They Are Making Us Into Slaves, Not Educating Us” How Indefinite Conscription Restricts Young People’S Rights, Access to Education in Eritrea
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HUMAN “They Are Making Us into Slaves, RIGHTS Not Educating Us” WATCH How Indefinite Conscription Restricts Young People’s Rights, Access to Education in Eritrea “They Are Making Us into Slaves, Not Educating Us” How Indefinite Conscription Restricts Young People’s Rights, Access to Education in Eritrea Copyright © 2019 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-6231-37526 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org AUGUST 2019 ISBN: 978-1-6231-37526 “They Are Making Us into Slaves, Not Educating Us” How Indefinite Conscription Restricts Young People’s Rights, Access to Education in Eritrea Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1 “Sawa” as a Recruitment Channel .............................................................................................. 2 Conscription of Teachers ............................................................................................................. 3 Necessary Steps .........................................................................................................................4 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 6 Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 9 To the Government of Eritrea ...................................................................................................... 9 On National Service, Forced Labor .......................................................................................... 9 On Grade 12 at the “Sawa” Military Camp .............................................................................. 10 On Forced Conscription of Teachers ....................................................................................... 10 To Eritrea’s Partners, including the African Development Bank, EU, UN, and Finnish Government 11 To Countries Hosting Eritrean Refugees and Asylum Seekers, including Neighboring Countries and European Union Countries ......................................................................................................... 12 Background ................................................................................................................... 13 Forced, Indefinite National Service ............................................................................................ 17 Education in Eritrea ................................................................................................................... 23 Education System ................................................................................................................. 23 Government Response to Protests over Education Policies .................................................... 26 Education in Numbers .......................................................................................................... 28 Militarization of Education in Eritrea ...................................................................................... 30 National Service Teachers ..................................................................................................... 32 I. Abuses Against Secondary Students ........................................................................... 33 Abuses During Grade 12 at Sawa ............................................................................................... 33 Underage Recruitment and Forced Conscription ..................................................................... 34 Harsh and Militarized Environment ........................................................................................ 35 Treatment and Harsh Punishments ........................................................................................ 37 Forced Labor ......................................................................................................................... 39 Sexual Harassment, Exploitation, Forced Domestic Labor of Female Students ........................ 41 Other Factors Contributing to an Unconducive Learning Environment ..................................... 43 Reprisals Against Students Perceived as Evading Sawa, National Service, Fleeing ..................... 46 Impact of “Sawa” on Access to Secondary Education ................................................................. 50 Early School Dropout ............................................................................................................. 50 Low Morale ........................................................................................................................... 51 Impact on Girls and Women ................................................................................................... 52 II. Forced Labor of Teachers ............................................................................................ 54 Involuntary Conscription ........................................................................................................... 54 Indefinite, Open-Ended Conscription ..................................................................................... 56 Poor Remuneration, Working Conditions ................................................................................ 57 Other Restrictions on National Service Teachers’ Lives ........................................................... 58 Reprisals Against Teachers Perceived as Evading National Service, Fleeing ........................... 60 Impact on Access to Education ................................................................................................. 62 Absenteeism and Teacher Dropouts ..................................................................................... 62 Low Teacher Morale, Poor Quality of Teaching ...................................................................... 64 III. Exodus of Teachers and Students, Abuses in Exile ..................................................... 66 IV. Government and International Actors ........................................................................ 72 Government Response to Education Challenges ........................................................................ 72 Teacher Training Facilities ..................................................................................................... 73 International Support for Education ........................................................................................... 75 V. Applicable Legal Standards ........................................................................................ 79 Eritrean Law .............................................................................................................................. 79 International Standards ............................................................................................................ 79 Conscription of Children ........................................................................................................ 79 Protection from Violence, including Sexual Violence, Corporal Punishment, and Cruel and Degrading Forms of Punishment ........................................................................................... 80 Forced Labor ......................................................................................................................... 81 Child Labor .......................................................................................................................... 82 Right to Secondary Education ............................................................................................... 82 Quality of Education .............................................................................................................. 83 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... 84 Summary As a student, it’s difficult to live here [in Eritrea]. You don’t see a future.... A lot of people think of fleeing the country, but then you see people being arrested and you think about waiting for a better moment. —Former student, now aged 23, who eventually fled Eritrea after completing high school in late 2015 Since the border war with Ethiopia in the late 1990s, Eritrea’s President Isaias Afewerki and the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) have used indefinite national service to control the Eritrean population. Human Rights Watch research finds that many Eritreans have spent their entire working lives at the service of the government in either a military or civilian capacity. This indefinite national service has had a visible and lasting impact on the rights, freedom, and lives of Eritreans. Beginning in