May 19, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Renowned Eritrean activist Meron Estefanos has told an international conference in Oslo that of all the atrocities taking place in the repressive Red Sea nation, the plight of its youth is the most harrowing.

In an eloquent and quietly emotive speech at the fifth annual Oslo Freedom Forum in the Norwegian capital earlier this week, Estefanos said the aspirations of an entire generation following the country’s 1991 liberation had been squashed by the dictatorial Asmara regime.

“Betrayed and bewildered, this generation of Eritreans is scattered right across the globe and with every year the tragedy of this reality reaches new and untold levels that the world simply fails to grasp”, she said during her speech, adding that “fear is now the most common emotion in Eritrea”.

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Swedish-Eritrean activist Meron Estefanos presented the horrendous human rights abuses of Eritrean refugees during the fifth annual Oslo Freedom Forum on 14 May.

Hundreds of the world's most influential dissidents, innovators, journalists, philanthropists, and policymakers united in the Norwegian capital for a three-day summit exploring how best to challenge authoritarianism and promote free and open societies.

The presentation of Ms Estefanos can be found through the following link (it starts from 1hr and 45 minutes) http://new.livestream.com/accounts/594907/events/2084657

Press Release 14 May 2013 - Tilburg University

The Cabinet of the Netherlands has appointed Professor Mirjam van Reisen, holder of the Marga Klompé chair, as a member of the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) as of January 1. She will also be the Chair of the AIV’s Development Cooperation Committee. The Advisory Council on International Affairs is an independent advisory body that advises the government and the States-General on foreign policy, in particular human rights, peace and security, development cooperation and European integration. Professor Van Reisen is affiliated with the Tilburg School of Humanities.

Read more: Professor Mirjam van Reisen appointed to Advisory Council on International Affairs

Twenty years after its independence, Eritrea’s prisons are filled with thousands of political prisoners, locked up without ever being charged with a crime, many of whom are never heard from again, Amnesty International said in a report release yesterday, 9 May.

 Twenty years of independence but still not freedom details how throughout the past two decades government critics, journalists and people practising an unregistered religion, as well as people trying to leave the country or avoid indefinite conscription into national service have been detained without charge in unimaginably atrocious conditions.

Amnesty International believes that at least 10,000 political prisoners have been imprisoned by the government of President Isaias Afewerki, who has ruled since the country's independence in 1993. With no known exception, not a single political prisoner has ever been charged with a crime or tried, had access to a lawyer or been brought before a judge or a judicial officer to assess the legality and necessity of the detention.

To read full article click here

To read report click here

African heads of state expressed shock over hearing the horrendous human rights abuses of victims of human trafficking in the Sinai and pledged to take action during the 2^nd High-level Tana Forum on Security in Africa (Bahir, 20-21 April 2013).

Among the attendees were Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the President of the Republic of Sudan, Omar Al-Bashir, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, the former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olesegun Obasanjo and the former chairperson of the African Union, Jean Ping, were also amongst more than a hundred high level dignitaries.

Read more: African leaders express shock over plight of human trafficking victims in the Sinai