[JPRT 111-60, Volume II]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress } { S. Prt.
2d Session } JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT { 111-60
_______________________________________________________________________
COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
PRACTICES FOR 2008
VOLUME II
----------
R E P O R T
SUBMITTED TO THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
US SENATE
AND THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 116(d) AND 502B(b) OF THE FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961, AS AMENDED
111th Congress } { S. Prt.
2d Session } JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT { 111-60
_______________________________________________________________________
COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
PRACTICES FOR 2008
VOLUME II
__________
R E P O R T
SUBMITTED TO THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
US SENATE
AND THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 116(d) AND 502B(b) OF THE FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961, AS AMENDED
DECEMBER 2010
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S.
Senate and Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives respec-
tively
_______
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts CHUCK HAGEL, Nebraska
RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota
BARBARA BOXER, California BOB CORKER, Tennessee
BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire\1\
BARACK OBAMA, Illinois GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JIM DeMINT, South Carolina
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia
JIM WEBB, Virginia DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming\2\
Antony J. Blinken, Staff Director
Kenneth A. Myers, Jr., Republican Staff Director
------------
\1\ Reassigned to the Committee on Finance, January 24, 2008.
\2\ Appointed to the Committee on Foreign Relations, February 12,
2008.
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California, Chairman
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
Samoa DAN BURTON, Indiana
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey ELTON GALLEGLY, California
BRAD SHERMAN, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
BILL DELAHUNT, Massachusetts EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York RON PAUL, Texas
DIANE E. WATSON, California JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri MIKE PENCE, Indiana
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey JOE WILSON, South Carolina
GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
MICHAEL E. McMAHON, New York J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida CONNIE MACK, Florida
JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
GENE GREEN, Texas MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas
LYNN WOOLSEY, California TED POE, Texas
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas BOB INGLIS, South Carolina
BARBARA LEE, California GUS BILIRAKIS, Florida
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
MIKE ROSS, Arkansas
BRAD MILLER, North Carolina
DAVID SCOTT, Georgia
JIM COSTA, California
KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota
GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona
RON KLEIN, Florida
Richard J. Kessler, Staff Director
Yleem Poblete, Republican Staff Director
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Letter of Transmittal............................................ ix
Preface.......................................................... xi
Overview and Acknowledgments..................................... xiii
Introduction..................................................... xvii
Volume I
Africa
Angola....................................................... 1
Benin........................................................ 16
Botswana..................................................... 26
Burkina Faso................................................. 36
Burundi...................................................... 46
Cameroon..................................................... 60
Cape Verde................................................... 80
Central African Republic..................................... 85
Chad......................................................... 104
Comoros...................................................... 119
Congo, Democratic Republic of the............................ 125
Congo, Republic of the....................................... 152
Cote d'Ivoire................................................ 162
Djibouti..................................................... 180
Equatorial Guinea............................................ 188
Eritrea...................................................... 202
Ethiopia..................................................... 216
Gabon........................................................ 240
Gambia, The.................................................. 248
Ghana........................................................ 260
Guinea....................................................... 276
Guinea-Bissau................................................ 290
Kenya........................................................ 299
Lesotho...................................................... 322
Liberia...................................................... 333
Madagascar................................................... 344
Malawi....................................................... 354
Mali......................................................... 367
Mauritania................................................... 376
Mauritius.................................................... 387
Mozambique................................................... 393
Namibia...................................................... 407
Africa--Continued
Niger........................................................ 419
Nigeria...................................................... 434
Rwanda....................................................... 464
Sao Tome and Principe........................................ 481
Senegal...................................................... 486
Seychelles................................................... 500
Sierra Leone................................................. 507
Somalia...................................................... 521
South Africa................................................. 541
Sudan........................................................ 559
Swaziland.................................................... 579
Tanzania..................................................... 594
Togo......................................................... 612
Uganda....................................................... 623
Zambia....................................................... 640
Zimbabwe..................................................... 652
East Asia and the Pacific
Australia.................................................... 687
Brunei Darussalam............................................ 697
Burma........................................................ 705
Cambodia..................................................... 727
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)................. 748
Taiwan....................................................... 810
Fiji......................................................... 821
Indonesia.................................................... 830
Japan........................................................ 850
Kiribati..................................................... 859
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of....................... 863
Korea, Republic of........................................... 874
Laos......................................................... 883
Malaysia..................................................... 896
Marshall Islands............................................. 920
Micronesia, Federated States of.............................. 924
Mongolia..................................................... 930
Nauru........................................................ 940
New Zealand.................................................. 944
Palau........................................................ 952
Papua New Guinea............................................. 957
Philippines.................................................. 963
Samoa........................................................ 982
Singapore.................................................... 988
Solomon Islands.............................................. 1003
Thailand..................................................... 1009
Timor-Leste.................................................. 1038
Tonga........................................................ 1048
Tuvalu....................................................... 1053
Vanuatu...................................................... 1058
Vietnam...................................................... 1063
Europe and Eurasia
Albania...................................................... 1087
Andorra...................................................... 1099
Armenia...................................................... 1103
Austria...................................................... 1134
Azerbaijan................................................... 1143
Belarus...................................................... 1165
Belgium...................................................... 1186
Bosnia and Herzegovina....................................... 1194
Bulgaria..................................................... 1212
Croatia...................................................... 1227
Cyprus....................................................... 1246
Czech Republic............................................... 1269
Denmark...................................................... 1282
Estonia...................................................... 1289
Finland...................................................... 1295
France....................................................... 1302
Georgia...................................................... 1314
Germany...................................................... 1346
Greece....................................................... 1357
Hungary...................................................... 1379
Iceland...................................................... 1392
Ireland...................................................... 1401
Italy........................................................ 1410
Kosovo....................................................... 1423
Latvia....................................................... 1447
Liechtenstein................................................ 1459
Lithuania.................................................... 1464
Luxembourg................................................... 1475
Macedonia.................................................... 1480
Malta........................................................ 1495
Moldova...................................................... 1501
Monaco....................................................... 1523
Montenegro................................................... 1527
Netherlands.................................................. 1543
Norway....................................................... 1553
Poland....................................................... 1559
Portugal..................................................... 1574
Romania...................................................... 1580
Russia....................................................... 1601
San Marino................................................... 1656
Serbia....................................................... 1659
Slovak Republic.............................................. 1681
Slovenia..................................................... 1694
Spain........................................................ 1703
Sweden....................................................... 1713
Switzerland.................................................. 1721
Turkey....................................................... 1730
Ukraine...................................................... 1761
United Kingdom............................................... 1794
Volume II
Near East and North Africa
Algeria...................................................... 1809
Bahrain...................................................... 1825
Egypt........................................................ 1837
Iran......................................................... 1860
Iraq......................................................... 1883
Israel and the occupied territories.......................... 1914
Jordan....................................................... 1952
Kuwait....................................................... 1967
Lebanon...................................................... 1978
Libya........................................................ 1997
Morocco...................................................... 2009
Western Sahara............................................. 2026
Oman......................................................... 2030
Qatar........................................................ 2038
Saudi Arabia................................................. 2053
Syria........................................................ 2075
Tunisia...................................................... 2101
United Arab Emirates......................................... 2119
Yemen........................................................ 2131
South and Central Asia
Afghanistan.................................................. 2155
Bangladesh................................................... 2177
Bhutan....................................................... 2198
India........................................................ 2207
Kazakhstan................................................... 2239
Kyrgyz Republic.............................................. 2257
Maldives..................................................... 2274
Nepal........................................................ 2282
Pakistan..................................................... 2301
Sri Lanka.................................................... 2332
Tajikistan................................................... 2348
Turkmenistan................................................. 2362
Uzbekistan................................................... 2377
Western Hemisphere
Antigua and Barbuda.......................................... 2403
Argentina.................................................... 2408
Bahamas, The................................................. 2422
Barbados..................................................... 2430
Belize....................................................... 2436
Bolivia...................................................... 2444
Brazil....................................................... 2459
Canada....................................................... 2479
Chile........................................................ 2489
Colombia..................................................... 2499
Costa Rica................................................... 2520
Cuba......................................................... 2532
Dominica..................................................... 2547
Western Hemisphere--Continued
Dominican Republic........................................... 2552
Ecuador...................................................... 2568
El Salvador.................................................. 2581
Grenada...................................................... 2594
Guatemala.................................................... 2598
Guyana....................................................... 2617
Haiti........................................................ 2625
Honduras..................................................... 2636
Jamaica...................................................... 2652
Mexico....................................................... 2660
Nicaragua.................................................... 2674
.............................................................
