Nigeria Revisited: Boko Haram

Nigeria

Basic Info: Of the 177.2 million (July 2014 estimate) population, it is estimated approximately 50 percent is Muslim and 50 percent Christian. A small number adheres solely to indigenous religious beliefs, and many individuals combine indigenous beliefs with Muslim or Christian beliefs and practices. The predominant Islamic group is Sunni, divided among Sufi groups. Growing Shia and Izala (Salafist) minorities exist. There are also a small number of Ahmadi Muslims. Christian groups include evangelicals, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The northern states are predominantly Muslim, but a significant number of Christians also reside in the north, and Christians and Muslims reside in about equal numbers in central Nigeria, the Federal Capital Territory, and the southwestern states. Evangelical denominations are growing rapidly in the central and southern regions. Because of the close links among religion, ethnicity, and political and economic interests, it is difficult to categorize many incidents as based solely on religious identity. The disputes were usually between ethnic groups native to a region (indigenes) and those whose ethnic roots originated in another part of the country (settlers). Often the indigenes and settlers belonged to different religious as well as ethnic groups. The federal government again did not implement any recommendations from numerous government-sponsored panels for resolving these types of disputes or reducing tensions, despite ongoing calls by political and religious leaders to do so.

Mexico Revisited: Saint Death

Mexico/Chiapas

Basic Info: Chiapas is the southern most state of Mexico and borders Guatemala. It has the ruins of five ancient Mayan city states within its borders, and about 25% of the population are either of full or predominately Mayan descent. The area is mostly made up of poor, rural, small farmers and many people in rural areas do not even speak Spanish. The state has the highest rate of malnutrition in Mexico, affecting more than 40% of the population. The Mexican Constitution grants religious freedom with some restrictions, such as only gathering in their own building and church leaders are not allowed to criticize Mexico’s laws or authorities.

Persecution: Persecution in Mexico, especially in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Hildalgo, has been increasing in severity over the last 12 years and includes everything from beatings, to land/home seizures, to murder of Christians who will not abandon Christ.  The Catholic Church loses more priests to persecution by the narcos in Chiapas than anywhere else on earth.  Many victims of persecution are indigenous Mexicans, not those of Spanish descent.  They are poor, uneducated, unaware of their rights, and culturally marginalized (many don’t even speak Spanish).

In Chiapas, due to the Mayan descent of most of the population, Catholicism has been blended with traditionalist pagan practices creating what is known as traditionalist communities. These traditionalists sponsor “festivals” 13 times a year, like the Day of the Dead, and many villages require residents to pay a fee to cover the costs of the event. However, many evangelicals say that these festivals are really just drunken orgies, and refuse to participate or pay for them. This has resulted in believers being jailed, even though there is no law requiring them to pay for the festivals. Reprisals, such as the destruction and burning of church buildings has occurred as well. Traditionalists have even threatened to burn the Christians inside the church, and leaders face death threats. 

According to the Coordination of Christian Organizations of Chiapas, some villages placed signs around the towns banning admittance to Protestants. In one such town in June of last year, a Presbyterian pastor was arbitrarily detained and beaten while vising family in the village. In December of last year, according to a report by a local NGO, villagers in San Juan Chamula municipality were attacked and beaten and their utility services were cut off after they refused to make financial contributions to the village’s Catholic festivals. According to some NGOs and religious leaders, there were instances where local authorities denied access to public cemeteries to non-Catholic community members. In January the village church council in Comachuen, Michoacan said a Protestant man could not be buried in the village cemetery because his family had not participated in local Catholic events. The municipal government negotiated a temporary resolution in which Protestant families would pay a semi-annual contribution that would not be used for Catholic events.

Santa Muerta (Saint Death)

Santa Muerte began as an underground movement with deep roots in the Aztec goddess of the underworld.  She is depicted as a skeleton dressed as a bride carrying a scythe. It is believed that she can grant miracles, like the Catholic saints, but without passing judgement.  She accepts all who prostrate at her feet and makes no preference for those who lead an amoral or virtuous life.  Her devotion is considered unique and astonishing because she does not require her followers to forsake all others and remain faithful to her. Instead, she asks for special offerings.  Her followers erect altars and offer lit candles, fruit, alcohol, and flowers.  However, her extreme devotion regularly requires a blood sacrifice. 

