About Irob Advocacy Association

“Irob Advocacy Association (IAA)” is hereby established on this date of July 23, 2019, with the Registry Number 4304, Proclamation No. 1113/2019 of the Civic Society Organizations Agency, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Irob Advocacy Association, also referred to as "The Charity Organization" in its Memorandum of Articles of Incorporation/Bylaws, is a board led organization. “The Board” constitutes the highest body of  the organization.

The vision of Irob Advocacy Association is to realize a socio-economically empowered vibrant Irob, where all democratic rights are fully observed. A realization of an Irob society that is aware of its rights, history, culture, and social values, and strives to preserve these assets and its unique identity.

At IAA, we unite and empower the Irob community while fostering partnerships with allies dedicated to democracy and minority rights. Through research and advocacy, we proactively address threats, ensuring safety and prosperity for all. Our advocacy tools include organizing, lobbying, education, and litigation when needed. Our vision is a future where Irob rights and well-being thrive.

1. Monitoring, evaluation & analyses of the conditions of the democratic and human rights as well as social and economic trends of the people of Irob; thus, presenting the research findings, opinions & suggestions to the people, the government and the concerned organs;

2. Supporting and advocating for the betterment of governance and social rights of the people of Irob as well as for its rights of development;

3. Ensuring the fair and equitable benefits for the people of Irob; in cases of any breach, conducting discussions, dialogues and deliberations with the concerned regional, national and international organs in order for taking proper corrective actions; and legally litigating, when deemed necessary;

4. Supporting the efforts of the people of Irob in development and preservation of its  identity, language, tradition, culture, history, and values;

5. Participating in activities aimed at restoration and sustainable enhancement of social and economic conditions of those underprivileged and the youth of the people of Irob through analysis and deliberations, awareness raising campaigns and prioritization of the problems and corrective measures;

1. People First: Regardless of individual or group priorities, the needs of the Irob people take precedence in all circumstances. We are committed to addressing major issues by prioritizing the well-being and concerns of our community members.

2. Transparency: We operate with integrity, accountability, and adherence to organizational bylaws and ethical standards. Transparency guides our day-to-day operations, ensuring that our actions are trustworthy and aligned with our mission and goals.

3. Strive for Equity/Non-discrimination: We pledge to deliver services to the Irob people without discrimination based on factors such as geographical location, age, religion, gender, clan, or affiliations. Equity and inclusivity are fundamental principles that guide our actions and interactions.

4. Embrace Differences/Diversity: We celebrate diversity of opinions and perspectives within our organization and among the Irob community. Through respectful discourse, negotiation, and adherence to democratic principles, we seek to resolve disagreements and uphold majority decisions, fostering a culture of inclusivity and acceptance.

5. Cooperation/Collaboration: We foster a spirit of cooperation and collaboration with regional, national, and international groups that share our commitment to the well-being of the Irob people. By engaging with like-minded organizations, we amplify our impact and advance our collective goals for the benefit of our community and beyond.

- The profound impact of the 1998 Eritrean invasion and subsequent two-year occupation, followed by the liberation war in 2000, plunged the Irob community into social, economic, and psychological turmoil.

- The Algiers Agreement, signed on December 12, 2000, and subsequent EEBC decision pose a grave threat, dividing the Irob minority between Eritrea and Ethiopia, despite Irob never having been under Eritrean rule in history, disregarding the UN 1992 Declaration on Minority Rights.

- The abduction of 93 Irob civilians by Eritrean armed forces, their whereabouts still unknown, stands as a stark reminder of ongoing human rights violations.

- The mass migration of Irob youth, often exploited by human traffickers, underscores the urgent need for intervention.

- Retrieving historical and evidentiary records from government archives is imperative for establishing truth and justice.

- Widespread poverty afflicts the Irob people, exacerbating their challenges.

- Inadequate infrastructure and governance further compound the community's hardships.

- The alarming decline in education quality within Irob highlights systemic issues requiring immediate attention.

- Ongoing assimilation and identity crises, heightened by globalization, threaten the cultural fabric of the Irob community.

- Internal discord and hesitancy among Irob elites to address these crises perpetuate the cycle of inaction and exacerbate existing challenges.

- These longstanding issues have been compounded by the outbreak of war in Tigray in November 2020, further destabilizing the region and amplifying the urgency of our mission at IAA.

• ናይ ኢትዮ-ኤርትራ ዶብ ኲናት ስዕቡ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝቢ ኢሮብ ዝበፅሐ ስነ-ኣእምሮኣዊ፣ ኣካላዊ፣ ባህላዊ፣ ናይ ስነ-ምግባርን ከምኡ እውን ማሕበራዊን ቁጠባዊን ቅልውላው (ብሓፈሻ ሰፊሕ ሰብኣዊን ንዋታዊን ኪሳራ/ጥፍኣት)፣  

• ውዕሊ አልጀርስ፣ ውሳኔ ኮሚሽን ዘ-ሄግ ዶብ ኢትዮ-ኤርትራን ምሕንፃፅ ዶብን፣

• ብወታሃደራት መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ተዓፊኖም ዝተጨወዩ ንልዕሊ 20 ዓመት ሃለዋቶም ዛጊድ ዘይፍለጡ 97 ሲቪል ማሕበረሰብ አባላት፣  

• ግዝኣታዊ ወሰን፣ ታሪኽን መንነትን ዝገልፁ ብዝተፈላለየ መንገዲ ካብ እድ ትካላትን ውልቀሰባት ዝተወሰዱ ሰነዳትን ቅርስታትን፣  

• ድኽነት፣ ድርቅን ትሑት መነባቢሮ ህዝቢን፣  

• ፍልሰትን ዘይስሩዕ ጅምላዊ ስደት መናእሰይ ኢሮብ፣ 

•  ሕፅረት ዝርጋሐን ፅሬትን መሰረተ-ልምዓት ከምኡ እውን ጉዳይ ስእነት ሰናይ ምምሕዳር፣  

• ውሱንነት ግንዛበ ማሕበረሰብ ኣብ ዙርያ ሕጋዊ መሰላትን ግዴታን፣ 

• ካብ ግዜ ናብ ግዜ እናተሸርሸረን እናጠፍአን ዝመፀ ቋንቋ፣ ባህልን ልምድን ከምኡ እውን ባዕዲ ተርእዮታትን/ዘይልሙድ ተግባራት፣  

• ድኽመት ትምህርቲን ትሑት ውፂኢት ተምሃሮን፣  

• ምትሕውዋስ ባህልን ልምዲን (cultural assimilation) ከምኡ እውን ተፅዕኖ ሉላዊነት (globalization)፣  

• መብዛሕትኡ ዝተምሃረ አካል ነቲ ማሕበረሰብ ዘርእዮ ዘሎ ትሑት ተገዳስነት ምግልጋል ሕብረተሰብን፣ ዘይንፁር ፍርሒን ስግኣትን ከምኡ እውን ብሕብረት ንኽሰርሕ  ዘለዎ ትሑት ዓርሰ ተበጊሶን፣ 

• አብ ላዕሊ ዝተዘርዘሩ ጻገማት ካብቶም ምክንያታት ውልደት ኢ ኣ አ እንትኾኑ፤ ካብ ቅድሚ ዓሚ ጀሚሩ አብ ትግራይ ዝተወለዐ ኹናት ዲማ እቲ ኩነታት ካብ ሕማቅ ናብ ዘይጽወር አውርዱዎ ይሪኸብ።