Articles

Considering autonomous governance in Dankalia
Ahmed Y. Mohamed1
I. Introduction
The tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia regarding access to the Red Sea were brought to the
forefront by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s address to the Ethiopian parliament in October 2023.2
In his speech, Prime Minister Abiy asserted Ethiopia’s “natural” rights to access the Red Sea
waters in neighboring countries, prompting responses from Somalia, Eritrea, and Djibouti, who
declared their territorial integrity non-negotiable in reaction to Ethiopia’s comments.
Ethiopia’s challenges intensified as it sought access to another port, this time in Somaliland, an
autonomous region within Somalia. A recent agreement3
signed on January 1st, 2024, between
Somaliland and Ethiopia involves the leasing of over 20 kilometers of Berbera Port City to
Ethiopia. The agreement also includes acknowledgment of the potential for Somaliland to pursue
independence in the future. This has further exacerbated regional tensions surrounding Ethiopia’s
efforts to secure a port from its neighboring countries.
Ethiopia’s pursuit of port access as a landlocked nation is significant in Eritrea, which gained
independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after a long struggle. After Eritrea’s independence, Ethiopia
lost access to its only port when it had a population of 50 million, compared to the current
population of 120 million.4 The recent strained relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have
raised concerns about the potential for renewed regional conflict. Ethiopia’s aggressive demand
for sea access, Eritrea’s resentment for being sidelined in Pretoria, and the signed Cessation of
Hostilities Agreement between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation
Front are all contributing factors. Additionally, there are internal rebellions in Amhara and
Oromia as well as generalized insecurity across the country, which Ethiopia quietly blames on
Eritrea’s involvement.
This article will delve into the “Afar Factor” one of the key arguments presented by Prime
Minister Abiy to justify Ethiopia’s interest in the Red Sea. It will also consider why granting the
Afar people “Special Status” could be a viable political strategy for the region and explore the
role Eritrea should play regarding Afar grievances in the country.
1 Ahmed Y. Mohamed leads the Eritrean Afar National Congress, a political group that represents exiled indigenous
Eritrean Afar people. The organization advocates for self-governance and autonomy for the indigenous Afar people
in Dankalia, Eritrea, who have faced marginalization, persecution, and ethnic cleansing under the current
government. https://dankalia.org/
2 Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a televised program held with members of the country’s parliament
on Sunday, according to the state Ethiopian News Agency (ENA). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMhNaAsiV0
3 Prime Minister@AbiyAhmedAli and the President of Somaliland Muse Bihe Abdi have signed a historic
Memorandum of Understanding in Addis Ababa.
https://twitter.com/PMEthiopia/status/1741828595457143004/photo/1
4 With about 123 million people (2022), Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria,
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview
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Prime Minister Abiy defended Ethiopia’s case for port access to the Red Sea by citing the Afar
demographic factor in the Afar Triangle. He highlighted the cultural and economic relationships
maintained by the Afar Sultanates, which transcend transboundary and international borders as
indigenous peoples. Prime Minister Abiy emphasized the significance of the Afar demographic
region in the context of Ethiopia’s historical and cultural ties to the Red Sea.
II. The Strategic Significance of the Afar Triangle and its Geopolitical Curse
The Afar is an ancient and indigenous nation. The Afar traditional territories (Afar Triangle)
underwent fragmentation into today’s sovereign states of Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Eritrea, which
was dubbed as “the Scramble for Africa” 1880’s, or the slicing of Africa by European power in

  1. The Franco-Italian colonialist divided what is known as the “Afar triangle” into three
    pieces and set up their colonies and international borders separating the Afar nation. Djibouti fell
    to the French, Eritrea to the Italians, and Ethiopia was, by and large, escaped uncolonized,
    though the Italians briefly did occupy Ethiopia from 1936 to 19415
    .
    The strategic region of Afar covers an approximate area of 157,000 square kilometers, which is
    large enough to encompass four European states – Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, and
    Switzerland. Positioned at a crucial geopolitical junction, the Triangle connects the coastal
    waters of the Red Sea with international maritime shipping routes that connect the Red Sea and
    Bab-el-Mandab. Moreover, it hosts three significant ports: Assab in Eritrea and Obock and
    Tadjourah in Djibouti.
