A/HRC/29/41 Rapporteur is still looking forward to an opportunity to visit Eritrea at the invitation of the Government. 8. The Special Rapporteur would also like to thank the numerous Eritreans who have offered valuable information to enable her to prepare her reports and advocate for the improvement of the human rights situation in the country. She appreciates their courage to speak with her despite the real possibility of reprisals against themselves and their families in Eritrea. III. Activities of the Special Rapporteur (July 2014–May 2015) A. Visit to Italy 9. The Special Rapporteur conducted a five-day mission to Italy from 22 to 26 September 2014, to collect first-hand information from refugees and migrants, many of them very young, about human rights violations in their home country. Several of those she spoke with had arrived in Italy after braving unimaginable dangers along escape routes in the desert and at sea. The Special Rapporteur met with government officials, parliamentarians, members of civil society and other stakeholders in the diaspora. Her findings and conclusions confirmed widespread and systematic human rights violations as a trigger for the massive flight of Eritreans from all walks of life from their home country. B. Briefing to the Third Committee 10. The Special Rapporteur presented a briefing to the Third Committee on 28 October 2014, at the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, her second briefing to the Committee since she took up the mandate. The Special Rapporteur informed the Committee about the following: the persisting challenges in the implementation of her mandate; the generally unchanged human rights situation in Eritrea, resulting in mass departures of 4,000 people per month, some very young, seeking refuge outside their country; the main driver of the outflow, which remained the indefinite nature of national service and violations in the context of that service; poor respect for civil and political rights; and the deterioration in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by those who remain in Eritrea, many of whom, according to several testimonies collected, are dependent on the support of relatives and friends from the diaspora. C. Visit to Belgium 11. The Special Rapporteur conducted an official visit to Belgium from 9 to 11 March 2015, where she met with Eritrean refugees, migrants and other actors in the diaspora. The main aim was to collect first-hand and up-to-date information on the situation of human rights in Eritrea and to corroborate allegations of human rights violations in the country as contained in reports the Special Rapporteur received from different sources. She also met with government officials and civil society interlocutors. D. Address to the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights 12. The Special Rapporteur participated in an exchange of views on Eritrea at the invitation of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights on 17 March 2015. 4