The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a press release on Monday calling for the release of thousands of people arbitrarily detained in Eritrea.

The release states there are believed to be over 10,000 people arbitrarily detained in Eritrea, including politicians, journalists, clergy and students. The OHCHR acknowledged the “encouraging development” of the Eritrean government’s release earlier in December of 13 individuals who had been detained for almost two decades. However, the office recognized that a great many still remain imprisoned, including the so-called “G11.”

The G11 is a group of 11 former government officials who petitioned the Eritrean government for democratic reforms in 2001. They addressed an open letter to President Isaias Afwerki, who has held the office since 1993, with the support of several journalists for independent newspapers. They were subsequently imprisoned without trial and held incommunicado. To this day, their whereabouts remain unknown. Amnesty International marks this event as the point at which the government effectively shut down the free press in the country. This case came amid the backdrop of globally condemned human rights violations in Eritrea.

Human Rights Watch reported that Eritrea handles political cases extrajudicially, indefinitely detaining individuals without trial, and denying them basic rights. Detention sites, including the Mai Serwa prison, house detainees in metal shipping containers without basic needs, often leading to their illness and death. On a broader scale, the US Department of State found in its country report on Eritrea that the government has engaged in unlawful killings and forced disappearances.

The UN has consistently noted the human rights abuses in Eritrea over the past 30 years. The OHCHR stated that it “stands ready to continue its engagement with the Eritrean authorities” to reach compliance with human rights law.