[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Council [official website] on Friday adopted a resolution [press release] establishing a commission of inquiry to investigate alleged human rights abuses in Eritrea. The council also condemned the human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, torture and restrictions on freedom of speech and religion. Arbitrary imprisonment is also a problem, with military commanders reportedly imprisoning groups of people for no reason and without trial. The commission of inquiry will last one year, and then it will hand over the results of its investigation to other UN bodies. The council’s resolution was adopted without a vote. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] noted [press release] that 313,000, or 6 percent of Eritreans have chosen to leave the country to escape the rampant human rights abuses.

The UN Human Rights Council recently established [JURIST report] a similar commission of inquiry in the Central African Republic. The commission of inquiry in Syria recently reported [JURIST report] that the conflict happening in that country could potentially destabilize the whole region. Syria’s commission of inquiry also recently found [JURIST report] that rebels in the country recently carried out mass executions of civilians. Those findings came before the chief investigator for the commission of inquiry for North Korea called for [JURIST report] that country’s leaders to be prosecuted before the International Criminal Court [official website].