A/HRC/44/23 36. First, the Eritrean authorities should stop forcibly rounding up young people for conscription. According to reports, the authorities round up young people to ensure that they report to the Sawa military camp for national/military service training. During the months of July and August 2019, the round-ups of young people reportedly intensified in and around Asmara and in the western highlands, south of Keren. Similar round-ups were reported in and around Asmara in January and February 2020. This method of forcibly recruiting young people is contributing to their migration out of the country. 37. Second, the Eritrean authorities should separate high-school education from military conscription and stop using the education system to recruit new conscripts. Under article 11 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, every child has the right to receive education that promotes the development of his or her personality, and the preservation of African values; the right to education is also protected under article 17 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.8 In its 2018 observations on Eritrea, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights found that the Government’s policy mandating the participation of all secondary students at the Sawa military camp was an obstacle to the realization of the right to education and recommended a revision of the policy.9 The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child made similar recommendations in 2017. 10 Echoing these recommendations, the Special Rapporteur urges the Government to allow students to choose their education institution, including for their final year of high school. She further encourages the Government to seek technical assistance to strengthen teacher capacity outside the context of the national/military service. 38. Third, the Eritrean authorities should put in place an independent mechanism to monitor, investigate and prevent abuses against conscripts. In particular, the mechanism should look into reports that conscripts are subjected to ill-treatment, physical and verbal abuse and strict punishments, as well as reports of sexual harassment, sexual abuse and forced domestic servitude of female conscripts by military officers (A/HRC/41/53, paras. 28–29). At a minimum, the Eritrean authorities should investigate these reports, punish those responsible and deter further abuses. 39. Fourth, the Government should take the steps necessary to prevent forced or exploitative labour, in particular child labour, within the context of the national/military service.11 The Special Rapporteur welcomes the ratification by the Government of Eritrea of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on 3 June 2019. She encourages the Government to seek technical assistance to develop a comprehensive plan of action to prevent and combat child labour and economic exploitation in the context of the national/military service. 40. The Special Rapporteur notes that Eritrea has now ratified all eight ILO fundamental conventions, signalling a positive development in the respect of fundamental rights at work. She urges the Government to establish employment and training programmes that guarantee minimum favourable working conditions as an alternative to the national/military service for the economic development of the country. 12 She also encourages the Government to 8 9 10 11 12 8 See also Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 13 (1999) on the right to education, para. 57, in which the Committee lists the free choice of education without interference from the State as a minimum core obligation. “Concluding observations and recommendations on the initial and combined periodic report of the State of Eritrea on the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights” (2018), para. 103 and p. 20. Concluding recommendations on the report of Eritrea on the status of implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (January 2017), paras. 17 and 22. Available at https://acerwc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2018/14/Concluding_%20Observations_%20Eritrea.pdf. See Committee of Experts on the Application of the Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labour Organization, Observation on the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), adopted in 2019, and Observation on the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), adopted in 2019. Available at www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13201:::NO:13201: P13201_COUNTRY_ID:103282. Respecting the right to work involves guaranteeing decent work, favourable working conditions and fair remuneration. See African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, art. 15, and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, arts. 6 and 7 (a) (i).