Eritrean Afar National Congress (EANC)
Assab, Dankalia, Eritrea Email: info@dankalia.org Website: www.dankalia.org
Restoring Indigenous Afar self-determination and autonomy in Dankalia within united Eritrea
Eretriyah Qafar Isim Isih Madqittaamih Cakki Dankaliyal Daabisennama
I. PREAMBLE
The Afar people are an Indigenous nation of the Horn of Africa whose historical homeland, the Afar Triangle, spans present-day Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. For centuries, the Afar governed themselves through independent Sultanates, customary institutions, and legal traditions that regulated social relations, resource management, conflict resolution, and regional diplomacy.
The colonial partition of Africa during the late nineteenth century fragmented the Afar homeland into separate political jurisdictions and imposed artificial borders that divided the Afar Nation among three states. This fragmentation disrupted traditional governance systems, weakened political cohesion, and subjected the Afar people to varying forms of political exclusion and marginalization.
In Eritrea, the Indigenous Afar population of Dankalia has experienced systematic discrimination, political exclusion, land dispossession, cultural suppression, and economic marginalization. Numerous United Nations human rights mechanisms, including the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea and successive Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, have documented grave violations against the Afar people, including persecution, forced displacement, destruction of livelihoods, arbitrary detention, and interference with traditional economic activities.
The Eritrean Afar National Congress (EANC) adopts this Political Charter to articulate the collective aspirations of the Eritrean Afar people and to provide a democratic roadmap for restoring Indigenous rights, regional autonomy, constitutional governance, and peaceful coexistence within a decentralized federal Republic of Eritrea.
This Charter is guided by the principles of democracy, equality, human dignity, indigenous rights, federalism, self-government, social justice, and the rule of law, as well as respect for international human rights standards, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples(UNDRIP), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) —also known as the Banjul Charter of 1986—and other applicable international legal instruments.
II. INTRODUCTION
2.1 The Afar Nation
The Afar Nation constitutes one of Africa’s oldest Indigenous peoples and has inhabited the Afar Triangle since time immemorial. The Afar homeland is recognized globally for its historical, cultural, and anthropological significance, including the discovery of Australopithecus afarensis (“Lucy”), which dates back 3.2 million years and is considered one of humankind’s earliest ancestors. Many paleontologists refer to the Afar homeland as the “cradle of humanity.”
Today, the Afar population numbers approximately 3.5 million people living across Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. The Afar maintain a distinct language (Qafar-Af), cultural identity, customary legal system (Mada’a), and social institutions that continue to shape community life.
2.2 Colonialism and Afar Resistance
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” or the slicing of Africa by European powers in the 1880s. 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[1]to the Italians, and Ethiopia was, by and large, escaped uncolonized, though the Italians briefly did occupy Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941[2].
The colonialists initially respected Afar authority over their territories by signing various treaties with the Afar Sultanates. However, as time went on, European powers gradually expanded their dominance by encroaching on Afar lands without the consent of the Afar people. This intrusion sparked a revolt among the Afar against the colonial powers. Unfortunately, their resistance was ultimately suppressed due to the superior military strength of Europe, resulting in the deaths of thousands of indigenous Afar people, including Yassin Haysama, the Sultan of Girrifo, who was killed by Italian forces. Additionally, Sultan Laoita was captured by French forces in Goba’ad and taken to French colonies in Madagascar, where he vanished without a trace[3].
The colonial partition of Africa divided the Afar homeland among French, Italian, and Ethiopian administrations. Although colonial powers initially recognized Afar authority through treaties with local Sultanates, they gradually encroached upon Afar territories and undermined Indigenous governance systems.
The Afar resisted colonial domination through armed and political struggle. Numerous Afar leaders and communities sacrificed their lives defending their homeland, autonomy, and traditional institutions.
2.3 Afar Traditional Governance and Internal Autonomy
Prior to colonial rule, the Afar governed themselves through independent Sultanates including AWSA, Rahayta, Tadjoura, Gobaad, and Biru.
