Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for those comments expressing gratitude. I assure you the gratitude is felt right back at you. Certainly Amnesty International appreciates the fact that this subcommittee looks at so many issues that are of real concern for us, and that you welcome us here to provide our advice and views.
We certainly appreciate being here today, and in particular we welcome your decision to turn your attention to the human rights situation in Eritrea, for two very obvious reasons. First, I welcome it because it is a country that generally receives little international attention, from Canada or anywhere else. Second, I also welcome it because the grave human rights situation in that country for so many years now—and I'm going to paint that for you today, and I'm sure you're already aware of it—certainly deserves global, including Canadian, scrutiny and pressure.
At one point, Eritrea was, on the surface at least, a positive human rights story. I think the struggle of the Eritrean people for autonomy and ultimately independence was a key element in bringing an end to the cruel rule of former Ethiopian strongman, Mengistu Haile Mariam, who had presided for some 15 years over massive human rights violations throughout Ethiopia, most certainly including what was then the Ethiopian province of Eritrea.
The brutality of the human rights violations endured by the Eritrean people was such that when Mengistu was overthrown and fled Ethiopia in 1991, leading eventually to full Eritrean independence in 1993, there was great hope and promise felt both within Eritrea and on the world stage.
Amnesty International, however, very quickly began to hear a different story coming out of Eritrea. I think back to my own experience. Back in 1992 and 1993, I was working as the coordinator for Amnesty International's refugee program here in Canada. We suddenly began to be approached by individuals fleeing Eritrea who were bringing with them stories of a cruel, autocratic government led by President Isaias Afwerki and his Eritrean People's Liberation Front—now ironically renamed the People's Front for Democracy and Justice. These individuals told us of no tolerance for dissent and of terrible human rights violations, including torture and summary killings of supporters of any and all parties other than the EPLF.
Many who fled to Canada at that time were members or sympathizers of the Eritrean Liberation Front, the ELF, an opposition group not recognized by President Afwerki. Their stories were not believed here in Canada: there was very little information available at the time. The international community still viewed Eritrea as a good-news story. Many of those individuals went into hiding or took refuge in churches rather than face deportation to Eritrea. Amnesty International intervened in many of their cases, but it was a considerable uphill struggle.
I'm really struck by how time has certainly proven those early refugees correct, very sadly so, and the years since have only seen the patterns of widespread human rights violations in Eritrea deepen and become entrenched. Almost 20 years after it gained independence, I believe most international human rights organizations and experts would agree that the human rights situation in Eritrea figures not only among the most serious and worrying in the world today, but also one that gets the least attention.
President Afwerki, of course, remains in power, and there is no indication at all that he intends to schedule long-delayed elections in the country. His party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, is the only political party lawfully allowed to operate in Eritrea. It certainly makes a joke of its name. I think the word “Democracy” in the title should suggest that there be more than one party allowed.
There is no independent judiciary, and Eritrean society remains unbelievably militarized. All adults face compulsory military service, which is often extended indefinitely for many years. The costs of conscription on such a massive scale, and of militarization more generally, have been crippling for a fragile national economy.
Humanitarian needs mount in Eritrea as well. The country was one of those hit by last year's severe drought in the Horn of Africa. The United Nations has estimated that two out of every three Eritreans are malnourished.
In the face of that overwhelming need, what do we see? Well, the Eritrean government has restricted food aid and humanitarian access, seemingly as a way of controlling and punishing the population and limiting external influence in the country. In November, the Eritrean government informed the European Union that it intended to close all EU development programs in Eritrea.
In the face of this dire situation, large numbers of Eritreans, particularly young people, continue to flee the country. The Eritrean government maintains a shoot-to-kill policy for anyone caught trying to cross the border into neighbouring countries.
There are, of course, UN Security Council sanctions in place against Eritrea, including an arms embargo, on the grounds that the country supports Somali armed groups and has failed to resolve a border dispute with neighbouring Djibouti.
Finally, the Afwerki government also continues to use the fear and suffering associated with the 1998-2001 war between Ethiopia and Eritrea as a pretext for human rights violations. Relations between the two countries remain, to say the least, tense. Ethiopia has failed to comply with the 2002 decision of the Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission to withdraw from the contested border village of Badme. The Eritrean government, though, deftly manipulates this worry about a resumption of hostilities with Ethiopia as justification for curtailment of rights in the country.
Against that backdrop, I'd like to sketch out some concerns around some key human rights concerns. I'm going to focus on the following: freedom of religion, prisoners of conscience, freedom of expression and press freedom, and military conscription. Those are the local issues in Eritrea. But I'd also like to touch on three issues with a more international dimension, including: the treatment of Eritrean refugees in other countries; an issue of corporate accountability with a Canadian connection; and finally, possibilities for greater human rights action within the UN with respect to the situation in Eritrea.
