Articles

OCTOBER 21, 2020 ERITREA HUB NEWS

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) filed a complaint today with the office of the Swedish prosecutor for international crimes accusing Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki and seven other senior Eritrean officials of a crime against humanity by holding a journalist incommunicado since 2001.

Their victim, Dawit Isaak, who has Swedish and Eritrean dual nationality, is the world’s longest held journalist. RSF hopes the complaint leads to a serious criminal investigation that results in the eight officials being prosecuted and convicted for the torture, abduction and enforced disappearance of Isaak.

Filed in Stockholm by two Swedish lawyers on RSF’s behalf, the complaint names Afwerki, the northeast African country’s president since 1993, as well as the foreign, justice and information ministers, and four other senior administrative and security officials.

“No matter how high their rank, the individuals who imprisoned Dawit Isaak and left him languishing there for nearly 20 years must be held criminally responsible,” said lawyer and Nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, one of the complaint’s signatories. “Justice in Eritrea will not progress as long as these persons are able to act with complete impunity and no attempt is made to convict them by the countries that can.”

A journalist, poet and naturalized Swedish citizen, Isaak returned to his country of birth to serve “a free Eritrea” and launch a pro-reform newspaper, but was arrested during a series of round-ups of government opponents and independent journalists in September 2001 and has been held incommunicado ever since.

At no point in the past 19 years has he been allowed to see his lawyers or family, or receive a visit from UN or Swedish representatives, despite his Swedish nationality and many requests for visits. The last “proof of life” dates back to 2005. He is likely being held in appalling conditions at the Eiraeiro detention centre in the middle of a desert in the Northern Red Sea Region, where burning hot containers are used as cells.

When RSF’s lawyers filed an initial complaint with the Swedish courts in 2014, the Stockholm prosecutor general recognized that “crimes against humanity, at least in terms of enforced disappearance” had been committed against Isaak in Eritrea, that these crimes came under Swedish jurisdiction, and that there were “serious grounds” for opening a preliminary investigation.

But no such investigation was initiated because, after consultation with the Swedish foreign ministry, it was decided that this “could affect Sweden’s relations with Eritrea,” which could in turn “diminish the chances of pressuring for [Isaak’s] release.”

“This argument is no longer valid,” said Paul Coppin, the head of RSF’s legal unit. “Five years after this decision, Dawit Isaak is still missing and the Swedish authorities have obtained nothing – neither his release, nor a visit, nor proof of life. The many resolutions and condemnations by international bodies, including the UN Human Rights Council and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, have not achieved anything either. A criminal investigation is therefore now urgent.”

During a parliamentary hearing in Stockholm in 2019, Swedish foreign minister Ann Linde was herself “forced to conclude that Eritrea has not in any way listened to our concerns and has not followed up on them.”

The complaint filed on RSF’s behalf aims to pressure the Swedish judicial authorities into arresting those held responsible for Isaak’s fate if they enter Sweden and, if necessary, issuing international warrants for their arrest with the aim of trying them in Sweden.

In light of a complete lack of progress in the disastrous human rights situation in Eritrea, the Swedish justice system could thereby have a decisive impact in terms of assisting Isaak and the other journalists held since 2001. It could also help to end impunity for crimes of violence in Eritrea and help improve press freedom there.

Drafted and filed by the Swedish lawyers Percy Bratt and Jesús Alcalá, the complaint has been co-signed by Isaak’s brother, Esayas Isaak; by historian and expert in international affairs Susanne Berger, who coordinates the Raoul Wallenberg Research Initiative; by Björn Tunbäck, who heads the Dawit Isaak team within RSF’s Swedish section; and by Antoine Bernard, international lawyer and senior advisor for International strategic litigation at RSF .

