HF 629

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                             A resolution
  1.2             memorializing the United States government to urge the 
  1.3             Ethiopian government to respect the human rights of 
  1.4             Eritreans in Ethiopa. 
  1.5      
  1.6      WHEREAS, Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 
  1.7   1993 following a referendum; and 
  1.8      WHEREAS, the two countries are neighbors and many people of 
  1.9   Eritrean origin reside in Ethiopia; and 
  1.10     WHEREAS, the two countries are currently engaged in a 
  1.11  border dispute that has involved military action; and 
  1.12     WHEREAS, the government of Ethiopia has arrested and 
  1.13  deported thousands of persons of Eritrean origin, including 
  1.14  persons who had resided in Ethiopia for generations and persons 
  1.15  who are citizens of the United States and other countries; and 
  1.16     WHEREAS, the property of deportees has been confiscated 
  1.17  without due process; and 
  1.18     WHEREAS, persons of Eritrean origin have been detained for 
  1.19  long periods by the Ethiopian government, including groups of 
  1.20  Eritrean exchange students, and information about these 
  1.21  detainees has not been provided to international bodies by the 
  1.22  Ethiopian government; and 
  1.23     WHEREAS, it is a basic human right, unrelated to national 
  1.24  origin, that every person lawfully in a country has the right to 
  1.25  continue residence in the country freely and subject to the 
  2.1   provisions of the law and to leave it freely and without any 
  2.2   hindrance; and 
  2.3      WHEREAS, the United Nations has urged the government of 
  2.4   Ethiopia to end the Eritrean expulsions and honor the 
  2.5   international rights to freedom of movement and 
  2.6   nondiscrimination; and 
  2.7      WHEREAS, the many Eritrean-Americans who live and work in 
  2.8   Minnesota are saddened and bewildered by the tragic events 
  2.9   looming over their immediate families in both Ethiopia and 
  2.10  Eritrea; NOW, THEREFORE, 
  2.11     BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
  2.12  that it urges the President and the Congress of the United 
  2.13  States to do everything within their power to ensure that 
  2.14  Ethiopia stops the forced expulsion of persons of Eritrean 
  2.15  origin, reimburses deportees for losses suffered in the 
  2.16  expulsion process, ensures the right to free movement and 
  2.17  nondiscrimination, and engages in good-faith negotiations to 
  2.18  permanently and peacefully settle unresolved issues between it 
  2.19  and the government and people of Eritrea. 
  2.20     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
  2.21  State of Minnesota is directed to prepare copies of this 
  2.22  memorial and transmit them to the President of the United 
  2.23  States, the President and the Secretary of the United States 
  2.24  Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of 
  2.25  Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in 
  2.26  Congress.