Call to Eritrea to respect the human right to conscientious objection to military service

Statement given at 59th UN Human Rights Council

(16.06.2025) Connection e.V. in partnership with War Resisters International took the floor in the plenary at the opening of the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, to call for the recognition of the right to conscientious objection to military service in Eritrea.

The Interactive Dialogue started with the presentation of the excellent Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea Mr. Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, which describes the dramatic impact of the indefinite military service on the daily life of Eritreans and the concerning situation of constant violation of human rights. The Special rapporteur explicitly mentioned the lack of recognition of the right to conscientious objection. It is worth noting that the statement delivered by the EU delegation has been the only one from governments which clearly referred to the right to conscientious objection to military service. You can read it here.

By the end of the current ongoing session of the Human Rights Council a specific Resolution on Eritrea, lead by EU, is expected to be adopted.

You can watch the Interactive Dialogue here.

You can download the full oral statement delivered by WRI in collaboration with Connection e.V. here. 

You can read the full Report presented by the UN SR on Eritrea here. 

Human Rights Council, 59th Session

June 16th 2025

Item 2: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea

Oral statement delivered by War Resisters International, in collaboration with Connection e.V.

Mr. President,

War Resisters International (WRI) together with its partner Connection e.V. thanks the Special Rapporteur for his report¹ [and expresses serious concerns regarding the situation of human rights in Eritrea].

In particular we would like to echo the SR’s concern regarding the dramatic impact of the indefinite military service on the life of Eritrean people.² Many Eritrean refugees often flee from a system of a de facto indefinite National Service³ which “deprives individuals of their fundamental freedoms”⁴ and presents practices that in many cases amount to forced labour.

It is alarming the increased militarization of education and the forced conscription of minors which has been detailed in the report. Additionally practices of forced conscription have been registered in the occupied territories in the Tigray region.

In Eritrea it is not possible to apply for conscientious objection status and those who want to exercise the human right to conscientious objection to military service are “labelled as traitors and face persecutions”.⁵ We would like to particularly flag the situation of Jehovah’s Witnesses currently imprisoned.⁶

WRI and its partner Connection e.V. second the recommendations of the SR to the international community to “Ensure that human rights issues remain at the core of all engagement with Eritrea”, to “Provide effective protection to Eritrean nationals fleeing the country” and to protect them “from transnational repression”.⁷

We urges Eritrea to ensure the protection of human rights, including the human right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion within which the human right to conscientious objection to military service is inherent.⁸

Thank you.

1 Special Rapporteur Moahamed Abdelsalam Babiker; A/HRC/59/24 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/59/24

2 A/HRC/59/24 par 26.

3 A/HRC/59/24 par 25.

4 A/HRC/59/24 par 26.

5 A/HRC/59/24 par 51.

6 Attachment to Connection e.V. submission to the Special Rapporteur 2025. https://en.connection-ev.org/article-4399

7 A/HRC/59/24 par 90.

8 UN Human Rights Council resolution 24/17, September 2013. UN Human Rights Committee General Comment 22 on Article 18, 1993

Human Rights Council, 59th Session. June 16th 2025. Item 2: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. Oral statement delivered by War Resisters International, in collaboration with Connection e.V.

Keywords:    ⇒ Conscientious Objection   ⇒ Conscription   ⇒ Eritrea   ⇒ Human Rights   ⇒ Mistreatment