Eritrea: Extend the Special Rapporteur’s mandate, move the accountability agenda forward

Country: Eritrea Sources: Amnesty International, CIVICUS, Fédération internationale pour les droits humains, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, Raoul Wallenberg Institute, World Organisation Against Torture Excellencies, Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s 62nd 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. ~ ~ ~ The Human Rights Council’s 62nd regular session will open in a context of increasing regional tensions, in particular between Eritrea and Ethiopia, while Eritrea’s human rights situation remains of utmost concern. In addition to the grave violations outlined in previous civil society letters, 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”) aimed at maintaining control, silencing peaceful dissent, and discouraging criticism of the authorities. One year after the adoption of resolution 59/1, which extended the Special Rapporteur’s manda...

Original source: Relief Web