Speaking Points Screening of the film 'Sound of Torture'

At the: Knesset Foreign Workers Committee Invited by: Chairperson of the Committee – MK Michal Rozin

The Knesset, 25 June 2014

Ms. Chairperson of the Committee, Members of the Knesset, Guests,

On behalf of the Delegation of the European Union to the State of

Israel, I should like to thank you for inviting us here today, to be part of

this important effort in raising awareness of the issue of the torture of

asylum seekers in the Sinai desert.

Since 2009 men, women and children, fleeing from persecution,

discrimination and grave circumstances in their home countries, Eritrea,

Ethiopia and Sudan have been smuggled across borders, or kidnapped

from refugee camps, sold, held hostage, abused and tortured for

ransom in Sinai – for ransoms of up to 50,000 dollars per person. Many

have died or disappeared in this ordeal, others have been injured or

mutilated and a large majority has suffered from immense mental

distress and trauma. Victims in their country, they continue to be

victims even en route in their quest for freedom.

As we so poignantly and painfully witnessed just now in the film, and as

we speak, this human tragedy is ongoing. Smuggling and trafficking

routes may have shifted to some extent (now not only through Sinai,

but also through Libya), the perpetrators of the crimes may have

different names and faces, but for the victims the harsh reality remains

the same.

Efforts to raise international awareness are continuing. NGOs and

academics have documented these phenomena with the aim of

bringing about an end to the atrocities. Reports, filled with testimonies

and empirical evidence have tried to give a voice to the victims. The

film 'Sound of Torture' is another effort to speak on behalf of the

people kept hidden in the torture houses in Sinai, and elsewhere.

Other examples are the Human Rights Watch Report of February 2014

entitled I Just Wanted to Lie Down and Die: Trafficking and Torture of

Eritreans in Sudan and Egypt" and the joint report by Tilburg University

and the EEPA in Brussels from October 2012 entitled Human Trafficking

in the Sinai: Refugees between Life and Death which was presented to

EU home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström in the European

Parliament on 4 December 2012.

In March 2014 The European Parliament passed a resolution voicing

concern about the trafficking and torture in Sinai and called for

increased international efforts and regional cooperation to combat

these practices. Destination countries’ authorities were asked to treat

asylum-seekers in line with international refugee and human rights law.

The issue is a regional one and indeed a global one. The trafficking and

torture are taking place in Egypt, and more recently in Libya. But the

effects of these actions reverberate in Israel and Europe.

In March 2014 Europol published a warning to all police forces in

Europe regarding the issue of extortion of European citizens who are

relatives or friends of Sinai victims. The need for cooperation in this

regard between EU Member States was stressed in this statement.

In Europe the revised Asylum Procedures Directive, which will

substitute the present Directive by July next year, focuses on the most

vulnerable among asylum seekers. It aims at fairer, quicker and better

quality asylum procedures for asylum seekers with special needs as a

result of torture, rape, or other serious forms of psychological, physical

or sexual violence, as well as for greater protection of unaccompanied

minors. We should, both in Europe and in Israel, continue to pay special

attention to this extremely fragile group of men, women and children

who have undergone much suffering and are in need of our assistance.

Ms. Chairperson,

Amendments in Israeli legislation, and the building of a fence along the

Israel-Egypt border, have led to an almost complete stop of incoming

asylum seekers into Israel. These steps may have had an impact on

migration routes, diverting them to Libya and onwards to Italy.

Italy is now facing the challenge of receiving thousands of asylum

seekers, many of them victims of torture from Sinai and Libya. In Israel

there are an estimated 7000 victims of torture, undergone in Sinai,

suffering from various degrees of trauma.

The governments of Egypt and Libya should take all necessary measures

to bring to justice the perpetrators of the atrocities against the asylum

seekers in their territory. Israel and the EU should place particular

emphasis on providing support, care and rehabilitation services to the

victims of the Sinai 'torture camps', including mental health care.

The Delegation of the EU to the State of Israel is supporting many

initiatives aiming at addressing the plight of torture victims, notably

with a view to documenting their fate, identifying the victims, ensuring

that redress and rehabilitation are available and raising awareness

around the world about the situation. We support the work of leading

Civil Society Organisations in the field, including a comprehensive

project of Hotline for Refugees and Migrants and Physicians for

Human Rights Israel. We also complemented our call for State-

supported services for torture victims by providing the newly created

"Gesher Clinic", facilitated by the Ministry of Health, with the

financial means to operate and cover psychological rehabilitation

treatment for 75 Sinai torture victims present in Israel. The opening

of the Gesher Clinic is an important step, and we hope that after the

first year of operations, the Gesher Clinic will be fully operated and

sustained by the Ministry of Health.

This project teams up with and amplifies the work of leading advocates,

not least Ms Meron Estefanos, whose incredible and passionate role is

described in the movie we just saw.

On the eve of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture,

the EU will continue to stand by all actors fighting any form of torture

worldwide.

Thank you.