Panama....................................................... 2691
Paraguay..................................................... 2705
Peru......................................................... 2718
Saint Kitts and Nevis........................................ 2732
Saint Lucia.................................................. 2737
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines............................. 2744
Suriname..................................................... 2749
Trinidad and Tobago.......................................... 2758
Uruguay...................................................... 2767
Venezuela.................................................... 2773
Appendices
Appendix A: Notes on Preparation of the Country Reports and
Explanatory Notes.......................................... 2789
Appendix B: Reporting on Worker Rights....................... 2797
Appendix C: Selected International Human Rights Conventions.. 2799
Appendix D: Description of International Human Rights
Conventions in Appendix C.................................. 2807
Appendix E: FY 2008 State and USAID Foreign Assistance
Estimate................................................... 2809
Appendix F: UN General Assembly's Third Committee Country
Resolution Votes 2008...................................... 2837
Appendix G: UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights......... 2845
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
Department of State,
Washington, DC, February 25, 2009.
Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations.
Dear Mr. Chairman: On behalf of the Secretary of State, I
am transmitting to you the Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 2008, prepared in compliance with sections
116(d)(1) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
amended, and section 505(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended.
We hope this report is helpful. Please let us know if we
can provide any further information.
Sincerely,
Karen Stewart,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor.
Enclosure.
(ix)
PREFACE
----------
Human progress depends on the human spirit. This
inescapable truth has never been more apparent than it is
today, when the challenges of a new century require us to
summon the full range of human talents to move our nation and
our world forward.
Guaranteeing the right of every man, woman, and child to
participate fully in society and live up to his or her God-
given potential is an ideal that has animated our nation since
its founding. It is enshrined in the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and was reflected in President
Obama's Inaugural Address, when he reminded us that every
generation must carry forward the belief that ``all are equal,
all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full
measure of happiness.''
Our foreign policy must also advance these timeless values,
which empower people to speak, think, worship, and assemble
freely, to lead their work and family lives with dignity, and
to know that their dreams of a brighter future are within
reach.
The promotion of human rights is an essential piece of our
foreign policy. Not only will we seek to live up to our ideals
on American soil, we will pursue greater respect for human
rights as we engage other nations and people around the world.
Some of our work will be conducted in government meetings and
official dialogues, which is important to advancing this cause.
But we will not rely on a single approach to overcome tyranny
and subjugation that weaken the human spirit, limit human
possibility, and undermine human progress.
We will make this a global effort that reaches beyond
government alone. We will work together with nongovernmental
organizations, businesses, religious leaders, schools and
universities, and individual citizens--all of whom play a vital
role in creating a world where human rights are accepted,
respected, and protected.
Our commitment to human rights is driven by faith in our
moral values, and also by the knowledge that we enhance our own
security, prosperity, and progress when people in other lands
emerge from shadows and shackles to gain the opportunities and
rights we enjoy and treasure.
In that spirit, I hereby transmit the Department of State's
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2008 to the
United States Congress.
Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Secretary of State.
OVERVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
----------
WHY THE REPORTS ARE PREPARED
This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department
of State in compliance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended. The law
provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate by February 25 ``a full and
complete report regarding the status of internationally
recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A)
in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B)
in all other foreign countries which are members of the United
Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human
rights report under this Act.'' We have also included reports
on several countries that do not fall into the categories
established by these statutes and thus are not covered by the
congressional requirement.
In the early 1970s the United States formalized its
responsibility to speak out on behalf of international human
rights standards. In 1976 Congress enacted legislation creating
a Coordinator of Human Rights in the Department of State, a
position later upgraded to Assistant Secretary. In 1994 the
Congress created a position of Senior Advisor for Women's
Rights. Legislation also requires that U.S. foreign and trade
policy take into account countries' human rights and worker
rights performance and that country reports be submitted to the
Congress on an annual basis.
HOW THE REPORTS ARE PREPARED
In 1993 the Secretary of State strengthened the human
rights efforts of our embassies by asking all sections to
contribute information and corroborate reports of human rights
violations, and there was a renewed effort to link mission
programming to the advancement of human rights and democracy.
In 1994 the Department of State reorganized the Bureau of Human
Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, renaming it the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. This move reflected both a
broader sweep and a more focused approach to the interlocking
issues of human rights, worker rights and democracy. As part of
that effort, the annual Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices represent the bureau's continuing effort to report
human rights violations. The reports reflect the work by
hundreds of State Department and other U.S. Government
employees, both in Washington and abroad.
Our overseas U.S. missions, which prepared the initial
drafts of the reports, gathered information throughout the year
from a variety of sources across the political spectrum. These
sources included government officials, jurists, the armed
forces, journalists, human rights monitors, academics, and
labor activists. This information gathering can be hazardous,
and U.S. Foreign Service personnel regularly go to great
lengths, under trying and sometimes dangerous conditions, to
investigate reports of human rights abuse, monitor elections,
and come to the aid of individuals at risk, such as political
dissidents and human rights defenders whose rights are
threatened by their governments.
After completing their drafts, State Department missions
abroad sent them to Washington for review by the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, in cooperation with other
Department of State offices. As they worked to corroborate,
analyze, and edit the reports, Department officers drew on
their own sources of information. These included reports
provided by U.S. and other human rights groups, foreign
government officials, representatives from the United Nations
and other international and regional organizations and
institutions, experts from academia, and the media. Officers
also consulted with experts on worker rights, refugee issues,
military and police topics, women's issues, and legal matters.
The guiding principle was to ensure that all information was
assessed objectively, thoroughly, and fairly.
The reports in this volume will be used as a resource for
shaping policy, conducting diplomacy, and making assistance,
training, and other resource allocations. They also will serve
as a basis for the U.S. Government's cooperation with private
groups to promote the observance of internationally recognized
human rights.
The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cover
internationally recognized civil, political and worker rights,
as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
These rights include freedom from torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, from prolonged
detention without charges, from disappearance or clandestine
detention, and from other flagrant violations of the right to
life, liberty and the security of the person.
Universal human rights seek to incorporate respect for
human dignity into the processes of government and law. All
persons have the right to nationality, the inalienable right to
change their government by peaceful means and to enjoy basic
freedoms, such as freedom of expression, association, assembly,
movement, and religion, without discrimination on the basis of
race, religion, national origin, or sex. The right to join a
free trade union is a necessary condition of a free society and
economy. Thus the reports assess key internationally recognized
worker rights, including the right of association, the right to
organize and bargain collectively, the prohibition of forced or
compulsory labor, the status of child labor practices, the
minimum age for employment of children, and acceptable work
conditions.
Within the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the
editorial staff of the Country Reports Team consists of: Editor
in Chief Stephen Eisenbraun; Office Directors: Bruce Connuck,
Kay Mayfield, and Michael Orona; Senior Editors: Jonathan
Bemis, Douglas B. Dearborn, Daniel Dolan, Jerome L. Hoganson,
Patricia Meeks Schnell, Julie Turner, and Rachel Waldstein;
Editors: Naim Ahmed, Sabrina Bahir, Joseph S. Barghout,
Katherine Berglund, Sarah Beringer, Alisha Bhagat, Sarah
Buckley, Laura Carey, Elise Carlson-Rainer, Ebenezer
Concepcion, Sharon C. Cooke, Susan Corke, Stuart Crampton,
Frank B. Crump, Mollie Davis, Cortney Dell, Morton Dworken,
Jennifer Evans, Verinda Fike, Joan Garner, Karen Gilbride,
Jeffrey Glassman, Edward Grulich, Cheryl Harris, Patrick
Harvey, Matthew Hickey, Alexandra Hoey, Victor Huser, Stan
Ifshin, Sami Jiries, Simone Joseph, Jennifer King, Jane Kim,
Sidney Kwiram, Lawrence Lesser, Jessica Lieberman, Katie
McLain, John McKane, Michael McKenna, Gregory Maggio, Jessica
Megill, Nicole Morales, David Mikosz, Leonel Miranda, Stephen
E. Moody, Jennie Munoz, Sandra Murphy, Daniel L. Nadel,
Catherine Newling, Susan O'Sullivan, Meredith Pierce, Drue
Preissman, Peter Sawchyn, Amy Schmisseur, Wendy Silverman, Erin
Spitzer, Rachel Spring, Brian Stout, James Todd, Rachel
Waldstein, Nicole Wilett, Mikel Wood, and Isabelle Zsoldos;
Contributing Editor: Lynne Davidson; Editorial Assistants:
Adrienne Bory, Karen Chen, Carol Finerty, Elizabeth Mokaba, and
Kimberly Jorgensen; and Technical Assistant Eunice Johnson.
INTRODUCTION
----------
The year just ended was characterized by three trends: a
growing worldwide demand for greater personal and political
freedom, governmental efforts to push back on those freedoms,
and further confirmation that human rights flourish best in
participatory democracies with vibrant civil societies.
These congressionally mandated reports describe the
performance in 2008 of governments across the globe in putting
into practice their international commitments on human rights.
We hope that they will help focus attention on human rights
abuses and bring action to end them. At the same time, we hope
that the hard-won advances for human freedom chronicled in the
reports will hearten those still pressing for their rights,
often against daunting odds.
These reports will inform U.S. Government policymaking and
serve as a reference for other governments, intergovernmental
institutions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), human
rights defenders, and journalists. United States foreign policy
revolves not only around effective defense, but also robust
diplomacy and vigorous support for political and economic
development. A vigorous human rights policy reaffirms American
values and advances our national interests. As President Obama
stated in his inaugural address: ``America is a friend of each
nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of
peace and dignity . . .'', but to ``those who cling to power
through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent,
know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we
will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.''
