Eritrea: Human Rights Abuses Continue Under One of Africa's Harshest Regimes

Eritrea's political system is dominated by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, the only legal political organisation. Although a national constitution was ratified in 1997, it has never been implemented. Institutions such as an elected parliament or independent judiciary do not function in practice. Independent civil society organisations, trade unions, and advocacy groups have been effectively eliminated from public life. Economic activity is heavily influenced by state and party structures. Political opposition is not tolerated, and individuals perceived as critics of the government face significant risk of detention.[1]

Indefinite National Service and Forced Labour

The most distinctive feature of Eritrea's political system is its national service programme. Citizens aged between eighteen and forty are required to perform national service consisting of military training and civilian assignments. Although official legislation defines the service period as eighteen months, in practice the government has maintained an open-ended system in which service may continue indefinitely, with many Eritreans remaining in service for years or even decades. Conscripts receive extremely limited compensation and have little control over employment conditions, location, or duration. Assignments frequently extend beyond military duties to construction, agriculture, government offices, and state-affiliated companies. International organisations have argued that this system constitutes forced labour. Secondary school students must complete their final year at the Sawa Defence Training Centre, channelling young people directly into the national service system.[2]

Political Prisoners and Enforced Disappearances

Arbitrary detention is a defining feature of Eritrea's human rights environment. Political prisoners are held without formal charges, access to legal representation, or communication with family. The most widely documented case involves journalists and reform advocates arrested in September 2001 whose whereabouts remain unknown. International organisations believe thousands of individuals may be held for political reasons in military camps or remote prisons. Former prisoners describe harsh conditions including overcrowding, inadequate food, extreme temperatures, and physical punishment.[3]

Restrictions on Media and Information

Eritrea has one of the most restrictive media environments in the world. Independent media outlets were eliminated in 2001. All domestic media operate under government control. Internet access is extremely limited and telecommunications infrastructure is state-controlled. Members of the diaspora who engage in political activism abroad have reported surveillance and intimidation, with authorities allegedly monitoring diaspora communities and pressuring relatives inside Eritrea to discourage criticism.[4]

Migration and the Eritrean Refugee Crisis

The combination of indefinite national service, political repression, and economic hardship has produced a persistent migration crisis. Eritreans represent one of the largest refugee populations relative to the country's size. Many travel first to Sudan or Ethiopia before attempting to reach Europe. Migration routes involve dangerous desert crossings and exposure to trafficking networks. Eritrean migrants travelling through Libya have faced kidnapping, extortion, and abuse. Despite these risks, large numbers continue to leave each year. Eritrean asylum seekers consistently record some of the highest recognition rates in Europe.[5]

Organisations Monitoring the Situation

Analytical Assessment

The absence of functioning democratic institutions has created a governance structure in which political authority is concentrated within the executive leadership and the ruling party. Without competitive elections, an independent judiciary, or legal opposition, domestic legal remedies for persecution are structurally non-existent. For international protection claims, this means that the requirement to exhaust domestic remedies is inapplicable: there are no independent domestic remedies to exhaust. The unimplemented 1997 constitution, the absence of elections since independence, and the elimination of all independent media and civil society in 2001 establish that Eritrea's authoritarian character is not transitional but entrenched.[6]

The national service system functions as the central mechanism of state control over society. The indefinite duration of service, the severe penalties for evasion, and the extension of conscription into forced civilian labour effectively bind large segments of the population to government-controlled structures. For asylum adjudicators, the UN Commission of Inquiry's finding that indefinite conscription amounts to enslavement provides an authoritative basis for recognising draft evasion as a Convention ground, particularly where refusal to serve reflects a political opinion or where the conditions of service constitute persecution in themselves.[7]

These conditions contribute directly to Eritrea's high levels of outward migration and consistently high asylum recognition rates in Europe. The criminalisation of departure without permission means that the act of leaving Eritrea itself creates a risk profile upon return, compounding any pre-existing vulnerability. Without significant political reform, authoritarian governance, indefinite military service, and strict controls on civil liberties will continue to drive refugee outflows and international protection claims.[8]