Overview: Eritrea did not experience any major acts of international terrorism in 2013. The Government of Eritrea claimed that it sought to be a partner in the war on terrorism. Eritrean officials in Asmara, at the UN, and at the AU issued statements and told U.S officials that they wanted to move out of a long period of regional isolation and animosity. Eritrean officials engaged with some neighboring states, as well as nations in sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula to discuss regional stability, counterterrorism cooperation, and regional initiatives to counter transnational challenges. The Eritrean Foreign Minister expressed public dismay at al-Shabaab's September 2013 attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. However, Ethiopia and other nations in East Africa continued to accuse Eritrea of sponsoring armed groups destabilizing the region. The Eritrean government, for its part, continued to deny the accusations and, in return, levied charges that Ethiopia-supported groups continued to pursue the violent overthrow of the Eritrean regime. Eritrea's lack of commitment to regional stability reduced opportunities for counterterrorism cooperation or dialogue.

In May, the United States re-certified Eritrea as "not cooperating fully" with U.S. counterterrorism efforts under Section 40A of the Arms Export and Control Act, as amended. In considering this annual determination, the Department of State reviewed Eritrea's overall level of cooperation with U.S. efforts to combat terrorism, taking into account U.S. counterterrorism objectives and a realistic assessment of Eritrean capabilities.

The Government of Eritrea has been under UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions since December 2009. UNSCR 1907 (2009) imposed an arms embargo on Eritrea and a travel ban and asset freeze on some military and political leaders, calling on the nation to "cease arming, training and equipping armed groups and their members, including al-Shabaab, that aim to destabilize the region."

In July, the UNSC called on Eritrea to begin cooperating with the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG), so that the body could determine the veracity of regional claims about Eritrean assistance to regional destabilizers. Refusal of the Government of Eritrea to hold substantive discussions with the SEMG, on grounds that the sanctions regime aimed simply to "humiliate" Eritrea and that the international community had turned a blind eye to Ethiopian misdeeds, prevented international investigations of charges against Eritrea. In December, Eritrean officials met with the SEMG in Paris in what the latter termed a productive meeting; subsequent confidence-building sessions have been scheduled for 2014.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Articles 259-264, 269-270, and 282 of the Eritrean Penal Code, grandfathered into present-day law from 1957, criminalize terrorist methods; measures of intimidation or terror; acts of conspiracy carried out by organized armed bands; use of arms, means, or support from foreign organizations; the use of bombs, dynamite, explosives or other terrorist methods constituting a public danger; genocide; and war crimes against the civilian population. Other sections of Eritrean law could also be used to prosecute terrorism, including acts related to: offenses against public safety, property, the state, national interests, and international interests; attacks on the independence of the state; impairment of the defensive power of the state; high treason; economic treason; collaboration; and provocation and preparation.

Entities including the Eritrean Defense Forces, National Security Agency, Police, Immigration and Customs authorities all potentially have counterterrorism responsibilities. Chain of command may work effectively within some security and law enforcement elements, but there are rivalries between and overlaps of responsibility among the various forces. Many soldiers, police officers, and immigration and customs agents are young national service recruits or assignees, who are performing their jobs without adequate training.

Eritrea closely monitors passenger manifests for any flights coming into Asmara, and scrutinizes travel documents of visitors, but does not collect biometric data. Government officials lack training and technology to recognize fraudulent documents. The Government of Eritrea does not share information gathered at ports of entry with the United States. Eritrea's borders with Ethiopia and Djibouti are tightly controlled, whereas the border with Sudan is porous in some places, resulting in a considerable amount of unrecorded movement across by persons across the border.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Eritrea is not a member of a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body. This gap prevents any overall assessment of the risks the country faces in regards to terrorist financing. Eritrea's general lack of transparency on banking, financial, and economic matters made the gathering of definitive information difficult. The United States is unaware of passage and/or implementation of counterterrorist finance-related legislation in 2013. Article 263 of the Penal Code criminalizes economic treason.

The United States is unaware of whether the government routinely distributes UN lists of designated terrorists or terrorist entities to financial institutions. The Government of Eritrea's longstanding policy of self-reliance and self-imposed isolation predispose it to reject non-indigenous regulatory arrangements and it is reluctant to cooperate with sanctions regimes. In addition, it lacks laws, resources, financial checks and balances, and an independent, properly-trained judiciary.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Eritrea is a member of the AU, and would like to reactivate its membership in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD); however, Eritrea's return to IGAD is opposed by Ethiopia and by Djibouti, both of whom have had military conflicts with Eritrea in recent years.

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