A/HRC/38/50 move ahead with measures to address victims’ call for justice for human rights violations and crimes against humanity. 17. On 12 March 2018, the Special Rapporteur participated in the enhanced interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in Eritrea held during the thirty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council. She briefed the international community about the continuing human rights violations in Eritrea, focusing on events in October 2017 and March 2018, with mass arrests and arbitrary detentions of protestors and the death in custody of the respected elder and former freedom fighter Musa Mohammed Nur. 18. The Government of Eritrea did not participate in the enhanced interactive dialogue. It nevertheless hosted a side event on 8 March 2018 in the margins of the Council session, “Demystifying Eritrea: The Ground Reality, Mining and Human Rights”, with the participation of representatives from Nevsun Resources Limited, a Canadian company operating a mine in Eritrea, and Danakali Limited, an Australian company that operates a potash mine in the country in a fifty-fifty joint venture with the Government. D. International and regional developments 19. During its sixty-second ordinary session, held in Nouakchott from 25 April to 9 May 2018, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights considered the report of Eritrea, in accordance with article 62 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and article 26 of its Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. The first-ever report of Eritrea covered the period 1999 to 2016. 20. In January 2018, the Government of the Netherlands declared the Eritrean Chargé d’affaires persona non grata and requested him to leave the country. This measure was taken after the parliament of the Netherlands had expressed concern about reports indicating that Eritrea continued to solicit a mandatory and coercive “recovery and rehabilitation tax” representing a 2 per cent levy on the income of Eritreans in the diaspora and Eritrean refugees in the Netherlands. Those who refused to pay were subjected to threats, harassment and intimidation. 21. After declaring a six-month state of emergency in the states of North Kordofan and Kassala, the Government of the Sudan closed it eastern border with Eritrea on 5 January 2018, indicating it was for security reasons. The border remains closed to date. 22. On 14 November 2017, the United Nations Security Council renewed the arms embargo on Eritrea until 15 November 2018. The mandate of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea was renewed until 15 December 2018. While acknowledging the efforts made by Eritrea to engage with the international community, in its resolution 2385 (2017) the Security Council reiterated its expectation that the Government of Eritrea would facilitate the entry of the Monitoring Group into Eritrea to allow it to discharge fully its mandate. 23. Eritrea continues to host the Gulf coalition at the port city of Assab, strategically located to provide easy access to Yemen. In its 2017 report, the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea asserts that the setting up and continuing expansion of a United Arab Emirates military base near Assab, involving the transfer of military material to and exchange of military assistance with Eritrea, represents a violation of the arms embargo (see S/2017/925). 24. In November 2017, a Canadian court confirmed that a lawsuit against Nevsun Resources Limited could proceed in British Columbia, Canada. The lawsuit has been filed by Eritreans plaintiffs claiming that they had been forced to work at the Bisha mine as conscripts.1 In January 2018, Nevsun appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada against the ruling of November 2017. The case is currently pending. 2 1 2 Araya v. Nevsun Resources Ltd., 2017 BCCA 401. SCC, Case No. 37919, Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Gize Yebeyo Araya, et al. Since the time of writing, the Supreme Court subsequently granted the application for leave to appeal on 14 June 2018. 5