Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Eritrea

Eritrea
2022 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor:

No Advancement – Efforts Made But Complicit in Forced Child Labor

In 2022, Eritrea is receiving an assessment of no advancement. Despite initiatives to address child labor, Eritrea is assessed as having made no advancement because it demonstrated complicity in the use of forced child labor. Government officials continued to force students in grade 12, some of whom are under the age of 18, to participate in military training elements of the government's compulsory national service program. Otherwise, the government made efforts by increasing the number of its child wellbeing committees from 43 in 2021 to 67 in 2022. Children in Eritrea are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in forced military training associated with national service, forced agricultural labor, and forced recruitment by state armed groups for use in armed conflict. In addition, Eritrea's minimum age protections do not apply to children working outside formal employment relationships, and laws do not criminally prohibit the use of a child for prostitution; the use, procuring, or offering of a child in illicit activities; or the procuring or offering of a child for pornography or pornographic performances. Moreover, the government does not publicly release information on its criminal law enforcement efforts.

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