The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of the above-mentioned parliamentarians, former members of Eritrea’s National Assembly, and to the resolution adopted at its 189th session (October 2011),

Recalling the following:

• The parliamentarians concerned (often referred to as the "G11") were arrested on 18 September 2001, after publishing an open letter calling for democratic reform, and have been held incommunicado ever since, accused of conspiracy and attempting to overthrow the legitimate government, without ever being formally charged or tried;

• In November 2003, upon examination of a complaint concerning their situation, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights found that the State of Eritrea had violated Articles 2, 6, 7(1) and 9(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which address the right to liberty and security of person, the right to a fair trial and the right to freedom of expression, and urged the State of Eritrea to order the immediate release of the former parliamentarians and to pay them compensation; the Eritrean authorities have rejected that decision,

Recalling that this information is unconfirmed and that, according to one of the sources, no concrete evidence exists to support the prison guard’s statements; recalling also that the European Commission regularly raises the case of the former parliamentarians concerned with the Eritrean authorities, particularly in the framework of political dialogue, but that the Eritrean side refused to discuss individual cases during the September 2010 session of political dialogue on human rights,

Recalling that the report of 18 September 2009 (A/HRC/WG.6/6/ERI/2) prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for the Universal Periodic Review of the human rights situation in Eritrea summarizes the pertinent information contained in the reports of treaty bodies and special procedures and in other relevant official United Nations documents; that the report paints a gloomy picture of respect for human rights in the country, where human rights violations by members of the security forces are reportedly committed with total impunity,

1. Denounces the authorities’ continued contempt for the most basic human rights of 11 former parliamentarians by keeping them incommunicado for the last 10 years because they exercised their right to freedom of expression by calling for democratic reform;

2. Deeply regrets that for the last seven years the authorities have not only ignored its persistent pleas to end the former parliamentarians’ prolonged incommunicado detention, which is in flagrant breach of the Constitution of Eritrea and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, but have also not seen fit to provide any information about their state of health; considers that the absence of any information about their fate is an affront not only to the former parliamentarians’ human dignity but also to their relatives’ right to know what befell them;

3. Remains deeply concerned at the allegation that only two of the 11 former parliamentarians may still be alive, and believes that this allegation must be taken seriously in the light of the very critical reports on the human rights situation in Eritrea;

4. Once more urges the Eritrean authorities to provide information on the fate of the G11 prisoners and to release them forthwith;

5. Considers that the international community, including the global parliamentary community, should do much more to help address the former parliamentarians’ plight and requests the Secretary General to continue making every effort to draw international attention to this case; invites in particular those parliaments with significant leverage over Eritrea to exert insistent pressure on its authorities for the release of the persons concerned;

6. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held during the 127th IPU Assembly (October 2012).

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