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Eritrea - Initial reports of States parties due in 1996: Addendum [2002] UNCRCSPR 23; CRC/C/41/Add.12 (23 December 2002)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/41/Add.12 23 December
2002
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER
ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Initial reports of States parties due in 1996
Addendum
ERITREA
[27
July 2001]
GE.02-46422
(E) 160103
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Acronyms/abbreviations
6
Introduction 1 - 31 9
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF
IMPLEMENTATION 32 - 63 16
- Measures
taken to harmonize national law and
policy with the provisions of
the Convention 32 - 42 16
B. Existing or planned mechanisms to coordinate
policies and monitor the implementation of
the Convention 43 - 49 19
C. Measures taken to publicize the Convention 50 - 63 21
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD 64 - 92 27
- General
64 - 67 27
- Employment
68 28
- Minimum
marriageable age 69 - 71 28
- Giving
testimony in court 72 - 73 29
- Criminal
liability 74 - 78 29
- Deprivation
of liberty 79 31
- Imprisonment
80 31
- Consumption
and sale of alcohol and drugs 81 - 82 32
- Civil
and civic rights, and the right to perform juridical
activities
83 - 85 32
- Compulsory
education 86 - 87 32
- Military
service and the armed forces 88 33
- Sexual
consent 89 - 92 33
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
93 - 105 33
- Non-discrimination
93 - 95 33
- Best
interests of the child 96 - 97 34
- The
right to life, survival and development 98 - 101 34
- Respect
for the views of the child 102 - 105 35
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND
FREEDOMS 106 - 135 36
- General
106 - 108 36
- Paternity
109 - 112 36
- Guardianship
113 - 116 37
- Name
and nationality 117 - 121 38
- Preservation
of identity 122 - 124 39
- Freedom
of expression 125 - 127 39
- Access
to appropriate information 128 40
- Freedom
of thought, conscience and religion 129 - 130 40
- Freedom
of association, and of peaceful assembly 131 40
- Protection
of privacy 132 - 133 40
- The
right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment 134 - 135 41
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE 136 - 183 41
- Introduction
136 - 138 41
- Parental
and family guidance and responsibilities 139 - 145 42
- Separation
of parents 146 - 150 43
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
- Recovery
of maintenance for the child 151 - 154 44
- Unaccompanied
children and children deprived of
a family environment 155 -
176 45
- Illicit
transfer and non-return 177 49
- Abuse
and neglect 178 - 179 49
- Periodic
review of placement 180 - 183 50
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND
WELFARE 184 - 295 50
- Survival
and development 184 - 230 50
- Children
with disabilities 231 - 251 60
- Health
and health services 252 - 276 66
- Social
security and childcare services 277 - 288 71
- Standard
of living 289 - 295 74
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURE
296 - 373 76
- Aims
of education 296 - 303 76
- Factors
affecting education 304 - 309 79
- Early
childhood education 310 - 315 80
- Basic
education provided by the State 316 - 336 82
- Girls’
education 337 - 343 87
- Urban/rural
and regional disparities 344 88
- Private
education 345 - 347 89
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
- Technical
and vocational training 348 - 353 89
- Special
education 354 - 361 91
- Leisure,
recreation and cultural activities 362 - 373 92
VIII. SPECIAL
PROTECTION MEASURES 374 - 454 95
- Children
in situations of emergency 374 - 393 95
- Children
in conflict with the law 394 - 421 99
- Children
in situations of exploitation 422 - 451 104
- Children
belonging to a minority or an
indigenous group 452 - 454 111
IX. CONCLUSIONS 455 - 467 112
Acronyms/Abbreviations
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Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
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AIFO
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Associazione Italiana Amici di Raoul Follereau
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ARI
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Acute respiratory infections
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CNSPM
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Children in need of special protection measures
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ECCE
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Early childhood care and education
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ECCD
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Early childhood care and development
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ECD
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Early childhood development
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ECE
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Early childhood education
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EDHS
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Eritrean Demographic and Health Survey
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EFA
|
Education for All
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EPI
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Expanded programme on immunization
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EPLF
|
Eritrean People’s Liberation Front
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EPPC
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Eritrean Provisional Penal Code
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ERIWESP
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Eritrean Rural Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation Programme
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ERREC
|
Eritrean Refugee and Relief Commission
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FGM
|
Female genital mutilation
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GDP
|
Gross domestic product
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GER
|
Gross enrolment ratio
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GNP
|
Gross national product
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GSE
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Government of the State of Eritrea
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HAMSET
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HIV/AIDS, malaria, sexually transmitted disease, and tuberculosis-control
programme
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HEP
|
Health education and promotion
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HIV
|
Human immunodeficiency virus
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Acronyms/Abbreviations (continued)
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Iodine deficiency disorders
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IDPs
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Internally displaced persons
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IMF
|
International Monetary Fund
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IMR
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Infant mortality rate
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MIA
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Ministry of Internal Affairs
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MLHW
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Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare
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MMR
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Maternal mortality rate
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MoA
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Ministry of Agriculture
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MoE
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Ministry of Education
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MoH
|
Ministry of Health
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MoI
|
Ministry of Information
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MoJ
|
Ministry of Justice
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NACP
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National AIDS Control Programme
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NAD
|
Norwegian Association of the Disabled
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NCEW
|
National Confederation of Eritrean Workers
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NGO
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Non-governmental organization
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NPA
|
National Programme of Action
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NUEW
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National Union of Eritrean Women
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NUEYS
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National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students
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Acronyms/Abbreviations (continued)
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Organization of African Unity
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ORT
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Oral rehydration therapy
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PFDJ
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Peoples’ Front for Democracy and Justice
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PHC
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Primary health care
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PROFERI
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Programme for Refugee Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Resettlement
Areas in Eritrea
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STD
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Sexually transmitted disease
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TCCE
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Transitional Civil Code of Eritrea
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TFR
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Total fertility rate
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TPCE
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Transitional Penal Code of Eritrea
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TVET
|
Technical and vocational education and training
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U5MR
|
Under-5 mortality rate
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UNICEF
|
United Nations Children’s Fund
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UXO
|
Unexploded ordnance
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WSC
|
World Summit for Children
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Introduction
- Eritrea
has been exposed to wars through much of the last four decades, first during the
liberation struggle (1961-1991) and then,
in recent years, during the
Ethiopian-Eritrean border war (1998-2000). At the same time the country was
also affected by major droughts
and famines in the 1970s and 1980s (1973-1984,
1984-1985) and several lesser ones thereafter, continuing until the present
time.
These wars, ecological disasters, and years of relief activity have had a
deep impact on the rural and urban populations and have
given rise to several
classes of impoverished populations.
- From
23 to 25 April 1993 Eritreans (both from within and outside the country) voted
in an internationally monitored referendum. An
overwhelming 99.8 per cent of
the voting population decided in favour of independence, which was formally
declared on 24 May 1993.
Eritrea became a member of the United Nations on 28
May 1993 and a member of the OAU a few days later; in September 1993 Eritrea
signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child and ratified it in August
1994.
- This
report was prepared pursuant to article 44 of the Convention, and on the basis
of the “Consolidated guidelines for the
initial part of the reports of
States parties” as contained in document HRI/1991/1.
- This
report is the product of collaborative effort by all pertinent ministries and
NGOs. The government body responsible for children
in Eritrea is the Ministry
of Labour and Human Welfare (MLHW). Specifically, the MLHW has the primary
responsibility to promote,
enforce, implement, monitor, inspect and report the
status of progress with regard to the Convention. In addition to the legal
rights
of children stipulated in the laws and other legal instruments of the
country, the MLHW had drafted various new legislation aimed
at protecting the
rights accorded to the child as rights given to all children. Ensuring quality
childcare facilities, including
health care, education, recreation and
nutrition, has been the goal of the Eritrean Government.
- Accordingly,
policies were drafted and working programmes prepared in order to facilitate
(ensure) attainment of the objectives of
the Convention and actual work started
for its implementation.
- The
1998-2000 war with Ethiopia required the Department of Social Affairs/Division
of Child and Family Welfare to make substantial
changes in its work plans in
order to address the grave situation occasioned by mass expulsions from
Ethiopia, the dislocation and
displacement of up to 1.5 million people.
Disruptions caused by the war have negatively impacted a large number of
children.
- As
stated above, the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare, and specifically the
Division of Child and Family Welfare, has responsibility
to implementing the
Convention. There is still much work to be done for the full implementation of
the Convention; however, the
National Programme of Action for Children offers a
framework for working towards compliance with the Convention. In line with the
Convention, a Child Protection Unit has been established in the Division of
Child and Family Welfare to monitor the activities of
the Ministry. Activities
implemented to date include: the drafting of the Child Law; the translation
into local languages, distribution
and radio broadcast of the Convention; the
preparation and distribution of other related brochures, posters, postcards and
T-shirts;
national and regional workshops were convened - with the active
participation of children - aimed at sensitizing the public on the
Convention;
training on implementation for school directors, teachers, law enforcement
personnel, the youth, local administrators
and religious leaders; formation of a
national Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child; conducting of a
national “Say
Yes for Children” campaign; annual publication and
free distribution of a children’s magazine on the Day of the Child
(8
December). Most importantly, the integrated Early Childhood Development (ECD)
project started in 2001. The project is designed
to provide services for young
children’s basic needs, namely health care, proper nutrition, social
protection, and early psychosocial
stimulation as a means of helping children
realize their full potential. The project is multisectoral, involving six
ministries
(Education, Health, Agriculture, Fisheries, Labour and Human
Welfare), NGOs and the University of Asmara.
- The
main difficulty hampering the implementation of the Convention is the
socioeconomic condition of the country, and the lack of
adequate and effective
implementation mechanisms; for instance, the MLHW has a severe shortage and in
some cases a total lack of
financial and trained human resources which prevent
it from always fulfilling its obligations, even when it has appropriate policies
and guidelines that it wants to follow.
- In
the 1950s Eritrea, compared to other sub-Saharan African countries, was
economically advanced. Thirty years of war prior to liberation
in 1991 and
neglect and deprivation by the Ethiopian Dergue regime devastated the
country’s economic and social infrastructure.
Decades of lost
opportunities for growth have made Eritrea one of the poorest countries in the
world.
- Similarly,
the 1998-2000 war has affected all aspects of the social and economic life of
the people, and has been a tremendous setback
to all development achieved since
independence. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced in the region,
75,000 were expelled
from Ethiopia and much infrastructure in war-affected areas
was either destroyed or vandalized by the Ethiopian army.
- Although
the problems faced by children are some of the many rehabilitation,
reconstruction and development dilemmas facing Eritrea,
the Government is well
aware that of all the country’s citizens, children as a group have been
the most adversely affected
by war and famine. This has created an environment
in which children, especially those in difficult circumstances, are now seen
as
a priority.
- Since
gaining official independence, Eritrea has been building its legislative,
judicial and administrative structures virtually from
scratch. Nevertheless,
the experience of the EPLF during the struggle set useful legal structures in
the liberated areas which together
with the traditional customary laws and
democratic practices, e.g. customary law (Hegi Indaba) and village
councils (Baitos) of the respective communities, have proven useful in
establishing wellfounded systems of justice. The first phase of this process
has been the drafting of a new Eritrean Constitution. The drafting process has
involved extensive public input and debate by all sectors of society. In order
to be inclusive of all
opinions the drafting process has been a slow one. The
draft constitution, completed in July 1996, has been publicly debated and
was
ratified on 23 May 1997, coinciding with the sixth Independence Day
anniversary.
- The
Constitution outlines national objectives and directive principles, fundamental
rights, freedoms and duties, and establishes the basis for elected
legislative
and executive branches. It also provides a framework for the administration of
justice and essential government services.
It is a relatively short document
and is intended to protect all citizens, without detailing the rights of any
specific group, including
children. It emphasizes equality, unity, peace and
stability, and guarantees the right of all citizens to participation in
decision-making
affecting their lives. With regard to the girl child, the
provision of equality before the law and the provision against discrimination
helps towards ensuring the removal of all kinds of bias against the girl
child.
- Following
the ratification of the Eritrean Constitution, new laws have been drafted and
old codes reviewed and reformed. The codified laws which are currently
operational in Eritrea are
essentially Ethiopian laws with some amendments. The
amendments include sections from the Charter of the Eritrean People’s
Liberation Front (EPLF) and relate to basic human rights and freedoms, many of
which are applicable to this report. The Penal Code,
the Criminal Procedure
Code, the Civil Code, the Civil Procedure Code and the Commercial Code are now
finalized and are waiting for
the approval of the National Assembly. The legal
rights of children stipulated in the laws and other legal instruments of the
country
are, by and large, compatible with the provisions of the
Convention.
- The
GSE is facing many other development challenges as a result of past colonial
occupations, the 30 years of war for independence
and the 1998-2000 border war.
When the EPLF took on the responsibilities of governing the country,
Eritrea’s infrastructure
was all but destroyed; transport links were
unserviceable, power supplies were virtually non-existent, communication links
were limited
and in disrepair, and social services - such as schools and health
facilities - were totally inadequate for the population. Personal
and public
property of the Eritrean people was destroyed so that the people and the
Government had to rebuild their homes and societal
structures respectively.
After independence, between 1992 and 1997, the new Eritrean Government pursued
policies, strategies and
investments to promote rapid, widely shared economic
growth led by the private sector. It created an enabling policy environment
investing in infrastructure and strategic industries. It adopted policies to
rehabilitate, upgrade and expand transportation, communication,
power, and water
supply facilities; improve the capacity and quality of the health care,
education, and financial systems to deliver
services; and restore the productive
capacity of the economy particularly in agriculture and fisheries, tourism,
construction, mining
and manufacturing. In the years following independence,
until the outbreak of the border war in 1998, Eritrea enjoyed an average
annual
growth rate of 7 per cent, one of the highest in Africa (GSE and IMF/World Bank
estimates).
- While
the war damage to physical structures is devastating, the damage done to
individual and community life is perhaps more so.
During the war for
independence tens of thousands of Eritreans died as a direct or indirect
consequence of the war, and about 1 million
Eritreans (as many as one in three)
became refugees, fleeing to neighbouring countries and as far as the Middle
East, Europe and
the United States. The 1998-2000 border war with Ethiopia and
drought resulted in massive displacements of people; at the peak of
the war in
May 2000 about 1.5 million were internally displaced and 1.75 million were in
need of emergency assistance (80 per cent
of them women and children).
Those who remained living in areas occupied by the Ethiopian army were subjected
to persecution and
terror and, in particular, women and children were adversely
affected. Many watched their mothers being raped and some were direct
victims
of rape themselves. Of the 75,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean descent
expelled from Ethiopia between 1998 and 2001,
a great number were children. The
expellees were subjected to cruel and inhumane family separations, with some
family members expelled
and others forced to stay behind. Husbands were
separated from wives, wives from husbands, and children separated
from one or both parents. Parents were expelled but children
remained behind. Thus, many parents do not know the whereabouts of
the children
they left behind in Ethiopia and unaccompanied children do not know what has
happened to their parents. Between May
1998 and November 1999, 450 under-age
children were expelled to Eritrea without their parents; at the same time 2,600
children were
left behind in Ethiopia without any adult taking charge of them as
both parents had been expelled. Fear, displacement, death and
separation from
parents have opened afresh the wounds of war that had taken so long to
heal.
- There
are also developmental challenges, not only in rebuilding the destroyed
infrastructure, but also in producing skilled workers
needed to support those
development efforts. While Eritrea has historically had good relations with
many of its neighbours, recent
events have highlighted the international
challenge of maintaining harmonious and constructive relations with neighbouring
countries.
There is also the environmental challenge of creating sustainable
development in a country with extensive land degradation, recurrent
droughts and
(even in good years) a large food deficit. It is against this very poor
economic background that Eritrea faces the
challenges of reconstruction,
rehabilitation, and the longer-term goal of creating economic
sustainability.
- Economic
development and poverty reduction have been the central goals of the
Government’s development programme since independence.
In addition,
social services like basic health and education are recognized as inalienable
rights of the child. Within the State’s
resources and capacity, the
Eritrean Constitution, ratified in 1997, guarantees the
following:
(a) The State shall work to bring about balanced and
sustainable development throughout the country, and shall use all available
means to enable all citizens to improve their livelihood in a sustainable
manner, through their participation (art. 8, para. 2);
(b) Every citizen
has the right of equal access to publicly funded social services. The State
shall endeavour, within the limits
of its resources, to make available to all
citizens health, education, cultural and other services (art. 21, para.
1);
(c) The State shall secure, within available means, the social
welfare of all citizens and particularly those disadvantaged (art.
21, para.
2);
- The
Government has defined a vision of the new Eritrea that has been articulated
initially in the Macro-Policy Paper of 1994, and
more recently in the National
Economic Policy Framework and Programme, presented in 1998. The strategy
involves some of the following
main elements: (a) raising the skills and
well-being of people by investing in education, nutrition, health care, and
water and
sanitation systems; (b) reducing rural poverty by investing in rural
infrastructure, agriculture, management of livestock and pastures,
and
development of the fisheries sector which aims at mapping out a strategy to
catch up after over three decades of war, recurrent
droughts and lost
opportunity for socio-economic growth.
- The
overriding national development objective is to create a modern, technologically
advanced and internationally competitive economy
within the next two decades, as
stated below. National development efforts will, therefore, be directed towards
the realization
of:
(a) Improved agricultural production
through the development of irrigated agriculture and by enhancing the
productivity of peasants,
pastoralists and
agro-pastoralists;
(b) Developed capital, knowledge-intensive and
export-orientated industries and services;
(c) An upgraded and
technologically improved informal sector;
(d) A developed tourism sector
and high-grade conference and convention centres;
(e) A competitive
international financial centre;
(f) A developed and systematic public
health-care system;
(g) Broad-based education incorporating widespread
dissemination of skills and languages and extensive human capital
formation;
(h) An effective social welfare and safety-net
system;
(i) A decentralized and democratic political
system;
(j) An internally peaceful and stable nation at peace and
harmony with its neighbours; and
(k) A free and sovereign State where
human rights are respected.
- More
detailed policy frameworks have been developed in specific
areas.
- In
health, basic health services guided by Primary Health Care (PHC) strategy
principles such as equity, accessibility, affordability,
and community
involvement with services being delivered in an integrated manner are being
expanded nationwide. Other important concerns
will be decentralization and
intersectoral collaboration. The MoH has already developed a policy on
community health services which
indicates that communities will be expected to
select their own village agents who will be accountable to them. The Government
will
be involved in the training of community agents and the initial supply of
essential items, with communities expected gradually to
assume responsibility
for the sustainable implementation of these services. Since independence much
progress has been made in the
provision of public services; by 1999
about 70 per cent of citizens lived within 10 kilometres of a health-care
facility, as opposed
to 10 per cent at independence in 1991. The
number of professional health-care workers rose by nearly 70 per cent, from
2,550 in
1993 to 4,240 in 1999, and the number of physicians
grew 2½ times, from 58 to 145.
- In
the area of basic education, the macro-policy statements and the MoE policy
guidelines commit the Government to compulsory basic
education, including
instruction in mother tongue, and eventually ensuring universal access to basic
education. The policy also
expresses the principle of non-formal education to
cater for the majority of the population who are currently not being served by
the present system. The national human resources development policy provides
the framework for the development of education. The
principal objectives of
education and training in Eritrea are: (a) to produce a population equipped
with the necessary skills, knowledge
and culture for a self-reliant and modern
economy; (b) to develop self-consciousness and self-motivation in the population
to fight
poverty, disease, and all the attendant causes of backwardness and
ignorance; and (c) to make basic education available for all.
To reach those
objectives, the Eritrean Government has adopted a series of policies for
education and training (detailed below in
the education
section).
- To
improve access to education, the Government has increased spending on education
from 4 per cent of government expenditure in 1993
to over 9 per cent in 2001.
Expanding primary school enrolment (grades 1-5) and improving its quality are
the Government’s
top priority for education. Currently nearly 70 per cent
of resources for education are spent on primary education, and nearly 78
per
cent of the primary schools are located in rural areas. As a result
primary and middle school enrolment increased from about
178,800 in 1991/92
to 370,000 in 2000. During the same period, enrolment in secondary schools
rose from about 27,600 to 60,000,
while the number of university
students rose from 2,940 to 4,100. However, 60 per cent of 7- to
11-year-old children remain out
of school.
- From
1998 to 2001 the number of men and women benefiting from adult education schemes
leaped to 90,000, of whom 90 per cent were women.
- Between
2001 and 2005 the Government plans to steadily increase the share of expenditure
for education to reach 14 per cent of total
government expenditure in
2005.
- In
the area of social affairs, the government policy advocates the provision of
legal protection to children and youth from economic,
sexual and other forms of
exploitation. The policy also encourages the strengthening of traditional
social security and self-help
schemes and the promotion of the rights of the
child, the disabled and other vulnerable groups through the active participation
and
collaboration of communities and concerned governmental and nongovernmental
organizations.
- It
is with these policy objectives that the Government aims to overcome the massive
impediments facing the country today. Eritrea
is presently one of the poorest
countries in the world with an estimated GDP per capita of about US$ 200.
Although the Eritrean
Government did not inherit any debt to service, its
ability to raise funds has been severely hindered by the devastated economy with
a relatively large proportion of the people being below the poverty line. The
recent war coupled with drought greatly reduced agricultural
production, making
almost all the rural population dependent on food aid. Although the war ended
in 2000, an exceptionally severe
and prolonged drought continues in 2002
threatening the survival of people and animals.
- Demographic
situation. The population is estimated at 3.7 million people living within
Eritrea and another 700,000 to 1 million living
abroad. These figures are
based on local villagelevel estimates, since there has not been a formal census.
About 50 per cent of
the population are children under 18, of whom around 18
per cent are under the age of 5 years. The annual growth rate is estimated
at 2.7 per cent. Life expectancy is about 51 years, slightly above the
sub-Saharan average of 47, but well below the average of
59 years for other
low-income countries. Nine ethnic groups are found in the country, of which the
largest are the Tigrinya (50
per cent) and the Tigre (31 per cent). Much
has been achieved, despite the problems faced by the country. The infant
mortality
rate (IMR) has declined from 72 per 1,000 live births in 1992 to
48 in 2002 and the under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) declined from 140
per 1,000
live births in 1992 to 93 in 2002 (one of the lowest in Africa). The maternal
mortality rate (MMR) is about 985 deaths
per 100,000 live births, one of the
highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Female genital mutilation (FGM) affects 89 per
cent of girls
by the age of 7 years. There is lack of access to quality
reproductive health services, particularly those that are youth friendly;
in
fact, coverage of antenatal care services declined from 49 to 40 per cent
from 1995 to 1999.
- Eritrea
is categorized as a country with a low HIV infection rate with a population
prevalence rate of about 3 per cent in 2000; however,
the Ministry of Health
estimates a doubling time of 18 months, which means that if left unchecked,
the population prevalence rate
of HIV might reach 12 per cent by 2006.
AIDS orphans are already adding to the nearly 80,000 war orphans who remained as
of 1999;
this number does not include the additional orphans as a result of the
border war since 1998. By 2002 there were 552 AIDS orphans
registered with and
receiving support from the MLHW. The adult literacy rate is about 30
per cent. The gross primary school enrolment
rate is about 52 per cent.
Access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation is very low and is
estimated at 22 and 18 per cent
respectively; the scarce water supply is
aggravated by the destruction of water supply installations during the war and
by the drought.
Although there have been encouraging trends a great deal needs
to be done to improve the health and general well-being of women
and
children.
- Although
some data from the Eritrean Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) 2002 on health
have been quoted in this report, many sections
still contain data from the EDHS
1995; the final report of the new EDHS and a National Study on Persons with
Disabilities are expected
to be finalized by the end of 2002. Since
independence the Government and UNICEF have conducted three analyses on the
situation
of children and women, the first in 1994; an update of the situation
was done in 1996 in view of new data from the 1995 EDHS; a third
situation
analysis was conducted in 2001. Although the latter will need to be
updated when the results of the 2002 EDHS are available,
it remains the most
up-to-date report covering all aspects of the situation of children and women in
Eritrea. In addition to these,
the MLHW have conducted various studies,
assessments and evaluations of the situation of children in Eritrea, among them:
Evaluation
of the Orphan Reunification Programme and Group Homes; Psychosocial
Needs Assessment of War-Affected Children; an assessment on the
situation of
separated children in internally displaced persons’ camps and various
situation analyses of vulnerable children.
It is obvious, however, that the
lack of baseline information on critical social and economic indicators
constitutes an obstacle
to the design, monitoring and evaluation of programmes
at all levels. As capacity is built within the various government and
non-government
agencies that plan and implement projects, baseline data will be
collected and incorporated into the planning, implementation and
evaluation
processes.
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
A. Measures taken to harmonize national law and
policy
with the provisions of the Convention
- As
a recently liberated country, Eritrea has a formidable task ahead of it to give
the rights of the child a factual basis within
its legislative, judicial,
administrative and institutional structures. Colonialism and the long history
of oppression, recent war
and resultant massive human rights abuses, and extreme
deprivation, including famine, make the transition of Eritrea into a country
with a population committed to the rights of the child a challenging
one.
- Basic
human rights were espoused and defended by the EPLF during the war, and there is
a widespread acceptance of the necessity of
not only enshrining these rights in
law but establishing strong societal structures, both formal and informal, which
will ensure
that these rights are upheld.
- The
GSE understands the urgent needs of the country in terms of the collection of
baseline information, the formulation of detailed
policies and guidelines and
the implementation of programmes to meet the basic rights of children; these
have been a priority of
the MLHW. Additionally, capacity-building within the
government line ministries and more general human resource development are
the
first priorities of the GSE. Implementing the Constitution by developing
legislation in relation to child rights and instituting a budget process have
been two other basic priorities. The
MLHW is in the process of finalizing
various social policies, like the National Policy of Child and Family Welfare
and a policy on
prostitution. Much emphasis has been given to creating
community awareness concerning the Convention and proper childcare and
protection
in general.
- During
the drafting of the Constitution, Eritrea embarked upon a process of examining
how its national laws coincide with the provisions of the various international
conventions
and declarations to which the country is signatory. As a whole, the
drafting of the Constitution has been a “bottom-up” approach, with
the population being involved in massive consultations across the country. The
deliberations have concentrated on the following background.
- The
family is the most basic institution within Eritrean society for raising
children, and it can play a positive role in the creation
of productive and
competent citizens. Within the new Constitution of Eritrea, article 22, which
refers to the family, satisfies certain criteria required in the Convention:
both males and females
have to be over 18 years of age to marry and both must
fully consent to marriage and the establishment of a family. It also guarantees
the equality of the two partners during marriage ties and
divorce.
- The
Constitution says that the family is the natural and fundamental unit of society
and that it is entitled to the protection and special care of
the State and
society; this is interpreted to extend special care and protection by the State
and society to children too. The same
article adds that the parents also have
the obligation and right to raise children with all the necessary care and
protection. Though traditionally within the society children are loved by
their parents and the wider community, it is still a widespread
practice to have
children engaged in economic activities (production of commodities and
services), both within and outside the home,
with the status of employees or
apprentices.
- The
Government of the State of Eritrea has signed and ratified the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and this move will help
to ensure the protection of the
rights, freedoms and dignity of children. Before the application of the
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and other covenants, children were
deprived of their basic human rights both at national and international levels.
Recently, it became clear that children are the victims because of violations of
their rights and the consequences of social problems:
violence, military
conflict, exploitation, poverty, disability and the like. Thus, the situation
has motivated a continuous initiative
to ensure the specific security of
children. As outlined in the Convention, the best interests of the child should
be the primary
consideration.
- Although
article 22 of the new Constitution generally advocates for the proper care of
children, the parents, the society and the Government have a collective
responsibility
to render appropriate care to children. Most of the
international and regional human rights instruments, among other things, provide
the following:
(a) The right from birth to a name and the right
to acquire a nationality;
(b) The right to security, adequate food,
basic health and social services;
(c) The right not to be deprived of a
family environment and protection from abuse;
(d) The right of the child
to be protected from labour exploitation. A child should not be exposed to
hazardous forms of child labour.
Children should not be required to work or
admitted to employment which is likely to be harmful to their education, health
or development;
(e) A child who is in conflict with the law should be
treated in a manner which takes into account the age and developmental
capacities
of the child.
- The
concept of the child should be defined in a proper way in Eritrea. According to
the standards of many constitutions, a child
shall attain the legal age of
majority on reaching 18 years of age. With regard to other rights and
obligations contained in the
Convention, the Constitution Commission had raised
the following points for community
discussion:
Name. The right to a name is a
universal right. A name is an integral part of the identity of a person. It is
an inherent part of this
human right that, upon registration, a child is given a
birth certificate.
Nationality. A child has a right to
acquire nationality immediately after birth. The aim would be to protect the
entitlement of the child to
citizenship. This will enable children to enjoy
their rights to citizenship and other rights within the Constitution of their
country.
Parental guidance. The law should recognize the
right of parents to protect their children from arbitrary intervention by any
administrative body.
There is an issue as to the role of government if the
child is an orphan or if his/her parents are unfit to raise a child. Under
such
circumstances, the child is entitled to alternative care. According to the
relevant article of the Convention, the Government
has the obligation to
establish childcare institutions.
Nutrition and basic health
services. This is one of the concrete examples of socioeconomic rights, and
Governments do have the capacity to remove the barriers to
the
implementation of this right. Primarily, this right aims at the
protection of children from maltreatment, neglect, hunger and abuse.
Even in
the most disadvantaged areas, it is possible for the Government to provide
a minimum of food and health services. This
should be one of the basic
obligations of Government, although this obligation must be carried out within
the context of the level
of development of the
country.
Neglect and abuse. Children have the
right to be protected from neglect and abuse. According to this article of the
Convention, the Government has
an obligation to take appropriate measures
whenever this right is violated. It is not clear, however, what the
Government’s
specific role is in protecting children from abuse and
neglect within the family and private relationships, in particular, to what
extent the Government is capable of handling this
obligation.
Child labour. There should be statutory
regulations on how many hours children work (light work and after school hours),
and the type of work
which should not be performed should be the same whether
inside or outside the family.
Detention. There is
also a need for a particular provision on children in conflict with the law.
Juvenile offenders should be detained separately
from adult offenders. The
child should have the right to maintain contact with his or her relatives, and
the child must have the
right to educational
information.
Recognition of parenthood. The
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights prohibits
discrimination based on birth. The definition of a
child in the Constitution
has a provision both for those who are born inside and outside wedlock. The law
should not permit discrimination in the field of
inheritance.
