Mr. President,
Norway would like to thank the Special Rapporteur for her recent visit to Oslo and her continued dedication towards accountability for victims of human rights violations. As a longstanding friend of Eritrea and its people, we remain deeply concerned by the reports of grave human rights violations in the country. We also remain committed to supporting the government of Eritrea in improving the human rights situation.
We appreciate the intention of the government to collaborate with the international community in the implementation of the accepted UPR recommendations. We urge the Government to reinforce its efforts and to show concrete action in this regard.
We also welcome the collaboration with and the recent and upcoming visits by the OHCHR to Eritrea. We again encourage Eritrea to extend an invitation to the Office of the High Commissioner to establish an office in the country.
We understand that the current constitution might be amended. We encourage the government to engage in a broad and inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders, including civil society, to ensure that the constitution protects fundamental human rights such as the freedoms of expression, association and assembly.
A question to the Special Rapporteur: How may the UN system, the Eritrean government and international partners such as Norway best work together with the aim of improving the situation for human rights in the country?
Thank you