The UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea said it had collected evidence of widespread state-sponsored enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and murder in the East African country since 1991.
It said the situation had not improved since the expert commission presented similar findings in a first report one year ago.
The commission said following a review of its evidence, the commission is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that particular individuals, including officials at the highest levels of the State and commanding officers, bear responsibility for crimes against humanity and other gross human rights violations.
The commission asked the UN Security Council to refer Eritrea to the prosecutor of the court in The Hague, and to impose sanctions on Eritrean officials that are believed to be responsible for grave crimes.
It disclosed that the rights investigators conducted interviews with hundreds of Eritreans who have left their country.
Mike Smith, the Australian Diplomat who heads the UN inquiry body, said it concluded that the perpetrators of the crimes must face justice and the victims' voices must be heard.
Credit:dpa/NAN
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