- The
Eritrean Constitution was ratified on 23 May 1997 by a constituent assembly
representing all Eritreans, whether living inside the country or outside.
National elections will be held in accordance with the Constitution and the
people of Eritrea will elect a new National Assembly. Once in place, the
National Assembly will also have the responsibility
of enacting and overseeing
the execution of the laws and approving the national budget. Until that time
a 150-member National Assembly
is in place. Legislation detailing the
rights of the child has been drafted following the ratification of the
Constitution and is currently under review.
- The
Child Law Committee has been set up by the MLHW. It has been working to examine
the relationship between the provisions of the
Convention, the new Constitution,
the Transitional Codified Laws and the Eritrean Customary Laws. The Committee
is composed of representatives of all the pertinent
ministries, in addition to
some NGOs whose mandates require them to advocate for the rights of children.
The Committee produced
a discussion paper in 1996 on the differences between the
various laws and the principles upon which each is based. Examination
of these
issues forms the basis for some of the present report. Following extensive
participatory research throughout the country
on child-rearing practices and a
review of customary laws, the Child Law Committee drafted child laws, which
include all aspects
of the Convention. The Ministry of Justice is currently
reviewing the draft laws.
B. Existing or planned mechanisms to coordinate policies and
monitor
the implementation of the Convention
- The
Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare has the primary responsibility to promote,
enforce, implement, monitor, inspect and report
on progress achieved with
respect to the Convention.
- The
MLHW has established a Division of Child and Family Welfare within the
Department of Social Affairs, whose organizational objectives
are:
(a) Advocating generally the interests of
children;
(b) Formulating policies, procedures and guidelines for
programmes and projects relating to children;
(c) Undertaking studies
and keeping records of children in need of special protection measures
(CNSPM);
(d) Identifying and providing protection and services to
children in especially difficult circumstances;
(e) Allocating resources
equitably to children’s social services.
- To
discharge this responsibility, the MLHW has established a Child Rights Unit
within the Division with the following Convention-related
responsibilities:
(a) To protect and preserve the rights of
the child;
(b) To create full awareness of the Convention among the
public;
(c) To coordinate activities, such as seminars and workshops, in
order to respond and monitor the Convention;
(d) To prepare reports
relevant to the Convention;
(e) To conduct research relevant to
children’s needs, particularly in relation to children with special
needs;
(f) To publish and distribute booklets, posters, cartoons and
brochures supported by photographs;
(g) To organize nationwide publicity
and disseminate information about the Convention using the mass media.
- The
Eritrea Integrated Early Childhood Development Project started in 2001. The
project is designed to provide services for young
children’s basic needs,
namely, health care, proper nutrition, social protection, and early psychosocial
stimulation, as a
means of helping children realize their full
potential.
- The
MLHW also works in partnership with United Nations agencies, particularly
UNICEF, and international and national NGOs in promoting
the Convention.
Following the 1998 border war with Ethiopia, a child protection working
group was set up by the MLHW and UNICEF
representing all United Nations
agencies and local and international NGOs working with children. The MLHW has
designed and implemented
programmes to cater for children in need of special
protection. Various assessments, studies and evaluations have been conducted.
The programmes developed and being implemented focus on:
− Orphan reunification and support of caretaker
families;
− Institutional care for orphans;
− Foster care, adoption and group homes for orphaned and unaccompanied
children;
− Community-based rehabilitation for disabled
children;
− Orthopaedic workshops producing appliances for disabled
children;
− Rehabilitation of street and working children;
− Services for juvenile delinquents;
− Vocational training
− Sexually exploited children;
− War-affected children: displaced and expelled
children.
- In
1996 the Committee for the Convention on the Rights of the Child was
established. The Committee consists of representatives from
the Ministries of
Labour and Human Welfare, Internal Affairs, Health, Justice, Information and
Education and the Constitution Commission. Two local NGOs, the NUEW and NUEYS,
are also represented. The Committee is chaired by the MLHW, which also provides
secretarial services. The main activities include coordination of intersectoral
activities and information sharing. Since the 1998
border war the Committee has
some contributions towards support for war-affected children. In 1999 it
participated in organizing
an exhibition on child rights, and in 2001 it
contributed towards the “Say Yes for Children” campaign. The
Committee
also assisted in the update of this report.
- The
National Programme of Action (NPA) of 1996-2000 and the new one for 2002-2006
address most Convention-related issues. The respective
components will be
detailed in the forthcoming sectoral chapters of this report.
C. Measures taken to publicize the Convention
- In
order to create awareness of the principles of the Convention, a Tigrinya (local
language) version was published and circulated
among government officials,
representatives of United Nations agencies, NGOs and representatives of
communities on the occasion of
the Convention signing ceremony in 1993. Its
ratification in August 1994 evoked the need for convening a national workshop as
a
means of discussing the content of the Convention and how it should be
implemented. The then Authority for Social Affairs (now Department
of Social
Affairs under the MLHW) with support from UNICEF invited representatives of
institutions and organizations involved with
children, laws and research and
proposed the establishment of a workshop preparatory committee.
- The
National Workshop, which was convened in Asmara on 7 and 8 December 1994,
aimed:
(a) To create awareness of the main provisions of the
Convention among influential political and social figures;
(b) To create
awareness of the general situation of children in Eritrea and the relationship
of these situations to the main provisions
of the Convention;
(c) To
advocate for the integration of the contents of the Convention in legal and
policy matters relevant to Eritrea;
(d) To identify (and create) bodies
responsible for awareness, surveys, implementation, monitoring and evaluation,
and reporting
on the Convention.
- About
300 participants, including a large number of children, were present for the
whole workshop. Civil servants, administrators,
NGO representatives, religious
leaders and traditional community leaders were all present. Children aged
between 11 and 14 were
invited from across the country, representing children,
including disabled groups, from all nine ethnic groups. The representative
children actively participated throughout the workshop. Their concerns and
recommendations included corporal punishment, the right
to go to school, the
issue of early marriage, the definition of a child, the issue of harmful
traditional practices, and the discrimination
practised against girls and
children with disabilities.
- The
workshop accepted the fundamental aspects of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and highlighted the right to survival,
the right to development, the right
to protection and the right to participation. The workshop recognized the major
constraints
that Eritrea had to face - the long-term effects of the war and
disasters which the population had been exposed to, economic and
technical skill
limitations, lack of awareness on the part of the population with regard to the
Convention and the harmful traditions
that are present in the country - that
will set limits on how fast the implementation can be carried out.
- The
workshop recommended that:
(a) The drafting of the Constitution
seriously take into consideration the fact that the Convention on the Rights of
the Child is now among the laws of the land;
(b) A structure (i.e. an
organization/body and preferably two) be created, one to be in charge of
responsibility for implementing
the rights of the child, the other to undertake
the monitoring and reporting;
(c) The organization(s) be created by the
National Assembly and be accountable to the National Assembly. The members of
the organizations
should include pertinent ministries, NGOs and various
components of the community. The implementation should not be left to the
Government alone, but various elements of society should be part of the
implementing body;
(d) A nationwide study be conducted to help the
country understand the present state of its children and used as a basis for the
implementation process;
(e) The Convention on the Rights of the Child be
published in all the languages of Eritrea;
(f) Children’s
programmes be published or disseminated through the mass media;
(g) The
rights of the child be incorporated into the curricula of schools and training
programmes;
(h) The rights of the child be balanced with the duties of
the child;
(i) Harmful traditional practices be prohibited by
law;
(j) Vulnerable groups - orphans, the disabled, street children,
working children (especially those engaged in industries) and school
drop-outs -
be given special attention with regard to rehabilitation;
(k) Juvenile
offenders be given special guidance and care;
(l) Fair distribution of
social services (schools, medical services, etc.) be extended to all
children;
(m) Boarding schools be established for disadvantaged
children;
(n) Workshops on the Convention on the Rights of the Child be
conducted at regional, district and village levels.
- As
a result of the National Workshop’s recommendations, regional workshops
were convened throughout Eritrea. Government officials,
representatives of
peoples’ councils, religious leaders, international partners, NGOs, and
children participated in all workshops.
A total of 1,200 participants from all
six regions participated in the various workshops from March to May
1996.
- The
workshop accepted the fundamental aspects of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, highlighted the right to survival, the
right to development, the right to
protection and the right to participation. A summary of the recommendations of
the regional workshops
is as follows:
(a) Harmful traditional
practices should be prohibited by law;
(b) Families are the basic social
institutions, and they should rear and educate their children
properly;
(c) Public awareness programmes should be undertaken to change
the negative attitudes the community has towards disabled children.
Efforts
should also be made to integrate disabled children into regular and vocational
schools;
(d) The rights of illegitimate children should be ensured by
law;
(e) Parents and caregivers should take proper care when punishing
children, and such punishment should not cause physical or mental
harm;
(f) Correctional institutions should be established to deal with
juvenile offenders;
(g) Workshops on the rights of the child should be
conducted at subregional and village levels;
(h) The rights of the child
should be disseminated through the mass media;
(i) The community in
general and religious and community leaders in particular should play a
particular role in ensuring the rights
of children;
(j) Recreational
places for children should be expanded;
(k) The number of kindergartens
should be increased and the public should be actively involved in their
establishment;
(l) Social services such as health and education should
be equitably distributed;
(m) A committee should be set up to implement
and follow up the Convention at the regional level.
- Recommendations
of the national and regional workshops are being used for programme and project
formulation. They were used in the
preparation of the NPA. Although the
workshop recommendations relating to cultural concerns will require more time,
many of the
recommendations, such as those enumerated below, have been
implemented since 1996:
(a) Workshops have been
conducted;
(b) The new early childhood development programme covers many
of those issues;
(c) Article 836/1 of the TCCE provides that
illegitimate children are to be considered heirs of the deceased and share the
same portion
as the legitimate children. In the new draft Code these children
are referred to as children born out of wedlock;
(d) Health and
education services have been extended to the most marginalized areas, the
national IMR had dropped from 72 per 1,000
live births in 1997 to 48 per 1,000
live births by 2002;
(e) Disabled children have been integrated
into regular schools.
- Since
liberation (before ratification of the Convention), the Division of Child and
Family Welfare has organized events that highlighted
the rights of the child.
To celebrate International Children’s Day, each year posters and booklets
are distributed throughout
the country. In 1993 a magazine published in
Tigrinya and Arabic, two of the most commonly used languages in Eritrea, was
distributed
to the people. The OAUdesignated Day of the African Child (16 June)
has also been commemorated since 1993. Shiden, a magazine concerned
primarily with child rights, was published and distributed every three months
from 1992 to 1994, and annually
since then.
- Since
the 1994 workshop there have been numerous awarenessraising workshops on the
Convention and related matters and workshops on
specific issues such as
HIV/AIDS, sex workers, “Say Yes for Children”, EFA.
- With
an extremely limited background and resources to monitor and report on such
conventions, and with capable but inexperienced personnel
in such matters,
Eritrea has struggled to meet its obligations with regard to the Convention.
The workshop proved to be an important
beginning in the crucial first steps
towards a solid understanding by participants of the overall implications for
Eritrea of the
signing and ratification process. The following activities have
been undertaken between 1994 and 2002:
(a) The Convention has
been translated into Tigrinya (20,000 copies), Arabic (15,000 copies), Tigre,
Afar, Saho and Kunama (10,000
copies each) and distributed to all
regions;
(b) To help the public in general and children in particular, a
more easily understandable form of the Convention has been prepared
using
cartoons;
(c) A national and six regional workshops aimed at sensitizing the public on
the Convention have been convened;
(d) A booklet has been translated
into six local languages and distributed to the public;
(e) All the
articles of the Convention have been broadcast on national radio programmes
(Dimtsi Hafash) in six languages;
(f) The initial report on the
implementation of the Convention was prepared in 1997;
(g) A number of
training programmes were organized for law enforcement personnel, teachers,
youth, local administrators and religious
leaders;
(h) Close to 1,000
elementary and junior secondary school teachers in all regions have been trained
on the implementation of the
Convention;
(i) A summary of the Convention
has been translated into Tigrinya and Arabic and distributed to government
officials working at all
levels (more than 5,000 hard copies);
(j) A
national committee has been formed which coordinated the activities relating to
the Global Movement for Children as well as
the “Say Yes for
Children” national campaign;
(k) “Say Yes for
Children” had a very high participation of people from all walks of life
who pledged to safeguard the
rights of children. The following priorities were
held to be essential among the 10 critical actions of the Global Movement for
Children: (a) education for all children (62 per cent); (b) combating HIV/AIDS
(58 per cent); (c) caring for all children (43 per
cent);
(l) Efforts are being made to look into ways of ensuring that
young people participate actively as partners in peace processes and
policy
development related to young people, through education, skills training and
creation of youth networks;
(m) A children’s magazine has been
published and distributed free annually since 1992;
(n) Over
135,000 copies of different publications - brochures, posters and postcards -
have been distributed to the public on the
occasion of International
Children’s Day;
(o) Other advocacy materials include printing of
20,000 T-shirts on the principles of the Convention and distributing them to
children
and their parents/guardians in order to create awareness among the
public;
(p) Indepth comparative studies on the feasibility of the
various placements of orphans have been conducted.
- Further
plans regarding the advocacy and social mobilization for child rights
include:
(a) Prevention and rehabilitation of disadvantaged
groups: street children, commercial sex workers/sexually exploited children,
children in conflict with the law;
(b) Promotion of youth development:
construction of youth recreational and training
centres;
(c) Orphans’ reunification with extended families:
conduct of surveys/assessments, identification and needs assessment of
host
families; convening of regional implementation workshops; provision of
incomegenerating assistance and strengthening the psychosocial
capacity
development of service providers and community-based monitoring and evaluation
aspects of CNSPM;
(d) Childcare and protection, support for AIDS
orphans; establishment of additional communitybased group homes; finalization of
child
and welfare policy and law; awareness creation and community sensitization
on the rights of the child; reintegration of displaced,
returnee and expelled
children (emergency response); capacitybuilding to promote childcare and
protection;
(e) Service to juvenile offenders: public education on the
prevention of delinquency; probation service and community service for
juvenile
offenders;
(f) Secure the safety, health and minimum labour condition of
underage workers: identify the working condition of this special group;
train
inspectors; set up safety committees at establishment level;
(g) Conduct
studies essential for policy development and appropriate intervention on
children;
(h) Human resource development;
(i) Initiating and
operating children’s drama clubs;
(j) Organizing a series of
lectures on the Convention for broadcast on radio and television;
and
(k) Conduct a general knowledge competition on the Convention among
different groups of schoolchildren.
- One
of the general aims and policies of the Ministry of Information is to transmit
educational and recreational programmes that develop
and enrich the thinking
power of the people through the mass media. UNICEFsupported communication
interventions adopted in 1996-2000
(programme with the GSE) try to analyse
communication for the realization of child rights in Eritrea using three main
strategies:
(a) advocacy to raise resources and secure leadership commitment
for development goals; (b) social mobilization for wider participation
and
ownership; and (c) programme communication for change in the knowledge,
attitudes and practices of participants. The right to
information is
articulated in article 19 of the Constitution, which states “Every
person shall have freedom of speech and expression, including freedom of the
press.”
- In
collaboration with the MoE and NUEYS, the MoI transmits children’s
programmes through the mass media; there is a radio programme
three days a week
on mother and child health care, and recreational programmes. In particular,
there is a weekly programme that
helps children to participate in expressing
their problems and needs through drama and recreation. There is also a cartoon
programme
and documentary films through Eri-TV. Additionally research was
carried out resulting in a programme on developing and enhancing
the
participation of children and parents and their duty and responsibility in
family activities and in the reconstruction process
of the country. General
knowledge competitions are also held to encourage children to develop their
knowledge and share their experiences.
Additionally, there are sports
programmes for children. There is also a quarterly children’s magazine,
Kolahta, published by the MoE, which has a great role in encouraging
children’s rational thinking.
II.
DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
A.
General
- A
citizen is defined as any person born of an Eritrean father or mother, or any
foreigner who acquires Eritrean citizenship (Constitution,
art. 3).
- TCCE
(art. 198) defines a “minor” as someone of either sex who has
not yet reached the age of 18 years (age at majority).
Although this means that
the age of attaining majority (ceasing to be a “minor”) is
essentially 18, a child may, according
to the law, attain majority before
18 years of age if, for instance, the child marries before the age of 18
(art. 329), or he/she
can be emancipated when he/she has attained the age of
15 years when the family council so decides (art. 330). The same law is
adopted
in article 330 of the draft Civil Code of Eritrea. The majority of
people in Eritrea, particularly in rural areas, have little contact
with
codified laws, and instead, their social and economic rights and
responsibilities are governed by custom.
- According
to some customary laws of the country (among the Bilen ethnic group), a
“coming of age” ceremony marks the transition
from childhood to
adulthood (particularly for boys). As an example, for those who adhere to the
Fithi Mehari Woadotat customary law, a boy comes of age not at a
particular age, but when the community considers him mature enough, which may
happen at
any time from about 13 to 20 years. The ceremony of coming of age,
known as shinglat, can continue for 40 days, during which the
boy-turned-adult receives gifts from his relatives. Thereafter the boy is
considered
an adult and can participate in the social activities of the
community. He can now be a witness, can participate in the council,
can be
armed, has to pay taxes and other contributions and the meat of the animal he
kills can now be eaten.
- The
other laws that specify age levels for particular legal rights, powers and
protections in Eritrea are outlined below. Where applicable,
an attempt has
also been made to give an indication of how children are considered within
customary law in Eritrea. Customary law
varies greatly across the different ethnic groups and between regions. It is
not the intention of this report to outline all of these
laws and how they
affect children, but to give a small number of examples of how they may support
or be in conflict with the codified
laws.
B.
Employment
- According
to article 68/1 of labour proclamation No. 118/2001, it is prohibited to employ
a person under the age of 14. A contract
of employment shall not be enforceable
against a person below the age of 18 if it is determined to be prejudicial to
the interest
of that person (art. 9/2). In addition, article 69 of the
proclamation provides that the minister may, by regulation, issue a list
of
activities prohibited to young employees (between the age of 14 and 18),
which shall in particular include:
− Work in the transport of passengers and goods by road, railway, air and
sea and in docksides and warehouses involving heavy
lifting, pulling or pushing,
or any other related type of labour;
− Work connected with toxic chemicals, dangerous machines, electric power
generation plants, transformers or transmission lines;
− Underground work, such as mines, quarries and similar works;
and
− Work in sewers and digging tunnels.
A young employee
may not be assigned to work after 6 p.m. and begin work before 6 a.m.
(art. 68 (2)) and may not be made to work for
more than seven hours per day
(art. 68 (3)).
C.
Minimum marriageable age
- According
to article 46 of proclamation No. 1, 1991 of the TCCE, marriage is solely based
on the voluntary agreement of both partners.
In general, persons have to attain
the age of 18 years if they are going to marry. In spite of this, the Code in
many articles
talks of underage marriage. But for an under age person to
marry, he/she must voluntarily agree and get the permission from his/her
parents
(article 309/1of the Transitional Penal Code of Eritrea (TPCE)). According
to article 329 of TPCE, once a minor is married,
she/he is considered an
adult and gets all the benefits of being an adult. With regard to the minimum
marriageable age, although
the draft Civil Code of Eritrea states that the
marriageable age is 18, this does not apply if the man and woman have both
attained
the full age of 16 years and the woman submits to the authority who
will celebrate the marriage a declaration made by a doctor stating
that the
woman is pregnant or has already given birth to a child (article 581/2 of the
draft Civil Code).
- In
many parts of the country, the male elders of the extended families pursue all
marriage alliances - usually along religious, ethnic
and linguistic lines.
Girls are often betrothed between the ages of 8 and 14 and conclude the marriage
between the ages of 13 and
15. Girls often have no choice in their marriage
partner. However, in some ethnic groups, such as the Nara, marriage is not
acceptable
until the woman is 18 and the man 20 years of age.
- The
previous EPLF Marriage Law offers a clear challenge to gender inequality in
marriage, and it will be a difficult road to travel
until this challenge wins
out in postindependence Eritrea, when the former members of the EPLF are no
longer isolated from the full
force of traditional culture. The new
Constitution of Eritrea aims to further this challenge, by stating that men and
women of full legal age shall have the right, upon their consent,
to marry and
to found a family freely, without any discrimination and they shall have equal
rights and duties as to all family affairs
(article 22/2 of the
Constitution).
D.
Giving testimony in court
- The
issue of a minor giving testimony in court is a matter governed by judicial
practice. A minor can testify in court with or without
taking the oath,
depending on the discretion of the judge.
- The
customary laws relating to being a witness vary. For example, Fitihi Mehari
Woadotat states that only adults (i.e. those who have come of age) can be
witnesses. The Higy Adgena-Tegeleba customary law, however, says
that any person who does not have a conflict of interest in the case can serve
as a witness provided
they are 7 years old or older.
E.
Criminal liability
- With
regard to underage criminal liability. The Transitional Penal Code of Eritrea
recognizes three categories of children:
(a) Children below
the age of 12: Article 52 of TPCE states that the criminal law does not
apply to children below the age of 12 years. That is, children of this
age have
no responsibility for their acts. If they commit a crime, correctional measures
are expected to be taken by the parents,
school or
guardian;
(b) Children between 12 and 15 years: Criminals
between the age of 12 and 15 are punishable according to the laws specified
under articles 161-173 of TPCE. In addition,
the law states that children
are not to be given the death sentence or life imprisonment. Additionally, they
should not be kept
with adult prisoners;
(c) When deciding or sentencing
the court should take into consideration the mental and physical development of
the young offender.
In addition, the decision to be given must take the
correction of the child as its primary aim. These articles also permit the
court to amend its decision regarding the correction of the child. Article 55
of TPCE gives the court the right to take suggestions
from professionals, school
representatives and guardians with regard to the child’s welfare. The
court also has the right
to send the young offender to a medical or other
suitable place;
(d) Under age 15-18: Article 56/1 of TPCE states that, if an
underage person between the ages of 15 and 18 commits a crime, she/he is tried
under the
ordinary provisions of the Penal Code. This article, however, also
empowers the court, in assessing the sentence, to mitigate the
penalties or to
apply special penalties specified for young offenders. In doing so, the court
is required to take into consideration
the criminal’s age, conditions of
the case, and his/her behaviour.
- The
death penalty is specifically prohibited for children under the age of 18 years,
women with young children and pregnant women
(articles 56, 118, 173 and 181 of
TPCE).
- In
dealing with criminal liability of children, the draft Penal Code recognizes
two categories (arts. 76 and 77): child offender
and juvenile
offender.
- A
“child offender” is between 9 and 12 years of age at the time of the
alleged offence. Child offenders are not subject
to any punishment prescribed
in the Penal Code but the court can take the following measures if the child
committed an offence punishable
under the Penal Code:
(a) Reprimand or warning;
(b) Placing the child
offender under the care of his parents or other suitable
guardian;
(c) Placing the child in a suitable home established for the
care of children;
(d) Placement of the child offender under the care of
a professional qualified to provide treatment when the child is in need of
medical, emotional or mental treatment; or
(e) Other measures in respect
to the living and upbringing of the child offender which will aid in the
reformation of the child offender.
The court shall review all these
measures periodically and any measures that have not been discharged shall
terminate automatically
when a young offender reaches the age of 18.
- A
“juvenile offender” is between 12 and 18 years of age at the time of
the alleged offence. The court may order the same
measures applied for child
offenders if the court finds from the character and background of the offender
that a juvenile offender
convicted of any offence does not require criminal
punishment to deter him from the commission of further offences or to aid in his
reformation (art. 78). If, however, the court finds that the juvenile offender
requires criminal punishment to deter him from the
commission of further
offence, it may sentence a juvenile offender under the provision of the Penal
Code. However:
(a) A juvenile offender shall not be sentenced
to death or life imprisonment;
(b) The maximum sentence or aggregate
sentences allowed shall be reduced to 10 years;
(c) A juvenile
offender shall be eligible for conditional release after service of six months
of any sentence of imprisonment;
(d) A juvenile offender shall serve any
sentence of imprisonment in an institution under conditions conducive to his
reform and education;
and
(e) A juvenile offender may be allowed to
perform Community Work, not exceeding three hours per day, under the supervision
of a probation
officer; and attendance at school may be substituted for
Community Work.
F.
Deprivation of liberty
- There
are a number of instances in which children between the age of 12 and 15 may be
deprived of his or her liberty:
(a) The courts in Eritrea are
obliged to send young offenders to a “curative medical institution”
if he/she is affected
by mental, health or physical disability (art. 162,
EPPC/TPCE). As will be discussed later in this report the provision of such
institutions is extremely limited;
(b) School or home arrest where the
offence is of “small gravity” (art. 165,
TPCE);
(c) Admission to a corrective or rehabilitative institution (art.
167, TPCE). According to this article, the duration of such deprivation
of
liberty cannot exceed five years or be less than one year. The offender in
a corrective institution should be provided with general,
moral and vocational
education. There currently exist, however, no such juvenile centres in
Eritrea;
(d) Supervised education where the child has been
“morally abandoned, or is being, or is likely to be exposed to the danger
of corruption” (art. 163/1, TPCE). Again, the ability of the State
to provide “supervised education” is very limited;
and
(e) If the young offender is rebellious, the court may order
corporeal punishment if it thinks that it is likely to secure his reform
(art. 172, TPCE). In the draft Penal Code, however, corporeal punishment
is abolished.
G.
Imprisonment
- Deprivation
of liberty can only be imposed on children under the age of 18 as a last resort,
and only if the offence, if committed
by an adult, would be punishable by
rigorous imprisonment for 10 years or more, or by the death penalty. The
sentence for children
can be from 3 to 10 years, and can only include simple
imprisonment. The law states that young offenders between the ages of 12
and 15
shall be kept separate from adult offenders (art. 173, TPCE), although, as
stated earlier, this is usually difficult to achieve.
In the case of repeated
sentences, the court may order the child to be sent either to a corrective
institution where special measures
of safety, segregation or discipline can be
applied to the child in the general interest or to a penitentiary detention
institution
if he is incorrigible and is likely to be a cause of trouble,
insecurity or corruption to others (art. 173/1, TPCE). The court
determines
the period of detention according to the gravity of the act committed
and having regard to the age of the child (art. 173/2,
TPCE).
H.
Consumption and sale of alcohol and drugs
- Alcoholic
drinks are not permitted to be sold to minors under the age of 18 years.
According to article 514 of TPCE, “whosoever
endangers the health of
another, intentionally and unscrupulously, by administering or serving, or by
causing or permitting to be
administered or served to minors [...] alcoholic
beverages or spirituous liquors of such kind or in such quantity as to make
their
injurious effect certain or probable [...] is punishable with simple
imprisonment”. In addition, those who sell, offer or
serve or allow to be
served alcohol in a public place to children or young persons are punishable
with a fine or arrest not exceeding
one month (art. 773, TPCE).
- Similarly,
article 510/3/b of TPCE prohibits the sale of drugs. The court could pass a
sentence of rigorous imprisonment not exceeding
five years and impose a fine not
exceeding Nakfa 30,000 (the figure does not take inflation into account) where a
forbidden toxic
substance is furnished for gain or improper motive to a child or
young person.
I. Civil and civic rights, and the right to perform juridical
activities
- The
registration of births is possible in Eritrea and is carried out by
municipalities and religious institutions. The right to register
a newborn is
not widely exercised, however.
- All
minors are prohibited from performing juridical activities, except in cases
provided by law (art. 199/3, TCCE). The law gives
some powers to perform legal
actions when the child reaches 15 years of age. For example, article 304/1
of TCCE states that the
child has the right to be consulted in all decisions in
relation to him or herself. This article does not allow the guardian to
avoid
this responsibility.
- The
guardian, taking his/her financial conditions into consideration, can authorize
the minor to perform some activities of a day-to-day
nature (art. 305/1, TCCE).
This authorization can be given explicitly (art. 305/2, TCCE). According to
article 308 of TCCE, a child
who attains the age of 15 years can draw up a
will.
J. Compulsory education
- Traditionally,
many communities provide education for their own children. For instance, the
customary law of Logo-Chwa says that
all civil penalties on public offences go
toward an education fund, which requires all villages to build a school, hire a
teacher
and educate its children, without gender bias.
- The
Government is committed to making basic education free and compulsory. It plans
to achieve not less than 80 per cent access to
basic education within the next
decade. The Government will ensure participation of all children in the level
as it aims to enable
all citizens to be both beneficiaries of and stakeholders
in the development process.
K. Military service and the armed forces
- Recruitment
of children under 18 into the armed forces is not allowed in Eritrea
(Proclamation No. 11/1991). National service is
compulsory for both men
and women between the ages of 18 and 40 who were not members of the EPLF
during the liberation military struggle.
L. Sexual consent
- According
to TPCE, minors (below the age of 18) are considered incapable of giving consent
to perform sexual intercourse. Whosoever
performs sexual intercourse with a
minor of more than 15 and less than 18 is punishable with simple
imprisonment (art. 595/1). “Where
the minor is the adopted child of the
offender, the child of his spouse, or his ward, pupil, apprentice, school
boarder or domestic
servant, or has been entrusted to his custody or care or is
in any other way dependent upon him or under his authority, the punishment
becomes rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years or simple imprisonment
for not less than three months.”
- According
to article 594/1a, causing an infant or young person under 15 years of age to
have sexual intercourse or performing an act
corresponding to a sexual act is
punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.
- It
is not only sexual outrage proper that is punishable by law: any other indecent
act upon an infant or young person, inducing a
child to perform such an act or
deliberately performing such an act in the presence of the child is punishable
according to the circumstances,
with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five
years or with simple imprisonment for not less than three months (art. 594/2).
Where
the victim is the pupil, apprentice, school boarder or domestic servant of
the offender or is in any other way directly dependent
upon or subordinate to
him, or is the offender’s adopted child, the child of his spouse, his ward
or a child entrusted to his
custody or care, the punishment is more severe and
shall be rigorous imprisonment not exceeding eight years (art. 594/3,
TPCE).
- Seduction
is also a criminal act and taking unfair advantage of the inexperience or trust
of a female minor between 15 and 18 years
age, inducing her to have sexual
intercourse with him, whether by promise of marriage, trickery or otherwise, is
punishable with
simple imprisonment (art. 596, TPCE). Children or young persons
seduced or led astray are, however, protected by law and, therefore,
in all
cases of sexual outrage the accused child or young person seduced or victim of
the action of an adult person is not liable
to punishment (art. 597/1, TPCE).
In 2002 a sexworkers policy has been drafted and is currently being
revised.