    Despite initially honoring peace agreements with the Afar nation, European powers expanded
    their dominance by encroaching into Afar territories without consent. This led to a revolt by the
    Afar people against the colonial powers. The resistance was ultimately suppressed due to
    Europe’s superior military strength, leading to the death of Yasin Haysama, Sultan of Girrifo, and
    the capture of the Sultan Laoita in Goba’ad by French forces. He was subsequently taken to
    French colonies in Madagascar and vanished without a trace6
    .
    Today, long after the colonial division of Afar territories by the Europeans, artificial borders
    continue to define the contemporary reality for the Afar people. The psychological wounds left
    over from the colonial era manifest in Afar poverty, marginalization, and helplessness
    throughout the region.
    III. Eritrea’s Independence and the Impact on the Afar Autonomy
    5 Emperor Haile SELASSIE became an internationally renowned figure in 1935, when he unsuccessfully appealed to
    the League of Nations to prevent Italy from occupying Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941. CIA World Factbook
    https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ethiopia/#introduction
    6
    Sultan of Gobaad and his deputy was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and taken to Fort Duaphin,
    Madagascar. The sultan died in exile 19 July 1932 both titles of Sultan and deputy Sultna(Banoyta) ceased to exist
    and the Sultanate was abolished. https://en.sewasew.com/p/ge-baa-d, Encyclopaedia Aethiopica
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    Dankalia is a traditional territory of the Afar people in Eritrea, stretching 1000 kilometers along
    the coastline from the Bori Peninsula to Rahayta. It has pristine beaches, islands, ports, and vast
    deserts rich in natural resources like essential minerals and precious metals.
    Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in May 1991, marking the end of indigenous Afar
    self-governance in Dankalia. The region had been historically administered by the Afar people
    for their affairs, even during the last years of Ethiopian rule until 1991.
    For the last 32 years, Eritrea has been governed by the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice
    (PFDJ), a highly centralized single-party state led by Isaias Afwerki. In contrast to the EPRDF in
    Ethiopia, which constitutionally ensured ethnic self-determination for nations, nationalities, and
    peoples within Ethiopia, the PFDJ established a new cultural identity for its newly formed
    government.
    7
    The PFDJ’s cultural revolution meant pre-existing cultural identities, such as the Afar, would
    need to assimilate into Eritrea’s single cultural identity, heavily influenced by the majority
    Tigrigna culture.
    The land proclamation, known as PROCLAMATION NO. 58/1994, declared that the land and
    sea historically belonging to the indigenous Afar community for centuries would be taken over
    by the government. PFDJ implemented measures of internal colonization, marginalization,
    unauthorized seizure of land, violence, and relocation of Afar people in Dankalia under its new
    regulations. With this particular law on land ownership, Eritrea authorized the appropriation of
    ancestral lands and natural resources from the indigenous Afar population.
    After seizing control of valuable Afar lands and resources through illicit and forceful methods,
    Eritrea proceeded to grant licenses for some of these traditional territories to its global associates.
    The UAE set up a military base in Assab8
    in 2015, accompanied by acquiring strategic coastal
    villages. Additionally, an Australian corporation acquired a substantial 400 km2 area for potash
    mining and established the Colluli Potash mine,
    9 which a Chinese company subsequently
    purchased.
    The Afar community in Eritrea is facing a threat to their survival due to the actions and policies
    of the government. These measures have significantly impacted traditional Afar livelihoods, such
    as their ability to fish in coastal waters, which has been central to their way of life for numerous
    generations. The vital economic resources that the Afar community relies on, including
    traditional fishing, cross-border trade with caravans transporting essential food, and traditional
    7 Eritrea is a highly centralized, totalitarian regime under the control of President Isaias Afwerki.
    https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/eritrea/
    8
    In 2015 the UAE established its first military base overseas in the Eritrean port of Assab. https://issafrica.org/isstoday/could-emirati-activism-in-the-horn-make-the-situation-worse
    9 Australia’s Danakali (ASX: DNK) has completed the sale of its 50% stake in the Colluli potash project in Eritrea,
    Africa, 13 years after partnering with the Eritrean National Mining Corporation (ENAMCO) to build the mine.
    Chinese company Sichuan Road and Bridge Group, have paid a first instalment of $105 million
    https://www.mining.com/danakali-sells-stake-in-flagship-colluli-potash-project-in-eritrea/
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    salt mining lands, have been significantly damaged by government policies aiming to displace
    the Afar from key areas along the Southern Red Sea coast of Eritrea.
