Eritrea ‘s human rights record in the spotlight at United Nations
ICC Note
Eritrean officials claim that there is freedom of religion in their country. But the reality is that Eritrea is one of the most Christian persecuting countries in the world. Currently there are over 3,000 Christians detained under inhumane condition in Eritrea simply because of their choice to follow Jesus Christ.
12/02/2009 Eritrea (Christian Today)-States from every continent of the world have expressed concern at the extent of human rights violations taking place in Eritrea .
Statements by members raised concern at the ongoing use of torture, arbitrary and indefinite detention, the suppression of press freedom and freedom of religion and belief, the recruitment of child soldiers, the abuse of female conscripts and the indefinite term of national service.
The Eritrean delegation had initially insisted, among other things, that there was religious freedom in the country, that human dignity was respected, and that no prisoners of conscience existed.
Eritrea’s representative Dr Girmai Abraham subsequently confessed to being “overwhelmed” by the number of questions he had received, and responded to calls for open access to Eritrea for the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other special mandate holders with a guarded conditional acceptance.
In an astonishing admission, he indicated that an independent press was incompatible with Eritrean culture.
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Dr Khataza Gondwe of CSW reported on the continuing abuse of religious freedom, which has left over 3,000 Christians in detention. These include the detention in November of over 90 Christians from diverse localities following a new wave of arrests.
