Commentary: UN security council resolution 2444 (2018) and the lifting of sanctions against Eritrea: A commentary on domestic and regional perspectives

Abstract

In 2009 the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea in response to the country’s alleged support of the Al-Shabaab militias in Somalia. This must be seen against the background of the unresolved conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the latter having been the mastermind behind the sanctions, although they were officially promoted by the AU and the Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD). The sanctions imposed through resolution 1907 (2009) were targeted sanctions, and de facto the only implemented component was an arms embargo. The Eritrean government called the sanctions “unjust and illegal” and used them to garner support among the Eritrean diaspora, calling for a “resolute national rebuff”. In 2011 the sanctions were tightened, scrutinizing the Eritrean two percent diaspora tax and its possible use to destabilize the Horn of Africa region. However, the government did not comply with the UNSC’s demands and continued to collect financial resources from diaspora Eritreans. In 2018, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed initiated a political rapprochement and a peace agreement between the former foes, and as a result, the sanctions imposed on Eritrea were lifted during the same year, again on the initiative of the Ethiopian government.