Editing by: Monitoring Unit of HAPC,
Publication date: April 11, 2026,
The Democratic Organization of Red Sea Afar issued a statement yesterday, Friday, in which it appealed to the international community for help, and condemned the ongoing persecution, arrests, forced displacement, and confiscation of material and moral rights suffered by the Afar people at the hands of the Eritrean regime.
The first page of the Democratic Organization Statement for Afar Red Sea. There is a complete file of the statement at end
The “RSADO” statement indicated that the Afar people in Eritrea have been subjected since 1993 to systematic repressive policies aimed at depriving them of basic living rights and preventing them from practicing their simple economic activities on land and sea, especially fishing and maritime trade, which are their main economic resource and a historical profession and the spirit of their livelihood.
The statement from the Afar Democratic Organization Condemning the numerous forms of repressive practices by the Eritrean regime against the Afar people, most notably arrests, deprivation of citizenship, severe restrictions on access to marine resources, forced conscription, arbitrary detention, and killings, in addition to the deliberate spread of fear and terror, forcing large numbers of Afar citizens to flee and migrate, or exile them by the regime to neighboring countries with the confiscation of their property and lands, and then seeking refuge in scattered camps such as Asita And Barahla , not to mention the displacement of thousands of Afar to Yemen, Djibouti and southern Saudi Arabia.
According to the statement by the Red Sea Afar Organization, the Afar communities are facing ongoing forced evictions from the lands, villages, and coastal areas they inhabit, in addition to being prevented from approaching the extension of the sea coast represented by the ports and islands, starting from the port of Massawa, and ending with the coast of Ras Domer, a distance of more than 700 kilometers – lands that historically represent a vital economic lifeline inherited across generations of Afar people.
The statement also explained that the Eritrean regime continues to justify these violations by repeatedly using false and malicious claims before international forums, and by using vague security claims, even though the underlying reasons are merely the regime’s reaction to the demands of the Afar people to obtain their basic and legitimate rights.
In addition, The statement criticized the Eritrean Foreign Minister’s narrative during his address at the Geneva Conference (April 9-10, 2026), in which he attributed the deteriorating human rights situation to unilateral sanctions. The statement further asserted that the Foreign Minister’s narrative reflects a selective interpretation of politicized reality and merely employs human rights rhetoric to deflect attention from repressive domestic policies. This narrative, the statement continued, ignores the well-documented and systematic human rights violations perpetrated against the entire Eritrean people, particularly the Afar people on the Red Sea coast. The statement concluded by describing the narrative as lacking political and moral credibility due to the stark contradiction between the external claims and the internal reality.
It called on international and regional human rights organizations to pressure the Eritrean government in every possible way to end these violations and abuses.
The Afar Democratic Organization appealed , through the statement, calling on the international community to support the Afar people in their legitimate struggle to obtain their basic rights that have been taken from them as a result of the practices of the Eritrean regime.
The “RSADO” also included a call for an independent international investigation to uncover the violations committed against the Afar people in the Red Sea and to determine legal responsibility, demanding an immediate end to forced displacement, arbitrary detention, forced recruitment and everything that would target Afar communities.
Therefore, The “RSADO” proposed placing the issue of human rights violations against the population in the Afar region under continuous monitoring by UN human rights mechanisms, while ensuring access to humanitarian aid.
The statement from the Afar Democratic Organization also praised the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and its concern for the issues of violations and forms of persecution inflicted on the Afar people in the Red Sea region of Eritrea.
The “RSADO” concluded its statement by reiterating its call to stand with the Afar people in this ongoing ordeal and to defend their rights guaranteed under international law. It also held the Eritrean regime fully responsible for the consequences of its actions against its citizens from the Afar communities.
Attached is a complete and exclusive English version of RSADO statement: