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When a delegation of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) attends a regional or international conference - like the ones it recently attended in Niger, Leipzig, Stockholm, Tunisia and Rotterdam – it presents not a party message but it represents Eritrea, and the message is always a loud cry of Eritrea and its people.  For example, see in annex to this report the full text of the message shared with participants of the recent conference of the Progressive Alliance held between 22 and 23 May in Rotterdam, Holland.

At the Rotterdam conference, all the statements and interventions made by members of the delegation were about the major problems faced by our people today. The meetings of heads of participant delegations, the steering and resolution drafting committees, and the workshops focused on gender problems were ripe opportunities in which the EPDP delegation members could tell the sad Eritrea narrative that included the maltreatments at home and the risks of refugees in the deserts and high seas.

Aside from the formal meetings, EPDP delegations get the opportunity of meeting with so many important state and party figures and exchange notes with them about Eritrea in the past 24 years under a repressive one-man rule.

The Progressive Alliance, which now enjoys the membership of 106 labour, socialist and social democratic parties and over 30 affiliated associations, holds conferences in different parts of the world. The Rotterdam conference on gender equality was attended by delegations representing 46 parties, a good number of them ruling parties in their respective countries.

EPDP delegation members posing with Mr. Mustafa Ben Jaafer, head of the social democratic Ettakatul party of Tunisia. He is the man who chaired the commission that drafted and gave Tunis its exemplary constitution now put to full effect.

During the boat tour and dinner of conference participants,  EPDP’s Ms Adiam Tefferi took the opportunity of having an extensive chat about the plight of Eritrean women with Ms. Kirsten Meijer, the international secretary of the Dutch  Labour Party that hosted the Rotterdam conference.

The Mayor of Rotterdam, Mr. Ahmed Aboutaleb, flanked by EPDP delegation members

Annexed is Full text:

Eritrean Statement at PA Conference

On Gender Equality and Decent Work

Rotterdam, 22-23 May 2015

Distinguished Delegations of Fraternal Parties and Associations,

We, addressing this message to you fraternal forces and comrades-in-struggle, are representatives of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a force engaged in a non-violent struggle for democratic change in our country. A mainstream Eritrean democratic party in exile, the EPDP is a founding member and signatory of the PA declaration adopted at the Leipzig conference of 24 May 2013. 

We are pleased to note that, in addition to expressing PA commitments to promote human rights, the joint pursuit of freedom, justice, social equality, sustainability and international solidarity, this Rotterdam conference is determined to highlight and address the problems of gender inequality, and in doing so show the ways of addressing the plight of women everywhere, including of those much abused and distressed Eritrean women, as pronounced earlier this year by a Specialized UN Committee on discrimination against women.  (See details in annex below).

Dear PA Conference Participants,

You are well aware that the government in Eritrea is the most repressive dictatorship in Africa today. It is also well known that no rule of law exists in Eritrea whose ratified constitution was rendered null and void by the president. No national elections have taken place in the past 24 years in the country where free press, free association and  very basic human rights including the freedom to worship one’s chosen faith are totally non-existent. The last time the rubber stamp assembly of the ruling party met was in February 2002!!

The forced military conscription of all citizens between the ages of 18 and 70 (!!) years in the army and militias, and the open-ended “national service” or forced labour that literally became modern-day slavery brought life in Eritrea to a standstill. Any opposition or criticism of the wrong policies of the regime leads to risks of cruel torture, disablement or slow death. Well over 10,000 persons languish in over 300 prisons without recourse to legal courts. No wonder that the Eritrean society is now at a state of breaking down. This breakdown of a highly militarized society is also very likely to cause havoc in the region and much beyond it.

The suffering of hundreds of thousands of Eritrean refugees in the entire region has remained a disturbing development for years. The tragedies faced by a large number of Eritreans in the Sinai, the Libyan desert and the Mediterranean Sea are also only examples of a bigger problem at home.

