UN calls for Eritrea leaders to be tried for crimes against humanity,
Aislinn Laing, johannesburg 8 JUNE 2016 • 12:54PM AUnited Nations commission of inquiry has called for Eritrea’ssecretive and repressive regime to be referred to the International Criminal Court over what it alleged werecrimes against humanity
AUnited Nations commission of inquiry has called for Eritrea’ssecretive and repressive regime to be referred to the International Criminal Court over what it alleged werecrimes against humanity that included enslavement and torture.
The report said that officials “at the highest levels of state” were responsible for a “systematic campaign against the civilian population” that had claimed an untold number of lives and resulted in Eritreans being among the largest nationality groups fleeing north towards Europe.
The report’s publication came just days after a new European Union plan emerged that includes hinging aid payments and trade deals with African countries on how much they do to prevent migrants from travelling north.
The pacts mirror the €6bn “dirty deal” with Turkey, in which Ankara was offered aid and visa-free travel to the Schengen zone in exchange for accepting deportations and controlling its borders.
“Those countries who work with us will get certain treatment,” an EU official said. “Those who don’t want to or are incapable will get different treatment and that will be translated via our development, trade policies.”
Eritrean migrants represent by far the largest contingent of those entering Europe via Sudan and Libya whose numbers have surged in recent years along with Syrian migrants from the Eastern Mediterranean.
More than a quarter of the 128,619 people recorded by the European border agency FRONTEX as having arrived in Italy between January and September 2015 were identified as Eritrean, totalling more than double the second largest nationality group, Nigerians. In 2012, just 1,889 Eritreans were documented among the arrivals.
Ethiopia has also seen a sharp increase in migrants arriving in its refugee camps from its smaller horn of African neighbour and historic foe, with UN agencies reporting that a “significant proportion” were unaccompanied minors.
Mike Smith, the UN rights commission’s chair, suggested that between 300,000 and 400,000 people were kept in enslavement in Eritrea under the guise of military conscription. He claimed the government of President Isaias Afwerki, who has been in power since 1991, has become increasingly repressive and now presided over a state with no functioning democratic institutions. “This has created a governance and rule of law vacuum, resulting in a climate of impunity for crimes against humanity,” told reporters in Geneva.
“The crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, persecution, rape, murder and other inhumane acts have been committed as part of a widespread, systematic campaign against the civilian population since 1991.”
Eritrean migrants interviewed in Italy, England and Africa for a recent African development organisation report on human trafficking and migrants in sub-Saharan Africa offered what it said was “convincing testimony” that backed up the commission’s findings.
“Most of those detained claimed to have been placed in prison for refusing to obey orders as national service conscripts, for attempting to escape national service, for their religious beliefs, or for vocalising criticism of the government,” the report by The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) — a regional organization comprised of eight east African nations – said.
“While there were also numerous cases of Eritreans leaving the country principally to escape living under an authoritarian regime with limited freedoms and opportunities, there is little evidence from this study to support recent arguments for the re-classification of Eritrean asylums seekers in Europe as simply “economic migrants”.
Those who made it to Europe had already endured “serious risks” in Sudan and Libya, including the widespread rape of women, torture by local militias, beheading or forced conscription by the Islamic State (Isil) and being left to die in the desert or sold to ransom collectors if they could not meet trafficking payments.
The UN commission also accused the Eritrean government of operating a “shoot on sight” policy along its borders as a response to international pressure to clamp down on the flood of migrants.
Eritrea’s government, which refused the three-man UN commission access to the country, said its report was “entirely one-sided”.
Tewolde T. June 9, 2016
The entire being of Yemane Gebreab is made up of lies and shamelessness. He has proved time and again that he doesn’t have any problem to stand Before the World and say the dirtiest. What can he say otherwise?
But well done by the COmmission of Inquiry! I hope the other higher bodies will take the matter further.
Almaz June 9, 2016
If you tell lies repeatedly one day, it could become true” Joseph Goebbels. The three musketeers of the COI are nothing but the hit man for the grandiose wickedness the USA and its leech agent TPLF. By the way, Susan Rice congra for a job well done. This COI report could be a good reference for your kids thesis work…
Eritrea will keep marching at its own pace for good A luta continua,
vitória é certa.
Peace
Almaz
Kebedom Girmai June 9, 2016
Long live the UN Commission for Human Rights!!
Your evidences to prove that the Eritrean Government is repressive, unconstitutional, inhuman, and all out against the people of Eritrea are correct and complete. I, myself, am a witness for these as a scholar Eritrean who has experienced and observed all sorts of atrocities against the people for about 20 years by being in the service of the Government in the Country itself. Your verdict that the responsible authorities must be presented to the ICC is also justified in view of the crimes they have committed at least since 1991. YOU ARE RIGHTLY STANDING UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, YOUR JOB. WELL DONE!!
Yemane Gebreab is piling up all sorts of made up stories to just save his neck!! Sooner or later, he will pay for his dirty actions against our people. I am very eager to see his elimination, along with his accomplices in the near future.
abyssinia June 9, 2016
Monkey is suffering from fear nightmares and he doesn’t know where to hide. The findings are real danger for his survival and his companies. The plan to run away to Sahil like laid down in 1999 is impractical. Sahil itself will betray him.
