas, liver and kidneys. Organs are taken from refugees while they are still alive; the organs are not useful if they are dead. They drug them first, remove their organs then leave them to die and dump them in deep dry wells along with hundreds of bodies.

In a recent report the World Health Organisation called Egypt a regional hub for the organ trade. There is no doubt that the driving force of trafficking is demand. Where the legislation is missing and law enforcement is weak, trafficking is flourishing. I am convinced that the issue of human trafficking should be put higher on the agenda of bilateral negotiations.

  Mitro Repo, on behalf of the S&D Group. – (FI) Madam President, human trafficking is the scourge of our times. This form of slavery is inhuman and violates human rights in every way. It is also a very profitable business, along with arms and drug trafficking.

Sinai is a major route from the extreme poverty and deprivation of sub-Saharan Africa towards Israel and other countries in the Middle East. Human trafficking is rife along this route, and human life has no value for the traffickers in their quest for profit. With support from the EU, the countries in the region must together try to stop the traffickers and the networks of organised crime that they use.

Victims of human trafficking must be treated humanely. They should not be returned to countries where a renewed risk of torture and ill-treatment awaits them. The fate of human beings in Sinai is often linked to the same root cause: wretched conditions in the place which they set out from, extreme poverty and a lack of opportunities. Given all this, even a precarious escape to the affluence of the north is better than life back home. The European Union must take steps to do everything it can to contribute to eradicating poverty, wherever it occurs.

  Sari Essayah (PPE). - (FI) Madam President, Commissioner, a number of international human rights organisations have reported on the plight of hundreds of refugees in Sinai. Around a year ago, a European Parliament resolution on Eritrean refugees taken hostage in Sinai called for the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to make this matter a priority in the political dialogue between the EU and Egypt. Today we are citing the case, in particular, of Solomon W; nevertheless, no significant progress has been made and, in the wake of the Arab Spring, the situation with regard to refugees is still very alarming.

How does the Commission intend to make genuine progress on this issue with the current Egyptian leadership? Is the Commission aware of the continuing trade in organs? What measures is the Commission going to take to end these human rights violations in the area, such as torture and people smuggling?

  Bogusław Sonik (PPE). - (PL) Madam President, I would like to condemn the macabre trade in humans and organs in the Sinai peninsula in the strongest possible terms. It is in this way that Bedouin tribes are taking advantage of the dramatic situation and the uncertain circumstances of refugees fleeing towards Israel or Europe to escape war and starvation. It is estimated that in 2011 some 10 000 refugees crossed the border between Egypt and Israel; we do not know how many of them became objects to be smuggled.

In one of its reports, the World Health Organisation described Egypt as the regional centre for trafficking in human organs. In 2011. medical sources reported that about 1 500 illegal organ transplants take place there each year. Corruption, poverty, ignorance among patients and a total lack of medical ethics are the causes of the growth in organ trafficking. Unfortunately this illegal and criminal market continues to grow. Both Egypt and Israel must finally take legal steps to combat these groups of organised criminals who at present go unpunished. I also call on Commissioner Ashton to take up this matter with some urgency.

Catch-the-eye procedure

  Seán Kelly (PPE). - Madam President, it is a most vile situation to have people who unfortunately have to leave their own home in search of a better life falling into the hands of human traffickers and organ harvesters and ending up being mutilated in the most terrible way and left to die.

All of this is happening while we elsewhere in the world look on. It is certainly appropriate that we should be discussing this issue and passing a resolution today to try to bring some improvement to this unfortunate situation.

Long term, the solution is obviously to try to eliminate poverty and to improve and develop democracy in the countries which these people unfortunately feel they have to leave – and those in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular. There also needs to be a greater UN presence, and particularly human rights organisations, etc., in Sinai itself, so that this situation can be monitored. Hopefully the people involved can be persuaded or forced to desist from their activities and then we can move towards a solution.

  Michał Tomasz Kamiński (ECR). - (PL) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the issue of trafficking in human organs and trafficking in lives is something that is disturbing to the highest degree. Of course it is a good thing that we are dealing with this matter. The perpetrators must be brought to justice; we must prevent doctors from taking part in such procedures, betraying their Hippocratic oath. It is important, however, to understand the deeper causes of these awful practices, which are wars, poverty and unrest, particularly in Africa, as it is from there that the largest number of refugees are coming. Thus we can remedy this terrible situation both by dealing with its specific symptoms through punishment, through attempting to find out who are the perpetrators and, even more importantly, who profits from it, but we can also help to overcome this awful practice by helping to increase levels of prosperity and, even more so, by helping to establish peace in Africa.

