Eritrea is now in its second year as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, but its own human rights situation remains deeply concerning. The government is also now accused of committing atrocity crimes in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and of sending young conscripts to the frontlines. Thankfully, the mandate of the UN’s Special Rapporteur (SR) on the human rights situation in Eritrea was renewed in July 2020 - their work is the only independent, international way to monitor and expose the truth about how Eritrea treats its citizens. Religious groups continue to face severe repression, with countless adherents detained in the country’s extensive and unsanitary prison network. Find out more at csw.org.uk/eritrea
Sunday 7 March
Last July the UN Human Rights Council voted to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. Thank God for the countries and NGOs, including CSW, which worked hard to secure this outcome. Pray for the work of the new SR, Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, as he takes over from Daniela Kravetz.
Monday 8 March
Eritrea has consistently refused to allow successive Special Rapporteurs access to the country. Pray today that they would cooperate fully with the new Special Rapporteur and commit to improving the human rights situation.
Tuesday 9 March
Forty-five people were arrested at Christian gatherings in April and June last year. Fifteen Christians were arrested at a worship service in a home in Asmara; while 30 people, including non-Christians, were arrested at the wedding of a Christian couple. In August and September, five church leaders and at least eight women were detained in Asmara and Dekemhare respectively. Pray they will soon be released.
Wednesday 10 March
Thank God that 101 Muslims and at least 64 Christians were released in August and September last year. All of them had been detained without charge or trial for between two and 16 years. Additionally, 28 Jehovah’s Witnesses were released in December, including three who had spent 26 years detained arbitrarily; and so far in 2021, around 90 more Christians were released between February and March. Pray for the release of thousands more who are still detained because of their religion or belief.
Thursday 11 March
At the time of writing there is widespread hunger, including in Asmara, as people are being prevented from opening stores, farming or taking food to detained relatives due to a stringent, now year-long COVID-19 lockdown. A swarm of locusts is causing additional hardship, and Eritrean soldiers fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have destroyed refugee camps and forcibly returned thousands of Eritrean escapees. Pray for provision and protection for the remaining refugees, an end to the fighting, and deliverance for the people of Eritrea from every source of hardship.
Friday 12 March
‘See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.’ (Isaiah 43:19) Pray this verse of change over Eritrea today.
Saturday 13 March
Lord Jesus Christ, we pray for all Eritreans, including those prevented from freely practising their faith. We also remember the young conscripts, currently forced to take part in a war they do not understand. As Eritrean citizens are forced to endure government repression in various forms, may they know your consoling presence and provision, and be filled with hope for a better and freer future. Amen