05/22/2013 01:35 GMT

by Peter MARTELL

NAIROBI, May 22, 2013 (AFP) - Twenty years since Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia after one of Africa's longest wars, people are bowed down by a repressive government and increasingly frustrated at the lack of rights they fought for.

Opposition parties are banned and anyone who challenges the president -- a former rebel commander who led the war against Ethiopia -- is jailed without trial, often in the harshest of conditions.

This document provides an overview of developments in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest from 30 April - 13 May 2013, with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

North Africa 1
Northeast Africa 4
Horn of Africa 5

GENEVA (14 May 2013) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth, today called on the international community to keep Eritrea under close scrutiny until meaningful change is evident in the country.

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 released today.

Mendefera, 2 May 2013 – The Agriculture Ministry’s branch in the Southern region indicated that the inhabitants of 15 Administrative areas of Mendefera sub-zone are engaged in soil and water conservation campaign through integrating their labor and financial resources.

UNHCR also continues to provide protection and assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers, including Syrians and people from sub-Saharan Africa on mixed migration routes, as well as some 60,000 people still internally displaced.

April 28, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Eritrean women fleeing their country’s oppressive regime are increasingly finding themselves the repeat victim of abuse, exploitation and violence once outside their homeland, a new report by a women’s rights group has found.

GENEVA (25 April 2013) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth, will carry out an official visit to Ethiopia and Djibouti from 30 April to 9 May 2013 to collect information directly from Eritrean refugees on the human rights situation in their country.

“Due to lack of access to Eritrea, I will engage with all others concerned by human rights in Eritrea, including those who consider themselves to be victims of alleged human rights violations, human rights defenders and other civil society actors,” Ms. Keetharuth said.

Mensura, 17 April 2013 – A micro-dam is being constructed in Megawda Administrative area, Mensura sub-zone, with a view to securing adequate potable water supply for livestock and humans.

Mr. Mehari Gebrekristos, coordinator of the undertaking, pointed out that the greater portion of the process has been accomplished, and that it is expected to impound ample volume of water during the rainy season. The fact that it is located within a grazing area gives the undertaking added importance, he added.