By Mejlis Ibrahim Mukhtar I: Introduction

We thank all our contributing partners who responded to our call for input and provided valuable insights and feedbacks to address the issues we raised, issues that we recognize are too numerous to address here in one single document. We believe these issues, and the case of refugees in particular, will not receive the proper attention they deserve by addressing them at this time.

Eritrea, with a population of approximately 3.6 million, is a one‑party state that became independent in 1993 when citizens voted for independence from Ethiopia. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), previously known as the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, is the sole political party and has controlled the country since 1991. The country's president, Isaias Afwerki, who heads the PFDJ and the armed forces, dominated the country, and the government continued to postpone presidential and legislative elections; the latter have never been held. The border dispute with Ethiopiacontinued, despite international efforts at demarcation, to the detriment of the country's international trade and external relations. The situation was used by the government to justify severe restrictions on civil liberties. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces.

On December 10, 1948the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."