Refugees from Eritrea and other countries wait to be rescued from the Mediterranean Sea, north of Libya.

Refugees from Eritrea and other countries wait to be rescued from the Mediterranean Sea, north of Libya. Photograph: Santi Palacios/AP

 Documents cited in the Guardian on Monday showing that the UK governmentdownplayed the risk of human rights abuses in Eritreain an attempt to reduce asylum-seeker numbers are the latest indication of Britain’s determination to reduce African immigration. But this is a Europe-wide initiative, co-ordinated in Brussels.

WithFrench, German, Dutch and Italian elections later this year, there is intense pressure across the European Union to cut the flows of refugees and migrants across the Mediterranean. European plans to deal with the question have been veiled in secrecy, since they involve close cooperation with some of Africa’s most notorious dictatorships.

The German magazine Der Spiegel revealed a warning from the European commission that “under no circumstances” should the public learn what was said during talks held in March last year. A member of staff working forFederica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, warned of the risk to Europe’s reputation.

Plans are being formulated under arrangements agreed between theEU and African leaders in Maltain November 2015. These called for close cooperation between European security services and those of African states. Among those around the table at Valletta were representatives of repressive regimes in Sudan (whose president,Omar al-Bashir, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes) and Eritrea, which has been accused of crimes against humanity.

The Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
Pinterest

The Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Photograph: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images

European civil servants are fully aware of just how dangerous these proposals are, and the document includes in a list of risks the possibility that resources and equipment could be diverted “for repressive aims”.

Advertisement

The Sudanese authorities have already begun what is technically termedrefoulementof Eritreans – the forcible return of asylum seekers to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution. In May last year hundreds were arrested in Khartoum and returned to Eritrea.

Eritrean human rights organisations suggest this process has continued.Refugeesin the Sudanese capital are fearful of leaving their homes, afraid they will be picked up by the authorities.

In Europe, these efforts are paying off: the number of people arriving from Africa is falling. The latest statistics fromFrontex– the EU-wide border agency – show that two routes have almost been sealed. There is next to no transit by sea from west Africa through the Canary Islands, and only a limited number of people arriving in Spain via the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. A total of 2,162 Africans made it to Spain in the second quarter of 2016.

The second route, via the Sinai and Israel, has effectively ended. A hi-tech system of fences and detection devices, constructed by Israel in December 2013, sealed the border.

This leaves available to Africans just the central Mediterranean route through Libya and, to a lesser extent, Egypt. It was used by 51,450 people in the second quarter of 2016. But the EU is now attempting to cut this final route intoEurope. Earlier this month Italy’s interior minister, Marco Minniti, was dispatched to Tripoli to broker an agreement with Fayez al-Sarraj, head of Libya’s UN-backed government of national accord, on fighting irregular migration through the country.

Minniti and Sarraj agreed to reinforce cooperation on security, the fight against terrorism and human trafficking. “There is a new impulse here — we are moving as pioneers,” Mario Giro, Italy’s deputy foreign minister, told the Financial Times. “But there is a lot of work to do, becauseLibyastill doesn’t yet have the capacity to manage the flows, and the country is still divided.”

Such initiatives are developing rapidly, with civil servants using aid and security co-operation to crack down on this African exodus. And while we can all recognise the domestic, political pressures that EU governments face, and which are leading them to seek to halt the flow of migrants across their borders, we must also recognise that those affected are some of the most vulnerable people from some of the most repressive countries in Africa. There must be a legal route for refugees to escape persecution.

Source=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/26/europe-crackdown-africa-immigration-vulnerable-refugees-sudan-eritrea

ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ መሃዘ/ሰደህኤ

 

ኤርትራዊ ልኡኽ ተሓላቒ ደሞክራሲ ብ23ን 24ን ጥሪ 2017 ኣብ ጀነቫ ምስ ላዕለዎት ሓለፍቲ ላዕለዋይ ኮሚሽነር ጉዳይ ሰብኣዊ መሰልን፡ ላዕልዋይ ኮሚሽነር ጉዳይ ስደተኛታትን ተራኺቡ። እቲ ልኡኽ ኣንበሳድር ዓንደብርሃን ወልደጊዮርጊስ ኣባል ቦርድ መድረኽ ንሃገራዊ ዘተን ኤሪ- መድረኽን ኣቶ ወልደየሱስ ዓማር ሓላፊ ቤት ጽሕፈት ወጻኢ ዝምድናታት ሰደህኤን ዝርከብዎ እዩ።

