Human Rights Watch (HRW) is warning against efforts to restore diplomatic ties with Eritrea without guarantees of accountability for alleged human rights abuses committed both inside the country and during the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Reports emerged in April that the administration of President Donald Trump was considering resetting diplomatic relations with Eritrea. The move could reportedly include lifting sanctions imposed by the United States in 2021 on Eritrea’s ruling party and military over alleged abuses committed during the war in northern Ethiopia.
Critics argue that removing sanctions without clear human rights conditions would send a dangerous message that serious violations can go unpunished.
Eritrea’s strategic location along the Red Sea has increased its geopolitical importance amid instability in the Middle East and threats to maritime traffic from the Houthi movement in Yemen.
Analysts say the United States, the European Union and Canada have all explored cautious engagement with Eritrea in recent years, largely driven by security, migration and regional stability concerns.
However, HRW warns that diplomacy focused purely on strategic interests risks deepening impunity after decades of alleged abuses under the government of Isaias Afwerki, who has ruled the country since independence in 1993.
Eritrea has long faced international criticism over its system of indefinite national service, which HRW says amounts to forced labour. The government has also been accused of silencing dissent, shutting down independent media and detaining critics, journalists and religious leaders without trial.
This year marks 25 years since Eritrean authorities detained 11 senior government officials and 10 journalists who had publicly called for democratic reforms.
HRW has also accused Eritrean forces of committing massacres, sexual violence, abductions and looting during the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region between 2020 and 2022. Some organisations allege abuses are continuing in areas of Tigray still occupied by Eritrean troops.
Campaigners are now urging countries to support the renewal of the United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on Eritrea when the council meets in July, arguing that the mechanism remains one of the few international tools available to investigate alleged abuses and support future accountability efforts.
–ChannelAfrica/HRW–
