The State of Eritrea Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review 18
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Eritrea National Service, Exit and Entry – Jan. 2020
COUNTRY REPORT January 2020 COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) Eritrea National service, exit and entry newtodenmark.dk © 2020 The Danish Immigration Service The Danish Immigration Service Ryesgade 53 2100 Copenhagen Denmark Phone: +45 35 36 66 00 newtodenmark.dk January 2020 All rights reserved to the Danish Immigration Service. The publication can be downloaded for free at newtodenmark.dk The Danish Immigration Service’s publications can be quoted with clear source reference. ERITREA – NATIONAL SERVICE, EXIT, ENTRY Contents Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................. 4 Executive summary .......................................................................................................................... 5 Map of Eritrea .................................................................................................................................. 6 1. Introduction and methodology ................................................................................................ 7 2. Background: recent developments in Eritrean politics ................................................................. 12 2.1 Brief overview of the general situation in Eritrea, including human rights .......................................... 15 3. National Service ........................................................................................................................ -
Eritrea 2019 Human Rights Report
ERITREA 2019 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Eritrea is a highly centralized, authoritarian regime under the control of President Isaias Afwerki. The People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), headed by the president, is the sole political party. There have been no national-level elections since an independence referendum in 1993. Police are responsible for maintaining internal security, and the armed forces are responsible for external security, but the government sometimes used the armed forces, reserves, demobilized soldiers, or civilian militia to meet domestic as well as external security requirements. Agents of the national security service, which reports to the Office of the President, are responsible for detaining persons suspected of threatening national security. The armed forces have authority to arrest and detain civilians. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over most security forces. Significant human rights issues included: forced disappearance, torture, and arbitrary detention, the preceding three actions all committed by the government; harsh and life-threatening prison and detention center conditions; political prisoners; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; the worst forms of restrictions on free expression and the press, including censorship and the existence of criminal libel laws; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; severe restrictions on religious freedom; widespread restrictions on freedom of movement; restrictions on political participation; trafficking in persons; criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual conduct; and forced labor, including forced participation in the country’s national service program, routinely for periods beyond the 18-month legal obligation. The government did not generally take steps to investigate, prosecute, or punish officials who committed human rights abuses. -
The Status of the Constitution of Eritrea and the Transitional Government
23 October 2018 The Status of the Constitution of Eritrea and the Transitional Government “Today, 23 May 1997, on this historic date, after active popular participation, approve and solemnly ratify, through the Constituent Assembly, this Constitution as the fundamental law of our Sovereign and Independent State of Eritrea”. – Preamble, The Eritrean Constitution Drafted by a Constitutional Commission established under the auspices of the Transitional Government of Eritrea in 1993 and ratified by a duly established Constituent Assembly in May 1997, the Constitution of Eritrea entered into force upon its ratification on 23 May 1997. The Constitution thus remains legally in effect as of that date. The regime’s failure to implement, that is, to respect, adhere to and apply the Constitution upon its ratification is a calculated and deliberate political decision to pursue its own agenda of self-preservation and plunder. The Constitution was consecrated ‘as the fundamental law of our Sovereign and Independent State of Eritrea’ on 23 May 1997. In the opinion of legal scholars and constitutional lawyers, the Constitution has been legally in force and its provisions have a lawfully binding effect ever since its ratification in May 1997, irrespective of the status of its formal implementation. This character of the Constitution is explicitly stated in its Preamble. Yet, there has been widespread misunderstanding concerning this fundamental legal status of the Eritrean Constitution. The prevailing confusion in the public debate regarding its ‘non-implementation’ has operated to the benefit of the regime. The general confusion in the public debate emanates from three factors: (1) the regime’s failure to respect, adhere to and abide by the Constitution; (2) the meaning of ‘non-implementation’ of the Constitution; and (3) the claims of non-inclusion, by certain groups, in the exercise of constitution making. -