Since the days of our own nation's founding, we have
endeavored to correct injustices and fully promote respect for
fundamental freedoms for all of our citizens. These efforts
have been spurred and sustained by an accountable, democratic
system of government, the rule of law, a vibrant free media,
and, most important of all, the civic activism of our
citizenry.
As we publish these reports, the Department of State
remains mindful of both domestic and international scrutiny of
the United States' record. As President Obama recently made
clear, ``we reject as false the choice between our safety and
our ideals.'' We do not consider views about our performance
voiced by others in the international community--whether by
other governments or nongovernmental actors--to be interference
in our internal affairs, nor should other governments regard
expressions about their performance as such. We and all other
sovereign nations have international obligations to respect the
universal human rights and freedoms of our citizens, and it is
the responsibility of others to speak out when they believe
those obligations are not being fulfilled.
The U.S. Government will continue to hear and reply
forthrightly to concerns about our own practices. We will
continue to submit reports to international bodies in
accordance with our obligations under various human rights
treaties to which we are a party. United States laws, policies,
and practices have evolved considerably in recent years, and
will continue to do so. For example, on January 22, 2009,
President Obama signed three executive orders to close the
detention facilities at Guantanamo and review U.S. Government
policies on detention and interrogation.
We drew the information contained in these reports from
governments and multilateral institutions, from national and
international nongovernmental groups, and from academics,
jurists, religious groups, and the media. The reports have gone
through a lengthy process of fact checking to ensure high
standards of accuracy and objectivity. Each country report
speaks for itself. However, some broad, cross-cutting
observations can be drawn.
One: In 2008, pushback against demands for greater personal
and political freedom continued in many countries across the
globe. A disturbing number of countries imposed burdensome,
restrictive, or repressive laws and regulations against NGOs
and the media, including the Internet. Many courageous human
rights defenders who peacefully pressed for their own rights
and those of their fellow countrymen and women were harassed,
threatened, arrested and imprisoned, killed, or were subjected
to violent extrajudicial means of reprisal.
Two: Human rights abuses remain a symptom of deeper
dysfunctions within political systems. The most serious human
rights abuses tended to occur in countries where unaccountable
rulers wielded unchecked power or there was government failure
or collapse, often exacerbated or caused by internal or
external conflict.
Three: Healthy political systems are far more likely to
respect human rights. Countries in which human rights were most
protected and respected were characterized by the following
electoral, institutional, and societal elements:
Free and fair electoral processesthatinclude not only a
clean casting and honest counting of ballots on election day,
but also a run-up to the voting that allows for real
competition and full respect for the freedoms of expression,
peaceful assembly, and association; Representative,
accountable, transparent, democratic institutions of
government, including independent judiciaries, under the rule
of law to ensure that leaders who win elections democratically
also govern democratically, and are responsive to the will and
needs of the people; andVibrant civil societies, including
independent NGOs and free media.
To be sure, even in countries where these elements were
present human rights abuses at times occurred. Democratic
elections can be marred with irregularities. There can be
abuses of power and miscarriages of justice. States having weak
institutions of democratic government and struggling economies
can fall far short of meeting the needs and expectations of
their people for a better life. Corruption can undermine public
trust. Long-marginalized segments of populations in some
countries have yet to enjoy full participation in the life of
their nations. Insecurity due to internal and/or cross-border
conflict can hinder respect for and retard progress in human
rights. But when these electoral, institutional and societal
elements obtain, the prospects are far greater for problems to
be addressed, correctives to be applied and improvements to be
made.
Taken together, these three trends confirm the continuing
need for vigorous United States diplomacy to act and speak out
against human rights abuses, at the same time that our country
carefully reviews its own performance. These trends further
confirm the need to combine diplomacy with creative strategies
that can help to develop healthy political systems and support
civil society.
Below, readers will find overviews highlighting key trends
in each geographic region. Each of the regional overviews is
followed by thumbnail sketches of selected countries (ordered
alphabetically) that were chosen for notable developments--
positive, negative, or mixed--chronicled during calendar year
2008. For more comprehensive, detailed information, we refer
you to the individual country reports themselves.
Regional Overviews
AFRICA
Several African countries served as stabilizing forces on
the continent and as powerful examples of the peace and
stability that come with respect for the rule of law.
Nevertheless, during the year, human rights and democratic
development in the region continued to face severe challenges,
especially in a number of countries plagued by conflict and
others in which a culture of rule of law was fledgling or did
not exist.
In many countries, civilians continued to suffer from
abuses at the hands of government security forces acting with
impunity. In several countries, the systematic use of torture
by security forces on detainees and prisoners remained a severe
problem, and conditions in detention centers and prisons often
were squalid and life threatening. Many detainees suffered
lengthy pretrial detentions, waiting months or years before
going before a judge.
For those countries embroiled in conflicts, ending violence
remained central to improving human rights conditions. Warring
parties failed to implement political agreements designed to
bring peace and stability. Violent conflict continued or
erupted anew in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and
Sudan, resulting in mass killings, rape, and displacements of
civilians. The Sudanese Government continued to collaborate
with janjaweed militias to bomb and destroy villages, killing
or displacing hundreds of thousands more innocent civilians.
Authoritarian rule continued to characterize many African
countries, for example: in Zimbabwe, the Mugabe regime
unleashed a campaign of terror that resulted in the killing,
disappearance, and torture of hundreds of opposition party
members and supporters following the March 29 elections that
were not free and fair. Government repression, restrictions,
and mismanagement caused the displacement of tens of thousands,
increased food insecurity, and created a cholera epidemic,
which killed 1,500 people by year's end. Previously postponed
presidential elections were further delayed in Cote d'Ivoire. A
coup ousted a democratically elected government in Mauritania.
Following the death of Lansana Conte, Guinea's longtime
president, a military junta seized power in a coup and
suspended the constitution.
There were, however, some bright spots during the year.
Angola held its first elections since 1992 and there were
peaceful, orderly, and democratic elections in Ghana and
Zambia. Due process and respect for the rule of law prevailed
in Nigeria as opposition candidates from the 2007 presidential
election respected the Nigerian Supreme Court's ruling
upholding President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's election. The United
Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda sentenced a
former Rwandan army colonel to life in prison for organizing
the militants responsible for the killing of 800,000 Tutsis and
moderate Hutus during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Selected Country Developments
The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC) deteriorated further during the year, severely
undermining the country's progress since national elections in
2006. Despite the signing of the Goma peace accords in January
and the presence of UN peacekeepers, fighting continued in
North and South Kivu throughout the year. Security forces and
all armed groups continued to act with impunity, committing
frequent serious abuses including arbitrary killings,
disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, rape,
looting, and the use of children as combatants. The conflict
continued to fuel the worst humanitarian crisis in Africa,
resulting in as many as 45,000 Congolese deaths each month, a
total of more than one million internally displaced persons,
and dozens of attacks on humanitarian workers by armed groups.
Pervasive sexual violence continued, including more than 2,200
registered cases of rape in June in North Kivu alone.
Throughout the country, security forces harassed, beat,
intimidated, and arrested local human rights advocates and
journalists, resulting in a marked deterioration in press
freedom.
Eritrea's poor human rights record worsened and the
Government continued to commit serious abuses including
unlawful killings by security forces with impunity. The ruling
People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) is the only
legal political party and no national elections have been held
since Eritrea gained independence in 1993. The constitution,
ratified in 1997, has never been implemented. The independent
press remained banned, and most independent journalists were in
detention or had fled the country. Government roundups of young
people for national service intensified in 2008. Credible
reports indicate that national service evaders were tortured
while in detention, and security forces shot individuals trying
to cross the border into Ethiopia. Religious freedom, already
severely restricted, declined further. At year's end over 3,200
Christians from unregistered groups were detained in prison, as
were more than 35 leaders and pastors of Pentecostal churches,
some of whom had been detained for more than three years
without charge or due process. At least three religious
prisoners died in captivity during the year, from torture and
lack of medical treatment.
The violence following Kenya's December 2007 local,
parliamentary, and presidential elections ended in February
when an international mediation process produced an agreement
to form a coalition government under which President Mwai
Kibaki retained his office, and opposition candidate Raila
Odinga was appointed to a newly-created prime ministerial
position. The political settlement established a reform
framework to investigate and address the underlying causes of
the violence, which killed approximately 1,500 persons and
displaced more than 500,000. Progress on reform was slow and
efforts to address the economic and social aftermath of the
violence were incomplete. Separately, the deployment of
security forces to Mount Elgon to quell an abusive militia
resulted in human rights abuses by security forces.
