Introduction
In May, the Special Rapporteur documented that Eritrea continues to face severe and systematic human rights violations, with civic space remaining entirely closed. The report highlights the ongoing repression of civil and political rights, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and the absence of accountability and rule of law. Indefinite national service continues to have devastating impacts on the population. Freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly are completely denied, with no space for independent media, civil society, or political opposition. The government maintains strict control over information, offering little transparency and restricting access to the internet through surveillance and censorship. Private gatherings are closely monitored, and any perceived dissent results in arrest or intimidation. The Special Rapporteur also noted the deteriorating situation of Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers globally and the government’s limited cooperation with human rights mechanisms.
On 4th July 2025, the Council adopted a resolution during its 59th session to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea, maintaining oversight of one of Africa’s most repressive states. The decision, passed by 23 votes to four with 20 abstentions, followed the rejection of an alternative resolution tabled by Eritrea seeking to terminate the mandate. Resolution L.7 highlights ongoing and severe human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and the indefinite conscription policy into national service. It also raises concerns over the absence of national elections since 1993, patterns of transnational repression targeting government critics abroad, and Eritrea’s persistent refusal to cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms.
Expression
Eritrea retained its position as the lowest-ranking country in the 2025 Global Press Freedom Index, reflecting the total absence of media freedom. The government controls all information through censorship, surveillance, and intimidation. It bans independent journalism and owns or tightly regulates every media outlet. Journalists remain detained without trial, silencing all dissent and preventing any form of free expression.