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ERI-NEWS

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Cohesion and theDefence of Sovereignty

Bi-Weekly Newsletter
Permanent Mission of the State of Eritrea to AU
and UNECA
Press Section
Foreign Minister Delivered President Isaias Afwerki’s Message toPresident Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

Vol 3. Issue 49
24 February 2016

President Isaias’ message focused onstrengthening bilateralties between the twocountries and regional
issues of mutual interest.

Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, on 15February 2016, delivered a message
from President Isaias Afwerki to H.E.
Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of theArab Republic of Egypt.

At the meeting held in
Cairo, President El-Sisi
expressed his appreciation for the message ofPresident Isaias and reiterated Egypt’s
readiness to further deepen existingties of cooperation with Eritrea.

President Isaias Afwerki Received the Letters of Credence of 14
New Ambassadors to Eritrea
President Isaias Afwerki received, on countries on the basis of mutual inter21 February 2016, the credentials of est and respect.
fourteen new Ambassadors.
In separate interviews conducted withERINA, the Ambassadors expressed
At the meetings conducted with eachthe desire of their respective countries
Ambassador, President Isaias briefed to strengthen the existing bilateral ties
them on the situation in the country and with Eritrea and lauded the peace andthe ongoing development programs, as stability that prevails in the country.
well as discussed relevant regional and Foreign Minister Osman Saleh andinternational issues. The President reaf- other senior government officials werefirmed Eritrea’s readiness to consoli- present at the ceremonies.
date its bilateral ties with the respective (Contd. on page 2)Inside this issue:
Somalia Eritrea
Monitoring Group
Oversteps its
3
Mandate Again
COMESA
Conducted a Work- 4
shop in Asmara
Roundtable
Discussion on
Eritrean Natural 4
Resources Development held inLondon
Eritrea Reiterated
its Call for UN
5
ReformEritreans fromAcross the Globe
Reject UN Commis- 5
sion of Inquiry’s
Smear Job
Contact Addresses:
Tel: +251-116620052
Fax:+251-116620011
Email:eritreanaumission@
gmail.com
P.o.Box: 5527
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Eritrean Mission toAU& ECA@EritreaAU

Vol 3. Issue 49, 24 February 2016

Page 2Eri-News

President Isaias Afwerki Received the Letters of Credence of ...(Contd. from page 3)
1. Ambassador Yasser
Ali of Egypt,
2. Ambassador Fionnuala Gilsenan ofIreland,
3. Ambassador Dr.
Georg Istillfried ofAustria,
4. Ambassador Neil
Hawkins ofAustralia,
5. Ambassador Veronika Kuchynova
Smigolova ofCzech Republic,
6. Ambassador Per
Enar Enarsson ofSweden,
7. Ambassador Allou
Allou Eugene of
Cote D’ivoire,
8. Ambassador Mette
Knudsen of
Denmark,
9. Ambassador Salah
Bendzoud ofCanada,
10. Ambassador Tarja
Fernandez ofFinland,
11. Ambassador Leslie
J. Baja of Philippines,
12. Ambassador
Brenda Muntembaof Zambia,
13. Ambassador
Suchitra Durai ofIndia, and14. Ambassador Ruy
Pacheco deAzevedo Amaral ofBrazil

Egypt

Vol 3. Issue 49, 24 February 2016

Page 3Eri-News

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Statement
Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group Oversteps its Mandate Again
The Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group report,
presented on February 18th by the Chair of the Committee established pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992)
and 1907 (2009), is replete with the flaws and unsubstantiated allegations that have often characterized thebehavior of the group in the past years.
1. The report states that "the Monitoring Group did
not find any evidence that the Government of 2. The report goes on to say, "The Group had received
Eritrea had been supporting Al-Shabaab". But inunconfirmed reports of the presence of Eritrean
the same breath, it reported that "Eritrea was supsoldiers in Yemen fighting alongside the Arab coaporting armed groups in Ethiopia in violation oflition. If confirmed, this involvement could potenparagraph 16 of resolution 1907 (2009)"
tially constitute a violation of paragraph 6 of thesame resolution"
Eritrea welcomes the Monitoring Group's acknowledgement of the fact, even if belated, that theThis allegation is patently false. Once again, it isprincipal, purported reason for imposing the uncrystal clear that the SEMG is persisting in its
warranted sanctions against Eritrea is untenable.
longstanding tendency to dwell on malicious hearThis fact in itself must be sufficient enough tosay so as to maintain the harassment of Eritrea.
rescind the unjust sanctions imposed on Eritrea for
Who are the sources and what are the underlying
the past seven years. At the same time, the Monimotives of this disinformation? Is this another vertoring Group's tendency to resort to creative intersion of the SEMG's false allegation in 2009 thatpretation and extra-procedurally stretch the scopeclaimed Eritrea had sent 2,000 soldiers to Somalia?
of the sanctions resolution must be dismissed as
As it must be recalled, this false accusation wasillicit, inappropriate and counter-productive underfloated in the SEMG's reports but never retracted
the terms of its mandate. The fact is Ethiopia conthereafter. Thus, is this another replay of the 2009
tinues to occupy sovereign Eritrean territories inepisode of floating wild accusations to serve a speflagrant violation of international law, the UN
cific purpose? In any case, if the reports are unconCharter, and the "final and binding" arbitral
firmed, what is the hurry? Why does the SEMG
decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Cominsert in its report unconfirmed innuendos to inmission (EEBC). It must also be underlined thatsinuate "potential" violation?
Ethiopia's continued breach of international lawand the provisions of the UNSC-guaranteed Eritrea has emphasized all along that the unjust sancAlgiers Agreement elicit appropriate punitive tions resolutions were politically motivated instrumeasures by the UN Security Council. Further- ments conceived from the outset to harass Eritrea andmore, Ethiopia's unabashed public pronouncements to deflect attention from Ethiopia's flagrant violationof its pursuit of "regime change" in Eritrea and of international law and occupation of sovereign Erisupport to subversive armed groups constitute vio- trean territory including the town of Badme. The
lations of international law and acts of regional SEMG's recent report illustrates, rather vividly, thesubversion that cannot be downplayed or glossed dynamics of this misguided scheme.
over. In the event, the SEMG's focus on alleged
acts of Eritrea against Ethiopia is morally uncon- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
scionable and legally incompatible with its man- Asmara, 22 February 2016
date.
Vol 3. Issue 49, 24 February 2016