Mauritania's human rights record deteriorated, with an
abridgement of citizens' rights to change their government,
arbitrary arrests, and the political detentions of the
president and prime minister following an August 6 coup. The
president was released from detention in December; however, the
military junta, known as the High State Council (HSC), remained
in power with General Mohamed Aziz as head of state at the end
of the year. Members of the international community, including
the African Union, strongly condemned the coup. Prior to the
August 6 coup, the then-democratically elected government
supported nationwide sensitization on a new antislavery law and
increased public discussion on formerly taboo issues, such as
ethnic divisions and social injustices. That government also
supported national reconciliation efforts regarding the
country's 1989-1991 expulsion of Afro-Mauritanians through the
launch of a repatriation program in coordination with UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In Nigeria, the courts continued to adjudicate the results
of the seriously flawed 2007 presidential, gubernatorial, and
legislative elections. On December 12, the Supreme Court
rejected the appeals of two major opposition presidential
candidates, upholding the election of President Yar'Adua. The
two opposition leaders respected the court's ruling. Election
tribunals nullified nine senatorial elections and 11
gubernatorial elections during the year. Violence continued in
the oil-producing Niger Delta region, where over 400 persons
(Nigerian nationals and expatriates) were kidnapped in
approximately 100 incidents during the year. In November,
ethno-religious violence erupted in Jos, resulting in the
deaths of several hundred persons and the displacement of tens
of thousands. Corruption continued to plague the resource-rich
country and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's
anticorruption efforts declined, with little progress on
prosecutions of federal, state, and local officials accused of
corruption.
In Somalia, fighting among the Transitional Federal
Government (TFG)/Ethiopian National Defense Forces and their
militias, the Council of Islamic Courts militias,
antigovernment and extremist groups, terrorist organizations,
and clan militias resulted in widespread human rights abuses,
including the killing of more than 1,000 civilians, the
displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, kidnappings
and disappearances, and attacks on journalists, aid workers,
civil society leaders, and human rights activists. The
political process to establish peace and stability in the
country continued as the TFG and the Alliance for the Re-
liberation of Somalia reached the Djibouti Agreement on June 9
and began to implement its terms; however, implementation was
slow and marred by political infighting.
In Sudan,conflict in Darfur entered its fifth year and
civilians continued to suffer from the effects of genocide. UN
data from 2008 indicated that, since it began, the protracted
conflict has left more than 2.7 million people internally
displaced and another 250,000 across the border in Chad, where
they sought refuge. Government, government-aligned militias,
and intertribal attacks killed civilians. Government forces
bombed villages, killed internally displaced persons, and
collaborated with militias to raze villages. The Government
systematically impeded and obstructed humanitarian efforts, and
rebels and bandits killed humanitarian workers. Unidentified
assailants killed several joint AU-UN peacekeeping mission
troops, and government forces attacked a peacekeeping convoy.
On May 10, the Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur rebel
group, attacked Omdurman, near Khartoum. The Government
committed wide scale politically- and ethnically-motivated
detentions and disappearances in Omdurman and Khartoum
following the attack. The Government severely restricted
freedom of the press, including through direct and daily
censorship. Since 2005, when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA) between the North and the South was signed, approximately
2.1 million displaced persons and refugees have returned to the
South. However, tensions over the implementation of the CPA
persisted, and fighting between northern and southern forces
destroyed much of Abyei town, killing civilians and displacing
more than 50,000 people.
Zimbabwe's illegitimate government engaged in the
systematic abuse of human rights, which increased dramatically
during the year, in conjunction with an escalating humanitarian
crisis caused by repression, corruption, and destructive
economic and food policies, which the Mugabe regime persisted
in applying despite their disastrous humanitarian consequences.
Civil society and humanitarian organizations were targeted by
government and militant groups for their efforts to protect
citizens' rights and provide life-saving humanitarian
assistance. A nearly three-month ban on the activities of NGOs
exacerbated the humanitarian crisis as well as food insecurity
and poverty. After the ban was lifted, the Mugabe regime
continued to impede humanitarian access. Millions of
Zimbabweans were food insecure at year's end.
The regime's manipulation of the political process,
including the presidential elections, through intimidation,
violence, corruption and vote fraud negated the right of
citizens to change their government. Security forces and ruling
party supporters killed, abducted, and tortured members of the
opposition, student leaders, civil society activists and
ordinary Zimbabweans with impunity. The opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) factions gained a parliamentary
majority in the March 29 election, but the results of the
presidential race were not released until May 2, calling into
question the credibility and independence of the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission. government-sponsored violence in the
period leading up to the June 27 run-off left more than 190
dead, thousands injured, and tens of thousands displaced. The
Electoral Commission declared Mugabe the winner of the run-off
election after MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai--who had scored
a strong plurality in the first round--withdrew because of the
Mugabe regime's violence directed at the MDC and its supporters
and out of recognition that a free and fair election was not
possible. Negotiations mandated by the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) led to a September 15 power-
sharing agreement; however, due to government intransigence,
the provisions of the deal had not been implemented by year's
end and the country remained in crisis.
EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
During the year there were both advances and setbacks in
human rights in the vast East Asia and the Pacific region,
particularly in the areas of accountability for past abuses,
freedom of speech and the press, democratic development, and
trafficking in persons.
Countries in the region continued to come to terms with
past abuses. The Bilateral Commission of Truth and Friendship,
created to examine the atrocities committed by both Indonesians
and Timorese during the period surrounding Timor-Leste's 1999
independence referendum, delivered its final report during the
year. Indonesian President Yudhoyono acknowledged and accepted
the report's finding that assigned institutional responsibility
to the Indonesian Armed Forces. In addition, in August the
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia refined its
internal rules to prosecute more rapidly egregious crimes of
the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime. However, the trials had still
not begun by year's end.
Some countries increased repression in response to popular
efforts to secure respect for human rights. Vietnam increased
restrictions on freedom of speech and press, and in China the
Government increased its severe cultural and religious
repression of ethnic minorities in Tibetan areas and the
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and increased its detention
and harassment of dissidents and petitioners.
Other unelected rulers attempted to cloak their
illegitimacy with trappings of democracy and manipulated the
law to their own ends. The Burmese regime pushed through a
constitutional referendum characterized by widespread
irregularities and intimidation in the immediate aftermath of
the devastating Cyclone Nargis. While the constitution
technically came into effect in May, by the constitution's own
terms, the regime will continue to ``exercise state
sovereignty'' until multiparty elections are held in 2010. The
constitution will ensure that the military will continue to
exercise a dominant role in political life regardless of the
outcome of any electoral process. At the end of the year, the
regime imposed draconian sentences on more than 100 democracy
activists who participated in the 2007 Saffron Revolution and
individuals who engaged in the Cyclone relief effort. Many were
moved to prisons in remote parts of the country, isolating them
from family. In Fiji, the Suva High Court ruled to validate the
2006 Fiji coup, despite simmering opposition to the interim
government's refusal to hold elections in March 2009.
Trafficking in persons was another area where results were
mixed during the year. Several countries enacted new
antitrafficking legislation--such as Thailand and Cambodia--and
began to investigate and prosecute a broader range of
trafficking offenses, such as the trafficking of men for labor
exploitation. However, in Malaysia, widespread NGO and media
reports alleged that Malaysian immigration officials were
involved in the trafficking of Burmese refugees along the
Malaysia-Thai border.
Selected Country Developments
The military regime in Burma continued its oppressive
methods, denying citizens the right to change their government
and committing other severe human rights abuses. The regime
brutally suppressed dissent through extrajudicial killings,
disappearances, and torture. Human rights and prodemocracy
activists were harassed, arbitrarily detained in large numbers,
and sentenced up to 65 years of imprisonment. The regime held
detainees and prisoners in life-threatening conditions. The
army continued its attacks on ethnic minority areas. The regime
routinely infringed on citizens' privacy and restricted freedom
of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, and
movement. Violence and discrimination against women and ethnic
minorities continued, as did trafficking in persons. Workers'
rights were restricted and forced labor persisted. The
Government took no significant actions to prosecute or punish
those responsible for such abuses. The regime showed contempt
for the welfare of its own citizens when it persisted in
conducting a fraudulent referendum in the immediate aftermath
of a cyclone that killed tens of thousands and blocked and
delayed international assistance that could have saved many
lives.
The Government of China's human rights record remained poor
and worsened in some areas. The Government continued to limit
citizens' privacy rights and tightly controlled freedom of
speech, the press (including the Internet), assembly, movement,
and association. Authorities committed extrajudicial killings
and torture, coerced confessions of prisoners, and used forced
labor. In addition, the Chinese Government increased detention
and harassment of dissidents, petitioners, human rights
defenders, and defense lawyers. Local and international NGOs
continued to face intense scrutiny and restrictions. China's
human rights record worsened in some areas, including severe
cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in the
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and Tibet. Abuses peaked
around high-profile events, such as the Olympic Games and the
unrest in Tibet. At the end of the year, the Government
harassed signatories of Charter '08 who called for respect for
universal human rights and reform and arrested writer Liu
Xiaobo for his participation in the drafting of the Charter. In
October, the Government made permanent temporary Olympic Games-
related regulations granting foreign journalists greater
freedoms.
