Eritrea shows no sign of democratization and continues to function as a surveillance state, adhering to an autocratic political system. Civil rights, freedom of expression and assembly are absent and human rights are routinely violated. Despite the 2018 peace agreement, the government actively participated in the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region from 2020 to 2022, causing a humanitarian catastrophe.
Eritrea’s command economy remains poor, experiencing electricity blackouts alongside fuel and drinking water shortages. In the absence of free market mechanisms, the import-export trade has remained under the firm grip of the ruling party’s elite, while the military has engaged in large-scale contraband and looting activities.
The Eritrean government continues its political and economic agenda, prioritizing regime survival and emphasizing militarism and state control over the economy. It neglects negative consequences like economic decline, shortage of goods, poverty and mass exodus. Eritrea did not provide a COVID-19-vaccination program and the national service continues to be enforced without any reforms.
