An Ethiopian migrant was shot and seriously wounded by Egyptian border guards yesterday while trying to cross illegally into Israel. Seven others – three Eritreans and four Ethiopians – were also arrested.

The latest incident came litte more than a week after Navi Pillay, the UN human rights chief, urged Egypt to stop shooting migrants in the border area. By the government's own admission, security forces killed 56 between January 2008 and June 2009. Since the start of this year, nine more have been killed.

"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 last week. "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." 

She continued:

“There needs to be clarity about what has occurred, what policies have been applied to migrants trying to cross this border, and what specific orders have been given to security forces patrolling the area … The fact that this is a very sensitive border, and a restricted military zone, is no excuse. Security forces are only permitted to use lethal force when it is strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.”

Last month at the UN Human Rights Council, Egypt gave an undertaking that its police would "act with restraint when not directly threatened” but there is no sign yet that this has been communicated to the border guards.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 13 March 2010.