Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has joined 30 human rights organisations in calling for the UN Human Rights Council to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for human rights in Eritrea.
The mandate was extended last year and, according to a letter signed by CSW, there has been no fundamental change in the country since then.
It is believed that more than 10,000 people are being held in arbitrary detention. Eleven have been held incommunicado for nearly a quarter of a century after calling for democratic reforms.
Claire Denman, UN Officer for CSW, said, “That the government of Eritrea continues to go to great lengths to prevent scrutiny of its human rights record is evidence of the positive impact of the work of the mandate of the special rapporteur.
“Without a continued spotlight on the country, the regime would be further emboldened to commit gross violations, including crimes against humanity, with impunity, and the victims of these violations would be abandoned and unheard.”
In 2016 a UN Commission of Inquiry into human rights in the country found “reasonable grounds to believe” that crimes against humanity had been committed since 1991. The report said that Eritrean officials had been, and continued to be, involved in “enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, other inhumane acts, persecution, rape, and murder”.
The letter calling for the UN to extend the mandate notes that since 2020 there has been no progress in reaching certain standards around the rule of law, civil liberties, women’s rights and other key areas.
This, the letter argues, is a result of deliberate policy rather than mere unfortunate circumstances: “In a context in which Eritrea refuses to meaningfully cooperate with the Council and its mechanisms, and considering that the cause of serious violations in the country is political in nature, rather than merely due to a lack of capacity or resources, the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building would at this time be neither efficient nor adequate to address the country’s challenges.”
Ms Denman added, “We urge Member States not to be misled by the Eritrean government’s efforts to paint a false picture of progress, and to instead support a strong resolution that extends the mandate of the special rapporteur, assisting the mandate holder whenever requested.”
