Trafficking

Overview

23.01 The United States State Department ‘Trafficking in Persons Report 2013’, published on 19 June 2013, stated that: ‘Eritrea is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor, and to a lesser extent, sex and labor trafficking abroad.

During the reporting period, tens of thousands of persons fled the nation, many to escape conditions that amounted to forced labor through exploitative circumstances in the government’s mandatory national service program.’ [3d] (Eritrea)

23.02 A report by Daniel Rezene Mekonnen and Meron Estefanos, ‘From Sawa to the Sinai Desert: The Eritrean Tragedy of Human Trafficking’, dated 30 November 2011,

published by Social Science Research Network, stated:

‘The push-pull factors that compel people into forced migration are pervasive in Eritrea…Trends of human trafficking in Eritrea have been reported as early as the 1990s. However, the challenge reached alarming levels only at the end of 2010, when a wide network of human traffickers operated by some Bedouin tribes in the Sinai Dessert has been identified by reporters and human rights activists working in support of

Eritrean refugees. The reports reveal that the Sinai Desert in the border of Egypt and Israel has become a major spot of human trafficking in recent years. The incidents taking place in the Sinai Desert involve illegal organ harvesting, extortion, sexual exploitation, torture and other forms of abuses perpetrated against a diverse group of African immigrants by Bedouin human traffickers. A considerable number of the victims, perhaps the greatest majority, constitute Eritreans who are fleeing their country in an unprecedented and high level of exodus.’ [98] (page 2)

23.03 The report by Daniel Rezene Mekonnen and Meron Estefanos also stated:

‘Some of the earliest trends of human trafficking in Eritrea, involving women as victims, date back to the mid-1990s when many female ex-tegadelti (ex-freedom fighters) begun to migrate to the Middle East as domestic workers. This particular trend of migration was an outcome of one of the most adverse government policies in post-independence Eritrea, which is the hasty demobilisation programme of thousands of ex-freedom fighters in mid-1990s. This had serious repercussions on the well being and human

rights of the demobilised ex-freedom fighters, particular on female ex-combatants…

Left without effective supporting mechanisms, many have resorted to socially unacceptable forms of self-employment such as commercial sex work. Others have been forced to travel to some Middle East countries as domestic workers where they suffered maltreatment and abuse…Semi-official accounts of the Eritrean government indicate that migration of Eritrean women, mostly ex-freedom fighters, to some Middle East countries was facilitated via the Labour Office, a government organ responsible for labour relations. According to a letter authored by a former Director General of the Labour Office, the facilitation was done in full knowledge of the fact that the migrants were often to be subjected to conditions of coercive labour and to debt bondage as they were required to pay off recruitment costs exorbitantly in excess of what they can afford, should they desire to return to Eritrea. The letter clearly states that women migrants had to expect tough working conditions such as restrictions on movement and excessive work hours. This, it was indicated in the letter, was acceptable as long as it

complements government efforts aimed at reducing unemployment levels in the country…In another report compiled by the US Department of Justice Eritrea is also

mentioned as one of the countries of origin for individuals trafficked to the US.’

[98] (pages 10-11)

23.04 The report by Daniel Rezene Mekonnen and Meron Estefanos further stated:

‘Children are also some of the earliest victims of human trafficking in Eritrea. The aftermath of the 1998–000 [sic] border conflict has increased the number of children and destitute living on the streets. In recent years, a growing number of HIV/AIDS victims have also been noticed in the country with serious repercussions on the increase of number of orphaned children. For the year 2000, the ILO estimated that there were 183,000 economically active children in Eritrea. Children between the ages of ten and fourteen represent 38.4% of the total figure from which 90,000 were

girls…Child prostitution is another emerging challenge in Eritrea. A data on commercial sex workers in the country collected in 1999 by the Eritrean Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare revealed that 5% of commercial sex workers surveyed were children between the ages of 14–17 years. It was reported that a ‘majority of the children entered the trade at an early age, with most of them starting off as street children and bar

maids’…In addition, the more than four thousand members of the UN peacekeeping forces who were stationed in the common border between Eritrea and Ethiopia were accused of purchasing sex from vulnerable Eritrean children and women (Reilly 2003).

Children are also abused in the Eritrean army in the form of child soldiers, this practice dating back to the era of liberation struggle.’ [98] (page 11)

23.05 A ‘Guardian’ newspaper report, ‘Eritrean regime cashes in on arms and human trafficking, says UN report’, dated 17 July 2012, stated:

‘A multimillion-dollar arms trafficking industry that is funding the Eritrean military regime is behind the kidnap, torture and ransom of thousands of Eritrean refugees, according to a leaked report to the UN security council

‘An investigation by the Somalia and Eritrea monitoring group has uncovered a

trafficking highway running from the Eritrean highlands through Sudan's refugee camps into the Sinai desert, delivering arms to militant groups, and Eritrean asylum-seekers to Bedouin gangs, who use starvation, electrocution, rape and murder to extort up to

$40,000 (£25,000) from relatives in the Eritrean diaspora for their release.