These institutions exercised authority over territorial administration, resource management, diplomacy, security, and justice. Afar customary law (Mada’a) provided a sophisticated framework for dispute resolution, social cohesion, and peaceful coexistence.
The EANC recognizes these institutions as an important component of Afar political heritage and constitutional development.
2.4 Geopolitical and Strategic Importance of Afar Territories
The Afar homeland occupies one of the most strategically important locations in the world. Situated along the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, Afar territories connect Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia through major maritime trade routes.
The region contains significant ports, fisheries, mineral deposits, energy resources, and transportation corridors that contribute to regional and global economic activity.
2.5 Dankalia: The Indigenous Homeland of the Afar in Eritrea
Dankalia constitutes the traditional homeland of the Eritrean Afar people.
Its territory extends along Eritrea’s southeastern coastline from the Dahlak Archipelago and Buri Peninsula southward to Rahayta and Ras Dumera.
This coastal region is home to historic villages, ports, and a multitude of islands. Notably, Dahlak Island comprises over 300 islands that have served for generations as a vital fishing base.
The land, coastlines, seaways, and expansive deserts of Dankalia hold immense potential for the region’s economic growth. They are rich in untapped natural resources, including various minerals, precious metals, potash, and natural gas, as well as offering significant opportunities for tourism.
For generations, these resources have sustained Afar communities and formed the foundation of their economic and cultural life.
2.6 Historical, Cultural, Economic, and Religious Significance
The Afar people represent one of the earliest Muslim communities in Africa. Historical traditions identify the Red Sea coast of Dankalia as one of the earliest gateways through which Islam entered the African continent.
The region’s cultural heritage, language, customary institutions, maritime traditions, and pastoral economy constitute an integral part of Eritrea’s national heritage and diversity.
III. ERITREAN AFAR NATIONAL CONGRESS (EANC)
3.1 Introduction to EANC
The Eritrean Afar National Congress (EANC) is an exiled political organization representing the aspirations, rights, and collective interests of the Indigenous Afar people of Eritrea.
EANC advocates for the restoration of Afar self-determination, self-government, and regional autonomy in Dankalia within a democratic, decentralized, and federal Eritrea founded upon equality, justice, democracy, and the rule of law.
The organization derives its mandate from traditional Afar authorities, political leaders, women and youth organizations, the Eritrean Afar diaspora, refugee communities, and civil society institutions.
EANC seeks to establish the necessary political, constitutional, institutional, and legal foundations for a transitional process leading to the realization of an Autonomous Afar State of Dankalia within a democratic federal Eritrea.
3.2 Our Mission
- Internal Self-Determination, Self-Government, and Regional Autonomy
To secure the Eritrean Afar Nation’s inherent right to internal self-determination, self-government, and regional autonomy through the establishment of a constitutionally recognized autonomous indigenous Afar State of Dankalia, with the historical city of Assab as its capital, within a decentralized, democratic, and federal Republic of Eritrea founded upon the principles of equality, justice, democracy, and the rule of law.
- Protection of Indigenous Rights and Control of Natural Resources
To restore, protect, and constitutionally guarantee the collective rights of the Indigenous Afar people over their ancestral territories, lands, coastal waters, fisheries, maritime resources, mineral wealth, language, culture, and traditional institutions, and to ensure Afar ownership, stewardship, management, and equitable benefit-sharing from the natural resources of Dankalia.
- Democratic Federal Transformation of Eritrea
To establish a decentralized federal constitutional order that guarantees equality among Eritrea’s nine (9) historic provinces—Akale-Guzai, Barka, Dankalia, Gash-Setit, Hamasien, Sahel, Semhar, Serae, and Senhit—promotes democratic participation, and ensures meaningful regional autonomy and power-sharing.
- Human Development and Economic Empowerment
To advance the educational, social, economic, and institutional development of the Eritrean Afar people through sustainable development, human capital investment, equitable economic opportunities, and responsible resource governance.
- Peace, Security, and Regional Cooperation
To promote peace, stability, democratic governance, and constructive regional cooperation throughout Eritrea, the Red Sea region, and the Horn of Africa while contributing to conflict prevention and sustainable development.