Eleven prominent jurists and well-known international figures have also backed the initiative: 2003 Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi; former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay; former African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights chair Pansy Tlakula; former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler; Bernhard Docke, a lawyer and member of the German Federal Bar’s human rights committee; international human rights lawyer David Matas; Eritrean Law Society director Daniel Mekonnen; Philippe Sands, a British and French lawyer who is president of English PEN; Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa executive director Gaye Sowe; Straniak Academy for Democracy and Human Rights director Hannes Tretter; and University of Pretoria Centre for Human Rights director Frans Viljoen.

Eritrea is ranked 178th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index.

OCTOBER 18, 2020 MARTIN PLAUT NEWS

Yesterday, an Eritrean won a place in New Zealand’s Parliament. Congratulations!

Ibrahim Omer’s story is one every Eritrean will appreciate. He has just been elected as a Labour Party MP.

This is what the party said about him in the run-up to the election.

“Meet Ibrahim

Ibrahim Omer is standing as a Labour candidate to represent communities who often struggle to have their voices heard. His experience spans fleeing his home country, being in a refugee camp, working as a minimum wage cleaner, graduating from university, and representing low paid workers as a union organiser.

Ibrahim’s wide personal experience makes him the real deal. He left his home country of Eritrea in 2003, making the dangerous border crossing to neighbouring Sudan. He spent years in UN-run refugee camps where he worked as an interpreter, until being detained on suspicion of being a spy. It was only when the UN stepped in that he was rescued and offered the chance to come to New Zealand.

He moved to Wellington where he worked as a cleaner and dreamt of studying at Victoria University. That dream came true in 2014 when he was promoted to cleaning supervisor. He paid for his study by working full time at nights, cleaning the university he attended.

Since becoming involved in politics at university, Ibrahim has taken every opportunity to work for a better tomorrow. He has chaired the board of ChangeMakers Resettlement Forum, been involved in governance for the Living Wage Movement, and knocked on hundreds of doors and made thousands of calls as a Labour volunteer.

Ibrahim wants to be in parliament to fight for people in the positions he has been in to have better opportunities for a decent life.”

He has also been profiled by Amnesty International

As a teenager, Ibrahim was forced to flee his home, escaping a repressive regime, the potential to end up a child soldier or face prison for refusing national service, which is both compulsory and endless.

“There was a shoot to kill policy on the border by the regime, I had very limited options, either to be shot, or get arrested and spend years in underground or metal shipping containers, or make it safe to Sudan,” said Ibrahim.

Speaking at the Public Hearing of Our Voices at Parliament on 15 February Ibrahim said he wanted to tell his story to give those listening some idea why people choose to leave their country, why millions of people take the deadly risks, why they put their loved ones in danger of drowning in the oceans, or falling prey to greedy human traffickers.

“The answer is because they run out of options, because they would rather die trying than dying a slow and painful death.”

Ibrahim was lucky he made it to Sudan, but safety wasn’t guaranteed and he faced the very real prospect of being deported back to Eritrea until the UNHCR intervened and referred his case onto third countries for resettlement.

“It was at this crucial moment of my life New Zealand came asking for any special cases, luckily I got accepted, that was the day that changed my life. If it wasn’t for this wonderful country I would be languishing somewhere in an underground prison in a desert.”

“It was at this crucial moment of my life New Zealand came asking for any special cases, luckily I got accepted, that was the day that changed my life. If it wasn’t for this wonderful country I would be languishing somewhere in an underground prison in a desert,” said Ibrahim.

Today, he said he couldn’t be happier, couldn’t be more proud. As a third year student at Victoria University he is working hard to give back to the country that gave him a second chance.

But he also makes a special plea to the government of New Zealand: “As a former refugee who got the second chance in this beautiful country, I would like to add my voice to the thousands of Kiwis across the country who are calling on our Government to double the refugee quota.”

OCTOBER 17, 2020 ERITREA HUB NEWS

Since the peace agreement with Ethiopia in September 2018 and the lifting of UN sanctions in November that year, we have had some acknowledgement from the Eritrean Government of their willingness to engage and a recognition that there is room for improvement in the area of human rights especially around reform of national service. However, there have been very few signs of progress so far.