  Eija-Riitta Korhola (PPE). - (FI) Madam President, the government appointed last December in Egypt has mentioned Sinai as one strategic priority that deserves greater attention. This makes us slightly more hopeful that the fight against organised crime involving human trafficking will be stepped up and that the situation with respect to refugees held for ransom by human traffickers in Sinai will be resolved.

It is mainly in certain areas that refugees are at great risk of falling victim to human trafficking. Human trafficking is a lucrative source of income for organised crime and a modern form of slavery. Sometimes it is used in the organ transplant business. The Sinai border area has also become known as a route to Israel for African migrants seeking work and a better life.

Egypt, Israel and the international community need to focus more attention on the region, and that is why we are having this debate. Both Egypt and other countries have a duty to comply with international agreements regarding the treatment of refugees. All resources available must be employed to end the torture of refugees who have fallen victim to human trafficking and to end the criminal practice of slavery.

  George Sabin Cutaş (S&D). – (RO) Madam President, the Sinai region is a transit area for people from Sub-Saharan Africa, attempting to enter Israel while fleeing from conflicts, political instability and natural disasters which they experience in their countries of origin. Unfortunately, they encounter groups of human and organ traffickers. Solomon is obviously a special case, being the sole survivor from a group of people who were kidnapped, and is currently being pursued by the organ trafficking network and is in urgent need of protection.

We cannot sit back and ignore these inhumane practices. It is the duty of the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to take the measures required to combat human and organ trafficking and to protect and respect the rights of asylum seekers, while cooperating on this with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Against this background, I call on Baroness Ashton to make the subject of combating human trafficking a priority as part of her dialogue with Egypt and Israel.

  Hannu Takkula (ALDE). - (FI) Madam President, human trafficking in Sinai is stirring up debate, and, indeed, that is what it should do as far as the European Union is concerned. We are committed to defending human dignity, whatever the circumstances, and we must do so in partnership with the international community.

The particular case of Solomon W. is now before us. As we now have Commissioner Reding with us, I would like to ask her what sort of practical measures the Commission has taken – given that we have known about the situation for more than a year now – to prevent human trafficking and to restrict it. I also want to ask what sort of dialogue the Commission has been engaged in with the Egyptian Government and with the administration there. We know, of course, that the Egyptian Government and administration do not respect human rights in the same way, because, unfortunately, they basically see things differently, but what concrete measures have been taken now with Egypt in that region, and is there anything positive to report to us about them?

  Jaroslav Paška (EFD). - (SK) Madam President, the story from December last year of a group of Eritreans brought from Sudan by people traffickers to the village of Al Mahdya, near Rafah, bears striking testimony to the moral squalor of a criminal community that feeds on human misery and poverty. The sole witness to the murder, torture and rape – the 25-year old Eritrean Solomon – who escaped from the captivity of the abductors, poses a serious threat to a criminal gang trafficking in human beings and the organs of their victims, and it is therefore necessary to take all measures to safeguard and protect him. The fact that the criminals at risk from Solomon’s testimony have put a reward of USD 50 000 on his head shows, on the one hand, that the people traffickers are making a lot of money, but also that they are aware of the threat posed by the testimony in the event that they are apprehended.

Commissioner, we all – the EU, Egypt, Israel and the entire civilised world – want to see these appalling events in Sinai brought to an end as quickly as possible and the criminals brought before a court. We must therefore be more active in this matter.

  Elena Băsescu (PPE). – (RO) … that I have the opportunity to participate in this debate. We are talking today about Solomon, a young man of 25, from Eritrea, who has lived through some terrible experiences. It is quite unbearable just reading the account of these events. In an age of civilisation and progress some people are being treated with excessive barbarity by their fellow human beings. Human beings are sold like mere commodities, subjected to atrocities, kidnapped, tortured and cruelly killed. Solomon successfully managed to escape his kidnappers, but he is still in danger. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of nameless people are in similar situations. They have fled the conflicts in their country, seeking asylum elsewhere, and have fallen into the hands of human traffickers. I appeal to those who can take action. Do everything you can to save the lives of these innocent people.

(End of catch-the-eye procedure)

  Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the Commission. − Madam President, honourable Members, the case of Solomon W. is emblematic of the tragic experiences of hundreds of Sub-Saharan refugees in the Sinai region.

