TesfaNews - Envoy Lashes out at Rapporteur for Biased and Disrespectful
Presentation of
Eritrea<
http://www.tesfanews.net/envoy-slammed-rapporteur-for-biased-presentation/>
Posted on 30 October 2013. Tags: Araya Desta
http://www.tesfanews.net/envoy-slammed-rapporteur-for-biased-presentation/
*“A senior UN Resident<
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Representative
tells me that Ms. Sheila Keetharuth was severely admonished in a closed UN
session for her bias, selectivity and lack of balance” – Yemane G. Meskel,
Director, Office of the President*
[image: "I reject the image she tried to portray of my country ... with her
presentations that fall far short of an “independent, impartial and
objective" - Amba. Araya Desta]
“I reject the image she tried to portray of my country … with her
presentations that fall far short of “independent, impartial and objective”
– Amba. Araya Desta
By *TesfaNews*,
*Eritrea’s* envoy to the United Nation, H.E. Araya Desta, has lashed out at
Special Rapporteur*Sheila B. Keetharuth* for “flagrant bias, exaggeration
and disrespectful presentation” after Keetharuth presented her report last
week during her Interactive Dialogue at the Third Committee of the 68th
Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
On his October 24th statement, Ambassador Desta slammed the rapporteur’s
presetntation for lack of independence, impartiality and objectivity.
The following will be the full content of his statement in connection to
agenda item 69 (b,c) which is Promotion and Protection of Human Rights:
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -
*Mr. Chairman,*
For over half a century the Eritrean people have been at the forefront of
the struggle for dignity and basic human rights. Eritrea as a nation that
rose from the ashes of war has been engaged in the past two decades in
healing the wounds of war, ensuring peace ad security, accelerating the
development agenda and preserving the dignity of its people, through;
*1.* Addressing the social, economic, political and cultural challenges
that face a newly independent young nation. As a result of the collective
efforts of the different sectors of society, Eritrea is on track to achieve
the goals related to gender equality in primaryeducation, child health,
maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases. Let me quote
from the recent report of UNICEF which supports some of these facts:
“Despite the obstacles of poverty, war and drought, the lives of
girls<
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and
boys in today’s Eritrea are measurably better than those of the precious
generations of children. More of them survive, fewer suffer from
debilitating disease, more got to school and more are protected from
violence<
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, abuse and neglect”.
*2.* Ensuring good governance and full participation of all Eritreans in
public life. The government has been enacting laws and building its human
capital. Recently, new legislative measures were introduced by the Ministry
of justice; and elections of magistrates were also held in some districts
to promote the rule of law and ensure governance.
*3.* Engaging in an active constructive dialogue with partners, including
on human rights issues. Eritrea is actively engaged with the Human rights
Council, including under the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism. It is
working on the implementation of the recommendations it accepted in the
first UPR cycle, and is scheduled for early 2014 to be reviewed by the
Human Rights Council. Eritrea has also begun engagement with the Office of
High Commissioner for Human Rights and hopes to receive a technical team to
explore areas of cooperation for the consolidation of human rights in
Eritrea. We are also active participants in the African mechanisms for
people’s and human rights as well as the Cotonou Agreement that underpins
ACP-EU partnership<
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.
Today, after two decades of independence and despite relentless hostilities
to undermine our sovereignty, Eritrea has made strides in the promotion and
protection of the rights of its citizens. We are cognizant of the fact that
there are challenges and gaps in addressing human rights issues like in
many other countries. However, Eritrea doesn’t take its obligations lightly
inthe promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
*Mr. Chairman,*
Eritrea objects human rights issues to be used as a tool of political
pressure. As it has clarified on several meetings with the Special
Rapporteur, including one that we had yesterday, Eritrea finds it difficult
to accept a mandate that is evidently designed for political purposes. The
crux of the matter is that this mandate was not created with human rights
objectives at its core.
Mr. Chairman, let me stress that:
* There is no human rights situation in Eritrea that calls for the
attention of the Human Rights Council, or for an interactive dialogue with
the Third Committee;
* It was pushed and adopted while Eritrea is engaged in the UPR process and
preparing its report for the Second Cycle. If genuine, these concerns could
have been addressed during the dialogue with Eritrean delegation when it
presented its UPR report;
* It was spearheaded by the same countries that are holding hostage the
entire population of my country not in a state of “no war no peace”
situation, but also by imposing unfair and unjust sanctions. We note with
serious concern the continuous attempt to prevent and discourage Eritreans
in the Diaspora from making remittances and other financial contributions
to the development of their homeland and the active campaign also to give
the management and control of the revenues of the mining sector of my
country to a third party. So how do the two reconcile? What is the motive
of expressing concern for human rights situation while doing everything
possible to deny the people of my country from enjoying their hard won
peace and the unfettered access to the fruits of their natural resources?
