Many countries around the world require their citizens to serve in their national forces for a certain amount of time. The country of Eritrea also requires national service, but does so in a way that severely limits the freedoms and opportunities of the population and has resulted in human rights abuses by the government. After achieving independence in 1991, the required time of service was 18 months. However, in 2002 the government removed this limit and indefinitely extended the time of service. Many people conscripted into civil service or the armed forces can serve for decades, with poor wages and no indication of when they will be released. Testimonies from Eritreans that have escaped the country describe horrible treatment in training camps and poor education due to the prioritization of national conscription. Forced conscription of the population has resulted in Eritrean youth receiving very poor education and limited opportunities and personal freedoms. The oppressive regime of Isaias Afwerki has weakened Eritrean civil society so much that people are forced to risk their lives fleeing the country in desperate search for a better life. 

Education in Eritrea

The education system in Eritrea is heavily impacted by forced conscription as most teachers are assigned this position. These assignments are given regardless if a person has any interest in being a teacher or not, and they have no say in where they are sent or the subject they will teach (Bader, 2019). This has resulted in Eritrean students often receiving a very poor education as many teachers have little to no interest in teaching or skipping lectures altogether. Since 2003, all students in Eritrea have been required to complete grade 12 at a military camp called Sawa, where they are subject to horrific conditions and cruel treatment including sexual violence and torture. Human Rights Watch has interviewed many people who have managed to escape from Eritrea and the national service. They have reported that the government sometimes forces children into the national service and performs roundups called giffas, to find people that may be trying to evade national service. They are essentially kidnapped and shipped off to military training where they experience horrific conditions. This brutal treatment of the youth of Eritrea has severely eroded civil society and stripped thousands of people of their right to self-determination. 

Threat of Imprisonment

Eritrea has an incredibly extensive network of prisons around the country where people are sent, often without due process, and face abhorrent conditions and treatment by guards. Eritrean officials are quick to arrest someone for any action that could be construed as dissent against the government or an attempt to escape the country. Prisoners are often detained in incredibly overcrowded places with limited necessities such as food, water, and medical care (Bader, 2019). Those that have escaped imprisonment describe being held in underground cells or shipping containers that can reach extreme temperatures. Prisoners are often held in these conditions for extended periods of time, sometimes with their hands and feet bound. Torture and sexual abuse is very common in prisons and often used as an interrogation technique against prisoners. The government has used imprisonment as a way to instill fear in the population and maintain strict control. 

Forced to Flee

The strict nature of forced conscription and national service leave Eritreans with a difficult choice: be forced into a life of servitude, or risk fleeing the country in hopes of a better life. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that around 6 million Eritreans live abroad with thousands applying for asylum each year. The number of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers has consistently increased since 2003 on account of Isaias’s oppressive regime with forced conscription and mass imprisonment being driving factors. The government’s control over the Eritrean people extends abroad as well. Those that leave the country legally-a nearly impossible feat-are expected to sign a letter of apology and pay a 2 percent tax. Most Eritreans that hope to leave the country face an incredibly dangerous journey that is not guaranteed to be successful. Many Eritrean refugees flee to the country’s southern neighbor, Ethiopia. In 2004, Ethiopia adopted an open-door policy that welcomed Eritrean refugees. The open-door policy and the establishment of multiple refugee camps resulted in thousands of Eritreans fleeing into Ethiopia with over 181,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the country in 2024. However, the ongoing dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia’s Tigray region has resulted in Eritrean forces occupying refugee camps. Human Rights Watch has reported that Eritrean forces have subjected camp residences to sexual violence and rape, forced disappearances, and repatriation. Refugees also flee to other countries such as Sudan and Libya where they face dangerous conflict or being placed in detention centers where they can face inhumane conditions. 

Conclusion

Eritrea has been deemed one of the most oppressive regimes in the world, with required national service of all Eritreans and a civil society that is heavily influenced by these requirements. Any hopes of moving towards a less autocratic government are highly unlikely, as civil society has been eroded so heavily and the people of Eritrea have so little freedom that they have limited power to influence change (Berman, 1997). Any hint of dissent or challenge to the government is quickly silenced through arrests and the fear of brutal conditions in Eritrean prisons create a society of obedience. The Eritrean population, especially the youth, have very little opportunity to improve their lives due to required national service and poor education. This culmination has led to thousands of Eritreans risking their lives in search of a better life outside of the country.

References

Bader, Laetitia. 2019. “They Are Making Us into Slaves, Not Educating Us” – How Indefinite Conscription Restricts Young People’s Rights, Access to Education in Eritrea. New York, NY: Human Rights Watch.

BBC News. “Eritrea: ‘10,000 Political Prisoners in Awful Conditions.’” May 9, 2013, sec. Africa. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-22460836.

Berman, Sheri. “Civil Society and the Collapse of the Weimar Republic.” World Politics 49, no. 3 (1997): 401–29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25054008.

FRONTLINE. “Escaping Eritrea.” Accessed May 15, 2025. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/escaping-eritrea/.

Human Rights Watch. “Eritrea: Events of 2021.” In Share This via Facebook, 2021. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/eritrea.

Poole, Amanda, and Jennifer Riggan. “Severe Repression in Eritrea Has Prompted Decades of Exodus.” Migration Policy Institute, April 9, 2025. Severe Repression in Eritrea Has Prompted Decades of Exodus.