Since Santa Muerte does not judge one’s actions, she has become the favorite goddess of those marginalized by society, such as homosexual and transgender individuals, criminals, and the drug cartels.  Drug cartels have been known to call on her for protection and victory, in some cases dragging their victims before her shrine and spilling their blood.  Some have even taken the heads of their victims and offered them as burnt sacrifices.  As always there is a darker side.  In interviews with the Houston Press, several followers said that you must make a promise if you ask La Santa Muerte for a favor. If you don’t keep that promise, she can take away a loved one.

While Mexico has been fighting for years in their bloody war against the drug cartels, many people have lost faith in the church and see no justice or reprieve from the corruption and bloodshed plaguing their country.  Therefore, many people are flocking to this cult to find salvation and liberation from injustice-injustice from government and even religious officials.  It is estimated by Andrew Chesnut, the author of Devoted To Death: Santa Muerte, The Skeleton Saint, that the folk saint boasts between 10 and 12 million devotees. 

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Persecution in our Backyard: Mexico (2015)


Saint Death offered Marijuana by Mexicans


A Saint for Sinners


Mexican Cult Murders Children (2012)

Turkmenistan Revisited: God or Man?

In a country where the President has absolute control over not only your political life, but your religious life as well, many Christians will find themselves faced with the dilemma of following the law of the land or following God.  Many Christians want to live peaceful lives as obedient productive citizens.  The question then becomes 'how?'  How do I obey my government when I have to register but am then denied registration?  Or I have to request approval for worship and other activities, but rarely if ever obtain permission? For many Christians, they make the choice to fear God more than they fear what man can do to them and they faithfully and boldly share their faith.  We must also stand with them and support them with our prayers, so that they know they do not walk this road alone. 

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Turkmenistan

In a climate of pervasive government information control, particularly severe religious freedom violations persist in Turkmenistan. Police raids and harassment of registered and unregistered religious groups continued. The country’s laws, policies, and practices violate international human rights norms, including those on freedom of religion or belief, and new administrative code provisions increased the penalties for most “illegal” religious activities. Turkmen law does not allow a civilian alternative to military service, and at least one Jehovah’s Witness conscientious objector is known to be detained. In light of these severe violations, USCIRF recommends in 2015 that the U.S. government again designate Turkmenistan as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). In July 2014, the State Department designated Turkmenistan a CPC for the first time. USCIRF has recommended CPC designation for Turkmenistan since 2000.

Background Turkmenistan has an estimated total population of 5.1 million. Official Turkmen data on religious affiliation are not available; the U.S. government estimates that the country is about 85 percent Sunni Muslim, nine percent Russian Orthodox, and a two percent total that includes Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, and evangelical Christians. While most Russians and Armenians belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, a significant number attend unregistered religious meetings as do an increasing number of ethnic Turkmen. The small number of Shi’a Muslims is mostly ethnic Iranians, Azeris, or Kurds on the Iranian border or on the Caspian Sea. The Jewish community consists of approximately 400 Jews. Turkmenistan is the most closed country in the former Soviet Union. The country’s first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, who died in late 2006, oversaw one of the world’s most repressive and isolated states. Turkmenistan’s public life was dominated by Niyazov’s quasi-religious personality cult set out in his book, the Ruhnama, which was imposed on the country’s religious and educational systems. After assuming the presidency in early 2007, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov ordered the release of 11 political prisoners, including the former chief mufti; placed certain limits on Niyazov’s personality cult; set up two new official human rights commissions; and registered 13 minority religious groups. He eased police controls on internal travel and allowed Turkmenistan to become slightly more open to the outside world. Since that early period, President Berdimuhamedov has not reformed the country’s oppressive laws, maintains a state structure of repressive control, and has reinstituted a pervasive presidential personality cult. Turkmenistan’s constitution purports to guarantee religious freedom, the separation of religion from the state, and equality regardless of religion or belief. The 2003 religion law, however, contradicts these provisions. Despite minor reforms in 2007, this law sets intrusive registration criteria and bans any activity by unregistered religious organizations; requires that the government be informed of all foreign financial support; forbids worship in private homes; allows only clerics to wear religious garb in public; and places severe and discriminatory restrictions on religious education. The government-appointed Council on Religious Affairs (CRA) supervises religious matters; it controls the hiring, promoting, and firing of Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox clergy; censors religious texts; and oversees the activities of all registered groups. CRA members include only government officials and Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox Church representatives. A new demonstrations law enacted in March 2015 potentially allows for limited public rallies, including by registered religious organizations. Rallies must be at least 200 meters from government buildings and cannot be funded by individuals or foreign governments, RFE/RL reported. A new Internet law was published in December 2014; it is now illegal for citizens to insult or slander Turkmenistan’s president in web postings, RFE/RL reported. While the law states there are plans to ensure free access to the worldwide web for Turkmen Internet users, in 2015 the Turkmen government reportedly has engaged in a campaign to dismantle private satellite cables. In 2014 and early 2015, Turkmen border guards reportedly were killed by the Taliban on the Turkmen-Afghan border. This region of Afghanistan also reportedly includes some Turkmen who allegedly are Islamic State sympathizers, giving rise to concern about possible religious radicalism spreading across the border into Turkmenistan.

