In 2018, Vanessa objected to the use of the 1998–2000 Eritrean–Ethiopian War as a "justification for turning [Eritrea] into a dictatorship". She objected to Eritrean indefinite military service, to systematic rape, torture and other crimes, to the National Assembly not convening since 2002, to the non-implementation of the Constitution of Eritrea and to arrest without trial.