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A. Non-discrimination
- The
new Constitution of Eritrea specifies fundamental rights, freedoms and duties
that are equally applicable to children. Article 14 of the Constitution states
that no person shall be discriminated against on account of race, ethnic origin,
language, colour, sex, religion, disability,
age, political belief or opinion,
or social or economic status or any other factors. The Transitional Civil Code
and the Transitional
Penal Code also elaborate on this
principle.
- Although
specified as illegal under the law, some forms of discrimination are common in
the Eritrean society. For example, virtually
all ethnic groups in Eritrea are
strongly patriarchal and patrilineal in inheritance (except one matrilineal
group, the Kunama) and
discriminate against women and girls accordingly. The
girl child, children with disabilities, and children born out of wedlock are
amongst those who are discriminated against in certain
circumstances.
- The
Government of Eritrea feels strongly that a community that does not discriminate
between members will only become a reality as
the country develops economically,
and education and public awareness begins to change the attitudes within the
society. Changing
perceptions is usually an extremely slow process, but is
necessary for the society not to discriminate.
B. Best interests of the child
- The
Transitional Civil Code incorporates a number of provisions that make up the
principles of “the best interests of the child”.
It is specifically
mentioned in relation to the appointment of guardians and tutors to the child,
placing the child with one parent
in the event of dissolution of marriage,
choice of type of education, conditions for approval of adoption and other
similar issues
pertaining to the child’s welfare. For instance, according
to article 681/1 of TCCE, “The custody and maintenance of
children born
out of, or without a, marriage shall be regulated having regard solely to the
interest of such children.”
- Many
other laws and proclamations contain articles which relate to the best interests
of the child. For instance, the Press Proclamation
No. 90/1996 [Part V/12(5)]
states that “any matter which contravenes general morality, [or]
encroaches on the dignity of minors”
is prohibited by
law.
C. The right to life, survival and development
- The
Constitution of Eritrea guarantees the right to life and liberty to all persons.
Although not specifically stated, this includes the right of
every child to life
(article 15 of the Constitution). The right of the unborn child is also
protected in the law. Abortion is illegal in Eritrea unless the life of the
mother is threatened
(art. 528, TPCE).
- With
respect to the right to survival and development, the Government’s
Macro-Policy outlines various objectives that will ensure
better living
conditions for all Eritreans, including the commitment to efforts to ensure the
population is healthy and productive.
The implementation of various policies
regarding health, education and social welfare, environmental health and housing
are aimed
at the long-term.
- Traditionally,
children are loved by their parents and the wider community, however, it cannot
be said that the legal rights of children
have been fully guaranteed. Children
are employed in economic activities both within and outside the home, e.g.
herding livestock
especially in pastoral areas. The division of labour in the
home puts undue burden on young girls, often affecting their health,
education
and the achievement of their full potential. Traditional practices (genital
mutilation, early marriage and birthing, and
gender-biased upbringing) have a
particularly negative and harmful impact on girls. The legal rights of children
are stipulated
in the Transitional Code and are compatible with the provisions
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; but customary laws
(by which the
majority of the population still lives) fall short of giving all children equal
standing and protection. Although
efforts have been made, the main problems
hindering the implementation of the Convention remain the poor socioeconomic
condition
and the lack of adequate and effective mechanisms.
- Consistent
effort and mobilization of rural communities in particular will be needed so
that the special care and assistance necessary
for child survival is guaranteed.
Parents and society must first accept the child’s rights, and then the
appropriate mechanisms
must be in place to allow for those rights to be
upheld.
D. Respect for the views of the child
- Article
14 of TCCE explicitly provides that every person is free to think and to express
his ideas. This includes children. Article
304 of TCCE in particular states
that where a minor is capable of discernment and if he/she is 15 years old,
he/she shall as far
as possible be consulted on all important acts concerning
him. The court also takes the view of the child in cases of adoption.
Article
804/2 provides that the court, before making its decisions, will hear the
adopted child if he/she is over 10 years of age.
- It
is recognized by the GSE that in some matters relating to children the law and
reality are often at odds: this is epitomized in
relation to respecting the
views of the child. While the law may state that the view of the child shall be
taken into consideration,
the child’s view is rarely understood in
practice. In general some communities do not consider the participation of
children
in, for instance, family decisionmaking to be important. In an attempt
to partially overcome the above problem at a public level,
the National Union of
Eritrean Youth and Students (NUEYS), the main local NGO for children and youth
in Eritrea, has organized panel
discussions between parents and children for a
number of years. The programme aims at an exchange of ideas and views between
parents
and children who are culturally and traditionally unable to discuss
their views in the home. The panels concentrate on the parents’
opinions
about raising children, and the habits and concerns of children. The role of
the media has been important to broadcast
these discussions to a wide audience.
This is in line with articles 12, 13 and 15 of the Convention, the rights to
express opinions,
to freedom of expression and to freedom of association. It is
also in line with ILO Convention No. 87 (1948) on freedom of association
and
protection of the right to organize, which Eritrea ratified in
1999.
- Another
joint project for NUEYS and Redd Barna (Save the Children Norway) in 1997, aimed
to identify the needs of children by using
a series of participatory workshops
throughout the country where children can express their views and perceptions,
using their own
words. The target groups were divided into two groups, children
under the age of 12 years, and children between 12 and 18 years.
The numbers of
boys and girls were equal. This information “in the words of children
themselves” should be valuable
for not just the NGOs concerned, but also
the government departments dealing with children’s needs. Children also
participated
in the UNICEF “Say Yes for Children” campaign.
- In
line with articles 12 and 13 of the Convention, the planned Participatory
Poverty Assessment 200203 will ensure children will directly
participate in
the assessment. Using the CRC as a basis framework for developing criteria for
the evaluation of issues that directly
affect them.
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. General
- The
Transitional Civil Code of Eritrea was basically drafted so as to reflect the
rights of all human beings, and makes no distinction
based on age. The child is
therefore protected under the civil code and gets the benefits and protections
that are provided by the
code. In the first nine articles of the code, when
outlining the basic rights and freedoms of the individual, the code states:
“From the day of conception till after his death, every person shall have
the rights and freedoms specified in the Code”
(arts. 1 and 2,
TCCE).
- Article
8/1 of TCCE has specified that the basic rights and freedoms are those contained
in the Constitution. When enforcing these rights and freedoms, article 8 of the
code specifies that all rights be enforced equally and without any distinction
or discrimination based on race, colour, religion or sex. Unless it is for
legitimate reasons, and only for the purposes of social
life, law does not
permit voluntary renunciation of these rights.
- An
important addition to the TCCE has been the adding of article 45 from the EPLF
civil code, which specifies that the family law
be based on the legal rights of
the spouses and no distinction can be made on the basis of sex. Furthermore,
the code advocates
for the rights of women and children. This Code clearly
states that the contract of marriage should not derogate from these
principles.
B. Paternity
- The
question of paternity is raised in two situations only. Where there is the
existence or the non-existence of a marriage contract
between a man and the
mother of the child, with this understanding TCCE resolves the issue in the
following manner:
(a) Maternity: By the mere fact of
birth, the maternal relationship is established (art. 739,
TCCE);
(b) Paternity: If there is a marital relationship between
a man and the mother of the child, during conception or birth of the child, then
the
man is presumed to be the father of the child, (art. 741, TCCE) and this
presumption has its roots in the society. This marital
relationship is
recognized under the law. And according to article 699 of TCCE, in spite of the
fact that there is no marriage contract
between the man and the mother of the
child, if they consider themselves to be spouses and this is widely accepted by
their families
and the society at large, proving these relationships can be
enough for the presumption. Furthermore, article 700 of TCCE gives
the right of
bringing up witnesses who can testify the existence or nonexistence of the
marital relationship.
- If
paternity cannot be established by proving the existence of a marriage contract
or circumstantial evidence, the following means
can be resorted to in order to
establish paternity:
(a) if the man acknowledges the child as
his child (arts. 764, 765/1, 275 and 752, TCCE);
(b) if the
mother of the child declares who the father, is there is a presumption that this
man is the father (art. 60 of Proclamation
No. 1, 1991, of TCCE);
(c) if
the mother was abducted or raped the paternity of the child can be established
by the decision of the court (arts. 740/3 and
758, TCCE).
- In
spite of the fact that the above articles are enough to establish paternity, the
code goes further and gives some provisions which
can be used to establish
paternity. For example, article 772 of TCCE gives the child the right of
applying to the court to have
his or her paternity declared. In addition,
article 775 of TCCE gives the same right to the guardians and heirs of the
child.
- The
abandoned child is covered under article 103 and article 2/3 of the Nationality
Proclamation. In addition, article 556 of TCCE
gives the right of adoption.
The issue of adoption is governed under article 796-706 of TCCE. With this
right of being adopted,
the child is given the chance of
belonging.
C. Guardianship
- Every
person who is below the age of 18 years is a minor (TCCE, art. 198) according to
article 199 of TCCE, all legal and financial
affairs of the minor are taken
care of by a guardian or tutor. But the law also authorizes the minor to
perform some financial activities.
Pursuant to article 204 of TCCE, both
parents are given the power of guardianship for their minor children. The death
or unworthiness
of either parent leaves the duty to the remaining parent
(art. 205/1, CCE).
- According
to article 207/1 of TCCE, parents while alive are given the right of appointing
a guardian for their children upon their
death.
- Article
207/2 of TCCE limits the powers of the guardian; furthermore the article governs
the implementation of the power and authorizes
the right of specifying
conditions for the guardian. In addition to these, article 207/3 of TCCE
specifies that limiting the number
of guardians be authorized. The Family
Council, pursuant to article 241-242 of TCCE has the power to appoint guardians
upon the
divorce of spouses (art. 206/1, TCCE). If there is no close relative
who is fit to be the guardian, the court is authorized to appoint
any person as
guardian (art. 212, TCCE).
- The
responsibilities of the guardian are specified in articles 265-269 of TCCE. To
mention a few, article 265 of TCCE mentions housing
and residence, article 266
the health of the child, article 269 education and training of the child.
These duties and responsibilities
are to be performed in accordance with the
possibilities and economic conditions of the family and the
nation.
D. Name and nationality
- Pursuant
to article 4 of Proclamation No. 1, 1991 of TCCE, every natural person is
entitled to have a name upon his or her birth,
and this full name includes the
name of the father and grandfather. According to the new draft Civil Code of
Eritrea, if the father
of the child is not legally established the child shall
have a first name, the name of his maternal grandfather and the name of his
maternal great-grandfather (art. 33). Once a name is given to a person, it can
only be changed with court permission. The issue
of paternity and name have a
direct and special relationship, however, in relation to abandoned children.
Article 103 of TCCE states
that abandoned children also have the right to a
name. Adopted children are able to take the name of their adopted father (art.
41/1).
- In
relation to nationality, all children born to Eritrean parents are Eritrean by
birth. The child has the right to have Eritrean
nationality if either parent is
Eritrean (article 2/1 of the National Proclamation, No. 21/1992). If either
parent is given Eritrean
nationality by permission of the court, all children
born to such a parent have the right to be Eritrean nationals (art. 4/6, NP,
No. 21/1992).
- If
a child is adopted by an Eritrean family, the child is given Eritrean
nationality (NP art. No. 21/1992). Abandoned children are
automatically given Eritrean nationality.
- The
registration of newborn babies is not widely exercised. Municipalities and some
religious institutions play a part in the registration
of children. During the
armed struggle, the EPLF attempted to introduce the registration of babies
through the people’s council
(a form of locally elected decisionmaking
body). The failure of many families to register their infants has resulted in
extensive
problems relating to telling the exact age of a child: These problems
include admission to school, and more seriously, the administration
of juvenile
justice.
- Although
article 7 of the Convention states that the child shall be registered
immediately after birth, unregistered children were
not denied their voting
rights on reaching the age of majority or their rights as children, such as the
right to health care and
to education. Other institutions, such as the
religious institutions and municipalities, play a part in the registration of
children.
With regard to the right of the child to know his or her parents,
TCCP is silent. It is, however, provided in the draft code, article
806 (a).
According to this provision, every private or public body or institution should
document each child’s biological
parentage. The record should include
details of the parent’s whereabouts and the reasons the parents were
unable to care for
the child. The draft code further provides the right of the
child to know the identity of the biological father if he/she is conceived
through artificial insemination (article 806 of the draft Civil Code and article
8 of the CRC).
E. Preservation of identity
- Name
is one way to identify a particular person (article 4 of Proclamation No. 1,
1999, of TCCE). TCCE provides that a person should
be given a name when
he/she is born. The child may not receive the first name of his father or of
his mother or of one of his brothers
or sisters who are alive (art. 38/1). The
reason behind this is to differentiate the child from the rest of the family
members.
Pursuant to article 4/3 of Proclamation No. 1, 1999, of TCCE, a person
cannot change his first name without the authorization of
a court. These
provisions indicate that a name is related to one’s identity and should be
preserved. Every child is given
a name in traditional society. Names are
strongly linked to their meaning, and so many children receive names
characterizing good
wishes or which are related to religion. The various ethnic
groups preserve identity in different ways; for example, the Hedarib
group name
children with the many names of their forefathers. All ethnic groups have some
form of celebrations or rituals for a
newborn baby, in order to give the child a
firm place within the society.
- Many
illegitimate children face problems with identity. In some ethnic groups no
birth ceremony is arranged for children born out
of wedlock, and they are often
subjected to both social and economic deprivation (including being deprived of
inheritance).
- As
a result of the war, the number of unaccompanied children without a true
identity is relatively low; this is due to the community
and extended families
taking responsibility for children. The Government has attempted to trace the
kin of unaccompanied children,
and offer placement opportunities for the child,
which recognize his/her family origins. This has not been possible in some
instances,
particularly where an unaccompanied child is too young to remember
his/her parents or caregiver.
F. Freedom of expression
- Articles
14-15 of TCCE and article 19/2 of the new Constitution of Eritrea state that
every person shall have freedom of speech and expression, which includes the
freedom of the press and other
media.
- The
“Press Proclamation No. 90/1996” also guarantees freedom of the
press, and prohibits censorship, suspension or banning
of press products, except
with approval of the competent court (Part II, 4 (1) (a) and
(b)).
- Freedom
of expression is guaranteed by most forms of customary laws in Eritrea.
However, many laws outline the prohibition of directly
or indirectly insulting
another person. Some laws outline that people are free to express themselves,
but that they risk being sued
if they cannot prove the accuracy of what they
have said.
G. Access to appropriate information
- The
Constitution guarantees the right of access to information (art. 19/3). It is
recognized that some children do not currently have access to adequate
information, and in the longer term the Government is committed to change this
situation (through education, organized activities
or the media). It launched a
new initiative of establishing community public libraries throughout the
country.
H. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
- Articles
14-15 of TCCE and article 19/1 of the Eritrean Constitution will guarantee all
Eritreans the right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief. This includes
the freedom to practise any religion
and to manifest such practice (art. 19/4).
Article 14 of TCCE provides that every person is free to think and to express
his ideas.
The only restrictions, which this liberty admits of, are those
imposed by the respect for the rights of others, morality and the
law. There
shall be no interference with the exercise, in accordance with the law, of the
rites of any religion or creed, provided
that such rites are not utilized for
political purposes or are not prejudicial to public order or morality (art.
15).
- A
number of Eritrean proverbs (many of which refer to parts of customary laws, and
are used as “memory aids” so that a
largely illiterate population
can learn these laws from a young age) point to the institutionalized acceptance
of religion and conscience
as a personal choice. For instance, one Eritrean
proverb states that “while a nation is communal, religion is
personal”,
meaning that among the responsibilities and constraints on a
person within society, religion is not included, and is a purely personal
choice.
I. Freedom of association, and of peaceful assembly
- Although
not widely exercised, children do have the freedom to assemble or to form
associations. The Constitution of Eritrea outlines that all persons shall have
the right to assembly and to demonstrate together with others peaceably (art.
19/5),
and every citizen shall have the right to form organizations for
political, social, economic and cultural ends (art. 19/6). In addition
young
employees are allowed to form associations based on article 86 of Labour
Proclamation No. 118 of 2001 of Eritrea and on ILO
Conventions No. 87 (1948) and
98 (1949) which Eritrea ratified in 1999.
J. Protection of privacy
- According
to the Constitution of Eritrea, every person has the right to privacy (art.
18/1). No person shall be subjected to unlawful search, including his home
or
other property; there shall be no unlawful entry of his premises and no unlawful
seizure of his personal possessions; nor shall
the privacy of his
correspondence, communications or other property be violated (art. 18/2).
TCCE also protects individual privacy
to their domicile. Article 13 of TCCE
provides that the domicile of a physical person is inviolable and no one may
enter the domicile
of another against the will of such person, nor may a search
be effected therein, except in the
cases provided by law. Violation of privacy of domicile and violation of
privacy, interception or appropriation of correspondence
or consignments is
punishable by law (arts. 571 and 573 of TPCE).
- Children
and minors who are accused of, or are the victims of crime, are also protected
under Press Proclamation No. 90/1996, which
states that a journalist may not
disclose the identity of children or minors who have committed or have been the
victims of crimes.
K. The right not to be subjected to torture or other
cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- The
dignity of all persons shall be inviolable, according to the Eritrean
Constitution (art. 16). The article specifies that no person shall be
subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Also, no person shall be held in slavery or required to perform forced labour
not authorized by law. According to the labour proclamation
No. 118
of 2001, any work performed by a young person contrary to the provisions
stated in the proclamation is considered forced
labour and is illegal. Eritrea
is also a signatory to the ILO Conventions No. 29, on forced labour and No.
105 on abolition of forced
labour.
- Torture
is also regarded as a serious crime by TPCE. According to article 417 of TPPE,
any public servant who treats persons in an
improper or brutal manner or in a
manner incompatible with human dignity especially by the use of blows, cruelty
or physical or mental
torture to obtain a statement or a confession, or to any
other similar end, is punishable with a fine or simple imprisonment, the
periods
of imprisonment ranging from 10 days to 3 years. If his acts are very severe,
the punishment can also be severe.
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
A. Introduction
- After
a long war of liberation and associated droughts, many if not most families in
Eritrea have lost family members, been separated
from one another, became either
destitute or refugees, or have otherwise been adversely affected. Few families
escaped with the
traditional family structure unharmed. Children not only
suffered from physical harm due to violence sanctioned by both wars with
Ethiopia; but also suffered socially, emotionally, psychologically and
developmentally, because of the often appalling conditions
under which they were
forced to live under the Ethiopian colonial regime. During the wars, families
were often unable to deal adequately
with the demands of children in need of
special protection measures. Even now that the war is over, many families have
been so damaged
that they can no longer perform adequately, and meet the
economic, social or psychological needs of their children.
- Supporting
the growth of family structures and their incomegenerating ability, and
expanding the local community’s auxiliary
role in family support, is seen
by the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare as top priorities. Throughout the
war for independence,
the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front endeavoured
to support families and their communities, and when this was not possible,
it
took on the responsibility of sheltering and caring for children themselves.
Orphanages and childcare centres, boarding schools
and many other services were
provided in the liberated areas of Eritrea by the EPLF. For example, the EPLF
cared for thousands of
orphaned and unaccompanied children in a large orphanage
in the Sahel. When it became obvious that these children were not thriving,
despite the best efforts of staff, the EPLF, at the height of the liberation
struggle, got expert advice and literally transformed
the way these children
were cared for (see report by Mr. Peter Wolf). Subsequent independent research
has shown that the social
and emotional state of these children improved
dramatically after implementation of the reforms.
- The
EPLF, which has since formed the Government, has always been committed to the
protection and care of Eritrea’s children,
and is not new to the task of
providing care for them. It believes strongly that the best place for children
is with their own,
wellfunctioning families. The Government’s first
priority is therefore to provide support so that families develop their own
coping mechanisms. This includes the many economic, social and infrastructure
programmes, which form the basis for the Government’s
Macro-Policy. Only
when families have clearly failed to provide adequate care, will the Government
step in to take on the caring
capacities normally carried out by the
family.
B. Parental and family guidance and
responsibilities
- The
Constitution of Eritrea states that the family is the natural and fundamental
unit of society and is entitled to the protection and special care
of the State
and society (art. 22/1). As such, the Government is committed to support
the family, within the limits of its resources.
The prevailing widespread
poverty and the lack of appropriate resources (both personnel and physical
resources), war, displacement
and drought means that the capacity to provide
family support is currently severely limited.
- The
Constitution also states that parents have the right and duty to bring up their
children with proper care and protection; and, in turn, children
have the right
and duty to respect their parents and to sustain them in their old age (arts.
22/2 and 22/3). This outline of the
reciprocal rights and duties between
parents and their children is seen as being fundamentally based in the culture
of the Eritrean
people: while parents have the responsibility to bring up their
children with due care, children also have the responsibility to
respect their
caregivers. The Constitution goes on to state that both parents have equal
rights and duties in all family affairs, including children. This statement of
expected
equality between men and women within a marriage is an important step
toward encouraging gender equality within the society at large.
- The
responsibilities of the guardian, according to the Transitional Civil Code of
Eritrea, have been outlined above in the section
on guardianship. These
responsibilities include the provision of housing, health care, education and
training to the child. These
duties and responsibilities are to be performed in
accordance with the possibilities and economic conditions of the family and the
nation.
- It
is an accepted norm for parents and extended families to raise children, even
under difficult circumstances. If parents fail to
do so, the nuclear family is
generally subject to strong social controls and community sanctions. The mother
plays a much greater
role in socializing
children at home, and so can generate more community blame if her child fails
to satisfy societal norms. As a child grows older,
the extended family,
religious and other institutions, and the wider community all participate in
socializing children.
- While
the Government and the law respect the rights of parents, and expect parents to
be responsible in the upbringing of their children,
it is recognized that there
are a number of cultural practices that are not necessarily in the best
interests of the child such as
FGM and early marriage. These practices can only
be changed in the long term by community education and an understanding within
the society of improved child-rearing methods.
- The
birth of a child is a happy occasion and the family feel that the house is
progressing and is strengthened. The child is not
seen as an economic burden,
but as future security: “A man who has a child is in no hurry to
die.” A child is seen
as a support, both emotionally and economically.
Young children often tend to get better care and attention from their parents
and
extended family than older children. The community tends to accept that
younger children need constant attention; talking to children,
playing with
them, telling them stories and generally stimulating them are all positive
aspects of the community’s interactions
with young children. In some
parts of the country, nonetheless, as children grow older, the chances of them
being allowed to express
their views and partake in decision-making and
activities with adults declines. There is a wide variation in the childrearing
practices
of different ethnic groups. The lowland communities particularly the
Hidareb and Tigre ethnic group, for instance, involve their
children in
decisionmaking from a young age, and it is accepted practice for children to
participate in everything from family matters
to sale of livestock to more
important community matters.
- The
socialization process among some ethnic groups in Eritrea is predominantly
authoritarian. Among these groups there is a strong
belief that children should
be disciplined starting from an early age, and discipline is usually equated
with punishment. Although
some ethnic groups have strong sanctions against
parents beating their children, in other communities corporal punishment is
accepted.
As a starting point, corporal punishment is forbidden in public
institutions such as schools, and, although it is still practised,
as staff
discover that dialogue and discussion produce better results, so these methods
will be better understood and taken up by
parents and the wider community. The
traditions of the fighter community in disciplining their children using
positive reinforcement
is a good example for the rest of the community, however
it is recognized that these practices will only gradually become customary
routines.
C. Separation of parents
- Eritrean
society considers the family setting as the most appropriate place for children
(for example, most orphans live with relatives),
and the separation and divorce
of parents is a major concern for the welfare of the child. The Transitional
Civil Code recognizes
that it is the responsibility of the family council to
make all decisions regarding the separation, divorce and guardianship of
children
in such circumstances. The family council is not a court, as such, but
a council brought together from within the community when
there is a family
dispute to settle. Generally, the family council would consist of the parents
or two other family members of each
spouse, and one other
member.
- In
the case of a couple wanting a divorce, TCCE provides that the custody and
maintenance of children born of the marriage shall be
regulated having regard
solely to the interest of such children (art. 681/1). It specifically states
that children up to the age
of 5 shall remain with the mother (art. 681/2).
Article 206 of the Civil Code specifies that the family council has the
authority
to appoint a guardian or tutor to serve as alternative care for the
child on the divorce of his/her parents. A guardian would generally
be a close
relative of the child. However, if there is no close relative, the court has
the authority to appoint any person whom
it sees fit to be the guardian (art.
212). In this circumstance, the Civil Code also specifies the responsibilities
of that guardian
as providing housing, health, and education according to the
economic conditions of the family (arts. 265-269).
- In
traditional Eritrean society, the situation of children after divorce is agreed
on the marriage contract. Both parents have rights
over children but the
children have to succeed the father (except among the Kunama ethnic group who
are matrilineal). Among the
highland Christians it is up to the children, if
old enough, to decide which parent they wish to live with. When parents
separate
or divorce, smaller children generally continue to live with the
mother, and older children live with the father. However, the customary
law of
some ethnic groups stipulate that the elder boy in the family must live with the
mother (in order to accomplish tasks which
only males traditionally carry out,
such as ploughing), and the older girl must live with the father, in order to
take care of the
housework. For instance, the Law of Adgena-Tegeleba states
that during divorce, the oldest son goes to the mother, the oldest daughter
to
the father, and custody of the remaining children is done on a one-to-one basis
by drawing a lot. At the same time, the child
gets the final say with whom
he/she wishes to live (art. 80). If they only have one son, he stays one
month with the father and
one month with the mother, at the age of 7 he is given
the right to choose which parent he wants to live with.
- In
some ethnic groups, customary law alternatively states that, when a father
requests guardianship of his children after divorce,
he is allowed to have them
live with him. This is only possible, however, where it is the specific choice
of the children concerned.
- Among
the Kunama, a matrilineal ethnic group, the custom, for instance, allows a
father no rights to his children after divorce.
If the woman is the one who
wanted a divorce or is the guilty party, then she has no rights to any property,
except to her children.
On the other hand, if the man is the one who asked for
a divorce or is the guilty party, he too has no right to
property.
D. Recovery of maintenance for the child
- A
child has the right of recovery of maintenance from his parents and in their
absence from his relatives by consanguinity or affinity
in the direct line
(art. 808/1, TCCE). In the absence of his parents and his relatives by
consanguinity or affinity in the direct
line, it is an obligation of his
brothers and sisters born of the same parents or born of the same father or the
same mother to supply
maintenance for the child (art. 808/2, TCCE). The
persons mentioned above have the obligation to maintain the children only where
they are in a position to supply the maintenance (art. 812, TCCE).
Accordingly, parents have equal responsibility to maintain their
children.
However, if one of the parents is not in a position, it is the responsibility of
the other one to maintain the children.
The persons who have the obligation to
supply maintenance shall feed, lodge, clothe and care for the health of the
child in a decent
manner, having regard to the social condition of the
interested person and local custom (art. 807). An adopted child may claim
maintenance
from his adoptive family and not his/her family of origin unless the
adoptive family is in a position to supply maintenance. In
addition to TCCE,
the Constitution of Eritrea provides that men and women will have equal rights
and duties as to all family affairs (art. 22/2).
- Customary
laws with regard to maintenance of the child varies between the different ethnic
groups. For example, within some groups
an arrangement is made between the
parents of the child to cover the expenses equally: one month the father covers
expenses, and
the next month the mother pays. For instance, the Law of
AdgenaTegeleba says that during divorce, the mother and the father are
both
required to pay child support in an equal basis (art. 51). In other groups
maintenance is the sole responsibility of the custodial
parent.
- The
issue of inheritance and land rights are also of importance here within
traditional society. Women in Eritrea have more secure
access to land and other
productive assets than is common elsewhere in developing countries. Among the
highland Tigrinya ethnic
group the customary law does not allow disinheritance
of children, particularly if it applies to risti (tenure by descent) or
diesa (tenure by periodic distribution of land), which is considered as
property of the lineage and descendants and not of the individual.
The dying
parent can make small gifts to relatives or strangers, but cannot make one of
the heirs a major beneficiary at the expense
of another. This applies to all
children, legitimate or illegitimate.
- After
divorce the customary laws of the matrilineal Kunama ethnic group state that a
woman has no right to land from her former husband.
In the case of death of her
husband, all land and property is inherited by the husband’s nephews (his
sister’s sons).
E. Unaccompanied children and children deprived
of a family
environment
- Orphanhood
is one of the main social problems resulting from years of war, drought and
dislocation. A national survey conducted in
1992-1993 identified
about 90,000 orphans in Eritrea, of which 48 per cent were girls; the
majority, 61 per cent, had lost their
fathers. A survey of the most
vulnerable children, conducted in 19992000, identified 51,000 orphans in need of
urgent support.
A study is being conducted to identify the number of AIDS
orphans, currently there are 552 AIDS orphans registered with and receiving
support from the MLHW. The term orphan is defined as a “child who lost
either one or both parents, or has been abandoned”.
- Government
policy with regards to orphans and unaccompanied children is against
proliferation of orphanages/institutionalization,
and is based on the best
interest of the child. Government policy strengthens the traditional safety
nets, which the respective
communities in the country have been practising for
generations.
- MLHW
which is entrusted with the responsibility of children’s affairs has the
following specific strategies and programme on
orphans and unaccompanied
children:
(a) Reunification of orphans with their close
relatives as the best solution for guaranteeing their psychological integration
and
developmental needs;
(b) Foster care for reunifying orphaned children
with their close relatives as a policy measure and secondbest
alternative;
(c) Adoption of abandoned children covered under the
National Proclamation, in addition to the Transitional Civil Code of Eritrea
giving the right to adoption;
(d) Group care in community-based
children’s homes; considered to be in the best interest of the child for
it can diminish
social psychological negative effects of institutional care;
and
(e) Institutional care is provided as a last resort and only when
all other options have been exhausted.
1. Orphan Reunification/Rehabilitation Programme
- MLHW
has given a high priority to reuniting orphans with their extended families; the
programme is in harmony with traditional practices
and is at the same time
costeffective. Orphanreunification activities were carried out from 1992 to
1994. A nationwide reunification
programme between 1994 and 1997 supported
reunification of close to 14,000 orphans with nearly 7,000 families throughout
the country
(at a cost of US$ 4 million). Sixty per cent of the
children receiving support were aged below 9 years. Since that time, three
government
orphanages have been phased out. The Orphan
Reunification/Rehabilitation Programme focused both on the placement of children
with
families and on strengthening the economic resources of these families.
From 1994 to 2002, the number of orphans reunified with
their kin, under the
programme, is 25,547; economic support was provided to 13,966 caretaking
families. Another programme is planned/expected
to support an additional 40,000
orphans. The following categories of children are included: AIDS orphans,
unaccompanied, displaced
and expelled, priority is given to the most vulnerable
children.
