UN Report Exposes Eritrea's Continued Gross Violations of Human Rights

2018-06-27 16:52:18 Written by  EPDP Information Office Published in EPDP News Read 3080 times

Ms Sheila B. Keetharuth, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea,  on 26 June presented her fifth and final report about the persisting "climate of repression" in Eritrea to the 38th Session of the UN Human Rights Council currently meeting in Geneva.

 

The bleak report underlined the fact that nothing is changing in the political and human rights situation in Eritrea where severe restriction of all basic freedoms, torture, rape, arbitrary arrests, ill treatment of prisoners and incommunicado detentions until death are ongoing crimes being committed in the country.

Sadly, all perpetrators of the extreme abuses of other humans in Eritrea are not being made accountable for their acts at home and abroad, she stressed. During the past years, the regime in Asmara arrested 90 journalists, some of whom are still languishing in little known prisons.

Ms Keetharuth, who is ending a six-year term on the Eritrea mandate, has urged the UN Council to extend this mandate of the UN Special Human Rights Rapporteur and do more to implement the Council's previous resolutions and recommendations on the alarming situation in that country.

Many country delegates and civil society activists made short interventions  supporting her report (http://webtv.un.org/search/id-sr-on-human-rights-in-eritrea-17th-meeting-38th-regular-session-human-rights-council-/5801987527001/?term=&lan=english)  and strongly recommending for more attention to the little changing Eritrean situation.

In the meantime, Eritrean human rights and pro-democracy activists attending the 38th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, continued holding side-events to highlight major human rights concerns in Eritrea.

Besides, the side-event moderated by Dr. Daniel Rezene on 25 June assessing achievements in the past few years and Eritrea's human rights challenges head, other Eritreans and supporters also organized another side-event on 26 June. Moderated by Mr. Redi Aybu of UK, the latter event was addressed by representatives of Eritrean Lowlands League (Messrs Mahmoud Adem; Ibrahim Kabushi) and the Red Sea Afar Human Rights Organization (Ismail Gabayta). They highlights the land property abuses of the regime in their respective regions and called for the attention and support of other Eritreans in addressing the land problem in post-dictatorship Eritrea. Both side-events were attended by Ms Keetharuth.

Later in the evening hours of 26 June, a number of Eritrean activists organized dinner in  honour of  Ms. Sheila B. Keetharuththe outgoing Eritrea Sepcial Rapporteur who attended the event dressed in Eritrean traditional costume. The Eritrean friends presented her a bouquet of flowers and a symbolic gift in the name of all Eritreans who appreciated her hard and good work on human rights in Eritrea.

 

Last modified on Wednesday, 27 June 2018 18:55