Evidence of meeting #20 for Subcommittee on International Human Rights in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was eritrean.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
I think the Eritrean relationship with Ethiopia is really in.... It's not conflict yet, but it's almost that in terms of the Eritreans providing support for al-Shabaab that works in other countries.
So it's a very fraught relationship. Every opportunity that both countries get to launch diatribes against the other is taken.
Conservative
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Including in the AU; in January it took several hours, I think, for the two to talk to each other. It's a very fraught relationship.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Scott Reid
That, unfortunately, concludes that set of questions.
Before we go to our next questioner, who is Ms. Sgro of the Liberal Party, I just wanted to ask a short question vis-à-vis the issue of our trade.
You mentioned $3 million per annum, which of course is very small indeed, but my understanding is that a Canadian mining company named Nevsun Resources Ltd. owns a mine in Eritrea, the Bisha mine. Is that correct?
February 7th, 2012 / 1:45 p.m.
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
That's correct.
Conservative
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Yes. The value of that investment as estimated by NRCan in 2010 was $287 million. It's a gold, copper, and zinc mine, I believe, and it just started production early this year.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Scott Reid
So that would actually be the primary investment/financial relationship between the two countries. It would actually be effectively between persons of the two countries in that investment.
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Yes, it would be.
Liberal
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Further to that comment, the UN Security Council passed a resolution in December 2011 with regard to the promotion and exercise of vigilance when it comes to the mining activities in Eritrea.
Is anything being done on that, or is that resolution having any effect at all?
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
I don't have the wording of the resolution in front of me, but I think the resolution did, as you say, provide for vigilance in terms of how funds were used. At the moment, there is nothing the Canadian government has done to follow up on the resolution, because we don't think at the moment it has any impact on the government.
Liberal
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
So because it doesn't seem to have any impact on the government, no one is doing anything with that particular resolution. It was an issue about promoting the exercise of vigilance, so no one—
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Well, vigilance in terms...I shouldn't say—
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Yes. In terms of oversight as far as funding going to al-Shabaab counterterrorism, we certainly are vigilant about that. We are looking at what the operations of al-Shabaab are, and at Eritrea's funding of al-Shabaab. That's of concern to us, yes.
Liberal
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
In your opening remarks you talked about a variety of things going on there. There was little mention of the women in Eritrea, and how they're being treated. I can only imagine how they are, based on conversations that I've had with people from Eritrea.
Would you like to elaborate a bit on that? Is there much of an opportunity at all for women in Eritrea, or do they just have one sole purpose?
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Well, there's no doubt that it is not a good situation for women. On the positive side, the constitution provides for that, so at least on paper there's something. We haven't necessarily seen any recent great advances in equality for women in Eritrea.
Liberal
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
The individuals who are fleeing the country, you said most of them are ending up in Sudan, and many are being sent back.
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
As I was saying, I'm not aware that there are actually many being sent back.
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Some, yes. So some may be being sent back. Sorry, I'm not sure what the question was.
Liberal
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
It's just a concern that because Eritrea has a so-called constitution, and is supposed to be stable, people fleeing Eritrea are not being recognized as refugees.
Director General, Africa Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
No, I don't think there is a difficulty with recognizing that there are refugees from Eritrea. As I think I said, it's the ninth-largest source of refugees in the world.
