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June 19, 2015

His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon United Nations Secretary-General

United Nations Headquarters New York, N.Y.

Dear Mr. Secretary-General:

We preface our letter with our-heart-felt good wishes to you in all the very important duties you are performing as a world leader. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you and all those who collaborate with you in all the noble efforts.

We are writing you as a matter of great urgency, on behalf of hundreds of thousands of our unfortunate Eritrean compatriots. We note with great appreciation the expression of sympathy and grave concern that you voiced following the tragic drowning of hundreds of Eritreans near the Island of Lampedusa some twenty months ago. Indeed, we believe that your voice and that of His Holiness Pope Francis helped put such tragedy and its causes on national and international agendas, especially in Europe, leading to a great deal of debate and soul-searching.

While we welcome these promising developments, unfortunately, we believe that they stopped short of what needs to be done in order to find a lasting solution to such tragedies and the causes that trigger them. The flow of refugees continues unabated and more people have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, despite the efforts at naval intervention to save lives. We strongly believe that the international community and Europe in particular, needs to translate the expressions of good will voiced in the wake of the Lampedusa tragedy to more concrete actions. Such actions should begin by addressing the causes of the massive migration of refugees from Africa and the Middle East.

In that spirit, and focusing on the Eritrean refugees, we urge you to bring the considerable moral weight carried by your office to bear on the specific tragedy that has befallen on our unfortunate nation—Eritrea. The cause of the massive exodus of Eritreans is the wrong policy and dangerous politics pursued by the government of Mr. Isaias Afwerki.

Of all the wrong policies of the government that have devastated a once promising nation, the most egregious is the so called National Service, which has pinned down hundreds of thousands of Eritrean youth in what can only be described as forced servitude. Eritrean youth, the cream of the nation, have wasted, and are wasting, their lives in a pointless and unending service. Thousands have chosen to escape from this servitude at huge risk to their lives, including those who perished in the Mediterranean Sea. Though this servitude is the worst policy pursued by the government, we need to understand the overall context of the nature of the state under which it is practiced.

People who expressed any criticism against the government have been severely punished; many have died in detention. It is generally known that a once promising country has been turned into a police state and the fervent hopes and aspirations of a whole generation of Eritreans have been dashed on the rock of wrong polices and dangerous politics of a government led by an unelected President. The recent U N Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea found “that systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed under the authority of the Government. Some of these violations may constitute crimes against humanity.”

In the prevailing conditions of lawlessness families of thousands of prisoners do not know where their loved ones are incarcerated, do not know if they are dead or alive, do not have the right to visit them or for doctors and lawyers to see them. The young are particularly vulnerable and many prefer risking death remaining in conditions of endless servitude wasting their precious lives. This is the condition that is forcing thousands to flee their country in search of refuge abroad. Unless and until this condition is properly and quickly addressed, the “refugee problem” will continue with more Lampedusa-like incidents. We are, therefore, appealing to you, Mr. Secretary-General, to use your good offices to help set in motion a thorough investigation on the cause that is driving refugees from their beloved homeland. Your leadership, along with that of H.H. Pope Francis, and with the support of leaders of the European Union, African Union, and individual governments, is needed to bring this tragedy to an end. We implore you to take speedy steps toward the accomplishment of this objective.

On June 19, 2015, Eritreans and friends of Eritrea are demonstrating in Washington,

D. C., in support of the people in Eritrea and against the dictatorship in Eritrea.

People’s Movement of Eritreans for Justice Email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Co-sponsors:

Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC)

Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP)

Eritreans for Facilitating National Dialogue (EFND)

Copy to U S Department of State