- The
presence of orphans in the homes of caregiving families is recognized as an
additional burden. Hence, strengthening their socio-economic
capacities is the
main component of the reunification process. Vulnerable families have been
identified and supported. The economic
support was in the form of cash from
1992 to1994. A total of Nakfa 20 million (US$ 3.2 million) was given
to orphan caretaking families.
This practice was reviewed in 1994 and has been
replaced by incomegenerating assets. The total expended so far is
US$ 12,800,000.
MLHW and UNICEF have trained 52 additional social workers
on childcare and protection and the CRC; these social workers will have
the
specific responsibility for monitoring the reunified children and implementation
of Community Based Rehabilitation Programme.
2. Foster care update
- Placing
orphaned children in foster care is a policy measure that has been tried
since 1992, as a second alternative to reunifying
orphans with their close
relatives. If close relatives cannot be found, or are not able to take the
child for some reason, the child
is placed
with an unrelated family, willing and able to adequately care for the child.
Emphasis has been on the ability of the family to both
economically support the
child, and also provide the necessary emotional care and love.
- The
following procedures are followed to ensure an appropriate placement of a
child:
(a) Families interested in foster care are asked to make
themselves known to the MLHW, and are asked to fill in an
application;
(b) A home visit is made to ascertain the families’
situation, and their ability to foster a child; their economic status,
caring
capacity and access to services (schools, health facilities) are
assessed;
(c) Clear arrangements are made with the family regarding the
placement;
(d) Regular home visits are made by a social worker from the
MLHW to assess the child’s progress. If unsatisfactory and the
child is
not thriving, an alternative placement is usually explored.
- Out
of the 50 families who submitted applications to become foster parents in 1992,
only 8 were accepted on a trial basis. Eight
orphan children were placed
in these families, and a follow-up was done after three months, which showed a
positive outcome. Later
in-depth assessment, however, clearly showed that the
psychological integration of the children into their foster families had not
been achieved. Even though the families generally provided some kind of care,
the children were not given adequate psychological
support, and there was
evidence that the families’ own children were given preferential
treatment.
- To
alleviate these problems, regular counselling and advice was given to the
families, but despite this effort, the level of care
provided to the children
continued to decline. There was a general lack of understanding by the foster
parents about unacceptable
child behaviour and resultant physical punishment.
Even families who had knowledge of appropriate childcare and discipline were
not
putting it into practice. Measures were taken to remove some of the children
from their foster homes, and were placed back in
the
orphanages.
- Foster
care has been rejected by the communities as an alien concept, for this reason,
the Government does not consider the programme
to have been a success, and is
not intending to extend the programme.
3. Adoption
- Adoption
in Eritrea involves the legal recognition that a child is part of an adoptive
family. It creates a bond of filiation artificially
by a contract of adoption
between the adopter and the adopted child (art. 796/1, TCCE). A minor
cannot be a contracting party (art.
797/1, TCCE) and both the father and
mother of the child must give their consent (art. 803/1 TCCE). The consent of
the child is
also required if he is over 10 years. The contract of adoption
will have no effect if not approved by the court (art. 804/1,
TCCE).
- Having
created a bond of consanguinity or affinity, the adopted child can claim
maintenance from the adoptive family (art. 823/1,
TCCE). In addition, the
adopted child can claim inheritance from the adoptive family forming part of the
other family members.
- The
abandoned child is covered under articles 103 and 2/3 of the Nationality
Proclamation. In addition, article 556 of TCCE gives
the right of
adoption. The issue of adoption is governed under articles 796 and 806 of
TCCE.
- Adoption
in Eritrea therefore involves the legal recognition that a child is part of an
adoptive family. The family must first satisfy
the requirements of MLHW that
they can adequately care for the child, then a decision must be made in a court
of law, after which
the family signs a legal agreement to care for the child.
Adoption may not take place unless there is very good reason for it, and
it
offers significant benefits for the child. If the child is old enough to make
an informed decision, he/she must agree to the
adoption.
- There
are a relatively large number of families who wish to adopt children. However,
as priority is given to families that have either
no children or only one child,
few families qualify. Adoption is permitted only for abandoned infants; on
average there are six
to seven abandoned infants per year in the country. Since
independence, there have only been 50 children adopted in Eritrea.
- Adopting
families are requested to send reports about the children every
three months for the first year, and then yearly thereafter
until the child
is 18 years old.
4. Communitybased children’s homes (group
care)
- For
children who cannot be reunified with close relatives, or provided for by
adoption or foster care, the provision of services in
community-based
children’s homes is considered to be in the best interest of the child.
This placement option can potentially
diminish the social and psychological
effects of institutional living. In this placement option, children are
established in group
homes in the community, which provide them with a
relatively natural social environment. As much as possible, the number of
residents
is kept to a manageable size in order to adequately meet the social,
psychological, emotional and educational needs of each
resident.
- To
date, 12 group homes are operational both in larger regional towns,
and another 6 group homes are under construction. Each home
accommodates
1012 children and two housemothers. As of 2002, 132 orphans have been
placed in group homes. Children from similar
backgrounds, but varied ages, are
grouped together so the children retain their ethnic and cultural identity.
Children who have
lost both parents, whose parents’ whereabouts are
unknown, and who could not participate in the reunification programme, and
who
are between the ages of 1 and 12 years old, are selected for such homes.
Siblings are kept together in one home, and both boys
and girls are admitted
into the programme. As much as possible, the children are placed in the regions
from which they originate.
The group homes were evaluated by MLHW in 1998 and
more recently, in 2002, there has been an evaluation. The evaluation concluded
that the homes were working well and provide a secure, caring home for
children.
5. Institutionalization
- The
first orphanage operated by the EPLF was established in 1978, at Solomuna in the
Sahel, and provided children with basic food,
water, shelter, clothing,
education and a medical service. At independence, over one half of these
children were voluntarily reunited
with their families.
- The
government policy is against institutionalization of orphans and unaccompanied
children. Institutionalizing children is the least
desirable option and is
considered only as a last resort. Due to the effective reunification programme,
a number of orphans were
reunited with their extended families. As a result,
all but one of the governmentrun orphanages have been phased
out.
- There
are currently 10 non-government orphanages operating in Eritrea, many of which
are administered by religious organizations.
Children are admitted from newborn
up to the age of 11. The supervision of orphanages is carried out by MLHW.
Guidelines for the
management of the orphanages are drawn up in a joint
agreement between MLHW and the directors of the orphanages. In a study
conducted
by MLHW, the total number of children in institutions was estimated at
1,500.
- In
the longer term, the Government’s policy includes the gradual
deinstitutionalization of children in non-government orphanages,
following a
similar model to that used for children in the Government’s
care.
F. Illicit transfer and non-return
- The
Government is not aware of any documented or anecdotal evidence to suggest that
children are being taken illegally from the country
for the purposes of adoption
or other forms of illicit transfer. Although no study has been done on this
issue, it would appear
extremely unlikely that this constitutes a significant
problem in Eritrea.
G. Abuse and neglect
- In
relation to punishable offences, a parent or guardian must not treat a child
with negligence, give too large a task to the child
to complete, beat the child
in a way which may affect his/her mental or physical development; abandon
him/her in dangerous places
or conditions. If the child is denied necessities,
then the court may impose a punishment on the parent or guardian, or may even
limit their rights (arts. 548 and 626 of TPCE).
- According
to customary law, traditional Eritrean society tends to deal duly with families
who mistreat children, and there are strong
societal sanctions against such
families. No adequate statistics are available on sexual abuse and neglect
within the family. The
GSE/UNICEF Country Programme 20022006 foresees a study
on child abuse and neglect. (The issues of sexual abuse and exploitation
and
also street and working children are discussed later in this report under
chapter VII, Special Protection Measures.)
H. Periodic review of placement
- As
has been outlined in the section above, all placements of children through
either the orphan reunification or foster care programmes
are regularly checked
by social workers of MLHW. If children are not being cared for appropriately,
the social worker is required
to first give advice and counsel the family
involved, and then find alternative accommodation for the child if the situation
does
not improve. As outlined in the Section of Foster Care, the MLHW take
great care to ensure suitable care of children, and will not
hesitate to remove
children from foster homes if necessary. Internal and external evaluations of
the orphan reunification programme
are periodically conducted, the conclusions
have been very positive and recommendations made for continuation and expansion
of the
programme.
- Adoption
is slightly more difficult to deal with, because, of course, the child legally
becomes part of the adoptive family, and the
adoption cannot be revoked for any
reason. However, regular, basic monitoring does take place with adopted
children, including regular
reporting by the family to MLHW, and home visits by
social workers as needed.
- There
is a recognized need to develop guidelines for social workers in the field,
particularly with regard to their handling of cases
involving children. Staff
training has been a major problem, as few of the social workers had formal
training. MLHW, in collaboration
with UNICEF, has made great efforts to upgrade
social workers’ skills in the psychosocial care of orphans and other
vulnerable
children. Short courses have also been developed, and training of
MLHW, Police Commission and MOJ staff extended in the basic skills
involved in
probationary services.
- MLHW,
in cooperation with the University of Asmara and other institutions, had taken
measures to build the capacity of its human resources.
Some of the following
training programmes have been extended: social work, law, environmental
science, sociology and anthropology,
economics,
finance/management/communication, juvenile justice and probation service. In
addition, various orientation courses on
childcare, protection and CRC have been
extended to the MLHW staff.
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
A. Survival and development
- The
national infant mortality rate is 48 per 1,000 live births (Eritrean Demographic
and Health Survey, (EDHS), 2002) and the under5
mortality rate (U5MR) 93 per
1,000 live births (EDHS, 2002). No cases of polio diphtheria have been reported
since 1997 and all
immunizable diseases have declined.
- The
2002 EDHS shows that 40 per cent of children under 5 are underweight
and 12 per cent are severely underweight, the numbers of
children
under 3-years-old who are underweight is 39 per cent and 13 per cent
respectively. This shows that the overall nutritional
status of children is
improving and malnutrition rates have been significantly reduced since
the 1995 EDHS.
- The
maternal mortality rate (MMR), which gives the number of women who die from
pregnancyrelated causes, is an important measure both
of the strength of health
care generally and the priority given to women’s health. The maternal
mortality rate in Eritrea
is 998 per 100,000; approximately 1,000 women die
yearly, and many others suffer from lifetime complications and disabilities.
The
lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy and childbirth complications of an
Eritrean woman is 1 in 14, as compared to 1 in 100,000
in the developed world.
These figures must, however, be viewed with caution as they are from the 1995
EDHS and since mortality rates
were measured 5-10 years before, they give the
picture of healthcare delivery systems prior to independence. The Government
has
acknowledged that this is an unacceptably high rate, and is attempting to
tackle the problem in a number of ways. The first, and
most basic, measure is
to ensure that all women have access to basic health care during pregnancy, and
receive sound information
about their health and preventing maternal
mortality.
- In
addition to the Safe Motherhood Initiative, two studies have already been
conducted by the MoH that have provided data on both
(a) the availability and
quality of maternal health services, and (b) cultural factors influencing safe
motherhood. The results
of these studies were discussed at a workshop on safe
motherhood.
- Some
positive cultural practices were identified which encourage safe motherhood,
such as long breastfeeding (up to two years), tish (fumigation) which
helps to cleanse and relax the expectant mother (the MoH although does not give
any health education supporting
this practice, because it can dehydrate the
women), the provision of nutritious fluids during labour and encouraging
immediate bonding
between mother and newborn baby. However, a number of
negative cultural practices are associated with the high MMR. They
include:
− the widespread practice of female genital mutilation
(FGM);
− food taboos during pregnancy;
− the heavy workload of women in general;
− early marriage;
− a belief that pregnancy is natural and does not need medical attention;
and
− the overall low social and economic status of women.
- The
MoH micronutrient deficiency survey in 1994 shows that micronutrients, namely
vitamin A deficiency, iodine deficiency disorders
(IDD) and nutritional
anaemia, are all major child health concerns in Eritrea. This survey found that
6.7 per cent of children below
1 year of age had vitamin A deficiency, another
6.7 per cent were at high risk, and 21.7 per cent at moderate risk of developing
this condition. These relatively low rates may be as a result of the high
levels of breastfeeding, since breast milk usually provides
enough vitamin A for
the first 6 months of a child’s life. Vitamin A deficiency is
probably much higher in children over 1
year of age. The Ministry of
Health initiated vitamin A supplements in conjunction with
national immunization days (NID) for polio eradication in 1996, and by 2000
has attained 94 per cent coverage in children under 5
years of age.
With these campaigns, severe vitamin A deficiency is expected to verify the
reduction of vitamin A deficiency in the
short run. A national survey planned
for 2002 is expected to verify reduction of vitamin A deficiency in
Eritrea.
- The
micronutrient survey also found that 23 per cent of schoolchildren between the
ages of 9 and 11 show the most visible sign of
iodine deficiency, a
swollen thyroid gland, or goitre, with gender disparity of 26 per cent for girls
and 19 per cent for boys.
A complimentary study of iodine levels in the urine
of children found that 82 per cent showed an iodine deficiency
(36 per cent severe,
25 per cent moderate and 21 per cent mild).
Similar tests conducted in 1998, however, revealed that IDD prevalence, as
measured
by urine iodine levels, had decreased from 82 per cent to 25 per
cent and that 97 per cent of households surveyed use iodized salt.
The
reduction of IDD is attributed to the initiation of universal salt iodination
(USI) in Eritrea in early 1996 in which Eritrea
was able to iodize about 80-85
per cent of its salt. Estimates suggest that 510 mentally handicapped and
50,960 braindamaged (IQloss)
infants are born in Eritrea every year. It is also
believed that as many as 637,000 children aged 0-17 years have some form of
brain
damage. The Government has a programme to eliminate iodine and
vitamin A deficiencies and reduce iron deficiencies by 33 per cent
by 2004.
The draft legislation of salt iodination has been prepared and is currently
being revised.
Communicable diseases
- According
to the 1999 data available from the State of Eritrea Management Information
System for Health (SEMISH), the four leading
causes of illness in outpatient
children under 5 years of age are: acute respiratory infections
(ARI), cause of 39 per cent of child
admissions; diarrhoea diseases, cause of 22
per cent of admissions; malaria causes 10 per cent and malnutrition
2 per cent of admissions.
The four leading causes of child deaths
are: diarrhoea (27 per cent), acute respiratory infections (20 per cent),
malnutrition
(10 per cent) and malaria (9 per cent). Although diarrhoea is
less often the reason for children to be admitted to hospital than
either
malaria or acute respiratory infection (ARI), it has a much higher fatality rate
and therefore kills almost as many children.
Acute respiratory infections cause
about 44 per cent of child admissions to hospital, but only about 3
per cent of these children
die from the condition. Malaria causes about 20 per
cent of child admissions, but kills about 7 per cent of those admitted with
it.
By contrast, only about 11 per cent of children were admitted with diarrhoeal
diseases, but almost 13 per cent of these children
will not leave the hospital
alive, even though the condition which brought them there can in most cases be
easily and completely
treated.
- One
of the striking changes in the leading causes of death is HIV/AIDS, which was
ranked 10th in 1996, but was ranked 1st and 2nd
in 1999 and 2000,
respectively, in the age group 5 years and above. Moreover, hypertension
and liver diseases are also increasing.
On the other hand, diarrhoea is
becoming less fatal in age groups 5 years and above (MoH 2000).
Immunization update
- The
Eritrean immunization programme goal is to enhance child survival by reducing
morbidity, mortality and disability attributed to
the seven vaccine preventable
childhood diseases and the main objectives are by the end of the year
2005:
− To achieve sustainable immunization coverage of at least 90 per cent for
all antigens;
− To reduce measles mortality by 95 per cent and morbidity by 90 per cent
by the year 2004;
− To eliminate neonatal tetanus by the year 2004; and
− To eradicate poliomyelitis by the year 2005.
- The
following table shows the achievement made to increase immunization coverage
rate between the year of liberation, 1991, and December
2000.
Table 1
Immunization coverage (in percentage)
|
1991
|
1993
|
1996
|
2000
|
BCG
|
13
|
37
|
53
|
61
|
DPT3/POL3
|
9
|
28
|
46
|
52
|
Measles
|
9
|
23
|
39
|
50
|
TT2+
|
1
|
5
|
23
|
25
|
- By
2000 the national immunization days (NID) for polio eradication has
attained 94 per cent coverage in children under 5 years of
age.
- With
the introduction of the EPI programme, the morbidity and mortality rates had
been significantly reduced by end of 2000. With
the emergence of HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis was the major cause of morbidity and mortality due to
immunizationpreventable disease cases
by end of 2000. Without considering
tuberculosis, the outpatient and inpatient morbidity rate in 2000 was only 0.3
per cent, but
including TB, it was 1.3 per cent. The death rate without TB
was 0.2 per cent and with TB it was 6.5 per cent. No cases of
diphtheria
and polio were reported.
HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases
- The
first AIDS cases were reported in Eritrea in 1988; the cumulative number of
reported AIDS cases rose from 8 in 1988 to 13,500
in 2001, of which 2,462 were
reported in 2001 alone (excluding the military). The National AIDS Control
Programme (NACP) estimates
that approximately 60,000-70,000 Eritreans have been
infected with HIV. MoH analysis indicates the doubling time for AIDS cases
is
about 18 months. By mid2001, HIV/AIDS prevalence was estimated by MoH at 3 per
cent of the population. Of the 1999 reported
cases, 70.3 per cent are aged
20-39 years, with 5 per cent in children below 15 years, and 60 per cent males.
More than 98 per cent
are from urban areas, mainly the larger cities of
Asmara, Massawa and Assab. The peak age is 20-24 years for females and 25-29
years
for males. A study conducted in 1997 indicated that over 2 per cent of
pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Eritrea were
HIVpositive and that
the HIV prevalence among commercial sex workers was 35 per cent. A
comprehensive policy on HIV/AIDS and STDs
was established in 1998. The policy
emphasizes the need for involved communities and intersectoral cooperation to
uphold the rights
of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA).
- In
2000 the Government launched its HIV/AIDS, malaria, sexually transmitted
disease, and tuberculosiscontrol programme (HAMSET), with
support from the World
Bank. The project/programme aims to increase effectiveness and efficiency of
policies and interventions to
reduce the spread of HAMSET diseases; to improve
access to and quality of primary healthcare services; and to identify
community-based
assessment and mitigation activities for HAMSET diseases. A
concerted effort by the Government and the United Nations Theme Group
on
HIV/AIDS in Eritrea is scheduled to develop its first integrated plan in
2002.
- In
2000, a total of 3,790 STD cases (0.49 per cent) were reported in hospitals, of
which 0.6 per cent were children under 5 years.
This number was
lower than 1999 (4,526). The prevalence of STD in Eritrea is not studied and
there is limited data. It is underreported
since many may be self-treated in
drug stores and other dispensaries. However, the priority of NACP is to prevent
and control STDs
which facilitate the transmission of HIV/AIDS. The most common
STDs reported in Eritrea are gonorrhoea and syphilis.
- Strategies
employed attempt:
(a) To reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS
and sexually transmitted diseases;
(b) To reduce the social and economic
impact of HIV/AIDS;
(c) To mobilize local and external resources to
fight the epidemic of AIDS; and
(d) To take care of AIDS
orphans.
- There
is a notable increase in the 15-19 age group of reported AIDS cases. The number
of newly infected women is mounting. A narrowing
gap between males and females
was seen with the sex ratio falling from 2.3:1 (male to female) in 1995, to
1.9:1 in 1997 and 1.61:1
in 1999. The vulnerability of women is due
to:
(a) A lower literacy level in women than men, so they have
less access to information;
(b) Biological vulnerability;
(c) Lack of control over economic resources, lower social status as compared
to men; and
(d) Most STDs are asymptotic in women, which
hinders early treatment.
- When
increased numbers of women are infected by HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted
diseases the impact is serious. Because women are
caregivers of families, there
will be increased number of child infections (mother to child) and increased
number of orphans will
remain without support.
(a) Adolescents
- In
addition to the services extended by the MoH to the whole population, the
National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students is one
of the NGOs that provides
an integrated adolescent reproductive and sexual health programmes, it has
established youth friendly medical
clinics, a peer education system, and
outreach orientation seminars; activities involve parents, policy makers and the
community
at large and include sensitization workshops (e.g. on FGM, condom
usage). The outreach orientation seminars are mainly for secondary
schools,
outofschool females, youth leaders and commercial sex workers. Reproductive
health related to unprotected sex, STDs and
sexually transmitted infections and
HIV/AIDS are among the issues covered.
(b) Children
- The
Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare and UNICEF are currently undertaking a
study of AIDS orphans in Gash Barka. There is no
data that reliably explains
the number of children with HIV/AIDS, or the number of AIDS sufferers. By 2002
the number of AIDS orphans
registered with and receiving support from MLHW was
552.
- In
2000, AIDS was the secondleading cause of death among patients 5 years of age
and older. Greater efforts are being made to counsel
HIVpositive women about
their personal risks and choices. Measures taken to prevent mother to child
transmission are: wider provision
of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT)
services in all antenatal clinics. A trial surveillance programme initiated by
the MoH
in four regions demonstrates such a commitment:
(a) To
accelerate sensitization and counselling for vulnerable women, girls and men.
In 1998, approximately 28 per cent of all reported
HIVpositive clients were
counselled, the MoH reports this figure has risen to about 75 per cent in the
year 2000;
(b) To produce information on AIDS orphans to raise public
awareness and sensitize the public;
(c) To counsel and educate about
contraceptive methods for atrisk mothers or those known to be HIVpositive;
and
(d) To support AIDS orphans.
- Measures
have been taken to prevent and combat discriminatory attitudes against infected
children or orphans with counselling services
and financial support. Infected
children will not be targeted, compromising their rights to basic
services.
Water and sanitation
- Eritrea
suffers from severe recurring droughts, which cause serious shortages of water
for people, crops and livestock; the water
problems were aggravated by the
destruction of water supply installations during the 1998-2000 war. The
shortage of clean water
affects the quality of hygiene and sanitation in
Eritrea. Most Eritrean rivers become dry seasonally, although many Eritreans
depend
on groundwater. There are villages that own dams and use dam water with
their animals without any filtration and treatment.
- The
transitional economic growth and poverty reduction report for 2001-2002, states
that only 10 per cent of rural and 63 per cent
of urban populations
respectively have access to clean water.
- A
water resource survey carried out in 1994 estimated that the average Eritrean
used less than 3 litres of safe water per day, which
is below one
quarter of the minimum WHO standard. The 1995 EDHS reveals that about half of
all rural households use unprotected
sources of water such as springs, rivers or
streams and the other half depend primarily on public wells - handdug or bore
holes of
varying standards (41 per cent public, 8 per cent taps). Nationally
about 22 per cent of households have access to piped water at
home or from a public tap, another 9 per cent depend on tankers,
32 per cent on public wells and 36 per cent on unprotected sources
of water
(springs, rivers and dams). While urban Eritreans may have access to pipe
water, the systems are old and lose as much as
half their water through leaks
and breaks. Rural Eritreans collect water from springs, rivers and streams,
reservoirs or drilled
wells, where great distances are involved; for example, in
the arid lowlands, the daily burden of hauling water discourages people,
as a
result there is poor hygiene. While wells offer reliable access, sinking is
difficult as only three out of five boreholes are
successful. About four in
five pumps in existing wells are functioning; most pumps are “India mark
II” hand pumps.
The depth of the wells is 60 metres. Functioning pumps
deteriorate rapidly from overuse and wrong use. Both humans and animals
drink
from the same source. Maintenance is poor. For any type of maintenance, people
from regional head offices are expected to
come and caretakers face many
financial and transport problems to handle repairs on time.
Needs to improve sanitation
- The
1995 Eritrean Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) estimated that less
than 1 per cent of the rural population and 12 per cent
of the
urban population (18 per cent national population) have access to adequate
sanitation facilities. Most people do not know
how to practice good hygiene.
The EDHS confirms that 99 per cent of rural households have no facility for
excreta disposal and they
use the bush as the best way for defecation. In the
urban areas, however, 30 per cent use the flush toilet, 15 per cent share a
flush toilet and 18 per cent use the traditional pit latrine. Nevertheless,
even in urban areas, slightly more than a third of all
households have no
sanitation facilities.
- The
Eritrean urban areas, such as Asmara, Keren, Massawa, Mendefera, Agordat, Adi
Keyih, and Assab, have piped sewerage. About 40
per cent of Asmara’s
houses are connected by sewerage to Mai Bella but the system is in poor
condition. Another 20 per cent
of Asmara’s houses are connected to septic
tanks or pit latrines; the remaining 40 per cent have no system. Public
latrines
are being built where households are too poor or have no open space to
offer their own.
- An
important achievement in 1997 involved the effort to provide skills to
government staff on assessment of perceptions and practices
regarding hygiene,
in order to improve them. A first initiative of “training trainers”
on hygiene and evaluation procedures
was given to 35 senior staff of the
Ministry of Health and the Water Resources Department (WRD). These trained
government personnel
are now in the process of conducting similar training of
HEP and practical application exercise at the regional and sub-regional
levels.
Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) is given in all
Zones.
- Lack
of safe water supplies is a major cause of disease in Eritrea. However, poor
sanitation and hygiene is of even greater concern.
A project launched by the
Water Resources Department with the support of UNDP and UNICEF is aimed
eventually at addressing the deplorable
situation with regard to water supply
and sanitation. The Eritrean Rural Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation
Programme (ERIWESP),
will rehabilitate and expand water supply systems,
construct boreholes in rural areas, provide essential equipment and spares,
train
staff, provide technical support and develop a database for planning and
exchange experience with countries in the region. In addition,
the Water
Resources Department understands the necessity of strengthening local level
initiatives, promoting community participation,
ensuring a greater role of
women, and using school-based initiatives.
Traditional practices harmful to the health of the
child
- Traditional
practices which are harmful to the health of a child, are still carried out
extensively in Eritrea. Most of these practices
are thought to be carried out
not for religious, but rather for cultural reasons, and vary accordingly between
the different ethnic
groups. Some documentation of cultural practices across
the country, including harmful traditional practices, was made by EPLF during
the war. More study needs to be carried out. Like all harmful traditional
practices, they are difficult to eradicate because those
that carry out these
practices are often ignorant of the real consequences of the
custom.
(a) Female genital mutilation (FGM)
- An
estimated 89 per cent (EDHS, 2002) of all girls in Eritrea have undergone some
form of female genital mutilation (FGM) (the number
in 1995 was 95 per cent).
Young girls brought up under the EPLF are the exception to this custom. In the
lowland areas, infibulation
is generally practised, where the population is
mostly Muslim. In the predominantly Christian highlands, excision and
cliterodectomy
are widely practised. The age at which FGM is carried out varies
from a few days after birth to about 12 years of age. This variation
in age
depends mostly on the ethnic group concerned. As pointed out in a number of
publications on harmful traditional practices
in Eritrea, women who have not
undergone some form of circumcision are seen as being “impure”,
having uncontrollable
sexual impulses which drive them to sexual deviation and
prostitution, and often put them in the category of being
“unmarriageable”.
Genital mutilation is also considered a social
rite of passage that can be avoided only at the cost of ostracism. For this
reason
it is recognized by the Government that simply banning the practice will
not wipe it out. Long-term community education is the only
effective means of
bringing about change.
- An
effective education campaign countering FGM requires an understanding of the
reasoning behind community attitudes toward FGM.
The community education
programmes currently being carried out in Eritrea include a programme by the
NUEYS. The Campaign on Female
Genital Mutilation aims to recognize the unique
social, political, environmental and economic contexts that result in harmful
traditional
practices such as FGM. The programme has been running since 1994
with public discussions and films being shown on FGM. In 1996
the NUEYS
extended the project to include “Training of Campaigners” with
participants from all regions. These campaigners
receive training in a range of
related issues, including FGM, avoidance of STDs, the importance of vaccination,
family planning and
child rights.
- In
addition, on 24-27 September 1997, Eritrea hosted a regional consultation on the
elimination of FGM where the Government made renewed
commitments to eliminate
FGM. Countries represented during this meeting included Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Tanzania and Djibouti.
The EPLF experience of the anti-FGM campaign, as
well as those of NUEW and NUEYS since independence, was shared and views of
important
religious leaders were presented and discussed during the above
consultation. A recommendation of the Minister of Justice was to
develop a
national plan of action integrating key sectors such as MoE, MoH and local NGOs,
while the Ministry of Health made a commitment
to coordinate such an
endeavour.
- Other
community education programmes which encourage the elimination of FGM, include
general programmes for women run by the NUEW.
Amongst other topics, the Union
advocates for the prevention of traditional practices harmful to both women and
children.
- The
first strategy to eliminate female genital mutilation was developed at a
workshop in Asmara from 11-15 October 1999. Fifty participants
were brought
together representing government ministries, traditional birth attendants,
religious groups, youth and women’s
associations (NUEYS and NUEW), United
Nations agencies, bilateral donors and the University of Asmara. The goal of
this strategy
is to implement communication activities that will educate and
motivate key partners and target groups to take action to eliminate
FGM.
(b) Other traditional practices
- Uvula
excision is widely practised as a measure to prevent vomiting and thus ensure
food intake. Often this practice is connected
to giving the new-born infant
butter. This is supposed to soften the infant’s alimentary canal, but
results in infection,
vomiting and diarrhoea. During teething, when the
baby’s gums are irritated, the white spot where the tooth is emerging is
burnt with the heated point of a needle used for plaiting hair. Apart from the
pain, this usually results in infection and the formation
of an abscess. Some
practices are related to removing swelling when a child has an infection: cuts
are often made over the eyebrows
to relieve swelling if the child has an eye
infection; the tonsils are ruptured with the point of a finger directed down the
throat;
and scarifying the cheeks and the forehead are also said to cure
illness.
(c) Feeding babies and children
- EDHS
collected data on the infant feeding for all children born in the 3 years
preceding the survey and found that almost 98 per cent
of children were
breastfed for a median duration of 22 months. Exclusive breastfeeding
is practised in about 65 per cent of all
infants under 4 months and
less than 1 per cent are fully weaned at the age of 4 months. The Ministry of
Health plans to encourage
this positive aspect of childrearing, and discourage
the introduction of breast-milk substitutes into the country. Almost for all
families, breast-milk substitutes are simply not affordable; however, as some
families become wealthier, the inevitable trend away
from breastfeeding will
need to be countered by the introduction of government regulations and advice
from health-care professionals,
which spell out the necessity of
breastfeeding.
