eritrea: statement by the eritrean permanent representative to the un during the informal...

8/2/2019 Eritrea: Statement by the Eritrean Permanent Representative to the UN During the Informal Consultation With Sanctions Committee

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Permanent issionof Eritre

to the UnitedNations

Sr^{rnMENT

BY

H.E MR.An^q.Y^q.nst4Pnruru.NfNr RnpRESENTATIVEFTHESrlrn Or EmTREA

To rHE UNtrBu NltloNs,

DURING

THE INFORMAL CONSULTATIONWITH THE

SncunrrYCoUNCIL ovtvtlrrnn (75Il1907)

Nnw Yont<oAPmr, l8r20l2

800SecondAvenue,8thFloor. NewYork,NY 10017 Telephone212)687-3390'Telefax(212)87-3138



Mr. Chairman,

Let me take this opportunity o expressmy delegation's ppreciationo you as Chairmanof the

SecurityCouncilCommittee nd, hroughyou, o themembers f theCommittee nd he Secretariat

for arranginghis nformalconsultation.

This is the fourth time that my delegations holding his type of informal consultations ith the

Committee. hesewere under he Chairmanship f the Philippinesn 2006, SouthAfrica in 2007

andunderYour Chairmanshipast July. So I seemy interactionwith the Committeeodayas a

continuation f that cooperation.My interventionwill be brief and limited to highlighting he

positionsandsentiments f my Government nd hepeopleof my countryagainsthe backdrop f

thepunitivemeasureshathavebeen mposed nthem.

Mr. Chairman,

My Government as clarified through ts previous communicationso the Committeeand the

SecurityCouncil, hepolitical dimensions swell as he egalandprocedurallawsof the sanctions

imposedon my country. In very brief terms, he sanctionemanatesrom the desireof hostile

forces o weakenEritrea-the armsembargos designedo createan mbalancen theregionwhile

the economic anctions ims o stranglenvestment nd he promisingeconomicgrowth hat is in

theoffing in the country. To camouflage nd ationalizehesemeasures, ritreahasbeendepicted

as"a pariahandroguestate hat s busysquanderingts resourcesnd capabilitiesn destabilizing

its neighbours".Nothingcanbe further rom the ruth.Eritrea'scontributiono regionalpeaces of

historicalecord.

Eritrea s not only a small and young nation which cannotpossiblycontemplate uchelusive

agendas,ut it hasgone hrough he horrorsof war to attain ts freedomandnationaldignity. The

war of national iberationhad entailedhe sacrificeof 60,000 reedom ightersand a muchhigher

numberof civilian casualtiesn a smallpopulation hatwas ess han3 million then. The borderwar with Ethiopiahas similarly nculcatedhe sacrificeof 20,000 ives. Thenumberof thosewho

weremaimed y theseortuouswars un nto thousands ore.

Inevitably, he Government's fforts in the past wenty yearshave beengearedowardshealing

thosedeepscars nd charting hepathof sustainableevelopmentor a society orced o losehalf a

centuryoi opportunities.Theparticipation ndcontribution f all Eritreansn facing he challenges

of nation-building as at the coreof thegovemment trategy.n this context, he2o/o evelopment

andRehabilitationax, wronglydubbedasDiasporaax andnow oneof thetargetsof thepunitive

resolutionsmposed gainstEritrea,wasenactedn 1994by theNationalAssemblyo providesome

cushion o the hefty annualbudgetary ills that the Government ontinueso shouldero date o

supporthewar-disablednd he amiliesof martyrs.

But, it wasnot only the heavybaggage f imposedcostly wars that militated againstEritrea's

espousal nd pursuitof "a recklesspolicy of regionaldestabilization" s its adversariesalsely

propagate. Indeed,as outlined in our previous communications, ritrea has no territorial or

Lrpaniionistambitions, r azealous esire o exportsomedeologyor modelof governance n its

neighbours s t hashistoricallybeen he casewith some egionalplayers. It strictlyabides y the

san-ctityf colonialboundaries nd he peacefulmeansand nstruments f resolvingall boundary



andother nter-State isputes senshrinedn Article 33 of the I-rNcharter. Furthermore, ritrea

subscribeso regional economiccooperation or a multitude of reasons: he arithmetic of

demography;he synergieshat accruerom robust egionaleconomicblocsfor attractingoreign

direct nvestment; , *"ll as the culturalandhistoricalaffinitiesand cross-borderrade ies that

exist between he peoplesof the Horn of Africa region and that transcendhe limits set by

geographicndpoliticalboundaries.

Thesecogentconsiderations ave shapedEritrea's regional policy of promoting a safe and

cooperatiieneighborhoodhat*u, prono*ced fromtheearlydaysof its folmal independencend

that continueso be faithfully adheredo date.This policy precept s anchored n and pursued

througha three-prongedtrategy f: i) thepromotionof regionalsecurityarchitectureshatcanplay

"pi"it"f role in the"prevention, *ugement and resolutionof conflicts; i) strict adherenceo

intemationalaws and conventions f conflict settlement nd nstruments; nd, ii) cultivationof

robustbilateral ieswith individualneighbouringountries.

