Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Eritrea (Ratification: 2000)

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Compulsory national service. For more than 20 years, the Committee and the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (in 2015 and 2018) have been urging the Government to review the Proclamation on National Service (No. 82 of 1995). The Committee recalls that the Proclamation establishes the obligation for all citizens between the ages of 18 and 50 to perform their duty of national service, which includes active national service and service in the reserve army. Active national service concerns all citizens aged between 18 and 40 years and is divided into two periods: six months of active national service in the National Service Training Centre and 12 months of active military service and development tasks in the military forces (section 8). The objectives of national service include the establishment of a strong defence force based on the people to ensure a free and sovereign Eritrea and to create a hardworking, disciplined and ready new generation that participate in reconstruction (section 5). The Committee noted that, in practice, the conscription of all citizens for an indeterminate period had been institutionalized through their participation in various programmes, especially for the construction of roads and bridges, reforestation, soil and water preservation, reconstruction and activities intended to improve food security. The Committee has consistently considered that the system of compulsory national service goes beyond the exceptions allowed under the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government’s reiteration, in its report, that national service was introduced in Eritrea for reasons of legitimate national defence and that the national service in Eritrea has been prolonged due to unrelenting threats and state of belligerency by the Tigray’s People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The Government states again that, consequently, extended obligations imposed on the population and conscripts to resume national service were indispensable. Moreover, the Government continues to indicate that conscripts might be called to perform non-military activities in explicit circumstances at times of emergency, including challenges such as drought caused by continuous impacts of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the recurrent conflicts occurring in the Horn of Africa, as well as the sanctions and unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United Nations Security Council for almost a decade. The Government states that section 5 of the Proclamation No. 82 of 1995 was designed to include national service for non-military objectives in such circumstances and that this is compatible with the meaning of “normal civic obligations” under Article 2(2)(b) of the Convention.

The Committee takes note of the two most recent reports from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea dated 9 May 2023 (A/HRC/53/20) and 7 May 2024 (A/HRC/56/24), according to which forced conscription continued unabated, with authorities conducting mass roundups (giffa) to capture draft evaders despite the 2018 Peace Agreement and the recent cessation of hostilities agreement between the Government of Ethiopia and the TPLF in November 2022. The Special Rapporteur identified an upsurge in forced recruitment between mid- and late 2022, as well as the use of increasingly coercive practices to mobilize the population to participate in military action in Ethiopia. Moreover, Eritrean conscripts continued to be forced to participate in national/military service under threat of severe punishment to themselves and their families, and reservists over 50 years of age were called upon to serve in Tigray and in the border areas with Ethiopia. The Special Rapporteur also reports that the duration of the national military service continued to be indefinite, creating a permanent and de facto state of general mobilization, with most Eritreans serving for periods ranging from several years to over two decades and the duration of individuals’ national service remaining arbitrary, with no clear criteria defining the length of service. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur continued to receive numerous and credible reports regarding violations of the rights of conscripts in the military/national service, including being subjected to forced labour and arduous work in very harsh conditions in a variety of economic activities, without choice over the nature or conditions of work, for meagre pay.

In light of the above and the information available to it, the Committee deplores the fact that no progress has been achieved in law or practice to strictly limit the use of compulsory labour to the exceptions authorized by the Convention. The Committee once again stresses that the conditions under which compulsory labour is exacted in the framework of the exceptions under Article 2(2)(a) (compulsory military service), Article 2(2)(b) (normal civic obligations) and Article 2(2)(d) (situations of emergency) of the Convention, are strictly defined and that the work involved must respond to precise requirements. The Committee also recalls that compulsory military service must be limited to work of a purely military character or to tasks aimed at addressing exceptional situations. In both cases, the conditions and duration of the work should strictly respond to the exigencies of the situation. The Committee reaffirms that, in view of its extended duration, its scope, objectives (such as reconstruction, action to combat poverty and reinforcement of the national economy) and broad range of work performed, the large-scale and systematic practice of imposing compulsory labour on the population for an indefinite period of time within the framework of the national service programme goes well beyond the exceptions provided for in the Convention.

The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to reform the national service with a view to ensuring that:

• the work exacted from conscripts is limited to military training, or work of a purely military character or to tasks aimed at addressing exceptional situations, such as war or a natural disaster; and
• in practice the duration and conditions of such work respond specifically to the exigencies of the situation.

Moreover, the Committee once again requests the Government to ensure that the assignation of persons under the national service obligation to undertake civil service functions takes place on a voluntary basis.

The Committee further refers to its comments under the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105). Moreover, it reminds the Government that it may avail itself of ILO technical assistance in this regard.

In light of the above, the Committee observes that the duration of the national military service continues to be indefinite, creating a permanent and de facto state of general mobilization, with the duration of individuals’ national service remaining arbitrary and most Eritreans serving for periods ranging from several years to over two decades. The Committee further takes note of reports indicating that the authorities are conducting mass roundups and forced recruitment, and are increasingly resorting to coercive measures to compel the population to participate in military action under threat of severe punishment to themselves and their families. In addition, the Committee notes that, in practice, the conscription of all citizens for an indeterminate period had been institutionalized through their participation in various programmes, including the construction of roads and bridges, reforestation, soil and water preservation, reconstruction and activities intended to improve food security. The Committee therefore deplores the fact that no progress has been achieved in law or practice to strictly limit the use of compulsory labour to the exceptions authorized by the Convention. The Committee considers that this case meets the criteria set out in paragraph 67 of its General Report to be asked to come before the Conference.

The Committee is addressing other issues in a request addressed directly to the Government.

[ The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 11 4 th Session and to reply in full to the present comments in 2026. ]