NEW YORK, June 8 (UPI) -- The people of Eritrea are subjected to "rule by fear" by their government, accused of possible crime against humanity in a situation that has created an exodus, according to a report by the United Nations.
"The Government of Eritrea is responsible for systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations that have created a climate of fear in which dissent is stifled, a large proportion of the population is subjected to forced labor and imprisonment, and hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled the country," according to the report released Monday. "Some of these violations may constitute crimes against humanity.
The report describes Eritrea as a totalitarian state "bent on controlling Eritreans through a vast security apparatus that has penetrated all levels of society," using the excuse of national security to suffocate human rights.
"Information gathered through the pervasive control system is used in absolute arbitrariness to keep the population in a state of permanent anxiety," according to the report. "It is not law that rules Eritreans -- but fear."
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An estimated 5,000 Eritreans flee each month. Military conscription once Eritreans reach the age of 18 is believed to be a primary reason people flee, and conscription can last until the age of 40.
"Thousands of conscripts are subjected to forced labor that effectively abuses, exploits and enslaves them for years. Women conscripts are at extreme risk of sexual violence during national service," the report states.
According to the report, Eritrea's government carries out and encourages torture and has created a "pervasive" domestic surveillance network to "control, silence and isolate" people in a society where "neighbors spy on neighbors and even family members mistrust each other."
"As a result of this mass surveillance, Eritreans live in constant fear that their conduct is or may be monitored by security agents and that information gathered may be used against them, leading to arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, disappearance or death," according to the report.
Many Eritreans far from their home country are afraid of speaking out because they believe they are still under government surveillance and fear their family still in Eritrea could be punished.
Eritrea has been under the rule of President Isaias Afewerki since it gained its independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s. The country has never held elections since.
Eritreans make up the second-largest group of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, after Syrians. The government has previously denied human rights abuses and said people fleeing are economic refugees.
