Germany debates co-operation with Eritrea: “progress has halted”

Monday, 18 May 2020 11:01 Written by

May 17, 2020 News

Interesting that it is the far-right, neo-fascist Alternative for Germany (AFD) that thinks it would be a great idea to increase cooperation with Eritrea.

Democratic parties are far more questioning.

Source: das parlament

Johanna Metz

No chance for cooperation with Eritrea

Eritrea is one of the poorest countries in the world. About every second of the approximately 3.5 million inhabitants lives below the poverty line. Only mining and the export of copper and zinc are profitable there, with the exception of China, foreign investors are avoiding the country. The reason is Isayas Afewerki’s regime. 

Since Eritrea’s independence from Ethiopia in 1993, the president has abolished parliament, other parties, the free media, the rule of law and non-governmental organizations. There have been no elections for a long time. Countless detainees are held in prisons, and Eritreans in exile report on the disappeared, torture, child labor and other serious violations of human rights. Conditions caused 41,530 people to flee in 2018 alone.

The difficult situation is unlikely to change much in the future. Because, despite the “great development potential”, the Federal Government foreseeably sees no chance for bilateral development cooperation with the state. “The leadership rejects any cooperation,” said Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Norbert Barthle (CSU), last week in the development committee. It shows no interest in improving trade relations, although Eritrea is even entitled to duty-free and quota-free access to the European market. A dialogue on human rights in the country is also not desired. “Unlike in Ethiopia, progress has stopped in Eritrea,” concluded Barthle.

AfD application rejected 

The AfD group still urges the federal government to continue to approach the country. The problems are known, said a parliamentary group representative in the committee, but investment and potential should still be promoted. The AfD is convinced that with an economic upturn, politics will also change. But the other groups did not share this view. They refused an application (19/15071 ) of the AfD with the title “Starting and organizing economic cooperation with Eritrea”.

A member of the Union faction declared that the Eritrean government was not willing to change. In addition, human rights aspects should in no way be excluded from development cooperation.

The FDP also insisted on value-based DC, President Afewerki must be accused of violating human rights. The FDP, left-wing parliamentary group and the Greens also expressed the supposition that the AfD’s aim is less for the welfare of the people in Eritrea than for the country’s profitable mining sector and the opportunity to create new sales markets for German companies.

The SPD said that no one could be forced to help. All attempts by the federal government to build bilateral relations have been unsuccessful or openly rejected. A representative of the Greens accused Afewerki of blocking any international cooperation to prevent the serious human rights violations from being exposed in the past three decades.

Source=https://eritreahub.org/germany-debates-co-operation-with-eritrea-progress-has-halted

UAE used Eritrea bases to run illegal arms to Libyan strongman

Sunday, 17 May 2020 10:55 Written by

May 16, 2020 News, UN

Source: Bloomberg

U.A.E. Ran Covert Arms Flights to Aid Libya’s Haftar, UN Finds

By

and

May 15, 2020, 2:36 PM EDT
  • UN experts probing flights for embargo breach, diplomats say
  • Libya war has drawn in rival foreign powers, arms, hired guns
Members of the self-styled Libyan National Army, loyal to the country's east strongman Khalifa Haftar, open fire during clashes with militants in Benghazi's central Akhribish district on Nov. 9, 2017.
Members of the self-styled Libyan National Army, loyal to the country’s east strongman Khalifa Haftar, open fire during clashes with militants in Benghazi’s central Akhribish district on Nov. 9, 2017.

Photographer: Abdullah Doma/AFP via Getty Images

The United Arab Emirates has been involved in operating a covert air-bridge to supply weapons to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar in contravention of a United Nations arms embargo on the North African country, according to a confidential UN report.

At least 37 flights in early January are being investigated by the UN panel of experts responsible for monitoring sanctions on Libya, according to two diplomats briefed on the report that was presented to the Security Council this month. Excerpts of the report were also shared with Bloomberg. The flights were operated by a complex network of companies registered in the U.A.E., Kazakhstan, and the British Virgin Islands to disguise the delivery of military equipment, the diplomats said.

The panel found an increase in secret flights from the U.A.E. and its airbase in Eritrea to airfields under the control of Haftar, who is fighting to defeat the internationally-recognized government based in Tripoli, the report said. Some of those flights, which transfer high volumes of weapons, were operated by two Kazakhstan operators, according to the diplomats.

Screenshot 2020-05-16 at 21.27.45

U.A.E. Ambassador to the United Nations Lana Nusseibeh said that while she hasn’t seen the report, the allegations outlined are “false” and the government denies “them in their entirety.”

Libya Arms Embargo Has Become a ‘Joke,’ Top UN Official Says (1)

“We regret such allegations are made against a State and then leaked to the press without first verifying their veracity with the State concerned,” Nusseibeh said in emailed comments. The U.A.E. will continue to cooperate with the UN panel, she said.

The Security Council is not obligated to take any action based on the experts report but members can refer it to their home countries for investigation. There was no immediate comment from Haftar’s spokesman.

What’s Behind Nine Years of Turmoil in Libya: QuickTake

Sitting atop Africa’s largest oil reserves, Libya has been all but ungovernable since a NATO-backed rebellion led to the 2011 killing of Moammar Qaddafi, who had ruled the country for more than 40 years. In recent years, a UN-backed government based in Tripoli has been battling for control of the divided country with Haftar’s forces, which launched a campaign to take the capital a year ago.

The war has quickly descended into a proxy conflict that has drawn in regional and global powers and become a magnet for hired guns, raising concerns in Europe about the spread of militants and migrants across the Mediterranean. Egypt and the U.A.E. have backed Haftar, who is also supported by Russian mercenaries, while Turkey has begun sending troops and supplies to the Tripoli government as the conflict escalates.

