Name? Emiel Jurjens
Westphalian identity? Dutch
Age? Somewhere between 35-45? He looks young & has an active Twitter account…
Why is he in the news? Jurjens is the lawyer lodging a lawsuit on behalf of the Eritrea Dutch Group against the EU for endorsing forced labour in an Eritrean construction project.
Why do we care? This lawsuit is the first test of an effort by individuals and organizations to hold the bloc accountable for the rather opaque way it spends billions in Africa.
Why should you care? Because the UN and the EU have denounced Eritrea’s notorious mandatory, open-ended drafting of its population for work (forced conscripts). Yet, the European Commission is supposedly financing a project largely built by these conscripts…where is the line? Are easier routes for trade and support for peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea worth financing Eritrea’s forced workforce?
Who else cares? Ethiopia. The project financed by the European Commission is set to pave a road connecting the Eritrea-Ethiopia border with the Eritrean port of Massawa. Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace deal in 2018 which has been relatively successful in stabilizing the two countries but the construction of the road along their border was set to support long-lasting peace between the two longtime foes (spurred on of course by the almighty EU)
Any further comments? You may be wondering what the EU’s thought process was on this and how they’ve placed themselves in such a predicament. Don’t worry, the European Commission (the bloc’s money people) has defended their funding of the project by saying that the heavy equipment they’re providing actually makes work for constricts lighter. So everything is fine right? The EU doesn’t endorse Eritrea’s forced labour system but the Commission will do their best to lighten the load of the constricts….? Pretty sure the word you’re looking for is hypocritical.