Source: Lord David Alton

UK Africa Minister Responds to concerns about human rights violations in Eritrea and says he is “concerned, about the large numbers of Eritreans who continue to leave Eritrea…the continuing detention of political opponents as well as journalists; and, the restrictions placed on unregistered religious communities.

Oct 17, 2020

James Duddridge MP
Minister for Africa
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
Tel: 0207 008 5000
Email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Lord Alton of Liverpool
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
www.gov.uk/fcdo
Our ref: MC2020/12278
16 October 2020

Dear Lord Alton,

Thank you for your email about the UN Report on Eritrea and Freedom of
Religion or Belief, and for your work in continuing to shine a light on human rights issues
around the world.

Please accept my sincere apologies for the lateness of the reply.

As you know, Eritrea remains one of the FCO’s countries of human rights concern and,
both through multilateral fora and our Embassy in Asmara, we seek to raise human
rights concerns with the Government whenever possible. Since the peace agreement
with Ethiopia in September 2018 and the lifting of UN sanctions in November that year,
we have had some acknowledgement from the Eritrean Government of their willingness
to engage and a recognition that there is room for improvement in the area of human
rights especially around reform of national service. However, there have been very few
signs of progress so far. We noted this in our statement at the Human Rights Council on
30 June. It is clear that the Eritrean Government’s focus continues to be on their own
security in their region.

Despite this, we have been trying to reset the relationship with Eritrea to create a better
environment where we can discuss the full range of our concerns. Over the past year,
we have been able to increasingly discuss these difficult issues, and our Ambassador
has raised the closure of the Catholic health centres, the release of unregistered
Christian groups, freedom of the media and the release of detained journalists and of
course, reform of national service. We have pressed the Eritrean Government to engage
on the UPR recommendations as they acknowledge that they are prepared to work in
this forum.

You noted particular points around freedom of religion and belief (FoRB). Our
Ambassador regularly raises these issues with Eritrean Government interlocutors. He
last raised this topic on 27 August with Ambassador Gehartu, the Eritrean MFA’s Head
of Multilateral Department – he regularly represents the Eritrean Government in Geneva,
including at the Human Rights Council. At that meeting, our Ambassador lobbied for the
release of followers of the Pentecostal church. The Ambassador also raised the
continuing detention of followers of the Pentecostal church with the Minister of
Information on 7 August. The UK has welcomed the recent release of a number of
Pentecostal followers – some held for many years – and Muslim worshippers held
following demonstrations over school closures in 2018. Although the pressure applied
through our lobbying and that of other international partners is unlikely to have triggered
this release, we will continue our efforts to encourage the Eritrean Government to
release all political and religious prisoners held without trial. Respect for human rights
and democratic freedoms underpins the UK’s foreign policy and we will continue to be a
strong advocate for accountability and justice.

In general, discussions with the Eritrean Government on FoRB are difficult – they believe
that Eritrea already allows the freedom of worship (albeit limited to the Orthodox,
Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran and Sunni Islam faiths). In their view, once Covid is over,
we will see the resumption of faithful participation in services across the country.
However, we are still keen to hold a specific dialogue around greater religious tolerance
perhaps through a visit by the PM’s Envoy on FoRB, once a new Envoy has been
appointed. We raised this with the Eritrean Government pre-Covid.

The UN Special Rapporteur fulfils a vital role on maintaining a focus on FoRB and
human rights in Eritrea. Like the Special Rapporteur, we welcome Eritrea’s participation
in The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW), their engagement through the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
framework to improve crime prevention and criminal justice reform and their ratification
of the eight International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. We are concerned,
however, about the large numbers of Eritreans who continue to leave Eritrea because of:
a desire to avoid national service in search of better economic livelihoods; the continuing
detention of political opponents as well as journalists; and, the restrictions placed on
unregistered religious communities.

