Stop the implementation of the 1997 Constitution in Eritrea
A call to action
On behalf of the Eritrean Afar, EANC condemns the murder, torture, rape, disappearances, expulsions, forcible confinements and aggression aimed at our Afar brothers and sisters in our ancestral homeland of Dankalia. In the name of the Afar people, EANC rejects the unimplemented 1997 Eritrean constitution because that document
- Marginalizes Eritrean Afar from effective participation in Eritrean central institutions and political process
- Expropriates traditional Afar land, territory and resources
- does not allow the Afar rights to self-determination and self-rule
- Does not share power with the Afar Nation
- Fails to protect the Afar language and a way of life.
EANC calls on The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Ms. Victoria Tauli Corpuz, to investigate Eritrea’s expropriation of tradition indigenous lands and resources of Eritrean Afar, and to denounce the illegal exploitation and sale of Afar resources to multinational corporations and State owned entities in Eritrea.
In light of the conclusions reached by the United Nations COI and other governmental and non-governmental actors, EANC calls for for a new power sharing constitution that reflects the diversity of Eritrea and promotes multi-ethnic democracy. EANC believes the unimplemented 1997 Eritrean constitution undermines fundamental rights and freedoms of Afar people and a further impediment to peace and stability of Eritrea.