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COMESA Conducted a Workshop in Asmara
On 9 and 10 February 2016, Eritrea hosteda workshop on preventing illegal moneytransfers and the funding of acts of terrorism and piracy organized by the Common
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA). About fifty participants fromvarious Eritrean financial institutions aswell as the Ministries of Finance, Justice,
Trade and Industry and Foreign Affairs
took part in the workshop.
The Head of Governance, Peace and Security of COMESA, Ms. Elizabeth Mutunga,and her team provided detailed presentations on the subject matter.
Addressing the workshop, Ms. Elsa Haile, Director ofRegional and International Organizations in the Foreign Ministry, noted Eritrea’s firm policy of combating all facets of terrorism and expressed Eritrea’s
readiness to work closely with COMESA Member
States to achieve the set targets.

It is to be recalled that, in September 2014, the Government of Eritrea issued Proclamation No. 175/2014- the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism Proclamation.
Speaking at the conclusion of the Workshop, Ms.
Elizabeth Mutunga commended Eritrea’s efforts incombating illicit money transfer and piracy.

Roundtable Discussion on Eritrean Natural Resources Development Held in London
discussion was attended by industry experts,representatives of financial institutions and investors; diplomats from South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Germany, Italy, Bolivia,
and Venezuela; as well as Eritrean experts andjournalists.
Chairperson of the discussion, Ms. Rudy
Sandhu, a business ethics and human rights lawyer who has travelled to Eritrea on a number ofmissions, provided a detailed account of her experiences and travel to Eritrea.

A Roundtable Discussion on natural resources development in Eritrea, organized by the Eritrean Embassyin the UK, was held in London on 11 February. The

Ms. Sandhu gave a briefing on the peace andstability inside the country, as well as the attractive environment for business. She also discussed the conducive atmosphere for investment
within Eritrea, and noted that the media coverage ofEritrea is sensationalized and fails to accurately depict
conditions on the ground. (Contd. on page 5)

Vol 3. Issue 49, 24 February 2016

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Eritrea Reiterated its Call for UN Reform
The Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the UN,
Ambassador Girma Asmerom, addressed the UNSC
open debate held, on 15 February 2016, under thetheme: “The Respect to the Principle and Purpose of
the Charter of the United Nations as Key Element forthe maintenance of International Peace and Security.”

en a victim of the working method of the UNSC. In
1952 the UN denied the Eritrean people their inalienable right to Self-Determination and independence forthe geopolitical interest of the big powers. Once again
today, the Eritrean people are subjected to unfair andillegitimate sanctions by the Security Council on thebasis of fabricated allegations which are proven to be
non-existent. Moreover, the Security Council continues to neglect the illegal occupation of Eritrean sovereign territory by Ethiopia.

In his address, Ambassador Girma stated that the UN
remains thoroughly dominated by the powerful few
and has marginalized the overwhelming majority.
Although there has been universal call for the revitalization and restructuring of the UN, no progress have Ambassador Girma underscored Eritrea strongly bebeen made and the founding principles of the UN lieves that there is no other international body better
than the UN to handle regional and international
continue to be compromised and abused.
issues. But it has to be reinvigorated, enhanced andHe indicated that Eritrea has in multiple occasions bereformed.

Eritreans from Across the Globe Reject UN Commission of Inquiry’s Smear Job
Eritreans from across the world have submitted morethan 20,000 pieces of protest messages rejecting thepolitically driven agenda of the “UN Commission ofInquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea”.

The messages sent in response to a call made by theCommission debunk the grotesque image the threeperson Commission tried to portray of the youngnation in its June 2015 report.

Roundtable Discussion on Eritrean Natural Resources Development (contd. from page 4)
One of the presenters, Dr. Tim Williams, CEO ofAndiamo Exploration, which has been operating inEritrea since the early 90s, lauded the Eritrean Government’s track-record of honoring contracts and theexisting good working environment and zerocorruption. He also commended the reliable machineries and operators available in the country.
Another presenter, Mr. Todd Romaine, Vice President
for Corporate Social Responsibility of Nevsun
Resources, elaborated on Bisha Mine’s operations andthe priority given to protecting the safety and healthof employees, mitigating environmental impacts from operates, and contributing to the sustainable developits activities, respecting the human rights of its work- ment of those communities.
ers and the residents of the communities in which it
Following the presentations questions and comments
were raised by the participants.

Vol 3. Issue 49, 24 February 2016