Our Ambassador returned to Eritrea on 12 July following his drawdown from post on 18
April. He continues to seek openings to raise human rights. Raising cases and areas of
concern help underline the importance that we attach to respect and protection or
human rights and the UK’s role as being a force for good post-Brexit. However, alone
they are not delivering the progress that we want to see.

I hope it will be possible for our Human Rights Ambassador to visit post-Covid, as well
as the PM’s envoy on FoRB. We also need to find areas where we can encourage
positive change and engagement such as on the UPR recommendations, which Eritrea
agreed, or around areas like gender, which the Special Rapporteur highlighted. I hope
that we can maintain a dialogue with you and the wider APPG on Eritrea at this time and
perhaps encourage a visit by the group to Eritrea in the not too distant future.

James Duddridge MP

Minister for Africa

OCTOBER 16, 2020 ERITREA HUB NEWS

Professor Babiker The UN Human Rights Commission has appointed Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea.

It is an excellent appointment.

Professor Babiker is Dean of the School of Law at the University of Khartoum, with vast experience in this field [see his CV below].

Perhaps most importantly, he was was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as Humanitarian expert with the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG), Security Council resolution 2385 (2017) and the Panel of Experts (POE) on Somalia, Security Council resolution 2444 (2018).

So he knows about Eritrea’s operations in Somalia and – coming from Sudan – must be fully aware of President Isaias’s role inside Sudan as well.

We wish Professor Babiker every success, and look forward to working with him.

Dr. Mohammed Abdelsalam Babiker is Associate Professor of International Law, Dean of the School of Law at the University of Khartoum, and founding Director of its Human Rights Centre. He is the author of Application of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law to the Armed Conflicts of the Sudan: Complementary or Mutually Exclusive Regimes (Intersentia, Antwerp: Oxford, 2007). He has also co-edited a number of books including: Constitution-Making and Human Rights in the Sudans (Routledge, UK, 2019; Anthropology of law in Muslim Sudan: (Brill, 2018); Child Soldiers and Protection of Children’s Rights in Conflict and Post Conflict Environments in Central and Eastern African (L’Armatan, France, 2013).

Dr. Babiker has published extensively in the areas of human rights, international criminal law, international humanitarian law and migration law, and contributed chapters in books and journal articles in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, USA and South Africa ( Refugee Quarterly Survey (Oxford Journals, university of Oxford), Journal of Peace Research Institute, Journal of African Renaissance Studies, University of South Africa, European University Institute (EUI) and Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, Law Africa, Kenya, Nuremberg International Principles Academy, etc… ).

In December 2017 and 2018, Dr. Babiker was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as Humanitarian expert with the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG), Security Council resolution 2385 (2017) and the Panel of Experts (POE) on Somalia, Security Council resolution 2444 (2018). He was also nominated by the Consultative Committee of the UN Human Rights Council for the position of Special Rapporteur for the Islamic Republic of Iran, Session, Human rights Council, 33 session, September 2016.

Dr. Babiker also worked as a Legal Advisor and a Human Rights Officer with UN and AU peacekeeping operations and a number of UN agencies.

OCTOBER 15, 2020 MARTIN PLAUT NEWS

Source: FAO

Swarms increasing and moving in the Horn of Africa

Desert Locust Threat

The situation is expected to deteriorate as more swarms and another generation of breeding commences from the Red Sea to Somalia, which could be supplemented by swarms coming from Yemen. This is likely to threaten Kenya where swarms could arrive in the north from mid-November onwards. Nevertheless, the situation is less dramatic than one year ago and countries are better prepared.

ERITREA. Hopper groups and bands are present in some Red Sea coastal areas from Idd in the south to Mehimet in the north. Mature adult groups are laying near Mehimet. Ground control operations are in progress. More breeding is expected, causing hopper bands, immature adult groups, and perhaps a few swarms to form.