A/HRC/41/53 (c) Implementing a constitutional and legal framework for the promotion and protection of human rights; (d) Strengthening respect for freedom of religion and belief; (e) Addressing gender-based violence and promoting the rights of women and gender equality; (f) Strengthening respect for the rights of ethnic minorities; (g) Promoting freedom of association and peaceful assembly; (h) Promoting freedom of expression and the press; (i) Resolving the situation of Djiboutian prisoners of war in Eritrea; (j) Improving freedom of movement and access for international agencies operating in the country. The Special Rapporteur takes note of the observations regarding the present report made by the Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva in a letter dated 3 May 2019. In the letter, the Permanent Mission wrote that the report was unbalanced and failed to recognize the apparent progress made and the real challenges faced by Eritrea, that it repeated the assumptions of previous mandate holders, that it was based on selective information that reinforced those assumptions and that it made recommendations that were at variance with the principles of non-interference in domestic affairs and the sovereign rights of States by dictating specific priorities and benchmarks. The Permanent Mission maintained that the Government of Eritrea continued to work to build the human and institutional capacities needed to ensure that every Eritrean enjoyed a dignified life without deprivation and fear. While appreciating those observations, the Special Rapporteur notes that the Permanent Mission did not address the substantive matters raised in the present report. A. Ending the practices of indefinite and arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance 17. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about reports of arbitrary arrest, indefinite detention, death in detention and enforced disappearance in Eritrea. She notes that Eritrea continues to hold political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. She is concerned that individuals continue to be held incommunicado and to be detained indefinitely, in violation of their basic due process rights, including the rights to be informed of the charges against them, to be brought promptly before a judge, to have their detention put to judicial review, to have access to counsel and medical attention and to receive family visits. A common feature in these cases is the lack of access to effective legal remedy for the victims and for their families. Such violations continue to be committed with impunity, despite repeated calls for respect of due process and for accountability from various United Nations bodies and mechanisms (e.g. CCPR/C/ERI/CO/1, paras. 27–28; Human Rights Council resolution 38/15, para. 6; A/HRC/35/39, para. 78; and A/HRC/32/47, para. 122), and despite the concrete recommendations made by Member States during the second cycle of the universal periodic review (A/HRC/26/13, paras. 122.134–122.137, 122.139–122.140, 122.142 and 122.144–122.150). At its sixty-third ordinary session, held in late 2018, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights too expressed concern regarding the absence of information on a range of basic guarantees for persons in detention in Eritrea. 9 18. Indefinite and arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance are contrary to the Government’s binding obligations contained in international human rights instruments, 10 9 10 See www.achpr.org/files/sessions/63rd_os/conc-obs/1st-19992016/concluding_observations_and_recommendations_on_the_initial_and_combined_periodic.pdf. Including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (arts. 6–7, 9–10 and 14) and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (arts. 2 and 4). 5