Call for smart sanctions against Eritrea regime

Mr. Kjell Bondevik, Former Prime Minister of Norway, told the conference Monday that the UN “must establish a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations in Eritrea".

In an interview with VOA, Opposition leader, Woldeyesus Ammar said the United States and the European Union have so far only been pointing fingers at the Eritrean regime, adding it was time for the two sides to take cohesive and concrete action. Woldeyesus Ammar is in Brussels for the EU conference. He is chair of a Joint Leadership Committee of major Eritrean opposition groups which are in the process of forming a single, united party.

The two-day, Eritrea-centered meeting is the first of its kind to be organized by Europe External Policy Advisors. Conference spokesman Abdurahman Sayed describes the gathering as a “huge success”. He says EU and US delegates agreed to undertake a coherent policy on Eritrea and the Horn of Africa Region. They also underscored the need to engage the Eritrean opposition and civil societies, according to Sayed.