Values and Justice
Multi-Disciplinary Dialogue on the Integration of Eritrean values in the Legal Framework
Eritrea has variety of longstanding set of values that reflect and regulate all aspects of life of its people. These values have been regulating interactive personal relations for centuries outlining norms for social cohesion and efficient operation of communal activities. These values pass through generations, for they emanate from the society, possess full social support, reflect the overall realities derived from broad based experience and undergo incessant reform processes.
During the struggle for independence, Eritrean values served as the foundation for the principles designed to promote revolutionary consciousness, uphold national unity, advance the required capabilities and achieve the aspired independence.
Considering the essence of incorporating values peculiar to Eritrea and values Eritrea shares with its region and beyond, the Ministry of Justice has consciously been working in finding ways in which the values can be integrated within the legal framework in order to serve as a means to achieve sustainable development. These values correspond to Eritrea’s own realities and the principles thereof are enshrined upon its rich history, culture and basic laws. They are dynamic and have always been influenced by external factors such as colonization, neo-colonization and regional geopolitics. As such, they need a persistent assessment and supervision to make sure that they reflect the actual realities on the ground
Eritrea is once again embarking on a journey to reform its legal environment to cope with the contemporary needs, aspirations and realities. In so doing, it has been found necessary to precede the reform process by a clear understanding of the core national values and principles. For this purpose, the Ministry of Justice decided that a mechanism for dialogue needs to be established to formulate common understanding on the meaning, content, significance, scope and relevance of the core national values in the reform process.
The current multi-disciplinary dialogue will therefore consist of depicting the core Eritrean values in the context of sustainable developmental process. The objective will be to explain the origins of those values, their meaning, their function and their importance for Eritrea. Furthermore, this dialogue will allow for a sharing of experience with countries that share similar values and how they were integrated in practice in context of their own developmental process.