 Punishments for Religious and Human Rights Activities

In January 2014, new administrative code provisions increased the penalties for most “illegal” religious activities. The government continues to impose harsh penalties, such as imprisonment, forced drug treatment, and fines, for religious and human rights activities. In recent years, Muslims, Protestants, and Jehovah’s Witnesses were detained, fined, imprisoned or internally exiled for their religious beliefs or activities. Most religious prisoners of conscience are held at Seydi Labor Camp in the Lebap Region desert, where they face harsh conditions, including torture. The government of Turkmenistan denies the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the country’s prisons. On a positive note, in October 2014 two known religious prisoners of conscience were released under presidential amnesty from a labor camp in eastern Turkmenistan, Forum 18 reported. In February 2015, Protestant Umid Gojayev, imprisoned at Seydi Labor Camp for “hooliganism,” also was freed under amnesty.

 Government Control over Religious Activities

The secret police, anti-terrorist police units, local government, and local CRA officials continued to raid registered and unregistered religious communities. It is illegal for unregistered groups to rent, purchase, or construct places of worship, and even registered groups must obtain scarce government permits. A decree banned publication of religious texts inside Turkmenistan and only registered groups can legally import such texts. In September 2014 in Dashoguz, Jehovah’s Witness Bibi Rahmanova was detained for a month and physically abused for distributing religious texts; she received a four-year suspended sentence on trumped-up charges of assaulting a police officer, according to Forum 18. Forum 18 also reported that a Protestant outside Ashgabat was fined in September 2014 after a relative was found to have electronic versions of religious texts. The religion law also bans private religious education. The government continues to deny international travel for many citizens, especially those travelling to religious events. For the approximately 110,000 mainly Russian Orthodox who have dual Russian-Turkmen citizenship, it is easier to meet with their coreligionists abroad and for clerical training. Muslims, however, are not allowed to travel abroad for religious education, and the government also restricts hajj participation. In 2014, it requested a quota of 650 Turkmen Muslims to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, according to Forum 18. While this number was an increase over the usual 188, it is still less than a seventh of the country’s quota. Muslims often must wait up to 11 years to reach the top of the hajj waiting list.

Conscientious Objectors

Turkmen law has no civilian alternative to military service for conscientious objectors. Reportedly such a bill was drafted in 2013 but not enacted. Those who refuse to serve in the military can face up to two years of jail. Until 2009 the Turkmen government had given suspended sentences, but since then conscientious objectors have been imprisoned. Jehovah’s Witness conscientious objector Soyunmurat Korov is being involuntarily held in an Ashgabat military hospital. On a positive note, in October 2014, six imprisoned conscientious objectors were amnestied and released by presidential order, and in February 2015, Jehovah’s Witness conscientious objector Ruslan Narkuliyev was released, Forum 18 reported.

Registration of Religious Groups

Since 2005, some small religious groups have been registered, such as the Baha’i, several Pentecostal groups, Seventh-Day Adventists, several Evangelical churches, and the Society for Krishna Consciousness. In 2010, Turkmenistan told the UN Human Rights Committee there were 123 registered religious groups, 100 of which are Sunni and Shi’a Muslim and 13 Russian Orthodox. Some groups have decided not to register due to the onerous and opaque process, while certain Shi’a Muslim groups, the Armenian Apostolic Church, some Protestant groups, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses have faced rejection of numerous registration applications.

Government Interference in Internal Religious Affairs

The Turkmen government interferes in the internal leadership and organizational arrangements of religious communities. In early 2013, the President named a new Grand Mufti. The government also has replaced imams who had formal Islamic theological training from abroad with individuals lacking such education, as it is official policy not to name imams if they have had foreign theological training. Local secret police officers reportedly require Muslim and Orthodox clerics to report regularly on activities.