3.3 Our Objectives
To achieve this, EANC shall pursue the following objectives:
- Advance Self-Determination and Autonomous Governance
Promote and exercise the Eritrean Afar people’s right to internal self-determination, self-government, and autonomy in matters relating to their political, administrative, economic, cultural, and social affairs.
- Establish a Federal Democratic Constitution
Advocate for a decentralized federal constitution that guarantees equality among all Eritrean nationalities and regions and guarantees Indigenous Afar self-rule over Dankalia.
- Protect Indigenous Identity, Language, and Culture
Preserve and strengthen Afar identity through the promotion of Qafar-Af, cultural heritage, customary institutions and laws (Mada’a), traditional knowledge systems, and historical heritage.
- Protect Human Rights and End Marginalization
Promote human rights, democratic freedoms, gender equality, social justice, and the rule of law while working to end discrimination, persecution, forced displacement, and other violations against the Afar people.
- Restore Indigenous Land and Resource Rights
Advocate for the recognition, restoration, and protection of Afar rights to traditional lands, fisheries, water resources, grazing territories, coastal resources, and natural wealth in accordance with international standards concerning Indigenous Peoples.
- Promote Sustainable Economic and Human Development
Support policies that strengthen education, healthcare, research, entrepreneurship, fisheries, pastoral livelihoods, trade, tourism, and responsible investment for the benefit of Afar communities.
- Strengthen Partnerships and Regional Cooperation
Build constructive partnerships with democratic institutions, Indigenous organizations, civil society, development partners, and regional and international bodies in support of peace, self-governance, human rights, and sustainable development.
IV. ERITREA’S HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE AFAR PEOPLE
4.1 State Marginalization and Internal Colonization
Following Eritrea’s independence in May 1991, the government led by President Isaias Afwerki and the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) consolidated power through military domination and an increasingly centralized political system that fundamentally altered the relationship between the state and Eritrea’s Indigenous and minority communities. Among the communities most profoundly affected by these policies have been the Indigenous Afar people of Dankalia, whose historic homeland occupies Eritrea’s strategically important Red Sea coastline. The Eritrean Afar people have experienced decades of state sponsored violence, political marginalization, economic exclusion, and systematic denial of meaningful participation in public affairs.
The EANC contends that the cumulative effect of these policies has contributed to the erosion of Indigenous rights, political marginalization, economic dispossession, demographic displacement, and the gradual weakening of Afar control over their ancestral homeland of Dankalia, thereby threatening the long-term survival and continuity of the Afar nation within Eritrea.
4.2 Land Dispossession and Economic Exclusion
The enactment of Land Proclamation No. 58/1994 vested ownership of all land and natural resources in the State. This policy effectively nullified traditional Indigenous land tenure systems and weakened the customary rights of Afar pastoralists, fishermen, and coastal communities.
The EANC contends that the absence of constitutional safeguards protecting Indigenous land rights has facilitated the appropriation of traditional Afar territories for state projects, military purposes, resource extraction, and external investment without meaningful consultation or consent.
4.3 Forced Displacement and Cultural Suppression
Numerous reports have documented displacement, restrictions on movement, and disruptions to traditional livelihoods affecting Afar communities.
The erosion of customary governance structures, combined with limitations on the use and promotion of the Afar language and cultural institutions, has contributed to concerns regarding the long-term preservation of Afar identity and heritage.
4.4 Militarization and Destruction of Traditional Livelihoods
The extensive militarization of Dankalia and surrounding coastal regions has significantly affected pastoral mobility, fishing activities, trade, and local economic development.
Traditional livelihoods that sustained Afar communities for generations have been disrupted by restrictions on movement, access to coastal resources, and limitations on local participation in economic development initiatives.
V. ETHNIC PERSECUTION AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
5.1 United Nations Documentation
More than a decade of extensive reporting by United Nations investigators and independent experts has revealed the unique nature of the crimes against the Indigenous Afar people in Eritrea. The UN Commission on the Situation of Human Rights in Eritrea and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Eritrea thoroughly examined how Eritrean authorities have systematically persecuted the Afar population, including forcibly removing them from their ancestral lands near Assab port through acts of violence, murder, and mass killing.