Mr. Chairman,

Eritreahasdutifully cooperated ith theMonitoringGroupdespitets strongopinionson the uN

resolutionsn quesiion. The MonitoringGroupviiited_Eritrea wice and it alsomet with senior

Eritreanofficials n furope for a third rieetingbefore he lastreportwascompiled' But as t-has

beenmanifestlydemonstratedn its various ef,orts,andparticularly n its Reportof 18July?.o.IL'

theMonitoringGrouphasglaringly ailed o observeminimumstandardsf objectivityandpolitical

neutrality dto aisctrargJts diiies with the professionalismndpolitical independencehat its

mandateequires. I shallnot wasteyour time to delve nto extensive escriptionof this stateof

affairs. We believe hat we havesufficientlyexposedhe inexcusableollies and failuresof the

MonitoringGroup n our detailedResponsef l7-October2011aswell as n subsequenteplies o

its monthlyreports,althoughwe havebeen acing nexplicabledifficulties in obtainingaccesso

them hroughormalchannels.But to refresh our memories,et mehighlight he ollowing:

1. In conductingts task, the MonitoringGrouphasnot been imited to ascertaining,n an

objective nd igorousmanner,hevalidityof th. variousaccusationseveledagainstEritrea

and/ormonitoriig its compliancewith theUNSCResolutions 907and2023. In numerous

instanceshat Je have amply illustrated n our Response f 17 October ast year, the

Monitoring Grouphas drifted from its mandate o wagea political crusadeagainst he

Govemment f Eritreaand to delegitimizeandcriminalizeseniorGovernment ndPFDJ

officials. Webelieve hat his conducts neitherexcusableor acceptable.

2. The manner n which the Monitoring Group has been collecting its informationhas

remained nother eriousssueof ,onr* to Eiitrea.As we pointedout in our Replyof l7

October2oll, the vitriol that the Monitoring Group routinely producesagainstEritrea

emanates,y its own admissions,romfourprincipalsources:

i) Foreign aw enforcement gencies;his begrthe questionon.who theseagencies re?

Why are heir testimonies iceptedwithoutcheckingheulterioragendashat theymay

harbor?Do we haveassur*.", that testimoniesrom intelligenceagencieshat have

hostileagendas gainstEritreaareexcluded r meticulously orroborated ith accounts

of otherneutralandcrediblebodies?

ii) Thesecond ategory f sources f theMonitoringGroup s 'oformerEritreanmilitary or

diplomaticofficials',. Again,whatare he assuranceshat testimonies f elementswho



Both resolutionsreaffirm the respector sovereignty,erritorial ntegrity,political independence

and unity of Somalia,Djibouti andEritrea respectively".Eritrea believes hat the Committees

dutybound o assessf this remainshe case. t goeswithoutsaying,hat he Committees alsoduty

bound o assess hetherall members re complyingwith provisionsof bothresolutions,ncluding

paragraph 6 of Resolution1907 which demands ll countries o desist rom supportingarmed

groups. Eritreastronglybelieves hat all violationsmust be investigated nd reported;and allshouldbe reated qually.

My delegationhereforeooks o thevisit of the Committeeo Eritrea. It mustbe recalled hat he

Committee isitedEritrea n April 2010,under heChairmanship f Ambassador laudeHeller of

Mexico alongwith delegationsrom Turkey and the United States. As Resolution2023 was

adoptedn thesubsequenteriod,we believe hat t wouldbe useful o dispatch nothermission o

enhanceetterunderstandingndcooperationetweenhe wo sides.

While a visit by the Committee o my country s welcome, wish to draw the attentionof the

Committeeo the difficultieshigherofficialsof my governmentacegettingvisa to theUSA. This

is a seriousmatterandas a member tate,Eritrea'sunimpeded ccesso theUnitedNationsshould

be respected.urthermore, sa countryof concern,Eritrea equests ccesso all the reportsof the

MonitoringGroup n a timelymanner.

Mr. Chairman,

As amatterof fortuitouscoincidenceather handesign,his nformalconsultation appenso occur

in the very monthof April when he EritreaEthiopiaBoundaryCommission elivered ts border

delimitationAward ust over enyearsago o thedate.The arbitral uling wasmadeon the basisof

theAlgiersPeaceAgreement n whose ormulationheI-IN SecurityCouncilplayedapivotalrole.

The Peace greement ontains xplicitprovisions f SecurityCouncilguaranteesor upholdingts

integrity and strict enforcement.Yet, ten yearsafter the ruling, Ethiopia continues o violate

Eritrea's overeigntynd erritorialntegrity.Evenwithin he context f resolutions 907and2023whichaffirm the territorial ntegrityof Eritrea,my delegation elieveshat theCommittee as he

responsibilityo addresshis serious iolation.

Thankyoufor yourattention.

eritrea: statement by the eritrean permanent representative to the un during the informal...

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