Western Mercenaries Went to Libya to Help Moscow’s Man, UN Finds The U.A.E. said it was “deeply concerned” about Turkish involvement in Libya. Turkey and Russia have both recruited and deployed Syrian mercenaries to fight on opposite sides in Libya, joining a crowded field of private soldiers in an increasingly complex conflict. The UN has repeatedly raised concerns that the arms embargo is being flouted by various camps, hampering efforts to bring an end to the war.

— With assistance by Naubet Bisenov

Eritrean activists sue EU for funding roads built with ‘forced labour’

Thursday, 14 May 2020 20:44 Written by

May 14, 2020 News

Source: Reuters

Kieran Guilbert, Emeline Wuilbercq

LONDON/ADDIS ABABA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Eritrean activists sued the European Union (EU) on Wednesday and asked it to halt 80 million euros in aid to the east African nation, saying the money funded a scheme built on forced labour.

The Netherlands-based foundation Human Rights for Eritreans (FHRE) filed a lawsuit to the Amsterdam district court, accusing the EU of financing a major road renovation project that relies on forced labour and of failing to carry out due diligence.

Some of the labourers belong to Eritrea’s national service, condemned as forced labour and slavery by the United Nations and European Parliament, according to lawyers backing the lawsuit.

The Netherlands is host to a large number of Eritrean migrants and pays toward the project as a member of the EU.

The European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – said in response that it reserved the right to establish its legal and factual arguments before the Amsterdam court, in accordance with applicable law.

A spokeswoman said it was guided by EU principles such as democracy and the rule of law, as well as international law.

Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane Ghebremeskel, questioned the credibility of the FHRE and said the lawsuit was typical of its “demonisation campaigns”.

“The accusations emanate from a very small but vocal group, mostly foreigners who have an agenda of ‘regime change’ against Eritrea,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email.

Eritrea signed a peace deal with Ethiopia in 2018, raising expectations that a long-standing system of universal conscription would be scaled back. Yet Human Rights Watch last year said no changes had been made to a “system of repression”.

UNLAWFUL

The Dutch law firm backing the lawsuit – Kennedy Van der Laan (KVDL) – said it was seeking court rulings that the roads project was unlawful and that the EU should cease support.

“The EU has normalized and given an acceptable face to a practice which has been universally condemned by the international community and is a clear violation of the most fundamental human rights norms,” the firm said in a statement.

Emiel Jurjens, an attorney at KVDL, said the FHRE raised the issue in April 2019 with the EU, which rejected its criticism before announcing further funding for the project in December.

He said the European Parliament was set to vote on Thursday on a motion to freeze EU development spending to Eritrea.

The 80 million euros ($87 million) fund a project to reconnect Ethiopia and Eritrea following the peace deal and was dispersed in two tranches last year from the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.

Yet despite acknowledging the labour would be performed by members of Eritrea’s national service, the EU refuses to do due diligence, has no oversight of the project, and relies on information provided by the government, according to KVDL.

Rights groups and Western governments have said the system of conscription amounts to indefinite military service that forces thousands of Eritreans to flee the country each year.

Many head for Europe, which hopes that by funding work at home it can curb the flow of African migrants to its shores.

Source=https://eritreahub.org/eritrean-activists-sue-eu-for-funding-roads-built-with-forced-labour

Ethiopia: From his pulpit, amid a crisis, Abiy regally dismisses all opponents

Monday, 11 May 2020 22:39 Written by

May 11, 2020 Ethiopia, News

Source: Ethiopia Insight

May 11, 2020

by René Lefort

After unilaterally deciding that Prosperity Party will govern until elections, the type of ruling system the Nobel laureate yearns for becomes clearer and clearer

History may show that last week was a decisive moment in the post-EPRDF era. Albeit a clear sign that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is heading in the wrong direction.

On 27 April, Prosperity Party’s Central Committee chose constitutional interpretation among the now famous four options to overcome the constitutional crisis: dissolving parliament; declaring a state of emergency; constitutional amendment; and constitutional interpretation. In advance, the government tasked a team of “highly reputable legal experts” to conduct an in-depth analysis. This was disclosed by the Prime Minister only ten days later in his 7 May address. The legal team’s composition is not public.

As if the four options were still on the table, Abiy then “consulted” opposition leaders about them on 29 and 30 April. He told his social media followers the meeting was “fruitful”, but on the occasion he also attacked the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

To the first, as one its former militant wing is engaged in an armed struggle in Wellega, he said: “You cannot stand on the peaceful and legal struggle and armed activity”. For the second: “practice democracy on your turf. You cannot repress in Tigray and demand a free and open forum in the Federal government”.  Furthermore, he condemned those political forces allegedly working with enemies of Ethiopia. He called them “banda”, the label for Ethiopians who collaborated with Italian invaders after 1935.

On 3 May, Jawar Mohammed, now a senior Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) figure, wrote: “the decision on the date of the national elections and the type of provisional administration we will have in the interim period between September and election time should only be made after proper dialogue and agreement with all political parties and concerned stakeholders including civil society organizations”.

A day later, federalist opposition parties, including OLF and OFC, said they were “seeking a legitimate political consensus on how to manage the constitutional crisis the country is facing”, through “the deliberation and negotiation (of the registered parties) facilitated by entities who do not have direct involvement in electoral affairs and do not have a vested interest in the outcome…The final agreement reached by the parties should be binding.”

Officials and constitutional specialists have been offering their views on how to overcome the crisis. Even when supporting the interpretation option, some, like Solomon Dersso, who sits on the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, have articulated proposals on how to make the process more inclusive for political forces and civil society representatives.

The TPLF now positions itself as the champion of the constitution, even though constitutionally protected civil rights were frequently violated during its period of pre-eminence. It announced it wants to hold regional elections in Tigray independently from the rest of the country, which is legally debatable. Electoral board chair Birtukan Mideksa, a former opposition leader, despite having no mandate to speak on this issue, stated this was “unconstitutional”. The TPLF seems increasingly set on confronting Abiy, but its rigidity and refusal to make a sincere assessment of its controversial rule maintains its isolation from ethno-nationalist forces who would be its natural allies.

