On Thursday, December 10, the Africa Center hosted a briefing on the Eritrean migration situation with Felix Horne, Eritrea and Ethiopia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Africa Center Deputy Director Bronwyn Bruton welcomed participants and introduced Horne. The Honorable Herman Cohen, former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, moderated the discussion.

Horne presented the unpublished findings of a round of interviews with recently arrived Eritrean refugees in Italy. Horne discussed the reasons for their migration and the current human rights situation in Eritrea. In particular, Horne focused on the scope of the country’s national service program and underscored how the program and its consequences are widely cited by Eritrean migrants as their main motivation for leaving Eritrea. He also elaborated on some of the challenges of researching Eritrea.