Dear Comrades and Friends,

This delegation is taking the liberty of reiterating the party’s calls to this forum to give adequate attention to peoples languishing under unbearable types of governance that do not allow any consideration of addressing gender inequality and decent work. To this end, and as a top priority,

1. We in the EPDP ask the Progressive Alliance to organize a special meeting on the problem of peoples in the Horn of Africa and see how the PA can help distressed peoples like the Eritreans to overcome their problems. 
2. There is an urgent need of supporting non-state civil and political actors towards building their capacities to become alternative democratic forces in those states under repressive regimes that do not allow multi-party democracy.
3. PA member parties to establish a special group that follows up the situation of gender inequalities in Africa and other less developed regions of the world.

No doubt, gender inequality, the theme of this conference is of great concern to us all. Although the wrong policies of the dictatorship in Eritrea affect every citizen, the problems faced by Eritrean women are much worse. The situation of Eritrean women, who paid dearly in the liberation struggle and whose basic rights were relatively respected during the armed struggle, was reverted to square one in the past 24 years after liberation. The observations of an important UN body, that are included to this message below, will give PA meeting participants a picture of the condition of Eritrean women today. 

Sincerely yours,

Menghesteab Asmerom,

Chairman,

The Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) in exile

Annex

Situation of Women in Eritrea

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea and the UN Human Rights Rapporteur for Eritrea have been compiling disquieting human rights abuses in Eritrea covering the period 1991 to the present.  Their mid-term report in March 2015 affirmed that the autocratic government in Asmara brought the Eritrean people to the brink of losing “hope for their future”.  The UN Inquiry Commission is expected to submit its final report to the UN Human Rights Council on 26 June 2015.

The report will no doubt reveal, inter alia,  the tragic situation of women in Eritrea although the problem was also very recently scrutinized by another specialized UN committee whose 6 March 2015 statement severely  criticized the Eritrean regime for utter failure to respect women’s rights  enshrined in a convention that the Eritrean regime itself has already signed.

The UN Committee on Convention to Eliminate all forms Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) discussed women’s situation in Eritrea on 26 February 2015. Its concluding observations contain serious concerns on lack of basic steps needed in the protection and promotion of women’s rights. It said no improvement in the situation can be expected without a constitution and respect of the rule of law.  

Prevalence of sexual abuse of women in the Eritrean army, absence of criminal action against sex offenders, the open-ended “national service” that force women and families to escape from the regime, and the presence of small arms at every corner in the country were mentioned among the concerns of the CEDAW committee that believed they should be addressed “as a matter of high priority”.  Listed below are excerpts from the CEDAW committee’s concluding observations.

From UN CEDAW Observations:

6: The Committee considers that the indefinite national service, the ineffective implementation of the 1997 Constitution and the suspension of the National Assembly, have resulted in a deterioration of the rule of law and resulted in a serious refugee crisis which pose a challenge to the implementation of the Convention. Therefore the Committee urges the State party to implement the recommendations contained in the present concluding observations as a matter of high priority.

8(e): Concerned about [t]he proliferation of small arms and the accessibility of firearms to individuals in the framework of the national service and their impact on the security of women.

9(b): Prevent, investigate, prosecute in criminal courts, and punish all cases of violence against women and girls in the national service and at the Sawa Military Training Centre, implement a policy of zero tolerance and provide legal aid, rehabilitation programmes and compensation to victims;

11(a): Ensure the effective implementation of the 1997 Constitution of Eritrea and expedite the planned Constitutional review process, within a clear timeframe and with transparent procedures …

13(b): Ensure that all cases of violence and discrimination against women covered by the Convention are brought under the jurisdiction of criminal instead of military courts, including when violations of the law are committed by military or public officials;

20(c): Alleged perpetrators of sexual violence against women in the national service are rarely prosecuted.

22. …it is concerned about reports that numerous women and girls, including unaccompanied children who are fleeing the country become victims of human trafficking and smuggling.

24. …it is concerned that women remain underrepresented in senior government positions and at reports that the measures taken only benefit women sharing the views of the political party in power.

25(b): Expeditiously hold free and fair elections to the National Assembly and other elected bodies, ensuring that all women, including those from disadvantaged groups and those holding divergent opinions, can vote and stand for election;

49: It also invites the State party to consider ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court [other international treaties].

EPDP delegation with party representatives from Angola, Kenya and Swaziland.