The Government of Malaysia generallyrespected the human
rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some
areas, including the abridgment of its citizens' right to
change their government. Despite their complaint that the
ruling party exploited the powers of incumbency, opposition
parties made significant gains by capturing 82 of 222
parliamentary seats in March 8 elections, effectively denying
the ruling coalition the two-thirds supermajority needed to
amend the constitution at will. The Government continued to
restrict freedoms of press, association, assembly, speech, and
religion. The Government arrested opposition leaders and
journalists. Internet bloggers were arrested for apparently
political reasons. Deaths in police custody remained a problem,
as did police abuse of detainees, overcrowded immigration
detention centers, and persistent questions about the
impartiality and independence of the judiciary. Some employers
exploited migrant workers and ethnic Indian-Malaysians with
forced labor, and some child labor occurred in plantations.
North Korea's human rights record remained abysmal. While
the regime continued to control almost all aspects of citizens'
lives, denying freedom of speech, press, assembly, and
association, and restricting freedom of movement and workers'
rights, reports of abuse emerged from the country with
increased frequency. However, these reports continued to be
difficult to confirm. Reports of extrajudicial killings,
disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of political
prisoners, continued to paint a grim picture of life inside the
reclusive country. Some forcibly repatriated refugees were said
to have undergone severe punishment and possibly torture.
Reports of public executions also continued to emerge.
Despite a tumultuous political atmosphere, Thailand avoided
unconstitutional disruptions in governance. Nevertheless, there
continued to be reports that police were linked to
extrajudicial killings and disappearances. Police abuse of
detainees and prisoners persisted as well, as did corruption
within the police force. The separatist insurgency in the south
resulted in numerous human rights abuses, including killings,
committed by ethnic Malay Muslim insurgents, Buddhist defense
volunteers, and government security forces. The Government
maintained some limits on freedom of speech and of the press,
particularly through the use of lese majeste provisions.
Members of hill tribes without proper documentation continued
to face restrictions on their movement; however, the 2008
Nationality Act, which took effect on February 28, increased
the possibility of citizenship for hill tribe members.
The Government of Vietnam continued to restrict citizens'
rights in significant ways. Citizens could not change their
government, political opposition movements were prohibited, and
the Government continued to suppress dissent. Individuals were
arbitrarily detained for political activities and denied the
right to fair and expeditious trials. Suspects were abused
during arrest, detention, and interrogation. Corruption was a
significant problem among the police force, as was impunity.
The Government continued to limit citizens' privacy rights and
freedom of expression. There was a general crackdown on press
freedom throughout the year, resulting in the firings of
several senior media editors and the arrest of two reporters.
These actions dampened what had previously been a trend toward
more aggressive investigative reporting. Restrictions on
assembly, movement, and association continued. Independent
human rights organizations were prohibited. Violence and
discrimination against women remained a problem, as did
trafficking in persons. The Government limited workers' rights
and arrested or harassed several labor activists.
EUROPE AND EURASIA
The key challenges in the region remained: strengthening
new democracies, stemming government restrictions on and
repression of human rights NGOs, and addressing hate crimes and
hate speech while protecting fundamental freedoms against a
backdrop of migration, rising nationalism, and economic
recession.
In several post-Soviet countries, previous gains for human
rights and democracy were reversed or the slide towards
authoritarianism continued. A number of elections failed to
meet democratic standards set by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, and media freedom remained under
attack. Journalists were killed or harassed, and laws often
restricted rather than protected freedom of expression.
During the August conflict that began in the Georgian
separatist enclave of South Ossetia, military operations by
Georgian and Russian forces reportedly involved the use of
indiscriminate force and resulted in civilian casualties,
including a number of journalists. After the Russians entered
South Ossetia, there were allegations that South Ossetian
irregulars engaged in executions, torture, ethnic attacks, and
random burning of homes, and at least 150,000 Georgian citizens
were displaced by the fighting. Russian and South Ossetian
forces occupied villages outside of the administrative borders
of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the other separatist region in
Georgia. Although Russian forces mostly withdrew by October 10
from the regions outside of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, they
blocked access to both regions for Georgians and international
organizations, making it dangerous for residents and difficult
to monitor conditions in the region with respect to human
rights and compliance with humanitarian law.
In many countries, governments impeded the freedom of the
press. In Azerbaijan, increasing numbers of attacks on
journalists went unpunished, while journalists themselves
remained in prison on purported criminal charges. Russia
remained a dangerous place for journalists, a number of whom
were killed or brutally attacked during the year. In Belarus,
President Lukashenka signed a new media law that could further
restrict press freedoms, including Internet publications.
Developments in Georgia, including the opposition's loss of
control of Imedi Television, which had been the sole remaining
independent national television station, raised significant
concerns about the state of media diversity.
NGOs and opposition parties were the targets of government
oppression in several countries. The Government of Bosnia and
Herzegovina forced the closure for several days of an
international anticorruption NGO after a report accusing
government officials of corruption. In Russia, authorities
increasingly harassed many NGOs that focused on politically
sensitive areas and during the year the Government amended the
law on extremism, making it easier to bring charges against an
organization. The previous version of the law had already
raised concerns about restriction of the freedom of association
and legitimate criticism of the Government. In Belarus, while
the release of nine political prisoners was welcome, concern
remained about the Government's arbitrary constraints on
freedom of assembly and association and its frequent harassment
of independent activists. In Russia, police sometimes used
violence to prevent groups from engaging in peaceful protests,
particularly opposition protests.
There were both hopeful and troubling indicators for
democratic governance in the region. On a positive note,
Kosovo's democratically-elected government successfully
declared its independence on February 17, and put in place a
constitution and laws with model provisions for human rights.
Unfortunately, other nations did not have such encouraging
results. The February presidential elections in Armenia were
significantly flawed and followed by days of peaceful protests
that the Government ultimately put down violently. In Russia,
the March presidential election was marked by problems both
during the campaign period and on Election Day,including bias
by government-controlled or -influenced media in favor of the
ruling party and its candidates, authorities' refusal to
register opposition party candidates, lack of equal opportunity
for conducting campaigns, and ballot fraud. Parliamentary
elections in Belarus fell significantly short of OSCE
commitments for democratic elections, and all of the 110
declared winners were government supporters. Elections in
Azerbaijan failed to meet key OSCE commitments.
Human rights concerns were not limited to the eastern
portion of the continent. A number of the well-established
democracies of western and central Europe wrestled with
continuing challenges resulting from the large influx of new
migrants from the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere that
strained economic and social resources and led to restrictive
practices toward immigrants and many charges of mistreatment.
In many countries, detention facilities for undocumented
migrants suffered from poor conditions and were inferior to
those for other detained individuals. The majority of hate
crimes in Ukraine during the year involved people of African,
Middle Eastern, and Asian origin. In Russia the disturbing and
steady rise in xenophobic, racial, and ethnic attacks
continued. There were manifestations of anti-Semitism in many
countries in the region and incidents of violent anti-Semitic
attacks remained a concern. In a number of countries, including
Italy and Hungary, members of the Roma community were targets
of societal violence, which in some cases was more frequent and
lethal than in previous years.
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the
United Kingdom sought to outlaw hate speech in order to protect
minorities from discrimination and violence. However, some
human rights observers worried that this impinged on free
speech.
Selected Country Developments
There were significant setbacks for democracy in Armenia,
including the worst post-election violence seen in the Caucasus
in recent years. After weeks of generally peaceful protests
following a disputed February presidential election, the
Government used force to disperse protestors on March 1-2,
which resulted in violent clashes and 10 deaths. The violence
ushered in a 20-day state of emergency and a blackout of
independent media during which the Government severely
curtailed civil liberties. During the remainder of the year,
there were significant restrictions on the right to assemble
peacefully or express political opinions freely without risk of
retaliation, and several opposition sympathizers were convicted
and imprisoned with disproportionately harsh sentences for
seemingly political reasons. Fifty-nine opposition sympathizers
reportedly remained imprisoned on seemingly political grounds
at year's end; no government officials were prosecuted for
their alleged role in election-related crimes. Despite the
mixed success of a politically-balanced fact-finding group
established by the Government to investigate the March events,
the climate for democracy was further chilled by harassment,
intimidation, and intrusive tax inspections against independent
media and civil society activists.
In Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev was re-elected president for a
second term in October in a process that international
observers assessed did not meet international standards for a
democratic election, despite some government improvement in the
administration of the election. Shortcomings included serious
restrictions on political participation and media, pressure and
restrictions on observers, and flawed vote counting and
tabulation processes. During the year restrictions and pressure
on the media worsened. A media-monitoring NGO reported that
during the first half of the year there were 22 acts of verbal
or physical assault on journalists, up from 11 in the same
period of 2007, with no accountability. Several journalists
remained imprisoned on charges that many criticized as
politically motivated. On December 30, the Government announced
that as of January 1, 2009, it would no longer permit Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, or BBC to continue
to broadcast on national television and FM radio frequencies;
without these international broadcasters, the public no longer
had access to unbiased news on any widely accessible broadcast
media.
