STATEMENT
Human Rights Council 56th Session.
Item 2 - Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea.
Statement delivered by Ambassador Mr. Tormod C. ENDRESEN,
Permanent Representative of Norway on behalf of the Nordic Baltic countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.
Check against delivery
20 June 2024
President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries. We thank the Special Rapporteur for his report.
We welcome Eritrea’s participation in UPR and note efforts on certain social rights such as education and health. Eritrea is, however, marked by systematic violations of civil and political rights, including the continued absence of rule of law, lack of access to justice, the stifling of civic engagement, and severe curtailment of freedom of expression, association and assembly.
We remain deeply concerned by reports of continued Eritrean involvement in human rights violations in the Tigray. We urge the Government to immediately cease such practise, withdraw any remaining Eritrean forces and investigate all alleged breaches of international law.
We call on the Eritrean Government to release all those arbitrarily detained, to end the practice of arbitrary detention, and to develop independent rule-of-law institutions to protect human rights. We condemn violations of human rights in the context of the national service.
Once again, we call on Eritrea to fully co-operate with the Council’s mechanisms, including by granting the Special Rapporteur full and unhindered access to the country.
How can Eritrean human rights defenders and civil society organizations best be supported in their efforts to advocate for human rights in Eritrea?
I thank you.