    Furthermore, Eritrea has taken steps to close longstanding borders by land and sea to disconnect
    the Afar people in Eritrea from their relatives in Djibouti and Ethiopia.
    IV. Afar History of self-governance in Eritrea
    The Afar nation has a solid historical basis for asserting its right to special autonomy in
    Dankalia. The Afar have maintained control over their traditional lands in the Afar Triangle long
    before modern states were established. The five Afar Sultanates10
  • Rahayta, Biru, Tadjourah,
    Goba’ad, and Awsa have a well-documented history of self-governance that was acknowledged
    by external powers like the Ottoman Turks, Italians, and French through peace treaties and
    mutual agreements. Internally, Afar customary law has governed daily life within their society
    and their interactions with neighboring nations or tribes.
    V. Afar Grievances and Marginalization in Eritrea
    The marginalization of the people of Afar in Eritrea is systemic, widely documented, and unique.
    Approximately three-quarters of the estimated 500,000 Afar population fled Eritrea due to
    persecution. UN human rights experts have extensively investigated Eritrea’s violations against
    the indigenous Afar people and found the country guilty of grave human rights violations.
    On May 2023, the UN SR on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Dr. Mohamed Abdelsalam
    Babiker noted: “The Afar are one of the most disenfranchised communities in Eritrea. For
    several decades, they have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, arbitrary arrests,
    disappearance, violence, and widespread persecution.”11
    In 2016, The UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea (COI) confirmed that
    Eritrean officials had committed the crime of persecution, a crime against humanity, against the
    Eritrean Afar population since 1991.12
    10 The Afar society has been organized into independent Kingdoms, each ruled by its own Sultanate. The Afar are
    one Africa’s long-established and culturally homogeneous indigenous people who have lived in the Afar Triangle,
    at the convergence of what are now known as Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea since the time immemorial.
    https://theafricanroyalfamilies.com/2023/04/20/sultans-of-afar-people-of-afar-triangle/
    11 There is an established history of arbitrary detentions and disappearances of Afar people, as noted by the
    Special Rapporteur. One particularly egregious incident in 2022, as noted in the Special Rapporteur’s report, was
    that of a mass detention of Afar fisherfolk by the Eritrean navy. UN SR 2023 https://www.iwgia.org/en/news/5228-
    disturbing-situation-human-rights-afareritrea.html#:~:text=For%20several%20decades%2C%20they%20have,carrying%20out%20their%20traditional%20
    occupation.
    12 The Commission also has reasonable grounds to believe that Eritrean officials have intentionally and severely
    deprived Eritrean Kunama and Afar of fundamental rights contrary to international law on ethnic grounds. The
    Commission has corroborated evidence that the Afar and Kunama were targeted, at a minimum, in the period
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    In 2015, UN COI stated the actions by Eritrean authority “may be construed as an intentional act
    to dispossess them [the Afar] of their ancestral lands, their livelihood and their culture”
    (Paragraph 56) and that
    The killing of members of the Afar ethnic group and reports of the existence of mass
    graves… have also triggered their displacement from their lands within the country and
    across borders to Ethiopia and Djibouti. This has posed great difficulty to their
    livelihoods as they depend on their traditional lands for the sustenance as an indigenous
    ethnic group.”
    13
    The COI also “confirmed” that Land traditionally belonging to or used by the Afars was seized
    in the framework of the land reform and afterward by the decision of the Government, without
    consultation of the impacted communities.
    14
    The UNHCR has registered 60,000 Eritrean Afar refugees15 in Ethiopian camps alone, with tens
    of thousands more internally displaced throughout the region.
    Compared to colonial times, Eritrea as an African state has committed more crimes against
    indigenous Afar than those committed by European colonizers.
    16 The threat against the Afar
    nation in Eritrea is immediate and persistent.
