<
http://whatsinblue.org/2012/04/eritrean-pr-to-address-sanctions-committee.p
hp> Eritrean PR to Address Sanctions Committee
19.04.2012
Posted on TUE 17 APR 2012 5:27 PM
Tomorrow afternoon (18 April) the Council's Sanctions Committee for Somalia
and Eritrea (751 and 1907 Committee) is scheduled to hear from the Eritrean
permanent representative Araya Desta. It appears that Desta was invited to
meet with the Committee as members are interested in Eritrea's perspective
on some of the issues discussed at the Monitoring Group's mid-term briefing
last month. It is unclear if Desta will focus simply on the issues arising
from the Monitoring Group's report or if he will want to discuss some of the
broader issues affecting Ethiopia and Eritrea (to which Eritrea would like
the Council to pay more attention).
Since the Council first imposed sanctions against it on 23 December 2009
(S/RES/1907), Eritrea has repeatedly refuted the findings of the Monitoring
Group and requested the sanctions to be lifted. On 5 December 2011, the
Council adopted another resolution on Eritrea (S/RES/2023) which condemned
Eritrea's violations of previous Council resolutions and called on it to
cease all efforts to destabilise other states in the region. It also imposed
new measures to prevent it from using the diaspora tax or revenues from its
mining sector. Since then, Eritrea has written a series of letters (e.g.
S/2011/792; S/2012/126) to the Council protesting the sanctions against it
and calling for the establishment of "an independent, impartial and credible
body" in place of the Monitoring Group which it claimed lacked independence
and impartiality.
In its letters, Eritrea has also consistently accused the Council of being
one-sided in its approach. More specifically, it has repeatedly called on
the Council to address the unresolved border dispute with Ethiopia and
ensure respect for the final and binding arbitral ruling of the
Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission (EEBC). It has also accused Ethiopia of
flaunting international law and the UN Charter by occupying part of its
territory. Eritrea has been particularly critical of the role played by the
US in the region, accusing it of obstructing the implementation of the
EEBC's ruling.
For its part, Ethiopia-in a letter to the Council on 18 January (S/2012/44)-
accused Eritrea of being responsible for a "terrorist attack" against a
group of 22 tourists travelling in the Ethiopian state of Afar, in which
five people were killed. It called on the international community to take
responsibility for stopping such activities. In response, Eritrea wrote to
the Council (S/2012/57) denying any involvement in the attack and urging the
Council to "ensure Ethiopia's prompt compliance with its treaty obligations
and to respect international law."
Ethiopia's 15 March incursion into Eritrean territory prompted another round
of letters to the Council from both sides. Ethiopia wrote a letter on 14
March invoking its right to self-defence (S/2012/158) while Eritrea, on 16
March, called on the Council "to shoulder its legal and moral
responsibilities" and take "appropriate measures to rectify acts of
aggression" against Eritrea (S/2012/164). Then, on 27 March, Eritrea
directly accused the US of being responsible for illegal attacks against it
and requested the Council "to form an independent, transparent and
accountable inquiry body" to investigate this claim (S/2012/181).While in
the past Eritrea's position has found little sympathy among Council members,
it is unclear whether the change in the Council's composition this year will
in any way impact the Council's approach.
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Received on Thu Apr 19 2012 - 23:12:01 EDT
