‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

In order to graduate from high school and meet the compulsory training component of national service prescribed by the Proclamation on National Service No. 82/1995, students are required to complete their final year of schooling (grade 12) at the Warsay Yikealo Secondary School located at the Sawa military complex. Each year, 11,000 to 15,000 students enter grade 12 at Sawa, and while many of these students have typically reached age 18 by the time they participate in the military training component of 12th grade schooling, some are reportedly as young as age 16. The mandatory military training includes military discipline and procedures, weapons training, a survival exercise, and a 2- to 4- week war simulation, and some conscripts are forced to perform agricultural labor on government-owned farms. During their time at Sawa, students endure notoriously harsh conditions and corruption, including allegations of military commanders offering food and better treatment to female students in exchange for sexual acts. Further, high school students are forced to participate in maetot, a government-mandated month-long agricultural work program, for little to no pay. Failure to participate in the program results in immediate expulsion from school.

Without completion of (and official release from) national service assignments, Eritrean children face a future of indefinite national service. These factors underlie an ongoing exodus of unaccompanied minors from the country. Adolescent children, some as young as age 14, who attempted to leave Eritrea were sometimes detained or forced to undergo military training, despite being younger than the minimum age of 18 for compulsory military recruitment. In addition, there have been reports that giffas—house-to-house military roundups used to identify Eritreans who are trying, or perceived as trying, to evade or escape national service—have resulted in the imprisonment or forced conscription of children.

Children at Higher Risk

Unhoused and unaccompanied children in Eritrea are particularly vulnerable to child labor. These children, especially those above the age of 14, are also disproportionately forced into military training or conscription by government officials. In addition, displaced Sudanese children with temporary residence living along the Eritrea-Sudan border are more likely to fall victim to child labor as they do not receive assistance from the government.

Barriers to Education Access

Children, particularly in rural areas, face numerous barriers to education access, including a lack of access to teachers, as well as a lack of transportation to schools for some students, which may increase their vulnerability to child labor.

‡ Age calculated based on available information

The Labor Proclamation's minimum age protections do not apply to children working outside formal employment relationships, such as those who are self-employed, which does not conform to international standards requiring all children to be protected by the minimum age to work. In addition, Article 69 of the Labor Proclamation authorizes the Minister of Labor to issue a list of activities prohibited to children under age 18; however, the government has not determined by national law or regulation the types of hazardous work prohibited for children. Likewise, the Labor Proclamation’s hazardous work protections do not apply to children working outside formal employment relationships. Laws prohibiting slavery, debt bondage, and forced labor are insufficient because they do not criminally prohibit practices similar to slavery or debt bondage/servitude/serfdom.

Laws governing the use of children in illicit activities are not sufficient because the existing Penal Code does not explicitly criminally prohibit the use, procuring, or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs. Current laws regarding the commercial sexual exploitation of children are also insufficient because the use of a child for prostitution is not criminally prohibited, nor is the use, procuring or offering a child for pornography or for pornographic performances. While the Proclamation on National Service No. 82/1995 requires compulsory national service from all citizens ages 18 to 40, the law is silent on voluntary military service, and thus places no explicit limitations on the voluntary recruitment of children under age 18 into the national armed forces.

Eritrea does not appear to have any laws guaranteeing free basic education or setting the compulsory education age, increasing the risk of children's involvement in child labor. However, several government policies provide free and compulsory basic education to all children below the age of 14, including the Education Sector Development Plan and the Comprehensive National Child Policy.

It is unknown how many labor inspectors conducted worksite inspections, or whether child labor violations were found. It is unknown whether investigations into suspected cases of the worst forms of child labor were conducted, prosecutions were initiated, or perpetrators were convicted.

For information about USDOL’s projects to address child labor around the world, visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/ilab-project-page-search
† Program is funded by the Government of Eritrea.
‡ The government had other policies that may have addressed child labor issues or had an impact on child labor.

Trade unions are not allowed to operate freely in Eritrea, and the only legally recognized trade union is the government affiliated National Confederation of Eritrean Workers. The government has also arrested, detained, and intimidated labor activists and individuals who attempted to organize independently. These factors have created an environment where workers’ rights are routinely violated, workers earn sub-standard wages, and child labor often persists.

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