8/2/2019 Eritrea: Statement by the Eritrean Permanent Representative to the UN During the Informal Consultation With Sanctions Committee
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Permanent issionof Eritre
to the UnitedNations
Sr^{rnMENT
BY
H.E MR.An^q.Y^q.nst4Pnruru.NfNr RnpRESENTATIVEFTHESrlrn Or EmTREA
To rHE UNtrBu NltloNs,
DURING
THE INFORMAL CONSULTATIONWITH THE
SncunrrYCoUNCIL ovtvtlrrnn (75Il1907)
Nnw Yont<oAPmr, l8r20l2
800SecondAvenue,8thFloor. NewYork,NY 10017 Telephone212)687-3390'Telefax(212)87-3138
8/2/2019 Eritrea: Statement by the Eritrean Permanent Representative to the UN During the Informal Consultation With Sanctions Committee
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Mr. Chairman,
Let me take this opportunity o expressmy delegation's ppreciationo you as Chairmanof the
SecurityCouncilCommittee nd, hroughyou, o themembers f theCommittee nd he Secretariat
for arranginghis nformalconsultation.
This is the fourth time that my delegations holding his type of informal consultations ith the
Committee. hesewere under he Chairmanship f the Philippinesn 2006, SouthAfrica in 2007
andunderYour Chairmanshipast July. So I seemy interactionwith the Committeeodayas a
continuation f that cooperation.My interventionwill be brief and limited to highlighting he
positionsandsentiments f my Government nd hepeopleof my countryagainsthe backdrop f
thepunitivemeasureshathavebeen mposed nthem.
Mr. Chairman,
My Government as clarified through ts previous communicationso the Committeeand the
SecurityCouncil, hepolitical dimensions swell as he egalandprocedurallawsof the sanctions
imposedon my country. In very brief terms, he sanctionemanatesrom the desireof hostile
forces o weakenEritrea-the armsembargos designedo createan mbalancen theregionwhile
the economic anctions ims o stranglenvestment nd he promisingeconomicgrowth hat is in
theoffing in the country. To camouflage nd ationalizehesemeasures, ritreahasbeendepicted
as"a pariahandroguestate hat s busysquanderingts resourcesnd capabilitiesn destabilizing
its neighbours".Nothingcanbe further rom the ruth.Eritrea'scontributiono regionalpeaces of
historicalecord.
Eritrea s not only a small and young nation which cannotpossiblycontemplate uchelusive
agendas,ut it hasgone hrough he horrorsof war to attain ts freedomandnationaldignity. The
war of national iberationhad entailedhe sacrificeof 60,000 reedom ightersand a muchhigher
numberof civilian casualtiesn a smallpopulation hatwas ess han3 million then. The borderwar with Ethiopiahas similarly nculcatedhe sacrificeof 20,000 ives. Thenumberof thosewho
weremaimed y theseortuouswars un nto thousands ore.
Inevitably, he Government's fforts in the past wenty yearshave beengearedowardshealing
thosedeepscars nd charting hepathof sustainableevelopmentor a society orced o losehalf a
centuryoi opportunities.Theparticipation ndcontribution f all Eritreansn facing he challenges
of nation-building as at the coreof thegovemment trategy.n this context, he2o/o evelopment
andRehabilitationax, wronglydubbedasDiasporaax andnow oneof thetargetsof thepunitive
resolutionsmposed gainstEritrea,wasenactedn 1994by theNationalAssemblyo providesome
cushion o the hefty annualbudgetary ills that the Government ontinueso shouldero date o
supporthewar-disablednd he amiliesof martyrs.
But, it wasnot only the heavybaggage f imposedcostly wars that militated againstEritrea's
espousal nd pursuitof "a recklesspolicy of regionaldestabilization" s its adversariesalsely
propagate. Indeed,as outlined in our previous communications, ritrea has no territorial or
Lrpaniionistambitions, r azealous esire o exportsomedeologyor modelof governance n its
neighbours s t hashistoricallybeen he casewith some egionalplayers. It strictlyabides y the
san-ctityf colonialboundaries nd he peacefulmeansand nstruments f resolvingall boundary
8/2/2019 Eritrea: Statement by the Eritrean Permanent Representative to the UN During the Informal Consultation With Sanctions Committee
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andother nter-State isputes senshrinedn Article 33 of the I-rNcharter. Furthermore, ritrea
subscribeso regional economiccooperation or a multitude of reasons: he arithmetic of
demography;he synergieshat accruerom robust egionaleconomicblocsfor attractingoreign
direct nvestment; , *"ll as the culturalandhistoricalaffinitiesand cross-borderrade ies that
exist between he peoplesof the Horn of Africa region and that transcendhe limits set by
geographicndpoliticalboundaries.
Thesecogentconsiderations ave shapedEritrea's regional policy of promoting a safe and
cooperatiieneighborhoodhat*u, prono*ced fromtheearlydaysof its folmal independencend
that continueso be faithfully adheredo date.This policy precept s anchored n and pursued
througha three-prongedtrategy f: i) thepromotionof regionalsecurityarchitectureshatcanplay
"pi"it"f role in the"prevention, *ugement and resolutionof conflicts; i) strict adherenceo
intemationalaws and conventions f conflict settlement nd nstruments; nd, ii) cultivationof
robustbilateral ieswith individualneighbouringountries.
