ERITREA USCIRF–RECOMMENDED FOR COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN (CPC) KEY FINDINGS I n 2020, religious freedom conditions in Eritrea improved incrementally, though overall remained poor. Authorities in Eritrea released 240 religious prisoners on bail, allegedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and eased restrictions on the Baha’i community, the Jewish community, and the Greek Orthodox Church. However, the repressive system governing religious groups remained in place, and members of “unofficial” religious groups continued to face systematic and egregious persecution for practicing their faiths. Since 2002, the Eritrean government has recognized and permitted only four religious entities to operate in the country: Sunni Islam, the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Church of Eritrea. Although these groups were allowed to practice their faiths publicly, the government consistently intervened in their affairs to limit and direct their activities. The government also continued to invoke Proclamation No. 73 to persecute both religious and secular activists throughout the country on a regular basis, especially those who disagree with the government’s stated positions. The government continued to require all Eritreans above the age of 18 to participate in mandatory military service indefinitely and restricted religious expression during that service. As a result, Jehovah’s Witnesses who refused to serve in the military due to their faith were stripped of their citizenship and thrown in jail. As of December 2020, 24 Jehovah’s Witnesses were imprisoned in Eritrea, some of whom have been in jail for more than 20 years. In 2020, approximately 500 to 1,200 individuals were estimated to be in prison in Eritrea due to their faith. Authorities continued to hold the Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and USCIRF Religious Prisoner of Conscience Abune Antonios under house arrest. The government illegally removed Patriarch Antonios from his position in May 2007. In addition to Patriarch Antonios, the government also continued to imprison religious leaders—including from the Full Gospel Church and the Orthodox Church—and Sunni and Wahabi Muslims. The leaders of the Full Gospel Church and the Orthodox Church have been in jail since 2004. Despite positive regional political changes, including in neighboring Sudan and Ethiopia, Eritrea continued to resist religious and secular activists’ ongoing calls for democratic reform. In 2019, security forces met the demands of both religious and secular activists with lethal force, injuring and even killing tens of them. RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT • Redesignate Eritrea as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), and maintain the existing, ongoing arms embargo referenced in 22 CFR 126.1 (a) of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations; • Impose targeted sanctions on Eritrean government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ assets and/or barring their entry into the United States under human rights related financial and visa authorities, citing specific religious freedom violations; • Urge the Eritrean government to release the remaining detainees held on account of their religious activities, including Patriarch Antonios; • Call on the Eritrean government to end religious persecution of unregistered religious communities and grant full citizenship rights to Jehovah’s Witnesses; and • Encourage the Eritrean government to extend an official invitation for unrestricted KEY USCIRF RESOURCES & ACTIVITIES • Issue Update: The Global Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses 20 U S C I R F | A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 1 visits by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the International Red Cross. The U.S. Congress should: • Highlight religious freedom issues in Eritrea through legislation, hearings and briefings, and a congressional delegation trip to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, to engage with Eritrean officials to encourage them to advance human rights and religious freedom.