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

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

Eritrea Participates in the 4th Africa-EU Summit in Belgium
An Eritrean Delegation led by Foreign
Minister Osman Saleh arrived inBrussels, Belgium on 30th March2014 to participate in the 4th AfricaEU Summit.

The preparatory meetings for theSummit started on 31 March at thelevel of Senior Officials from bothsides. In this session Eritrea wasrepresented by Ambassador Girma
Asmerom, Eritrea’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
The Ministerial-level meeting on
Peace and Security takes place on 1stof April. The Eritrean Delegation to thissession will be led by Minister OsmanSaleh.
The Summit which will bring together
Heads of State and Government from Africa and the European Union will be held on
2nd and 3rd April 2014. Minister Osman Saleh will represent President Isaias Afwerki
at the Summit.
President Isaias received invitation to attend the Summit
through a letter, dated 19 December
2013, co-signed by Mr. Herman Van
Rompuy, President of the EuropeanCouncil and Mr. José Manuel Barosso,President of the European Commission.
The President had attended the previous
Africa-EU Summits, but was unable totake part in the current one due to otherengagements.

National Service: A toolfor EconomicDevelopment, NationalCohesion and theDefence of Sovereignty

Volume 1, Issue 701 April 2014

Inside this issue:

The Quest for
Gender Equality 2
and the Empowerment of Women inEritrea

Eritrea: Nine Ethnic 3Groups, One People,
One HeartTeam Eritrea Wins Gold at the 2014 World Half
Marathon Championships
His compatriot, the five-time championof the event, Zersenay Tadesse stood
fourth, moreover another Eritrean
Ngusse Amlesom took fifth position.

Samuel Tsegay of Eritrea won silverat the 2014 World Half Marathon
Championships held in Rotterdam,
Denmark on 29 March 2014.

As a result, Eritrea won the team eventand took gold medal while the Kenyan
and Ethiopian teams were ranked
second and third, respectively. The
individual title was won by Geoffrey
Kipsang Kamworor of Kenya.

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 1. Issue 7, 01 April 2014

Page 2

Volume 1, Issue 7

The Quest for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Eritrea
Year

Gender Policy Milestones

1977

Article 4 of the National Democratic Program of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) ensured
women’s rights.

1979

The Constitution of the NUEW in its objectives clearly states that the main activity of the Union is working for the equality of women and social justice.

1991

The Law Reform Proclamation No 1/1991 repealed all discriminatory clauses and connotations in thePenal and Civil Codes inherited from previous colonial regimes.

1994

Proclamation No. 58/1994 on Land Tenure System abolished the traditional land tenure system that
discriminated between men and women, and ensured women’s equal status and rights of ownership ofland and property.

1995

Acceded to CEDAW, and submitted its initial, first and second reports in 2004.

1996

Proclamation No.86/1996 on the establishment of Local Government stipulates that 30% of the seats in
the Regional Assemblies would be reserved for women and that they would also contest on the remaining
70%.

1997

The Constitution of Eritrea, in its preamble indicates its commitment to social equality and article 21states that every citizen has equal right to access publicly funded social services, such as health andeducation.
Acceded to the ILO Conventions Against Forced Labour, on Equal Remuneration, on the Minimum Age,and on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.

1999
1999
2000

Signed and Ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Is implementing the MDGs. It has achieved 3 of them (reducing child mortality, maternal health and thefight against malaria, and HIV and AIDS) and is on track in 3 of them (achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, and ensure environmental sustainability).

2001

The Labor Proclamation No. 118/2001 provides the legal protection of women in employment, specifically Article 23 deals with non-legitimate grounds for the termination of a contract of employment, based on
discrimination against an employee's race, color, nationality, sex, religion, lineage, pregnancy, family responsibility, marital status….

2004

The Eritrean Gender Policy and National Gender Action Plan adopted. They are consistent and harmonized with the CEDAW and Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

2005

Acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement ofchildren in armed conflict.

2007

Proclamation 158/2007 to Abolish Female Circumcision adopted, FGM criminalized.

2012

Signed the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women inAfrica.

Vol 1. Issue 7, 01 April 2014

Page 3Eri-News

Eritrea:Nine Ethnic Groups, One People, One HeartAfar
Language - Afar
Religion - Muslims
Most of them reside in Southern Red Sea Region.
Bilen
Language - Bilen
Religion - Christians and Muslims
They inhabit the city of Kerenand the surrounding areas.
Hidareb
Language - B’dawit
Religion - Muslims
They inhabit the western lowlands of the Gash-Barka Region.
KunamaLanguage - Kunama
Religion - mainly Christians
and Muslims with some traditional believers.
They mainly inhabit the areaaround the Gash River and inthe city of Barentu.
Nara
Language - Nara
Religion - Muslims
They inhabit the area east ofthe Gash River in the GashBarka Region.
Rashaida
Language-ArabicReligion– Muslims
They are mainly nomadic andlive along the Northern Red
Sea coast.

Source:Tourism Information Booklet ,2013

Saho
Language - Saho
Religion - Muslims and Christians
They inhabit the Red Sea coast and the highlands south of Asmara andMassawa.
Tigre
Language -Tigre
Religion - mostly Muslims with some Christians
They inhabit larges area of the northern, north-eastern and westernEritrea.
Tigrigna
Language -Tigrigna
Religion - mostly Christians with some Muslims.
They inhabit the highlands of Eritrea.
Vol 1. Issue 7, 01 April 2014