A/HRC/41/53 arrest and detention. Additionally, as noted in paragraph 40 below, the Eritrean authorities penalize conscientious objectors with prison sentences and do not offer alternative civilian options to military service. 29. The national/military service has a particularly negative impact on the lives of women and girls. The Special Rapporteur has received testimonies of former female conscripts who were abused by their superior officers – including by being subjected to physical and verbal abuse and being forced to work as domestic servants – and who recounted that sexual harassment and sexual abuse of female conscripts were common, in particular at Sawa military training camp. The Special Rapporteur has also received reports that some parents have chosen to stop sending their daughters to school to avoid their mandatory conscription. Some teenage girls and young women have chosen to marry and have children to avoid conscription into the national/military service. 30. The national/military service remains one of the main drivers of migration from Eritrea.18 It is also an important factor leading young people to abandon school early and not complete their education. The inability to plan the future, the lack of prospects to pursue higher education, the low pay (which makes it impossible to support a family) and the fact that the national/military service is of open-ended duration continue to drive many Eritreans out of their country. 31. During the meeting with the Special Rapporteur held in March 2019, Eritrean officials indicated that reforms to the national/military service would begin when the Government had the resources to create job opportunities for conscripts and that demobilization would be progressive. 19 They also stated that the country’s economic situation did not allow for an increase in wages for conscripts. Recognizing those challenges, the Special Rapporteur urges the Government to seek technical assistance from international donors, including from international financial institutions, and other partners, and to put in place a multi-year plan to reform the national/military service. Such a plan should seek to: (a) Progressively demobilize conscripts, starting with those who have already completed their 18 months of service; (b) Strengthen institutional capacity to promote economic growth strategies; (c) Professionalize the military; (d) Create public service career options; (e) Support investment in job creation that directly benefits national/military service conscripts. The Special Rapporteur also urges the Government to seek technical assistance from specialized agencies, such as the International Labour Organization, to develop adequate labour guidelines and regulations for workers in all public and private sectors, embedded in the principles of decent work and fair working conditions. 32. The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government to separate secondary education from military training and put in place monitoring mechanisms to prevent and punish abuse and ill-treatment at national/military service training camps. She urges the Government to release conscientious objectors and offer alternative civilian services. 33. Finally, the Special Rapporteur stresses that until reforms to the national/military service are implemented, international organizations and business enterprises seeking to implement projects in Eritrea must carry out appropriate human rights due diligence and put in place measures to ensure that the basic rights of those employed in such projects are respected, the labour force participates on a voluntarily basis and workers receive adequate financial compensation. 18 19 8 Based on interviews conducted with representatives of international organizations, researchers, Eritrean refugees and Eritrean nationals. Meeting with the Eritrean delegation held in Geneva in March 2019.