Invitation – Roundtable on Eritrea

  • A European Parliament Roundtable on Eritrea hosted by MEP Katrin Langensiepen will take place on 25 October 2023, from 3:15 – 5:15 pm CEST in the European Parliament.
  • The event is public and will be held in a hybrid mode. You are welcome to register through this link.
  • The purpose of the Roundtable is to discuss the current situation in Eritrea and its influence abroad. The aim is to understand the problems that Eritrea presents in the international arena, and the options that Europe has to deal with these.

Situation in Sudan (per 12 October)

  • The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a resolution establishing an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan to investigate the human rights violations committed in the country since the start of war in April.
  • The mission will consist of three members with experience in international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
  • Out of 47 HRC members, the resolution was narrowly adopted by 19 votes in favour, 16 rejections and 12 abstentions. Sudan voted against the resolution.
  • 19 million children are out of school in Sudan due to conflict with at least 10,400 schools closed in conflict-affected areas. About 5.5 million children residing in less impacted areas are waiting for the authorities to resume the school year.
  • UNICEF Country Representative in Sudan, Mandeep O’Brien, warned of the education crisis in Sudan becoming one of the most dire worldwide.
  • Farmers in Al Jazira state have reportedly been threatened by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Authorities have deliberately flooded roads to prevent RSF from moving freely in the region.

Refugee Situation (per 12 October)

  • 1,237,103 refugees fled from Sudan to neighbouring countries, out of which 65% of arrivals registered are Sudanese nationals and 35% are returnees or refugees with other nationalities, according to the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix.  4,551,795 people have been displaced internally across Sudan.
  • In Ethiopia,  84,412 refugees arrived from Sudan, out of which about 38,000 are Ethiopia returnees.
  • The humanitarian situation for refugees at Ethiopia’s border region is dire. In Kurmuk, about 500 refugees returned to the Sudanese side of the border due to “unconfirmed reports about planned aid distributions”, reports UN OCHA.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 12 October)

  • There is “the heightened risk of genocide and related atrocity crimes in Ethiopia”, warned Alice Wairimu Nderitu, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. 
  • She called for immediate cessation of violence, protection of civilians and accountability for perpetrators. “[I]mpunity constitutes a direct enabler of further human rights violations and potentially atrocity crimes”, said Nderitu in her statement.
  • The Government of Ethiopia rebutted the statement by Nderitu calling it “irresponsible and reckless”.
  • Ethiopians failed to reconcile their differences through unity instead of resorting to violence, said Ethiopian President, Sahle-Work Zewde, in her speech to the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives and House of Federation.
  • Zewde urged that it is time to “pause and evaluate” the strategies through which the country tries to address these differences.

Situation in Tigray (per 12 October)

  • Drought impacted 132,000 hectares of land in Tigray which is 20% of the total farmland in the region.
  • This situation further heightens the risk of food insecurity that has been already high due to the lasting impact of war as well as tree locusts spreading across northwest Tigray.

Regional Situation (per 12 October)

  • Head of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) called on the international community to support Somalia in a fight against al-Shabaab through providing weapons, equipment and skills for the officers.
  • The Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, during his two-day state visit to Eritrea, visited the Somali Mechanized, Special, Naval and Air Force military cadets who are being trained in Eritrea.

International Situation (per 12 October)

  • The Central Council of Eritreans in Germany, which Taz calls an extension of the military dictatorship in Eritrea, is organising a march demonstration through Berlin on 20 October. German police confirmed 1,500 registered participants.
  • There are fears of violence erupting during the demonstration.
  • According to its own information, the Central Council is based on four pillars, of which one is the ruling Eritrean party PFDJ and another the youth branch YPFDJ.
  • A Green Party member in Germany, Marcel Emmerich, questions whether the Central Council should be banned or at least have its non-profit status taken away due to the “dubious structures” and the instructions it receives from the dictatorship in Eritrea.
  • A demonstration of similar character has been also announced in the Netherlands for 16 October 2023.
  • Ethiopian diaspora organisations in the US held a Diaspora Coalition briefing organised by Horn of Africa Community and hosted by the US Special Envoy for Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer in Washington.
  • In a 7 point resolution, the meeting called among others for national dialogue and immediate cessation of hostilities in Amhara and Oromia, distribution of humanitarian aid with focus on Tigray in particular, and sanctions to be imposed on those who have been involved in mass atrocities across Ethiopia.
  • The EU adopted a framework of sanctioning people and entities engaging, providing support to, or benefitting from actions threatening the peace, stability or security of Sudan.
  • All the assets and economic belongings of such persons or entities will be frozen.

Links of interest

European Parliament Roundtable on Eritrea

UN human rights body establishes a fact-finding mission to probe abuses in Sudan’s conflict

Responding to the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing armed conflict in the Sudan

19 million children in Sudan out of school as conflict rages on – UNICEF, Save the Children

تقرير: مكاتب بمشروع الجزيرة أصبحت خارج السيطرة بسبب الدعم السريع

Regional Sudan Response Situation Update, 10 October 2023

Ethiopia Situation Report: 9 Oct 2023

UN Special Adviser warns of heightened risk of genocide and related atrocity crimes amid increased violent clashes in Ethiopia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia Press Statement

Twitter: Addis Standard

News: Food insecurity worsens as drought jeopardizes crop output in Tigray

AU Envoy Seeks International Support for Somali Army

Eritrea-Konflikt kommt nach Berlin

Twitter: Horn of Africa Community

Council Regulation concerning restrictive measures in view of activities undermining the stability and political transition of Sudan

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