Conscription in Eritrea requires every able bodied man and woman to serve, ostensibly, for 18 months. In this time, they receive six months ofmilitary training and the rest of their time is spent working on national reconstruction projects. This program allegedly aims to compensate forEritrea's lack of capital and to reduce dependence onforeign aid.[1] This is outlined in both theConstitution of Eritrea, as well as Proclamation 82 issued by theNational Assembly in October 1995.[2] However, the period of enrollment may be extended during times of national crisis, and in practice, the typical period of national service is considerably longer than the minimum. Since the 1990s,conscription has been effectively open-ended; this draft policy has been likened to "slavery" and has earned international condemnation.[3][4][5]
According to aUS State Department information sheet from October 2007, Eritrean national service consists of "approximately six months of military training, followed by a number of years in military or other government service."[6] Besides national defense, conscripts also spend peacetime working on public construction projects. They get paid no more than $30 a month. There is no term limit for national service, having been made open-ended in 1998. Although the average term lasts about six years, there are cases of soldiers who reported being forced to serve for more than a decade. The large number of troops has also had some effect on theEritrean economy.[7]
Reportedly, many conscripts live in terrible conditions, and are essentially used for slave labor, subjected to severe physical punishments for trying to escape, and are at the mercy of their commanders.[7] There is no right toconscientious objection to military service, and those who refuse the draft are imprisoned. SomeJehovah's Witness conscientious objectors have been in jail since 1994. Those requesting to leave have also been met withdetainment, and sometimestorture.[8] There were many cases of female conscripts beingsexually abused. As a result, they suffer from morale problems, and some Eritreans even leave the country to dodge the draft. By 2017, the numbers of Eritreans fleeing the draft to other countries is reported to have reached the thousands.[9][10]
Many Eritrean draft dodgers fled toEurope andIsrael since the beginning of theEuropean migrant crisis of 2015.[10][11] The same year, aUN report documented extensivehuman rights abuses within theEritrean Army, and stated:
Indeed, the indefinite duration of national service, its terrible conditions — including arbitrary detention, torture, sexual torture, forced labour, absence of leave and the ludicrous pay — and the implications it has for the possibility of any individual to found a family, conduct a family life and have favourable conditions of work make national service an institution where slavery-like practices are routine.[10]
TheEritrean government underIsaias Afwerki claimed that the duration of national service was necessary due to thecontinued hostilities with, and illegal occupation of Eritrean territory by,Ethiopia.[12][13] However, when the border conflict with Ethiopia wasresolved in 2018, this policy did not change,[14][15] and Eritrea did not respond to questions fromHuman Rights Watch when asked why this was the case.[4]
Beginning in mid-2022, and escalating aftermobilization in September that same year, Eritrea engaged in a massconscription campaign for theTigray War. Human Rights Watch reported that families of those who wished toavoid the draft became targets of collective punishment, with government authorities subjecting them to arbitrary detention andforced evictions from their homes.[16]
'All those who condone violation of international law and tolerate occupation have no rights whatsoever to accuse Eritrea of prolonged service,' [Eritrean Information Minister Yemane G. Meskel] said on Twitter, in reference to Ethiopia's presence inBadme...
...despite claims by officials that conscription would be limited to 18 months, national service continues to be indefinite, often lasting for decades.
With their hopes dashed that peace with Ethiopia would bring an end to national service, young Eritreans must either accept a life of forced labour or flee