Protection on the Move: Eritrean Refugee Flows Through the Greater Horn of Africa
PROTECTION ON THE MOVE: ERITREAN REFUGEE FLOWS THROUGH THE GREATER HORN OF AFRICA By Christopher Horwood with Kate Hooper TRANSATLANTIC COUNCIL ON MIGRATION PROTECTION ON THE MOVE Eritrean Refugee Flows through the Greater Horn of Africa Christopher Horwood with Kate Hooper September 2016 Acknowledgments This research was commissioned by the Transatlantic Council on Migration, an initiative of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), for its fifteenth plenary meeting, held in Berlin in January 2016. The meeting’s theme was “Development, Mobility, Protection: Building Opportunity into Refugee Solutions,” and this report was among those that informed the Council’s discussions. The Council is a unique deliberative body that examines vital policy issues and informs migration policymaking processes in North America and Europe. The Council’s work is generously supported by the following foundations and governments: Open Society Foundations, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Barrow Cadbury Trust, the Luso-American Development Foundation, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and the governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) also provided generous support to the Council for the January 2016 meeting and this series of reports. For more on the Transatlantic Council on Migration, please visit: www.migrationpolicy.org/ transatlantic. © 2016 Migration Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved. Cover Design: Danielle Tinker, MPI Typesetting: Liz Heimann, MPI No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Migration Policy Institute. A full-text PDF of this document is available for free download from www.migrationpolicy.org. -
European Parliament Resolution of 6 July 2017 on Eritrea, Notably the Cases of Abune Antonios and Dawit Isaak (2017/2755(RSP)) (2018/C 334/16)
C 334/140 EN Official Journal of the European Union 19.9.2018 Thursday 6 July 2017 P8_TA(2017)0309 Eritrea, notably the cases of Abune Antonios and Dawit Isaak European Parliament resolution of 6 July 2017 on Eritrea, notably the cases of Abune Antonios and Dawit Isaak (2017/2755(RSP)) (2018/C 334/16) The European Parliament, — having regard to its previous resolutions on Eritrea, in particular that of 15 September 2011 on Eritrea: the case of Dawit Isaak (1), and of 10 March 2016 on the situation in Eritrea (2), — having regard to the report of 23 June 2017 of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, — having regard to the statement of 14 June 2017 by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea at the 35th session of the Human Rights Council, — having regard to the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, released on 8 June 2016, — having regard to UN Security Council resolutions 751 (1992), 1882 (2009), 1907 (2009), 2023 (2011), 2244 (2015), and 2317 (2016) which extended the arms embargo on Eritrea until 15 November 2017, — having regard to the Joint Communication of the Commission and of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to the European Parliament and the Council for a renewed impetus of the Africa-EU Partnership, of 4 May 2017, — having regard to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (the Cotonou Agreement), as revised in 2005 and 2010, to which Eritrea is a signatory, — having regard to Council Decision 2010/127/CFSP -
Eritrea Joint Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review 32Nd Session of the UPR Working Group
Eritrea Joint Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review 32nd Session of the UPR Working Group Submitted 12 July 2018 Submission by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, NGO in General Consultative Status with ECOSOC And Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR) And Eritrea Focus CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation EMDHR CIVICUS UPR Lead, Ms Teldah Mawarire EMDHR Partner lead, Email: Email: [email protected] [email protected] Web: www.civicus.org Miss Helen Kidan, Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 7518462670 Eritrea Focus Web: http://www.emdhr.net/ Eritrea Focus Partner Lead, Email: [email protected] Mr Habte Hagos, Email: [email protected] 1. Introduction 1.1 CIVICUS is a global alliance of civil society organisations (CSOs) and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world. Founded in 1993, CIVICIUS has members in more than 170 countries throughout the world. 