U.S. Policy
For the past decade, U.S. policy in Central Asia was dominated by the Afghan war. The United States has key security and economic interests in Turkmenistan due to its proximity to and shared populations with Afghanistan and Iran, and its huge natural gas supplies. Although officially neutral and in the Northern Distribution Network for the delivery of supplies to U.S. troops and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan, the country has allowed U.S. flights with non-lethal supplies to refuel at the Ashgabat International Airport. The United States is training Turkmenistan’s fledgling navy, and holding exchange programs on English language and naval administration. During counterterrorism operations, U.S. Special Operations Forces reportedly have been allowed to enter Turkmenistan on a “case-by-case” basis, with the Turkmen government’s permission. The U.S government also has encouraged a joint Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India project, known as “TAPI,” to construct a major gas pipeline, scheduled to begin in 2015. This project could help stabilize the Turkmen gas export market and create economic and political bonds with energy-poor South Asian markets. Initiated five years ago by the State Department, the Annual Bilateral Consultations (ABC’s) are a regular mechanism for the United States and Turkmenistan to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues, including regional security, economic and trade relations; social and cultural ties; and human rights. As part of the ABC process, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal led an interagency delegation to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in January 2014 for the third U.S.-Turkmen ABC. While in Ashgabat, Assistant Secretary Biswal met with senior Turkmenistan officials, but it is not in the public record if she also met with representatives of civil society or religious groups. Religious freedom concerns traditionally have been raised in these forums. The United States funds programs in Turkmenistan that support: civil society organizations; training on legal assistance; Internet access and computer training; capacity building for civil servants, as well as exchange programs. In recent years, however, the Turkmen government has barred many students from participating in U.S.-funded exchange programs and in 2013 it ordered the Peace Corps to stop its 20-year-operations in the country. The U.S. government continues to support three American Corners that provide free educational materials and English language opportunities in Dashoguz, Mary, and Turkmenabat. The American Corners Program is a worldwide Department of State-sponsored initiative that was started over 10 years ago. The State Department announced the designation of Turkmenistan as a “country of particular concern” in late July 2014 when it released its annual report on international religious freedom. The State Department cited “concerns about the detention and imprisonment of religious minorities, the rights of religious groups to register, the lack of public access to registration procedures, and restrictions on importing religious literature.” In September 2014, a waiver of a Presidential action was tied to the designation.

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Turkmenbashi's Reign of Terror

Eritrea Revisited: "The Great Prison"

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." -Galileo Galilei

The media has been full recently of stories and reports covering the plight of the Syrian immigrants.  We have all probably seen the harrowing pictures of refugees crammed into boats to the point of overflowing as they make their way into an Italian harbor.  There has been much concern and debate over what to do for these people as they flee a life of tragedy.  Many have been asking what our response should be and what responsibilities do we in a first world country have to come to the aide of those in great need.  All of these questions are valid and need to be answered, but would you be surprised if I told you that you are not getting the whole picture?  That you are only seeing what the media has decided to shine a spotlight on?  While the mass exodus to Europe continues from Africa and the Middle East, Syrian refugees may be the largest group, but the second largest group of refugees escaping their native homeland are Eritreans. As one ICC writer explains it, "Since their independence in 1993, Eritrea has been ruled by a tyrannical leader who has squandered and stomped on every principle of independence and freedom since he took power. Eritrea is now considered Africa's North Korea as its citizens have no true rights and execution and torture are a daily occurrence. Religious minorities, especially Christians are at the greatest risk as they are confined to shipping containers facing starvation, torture, and ultimately death. Unless massive efforts are executed against Eritrea, her people will continue to risk everything to escape and the Eritrean government will continue to violate religious freedoms and human rights." I don't know about you, but I have never heard of Eritrea in the news.  Not once in the past 20 years can I remember seeing boats full of Eritreans daring to escape an oppressive regime make headlines anywhere.  North Korea I know; Syria I am familiar with; but Eritrea?  This country and these people seem to have been forgotten by the world as they suffer in obscurity.  It's true that people don't know what they don't know.  But it is also true that these realities are real, waiting to be discovered.  I hope that by shining a light on this country, your prayers will strengthen them as they live in darkness.   