Freedom of religion is heavily restricted in Eritrea. Only members of permitted faiths—and there are four of them: the Eritrean Orthodox church, the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches, and Islam—are allowed to practise their religion. Members of banned minority faiths, on the other hand, face harassment, arrest, incommunicado detention, and torture. Many have been arrested while clandestinely worshipping or at religious ceremonies such as weddings and funerals. Many have died in custody.
More than 3,000 Christians from unregistered churches are in prison at this time, including more than 50 Jehovah's Witnesses. Several of the detained Jehovah's Witnesses have in fact been imprisoned since 1994—that's getting close to 20 years. In May, 64 Christians were arrested at a village near the capital, 58 of whom remained imprisoned at the end of 2011. In October there were reports that three Christians died in detention, having been arrested in 2009 when a prayer meeting in a private home was raided.
A large but unknown number of prisoners of conscience and other political prisoners continue to be held. They include critics of the government, political activists, journalists, religious practitioners, draft evaders, military deserters, and failed asylum seekers who have been forcibly sent back to Eritrea.
Many are held incommunicado, such as a group of 11 prominent politicians, former members of the governing PFDJ's Central Council, including three former cabinet ministers. They were all imprisoned back in September 2001 simply because they dared to call for democratic reform in the country. They are all held incommunicado, have not been charged or tried, and have no access to families or lawyers. There are very grave concerns about their health and the likelihood that they have been tortured and ill-treated.
To say the least, there is no freedom of the press. Journalistic freedom is dramatically curtailed. The government controls all media. Independent journalists have effectively been banned since 2001. Many journalists are in incommunicado detention without charge or trial. There have also been reports by Eritrean journalists outside the country, particularly those based in the United States, facing harassment and surveillance abroad by Eritrean government supporters.
Military service is compulsory, as I'm sure you realize, for both men and women over the age of 18. It involves an initial period of 18 months of service, often including forced labour on state projects, and including being forced to work for companies owned and operated by the military and ruling party elites. They are paid minimal salaries that do not come close to meeting basic needs.
The 18 months required under law can be and very often is indefinitely extended for years and years. It is also followed by reserve duties.
There are many draft evaders or military deserters, as you might imagine. The penalties they face are harsh, including torture and detention without trial.
Now I want to touch on those three issues that have a more international feel, starting with refugee concerns. Many Eritreans flee the country in the face of this unrelenting pattern of human rights abuse. Family members left behind face severe reprisals, including fines and prison sentences. Anyone caught while fleeing across the border is also treated harshly; many are shot and killed.
There are now approximately 250,000 Eritrean refugees living abroad, which is a very significant number for a country of only five million. The UNHCR in fact estimates that 3,000 Eritreans continue to flee the country every single month, so this hemorrhaging from the country is by no means coming to an end. They have issued guidelines calling on states not to forcibly return Eritrean refugees to the country. However, countries in the region regularly carry out mass deportations. Sudan, for instance, regularly hands Eritrean refugees back to the Eritrean government.
On October 17 of last year, Sudanese officials, in an outrageous example, handed over more than 300 Eritreans directly to the Eritrean military without even first screening them for the possibility of refugee status. Very notably, that coincided with a visit to Sudan by President Afwerki. Also last October, at least 83 Eritreans were deported from Egypt.
Amnesty International has sadly had to issue a series of urgent actions in recent years on behalf of Eritrean refugees at risk of imminent deportation or other human rights concerns. Just a couple of weeks ago, on January 31, we issued an urgent action on behalf of six Eritreans imprisoned in Ukraine who have been threatened and beaten and face possible deportation. On November 2 of last year, we issued an urgent action on behalf of 118 Eritrean men, all facing imminent forceable return to Eritrea from Egypt.
On July 20 of last year, an urgent action was put out on behalf of seven Eritreans facing deportation from Kenya to Eritrea. Kenyan officials were not even allowing them to make refugee claims because they had come to Kenya via other countries rather than directly from Eritrea, something that's a little difficult to do given that Eritrea and Kenya don't share a border.
Those are just three examples. We have issued many more urgent actions on behalf of Eritreans who are at risk in Libya, and in a number of European countries as well. An additional cruelty for Eritrean refugees is that they are often subjected to extreme abuse at the hands of people traffickers in the region. For instance, there are credible reports that smugglers and traffickers are holding up to 300 Eritreans hostage in Egypt's Sinai Desert—held for ransom and subjected to abuse.
Many appear to have been trying to reach safety in Israel. In some cases, the Egyptian authorities have carried out mass arrests of migrants in the area. They do not ascertain whether any of those arrested are victims of trafficking or asylum seekers. Most simply are then slated for deportation.
Worryingly, Egypt does not allow the UNHCR to have access to any of the migrants arrested in Sinai. Additionally, Egypt's border guards regularly shoot and kill people caught trying to cross into Israel from Sinai. At least 85 have been killed in the past five years, most of whom were Eritrean.