In Belarus, the Government's human rights record remained
very poor, and authorities continued to commit frequent serious
abuses. Despite prior government assurances, parliamentary
elections in September were neither free nor fair. Authorities
failed to account for past politically motivated
disappearances. Prison conditions remained extremely poor, and
reports of abuse of prisoners and detainees continued. The
judiciary lacked independence. The Government further
restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of press,
speech, assembly, association, and religion. State security
services used unreasonable force to disperse peaceful
protesters. Corruption remained a problem. NGOs and political
parties were subjected to harassment, fines, prosecution, and
closure. Religious leaders were fined or deported for
performing services and some churches were closed.
In Georgia, PresidentMikheil Saakashvili was reelected in
January in an election that international observers found
consistent with most OSCE democratic election commitments.
However, they also highlighted significant challenges,
including widespread allegations of intimidation and pressure
and flawed vote counting. Problems also were noted in
parliamentary elections in May. There were allegations of
politically motivated detentions. Media diversity was reduced
when opposition voices lost control over the one remaining
independent national television station. During the August
conflict, military operations by Georgian and Russian forces
reportedly involved the use of indiscriminate force and
resulted in civilian casualties, including of a number of
journalists.
The Russian Federation continued a negative trajectory in
its overall domestic human rights record with numerous reports
of government and societal human right problems and abuses
during the year. During the August conflict, military
operations by Georgian and Russian forces reportedly involved
the use of indiscriminate force and resulted in civilian
casualties, including of a number of journalists. The
Government's human rights record remained poor in the North
Caucasus with security forces reportedly engaged in killings,
torture, abuse, violence, and other brutal treatment, often
with impunity. In Chechnya, Ingushetiya, and Dagestan, security
forces allegedly were involved in unlawful killings and
politically motivated abductions; for a second year, there was
a significant increase in the number of killings, usually by
unknown assailants, of both civilians and officials in
Ingushetiya.
Civil liberties continued to be under siege, reflecting an
erosion of the Government's accountability to its citizens.
Government pressure weakened freedom of expression and media
independence, and it remained a dangerous environment for media
practitioners. Five journalists were killed during the year, in
one case in Ingushetiya by police. Killings of journalists in
past years remained unresolved. The Government limited freedom
of assembly, and police sometimes used violence to prevent
groups from engaging in peaceful protest. Authorities'
hostility toward, and harassment of some NGOs, in particular
those involved in human rights monitoring, as well as those
receiving foreign funding, reflected an overall contraction of
space for civil society. Given an increasingly centralized
political system where power is concentrated in the presidency
and the office of prime minister, the problems that occurred in
the December 2007 Duma elections were repeated in the March
presidential elections, which failed to meet many international
standards.
NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
Continued serious challenges for the promotion of democracy
and human rights characterized the Middle East region during
the year, though there were some notable steps forward.
Several governments, including Egypt, Iran, Libya, and
Syria, continued to imprison activists because of their
beliefs. Ayman Nour, the runnerup in the 2005 Egyptian
presidential election, remained in prison in Egypt throughout
the reporting period (although he was released on February 18,
2009). Iran's government regularly detains and persecutes
women's rights and student activists, labor unionists, and
human rights defenders. Iranian authorities continued to crack
down on civil society institutions, notably by closing the
Center for the Defense of Human Rights on December 21 as it
prepared to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. The Government of Libya announced
in March that it had released political activist Fathi El-
Jahmi, but he remained in detention at the Tripoli Medical
Center during the year and was granted only sporadic visits by
his family. In Syria, the Government detained several high-
profile members of the human rights community, particularly
individuals affiliated with the national council of the
Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change, an
umbrella organization of reformist opposition groups.
Along with greater access to information through the
Internet and satellite television came greater restrictions on
media, including Internet bloggers. In Egypt, police detained
and allegedly tortured bloggers. Iran's best-known blogger,
Hossein Derakhshan, was arrested late in the year. Tunisia
regressed on media freedom, with authorities arresting or
harassing bloggers. In Iraq, journalists continued to struggle
for safety while reporting on politics, women's rights, and
homosexuality. Although the number of killings of journalists
in Iraq dropped last year, the death rate remained high.
Many countries in the region continued to restrict
religious freedom and expression. Iran detained seven leaders
of the Baha'i faith since May, and the Iranian president
continued to denounce the existence of Israel. Saudi Arabia
strictly prohibited public worship of faiths other than Sunni
Islam, and religious minorities faced discrimination in access
to education, employment, and representation in government.
Members of religions that are not recognized by the Government
experienced personal and collective hardship in Egypt. Other
countries, such as Bahrain and Algeria, enacted discriminatory
legislation or, like Jordan, continued to implement policies
that favored the majority religions.
Legal and societal discrimination as well as violence
against women continued throughout the region. Iranian women's
rights activists were harassed, abused, arrested, and accused
of "endangering national security" for participating in
peaceful protests and demanding equal treatment under Iranian
law through the One Million Signatures Campaign. However, other
countries in the region witnessed incremental progress on
women's rights and women actively sought leadership roles in
local and national governments. In Kuwait, 27 women ran for
office in May 2008 national elections, although none of the
female candidates won. Also during the year, the UAE appointed
its first female judge and two female ambassadors.
Some countries in the Near East have taken significant
steps over the past several years to address worker abuse and
to raise labor standards. Oman and Bahrain enacted
comprehensive laws to combat human trafficking and Jordan
extended labor law protections to expatriate household workers.
Significant challenges remain, however, regarding protection
for foreign workers and implementation of existing labor laws
and regulations for all workers, especially for construction
and household workers.
Selected Country Developments
In Egypt, there was a decline in the Government's respect
for freedoms of speech, press, association, and religion during
the year. In particular, detentions and arrests of Internet
bloggers appeared to be linked primarily to their efforts to
organize demonstrations through their blogs and participation
in street protests or other activism. The state of emergency,
enacted in 1967, remained in place, and security forces used
unwarranted lethal force and tortured and abused prisoners and
detainees, in most cases with impunity.
The Government of Iran intensified its systematic campaign
of intimidation against reformers, academics, journalists, and
dissidents through arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture, and
secret trials that occasionally end in executions. Executions
of defendants who were juveniles at the time of their arrest
continued. Iranian-American dual nationals, as well as Iranians
with contacts in or travel to the United States, continued to
be targets of intimidation and harassment. Prior to
parliamentary elections in March, the Guardian Council
disqualified almost 1,700 reformist candidates.
The general security situation throughout Iraq
substantially improved and some reconciliation and easing of
tensions occurred in several provinces. However, continuing
insurgent and extremist violence against civilians undermined
the Government's ability to uphold the rule of law, resulting
in widespread and severe human rights abuses. However, there
were positive developments including the passage of the
Provincial Election Law on September 24 calling for elections
in 14 Arab majority provinces on January 31, 2009, with
elections later in the year in the three Kurdish provinces and
Tameem (Kirkuk). The November 16 adoption of a law authorizing
the establishment of the constitutionally mandated Independent
High Commission for Human Rights also marked a step forward to
institutionalize protection of those rights.
In Jordan, civil society activists expressed concern abouta
new law on associations. The law, which has yet to be
implemented, allows the Government to deny registration of NGOs
for any reason; dissolve associations; and intervene in the
management, membership, and activities of NGOs. According to
international and local NGOs prisons continued to be
overcrowded and understaffed with inadequate food and health
care and limited visitation. Although Jordanian law prohibits
torture, Human Rights Watch reported that torture remained
widespread and routine. There were reports by citizens and NGOs
that political prisoners, including Islamists convicted of
crimes against national security, received greater abuse than
other prisoners, and guards abused prisoners with impunity.
Women held a limited number of government leadership positions,
albeit at levels higher than elsewhere in the region; at the
same time, domestic violence and so-called honor crimes
persisted. A 2007 press law abolished imprisonment of
journalists for ideological offenses; however, limited
detention and imprisonment of journalists for defamation and
slander continued through provisions in the penal code. Many
journalists reported that the threat of stringent fines led to
self-censorship. In July the Labor Law was amended to include
agriculture workers and domestic servants, placing them under
some legal protections.
For a fourth consecutive year, internal violence and
political battles hindered Lebanon's ability to improve the
country's human rights situation. On May 7, opposition fighters
led by Hizballah, a Shia opposition party and terrorist
organization, seized control of Beirut International Airport
and several West Beirut neighborhoods. On May 21, after 84 died
and approximately 200 were wounded, rival leaders reached a
deal to end the violence and the 18-month political feud.
Despite the cessation of hostilities and parliament's May
election of President Michel Sleiman, Hizballah retained
significant influence over parts of the country, and the
Government made no tangible progress toward disbanding and
disarmingarmed militia groups, including Hizballah.
The Syrian government continued to violate citizens'
privacy rights and to impose significant restrictions on
freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association, in an
atmosphere of government impunity and corruption. Security
services disrupted meetings of human rights organizations and
detained activists, organizers, and other regime critics
without due process. Throughout the year, the Government
sentenced to prison several high-profile members of the human
rights community, especially individuals affiliated with the
national council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic
National Change (DDDNC), an umbrella organization of reformist
opposition groups.
