A/HRC/44/23 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 41/1, in which the Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Daniela Kravetz, for one year and requested the mandate holder to present a report on the implementation of the mandate to the Council at its forty-fourth session. The report covers the period from 7 May 2019 to 4 May 2020. 2. Since the renewal of her mandate, the Special Rapporteur has continued to endeavour to implement the mandate in an independent, impartial and constructive manner. In the present report, she provides an overview of her main activities, notes relevant regional developments and describes the extent of cooperation of the Government of Eritrea with international human rights and treaty bodies. She also provides an update on the human rights situation in Eritrea, focusing on the five benchmarks and related indicators set out in her previous report (A/HRC/41/53). She concludes with recommendations relating to these benchmarks, aimed at achieving meaningful and lasting progress in human rights. 3. During the period under review, the Special Rapporteur was unable to visit Eritrea. She therefore continued to monitor the human rights situation in Eritrea remotely, by conducting field missions to third countries and by engaging with a broad range of relevant stakeholders, including representatives of United Nations and other international entities, members of the diplomatic corps, government agencies and ministries in various countries, civil society organizations, researchers, academics, local community leaders, representatives of different religious congregations, members of the Eritrean diaspora and private citizens. She draws on the findings of her missions and on the information received in interviews and meetings conducted throughout the reporting period. II. Activities 4. During the reporting period, the Special Rapporteur undertook five missions. In November 2019, at the invitation of Members of the European Parliament, she participated in a seminar in Brussels focused on the prospects for improving the human rights situation in Eritrea, in particular the situation of journalists. In January 2020, she travelled to New York to participate in meetings with members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of various United Nations entities and civil society. In February 2020, she participated in the interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in Eritrea held during the forty-third session of the Human Rights Council. She also held bilateral meetings with representatives of various international agencies, and members of the diplomatic corps, the Eritrean diaspora and civil society organizations in Geneva. In early March, the Special Rapporteur travelled to Norway to meet with various stakeholders and discuss the human rights situation in Eritrea and protection issues affecting Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers. During that mission, she met with officials from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Norwegian Parliament, as well as with members of civil society organizations and the Eritrean diaspora. Also in March, upon the invitation of the Regional Office for Europe of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Special Rapporteur participated in a public briefing on the situation of human rights in Eritrea at the United Nations House in Brussels. During that mission, she also met with representatives of the European Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, officials from the European Union External Action Service, the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights and his team, and with various civil society organizations. 5. The Special Rapporteur appreciates the cooperation provided by the Governments of Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and the United States of America during her missions. She also appreciates the support provided by OHCHR for her activities in Brussels, Geneva and New York. 6. During the reporting period, the Special Rapporteur made several attempts to visit the broader East Africa region. On 16 September 2019, she sent a reminder to the Government of Ethiopia referring to its lack of response to her request, dated 24 January 2019, for a country visit. To date, the Government of Ethiopia has not responded to either correspondence. The Special Rapporteur also received no response to her requests for 3