- Children
suffer from poor nutrition. About 38 per cent of children in Eritrea
under 5 years are stunted (low height for age), 15
per cent are wasted
(low weight for age) and 44 per cent of children are underweight. Nearly
50 per cent suffer from anaemia (source:
the transitional economic growth and
poverty reduction report, 2001-2002).
- According
to the Health and Nutrition Survey, weaning practices in Eritrea can sometimes
have a detrimental effect on the child, and
go part of the way to explaining why
malnutrition peaks in the second year of an Eritrean child’s life.
Weaning typically
begins too late in Eritrea. The health and nutrition survey
found that about 30 per cent of children were not fed any supplementary
foods
until they were over 18 months old, far later than the 4-6 month recommended age
for the beginning of weaning. In addition,
most Eritrean children eat meals
with their family, typically three meals a day (instead of the recommended 5-6
small meals a day),
and usually the same food as the adults (instead of mixing
the food with small quantities of protein-rich vegetables and adding small
amounts of fats and oils). The health and nutrition survey also found that in
28 per cent of Eritrean households the father of the
family eats first, usually
denying the women and children the most nutritious foods. Women and hence the
children that eat from
the same plate often eat nothing but injera (a
fermented bread) and salt.
- Recognizing
the prevalence of the different forms of malnutrition and their consequences,
the Government of the State of Eritrea has
developed a number of policies and
strategies that address these problems. Two of these policies are the National
Policy on Breastfeeding
and Weaning Practices adopted in July 1995 and the
Marketing of Infant and Young Child Foods Act, which is still in a draft form
ready to be adopted. (The others that deal with the major micronutrients,
iodine deficiency disorder and vitamin A deficiency, are
dealt with
below.)
- Recognizing
that breastfeeding is one of the most important child-survival and protection
strategies and promotes maternal well-being,
the Ministry of Health launched a
programme known as Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. This was in response to
the global momentum
and commitment in promoting breastfeeding and regulating the
use of breast-milk substitutes in maternity health facilities and communities
at
large. As a result, the Ministry of Health intensified its efforts, resulting
in good infant feeding practices in 46 maternity
health facilities (hospitals
and health centres). In these health facilities, children and women are
protected from being subjected
to advertising and promotional activities for
infant formula or feeding bottles.
The breastfeeding policy also ensures that mothers and babies remain together
all the time and that mothers are free to begin breastfeeding
promptly after
birth and to continue exclusive breastfeeding on the child’s demand during
their stay in a given health facility
and, later, at home.
- Household
incomes are usually simply not high enough to purchase nutritious food. The
Government of the State of Eritrea recognizes
that the malnutrition resulting
from such incomplete eating habits can only be tackled in the long-term by
policies which endeavour
to overcome the overall low economic status of the
country and aim to eradicate household poverty by the introduction of
appropriate
income generating schemes.
- The
Ministry of Agriculture reports that from 1992 to 1999, the average caloric
intake per adult per day was only about 1,500 calories,
representing about 56
per cent of the requirement.
(d) Child marriage
- With
regard to the minimum marriageable age the draft Civil Code of Eritrea states
that the marriageable age is 18. However, this
does not apply if the man and
woman have both attained the full age of 16 years and the woman submits to the
authority who will celebrate
the marriage a declaration made by a doctor stating
that the woman is pregnant or has already given birth to a child (article 581
(2) of the draft Civil Code).
- In
spite of the fact that child marriage is forbidden by law, it is still practised
extensively in the rural areas, where it is estimated
that the average age of
marriage is 12-14 years. Girls of 1820 years who are still single are
often stigmatized. The fact that
children often get married early, and thus
bear children in their teens is one of the many reasons for the high maternal
mortality
rate (MMR). Combined with complications resulting from FGM and lack
of proper antenatal care, teenage mothers are likely to be over-represented
in
the number of women dying in childbirth.
(e) Preventive measures
- Other
practices harmful to the health of children can only be stopped by changes in
community attitudes to childrearing. In addition
to the community education
programmes carried out by the NUEYS and NUEW outlined above, the Ministry of
Health is trying to improve
its IEC to prevent such problems.
B. Children with disabilities
- MLHW
provides care for the disabled in Eritrea. A community-based rehabilitation
programme is the chosen approach. This approach
has maximum utilization of
community resources and has been found to be more effective at addressing the
subtle effects of disability
such as stigma, rejection, etc. CBR is implemented
through the combined efforts of disabled people themselves, their families and
communities. There is conflicting information about the attitudes of people
toward children with disabilities. There is, on the
one hand, significant
stigma attached to being a child with disabilities, particularly the visually,
hearing and mentally handicapped,
but at the same time, there is substantial
community sympathy for handicapped children. Partly this has been a result of
society’s
acceptance of the many war-disabled within Eritrea: however,
for the non-war-disabled community, acceptance is not yet as high.
The
community pays tribute to the war-disabled as heroes but the non-war-disabled
are still “blamed” for their disability.
This is only slowly
beginning to change, as a speaker at the first Eritrean National Conference on
Rehabilitation of the Disabled
in 1995 outlined:
There is something new happening in Eritrea. The realities of war and the
numbers of disabled men, women and children it has produced,
have forced the
community to be acutely aware of the disabled in our midst. This legacy we
count as part of the heavy price still
being paid for independence. With it has
come a sense of responsibility to address this question. But how do we see
other non-war-related
disabilities? Traditionally, any disability has been
viewed with fear and a belief of it being either a punishment by God or the
work
of the devil. We cannot evade a thorough collective soul-searching on our
attitudes towards the disabled, because these attitudes
create the environment
in which the disabled must live.
- Much
of the stigma faced by disabled children in Eritrea relates to a lack of
understanding about the medical basis for a disability
(for example, there is a
common belief in Eritrea that epilepsy results from the “will of
God”, and can therefore not
be treated by modern medicine, and so families
of children with epilepsy do not seek medical help). Many families will take
disabled
children to traditional healers rather than a trained doctor. While in
some instances this may bring comfort to the family (and
indeed some valuable
advice about the condition), traditional healers are usually unlikely to be able
to offer any medical advice,
and rarely encourage families to seek further
assistance.
- Stigmatization
often results in the overprotection by parents of children with disabilities.
At the First National Conference on
Rehabilitation of the Disabled in Eritrea
held in 1995, this issue was well described by a blind participant. He said,
“Whenever
I asked my parents for permission to go and play outside my
home, the answer was no with a tone of anger and insult. They also tell
me that
it was the will of God. And God would have not made me a disabled person if He
had wanted me to play. This expression affected
me greatly and I had a low
morale.”
- The
conference noted the problems of misunderstandings within the community about
the disabled, with parents not encouraging disabled
children to participate in
daily routines, and limiting or totally preventing contact with the outside
world. This partly results
from the fact that many families feel it is a
disgrace not only for the individual to be disabled, but for the family as a
whole,
because it limits the marriage prospects of siblings etc.
- A
comprehensive study on persons with disabilities in Eritrea was carried out by
MLHW in 2002 and is expected to be finalized by the
end of the year, preliminary
findings of the survey found that there are about 80,000 persons with disability
in 4 regions, this
number does not include the Northern and Southern Red Sea
regions.
- The
2002 study shows the total number of persons with disabilities in Debug and
Maker Region alone was 34,704, of which 20,292 were
males and 14,412 were
females, and 7,253 were children. The following tables show disabilities by age
and type in two regions:
Table 2
Children with disabilities in Maker and Debug regions
|
Age distribution
|
0-9
|
10-18
|
19-35
|
36-55
|
56-76
|
76>
|
Total
|
Maker
|
452
|
1 266
|
1 910
|
2 273
|
1 956
|
847
|
8 704
|
Debug
|
2 026
|
3 509
|
5 355
|
7 015
|
5 885
|
2 210
|
26 000
|
Total
|
2 478
|
4 775
|
7 265
|
9 288
|
7 841
|
3 057
|
34 704
|
Table 3
Type of disabilities in Maker and Debug regions
|
Type of disability
|
Blindness
|
Deafness
|
Mental disability
|
Physical disability
|
Multiple disability
|
Learning difficulty
|
Leprosy
|
Epilepsy
|
Not stated
|
Total
|
Maker
|
2 598
|
1 296
|
838
|
3 298
|
-
|
121
|
21
|
322
|
210
|
8 704
|
Debug
|
3 182
|
3 182
|
2 324
|
10 277
|
1 626
|
498
|
390
|
1 036
|
1 701
|
26 000
|
Total
|
7 564
|
4 478
|
3 162
|
13 575
|
1 626
|
619
|
411
|
1 358
|
1 911
|
34 704
|
- Given
the figures outlined earlier in this report relating to iodine deficiency
disorder (IDD), and the known effect of IDD on the
normal mental development of
children, it is unlikely that there is not actually a large “hidden”
group of children who
suffer from either learning disabilities, or, at the
extreme end, severe mental retardation.
- Over
35,000 persons with disabilities benefit from the Community Based Rehabilitation
Programme. The number of people with disability
who got active rehabilitation
from MLHW were 3,763, between 1996 and 2000, and 4,338 people were fitted with
various appliances.
- In
1996 the universal salt iodination (USI) initiative started in which Eritrea was
able to iodise about 80-85 per cent of its salt.
A survey conducted in 1998
indicated that about 97 per cent of all households surveyed consume
iodized salt. At the moment all
salt produced from public salt enterprises,
which is about 70-80 per cent of the total salt production in Eritrea is
iodized. The
Eritrean Government has made tremendous efforts to support the
private salt producers to iodinate their salt. Required iodination
and quality
control equipment and other supplies are already supplied for the private salt
producers around Assab and Massawa. Legislation
to prohibit production or
importation of non-iodinated salt, for animal and human consumption is expected
to be enacted in 2003.
When all salt produced in Eritrea is iodized, Eritrea
will not only be fighting to eliminate IDD from Eritrea but also to support
other African countries in eliminating IDD from their respective
countries.
- Vitamin
A supplementation started in December 1997, as part of the second National
Immunization Day for polio eradication, and has
attained 94 per cent coverage in
children under 5 years of age (UNICEF, 2001).
- The
number and type of disabled children in school in 2002 is summarized in the
table below.
Table 4
Disabled children in school in 2002
|
Day care
|
Elementary schooling
|
Grand total
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
Blindness
|
320
|
240
|
560
|
420
|
610
|
1 030
|
1 590
|
Deafness
|
400
|
290
|
690
|
850
|
1 060
|
1 910
|
2 600
|
Mental disability
|
90
|
120
|
210
|
160
|
190
|
350
|
560
|
Physical disability
|
568
|
152
|
720
|
402
|
774
|
1 176
|
1 896
|
Multiple disability
|
38
|
28
|
66
|
38
|
34
|
72
|
138
|
Total
|
1 416
|
830
|
2 246
|
1 870
|
2 668
|
4 538
|
6 784
|
Source: MLHW 2002.
- Some
of the physical disabilities experienced by children are as a direct result of
the war, when children, along with the rest of
the population, were subjected to
wanton shooting, aerial bombing, landmine explosions and even rape and torture
in prison. Psychological
trauma was experienced by children who saw parents
killed by the invading Ethiopian soldiers, villages razed to the ground, and
many
other horrendous acts of violence. Some children have witnessed their
mothers, sisters and other women and girls in their communities
being raped;
others were direct victims of rape themselves. All this must contribute to the
number of psychologically disabled children
in the country. One year into the
border war in 1999 the MLHW and UNICEF conducted a psychosocial needs assessment
of war-affected
children (the findings are reported below in the section on
children in situations of emergency, paras. 374-393).
- There
are a small number of services for the disabled operated by Government and NGOs
in Eritrea. They are generally administered
for all age
groups.
Table 5
Services available to disabled children and adults
|
Location
|
Service provided
|
Abraha Batha School for the Blind
|
Asmara
|
Residential school for 130 pupils. Teaches blind children a general
education using Braille.
|
Deaf School
|
Asmara
|
Day-education for about 70 children.
|
Deaf School
|
Keren
|
Boarding-school education for about 80 deaf children.
|
Hansenians Eritrean Welfare Organization
|
Asmara
|
Care for lepers.
|
Cheshire Clinic
|
Asmara
|
Helps children under 15 with physical disabilities, including polio,
congenital deformities and burn victims.
|
St. Mary Neuro- Psychiatric Hospital
|
Asmara
|
Capacity for 240 beds, with children occupying beds in wards with
adults.
|
Mai Habar Vocational School
|
Mai Habar
|
Vocational training for physically disabled youths and adults in metal work
and carpentry.
|
Orthopaedic workshops
|
Asmara: 2 Keren: 1 Assab: 1
|
Fitting patients with prosthesis and other appliances. Plans for further
workshops in other regional centres.
|
- The
Cheshire Clinic in Asmara is the only health clinic dealing specifically with
children with physical disabilities. It is operated
by a non-governmental
organization, and only treats children below the age of 15 years. The clinic
serves the whole country and
has recently constructed dormitories for
out-of-town patients for the period while they are being treated; 75 per
cent of its cases
are polio cases, 20 per cent are children with clubfeet and
the rest have muscle disorders, cerebral palsy and physical trauma cases.
The
clinic provides orthopaedic shoes, corrects contractors with plaster of Paris
and braces, and offers physiotherapy. The clinic
sees about 3,000 cases a
year.
- To
date there has been no comprehensive nationwide survey on landmines and
unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination in Eritrea. In
1994, around 50
different types of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines from 14 different
countries have been identified in Eritrea.
According to information provided by
the Eritrean Humanitarian Demining Project, by the end of the border war with
Ethiopia in 2000,
between 500,000 and 1 million mines and 3 million UXO are
present in Eritrea. It is estimated that more than 5 per cent of Eritrean
land
area may be mine-affected. About 40 per cent of landmine victims are children.
Eritrea has signed the Convention on the Prohibition
of the Use, Stockpiling,
Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa
Treaty) on 27 August 2001.
Eritrea has voted in favour of all pro-ban
resolutions, including General Assembly resolution 54/54B
of 1 December 1999. In October
2000 UNICEF and EHDP launched a
mine-awareness programme which aims at reducing and ultimately eliminating death
and injury currently
caused by landmines and UXO among all vulnerable groups in
Gash Barka and Debug regions, the most affected areas. Injuries from
anti-personnel mines are said to be common. Another clinic for war-disabled
adults and children operates at the Cheshire Clinic
and fits artificial limbs.
A number of children are seen each month in this clinic. The incidence of mine
injuries would be much
greater, except for the mineremoval campaigns undertaken
by the Government, and the closure of many areas which are heavily mined.
Mine-awareness campaigns have also been carried out in the local
media.
- There
are no special facilities for the care of children with psychological
disturbances. Those who cannot be managed adequately
at home are admitted to
the psychiatric ward of the main psychiatric hospital in Asmara. These children
are kept in the hospital
alongside the adult patients.
- Mental
health is one of the main problems in the country, and child and adolescents are
the least cared for. Those who cannot be
managed adequately at home have few
admission facilities. There is no child psychiatrist in the country. Most
childhood psychiatric
problems are assessed by the one psychiatrist and seven
psychiatric nurses working at the only hospital in the country, St. Mary’s
Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Asmara. A few patients are also cared for in the
paediatric unit of Mekane Hiwot Hospital by two paediatricians.
There are two
psychiatrists in Asmara University who are mainly involved in teaching, but
could be available on special request
or referral. The largest proportion of
childhood psychological and psychiatric problems seen in the hospital is
predominantly seizure
disorders with or without behavioural problems and other
congenital neurological deficits, learning difficulties (mental retardation)
with or without other psychiatric problems, and a very few with childhood
psychological problems. The fact that very few children
and adolescents are
seen in the health services with psychological problems does not reflect the
absence of the problem. Many young
children and adolescents are passing through
the health-care services unrecognized due to lack of appropriate knowledge and
skills
of the health personnel. Another issue is the poor community ability to
recognize childhood psychological problems. Children and
adolescents with
psychological problems are either believed to be bad kids or the explanation of
the cause of their problem is related
to demons and other traditional beliefs.
This is strongly associated with stigma and as a result patients are hidden or
traditional
methods of treatment are sought.
- In
developing countries like Eritrea, the major causes of seizure disorder and
learning difficulties (mental retardation) are preventable
with good antenatal
care and improved delivery services. Salt iodination and its use by pregnant
women will contribute significantly
to the prevention of hypothyroidism-related
mental retardation. Training parents in good child-rearing practice and
improved communication
between parents and children and adolescents can also
prevent a lot of other psychological problems.
- In
1999, a committee comprised of governmental and non-governmental organizations
released a draft National Policy on Persons with
Disabilities in Eritrea. It
sets out recommendations and strategies for the implementation and monitoring of
programmes for the
disabled.
- The
policy objectives of the draft National Policy on Persons with Disabilities in
Eritrea cover some of the following provisions:
− To minimize trends that originate from backward traditional attitudes
and customs that hinder the disabled persons from being
active in social
life;
− To create the necessary conditions for the respect of human rights and
the building of self-confidence of the disabled so
that they could actively
participate in all the development initiatives;
− To ensure the participation of persons with disabilities in the
socio-cultural context by raising their physical, psychological,
educational and
emotional standards or profile in society;
− To introduce coordination mechanisms for the prevention of sicknesses
and accidents that cause disabilities; and
− To ensure that persons with disabilities have equal opportunities in
education and training.
- The
education of disabled children is covered elsewhere in this report (see paras.
354-361 below).
C. Health and health services
Health facilities
- Since
independence, the Ministry of Health has made significant progress in
rehabilitating and expanding health services. The following
developments have
been made in provision of public services: by 1999 about 70 per cent of
citizens lived within 10 kilometres of
a health-care facility, as opposed to 10
per cent at independence in 1991. The number of professional health-care
workers rose by
nearly 70 per cent, from 2,550 in 1993 to 4,240 in 1999, and the
number of physicians more than doubled, from 58 to 145 (2001).
- In
order to meet the objectives of delivering primary health-care services to rural
areas, the main activity of MoH has been focused
on the establishment of primary
health-care facilities to areas that have not benefited from access to
health-care facilities previously.
By 2000 there were 23 hospitals, 52 health
centres, 170 health stations and 55 clinics (26 private).
- Since
liberation, MoH has constructed 7 new hospitals, 48 health centres and 98 health
stations, representing a total increase of
44 per cent, 1,200 per cent and 136
per cent, respectively, from the number of health facilities existing before
independence. However,
many health facilities lack trained personnel,
electricity, water and furniture supplies, which are hindering the adequate
provision
of health care.
- Human
resources development is one of the leading priorities of MoH because the
realization of adequate and quality health services
delivery is not possible
without adequate skilled manpower.
- Training
is given to pre-service and basic service, post-basic, short and longterm and
continuing education training for the various
categories of health personnel.
Between 1992 and 2000, a total of 1,672 health professionals have graduated
and been awarded a degree,
diploma or certificate from the College of Nursing and Health Technology and
Asmara University; an additional 542 were enrolled by
the end of 2000. The
training programmes of the Ministry of Health include training of nurses, health
assistants, laboratory technicians,
assistant physiotherapists, pharmacy
technicians, X-ray technicians and dental clinicians.
- In
2000 there was a ratio of one doctor per 13,000 people, one nurse for
every 2,800 people, and one associate nurse for every 1,700
people.
The 10-year health sector plan envisages by the year 2005: one doctor for
every 10,000 people, one dentist for every 100,000
people, one nurse for
2,000 people and one health assistant for
every 1,500 people.
- The
number of health facilities by 2005 is expected to reach: hospitals, 42; health
centres, 100; health stations, 400. Accordingly,
the health services coverage
is expected to increase from 70 per cent in 2001 to 80 per cent in 2005. This
envisages construction
of primary health-care facilities, hospitals, development
of mobile clinics and community health services that would be staffed by
community health workers.
Health policy guidelines
Sector policy
- The
goal of health policy in Eritrea is to improve the health and well-being of all
Eritreans with a focus on those most at risk and
to encourage the health system
to be more responsive to the needs of the people. The specific objectives of
the health policy include:
To reduce infant mortality;
To increase life expectancy;
To ensure availability of health services;
To ensure self-sufficiency in manpower through human resources development;
and
To promote health awareness in Government and communities.
- The
Government’s macro-policy (1994) has outlined the general
objectives:
− To reduce and eventually eliminate deaths from easily controllable
diseases; and
− To enhance awareness of good health practices in order to improve the
productivity of the workforce.
- Health
policy in Eritrea focuses include:
− Basic health services will be made available to both urban and rural
populations;
− Priority will be given to primary health care and immunization
programmes;
− Major health hazards will be given special attention for
containment;
− The private sector will actively participate in the provision of health
services following rules, regulations and operational
modalities provided by the
Ministry of Health;
− Community and beneficiary contribution in financing health services will
be promoted; and
− National health insurance schemes will be introduced. Information
dissemination on healthy practices will be actively
promoted.
Health education and promotion (HEP)
- The
Ministry of Health regards health education and promotion (HEP) as a
strategically important tool to its primary health-care programme.
Health
facilities are poorly equipped and face a critical shortage of trained
personnel. Additionally, many health facilities have
been destroyed and
equipment looted by the invading Ethiopian soldiers in the 1998-2000 war. As a
result, the population is suffering
from a number of preventable health
problems. The health status of women and children is particularly problematic.
However, many
of the diseases contributing to high mortality and morbidity rates
are preventable.
- In
the primary health-care strategies, preventive and promotive health care for the
most vulnerable groups - children and women -
receives priority
attention.
- Priority
is given to major health problems of the country such as malaria, diarrhoea,
acute respiratory infection (ARI), tuberculosis,
HIV/AIDS, obstetric emergency
condition, vaccinepreventable diseases, and malnutrition. These problems were
accorded the highest
priority because of the high contribution to the morbidity
and mortality and because health education intervention can play a pivotal
role
in them.
- At
the national level, HEP policy has clearly stated objectives and strategies.
Its main aims are to lay out the role for HEP in
the national health plan, to
provide guidelines for setting HEP priorities, dealing with issues related to
language, decentralization,
integration of health services and coordination with
other donors.
- The
importance of the involvement and participation of community leaders, local
administrative bodies, women’s association,
youth and students’
associations in HEP campaigns is duly recognized.
- There
is limited home-level HEP activity for antenatal and postnatal programmes,
except for breastfeeding promotions. Support groups
from the community play a
great role in promoting Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative throughout the
country. The problems frequently
mentioned by hospitals, health centres and
health stations are lack of teaching-aid materials and language problems in
communicating
with the local people.
- Recently,
some regional Ministry of Health management teams were established to develop
HEP materials after having training on formative
research and materials
development.
- To
promote health for all, the following HEP programme strategies will be pursued
with regard to future activities:
(a) Tackle priority health
problems;
(b) Focus on behaviour change;
(c) Use different
message delivery strategies to support integrated
services;
(d) Decentralize HEP;
(e) Community participation;
and
(f) Reach different language and culture groups.
Child health policy guidelines
- The
approach to the management of child health in Eritrea focuses on the management
of the most important causes of infant and child
mortality and morbidity. In
order to reduce mortality, the programme stresses an integrated approach to the
management of infants
and children, which is directed toward the prevention of
all the most important causes of mortality and morbidity at the same
time.
- The
child-health programme also addresses the special problems faced by children
with disabilities, children of school age and adolescents.
- The
objectives of the child health policy guidelines include these
priorities:
(a) The child health programme will focus on the
reduction of morbidity in children less than 5 years of age from acute lower
respiratory
tract infections (ARI), malaria, diarrhoea, measles and
malnutrition;
(b) A primary health care coordinating committee will
develop an integrated approach to the prevention and management of childhood
diseases. Health-care workers at all levels will be trained to address all
major causes of morbidity and mortality in children under
5 at the same time.
Prevention strategies will also address all major causes
simultaneously;
(c) An integrated child-health programme will be
developed and coordinated with the participation of all relevant divisions of
the
Ministry of Health;
(d) The child-health programme will address the
needs of handicapped children;
(e) The child-health programme will address the needs of school-age children
and adolescents;
(f) The child-health programme will aim to improve the
following measures of facility and community performance:
− Increase the proportion of health staff who have received training in
the integrated management of children;
− Increase the proportion of health staff who receive regular integrated
supervision on child health;
− Increase the proportion of health workers who correctly diagnose and
treat sick children;
− Increase the proportion of caretakers and family members who correctly
administer oral dehydration solution of a recommended
home-made fluid to a child
with diarrhoea;
− Increase the proportion of caretakers and family members who know how to
correctly take care of a sick child within the home;
− Increase the proportion of caretakers and family members who know the
signs for seeking care when their child is sick;
− Increase the proportion of caretakers and family members who understand
and practice simple preventive behaviours for the
prevention of child illness
and the promotion of good health; and
− Increase the proportion of caretakers and family members with a
handicapped child who have education in basic primary health-care
topics.
- The
child-health programme is being coordinated by the Family and Community Health
Unit of the Primary Health Care Division. The
development and implementation of
an integrated child-health programme involves close collaboration between the
divisions of the
Ministry of Health and joint participation in all development
and training activities. Focus is placed on the improvement of service
delivery
at the community level. A cooperative and participatory approach is used to
develop and manage the programme.
- The
management of all main causes of infant and child mortality uses a standard
casemanagement approach. Integrated case-management
guidelines for ARI,
malaria, diarrhoea, measles and malnutrition will be developed and tested by the
child health programme. The
principles of the case-management approach will
be:
(a) The use of standard clinical algorithms to assess, classify, treat and
follow-up infants and children and to counsel their caregivers
on the management
of their children at home;
(b) The use of standard clinical algorithms
to manage and treat infants and children in first-level health facilities.
Laboratory
confirmation of diagnoses will be required only in sites where it is
available and affordable; and
(c) All sick children meeting defined
clinical criteria will be referred for treatment at the next level of the
health-care system.
The MoH will commit itself to providing referral-level care
for sick children who cannot be adequately managed at lower level health
facilities.
- The
Early Childhood Development Project includes the following child and maternal
health component, led by the Ministry of Health,
which aims to:
− Improve the quality of care provided to children under five years of age
at health facility and household levels through
education;
− Strengthen the health system in order to sustain integrated management
of childhood illness;
− Empower communities and families for improved practices regarding child
health and development through training and participation;
and
− Improve awareness through information, education and communication
campaigns and training to improve attitudes of parents,
caregivers and
communities.
- The
Mother and Child Nutrition and Food Security programme, led by the Ministries of
Health, Agriculture and Fisheries, aims to:
− Empower targeted communities and families to deal with the needs of the
child through appropriate training;
− Reduce micro- and macro-nutritional deficiency among children under 5
years of age through equipping health workers with
proper
skills;
− Improve food security, especially for children in the target population,
through agricultural development; and
− Build capacity within Ministries for nutrition programme
management.
D. Social security and childcare services
Social security
- There
is no comprehensive social-security system in the country, although a number of
benefits are provided, aimed at relieving the
hardship of the most needy within
the community. This support is targeted at families, and so directly helps
children, if they exist,
within the family structure. Eritrea has long-term
plans to introduce some form of social-security system. To this end, MLHW, in
collaboration with pertinent authorities, are conducting a study, with a final
report expected in early 2003. The study is based
on Labour Proclamation
1/18/2001, whereby the Ministry has the power to issue regulations pertaining to
Social Security Article 84.
The Government’s macro-policy (1994) has as
an objective: To introduce, stage by stage, a comprehensive national
social-security
scheme in line with the pace of the economic development of the
country. Policies designed to achieve this
include:
(a) Development strategies aimed at meeting the basic
needs of the population will be designed and
implemented;
(b) Traditional social security and community self-help
schemes will be encouraged;
(c) Appropriate monetary policies will be
put in place to enhance private savings;
(d) Employment safety nets will
be introduced through labour intensive public works
programmes in areas and
periods of major economic distress;
(e) Access to productive resources
(land, water, livestock, credit etc.) will be provided to the unemployed and
under-employed;
(f) Pension schemes will be introduced for public-sector
employees;
(g) Victims of war and vulnerable groups will be provided
with proper care and attention;
(h) Children, youth, the aged and women
will be provided with legal protection from economic, sexual and other forms of
exploitation;
and
(i) National capacity for disaster preparedness and
prevention will be gradually developed and strengthened.
Family education and childcare
- The
Government’s macro-policy (1994) outlines within its approach on gender
issues a number of relevant points regarding childcare
services, including that:
− Appropriate labour-saving technologies will be introduced to reduce the
drudgery of women in the household and for other
activities (water, fuel wood,
childcare centres, etc.); and
− Mother-childcare services will be improved and
expanded.
- Pre-school
education, which is aimed at preparing children for formal education, is covered
in chapter VII of this report, under the
heading of “Early childhood
education”. The related issues of family education and childcare are
covered here, but both
chapters should be seen as complementary.
- The
longer-term plans for the provision of childcare and family services within the
country are very broad in scope. Childcare will
not be treated simply as
“child-minding” for working, urban women. The Government sees the
provision of childcare as
an important part of overall family and early
childhood education. Childcare services will be primarily aimed at
community-based
family education; that is, creating awareness amongst parents
and the wider community of the health, nutrition, developmental and
educational
needs of young children. In a country in which basic levels of knowledge about
the relationship between, for instance,
health and hygiene/sanitation practices,
are unacceptably low, education of families becomes vitally important. The aim
is not only
to provide care and education for children, but also to educate
whole families via their children. The MoH is creating awareness
on the above
issues.
- The
Ministry of Education aims to expand its provision of resource centres for early
childhood education (described in detail in the
section below on early childhood
education, paras. 310-315).
- A
number of other ministries currently provide some form of family education. The
Ministry of Agriculture provides basic family education
through its
home-economics programmes. This programme is operated by the ministry to secure
improvements in the living conditions
of farming families. Women have the
opportunity to attend the food and nutrition, and mother and childcare classes
conducted in
villages in all zones. Home agents who are responsible for this
work are assigned throughout the rural areas. In 2002, 45 home
agents provided
women, in remote areas of the country, introductory classes. Additional classes
have also been held in:
(a) Hygiene and environmental
sanitation;
(b) Home improvement and management;
(c) Clothing
and textiles;
(d) Income-generating activities:
− horticultural production,
− poultry production,
− beekeeping, and
− handicrafts.
- All
classes are taught with the participation of women, and many include practical
projects, which will be of benefit to the communities,
such as the construction
and use of solar cookers.
- An
additional challenge for Eritrea is how best to provide appropriate family
education (and perhaps childcare) for its nomadic population,
and even more
pressing how to provide for its refugee children. For both these groups a
system of family and early childhood education
needs to be developed that suits
the life circumstances of these groups.
