Basic information* Capital: Asmara
Population: 4.4 million (UN, 2005)
Area: 117,400 sq km (45,300 sq miles)
Major religions: Christianity, Islam
Major languages: Tigrignia, Tigre, Arabic, English
Life expectancy: 51 years (men), 55 years (women) (UN)
President: Isaias Afewerki
Human Development Index: 161/177 |
From BBC Online: 
“Eritrea emerged from its long war of independence in 1993 only to plunge once again into military conflict, first with Yemen and then, more devastatingly, with its old adversary, Ethiopia. Today, a fragile peace prevails and Eritrea faces the gigantic tasks of rebuilding its infrastructure and of developing its economy after more than 30 years of fighting.
The unresolved border issue compounds other pressing problems. These include Eritrea's inability to provide enough food; two thirds of the population receive food aid. Moreover, economic progress is hampered by the proportion of Eritreans who are in the army rather than the workforce”
BBC, September 2006
Refugees**
- Refugees and asylum seekers:147,628
- Number of internally displaced persons: unknown
- Total: 147,628
- Number of asylum applications to the UK (June 05 - June 06): 2500
Current situation
From Amnesty International: “Today (18th Sept 2006) is the fifth anniversary of the detentions without charge or trial of 11 former members of parliament, 10 journalists and hundreds of other men and women who were arrested in a crackdown on government critics calling for democratic reforms in September 2001.
Recent allegations have been publicly circulating that several of the 11 former senior government figures detained in a secret prison and some journalists said to have been held with them, have died in detention on account of the harsh conditions and denial of medical treatment.
Most of the several thousand political and religious prisoners in Eritrea are held incommunicado in secret security or military prisons, without being charged or taken to court. The families often do not know where they are held or even if they are alive. The authorities have told them, "You have no right to ask". Medical treatment is extremely poor. The pattern of ill-treatment, harsh conditions of detention, often in metal shipping containers, has persisted unchanged year after year. Torture continues to be regularly used as a punishment for prisoners such as military conscripts and religious prisoners.
The pattern of religious persecution reported by Amnesty International in December 2005 continues. Some 50 students were reportedly arrested in May 2006 for not joining an Independence Day rally. 29 worshippers were arrested at home prayer meetings in the capital Asmara, Keren town and Massawa port in mid-August 2006.
A total of about 2,000 men, women and children, including 35 pastors, who belong to evangelical Christian churches which were closed down in 2002, are held in some 14 prisons around the country”
Amnesty International, September 2006
From Human Rights Watch: "Eritrea is a highly repressive state. Since independence, the only political party that has been allowed to operate in the country is the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) led by President Issayas Afewerki. During this period, no national elections have been held. National elections were scheduled to be held in 1997 and in 2001, but both times they were cancelled.
Political dissent is now totally suppressed. In September 2001, the government arrested eleven leaders of the PFDJ, after the release of a letter they sent to President Afwerki asking for implementation of the 1997 constitution and democratic reform, and criticizing his leadership. Since then, scores of other Eritreans have been arrested because of their alleged ties to the dissidents or for their perceived political views. The Eritrean government has also arrested publishers, editors, and reporters—and even two Eritrean employees of the U.S. State Department, apparently in retaliation for a U.S. statement critical of these other arrests.
All these citizens have been locked up and the key apparently thrown away. There are no charges pending against them in any court. They have no lawyers. No one, not even family members, knows where they are or what conditions they are kept in—even whether they are still alive or not. It has been almost four years since they were plunged into prolonged arbitrary incommunicado detention. "
Human Rights Watch, May 2005
* This information is taken from the BBC's country profiles
**These numbers were taken from UNHCR figures published June 2nd 2006 and Home Office figures June 2005 - June 2006