ኣብዚ ዝተኻየደ ኣገዳሲ  ርክብ ዝተላዕሉ ዛዕባታት፡ ኩነታት ሰብኣዊ መሰል ኤርትራውያን፡ ኤርትራውያን ሃገሮም ክለቁ ዝድርኹ ዘለዉ ረቛሒታት፡ መንእሰያት ኤርትራ ሃገሮም ራሕሪሖም ናብ ጐረባብቲ ሃገራት ዝውሕዝሉ ዘለዉ ጠንቅታት፡  ኩነታት ኤርትራውያን መንእሰያት ኣብ መደበር ስደተኛታትን ጉዳይ ዘይሕጋዊ ምስግጋር ሰባትን፡ ግደ እዚ ጉዳይ ዝምልከቶም ኣካላት ሕቡራት ሃገራትን ዝጽበዮ ግደታን ብመንጽር ዓለም ለኻዊ ሕግታት። ከምኡ እውን ሓላፍነት ናይተን ስደተኛታት ዝዓርፉለን ሃገራትን ከዳልዋሎም ዝግበኣን መዕረፊ፡ ክህባኦም ዝግበአን ውሕስነትን ናይ ምንባርን መነባብረኦም ዝመርሕሉ ኣታዊ ዝረኽብሉ ናይ ስራሕ ዕድላት ዝብሉ እዮም።

እቶም ሓለፍቲ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ብወገኖም ነዚ ኤርትራዊ ልኡኽ ብዛዕባቲ፡ ላዕለዎት ኪሚሽነራት ሰብኣዊ መሰልን ጉዳይ ስደተኛታትን ምስ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ዘገብርዎ፡ ንምምሕያሽ ኣተሓሕዛ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝምልከት ርክባት መብርሂ ሂበምዎም። ምስዚ ኣተሓሒዞም እቶም ሓለፍቲ ርኢቶኦም ኣብ እዋናዊ ኣድማሳዊ ገምጋም፡ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ በቲ ዝኣተዎ ቃል ከም ዘይጸነዐን ብሓፈሻ ከኣ ኣብ ኣተሓሕዛ ሰብኣዊ መሰል እዚ ዝበሃል ኣውንታዊ ውጽኢት ከም ዘየመዝገብ ገሊጸምሉ።

ኣቲ ኤርትራዊ ልኡኽ ተሓላቒ ደሞክራሲ፡ ነቲ መብርሂ ምስ ሰምዐ ኣብ ኤርትራ በቲ ስርዓት ካብ ዝፍጸሙ ዘለዉ በደላት እቶም ቀንዲቀንዲ ኣምዝጊቡ። ካብቶም ዝጠቐስዎም፡ ሜላውን ሰፊሕን ግህሰት ሰብኣዊ መሰል፡ ደረት ዘየብሉን ብዘይክፍሊት ዝካየድን ግዱድ ኣገልግሎት፡ ንሕስያ ዘየብሉ ፖለቲካዊ ጭቆና፡ ምንፋግ ንቡር ስድራቤታዊ መነባብሮን ስሩዕ ትምህርትን ከምኡ እውን ሕሱም ቁጠባዊ ድኽነት።

ኣብዚ ርክብ ሓለፍቲ ላዕለዋይ ኮሚሽነር ሰብኣዊ መሰል፡ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ኩነታት ሰብኣዊ መሰል ንምምሕያሽ ኩሉ ዝኽእልዎ ክገብሩ ድልዋት ምዃኖም ቃል ኣትዮም። ኣተሓሒዞም ከኣ ኤርትራውያን ጉዳዮም ኣብ ምዕራይ መሪሕ ግደ ክሕዙ ከም ዝግበኦም ኣዘኻኺሮም። ኤርትራውያን  ዕዉት ውጽኢት ከመዝግቡ ዘለዎም ተስፋ ከኣ ገሊጾም። ሓለፍቲ ላዕለዋይ ኮሚሽነር ጉዳይ ስደተኛታት በገኖም ኣብ ወጻኢ ዝነብሩ ኤርትራውያን ነቲ ኣብ ልዕሊ ወገናቶም ስደተኛታት ዝወርድ ዘሎ ጸገም ኣብ ምፍታሕ ክሳተፉ ዘለዎም ተስፋ ጠቒሶም።

ኣብ መወዳእታ፡ ኩነታት ሰብኣዊ መሰል ኣብ ኤርትራ፡ ኩነታት ኤርትራውያን ስደተኛታት ኣብ ዞባን መላእ ዓለምን፡ ከምኡ እውን ኩነታት ሰብኣዊ መሰልን ጉዳይ ስደተኛታትን ብሓፈሻ ኣብ ኩሉ ኩርነዓት ብፍላይ ድማ ኣብ ጐረባብቲ ሃገራት ንምምሕያሽ ዘኽእሉ ናይ ሓባር ረቛሕታት ንምርካብ፡ ተራኺብካ ዘተን ምልውዋጥ ሓበሬታን ቀጻሊ ክኸውን ተሰማሚዖም።

A study of the North African country lays bare a ruler at war with his own people, says Joanna Lewis

January 26, 2017

·         By Joanna Lewis

President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea
President Isaias Afewerki

President Isaias Afewerki
Chairman of the State Council
Chairman of the Transitional National Assembly
C-in-c of the Armed Forces
Chancellor of Institutes of Higher Learning
Chairman of the PFDJ [the sole political party]
Vice-President – vacant since 2001

There have been no elections in Eritrea since 1993. Instead, as the above extract from Martin Plaut’s masterful account perfectly illustrates, this tiny state in North Africa is ruled by dictatorship. In 2015, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Eritreans endure “systemic widespread and gross human rights violations” and “a total lack of the rule of law”.

