ICERAS

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 59/1, in
which the Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Eritrea for one year and requested the mandate holder to present a report to the
Council at its sixty-second session.
The report outlines the human rights situation in Eritrea, emphasizing ongoing,
systematic human rights violations. These include the continued use of enforced
disappearance, decades-long arbitrary detention, and the persecution of political opponents,
journalists and religious groups over the past three decades. It highlights, in particular, the
systematic arrest of religious leaders and the closure of Muslim religious institutions and
seizure of their property since the country’s independence.
The Special Rapporteur details the harsh and degrading conditions of detention and
imprisonment. The widespread and systematic use of such inhumane conditions, combined
with prolonged arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances and religious
persecution, may constitute crimes against humanity. The persistent and intentional use of
these practices strongly suggests they are part of a broader State policy of repression,
coercion, punishment and intimidation.
The Special Rapporteur highlights the ongoing lack of adequate protection measures
for Eritrean refugees, including deportations and deficiencies in the protection offered by
host countries and by United Nations entities. He also highlights the persistent failure to
implement recommendations and the inadequate cooperation of certain Member States,
particularly some African States, in addressing the human rights situation in Eritrea. READMORE