Eritrea: UN Calls On AU to Investigate Eritrean Crimes

GENEVA (HAN) July 4.2016. Public Diplomacy & Regional Security News. The United Nations rights council has called on the African Union to investigate Eritrean leaders over alleged crimes against humanity after a damning report by a UN Commission.

In that report, the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) for Eritrea said the government of President Isaias Afwerki had committed heinous crimes since independence a quarter of a century ago, including the “enslavement” of 400,000 people.

Many of those abuses are allegedly linked to a harsh national service programme in the secretive Horn of Africa state, which for many is almost impossible to escape and which the COI compared to lifetime enslavement.

In a resolution adopted Friday with consensus by the body’s 47 members, the Human Rights Council said it “strongly encourages the African Union to follow up on the [COI] report”.

The AU should set up “an investigation … with a view to examining and bringing to justice those responsible for violations and abuses of human rights identified by the commission , including any that may amount to a crime against humanity”.

The AU has no prosecutor or court system. But it played a leading role in setting up a special court to prosecute former Chadian military ruler Hissene Habre, who was sentenced to life in May for war crimes and crimes against humanity over his 1982-1990 rule.

Rights groups and activists have welcomed the UN’s calls for an investigation into allegations against Eritrea._

The London-based Citizens for Democratic Rights in Eritrea Chairperson Suleiman Hussein said the UN council’s resolution constitutes “a huge blow” to the Eritrean government.

“It is also a very strong message to those who operated with total lawlessness for so long and that it won’t be long before the days of impunity and the rule by terror come to an end,” he told Al Jazeera.

“I hope they now know that they cannot get away with a systematic and widespread abuse of this magnitude … which is rarely seen elsewhere in the world.”

An Eritrean human rights defender Daniel Rezene Mekonnen described the resolution as “fair enough”, but added that he hopes for more concrete measures in the future.

“Overall, seen against the fierce diplomatic campaign of the Eritrean regime of the last four weeks, I believe the resolution we have now is fair enough in laying down the necessary ground work for tangible accountability mechanisms for crimes against humanity in Eritrea,” he told Al Jazeera.

It is to be recalled that UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea report of June 8, 2016 says that Crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, persecution, rape, murder and other inhumane acts have been committed as part of a campaign to instill fear in, deter opposition from and ultimately to control the Eritrean civilian population since Eritrean authorities took control of Eritrean territory in 1991.

Commission of Inquiry Chair Mike Smith said Eritrea is an authoritarian State. There is no independent judiciary, no national assembly and there are no other democratic institutions in Eritrea. This has created a governance and rule of law vacuum, resulting in a climate of impunity for crimes against humanity to be perpetrated over a quarter of a century. These crimes are still occurring today.


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9 Responses to “Eritrea: UN Calls On AU to Investigate Eritrean Crimes”

  1. axmed

    Ethiopia is legally obligated to rescind the agreement that granted Eritrea it’s so called independence and r-unite it with it’s motherland .IGAD member states must introduce a motion to the African Union and the United Nations as soon as possible . We must be re-united with Ethiopia .

  2. Alem

    Regardless of the United Nations decision or the upcoming African Union decision, the ultimate decision which makes the difference and which ultimately decides the future of our Eritrea has been already made. Our Eritrean people in GENEVA JUNE 23RD and throughout the world in unison, made the decision to reclaim our Eritrea, implement our constitution, stop slavery, stop torture, stop rape, stop theft, stop tyranny and remove the criminal regime of ISAYAS AFEWORKI and replace it with a democratically elected government.
    I know the blood thirsty ISAYAS AFEWORKI and his blood soaked gangsters are intoxicated with power and blood and I know they are stupid enough to realize the reality on the ground, but our Eritrean people sent a clear and crisp message. More than 80% of our people rejected the tyrant and his delusional and failed policies and their days is numbered.
    For an extended period of time our people including those who live in the free world were crippled by fear, they were not willing to share their name, not willing to show their faces and were intimidated to express their opinions freely and wouldn’t dare to call the devil by his true color and nature a narcissist evil. Geneva 23rd was a turning point, our Eritrean men and women, young and old, from every ethnic group and from our diverse faiths showed up more than 16,000 of them, on high gear to be on the front and give their voices and add their faces and names to the history of liberation and there is no turning back.
    Fear of death has been the greatest ally of tyranny past and present.
    – Sidney Hook

    “Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.”
    ― Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear

    The decision has been made by our Eritrean people, the cold blood murderer ISAYAS AFEWORKI and his ruthless gangsters referred to the ERITREAN CRIMNAL COURT that is if their fate is not decided (like gruesome killing of Muammar Gaddafi of Libya) within the next few weeks or months by the Eritrean army and people.

