Eritrea denies perpetrating crimes against humanity

Eritrea has denounced a UN report published on June 8, which accuses the regime of crimes against humanity.

The UN commission of inquiry said they have reasonable information to believe that slavery, imprisonment, forced disappearance, torture and other inhuman acts like persecution rape and murder have been committed in Eritrea since 1991.

“For me they have crossed the red line. When we talk of crimes against humanity we need to have tangible proof. And right now there is none,” Hanna Simon, Eritrea’s Ambassador to France told reporters.

According to Eritrean officials, the report by the commission of inquiry is favorable to Ethiopians.
Eritrea and Ethiopia had repeatedly accused each other of fueling fighting in their highly disputed borders.

The Ethiopian regime later issued a warning about the risk of total war.

Eritrea concludes that the report is baseless and remote controlled by Ethiopia and its allies.

“Today the Eritrean government does not really know the accuser. The United Nations has not allowed Eritrea to defend itself against the accusations,” Hanna Simon further said.

However, in a report published on June 8, the UN Inquiry wrote, “the types of gross human rights violations in Eritrea documented by the Commission … are not committed on the streets of Asmara, but rather behind the walls of detention facilities and in military training camps. Torture and rape are not normally perpetrated in the open.”

The commision complained that it was denied access to visit Eritrea and says it hopes to be given that opportunity someday to present its latest findings to the government.

Links to substantiate their case have been posted by the commission of inquiry. http://www.ohchr.org/COIEritreaMedia#sthash.SEiRvPzF.dpuf

Eritrea with a population of about 6.5 million inhabitants, gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after close to three decades of war.

Based on the report, The UN Human Rights Council is due to decide on the way forward for Eritrea during voting this week.

News Agencies