To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (Geneva, Switzerland) 

Excellencies,

Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s 62^nd session (15 June-10 July 2026), we, the undersigned non-governmental organisations, write to urge your dele­gation to support the development and adop­­tion of a strong resolution that ex­tends the mandate of the Special Rap­por­teur on the situ­a­tion of hu­man rights in Eritrea.

Beyond spelling out and con­demning the ongoing grave hu­man rights viola­tions committed by Eri­trean authorities in a context of wide­spread impunity, this year’s resolution, which will be considered ten years after the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in Eritrea presented its final re­port to the Council, should among others request the Special Rapporteur to stock­-take on options and proces­ses avai­lable to ad­dress past and ongoing viola­tions and ensure accountability and justice.

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The Human Rights Council’s 62^nd regular session will open in a context of increasing regional tensions, in par­ticular between Eritrea and Ethiopia,¹ while Eritrea’s human rights situation remains of utmost concern. In addition to the grave violations outlined in previous civil society letters,² which continue with im­punity, the country’s domestic situation has se­vere and far-reaching effects on the Eritrean dia­spora, who often face extraterritorial attacks (which the Special Rapporteur has identified as acts of “trans­na­tio­nal rep­res­sion”³) aimed at maintaining con­trol, silencing peaceful dissent, and discouraging criticism of the au­tho­rities.

One year after the adoption of resolution 59/1,⁴ which extended the Special Rapporteur’s mandate, Erit­rea’s human rights situation has not fundamentally changed. In late 2025, Eritrea released over a dozen detainees who had been in detention for over 18 years, including in solitary confinement. Yet, thousands of prisoners remain in arbitrary detention. In fact, this year will mark 25 years since the arrest of “G11” reformists—eleven government officials who called for democratic reforms and have been held incom­mu­nicado since September 2001. Over 10,000 people are estimated to be in arbitrary detention in Eri­trea, inc­luding politicians, journalists, priests and students. The recent release of 13 long-term detainees, many of whom were held in conditions amounting to torture, does not address the systemic nature of violations.⁵

To date, the Eritrean authorities have refused to imp­lement decisions, concluding observations and calls by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), including to re­lease detainees.⁶ Eri­­t­rean authorities also failed to use the country’s membership in the Human Rights Council (2019-2024) to im­p­rove the domestic human rights situation or to engage in a serious dialogue with the inter­national com­m­u­­ni­ty. As the Council is turning 20, Eritrea remains among the very few States that have never re­cei­­ved any official visit by a special procedure mandate-holder.

In June 2016, the COI on Eritrea released its final report, in which it found that it had “reasonable grounds to believe” that crimes against humanity have been committed in the country since 1991 and that “Eri­trean officials have com­mitted and continue to commit the crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced dis­ap­­pea­rance, tor­­ture, other inhumane acts, persecution, rape, and mur­der.” It added that crimes against hu­ma­nity have been committed “in a widespread and systematic manner in Eritrean detention facilities, mili­tary training camps and other locations across the country” as part of “a campaign to instil fear in, deter op­position from and ultimately to control the Eritrean civilian population.”⁷ No adequate follow-up has been mandated by the Council to date. Despite the COI’s work and reports by successive Special Rap­por­teurs and the Office of the UN High Com­­missioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on ongoing violations, no Eritrean offi­cial has been held accoun­table for these crimes.

Eritrea remains ranked 180^th (out of 180 countries) in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Index and is currently rated as “Closed” in the CIVICUS Civic Space Monitor, with a score of 4/100—the worst in Africa.⁸

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At the Council’s 59^th session, in June 2025, the Eritrean Government did not only oppose the annual reso­lution aiming to extend the Special Rapporteur’s mandate. In an unprecedented move, it tried to capitalise on the UN’s financial crisis and the backdrop of attacks on multilateralism to pre­sen­t its own draft re­solution aimed at ending international scrutiny of Eritrea. Entitled “Discontinuation of the Man­date of the Special Rap­porteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Eritrea,” L.1/Rev.1, if it had been adopted, could have created a precedent used by other States to discontinue Council mechanisms such as special pro­ce­dure mandates and inde­pen­dent investigations.⁹ It was roundly defeated by a recorded vote (four votes in favour, 25 against, with 18 ab­st­entions) and, after the rejection of a last-minute oral amendment presented by Sudan, resolution 59/1 was adopted by a broad margin (23 votes in favour, four against, with 20 abs­tentions). Rewarding the Eritrean Govern­ment’s use of these tactics to undermine scrutiny should not be an option as it will only weaken the Council institutionally and abandon victims of human rights vio­la­tions in the country. Rather, the Eritrean Government’s actions and tactics strengthen the case for more sub­­stantive resolutions on Eritrea, going beyond technical rollovers (mandate extensions).¹⁰ They are a clear sign of the positive impact that the Special Rapporteur’s work has had, including documenting vio­lations and keeping a spotlight on the country. Continued scrutiny from the international community is essential.

