officials and NGO representatives have participated in numerous public meetings and dialogues. In these sessions they have answered questions as fundamental as, "What are human rights?", "Who determines what are human rights?", and "What should take precedence, human or communal rights?". In 2007, the Eritrean government banned female genital mutilation. Regional Assemblies and religious leaders also speak out continuously against the use of female cutting. They cite health concerns and individual freedom as being of primary concern when they say this. Furthermore, they implore rural peoples to cast away this ancient cultural practice. In early 2009, a new movement called Citizens for Democratic Rights in Eritrea aimed at bringing about dialogue between the government and opposition was formed in early 2009. The group consists of ordinary citizens and some people close to the government. The movement was launched at a two-day conference in London, after previous attempts at dialogue failed. Freedom House Eritrea was considered "not free" according to the Freedom House Freedom in the World 2022 report, scoring 1/40 on political rights and 2/60 on civil liberties. Historical situation The following is a chart of Eritrea's ratings since 1993 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free". International treaties Eritrea's stances on international human rights treaties are as follows: See also Freedom of press in Eritrea Freedom of religion in Eritrea Human trafficking in Eritrea Refoulement of Eritrean refugees LGBT rights in Eritrea Human Rights Concern Eritrea Politics of Eritrea Notes 1.Note that the "Year" signifies the "Year covered". Therefore the information for the year marked 2008 is from the report published in 2009, and so on. 2.As of 24 May (Independence Day) in 1993; 1 January thereafter. 3.The 1982 report covers the year 1981 and the first half of 1982, and the following 1984 report covers the second half of 1982 and the whole of 1983. In the interest of simplicity, these two aberrant "year and a half" reports have been split into three year-long reports through interpolation. References External links 2012 Annual Report, by Amnesty International Freedom in the World 2012 Report, by Freedom House World Report 2012, by Human Rights Watch Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in Eritrea, United Nations Human Rights Council Report, 8 June 2015 Society of Eritrea Politics of Eritrea Government of Eritrea Eritrea