UN report warns of "dire" situation in Eritrea

An UN-appointed commission of inquiry warned Wednesday that the dire human rights situation in Eritrea can no longer be ignored, as thousands of Eritreans continue to flee government repression in the isolated Horn of Africa nation.

Delivering a nearly 500-page report to the 29th session of the UN Human Rights Council here, the three-member Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea described a state that rules through fear and a vast security network that reaches into every level of society.

Citing a litany of systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations carried out with impunity by the government, the commission called on the Human Rights Council to maintain close scrutiny on violations committed in Eritrea that may constitute crimes against humanity.

Commission chairperson Mike Smith told the Human Rights Council that after more than two decades of independence, "instead of a country ruled by law and good governance, the Eritrea we see today is marked by repression and fear."

The report noted this overwhelming climate of repression has prompted hundreds of thousands of Eritreans, mostly young people, to risk their lives escaping the country. Many are heading for Europe, resorting to human smugglers and traffickers to cross the Mediterranean as well as via other irregular routes.

The UN refugee agency last week reported the number of Eritreans outside their country and under its concern at nearly 417,000 at the end of 2014. It said the total of those fleeing Eritrea had nearly doubled over the past six years.

"The number fleeing such a small country, estimated at 5,000 people each month, is forcing the outside world to take notice," Smith said, adding Eritrea's dire human rights situation can no longer be ignored.

The failure to implement Eritrea's 1997 constitution has had a profound effect on the country and its people, Smith said, and the commission called for its full and immediate implementation. With no sitting parliament and a court system controlled by the executive branch, there is no rule of law in Eritrea.

He said the government must start the process by acknowledging human rights violations and ensuring accountability for them, and urged more international pressure on Eritrea to bring about real change.

The commission was established by the Human Rights Council in June 2014 to investigate all alleged violations of human rights in Eritrea. Endit