Human trafficking in Eritrea

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In 2017, the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons designated Eritrea as "Tier 3" in accordance with the Trafficking in Persons Report tier system. [1] Tier 3 countries are described as those whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards set by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and are not making significant efforts to do so. [2] In 2010 the U.S. Department of State reported:

Contents

Eritrea is a source country for trafficking, with men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and, to a lesser extent, forced prostitution. The country's national service program requires men aged 18–54 and women aged 18–47 to serve for 18 months in military and non-military public works and services. Many are forced to work indefinitely, with some serving over 10 years under threats of punishment. Reports indicate conscripts are used for private construction, state-owned farms, and projects benefiting military officers and the ruling party, with no pay increases, promotions, or freedom to leave. Thousands of Eritreans illegally flee to Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya annually, where their status makes them vulnerable to trafficking. Children in Eritrea also face exploitation in domestic work, agriculture, and prostitution. Despite these issues, the Eritrean government fails to meet minimum anti-trafficking standards, providing no data or indication on its efforts to combat human trafficking. [3]

In late 2013, the BBC reported the results of a study by activist Meron Estefanos and Dutch educators from Tilburg University. Among its conclusions were that up to 30,000 Eritreans have been abducted since 2007—mostly refugees fleeing the country—and taken to Sinai, in Egypt. At least $600m (£366m) in ransom payments has been extorted. [4] Nesru Jamal of ERTA said that the report, entitled The Human Trafficking Cycle: Sinai and Beyond, was presented to EU home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström in the European Parliament on Dec. 4, 2013. Jamal says the report accuses Eritrea's Border Surveillance Unit (commanded by General Tekle Kiflay) of being central to the trafficking. [5]

For years many abductions, blamed on Rashayida Bedouin, happened along the Sudan border. Physicians from the group Human Rights-Israel estimates that, between 2008 and 2012, as many as 4,000 refugees died. [6]

Background

The human rights record of Eritrea is considered poor. [7] [8] Since Eritrea's conflict with Ethiopia in 1998–2001, Eritrea's human rights record has worsened. [9] Several human rights violations are committed by the government or on behalf of the government. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association are limited. Those that practice "unregistered" religions, try to flee the nation, or escape military duty are arrested and put into prison. [9] Domestic and international human rights organizations are not allowed to function in Eritrea. [7] In 2009 Human Rights Watch said that the government was turning the country into a 'giant prison'. [10]

All denominations of Christianity enjoyed freedom of worship until 2002, when the government outlawed worship and assembly outside the 'registered' denominations. All groups who worship secretly in a house or any other unregistered place of assembly are arrested and imprisoned without charge or trial. Religious prisoners are often tortured in Eritrea. [11] Freedom of worship is one of the top reasons thousands of Eritreans flee the country. There are thousands of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia and Sudan seeking asylum in Europe or another region of the West. [8] Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have been repeatedly postponed. [12]

Prosecution

U.S. Department of State, 2010:

Article 605 of the Eritrean Transitional Criminal Code prohibits trafficking in women and young persons for sexual exploitation, which is punishable by up to five years imprisonment, or from three to 10 years imprisonment if aggravating circumstances are present; these penalties are not commensurate with punishments prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. Article 565 prohibits enslavement and prescribes punishment of five to 20 years' imprisonment, penalties which are sufficiently stringent. Forced labor and slavery are prohibited, except where authorized by law under Article 16 of the ratified, but suspended, Eritrean Constitution. Proclamation 11/199 prohibits the recruitment of children under 18 years of age into the armed forces. Nevertheless, the government has never used these statutes to prosecute cases of human trafficking. [3]

Protection

U.S. Department of State, 2010:

The government did not appear to provide any significant assistance to victims of trafficking during the reporting period. During the reporting period, the government reportedly operated a program to identify children involved in commercial sexual exploitation and reintegrate them with their families. The government did not make available information on the program's accomplishments in 2009. The Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare oversees the government's trafficking portfolio, but individual cases of transnational human trafficking are reportedly handled by the Eritrean embassy in the country of destination; information regarding embassy efforts to assist trafficking victims was not provided. The government has no known facilities dedicated to trafficking victims and does not provide funding or other forms of support to NGOs for services to trafficking victims. [3]

Prevention

U.S. Department of State, 2010:

The government made no known efforts to prevent future incidents[ spelling? ] of trafficking during the reporting period. Eritrean media, all state-owned, made neither public announcements, nor media presentations regarding human trafficking during the reporting period. There were no anti-trafficking education campaigns. The government reportedly warned students at Sawa military school and Mai Nefi, a local college, of the dangers of leaving the country, including the prospects of being sold into slave labor or sexual servitude. Although the government does not publicly acknowledge human trafficking as a problem, an office exists within the Ministry of Labor to handle labor cases, including human trafficking; the accomplishments of this office during 2009 are unknown. [3]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Eritrea</span>

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Djibouti is a transit and, to a lesser extent, a source and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in people, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution. There is little verifiable data on the human trafficking situation in Djibouti. An estimated 150 000 voluntary economic migrants from Ethiopia and Somalia passed illegally through Djibouti en route to Yemen and other locations in the Middle East in 2022; among this group, a small number of women and girls may fall victim to involuntary domestic servitude or forced commercial sexual exploitation after reaching Djibouti City or the Ethiopia-Djibouti trucking corridor. An unknown number of migrants – men, women, and children – are subjected to conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution after reaching Yemen and other destinations in the Middle East. Djibouti's large refugee population – consisting of Somalis, Ethiopians, and Eritreans – as well as foreign street children remain vulnerable to various forms of exploitation within the country, including human trafficking. Older street children reportedly act, at times, as pimps for younger children. A small number of girls from impoverished Djiboutian families may engage in prostitution with the encouragement of family members or other people in prostitution. Members of foreign militaries stationed in Djibouti contribute to the demand for women and girls in prostitution, including trafficking victims.

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Prostitution in South Sudan is legal but related activities such as soliciting or brothel-keeping are illegal.

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<i>Sound of Torture</i> 2013 documentary film

Sound of Torture is a 2013 documentary film written and directed by Israeli filmmaker Keren Shayo which follows Eritrean radio host and human rights activist Meron Estefanos as she reports on Eritrean refugees who have been captured in Sudan while migrating across the Sinai Peninsula into Israel.

References

  1. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  2. ↑ "What is the TIP Report?". IJM USA. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Eritrea". Trafficking in Persons Report 2010. U.S. Department of State (June 14, 2010). PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. ↑ "Thousands of Eritreans 'abducted to Sinai for ransom'". BBC News. Dec 4, 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  5. ↑ Nesru Jemal (Dec 4, 2013). "Eritrea: Report - Eritrea's Military Involved in Trafficking Country's Children". Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency / AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  6. ↑ Connell, Dan (9 Oct 2013). "The Rerouted Trafficking in Eritrean Refugees". Asmarino Independent. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  7. 1 2 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011". US State Department.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. 1 2 Eritrea Human Rights Overview Archived 2008-11-14 at the Wayback Machine Human Rights Watch
  9. 1 2 Associated Press (25 October 2013). "Eritrea's human rights record comes under fire at United Nations". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Eritrea profile: A chronology of key events". BBC. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  11. ↑ CSW-USA on Eritrea Archived 2015-10-09 at the Wayback Machine CSW
  12. ↑ Eritrea. Grassroots International
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