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National service in Eritrea is supposed to last 18 months but it can continue indefinitely, according to human rights groups
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Eritrean human rights defenders have accused the EU of funding a regime in Eritrea that uses "forced labor".
The EU supports a road construction project as part of its program to stem the migration from Africa to Europe.
The national service recruits will be used and the Human Rights Foundation for Eritreans (FHRE) has declared that the conscripts were "trapped indefinitely within the service".
FHRE has threatened to sue the EU for violation of its human rights charter.
FHRE director Mulueberhan Temelso described Eritrea as an "open prison" [where] every member of the national service is trapped in extremely difficult conditions. "
What is the problem with the national service in Eritrea?
Officially, Eritrea requires 18 months of national service, but this period has been extended indefinitely following the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea that ended in 2000.
A UN human rights survey conducted in 2016 revealed that conscripts were used as "forced labor".
The "widely criticized practice … has deprived the youth of the country of their dreams and created a generation of Eritrean refugees," Amnesty International's advocacy group said in 2018.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been released after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (left) met Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki last year
Eritrea said it was a distorted picture of what was happening and denied the existence of a national service of indefinite duration. The government has not commented on what the FHRE says.
It was hoped that the country would regain its initial 18 months following the signing of a peace agreement with Ethiopia last year, but this has not been done yet.
What is the EU doing?
The EU is committed to spending 20 million euros in Eritrea as part of its emergency trust fund for Africa, which aims to fight against what the country is facing. 39 EU calls "irregular migration" by funding job creation projects in various African countries.
The money will be spent on improving the road network in Eritrea.
In its explanation of the project, the EU recognizes that the people benefiting from the national service will be used, but adds that they will be paid and that the rates of pay have recently been increased.
He adds that the issue is the object of a "reinforced dialogue" with Eritrea.
Sources in Eritrea told the BBC that since 2016, soldiers had normally received $ 120 a month, but after deductions, including for the payment of rations, they received only $ 17 a month and their family, $ 40.
According to the BBC, there has been no recent salary increase.
The EU has not responded to a request for comment.
What will human rights activists do?
FHRE sent a letter to the EU to warn that it would sue the organization for violating its own Charter of Fundamental Rights if it did not withdraw from the construction project. roads.
The charter stipulates that "no one shall be compelled to perform forced or compulsory labor".
"It interests me a lot to hear what the EU has to say, because whatever you say, this would constitute a defense of forced labor," said FHRE's lawyer at Focus on Africa program of the BBC.
"I have a hard time understanding, and I hope that many people within the EU will have trouble understanding," he added.
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