The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of the above-mentioned parliamentarians from Eritrea, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/177/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 176^th session (April 2005),

Recalling the following information on file:

• The former parliamentarians concerned, all of whom are also former senior government officials, have been held incommunicado since their arrest on 18 September 2001 and have neither been officially charged nor brought before a judge. Their arrest followed the publication of an open letter in which they called for democratic reforms;

• The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), at its thirty-fourth session (November 2003), adopted a decision on this case and found the State of Eritrea to be in breach of Articles 2 (entitlement without discrimination to the enjoyment of human rights enshrined in the Charter), 6 (right to liberty and security of person), 7(1) (right to fair trial) and 9(2) (right to freedom of expression) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The ACHPR urged the Government of Eritrea to order the immediate release of the 11 detainees, and recommended that they be granted compensation;

• While, in their submissions to the African Commission and in response to its decision, the Eritrean authorities stated that "the Eritrean Government did not throw away or stash the matter indefinitely", and that the authorities had been unable to bring the 11 detainees before a court of law owing to the deficiency of the criminal justice system in Eritrea, which was overburdened and difficult to manage, the Ambassador of Eritrea to the European Union, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain, in his communications with the IPU Secretariat, stated several times that the question of whether to start trial proceedings "must be considered in conjunction with progress in the peace process, as the case entails extremely sensitive aspects pertaining to the implication of third countries and a possible adverse impact on the peace process", and that it was therefore correct to assume that the cases would be brought before a court upon completion of the peace process,

1. Deeply regrets that the authorities, in particular the President of the National Assembly and the Head of State, have not responded to the letters that the Secretary General has addressed to them on behalf of the IPU;

2. Deplores the continuing incommunicado detention of the former parliamentarians concerned, as it constitutes a gross violation of their fundamental rights under the Constitution of Eritrea and under the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights;

3. Reaffirms that no argument whatsoever can justify their continuing detention, and urges the authorities to release them forthwith;

4. Observes that in the decision it adopted on this case, the ACHPR likewise called for their immediate release and compensation for their unlawful detention; and points out that, as a State party to the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights, Eritrea is bound to heed the Commission's decision;

5. Calls upon the African Union to do everything in its power to ensure compliance with the decision of the ACHPR in this case;

6. Reiterates its wish to conduct an on-site visit, as it remains convinced that such a visit would contribute to a settlement of this case; and requests the Secretary General to take steps to this end;

7. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the authorities and sources and to the competent international and regional human rights bodies;

8. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held during the 114^th IPU Assembly (May 2006).

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