EU Vice-President Mogherini Shares EPDP Concerns about Human Rights in Eritrea
2015-04-18 17:18:48 Written by EPDP Information Office Published in EPDP News Read 3779 times-
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EPDP Information Office
In a response letter dated 16 April 2015, the office of Ms. Federica Mogherini, the EU Commission Vice-President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated that the EU shares EPDP concerns “about the difficult rights situation in Eritrea” and that it “will continue to press on the Government of Eritrea” to improve its handling of human rights issues and “provide assistance to the people”.
The letter tried to justify why the EU is about to help the Asmara regime this year because “EU’s overall objective remains to help the people in Eritrea to have a peaceful, sustainable and rewarding life”.
Written in response to the EPDP memorandum of 31 March 2015 protesting about the intended EU support to the incorrigible regime in Eritrea, the EU letter believed that political engagement with Eritrea “remains valuable for two reasons”. It says the first reason is to help EU “press for improvement in human rights and reform across the board”, and the second reason for EU’s support to the Asmara regime is “to support the Eritrean people through EU development projects”.
The lengthy letter, signed on behalf of Ms Mogherini by Ms Claudia Wiedey, the Division Head for EU’s European External Action Service (EEAS), further stated to allay Eritrean fears that “strict monitoring procedures make sure that EU aid is for the benefit of people, creating jobs and reducing poverty”. According to the letter, “currently, EU support is focusing on food security enhancement through the improvement of agricultural production and yields, and on strengthening the rule of law in Eritrea by supporting community courts at grassroots’ level”. It was also stated that the support will benefit non-state actors inside Eritrea but did not specify which civil society organizations.
The message further stated that EU is sharing EPDP memo concerns about refugees. It explained that EU is fully behind the Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative (HoAMRI), also called the Khartoum Process, established in November 2014 to fight human trafficking and people smuggling in the region.