In Tunisia, the Government continued its systematic, severe
repression of freedom of expression and association. The
Government remained intolerant of public criticism by human
rights and opposition activists and used intimidation, criminal
investigations, and violent harassment of editors and
journalists to discourage criticism. Authorities strictly
censored publications both in print and on line, and routinely
harassed journalists. Security forces killed a political
protestor during the year and detainees faced torture, sexual
assault, and coercion in attempts to elicit confessions.
SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA
Significant attacks on basic rights, including the freedoms
of expression, religion, and association, marked 2008 in South
and Central Asia.
A number of governments in the region continued to harass
individual journalists and media outlets, and several countries
continued to restrict free access to information on the
Internet, particularly in Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, the
Government removed programs of a prominent independent
broadcaster from state-run radio and television. A government-
controlled Internet provider in Kazakhstan intermittently
blocked specific news and opposition-focused Web sites. Both
governments levied heavy criminal libel penalties against
journalists and, in some cases, the journalists left the
country due to fear for their own safety. As in years past,
journalists working in Turkmenistan were subject to government
harassment, arrest, detention in psychological clinics, and
violence. In Afghanistan, the Government convicted a student
journalist of blasphemy and sentenced him to death for
distributing an article he downloaded from the Internet about
women's rights in Islam; an appeals court reduced the sentence
to 20 years in prison. In Pakistan, arrests of journalists
declined following the election of a new government. Even so,
unidentified actors continued to intimidate, abduct, and kill
journalists, particularly in regions of internal conflict. In
Sri Lanka, defense and government officials made threatening
statements against independent media outlets in the aftermath
of several unresolved attacks against members of the free
press.
Freedom of religion came under attack in the region with
the parliaments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan
introducing laws that would increase restrictions on religious
freedom, disproportionately affecting religious minorities, and
through violence against minorities in the Indian state of
Orissa. These actions took place in the context of increased
harassment of minority religious groups by the Governments of
Kazakhstan and Tajikistan and continued harassment by the
government of Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan welcomed a visit by the
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, but the
Government closely controlled and monitored all religious
activity.
Significant issues remained on labor rights across the
region. Child labor continued in agriculture and manufacturing
sectors in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. There was
widespread child labor in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in cotton
and other sectors, and Uzbekistan continued to compel many
schoolchildren to work in the cotton harvest. Although the
Government of Kazakhstan is making strides to eliminate child
labor, the practice still occurs in the cotton and tobacco
sectors. Forced labor, especially in the large informal sectors
and among socially disadvantaged minorities, continued in
Nepal, Pakistan, and India. Labor organizers in Bangladesh
reported acts of intimidation and abuse as well as increased
scrutiny by security forces.
Although some governments in the region restricted
political opposition and prohibited genuine electoral
competition, there were several improvements with regard to
elections and political competition in South Asia. In Pakistan,
the two main opposition parties, Pakistan People's Party and
the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, together won majority seats
in competitive parliamentary elections and formed a coalition
government ending nine years of military rule. The people of
Maldives elected a former political prisoner as president in a
free and fair election, peacefully unseating the longest-
serving Asian leader. The Afghan Independent Election
Commission led preparatory efforts for Afghanistan's second
round of elections since the fall of the Taliban. Elections in
Nepal produced the most diverse legislature in the country's
history, and the new parliament subsequently declared Nepal a
federal democratic republic, peacefully dissolving the
monarchy. Bangladesh held free and fair parliamentary elections
with isolated irregularities and sporadic violence. The
elections and subsequent peaceful transfer of power ended two
years of rule by a military-backed caretaker government. In
Bhutan, elections for the lower house of parliament completed
the country's transition to a constitutional and limited
monarchy with genuine popular oversight and participation.
Selected Country Developments
Although human rights in Afghanistan have improved
significantly since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the
country's record remained poor due to weak central government
institutions and a deadly insurgency. The Taliban, al-Qa'ida,
and other extremist groups continued attacks against government
officials, security forces, NGOs and other aid personnel, and
unarmed civilians. There were continued reports of arbitrary
arrests and detentions, extrajudicial killings, torture, and
poor prison conditions. Government repression and armed groups
prevented the media from operating freely.
In Bangladesh, levels of violence declined significantly
and the caretaker government oversaw successful elections, but
the Government's human rights record remained a matter of
serious concern. The state of emergency, which the Government
imposed in January 2007 and lifted on December 17, curtailed
many fundamental rights, including freedom of expression,
freedom of association, and the right to post bail. The
Government's anticorruption drive was greeted by popular
support but gave rise to concerns about fairness and equality
under the law. Although the number of extrajudicial killings
decreased, security forces committed serious abuses, including
extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths, arbitrary arrest and
detention, and harassment of journalists. Some members of
security forces acted with impunity and committed acts of
torture, and the Government failed to investigate fully
extrajudicial killings.
In Kazakhstan,the political opposition faced government
harassment via politically motivated criminal charges and
restrictions on freedom of assembly. The Government continued
to harass independent and opposition-oriented media outlets and
journalists. At year's end, the Government was considering
amendments to laws governing political parties, media, and
elections. Some civil society representatives and opposition
parties criticized the process as lacking transparency. The
Government was also considering amendments to the religion law
that, if enacted, would represent a serious step backward for
religious freedom.
Although Kyrgyzstan has a vibrant civil society and
independent media, in the past year the Government increasingly
sought to control various aspects of civil life. New laws or
amendments placed restrictions on public assembly, religious
freedom, and media. In October, the National Television and
Radio Network took Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe off the air,
reducing the public's access to this independent source of
information. The Central Election Commission chairwoman fled
the country after claiming she had been pressured by the
president's son over registering an opposition candidate for
October local council elections.
Nepal became a federal democratic republic shortly after
national elections in April produced the most diverse
legislature in the country's history. Although there were
reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting
irregularities, observers reported that the elections reflected
the will of the people. Violence, extortion, and intimidation
continued throughout the year; and impunity for human rights
violators, threats against the media, arbitrary arrest, and
lengthy pretrial detention were serious problems. Members of
the Maoists, the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League, and
other small, often ethnically based armed groups committed
numerous grave human rights abuses. Such abuses included
arbitrary and unlawful use of lethal force, torture, and
abduction. Several armed groups, largely in the Terai region,
attacked civilians, government officials, members of particular
ethnic groups, each other, or Maoists.
Pakistan returned to civilian democratic rule during the
year. Opposition parties prevailed in February parliamentary
elections and formed a coalition government. The coalition
lasted only part of the year though the Government remains in
power. In September, Asif Ali Zardari, widower of former Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto, succeeded Pervez Musharraf as
president. The new government put back on the bench under a new
oath five of the 13 Supreme Court judges Musharraf deposed
during the November 2007 state of emergency, while three
retired or resigned. The chief of army staff withdrew 3,000
army officers from civilian government posts they held during
Musharraf's tenure. Despite these positive steps, the human
rights situation remained poor. Military operations in the
country's northwest killed approximately 1,150 civilians,
militant attacks in that region killed 825 more civilians,
sectarian violence in the country killed an estimated 1,125
persons, and suicide bombings killed more than 970 individuals.
Ongoing battles with militants left approximately 200,000
persons displaced at year's end.
In Sri Lanka, the democratically elected government's
respect for human rights declined as armed conflict escalated
in the country's 25-year civil war. By year's end, there was
little movement on political inclusion of minorities and they
continued to suffer the majority of human rights abuses, such
as killings and disappearances. The Government expelled most
international humanitarian assistance providers from the
northern conflict zone. Although the Government took initial
steps to address the use of child soldiers by progovernment
militias, the problem was not resolved. The Government failed
to investigate and prosecute any security forces for human
rights violations and to implement constitutional provisions
that would provide oversight of government institutions. Civil
society was intimidated and independent media and journalists
came under particular pressure through attacks and threats from
pro-government actors.
Although there were modest improvements, the Government of
Turkmenistan continued to commit serious abuses and its human
rights record remained poor. Political and civil liberties
continued to be severely restricted. In June authorities
arrested former activist and former political prisoner Gulgeldy
Annaniyazov after he allegedly reentered the country illegally
and sentenced him in a closed trial to 11 years in prison.
December parliamentary elections fell far short of
international standards. The Government continued its effort to
revise laws, including its constitution, to bring them into
conformity with relevant international conventions.
The Government of Uzbekistan took steps to address human
rights concerns such as defendants' rights, trafficking in
persons, and child labor in the cotton industry. However,
serious human rights abuses continued and torture remained
systemic in law enforcement. Authorities compelled many
children to pick cotton, at times under poor living conditions.
Human rights activists and journalists who criticized the
Government continued to be subjected to harassment, arbitrary
arrest, politically motivated prosecution, and torture.
