Human rights experts warn that Eritrea maintains an iron grip on its people through repression and widespread, systematic impunity for serious human rights violations.
Experts presented what they called “credible reports” at the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday that Eritrea’s ruling elite committed serious human rights abuses.
“The human rights situation in Eritrea remains dire and shows no signs of improvement,” said Ilze Brand-Keris, Assistant Secretary-General of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
She said her office continued to receive credible reports of torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
“Impunity continues for these serious human rights violations,” she said.
She accused the government of silencing dissenting voices through systematic repression, detention or enforced disappearance of “thousands of religious leaders, activists, journalists and those evading mandatory and indefinite military service.”
Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, the U.N. special rapporteur on Eritrea, told council delegates that there was no evidence that the government had taken any steps to “prevent, investigate or correct serious abuses documented by various monitoring organizations.” human rights violations”.
“The Eritrean authorities’ complete failure to act over the past two decades to address the disturbing human rights situation in the country is a matter of government policy.”
“Pervasive impunity allows human rights violations to reoccur and silences victims,” he said. “Identified serious violations and patterns continue unabated.”
In response to Eritrea’s criticism, the charge d’affaires of the Permanent Mission of Eritrea in Geneva, Habtom Zele Gilmai, accused those testifying before the Security Council of making baseless and baseless accusations.
He said that Eritrea has been a victim of politicization and selective empowerment over the past 12 years. We are not violating human rights, he said, but “our commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights is at the core of our nation, which was achieved after the long armed struggle of the Eritrean people for human rights.”
UN rapporteur Babik said Eritreans were being denied civil rights, noting that Eritrea had not held elections in more than 30 years. “Eritreans have no way to participate in decision-making in their country… No political groups are allowed to organize outside the ruling party, and independent media and civil society are not allowed to operate.”
Furthermore, he said no action had been taken to reform Eritrea’s compulsory military service system. He said Eritreans continued to suffer severe and horrific abuses, including forced labor and sexual violence, as a result of the country’s indefinite military service.
“I regularly receive information about individuals who have been drafted into the military over the past 20 years and who have been deprived of their civil, social and economic rights, including the right to work, life, family life, freedom of movement and education. In addition, deserters, they ‘s families and their communities will also be severely punished collectively,” he said.
As of June 2023, the UNHCR said Eritrea’s indefinite military service had caused an estimated 345,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers to flee the country. More than 580,000 Eritreans worldwide have sought safety abroad.
“The rule of law is severely lacking in Eritrea, with no independent judiciary or other accountability mechanisms,” said Assistant Secretary-General Brands-Keris, noting that Eritrea has yet to implement any legal reforms that would promote the promotion and protection of human rights. .
“Impunity prevails for violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including crimes committed by the Eritrean Defense Forces or the Eritrean Defense Forces in the Tigray conflict,” she said.
Although Eritrea signed an agreement to withdraw its troops from Ethiopia, Brands-Keris said, “Our office has credible information that the Eritrean Defense Forces remain in Tigray and continue to commit cross-border violations, namely kidnapping, rape, robbery property, arbitrary arrest.” and other violations of physical integrity,” she said.
Civil society representative Hannah Petros Solomon has a harsh view of life under Eritrea’s authoritarian regime. “I am the child of a hero who served our country honorably and now am languishing in solitary confinement.”
She said her father, Petros Solomon, played an important role in Eritrea’s struggle for independence and post-independence, as did her mother, Aster Yohannes.
“The last time I saw or heard from my father was on the morning of September 18, 2001, 22 years ago. The last time I saw or heard from my mother was 20 years ago in December 2003 11th.
“They have not committed any crime that warrants such punishment. They have not yet been convicted or sentenced by a court,” she said.
“The United Nations considers indefinite or prolonged solitary confinement of prisoners for more than 15 days to be torture, inhumane and degrading,” she said. “My parents’ indefinite solitary confinement has now been extended for more than two decades.”
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