Voanews.com: Eritrea Opens its Doors to European Investigators

For many years Europe has welcomed refugees from Eritrea - a nation that has acquired a reputation among western powers as a totalitarian state - a hermit nation on the Horn of Africa.

But even after yet another United Nations charge of human right violations by Eritrea’s leaders, a high government official in the nation’s capital, Asmara, says a few European countries may be rethinking their blanket amnesties.

There may be several reasons why European Union immigration officials are re-assessing blanket asylum approvals for Eritreans. They may want to stop or reduce further Eritrean entries and  to stop other migrants who falsely claim Eritrean nationality to receive asylum.

Or, EU officials may think Eritrea is shedding some of its domestic policies, policies they believe lead to past abuse human rights abuse.

The UN refugee agency says youth conscription intensified last year, but the political advisor to President Isaias Afewerki says the E-U is sending officials to Eritrea to see if their justification for that asylum policy is based on facts on the ground.

Why are EU immigration officials visiting Asmara?

“Several European countries sent their immigration departments to come and look at the situation for themselves sin Eritrea,” Yemane Gebreab told the Voice of America recently. “The British have been here, the Danes have been here, and the Norwegians have been here several times, the Dutch have been here, the Swedes are here right now, and officials from Switzerland have been here.