June 26, 1998
Washington - The Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations sent the following urgent appeal regarding the incarceration of Eritreans in detention camps in Ethiopia to the United Nations Under Secretary General for Human Affairs, Mr. Sergio Vivero de Mello, today, June 26, 1998.
Excellency,
I am sending an independent press confirmation of the condition of Eritrean detainees in Ethiopia. We have consistently informed your office of the existence of many such detention camps in different parts of the country. Although we don't have exact numbers, we get information from independent sources in Ethiopia that thousands are taken from their homes and places of work--even from the street--and detained in camps. Many family members report the disappearance of relatives and they don't know their whereabouts--and we know they haven't reached Eritrea.
I can not understand the silence from the UN or the international community concerning this inhuman treatment at such a massive level. What is being done to stop it is even less than what deserves mention. Issuing neutral statements, calling on both countries to refrain from mistreating civilians is indeed lame and unacceptable when it can easily be independently verified as to who is doing what--and we have called for that verification. Ethiopians, I repeat what I confirmed to you yesterday, are being humanely treated in Eritrea. On the contrary, the Ethiopian Government hasn't even denied that it is firing, expelling and detaining Eritrean civilians resident in Ethiopia.
Given the fact that it is an avowed position of the Ethiopian Government, shouldn't there be an open condemnation, or at least denouncement of this action of inhuman treatment of civilians? I can not but emphasize that silence and no tangible action in the face of such inhumanity makes a mockery of the high ideals of human rights that the UN stands for.
With my highest respect,
Sincerely,
Haile Menkerios Ambassador, Permanent Representative Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the UN