INTRODUCTION

The consolidation of nationalist sentiments in Eritrea and the construction of a centralist, unitary state after independence in 1991 have led to a growing tension between the dominant nationalist ideology – which partly reflects the cultural sentiments of the Tigrinya majority group – and minority groups. This is aggravated by the fact that the EPLF/PFDJ government is perceived by many minority representatives to be a predominantly ‘Tigrinya’ government as the language and political culture of the government stems from the Tigrinya group inhabiting the Eritrean highlands and urban centres throughout the country.

Of the many minority groups in Eritrea, the government has seemingly singled out the Kunama group as of special concern to the state. The history of the Kunama population can be read as a narrative of sustained violations of minority rights, in addition to a general contravention of basic human rights, such as the right to life and the prohibition of torture and collective punishment. In order to highlight concerns about Eritrea's minority populations, this chapter will analyse the situation of cultural and minority rights in Eritrea exemplified by the case of the Kunama group and based on the framework for the general protection of minority rights as developed by the UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues (McDougall 2007: 334).