Over the past years, the ecumenical
family has received various accounts of the deteriorating state of human rights
in Eritrea and on-going
reports of serious violations of human rights by the Eritrean authorities
against their own population, as well as the alarming number of civilians,
especially youth, fleeing Eritrea as a result of these violations.
There is a high level of lack of freedom
in the country, aggravated by the arbitrary arrest and detention, including
enforced disappearances and incommunicado detention of persons for suspected
infractions being perceived as critical of the Government.
Media is state-owned and does not
leave any room for independent media. There is no independent judiciary, and
individuals are detained without any due process. There are no political
parties, nor any unions to protect workers’ rights. There is no right of
association, or to demonstrate peacefully. No public meetings are allowed. No
human rights defenders are allowed to operate within Eritrea; and most NGOs
have been expelled from the country. As a result of drought and famine, food is
rationed and controlled by the government.
There is no religious liberty.
Authorities have stripped the Eritrean Orthodox Patriarch of his ecclesiastical
authority and have placed him under house arrest since 2005, after he protested
against the detention in November 2004 of three Orthodox Priests from
MedhaneAlem Church.
We have all sadly witnessed the death
of more than 300 Eritreans in October 2013 during the Lampedusa boat tragedy.
Indeed, many Eritrean refugees – both women and men – who seek to avoid forced
military conscription are fleeing their country in search for a sanctuary,
often at the peril of their own lives.
Over the past decade, hundreds of
thousands of Eritreans have fled their country to seek sanctuary in
neighbouring Ethiopia and Sudan, often at great personal risk. In their journey
to a better and safer place, many of them have become easy targets for traffickers,
and consequently face horrifying experiences, such as torture, being held
hostage against a ransom, or routine rape for women and girls. For those who take
the northern route through Egypt to reach Israel, they often end up being
captured by Bedouin traffickers in the Sinai desert and are daily abused and
tortured while family and friends are repeatedly pressured with exorbitant
ransom requests.
In view of these harsh realities in
the country, the Catholic Bishops of Eritrea issued a pastoral letter on 25 May
2014 which has been fully endorsed by the Eritrean Orthodox Church in the
Diaspora.
The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, meeting in
Geneva, Switzerland, 2-8 July 2014, therefore:
A. Expresses deep concern over the degrading state of human rights in
Eritrea and the impact on the lives of thousands of innocent Eritreans;
B. Commends the initiative taken by
the Catholic Bishops of Eritrea for letting the world know the existing
realities and the consequent tragedies;
C. Calls on member churches of
the World Council of Churches in neighbouring countries and beyond to cooperate
on the issue of trafficking in human beings in the Sinai desert that is costing
the lives of many innocent daily;
D.
Standsin
solidarity with His Holiness Patriarch Antonios and his ideals of non-political
interference in the church affairs;
E.
Appealsto the
government of Eritrea to release His Holiness Patriarch Antonios from house
arrest and allow him to travel freely;
F. Calls on the Government of Eritrea to treat
prisoners with dignity and to assure that they are given fair trials;
G. Expresses grave concern by the arbitrary arrest
and detention, including forced disappearances and incommunicado detention of
persons for suspected infractions being perceived as critical of the
Government;
H. Urges the government to adhere to the
obligations of Eritrea under the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African
Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
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