U.N. security council needs reforms to fulfill core tasks - Eritrea president

President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, has averred that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) needs an amount of meaningful reform to perform its underlining tasks of maintaining global peace.

A tweet sent out by Yemane Meskel, Eritrean Information Minister said in part: “President Isaias underlined (the) need for meaningful structural reform of UNSC to ensure fulfillment of tasks of maintenance of international peace & security entrusted to it.”

He was addressing a Japanese delegation that called on him on Tuesday in Asmara. Japan is hoping to secure Eritrean backing for a non-permanent seat on the UNSC. It is not known whether Eritrea agreed to back Japan on that issue.

The delegation added its voice to the recent Ethiopia – Eritrea peace agreement that ended some two decades of hostilities between the two neighbours. The delegation was led by State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Masahisa Sato.

The upcoming Tokyo International Conference of Africa’s development (TICAD) was also discussed, Information Minister Yemane Meskel added.

Eritrea continues to push for the lifting of what it says are unjustified arms sanctions imposed on it by the UNSC. The underlying cause of the sanctions is Asmara’s alleged support for Somalia based Al-Shabaab, a claim they have repeatedly denied.

Djibouti’s claim that Eritrea continues to use agression in a border dispute is also advanced in part for the sanctions imposed since 2009.

Ethiopia and Somalia have formally asked that the sanctions be lifted even though Djibouti has expressed strong revulsion especially at Somalia’s stance.