11 - Transitional Justice Implications for the Use of Child Soldiers in Eritrea

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The issue of child soldiers in Eritrea is a central element of the grave human rights crisis in the country. It is not at all comparable to other African experiences. There are disturbing developments that need to be curbed before these trends reach a critical level of crisis, particularly in the event of an intrastate or interstate conflict, which could erupt in the country at any time. Reportedly, thousands of Eritrean child soldiers continue to be conscripted by the Eritrean government into the regular army.This has grave implications both for the international legal obligations of the Eritrean government and for the individual criminal responsibility of some senior government officials. Seen against its protracted history of human rights violations and virulent conflicts, Eritrea is a typical forthcoming model of transitional justice. The issue of child soldiers is not only one of the most dominant factors in the ongoing debate on human rights violations in Eritrea but also central to shaping future transitional justice options for Eritrea.

By addressing the pervasiveness of underage military conscription in Eritrea and the legal and political questions surrounding this issue, the paper explores possible and relevant answers to the following central question: what strategies are helpful for addressing the challenges of underage military conscription in Eritrea in the context of future transitional justice options for the country? In so doing, it offers practical recommendations for improvement in the future. The paper focuses on the excesses of the current authoritarianism that would be confronted in the post-authoritarian era and the need to identify such excesses in the context of transitional justice. To provide context, the paper will first present a brief historical background on the Eritrean post-independence era, focusing mainly on the increasing tendencies towards authoritarianism of the Eritrean government that finally led to the drastic post-2001 political crisis.

At the outset, it should be noted that the issue of child soldiers in Eritrea is to be seen in the context of excessive militarisation that has prevailed in the country, particularly since June 1998. The practice has effectively turned the country into one of the most militarised states in the world.