A/HRC/26/45 45. In practice, draft evaders, as well as deserters who are caught or deported back to Eritrea face heavy punishment, including lengthy periods of detention, torture and other forms of inhumane treatment. After the period of detention, they are forced back into the army. Exact figures relating to national service evaders who have been executed or have died in prison from injuries during incarceration are not available. 5. Reprisal against family members 46. In cases where draft evaders and deserters remain untraceable, members of their families are often punished instead, in line with the “guilt by association” policy. Such reprisal can take the form of an obligation to pay 50,000 ERN (approximately USD 3,350), a sum that most Eritreans cannot afford, and/or a family member may be detained for an undefined period of time until the amount is paid. Other types of reprisal include suspension or non-renewal of business licences, which can lead to the closure of businesses, or taking possession of the property belonging to the family. 6. Conscientious objection 47. Under international law, the right to conscientious objection to military service13 is derived from article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Eritrea has been a party since 2002. States that practice conscription must either offer exemption for conscientious objectors or ensure the availability of an alternative nonpunitive civilian service. Eritrean law does not provide for conscientious objection and many Eritreans are forced into military service, despite their conscientious objections based on religion or belief. 48. Refusal to serve is severely punished by detention in harsh conditions. Members of certain non-recognized religious groups are subjected to persecution and discrimination as a means of coercion into military service. 49. In October 1994, a presidential directive effectively suspended the civil, political, social and economic rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses, following their refusal to vote in the 1993 independence referendum and their subsequent announcement that they would participate only in non-military aspects of national service. They could no longer access services available to other Eritrean citizens. Most significantly, Jehovah’s Witnesses were denied the official identity cards necessary for the registration of births, deaths and marriages, purchasing property, and obtaining passports, internal and external travel permits and commercial licences. Those who decline military service are detained indefinitely; and those caught meeting in private for prayers face detention and harassment even today, including children and the elderly. At least 56 Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently incarcerated in Eritrea, including three who have been incarcerated since 1994.14 13 14 10 See OHCHR, Conscientious objection to military service, (New York and Geneva, 2012) (HR/PUB/12/1). Available from http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/ ConscientiousObjection_en.pdf. See A/HRC/23/22, paras. 54 and 55.