The human rights situation in Eritrea has been extensively documented by:
- United Nations Special Rapporteurs;
- United Nations Human Rights Council;
- Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea;
- International human rights organizations.
These reports have identified patterns of systematic violations affecting various Eritrean communities, including the Afar.
5.2 Extrajudicial Killings, Arbitrary Detention, and Enforced Disappearances
Extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, 2013 [i]
The United Nations Special Rapporteur report 2013 (Sec K, para, 75-78):-The Afar are subjected to extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and rape, as well as the destruction of their traditional means of subsistence and livelihood, and businesses.
Numerous reports have documented arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without trial, disappearances, and other serious human rights concerns affecting Eritrean citizens.
5.3 Crimes Against Humanity Findings
Crime of persecution, a crime against humanity, 2015[ii]
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea (COI) 2015, (independent experts, Chair Mike Smith, Victor Dankwa, Sheila B. Keetharuth, confirmed that Eritrean officials have committed the crime of persecution, a crime against humanity against Eritrean Afar population since 1991. (Para, 1121,1122): –The killing of members of the Afar ethnic group and reports of the existence of mass-graves.
- The Afar people have been subjected to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance by the Eritrean Government since 2000.
- These killings 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 their sustenance as an indigenous ethnic group.
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity had been committed in Eritrea through policies involving imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, persecution, and other serious violations.
The EANC supports efforts to ensure accountability, truth-seeking, and justice for victims.
5.4 Land Grabs and Forced Evictions
Lang grab, dispossession, forcible displacement and destruction of economy and livelihood, 2018[iii]
UN SR report 2018 para 90-93 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth
- Eritrean Government continues to actively pursue a land policy which has legitimized forcible displacement and dispossession of indigenous populations and minorities.
- Its land policy has led to arbitrary and uncompensated evictions. The Special Rapporteur was informed that forced evictions continue in particular in the area around Assab, the port city in the Southern Red Sea Region, an area traditionally belonging to or used by the Afar.
The displacement of Indigenous communities from ancestral territories without adequate consultation, compensation, or legal protection raises serious concerns under international human rights law and Indigenous rights standards.
The EANC advocates for restitution, compensation, and legal recognition of Indigenous land rights.
5.5 Findings Concerning the Afar Community
Discrimination, harassment, arbitrary arrests, disappearance, violence and widespread persecution, 2023[iv]
The United Nations Special Rapporteur report May 2023, Special Rapporteur Dr. Mohammed Babakir, notes: “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.” Sec IX, Paras, 58 to 62
- The Eritrean Afar Indigenous communities who continue to be subjected to discrimination, persecution and interference in their traditional means of livelihood
- The Afar Indigenous ethnic group has also been prevented from carrying out their traditional occupation, namely fishing. These violations and abuses have interfered with their traditional means of livelihood, eroded their culture, caused displacement and threatened their way of life.
The EANC calls upon international institutions to continue monitoring the situation and supporting efforts aimed at protecting the rights of the Afar people.
VI. POLITICAL PROGRAM OF THE ERITREAN AFAR NATIONAL CONGRESS (EANC)
- Decentralized Federal Constitution
- Eritrea shall be governed by a decentralized federal constitution founded upon democracy, equality, self-government, constitutionalism, and the rule of law.
- Our plan will establish a decentralized federal constitution for the future Eritrean government to preserve our national unity and democratic governance of Eritrea.
- Federal Decentralized Constitutional Order and Equality of Provinces and Peoples
- Decentralized federal constitution shall devolve power and guarantee equality among Eritrea’s nine historic provinces—Akale-Guzai, Barka, Dankalia, Gash-Setit, Hamasien, Sahel, Semhar, Serae, and Senhit—promotes democratic participation, and ensures meaningful regional autonomy and power-sharing.