- At
this stage, purpose-built non-educational childcare facilities are almost
non-existent within the country. With increased emphasis
on women’s
participation in training and incomegenerating schemes, the need for childcare
services and facilities is becoming
obvious. While traditional society has
provided well for the care of children by members of the child’s extended
family, this
is becoming increasingly more difficult, especially for single
mothers who live in urban areas.
- The
National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) is perhaps the most active organization
in the provision of childcare services. On behalf
of their women members, in
particular exfighter women, they have been actively advocating for the
establishment of childcare centres
The NUEW have been providing childcare
services in conjunction with their other programmes so that women can be free to
take advantage
of the educational or income-generating schemes on offer.
Day-care services have been provided in four locations in conjunction
with
women’s rural credit programmes, and NUEW is attempting to provide
childcare to all areas in which they have women’s
literacy programmes, so
as to allow for the full and active participation of women.
- Basic
childcare has also been provided on a limited basis by the Ministry of Education
in conjunction with its Women’s Literacy
Project. The project is
currently being evaluated to assess its effectiveness, and the provision of
childcare is one area, which
will be appraised to understand its impact on
women’s participation.
- Childcare
facilities based in the workplace are virtually non-existent in Eritrea at the
moment, other than those associated with
women’s rural credit programmes.
NUEW is expected to provide childcare facilities alongside some of their other
projects in
the future, such as flourmill operations.
E. Standard of living
- In
order to raise the standard of living of the average Eritrean child, it is
necessary not to focus on short-term food-aid supported
programmes, which
necessarily characterized much of the initial post-liberation phase. Economic
development and poverty reduction
have been central goals of the
Government’s development programme since independence. These goals are
enshrined in the Constitution in three key clauses:
− The State shall work to bring about a balanced and sustainable
development throughout the country, and shall use all available
means to enable
all citizens to improve their livelihood in a sustainable manner, through their
participation (art. 8, para. 2);
− Every citizen shall have the right of equal access to publicly funded
social services. The State shall endeavour, within
the limit of its resources,
to make available to all citizens health, education, cultural and other social
services (art. 21, para.
2); and
− The State shall secure, within available means, the social welfare of
all citizens and particularly those disadvantaged (art.
21, para.
2).
- The
Government has pursued economic development and poverty reduction through a
strategy initially articulated in its macro-policy
and more recently in its
National Economic Policy Framework and Programme, presented in 1998. Since the
formulation of the macropolicy
in 1994, a series of economic and structural
initiatives have been taken, for example:
− A land-tenure system was proclaimed, which places land ownership with
the State and guarantees the right of all citizens
to access to
land;
− The taxation laws of the previous regime were overhauled and price
controls were removed to encourage competition and a favourable
tax environment
for local and international investment;
− Housing and property previously nationalized has been returned to its
rightful owners; and
− The privatization of nationalized industries has begun;
- The
Government has been attempting to eventually raise income levels using a range
of initiatives, including its general economic
policy. It recognizes that the
potential for rapid income generation is limited, however, a number of
initiatives such as rural
development, smallscale income-generating schemes and
literacy programmes all aim to ensure more of the community become economically
self-supporting.
- For
much of the population, however, the long-term initiatives will come too late.
People are suffering because of a lack of household
food security, which,
results in such widespread hunger and malnutrition. About 80 per cent of the
population currently relies on
agriculture for their livelihood, but
productivity is very low. Eritrea is a long way from being self-sufficient in
food production.
Even in good years, only about 70 per cent of food needs are
met from within the country. In bad years the figure can be nearer
15 per cent.
The major constraints to food security in Eritrea include poor and erratic
rainfall; environmental degradation, including
soil erosion and reduced soil
fertility; shortages of skilled workers; low capital investments; and, poor
agricultural infrastructure
and war.
- Programmes,
which ease the immediate requirements for income support, will therefore be
needed for some time. Prior to the border
conflict with Ethiopia, much progress
was made promoting growth and increasing access to services and opportunities.
Although progress
has been disrupted, the Government remains committed to its
development strategy.
- Given
the various fundamental constraints, improving household food security and
income levels and hence the standard of living for
children will be a long, slow
process. Of course, numerous other factors also affect the standard of living.
In particular, the
Government wishes to concentrate on improving the status of
women. EPLF had a good record of women’s participation during
the
struggle, resulting in 30 per cent women membership. In a number of areas,
including training programmes, EPLF discriminated
in their favour. As has been
outlined elsewhere, EPLF also introduced numerous gender reforms in the
liberated zones. However,
cultural practices, which support gender inequality,
are strong. It is proving difficult to extend concepts of women’s
equality
to the wider community who were not combatants. The Government is
concentrating on programmes, which educate, provide health care
and allow women
to generate their own incomes. In addition, they aim to provide greater paid
work opportunities. The Government
is attempting to lead by example: there are
22 women in the National Assembly, and 3 women cabinet Ministers. Women, by
law, will
also constitute at least 30 per cent of all legislative
positions.
- Education
will be discussed below (see chap. VIII), however, adult literacy, and in
particular women’s literacy is worth mentioning
in relation to the
standard of living. With so many factors linking children’s well-being
and the level of education of their
mothers, literacy levels are vitally
important. As outlined in the EDHS, about 40 per cent of girls aged 15-19 have
received no
education. This figure is 85 per cent for women aged 40-44, and
more than 97 per cent for women 60-64. Overall, the women’s
literacy rate for those aged over 15 years is about 10 per cent. Women’s
literacy has therefore become a priority. Both Government
and local NGOs run
literacy classes and the media also contributes, through the “education
radio” station, to basic education.
Programmes aimed through the media
are hampered, however, by the very low levels of access most people have to any
form of media.
EDHS found that only 37 per cent of rural women had access
to a radio, 1.7 per cent were able to access television and 6 per cent
were able
to read a newspaper on a weekly basis.
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURE
A. Aims of education
- The
Government’s national development strategy, as outlined in its
macro-policy document of 1994, includes equipping the new
Eritrean State with
the necessary institutional structures and skilled manpower so that the State
can operate efficiently and effectively.
Education is recognized as an
inalienable right of the child “Every citizen shall have the right of
equal access to publicly
funded social services. The state shall endeavour,
within its resources to make available to all citizens health, education,
cultural
and other social services” (art. 21/1 of the Eritrean
Constitution).
- The
education policy aims to provide equal opportunity in terms of access, equity,
relevance and continuity of education for all school-age
children. It gives
priority to most vulnerable groups and regions and encompasses intellectual,
physical, social and emotional outcomes.
- The
specific goals of the education policy are as follows:
− Raise access of elementary school children from 36 per cent in 1991 to
65 per cent by 2006; improve quality and efficiency
at all levels;
− Support pre-school education initiatives; increase access to and quality
and efficiency of secondary and technical and vocational
programmes;
− Reduce illiteracy rate to 40 per cent by the year 2003;
and
− Improve the ministry’s capacity to analyse options, develop
strategic plans and information systems, and upgrade sector
management at all
levels.
- The
Government plans to develop and implement its national Education For All Plan of
Action as of 2001. The GSE plans to further
decentralize responsibilities for
operating schools to the zonal level, allowing the Ministry of Education to
focus on planning and
co-ordination, setting national standards, reviewing and
providing textbooks, monitoring and assessing quality, and setting standards
for
teachers. This will require strengthening of institutional capacity at the
zonal level in planning and management.
- The
general objectives of the education system, as outlined in the
Government’s macropolicy, are therefore:
(a) To produce a
population equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and culture for a
self-reliant and modern economy;
(b) To develop self-consciousness and
self-motivation in the population to fight poverty, disease, and all the
attendant causes of
backwardness and ignorance; and
(c) To make basic
education available to all.
- These
objectives of the education policy are compatible with article 29 of the
Covenant and they aim to create a united, prosperous,
peaceful and democratic
nation by producing women and men who:
− Have the various skills needed and the commitment to work together to
reconstruct the economic, environmental and social
fabric;
− Have a love of and respect for the nation and all peoples within it,
regardless of sex, ethnic group, age, religion or profession.
This includes
producing citizens who are fully literate in their mother tongue and who know
and wish to preserve the best aspects
of their culture whilst changing those
negative aspects, including working towards the achievement of gender and ethnic
equality;
− Have respect for democratic institutions, and who fully and effectively
participate in the democratic process, including
developing and defending the
basic human rights of children, women and men;
− Are guided by and adhere to the highest ethical
principles;
− Have a deep knowledge of and respect for the environment, and the need
for its restoration and protection;
− Have the ability to wisely use scientific processes and development so
as to develop self-sufficiency in food, and a modern
services and industrial
sector, based on the principles of environmental sustainability;
and
− Have the opportunity to develop to the full their creative potential in
all aspects.
- Given
the need for comprehensive change in the whole education system following
liberation, policies for every sub-sector have had
to be developed. Although
this process is still continuing in one or two areas, by and large overall
policy has been decided. It
should be stressed, however, that because of the
new and also dynamic nature of Eritrea’s education system, policy in many
areas would be continuously monitored and, if necessary, changed. The following
are the major policies developed since 1991:
− Universal basic education up to seven years will gradually be made
available to all. Universal access and completion of
quality primary education
for all will be attained as a way of securing formal basic education to all by
2015 with more than 80 per
cent of the participants finishing the formal basic
education level. Girls, disadvantaged and nomadic children will be the main
focus of the overall formal basic education investment (EFA goals
2001);
− Skilled manpower requirements of both the public and private sectors
will be met by steadily increasing enrolments at the
secondary, technical and
vocational schools;
− Continuing education through formal and non-formal channels will be
promoted to achieve higher literacy rates and enhanced
competence;
− Tertiary education will be expanded selectively to meet the envisaged
manpower requirements of the country;
− The emphasis of technical/vocational training will be to impart
multi-craft skills that enhance the job adaptability and
retraining potential of
the student;
− The government, the community and the direct beneficiaries will be made
to contribute varying amounts towards financing education
costs;
− Official recognition and/or professional accreditation of skill and
academic attainment will be awarded only after undergoing
government established
certification procedures; and
− There will be no restraint on the provision of education by the private
sector, but private schools will have to follow the
national
curriculum.
- Recognizing
that past neglect has deprived a substantial proportion of the population of
access to education, and that past policies
have severely damaged the quality of
educational provision, strategies are aimed at improving educational quality and
quantity simultaneously,
on the one hand, and on the other hand securing equity.
Major strategies include:
− The opening of more elementary schools throughout the country, and the
adopting of special measures for girls and minority
groups such as pastoralists,
so that the right of basic education is able to be exercised throughout the
country;
− Improvement in the quality of education through increases in internal
and external efficiency, curriculum change, raising
the standard of teacher
education, and through developing various support systems;
− The promotion of popular participation and democratic control of basic
education through community management;
− The encouragement of non-governmental organizations to open schools at
all levels;
− The opening of more faculties in the university, including a faculty of
education;
− The opening of more, well equipped secondary schools with relevant
curriculum;
− To develop a flexible, 3-tiered system of technical
education;
− The ensuring of the sustainability of financing, to create self-reliance
within a framework of partnership with international
bodies to help the initial
funding of the programmes; and
− Major emphasis of training of new and existing
personnel.
B. Factors affecting education
- Adult
illiteracy is estimated at 75 per cent of the population; while the total number
of primaryschoolage children out of school,
in 2000-2001, was 323,240 children
of which 165,785 were girls. Sixty-one (61) per cent of 7-11-year-old children
are out of school.
- There
are several major problems standing in the way of educational progress in
Eritrea. The most significant problems are the poverty
of the country as a
whole, and the lack of financial resources of the Government. Progress in the
educational field is intricately
related with progress in the economy as a
whole. As outlined in the introduction to this report, the economy is currently
in devastated
shape, making it extremely difficult for plans for increasing
access to, and improving the quality of, education at all
levels.
- The
acute shortage of skilled and/or trained professionals at all levels in the
education system is a very major constraint; to date
there are approximately
2,967 untrained teachers in the system. There is a limited capacity of the
Asmara Teacher Training Institute
(ATTI) to meet the growing demand for
qualified teachers, and a low quality of teacher trainers. There is a lack of
an updated gender-sensitive
pre-service training curriculum, which would ensure
that teachers learn how to teach in gender-sensitive ways. There is also a need
to meet the demand for
teachers in the nine ethnic groups for mother-tongue teaching and learning.
Finally, the education system is constrained by the lack
of an in-service
training programme which responds in dynamic ways to the problems of teaching
and learning, including the onset
of silent emergencies such as the HIV/AIDS
epidemic.
- Other
constraints are attitudinal; for example, many people still consider it
unacceptable or undesirable for girls to be educated.
Attitudes such as these
will take time to change. In addition, poor health leads to high child
mortality rates, absenteeism and
reduced school performance, whilst the war and
poverty have created a large number of children with special needs.
Environmental
degradation has led to problems relating directly to the school
(such as an extreme lack of water supply at school sites) and also
indirectly to
children’s participation in education.
- Any
developing country faces problems in allocating enough resources to expanding
its social services. The problem is much greater
here, as Eritrea is trying to
rebuild a completely shattered education system at all levels simultaneously.
This requires enormous
financial and human resources. There is thus currently a
very wide gap between the educational needs of the nation, and the ability
of
the Government and also the people to meet those needs from their own resources.
To improve access to education, the Government
increased spending on education
from 4 per cent of Government expenditures in 1993 to over 9 per cent in 2001,
spending on basic
education has expanded faster than spending on other levels of
education. Currently nearly 70 per cent of resources for education
are
spent on primary education, and 78 per cent of the primary schools are located
in rural areas.
- Notwithstanding
the expressed commitment to education, and the desire to create a modern,
forward-looking economy and to meet the
needs of its population, various factors
stand in the way. At the end of the 30-year war of liberation, Eritrea
inherited a ruined
infrastructure and a neglected educational sector. In spite
of progress made in the seven years, which followed liberation, the
1998 war has
caused tremendous setbacks and overburdened the system. It must be said that
the challenges in education that Eritrea
faces at the beginning of the new
century are still overwhelming.
C. Early childhood education
- The
MoE’s role in early childhood education has been limited to the provision
of sectoral policy guidance, teacher education
and monitoring. The policy on
early childhood education includes the following
principles:
(a) The Government of the State of Eritrea aims to
ensure the proper care of children by assuring physical, intellectual, social
and emotional development during the early ages as central for the development
of a progressive and developed Eritrean society;
(b) The Government
recognizes the need for children to participate in recreation. This recreation
should include the freedom to
play and a variety of self-directed activities,
including cultural activities and art. All efforts will be made to ensure this
opportunity;
(c) Attention will be paid to expanding the learning
environment to the home and community, and the knowledge children get from their
life experience will be considered as an important aspect of their overall
development;
(d) Parents and communities have an obligation to ensure
and improve the educational, health and nutritional status of children.
The
Government shoulders the responsibility of monitoring the status of children and
will take measures to consolidate the health
and nutritional status of Eritrean
children; and
(e) To guarantee their right to education the Government
will work toward the development of a nation-wide system for education.
This
system will be guaranteed by law and by the educational policy of the
country.
- By
2001 there were only 90 pre-schools in the whole country, 69 of them being
located in the urban areas with most of these in Asmara.
Only four (4.4
per cent) are Governmentowned. During 1995 the Municipality of Asmara handed
over all pre-schools under its jurisdiction
to the community. Almost all
pre-school management and financing were left to non-government initiatives.
The gross enrolment ratio
(GER) for the respective academic years 1991/92,
1995/96 and 2000/01 was only 3.4 per cent, 3.9 per cent and 5.2 per cent
respectively.
This figure is obviously very low. The Government recognizes
that pre-school education is extremely important in laying the foundations
for
children’s overall educational experience.
- The
MoE has established a pre-school panel, which aims to develop and support good
practice in pre-schools, including monitoring and
supervising existing
pre-schools and training existing and new teachers. During the 2000/01 academic
year there were only 326 pre-school
teachers in the whole country of which 211
(64.7 per cent) had some professional training.
- The
Government of Eritrea has recently initiated an integrated multi-sectoral Early
Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) programme
under the auspices of the
Ministry of Local Government. The programme will address the education and
development rights of children
in the early years, in an integrated and
multi-sectoral approach, particularly in rural areas. The goal is significant
expansion
of integrated, low-cost and community based early childhood
development programmes of high quality in order to achieve more than
80 per cent
of children covered by 2015 through formal and non-formal means.
- Major
components of the early childhood development project include Early Childhood
Care and Education (ECCE) led by the Ministry
of Education to:
− Promote complete social, physical and intellectual development of
children;
− Improve the quality of life of children and the
community;
− Empower the community and develop a system that involves their
participation;
− Safeguard the basic rights of children; and
− Ensure long-term benefits for human resource development and economic
growth by producing productive adults.
- To
date the following activities have been undertaken:
− Training of community caregivers has been given;
− Low-cost facilitating materials have been developed for kindergarten
teachers;
− Workshops are given every two months to both teachers and community
caregivers;
− A parent’s enrichment manual has been developed by parents, health
workers, home agents, NUEW, NUEYS and teachers;
and
− In order to report on the way forward, a needs assessment on early
childhood education and care in Eritrea has been conducted
by MoE in April 2002.
A workshop is planned for October 2002.
D. Basic education provided by the State
- The
number of children aged 0-5 is 759,886 and those aged 6-14 is 904,499
(MoE 2000/01). (Additional statistics relevant to this
section have been
included in the statistical annex.)
Table 6
Total school-age population by school
level
(MoE 2000/01)
Age group
|
Population
|
Estimated percentage of total population
|
5-6
|
240 981
|
6.67
|
7-11
|
529 071
|
14.64
|
12-13
|
176 487
|
4.88
|
14-17
|
289 587
|
8
|
Total
|
1 236 125
|
34.2
|
- Planning
at a national level started being developed in 1991, and the process is still
continuing. From project-based planning, the
Ministry of Education has
progressed to programme-based planning, with a consequently longer time horizon.
Additionally, 5, 10 and
15year targets have been set for key indicators. The
trends in gross enrolment ratio (GER) and net enrolment ratio (NER) over the
last five years is as indicated in the table below.
Table 7
Gross enrolment ratio (GER) and net
enrolment
ratio (NER) 1996/97 to 2000/01
Year
|
Level
|
National GER
|
GER by Gender
|
National NER
|
NER by Gender
|
Male
|
Female
|
Male
|
Female
|
1996/97
|
Primary
|
50.6
|
54.8
|
46.3
|
28.8
|
29.9
|
27.7
|
|
Middle
|
29.9
|
32.4
|
27.2
|
7.9
|
8.4
|
7.5
|
|
Secondary
|
15.7
|
18.2
|
13
|
10
|
10.4
|
9.6
|
1997/98
|
Primary
|
50.6
|
54.7
|
46.5
|
30.9
|
32.4
|
29.3
|
|
Middle
|
35.1
|
38.9
|
30.9
|
9.1
|
9.5
|
8.6
|
|
Secondary
|
15.7
|
18.4
|
12.7
|
10.3
|
10.8
|
9.7
|
1998/99
|
Primary
|
52.2
|
56.4
|
47.9
|
35.2
|
35.2
|
31.3
|
|
Middle
|
40.1
|
43.3
|
36.5
|
9.5
|
9.6
|
9.3
|
|
Secondary
|
17.4
|
21.2
|
13.4
|
11.4
|
12.6
|
10
|
1999/00
|
Primary
|
57.5
|
62.3
|
52.4
|
37.9
|
40.1
|
35.6
|
|
Middle
|
43.2
|
45.9
|
40.4
|
10.5
|
10.7
|
10.6
|
|
Secondary
|
21.3
|
26
|
16.2
|
14
|
15.8
|
12.1
|
2000/01
|
Primary
|
56.6
|
61.2
|
51.5
|
38.9
|
41.4
|
36.4
|
|
Middle
|
43.4
|
45.1
|
41.5
|
11.6
|
11.6
|
11.6
|
|
Secondary
|
22.2
|
27.2
|
16.9
|
13.3
|
15.2
|
11.3
|
- Currently,
five years of elementary and two years of junior secondary (the basic cycle) are
followed by four years of senior secondary.
The medium of instruction at
elementary level is mother tongue, although currently communities are permitted
to choose another language
as medium if they wish; at postprimary level, it is
English. Official starting age is 7, but past lack of access means that the
majority at all levels are over age. The pre-school programme is
two years, beginning at age 5, although current provision is extremely
small, with a GER in 2001 of only 5.2 per cent; pre-schools are almost wholly
concentrated in urban areas, especially Asmara.
- Concerning
government funding, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for the overall
allocation of the government budget. The Ministry
of Education prepares its
annual budget based on enrolments, numbers of teachers and other staff, and the
school building programme.
To improve access to education, the
Government increased spending on education from 4 per cent of
government expenditures in 1993
to over 9 per cent in 2001. Purely
governmental expenditure on education for the years 1992/93, 1995/96 and 2000/01
was ERN 34.7
million, 91 million and almost 253 million
respectively (source: Ministry of Finance and Development and MoE). Nearly
70 per cent
of resources for education are spent on primary education,
and 78 per cent of the primary schools are located in rural areas. (A
substantial amount of this, however, goes to recurrent costs especially the
payment of teachers’ salaries (ERN 100,634,081
out of a budget of
ERN 252,450,668: MoE, Essential Education
Indicators 2000/01).)
- Recurrent
expenditure has been rising rapidly due to a number of factors, including the
increase in the number of teachers and higher
spending on supplies caused by the
rapid rise in the number of schools. Most capital expenditure is currently
financed by non-governmental
organizations, making it more difficult to plan on
a long-term basis. Some, however, are financed by the Government via the
Community
Development Fund.
- The
national curriculum was established during the liberation struggle and has been
periodically modified and assessed in the last
10 years. The Ministry of
Education has been developing a new national curriculum; serious efforts are
being made to reflect the
country’s new socio-economic situation in the
review of the general education curricula (2001-2002). New teaching materials
will be developed and piloted in schools as soon as the review is concluded.
The technical education, vocational training, teacher
education, and literacy
programmes have been developing their own curriculum
independently.
- In
the meantime, some changes have already been made to the existing elementary,
middle and secondary curricula. Elementary textbooks
for the minority languages
have been revised, new English books have been prepared for many grades; new
junior secondary books have
been prepared for a range of subjects and revised
secondary school books have also been prepared. Measures to enforce the
standardization
of the curriculum across all Eritrean schools have also been
taken.
- The
pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 45:1 in 2000/01 as opposed to 37:1
in 1992/93. The ratio was 56:1 and 54:1 at the
middle and secondary levels
in 2000/01 as opposed to 33:1 and 35:1 in 1992/93. Although there are still
some regional disparities,
both enrolment and pupilteacher ratios are on the
increase. The causes of high pupil-teacher ratios in some places include
inadequate
number of schools, teachers and school places. The reasons for
increased demand for school places include reduction of infant mortality,
improved awareness of the value of education and gradual (still inadequate)
parental involvement; expulsion of children from Ethiopia,
(over 31,000,
44 per cent children, expelled between 1998-2001), returnees from
Sudan (between 1995 and 2002 there were over 110,000
children
returnees).
- The
number of qualified teachers has increased in the past few years; at primary
level the number of qualified teachers increased
from 48 per cent in
1994/95 to 71 per cent in 2000/01. At the secondary level the increase was
from 47 per cent in 1994/95 to 73
per cent in 2000/01. At the middle
level, however, in the 2000/01 academic year, only 35.3 per cent have the
necessary qualifications,
as opposed to 70 per cent in 1994/95. The
poor quality and availability of teachers is the underlying cause of low pupil
achievement.
Female teachers in 2000/01 represent 40.6 per cent,
only a 5 per cent increase from 1994/95 in the teaching profession.
This is
still relatively low if girls’ education is to be a focus. Since
1998 the main cause of the poor quality of education has
been the impact of the
border war. The increased need for other social services such as health,
nutrition, water and sanitation
for wardisplaced persons meant that education
came after the basic needs and received little resources.
- Professional
supervision is essential if the quality of education is to be assessed, and
improved. The MoE aims to consolidate the
supervision system in the regions so
that supervisors work in a cluster of schools, in line with the strategy of
monitoring educational
quality and localized training. Plans have been laid for a new system of
regular supervision reports from the regions. The upgrading
of existing
supervisors and training of new ones is seen as a major priority, given the lack
of qualified staff.
- In
terms of internal efficiency, school dropout rates have been steadily declining
since 1991, especially for girls. Average withdrawal,
repetition and
promotion rates in 2000/01 were as indicated in the table
below:
Table 8
Girls’ status in schools
(2000/01)
(in percentage)
Level
|
Withdrawal (dropouts)
|
Repetition
|
Promotion
|
Primary
|
6.3
|
22.9
|
70.8
|
Middle
|
10.1
|
23.3
|
66
|
Secondary
|
10.1
|
29.2
|
61.1
|
- These
figures, however, do mask vast differences in flow rates between different
zones. For instance, the withdrawal rate in elementary
schools in Zoba Maker
(central zone) in 2000/01 (with a relatively well-providedfor education system,
in terms of buildings and staff)
was only 4.3 per cent, with a repeat rate
of 20.3 per cent and a promotion rate of 75.4 per cent. In
Zoba Gash-Barka the withdrawal
rate in 2000/01 was as high as
7.44 per cent, with repeat rates of 26.1 per cent and a
promotion rate of 66.4 per cent. These rates,
particularly within the
lowland provinces, are constantly worse for girls.
- Although
shortages of textbooks and equipment are often the norm in developing countries,
it is not normally the case that a large
number of school buildings are unusable
because of war damage, or because of their use as military barracks, but that
was precisely
the case confronting the MoE after the war. Given the lack of
adequate resources, both human and capital, devoted to education,
it has been an
immense challenge to properly rebuild damaged schools, build enough new ones and
adequately equip them with necessary
books and equipment. The Ministry of
Education recognizes that decent buildings and proper equipment make a big
difference to educational
quality, and is attempting to seriously tackle this
issue. Since independence the Government has built new schools where none
existed
before, and is currently rehabilitating schools that were either
destroyed or damaged by war.
- According
to the educational policy of the GSE, basic education (grades 17) is free
and compulsory for all citizens. Schoolage children
(grades 15) have the
right to learn in their respective mother tongue. Currently, at primary level,
eight ethnic languages are used
as medium of instructions and English as a
subject. At junior and senior secondary levels (grades 611), the medium of
instruction
is English. In 1996 the textbook provision ratio was estimated at
1:60 but by 2002 the ratio had reached 1:2.
- MoE
has a goal of increasing access of elementary schoolage children
from 56.6 per cent (in 2000/01) to 80 per cent (by
2015). Since
1991/92, a total of 270 schools have been constructed and 315
rehabilitated. In 1996/97 alone (just before the outbreak of the war)
77 and 60
schools were newly constructed and rehabilitated, respectively, giving a grand
total of 686 schools in 1996/97 comprising
549 elementary, 99 junior secondary
and 38 senior secondary schools. According to MoE’s statistics and
projections for 1999-2003,
the estimated need for new primary school classrooms
is 1,502 of which one third (500) will comprise provisions for new classes in
existing schools while the remainder (1,002) will be located in new schools.
MoE also expects to construct 105 demonstration rooms
and 105 reading rooms
(libraries) for junior secondary schools and 128 resource centres (cluster
schools) during the same period.
- Utilization
of school buildings is very high. Fifty-seven per cent of all schools have
a doubleshift system because of the shortage
of classrooms. In urban areas,
most junior and senior secondary schools have a three-shift system, with the
third shift for adult
extension evening classes (which may in fact contain
children under 18).
- Boarding
schools currently only exist in six locations, two are in the process of being
built and studies have been conducted as to
where to build more. These schools
are seen as a highly important means of increasing access for girls and minority
groups in the
disadvantaged areas.
- Twenty-four
rural schools in Barka Province are also feeding centres for midday snacks of
milk, protein mixture and high-energy biscuits.
There are a tiny handful of
such centres in the rest of the country.
- School
buses operate in parts of Eritrea. The majority of children go to school by
foot or bicycle. The average distance from home
to school ranges from 2.2 km in
the capital Asmara, to 8 km in three of the provinces. Some children spend 4-5
hours daily walking
to and from school. Official figures estimate that
98 per cent of all bicycle users are male, meaning that almost all
girls go to
school on foot, with consequently increased journey times. The
Eritrean Agency for the Environment has begun the process of distributing
donated second-hand bicycles from overseas, many of which are being given to
girls who have a long distance to travel to school.
There is, however, a
significant cultural difficulty to overcome: in many Eritrean families it is
not acceptable for females to
ride bicycles. In some instances the male head of
the family will only allow a girl to accept a donated bicycle so that they
themselves
can take it. In urban areas, however, it is becoming increasingly
acceptable for girls to ride, but it is likely to take a great
deal of time
until it is a common sight to see girls on bicycles!
- Children
have between 30 (grades 1 and 2) and 35 (grades 3-11) periods of school per week
(one period is 40 minutes’ duration).
The length of the academic year is
approximately 200 days, divided into two semesters. Lowland areas teach
six days a week so as
to finish before the very hot season. It is intended that
the length of the school year will be increased to conform to the sub-Saharan
average, and that the number of periods that teachers teach will also be
increased.
- The
overall GER increased from 36 per cent in 1991/92 to 60.2 per cent in 2000/01.
The GER for girls increased from 34 per cent in
1991/92 to 53 per cent
in 2000/01.
E. Girls’ education
- Despite
the Constitution’s provision for gender equality and the positive
experiences in this regard during the struggle for independence, customary
discriminatory practices against women still exist in Eritrea. There are
strongly entrenched cultural factors responsible for the
low importance many
communities attach to girls’ education. Many parents see education as
either irrelevant or as a barrier
to achieving the goals and aspirations which
they have for their daughters, that is, to marry, and to perpetuate the cultural
traditions.
- The
enrolment, participation, and retention of girls in the educational system are
seen by the GSE as fundamental to overall development.
- Since
independence, various comprehensive studies have been conducted on girls’
education in order to assess the factors affecting
girls’ primary school
enrolment, participation and retention in the five regions and to make
recommendations for appropriate
interventions to improve the situation.
Regional differences were found in terms of attitudes towards girls’
education. Christian
or mixed religious communities, as well as mixed ethnic
communities, appeared more receptive to the idea of education in general,
as
were semi-urban and urban dwellers. The greatest resistance was found among
nomadic/semi-nomadic communities and those with little
or no tradition of
schooling. In some places, particularly those with a strong tradition of female
seclusion, women have never heard
of the idea of schooling
girls.
