H.E Ambassador Dr. Peter Wittig, The Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations
Dear Mr. President
We, the undersigned organizations that represent Americans of Eritrean descent as well as Eritreans from across the United States, are writing to once again urge the UN Security Council to lift the unjust sanctions imposed on Eritrea—Res. 1907 (2009)—on allegations of supporting extremists in Somalia.
Here are the reasons why the Council MUST immediately lift these sanctions:
First, there is not a scintilla of evidence on the ground to support these charges. The principal charge, manufactured, orchestrated, and pushed mostly by Eritrea’s traditional enemy Ethiopia, that started the sanctions drive came from allegations that Eritrea supplied weapons to Somali insurgents. Again, we would like to remind the Council members that these allegations have long been proven untrue.
Second, it is important to remember that the Security Council itself, when it considered Resolution 1907, was forced to drop the principal allegation of Eritrea supplying weapons to Somali insurgents which triggered the clamor for sanctions against this young nation because of lack of evidence on the ground to support it. Though some members used this allegation to hype the drive for sanctions during the six months leading up to the Christmas Eve 2009 resolution, the Security Council was able to see through the smokescreen of elaborate fabrications from Addis Ababa and its enablers via the Somalia UN Monitoring Group.
Third, though this unjust UN action was done under the cover of peace and security in the Horn of Africa in general and Somalia in particular, it had nothing to do with peace or security; it had everything to do with not supporting the West’s misguided policy for this region of Africa. In fact, it is extremely reckless to keep throwing groundless charges against a sovereign nation in the most volatile region of Africa. It is bound to exacerbate the already tense relationship between the nations, leading to more conflicts in this war-ravaged region. As Americans of Eritrean descent and Eritreans residing in the United States, we have a vested interest in seeing peace, stability and security returned to the Horn region. However, scapegoating Eritrea is no way of getting there.
Finally, it is very difficult for our communities to understand why the UN Security Council finds it necessary to take such action designed to undermine Eritrean sovereignty, while ignoring cases that are critical to peace and security in the Horn of Africa. If the UN Security Council really wants to help achieve peace and security in this war-ravaged region of the continent, it should force Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from the sovereign Eritrean territory it occupies despite a UN-sponsored ‘final and binding’ boundary decision rendered more than nine years ago. This is at the center of the multi-faceted crises plaguing the region today and this is what the UN Security Council can do to help bring about real peace and security in the region.
Sincerely,
CC:
1. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General
2. UN Security Council
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