On 4 May the House of Peoples’ Representatives, the lower legislative house, announced it would hold a special session the following day. On 5 May, it voted in a similar hurry—the debate lasted less than two hours—to endorse interpretation.

The next day, Alemu Sime, Political and Civic Affairs Head of Prosperity Party, stated that regarding the interpretation option “any other alternatives being informally raised by some citizens is unconstitutional and unacceptable”. Thus, all dissenting voices, including even those who backed interpretation but suggested making it more inclusive, were rejected. Abiy confirmed this position in his 7 May address.

The primary conclusion to draw from this sequence of events is that it would have been hard for the incumbent to express a more reckless disregard for dissenting voices, regardless of how constructive they are, from opposition or civil society, and thus to have done more to derail the “democratic transition”.

True, the opposition is presently toothless. It cannot use its favourite tools, demonstrations, road blocks, etc, because it would then—justifiably—be accused of undermining the struggle against the pandemic. The whole political scene is frozen—except in the palace. The pandemic gives Abiy a strong ally: time. But he has further jeopardized a peaceful future by dismissing these actors. They may well have a strong motivation to return to the streets again when the health situation normalizes.

Tactically, Abiy could have tried, or at least looked as if he was trying, to find a compromise with the Oromo opposition so as to further isolate TPLF. But he apparently feels strong enough to rule without the support of any strong opposition constituency and also against the democratic push from civil society.

Abiy’s camp has used a legal means—one could say legalistic—to try and sidestep a problem that is essentially political and thus could only be sustainably solved through a political process. Despite the prime minister’s claims, Prosperity Party controls all the involved institutions, including the House of Federation, the upper dispute-resolving chamber of parliament, and the autonomy of the Council of Constitutional Inquiry is questionable. Therefore, even if nobody knows for certain the outcome of the interpretation process, it is highly improbable that it will throw up a nasty surprise for Prosperity Party and its leader.

But before the interpretation has been concluded, despite declaring that the body in charge of it, the Council of Constitutional Inquiry, a kind of advisory version of a constitutional court, “is an independent collection of professionals”, even this legalistic window-dressing has been peeled away. Abiy said that “Prosperity Party is a political party that is responsible for everything including managing COVID-19 threat and continues to govern the country until the next election period”. To justify the legitimacy of the ruling party to do so, the prime minister asserted that Prosperity Party is one of the parties “favoured by the majority for winning the next election”.

This approach violates the separation of powers, one of the pillars of democracy. How could the prime minister executively announce that his government will remain in place until the next election period before the Council of Constitutional Inquiry has concluded its work and before the House of the Federation—part of the legislative branch—makes its decision on the Council’s recommendation?

In addition, after a strong warning that “the demand to get power through illegal ways or by trying to undertake illegal elections is unacceptable,” Abiy did not utter one word to extend his hand to the opposition.

I recently wrote “Abiy seems to have deprioritized the transition’s success in favour of becoming the next in a long line of Ethiopian ‘Big Man’ rulers”. This is confirmed by recent events. The ruling system the Nobel laureate yearns for becomes clearer and clearer.

Why Isaias broke the coronavirus lockdown and travelled to Addis Abeba

Monday, 11 May 2020 09:19 Written by

Since the Coronavirus turned into a global pandemic, heads of state and leaders of international and regional organizations have turned to conference calls rather than direct meetings. However, Isaias Afwerki travelled on May 3 to Ethiopia for a face to face meeting with the Ethiopian prime minister Abu Ahmed. So, what is the important matter that forced him to break the coronavirus lockdown? I think it was the state of hostility between him and the TIGRAY People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the developments related to this hostility.

The differences between the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) (now known as People’s Front for Democracy and Justice) and the TPLF date back to the 1970s, but they escalated in 1985 specially in the ideological aspects. The most prominent ideological disagreement was related to the policy of recognizing the right to self-determination of the nationalities adopted by TPLF, which they wanted the EPLF to adopt, as Eritrea is a multi-national country. When the latter rejected it, the TPLF accused it of not being democratic. Both organizations launched media campaigns against each other and deployed armed organizations in each other’s country.

The estrangement between the two organizations continued until April 1988, when they reconciled for practical reasons, at meetings held in Khartoum. At that time, they needed each other in the face of Mengistu Haile Mariam's army, and they agreed to coordinate their military operations, but they didn’t resolve their ideological differences

In a television interview in February 7, when Isaias Afwerki claimed that ethnic federalism had failed in Ethiopia, he was sending a message to the TPLF that the dispute over this issue had been resolved in his favour. He also said he had warned them in 1992 against implementing ethnic federalism. He added that the current situation in Ethiopia was of concern to Eritrea, and the upcoming Ethiopian elections were not particularly significant.

On March 31, the Ethiopian National Electoral Board announced that the elections could not be held as scheduled in August. On April 29, the prime minister met with the political parties to discuss how to avert the impending constitutional crisis due to the lack of provision in the Constitution for the deferral of the elections. The government presented four options: dissolving parliament; declaring a state of emergency; amending the Constitution; or seeking alternative legal interpretations of the Constitution.

On May 4, the TPLF’s Executive Committee, which did not participate in the meeting, decided to hold regional elections on time, in defiance of the National Electoral Board which is responsible for both national and regional elections.

On May 5, the Ethiopian parliament met and approved the government’s fourth option, as it seemed that was what the government wanted. Isaias returned to Asmara on May 5.

From this narrative, I think it is clear that, that although the two leaders may discussed other issues, the main aim of Isaias’s journey to Ethiopia was to support Abu Ahmed in the battle over the elections and how to deal with their postponement.

The turn round was in favour of Abu Ahmed (read Isaias), but the battle is not yet over.

Yaseen Mohmad Abdalla

Edited by Peter Riddell

Egypt takes dispute over Ethiopia’s Nile dam to UN Security Council

Friday, 08 May 2020 20:39 Written by

 

May 8, 2020 Ethiopia, News

Source: The National

Letter sent to top UN body stresses Cairo’s willingness to come to arrangement with Addis Ababa

Egypt has written to the UN Security Council about Ethiopia’s failure to reach an agreement over the operation of Addis Ababa’s nearly-completed dam that Cairo fears will significantly reduce its share of the Nile’ waters.