In a context in which Eritrea refuses to meaningfully cooperate with the Council and its mechanisms, and considering that the cause of serious violations in the country is political in nature, rather than merely due to a lack of capacity or resources, the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building would at this time be neither efficient nor adequate to address the country’s challenges.

Instead, it is critical for the Human Rights Council to produce a substantive assess­ment of Eritrea’s hu­man rights situa­tion. In addition to all the violations outlined in pre-2019 resolutions, COI and Special Rap­por­teur re­ports, and successive civil society letters, the upcoming Council resolution should address, among others:

• The impact of Eritrea’s domestic situation abroad, including extra­territorial attacks (which the Special Rapporteur has identified as acts of “trans­na­tio­nal rep­res­sion”) against the di­aspora, as well as violations committed by Eritrean forces abroad¹¹ and the need to ensure acc­oun­t­ability and justice for these acts; and
• Adequate follow-up to the Council’s action on Eritrea so far, in particular the COI’s recom­men­dations. In addition to the need to continue monitoring and reporting, the Special Rapporteur should be mandated, as part of his next report, to present an assessment of the evolution of Eritrea’s human rights situation in the context of the ten-year anniversary of the final report of the COI on Eritrea and include a stock­taking of options and processes available to address past and ongoing violations and ensure accountability and justice. This may include updating the COI’s work through documentation and evi­den­ce collection.

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Eritrea’s human rights situation requires urgent attention and an adequate level of public reporting and debates—meaning more than once a year. At its 62^nd session, the Council should adopt a reso­lu­tion that:

(a)     Extends the mandate of the Spe­cial Rap­porteur on Eritrea;

(b)    Urges Eritrea to cooperate fully with the Spe­cial Rap­por­teur, including by granting him access to the coun­try;

(c)     Condemns the ongoing grave human rights viola­tions committed by Eri­trean authorities in a context of widespread impunity, including in the context of extraterritorial attacks, which the Special Rapporteur has identified as acts of “trans­na­tio­nal rep­res­sion”;

(d)    Requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rappor­teur to present up­­­dates on human rights in Eritrea at the Coun­cil’s 64^th session in an enhanced interactive dia­­­lo­gue that includes the participation of civil so­ciety;

(e)     Requests the Special Rap­porteur to present a comprehensive written report at the Council’s 65^th ses­sion and to the General Assembly at its 81^st session, followed by interactive dialogues;

and

(f)      Requests the Special Rapporteur to incorporate in his next report: (1) an assessment of the evo­lution of Eri­trea’s human rights situation in the context of the ten-year anniversary of the final re­port of the COI on Eritrea and the 25^th anniversary of the detention of “G11” refor­mists, and (2) a stocktaking of options and proces­ses available to ad­dress past and ongoing viola­tions and ensure accountability and justice, and to the extent possible, an update of the COI’s work through follow-up docu­men­tation and evidence collection.

We thank you for your attention to these pressing issues and stand ready to provide your delegation with further information.

Sincerely,

1. AfricanDefenders (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network)
2. The America Team for Displaced Eritreans  
3. Amnesty International
4. Burundian Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH)
5. Burundian Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CBDDH)
6. CIVICUS
7. Connection e.V.
8. CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
9. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
10. ERISAT-Eritrean Satellite Television
11. Eritrean Coordination for Human Rights
12. Eritrean Movement For Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR)
13. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)
14. Human Rights Concern - Eritrea (HRCE)
15. Human Rights Watch
16. Information Forum for Eritrea (IFE)
17. International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
18. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
19. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
20. Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
21. MIR Italy (Italian branch of IFOR)
22. Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour l’Amitié entre les Peuples (MRAP)
23. Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa (REDHAC)
24. Nigerien Human Rights Defenders Network (RNDDH)
25. One Day Seyoum
26. Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
27. Release Eritrea
28. Senegalese Human Rights Defenders Coalition (COSEDDH)
29. War Resisters’ International
30. West African Human Rights Defenders Network (ROADDH/WAHRDN)
31. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)