Written by: ReutersThe top US diplomat for Africa welcomed a rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea but said concerns over Eritrea’s human rights record hindered co-operation with Washington. The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea re-opened crossing points on their shared border for the first time in 20 years on Tuesday, raising hopes of reduced tensions in…
After signing an historic peace deal with Ethiopia, and receiving unprecedented levels of positive media coverage, Eritrea applied for a seat at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). With strong support from the likes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this Horn of Africa country which has repeatedly been classified as “not free” by Freedom House,…
Written by: VOAIn signing a historic peace deal with Ethiopia and cooperation agreements with Djibouti and Somalia earlier this year, long-isolated Eritrea gained fresh opportunities to re-emerge on the world stage. Eritrea, however, now faces renewed pressure from human rights groups, which want the government to release or account for thousands of political prisoners it…
Written by: HRWPRESS RELEASE The recent arrest of Eritrea’s former finance minister is a troubling sign that repressive tactics continue despite changes in Eritrea’s diplomatic engagements. Human Rights Watch released a video about Eritrean political prisoners including 21 senior government officials and journalists detained in 2001 after they criticized President Isaias Afewerki. (Nairobi) –…
As Eritrea undergoes its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the United Nations Human Rights Council, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) deplores the lack of any significant progress on press freedom and calls on the Eritrean authorities to allow all journalists held arbitrarily since 2001 to receive visits. It is only in the last two years that…
Written: by BBC NewsSaturday’s visit of Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki to Addis Ababa, the capital of its neighbour Ethiopia, is a remarkable turnaround for the 72-year-old independence leader who has been isolated diplomatically and seen as secretive and paranoid. A few weeks ago, Ethiopia and Eritrea were enemies, as they had been for…
By African ArgumentsIn barely the blink of an eye, Eritrea’s unpredictable president has completely reversed his rhetoric of the past two decades. In just a few weeks, relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have not just shifted dramatically but – in many ways – turned upside down. For two decades, President Isaias Afwerki had demonised Ethiopia, seeing it as an…
Written by: The American InterestSham elections in Egypt, a controversial Ethiopian dam, and an international base race in the Red Sea make greater East Africa one of the most significant geopolitical hotspots in the world today. The Nile River and the Red Sea are two bodies of water that have played a crucial…
By: Staff ReporterAugust 21, 2018 – In any renewed relations like that happening between Ethiopia and Eritrea, every decision with economic, diplomatic, trade and people to people interactions should be handled with at most care and governed by win-win agreements. With the election of Dr. Abiy Ahmed as Prime Minister of Ethiopia in April this year,…
NAIROBI (REUTERS) – Eritrean authorities detained hundreds of perceived opponents this month after a school director who defied government orders died in custody, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Most of those arrested were males and some were as young as 13, Sheila B. Keetharuth, the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur for human rights in Eritrea told a…