Eritrea’s Dark Underbelly: Human Trafficking, Arms Trafficking, and Criminal Activities Thrive in Isolated Nation

People

Eritrea, with the highest estimated prevalence of human trafficking in Africa, is a significant source of the world’s refugees.
Thousands of young Eritreans are subjected to indefinite national conscription, leading to discontent and massive emigration.
Many Eritreans are vulnerable to trafficking upon leaving the country.
The Eritrean diaspora is entangled in human-smuggling networks, with reported links to high-ranking political class and diplomats.
Senior military officers are implicated in the smuggling of Eritreans for personal gain, resulting in the frequent abuse of smuggled individuals.

Strategically located at the Red Sea, Eritrea functions as a critical trans-shipment point for arms trafficking to neighboring embargoed states.
Eritrea continued to be a major transit hub for weapons headed to Sudan during the arms embargo (2011-2018), with the flow allegedly increasing after its lifting in late 2018.
Military involvement in arms trafficking makes actors tied to the state or state-embedded actors likely participants.

Massawa port has become a critical shipping point for ivory bound for Asia.
Massawa is also a hub for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
Few reports address flora-related crimes conducted by criminal groups, but military involvement in illegal logging has been documented.
Gold from Sudan and possibly other countries is believed to be smuggled through Eritrea to the United Arab Emirates.

Drug use in Eritrea is reportedly low, but the nation’s ports have become increasingly important in the international trade of heroin and cannabis.
Instances of cocaine trafficking cannot be ruled out.

The first inclusive mention of cybercrime indicators for Eritrea in the 2023 assessment.

State and military actors and their associates are the primary perpetrators of organized crime in Eritrea.
Diplomats posted abroad, especially in Sudan, are prone to bribery to facilitate human trafficking.
Police and military personnel are known to be involved in trafficking along the Sudanese border.
Transnational networks of Eritrean smugglers operate on routes to Europe.
There are unconfirmed reports of potential involvement of criminal actors from Sudan or Egypt in Eritrean criminal markets.

Eritrea is considered an authoritarian state led by President Isaias Afwerki since 1991.
No elections have been held in the country since its independence, resulting in little regard for human rights, freedom, and transparency.
Authorities control every aspect of the economy through strict control of borders and limited access to information, often enforcing a ‘shoot to kill’ policy against those attempting to leave the country illegally.
Despite normalized relations with some neighboring countries and international entities, Eritrea remains strained in its relationships with regional organizations, the UN, and multilateral financial institutions.
Eritrea is party to several international treaties meant to counter organized crime but has yet to enforce its constitution or fully publish reliable data regarding its economy and crime dynamics.