Eritrea's Speech To Sanctions Debate of UNSC, Feb 11, 2016

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Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations

New York
Check against Delivery
STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR GIRMA ASMEROM,
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ERITREA TO UNITED NATIONS

DURING THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATE ON
"WORKING METHODS OF THE SUBSIDIARY ORGANS OF
THE SECURITY COUNCIL"
Mr. President;
Distinguished Colleagues;
I would like to thank the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in particular Ambassador Rafael
Dario Ramirez Carrefio, for organizing this important and timely debate on the Working
Methods of the Subsidiary Organs of the Security Council.
Given the complex and dynamic global environment improving the working methods of the
Subsidiary Organs of the Security Council has paramount importance. Eritrea strongly believes
that a transparent and credible process in the Security Council is not a matter of an option but a
necessity.
Mr. President,
For the sake of brevity, I would like to highlight the following three points:
.
Ensurin Comprehensive assessment of the impact of sanctions regimes: Once the

causes for the sanctions are proven non-existent and their intended purpose is negatively
affecting regional and international peace, security and development as well as the life of
the people, the UN Security Council is duty bound to immediately and unconditionally lif
sanctions. Legal and factual issues must be separated from politically and diplomatically
motivated agendas. Let us not mix Oranges and Apples.
It has been six years since the UN Security Council imposed unjustified and politically
motivated sanction against Eritrea. To continue maintaining the unjust sanctions against
Eritrea when the two allegations for the imposition of the sanctions are clearly presented by
the Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG) to be nonexistent it is not only a travesty of
justice but collective punishment against the people of Eritrea. However, and more
importantly, with the current political and security realities in the Horn of Africa and the
Red Sea region maintaining unjustified sanctions against Eritrea undermines and limits the
capacity of a UN member state to implement UN Security Council resolutions in

combating global extremism and terrorism as well as meaningfully contribute to the
maintenance of regional and international peace and security.
.
Transparency and information sharing: Sanction Committees, especially those dealing

with country-specific sanction, need to regularly interact and share information and
allegations with the concerned country. Countries under sanction have every right to
receive the full contents of the draR and final report compiled by experts or monitoring
groups in a timely manner. This will allow the Sanctions Committee to hear the views of
the concerned country, which is consistent with the legal principles of "equality of arms"
and "you are innocent until proven guilty". These methods will definitely ensure
transparency. It must be underlined that Eritrea as a concerned country continues to be
denied access to the monthly assessments as well as the draft and final report of the
Monitoring Group.
Undertake rigorous examination of experts and monitoring groups' reports: This is an
important aspect of the work of the Sanction Committees. Eritrea strongly believes that
Sanction Committees must ensure that the reports of the experts or monitoring groups meet
the highest evidentiary standard as stipulated in the Report of the Informal Working Group
of the Security Council on General Issues of Sanctions (S/2006/997) which, inter alia,
underscores the need for expert panels to rely on verified information and documents, as
well as ensure that their "assertions are corroborated by solid information and that their
findings are substantiated by credible sources". The sources of the reports must be clearly
identified and known. Sweeping statements such as "information gathered from reliable
sources, former officials" etc. must be rejected and cannot be the bases upon which the UN
Security Council take decisions. The Sanction Committees must ensure the contents of the
reports of panel of experts are within the purview of the mandate and must ensure that
experts strictly respect and stick to their mandate. Whenever experts overstep their
mandate, they should be instructed not to do so by the Committee and in the same vein
when information provided by them found to be false must be corrected publicly and as
soon as possible.
Again this has not been Eritrea's experience. In addition to overstepping its mandate the
Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG) has been reporting baseless allegations
collected from nameless and faceless sources. In the context of maintenance of regional
and international peace and security, the Group is only and clearly mandated to look into
whether Eritrea supported al-Shabab in Somalia and the border dispute between Eritrea and
Djibouti. However, overstepping its mandate, the SEMG continues to routinely deal with
Eritrean and Ethiopian conflict, and does so in a manner that ignores context and
ramifications. Another equally important aspect is, at least in Eritrea's experience, the
monitoring group have routinely reported uncorroborated allegations and refused to rectify
them when those allegations were found not to be true.
In conclusion:
.
Since the SEMG has clearly stated "it has found no evidence of Eritrean support to alshabab" and Djibouti Eritrea issue is being handled by the government of Qatar and the
Qatar forces are deployed at the common border between Eritrea and Djibouti there is no
imagined or real threat to international peace and security that Eritrea is involved. The
Security Council must, therefore, immediately and unconditionally lift the sanction
against Eritrea.
Given the current fight against global terrorism and extremism, lifting the unjust
sanctions will enhance peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea Region.
On the other hand, the maintenance of the sanctions can only be a recipe for disaster and
chaos.
The unjust sanction imposed against Eritrea has no linkage to Eritrea and Ethiopia
conflict. However, in a manner that ignores and disregards context, perspective and
ramification and in violation of is mandate and in an attempt move the goal post, the
SEMG has started to deal with Eritrean Ethiopian conflict. Once again Eritrea underlines
that the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia is an issue between the occupied and the
occupier. Ethiopian official's constant military threat against Eritrea must be also taken
into consideration.
For example:
- On 7 July 2015 the Prime Minister of Ethiopia speaking to his Parliament said that
"Ethiopia will be forced to take appropriate action against Eritrea."
- On 9 August 2014 during an interview with the Washington D.C based Radio
Tsenat, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia clearly stated that "the no-war no-peace
situation with Eritrea is over. Ethiopia from now on is ready to take military action
against Eritrea"
- On 17 April 2012, speaking to the Ethiopian Parliament the late Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi stated that "the Ethiopian government has now decided to carry_ out a
more active policy, taking measured actions against Eritrea. The action will involve
using all means at Ethiopia's disposal to change the Eritrean government. The other
major area where Ethiopia will further strengthen its activity is in supporting
Eritreans in their campaign to change the government."
The use or threat of use of force against any country big or small is a violation of the UN
Charter and international law that should be condemned by the Security Council. If the
SEMG and the Security Council want to be involved under the current agenda item their
option is one and only one that is to urge Ethiopia to unconditionally and immediately
withdraw from the sovereign Eritrean territories, including the town of Badme.
I thank you, Mr. President.

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Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations

STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR GIRMA ASMEROM,

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ERITREA TO UNITED NATIONS

Ensurin Comprehensive assessment of the impact of sanctions regimes: Once the

capacity of a UN member state to implement UN Security Council resolutions in

Transparency and information sharing: Sanction Committees, especially those dealing

I thank you, Mr. President.

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