Eritrea: Land of
Can-Do People!
(Yikealo! kikewn eyu
kemey zeykewn!)

ERI-NEWS
Bi-Weekly Newsletter
Permanent Mission of the State of Eritrea to AU
and UNECAPress Section

Eritrean and Sudanese Heads of State Discussed All Round Ties

Inside this issue:
Eritrean Ministry ofForeign Affairs Press 3
Statement

as well as ways and means of bolstering the partnership that exists between the two countries. The talks
between the two leaders also covered
regional and international developments of interest to the two countries.
Furthermore, President Isaias heldtalks with Prof. Ibrahim Ahmed
Omar, the Chairman of the country’s
National Assembly; and Gen. Bekri
Hassan Saleh, First Deputy President
on enhancing bilateral ties.

„Eritrea Making Significant Progress in Advancing Gender
Equality and the Empowerment of Women‟: Eritrean Delegation
Statement at the AU Summit
A delegation led by Ambassador Araya
Desta, Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the African Union and UN Economic Commission for Africa, participated in the 25th African Union (AU)Summit held in Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa from 7-15 June 2015,
under the theme “Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s
Agenda 2063.”

Volume 2, Issue 35
21 June 2015

President Isaias Afwerki conducted athree-day working visit to the Republicof Sudan from 11-13 June 2015. On arrival at Khartoum International Airport,President Isaias was accorded warm wel-come by President Omar Hassan AlBeshir along with a Guard of Honor andthe national anthems of the two countries.
At the meeting that took place at thePresidential Palace on June 11, the two
Presidents discussed in depth the status

National Service: A toolfor Economic
Development, National
Cohesion and theDefence of Sovereignty“Commission of Inquiry” Report: Cynical Political Travesty
That Undermines
At the AU Summit
Eritrea Urged Concrete Actions toCombat HumanTrafficking

4Eritrea Participatedin the High-Level 4Meeting on the Follow-up to the Second
UN Conference on
LLDCs held in

Contact Addresses:
Tel: +251-116620052
Fax:+251-116620011
Email:eritreanaumission@
gmail.com
P.o.Box: 5527
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Eritrean Mission to
AU& ECA@EritreaAU

Continued on page 2

Vol 2. Issue 35, 21 June 2015

Page 2Eri-News
Continued from page 1

The 25th Session of the Assembly of Heads ofState and Government which was held on 14 and
15 of June was preceded by the 27th Session ofthe Executive Council (from 11-13 June), andthe 30th Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (from 7-9 June).

During the discussion on the theme held at thesession of the Assembly of Heads of State andGovernment, Ambassador Araya shared Eritrea’s
experience in advancing gender equality and theempowerment of women. He elucidated that Eritrean women did not wait to be given their rights
but they took it upon themselves to guarantee
their rights. Under the motto “Equality throughEqual Participation” they stood side by side with
their brothers to liberate the country. They are
now at the center of the efforts to defend the hard-earned independence and to build the nation.

Government has put in place policies and institutions
that promote gender equality and the empowerment ofwomen. Guided by the principle of social justice, theGovernment has made huge investment, among others,
in expanding maternal health services, girls’ education,access to water, as well as the modernization of agriculture, provision of firewood saving stoves and microcredit services.
In the political sphere, Ambassador Araya informed theAssembly that Eritrea promotes the participation ofwomen from the village to national levels through reserving quotas to women in Assemblies, community
courts and administrative structures. He also indicatedthat Eritrea’s laws guarantee the equality of women in
all aspects of life, including access to and ownership ofland and property. He added that Eritrea outlawed underage marriage and set the minimum age of marriage at18, as well as criminalized FGM.
Ambassador Araya concluded his statement by statingthat the measures and investments have resulted in improved wellbeing of women, and their greater participation in all aspects of the social, political and economic
life of the country. Nevertheless, the Eritrean People andGovernment, not contented with this significant progress, are striving to ensure full empowerment ofwomen and gender equality.