‘According to witness testimony, part of the arsenal smuggled from Eritrea is sold to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. This industry, run jointly by Eritrean officials, Sudanese and Egyptian smuggling gangs, is estimated to generate more than $10m a year.

‘The monitoring group's findings, presented to the UN security council in New York earlier this month and leaked on Monday, place Eritrea in clear contravention of a sanctions regime imposed in 2009, which prohibits the sale of arms and military equipment to Eritrea and prevents Eritrea from exporting weapons.

‘The report names General Teklai Kifle "Manjus", commander of Eritrea's western military zone, as the mastermind.

‘"Multiple independent sources in Israel and the Sinai have identified General Teklai Kifle Manjus…as well as a string of intermediaries, as being directly responsible for the cross-border smuggling of humans and weapons from Eritrea," the report it states."The weapons are generally described as Kalashnikov-pattern assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. Many bear the inscriptions of the Eritrean military units to which they previously belonged."

‘UN sources told the Guardian that the extent of corruption the industry requires on Eritrea's western border, and the scale of the exodus of asylum-seekers it involves, mean it would be impossible to run without the collusion of government officials. "If it hasn't come to the president's attention, I'd be very surprised," the source said.’ [99a]

Government efforts to tackle trafficking

23.06 The United States State Department ‘Trafficking in Persons Report 2013’ stated:

‘The Government of Eritrea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. The Eritrean government did not operate transparently, nor did it publish data or statistics regarding efforts to combat human trafficking. Although the government acknowledged the existence of a trafficking problem, including sending a letter seeking assistance of the UN Secretary-General, and warning its citizens of the dangers that traffickers posed, authorities largely lacked understanding of human trafficking, conflating it with all forms of transnational migration from Eritrea. The government rejected responsibility for creating circumstances that drove its citizens to flee the country…The Government of Eritrea did not report prosecuting or convicting any traffickers during the year. Article 605 of the Eritrean Transitional Criminal Code prohibits trafficking in women and young persons for sexual exploitation, which is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment, or from three to 10 years’ imprisonment if aggravating circumstances are present; these penalties are sufficiently stringent, but not commensurate with punishments prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. Article 565 prohibits enslavement and prescribes punishment of five to 20 years’ imprisonment, penalties which are sufficiently stringent.

Forced labor and slavery are prohibited except where authorized by law under Article 16 of the ratified, but suspended, Eritrean Constitution; Article 17 of the 2001 Labor

Proclamation specifically excludes activities performed under national service or other civic obligations from the definition of forced labor. Existing labor protections limiting hours of work and prohibiting harsh conditions did not apply to persons engaged in national service. Proclamation 11/199 prohibits the recruitment of children younger than 18 years of age into the armed forces. The penalties are sufficiently stringent, though

the government does not appear to have used these statutes to prosecute cases of human trafficking. During the year, an unknown number of Eritrean citizens alleged to be traffickers were returned from Uganda. The government did not behave in a

transparent or consistent manner regarding information about prosecutions or punishments of these or other suspected trafficking offenders during the reporting period. Nor was the government transparent regarding any investigations or prosecutions of government officials allegedly complicit in human trafficking. The

government did not provide information regarding training it might have offered to its law enforcement officials on identifying and responding to trafficking crimes.’ [3d] (Eritrea) 23.07 The report by Daniel Rezene Mekonnen and Meron Estefanos stated:

‘The Transitional Penal Code of Eritrea criminalises trafficking in women, infants and young persons which is done for whatsoever purposes (Articles 605-6070). In the case of trafficking for prostitution, the law imposes the punishment of rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding ten thousand Eritrean Nakfas. Under aggravated circumstances, the penalty can extend up to ten years imprisonment and a fine not exceeding 20,000 Eritrean Nakfa. The crime of trafficking can be aggravated, among other things, where the trafficker has made it into a profession. Other

aggravating circumstances include the use of fraud, violence, intimidation, or coercion, and cases in which the victim has been driven into suicide by shame, distress, or

despair (Article 606). The punishments proscribed by the Penal Code are not sufficiently stringent. Furthermore, Eritrea has a poor record of law enforcement mechanisms.’

[98] (pages 20-21)

See also Human Rights - Introduction; Children; Women.

Return to contents Go to sources