At a time of heightened interest, and reportedly, positive and impending measures that may be on the offing to redress unwarranted sanctions imposed on Eritrea for more than two decades now, a sober and retrospective overview of the episodes is perhaps appropriate for matters of historical record and to place the current discourse in its proper perspective.  

As it will be recalled, the Obama Administration managed to impose unfair and illicit sanctions on Eritrea on Christmas eve, 24 December 2009, through the UNSC by peddling fabricated allegations that had no basis on fact and law and that were not corroborated by any credible or substantive evidence. 

Unfortunately, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation in New York unreservedly supported this deplorable charade while the Chinese Representative’s stance was confined to nominal “abstention”.  Eritrea had no choice but to deplore and put on record its utter dismay.

The UNSC sanctions were lifted in 2018 after inculcating considerable damage to Eritrea without any justification whatsoever.  Positive and belated as this was, Eritrea’s response was not confined to “gracious acceptance”.  It went further to seek explanations on why the sanctions were imposed in the first place; because this was pivotal for purposes of accountability as well as for the maintenance of the requisite standards for the dispensation of international justice. Those queries remain unanswered to date.  Who were the real sponsors of Al-Shebaab then and even these days? Who is accountable for the illicit sanctions that were unfairly enforced on Eritrea for almost two decades? Is there any legal recourse to examine these events?

In continuation of its visceral hostility, the Biden Administration again imposed unlawful and unilateral sanctions on Eritrea in 2021. Eritrea strongly condemned this illicit act at the time.

There are reports these days that the illegal and unilateral US sanctions will soon be lifted.  We earnestly hope that this act will indeed herald an enduring rectification of misguided policies to ensure justice, legality and fairness.

Ministry of Information

Asmara

6 May 2026