    VI. Regional precedence
    a. Ethiopia
    In 1994, the Ethiopian federal constitution officially designated the Afar regional state as one of
    nine ethnolinguistic regional states (Kilil), which has since increased to twelve. This recognition
    of the Afar nation’s right to self-determination and self-governance enabled indigenous Afar
    autonomous administration in the region. The Ethiopian parliament recently sanctioned a federal
    budget for the 2023/24 fiscal year for the Afar regional state, amounting to 6.3 billion birr
    between 1998 and 2001. It has also received uncorroborated information that both ethnic groups were persecuted
    during other periods as well, and that such persecution persists.
    https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIEritrea/A_HRC_32_CRP.1_readonly.pdf
    13These killings have also triggered their displacement from their lands within the country and across borders to
    Ethiopia and Djibouti.
    https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIEritrea/A_HRC_29_CRP-1.pdf
    14 The Commission collected numerous testimonies from Afar people who fled Eritrea. These testimonies
    confirmed that land traditionally belonging to or used by Afars was seized in the framework of the land reform and
    afterwards by decision of the Government, without consultation of the impacted communities. (para 1157)
    15 Eritrean Afar Refugees- UNHCR Ethiopia https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/eth
    16 1882-1941: In 1882, Italy occupied the port of Assab. In 1885, Italy occupied the port of
    Massawa and other regions along the Red Sea coast. In 1889, Italy conquered all of Eritrea.
    https://brill.com/previewpdf/journals/hrao/5/1/article-p1059_31.xml
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    (approximately 112 million USD).17 Additionally, the Afar regional state’s GDP stands at 15.94
    billion birr ($0.567 billion) at a constant market price; furthermore, between 2012 and 2018, it
    achieved an average growth rate of 8.10%, according to data from the Afar Bureau of Finance
    and Economic Development, dated 2020.
    18
    Under federal constitutional arrangement, the Afar people in Ethiopia have excelled as a selfgoverning nation. Their language, Afar-Af, is the official language of the regional state. The Afar
    national regional state has seen nearly twofold economic growth from 2010 to 2018 and is
    striving greatly to build infrastructure, primary schools, roads, and health centers while also
    attracting investment to strengthen its economic force further.
    b. Cameroon
    Like the Horn of Africa’s Afar, Cameroon in west-central Africa suffered from colonialism when
    two European colonial powers divided the indigenous territory (the French and the British).
    Cameroon gained its independence in 1961, with a majority francophone central government
    imposing its will to assimilate the smaller Anglophone regions and oppress them. Six years of
    conflict have led to the death of over 6,000 people in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions, as
    well as the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
    19 In 2019, Cameroon’s government
    acknowledged the Anglophone regions’ distinct identity by giving them Special Status.
    The government says that awarding “special status” to the English-speaking Northwest and
    Southwest regions will give Cameroon’s Anglophone minority greater autonomy over local
    affairs and settle historical grievances. According to the administration of President Paul Biya,
    this will mean secessionist forces will no longer have a reason to fight.
    20
    c. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
    Article 4 of the United Nations Declaration on the Indigenous Peoples reads, “Indigenous
    peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or selfgovernment in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for
    17 Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, Addis Ababa, Gambella, Dire Dawa and Harari receive ETB 6.3 billion, ETB 3.8 billion,
    ETB 5.3 billion, ETB 2.8 billion, ETB 1.8 billion and ETB 1.6 billion, respectively.
    https://www.unicef.org/ethiopia/media/9126/file/UNICEF_Ethiopia_Highlights_2023-
    24_Federal_Budget_Proclamation.pdf
    18 Afar regional state’s GDP stands at 15.94 billion birr ($0.567 billion) at a constant market price; furthermore,
    between 2012 and 2018, it achieved an average growth rate of 8.10%, according to data from the Afar Bureau of
    Finance and Economic Development [ABoFED], dated 2020 .
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23322039.2022.2072555
    19 The bigger conflict, between the government and separatists from the English-speaking minority, started in 2017
    and has killed over 6,000 people. It has displaced 765,000 people, of whom over 70,000 are refugees in Nigeria.
    Crisis Group 2023 https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/central-africa/cameroon
    20 The government says that awarding “special status” to the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions
    will give Cameroon’s Anglophone minority greater autonomy over local affairs and settle historical grievances.
    According to the administration of President Paul Biya, this will mean secessionist forces will no longer have a
    reason to fight. https://africanarguments.org/2020/01/cameroon-grants-special-status-anglophone-conflict/
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    financing their autonomous functions.” The UN General Assembly adopted the UNDRIP
    Resolution on 13 September 2007.
    The UN Indigenous Charter recognizes and investigates the experiences of indigenous nations,
    such as the Afar of the Horn. It explicitly addresses discriminatory policies, language dominance
    by states and powerful groups within them, and historic injustices resulting from colonization
    and dispossession of lands, territories, and resources. This prevents them from exercising their
    rights to development.
