Africa-Press. The European Union has called for an investigation into human rights violations committed by the Eritrean government during the two-year war in northern Ethiopia and afterward.
In a statement issued by the European Union, it was noted: “In line with the recommendations of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, we urge the Eritrean government to conduct independent and credible investigations into the alleged violations and abuses of human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law that occurred during the war in the Ethiopian region of Tigray and thereafter, in order to achieve justice for all victims.”
The European Union also urged Eritrea to end the ongoing practice of indefinite national/military service and arbitrary conscription, including the alleged recruitment of children, gender-based violence, and forced labor.
In recent weeks, Eritrea has faced sharp criticism from the international community due to human rights violations occurring both locally and internationally. At the same time, the UN Special Rapporteur reported that prisoners in Eritrea are subjected to forced labor and other human rights violations, raising concerns about the continuation of crimes against humanity.
In a grim report presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker stated that he found systematic and widespread violations being committed in Eritrea with impunity. Babiker remarked: “There are still valid reasons to believe that crimes against humanity continue in Eritrea.”
He added: “Systematic and widespread enforced disappearances, prolonged detention incommunicado without charge or trial, torture, and persecution of political opponents, journalists, and members of religious minorities remain defining features of governance in Eritrea.”
