A/HRC/44/23 various forms of abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence, and are at times denied necessary medical attention. She expresses her concern about the absence of an independent body to monitor the conditions of detention of women detainees, as well as the lack of free legal aid for women. She reiterates her prior recommendations on improving access to justice for women (A/HRC/41/53, para. 47). 63. The open-ended national/military service programme remains an important impediment to gender equality and has a severe impact on the ability of women and girls to participate in and determine their own life plan. 28 It is a root cause for the low school enrolment of girls, girls dropping out of school, early/child marriage, family separation and the migration out of the country of school-aged girls. In the national/military service, women and girls are exposed to sexual and gender-based violence by military officers and other conscripts, who often perpetrate these acts with impunity. The Special Rapporteur reiterates her recommendations regarding reforming the national/military service (see benchmark 2 above). 64. The Special Rapporteur remains concerned by the high number of Eritrean women and girls who are exposed to trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation, in particular by Eritrean-led networks operating in the country and abroad. While the Government has strengthened its efforts to combat human trafficking through police training and regional cooperation, such efforts have yet to translate into an increase in domestic prosecutions. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to enact adequate legislation and a comprehensive policy to curb trafficking in persons, in particular of women and girls, promote domestic accountability and protect the rights of victims. 65. Finally, to achieve gender equality and guarantee the rights of women, the authorities must promote an enabling and stable political environment for women’s participation in all aspects of Eritrean society. Women are not permitted to independently organize to advocate their interests. The National Union of Eritrean Women is the only sanctioned women’s organization, and only women aligned with the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice are appointed to government positions. In addition, there is no publicly available national data on the full scope of women’s access to land, their participation in the private sector and their access to financial credit and loans to enable these rights to be monitored and enforced adequately. Economic empowerment of women and increased political representation of women will, in the long term, contribute to strengthening the protection of their rights. E. Benchmark 5: strengthened cooperation with international and regional agencies 66. Eritrea remains a challenging operating environment for international humanitarian organizations, United Nations entities and international donors. Visas restrictions for international staff, in-country movement restrictions and lack of ready access to local communities and project beneficiaries continue to hamper the ability of international agencies to adequately monitor projects and implement their mandates (A/HRC/41/53, para. 62). During the reporting period, several agencies have had to scale down their activities and staff due to the restrictions imposed by the authorities. 67. Eritrea has begun working with certain United Nations entities and international donors to implement specific aspects of its development agenda, including capacitybuilding and training in various fields, rule of law reform, and infrastructure development. However, the State’s engagement with other agencies, such as OHCHR, has stalled (see para. 16 above). Additionally, Eritrea has yet to issue a standing invitation for country visits to the special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council and to the members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and its specialized bodies. 68. The Special Rapporteur notes that various international organizations and international donors stand ready to enhance their technical cooperation with the Government of Eritrea on a broad range of issues, including sustainable development, economic reform, and job creation. However, for such cooperation to take place in an 28 See CEDAW/C/ERI/CO/6, para. 10. 13