A/HRC/29/42 punishment and ill-treatment aimed at inflicting severe pain. In many cases, this constitutes torture. 59. Sexual violence against women and girls is widespread and indeed notorious in military training camps. Furthermore, the enforced domestic service of women and girls who are also sexually abused in these camps amounts to sexual slavery. The commission considers that these violations of the rights of women and girls also amount to torture. They are also committed to a lesser extent within the military and are a further example of the Government’s failure to fulfil its due diligence obligations to protect, prevent, punish and remedy acts of violence against women. 60. Being exempted from national service is very difficult, particularly for men. No form of conscientious objection is allowed, and even persons with disabilities are conscripted for active military training and service instead of civil service. Authorities regularly conduct mass round-ups (giffas) to seize draft evaders and deserters in an indiscriminate manner. This often involves excessive use of force, occasionally leading to death, and the forced entrance into and search of private homes. Leaving national service is equally challenging, and often is only possible when the individual deserts and flees the country. 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. 61. The conscription of citizens into national service is a prerogative of sovereign States, which can require that individuals contribute to the national defence of the State for a certain period of time. This should not, however, result in the complete denial of the individual’s freedoms and rights. National service in Eritrea is based on conditions and measures that are not proportionate, reasonable or necessary in the interest of national defence. National service as implemented by the Eritrean authorities involves the systematic violation of an array of human rights on a scope and scale seldom witnessed elsewhere in the world. In particular, the commission finds that national service violates the rights of Eritreans to life; to liberty and security; not to be tortured or subject to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment; to be treated with humanity and inherent dignity of the human person while deprived of liberty; to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law; to enjoy freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression and movement; to privacy and family life; to education; to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; not to be subjected to forced labour; and to gain one’s life by work freely chosen or accepted. It also violates the right of children not be forcibly enrolled in armed forces. 62. Lastly, the commission considers that the lack of investigation, prosecution and punishment by the Government of those practices or violations that result of individual initiatives constitutes a breach of its obligation of due diligence under international human rights law. 2. Forced labour 63. Thousands of boys and girls are enrolled every year in open-ended national service. The commission finds that, during their service, most conscripts in the military and all conscripts in civil service are subject to forced labour. There is a pattern of torture, inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment of conscripts in the army in connection with the labour that conscripts are forced to perform. The working and living conditions of conscripts who are subject to forced labour are conducive or amount to additional human rights violations, such as to their right to work in just and favourable conditions, their right to adequate housing and their right to the highest attainable standard 13