Human rights ideals cannot be promoted by finger pointing and confrontation
as demonstrated by the fate of the human Rights Commission that ended as a
discredited institution in 2006.
Mr. Chairman,
I listened carefully to the statement made by the Rapporteur. I reject the
image she tried to portray of my country. Allow me Mr. Chairman to briefly
outline why the contents of her presentations fall far short of an
“independent, impartial and objective expert” by
* presenting allegations as facts;
* exaggerating and misrepresenting the situation on the ground;
* collecting information by visiting certain states that have bilateral
issues with my country;
* relying heavily on sources that have grinds to ax against the government
of Eritrea while studiously avoiding views and perspectives of many
Eritrean communities and associations;
* dismissing the prevailing “no war no peace” situation as having no impact
on the fullenjoyment of the people;
* underrating the remarkable achievements of MDGs made by Eritrea; and by
* not reflecting information provided to her from her contacts with
Eritrean officials in several places.
Mr. Chairman,
Let me now address some of the substantive issues raised by the Rapporteur:
*On national service: *As citizens of a small nation, Eritrean citizens
have the shared duty to defend and protect the sovereignty and political
independence of the country. By the end of 2005, the Government demobilized
105 thousand National Service members with financial support from World
Bank, European Union and other multilateral and bilateral partners.
Moreover, the national service has evolved over the years. the youth, aged
18 and above, are not required to stay in an over extended military
service. Instead, they are accorded with wider educational opportunities in
line with the policy of the government wherein more emphasis is placed on
the development of the nation’s human capital. Sawa, which started as a
national service
training<
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facility,
has long been transformed to an academic and vocational training center.
The youth after completing the last year of high school in Sawa, depending
on theiracademic performance, either pursue degree college program, a two
year diploma course or one year certificate
training<
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.
After graduation the students are assigned to line ministries, including
the Ministry ofEducation where there is a huge demand for teachers. The
challenge Eritrea continues to face is, however, its inability to pay
salaries commensurate with the rising cost of living. The low pay is not
limited to the youth under national service, but to the wider public
employees. The government periodically takes a variety of measures to
mitigate the financial burden on the service women and servicemen.
Recently, the government has launched various schemes and stop-gap measures
until the overall situation is reverted to normalcy.
Last but not least, the Eritrean law prohibits citizens under the age of 18
from serving in the armed services is strictly adhered to.
*On illegal crossing of the border: *Crossing the border illegally is
certainly an offense, but there is categorically no “shoot to kill policy’.
Such willful and baseless accusations only discredit those who make them.
When apprehended, first time offenders are kept in detention that has now
been reduced to three months. As detainees, their rights are respected, and
contrary to politically motivated accusations, they are not subject to
torture.
*On returnees: *Eritrea maintains a policy of voluntary repatriation of its
national wherever they may be. And it opposes any forced repatriation or
expulsions. Eritreans who are repatriated face no persecution and are
encouraged and assisted to reintegrate to their respective families and
societies. The most recent returnees from Israel could be as an example of
the policy of the government on this matter.
*Freedom of expression: *The public media is open to all to express their
views on issues of their interest and concerns. Access to various sources
of information, including to
internet<
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social media and satellite dishes are also visibly present and available,
irrespective of their political contents.
*Freedom of conscience and religion: *Every person has an established and
legally protected freedom of conscience and religion. there is clear
separation of state and religion and all people of different religious
faiths have been living in harmony side by side for centuries.
*Extrajudicial killings: *There are no extrajudicial killings or
executions; and the *de-facto*moratorium on the death penalty remains in
effect.
Mr. Chairman,
It would be remiss on my side if I did not address the tragedy of *Lampedusa
* that claimed the lives of many Eritreans. Unfortunately, the Special
Rapporteur has disrespectfully misinterpreted and attempted to politicize
the tragedy, while the whole country and their families are mourning. The
Eritrean government has been calling on the international community to
investigate and put an end to the transnational crimes by bringing the
criminals to justice; but to no avail. Eritrea welcomes the recent African
Union decision to investigate the matter. The incident underscores, unless
countries of origin, transit and destination work together, trafficking in
persons and their enablers will continue to take
advantage<
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of
the vulnerabilities of migrants and our ability to prevent human tragedies
will be undermined.
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation wishes to stress that the notion of an effective multilateral
system could only be realized, if it is based on unambiguous and
transparent rules that apply to all players without selectivity,
politicization and double standards.
I thank you Mr. Chairman.
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Received on Thu Oct 31 2013 - 14:39:32 EDT