esmart's blog

The National Council of Eritrean Americans (NCEA) in strongest terms deplores the recent statement issued by the US Department of State on the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Human Rights Situation in Eritrea. As Americans of Eritrean origin we expect a fair and balanced response than what we read. Neither the politically motivated mandate of the Commission of inquiry nor the US lead campaign to isolate Eritrea serves the cause of human right in Eritrea; in fact we believe it is a prescription for yet another war in the Horn of Africa, as Ethiopia, sensing it got a green light from Washington, has embarked on another path of aggression by attacking Eritrea a mere hours after the Department of State’s wholesale “endorsement” of the COI's faulty findings.

The “Commission of Inquiry” (COI), is campaigning to take yet another African country, this time Eritrea, to the International Criminal Court. The COI claims that it “has reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in Eritrea since 1991.” Yet it has no solid evidence or firm legal basis to support its extreme and unfounded charges. The report of the COI fails to meet the principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity as laid out in the guidelines of the United Nations. It also lacks the minimum standards of rigor and professionalism.

Press Statement by H.E. Mr. Yemane Gebreab
Presidential Adviser, The State of Eritrea
Geneva, 8 June 2016

For Immediate Release
April 21, 2016

Eritreans and friends of Eritrea from across the world have launched a petition to condemn repeated attempts by two UN-affiliated integrity-challenged bodies to malign the young nation of Eritrea under the cover of human Rights. The petition calls on the United Nations Human Rights Council to reject the biased reports of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea and the Special Rapporteur Shiela Keetharuth. It also urges the Council to terminate the politically-motivated mandates of these two bodies and to work instead for engagement and cooperation with Eritrea so that the real struggle for human rights could be realized, not only in Eritrea but also in the rest of the Horn of Africa region.

For Immediate Release
February 15, 2016

Eritreans from Across the Globe Reject COI Smear Job
Eritreans from across the world have submitted more than 20,000 pieces of protest messages rejecting the politically driven agenda of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea.

The question now is whether this Commission with its regime-change agenda will hear the voices of the Eritrean communities from across the globe. Whether it will give the 99% of the global community a fair hearing. Or, whether it will choose to continue on the smear and tear path set for it by its enablers.