    SMERR wedi/gual hager lets keep our belts tight and lets keep on pushing and lets NOT expect somebody to bring the change, it is our responsibility, it is our duty, it is our burden and it is not the respnsibilty of the tekawmo or few tegadelti. Wedi hager, Gual hager YOU ARE TEKAWMO, YOU are DELYI/DELAYIT FTHI.
    We are Eritrea and we will bring change.

    1. Elias

      Alem and axmed both of you gangsters who working to destabilise and destroy our country. You are the ugliest the so called Ethiopian traitors.COI reported that Eritrea became slave from 1991 to 2016,Before that they were fine under our ally Ethiopia, everything was intact, the problem comes after the independence. The independence of Eritrea is completely wrong, it slaved half million people, men and women ended up sexual slave in the modern history/smith,shiela,ghanian traitor/.The ignorant Eritrean traitors accepted this with the help of TPLF minority regime in Ethiopia and the cruel USA administration.

  3. Elias

    I can agree one thing with Alem traitor,22 June 2016 Geneva should have been flooded by the resilient Eritreans, when they heard the three panel CIA messengers called them simply primitive and slave country who are died for nothing but slave. Many of us Eritrean resilient did not turned out, I have never read or heard such open bullied to human being, let alone to Eritrean people who scarified for 50 years on its own betrayed by the so called UN/USA private club/.We went Geneva with thousands, I did not expected any body to stay behind with an excuse, not sham on them, sham on us!!
    Last week USA released that the three criminal panel are created by USA, to find any crack for invasion, the dram was planed years a head,the minority regime in Ethiopia who is on the edge of collapse by great Ethiopian people was the great player on the drama.
    The bloody history repeated by it self, USA and Haileslase asked the orthodox church to support Eritrea to disintegrate and joined Ethiopia. Priest Demotros announced in Eritrea/Christians/ no body will go paradise unless you knell down under the king.
    The gang Eritrean priest who live in Europe participated and blessed the panel report on 23 June 2016/repeat 1953-58/.Today,I called loud, Eritrean ohy!!when we will expose those betrayed us, it is high time to put them in magazine and to Eritrean people, because they can not do worse than this one.Many our fathers left us in hell with out any responsibility, sided with Ethiopia and CIA.Are we shy still not expose them if that the case sham on us!!!!
    The government need to announce their name and their identity, for how many years will choose silent, this is not criticize government, this is selling Eritrean Independent with no shame.

    1. Alem

      I have no idea what the hell you are trying to say man. “Sham on them”, “sham on us”, “the dram was planed years a head”. Did you go to SAWA college?
      Your uncle, the criminal murderer ISAYAS AFEWORKI should be proud of you because you are the only one he got, the rest of them changed their mind and showed up in Geneva on JUNE 23rd.

      1. Elias

        Do not worry Alem, already watered down the panel report,haven’t you read it? Let me tell you one thing, Meharena /Wodegeba/ who had 10,000 soldiers in segeneyti and dekemhare 1987 came to our school in Dekemhare,and announced that,there is no need independent or country except Ethiopia, as you see always those support SHABIA,I chop them like onion, that what we do, if you try to join them, we will hung you on the tree,but the resilient Eritrean army and people hanged him in KOATIT.
        Did you see our jubilee independence this year, because you said I am the only support the country, all are changed their mind???
        Alem,because you sunk deep in the crime against the hallal merit,there is no way you can go out of this psychological disaster.
        Remember 23 June 2016 demonstration by the betrayal/loyal to Weyani and CIA massagers melted down for ever.5million are ready to burry you like what we did before,Eritrea will never knell down,let alone today,even 10 people in Sahl mountain never handed over to the enemy.50,000 Eritrean traitors destroyed,still came back now,do not worry we are ready to burry you with the minority of Ethiopian regim,and the great Ethiopian people are ready to throw out this puppet Centro ethnic cancer.

  4. axmed

    Elias : go and fly a kite .

    1. Elias

      wedi Axum, what are you saying, are you with your friend alem,do not worry Eritrean flags waved over the enemy all the tine.Those frustrated brought a federation flag,sham….in 21 century.

      1. Elias

        eritreans flag waves all the time over the enemy,

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