- Dankalia and all Eritrean provinces shall be recognized as autonomous states with freely elected governments, exercising legislative, executive, fiscal, and developmental jurisdiction over internal affairs, excluding powers expressly reserved for the federal government. They shall hold rights to land ownership and natural resource management—including surface and sub-surface rights—and retain resulting revenues as regulated by law.
- Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Peoples.
- The Constitution of Eritrea shall recognize and affirm the rights of Indigenous peoples, including the Afar Nation, to maintain and strengthen their political, legal, economic, social, cultural, and traditional institutions and to participate fully in the political, economic, and social life of the Federal Republic while preserving their distinct identity and homeland.
- Indigenous Rights, Autonomy and Rights of Self-Determination
The Afar people are the indigenous inhabitants and historical custodians of Dankalia, which serves as their ancestral homeland.
- Right to Internal Self-Determination and Self Governement of Dankalia
- The Afar people and Dankalia, the traditional homeland of the Afar Nation, shall possess the unquestionable and inalienable right to internal self-determination, self-government, and regional autonomy within Eritrea, consistent with international law and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
- The Autonomous State of Dankalia shall constitute the indigenous homeland of the Afar people within a democratic, decentralized, and federal Republic of Eritrea.
- The Federal Constitution shall recognize and protect the collective rights of the indigenous Afar people to self-government, language, culture, customary institutions, ancestral lands, coastal territories, fisheries, maritime resources, and natural resources.
- No law, policy, administrative measure, or constitutional amendment shall diminish these rights without the free, prior, and informed consent of the Afar people expressed through their democratically elected institutions.
- Land, Resource, and Coastal Rights
Dankalia and each federal province of Eritrea shall, through governments freely elected by their peoples, possess constitutionally protected rights to own, manage, regulate, and benefit from their lands, coastal territories, fisheries, maritime resources, water resources, and natural wealth under conditions established by law.
3) Protection of Cultural and Indigenous Institutions
Indigenous Peoples shall have the right to maintain, strengthen, and develop their political, legal, economic, social, cultural, linguistic, and traditional institutions (Afar Sultanates), including customary systems of governance and conflict resolution; the Afar people shall likewise preserve, promote, and transmit their language (Qafar-Af), cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, historical memory, and spiritual practices to future generations.
- Protection Against Political Marginalization
The Federal Constitution shall establish ironclad guarantees to protect Indigenous peoples and minorities from systemic marginalization, ensuring their effective representation in provincial governance. Furthermore, it shall preserve their language, cultural heritage, traditional institutions, and territorial integrity, defending their collective rights against political disenfranchisement, demographic manipulation, or unlawful expropriation.
- Free, Prior and Informed Consent
No major project involving mining, ports, fisheries, energy development, infrastructure, land acquisition, settlement programs, or natural resource extraction within Dankalia shall proceed without the free, prior, and informed consent of the Afar people through their representative institutions.
- Democracy and Rule of Law
The EANC supports:
- Representative democracy;
- Separation of powers;
- Independent judiciary;
- Free and fair elections;
- Constitutional governance;
- Accountability and transparency.
All citizens shall be equal before the law regardless of ethnicity, religion, language, gender, or region.
- Sovereignty of Eritrea
The EANC affirms:
- Eritrea’s sovereignty;
- Territorial integrity;
- Independence;
- National unity.
The exercise of regional autonomy and Indigenous self-government shall strengthen rather than weaken the unity of Eritrea.
- Equality of Nationalities
All Eritrean nationalities shall be equal in dignity, rights, and opportunities, and no nationality shall dominate, marginalize, or discriminate against another. The Federal Constitution shall recognize and protect Eritrea’s linguistic diversity and ensure that all communities may preserve and develop their languages, while the Federal Republic shall promote mutual respect, coexistence, and cooperation among Eritrea’s diverse ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious communities.
- Rights of Return for Eritrean Refugees and Displaced Persons
Eritrean refugees and displaced persons possess the right to voluntarily return in safety and dignity to their homes and communities, receive compensation for losses, and obtain citizenship. To facilitate this, comprehensive policies and collaborative efforts with international organizations—including the UN and UNHCR—will ensure successful reintegration and transition.
