ERI-ber-easo-e

44 — EASO Country of Origin Information Report — Eritrea. Country Focus
in national service must complete weapons training and accept the weapons and uniforms issued to them by the
government (364). Members of the People’s Army must also carry out unpaid tasks as patrols, guards or workers on
national development projects (365). Recruitment for the People’s Army has so far taken place primarily in Asmara
and Keren (366). It is not clear exactly how recruits are selected (367) but conscription takes place through the hanging
of posters on house walls and street lamps (368).
Those who ignore the People’s Army conscription notices are at risk of losing their food coupons and identity
documents or face imprisonment (369). Many people were nevertheless still ignoring them in late 2014 and early
2015 (370). Reportedly, round-ups and detentions of such evaders occurred (371).
(364) US Department of State, 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom — Eritrea, 20 May 2013, p. 2; HRW, World Report 2014 — Eritrea, 21 January
2014; Connell, D., ‘Refugees, Ransoms and Revolt. An Update on Eritrea’, Spring 2013; OSAC, Eritrea 2014 Crime and Safety Report, 12 March 2014, p. 4;
Udlændingestyrelsen (Danish Immigration Service), Eritrea — Drivers and Root Causes of Emigration, National Service and the Possibility of Return, Appendix
edition, December 2014, pp. 13-14; Landinfo: Temanotat Eritrea: Nasjonaltjeneste, 23 March 2015, pp. 21-22; Vincent, L., Erythrée: Pourquoi le pouvoir offre
des kalachnikovs aux civils, 24 October 2012; Tronvoll, K., and Mekonnen, D.R., The African Garrison State. Human Rights & Political Development in Eritrea,
2014, pp. 165, 181-182.
(365) US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 — Eritrea, 27 February 2014; HRW, World Report 2015 — Eritrea, 29 January
2015; OSAC, Eritrea 2014 Crime and Safety Report, 12 March 2014, p. 4; Landinfo: Temanotat Eritrea: Nasjonaltjeneste, 23 March 2015, p. 22.
(366) Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2014. Eritrea Country Report, 2014, p. 12.
(367) Institute for Security Studies, Where is Eritrea heading?, 5 February 2013.
(368) Landinfo, Temanotat Eritrea: Nasjonaltjeneste, 23 March 2015, p. 22.
(369) Awate, Is This The Beginning Of The End For The Eritrean Regime, 11 October 2012; Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe, Eritrea: Rekrutierung von Minderjährigen,
21 January 2015, p. 5; US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 — Eritrea, 27 February 2014, pp. 23-24.
(370) Landinfo, Temanotat Eritrea: Nasjonaltjeneste, 23 March 2015, p. 22; Plaut, M., Eritrea: the retribution begins, as defiance of military service grows, 15 January
2015; Plaut, M., Eritrea — the open defiance of ordinary people, 5 January 2015; Horn Affairs, Eritrea: Conversation with the resistance mov’t inside Asmara,
26 October 2014; Asmarino, Eritrea: Regime calls off new calls for military training, 3 January 2015.
(371) US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 — Eritrea, 27 February 2014, pp. 2, 6.