 

News of the letter broke late on Wednesday night in an Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement about a phone call between Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Urmas Reinsalu, his counterpart from Estonia, which currently chairs the 15-member council.

The ministry did not release the full text of the letter, saying only that it was sent recently.

The letter appears to be part of Egypt’s drive to take its dispute with Ethiopia over the dam on the Blue Nile to the international community after years of inconclusive negotiations involving Sudan, another Nile basin country. Egypt has publicly accused Ethiopia of time-buying tactics and of intransigence after its refusal to sign an agreement brokered by the United States. The dispute has entered a potentially explosive phase with Ethiopia’s recent announcement that it intended to start filling the hydroelectric dam’s massive reservoir this summer.
Egypt wants the reservoir to be filled over six to seven years to reduce the impact downstream. It also wants Ethiopia to release 40 billion cubic metres of water annually and show flexibility during sustained droughts. Ethiopia has baulked at these demands and the two countries have been engaged in a bitter war of words for months.

Egypt, the most populous Arab nation with 100 million people, depends on the Nile for more than 90 per cent of its water needs. It has maintained that a significant reduction in its share of Nile water would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and affect its food security. It has said it appreciates Ethiopia’s development needs and that its goal is to reach an agreement that would reduce the impact of the dam to manageable levels.

Ethiopia denies that the dam would harm Egypt, which it accuses of an unwarranted sense of entitlement to the river’s water.

Sudan, Egypt’s neighbour to the south, is unlikely to be affected by the dam the same way as Egypt since it has an alternative source of water in rainfall and the White Nile, which runs through the entire length of the vast Afro-Arab country.

The White Nile originates in central Africa and merges with the Blue Nile, whose source is on the Ethiopian highlands, in Khartoum to become the river Nile that flows across the deserts of northern Sudan and across Egypt to the Mediterranean. The Blue Nile contributes about 65 per cent of the water reaching Egypt.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has described Egypt’s water security as an existential issue and vowed that Cairo would never accept a de facto situation imposed on it. Some pro-government media voices have suggested military action to stop the Ethiopians from harming Egypt’s vital water interests. Mr El Sisi, a former military chief, has stated his preference for a negotiated settlement.

An appeal to the UN Human Rights Council to extend the Eritrean Rapporteur’s mandate

Thursday, 07 May 2020 22:49 Written by

May 7, 2020 News, Uncategorized

To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council

HRC44-Civil-society-letter-regarding-ERITREA

5 May 2020

Extend the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea

Excellencies,

At the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council (24 June-12 July 2019), the Council extended a hand to the Eritrean Government. While renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the country, it signalled its willingness to offer Eritrea a constructive way forward, in particular by shifting the resolution from agenda item 4 to item 2.

While welcoming the adoption of Council resolution 41/1, and in particular the renewal of the mandate, many non-governmental organisations cautioned that any shifts in the Council’s approach should reflect corresponding changes in the human rights situation on the ground.

Regrettably, one year later, we, the undersigned non-governmental organisations, recall that the concerns expressed in a joint letter1 published last year remain valid, for the reasons set out below. Ahead of the 44th session of the Council (currently scheduled to begin in June 20202), we urge you to support the adoption of a resolution extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea.

As Eritrea has entered the second year of its Council membership term, its domestic human rights situation remains dire. A free and independent press continues to be absent from the country and 16 journalists remain in detention without trial, many since 2001.3 Impunity for past and ongoing human rights violations is widespread. Violations continue unabated, including arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention,4 violations of the rights to a fair trial, access to justice and due process, enforced disappearances, lack of information on the fate or whereabouts of disappeared persons, violations of women’s and girls’ rights, and severe restrictions on the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and religion or belief. Secondary school students, some still children, continue to be conscripted in their thousands each year into the country’s abusive national service system.5 Indefinite national service, involving torture, sexual violence and forced labour continues; thousands remain in open-ended conscription, sometimes for as long as ten years or more, despite the 2018 peace accord with Ethiopia.6

In resolution 38/15 (6 July 2018), the Council invited the Special Rapporteur to “assess and report on the situation of human rights and the engagement and cooperation of the Government of Eritrea with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms, as well as with the Office of the High Commissioner [OHCHR], and, where feasible, to develop benchmarks for progress in improving the situation of human rights and a time-bound plan of action for their implementation.” The Council should ensure adequate follow-up by allowing the Special Rapporteur to pursue her work and OHCHR to deepen its engagement with the Eritrean Government.

As a Council member, Eritrea has an obligation to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” and to “fully cooperate with the Council.” However, during the Council’s 43rd session, in February 2020, both the Special Rapporteur, Ms. Daniela Kravetz, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, reported that no concrete evidence of progress in Eritrea’s human rights situation, including against the benchmarks, could be reported.7 By streamlining its approach and adopting resolution 41/1 under its item 2, the Council offered a way forward for human rights reform in Eritrea. In March 2019, Eritrea took an initial step by meeting with the Special Rapporteur in Geneva. More recently, in February 2020, a human rights dialogue took place between the Government and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in a more constructive spirit than during Eritrea’s 2019 review by the Human Rights Committee. Unfortunately, despite the window of opportunity provided by Eritrea’s CEDAW review and the Eritrean Ambassador indicating, at the Council’s 43rd session, that his country was committed to confidence-building measures and technical cooperation, Eritrea refuses to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur, and recently launched yet another unwarranted attack on her and her mandate.8 The Government continues to reject findings of ongoing grave violations, as well as calls for reform, and human rights-based recommendations, including in relation to the Covid-19 crisis.9

The Council should urge Eritrea to make progress towards meeting its membership obligations and to engage with the UN human rights system constructively. It should not reward non-cooperation by, but rather maintain scrutiny of, one of its members. We believe that a technical rollover of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate, under the same item, would contribute to this aim.

