ERITREA: Children's Rights in the Special Procedures' Reports

Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of the UN Special Procedures. This does not include reports of child specific Special Procedures, such as the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which are available as separate reports.

Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.

Requested visits:

  • Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea (2013)
  • Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression  (request in 2003 renewed in 2005)
  • Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion (requested in 2004)
  • Special Rapporteur on the right to food (requested in 2003)
  • Special Rapporteur on torture (requested in 2005, 2007 and 22/12/2010)
  • Special Rapporteur on enforced, summary or arbitrary executions (requested on 22 November 2010)

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea

Sheila B.Keetharuth

A/HRC/23/53

Country visit: 30 April to 9 May 2013

Report published: 28 May 2013

Freedom of movement:

The Special Rapporteur notes that:

Reports have been received about children as young as 5 years of age being denied applications for exit visas. (para 67)

The Special Rapporteur recommends that:

The Government should put an end to restrictions to the freedom of movement within Eritrea and to travel outside the country. (para 107 r)

Rights of the child:

The Special Rapporteur found that:

A worrying trend noted by the Special Rapporteur during the recent field mission was the high number of unaccompanied children crossing the border, often without the knowledge of their families. The children referred to their dysfunctional family circumstances and the difficulties faced in child-headed households owing to the long absence of their parents, who, as soldiers, were mostly in the military camps, detained or in exile. The children also cited lack of educational opportunities and fear of forced conscription into indefinite national service as the main reasons for their decision to flee. Such a situation poses major protection challenges in host countries and is indicative of the scale of despair these children face at home, with a bleak future ahead. (para 72)

Underage students were also being targeted for military service. The concluding observations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the situation in Eritrea are indicative in this context. The Committee expressed its concern at reports of “forced underage recruitment and at the detention and ill-treatment of boys under the age when they were required to serve their compulsory military service”, and urged Eritrea to take all possible measures to prevent the recruitment of children. (para 73)

The Special Rapporteur recommends that:

The International community should strengthen efforts to ensure the protection of those fleeing from Eritrea, in particular the increasing numbers of unaccompanied children, including by respecting the principle of non-refoulement and by granting at least temporary refuge or protection, and end bilateral and other arrangements between Eritrea and third countries that jeopardize the lives of those who seek asylum. (para 108 b)

The Government should end the practice of indefinite national service and initiate demobilization for those who have completed 18 months service; and stop the use of national service conscripts as forced labour, and the recruitment of children under the age of 18 years into military training. (para 107 m)

Economic, social and cultural rights:

The Special Rapporteur notes that:

While basic education in the country is compulsory, free and universal, the Government has a tight control over the curriculum. School children, parents and teachers alike pointed out that a yearly amount for school material and uniforms had to be paid. For cash-strapped families, it was very difficult to gather the necessary amount at the beginning of the school year. The only university in the country, the University of Asmara, was closed in 2006. Regional colleges, which are administered by the military and linked closely to military training and political indoctrination, are the only option for post-secondary education. Children who do not pass the eighth grade are conscripted and sent for military training in Wi’a, including those who are underage. Those who pass tenth grade are transferred to Sawa for military training. (para 89)

The Special Rapporteur recommends that:

The Government ensure access to education, including higher and academic education, by reopening the University of Asmara to provide Eritrean students with access to higher-level education that is internationally recognized. (para 107 t)

Refugees and trafficking:

The Special Rapporteur notes that:               

According to UNHCR estimates, more than 4,000 Eritreans, including unaccompanied minors, flee the country every month, despite shoot-to-kill orders implemented by border guards and the extreme dangers along escape routes. (para 92)

The Special Rapporteur recommends that:

The Government should cease the shoot-to-kill policy implemented at the borders with immediate effect, as well as all other forms of extrajudicial executions. (para 107 e)

 

 

 

 

Countries

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