Although Eritrea long hosted a small population of Somali refugees (roughly 2,000 as of early 2019), in mid-2019 the government closed its only refugee camp, Umkulu, spurring most of the refugees to flee across the border into neighbouring Ethiopia. By the end of 2019, UNHCR reported that there were only 650 refugees remaining in the […]
Last updated: August 2016
Eritrea Immigration Detention Profile
As Eritrea is not a transit or destination country, the detention of migrants does not appear to be a significant issue.[1] Nevertheless, according to the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, it is difficult to know the true extent of immigration-related detention in Eritrea because the authoritarian government denies access to relevant information and prohibits monitoring by independent groups and the International Committee for the Red Cross.
In 2013, the U.S. Department of State reported that there were no foreigners detained in Eritrea that year. However, when the Eritrean government was questioned about missing people from other countries, authorities prevented foreign officials from accessing relevant information.
A related aspect of Eritrea’s detention practices is its detention and punishment of Eritrean nationals who attempt to leave the country without authorisation. Punishment varies depending on the intended destination of the fleeing person. For example, trying to enter Sudan is punishable by three years imprisonment, while attempting to enter Ethiopia is punishable by death. In addition, it has been reported that Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers who are returned to Eritrea are often detained and tortured. It is also not uncommon for those caught fleeing Eritrea to be held in secret locations without outside contact.
[1] This summary relies primarily on information gathered from reports from the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, in particular its February 2015 report Behind Bars: The Detention of Migrants in and from the East & Horn of Africa, available at http://www.regionalmms.org/fileadmin/content/rmms_publications/Behind_Bars_the_detention_of_migrants_in_and_from_the_East___Horn_of_Africa_2.pdf; and the U.S. State Department’s 2013 human rights report on Eritrea, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/220321.pdf.
DETENTION STATISTICS
DETAINEE DATA
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
POPULATION DATA
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2014
2018
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2014
2014
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2014
2014
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 10/19
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on the Rights of the Child
§ 30. "The Committee urges the State party to cease, with immediate effect, the excessive use of force against children, including at borders, and to take all possible measures to encourage children to continue residing in the country... 50. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Establish a system to collect and analyse data on children without parental care in order to understand the causes of their separation from their parents and their needs, and to guide the development of policies and programmes;
(b) Allocate sufficient resources to support children without parental care, in particular the family reunification programme, and to support children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS;
(c) Continue to prioritize and promote the provision of family-type and community-based forms of alternative care for children deprived of parental care for any reason, including children with disabilities, in order to reduce the dependence on institutional care;
(d) Provide access to effective and child-friendly complaints mechanisms for children in alternative care;
(e) Ensure adequate monitoring of alternative care facilities on the basis of established regulations;
(f) Consider ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption."
2015
2015
2015
> UN Special Procedures
Relevant Recommendations or Observations by UN Special Procedures
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
None
(g) Provide protection and assistance to Eritrean nationals fleeing the country
due to a risk of persecution or of being subjected to human rights violations, in
accordance with the provisions of international law governing asylum, and respect the
principle of non-refoulement;
(h) Support Eritrean human rights defenders and civil society organizations
in their efforts to promote human rights in Eritrea and to support Eritrean refugees
and asylum-seekers in host countries, as well as Eritrean victims of human rights
violations in their search for justice;
(i) Urge the Ethiopian and Eritrean authorities, as well as the Tigray People’s
Liberation Front, to take all steps necessary to ensure the consolidation of the
November 2022 peace agreement, and to address impunity for the commission of grave
human rights and humanitarian law violations. In particular, ensure that Eritrean
refugees and asylum-seekers victims of human rights violations have access to justice
and reparations for the crimes committed against them.
2023
2023
2024
> UN Universal Periodic Review
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
Although Eritrea long hosted a small population of Somali refugees (roughly 2,000 as of early 2019), in mid-2019 the government closed its only refugee camp, Umkulu, spurring most of the refugees to flee across the border into neighbouring Ethiopia. By the end of 2019, UNHCR reported that there were only 650 refugees remaining in the country. The move to shut the camp came after many years of growing concerns about the treatment of foreigners in the country, including past concerns about possible clandestine detention of migrants. However, there appears to be no public information available about the current status of refugees and migrants in the country, nor about any efforts to safeguard them during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On 3 April, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Eritrea called on the government to “immediately and unconditionally release those detained without legal basis, including all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and to adopt urgent measures to reduce the number of people in detention to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” In addition, Human Rights Concern Eritrea, a local NGO, urged the government to release the 10,000 prisoners of conscience that are detained throughout the country’s 350 facilities. The organisation stated that in Eritrean prisons, there may be 100-400 people in a single cell. Containers are also reportedly used to hold some 30 detainees at the same time.
Prison visits were suspended on 2 April. However, according to Amnesty International, sanitary measures were not implemented. Conditions in prisons have been described as inhumane due to the “overcrowding and the general lack of adequate sanitation, healthcare and food.” In Adi Abeyito prison, which is meant to accommodate 800 people, there have been reports of the populations exceeding 2,500. Amnesty International also noted that there are many unofficial detention centres across the country about which there is little or no information available.
Government Agencies
Ministry of Information: http://www.shabait.com
International Organisations
IOM (Regional Office for East and Horn of Africa): http://ronairobi.iom.int/eritrea
UNHCR Eritrea Country Website: http://www.unhcr.org/afr/eritrea
Media
Eritrea Daily: http://www.eritreadaily.net
NGOs and Research Institutions
Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/africa/eritrea
Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/eritrea/
