Human Trafficking in [Eritrea] [other countries]
Street Children in [Eritrea] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Eritrea] [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

In the first ten years of the 21^st Century - 2000 to 2009

Eritrea Since independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country, accentuated by the recent implementation of restrictive economic policies. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and more importantly, on the government's willingness to support a true market economy. [The World Factbook, U.S.C.I.A. 2009]

Eritrea is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. In connection with a national service program in which men aged 18 to 54 and women aged 18 to 47 provide military and non-military service, there have been repeated reports that some Eritreans in military service are used as laborers on some commanding officers’ personal properties, as well as in the construction and agricultural sectors. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report]

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Eritrea. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

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Eritrea 'like a giant prison', claims human rights group

www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/16/eritrea-africa-human-rights-refugees

www.eriplanet.com/news/4729-Eritrea-like-giant-prison-claims-human-rights-group.html

Government's policies on torture, conscription and mass detention creating refugee crisis, Human Rights Watch says. Eritrea is becoming a "giant prison" due to its government's policies of mass detention, torture and prolonged military conscription, according to a report published today . Human Rights Watch (HRW) said state repression had made the tiny Red Sea state one of the highest producers of refugees in the world, with those fleeing risking death or collective punishment against their families.

There is no freedom of speech, worship or movement in Eritrea, while many adults are forced into national service at token wages until up to 55 years of age.

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U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs [PDF]

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - In Eritrea, children work on the street, in the agricultural sector, and as domestic servants. Children living in rural areas often work in family businesses, including subsistence farming, and engage in such activities as fetching firewood and water, and herding livestock. Children are expected to work from about age 5 by looking after livestock and working in the fields. For children working in urban areas street vending is typical, however this is not widely prevalent. Many underage apprentices work in shops and workshops such as garages or metal workshops in towns. Children are reportedly involved in prostitution. However, specific data on the commercial sexual exploitation of children in Eritrea is lacking. Although the law prohibits recruitment of children under 18 into the armed forces, concerns exist regarding the training and recruiting of children for military service.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2008

SECTION 6 WORKER RIGHTS – [c] The government required all men between the ages of 18 and 50 and women between the ages of 18 and 47 to participate in the national service program, which included military training and civilian work programs. Increasing reports indicate citizens were enlisted in the national service for many years below minimum-wage rates with no prospective end date. The government justifies its open-ended draft on the basis of the undemarcated border with Ethiopia. Some national service members were assigned to return to their civilian jobs while nominally kept in the military because their skills were deemed critical to the functioning of the government or the economy. These individuals continued to receive only their national service salary; the government required them to forfeit to the government any money they earned above and beyond that salary. Government employees generally were unable to leave their jobs or take new employment. Draft evaders often were used as laborers on government development projects.

The Protection Project - Eritrea [DOC]

www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/eritrea.doc

FORMS OF TRAFFICKING –- Most reported cases of trafficking in persons in Eritrea concern the buying and selling of children. There are credible reports that children between the ages of 14 and 18 have been used as soldiers, and it is widely acknowledged that children fought during the war for independence from Ethiopia. In addition, displaced women and children fleeing conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia have ended up in prostitution in Djibouti. Some of them have also been trafficked to wealthy Arab states to work as domestic servants

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 7 Civil Liberties: 6 Status: Not Free

Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide

Eritrea rejects US Country Report on Human Trafficking

www.eastafricaforum.net/2009/06/19/eritrea-rejects-us-country-report-on-human-trafficking/

The Embassy of Eritrea finds the US State Department’s Human Trafficking Report on Eritrea to be subjective and inaccurate, not based on well defined evidentiary standards or fact, and therefore rejects its findings and conclusions. Eritrea is a country whose citizens have been deliberately lured and victimized by certain quarters and as such, the ranking is meaningless as it seeks to punish the victim for crimes committed by others.

Due to the covert nature of the crime, accurate statistics on the nature and prevalence of human trafficking are difficult to calculate and many cases of human trafficking go undiscovered and unreported. Trafficking is often associated with organized crime; therefore, gaining access to traffickers and information about routes, key persons involved, and practices is severely limited, if not impossible. When such crimes are discovered and reported, the Government of Eritrea conducts full investigations and prosecutes perpetrators when apprehended.

Eritrea listed for human trafficking

www.eriplanet.com/news/5784-Eritrea-listed-for-human-trafficking.html

The United States on Tuesday added six African countries to a blacklist of countries trafficking in people, and put US trading partner Malaysia back on the list. Chad, Eritrea, Niger, Mauritania, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe were added to the list in the annual report, which analyzed efforts in 173 countries to fight trafficking in humans for forced labor, prostitution, military service and other reasons.

Eritrea showed no progress in prosecuting or punishing traffickers, while Swaziland showed no effort to do the same.

Eritrea 'like a giant prison', claims human rights group

www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/16/eritrea-africa-human-rights-refugees

www.eriplanet.com/news/4729-Eritrea-like-giant-prison-claims-human-rights-group.html

Government's policies on torture, conscription and mass detention creating refugee crisis, Human Rights Watch says. Eritrea is becoming a "giant prison" due to its government's policies of mass detention, torture and prolonged military conscription, according to a report published today . Human Rights Watch (HRW) said state repression had made the tiny Red Sea state one of the highest producers of refugees in the world, with those fleeing risking death or collective punishment against their families.

There is no freedom of speech, worship or movement in Eritrea, while many adults are forced into national service at token wages until up to 55 years of age.

Rights & Wrongs: Barack Obama, Eritrea, Child Soldiers and More

www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=3681

ERITREAN AUTHORITIES ACCUSED OF MASS ABUSES: Eritrean authorities have turned the small country in northeast Africa into a prison for the country's 4 million residents, Human Rights Watch charged in a 95-page report (.pdf) released April 16. According to the report, the Eritrean government has orchestrated a multiyear campaign characterized by serious human rights violations that include arbitrary arrests, torture, dismal detention conditions and prolonged military conscription. The government has placed rigid restrictions on a host of other social, political and religious rights, and dissent is not tolerated. "Eritrea has become one of the most closed and repressive states in the world. Thousands of political prisoners are detained in prisons and underground cells; there is no independent civil society; all independent media outlets have been shut down," the report says.

ERITREA [PDF]

www.child-soldiers.org/document/get?id=772

Child recruitment and deployment - In 2001 over 2,000 students were detained when they demanded reform of a mandatory summer work program. Two students had reportedly died from the harsh conditions on the program. In August 2003 over 200 students on the program were allegedly beaten for possessing bibles, and 57 of them detained in scorching conditions inside metal shipping containers without adequate food or medical care. Six students were reportedly still held in solitary confinement in underground cells in November 2003.

Two former child soldiers who fled Eritrea in 2002 said that they had been conscripted at the age of 15, that about 30 per cent of recruits at the Sawa camp were under 18, and that those fleeing military service faced torture, arbitrary detention and forced labour. Asylum-seekers forcibly returned from Malta in October 2002 were alleged to have been tortured and detained in secret on their arrival in Eritrea. At least one was reportedly shot dead.

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Human Trafficking in [Eritrea] [other countries]
Street Children in [Eritrea] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Eritrea] [other countries]