“Eritrea was born a one party state”, as Plaut, an Institute of Commonwealth Studies scholar and former BBC World Service Africa editor, makes clear. After its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, the rot set in. Like many African nationalist movements forced to engage in military struggle to gain power, making the adjustment to civilian rule and accepting even a murmur of opposition or a flicker of criticism was just all too much. Eritrea’s long, bitter David and Goliath-like battle against Ethiopia marked its leadership with an especially strong sense of sacrifice and entitlement.

During the years of struggle, many outsiders saw the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) as a beacon of hope. I remember reading its upbeat pamphlets in the 1980s. It was committed to rejecting ethnic difference, promoting secular socialism and progressive attitudes to women. In 1993, women made up one-third of the EPLF fighters; rape was a capital offence.

How times change. Plaut’s extensive evidence shows how the regime’s repressive stance in power is a consequence of its ruler. Known simply as Isaias, Afewerki grew up in a poor district of Asmara. In the 1960s, he went to China. Schooled in Maoist ideology, he is, however, no fan of the personality cult. His official photograph may festoon shops and cafes, but he looks nice and normal. He prefers open-necked shirts, comfortable slacks and sandals. This is no mad, swivel-eyed Idi Amin-type figure, nor the psychotic school bully meets James Bond baddie look of Kim Jong-il; nor is there a sparse ginger ferret atop his head…

But make no mistake, the absence of journalists and a free press, and the emphatic presence of a network of prisons, detention centres and labour camps are the result of rule by an “austere and narcissistic dictator; thin-skinned and hot-headed”, according to a profile compiled by a recent US ambassador. He’s also vindictive. After independence, when demobilised soldiers complained that they’d not been paid for years, many were thrown into indefinite detention. So severe is the current repression that 5,000 Eritreans try to flee across the Sahel every month. Many risk their lives to escape military conscription, which for women can include sexual abuse. Isaias is still at war, but against his own people. Even the Eritrean diaspora cannot fully escape, bullied into paying an illicit 2 per cent tax to the regime, under the watchful eye of a network of spies and informants.

Plaut has put himself at some risk by writing this book. Mirjam van Reisen, a Dutch academic who criticised the regime, was physically threatened and abused on social media. The president’s so-called Youth Wing brought a lawsuit against her in the Netherlands, accusing her of libel and slander. The accusations were thrown out. Let’s hope that this regime and its cronies will be next.

Joanna Lewis is assistant professor of imperial and African history in the department of international history, London School of Economics, and author of Empire of Sentiment: David Livingstone and the Myth of Victorian Imperialism (in press).

 

Source=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/books/review-understanding-eritrea-inside-africas-most-repressive-state-martin-plaut-hurst

NDF/EPDP Press Release

 

A delegation of Eritrean pro-democracy activists met with senior officials in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday, 23-24 January 2017. The delegation included Ambassador Andebrhan Welde Giorgis, Board member of the Forum for National Dialogue (FND) and Eri-Platform, and Mr. Woldeyesus Ammar, Head of Foreign Relations of the Eritrean People's Democratic Party (EPDP).

 

The extensive discussions centered on the prevailing human rights situation in Eritrea; the push and pull factors driving the continuous flight of Eritrean youth from the country; the plight of young refugees living in the squalor of refugee camps in Eritrea's neighbourhood; abuses and insecurity in the refugee camps and human trafficking; the role of the relevant UN agencies; and the obligation, under international humanitarian law, of the countries of destination in the region and the Global North to host and provide fleeing Eritreans due protection, including granting them residence and work permits to enable them earn their living pending changes conducive to their safe return home.

 

The UN officials briefed the Eritrean delegation on the state of play in the ongoing engagement of the OHCHR and the UNHCR with the Government of Eritrea aimed to improve the human rights situation in Eritrea. They shared their perspectives regarding the status of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the failure of the government to act on its pledges and the general lack of real progress and tangible improvement in the human rights situation of the Eritrean people.

In turn, the Eritrean pro-democracy delegation underscored the primacy of the push factors: the systematic and widespread abuses of basic human rights with impunity; indefinite active national service without due remuneration; the state of harsh political repression; the denial of the opportunity for normal family life and proper education; and severe economic hardship.

The OHCHR officials expressed their readiness to do all they can to help improve the human rights situation of the Eritrean people. At the same time, they urged Eritreans to take a leading role towards addressing their own problems. The officials hoped that Eritreans would undertake a more effective advocacy work. The UNHCR officials also expressed hope that Eritreans in the diaspora would engage more actively to play their part in helping address the refugee problem affecting their own people.

