The European Commission plans to remove more than €100 million ($120 million) of development assistance originally designated for Eritrea citing human rights violations in Tigray, where the Eritrean military is implicated in massive human rights abuses and possible war crimes, including the massacres of civilians.
Since the 2018 rapprochement between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the EU had authorised nine development projects for Eritrea, with funding worth a total of 141 million Euros to be provided under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.
Jutta Urpilainen, the European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, has written to the European Parliament’s Development Committee about the nine projects , of which only one, a road building scheme, has begun to be implemented, while the other eight projects are still awaiting clearance from the Eritrean government. It is understood that her letter indicates a move to withdraw EU funding for eight of the nine projects.
Road building in Eritrea is very likely to involve the abuse of National Service conscripts, who are used in form of (largely unpaid) forced labour. This immoral aspect of these development projects has been highlighted by many members of the European Parliament.
Ms. Urpilainen’s letter noted that Eritrean military involvement in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia had further complicated the situation. Discussing this, Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, mentioned that “Eritrean troops are not withdrawing from Tigray, and human rights violations continue.”
French MEP Michèle Rivasi commented: “This (decision) makes much more sense than building a highway for a dictator — Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki — who does not hesitate to order the army to attack civilians and to raze to the ground the Eritrean refugee camps in Tigray.”
Human Rights Concern-Eritrea has for many years been highlighting the use of conscript labour in multi-national projects in Eritrea, and has warned of the dangers of giving development aid to the illegitimate dictatorship in power in that country without any evidence of improvements in human rights and democracy.
This decision by the European Commission may be long overdue, but is very welcome. It finally recognises that so-called “positive engagement” with a regime like that of President Afewerki is ineffective, since it has produced absolutely no improvement in human rights, nor has it furthered democratic accountability, and is unlikely ever to do so.
It is encouraging to note the realism now evident in EU policy towards Eritrea, including the recognition that the Eritrean military regime has been involved in the most appalling human rights abuses and war crimes in Tigray. HRC-E recommends that all UN member states take note of this change in EU policy and the reasons for it, and immediately end or suspend all development aid to Eritrea.
Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE)