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Eritrea

USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2015 39
Key Findings: Systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations continue in Eritrea. Violations include torture or other ill-treatment of religious prisoners, arbitrary arrests and detentions without charges, a prolonged ban on public religious activities, and interference in the internal affairs of registered religious groups. The religious freedom situation is particularly grave for Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The government dominates the internal affairs of the Orthodox Church of Eritrea, the country’s largest Christian denomination, and sup - presses Muslim religious activities and those opposed to the government-appointed head of the Muslim community. In light of these violations, USCIRF again recommends in 2015 that Eritrea be designated as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC. Since 2004, USCIRF has recommended, and the State Department has designated, Eritrea as a CPC, most recently in July 2014.

Background: President Isaias Afwerki and the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) have ruled Eritrea since the country gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. President Isaias and his circle maintain absolute authority and suppress all independent activity. Thousands of Eritreans are imprisoned for their real or imagined opposition to the government, and torture and forced labor are extensive. No private newspapers, political opposition parties, or independent non-governmental organizations exist, and independent public gatherings are prohibited. The government requires all physically- and mentally-capable people between the ages of 18 and 70 to perform national service, including military training and/or service, which is full time and indefinite. The national service requirement does not include a provision or alternative for conscientious objectors. Persons who fail to participate in the national service are detained, sentenced to hard labor, abused, and have their legal documents confiscated. In 2002, the government increased its control over religion by imposing a registration requirement on all religious groups other than the four officially-recognized religions: the Coptic Orthodox Church of Eritrea; Sunni Islam; the Roman Catholic Church; and the Evangelical Church of Eritrea, a Lutheran-affiliated denomination. The requirements mandated that the non-preferred religious communities provide detailed information about their finances, membership, activities, and benefit to the country. There are no reliable statistics of religious affiliation in Eritrea. The Pew Charitable Trust estimates that Orthodox Christians comprise approximately 57 percent of the population, Muslims 36 percent, Roman Catholics 4 percent, and Protestants, including Evangelical Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals, and others, 1 percent.

No religious group has been registered since the registration requirement was imposed in 2002, although the Baha’i community, Presbyterian Church, Methodist Church, and Seventh-day Adventists have all submitted the required applications when the registration law was first enacted. As a result of the registration requirement and the government’s inaction on applications, unregistered religious communities lack a legal basis on which to practice their faiths publicly, including holding services or weddings. The government’s campaign against religious activities by persons belonging to unregistered denominations frequently targets Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses, the latter of whom are denied citizenship by an October 1994 Presidential Decree. Eritrean security forces routinely arrest followers of these faiths, including at clandestine prayer meetings and religious ceremonies.

Torture and Other Abuses: The government regularly tortures and beats political and religious prisoners, however, religious prisoners are sent to the harshest prisons and receive some of the cruelest punishments. Released religious prisoners have reported to USCIRF and other human rights monitors that they were confined in crowded conditions, such as in 20-foot metal shipping containers or underground barracks, and subjected to extreme temperature fluctuations. Evangelicals and Pentecostals released from prison report being pressured to recant their faith in order to be freed. Persons detained for religious activities, in both short-term and long-term detentions, are not formally charged, permitted access to legal counsel, accorded due process, or allowed family visits. Prisoners are not permitted to pray aloud, sing, or preach, and religious books are banned.

Religious Prisoners: The government continued to arrest and detain followers of unregistered religious communities. While the country’s closed nature makes exact numbers difficult to determine, recent estimates suggest 1,200 to 3,000 persons are imprisoned on religious grounds in Eritrea, the vast majority of whom are Evangelical or Pentecostal Christians. Reports of torture and other abuses of religious prisoners as described above continue. Known religious prisoners include: the government-deposed Eritrean Orthodox Patriarch Abune Antonios, who protested government interference in his church’s affairs and has been under house arrest since 2007; 64 Jehovah’s Witnesses detained without trial, including three who have been imprisoned for more than 20 years; more than 180 Muslims detained for opposing the state’s appointment of the Mufti of the Eritrean Muslim community; and other reformist members of the Orthodox clergy. During the past year, there were reports of deaths of religious prisoners who were denied medical care or subjected to other ill treatment.