In conclusion, it was agreed to continue the discussions and exchange information on the human rights situation in Eritrea, the condition of Eritrean refugees in the region and elsewhere in the world, and explore areas of cooperation to improve respect for human rights in Eritrea and the lot of Eritrean refugees, especially in the country’s immediate neighbours

ኣብ ፍራንክፎርትን ከባቢኣን ዝርከብ ጨንፈር ሰዲህኤ ንሓድሽ ዓመት ብሓዱሽ ናይ ቃልሲ መንፈስን ናህርን ንምግጣም ብዕለት 22.01.2017 ስሩዕ ወርሓዊ ኣኼባኡ ጀሚሩ። ኣኼባ ሰዓት 13፡00 ዝጀመረ ምምሕዳራዊ ጉዳያት ድሕሪ ምፍጻሙ፣ ኣቦ-መንበር ጨንፈር ብጻይ ታደሰ ኣስመላሽ  ንዝኽሪ ናይቶም ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ቀዳም ዕለት 14.01.2017  ኣብ ባሕሪ ዝጠሓሉ ስደተኛታት ንገለ ደቓይቕ ደውታ ክፍጸም ምሕባሩ እዩ ተኸፊቱ።

ቀጺሉ፡  ሽማግለ ጨንፈር፡ እዚ ኣኼባ‘ዚ ዓመተ 2016 ተወዲኡ ናይ ዓመተ 2017 ናይ መጀመርያ ኣኼባ ብምዃኑ፡ ተኣትዩ ዘሎ ዓመት፡ ዓመተ ራህዋን ዓወትን ክንቅይሮ ኣበርቲዕና ክንቃለስ ከም ዘሎና ድሕሪ ምግላጽ፥ ኣብ ዓመተ 2016 ብህግደፍ እናከፍአ ክኸይድ ዝጸንሐ ፍጻሜታትን፡ ብኣንጻሩ ድማ ብደንበ ተቓውሞ  ይኹን ብህዝብና ብጠቕላላ ዝተፈጸሙ  ጸረ ስርዓት ህግደፍ  ዝኾኑ ናይ ተቓውሞ ንጥፈታትን ስፍሕ ዝበለ መግለጺ ተዋሂቡ።

ስዒቡ፣  ኣብቲ ቀንዲ ንኣተሃላልዋ መንእሰያት ዝምልከት መዛረቢ ዛዕባን  ኣብዚ ኣቲናዮ ዘለና ሓድሽ ዓመት 2017 ክቃለሱሉ ዘለዎም ጉዳያትን ብምእታው፤ ሰፊሕ ምይይጥ ተኻይዱ። እዚ ኣርእስቲ‘ዚ ከም ናይ ልዝብ ነጥቢ ኣብዝተላዕለሉ እዋን፡ ብዙሓት ካብ ተሳተፍቲ ኣኼባ ነዚ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ሰሙን ዝተረኽበ ናይ ማእከላይ ባሕሪ ጥፍኣት ስደተኛታት፡ ቀንዲ ተሓታቲ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ምዃኑን፤ ንሕና ኣባላት ደምበ ተቃውሞ ብሓፈሻ፡ ብፍላይ ድማ መንእሰያት ኣብ‘ዚ ግዜ‘ዚ ካብ‘ዚ ኩሉ ዘጋጥም ዘሎ ሓደጋታት ወጺእና ኣብ ውሑስ ቦታ በጺሕና፡ ንዝተኣስሩን ዝጠፍኡን መንእሰያት ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን መታዓብይትናን ከይረሳዕና፡ ኣፍ ክንኮኖም ይግበኣና ዝብል ርእይቶታት  እዮም  ሂቦም። ወለድና  ዘጽንሕዎ ቃልሲ ብምቕጻልን ብምትካእን  ከኣ፡  ኣብ ኤርትራ ሕግን ሰላምን ተረጋጊጹ መሰል ኩሉ ዜጋ ዝሕለወሉ ስርዓተ መንግስቲ ክሳብ ዝረጋገጽ ብትሪ ክንቃለስ ኢና ዝብል መልእኽቲ ኣመሓላሊፎም።

ነዚ ንምዕዋት ድማ፡ ንሕና ንህግደፍ ብኣተሓሳስባ ክንስዕሮ ምእንቲ፡ ዝማዕበለን ዝነቕሐን መንእሰይ ክህልዉና ስለዝግባእ፤ ክንምሃርን ክንፈልጥን እዩ ዘለና። ካድራትና‘ውን ንመንእሰያትና ብፖለቲካ ከዕጥቕዎም ብርቱዕ ተወፋይነትን ጻዕርን ይሓቶም ኣሎ።  ብቀንዱ ግን፡ ንሕና መንእሰያት ኣብ ዓዲ ትምህርትን ዓዲ ምዕብልናን ስለ ዘሎና፣ ነፍስና ኣብ ምምዕባል  እምበር፡ ግዜና ኣብ ከንቱ ከይነሕልፍ ክንጥንቀቕ የድልየና። ነቶም ኣብ ደምበ ህግደፍ ከይዶም ኩሉ‘ቲ ህግደፍ ዝጠልቦ እናኣማልኡ ተወሳኺ ሓይሊ ዝኮኑዎ ዘለዉ መንእሰያት እውን ከይተነጻጸግና ከነረድኦምን ብትሪ ክንምክቶም እዩ ዘለና። ኣብ ዓመተ 2017 ሓድሽ ሜላ ናይ ቃልስን  ምጥርናፍን  ውደባን ከነርኢ ኣሎና ብዝብል መንፈስ  ናይ ቃልሲ ድልውነቶምን ጽንዓቶም  ገሊጾም። በዚ ከኣ፡  ኣኼባ ብዝኽሪ ሰማእታት ተዓጽዩ።

THEY are raped, tortured, beaten, shot and murdered but no one can help them.

Some of the world’s worst wars and conflicts are so dangerous that not even supplies or aid workers can get to the millions of citizens subjected to violence and other atrocities as they are trapped within them.

According to a new report by CARE International, many international horrors go under-reported and unnoticed because journalists and photographers are also unable to access the areas without extreme risk to their own lives.

Eritrea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Korea are among several countries that can’t be reached by aid workers or media, according to CARE International.

Children scrape for food in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Children scrape for food in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Source:Supplied

Little is known about Eritrea, a country almost completely cut off from the outside world.

Journalists and aid workers have no access to humanitarian data and many major aid organisations are not allowed to provide relief to affected people, according to the new report. According to UN estimates, about two million people are without adequate food supplies in the semi-arid country.

Ongoing conflict, slow economic growth and lifelong mandatory military service force many people to flee Eritrea.

The UN estimates that 5,000 Eritreans leave their country each month, many of them so desperate for a better life, they risk taking the perilous route across the Sahara and the

Mediterranean Sea. Eritreans constitute one of the largest groups of refugees in Europe and Africa.

 
 

Half of all children in Eritrea are stunted and cannot achieve their full mental and physical potential, because of acute malnutrition.

According to the CARE International report, Eritrea is home to one of the 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2016’.

DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CONGO

It is extremely difficult for aid workers and journalists to get access to the Democratic Republic of Congo and help refugees.

It is extremely difficult for aid workers and journalists to get access to the Democratic Republic of Congo and help refugees.Source:Supplied

The report also reveals that reaching people in need in the Democratic People’s Republic of Congo is challenging as the security situation varies widely and certain areas are virtual ‘no-go’ zones for aid workers.

More than seven million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and struggling to survive amid violence, epidemics, malnutrition and natural disasters.

The country has been in a state of humanitarian crisis for more than two decades and the recent upsurge in violence in 2016 has left little hope for a peaceful transition in the near future.

Many children and adolescents living in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) know nothing but conflict after 20 years of war.

A toxic cocktail of constant fighting between numerous armed groups, droughts due to the El Niño climatic cycle and the influx of refugees from neighbouring countries such as Burundi, the Central African Republic and South Sudan have exacerbated the dire living conditions for many families.

DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA / NORTH KOREA

According to CARE International, very few international organisations are allowed to provide relief in North Korea and international journalists are rarely granted access to report from inside the country.

“Very little information is available about the 18 million people — 70 per cent of the population — who do not have enough to eat,” the report read.

“Among them are more than two million children and pregnant and lactating women who are at risk of malnutrition, a severe threat to the survival of mothers and children under five.”

North Korea is prone to recurring disasters such as droughts, floods and storms. The previous two years were “abnormally dry, decreasing crop production by over 20 per cent from 2014

to 2015”. Typhoon Lionrock wreaked havoc in August, causing destructive floods and affected more than 600,000 people.

Source=http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/living-in-hell-countries-locked-in-conflict-that-no-one-can-get-to-and-help/news-story/b339ec705b834bc0e0bba0c807948aa6

Monday, 23 January 2017 10:37

Eritrea Travel Warning

Written by

 

The U.S. Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Eritrea due to the unpredictable security situation along Eritrea’s borders and restrictions imposed by local authorities on travel within the country. All foreign nationals, including U.S. government employees, must obtain permits to travel outside of the capital Asmara. This restriction limits the ability of the U.S. Embassy to provide consular/emergency services anywhere outside of Asmara. This replaces the Travel Warning dated May 6, 2015.

Avoid travel along all border regions. In June 2016, fighting in the Ethiopia-Eritrea border region reportedly caused several deaths.  Continued political and military tensions between Eritrea and the neighboring countries of Djibouti and Ethiopia pose the threat of possible renewed conflict. Due to regional sensitivities, the State Department also recommends against travel to the border region with Sudan.

For further information:

Source=http://military-technologies.net/2017/01/22/eritrea-travel-warning/

Information downplayed rights abuses and meant some Eritrean children in Calais were refused entry to UK

The Calais camp
The Home Office used the lower grant rates as a reason for excluding almost all Eritrean children in the Calais refugee camp aged 13-15. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

 

The government downplayed the risk of human rights abuses in one of the world’s most repressive regimes in an attempt to reduce asylum seeker numbers despite doubts from its own experts, internal documents have revealed.

Home Office documents obtained by the Public Law Project detail efforts by the government to seek more favourable descriptions of human rights conditions in Eritrea, an east African country that indefinitely detains and tortures some of its citizens as well as carrying out extrajudicial executions and operating a shoot-to-kill policy on those caught trying to flee the country.