- Community
solutions to increase girls’ education included increasing the number of
female teachers and reducing distance to
primary schools and single-sex schools.
In order to encourage girls’ education, various strategies have been
developed by MoE,
among them:
− Feeder schools: one major strategy is to bring education closer to the
community. To date (2001) 25 feeder schools have
been completed, and 14 new
ones started;
− The construction of girls’ hostels to encourage girls to enter
junior secondary school. Construction of two hostels,
one in Massawa and one in
Agordat, have already started. Guidelines for their management have already
been drafted;
− Female teachers: in order to reduce parents’ fear about
girls’ security and provide role models, there is need
for more female
teachers. Coaching for female teachers has been conducted at the TTI since
1997. In addition, MoE plans to give
posttraining support to female
teachers;
− To encourage enrolment and retention of girls, an incentive scheme was
developed and launched, in 2000, in the four most
deprived regions (but this
programme is not extensive); and
− Advocacy and social mobilization: Community sensitization programmes
and mobilization campaigns are a priority of MoE; the
comprehensive study on
girls’ education conducted in 1996 has been translated into the various
local languages and discussed
in subregional and regional
level.
- A
good start has been made in the training and deployment of female teachers, as
well as in additional coaching given to female teachers,
and reducing distance
to primary schools through feeder schools. The challenge now is to meet the
expectations for continued instruction
beyond the initial
years.
- Activities
focusing specifically on girls’ education include:
− Reducing distance to primary schools;
− Construction of feeder schools and two girls’ boarding
schools;
− Community sensitization programmes;
− Female teachers’ coaching and gender sensitization for
teachers;
− Adult education/literacy, rural reading
rooms/libraries;
− Preparation, translation and dissemination of
booklets;
− Provision of radios in the literacy centres to access the literacy radio
programme;
− A training centre for paralegals;
− In-service training and classroom instructions in law given to 35 women;
and
− ParentTeacher Associations (PTAs) will receive information and resources
to carry out girls’ education promotion campaigns
in their
communities.
- Despite
the Government’s campaign, especially since 1996/97, to encourage
girls’ education, the gender gap is still widening.
A major weakness of
the system has been the lack of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation
mechanisms. New systems are now being
put into place to address these problems,
and to better follow up progress regarding girls’ education. When these
are fully
put into effect, it will be possible to assess the impact of the
strategies.
F. Urban/rural and regional disparities
- The
demand for education in some parts of Eritrea is higher, mainly the highland
regions (Maker 77.2 per cent and Debug 73.8 per cent),
and little or no demand in other parts of the country. This is particularly
true for the nomadic communities (Debubawi Keyih Bahri
9.8 per cent,
Semienawi Keyih Bahri 28.9 per cent and Gash Barka
49.8 per cent).
Table 9
Gross enrolment by region and gender
- Government schools 2000/01
Zone
|
Population ages 7-11
|
Gross enrolment
|
Total
|
Male
|
Female
|
Anseba
|
78 444
|
45 249
|
25 404
|
19 845
|
Debubawi Keyih Bahri
|
37 109
|
3 626
|
2 543
|
1 083
|
Debug
|
137 479
|
101 438
|
54 842
|
46 596
|
Gash Barka
|
100 896
|
50 295
|
29 262
|
21 033
|
Maker
|
98 299
|
75 858
|
38 531
|
37 327
|
Semienawi Keyih Bahri
|
76 843
|
22 225
|
13 941
|
8 284
|
Total
|
529 071
|
298 691
|
164 523
|
134 168
|
G. Private education
- In
the EPLF education system there was no private sector. In the occupied areas of
Eritrea a small number of mission schools were
allowed to continue functioning.
However, as a whole the private sector has played only a minor role since the
early 1970s. This
is hopefully set to change, as the Eritrean Government is
committed to encouraging the growth of this sector, so as to provide more
opportunities for schooling for disadvantaged and other groups by opening up
more schools, to involve the community more in the opening
and running of
schools, and also so as to help improve the quality of education offered.
Different non-governmental bodies include
communities, religious and foreign
organizations.
- Non-government
school enrolment as a percentage of the total enrolment has been declining at
elementary and junior secondary levels,
as new government schools at these
levels have been increasing at a faster rate than the opening of nongovernment
schools. From
1991/92 to 2000/01 it declined from 22 per cent to
10.3 per cent (of the 27,860 students in 2000/01, 13,355 were female)
at the elementary
level, and from 17.2 per cent to
7.38 per cent (of the 5,598 students 2,787 were female) at the middle
level. At the secondary level,
however, there have been proportionally greater
expansions in the private sector, with private enrolment increasing from
2.7 per
cent to 4.04 per cent (of the 2,591 students
1,234 were female) of the total enrolment. In 2000/01 there were a total of 88
non-government
elementary schools, 22 middle schools, 6 senior secondary schools
and 3 technical schools.
- It
is recognized by the Government that these private schools are not wealthy
establishments, and so need a helping hand to become
established and to function
efficiently. No charges have been made for in-service teacher training courses
provided by the MoE,
and until recently no charge for textbook
provision.
H. Technical and vocational training
- The
destruction of the Eritrean economy during the war, including the loss of an
entire generation of skilled and semi-skilled workers,
means that there is a
tremendous material and humancapacity rebuilding task to be accomplished. The
rebuilding of the technical
and vocational education sector is absolutely vital
if the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors are to be rehabilitated
and
developed. The Government is thus giving great priority to the sector, with the
Ministry of Education playing the leading role.
Comprehensive plans have been
drawn up for the restructuring of technical and vocational education, based on
the current needs of
the nation. The current two-tier system is being replaced
by a planned three-tier system, designed to produce different levels and
types
of needed skills. Training will be offered at:
(a) Skill
development centres: currently there are seven skill development centres
(SDCs), with new ones being built to total two in each zone. They give 6-12
month courses in basic skills like plumbing, building construction and
mechanics;
(b) Technical schools: there are eight intermediate
and two advanced technical schools; the technical schools provide threeyear
courses for graduates
of grade 10, in construction, electricity, metalwork, etc.
There are two technical schools, with plans to build several more;
and
(c) Technical teacher training: This will be a Technical
Training Institute to produce teacher trainers. It will also serve as a
polytechnic.
- The
Government of Eritrea recognizes the need for vocational and technical education
and training. To attain the national humanresource
policy objectives, the
Ministry of Education has developed a National Policy Framework on Technical and
Vocational Education and
Training (TVET).
- A
committee has already been set up to revise the MoE framework. The proposed
structure of the TVET has three formal levels: basic,
intermediate and advanced
levels. The training will be structured in a dual system, whereby trainees will
spend periods of four
months at a time in industries or enterprises, relevant
for their skill to practise their school-acquired learning.
- The
minimum age for admission to TVET will be 15 years. The basic level entry
requirements are completion of primary and junior secondary
school cycle (5 + 2
= 7 years), and the course will last one year. The intermediate level will
comprise of a formal training course,
designed for those who have successfully
completed nine years of schooling, and will last two years. The most
advanced level of
technical and vocational training will be for those who have
completed their senior secondary school, this programme will last three
years.
The framework will allow the trainees to move upward once they have completed
one level.
- The
vocational centres in various regions cater mainly for dropout youth,
demobilized fighters, returnees and expellees. Between
2000-2001 the number of
trainees at the intermediate level was 1,434, of which 337 (almost 24 per cent)
were women; at the advanced
level the number was 359 of which 110 (over 30 per
cent) were women.
- The
Asmara Business School, established in 1996 offers schoolleavers courses in
computing, business studies, accounting, etc. Currently
the programme is too
small, with the capacity for only 60 students. However, this will begin to
relieve the shortage of trained
personnel in the commercial and service sectors.
An arts and crafts school, and two small fine arts and music schools also offer
short and mediumlength courses.
I. Special
education
- In
the liberated areas during the war, the Zero School in Sahel (later to become
the Revolution School) catered for a large number
of orphaned children, many of
whom had witnessed appalling atrocities against their parents, relatives and
friends. During the war,
some were frequently exposed to the terrors of aerial
bombardments, and if not killed, psychologically scarred. Many had physical
disabilities caused by war injuries or disease. At different times during the
war, the EPLF had to cope with huge numbers of internally
displaced refugees,
including children. The EPLF was well aware of the traumas suffered by children
in these and other circumstances,
and tried its best to provide these children
with loving care and attention, for example, by having guardians in the
Revolution School
act as foster parents. However, the EPLF lacked any
experience in the identification of children with different needs, or the
ability
to fully professionally care for them. Thus, due to the war, poverty
and disease, there are many children inside and outside of
the school system
with special needs who are not being adequately catered for.
- As
a result of this, a small special section within the Department of Pedagogy was
established in 1994 to deal with special needs
education. The categories of
children with special needs include children with learning difficulties and
behavioural difficulties;
disabled children; children suffering from trauma;
orphans; refugees; and gifted and talented children.
- Only
few and preliminary data are available on the number of children with special
education needs, or with disabilities. Children
with special education needs
are often excluded from the mainstream school system because parents do not
think they need education.
A small number of deaf children and blind children
have been integrated into secondary schools in Keren and Asmara, and an unknown
number of students are integrated into elementary schools throughout the
country. The latter group receive no special support.
The great number of
children and young people with disabilities and special needs (especially in
rural areas) do not receive any
formal education. Government policy is, as far
as possible, to include children with special needs in mainstream schools. That
approach requires that all teachers have training specifically related to
learners with special needs, this is still not the case.
Emphasizing inclusive
education, however, does not rule out special schools or
centres.
- There
are at present three long-established separate special schools in Eritrea, two
deaf schools and one school for the blind. All
are located in urban areas and
all lack human expertise as well as financial and material resources. In
2000/01, only about 203
children (of which 97 were female) were able to get
access to these institutions. Although most children with special needs can
and
should be educated in mainstream schools, children with profound complex
difficulties, will need other type of programmes, such
as special schools and
centres, or special units within existing mainstream schools. There is,
therefore, the need to look carefully
at special schools and centres. It is
foreseen that the new national curriculum will address special needs education.
Presently,
however, the curriculum proposal is still very general. Activities
are also needed for longterm attitude shift on disabilities and
the benefits of
education for children with special needs. The blind school has 60
students and 10 teachers, but only 2 of them
have specialeducation
training.
- The
deaf schools have developed sign language in Tigrinya. These schools cater to
only a tiny percentage of children with special
needs, and there is a need to
expand these facilities so that more children have access to special education.
As part of the expansion
programme, funding is being sought to upgrade the
school for the blind so that it can operate at full capacity and provide
programmes
more suited to the needs of the children. The expansion programme
also aims to establish a special education resource centre within
the school,
which will provide resources for all the special schools and for children in an
integrated setting.
- All
the special schools in Eritrea lack the necessary expertise in how to adapt the
government curriculum to suit their particular
circumstances. In 1995 the
Ministry of Education established the first school which caters to children with
moderate to severe intellectual
disabilities. While this school only caters to
a very small number of children, it is in recognition of the need for education
of
all children that it is opened.
- Apart
from wholly deaf and blind children, and children with moderate and severe
intellectual disabilities, the aim is to enrol all
other categories into the
mainstream school system, i.e. both children not presently learning, in addition
to those children who
are already learning. A major priority is to give
training to teachers on how to identify and cater to the needs of these
children.
This will include the introduction of a module on teaching children
with learning difficulties in the pre-service teacher-training
programme.
Firstly, however, research has just been carried out to discover the number of
children with the different types of learning
difficulties. Although much needs
to be done, the setting up of the Special Education Panel is seen as a
significant step forward
in addressing the needs of this important group in
Eritrean society.
- There
are many myths and fallacies surrounding disability and some medical disorders
amongst the community in Eritrea (this is discussed
at greater length in the
section on disabled children, paras. 231-251). These beliefs lead to negative
attitudes toward disability.
In order to foster more positive attitudes to
disabilities and the education of children with special needs, funding is being
sought
for a campaign to raise community awareness of disabilities and the
benefits of education for children with special needs. This
campaign is to be
nationwide and is to be conducted over three years.
J. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities
- As
an extremely underdeveloped country, Eritrea must have priorities: it is
necessary to house, feed and educate the population before
resourcing less vital
activities. However, Eritrea recognizes that in order to develop a united,
stable and prosperous nation, it
is necessary for the various groups
(urban/rural, ethnic, religious, young/old, etc.) to understand one another and
celebrate not
only their similarities, but also their differences. The part
that recreation and cultural activities can play in bringing about
this
understanding amongst the society should not be underestimated.
- A
number of ministries and the local NGO which provides programmes for youth and
children, the NUEYS, have developed a range of programmes
which use such things
as sport and outdoor activities as a basis to encourage cultural understanding
and unity of purpose.
- It
is recognized that schooling and cultural activities in Eritrea must be relevant
and practical, and help to change attitudes in
a positive way. This is
especially important given the destruction of the education system and the
consequent deliberate corruption,
loss of culture and identity of much of the
youth living under occupation during the previous regime. One important
initiative in
this direction is the Summer Work Campaign for secondary school
students. The campaign started as a pilot project in 1994, and has
now been
extended to cover almost all students in grades 8-10. Students work for 50 days
during their summer vacations, with groups
of girls and boys being allocated to
different zones. Students receive a small allowance and free food and
accommodation. Development
activities are carried out by the students in 95
sites, plus a further 72 sites for a literacy campaign. Development
activities
undertaken by the students include: reforestation, terracing, dam
and canal construction, road construction, agricultural activities,
including
cotton and other harvesting, clean-up campaigns, a literacy campaign, office
work in 13 government offices, research into
school construction and
collection of data for the Asmara census.
- Sports
and physical exercise are believed to have a strong bearing on the development
of a healthy new generation. Sport is to be
made a community accomplishment,
promoting much wider community participation in planning and implementing sports
activities and
also vitalizing broadbased financing opportunities. Sport is
enjoying a renaissance in Eritrea, due in part to the re-introduction
of sports
in schools. A Sports Office has been established in the Ministry of Education,
staffed partly by sports teachers from
the schools. Initial focus has been of
rebuilding school football teams and competitions. Volleyball and cycling are
also popular.
There are now 422 football teams, organized into age
groupings. Of these, 216 are in Asmara, while the remaining are in the 9
ex-provincial
capitals outside Asmara. Further, 300 football teams have been
set up at the end of 1996, of which 48 were girl’s teams.
Various
training programmes for sports teachers with outside expert assistance and
retired Eritrean sports people have taken place.
The emphasis in the coming
years will be on organizing the other sports into schools competitions.
- Over
the last two to three years, the Eritrean National Sport Associations have won
recognition of important international federations
and clubs. The State of
Eritrea is now a member of: International Cycling Federation, as well as the
volleyball/basketball, and
marathon/athletics federations. Eritrean youngsters
have been regularly taking part in competitions organized by the Nordic
countries
since 1994, with extremely satisfactory results. These teams are
represented by children aged 12-14 from all over Eritrea. Female
sport
activities in Eritrea are highly encouraged as could be ascertained from their
participation in almost all fields of sport.
- Through
its recreational and health centres in seven major towns, NUEYS has also played
a vital role in the organization of sports
teams and activities for boys and
girls from ages 8 to 20 years. Children under the age of 18 are organized into
teams to play football,
athletics, volleyball, basketball, mountain-bike racing,
etc. There are nearly 10,000 children participating in 510 NUEYS
sports
teams throughout the country. NUEYS also operates a gymnasium in Asmara,
with a monthly fee for adults, which subsidizes the child
and student
membership.
- In
1993 Circus Eritrea was founded and funded by the Sports Federation, but in 1997
NUEYS took over the responsibility for the group.
Circus Eritrea aims to
promote the creativity of children and youth and to instil values of
cooperation, teamwork, skill and commitment
to a healthy lifestyle. The process
has trained a group of about 100 young people to a level of proficiency to
enable them to provide
a creative and alternative vehicle for raising awareness
of issues of importance to Eritrean youth and children in the twentyfirst
century. The educational messages in the performances focus on local traditions
and culture, HIV/AIDS, health, environment and child
rights. These activities
have been of tremendous support to children and the youth in the IDP camps,
returnees’ resettlement
camps, students and to the public in
general.
- This
field has so far been seriously lacking in terms of expertise performance.
Plans to build a school of arts and the development
of literature through
continuous development of all the local languages will be priority cultural
activities. Cultural activities
carried out for children by NUEYS include
generalknowledge competitions, debating, poetry competitions, and
children’s clubs.
NUEYS sub-zonal offices organize competitions
regularly. NUEYS cultural clubs and/or drama/musical groups are organized, for
children
between the ages of 10 and 18 years. These clubs/groups
offer recreational activities such as painting, drama, music and literature,
also participate in health education and mine risk education for children in
schools.
- In
1999 NUEYS conducted training for 27 puppetry beginners on hand puppets as well
as 15 puppetry master trainers on hand/giant puppets,
script writing
and narration. Immediately, the trainers conducted training for 97 puppetry
beginners nationwide. Puppetry clubs
were established in three sub-zones and
now participate in raising awareness on health and educational issues (i.e.
improving girls’
education, sexual gender violence, FGM, abortion and
unwanted pregnancy).
- Further,
an association called Sewit Children’s Theatre was established in
November 1994 with 18 children and 5 coordinators
with 10-15 years of
artistic experience, i.e. playwrights, dramatists, poets and musicians whose
chief aim has been to entertain
children and at the same time disseminate
information to adults about children’s rights.
- The
range of activities for younger children is less than for older children and
youth. Virtually all activities for young children
are limited to what goes on
within the family, and children have virtually no opportunities for organized
activities. In rural areas
there are a range of games played by children,
although these are rarely organized into structured or competitive activities.
Children
virtually always use local resources for their games, although in urban
areas bicycles and footballs are increasingly being bought
or donated by
families and organizations.
- A
centre producing kindergarten toys and play materials has been operating since
1995, in recognition of the fact that there are virtually
no low-cost
educational toys available in Eritrea. The centre produces and sells toys at a
reasonable cost to kindergartens, shops
and individuals. More recently the
Eritrean War Disabled Fighters’ Association has also started producing
toys in Massawa.
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
A. Children in situations of emergency
Refugee children and other displaced children
- Displaced
children who were separated or orphaned as a result of the war and other causes
have been discussed elsewhere in this report,
mainly in the section on
Reunification. The specific problem of children in armed-conflict situation and
children belonging to refugee
families is discussed in this section.
- The
prolonged war for independence resulted in large numbers of refugees, displaced
people and unaccompanied children. The number
of Eritreans outside the country
was estimated to be 750,000, of which about 400,000 people had settled in Sudan.
Since independence
in May 1991 there has been a huge return of refugees
from throughout the world to Eritrea. A programme to repatriate and reintegrate
refugees (Programme for Refugee Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Resettlement
Areas in Eritrea, PROFERI) was launched in 1993.
The pilot programme was
implemented from 1994-1995 and supported the repatriation of
about 25,000 returnees (some 4,970 families)
from
Sudan.
- Between
1998 and 2001 over 8,770 of these refugees returned spontaneously (that is,
outside of any governmentsponsored programmes);
of these 3,861 were aged from 1
to 18, and girls were just under 50 per cent. From 12 May 2001 to 8 July 2002 a
total of 51,694
individuals (26,839 females and 24,855 males) have returned home
to Eritrea under an organized governmentsponsored programme; almost
half
(25,154) are children below 17 years of age.
- The
Eritrean Refugee and Relief Commission (ERREC) has overall responsibility for
the repatriation and reintegration of refugees.
For the returnee children, no
specific programmes were offered by PROFERI, although a large number of general
social services, such
as schools, health, water and infrastructure are the
responsibility of, and are provided by, the various line ministries within the
normal regional planning process. Services like shelter, food and agricultural
inputs are provided to individual households of returnees.
- It
is recognized that children who have become refugees, with or without their
families, are likely to have suffered greatly. It
must also be recognized,
however, that the general population also endured extreme conditions during the
war. Thus, a large number
of refugees, although deprived of their homeland,
have escaped the horror that was evident to those forced to stay in occupied
zones.
- The
problem of separated children in Eritrea, as a result of more than two years of
border war (1998-2001), was being kept to a minimum
largely due to the strong
family bond and sense of responsibility and response that exist in Eritrean
communities. Significant numbers
of separated children have links with their
communities. Moreover, during the struggle for liberation, an effective system
to deal
with the situation of vulnerable children, mostly orphaned and
unaccompanied children were developed, building a solid foundation
for
knowledgeable and
capable social workers within the most prominent actors for child welfare in
Eritrea, namely MLHW and ERREC. However, the ongoing
movements of population
and subsequent social and economic disruption and the shortage of human
resources caused by the war have
increased and overstretched the workload of
both the MLHW and ERREC.
- According
to a study on separated children in IDP camps (September 2000) the extended
family system and social commitment to children
and family unity remain very
strong despite the tremendous obstacles created by the recent border war.
Parents do not easily abandon
or transfer responsibilities of their children to
others, even under the most difficult conditions.
Children in armed conflicts, including physical and
psychological recovery and social reintegration
- The
Government’s Macro-Policy (1994) has a section relating to the
rehabilitation of victims of war and other vulnerable and
disadvantaged members
of society:
− Sufficient and necessary empowerment will be accorded to victims of war,
disadvantaged persons such as demobilized combatants,
refugees and displaced
persons and other vulnerable groups, in order to enable them to become
productive members of society; and
− Continuous sensitization programmes will be conducted to enhance and
promote the participation in society on the care of
these groups.
- Although
this policy does not specifically mention children, it assumes the care and
rehabilitation of children affected by war as
an obvious part of
“vulnerable groups”. The Government recognizes that children are
often the victims of war and rarely,
if ever, have a part in any decisions
affecting them as war victims.
- The
Government has had long experience in caring for children during the armed
conflict. It endeavoured to provide for the most urgent
needs of children in
its care. Even during times of extraordinary hardship, orphanages and schools
were provided for the most needy
children. Education, health services,
nutrition programmes and recreational facilities were all provided in the
liberated zones
in line with the EPLF philosophy.
- During
the recent border war with Ethiopia (1998 to 2001) the population living near
the border areas fled from the war zones, and
areas occupied by the Ethiopians
further into Eritrea. At the peak of the war in May 2000, when Ethiopia
launched a major offensive
on several fronts, the total number of internally
displaced persons (IDPs) numbered about one million (1.5 million people were
directly
or adversely affected by the war). As most young men had joined the
army, the IDPs were mainly women (25 per cent) and children
(70 per
cent).
- Furthermore,
from June 1998 to end of 2001 Ethiopia expelled over 75,000 Eritreans and
Ethiopians of Eritrean descent from its territory.
Of the 70,715 registered
with ERREC, almost 10 per cent were children below 5 years of age and over 17
per cent were 6 to 12 years
of age, while another 17 per cent were aged between
13 and 19. By 1999 close to 2,600 children (Eritrean and Ethiopians of Eritrean
descent) were left in Ethiopia with both parents expelled, and close to 500
children were expelled unaccompanied.
- The
expelled had their property and possessions confiscated by the Ethiopian
Government and they arrived in Eritrea with only what
they could carry.
National and international laws have been violated by these expulsions.
Ethiopia expelled a number of persons
described as “Eritreans”, who
included even children of mixed marriages (EthioEritrean), children whose
parents and grandparents
were born in Ethiopia. Families have been separated,
and one or both parents would be expelled without their children, these parents
have not been able to contact their children. Often parents do not know the
whereabouts or the safety of their children. On the
other hand the
unaccompanied children do not know the whereabouts of their parents. By the end
of 1999, 2,600 children remained
in Ethiopia separated from their parents.
Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states:
“State
parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his
or her parents against their will.” The forced separation
of the children
from the parents is in contravention of the Convention and other humanitarian
laws. Out of a total of 70,715 expelled
persons who have been registered up to
2001 with ERREC, 41,238 of their family members were reported left behind,
(19,415 males,
47 per cent, and 21,823 females, 53 per cent).
- The
social and psychological trauma experienced by children during the war is a
widespread problem. Recognizing this, in 1999 MLHW
in collaboration with UNICEF
conducted a comprehensive psychosocial needs assessment of children in Eritrea
affected by the war.
The assessment team interviewed over 2,000 children and
their parents, the following are some of the findings:
− Urban families who have been expelled from Ethiopia have lost all of
their money and possessions. Rural expelled families
have lost all of their
land and their farm animals. That has left most groups destitute, completely
dependent on government aid,
and without any means to provide for their children
in the future;
− The children who were expelled from Ethiopia saw people they knew and
trusted turning guns upon them and their families.
Children saw their parents
imprisoned and some children were imprisoned themselves; and
− Both groups, the displaced and the expelled from Ethiopia, suffer from
nightmares, night terrors, and “flashbacks”.
Babies of mothers who
witnessed violence suffer from feeding difficulties, and even “failure to
thrive”. Children have
headaches and stomach aches.
- The
assessment also found that:
− Children expelled from Ethiopia knew that they were now in their
homeland, and however destitute they are, they are safe
and welcome. This is a
great source of comfort to the children;
− Community structures that kept people safe from violence and crime were
holding strong, and that whether in Asmara or in
the rural camps for displaced
persons, the people were not suffering from fear of crime of any sort. Rape,
often one of the worst
consequences of war, is virtually unknown in both rural
and urban settings. The social fabric has remained intact. As stated below,
subsequent studies show that in the summer of May 1999 when Ethiopia occupied
parts of Eritrea, sexual violence was perpetrated on
a large scale on women and
girls by the occupying Ethiopian military. The psychosocial needs assessment
was conducted before this
period and does not include the psychosocial impact of
these atrocities.
- MLHW,
in response to the stress and trauma of war, family separation, abuse and
migration and the negative effect on the physical
and mental development of the
child, initiated various activities. MLHW, along with UNICEF, trained 32
counsellors to work with
children at risk in IDP camps. Together with UNICEF,
MLHW provided psychosocial counselling services for an estimated 23,000 children
in four IDP camps in Gash Barka region, helping them restore a sense of normalcy
and prevent further long-term psychological problems.
In addition, recreational
supplies and toys were provided to these children in the IDP camps. MLHW and
UNICEF, in collaboration
with the MoE and the National Union of Eritrean Youth
and Students (local NGO), support recreational activities for the IDP children.
In addition to provision of psychosocial counselling services to children and
women affected by the war, MLHW and UNICEF have established
childfriendly
centres for approximately 1,710 junior and secondary students in the Temporary
Security Zones.
- Additionally,
an Inter-Agency Child Protection Working Group was formed under the emergency in
May 2000 to enhance information exchange
and coordination efforts on child
protection activities among various actors to effectively support war-affected
children. The Working
Group members are MLHW, UNICEF, UNHCR, Eritrean Red
Cross, ICRC, Save the ChildrenUK, and some local NGOs (National Union of
Eritrean
Youth and Students, Citizens for Peace in Eritrea and the National
Union of Eritrean Women). The group commissioned an assessment
of separated
children in camps in September 2000 and followed up on recommendations. A
regular meeting continues to be held to share
information on various protection
issues.
- Under
the orphanreunification programme, 22 social workers were retrained in 2001, in
order to provide culturally appropriate short
and longterm psychosocial
interventions and counselling to vulnerable children. In addition 163 village
administrators were trained
on improving management of traditional safety nets.
The orientation is intended to introduce communitybased monitoring and
evaluation
systems for the systematic follow-up of children affected by armed
conflict, including war-orphans at the village and community level.
- The
recent conflict with Ethiopia has other adverse social costs. With many adults
participating in national defence, it has increased
the number of female-headed
households. The family separation due to military conscription has also a
strong negative impact on
the development of the children.
- Among
planned projects for war-affected children is the safe play-area project, which
aims to establish a child-friendly play area
for war-affected children in
Senafe. The safe play area will provide targeted children physical, emotional
and intellectual stimulation
by creating an enabling environment (free of
landmines) to help them restore their childhood and sense of normalcy. In
addition,
the safe play area provides a good opportunity for fostering
intersectoral collaboration (health, education, Convention awareness)
with a
view to develop a long-term, more sustainable community centre for
rehabilitation, reintegration, conflict resolution and
peace-building
initiatives. Plans are underway to organize a day of sports. These projects
are compatible with the provision in
articles 31 and 39 of the
Convention.
B. Children in conflict with the law
The administration of juvenile justice
- The
new Constitution incorporates basic principles in the administration of criminal
justice, regardless of the age of the accused. Fundamental rights,
freedoms and
duties are included in the Constitution of Eritrea, such as non-discrimination,
non-retroactivity, the right to be heard before a court within 48 hours of
arrest and the
right to appeal.
- Articles
171-180 of the Eritrean Provisional Penal Code (EPPC) also outlines basic and
substantive rights, such as the right to legal
counsel, rights against double
jeopardy and retroactive effects of the law, presumption of innocence, right
against self-incrimination
and equality before the law. EPPC also prescribes
various rehabilitative and reformative measures depending on the age of the
child.
Those who have not yet attained the age of 12 are held not liable for
the acts they commit. The Penal Code specifies that if a
child is under 12, the
family, school, or guardianship authority should take appropriate steps (art.
52, Penal Code). The Penal
Code also provides for special measures and
penalties for children between the ages of 12 and 15. Those children over
the age of
15, although they are tried under the ordinary provisions, the court
is empowered, in assessing the sentence, to mitigate the penalties
or to apply
special penalties specified for young offenders. The death penalty is
specifically prohibited for children under the
age of 18 years (art. 56, Penal
Code).
- In
summary, although the written law is generally consistent with the CRC, its full
implementation is impeded by lack of adequate
facilities and human resources.
- A
ministerial committee was established after independence to identify problems
and prepare proposals on the problems of youth/young
offenders. The committee
conducted a study in 1996, to identify the problems and find solutions. Based
on the study, a National
Board Unit for treatment of young offenders was
established. The board in 1998 formulated the working guidelines called
“Administration
System and Treatment of Young Offenders”. A
national
rehabilitation centre for young offenders was built in Nakfa, as recommended
in the guidelines. One separate detention centre has
been set up in Asmara.
The Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare carried out training of law-enforcement
personnel in the rights
of children. It is expected that these training courses
will be ongoing.
- A
report prepared by the Ministry of Justice, the Courts and Attorney
General’s Office, states that in relation to young offenders,
“step
by step inspection and continuous improvements and amendments of the existing
measures is the only and proper means of
facing the existing problems”.
