On May 11, 2005, the Eritrean regime passed Proclamation number 145/2005 which:  

(a)   Required local NGOs to maintain a working capital of 1,000,000 USD;

(b)   Required international NGOs to maintain a working capital of 2,000,000 USD;

(c)   Banned international NGOs from directly working with and investing in local NGOs unless the relevant ministry does not have the required capacity;

(d)   Limited the role of international NGOs to food relief,

(e)   Requires all NGOs to pay taxes on food aid,

(f)    Requires all NGOs to acquire annual licenses and submit regular reports.

Usually, the regime first prepares the ground work through its media monopoly by submitting saturation reports to justify its proclamation, and the case of the NGOs was no exception. The state media equated relief aid with neo-colonialism, a practice that ran afoul of its alleged policy of self-reliance.

Shortly after the passage of the proclamation, the regime impounded all NGO vehicles and refused to release 1,500 tonnes of food aid unless the international NGOs paid taxes on the import.  The international NGOs, who are skilled at public relations, cried foul and were successful in convincing the world that the Eritrean regime was starving its people and allowing food to rot to spite the NGOs.  The Eritrean regime released the food within two months but insisted that impounding of the food had nothing to do with the new proclamation.  It provided conflicting reasons to explain the delay: the port workers were on vacation; the shift of responsibility from Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission to the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare was to blame or, the food was not spoiling because the government has already distributed it anyway.   

Following the passage of the proclamation, many NGOs were either expelled (USAID, ACORD, CONCERN, MERCY CORPS) or, if Eritrean, closed down (HEWO: Hansenians Eritrean Welfare Organization.)

After it closed down all local NGOs and expelled the international NGOs, the regime issued new policies to target the few ones still operating, the WFP among them.

In September 2005, the Eritrean regime announced that thanks to a bumper crop year it expected to achieve food security by the end of the year.  To facilitate this goal, the regime told the WFP that it was introducing a new �Food-for-work� policy in lieu of the existing NGO food distribution centers.   Effective September 2005, only the internally displaced population (IDPs) would be eligible for food distribution.

There were no guidelines for the new �Food For Work� policy other than this: the NGOs were to provide the food to the government and the government would ensure that those who worked for it received the food.

In April 2006, the �food-for-work� policy was changed to �cash-for-work�.  The food would be sold, the needy would receive cash from the proceeds of the sale, which they could then use to buy food.   This new policy, like all previous policies, was not studied and left many unanswered questions: �It remains unclear precisely how this cash-for-work scheme would operate in practice; nor is it clear how those unable to work and in need of continued direct food assistance such as malnourished children, pregnant/nursing mothers, primary school children and people affected with HIV/AIDS will be supported under this new policy,� according to the WFP.    Using its new criteria, the regime authorized cutting back aid from 1.3 million people to 72,000.    This resulted, according to the NGO�s �nutritional surveys�, to a doubling of the nation�s malnutrition levels.

Faced with criticism, the regime�s instinct is not to correct its errors but to make it harder for people to find out its mistakes.  On June 1, 2006, the regime passed yet another policy, this time restricting the movement of all foreign nationals:

As from 1 June 2006, all foreign nationals (including resident diplomats) are required to have a travel permit to visit other areas outside Asmara. Foreign nationals residing or working in areas outside Asmara will also require a travel permit to travel outside the area of their residence or work.

Frustrated by the regime�s reaction, the WFP and the FAO considered suing the Eritrean regime but, in the end, it appears to have abandoned that approach for constructive engagement.

The UN Secretary General�s Special Humanitarin Envoy for the Horn, Kjell Magne Bondevik, visited Eritrea and met with President Isaias Afwerki on October 18, 2006. The regime expects that because it has had two consecutive good rainy seaons, it is well on its way to achieving food security.  The NGO�s believe that may be so, but it has much to climb out of because it had had four years of drought prior to 2005.   A �dialogue� has been proposed to bridge the gap.

In the meantime, WPF and Oxfam continue to provide assistance to the government�s grain board.  The ruling party�s parastatal, Red Sea, uses its mills to produce the flour which is sold at �subsidized rates� of 150 Nakfa to the bakeries.

The direct food aid that is banned in Eritrea is distributed at Sudan�s Wad Sharifey and Kilo 26, to 200 new Eritreans every week.  This is the rate that Eritreans are leaving their country and are certified as asylum seekers by the UNHCR and the Commission of Refugees in Sudan, with another 200 a week arriving in Waela Nihbi in Tigray, Ethiopia.