UN Monitoring Group's briefing is positive on Eritrea

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (C) and Isaias Afewerki (L), President of Eritrea, meet at the 66th General Assembly Session at the United Nations on September 21, 2011 in New York City.

UN Monitoring Group's briefing is positive on Eritrea

In what could be a prelude to lifting of sanctions, a briefing at the Security Council by the UN Monitoring Group is positive on Eritrea, according to Africa Desk 1, a UN division covering Eritrea.

The group also says the upcoming Somali Eritrea Monitoring Group's report on Eritrea is 'lite' on violations, raising hope that the sanctions are closer to being removed.

Eritrean diplomats are said to be confident that sanctions will be lifted soon and have been reported to be actively engaging with the UN sanction panel of late.

Jarat Chopra, who was nominated as the new Coordinator for the SEMG, has brought in new members on the Eritrean side of the monitoring group in order to re-set engagement with the country.

According to an Africa Desk 1 official, Under Chopra's leadership, the SEMG is showing "more flexibility on Eritrea." They claim it's more about "engagement than confrontation."

Earlier in the week, Matthew  Russell Lee reported the SEMG will meet with Eritrean officials in Paris, France next week on December 7 or 8 to discuss how to facilitate the implementation of the resolution.

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