1. The National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) appealed yesterday to human rights advocates, media and the international community at large to raise their voices against Ethiopia's violations of the rights of innocent women and children. The president of the NUEW, Luul Ghebreab, reiterated the union's plea to the international community and human rights advocates by bringing "to light some of the individual stories of women and children who are suffering due to Ethiopia's ethnic cleansing campaign." Furthermore, the union called for the "immediate cessation of all mass detention and expulsion of Eritreans and for the elimination of all forms of violence against humanity in general and women and children in particular." The NUEW stated that in detaining and expelling these Eritreans, the Ethiopian government is clearly violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
2. The National Confederation of Eritrean Workers (NCEW), in collaboration with the Labor Department and employers, is seeking to find ways of providing employment opportunities for recently arrived Eritrean deportees, said Tekeste Bayre, secretary of the confederation. Despite the fact that many Eritrean workers deported had worked to strengthen the Ethiopian trade union, there was no formal protest from the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions, Bayre said. "It is amazing how the CETU kept silent when Eritrean members of the confederation, including three members of the executive committee, were being expelled from Ethiopia," said the secretary of NCEW. Last week, the NCEW, in an appeal sent to the International Labor Organization, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, International Trade Secretariats and national centers in Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East, had called for support in its rehabilitation and training efforts in helping Eritrean workers and professionals deported from Ethiopia. Veronica Rentmeesters, Information Officer
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