Country in focus: Eritrea

Eritrea has long been considered one of the most repressive countries in the world; a dictatorship where all independent expression is stifled and thousands of citizens languish indefinitely in jails, enduring appalling conditions. Recent developments in the country – most notably the improved relations with Ethiopia – have been met with great enthusiasm by the international community. Many saw this as an indication that the plight of the Eritrean people is finally coming to an end. Tragically, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

On the morning of 17 September 2018, 73-year-old Berhane Abrehe was out having breakfast with his son in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital. He was approached by security agents and instructed to accompany them. Mr Abrehe had just published a book entitled Eritrea Hageray (‘Eritrea My Country’), in which he presented a plan on how to end Eritrea’s dictatorship and prevent it happening again.

Several Eritrean former officials living in exile endorsed the book. It was accompanied by an audio recording in which Mr Abrehe challenged President Afwerki to a public debate.

Since that date Mr Abrehe’s whereabouts have been unknown.

Peace agreement signed

Mr Abrehe was arrested just one day after the Eritrean and Ethiopian presidents signed a peace agreement. The two countries fought a costly war from May 1998 to June 2000 over their common border and, although a peace agreement was signed in 2000, peace was never fully restored as Ethiopia refused to implement a ruling by a border commission.

More poignantly, the day after Mr Abrehe’s arrest marked 17 years since pro-reform officials were forcibly disappeared, independent media outlets shut down and journalists jailed incommunicado. Many are rumoured to have died in the harsh conditions.

Mr Abrehe’s arrest provides perhaps the clearest sign that, despite the international enthusiasm surrounding the reconciliation between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the situation in Eritrea remains dire.

Peace – but no change

While the Ethiopian human rights situation improved in the lead up to the peace agreement, the same cannot be said of Eritrea.

Even before Mr Abrehe was arrested, there were clear indications that nothing had changed. Reports of 400 Christians being released from detention were soon found to be false. In reality, 35 individuals who had agreed, four years earlier, to renounce their denominations in exchange for their release, were finally set free. Six prominent Christian leaders who’ve been detained incommunicado for over a decade remain imprisoned. It’s estimated that in total there are over 10,000 people of all faiths and none currently detained in a network of detention facilities around the country.

A seat at the table

In 2016 an official UN inquiry found reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been systematically taking place in Eritrea since 1991. The government repeatedly refused to cooperate with the former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea or with any other mandate holder, and has not actioned any of the recommendations it accepted during two consecutive Universal Periodic Review (UPR) cycles. (The UPR is a peer-review process which examines the human rights record of each UN member state every four years. NGOs such as CSW contribute towards the stakeholders’ report on the country in question, and the country’s record is reviewed by other states which then offer recommendations for areas for improvement.)

Yet in spite of all this, in October 2018 Eritrea was elected to serve on the UN Human Rights Council, which requires member countries to have contributed to ‘the promotion and protection of human rights’. During its most recent review in January, Eritrea tried to blame the Special Rapporteur and Commission of Inquiry for its delay in implementing previous recommendations, claiming disingenuously that no one in Eritrea is persecuted because of their religious beliefs, and that pro-democracy officials and journalists jailed since 2001 had committed national security crimes.

The international community must continue to press Eritrea to end its severe violations of the human rights of its citizens, and take concrete steps towards a future of peace and justice. The UN must ensure that states that are elected to the Council fully cooperate with its Special Procedures mandate holders, and that their domestic policies reflect its aims and objectives.