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Treaties and agreements that enable the world to move forward peacefully and cooperatively are those centered on national sovereignty, common existence, and mutual benefits. Some of these treaties apply to all nations, while others are bilateral or trilateral, governing specific countries. Bilateral agreements also have the potential to become part of international agreements. Therefore, these agreements and treaties protect our world from becoming a haven for the powerful and the violent. International and regional organizations are the ones that implement these treaties and agreements and prevent their violation. The United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, and IGAD are among the main ones.

A country has a process through which its sovereignty becomes acceptable to the international community. Eritrea also had a process through which it reached its current state, which some parties, due to the repressive PFDJ administration, wish to call a "country without sovereignty." However, although the path it has traveled has been challenging, the process by which Eritrea became sovereign was not only a successful domestic struggle but is also strengthened by various internationally recognized treaties and agreements. Among the treaties that have laid a solid foundation for Eritrean sovereign nationhood over the past 136 years, we can mention the following as examples:

1. Treaty of Wuchale, May 2, 1889: Signed by King Menelik II, recognizing Italy as the ruler of Eritrea.
2. July 10, 1896, Addis Ababa: An agreement reached between Menelik and Italy, in which Ethiopia acknowledged Eritrea's existence under Italian rule.
3. July 10, 1900, Addis Ababa: Signed between Italy and Ethiopia, agreeing to recognize Mereb, Belesa, and Munna as their border in the central zone connecting Eritrea and Ethiopia.
4. March 15, 1902: The treaty signed to clarify the eastern border zone connecting Eritrea and Ethiopia.
5. May 10, 1908: A treaty signed by the Emperor of Ethiopia with the then-ruling British government of Sudan to clarify the Eritrean-Sudanese border in the western part connecting Eritrea and Ethiopia.
6. August 16, 1928: Ethiopia recognized Italian rule in Eritrea and signed an agreement to live peacefully with it.
7. September 15, 1952: An agreement was signed for Eritrea and Ethiopia to be federated as two nations.
8. 1964, Addis Ababa: The Organization of African Unity reached an agreement to accept and continue the existing colonial borders of nations.
9. May 28, 1991: After the fall of the Derg regime, a provisional transitional protocol agreement was reached in London among the EPLF, TPLF, and the United States.
10. May 28, 1993: Following the results of the Eritrean referendum, Eritrea was registered as the 182nd sovereign state at the United Nations.
11. December 12, 2000, Algiers: Signed by President Isaias Afwerki and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to end the 1998-2000 war and establish an independent border commission.
12. May 13, 2002: The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission officially announced its binding and final decision, which both countries had accepted in principle.

These agreements are not merely honored and implemented by the governments that signed them, only to be broken when the signatories pass away. Instead, they are binding on successive governments that come to power during the process of governmental power transition. This is because they are agreements reached not in the name of system officials but in the name of the nations and peoples that endure. Accordingly, the agreements signed between Eritrea and Ethiopia since the colonial era are not subject to change with shifts in regimes but must be respected and implemented without alteration. Governments should understand that such internationally recognized treaties concerning Eritrea and Ethiopia are not to be honored solely for one's narrow interests but are binding to avoid violating the interests and dignity of others.

The agreements signed between Eritrea and Ethiopia over the past 136 years have complemented each other and brought the history and sovereignty of Eritrea to its current state; they have not contradicted each other. However, history tells us that in the process, they were temporarily obstructed due to the interests and interpretations of powerful nations. At a crucial stage when Eritrea was supposed to be independent, it was forced to federate with Ethiopia against the will of its people. John Foster Dulles, then US Secretary of State, said, "From the standpoint of justice, the opinion of the Eritrean people should have been considered; however, taking into account the strategic interests of the United States in the Red Sea, as well as international security and stability, Eritrea must be linked with our ally Ethiopia." This was an example of coercion and big power hegemony.

In the escalating tension between Eritrea and Ethiopia, which threatens to erupt into war, one frequently cited argument is, "Ethiopia needs access to the sea." Indeed, it is undeniable that Ethiopia needs access to a port for import and export. However, claiming to "build a naval base" in a sea that is not yours is simply unacceptable because it violates international laws.

The issue of port access for a landlocked country has a legally supported process for implementation. Since Ethiopia is surrounded by neighboring countries with sea access, it has a wide range of options on how to become a port user. This is not something that is starting today; both Ethiopia and other landlocked countries have been working on this and continue to do so.