At its upcoming 44th session, the Council should adopt a resolution: (a) Extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further year; (b) Urging Eritrea to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur by granting her access to the country, in accordance with its obligations as a Council member; (c) Calling on Eritrea to develop an implementation plan to meet the progress benchmarks, in consultation with the Special Rapporteur and OHCHR; (d) Requesting OHCHR to present an oral update on Eritrea at the Council’s 46th session; and (e) Requesting the Special Rapporteur to present an oral update at the Council’s 46th session in an interactive dialogue, and to present a report on the implementation of the mandate at the Council’s 47th session and to the General Assembly at its 76th session.

We thank you for your attention to these pressing issues and stand ready to provide your delegation with further information as needed.

Sincerely,

1. African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies

2. AfricanDefenders (the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network)

3. Amnesty International

4. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

5. Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)

6. CIVICUS

7. Civil Rights Defenders

8. Committee to Protect Journalists

9. CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

10. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)

11. Eritrean Law Society (ELS)

12. Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR)

13. Geneva for Human Rights / Genève pour les Droits de l’Homme

14. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

15. Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE)

16. Human Rights Watch

17. International Service for Human Rights

18. Network of Eritrean Women (NEW)

19. Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa / Réseau des Défenseurs des Droits

Humains en Afrique Centrale (REDHAC)

20. One Day Seyoum

21. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

22. Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN)

23. West African Human Rights Defenders Network / Réseau Ouest Africain des Défenseurs des

Droits Humains (ROADDH/WAHRDN)

24. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

1 DefendDefenders et al., “Eritrea: the UN should ensure continued scrutiny of the human rights situation,” 11 June 2019, https://defenddefenders.org/eritrea-the-un-should-ensure-continued-scrutiny-of-the-human-rights-situation/ (accessed on 16 April 2020).

2 The exact dates of the session are likely to be affected by the Covid-19 situation, which led the Council to suspend its 43rd session on 13 March 2020.

3 Committee to Protect Journalists, “2019 prison census: 16 Journalists Imprisoned in Eritrea,” https://cpj.org/data/reports.php?status=Imprisoned&cc_fips%5B%5D=ER&start_year=2019&end_year=2019&group_by=lo

cation (accessed on 30 April 2020). Eritrea remains at the top of the CPJ’s most-censored countries, as per a 2019 report, “10 Most Censored Countries,” available at: https://cpj.org/reports/2019/09/10-most-censored-eritrea-north-korea-turkmenistanjournalist. php (accessed on 30 April 2020).

4 Amnesty International, “Human rights in Africa, Review of 2019,” 8 April 2020, Index: AFR 01/1352/2020, available at https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr01/1352/2020/en/ (accessed on 16 April 2020), p. 39.

5 Human Rights Watch, “‘They Are Making Us into Slaves Not Educating us.’ How Indefinite Conscription Restricts Young People’s Rights, Access to Education in Eritrea,” 8 August 2019, https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/08/08/they-are-makingus-slaves-not-educating-us/how-indefinite-conscription-restricts; Human Rights Watch, “Statement to the European

Parliament’s Committee on Development on the Human Rights Situation in Eritrea,” 18 February 2020, available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/19/statement-european-parliaments-committee-development-human-rights-situationeritrea (accessed on 24 April 2020).

6 Amnesty International, “Human rights in Africa, Review of 2019,” op. cit., p. 38. 2

7 Interactive dialogue with the SR on Human Rights in Eritrea – 9th Meeting, 43rd Regular Session, Human Rights Council (webcast archive), 26 February 2020, http://webtv.un.org/search/id-sr-on-human-rights-in-eritrea-9th-meeting-43rd-regularsession-human-rights-council/6136241213001/?term=kravetz&sort=date; Presentation of High Commissioner/Secretary- General country reports & Item 2 General Debate – 10th Meeting, 43rd Regular Session, Human Rights Council (webcast archive), 27 February 2020, http://webtv.un.org/search/hcsg-country-reports-item2-general-debate-10th-meeting-43rdregular-session-human-rights-council-/6136487778001/?term=eritrea&sort=date&page=2#player (accessed on 9 April 2020).

8 Permanent Mission of the State of Eritrea to the United Nations, Geneva, “Harassment of Eritrea is Unconscionable,” 6 April 2020, http://www.shabait.com/news/local-news/30430-press-release (accessed on 23 April 2020).

9 Amnesty International, “Eritrea: Show humanity and release prisoners of conscience amid COVID-19,” 3 April 2020, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/04/eritrea-show-humanity-and-release-prisoners-of-conscience-amidcovid19/; Human Rights Watch, “With COVID-19 Threat, Eritrea Should Release Political Detainees,” 2 April 2020, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/02/covid-19-threat-eritrea-should-release-political-detainees# (accessed on 24 April 2020). 3

Eritrea Liberty Magazine Issue No. 62

Saturday, 02 May 2020 23:39 Written by

Covid-19: Call for action in the face of a looming crisis in Eritrea

Friday, 01 May 2020 16:34 Written by

By Petros Tesfagiorgis

The ruler of Eritrea, Isaias Afeworki, has refused the COVID-19 supplies donated by the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and his Alibaba Group. The plane carrying the goods was not authorized to land in

6:53 pm

By Petros Tesfagiorgis

The ruler of Eritrea, Isaias Afeworki, has refused the COVID-19 supplies donated by the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and his Alibaba Group. The plane carrying the goods was not authorized to land in Eritrea and returned to where it came without delivering the intended goods. Because of this the people of Eritrea will be paying a heavy price.

Monday 20 April 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic Global update was:  Infected: 2.4 million; Deaths: 168.000;   Recovered: 485,455

The figures above show that out of more than 2.4 million people affected by Covid-19 there is a good number of people who recovered. That shows government guidelines issued to their citizens to protect themselves from the virus is helpful. There are also other forms of support. For example, in UK there are more than 75,000 volunteers who deliver shopping to those who are sick and old.  There are food banks that distribute food for free to the poor and there is financial help for those who lost their income and cannot pay their house rents and other bills.