In seeking a better life, many of these vulnerable persons are kidnapped by traffickers in human beings when crossing clandestinely the Egyptian border or being smuggled directly from neighbouring countries. The Egyptian authorities are facing enormous challenges to ensure the security of their borders as well as of the whole Sinai region. As a matter of fact, the Sinai is at risk of becoming a safe haven for criminal gangs and terrorist movements; the gas pipeline which crosses Sinai towards Israel and Jordan has also recently been bombed for the 13th time since the ousting of President Mubarak a year ago.

High Representative Ashton has followed very closely the issue of the Sinai refugees through the delegation in Cairo and she has expressed our concerns on numerous occasions to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to the Ministry of the Interior.

Very recently, on 14 March, the EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, Mr Alexander Rondos, raised the issue of Solomon W. and of the Sinai refugees during his meeting with Foreign Minister Amr in Cairo. The Egyptian side took good note and promised to follow up on the matter.

As you have understood, progress so far has been very limited. We believe that the best way to improve the security of this volatile and strategic region would be through a thorough reform of the security sector, allowing the Egyptian authorities to fight traffickers and to control the borders in a more efficient manner while fulfilling their international human rights commitments. The EU stands ready to support Egypt in this endeavour, but our Egyptian partners have been rather slow to engage on these sensitive matters for the time being.

We will continue to urge the Egyptian authorities to take the appropriate measures in order to address the problem of human trafficking in the Sinai and to ensure that the human rights of migrants and refugees are respected. We have repeatedly invited Egypt to improve the quality of the assistance and protection offered to asylum seekers and refugees residing on, or transiting through, its territory. We have also pressed the Egyptian authorities to ensure that the principle of non-refoulement is observed for all migrants in need of help. The UNHCR should be given full possibility to implement its mandate on the entire territory of Egypt, including the Sinai region and we hope that with the end of the post-Mubarak transitional phase and the appointment of a democratically-elected government, the security and human rights issues in the Sinai region will receive greater attention from the new Egyptian leadership.

  Bernd Posselt (PPE). – (DE) Madam President, outside there are huge mountains of crates and the noise of hammering and shouting is deafening as things are dismantled. I have been a Member of this House for 18 years, but in all that time I have never seen such a pigsty, if I may say so. Although we are still working, we are behaving as if we were already on our way out. As per our own decision, Thursday is a full working day, so that we will be busy not just for the morning, but also until the evening. For this reason I would ask for the dismantling work to wait until the sitting is over. We have visitors here today and the whole thing looks really terrible, a bit like a bad restaurant, where they start stacking the chairs on the tables and putting the lights out while guests are still eating.

  Véronique De Keyser (S&D). – (FR) Madam President, I fully support what Mr Posselt says. I would like to mention that the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, this afternoon wished us a good journey home and a pleasant weekend and I complained to him, saying, ‘But do not forget that the sitting will continue’. I therefore think that many people believe that the Thursday afternoon sitting has finished.

  President. – In accordance with Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure, I have received seven motions for resolutions⁽¹⁾.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place at the end of the debates.

Written statements (Rule 149)

  Monica Luisa Macovei (PPE), in writing. – Human trafficking became a thriving business for organised crime syndicates. Insufficient international attention makes trafficking more profitable, due to the ongoing crisis in Eritrea and the uncertainty produced during the Arab Spring. Mr Solomon, a young man from Eritrea, was kidnapped, tortured and held for ransom. He is one of the many refugees from war-torn countries that have been victims of human trafficking in the Sinai. Yet the region is only lightly policed by Egyptian authorities. Egyptian authorities claim to have no knowledge of human trafficking or torture in the region. This is an alarming and unacceptable statement. We must do our best to ensure the safety of Mr Solomon’s life. This way we can save the lives of hundreds of victims of human trafficking. This Parliament must make it clear that saving this young man’s life is a must for the Egyptian authorities. Egypt should demonstrate its commitment to upholding international standards against the trafficking of persons.

  Kristiina Ojuland (ALDE), in writing. – Refugees as well as irregular migrants are among the most vulnerable people all over the world; therefore it is particularly cruel to take advantage of their fragile situation. Although the Egyptian authorities are preoccupied by nation-building, the situation in the Sinai desert must be addressed promptly and effectively. The people in Sinai need to have their human rights safeguarded; the Egyptian authorities must apply the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Family, and respect their international commitments. I would call the Egyptian authorities to protect Solomon W. as a victim of human trafficking and investigate thoroughly all the cases of murders, tortures and rapes that have taken place in the Sinai desert.

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