Photo :webshot. 

March 4,2022

Andrew Campbell 

An international coalition and human rights lawyers on behalf of African refugees sent out an appeal to the United Nations, accusing Ukraine and Poland of discrimination at the border.

During this conflict in Ukraine, humanitarian is the priority. Refugees should have equal rights and opportunities to safety. However, a report documented some discrimination situations for segregation, racism, and abuse, especially for African refugees.

A report stated coalition members confronted various unfair treatments. It documented that African refugees were denied access to trains. Some African-American mothers and children were thrown off trains. Black and white lines were separated.

Macky Sall, the current African Union Chair and President of Senegal, and Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, have both expressed their displeasure with this unfair treatment. They all declared emphatically that everyone has the same right to safety, regardless of their prejudice or racial identity. This also violated the International law. Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya were among the countries that criticized the infringement of human rights.

Yetunde Asika, an international leader, stated that there were about 5,000 Nigerians living in Ukraine. Most of them were students. She stated that a medical student had to walk for about 11 hours overnights to the border. The student could not cross the border and was informed that Ukrainians were to be evacuated first.

UN’s Committee on the Elimination Discriminations also received the appeal. Coalition members will continue to report this mistreatment to other international organizations that have the power to stop these types of discrimination.