Ambassador Araya elaborated that the Eritrean

June 20: ERITREAN MARTYRS DAY

Glory to our Martyrs
Vol 2. Issue 35, 21 June 2015

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Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Statement“Commission of Inquiry” Report: Cynical Political Travesty That Undermines HumanRights
The people andgovernment of Eritrea find the wild
accusations leveledagainst them by the“CommissionofInquiry”
established by the UN
HumanRights
Council of “systematic and gross violation ofhuman rights” totally unfounded and devoid of all
merit. These accusations are simply a continuation
and an escalation of the politically motivatedcampaign to undermine the political, economic, andsocial progress the country is making, including in
the area of human rights. They are an attack, not somuch on the government, but on a civilized people
and society who cherish human values and dignity.
These accusations and despicable attempts tosilence those who have anything positive to say
about Eritrea are a transparent attempt to race
against time to impede the increasing and increasingly productive international engagement withEritrea. Clearly, the resort to extreme charges andindecent hyperbole, including cynical and unwarranted reference to “possible crimes against
humanity,” is intended to forestall a sober reflection on the realities in Eritrea and to rush mattersand force the issue before fairness and justice canprevail. It is also undeniable that there are those
who will hide behind these outrageous claims towhitewash their transgressions against Eritrea andto seek pretexts for their acts of destabilization.

abuse, extremism and terrorism, where so many commit so many crimes, the sponsors of the Commission
choose to attack peaceful, stable, harmonious, humandevelopment-focused Eritrea. They need to be forcefully challenged and held accountable as their actions
and lack of integrity and professionalism undermine
human rights and the credibility of human rights institutions as well as regional peace and stability. Eritrea
accordingly calls on all nations and on all people whovalue fairness, justice and human rights to demand anend to the travesty that is being perpetrated by“Commission of Inquiry.”
For Eritrea, the current attacks aimed at undermining
our sovereignty and progress are a matter of déjà vu.
We were denied our right to independence as a former
colonial country because of the perceived “strategicinterests” of the United States. Few supported us during our legitimate struggle for freedom. The powerfultried to denigrate our cause and bomb us into submission. We were routinely written off. And yet, by dintof our determination and humanity, we emerged victorious.
Today, despite the vile slanders and false accusations,despite a deafening international silence in the face of
the illegal occupation of our land in violation of international law, despite economic pressures and encouragement of illegal migration, our resolve and confidence that we will build a dignified and prosperous
nation remains unshaken. Eritrea will not be diverted
from that lofty objective and will redouble its determination and efforts to achieve it.

Eritrea has consistently stated that as a nation bornin the struggle for human rights, it remains fully Ministry of Foreign Affairscommitted to ensuring and enhancing the humanrights of its people, and to improving the quality of Asmara
life of all its citizens. It is a telling indictment thatin a region under severe threat from violence, gross 09 June 2015

Vol 2. Issue 35, 21 June 2015

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At the AU Summit Eritrea Urged Concrete Actions to Combat Human Trafficking
The Eritrean Delegation which participated in the25th Summit of the African Union (AU) held inSouth Africa from 7-15 June 2015, stated thathuman trafficking and smuggling are among themost serious contemporary challenges confronting the African continent and that the scourges
have claimed and continue to claim the lives of
thousands of Africans, especially youth.

The Delegation elucidated that Eritrea, as one of
the countries affected, has been closely working
with its neighbors, countries of transit and destination as well as the AU and other regional andinternational organizations to combat the problem.
In this regard, the Delegation called for the expeditious
implementation of the outcomes of the Regional Conference on Human Trafficking and Smuggling in theHorn of Africa held in Khartoum, Sudan from 13-16
October 2014. The Assembly of Heads of State andGovernment accepted Eritrea’s call and endorsed theoutcomes of the Regional Conference.
Moreover, during the discussions on the reform of theUN and Africa’s increased representation in the UN
Security Council, the Eritrean Delegation underscoredthe need to reaffirm the African Common Position on
the issue as contained in the Ezulwini Consensus andthe Sirte Declaration. The Delegation also called forredoubling AU’s efforts to garner support from othercountries and regional groupings to the African Common Position, and cautioned against piecemeal
approach to the reform process.

Eritrea Participated in the High-Level Meeting on the Follow-up to the Second UN
Conference on LLDCs held in Zambia
Africa Region, participated in the High-Level Meetingon the Follow-up to the Second United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries(LLDCs) that was held in Livingstone, Zambia, from
2-4 June 2015.
The meeting was organized to provide a platform forsharing of best practices, experiences and initiatives,
come up with concrete recommendations on the followup actions on the implementation of the Vienna Plan ofAction (VPoA) and a shared framework system of indiAmbassador Salih Omer, Ambassador of Eritrea cators for monitoring the VPoA.
to the Republic of South Africa and Southern

Vol 2. Issue 35, 21 June 2015