UN to lift sanctions against Eritrea
The UN Security Council will vote on the lifting of sanctions against Eritrea on Wednesday after a historic peace agreement with Ethiopia and a warming of relations with Djibouti, which augur positive changes in the Horn of Africa .
Diplomats said they expect a unanimous British resolution calling for the lifting of the arms embargo, travel bans, asset freezes and other sanctions against Eritrea.
The country of East Africa has been under Security Council sanctions since 2009 for its alleged support for jihadists in Somalia, an accusation that the Eritrean government has always denied.
The draft resolution acknowledges that UN observers “have not found formal proof that Eritrea supports Somali Shebab.
Eritrea signed a peace agreement with Ethiopia in July, ending two decades of hostilities, and easing relations with Djibouti.
At the request of Paris, a report will be presented every six months to the Security Council on the efforts made by Eritrea to get closer to Djibouti, where France, the United States and China have military bases.
Ethiopian ambassador to the UN Taye Atske Selassie believes that the lifting of sanctions will “open up many opportunities for Eritrea”, attract foreign investors and put the country back into the international concert.
“The decision will give us an impetus to look at what the future can offer to the people of the region, while sending us a message that we are working to solve the current problems and challenges,” said the diplomat. AFP.
Eritrea’s Foreign Minister, Osman Mohammed Saleh, called for the lifting of “unjustified” sanctions in the UN General Assembly forum in September which “caused considerable damage to the economy of the country and its people “.
A former province of Ethiopia, Eritrea declared independence in 1993 after driving Ethiopian troops out of its territory two years earlier.
Between 1998 and 2000, the two countries fought a war that killed some 80,000 people, mainly because of a border conflict.
The relations then remained particularly tense, with Ethiopia refusing to give up disputed territory despite a favorable ruling in 2002 from Eritrea of an independent international commission backed by the UN.
