Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Eritrea face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents.

[4][5] The government routinely detains individuals for consensual homosexual activity and has allegedly periodically engaged in roundups of known or suspected lesbians and gays in the country.

[11] The Government of Eritrea has rejected an appeal by the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review process to legalize same-sex sexual activity.

According to a 2023 US State Department report: Eritrea has no public LGBT organizations and the government tightly restricts freedom of expression including on subjects related to sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

LGBTQI+ individuals are not allowed to freely assemble, associate, or express themselves publicly due to fear of identification, arrest, and discrimination or violence.

[10] A 2002 refugee claimant in the United Kingdom reported that he and his partner, both in the armed forces, suffered physical and verbal abuse, including threats, from both superiors and fellow soldiers.

There have been reports of LGBT people being offered to go to conversion therapy in lieu of jail time (same-sex sexual activity is criminalised in Eritrea).

[4] The LGBT charity, OutRight Action International found that conversion therapy and attempts to forcibly "change" somebody's sexual orientation or gender identity were widespread due to social stigma.

[6] In 2013, Paolo Mannina, a gay Italian citizen, was dismissed from his job as a literature professor at a technical school in Asmara and deported from Eritrea.

The Eritrean ambassador to Italy commented that "any foreigner present in Eritrea has the obligation to respect the local customs and traditions and, even more so, the provisions of law prohibiting homosexual relations".