A/HRC/23/53 21. With regard to the Millennium Development Goals, Eritrea is reportedly poised to meet six of the eight Goals, namely Goals 2 to 7 (regarding universal primary education, the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women, the reduction of child mortality, improvement in maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability). Eritrea is not on track with regard to Goals 1 (on the eradication of extreme hunger and poverty) and 8 (developing a global partnership for development). 22. Based on its rigorous national policy of self-reliance, the Government of Eritrea restricts humanitarian and development assistance by international actors. To support development efforts, the United Nations country team signed the four-year Strategic Partnership Cooperation Framework for 2013-2016 with the Government. 1 The Framework focuses on five strategic areas for intervention and cooperation: (a) basic social services; (b) national capacity development; (c) food security and sustainable livelihood; (d) environmental sustainability; and (e) gender equity and the advancement of women. B. International and regional context 23. Eritrea and some of its immediate neighbours (Djibouti, Ethiopia, the Sudan and Yemen) have had troubled relations over border issues. While some issues have been resolved, others persist, spawning a set of circumstances qualified by the Eritrean authorities as a “no war no peace” state of affairs. A case in point was the war of 1998-2000 with Ethiopia, and the non-implementation of the ruling issued by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission in 2002. These unresolved issues contribute to the country’s regional and international isolation, its internal political situation and, more importantly, it has a negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights in the country. The State’s foreign and security policy should be viewed historically and in the context of these unresolved border issues. 24. Since 2009, the Security Council has adopted a number of key resolutions regarding Eritrea: resolution 1862 (2009), on the country’s border dispute with Djibouti; resolution 1907 (2009), in which the Council imposed a targeted sanctions regime, including an arms embargo on both imports and exports, on Eritrea for its failure to comply with resolution 1862 (2009); and resolution 2033 (2011), in which the Council expanded restrictive measures in the area of the diaspora taxes and the State’s mining sector and financial services. 25. In an attempt to strengthen its regional engagement, in 2011, Eritrea reopened its mission to the African Union, which had been closed after the outbreak of the conflict with Ethiopia. Eritrea is also seeking re-admission to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Furthermore, since 2012 it has resumed attending the ordinary sessions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. All these initiatives may be construed as efforts to end a largely self-imposed isolation. 26. While acknowledging the seriousness of border issues, it is the humble view of the Special Rapporteur that these should not serve as an excuse for the appalling human rights situation in Eritrea, which in one way or another touches the life of almost every family. Most Eritreans that the Special Rapporteur met reported that there is no family in the country that has not known death, arrest, detention or exile. 1 6 Available from www.er.undp.org/docs/eri_spcf-2013-2016.pdf.