Eritrea accused of rights abuses
What you need to know:
- In a blistering indictment of what he described as “pervasive state control and ruthless repression,” Mr Smith accused Eritrea of using a history of hostility with neighbouring Ethiopia as justification for systematically violating the rights of its citizens.
- The government’s declared state of “no war, no peace” with Ethiopia is not a status recognised by international law, Mr Smith said. Instead, he added, “it was an expression abusively used by the authorities to disregard international human rights law as if Eritrea was in a legal limbo.”
- Djibouti, which has engaged in border skirmishes with Eritrea, told the council it is deeply concerned about the plight of Djiboutian prisoners of war who have been detained incommunicado in Eritrea.
NEW YORK
A United Nations special investigator of human rights in Eritrea depicted the country on Tuesday as a police state where there is “no rule of law.”
“The government had curtailed most freedoms, from movement to expression, from religion to association, and had created a condition in which individuals felt that they had hardly any choice about main decisions in their lives,” Mr Michael Smith, chairman of a UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea, said in an oral report to the Human Rights Council.
Hundreds of Eritreans attempt to flee their country on a daily basis, Mr Smith said. Many die en route, he noted.
In a blistering indictment of what he described as “pervasive state control and ruthless repression,” Mr Smith accused Eritrea of using a history of hostility with neighbouring Ethiopia as justification for systematically violating the rights of its citizens.
To maintain the system, the iron-grip regime of President Issaias Afeworki uses “pervasive state control and ruthless repression,” he said.
The government’s declared state of “no war, no peace” with Ethiopia is not a status recognised by international law, Mr Smith said. Instead, he added, “it was an expression abusively used by the authorities to disregard international human rights law as if Eritrea was in a legal limbo.”
Eritrean Ambassador Tesfamicael Gerahtu responded at the session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday by insisting there are “no gross or systematic human rights violations” in his country.
The ambassador counter-attacked by charging that the UN commission’s mandate is “politically motivated.” Eritrea’s situation should be seen in the context of Ethiopia’s alleged occupation of sovereign territory and “illegal and unjust sanctions imposed on Eritrea and the belligerent stance and hostility of some countries.”
That was a reference to sets of sanctions levied by the United Nations Security Council and by individual nations, including the United States and United Kingdom.
Both those countries, as well as the European Union, joined in criticising Eritrea at the Human Rights Council meeting. The EU said it “deeply regretted” Eritrea’s refusal to allow UN rights investigators to enter the country.
But Eritrea was not without powerful supporters at Monday’s session.
China said disagreements over a country’s human rights record should be resolved through dialogue and cooperation rather than through coercion and sanctions.
“The international community should take into consideration the challenges that Eritrea, as a developing country, faced in the promotion and protection of human rights, and provide constructive assistance in this field,” China’s delegate declared.
Sudan, in its remarks to the council, refrained from criticising Eritrea. Ghana, however, said Eritrea must endeavour to implement its stated commitments to protecting human rights.
Djibouti, which has engaged in border skirmishes with Eritrea, told the council it is deeply concerned about the plight of Djiboutian prisoners of war who have been detained incommunicado in Eritrea.
