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Good afternoon,                                                                                        

Please find below an update from the APPG on Eritrea.

The recent APPG meeting discussed the economic impact of indefinite national service in Eritrea. Daniel Nelson, News and Special Reports Editor at One World, who was in attendance at the meeting, wrote a summary outlining the contributions of the speakers and the dire economic and social impact of indefinite national service in Eritrea. The full article is available here

Charlotte King, senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, provided an analysis of the Eritrean economy, highlighting the dominance of party-controlled, State led firms, stifling any private sector enterprise. Professor Gaim Kibreab, research professor and course director of the MSc Refugee Studies at London South Bank University, discussed how the initially useful nation-building policy of national service was now producing terrible economic and social effects and is the prime reason for many Eritreans fleeing their homeland.

In other news, this August, the Home Office updated its guidance on asylum seekers from Eritrea -including those fleeing indefinite national service- following mounting pressure and criticism from various human rights groups and the Home Affairs select committee. The full guidance report is available here

Jim Shannon MP asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs what discussions he has had with the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea in reducing conflict in border areas between those countries, availablehere

Lord Hylton asked what action the Government and the UNHCR planned to take to protect Eritrean and Somali families now in Ethiopia, the Sudan, or South Sudan without legal status, availablehere

The APPG is currently planning its next meeting, and will be in touch soon with more information.

Thank you all for your continued support.