The notes relate to a high-level meeting that took place in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, in December 2014, between senior Eritrean government officials and a UK delegation led by James Sharp, the Foreign Office’s director of migration, and Rob Jones, the Home Office’s head of asylum and family policy.

A diplomatic telegram written by the then UK ambassador to Eritrea, David Ward, says the meeting was held to “discuss reducing Eritrean migration” and sought to find evidence on human rights “to evaluate whether we [the UK] should amend our country guidance”.

The discussions focused on how to reduce the number of Eritrean asylum seekers granted refugee status in the UK and how to deter more Eritreans coming to the UK to claim asylum. UK officials were concerned that the UK’s high grant rate to Eritrean asylum seekers of about 85% would attract more Eritreans to the UK.

UK officials agreed to look at giving Eritrea aid in exchange for Eritrea agreeing to soften some of its human rights abuses. The Eritrean government appears to have agreed to limit forced military conscription to 18 months but said it would do this informally rather than by making a formal announcement. Reports from human rights watchdogs this month found that the problem of enforced and prolonged military conscription is as bad as ever.

Advertisement

The documents also reveal that UK officials warned that they still had concerns after the meeting about the human rights situation in Eritrea. One of the documents disclosed to the Public Law Project, entitled Informal Report of UK Visit to Eritrea 9-11 December 2014, states: “If [Eritrean] government representatives are to be believed the risk of persecution or mistreatment in Eritrea is lower than our country guidance suggests. But independent verification of their description of the situation in Eritrea is difficult to find. Further evidence is likely to be required before a significant reduction in that rate [of grants of asylum] can be supported.”

A partially redacted email sent on 17 December 2014 states: “The story on the penalties for those returning to Eritrea for evading national service or illegal exit was less clear. Non-governmental interlocutors acknowledge the possibility of extrajudicial detention on an arbitrary basis.”

A parliamentary answer in the House of Lords in January 2015 confirmed that the visit to Eritrea had taken place and said that discussions had involved “topics including the current drivers of irregular migration, ways to mitigate it, and voluntary and enforced returns”.

Lord Bates, a Home Office minister, added: “We are now considering how best to use the information gathered during the visit to develop our approach to managing migration from Eritrea.”

But despite the doubts about a real improvement in the human rights situation expressed by UK officials in the internal documents, the Home Office went ahead in March 2015 with issuing new guidance to those making decisions on asylum seekers stating that the human rights situation in Eritrea was not as bad as previously thought.

Country guidance issued by the Home Office is highly influential on both ministry officials and judges making decisions on asylum claims. This guidance is expected to contain independently verifiable evidence.

As a result of the new guidance the levels of grants of asylum to Eritreans plummeted from 85% to 60%. However, 87% of those refused under the new guidance had their refusals overturned by judges on appeal.

Advertisement

The 2015 guidance impacted on Eritrean children in Calais who hoped to come to the UK at the end of last year. The Home Office used the lower grant rates as a reason for excluding almost all Eritrean children in Calais aged 13-15 – the initial grant rate for Eritrean asylum seekers between March 2015 and June 2016 was below 75%.

However, a significant case in the upper (immigration) tribunal last October, known as a country guidance case, found that the new Home Office guidance on Eritrea was not credible. The Home Office has acknowledged the reality of the human rights situation and withdrawn its flawed guidance.

Alison Pickup, the legal director of the Public Law Project, said: “It is of fundamental importance to the integrity of the UK’s asylum system that decisions on refugee status are based on fair, objective and informed assessment of conditions in their country of origin. The Home Office has a legal duty to ensure that the information given to decision-makers is as accurate, up to date and complete as possible. This disclosure suggests a troubling lack of impartiality and objectivity in the selection of information to be provided to asylum decision-makers about one of the most secretive and repressive regimes in the world.”

In relation to the Home Office exclusion of Eritrean children in Calais, she said: “The Home Office’s exclusion of Eritrean refugee children on the basis of a statistic which is the result of its own flawed guidance is a tragedy.”

Safe Passage, part of Citizens UK, was working with refugee children in Calais before the camp was closed last November. The Citizens UK leader, Jonathan Clark, the bishop of Croydon, said: “It is hugely concerning that the Home Office appeared to have been willing to set aside their own concerns that they were not being told the truth about ongoing human rights violations because of a policy to reduce numbers. This faulty evidence contributed to many vulnerable children from the Calais refugee camp [being] denied sanctuary in the UK through the Dubs scheme.

Advertisement

“As the government considers its policy towards unaccompanied children in Greece and Italy we urge them not to rule out children from countries such as Eritrea, but help the most at risk.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK has a proud history of offering asylum to those who need it. Each application is carefully considered on its merits against background country information, ensuring only those with a genuine claim for asylum receive a grant.

“We continually review our country information and guidance to ensure it is up to date, accurate and relevant, so that staff can make fair and considered decisions. The most recent update to the guidance on Eritrea was made last year as a result of a fact-finding mission in 2016. We work closely with countries such as Eritrea to discuss migration matters.”

The Guardian has approached the FCO for comment.