- Human Rights and Security
- a) Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
The EANC affirms that all persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are entitled to the protection of fundamental freedoms without discrimination based on ethnicity, nationality, religion, language, gender, political opinion, or social origin.
The Federal Constitution shall guarantee:
- Freedom of expression;
- Freedom of association;
- Freedom of assembly;
- Freedom of religion and belief;
- Freedom of movement;
- Freedom of the press and access to information;
- Political participation and democratic representation.
- b) Rule of Law
The Federal Republic of Eritrea shall be governed by the rule of law.
No individual, institution, political organization, military body, or government authority shall be above the Constitution or the law.
- c) Due Process and Judicial Protection
Every person shall have the right to:
- A fair and public hearing;
- Independent and impartial courts;
- Legal representation;
- Presumption of innocence;
- Protection against arbitrary arrest and detention.
- d) Prohibition of Human Rights Violations
The Constitution shall prohibit:
- Torture;
- Enforced disappearances;
- Extrajudicial killings;
- Arbitrary detention;
- Collective punishment;
- Forced displacement;
- Discrimination and persecution.
- e) Civilian Control of Security Institutions
The armed forces, police, and security services shall operate under civilian democratic oversight and shall be accountable to constitutional institutions.
- f) Community Security and Stability
The EANC supports community-based approaches to public safety, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and reconciliation that respect local customs, traditional institutions, and human rights standards.
- g) Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation
The EANC supports the establishment of mechanisms for:
- Truth-seeking;
- Accountability;
- Reparations;
- National reconciliation;
- Healing and social cohesion.
Such mechanisms shall contribute to addressing past human rights violations while promoting a peaceful democratic future for all Eritreans.
- External Relations, Regional Cooperation, and Economic Development
The Eritrean Afar National Congress (EANC) recognizes the strategic importance of Dankalia, the Port of Assab, and the Red Sea corridor as vital assets for economic development, regional cooperation, and long-term stability. EANC supports constructive engagement with neighboring states and international partners while safeguarding Eritrea’s sovereignty and advancing the rights and interests of the Afar people.
a) Strategic Development of Dankalia
EANC shall promote trade, investment, infrastructure, tourism, and maritime commerce to transform Dankalia into a regional center for sustainable economic growth and employment.
b) Assab Port and Maritime Development
EANC recognizes the Port of Assab as a strategic national asset. The Afar people shall participate meaningfully in decisions affecting port development, maritime activities, and related economic opportunities within Dankalia.
c) Natural Resources and Responsible Investment
EANC supports transparent and accountable management of natural resources. Resource projects shall ensure environmental protection, local participation, fair benefit-sharing, and sustainable development for affected communities.
d) Regional Peace and Cooperation
EANC shall promote peaceful relations with neighboring countries and support initiatives that strengthen regional stability, economic cooperation, conflict prevention, and sustainable development.
e) Relations with Ethiopia
Ethiopia is an important regional partner with historic economic and cultural ties to the Afar people. EANC supports peaceful cooperation that expands trade, transportation, investment, and economic opportunities while respecting Eritrea’s sovereignty and Afar Indigenous rights.
f) Assab Corridor and Economic Integration
EANC supports peaceful agreements between Eritrea and Ethiopia concerning access to the Port of Assab where such arrangements generate mutual economic benefits, strengthen regional stability, create employment, and contribute to the prosperity of local communities particularly the Afar people.
g) Red Sea Cooperation and Security
EANC supports regional cooperation in:
- Maritime security;
- Freedom of navigation;
- Trade and investment;
- Environmental protection;
- Fisheries development;
- Regional economic integration;
- Climate resilience and disaster preparedness.
h) Cross-Border Afar Cooperation
EANC shall promote cooperation among Afar communities across Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti through cultural exchange, economic partnerships, reconciliation initiatives, and people-to-people engagement.
i) International Partnerships
EANC shall work closely with the United Nations, the African Union, IGAD, governments and no-government organizations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, human rights groups, development agencies, academic institutions, and civil society organizations to advance democracy, Indigenous rights, peace, and sustainable development.
