More than 250,000 refugees returned from Sudan to Eritrea between 1991 and 2002, the majority of them without receiving international assistance. Though the causes of this displacement were removed more than ten years ago, there are still some 100,000 Eritrean refugees remaining in Sudan. What factors influence the return of refugees?

A statistical analysis conducted by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) of a number of nutritional surveys carried out in Eritrea in the last six months indicates that 2.8 million Eritreans - over half the population - are experiencing pre-famine conditions. One-fifth of the population is immediately confronting food shortages that are leading to critical levels of malnutrition among children.

For the first time in their history, Eritreans were engaged, as a sovereign people, in the making of the basic document by which they would be governed. Regarded by Eritreans as the culmination of their legitimate struggle for national self determination, the Constitution became an integral part of this continuous and crucial struggle.

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is deeply concerned at the news of the detention of Ezra Fessehaye, a journalist with the government-owned newspaper "Hadas Eritrea". According to PEN's sources, Fessehaye was arrested by security forces in July 2002 and has not been heard of since.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has said it is not aware of plans for the forced repatriation of Eritrean refugees from Sudan following assertions by Asmara that Eritreans are being "relocated" by the Sudanese authorities. According to the Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission (ERREC), the Sudanese authorities have "started deviating" from agreed procedures on the repatriation of Eritrean refugees.

A journalist from Eritrea is one of the awardees of the International Press Freedom Awards 2002. Fesshaye Yohannes is a writer and co-founder of Setit, a popular Eritrean newspaper. He was imprisoned last September with nine other journalists after authorities banned all of Eritrea's independent newspapers for "jeopardizing national unity." He is being held incommunicado without charges.

The US on Monday dismissed allegations it had tried to overthrow the government of Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki. Last Friday, the Eritrean government reacted strongly to a statement by the State Department last week accusing it of human rights violations.

After 30 years of exile in neighbouring Sudan, Eritrean refugees are finally returning back home, but the shock of being uprooted from the relative comfort of the well supplied refugee camps is often very evident. In Gash Barka, a harsh desert region in Western Eritrea, water is worth its weight in gold. The local residents have already raised concerns that the influx of returnees risked overextending the existing water supply.

Thousands of Eritrean refugees in Sudan are in limbo as recent tensions between the two countries have put their repatriation on hold just months before their refugee status comes to an end.

Eritrea has denied backing Sudanese rebel forces which launched an attack in eastern Sudan last week.

The UN World Food Programme on Tuesday warned that it is running out of food aid to assist more than 91,000 Eritrean refugees living in camps in Sudan.

On 17 September 2002, RSF called on the international community, especially the United Nations and the European Union, to take sanctions against the rulers of Eritrea to force them to lift their one year-old ban on all privately-owned newspapers and free 18 jailed journalists.

The international human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has called on the Eritrean authorities to immediately release a number of political dissidents and journalists who have been in detention for a year.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has confirmed that Simret Seyoum of the banned private weekly Setit has been in detention since early January 2002.

One million of Eritrea’s 3.7 million total population were at risk from drought-associated diseases and malnutrition due to a failure of seasonal rains aggravated by the aftermath of the recent war with Ethiopia, the UN and the Eritrean government have warned.

The BCC/IEC Specialist will provide the technical and professional service set forth under the supervision of the Senior Adviser/Team Leader.

International PEN, the world association of writers representing members in 95 countries, is deeply concerned about the continued detention of the journalists Yusuf Mohamed Ali, Mattewos Habteab, Dawit Habtemichael, Medhanie Haile, Temesken Ghebreyesus, Emanuel Asrat, Adowit Isaac, Fesshaye Yohannes, Said Abdelkader, Selayinghes Beyene, Simret Seyoum and Fitzum Wedi Ade. All the detentions took place in the aftermath of the closure of the private press on 18 September 2001. International PEN considers the prolonged detention of the journalists without trial to be thoroughly alarming, and is particularly concerned by the transfer of the nine journalists on hunger strike to undisclosed locations.

An innovative scheme to convert 500,000 traditional injera stoves across Eritrea will cut thousands of tons of carbon emissions each year and help to conserve the country's precious supply of firewood.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday that the number of Eritrean refugees repatriated from Sudan has passed the 50,000 mark. The operation, which is now a year old, reached this milestone when, on Sunday, its 91st convoy carried 960 Eritreans from the eastern Sudanese town of Kassala to Teseney in western Eritrea, according to the UNHCR spokesman, Kris Janowski.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Eritrea has warned that it is facing a serious shortfall in funding for this year, putting vital work with vulnerable women and children at risk.