CIAO DATE: 08/04

Eritrea

Victoria Garcia

Center for Defense Information

May 2004

Background

Eritrea, a former Italian colony, was placed under Ethiopian rule as part of a federation in 1952 by means of a UN resolution. The resolution declared that Eritrea would be an autonomous unit with legislative, executive and judicial power over its domestic affairs, although it remained under the sovereignty of the Ethiopian Crown. In 1962, Ethiopia dissolved the Eritrean parliament and annexed Eritrea as a province, thus breaking up the federation and igniting a 30 year armed struggle for independence led by the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). In 1991, Eritrean rebels defeated the Ethiopian government forces. After hostilities had subsided, a UN–monitored referendum showed that the overwhelming majority of Eritreans wanted their own state, leading to Eritrea’s independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Armed conflict erupted again in 1998, when border disputes between Ethiopia and Eritrea resulted in a two-year war that culminated with a ceasefire agreement in 2000. While the conflict has officially ended, serious tensions remain between Ethiopia and Eritrea over the demarcation of the border. Eritrea’s relationship with its other neighbors has also been strained. Eritrea’s Armed Forces have engaged in low–level operations against the Sudan–based armed extremist group Eritrean Islamic Jihad (EIJ) since 1993. Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, is headquarters to Sudan’s opposition coalition, the National Democratic Alliance. In the past, Eritrea has been suspected of assisting the Sudan’s People Liberation Army against Sudan and supporting the rebel Oromo Liberation Front that has been fighting Ethiopian Armed Forces since 1973.

In 1993, a National Assembly–made up entirely of the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), which is the political branch of the EPLF–was formed as a transitional governing body. Also upon Eritrea’s independence, a Constitution Commission was established to draft a constitution, which was ratified in 1997. The Constitution has not entered into effect due to pending parliamentary and presidential elections, which were supposed to take place in 2001, but have been postponed indefinitely. As such, citizens do not have the ability to democratically change their government, and the PFDJ remains the only legal party in Eritrea. According to the U.S. Department of State, Eritrea’s human rights record is poor. The government restricts freedom of speech and press, the right to privacy, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, and workers’ rights. Security forces commit serious human rights abuses including arbitrary arrests and detentions, disappearances, and torture. The judicial system is weak, human rights groups are not allowed to conduct investigations, female genital mutilation is a widespread practice, child labor is common, and women as well as ethnic minorities are widely discriminated against.

U. S. Military Assistance Prior to Sept. 11, 2001

Eritrea spends approximately 12 percent of its GDP, or $96 million, on defense. Eritrea’s Armed Forces are estimated at 200,000 personnel. According to U.S. government data, from 1994–2001 the United States delivered approximately $3 million in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and $355,000 in Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) to Eritrea. During that same period, the United States granted Eritrea $6 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and approximately $2 million in International Military Education and Training (IMET). The FMF and DCS were only disbursed between 1994 and 1998, prior to the Eritrea–Ethiopia conflict. In contrast, the United States stepped up its FMF and IMET to Ethiopia during the border war.

U. S. Military Assistance Since Sept. 11, 2001

Eritrea is part of the “Coalition of the Willing,” although it has not provided any material support to the U.S. effort to stamp out terrorism worldwide. While Eritrea houses one of Sudan’s main opposition groups, has ongoing border issues with Ethiopia, and struggles to fight the EIJ, Eritrea is not considered a terrorist threat by the U.S. government. Nonetheless, IMET funding for Eritrea greatly increased since Sept. 11, 2001, going from $155,000 in FY 01, to $445,000 for FY 02, $181,000 for FY 03, $450,000 for FY 04 and $450,000 for FY 05. Eritrea has also received a substantial increase in FMF since Sept. 11, jumping from zero in FY 99 through FY 01 to approximately $2.3 million in FMF for FY 02. However, for FY 03, Eritrea was not given any FMF, and only $480,000 was requested in FMF for FY 04 and $500,000 for FY 05.

Case Study Profile

Country	Eritrea
Government Type	Transitional Government
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births–2003 estimate)	76.32
Total Armed Forces (2000) estimate	200,000
Military Expenditure (U.S.$ millions) (FY02)	95.75
Military Expenditure % GDP (FY02)	12%
Imports/Conventional Arms Transfers (U.S.$, million – 2000 estimate)	60
Human Rights Record 2002	poor

Eritrea’s Submission to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms
1993	n/a
1994	n/a
1995	0
1996	0
1997	0
1998	n/a
1999	n/a
2000	n/a
2001	n/a

Fiscal Year	IMET	FMF	FSA	ESF	Total
1990	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1991	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1992	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1993	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1994	$82,000	$200,000	$0	$0	$282,000
1995	$200,000	$460,000	$0	$0	$660,000
1996	$261,000	$2,613,000	$0	$0	$2,874,000
1997	$413,000	$1,750,000	$0	$0	$2,163,000
1998	$409,000	$1,000,000	$0	$0	$1,409,000
1999	$439,000	$0	$0	$0	$439,000
2000	$27,000	$0	$0	$0	$27,000
2001	$155,000	$0	$0	$0	$155,000
2002	$445,000	$250,000	$0	$0	$695,000
2002 ERF	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
2002 SUP	$0	$2,000,000	$0	$0	$2,000,000
2003 (actual)	$181,000	$0	$0	$0	$181,000
2004 (request)	$450,000	$480,000	$0	$0	$930,000
2005 (request)	$450,000	$500,000	$0	$0	$950,000
Total	$3,512,000	$9,253,000	$0	$0	$12,765,000

Sources

“Background Note: Eritrea,” Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State, March 2004.

“Human Development Report,” United Nations, 2002.

“Human Rights Report 2003,” U.S. Department of State, Feb. 25, 2004.

Shinn, David H., “Terrorism in East Africa and the Horn: An Overview,” Journal of Conflict Studies, vol. 23, no.2, Fall 2003.

“The World Fact Book,” U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2003.

“United Nations Register of Conventional Arms,” UN Department for Disarmament Affairs.