A/HRC/26/45 A. Violations of Eritrea’s human rights obligations under international law 1. Length of service 35. As noted above, according to the National Service Proclamation, national service was initially supposed to last 18 months. However, following the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia (1998-2000), in 2002, the Government introduced the Warsai Yikaalo Development Campaign (WYDC), which extended the duration of conscription indefinitely. According to reports submitted by the Government of Eritrea to the International Labour Organization Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (ILO Committee of Experts), the population has been engaged in considerable programmes, within the framework of the WYDC, mainly in reforestation, soil and water conservation, as well as reconstruction activities, as part and parcel of food security programmes.6 Both national service and the WYDC were originally viewed as means of “social change, economic development, socialization, national building and for transmitting the social and political values developed during 30 years of war”.7 36. Since then, the Government has transformed the national service into an indefinite conscription, through which conscripts spend most of their working lives in the service of the State. A World Bank-funded demobilization project ended in 2005, with the demobilization of 60,000 soldiers. However, in the so-called “no war–no peace” context, the demobilization of the 200,000 soldiers envisaged by the project did not happen.8 No further thorough demobilization programme has been undertaken to date. 37. The indefinite nature of the national service goes beyond the normal length as stipulated in the Proclamation and thus deprives conscripts of their liberty, in violation of article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In its jurisprudence, the Human Rights Committee stated that during a period of military service, restrictions exceeding the exigencies of normal military service or deviating from the normal conditions of life within the armed forces amount to deprivation of liberty.9 2. Forced recruitment 38. The military police carries out routine conscription round-ups, known as “giffas”, in homes, workplaces, the street or other public places, with the aim of rounding up persons considered fit to serve, draft evaders and those who escaped from national service; including minors. Opposing such a round-up can lead to on-the-spot execution, as deadly force is permitted against those resisting or attempting to flee, in violation of the fundamental right to life, liberty and security of the person, provided for in article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 39. The Human Rights Committee has considered the forced recruitment of minors into militias and State armed forces as a violation of article 8 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and requested the State party concerned to provide information on 6 7 8 9 8 ILO CEACR, Direct Request concerning the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), 2010, 2nd para. Gaim Kibreab, “Forced Labour in Eritrea”, Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 47, No. 1 (2009), pp. 41–72. World Bank, Eritrea - Demobilization and Reintegration Program Project (Washington, D.C., 2009). Available from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2009/09/11217828/eritrea-demobilizationreintegration-program-project. See Human Rights Committee, Communication No. 256/1987, Vuolanne v. Finland, Views adopted on 7 April 1989, para. 9.4.