April 2009 Amnesty Submission to UN Human Rights Council

Throughout the period of review, the Eritrean authorities have frequently arrested suspected government
critics. There is little tolerance of dissent in the country, and no permitted forum for independent expression
of political opinion or political association.
It is very difficult to obtain information on people who ‘disappear’ into secret detention. Families face
reprisals from authorities for inquiring about an arrest or communicating with international human rights
organisations.
At least eleven former government ministers and Eritrean liberation veterans who called for democratic reform
and greater respect for human rights remain in secret detention following their arrest on 18 September 2001.
Known as the G-15, they have never been charged or appeared in court to face trial, although the government
has accused them of treason. Their exact location and health status have never been revealed by the
government. At least one of the eleven, General Ogbe Abraha, reportedly died in custody due to the harsh
conditions and lack of access to medical treatment.

Eritrea

Eritrea is a single-party state, run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).

women

October 2008 -

Djibouti and Eritrea have spoken to the United Nations security council on Thursday to discuss a border dispute. Djibouti has said that unless the UN intervenes there will be war.

The dispute dates back to June when violence erupted between the nations in the border region of Doumeira. The resulting clashes killed an estimated 35 people. The unmarked border remains disputed, and the nations have built up troops on each side of the border, keeping the situation tense.

Djibouti's ambassador to the UN, Roble Olhaye, has accused Eritrea of avoiding mediation on the problem. Djibouti's President Omah Guelleh told the UN security council "Continued inaction in whatever form not only will encourage but will benefit Eritrea's attitude. This would only give my country one option, the option of war."

The Eritrean ambassador to the UN, Araya Desta, claimed to have peaceful intentions and that his nation had no wishes to take new territory. He claimed his country desired "the cultivation of good neighbourly relations with Djibouti," and said that "Contrary to the claims made, Eritrea has not taken any land that belongs to Djibouti and it does not have any territorial ambitions."

Desta accused Ethiopia of worsening the situation by preparing military forces to help Djibouti. "Ethiopia has built from the Djiboutian side a network of winding roads up the mount and deployed offensive long-range artillery and heavy equipment directed at Eritrea," he said. Olhaye dismissed the idea of Ethiopia's involvement with the claim "Whatever the Eritrean ambassador has said is hogwash."

Eritrean refugees

KASSALA, 3 December 2009 (IRIN) - Eastern Sudan hosts more than 66,000 registered Eritrean refugees, the first of whom arrived in 1968 during the early years of Eritrea’s war of independence against Ethiopia. These days, Eritrea’s policy of indefinite military conscription, coupled with drought and poor economic opportunities, prompt some 1,800 people to cross into Sudan every month, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

"Refugees have been here for the past 30-40 years, which is two to three generations, and that is quite unique,” said Peter de Clercq, the UNHCR representative in Sudan.

“It is as far as we know the longest-standing refugee situation in Africa that is still protracted. That is mostly because of the political situation inside Eritrea," he said.

As they planned for their big escape to Europe or Israel, asylum-seekers dreamed of a better life in Sudan. But instead, thousands woke up to the realities of the grim camp conditions, lacking food security or proper healthcare, and sharing scarce resources with Sudanese nationals.