1. Ethiopian POWs To Be Repatriated on Friday (December 20, 2000)
2. Peace Agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia (December 16, 2000)
3. Peace Agreement To Be Signed in Algiers (December 4, 2000)
4. Proximity Talks Cut Short Because of Ethiopia's Reluctance (October 31, 2000)
5. Statement of the National Assembly on Ethiopia's Human Rights Violations (October 2, 2000)
6. Statement by H.E. Mr. Isaias Afwerki, President of the State orf Eritrea, at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations, New York (September 8, 2000)

The Government of Eritrea shall begin repatriating Ethiopian prisoners of war (POWs) on Friday this week under the auspices of the ICRC. 

As it may be recalled, Eritrea had formally informed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last September of its readiness to release Ethiopian POWs in accordance with the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and the Geneva Conventions. 

Moreover, the peace agreement signed in Algiers on December 12 between the 
two countries provides for the parties to "release and repatriate, without delay, all prisoners of war" (Art. 2.1.). 

Against this backdrop, discussions have been going on with the ICRC on the 
actual modalities and logistical aspects of the repatriation of the Ethiopian POWs. As a result, repatriation is now scheduled to start on Friday, December 22nd. 

Eritrea had unilaterally released and repatriated 71 Ethiopian POWs during the early phase of the conflict. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Asmara, 20 December 2000 

A comprehensive peace agreement was signed between Eritrea and Ethiopia by the leaders of the two countries in Algiers on 12 December 2000. The Government and people of Eritrea have joined the international community in hailing this agreement as a profound achievement representing a crucial building block towards comprehensive peace and development in the subregion 
in particular and the whole African continent in general. 

It is Eritrea's firm belief that a just and fair implementation of the agreement--which includes formation of a boundary commission basing its work on the colonial treaties of 1900, 1902 and 1908; an investigation committee; 
and a claims commission--and its expeditious achievement within the specified time frame requires the full cooperation of the two parties and the active commitment of the international community. 

Eritrea, on its part, remains committed to fully cooperate towards the successful implementation of the agreement with an open and constructive 
spirit. As clearly stated in the speech delivered by President Isaias Afwerki during the signing ceremony in Algiers, the Government of the State of Eritrea reaffirms Eritrea's desire and commitment to forget the grievances of the past and look to a future of peace and hope between the fraternal peoples of the two countries. 

The Government of the State of Eritrea expresses the deep gratitude and 
appreciation of the people of Eritrea to all the parties that contributed to the facilitation of the process which achieved the Agreement on Comprehensive Peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Asmara, 16 December 2000 

The peace agreement is the result of several meetings, including a 
legal/technical meeting in Washington, separate consultation meeting in 
Washington and proximity talks in Algiers at the level of Foreign Ministers 
of both countries; and shuttle diplomacy by the special envoys of President 
Bouteflika and President Clinton since last June when both sides signed an 
Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities. 

The peace agreement essentially provides for the settlement of the conflict 
through the delimitation and demarcation of the border in accordance with 
the OAU principle on the sanctity of the inherited colonial boundaries and 
the provisions of the Framework Agreement. In this vein, Article 4.2 of the 
Agreement states: "The parties agree that a neutral Boundary Commission 
composed of five members shall be established with a mandate to delimit and demarcate the colonial treaty boundary based on pertinent colonial treaties (1900, 1902 and 1908) and applicable international law. The Commission shall not have the power to make decisions ex aequo et bono." 

The Agreement also provides (Article 4.7) for the UN Cartographer to serve as "Secretary to the Commission." In accordance with Article 4.8 of the Agreement, both parties shall provide to the Secretary, "within 45 days 
after the effective date of this agreement" their claims and evidence 
relevant to the mandate of the Commission. The UN Cartographer shall in turn transmit "within 45 days of its receipt but not earlier than 15 days after 
the Commission is constituted" to the Commission and the parties "any 
materials relevant to the mandate of the Commission as well as his findings 
identifying those portions of the border as to which there appears to be no 
dispute between the parties. The Secretary shall also transmit to the 
Commission all the claims and evidence presented by the parties." 

The other vital components of the peace agreement are Article 3 on the 
modalities of investigation of the origins of the conflict and Article 5 
which establishes a Claims Commission whose mandate is "to decide through binding arbitration all claims for loss, damage or injury by one Government against the other, and by nationals (including both natural and juridical persons) of one party against the Government of the other party or entities owned or controlled by the other party that are (a) related to the conflict that was subject of the Framework Agreement, the Modalities for its Implementation and the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, and (b) result 
from violations of international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva 
Conventions, or other violations of international law." 