    The UNDRIP Resolution, adopted in 2007, recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples to selfdetermination and autonomy in local affairs. It addresses discriminatory policies and historic
    injustices from colonization, emphasizing respecting their inherent rights. International
    experiences affirm the Afar’s right to self-government within Eritrea.
    d. IGAD’s Critical Role in Regional Stability and Development
    The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development is a regional bloc in Eastern Africa
    comprised of eight member states: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan,
    Sudan, and Uganda. After a 16-year hiatus, Eritrea has again become a part of IGAD.
    The organization plays a vital role in ensuring regional stability. IGAD’s primary focus areas in
    the 2021-2025 strategy21 include ensuring access to food, promoting economic development,
    sustainably managing transboundary resources, and fostering peace and security.
    The Afar people are spread across three of IGAD’s member states: Ethiopia, Eritrea, and
    Djibouti. They are a pastoralist transboundary family. IGAD recognizes Afar as an
    ethnolinguistic group that has been annexed during the formation of its member states and has
    faced historical marginalization in political, socio-economic, and cultural domains.
    IGAD also recognizes that its member states have not fully acknowledged the rights of
    traditional governance of transboundary indigenous communities, such as the Afar, especially
    the impact on governance and resource management. IGAD findings read…
    “Recognition of pastoralists’ community land rights is important because the tenure
    system among most of the communities is communal and is governed by traditional
    customary laws. Yet in most Member States, the pastoralist land tenure system is
    unfavorable, constraining their mobility and has been the source of most regional conf
    licts.”
    21 The IGAD 2021-2025 Strategy sets the strategic framework for priority interventions over the first five year for
    the implementation of IGAD Vision 2050. It builds on a number of on-going Programmes established to develop
    resilient ecosystems and economic growth. The programmes include IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and
    Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI), regional CAADP Compact, Institutional Strengthening Action Programme (ISAP),
    Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Security, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Regional
    Economic Cooperation and Integration, Social Development, Peace and Security, Gender Affairs, and other
    strategies and policy papers which underpin the IGAD regional programmes. https://igad.int/about/?tab=ourstrategy
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    Furthermore, IGAD has acknowledged its member states inability to respect the authority and
    customary laws of indigenous pastoralist groups. (i.e., traditional leaders)
    “Equally, their traditional authorities and institutions, which they depend on to manage
    their resources and livelihoods, have been weakened and undermined, further
    marginalizing the pastoral communities from the formal governmental processes and
    decision-making. Though the Member States supreme laws recognize their authority, in
    practice, they have not been empowered to discharge their functions effectively”.22
    VII. Ethiopia and Collaboration
    Ethiopia faces a distinct challenge that is not likely to disappear in the near future. The Afar
    regional state serves as a crucial artery for Ethiopia’s food security and export requirements.
    Strengthening Ethiopia’s collaboration with the Afar leadership and maximizing the geopolitical
    significance of the traditional territories within the region will significantly support its economic
    goals and provide a political solution for Ethiopia’s growing population.
    Ethiopia’s Prime Minister has strongly expressed willingness to collaborate with traditional Afar
    leaders to secure access to the Port of Assab in Eritrea. Ethiopia may also seek support from
    IGAD to utilize its influence on Eritrea’s economic development and integration, aiming to
    encourage Eritrea’s participation in addressing the concerns of both the Afar people and Ethiopia.
    Furthermore, Ethiopia has a forty-year history of using the Port of Assab as its main importexport port. While it is natural for Ethiopia’s growing population to demand access to Red Sea
    ports for their economic aspirations, these development goals must be pursued without infringing
    on the aspirations of the Eritrean Afar nation or encroaching on Eritrea’s sovereignty.
    Ethiopia has a distinct challenge that will not go away in near future. Distinction being the Afar
    regional states in Ethiopia reserves as a key artery for its food security and exports needs.
    Ethiopia’s collaboration with the Afar leadership and maximize the geopolitics of the Afar
    traditional territories within the region will significantly support its economic aspiration and the
    political solution for growing population of Ethiopia.
