Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions has he had with his counterpart in the Government of Eritrea on reducing the number of people conscripted into the (a) armed forces and (b) security services.

​I raised the UK's concerns on the human rights situation in Eritrea directly with the Eritrean Foreign Minister when I met him in September, including the length and breadth of National Service. I expressed our hope that positive developments in the region will lead to reform of National Service and improvements in the human rights situation in Eritrea.