The Agreement also provides (Article 2) for the release and repatriation of 
all prisoners of war and all other persons detained as a result of the armed 
conflict. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Asmara, 4 December 2000 

Upon the invitation of His Excellency Abdulaziz Bouteflika, President of the 
Democratic Republic of Algeria, the proximity talks between Eritrea and 
Ethiopia reconvened in Algiers under the aegis of the OAU, represented by Algeria, and with the presence of the facilitators from the USA, EU and the UN. The proximity talks were held from 23 to 27 October 2000. 

Although the talks were scheduled to convene the morning of the 23rd,  because of the late arrival of the Ethiopian delegation, the opening session  did not start until late afternoon of the same day. 

Subsequently, a copy of a paper containing possible solutions to the remaining outstanding issues of the peace process was provided to both  delegations by the mediators. The issues addressed in the proposal were delimitation and demarcation of the border, compensation and the investigation of the origin of the conflict. 

The Eritrean delegation submitted its comments on the contents of the paper on the morning of Thursday, 26 October. It was also informed by the mediators that the Ethiopian delegation submitted its comments the afternoon of the same day. While the Eritrean delegation was expecting further exchange of comments, suddenly it was informed by the facilitators that the talks will adjourn on Friday, 27 October, because the Ethiopian delegation insisted that it has to depart Algiers. 

The proximity talks were cut short and forced to adjourn because of Ethiopia's unwillingness to engage itself in talks involving the delimitation and demarcation of the border which is the kernel of the OAU peace package. However, the fact that a proposal is on the table addressing the remaining outstanding issues of the peace process and that both parties had submitted their comments on the proposal, however small it may be, is progress. 

Finally, the facilitators expressed their expectation that talks will resume in the near future. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Asmara, 31 October 2000 

The National Assembly: 

Recalling the practice of ethnic hatred that the Ethiopian regime has been doggedly pursuing in the last two and a half years as a matter of official, publicly declared policy to impart an ugly dimension to the conflict; 

Recalling further that the Ethiopian government has unilaterally revoked the 
bilateral agreements and provisions that existed between the two countries allowing each other's citizens to enjoy particular rights and privileges; 

Mindful of the excessive financial and physical damages, as well as emotional and psychological trauma, that these policies have inculcated on Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin who have been deported en masse from Ethiopia purely on the basis of their ethnicity and through the confiscation of their lifelong earnings and the cruel separation of families, often by stripping them of their citizenship retroactively in violation of International Conventions that Ethiopia itself has signed; 

Strongly deploring the continued detention and deaths in detention in Dediesa and other concentration camps of innocent Eritrean civilians who have been forced to languish in these prisons for more than two years now without due process of law; 

Deeply concerned by the plight of over 18,000 underage Eritreans who have been left behind in Ethiopia as a result of a deliberate policy of separation of families; 

Condemning further the illegal policy that the TPLF regime continues to pursue to obstruct family reunion by preventing Eritrean youth from return voluntarily to their country; 

Deeply disturbed by the growing reports of thousands of innocent Eritrean civilians missing in Ethiopia, and recently from the occupied areas, whose whereabouts remain unknown after being taken from their homes and work places by the regime's security authorities; 

Deploring the wanton destruction of public, commercial and private premises, including churches, mosques, holy shrines and historical monuments and artifacts, and the looting of property that the TPLF regime has and continues to perpetrate in the occupied areas, and especially prior to pulling out from sovereign Eritrean towns and cities in an act of deliberate State vandalism and in contravention of the provisions of the Cessation of Hostilities that it has signed on June 18, 2000, in Algiers; 

Noting that the TPLF regime continues to plant new land mines in the occupied areas in violation of operative paragraph 8 of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities as well as UN Resolution 1320 on the deployment of the peace keeping force; 

Outraged by the groundless accusations that the TPLF has leveled against  Eritrea claiming that thousands of its citizens are languishing in "concentration and labor camps in Eritrea"--preposterous accusations which are meant to cover up its gross violation of human rights, to absolve itself  from its obligation of receiving its own nationals, and to fabricate a pretext for continuing its war of invasion; 

Noting with regret that lukewarm international reaction has encouraged the TPLF regime to perpetrate acts of ethnic cleansing and gross violation of human rights with impunity for the past two years: 