VII. FINAL DECLARATION
The Eritrean Afar National Congress (EANC) reaffirms its commitment to the principles of internal self-determination, democratic governance, Indigenous rights, social justice, equality, and peaceful coexistence.
The EANC believes that the establishment of an Autonomous Afar State of Dankalia within a decentralized and democratic federal Eritrea represents the most viable constitutional framework for protecting the rights of the Afar people while preserving Eritrea’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.
The EANC further believes that a federal constitutional order founded upon equality among nationalities, regional self-government, rule of law, and respect for human rights offers the best path toward lasting peace, democratic stability, and sustainable development.
The organization calls upon all Eritrean democratic forces, Indigenous peoples, civil society organizations, women and youth movements, scholars, policymakers, and international partners to support pathways toward democratic transition and the creation of a federal constitutional system that reflects Eritrea’s rich diversity and historic realities.
CONCLUSION
The future of Eritrea depends upon its ability to reconcile unity with diversity, democracy with stability, and national sovereignty with the rights of its peoples.
The EANC envisions a future in which the Indigenous Afar people exercise meaningful self-government within their homeland, participate fully in national affairs, and contribute to a democratic federal Eritrea founded upon justice, equality, and respect for human dignity.
This Political Charter provides a roadmap for achieving these goals through constitutional reform, political engagement, regional cooperation, and the recognition of Indigenous rights.
Together, these principles offer a foundation for a more inclusive, democratic, and prosperous future for Dankalia, Eritrea, and the wider Horn of Africa.
GUIDING PRINCIPLE
“UNITY THROUGH FEDERALISM, EQUALITY THROUGH SELF-GOVERNMENT, AND DEMOCRACY THROUGH SHARED GOVERNANCE”. THE EANC!
Long Live the Aspirations of Afar Nation!
GICLO BISOH!
Adopted by the Eritrean Afar National Congress (EANC)
July 2026
Assab – Dankalia – Eritrea
Map of pre-independence Eritrea with the Afar traditional territory (Dankalia) in Blue
[1] 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
[2] 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
[3] 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
[i] The Afar are subjected to extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and rape, as well as the destruction of their traditional means of subsistence and livelihood, and businesses.
They have also been forced into displacement from their traditional territory. Forced military training and national service requiring young Afar women to leave their homes for long periods of time is met with criticism.
The Afar consider that they are targeted as a community and are discriminated against, given that the Afar region has suffered from lack of development and security for the past 20 years. https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session23/A.HRC.23.53_ENG.pdf
[ii] The killing of members of the Afar ethnic group and reports of the existence of mass-graves.
During the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Afar people on both sides of the border were caught in the middle.
The Afar people have been subjected to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance by the Eritrean Government since 2000.
These killings 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.
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIEritrea/A_HRC_29_CRP-1.pdf
[iii] UN SR report 2018 para 90-93 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/A_HRC_38_50.pdf
The Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea documented forcible evictions of the Afar, a pastoralist ethnic minority who depend on their traditional lands for their livelihoods. According to reports by the Special Rapporteur, the Eritrean Government continues to actively pursue a land policy which has legitimized forcible displacement and dispossession of indigenous populations and minorities. Its land policy has led to arbitrary and uncompensated evictions.
[iv] The United Nations Special Rapporteur report May 2023, Special Rapporteur notes: “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.” Sec IX, Paras, 58 to 62
The Eritrean Afar Indigenous communities who continue to be subjected to discrimination, persecution and interference in their traditional means of livelihood.
The Afar Indigenous ethnic group has also been prevented from carrying out their traditional occupation, namely fishing These violations and abuses have interfered with their traditional means of livelihood, eroded their culture, caused displacement and threatened their way of life.
The Special Rapporteur has observed discriminatory treatment of the Afar Indigenous People by the authorities in the provision of fundamental services, such as education, access to decent work and livelihoods, health services and humanitarian assistance.
The Afar Indigenous People’s right to free, prior and inform consent in relation to the management and exploitation of their lands continues to be systematically violated, and they have little access to information to empower them to effectively participate in the matters that affect them.
