II. Findings of the CRM Rights of Refugees 246 Ethiopia hosts more than 135,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including about 85,200 assisted by the of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and about 50,000 de facto refugees living on their own20. These refugees include 65,000 Somalis, 25,000 Sudanese, 42,000 Eritreans, who fled turmoil and wars in their countries of origin. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is also overseeing 1,500 refugees in urban areas. They come from Somalia, Eritrea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 247 The CRM confirmed that Ethiopia acceded to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 protocol, and the 1969 Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Convention. Ethiopia did express reservations on articles 8, 9, 17 and 22 of the 1951 Geneva Convention. In fact, these reservations restrict refugees living in Ethiopia from fully enjoying their rights like any other person living in Ethiopia. 248 The 1994 Ethiopian Constitution makes International Agreements “an integral part of the law of the land” and gives the executive and legislative branches specific authority to provide asylum. Ethiopian law also grants asylum or refugee status in accordance with these international and regional instruments. In its application, the government established a refugee protection system. The government provides protection against “refoulement”: the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened. 249 The 2004 Ethiopian Refugee Proclamation establishes a procedure for applying for asylum and incorporates the refugee definitions from both the 1951 Convention relating to the Status on refugees and the 1969 African Refugee Convention. It prohibits government from refusing entry to refugees or asylum seekers and returning them to any country where they would be at risk of political persecution. It grants refugees some rights but makes exceptions to those of movement and work, which indeed contravenes the 1951 Convention. Refugees need permission to leave their camps and their right to work is also limited. 250 20 While interacting with government officials of the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), the CRM learnt that the Ethiopian government, in cooperation with UNHCR, provides both legal and physical protection to refugees in Ethiopia. Upon reception, the government sensitises the refugees about Ethiopian laws, offers them identity documents and movement passes to permit movement in and outside of the camps. Without these movement passes, refugees are not allowed to leave camps. http://www.worldrefugeesurvey.org/index.php?title=Ethiopia. - 115 -