Re: Release of Prisoners of War from Eritrea President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti. Office of the President, DJIBOUTI 21 November 2016 Your Excellency, President Ismail Omar Guelleh, It was with great relief and delight that we received the news of the release…
HRSP Hosts Community Roundtable Meetings
HRSP (Human Rights and Special Prosecution, under the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice) launched an initiative 15 months ago to ensure that immigrants living in our communities know that justice might be served in the United States for atrocities that happened long ago…
President Afwerki of Eritrea Demands that the Underlying Causes of the Migration of Refugees be Addressed
President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea made a statement on 8th November 2016, about the plight of refugees. He said that migration and the movement of refugees had “become rampant globally”. Particularly to be noted was the fact that he stressed “the need for the underlying causes and driving factors to be…
UN Expert Panel Cites Crimes Against Humanity Committed by Eritrean Authorities Dating Back 25 Years
UN News Centre, 28 October 2016 – Eritrean officials have committed crimes against humanity since 1991, including enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, other inhumane acts, persecution, rape and murder, a member of the former United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the country reported to…
Statement by Sheila B. Keetharuth, Member of the Former COI & Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea
On October 27, 2016, Sheila B. Keetharuth, member of the former Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea and Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Eritrea, gave the following statement at the 71st session of the General Assembly, Third Committee. (Item 68 b,…
Eritrea: UN Commission has Urged Referral to the International Criminal Court
GENEVA (28 October 2016) – States must heed the pleas of countless victims of crimes against humanity for justice and accountability, Sheila Keetharuth of the former UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea urged the UN General Assembly today. The Commission has recommended that…
Judges Deem Eritrea Unsafe for Migrants’ Return as Home Office Advice Rebutted
(theguardian.com, Karen McVeigh, October 19, 2016) Legal ruling identifies risk of serious harm to returning Eritreans after MPs condemn ‘inexcusable’ delay in revising existing guidance The Home Office will alter its much-criticised policy on Eritrean asylum seekers, after a legal ruling found that the majority of…
Letter to the President of the United Nations General Assembly
Re: UN Commission of Inquiry’s Written Report and Oral update on – Human Rights Abuses in Eritrea His Excellency Mr. Peter Thompson, President of the United Nations General Assembly, Office of the President, United Nations, NEW YORK 10017 United States of America CC: Mr. Ban Ki-moon,…
Canadian Firm Faces New Forced Labour Claims Over Eritrean Mine
(theguardian.com, Karen McVeigh, October 14, 2016) Dozens more workers alleging forced labour and intimidation at Bisha mine set to join civil action against mining company Nevsun Resources Dozens of Eritreans are to join a groundbreaking civil action in Canada as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Nevsun…
Open Letter to the Swedish Government
Re: Sweden’s Immigration authorities coercing Eritrean Refugees to sign a regret form and pay the 2% illegal diaspora tax to obtain national passport for family reunification. Dear Sirs or Madams, From our recent visit to Israel, Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE) understands that some Eritrean…
Canadian Mining Firm Fighting Lawsuit for Allegedly Using Slaves in Africa
(National Observer, By Geordon Omand & Elizabeth McSheffrey, October 7 2016) In a historic legal first, foreign workers who have accused a Vancouver−based company of using slavery at an African mine will have their case heard in the Canadian court system.
Slave Labour in Eritrean Mining to be Focus of Landmark Court Case in Canada
(London, 9 October, 2016) In a landmark ruling, three Eritreans have won the right to be heard in a Canadian court in a modern slavery case against a Canadian mining company. In a 160-page ruling, the Supreme Court of British Columbia dismissed the efforts of the mining company,…
Vancouver Court Clears Way for Slave Labour Lawsuit Against Canadian Mining Company to Go to Trial
The Supreme Court of British Columbia today rejected efforts by Vancouver-based Nevsun Resources Limited (TSX: NSU / NYSE MKT: NSU) to dismiss a lawsuit brought by three Eritrean men who allege they were forced to work at Nevsun’s Bisha Mine. This marks the first time that…
Eritreans’ Case Against Nevsun Can Proceed in Canada
(mining.com, October 7, 2016) “There is a real risk that the plaintiffs could not be provided with justice in Eritrea,” said Justice Patrice Abrioux in a ruling that allows three refugees to proceed with a civil lawsuit against Vancouver-based Nevsun Resources. In an unprecedented decision, the…
Canada Allows Refugee Lawsuit Against African Gold Mine for Alleged Abuse
(The Guardian, October 7, 2016) Foreign workers who have accused a Canadian company of human rights abuses at an African gold mine will have their case heard in Canada’s legal system. The supreme court of British Columbia in a judgment this week is allowing three refugees…
Prioritising the Lives of Eritrea’s Citizens
Letter sent by HRCE to: Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Mr. Choi Kyong-Lim, President of the Human Rights Council; Ms. Maria Emma Mejia, Chair of the Third Committee, General Assembly.
Open Letter to the Attention of Chancellor Angela Merkel
An open letter concerning the Flow of Refugees from Eritrea and the Policies of the European Union and Federal Republic of Germany towards these Refugees and their Country of Origin. We are writing to you to express our very deep concern about possible changes in the…
The Story Begins on the 18th of September 2001
After fighting for thirty years, in May 1991, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) liberated Eritrea from the Ethiopian occupation. Two years after, an internationally supervised referendum was carried out and Eritrea became an independent state in May 1993.
Eritrea: 15 Years Later Still No Information On Jailed Senior Politicians and Independent journalists
GENEVA (16 September 2016) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth, today called on the Eritrean Government to urgently provide information on the whereabouts and state of health of senior government officials and independent journalists arrested on…
Eritrea’s National Service ‘A Cancerous Growth’
(oneworld.org, Daniel Nelson, September 6, 2016) National service in Eritrea “is like a cancerous growth” that has been eating into people’s lives, a London-based Eritrean academic told an MPs’ group in the Houses of Parliament on Monday. Prof Gaim Kibreab of London Southbank University told the…