06/28/2019 Eritrea (International Christian Concern) – In October, 2018 Eritrea was given a seat on the UN Human Right’s Council. This was shortly after the country ended its decades long war with Ethiopia, and was in hopes that the country, which has become known as the “North Korea of Africa”, would finally open its borders. They were given the seat, despite the fact that they have long been known as one of the worst violators of human rights, including religion, press, and speech, in the world today.
There have been no gains in human rights in Eritrea as was hoped However. This year alone, the government has cracked down on gatherings of Christians on several occasions including in May when they arrested more than 70 Christians in one day. They continue to harass those that they see as influenced by Christian and western ideals and hold them without charges for as long as they want. Many have been in prison for more than a decade.
In a recent report by Amnesty International, the group claims that not only does Eritrea hurt its own citizens in its country, but tracks down and threatens even those who have escaped to other countries, if they speak out against the Afwerki led government. The UN HRC cannot be led or have members that have proven their inability to govern their own people with fairness and dignity. Not only was Eritrea added to the council, but so were Somalia and Cameroon. Both of these countries have atrocious human rights records recently, with Somalia counting as the most failed state in the world today.
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