Last edited: November 2005
Summary and Analysis
We have been unable to locate the Eritrean code to include in this survey. Eritrea ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child on August 3, 1994. Article 22 of the Eritrean Constitution addresses the family unit, establishing it as “the natural and fundamental unit of society … entitled to the protection and special care of the State and society.” Part 3 of Article 22 declares that parents are duty-bound to bring up their children with proper care.
According to the 2003 CRC Committee Response report, Eritrea’s Transitional Civil Code includes several provisions that emphasize the best interests of the child.[2] The report also notes that Article Fourteen of the Transitional Civil Code explicitly proclaims that all people are free to think and to express their ideas, suggesting that children have these rights as well.[3] Article 304 of the Transitional Civil Code finds that minors fifteen years and older that have the capacity of discernment are to be consulted as far as possible on all important acts concerning them.[4] The CRC Committee Response report suggests that there is a wide gap between the respect that the law accords to children’s views and the respect that is actually given in practice.[5]
Articles 548 and 626 of the Transitional Penal Code of Eritrea include penalties for parents or guardians that treat their children with negligence, beat their children, or abandon them.[6] The CRC Committee Response report also suggests that there are strong social sanctions against families that mistreat their children.[7]
Despite our best efforts, we were unable to locate a contact person in Eritrea.
Related Sources of Law (In Order of Authority)
Constitution
Eritrea Constitution[8]
Article 22 Family
(1) The family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and is entitled to the
protection and special care of the State and society.
(3) Parents have the right and duty to bring up their children with proper care
and affection; and, in turn, children have the right and the duty to respect their parents
and to sustain them in their old age.
Endnotes
[1] This page is also available as a .pdf Document, and Word Document.
[2] U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention, CRC/C/41/Add.12/35, available http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/CAFRAD/UNPAN004654.pdf (Jul. 27 2001).
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention, CRC/C/41/Add.12/49, available http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/CAFRAD/UNPAN004654.pdf (Jul. 27 2001).
[7] Id.
[8] Eritrea Const., art. 22, available at http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/CAFRAD/UNPAN004654.pdf (last visited Nov. 28, 2005).