Eritrea

PRO ASYL and Connection e.V., both based in Germany, released a report criticising the German government for its record of denying refugee status for asylum seekers from Eritrea. In their report, the organisations detailed the ongoing oppressive practices of the Eritrean regime, despite a peace treaty between Ethiopia and Eritrea in July 2018. They called on German authorities and courts to provide necessary protection for Eritreans fleeing the oppression and indefinite conscription in Eritrea in accordance with the UNHCR guidelines and Geneva Convention.

Two court cases, one in the Netherlands, the other in the UK, have been launched to contest the European Union (EU) aid for Eritrea which finances a development project employing conscripts from the Eritrean National Service. Eritrea is notorious with its indefinite national service as part of which men and women are forced to spend a lifetime as conscripts, forced to be part of the military or work in mines, farms and factories with no right to leave and essentially no pay.

Canada’s supreme court has ruled that three Eritrean’s can cotinue their case against a minig company, despite their accusations of human rights abuses by the company taking place abroad.

A new report on Eritrea published by Human Rights Watch documents the devastating effects of the conscription system on the lives of young Eritreans. In Eritrea, all secondary school students —male and female— are forced to undergo military training to complete their final year. They are sent to Sawa military camp where they follow a schedule combining secondary school classes with compulsory military training.

The organisers of the conference, Eritrea and the Ongoing Refugee Crisis, has published a new booklet: Eritrea: A Country Under the Sway of a Dictatorship. The publication provides a comprehensive overview of the situation in the country, the situation of Eritrean refugees in Europe and elsewhere, as well as introducing their initiatives and activities.

During the 38th session of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva, International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) organized a side event, co-sponsored by War Resisters International, focusing on the causes of migration from Eritrea and the struggles of Eritrean refugees.

Connection e.V., Förderverein PRO ASYL, Eritrean Law Society (ELS), Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR), Europe External Policy Advisors (EEPA), and War Resisters’ International have published a new booklet, Eritrea: A Country Under the Sway of a Dictatorship. The booklet provides a comprehensive overview of the situation in Eritrea, the situation of Eritrean refugees in Europe and elsewhere, as well as introducing their initiatives and activities.

Overnight Eritreans begun repeating one name: Haj Musa Mohamed Nur, whether in support or opposition of him. He became a household name both at home and abroad after the Diaa Al Islam School uprising on the 31st October 2017.

Today is Prisoners for Peace Day, when War Resisters' International and our members remember those imprisoned for their work for peace, and write to them in jail. Please join us!

In Canada, a court in British Colombia has rejected an appeal by Nevsun Resources, a large Canadian mining company accused of relying on modern slavery at it’s Bisha Mine in Eritrea.

There are “reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity are taking place”, Sheila Keetharuth, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea, has said.

Militarisation in Eritrea is extreme, with indefinite conscription in often unbearable conditions. Conscientious objectors are imprisoned. Many people flee the country if they can, but if they arrive in Europe, they are not always given protection, and this month the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Swiss government is not in breach of the European Convention by expelling an Eritrean asylum seeker.