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FIFTY-FIFTH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Geneva, 22 March - 30 April 1999

ITEM 9 OF THE AGENDA: QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD

"MASSIVE VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN
LAW PERPETRATED BY THE ERITREAN REGIME AGAINST ETHIOPIAN CIVILIANS AND PRISONERS OF WAR"

Check Against Delivery
GENEVA, 1 APRIL 1999





Madam Chairperson,

Our statement under Item 9 of the Agenda relates to massive violations of human rights and
humanitarian law perpetrated by the Eritrean regime against Ethiopian civilians and
prisoners of war, since May 1998.

Since the Eritrean Government unleashed unprovoked aggression against Ethiopia on 12
May 1998, it has persistently violated the cardinal principles enshrined in all international
human rights instruments, the Geneva Conventions and the First Additional Protocol. In the
pursuit of this heinous act, the Eritrean authorities continue to commit countless atrocities
against hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian civilians. As my delegation informed the
commission under Item 6 of the Agenda, the Eritrean forces bombed densely populated
towns of Ethiopia killing and maiming hundreds of innocent civilians, and have been
desecrating and vandalising churches, and deliberately destroying civilian facilities such as
schools, health centres and other socio-economic infrastructures.

These systematic and gross violations have been committed by the Eritrean regime against
Ethiopian nationals both in the illegally occupied areas as well as against those who legally
reside in Eritrea and prisoners of war. The following sample list can illustrate the inhuman
acts being committed by the Eritrean regime:-

Ever since the Eritrean regime unleashed the unprovoked aggression against Ethiopia, the
Eritrean forces have deliberately chosen to strike at civilian targets. Firstly, they bombed an
elementary school in the Ethiopian northern city of Mekelle in broad daylight while students
were in their classrooms, killing 51 and wounding 136. There is no question that the air
strike at the elementary school was a premeditated attack carried out twice within a
difference of two hours.

This indiscriminate act against civilians was once again repeated on 11 June 1998, in
Adigrat where civilians and relief food supply stores were bombed with napalm bomb,
killing 4, and wounding 30 civilians, including an 18 month-old baby and a pregnant
woman. Unfortunately, these victims were the same people previously displaced by the
aggressor from the border town of Zalambessa.

It is despicable that the Eritrean regime tried to justify these barbaric acts by the statement
of the President of that country who declared officially that "war has no rules and that
indiscriminate killing of civilians is inevitable and justifiable".

Destruction of civilian socio-economic infrastructures has been the main military objective
of the Eritrean invading forces. Since May 1998, the Eritrean regime has destroyed
schools, health stations and other infrastructures in the areas it has illegally occupied. This
has left the people in the illegally occupied areas with no health services and educational
facilities. Thousands have been displaced and left homeless and are now sheltered in relief
centres and mountain hideouts. The invading forces deployed landmines indiscriminately
killing and maiming people and livestock and forcing people to abandon their farms and
homes.

In a blunt attempt to create new facts on the ground, the Eritrean authorities have been
illegally and forcefully imposing Eritrean nationality on Ethiopians in the occupied areas.
Those who resist this imposition are prevented from carrying out normal livelihood activities
including confiscation of their land, and property. In addition, young men in these areas
have been forcefully conscripted into the invading army to fight against their own country in
violation of Article 51 of the Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian
persons in time of war.

The Eritrean regime has been holding as hostages thousands of Ethiopian nationals in a
situation of total deprivation mainly in the Eritrean port city of Assab. A large number of
civilians in the occupied areas and in Eritrea itself are held against their will in the most
desolate conditions, subjected to summary executions, torture, arbitrary detentions, rape
and other forms of systematic intimidation and subjugation. A horrific example is where
civilians who refused forced labour have been asphyxiated to death after being incarcerated
in unventilated cargo containers at the Eritrean Port City of Assab, where the regular
temperature attains over 40 degrees centigrade.

The Eritrean regime has continued to unleash a campaign of terror against Ethiopian
nationals residing in Eritrea. It has been detaining thousands of Ethiopian nationals in camps, while dumping many others on the common border of the two countries. They have brutally expelled well over 42,000 Ethiopian civilians from Eritrea after depriving them of their
property and subjecting many of them to beatings and torture. Following the defeat of the
Eritrean army at the Badme front on 26 February 1999, the Eritrean authorities have been
actively engaged in a concerted hate campaign and various kinds of brutal activities against
Ethiopian nationals in Eritrea. These crimes are largely perpetrated by the police; SAWA
trained soldiers, often organised as hit squads; and the Government continued agitating
private citizens for mob violence against Ethiopian civilians. The victims of these atrocities
include children, women and elderly. The case of a 20-year-old Miss Genet Kidane
illustrates the kind of systematic abuse of Ethiopian nationals in Eritrea are exposed to. She
is a victim of a vicious attack by an Eritrean national who brutally splashed acid at her face
and the other parts of her body and burned her clothes. She never had any knowledge or
contact with this person who used to shout racist insults before the attack. She did not
receive adequate medical help and the hospital she was admitted, discharged her
prematurely before she had recovered only because of her Ethiopian nationality.

Since May 1998, the Eritrean regime has concealed all information about the whereabouts
of Ethiopian prisoners of war and civilian detainees from any external source including the
ICRC. They are being held in total secrecy. Latest information coming from deeply
concerned humanitarian organisations indicates that the Eritrean regime has intensified mass detentions, harassment and expulsions of Ethiopian nationals from Eritrea. Unless the
international community takes urgent action the situation of Ethiopian nationals in Eritrea
would result in further human carnage.

The ranges of brutalities of the Eritrean regime against Ethiopian nationals are wide and
take different forms. The times allotted for this statement does not suffice to list in detail all
the criminal acts of the Eritrean regime. For this reason my delegation has circulated a
detailed statement and testimonies of individual victims of Eritrean atrocities. Those that I
have enumerated show only the tip of the iceberg. It is imperative that the criminals be
brought to justice for crimes against humanity. The Eritrean authorities, members of the
police force and private individuals, who took part in the atrocities, must answer for the
crimes they have committed against thousands of civilian Ethiopian nationals and prisoners
of war.
Thank you.