Dani amiche June 9, 2016
Soon the ugly suprem mafia leader DIA would be saying : if you want democracy go to Mars,
but while in Mars, feel free to do what ever you want – just make sure you don’t forget sending the 2%.
The hanging rope round his brick looking neck is coming very soon and there would be no hiding place for the monster.
Berhe Tensea June 9, 2016
This criminal self appointed leader has committed gross human rights violations and must be arrested and must be made to account.
Thanks to the many justice seekers, Erena Radio Medrek,Eri vision, Geerger, Assena, Meron, Dr Alghanesh,and above all Elsa Chirum.
Iseyas and his yes men must be treated like Ghazafi and killed in a very cruel way.
Death and agony toiseyas and his yes men
Tesfazighi June 9, 2016
He is unfortunately the product of the all alien-loving evil ghedli, he just happened to graduate from the evil alien-loving ghedli shefatu’s bantitry revolution and was operating in their slave masters world of the Libyan desert, the Sudan, Egypt as well as the larger mama Italia. The only difference from the other backward evil ghedli shefatu bandits is that this one had been operating with three pieces suit, a briefcase, laptop and mobile phones. Simply Raza nay abu Haza and similarly here deki evil ghedli taking over from their bandits masters.
Indeed, since ELF/EPLF/PFDJ and their all-alien-loving evil ghedli was evil in its ideology from its conception then apparently Eritrean so-called independence (slavery) would be the fruit of that evil, which is yet hard to swallow to the few opportunists still fighting for the all-alien-loving evil ghedli banditry revolution. A criminal too could be purpose-driven but that doesn’t make the purpose right. What one needs to show first is whether the purpose is worth of the sacrifices it demands. The Eritrean so called banditry evil ghedli’s revolution was not purpose driven only alien-loving and missing the slave masters.
The so-called ex-tegadelti our shefatu bandits “our super liberators” who fought and brought us the darkest and the most unjust nation on earth still believe they liberated and freed us from captivity and darkness. In order to own an imagined (Italian & moslem Arab) Eritrea, and an alien one for that, the evil ghedli romantics had disown the real and unique habesha Eritrea on the ground. Removing Isayas is truly the first step : making whole his regime’s evil ghedli’s victims and incapacitating the perpetrators from doing harm again is where the hard work lies.
Gobo June 9, 2016
It is every sane human beings belief that the slavery in Eritrea and the Abidism of poor Eritreans in the hand of the savage Arabs in Libya, Sudan and Egypt Sina and in the hand of the evil hgdef, the savage Islamist State ISIS, the opportunist Arab Police and selfish organ harvesting Arab doctors will come to end.
For sixty years we were dancing to tune of evil, ignorant savages. Will we be free soon?
All the criminals who committed crimes against humanity, history, languages and identity in the last sixty years should be brought to justice.
michael June 9, 2016
Don’t play with fire it will come back to you.here it is.
Amanios June 9, 2016
No doubt Monkey’s pants are now permanently wet, his whole organs trembling out of fear and trepidation. We know a lot about his “bravery” from the days of the so-called Weyane Third Offensive in the early summer of the year 2000.
Monkey is one of the grand architects, if not the grandest, of the project aimed at destroying Eritrea’s soul as well as physique. He’s the bogus bio-alchemist who made Pfdj give birth to that grouping of subhuman children called ypfdj. His crimes, however behind the desk, are more poisonous and have had more devastating repercussions on the Eritrean society than the excesses of the illiterate military and security chieftains. The treacherous mask has now been exposed forever, no amount of arguments ad hominem will make a contribution to attempts of its beautification any more.
Despite high expectations of the Eritrean people and friends and well-wishers of Eritrea worldwide, the entire pfdj leadership has proven time and again to be consisting of demons with an unbelievable magnitude of cruelty, greed and bigotry. The conclusion the Commission of Inquiry has come to is, therefore, a logical consequence of the state of perpetual martyrium the Eritrean people have been subjected to at the hands of pfdj for at least the last decade and half.
Mr. Smith and his team at the Commission of Inquiry have accomplished their entrusted assignment with obsession and with a sense of duty to humanity at large and the endangered people of Eritrea specifically. They deserve commendation, respect and deep gratitude for the august task they have carried out.
As to pfdj, it is a shame to Eritrea, Africa and to today’s world of the 21st century. It’d be nice it relinquished the scene once and for all- of course, the sooner the better.
Almaz June 9, 2016
If you tell lies repeatedly one day, it could become true” Joseph Goebbels. The three musketeers of the COI are nothing but the hit man for the grandiose wickedness the USA and its leech agent TPLF. By the way, Susan Rice congra for a job well done. This COI report could be a good reference for your kids thesis work…
Eritrea will keep marching at its own pace for good A luta continua,
vitória é certa.
Peace
Almaz
tewelde teklemichael June 10, 2016
monkey you will be doing to the zoo soon…where you should be…just put his ass with the lions and let him be eaten…son of a bitch