1.2 The Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR) is an independent and membership-based CSOs dedicated to promoting human rights, democratic values and principles in all spheres of Eritrean society. EMDHR was founded in 2003 and its programmes are aimed at Eritreans inside the country who lack all forms of liberties. EMDHR also assists CSOs, activists and refugee organisations who are outside Eritrea. 1.3 Eritrea Focus is an association of CSOs, human rights organisations, exile and refugee groups and individuals concerned with the gross abuses of human rights in Eritrea. It is an open and inclusive organisation that welcomes members from all sections of Eritrean communities, both at home and in the diaspora, as well non-Eritreans who are concerned with the dictatorship and the complete absence of rule of law in Eritrea. -
Nation Building, State Construction and Development in Africa : the Case Of
STUDY Nation Building, State Construction and Development in Africa The Case of Eritrea ANDEBRHAN WELDE GIORGIS April 2010 n About fifty years after the end of the colonial era, the prototype postcolonial African state remains weak and lacking in legitimacy, delivery and relevance. Conflicts, underdevelopment and climate change continue to undermine the people’s wellbeing and degrade the human condition in much of the continent. The prototype state is dysfunctional, insecure and fragile. n Independent Eritrea’s experience to date evinces a marked deficit in democratic governance. Significant lapses have disconnected policy and practice in nation building, state construction and development. Nineteen years post liberation, the state in Eritrea, like the prototype post- colonial African state, is in deep crisis. It has failed to provide for the needs, promote the well- being, cater to the aspirations and safeguard the security of the people. It is characterised by a crisis of legitimacy, delivery and relevance. A dismal record has dashed hopes that Eritrea would avoid the continent’s malaise and shine as the inspiring beacon of an African success story. n Lack of democratic governance has weakened nation building, undermined state construc- tion, and subverted socioeconomic development. Eritrea’s record to date indicates more a duplication of than an exception to the general African experience. This has been a cause of profound disappointment to the vision of building a democratic and progressive Eritrea that stands out as a bright star in the African constellation. n An internally driven, dynamic and developing process of democratic governance would un- derpin successful nation building, state reconstruction and development in Eritrea and Af- rica. -
Communications Sent, 1 June to 30 November 2013; Replies Received
United Nations A/HRC/28/85 General Assembly Distr.: General 19 February 2015 English/French/Spanish only Human Rights Council Twenty-eighth session Agenda items 3, 4, 7, 9 and 10 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Technical assistance and capacity-building Communications report of Special Procedures* Communications sent, 1 June to 30 November 2014; Replies received, 1 August 2014 to 31 January 2015 Joint report by the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; the Working Group on people of African descent; the Working Group on arbitrary detention; Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia; the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; the Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; the Special Rapporteur on the right to education; the Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment; the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances; Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea; the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; the Special Rapporteur on the right to food; the Independent expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of human rights, particularly * The present report is circulated as received. -
Downloaded from Brill.Com10/01/2021 05:53:02PM Via Free Access 238 Magnet
African Journal of Legal Studies 8 (2015) 237–272 brill.com/ajls Constitution Making in Eritrea: Why It Is Necessary to Go Back to the Future Joseph Eliot Magnet Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, 57 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5 [email protected] Abstract Eritrea went through a constitutional process from 1995 to 1997, which resulted in a text that provides for the rule of law, democratic institutions and human rights. The text was ratified by the National Assembly, but never implemented. The United Nations, the USA and the EU support the 1997 Constitution. They have called on Eritrea to “(i)mplement (it) fully and without further delay”. This recommendation is challenged here. Eritrea is multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual. The 1997 Constitution creates a highly