Source=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/22/home-office-eritrea-guidance-softened-to-reduce-asylum-seeker-numbers

በይ ኤርያ ኤርትራውያን ንዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ብምክንያት ግዳያት ዜጋታትና ዘተስምዖ መሪር ሓዘን ይገልጽ!!
ንስድራቤት መወትን ንምሉእ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ድማ ጽንዓት ይሃበና ይብል።

እዚ ተድጋጋሚ ዘየዕርፍ ስደትን ህልቂትን ከም ዘለዎ እንተቀጺሉ እታ ከም ሃገር ዕትብትና ዝተቀበረላ መሬትና እውን ከይንስእና ዘጣራጥር እዩ። ንምታይ’ሲ ተካኢ ወለዶ ከም ዘለዎ እንተ ጸኒቱን ካብ ሞት ዝድሐነ ድማ ኣብ ስደት ኾይኑ ብዛዕባ እታ ትጠፍእ ዘላ ሃገሩ ብሕልና እንተ ዘይሓሲቡን፡ ታርክ ዘውርሱ ኣያታትን ኣቦታትን ኣብ ስደትን ኣብ ዓድን ቀዲሞምና እንተ ከይዶምን ሃገርና ክንስእና ኢና። እዚ ንሃገርን ህዝብን ዘጽንት ዘሎ ስርዓት ከም ኩሎም ግዛእቲ ደርብታት ክሓልፍ እኻ እንተኮነ ቅድሚ ናቱ ዕድመ ዕድመ ጥፋኣት ሃገርና  ይቅድም ኣሎ እሞኸ? ስቕታና ከምዚ ድዩ ክቅጽል ? ወይስ ካብቲ ንጥፋት ሃገርናን ህዝብናን ታሓትቲ’ዩ ንብሎ ዘሎና ስርዓት  ስቅታናን ኣብ ጥፍኣት ሃገር ማዕሪ ከየሕትተና እቶም ንፍትሕን ለውጥን ንድሊ ንኩሉም ድሑራት ኣራኣእያታትን ኣታሐሳስባታትን ወጊድ ኢልና ምእንቲ ድሕነት ሃገርን ህዝብን ክንልዓልን ዘተረፈ ህዝብና ካብ መንጋጋ ዓማጺ ሰርዓት ህግደፍ ክነድሕኖን ሰዓቱን ግዚኡን እዩ። እዚ ዓማጺ ሰርዓት እዚ ንእስላማይ ክርስትያናይ፡ ከበሰታይ ቖላታይ፡ ብዘይ ኣፍላላይ ብጅምላን ብማዕረ ዝጭፍጭፍ ዘሎ ኣረሜናዊ ሰርዓት ከምኻኑ መጠን !! ነቶም ንሱ ዝጥቀመሎም መሕብኢ ባዓቲ ድሕረት ኣፍሪስና ብሐድነት ብምጥማር ፍትሐዊትን ዲሞክራስያዊትን ኤርትራ ኣብ  ልዕሊ መቃብር ዓመጽታ ክንተክላ ሕልናዊ ሓላፍነት ኣሎና።

ሰለዚ እምበኣር’ዩ በይ ኤርያ  ኤርትራውያን ንዲሞክራስያዊ ልውጢ ወትሩ በቲ ንኩሉ ኤርትራዊ ደላይ ለውጢ ፍልልያቱ ብዘይገድስ ዝሰርሓሉ ህዝባዊ ማዕበል ንለውጥን ድሕነት ህዝብን ዓቅሙ ዝፈቅዶ ከይትሐለለ እጃሙ ዘበርክት ዘሎ። በይ-ኤርያ  ምስ-ኩሉ ደላይ ለውጢ ኣበየናይ ኩርናዕ  ዓለም ብዘየግድስ  ህዝብና ካብ ዝጋጥሞ ዘሎ ተዳጋጋሚ ህልቂት ንምደሓን ንለውጢ ምስ ዝቃለሱ ክቃለስ ቁሩብ ምኻኑ ይገልጽ።

 

ኩሉ ድሕሪ ድሕነት ሃገር!!

ሐድነት’ዩ መንገዲ ድሕነትና!

ዝኽሪ ንኩሎም ሰማእታትና!!
በይ-ኤርያ ኤርትራውያን ንዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ
1/19/17

