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The UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea presented its oral report on Monday, 16 March, in Geneva to a plenary session of the UN Commission for Human Rights revealing that evidences they so far collected from intensive interviews with 400 and written reports from other 140 victims are “very compelling and worrisome” and that even February 2015 escapees from the country attest that the human rights situation in the country is far from improving.

The Commission members, Mr. Mike Smith, the head of the Inquiry Commission; Ms Sheilla Keetharuth, UN Human Rights Rapporteur for Eritrea, the Ghanaian lawyer Victor Dankwa, spoke in turn to tell the unhappy reports they were receiving and hearing from victims. They said they were denied access to Eritrea. Instead, the representative of the repressive regime said “he and his regime reject the report” thus closing the door for any hope of visiting Eritrea. Even the regime’s representatives in Geneva were not willing to meet the Inquiry Commission.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea visited several countries with big concentration of Eritreans for direct interviews. Its investigators are currently visiting Sweden and Germany, and others will visit the US soon to continue collecting evidences on the gross violations of human rights in Eritrea in the past 24 years. The final written report will be submitted to the Human Rights Council in June 2015 and that more victims are expected to be interviewed and to send their written submissions.

A good number of Eritrean human rights activists were attending the session. Ms Elsa Chyrum, who had the opportunity to make a statement at the session said that the creation of the Commission of Inquiry “appropriately reflected the gravity of the situation in Eritrea” and urged call concerned bodies and countries to continue supporting the Commission to successfully accomplish its work.