In contrast, poor countries lack the resources and expertise to do the same.  This was acknowledged globally and the rich countries felt responsible to provide help.

To that effect, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell said that “cooperation and joint efforts at the international level and multilateral solutions are the way forward, for a true global agenda for the future.” The EU has pledged to provide help worth more than €15.6 billion for countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Balkan region to fight the coronavirus pandemic, of which €3.25 billion is to be channelled to Africa, including €1.19 billion for the Northern African neighbourhood countries.

The Prime Minster of Ethiopia, Dr Abiy Ahmed (PMAA) has written a long letter highlighting the consequence of failing to help the poor countries. He concluded, “We can defeat this invisible and vicious adversary but only with global leadership. However, this is not shared by his confidant, Isaias Afeworki.

This pandemic coronavirus is a global enemy that needs a global effort and commitment to defeat it. Sadly Isaias Afworki does not subscribe to this.  He chose to be a pariah an outcast by design. Is it because getting international help demands monitoring and Isaias is against it, this is has become a serious issue among the Diaspora Eritreans

The decision of the Eritrean government not to accept help from the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has worried health experts because Eritrea is not equipped to fight a pandemic. Meron Stefanos, executive director of the Eritrean Initiative on Refugee Rights, said to VOA: “Eritrea is not ready for anything.  First of all, just eight months ago, Eritrea shut down 29 clinics run by the Roman Catholic Church.

Furthermore the Government of Ethiopia has ordered the closure of Hitsats refugee camp were 13,000 Eritrean refugees including 1600 minors live. To transfer them to the other crowded camps of Aba Guna, Mayaini and Shimelba on Lorries and buses having to drive for long distances is dangerous. Unaccompanied Eritrean Children are at risk in Ethiopia due to the country’s revised refugee policy, reports Human Rights Watch.

Another troubling incident is the decision of the Ethiopian Government   to stop giving asylum to Eritreans. The repression in Eritrea is continuing unabated so why this change of policy at this time.  This has given rise to all kind of conspiracy theories such as that Isaias has a hand in it.  Many Eritreans asylum seekers unable to get any support from UNHCR are forced to beg in the streets of the town of Mekele, Shire and other towns in the Tigray region.  The population of Tigray and the Government of Tigray region are doing their best to help. This is unforgettable act of sympathy and solidarity.  It is the right way of building peace between the people of Tigray and Eritrea.

The regime do not want to close SAWA, a military training camp where the school leaving year, 12th grade, is taking place. In the camp thousands of young people from the age of 18 to 40 are kept hostages and are assigned to work for international mining companies, in construction sights and farms owned by corrupt high ranking army officers.  It is a form of slavery.  At the same time the regime claims they are there to defend the country from the threat of Weyan (TPLF) invasion. It is an escape goat to hold hostage the youth so they will not oppose the gross human rights violations in Eritrea. In SAWA people live in Dormitories in big numbers and eat in a cafeteria. If the coronavirus entered Sawa it is going to be genocide.

On April 6, the Heads of State of member countries of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) agreed to formulate a plan to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The leaders of Uganda, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, and Sudan together with the prime minster of Ethiopia and the First Vice President of South Sudan held a virtual summit as the amount of confirmed COVID-19 cases keeps increasing in their countries.  Eritrea was the only IGAD member state absent during the virtual summit.  Isaias is scared that being a member of IGAD may require to abide by its decisions one of which could be to release prisoners. That will be unacceptable by Isaias.

It has become crystal clear that the priority of Isaias is to hide his crimes and bury truths and not to release prisoners and save lives. Family members and friends are not allowed to visit their loved ones in prison. More often than not they don’t even know in what prison they are kept and whether they are dead or alive. Some sources reveal that many have died and are buried in unmarked graves.

What is to be done? There is no other way except seize the most challenging momentum yet and call for action: There is no time the regime must be sued to face trial.

To sum up the Government of Eritrea has blocked any help to combat COVID-19. It rejected the United Nations appeal to release prisoners. It failed to close the training camp of SAWA. About 8 months ago it closed 29 health centres serving many villages and small towns. As a consequence how many sick people, including pregnant women are dying of lack of simple health care? The UN inquiry commission on Eritrea reported that the many violations in Eritrea are of a scope and scale seldom seen anywhere else in today’s world. The commission finds that crime against humanity may have occurred with regard to torture, extrajudicial executions, forced labour in the context of national service.

These are powerful set of crimes for which the regime has no defence when and if is brought to the court of law. To act along those line are the only way the just seekers can challenge the power of the regime.

There are information that explains the worst that could happen to the developing countries.

Coronavirus pandemic ‘will cause famine of biblical proportions’

Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent

The Guardian

I quote “Covid-19 is likely to be sweeping through the developing world but its spread is hard to gauge. What appears to be certain is that the fragile healthcare systems of scores of developing countries will be unable to cope, and the economic disaster following in the wake of the pandemic will lead to huge strain on resources”

The desperate situation in Eritrea is expressed in a letter sent to the UN by Daniela Kravetz the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation   of human rights in Eritrea, highlighting the danger Eritreans are facing because of COVID-19.  The special rapporteur is alerting the UN of the danger to Eritreans.

First and foremost, the Just seekers have to prepare well packaged manifesto of the already documented gross human right violations.

Second:  It has to be remembered that when the UN inquiry commission reported all the crime committed in Eritrea, the UN did not take any   action. It failed even to condemn Isaias let alone bring Isaias to court.  Simply, Justice has been denied to the Eritrean people by the UN. It is a historical blunder. The UN encouraged by the peace reached between Eritrea and Ethiopia allowed Eritrea to be a member of the UN human rights commission. Isaias felt more empowered as to close the 29 clinics and imprisoned several Muslims. There are a lot of questions to be answered by the UN.

Third: The just seekers has another option. To go it alone and sue Isaias in courts in the West. It is possible to sue a governments by an individual or groups of individuals in courts in Europe – of a crime that involves thousands of people – in a form of class action. Class action can be brought by few people but could represent thousands of victims in the same case.

Take the example of Citizens for Peace (CPE) in Eritrea.  Following the senseless Ethio-Eritrean border war of 1998-2000, CPA, to which I was a founding member was active in helping a group of American lawyers who initiated a class action case against the Government of Ethiopia on behalf of some expelled Eritreans whose properties were confiscated.  The American Lawyers succeeded in convincing an American law firm to take the case to the US court. The legal hearing / proceedings had been set in motion. The Ethiopians said that they are ready to pay any compensation but there is already a commission regarding compensation and they   will deal with it when the study is complete. They said they will cooperate with it and give compensation.  Indeed there were 3 commissions. Boundary commission, Compensation commission and commission to study how and who started the war.

Belatedly more Ethiopians found out that Isaias hands are poisonous, instead of promoting peace in Eritrea and in Ethiopia he became the champions of hate, dishing out hate campaign   against the regional Government of Tigray in collusion with the Ethiopian extremists like ESSAT.

The most important question is how do deal with it. I don’t have an answer to that but it worries me. There must a committee staffed with professional activists to run the show.  

On the positive side many professional association have mushroomed among the Diaspora, The Eritrean Law society, the newly formed Eritrean women Association in USA who launched a successful conference in Washington DC. A noticeable growth in the confidence and determination of Eritrean women.  One such positive thing of immense importance is the formation of Professional Associations composed of 95 Eritreans Ph.D. holders. There are many other activists such as Hidri Jeganuna,   Eri-platform, Eritrea Focus, Network of Eritrean women in Europe. Most importantly the Eritrean youth.  The youth are on fire saying enough is enough the regime has to go. They have established popular Eritrean Mass Movement “Yiakle” . There are also the contribution of the  political parties.

On the negative side. There is a lack of action that became a handicap to move forward. It must come to an end. During the closure of 29 Health centres, the imprisonment of Muslims in masses and the campaign to refuse to go to SAWA by the youth in Asmara. Nothing was done to condemn the regime. The slogan of the justice seekers “the voice of the voiceless” still remains a slogan only. The just seekers have failed to seize such important momentums and build pressure on the regime and gain valuable experience in working together.

I was about to post this article to Assena.com when someone told me that Martin Plaut has twitted that the British and US Government have asked their nationals to leave Eritrea. Something is cooking.  May be Isaias is losing control.

That makes even more urgent to act. Isaias is exposed more than ever and even the Ethiopians belatedly learned that he is a liability to them as well. Today the powerful media of Ethiopia is exposing the Human Rights violations in Eritrea. They are asking to clean his house first before he interferes in the internal affairs of Ethiopia.

We have to make clear to the world our objectives   in shaping the highest values in Eritrea: Freedom, democracy, justice, equality, and respect of human rights, the rule of law, fairness and sovereignty. Also in peace with our neighbours.

I reiterate the people of Eritrea wanted peace with all Ethiopians and not minus Tigray. Yes, we have to keep on looking for ways to have real peace- not peace between leaders only but also between our people. A kind of peace that puts the welfare of the people centre stage.  Peace is about re-conciliation, forgiveness, to use the language of peace and other forms of peace building exercises. After so many years of being victims of human rights violation we have to be champion of peace in the Horn. To be so is to reject proxy wars that is bleeding Africa.

The Eritrean Mass movement (Yiakl) are quick to   establish charities to help the refuges mismanaged in Ethiopia   COVID-19 Relief for help refugees is organised by Eritrean Community Connections. Let all of us be generous and help.

The End

Citizen for Peace in Eritrea (CPE) is a voluntary Association of concerned Eritrean citizens who have come together as a committee for the purpose of studying and disseminating information about the Ethio-Eritrean conflict and its human consequences.

Can Eritrea’s government survive the coronavirus?

Thursday, 30 April 2020 22:29 Written by

April 30, 2020 News

Source: al-Jazeera

Eritrea’s failure to efficiently respond to the pandemic could bring down its authoritarian government.

by
The coronavirus pandemic will likely spell trouble for Eritrea's authoritarian government led by President Isaias Afwerki, writes Zere [Feisal Omar/Reuters]
The coronavirus pandemic will likely spell trouble for Eritrea’s authoritarian government led by President Isaias Afwerki, writes Zere [Feisal Omar/Reuters]

Similarly, when the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma offered to send hundreds of ventilators as well as hundreds of thousands of personal protective equipment (PPE) to 54 countries in Africa, most African leaders, such as Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, swiftly accepted the donation and expressed their gratitude.

The leaders of Eritrea, a country ranked 182/189 in the United Nations’s 2019 Human Development Index, however, surprisingly chose to reject the vital equipment Ma offered to send them. On April 5, the head of Economic Affairs for Eritrea’s ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) party, Hagos “Kisha” Gebrehiwet, publicly confirmed that the Eritrean government rejected Ma’s donation. Talking as a guest speaker at the bi-weekly Hagerawi Nikhat (“national consciousness”) teleconference, an exclusive online seminar in which senior party officials get a chance to communicate with their cadres in the diaspora, the man in charge of Eritrea’s economy said the country does not want to become a “dumping site” for “unsolicited donations”. Accepting such offers would be against “the principled stance of the Eritrean government which advocates for self-reliance,” he added.

Within the very same online seminar, Gebrehiwet explained that the Eritrean leadership is now trying to buy the medical equipment needed to treat COVID-19 cases from the incredibly competitive Chinese market and arrange the shipment of these items to Eritrea on chartered planes.  