Without going far, we can refer to the recent situation of Uganda's use of the Kenyan port of Mombasa. What we observe today, jumping from "utilization to ownership" and attempting to seize and end Eritrea's sovereignty, is not consistent with Ethiopia's claim of being a "founding member of the United Nations and the African Union, as well as a signatory to various international and regional agreements and charters." Therefore, the people of Ethiopia should reflect on this matter rather than blindly following some wild claims uttered for political ends.

A three-person delegation of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), headed by Ms Asghedet Mehreteab, Chairperson of the EPDP Women’s League, took active part at the Gender Equality Conference of the global Progressive Alliance (PA) held in Luzern, Switzerland, between 24-26 October, 2025.  The same delegation also seized the opportunity of taking part in the afternoon of 25 October at a lively and well attended  congress of the Swiss Socialist Party held in a township near Luzern.

EPDP delegates ar PA Luzern conference

It is to be noted that, as founding-member in Leipzig, Germany, 12 years ago, EPDP high-level delegations have been attending and representing Eritrea at several Progressive Alliance conferences that were held in Tunis, Brussels, Rotterdam, Berlin, Stockholm and at several other PA-member party congresses in Scandinavian and other Western European metropolis.

The current PA Gender Equality Conference, hosted by the Swiss Socialist Party (SP), was addressed and attended by nearly 100 women leaders representing parties from 48 countries. Africa was represented by seven PA member parties from Cameroon, Eritrea/EPDP, Ghana, Nigeria, Eswatini (former Swaziland), Morocco and Western Sahara. The main theme of the conference was ‘advancing feminist political leadership,  security and peace.’    

Following welcoming remarks by top officials of the host party, Ms Machris Cabreros of the Philippines, who is the current Coordinator of the Progressive Alliance, opened the conference by calling for re-energizing the feminist struggle in every country. She also commended the host party for becoming a good example for all PA parties by having co-chairpersons, a man and a woman, leading their SP. Also making opening speeches were the two co-chairpersons of the PA Gender Equality Working Group who stressed the need of promoting the idea of bringing women to equal decision-making processes.

The PA Coordinator then invited to the podium the keynote speaker, Ms Simonetta Sommaruga, SP member and former President of Switzerland. In a rousing speech that urged all women to stand up for their rights and real freedom, Ms Sommaruga described her own country as one of the “least family friendly” countries in the world and denounced almost all world countries for still embracing “the scandal of pay inequality” for women.

Ms Marianne Mikko, Vice-chair of the UN CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women), said any mediation or other action for prevention of global conflicts requires 50% participation of women starting NOW.

On her part, Brazil’s minister for women affairs said “no peace without social justice” and that there cannot be “true democracy without the voice of women.” 

The conference had three panel discussion sessions with about 20 presenters who were later welcomed questions and comments from conference participants. The panel discussion themes were  on 1) enabling feminist leadership in uncertain times like today’s world; 2) lessons on countering online gender-based violence; and 3) shaping women, peace, and security agenda.

Practically every speaker had come up with rich experiences and novel ideas that would boost the global struggle for promoting gender equality. Equally educational and inspiring to conference participants was the exchange of ideas in group chats and the sharing of addresses for continued networking. As such, the EPDP Women’s League will as of now be connected to all exchange of views with PA women.

The Eritrean delegation led Ms Asghedet, a strong Eritrean fighter for women rights,  made good use of the event by holding bilateral talks with several key participants including the keynote speaker Sommaruga, the UN CEDAW vice-chairperson, the PA Coordinator, Ms Cabreros, and several others.

Attending Swiss Party Congress

The other important event of the past weekend was the attendance of the PA delegations at the regular congress of the Swiss Socialist Party held in a township outside Luzern. On arrival at the congress venue, welcoming remarks were made by the SP co-chairpersons and a PA Board member from the Swiss party, expressing warm solidarity with all progressive and democratic sister parties in the Progressive Alliance. Ms Cabrero, the PA Coordinator, also expressed gratitude of the alliance to the SP both for hosting the PA conference and for inviting its delegations to their party congress.During the three hours that PA delegations stayed at the SP congress, the deliberations continued without any drawback in spite of the debates that raged in all the four Swiss languages – German, French, Italian and Romansh, a language spoken only by 1% of the Swiss population. (More details will follow in Tigrinya versions of the report).