Mr. Chairman,
Eritreahasdutifully cooperated ith theMonitoringGroupdespitets strongopinionson the uN
resolutionsn quesiion. The MonitoringGroupviiited_Eritrea wice and it alsomet with senior
Eritreanofficials n furope for a third rieetingbefore he lastreportwascompiled' But as t-has
beenmanifestlydemonstratedn its various ef,orts,andparticularly n its Reportof 18July?.o.IL'
theMonitoringGrouphasglaringly ailed o observeminimumstandardsf objectivityandpolitical
neutrality dto aisctrargJts diiies with the professionalismndpolitical independencehat its
mandateequires. I shallnot wasteyour time to delve nto extensive escriptionof this stateof
affairs. We believe hat we havesufficientlyexposedhe inexcusableollies and failuresof the
MonitoringGroup n our detailedResponsef l7-October2011aswell as n subsequenteplies o
its monthlyreports,althoughwe havebeen acing nexplicabledifficulties in obtainingaccesso
them hroughormalchannels.But to refresh our memories,et mehighlight he ollowing:
1. In conductingts task, the MonitoringGrouphasnot been imited to ascertaining,n an
objective nd igorousmanner,hevalidityof th. variousaccusationseveledagainstEritrea
and/ormonitoriig its compliancewith theUNSCResolutions 907and2023. In numerous
instanceshat Je have amply illustrated n our Response f 17 October ast year, the
Monitoring Grouphas drifted from its mandate o wagea political crusadeagainst he
Govemment f Eritreaand to delegitimizeandcriminalizeseniorGovernment ndPFDJ
officials. Webelieve hat his conducts neitherexcusableor acceptable.
2. The manner n which the Monitoring Group has been collecting its informationhas
remained nother eriousssueof ,onr* to Eiitrea.As we pointedout in our Replyof l7
October2oll, the vitriol that the Monitoring Group routinely producesagainstEritrea
emanates,y its own admissions,romfourprincipalsources:
i) Foreign aw enforcement gencies;his begrthe questionon.who theseagencies re?
Why are heir testimonies iceptedwithoutcheckingheulterioragendashat theymay
harbor?Do we haveassur*.", that testimoniesrom intelligenceagencieshat have
hostileagendas gainstEritreaareexcluded r meticulously orroborated ith accounts
of otherneutralandcrediblebodies?
ii) Thesecond ategory f sources f theMonitoringGroup s 'oformerEritreanmilitary or
diplomaticofficials',. Again,whatare he assuranceshat testimonies f elementswho
8/2/2019 Eritrea: Statement by the Eritrean Permanent Representative to the UN During the Informal Consultation With Sanctions Committee
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8/2/2019 Eritrea: Statement by the Eritrean Permanent Representative to the UN During the Informal Consultation With Sanctions Committee
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Both resolutionsreaffirm the respector sovereignty,erritorial ntegrity,political independence
and unity of Somalia,Djibouti andEritrea respectively".Eritrea believes hat the Committees
dutybound o assessf this remainshe case. t goeswithoutsaying,hat he Committees alsoduty
bound o assess hetherall members re complyingwith provisionsof bothresolutions,ncluding
paragraph 6 of Resolution1907 which demands ll countries o desist rom supportingarmed
groups. Eritreastronglybelieves hat all violationsmust be investigated nd reported;and allshouldbe reated qually.
My delegationhereforeooks o thevisit of the Committeeo Eritrea. It mustbe recalled hat he
Committee isitedEritrea n April 2010,under heChairmanship f Ambassador laudeHeller of
Mexico alongwith delegationsrom Turkey and the United States. As Resolution2023 was
adoptedn thesubsequenteriod,we believe hat t wouldbe useful o dispatch nothermission o
enhanceetterunderstandingndcooperationetweenhe wo sides.
While a visit by the Committee o my country s welcome, wish to draw the attentionof the
Committeeo the difficultieshigherofficialsof my governmentacegettingvisa to theUSA. This
is a seriousmatterandas a member tate,Eritrea'sunimpeded ccesso theUnitedNationsshould
be respected.urthermore, sa countryof concern,Eritrea equests ccesso all the reportsof the
MonitoringGroup n a timelymanner.
Mr. Chairman,
As amatterof fortuitouscoincidenceather handesign,his nformalconsultation appenso occur
in the very monthof April when he EritreaEthiopiaBoundaryCommission elivered ts border
delimitationAward ust over enyearsago o thedate.The arbitral uling wasmadeon the basisof
theAlgiersPeaceAgreement n whose ormulationheI-IN SecurityCouncilplayedapivotalrole.
The Peace greement ontains xplicitprovisions f SecurityCouncilguaranteesor upholdingts
integrity and strict enforcement.Yet, ten yearsafter the ruling, Ethiopia continues o violate
Eritrea's overeigntynd erritorialntegrity.Evenwithin he context f resolutions 907and2023whichaffirm the territorial ntegrityof Eritrea,my delegation elieveshat theCommittee as he
responsibilityo addresshis serious iolation.
Thankyoufor yourattention.
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