Repressive Environment: The government controls the internal affairs of the four recognized religions, including appointing religious leaders and controlling religious activities. The recognized groups are required to submit activity reports to the government every six months. Since December 2010, the Eritrean Department of Religious Affairs has reportedly instructed these groups to not accept funds from co-religionists abroad, an order with which the government’s campaign against religious activities by persons belonging to unregistered denominations frequently targets Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses, the latter of whom are denied citizenship by an October 1994 Presidential Decree. An Eritrean Orthodox Church reportedly said it would not comply. Despite community protests, the Department of Religious Affairs also appoints the Mufti of the Eritrean Muslim community and hundreds of Muslims who protested this appointment remain imprisoned. In a reversal of policy, in 2010 the Eritrean government began requiring all clergy, including those from registered religious communities, to participate in national military service regardless of their conscientious objections to such service. In this reporting period, USCIRF received reports that Eritrean officials visiting the United States pressured diaspora members only to attend Eritrean government-approved Orthodox churches in this country.

U.S. Policy Relations between the United States and Eritrea remain poor. The U.S. government has long expressed concern about Eritrea’s human rights practices and its activities in the region, including its longstanding conflict with Ethiopia. The government of Eritrea expelled USAID in 2005, and U.S. programs in the country ended in fiscal year 2006. Eritrea receives no U.S. development, humanitarian, or security assistance. Since 2010, the government has refused to accredit a new U.S. ambassador to the country; in response the U.S. government revoked the credentials of the Eritrean ambassador to the United States. U.S. government officials routinely raise religious freedom abuses when speaking about human rights conditions in Eritrea. The United States was a co-sponsor of a 2012 UN Human Rights Council resolution that successfully created the position of Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. In July 2014, the United States supported the creation of a Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea to investigate systematic violations of human rights, recommend how to improve conditions and ensure accountability, and raise awareness of the situation in the country. The Commission has not been allowed into Eritrea to conduct its research, but has been meeting with Eritrean diaspora, refugees, experts, and human rights activists outside of the country. Its final report is due in June 2015. The State Department designated Eritrea a CPC under IRFA in September 2004. When renewing the CPC designation in September 2005 and January 2009, the State Department announced the denial of commercial export to Eritrea of defense articles and services covered by the Arms Export Control Act, with some items exempted. The Eritrean government subsequently intensified its repression of unregistered religious groups with a series of arrests and detentions of clergy and ordinary members of the affected groups. The State Department most recently re-designated Eritrea as a CPC in July 2014, and continued the presidential action of the arms embargo, although since 2011 this has been under the auspices of UN Security Council resolution 1907. U.S. policy toward Eritrea is also concentrated on the country’s activities to destabilize the Horn of Africa. In December 2009, the United States joined a 13-member majority on the UN Security Council in adopting Resolution 1907, sanctioning Eritrea for supporting armed groups in Somalia and failing to withdraw its forces from the Eritrean-Djibouti border following clashes with Djibouti. The sanctions include an arms embargo, travel restrictions, and asset freezes on the Eritrean government’s political and military leaders, as well as other individuals designated by the Security Council’s Committee on Somalia Sanctions. In April 2010, President Obama announced Executive Order 13536 blocking the property and property interests of several individuals for their financing of al-Shabaab in Somalia, including Yemane Ghe - breab, the former head of political affairs and senior advisor on Somali issues for the Eritrean president. In December 2011, the United States voted in favor of UN Security Council Resolution 2023, which calls on UN member states to implement Resolution 1907’s sanctions and ensure that their dealings with Eritrea’s mining industry do not support activities which would destabilize the region. UN resolution 1907 also condemns Eritrea’s two-percent tax on Eritreans living outside of the country, which it noted is used “for purposes such as procuring arms and related materiel for transfer to armed opposition groups.” The Eritrean government relies heavily on this tax to boost its poor economy and fund national defense. U.S. government officials, the UN Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group, and Eritrean diaspora in the United States and other coun - tries report that those who refuse to pay are subject to threats, intimidation, and coercion, and their families in Eritrea are also harassed. In 2011, the United Kingdom suspended collection of this tax stating that it may contravene the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. In 2012 the Eritrean consulate in Ottawa, Canada agreed to stop collecting the tax after Canadian threats to remove the Eritrean Ambassador. This move corresponds with Canadian efforts to make it illegal to finance the Eritrean military in compliance with UNSC Resolution 1907. The Netherlands and Germany are also considering ending the collection of the diaspora tax within their territories.
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Why Do Ethiopia and Eritrea Hate Each Other?

Stories of Christian Persecution Eritrea