Of course, despite its rejection of foreign aid, the Eritrean government does not have the necessary funds to swiftly make such purchases. As a result, it turned to its own long-suffering citizens and launched aggressive fundraising campaigns to make them donate the little money they have to the state to help the efforts to combat the virus. Thanks to these aggressive campaigns, some of Eritrea’s most penurious citizens, including members of the national service, have already been coerced to make donations. It is not yet known, however, whether these donations proved sufficient for the country to buy everything it needs to contain the spread of the virus.

While the Eritrean government undoubtedly hindered the country’s ability to respond to this public health emergency by rejecting Ma’s generous donation, this was only one example demonstrating its tendency to value its own image and survival more than the wellbeing of its constituents, even during a pandemic.

While Eritrea is one of the most isolated countries in the world, it did not escape the pandemic. The first COVID-19 case in Eritrea was reported on March 21, and, as of April 28, there are 39 confirmed cases in the country, of which 19 have recovered according to the Ministry of Health. The country has been in a nation-wide lockdown to slow the transmission of the virus since April 1.

The pandemic has not yet reached its peak in Eritrea, but all signs indicate that the country is heading for catastrophe.

Eritrea’s healthcare system is not strong enough to handle a deadly and highly infectious disease like COVID-19. Even before the pandemic, the country’s healthcare facilities had been suffering from an acute shortage of supplies. At certain times, patients have even been asked to buy intravenous (IV) infusions from private pharmacies before being admitted to hospital. The Eritrean government closed all private clinics in 2009. In the second wave of state seizure that started in June 2019, it also took control of 29 Catholic hospitals, health centres and clinics. Meanwhile, the unfavourable working conditions pushed many Eritrean physicians to flee the country, causing major staff shortages in hospitals.

And lack of quality public healthcare is not the only reason why the coronavirus pandemic is likely to have catastrophic consequences for Eritrea.

Although many countries, including some developed nations, are suffering from a shortage of essential products as a result of the pandemic, the magnitude of the problem is double in the case of Eritrea where import and export businesses have been banned since 2003.

As, even during normal times, Eritreans can only buy rationed essential supplies that are on sale in the governing party’s stores, they could not stockpile to prepare for the lockdown. Moreover, even if the state miraculously managed to secure extra goods to put on sale, Eritreans would not be able to do any extra shopping as they are not allowed to withdraw more than $330 in any given month from their own savings. This, despiteEritrea being a complete cash economy. 

Since the mid-2000s, Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki has been spending most of his time supervising dam constructions. Yet the country’s major cities, including the capital, are still suffering from a chronic shortage of running water and electricity. In August 2018, the regime rounded up many water-tank truck owners. Many of them remain in prison. All water bottling companies were closed in June 2019. This makes it impossible for many Eritreans to follow the hygiene protocols necessary to curb the spread of the virus.

If not impossible, the regime has also made it very difficult forEritreans in diaspora to help their family members back home. Eritrean citizens living abroad are required to pay the so called “diaspora tax” first if they want to send goods to their home country. Wiring money back to Eritrea is also not easy for members of the diaspora, as they are forced to use an extremely deflated fixed currency rate imposed by the government to do so.

Eritreans are also suffering from a lack of political leadership during this difficult time. While the leaders of most countries are doing daily briefings to inform their citizens on the latest developments about the pandemic, President Isaias has not spoken to the Eritrean people or media for almost two months after giving an interview to the state-run media in mid-February, in which he did not even mention the growing threat posed by the new coronavirus. His prolonged absence from public life led to rumours that he is incapacitated or even dead. 

Inside sources told me the president was in the port-city of Massawa during his months of absence from public life, as he reportedly plans to relocate his temporary office to Gedem, near Massawa. Sources close to the matter also told me that it has been very difficult to get hold of him during this time. In an extremely centralised system, where senior state officials cannot make the smallest decision without the president’s approval, one can only imagine the damage caused by Afwerki’s absence during such a crucial time.

After his prolonged absence, on April 18, the president suddenly sent a five-minute recorded message to the Eritrean people from an unknown location. Afwerki only mentioned the pandemic in the introduction of his message and went on to tell his constituents that COVID-19 should not “derail the development programmes” his leadership has embarked on. The president’s message made it clear that the pandemic is just a secondary concern for the government. The Ministry of Information, however, only translated into English the short section of the message where the president mentioned the pandemic.

As it became clear that Eritrea is not going to be able to protect its citizens from COVID-19, rights groups, exiled scholars, and the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Eritrea, have called on the Eritrean government to release the tens of thousands of prisoners of conscience who have long been languishing in overcrowded and unsanitary prisons. Many also expressed concern about the thousands of students who are living in cramped conditions at the Sawa military training centre.

During his online seminar, Gebrehiwet also responded to these calls, brushing them off as “hypocritical”. Rather than offering an explanation as to how they are planning to stop the virus from spreading like wildfire in prisons and military schools, he claimed these would be the best places for anyone who needs to be in quarantine.

In response to the growing criticism of its COVID-19 response and concerns over the wellbeing of its citizens, the Eritrean government issued a statement on April 6, accusing the UNHRC of “harassment” and claiming that the state’s “enemies” are using the pandemic to push for regime change.

While the accusation that rights groups, media organisations and the UN itself are using the pandemic to push for regime change in Eritrea is clearly unfounded, there is a very real chance that this public health emergency is going to spell trouble for Eritrea’s authoritarian government.

History shows that public health crises such as pandemics, food shortages or extreme pollution harm all governments, but pose the most significant threat to authoritarian regimes. The 1973-1975 Ethiopian famine, for example, was the final trigger that ended Emperor Haile Selassie’s reign in the country. In Sudan, it was Omar al-Bashir’s repeated failure to handle such crises, such as the cholera outbreak of 2017 and the spike in the price of bread in 2018, that led to the demise of his 30-year regime.

The Eritrean government demonstrably failed to respond efficiently to the most significant public health threat the world has faced in a century. If it does not change its ways, accept the global community’s help and take action to save the lives of already-suffering Eritreans, it is unlikely to survive past this pandemic. 

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abraham T Zere is the executive director of PEN Eritrea in exile.