Eritrea remains one of the world’s most repressive states, where widespread human rights violations continue with impunity. Arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detentions of journalists, dissenters, and religious minorities are common. Torture, enforced disappearances, forced conscription into an abusive national service, and severe restrictions on freedoms have created a climate of fear and a total closure of civic space. Despite repeated documentation of these abuses, recent UN Human Rights Council resolutions on Eritrea have been largely procedural, focusing mainly on extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur without strongly condemning ongoing violations.
Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s 59th session (16 June–11 July 2025), CIVICUS, together with other non-governmental organisations, jointly wrote a letter urging states to support a strong resolution that not only extends the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea but also clearly condemns the grave human rights abuses committed by Eritrean authorities. This resolution should break from past procedural approaches and send a decisive message demanding accountability and respect for human rights in Eritrea.
