(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
A United Nations human rights inquiry says the Eritrean government may have committed crimes against humanity, including widespread torture and enforced labour.
The commission says slavery-like practices are so widespread it can only conclude the government's policy is to encourage their use.
Peggy Giakoumelos reports.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
A United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea has found systematic, widespread human rights violations in the country.
And it says those violations have been, and continue to be, committed with impunity under the authority of the Eritrean government.
United Nations Rapporteur for Eritrea Sheila Keetharuth says some of the violations may constitute crimes against humanity.
She suggests it is not surprising so many Eritreans are trying to flee their homeland and cross the Mediterrranean Sea.
"We seldom see human rights violation of this scope and scale. It is not surprising to us that, these days, a large proportion of those crossing the Mediterranean are Eritreans. They're fleeing a country ruled not by law, but by fear."
The 484 page report says the government enslaves its citizens through so-called national service that, often, is simply forced labour, arbitrary detention and torture.
National service typically lasts for 18 months, but the commission spoke to one witness who had fled after 17 years of forced service.
Witnesses also reported people being executed for trying to avoid being drafted into service as recently as 2013.
Sheila Keetharuth says reports of slavery-like practices are so routine and widespread the commission can only conclude many of those practices are government policy.
"The report states that the main perpetrators are the Eritrean defence forces, the National Security Office, the Eritrean police forces, the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defence, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, the Office of the President and the president."
The United Nations established Eritrea as an autonomous region within Ethiopia in 1952 after colonial Italian rule and a decade of British administrative control.
A 1993 referendum led to a vote for independence, and Isaias Afworki has been the country's only president since then.
Since 2001, Eritrea has become a highly militarised society with mandatory conscription into national service -- often of indefinite length -- a mainstay of the government.
As a result of some of those government polices, Eritreans have been fleeing their country in large numbers.
The UN refugee agency placed the number of Eritreans who had come to their notice living outside of the country at more than 350,000 in mid-2014.
Many lose their lives on dangerous land and boat journeys to other countries, seeking refuge abroad.
An Eritrean immigrant named Gavriel ended up in Israel, where more than 33,000 Eritreans have sought refuge.
"The thing that makes (made) me escape is because of the political persecution for the process that we did in the university. I was being persecuted. I was in prison. Also, I was being sent for punishment to the army. I was in (the) army for three years. It was clear slavery -- I'm not working for my country or for my people."
Asaf Weitzen is with the Hotline Organisation, which supports refugees and migrants in Israel.
He says the report is a plea to the international community to do more to protect Eritrean migrants around the world.
"In order to run away, you cannot just go to the airport and buy a ticket and leave Eritrea. They must leave illegally. And the Eritrean authorities see anyone who left illegally the state as a betrayer, as someone who's in opposition to the regime. So, first of all, they had to escape Eritrea, (and) it is not an easy thing to do. Then they had to go through different lands and find, or try to find, shelter in other countries. And, sadly, it is not an easy task by itself."
The United Nations is calling on the Eritrean government to stick to the 18-month draft period.
And it is urging Eritrea to implement and respect a military code improving conditions and prohibiting child soldiers and sexual harassment.
The commission had asked Eritrea for access and information during its inquiry but says it received no response.
There has been no immediate response from the government to the report either.
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