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<p>The UK does not provide direct funding to the Government of Eritrea. The only funding
from the UK in Eritrea is to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). We also
give core funding to a number of multilateral organisations that work in Eritrea,
including the African Development Bank, EU and Global Fund. The EU’s development funds
are conditional under the terms of the Cotonou Agreement. The EU’s 2014-20 development
funding for Eritrea is under discussion and has not yet been approved. We share the
Commission of Inquiry’s concerns regarding human rights in Eritrea, in particular
widespread arbitrary detention and shortcomings in the rule of law and respect for
fundamental freedoms. We regret the Government of Eritrea’s failure to receive the
Commission in Asmara, which compelled the Commission to rely on witnesses who are
outside the country. The UN Human Rights Council, of which the UK is a member, voted
on 2 July 2015 to extend the Commission’s mandate for one year to allow the Commission
to further investigate the human rights situation in Eritrea. The UK will continue
to engage closely with the Commission, and with other parts of the UN system, including
the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea. The Somalia-Eritrea Monitoring
Group’s (SEMG) mandate is not to investigate alleged human rights abuses in Eritrea.
The SEMG’s remit is to investigate any attempts by the Government of Eritrea to destabilise
the Horn of Africa by supplying arms or financial support to Al-Shabaab. The SEMG
is due to submit its full report to the UN Security Council this autumn. We have made
clear to Eritrea that it must cooperate fully with the Monitoring Group.</p>
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