special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea<\/a>, said in an interview with Swiss public radio, RSI.<\/p>\nSome 4,000 people flee Eritrea every month, she said. About 20,000 live in Switzerland, home of Eritrea\u2019s largest diaspora.<\/p>\n
She also cited violations in the context of the national service, Eritrea\u2019s form of military duty. Both men and women have to serve, and sexual abuse can be a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are vulnerable to sexual advances \u2013 violations by commanders and peers,\u201d Keetharuth said, adding that people doing their national service duty are often deployed to do non-military jobs, like working on farms or construction sites. It is unclear whether they are paid for this work.<\/p>\n
The labour market has other faults as well, Keetharuth says. \u201cPeople don\u2019t have the right to choose which profession they want to do. Those are assigned by the government after grade 12.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet few people dare complain about the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are afraid to express their views. You can\u2019t talk openly about arrest or detention because all information is controlled by the government,\u201d Keetharuth said.<\/p>\n
Questionable consular activities<\/strong><\/p>\nAs the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag<\/em> reported on Sunday, the Eritrean consulate in Geneva makes refugees sign a \u201cletter of regret\u201d saying that they haven\u2019t completed their national service \u2013 a crime with a prison sentence of two to five years. Eritreans in Switzerland also have to pay a 2% income tax to the Eritrean regime.<\/p>\nHowever, it\u2019s cash that an unemployed Eritrean won\u2019t have. According to the NZZ am Sonntag<\/em> article, 90% of Eritreans in Switzerland receive welfare, and they end up pillaging those resources to satisfy the consulate in Geneva \u2013 in other words, Swiss funding for a regime with a questionable human rights record, pointed out the newspaper.<\/p>\nIf the refugees don\u2019t sign the regret letters or pay the income tax, they can\u2019t return to Eritrea. However, people who have applied for asylum in Switzerland are not allowed to return to the country that they\u2019re fleeing \u2013 otherwise they lose their status as asylum seekers.<\/p>\n
As the NZZ am Sonntag<\/em> reported, the Eritrean consulate encourages travellers to re-enter Eritrea with help from embassies in Italy, Egypt and Sudan so that the Swiss authorities don\u2019t find out about the trips.<\/p>\nswissinfo.ch<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arbitrary arrests and detentions, harsh prison conditions, no freedom of religion or expression \u2013 there are many reasons why Eritreans come to Switzerland, says a UN authority. \u201cThe economic situation is not very good in the sense that they don\u2019t see any future for themselves in the country,\u201d Sheila B Keetharuth, the United Nations …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,1],"tags":[80],"yoast_head":"\n
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