    VIII. Eritrea and Challenges
    The Eritrean state has a legitimate concern over its sovereignty and territorial integrity, but this
    should not come at the expense of Afar marginalization. Granting recognition to its indigenous
    minority would strengthen Afar’s loyalty and secure Eritrea’s border. This action would also put
    to rest the extremist elements within Ethiopia that claim the Port of Assab as integral Ethiopian
    territory.
    22 Japheth Kasimbu Transhumance Expert IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD),
    IGAD Legal, Policy and Institutional Frameworks on Pastoral Areas and Cross-Border Transhumance in IGAD Region,
    sections (iii)&(iv) 2020 https://icpald.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Legal-Policy-and-InstitutionalFrameworks-in-IGAD-Region.pdf
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    Eritrea is responsible for addressing the grievances of Afar, criticized by the international
    community. The Afar Eritreans do not seek secession despite historical oppression. Geopolitical
    volatility and repression are the root causes of conflict in the region. Eritrea has many enemies
    and risks erupting into new clashes without warning. Eritrea is confronted with a range of
    challenges, and the risk of unexpected flare-ups of fresh tensions extends beyond just
    geopolitical factors or issues related to access to the Red Sea. Dissatisfaction toward Eritrea’s
    governing party is widespread among Diaspora opposition groups. Moreover, persistent lowlevel Afar insurgency has fueled ongoing grievances, resulting in more than 200,000 Afar
    refugees seeking to reunite with their homeland in Eritrea by crossing the border.
    IX. The Afar Nation and Future
    Eritrea is now a member of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and has signed a
    five-year sustainable development23 cooperation with the United Nations. Furthermore, Eritrea
    has gained a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, indicating that it can no longer
    ignore calls from international or regional institutions to address human rights concerns
    regarding the Afar community within its borders.
    The Afar nation in Eritrea has particular grievances that must be addressed. Eritrea needs to
    acknowledge and support the political and economic aspirations of the Afar people, allowing
    them autonomy and the freedom to utilize their traditional resources, including coastal waters, to
    alleviate poverty, economic hardship, disenfranchisement, and marginalization that have been
    prevalent since 1991.
    The proposed agreement for “Special Status” aims to grant autonomous governance to Dankalia.
    This special autonomy provides an opportunity for collaboration between Afar and Eritrea in
    sharing power, implementing plans for resource and revenue sharing, and addressing historical
    grievances related to self-rule. Moreover, it allows the Afar community to leverage its coastal
    waters, ports, and traditional fishing economies, as well as facilitate transhumance pastoralism
    for trade and development. Granting autonomous status to Dankalia is crucial in addressing
    issues such as historic marginalization, land rights, human rights violations, and the current lack
    of development opportunities in the region.
    X. Conclusion
    In conclusion, the complex geopolitical dynamics of the Horn of Africa require a multifaceted
    approach that acknowledges historical grievances while promoting development and regional
    stability. IGAD’s commitment to improving peace and security in the region, along with the
    region’s dedication to fostering peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development,
    underscores the importance of collaborative efforts by all stakeholders. Through working
    23 The UNSDCF-2022-2026 aligns with Eritrea’s overarching priorities of achieving rapid, balanced, homegrown, and
    sustainable growth, alongside social equity, and justice, anchored in the principles of national dignity and selfreliance. https://www.undp.org/eritrea/publications/sustainable-development-cooperation-framework-betweengovernment-state-eritrea-and-united-nations-2022-2026
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    together, these objectives can be attained, paving the way for a more stable and prosperous future
    for the Horn of Africa.
    IGAD needs to arrange an urgent special agenda meeting to address Ethiopia’s concerns
    regarding access to the port of Assab, Afar’s desire for special status autonomy in Dankalia, and
    Eritrea’s worries about sovereignty infringement by Ethiopia.
    The leadership of IGAD plays a crucial role. It should establish a special commission to
    implement a political solution to meet the increasing demands of the region’s population for
    development. This includes addressing conflicts over resource access and ports while ensuring
    equality and addressing marginalized populations like the Afar people to ensure that the rights
    and traditional governance of indigenous communities are recognized and respected.
    IGAD’s strategy is centered on guaranteeing food security, promoting economic development,
    sustainably managing transboundary resources, and fostering peace and security. The historical
    marginalization experienced by the Afar people within IGAD member states extends across
    political, socio-economic, and cultural domains. Recognizing this situation is essential for
    effectively managing resources through acknowledging indigenous communities’ traditional
    governance rights, such as those held by the Afar people.