[1] Tier 3 countries are defined as those whose governments do not fully adhere to the minimum standards established by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and are not making substantial efforts to comply.
Reports indicate conscripts are used for private construction, state-owned farms, and projects benefiting military officers and the ruling party, with no pay increases, promotions, or freedom to leave.
Thousands of Eritreans illegally flee to Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya annually, where their status makes them vulnerable to trafficking.
Despite these issues, the Eritrean government fails to meet the minimum standards for combating human trafficking and provides no data or evidence of efforts to address the problem.
[3] In late 2013, the BBC reported on a study conducted by activist Meron Estefanos and Dutch researchers from Tilburg University.
[4] Nesru Jamal of ERTA stated that the report, titled The Human Trafficking Cycle: Sinai and Beyond, was presented to EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström in the European Parliament on December 4, 2013.
Jamal also noted that the report accused Eritrea's Border Surveillance Unit, commanded by General Tekle Kiflay, of playing a central role in the trafficking.
The government reportedly warned students at Sawa military school and Mai Nefi, a local college, of the dangers of leaving the country, including the prospects of being sold into slave labor or sexual servitude.