That's the refugee situation. I now want to touch on an issue involving a Canadian company. It's quite remarkable. It's such a closed and restricted country, I'm sure you'll agree, but notably, there's a very strong Canadian connection that thrives inside Eritrea. Canada's Nevsun Resources, headquartered in Vancouver, operates a large mine in Bisha, Eritrea—gold, silver, copper, and zinc. The mine began construction in September 2008 and went into commercial production just a year ago, in February 2011.
There have been many very serious and disturbing allegations made about poor working conditions and harsh treatment of workers at the hands of government security forces stationed in and around the mine. Amnesty International has also received credible allegations that forced labour of military conscripts is being used by local companies that have been subcontracted by Nevsun Resources. I expect that Elsa Chyrum, whom you will be hearing from next week, will have more to offer you about those concerns. Amnesty International, denied access to Eritrea, has not been able to investigate or verify the allegations. We note them, and we do feel they are troubling. The mere fact that Nevsun is operating in such a repressive country, with an appalling human rights record, carries very serious human rights responsibilities.
Given that, the description of the situation in Eritrea on Nevsun's website is, to say the least, astonishing. The political situation is summed up as: “Single party state. No corruption. UN arms embargo/sanctions have no impact” on the company. A reference to culture simply says “50% Islamic, 50% Christian”, with a later reference to Christian and Muslim being the prevalent religions, “split relatively evenly across the society and in government”. I don't expect a hard-hitting human rights critique, but this sort of disingenuous description of conditions in the country is deeply troubling.
A section on social responsibility does not build any greater confidence. It's mostly at the level of philanthropy and platitudes. There is no indication of a specific human rights policy or a detailed policy to deal with concerns about their relationship with Eritrean security forces. There is no evidence, either, of engaging with Eritrean authorities about the grim human rights situation in the country.
As I say, Amnesty International has not had an opportunity to look into Nevsun's operations, and we have not met with or communicated with Nevsun. Given the size of the project, the influence the company would therefore have with Eritrean officials, and the inevitability that their operations will face a range of very serious human rights challenges, I would suggest that this subcommittee might want to hear from them directly.
To add one more Canadian hook here, the Canada Pension Plan, notably, owns almost 2.5 million shares in Nevsun. To a certain degree, all Canadians are implicated by their presence in Eritrea.
Perhaps most directly relevant here is the fact that the UN Security Council, in its most recent resolution on Eritrea, resolution 2023, just adopted on December 5, 2011, has expressed concern about “the potential use of the Eritrean mining sector as a financial source to destabilize the Horn of Africa”.
The Security Council, therefore, calls on states that are home to companies active in the Eritrea mining sector—that would be Canada—to issue due diligence guidelines to ensure that company operations do not facilitate the violation by Eritrea of any of the numerous UN Security Council resolutions dealing with the situation in the country.
Finally, what should we do? What are the options for Canada?
I have four quick suggestions for you in my final comments.
First, obviously, evidently Canada must continue to maintain pressure on Eritrea directly in whatever ways possible and to work with other countries to push for human rights change in the country. As you might imagine, the agenda for change and reform is a lengthy one, but it is out there. Amnesty International, the UN, and human rights experts have identified the changes to law, policy, practice, and governance that need to go forward if this human rights nightmare is to turn around.
Amongst others, one focus of Canada's advocacy must be to press for an end to incommunicado detention of prisoners of conscience—and I pointed out to you earlier that the list is a long one—imprisoned for their religious beliefs or their political activities, and to press for the International Committee of the Red Cross to be given immediate full and unconditional access to all detainees.
Secondly, Canada should make a determined effort to ensure that Eritrean refugees, certainly including those who make claims in Canada, receive protection. And most critically, Canada should pressure governments in the region to stop the shameful practice of deporting Eritreans back to their country. That might mean providing greater resources to assist some of those countries with the protection of Eritreans and perhaps boosting resettlement of Eritrean refugees from neighbouring countries to Canada.
Third, Canada must engage intensively with Nevsun Resources with respect to its mine in Eritrea to ensure that it is operated in a way that strengthens human rights protection and does not contribute to human rights violations. There should be particular attention given to the possibility that forced labour is being used by Nevsun's subcontracting partners.
Canada must also move quickly to develop the due diligence guidelines that the Security Council requires of us.
Finally, Canada should consider options for increased attention by the UN Human Rights Council to the situation in Eritrea by exploring possibilities to perhaps present a resolution to an upcoming session of the Human Rights Council. It's likely too late to do so at the next one, which begins in just two weeks' time, but there are many other sessions to come.
Such a resolution amongst other things could lead to the appointment of a UN special rapporteur focused on Eritrea's human rights situation, which would be a very welcome step in finally bringing some increased international attention and scrutiny to this very sorrowful human rights situation.
Thank you. Those are my comments.