centralized Stalinist structure that experience teaches does not work in deeply diverse democracies. Eritrea requires a power sharing constitution, fabricated in a proper nego- tiated process. Implementing the 1997 Constitution would likely bring Eritrea’s two large nationalities into conflict with its eight smaller nationalities with high risk for vio- lent civil strife that could spill over into neighbouring countries. This is concerning for geopolitics and would be devastating for human rights. Keywords African constitutional law – comparative constitutional law – constitution making – constitutional law – constitutional design – Eritrea – Eritrea constitution … © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2�16 | doi 10.1163/17087384-12342064Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:53:02PM via free access 238 Magnet Between the strong and the weak, between the rich and the poor, between master and servant, it is freedom that oppresses and the law that sets free. -
Eritrea Report
ERITREA REPORT APRIL 2005 Country Information and Policy Unit IMMIGRATION & NATIONALITY DIRECTORATE HOME OFFICE, UNITED KINGDOM Eritrea April 2005 CONTENTS 1 Scope of Document 1.1 2 Geography 2.1 3 Economy 3.1 3.2 Petrol Rationing 3.5 Drought & Famine 4 History Foundations of Eritrea 4.1 Resistance to Ethiopian Rule 1952-1991 4.2 Independence 1993 & Transitional Government 4.4 The PFDJ and Constitutional Developments 4.7 Border Conflict with Ethiopia 1998-2000 4.13 Unresolved Border Demarcation 4.18 5 State Structures The Constitution 5.1 - Citizenship and Nationality 5.3 - Three Witnesses 5.12 - The 1993 Referendum 5.18 - Mixed Marriage & Mixed Birth 5.21 The Political System 5.26 The Judiciary 5.32 - Special Courts 5.39 Legal Rights/Detention 5.42 - Death Penalty 5.46 Internal Security 5.47 Prisons and Prison Conditions 5.49 The Military 5.55 - Draft Evaders 5.56 - Military Service 5.59 - Demobilisation 5.64 - Prisoners of War 5.66 Medical Services - General 5.67 - Specialist Facilities 5.75 - HIV/AIDS 5.78 - The Disabled 5.80 Educational System 5.83 Eritrea April 2005 6 Human Rights 6.A Human Rights – issues General 6.1 Freedom of Speech and of the Media - The Media 6.9 - Non Media Criticism 6.15 6.16 Freedom of Religion Religious Groups - 6.20 - Non-Sanctioned Religious Groups 6.27 - Jehovah’s Witnesses 6.30 - Muslims 6.40 Freedom of Assembly and Association 6.44 - Political Activists - Political Opposition 6.48 - Democratic Elections 6.53 - The G15 Group 6.56 - Supporters of the Ethiopian Derg Regime 6.64 - Supporters of the ELF -
Service for Life
Service for Life State Repression and Indefinite Conscription in Eritrea Copyright © 2009 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-472-9 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org April 2009 1-56432-472-9 Service for Life State Repression and Indefinite Conscription in Eritrea Map of Eritrea ..................................................................................................................... 1 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 2 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 6 Recommendations ............................................................................................................. -
Mental Disability and the Executive: a Comparative Analysis of the Separation of Powers
LCB_23_2_Article_6_Nelson (Do Not Delete) 6/13/2019 9:53 PM NOTES & COMMENTS MENTAL DISABILITY AND THE EXECUTIVE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE SEPARATION OF POWERS by Zachary Nelson The doctrine of Separation of Powers is integral to the United States’ consti- tutional system. To prevent tyranny, governmental power must be separated to ensure that no government institution nor official gains too much power. The U.S. Constitution was drafted with this central concern in mind. To achieve successful separation of powers, constitutions must make clear—or at least discernible—the boundaries and scope of each power. One of the most significant areas in which this clarity is required is in the election, mainte- nance, and removal of the country’s executive leadership. For over 175 years, the U.S. Constitution lacked a procedure for removing its president from office for reasons of ill health. This was not due to a surplus of healthy presidents. In fact, the history of U.S. presidents is one of frequent illness, sudden traumas, and eleventh-hour miracles. Numerous presidents narrowly avoided death, while countless others kept hidden their struggles with physical frailty and decline. Beyond physical ailments, presidents endure stress * J.D., summa cum laude, Lewis & Clark Law School, 2019; M.A., Colorado State University, 2016; B.A., University of South Dakota, 2013. Thank you to Professor Ozan Varol for the valuable comments, feedback, and guidance during the drafting process, to the staff of the Lewis & Clark Law Review for their diligent work preparing this for publication, and to my family for their constant encouragement.