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Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of all UN Treaty Bodies and their follow-up procedures. This does not include the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child which are available here: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/index.asp
Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.
- UN Human Rights Committee
- UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- UN Committee against Torture
- UN Committee on Migrant Workers
- UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance
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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
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UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
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UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
CEDAW/C/ERI/CO/5
Adopted by the Committee: 26 February 2015
Published by the Committee: 6 March 2015
Issues raised:
Refugees:
The Committee is concerned that women and girls being forcibly recruited into the national service for an indefinite period of time and without formal pay, under conditions which amount to forced labour; The large and increasing number of Eritrean women and girls, including unaccompanied children, who flee the country and become refugees in third countries to avoid national service, and who frequently become victims of violence, human trafficking and smuggling; Reports that many girls drop out of school, become pregnant and/or are forced to enter child marriages to avoid enrolment at the Sawa Military Training Centre and national service (para.8).
Access to justice:
The Committee is deeply concerned about the numerous obstacles faced by women and girls in gaining access to justice. It is also concerned about the lack of measures taken by the State party to eliminate those obstacles and to ensure the independence, professionalism and gender sensitivity of the judiciary at all levels (para.12).
Harmful practices:
The Committee is further concerned about the high prevalence of child marriages and that polygamy persists in some Muslim communities (para.18).
Violence:
The Committee is deeply concerned about reports that violence against women and girls is widespread in the State party, in particular in the domestic sphere, educational institutions and in the context of the national service (para.20).
Sexual exploitation:
The Committee is concerned about reports that numerous women and girls, including unaccompanied children who are fleeing the country become victims of human trafficking and smuggling. The Committee regrets the lack of a comprehensive law and policy on trafficking and that most traffickers enjoy impunity (para.22).
Nationality:
The Committee is concerned about the persistent challenges to registering children in rural areas, which places them at risk of statelessness and may limit their access to education, health and other basic services (para.26).
Education:
The Committee is concerned that girls’ enrolment remains low, in particular in rural areas, and their dropout from education continues to be high; The number of schools is insufficient, in particular in rural areas; The number of female teachers remains very low, which may be a deterrent for girls’ attendance at school; The State party has not taken measures to prevent and address sexual violence against girls in schools (para.28).
The Committee reiterates is concern that all high school students, including girls, must enrol for their Twelfth Grade at the Sawa Military Training Centre, where they undergo stringent military training and are at risk of being subjected to violence. The Committee is also concerned at reports that many girls drop out of school, become pregnant or marry, or flee the country to avoid enrolling at the Sawa Centre (para.30).
Employment:
The Committee reiterates its concern that women and girls are recruited into the national service for an indefinite period of time without formal pay, which amounts to forced labour (para.32).
Health:
The Committee is concerned that malnutrition remains a leading cause of infant mortality and that there are frequent reports of shortage of food production (para.34).
Rural girls:
The Committee is concerned that rural women and girls have limited access to education, health and employment (para.38).
Harmful practices:
The Committee is concerned that although the minimum age for marriage is set at 18, child marriage remains highly prevalent in the State party (para.42).
CEDAW/C/ERI/CO/3
Last reported:
Concluding Observations: 3 February 2006
Issues raised:
Harmful traditional practices: While noting the entrenched cultural underpinning of female genital mutilation and while welcoming the important awareness-raising efforts implemented by the National Union of Eritrean Women towards ending the practice of female genital mutilation, the Committee is concerned at the high incidence of female genital mutilation in the country and the State party's reluctance to expedite the adoption of legislation aimed at eradicating this practice. (Paragraph 18).
The Committee urges the State party to speedily enact the draft legislation prohibiting female genital mutilation and to ensure that offenders are prosecuted and adequately punished and to continue its awareness-raising efforts to change the cultural perceptions connected with female genital mutilation.
Early marriage: While noting that the Transitional Code of Eritrea adopted in 1991 establishes a minimum age at marriage, prohibits forced marriages and establishes a system of equitable division of marital property upon divorce, the Committee is concerned that these laws are not enforced and that discriminatory customary laws and practices continue to be applied. The Committee is also concerned that the Transitional Code's provisions on marriage and family relations do not apply to Muslim marriages and divorces. The Committee expresses its concern that the ongoing law reform process aimed at harmonization and consolidation of Eritrean laws may result in the legal recognition and/or codification of discriminatory laws governing marriage and family relations, in contravention of article 16 of the Convention. (Paragraph 28).
The Committee calls on the State party to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the Transitional Code on marriage and divorce, including enforcement of the minimum age at marriage, prohibition of forced marriages and enforcement of equitable division of marital property upon divorce, and other laws relating to harmful traditional or customary practices that violate women's rights. The Committee recommends that the ongoing law reform process aim at promotion of gender equality, elimination of discrimination against women, especially in family relations, and full compliance with all provisions of the Convention.
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UN Committee on Migrant Workers
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UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
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UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance