ERITREA CONTINUES TO DEFY THREE AFRICAN COMMISSION DECISIONS

18 September 2026

Twenty-five years ago, on 18 September 2001, the Eritrean authorities arrested 11 former senior government officials and liberation veterans known as members of the G-15. Their alleged offence was peacefully calling for democratic reform, implementation of Eritrea’s ratified, but never implemented 1997 Constitution, and accountability within the Government.

On 18 September 2001, the Eritrean authorities also closed the country’s independent newspapers. In the following days, they detained journalists, editors and newspaper founders solely for carrying out their professional duties and reporting on matters of public interest.

None of these detainees has been formally charged, brought before an independent court or granted access to legal representation. Their families have been denied visits and reliable information about their health, whereabouts or even whether they are still alive. 

Justice placed beyond reach

There is no independent judicial system in Eritrea capable of protecting victims or holding the authorities accountable. Those affected cannot safely bring claims before the courts, while relatives risk intimidation or persecution merely for seeking information about disappeared family members.

With domestic remedies effectively closed, complaints were brought before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights by Liesbeth Zegveld and Mussie Ephrem, ARTICLE 19, and Reporters Without Borders.

Eritrea ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on 14 January 1999. It is therefore legally bound to respect the Charter and to cooperate in good faith with the African Commission, including implementing its decisions.

THREE DECISIONS—NO IMPLEMENTATION

In Communication 250/2002, Liesbeth Zegveld and Mussie Ephrem v. Eritrea, decided in 2003, the African Commission found Eritrea responsible for violating Articles 2, 6, 7(1) and 9(2) of the African Charter.

The Commission urged Eritrea to release the 11 detained G-15 members immediately and compensate them. Twenty-three years after that decision, Eritrea has done neither. African Commission decision

In Communication 275/2003, Article 19 v. Eritrea, decided in 2007, the Commission found violations of Articles 1, 5, 6, 7(1), 9 and 18 of the African Charter arising from the detention of 18 journalists and the suppression of the independent press.

The Commission called upon Eritrea to release the journalists or bring them promptly before a fair court, lift the prohibition on the independent press, grant the detainees immediate access to their families and legal representatives, and provide compensation. Eritrea has ignored every one of these requirements. African Commission decision

In Communication 428/2012, Dawit Isaak v. Republic of Eritrea, the Commission refused to reconsider matters already determined in Article 19 v. Eritrea. Nevertheless, it expressly reaffirmed its previous findings and strongly urged Eritrea to implement that decision without further delay.

In Communication 428/2012, Dawit Isaak v. Republic of Eritrea, the Commission upheld Eritrea’s preliminary objection that the matters had already been determined in ARTICLE 19 v. Eritrea and therefore did not reconsider the case on its merits.

Nevertheless, the Commission reaffirmed its previous findings and again urged Eritrea to release the journalists or bring them promptly before a fair court, provide access to their families and legal representatives, pay compensation, and implement its earlier decision without further delay.

That ruling also remains unimplemented. African Commission decision

For 25 years, the Eritrean Government has attempted to erase these prisoners from public life. It has refused to implement two decisions of the African Commission and a third ruling reaffirming that its earlier decision remained unfulfilled.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS WITHOUT CHARGE, TRIAL OR ANSWERS

This is not merely prolonged arbitrary detention. By refusing to acknowledge the detainees’ circumstances or disclose their fate and whereabouts, the Eritrean authorities have subjected them to enforced disappearance. Their families have endured twenty-five years of uncertainty, fear and psychological suffering.

Some detainees are reported to have died in custody, but the Government has never provided official confirmation, returned their remains or permitted an independent investigation. If any detainee has died, their family has the right to know when, where and under what circumstances the death occurred, and to receive their remains.

Eritrea has been a party to the African Charter since 1999. The Commission’s decisions are authoritative findings under that Charter. Eritrea cannot claim the protections and privileges of membership in African institutions while treating their human-rights decisions with contempt.

Its refusal to comply also exposes a serious weakness in regional enforcement. A human-rights system cannot protect victims if a state is permitted to ignore its findings for more than two decades without consequences.

OUR DEMANDS

Human Rights Concern–Eritrea calls upon the Eritrean Government to:

1. disclose immediately the fate, health and precise whereabouts of every G-15 member and journalist detained in September 2001;
2. release immediately and unconditionally all surviving detainees;
3. provide them with urgent independent medical care and access to their families and lawyers;
4. return the remains of anyone who has died to their family, accompanied by complete and truthful information about the circumstances of death;
5. allow an independent investigation into alleged deaths, torture, ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances;
6. compensate the detainees and their families, as directed by the African Commission;
7. lift the prohibition on independent media; and
8. release all other prisoners of conscience held without charge or trial in Eritrea.

We call upon the African Commission, the African Union and its member states to demand a time-bound account of Eritrea’s implementation of these decisions. Non-compliance must be documented publicly and addressed at the highest levels of the African Union.

We also call upon the international community to insist on independent access to Eritrea’s detention facilities and to preserve evidence for future accountability proceedings.

Twenty-five years of silence do not extinguish the rights of the disappeared. Time does not legalise arbitrary detention, erase responsibility or relieve Eritrea of its obligations.

The G-15 members and journalists are not forgotten. Their families are entitled to truth. The detainees are entitled to liberty, justice and redress. Those responsible for their disappearance and mistreatment must ultimately be held accountable.

Release the prisoners. Reveal the truth. End enforced disappearance in Eritrea.

Human Rights Concern–Eritrea (HRCE)

Eritrea.facts@gmail.com