1. Calls on the international community, and in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN Commission on Human Rights, to ensure the protection of the human rights of Eritreans held hostage in the occupied areas in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, international law and Article 1 of UN Resolution 1320. In this regard, the National Assembly calls for the immediate dispatch and placement of permanent human rights observer groups from the ICRC, the UN Commission on Human Rights and other bodies to monitor the situation and ensure the provision of relief assistance to these victims; 
2. Calls on the international community to put pressure on Ethiopia to release Eritrean civilian detainees in Dediesa and other concentration camps in accordance with the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and the provisions of the Geneva Conventions; 
3. Calls upon the UN to expedite the deployment of the peacekeeping force so as to eliminate, as early as possible, the gross violation of human rights perpetrated by the TPLF regime in the occupied areas; 
4. Urges the UN to put pressure on the TPLF regime to demine the landmines it has planted and to stop planting new landmines in the occupied areas in violation of operative paragraph 8 of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and article 7 of UN Resolution 1320; 
5. Recalling its Resolution of June 26, 1998, which stressed that Eritrea would not react in a spirit of vindictiveness and reciprocity in the face of the TPLF's cruel policy of ethnic cleansing, the National Assembly underlines Ethiopia's national and international obligations to receive its own nationals and resolves to ensure the repatriation of Ethiopians to their country will be conducted as in the past safety and dignity and through the involvement of the ICRC.

Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary General
Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Honourable Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I pay tribute to the Secretary General for taking the necessary steps to convene this Millehium Summit.

The advent of the new Millenium occurs at a crucial time. Globalisation and rapid advances in information technology offer humankind vast, unprecedented, opportunities to improve the quality of life. Yet this opportunity may also be fraught with undesirable consequences. It may exacerbate marginalisation and induce a widening of the technological gap in our global village. Thus, the need for harnessing the forces of globalization by fostering a deep sense of communality, international cooperation and human solidarity.

In this context, the Millenium Declaration becomes an important milestone in further broadening and deepening international cooperation and solidarity in coming years.

Excellencies,

Your Excellencies are aware that my people have been forced to shoulder the burden of along and costly war for almost half of the past century. It has taken the sacrifice of two generations to get rid of colonial occupation in order to enjoy the benefits of independence and freedom. Yet, only a short time after its hard won independence, my country is at present forced to once again defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence.

This unnecessary war has resulted in untold human suffering, the destruction of life, property and infrastructure, deportations and displacement of innocent civilians, as well as the violation of several provisions of the existing human rights and humanitarian laws.

Excellencies,

I have no intention to dwell on the conflict that has wrecked havoc to our region. Yet, the conflict impacts on the core values enshrined in the UN Charter, and re affirmed in the Summit Declaration, regarding respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of States; the sovereign equality of all member States; non interference in the internal affairs of any State; and, the resolution of disputes by peaceful means.

It is gratifying to note that, because of the efforts exerted by the United Nations, the OAU, as well as other regional organizations and States of good will, the conflict has halted and an Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities signed in Algiers. In this respect, I wish to express my Government's gratitude to all our partners, in particular to the Government of Algeria, the African Governments involved in the OAU peace process, the United States Government and the European Union who have done so much to promote peace.

My Government is also gratified by the good will that has been demonstrated and wishes to thank all those who have already pledged to contribute troops or other appropriate support to the UN peacekeeping mission.

Excellencies,

The most daunting task facing our societies is the elimination of poverty and the creation of an enabling environment for steady and sustainable development. Multi faceted support from our development partners, and appropriate institutional adjustments that are being contemplated to enhance the effectiveness of this support, will be vital in overcoming . these challenges. But these injections, however robust, will not guarantee sustainable development unless they are accompanied by our own vigorous efforts.

In this respect, my Government believes that primary focus should revolve on human resources development: in the broadest sense of the term. This is not a simple matter of rapid skill development but includes a host of social and political measures which impact on each other.

We need to narrow the urban/rural gap in our own societies so as not to create pockets of affluence and privilege in a sea of rural poverty. We must evolve appropriate forms of decentralization and devolution to enhance grass root participation in decision making, and, to maintain cultural diversity in a framework of national unity.

We need to introduce and develop, if necessary through short term affirmative action, meaningful measures to empower women in order to ensure their all round participation at all levels of our national development. We need to eliminate killer diseases Malaria, HIV, etc. which affect vast segments of our deprived societies.

We need to eliminate official corruption, foster a culture of accountability, and cultivate the values and institutions for enduring democracy and constitutionality.

We have made remarkable strides towards achieving these goals and aspirations, although the current conflict has affected the pace of the progress underway. But even in the best of circumstances, we recognize that these aims cannot be achieved in a short haul.

There is thus the need to see these interconnected goals as processes rather than quantifiable measures that can be achieved within very tight, specified, time frames. Above all, we have to see these goals and aspirations as jointventure engagements. The fact is there is a communality of views and shared values with our development partners. To the extent that there are differences, they are matters of timing or of a methodological nature, which are not problematic in themselves.

Thank you.

Embassy of the State of Eritrea
Washington, DC, 8 September 2000