In particular, the report outlines a “programme” of the future of
the juvenile
justice system in Eritrea, which includes:
(a) The
opening of rehabilitation places for young offenders rather than other
correcting options;
(b) Opening of custodial institutions in cities and
big villages to keep young offenders awaiting trial;
(c) Taking primary
actions with the aim of setting up special courts for young offenders. To start
with, however, courts can set
special day(s) to specifically hear cases
involving young people;
(d) Taking the load of work into consideration,
courts can rearrange the timing and days for young offenders
cases;
(e) Selecting every article of the Eritrean Provisional Penal
Code which relates to young offenders, and publishing a small “Penal
Code
for Young Offenders”; and
(f) Taking the seriousness and sensitive
nature of the case of young offenders into consideration and introducing
regulations on
how to treat young offenders. These regulations should, at the
very least, be distributed to the Prosecution Office, Judges and
the Police
Chiefs.
- In
accordance with the above, MLHW in cooperation with the ministries of Justice,
Interior, Information, Education, Health and Local
Government have undertaken
the following activities:
(a) Established a probation service
which attempts to provide counselling for juvenile offenders within their
community in order
to help them integrate into their neighbourhood and
school;
(b) Construction of a correctional and training centre to
accommodate a small number of children. This institution will serve juveniles
who have committed serious crimes;
(c) Provision of aftercare services
to juveniles who have completed probation, correctional service or training; and
young offenders;
(d) Training for correctional service
personnel;
(e) Advocacy to improve the existing custody and detention
centres where children are kept while awaiting trial, or if their parents
cannot
be located; and
(f) By 2001, training on juvenile justice and probation
service was given to 53 participants, 21 from the Ministry of Labour
and
Human Welfare, 19 police officers, and 13 from the Ministry of
Justice.
- In
addition, the Government of the State of Eritrea is determined to take the
necessary measures to prevent children and juveniles
offending at all. This
“deterring stage” is seen as primarily the responsibility of the
family, but with the backup
of society and the Government, if the family is not
able to adequately provide for the child. For children from dysfunctional
families,
this would include any, or all, of the following: provision of free
education, with all expenses paid; establishing government-run
boarding schools;
and expansion of services, provided to orphans and street
children.
- The
GSE is also fully aware of the lack of recreational activities available to
children and juveniles, and the impact that this is
probably having on petty
crime rates. The provision of recreation in particular sporting activities is
discussed elsewhere in this
report.
Children deprived of their liberty
- The
Penal Code (art. 53) states that young offenders between the ages of 12 and 15,
if found guilty of a crime, are not to be kept
in custody with adult offenders.
Like a number of other articles within the Penal Code, this particular provision
is often not carried
out in practice. The prison system is often overcrowded,
and what few facilities do exist, are totally inadequate. The separation
of
adult and child offenders is simply not possible in many, if not most,
circumstances.
- A
lack of suitable juvenile detention and curative facilities has meant that
children have in the past had to serve their sentences
in custody alongside
adult prisoners. This is neither appropriate for the child’s safety, nor
are children likely in these
circumstances to develop and mature in a way the
society would wish. The planned construction of a juvenile correctional unit is
aimed at overcoming this problem.
- Although
not specifically relevant to this section, the issue of children born to mothers
in prison is discussed briefly here. Children
under 2 remain with their mothers
in prison. If the mother is still in prison after the child reaches 2, then the
child is transferred
to a children’s home where the mother is allowed
regularly to visit. At any one time, there are very few children within the
women’s prison, (there are usually less than 100 women prisoners in the
whole of Eritrea), however an attempt is being made
to provide them with some
materials, which will aid their natural personal development.
The sentencing of juveniles
- With
regard to sentencing and treatment measures, the court in Eritrea is obliged to
send the young offender to a curative medical
institution if he/she is affected
by mental, health or physical disability problems (art. 162, Penal Code). Such
measures cease
when the responsible authority is satisfied that it has achieved
its purpose (art. 167, Penal Code).
- If
the child has been “morally abandoned”, or is in need of care and
protection, or is exposed to the danger of corruption,
or is corrupted, the
court is bound to order measures for the education under supervision by
entrusting the child to relatives (either
guardian or protector) or an
organization, whichever is the most suitable. A local supervisory authority, as
defined by relevant
provisions in the Penal Code, is responsible for the control
of these measures. Specific conditions, such as regular attendance
at a school
or the obligation to undergo apprenticeship for a trade, the prohibition to
associate with certain persons or resort
to certain places, the obligation to
appear personally before, or to report on certain dates to the supervisory
authority, may be
imposed (art. 163). The duration of such measures is the same
as that mentioned in article 167.
- The
court may reprimand the young offender, if this seems sufficient for the
child’s reform, having regard to the child’s
capacity to understand
and if the offence is deemed not serious (art. 164). In cases which are not
serious and the child seems likely
to reform, the court may order the child to
be kept at a school or in his house during his free hours, and to perform
specific tasks
under supervision (art. 165). The court may also waive penalty
totally if more than six months has elapsed since the crime was committed,
and
in that time appropriate measures have been taken by the family or responsible
authority (art. 174).
- The
court may order a young offender to be admitted for up to five years to a
corrective and rehabilitative institution to receive
moral and vocational
education if the court considers that other measures are inadequate to deter the
child from further crime (art.
166). In addition, it is possible for the Court
to order conditional release by way of probation, with due regard to the rules
of
conduct as laid down in the Penal Code (art. 167). The court may vary the
order on the recommendation of the management of the institution
to which the
young offender is entrusted (art. 168).
- Prior
to imposing any of the above measures, the court may seek expert evidence
regarding the physical and mental condition of the
young person and inquire into
the suitability of various correctional measures (art. 55). In addition, the
young offender upon whom
the above measures have been imposed is not considered
to have been criminally sentenced (art. 169).
- It
is only in the cases where the above measures fail to produce the desired
results that penalties such as a fine or imprisonment
may be applied (art. 170).
A fine may only be applied in exceptional circumstances, and if the offender
fully understands the reason
for imposition. The imposition of a fine, however,
does not preclude any additional penalties (art. 171). Imprisonment is imposed
as a last resort only, and only where the offence, if committed by an adult,
would be punishable by rigorous imprisonment for 10
years or more, or the death
penalty.
The penalty of imprisonment is not mandatory and the court may impose a
lesser penalty. The sentence passed ranges from three to
five years of simple
imprisonment, which is considerably lesser than for adults. The law states that
young offenders shall be kept
separate from adult offenders (art. 173). Great
efforts are made to fulfil this obligation, however, shortage of facilities
impedes
its full implementation.
- The
period of limitation applicable to young offenders is calculated at half that
for the ordinary period of limitation for adults
(art. 175). Probation may not
be set at more than three years, which is also significantly less than for
adults (art. 176).
- The
law prohibits publication of a judgement in which a young offender has been
involved, and all police records relating to the case
are for informative
purposes only, and must not be shown to third parties (art. 179, Penal Code).
The young offender can also have
the personal records relating to the measures
and penalties imposed, cancelled on application (art. 178, Penal Code).
- The
Criminal Procedures Code outlines special provisions to ensure that children get
a fair and speedy trial (arts. 171-180). To
make sure the child is
appropriately and quickly tried, article 172 requires the police, the
complainant, the public prosecutor or
the guardian to make the necessary steps
to secure an immediate appearance before the nearest Sub-Zone Court
(lower court). The
court records the complaint and directs the police to
conduct investigations. The police may not conduct investigations until the
child has been brought before the court. It is only in cases of grave offences
that the court orders the public prosecutor to draw
up formal charges; otherwise
juvenile cases are tried without this formality.
- If
the case is adjourned or awaiting transfer to a higher court, article 172 of the
Criminal Procedures Code specifies that the young
person is to be placed in the
custody of his or her parents, guardian, relative or reliable person. The court
is obliged to summon
the parent, or guardian if they are not present when the
young person is brought before it. If the alleged offence is grave, the
court
must appoint a legal counsel if the young person is not represented by a parent
or person in loco parentis.
- With
regard to conduct of the hearings, the Criminal Procedure Code further provides
that hearings of juvenile proceedings be conducted
in an informal and
confidential manner, and only in the presence of those essential to the case.
Where the case is tried in the
High Court, the presence of the public prosecutor
is mandatory (art. 176, Criminal Procedures Code). Such hearings are to be held
in chambers and where evidence or comments are likely to be heard which are not
appropriate for the young person to hear, the young
person shall be asked to
leave the chamber.
- If
a young person freely and with his full understanding pleads guilty, a judgement
of guilty will immediately be passed. If the
young person does not plead
guilty, he/she has the right to summon, examine and cross-examine witnesses
(art. 176, Criminal Procedures
Code). After evidence is concluded, the court
may consult any person it feels appropriate regarding the young person’s
character.
In sentencing, the court will take into account age, character, and
degree of mental and moral development and reformative effects
of any measures
likely to be imposed (art. 54, Penal Code and art. 177, Criminal Procedures
Code).
- The
measures embodied within a judgement should be varied and modified in the best
interests of the young offender: either by the
court itself, or where the young
person or representative applies for such a variation (art. 180, Criminal
Procedures Code).
- Police
reports indicate that between 1991 and 1997 there have been 1,126 children
between the ages of 12 and 15 who have committed
crimes, the most common crimes
committed by these children were petty theft and fighting-related assault.
Although children below
15 are kept out of custody unless under exceptional
circumstances, a study conducted by MLHW in 1996 identified 28 children
below
15 in custody, awaiting trial. Some of these children had committed
crimes repeatedly, while many were in custody because their
parents or family
could not be traced. During the three years of war, 1998 to 2000, the number of
children who committed crimes
was 5,406, a substantial increase from previous
years and could be explained by the socio-economic difficulties faced by many
households.
- The
other children who had committed crimes were turned over to the care of their
parents while awaiting trial. In the majority of
cases parents also are made
responsible for their children’s actions after trial.
Physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration
- Many
of the children who come into conflict with the law are children who have
already suffered greatly in life through family break-up,
death(s) in the
family, economic hardship or, most commonly, malnutrition and disease. They are
often severely malnourished and
may have been living on the streets. Attempting
to reunite these children with some members of their family, and getting that
family
to have ongoing responsibility for that child is an important step
towards social acceptance of the child.
- This
is not always easy however and many children suffer in silence. Children who
have suffered greatly before having committed a
crime are punished, but their
situation and reasons for committing the crime are often not well
understood.
C. Children in situations of exploitation
Economic exploitation, including child labour/working
children
- The
Department of Labour of MLHW has responsibility for employment legislation,
which covers children between the ages of 14 and 18
years. Below 14 years,
employment is officially prohibited; the previous Labour Proclamation No. 8/1991
did not cover children working
for “family members” and in various
employment sectors such as domestic work and self-employment. This resulted in
the
department having no jurisdiction over child labour in a range of
employment. The new Labour Proclamation No. 118/2001, unlike the
previous one,
covers domestic work. The proclamation defines a domestic employee as “a
person primarily hired for the performance
of household duties and chores,
the maintenance of the home and the care and comfort of the members of
the household and includes
a domestic/gardener/guard/driver”. With regard
to which provisions of the proclamation apply to domestic employees, the
Minister
may issue regulation (arts. 39 and 40 of the Labour Proclamation).
- There
has been very little done to investigate the economic exploitation of children.
The general situation of child workers is clear,
however. Child work within the
family is common in Eritrea, and children are usually expected to work for their
family from a young
age. Within the community this is justified on economic
grounds; without the labour of children, many families would not survive.
It is
also seen as being socially advantageous; children must be taught from a young
age to work as productive members of the family,
so that they can care for
themselves and other family members if the need arises. In the rural areas,
children from about age 5
look after livestock and, particularly the boys, are
expected to work in the fields. In most areas girls help in domestic work,
which includes fetching water and firewood, often from far away. Like women,
young girls often pay the price for the environmental
degradation of the
countryside: lack of accessible firewood and water sources means they have to
walk long distances with heavy
loads.
- The
Ministry of Agriculture has stated that the most appropriate means of overcoming
the problem of working children in rural areas
is not by banning it, but by
introducing alternatives, so that parents will no longer obligate their children
to work excessively,
while allowing them to go to school. This approach
recognizes that it is the system of life around them that requires parents to
make their children perform potentially hazardous tasks.
- The
Ministry of Agriculture currently carries out a large number of programmes using
villagelevel labour, aimed at improving the existing
farming practices,
overcoming land degradation and conserving soil and water. Village workers are
generally paid using a cashforwork
(previously food-for-work) procedure. These
schemes are closely monitored, and adults are always used in preference to child
labour.
Regrettably, this is not possible in every instance, but the fact that
villagers are warned against providing children to work on
these projects is
adequate indication to communities that child labour is not acceptable to the
Government.
Domestic workers and rural workers
- In
towns many children work as apprentices in shops, in workshops such as garages
or metal-workshops, and others do domestic work.
Inspections are carried out to
investigate the occurrence of child labour. However, because of a shortage of
inspectors all sectors
are not covered. The inspectors focus mainly in areas
that they consider hazardous to children. In such instances they take immediate
action to ensure that children discontinue working.
- No
research has yet been done into the issue of children in domestic work. A 1994
report states that information about this sector
is conflicting, ranging from
informants who do not think it was a major problem, to those who think that
there are significant numbers
of 10-16 year old girls in domestic work. A local
NGO, the National Union of Eritrean Women, believes that children are often sent
to families in towns by relatives in the countryside, or non-related children
work for families in towns. They apparently work for
long hours for a pittance,
and rarely attend school. Other sources feel that these children are better off
than many others, because
they are usually well looked after by the family, and
get the opportunity to attend school. The Labour Proclamation does not
currently
cover this group of children, because it is not a form of licensed
employment. Officially a domestic worker can present complaints
that he/she may
have to the Civil Court, however it is unlikely that many know about this
option, and certainly this right is not
exercised regularly.
- Children
employed in the rural sector, tending livestock or helping in the fields, are
often in a similar position to child domestic
workers. It will be difficult to
gain an understanding of the numbers of such children and the conditions under
which they work;
it is often difficult to know if a child belongs to a family or
not, and whether the child is actually “employed” and
is receiving
any form of remuneration.
Petty traders, vendors and “street
children”
- In
1992 a campaign was launched by the municipalities of Eritrea to discourage
unlicensed traders from the streets. Since then all
traders and vendors have
had to be licensed. The result of this campaign was the initial removal of all
working children from the
streets. Until 1998 there were few visible child
vendors in the streets, however, following the border war in 1998 the number has
drastically increased.
- In
1992 a study has been carried out on street children in Eritrea, in spite of the
implementation of the recommendations, the problem
of street children persists.
As a result, MLHW conducted a situation analysis of street children in Eritrea
in 1999. The study
was conducted in 65 towns and cities in Eritrea; interviews
were conducted with 3,002 children, 278 parents and 146 key informants.
The age of street children ranged between 6-17 years, the majority being 9-14
years old; 74 per cent were boys and 26 per cent were
girls.
- The
circumstances that drive children to the streets are the need to survive and
provide economic support for themselves and their
families. Street children are
thought of as being those who are involved in petty trading, such as selling
chewing gum, cigarettes,
who act as shoepolishers, or who have become beggars.
The majority of the children, 87 per cent, work on the streets during the
day
and return to their home at night; just over 8 per cent of the children work and
live on streets and 4 per cent alternated sleeping
both at home and on the
streets. There are an estimated 7,000 street children in the major cities and
towns. The study found that
two-thirds of the street children continue to
attend school, work as peddlers and live with their parents, and most of the
children
were literate. Since the 1998 border war it is extremely likely that
the number of street children has increased significantly with
the increase in
the number of people expelled from Ethiopia and internally displaced persons
moving to Eritrean urban centres.
- By
2002, MLHW trained 21 social workers who have the specific responsibility to
implement street-children programmes. The following
table shows some of the
assistance extended to street and working children from 1993 to
2002.
Table 9
Assistance to street and working children, 1993-2002
|
Schooling
|
Completed high school
|
University
|
Technical school
|
Vocational training
|
Family support
|
Conducted seminar
|
1993
|
100
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
20
|
100
|
-
|
1994
|
540
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
30
|
540
|
-
|
1995
|
747
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
48
|
747
|
-
|
1996
|
761
|
57
|
-
|
-
|
70
|
761
|
-
|
1997
|
770
|
81
|
-
|
-
|
75
|
770
|
-
|
1998
|
769
|
95
|
2
|
-
|
84
|
854
|
-
|
1999
|
783
|
124
|
2
|
2
|
85
|
783
|
-
|
2000
|
812
|
136
|
3
|
-
|
88
|
60
|
1 700
|
2001
|
2 020
|
113
|
1
|
1
|
158
|
64
|
2 005
|
2002a
|
1 887
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
161
|
280
|
300
|
Total
|
9 189
|
610
|
8
|
3
|
819
|
4 959
|
4 005
|
a Numbers for 2002 are incomplete.
- The
reasons why children end up on the streets in Eritrea are mainly economic and
social. They include:
− Families in distress, including divorced families, families with no
income and families who lack proper family management;
− Children with disabled parents, and children who are disabled
themselves;
− Natural and man-made disasters;
− Orphanhood; and
− Children sent from rural areas in order to get services in the
towns.
- Although
it could be said that the number of street children is relatively low in the
country, the GSE is determined to prevent the
situation getting worse, and
becoming like many other societies. A Street Children Rehabilitation Programme,
run by MLHW, has been
operating to encourage street children to reunite with
their families, or, if that is not possible, to arrange some other way of
getting children off the street and back to either education or employment.
- The
measures taken by the Street Children Rehabilitation Programme have
been:
− Integration of 697 children into the formal school system, by providing
them, through their families, with monthly assistance
in the form of school
uniforms, school materials and cash support for their daily living
expenses;
− Vocational training is given to enable children to acquire adequate
skills so that they can then support themselves. By
2001, 300 children
graduated from various vocational training courses, such as shoe production, and
mechanical and electrical training.
For those receiving vocational training the
Street Children Programme offers daily food and some clothing and
shoes;
− In 1994 a programme was started in collaboration with the Ministry of
Information to use the profits made from selling newspapers
to benefit street
children. The street children are given the responsibility of either
distributing newspapers by bicycle, or selling
them on the street. In a number
of towns newspapers are distributed through private stationary shops, but half
of the profits go
to the street children; and
− By 2001, 1,500 families of street children were assisted with economic
assets as incomegeneration activities and thus could
better support their
children
- In
order to facilitate the Street Children Rehabilitation Programme and to
generally upgrade the competence of the staff of MLHW,
23 “street
educators” were trained over a sixmonth period up to May
2002.
- Many
children are unable to go to school because of the economic situation of their
families. The Educational Support Programme helps
street children with
financial and in-kind support to enable them to return to school. By the
2001/02 academic year, 3,000 street
children have been supported. This has been
done with collaboration between MLHW and the Ministry of Education. Thus
exercise books,
pens and pencils were bought and distributed to the
beneficiaries.
- The
1999 study recommended that the issue of “streetism” be dealt with
on three levels, with particular emphasis on the
activities identified
below:
(a) Adoption of policy measures with primary focus on
the alleviation of poverty as the root of the problem, and various legislative
measures to protect the children;
(b) Prevention through
awareness-building for parents and children, community participation, research,
and programmes of early intervention,
particularly in poorer areas;
(c) Rehabilitation through reunification with parents, where possible,
active involvement of the community and the parents, the need
of the family as a
whole must be addressed; children who cannot be reunited with families will be
placed in group homes or with foster
parents, and advocacy and lobbying;
and
(d) Although 5 per cent of children said their parents were deceased
and 8 per cent said they needed to support their families, there
was no
indication in the study about possible “streetism” caused by
HIV/AIDS or possible infection of children. As has
been seen in other countries
there is often a strong link between street life and HIV/AIDS, because of the
vulnerability of street
children to HIV infection. Future programmes must take
this into consideration.
The informal sector and factories
- Placing
children with artisans and in factories is not an uncommon practice. It is
believed that these children are generally treated
fairly well, although this
has not been investigated adequately.
Drug abuse
- In
a 1996 study of juvenile delinquency, a relatively small, but significant number
of children were found to be using some form of
substance which was detrimental
to their health. Out of a sample of 305 children, about 10 per cent admitted to
smoking cigarettes,
3 per cent admitted to drinking alcohol and a further 3 per
cent admitted to other substance abuse, such as sniffing benzene or chewing
chat
(both methods of suppressing hunger). Article 510/3/b of TPCE prohibits the
sale of drugs. The court could pass a sentence
of rigorous imprisonment not
exceeding five years and impose a fine not exceeding Nakfa 30,000 where a
forbidden toxic substance
is furnished for gain or improper motive to an infant
or young person.
Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse
- The
law states that strong punishments should be handed out to anyone who sexually
exploits a child. Articles 594-599 of the Penal
Code state that a child shall
not have any sexual act performed on or in front of him/her, and no child shall
be encouraged to practice
any sexual act on or with other people. If the victim
is a student of the perpetrator, or is under the care of the perpetrator,
including as a trainee or boarder, or works for him, then the perpetrator is
liable to be punished more severely. Although the law
so strongly condemns
sexual exploitation of children, it is rare that the rights of children or their
guardians to take perpetrators
to court are exercised.
- This
is partly due to the fact that very little is known about under-age prostitution
or sexual abuse of children in Eritrea. The
most recent national survey on
commercial sex workers conducted by MLHW in 1999 revealed that out of the 4,579
sex workers identified,
225, or 5 per cent, were children between the
ages 14 and 17, one fifth entered the profession at 14 to 17 years of age,
starting
as street children or bar girls. The primary reason given for entering
into commercial sex is the attempt to escape poverty. Separation
from parents
at a young age was also found to be one of contributing factors. Reasons for
separation are the desire to get a better
job, avoidance of early marriage,
divorce of parents, family abuse and rejection by parents if the girl is
pregnant and peer pressure.
Given this information, it is likely that under age
girls are still
entering these activities. Young commercial sex workers are a potentially
vulnerable group as they are often “invisible”
to the general
public. Girls have low status in the Eritrean society, limited or no adequate
access to education, endure prevalence
of harmful traditional practices such as
child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).
- All
known sex workers, including those under 18, are required to be registered by
the local municipality. Medical checks every month
are compulsory, and
penalties are meted out to those who do not follow these requirements.
Nonetheless the 1999 survey found that
their vulnerability to sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS, is increased by the fact that
only one third of
those interviewed used condoms on a regular basis, and 6 per
cent never used any form of protection. Social stigmatization affects
their
emotional health and limits their developmental potential. Many of those
interviewed indicated that they are subjected to
gender-based violence and
abuse.
- Since
the 1998 border war and subsequent expulsions of people of Eritrean descent from
Ethiopia, internal displacement, the large
number of Eritrean young men and
women (main breadwinners) in the military service, the presence of a sizeable
number of United Nations
peacekeeping mission personnel, has meant that the
number of young commercial sex workers has significantly increased. These new
group of girls are not often known to the municipality and are not easily
accessible for identification and support.
- MLHW
considers law enforcement in this area among its priorities; to this effect it
has drafted the Eritrean Child Law and National
Plan of Action to Rehabilitate
Commercial Sex Workers, at present being reviewed by the Ministry of Justice.
Once endorsed, it will
be a powerful tool to deter the engagement of children in
commercial sex work.
- MLHW
and UNICEF are working closely to rehabilitate young commercial sex workers by
providing them with access to health and psychosocial
services as well as
providing them vocational training and job placement. In 2001-2002 MLHW also
conducted awareness creation seminars
for 4,015 participants who consisted of
community leaders, commercial sex workers, NGOs and relevant
ministries.
- Sexual
abuse within the family is often said to be unknown, however as no research has
been done to find out the extent of the problem,
it is difficult to conclude
that it does not occur at all.
- Various
customary laws within Eritrea, nonetheless, recognize incest and punish an
offender severely. For instance, Adkeme Mlgae law states that a man
convicted of incest looses his right to land (i.e. his livelihood) and public
office.
- There
is some indication that teachers in schools sometimes sexually abuse their
students in exchange for higher grades, and abuse
also is said to occur in other
institutions, such as orphanages. With no research on this matter, these
allegations are difficult
to verify, and it is possible that they are simply
rumours. Girls in domestic employment would also appear to be another target
for sexual abuse; there is no information, however, on possible sexual
exploitation on under age domestic workers.
- There
are large numbers of young girls who were raped by Ethiopian soldiers during the
border war. Rape was a common crime committed
in the occupied areas between May
1999 and 2000. Rape is not dealt with openly within Eritrean society: the
families of girls who
have been raped generally protect them, and the incidents
are kept a secret because of the shame brought on the family of a rape
victim.
In most Eritrean families virginity is a prerequisite to marriage, and rape is
therefore seen as a disgrace for the girl
and her family. Marriage often
becomes unattainable for the girl, and she is therefore seen as a
“burden” to her family.
There has been some research, by a local
NGO (Citizens for Peace) and the MoH as to the incidence of rape during the
border war,
but there have been no systematic investigation of the traumatic
effects these girls have, and continue to experience as a result
of rape. No
significant intervention measures have been considered, as the priorities of the
Government have concentrated on shelter,
food, family reunification and
education in the war affected areas.
Sale, trafficking and abduction
- There
has been no documented or anecdotal evidence regarding the sale, trafficking or
abduction of children; this is not a serious
problem in
Eritrea.
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous
group
- Equality
of all Eritreans, ethnic groups or nationalities including children, was one of
the bases from which EPLF won the liberation
struggle. It is recognized that
all Eritreans, regardless of any ethnic, religious or other grouping they come
from, must be respected
and their human potential exploited
fully.
- The
Eritrean population is culturally and linguistically diverse, consisting of nine
major ethnic groups. The two largest ethnic
groups are the Tigrinya, who live
in the central highlands, and the Tigre, living mostly in northern Eritrea. The
other seven ethnic
groups are smaller; the Saho, Afar, Hedarib, Bilen, Kunama,
Nara and the Rashaida. The population breakdown of the ethnic groups,
each with
its own language, is shown in the table below:
Table 10
Population breakdown by ethnic group
|
Percentage
|
Tigrigna
|
50
|
Tigre
|
31
|
Saho
|
5
|
Afar
|
5
|
Hedareb
|
2.5
|
Bilen
|
2.1
|
Kunama
|
2
|
Nara
|
1.5
|
Rashaida
|
0.5
|
- The
preservation of language is perhaps the most important first step in ensuring
the equal status of all Eritrean ethnic groups.
The new Constitution of Eritrea
states: “The equality of all Eritrean languages is guaranteed.” In
terms of minority language groups in
Eritrea, this is an important statement.
All children currently have the opportunity to be educated at the basic level in
their
mother tongue, although communities do have the chance to choose another
language for basic instruction if they so wish.
IX CONCLUSIONS
- Eritrea
faces major obstacles with regard to the well-being of children, as 30 years of
war for independence and the recent border
war, droughts and famines have
exacerbated the already difficult circumstances.
- Research
to this report indicates that much progress has been made since independence,
among them that the infant mortality rate (IMR)
has declined from 72 per 1,000
live births in 1992 to 48 in 2002, and the under-five mortality rate (U5MR)
declined from 140 per
1,000 live births in 1992, to 93 in 2002 (one of the
lowest in Africa). It should, however, be noted that other basic indicators
remain some of the worst in the world: the maternal mortality rate (MMR) is
still about 985 deaths per 100,000 live births, one
of the highest in
sub-Saharan Africa, female genital mutilation (FGM) affects 89 per cent of girls
by the age of 7 years; literacy
levels, access to safe drinking water and
sanitation, and current income levels are very low.
- In
addition, war, expulsions, drought and the resultant famines and low development
levels, have undoubtedly resulted in the increase
of children in need of special
protection measures. The 1998-2000 border war and the drought have created a
major humanitarian crisis;
it also derailed the Government’s plans and
programmes, including those related to vulnerable children. In addition to
basic
needs, there is again the necessity to deal with family separations: war
trauma, war injuries and disabilities. The destruction
and anti-personnel
mining of towns and villages, means that reconstruction and return to their
homes will be slow and costly, at
a time when financial and human resources are
more than ever overstretched.
- The
drawing of a new Constitution has been one of the most important first tasks of
the Government. It has been a slow process, which has aimed to involve the
whole
population in debate, discussion and input.
- The
new Constitution and the policies upon which the Government bases its current
programmes are all firmly grounded on the principles of social justice
and
democracy.
- The
relationship between the social and economic situation of women and the welfare
of children is well understood. Hence programmes
such as women’s literacy
and incomegenerating schemes have an important flow-on effect to children.
Although women in the
EPLF were at the forefront of breaking gender barriers,
this situation does not translate easily to peacetime. It will take time
for
women’s position in the general Eritrean community to improve. In
particular, children living in these homes will benefit
from women’s
increased participation and legal rights.
- In
addition the war has placed increased demands on women and girls, particularly
in rural Eritrea, with regards to both reproductive
and productive roles, there
are increasing numbers of both de facto and de jure female-headed households and
women and children particularly
girls in many households either continue to or
have had to shoulder extreme burdens of work.
- With
regards to harmful traditional practices and gender bias, the forces of
tradition are often extremely powerful and resistant
to change; nonetheless the
Government is working hard not to allow these to become the forces of
inertia.
- The
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is an ongoing
process; to this end a number of groups are working
to support the
implementation of the Convention, among them are: the CRC Committee, Early
Childhood Development Project, the Child
Protection Working Group, the NUEYS and
NUEW.
- Many
programmes which affect children cut across a number of ministries, or levels
within the Government, and this cross-sectoral
approach is seen as important in
many instances, however, it is also recognized that there have been problems
when responsibility
for particular programmes has not always been clearly
defined. Government restructuring is expected to rectify this problem, and
will
also significantly decentralize Government structures. In the future, far more
responsibility is expected to be taken at regional
levels, and it is anticipated
that this will create a system more responsive to local needs.
- The
expected Government restructuring and defining of responsibilities will lay the
foundations for a stronger economy and society.
Children’s issues, in
particular health, education and social welfare, are currently given as high a
priority as possible,
and the situation of children can only improve with a
competent, self-reliant nation.
- When
the draft Child Law is endorsed, the legal basis safeguarding children’s
rights will be in place. This is a very important
prerequisite for the full
implementation of the Convention. Of course, legal guarantees by themselves are
not sufficient and there
is the need to understand and balance those optimal
objectives with the reality of capacity and human resource availability, and
in
Eritrea there is presently a shortfall of resources. There is a powerful and
rare common sense of commitment and dedication to
the task of rebuilding and
developing the nation, which goes a long way towards overcoming many such
constraints. However, realistic
limits have to be recognized.
- As
detailed in this report, much of this progress has concentrated on war affected
Eritrean children. Eritrea’s commitment
to its children has proved to be
strong, and this commitment can only result in healthier, better educated and
happier children,
who can confidently face the challenges of
adulthood.
-----
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