ሓርነት ኦርግ ድሕርቲ ዝተረኽበ ውጽኢት ዓወት ደሞክራስያዊ ምርጫ ህዝቢ ጋምብያ ብ1 ታሕሳስ 2016 ኣመልኪቱ ነቲ ብሰላም ተኻይዱ ውጽኢቱ ድማ: ዝነበረ ፕረሲደንት ጋምብያ ተቐቢለዮ ምባሉን: ንህዝቢ ኣፍሪቃ ኣየር ደሞክራሲ ዘተንበሀ ፍጻመ ምንባሩን ኣብ ዓምድታቱ ኣስፊርዎ ነይሩ። ጸኒሑ ግን ዝነበረ ፕረሲደንት ስልጣነይ ኣየረክብን ኢሉ ሓንጊዱ ምጽንሑን ኣበይ ከም ዝውድእን ነቲ ምዕባለ ኣብ ምጽንታው ዝጸንሐ ዓለምን ህዝቢ ጋምብያን: ብሓይልታት ደገፍቲ ምርጫ ህዝቢ ጋምብያ ብፍላይ ሰነጋል ውረድ ወይ ድማ ብሓይሊ ከነልግሰካ ኢና ዝብል ናይ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ቡራኬ ዝተሓወሶ ስምዕታ: ያሕያ ጃሚህ ከዕጠጢ ድሕሪ ምጽናሕ ነታ ሃገር ገዲፉ ክወጽእ ተቐሲቡስ እቲ ዝሰዓረ ፕረሲደንት ኣዳማ ባረው ክትክኦ ኣብ ምድላው ኣሎ። ኣብዚ ዝጸንሐ ደሞክራስያዊ ምውጣጥ ናይ ስላጣን ሰራዊት ጋምብያ ንውጽኢት ብዝሒ ድምጺ ህዝቢ ጋምብያ ደጊፉ ድው ምባሉ ንኻልኦት ሰብ ጹረራ ትምህርትዩ።

ህዝቢ ጋምብያ 1,849,285 ሚልዮን ኮይኑ: ጋምብያ ብመጠን ስፍሓታ; ጻዕቂ ህዝቢ ዘለዋ ሃገርያ። ወግዓዊ ቋንቋ ህዝቢ ጋምብያ እንግሊዝዩ። መብዛሕትኡ ህዝቢ ጋምብያ ግን ቦታዊ ቋንቁኡዩ ዘዘውትር። ካብ ዓሰርተ ጋምብያውያን ትሽዓተ ሃይማኖት ምስልምናዮም ዝኽተሉ ኢዮም። ጋምብያ ረፓብልኪካዊት ሃገር ኮይና ብመሰረት ቁዋም’ታ ሃገር ደሞክራስን ብዝሐ ሰልፍታትንያ ክትመሓደር ዝግባእ። ይኹን እምበር ብግብርስ ኣብዚ ዝሓልፈ 22 ዓመት ብሓያል ምልካዊ ፕረሲደንት ያሕያ ጃሚህ ኢያ ክትደሃኽ ጸኒሓ። ብ1994 ብዕልዋ (ኩደታ) ኣብ ስልጣን ዝደየበ ጃሚህ ኣብቲ ግዜ 29 ዓመት ነይርዎ። ብገለ ክፋል ናይቲ ህዝቢ ደገፍ እኳ ይንበሮ እምበር ቀንዲ ንምልኩ ዝሓገዘ ረቛሕስ ዝተባታተነ ተቛውሞ ካብ ቀንዲዩ ነይሩ። በዚ ዝሰኸረ ጃሚህ ኣምላኽ እንትፈቒዱስ ንሚልያርድ ዓመታት ክመርሕየ ይብል ነይሩዩ።

ዕብዳን ስልጣን ዝዓዘሮ ያሕያ ጃሚህ ኣብ ሓደ ታሕሳስ ዝተኻየደ ውጽኢት ምርጫ ህዝቢ ጋምብያ ኣይቅበልን ብምባል ሓንጊዱ ጸኒሑ: ኣብቲ ምርጫ ኣዳማ ባረው ዝመርሖ ወገን ብ 45.5 ክዕወት ከሎ: ጃሚህ 36.7 ብምምጻእ ተሳዒሩ ኢዩ። እንተኾነ ዕውር ስስዐ ስልጣንን ብልሽው ዘይዓግብ ሸውሃቱን ካብ ምልኪ ብቐሊሉ ከገላግሎ ኣይከኣለን። ኣይወርድን ብምባል ክሕንግድ ፈቲኑ።

ሃገራት ምዕራብ ኣፍሪቃ ብፍላይ ሰንጋል ግን ምስ ውጽኢት ምርጫ ህዝቢ ጋምብያ ደው ብምባል: እንተዘወሪድካ ሓይሊ ክንጥቀም ኢና ዝብል መልእኽቶም ነታ ሕብእቲ ፍርሒ ምልካውነት ያሕያ ፊሒራ ምስ ኣውጸአት: ሕራይ ክብል ተቐሲቡስ ሃገር ገዲፉ ወጺኡ። ኣብ ውሽጢ ናይ 22 ዓመት ምልካውነቱ ንብረት ህዝቢ ጋምብያ ክዘርፍ ዝጸንሐ ጃሚህ: መላእ ዝዘረፎ ንብረት ዛጊት ኣይተፈልጠን ዘሎ። ካብታ ሃገር ክወጽእ ከሎ ግን ዓሰርተ ናተይ ዝብለን መካይን ክማላእ ሓቲቱ ተቐባልነት ኣይረኸበን። ህዝቢ ጋምብያ ኸኣ ምልካዊ ያሕያ ካብታ ሃገር ለቒቑ ክወጽእን ብዝረኸቦ ደሞክራስያዊ ድምጹ ክዛነን ጀሚሩ ኣሎ።