ERITREA



CAPITAL: ASMARA
POPULATION: 5,880,000
LANGUAGE: FRENCH
BELOW POVERTY: 50%
ACCESS TO WATER: 60%
ACCESS TO IMPROVED SANITATION: 5%
AVERAGE ANNUAL INCOME: $1,197
CHRISTIAN: 63%

PARTNERED NGO

Through a 2011 U.N. report estimated that nearly 70 percent of Eritreans cannot meet their food needs, the government insists that the country is self-sufficient and refuses international food aid. The proportion of Eritreans who are in the army rather than in the workforce also hinders economic growth. The constitution and elections have been indefinitely suspended. Eritrea has been designated as a Country of Particular Concern by the USCIRF since 2004.

PERSECUTION

The Eritrean government has banned all Christian groups except the Orthodox Church of Eritrea, the country’s largest Christian group; the Roman Catholic Church; and the Evangelical Church of Eritrea, a Lutheran-affiliated denomination. Even recognized groups face severe restrictions and a lot of government interference. As in previous years, security forces continue to disrupt private worship, conduct mass arrests at prayer meetings and other gatherings such as weddings, and detain those arrested for indefinite periods without charge. As many Christians have fled the country, mass arrests have decreased. Currently over 1,000 Christians are imprisoned in Eritrea because of their faith, some for over 10 years, and none of those have ever received a court hearing or been formally charged. In November 2013, VOM sources reported that a group of 185 Christians who had gathered to pray near Asmara over the worsening conditions in the country were arrested; some women and children were released after signing an agreement stating that they would stop meeting with other believers. Prisoners are tortured and subjected to extremely poor living conditions, often locked in metal shipping containers or underground bunkers. Several who have refused to renounce their beliefs have died in custody. VOM supports a number of families of imprisoned Christians who have no other support system in place.


VOM

NEWS