WESTERN HEMISPHERE
Governments in the region continued to address past human
rights abuses by working to ensure justice for victims and to
end impunity. In Colombia, a number of commanding officers were
under investigation for gross human rights violations. The
Prosecutor General's Office was investigating 27 military
officials, including three generals and four colonels,
dismissed from the Armed Forces in late October for their
alleged involvement in the murder of 11 youths from Soacha,
near Bogot . Several investigations continued in Chile and
Argentina, and a number of judgments were handed down in cases
related to abuses of the 1970s and 1980s. In Peru, the state
continued prosecutions against former president Fujimori and
other former government officials for corruption and serious
human rights abuses. Forensic anthropology teams exhumed the
remains and began identifying the bodies of hundreds of persons
forcibly disappeared or massacred and buried in clandestine
graves during the 1980s and 1990s. The UN-led Commission
Against Impunity in Guatemala continued its investigation of 15
high-profile human rights cases involving femicide, killings of
bus drivers, trafficking in persons, and attacks against and
killings of trade unionists and human rights defenders.
In general, electoral institutions throughout the Western
Hemisphere maintained the independence and rigor they have
gained in recent years. Various electoral processes, such as
the presidential election in Paraguay, the presidential primary
in Honduras, and referendums in Bolivia and Ecuador, were
judged generally free and fair. There were exceptions, however.
In Nicaragua, the municipal elections were marred by widespread
fraud, intimidation, and violence. In Venezuela, the
comptroller general declared nearly 300 (mostly opposition)
mayoral and gubernatorial candidates ineligible to run due to
administrative infractions.
In some cases governments used democratic processes, such
as constitutional referendums, to pursue policies that
threatened to undermine democratic freedoms and institutions,
reduce checks and balances, or consolidate power in the
executive branch. In Ecuador, the 2008 Constitution contains
provisions requiring media to provide the Government free
airtime, prompting concerns that freedom of speech and press
will be affected. In Venezuela, the passage of 26 "enabling"
laws, some of which reflect aspects of the failed 2007
constitutional referendum, feature clauses that reduce the
scope of authority of elected officials, and promote
centralization of power.
There were threats to press freedom. In Venezuela,
independent media outlets and journalists continued to be
subjected to public harassment and intimidation by high-ranking
government officials on state-owned media, and the independent
Venezuelan television station Globovision was the target of a
tear gas attack by pro-government supporters. The Nicaraguan
Government used administrative, judicial, and financial
measures to undermine the exercise of freedom of speech.
Although Bolivia's Government generally respected press
freedom, it maintained an antagonistic relationship with the
press. Several NGOs alleged that President Morales and
government officials made disparaging statements regarding the
press, condoning violence against journalists and media
outlets, politicizing state-produced media content, and
promulgating laws designed to restrict independent media.
Cuba continued to be the hemisphere's only totalitarian
state after an undemocratic transfer of power from Fidel Castro
to his brother, Raul.
Selected Country Developments
In Bolivia, government efforts to bring a controversial new
constitution to a national referendum, opposition claims for
greater regional autonomy, and competing demands for government
funds led to a series of violent confrontations and large-scale
road blockades. The violence peaked in September in Pando
Department with 13 deaths and the illegal, prolonged detainment
of the governor. In May and June, eastern departments held
autonomy referenda, which the federal government refused to
recognize and the international community declined to monitor.
A nationwide recall referendum in August left most prefects
(governors) and President Evo Morales in office, strengthening
the president's Movement Toward Socialism party and its efforts
to hold a national vote on a new constitution.
Against the backdrop of its 44-year armed conflict with
terrorist organizations, the Government of Colombia continued
efforts to improve human rights, particularly in implementing
its Justice and Peace Law, a process that has helped clarify
approximately 164 thousand crimes and led to reform of the
military justice system. During the first 10 months of the
year, killings decreased by 6 percent and kidnappings by 14
percent compared with 2007, while investigations of links
between politicians and paramilitary groups implicated 70
congressmen and 15 governors, a number of whom have been
imprisoned. Nonetheless, numerous societal problems and
governmental human rights abuses persisted, including unlawful
killings, insubordinate-military collaboration with illegal
armed groups, and harassment of journalists and human rights
groups. Terrorist organizations, notably the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia and the National Liberation Army,
committed serious human rights abuses, including political and
other killings, kidnappings, massive forced displacements,
recruitment of child soldiers, and attacks against human rights
activists, teachers, and trade unionists.
In Cuba, there was an increase in suppression of freedom of
speech and of assembly compared to the previous year.
Harassment of dissidents intensified, including the beating of
activists by security officials or government-organized mobs.
The Government also increased its use of brief detainments and
subsequent release without charges to intimidate activists and
prevent them from organizing. At least 219 political prisoners
remained imprisoned in squalid and life-threatening conditions,
which included beatings and denial of medical treatment. Those
released during the year had served their full sentences. The
Government continued to restrict citizens' access to
independent information, and in particular sought to restrict
Internet access, despite permitting individual citizens to own
personal computers for the first time.
Guatemala made efforts to improve its human rights
situation. The UN-led Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala
continued its investigation of high-profile human rights cases
and expanded its investigative capacity through the creation of
a new unit of prosecutors. However, there continued to be
widespread violence and impunity. Members of the national
police committed unlawful killings, and in many cases
authorities transferred individual police officers or dismissed
them rather than investigate and prosecute alleged wrongdoers.
Other violence stemmed from gang incidents, sexual assault,
extortion, organized crime, and narcotics trafficking. Trade
unionists were threatened with violence or killed by unknown
assailants. Government corruption remained a serious issue,
with public surveys indicating a lack of confidence in nearly
all governmental institutions.
Nicaragua's ruling Sandinista government excluded credible
international observers from the November municipal elections,
which were marred by widespread fraud, irregularities, and
intimidation. The country continued to suffer from lack of
respect for the rule of law, systemic corruption, and
politicization of the judiciary and other government organs.
The Government and other actors intimidated and harassed
journalists and civil society groups that did not support
official policies.
In Venezuela, the NGO community noted an erosion of both
democratic and human rights, with potentially severe
consequences. During the year, the National Assembly passed 26
laws that featured clauses reducing the scope of authority of
elected officials and promoting centralization of power. The
Government drew international criticism and accusations of
unconstitutionality by declaring 272 candidates for municipal
and gubernatorial elections ineligible to run; the majority of
these were opposition candidates. President Chavez declared his
intention to establish another constitutional referendum--on
February 15, 2009--that would again attempt to abolish term
limits for the president, and for the first time for all
elected officials. There were numerous and substantive
hindrances and threats to freedom of expression, including
media freedom. Government officials publicly harassed and
intimidated independent media outlets and journalists on state-
owned media. The Government sued an independent Venezuelan
television station, alleging that the network had promoted the
assassination of President Chavez. Individuals and media
networks also were accused of fomenting violence and
destabilizing the Government after they made statements that
were critical of, or urged action in opposition to, the
Government. Government institutions and officials and
government-affiliated media outlets promoted anti-Semitism
through numerous anti-Semitic comments, which had a spillover
effect into society, taking the form of anti-Semitic
expression, caricatures, vandalism, and other physical attacks
against Jewish institutions.
Conclusion
December 10, 2008, marked the 60th anniversary of the
adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the
United Nations General Assembly. In the decades since the
Declaration's adoption, there have been remarkable gains on
every continent for the rights it enumerates. Still, 60 years
later, hundreds of millions of people are denied fundamental
freedoms by their governments.
The United States is a country founded on human rights and
the rule of law. In publishing these reports, we seek to be a
source of information, hope and help to people everywhere who
are oppressed, silenced, and marginalized. We are inalterably
committed to working at all levels--national, regional, and
global--to ensure that the human rights enshrined in the
Universal Declaration are protected and respected.
NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
----------
ALGERIA
Algeria is a multiparty republic of approximately 36 million
inhabitants whose head of state and government (President) is elected
by popular vote to a five-year term. The President has the
constitutional authority to appoint and dismiss cabinet members and the
prime minister. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was reelected in 2004 in
a generally transparent, contested election. On November 12, the
parliament adopted a constitutional amendment eliminating the two-term
limit for the President. Multiparty parliamentary elections in May 2007
were conducted in a generally transparent manner, but authorities did
not allow all political parties full access to the electoral process.
The Government held multiparty local elections in November 2007, but
irregularities and charges of fraud marred the electoral process. A
state of emergency implemented in 1992 remained in effect during the
year. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of
the security forces.
While the law provided for the right to change the Government
through elections, restrictions on freedom of association significantly
limited citizens' ability to do so. Other human rights problems
included failure to account for persons who disappeared in detention
during the 1990s, reports of abuse and torture, official impunity,
abuse of pretrial detention, poor prison conditions, limited judicial
independence, and restrictions on freedom of speech, press, and
assembly. There were also increased limitations on religious freedom
and problems with security-based restrictions on movement, corruption
and lack of government transparency, discrimination and violence
against women, and restrictions on workers' rights.
Armed groups committed a significant number of abuses against
civilians, government officials, and members of security forces.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) infrequently released
information concerning the total number of terrorist, civilian, and
security force deaths. During the year security forces killed, injured,
or arrested approximately 1,000 terrorists. According to press reports
of official estimates, the total number of deaths was 321. Of these,
terrorists killed 90 civilians and 69 security force members; security
forces killed an estimated 162 suspected terrorists. These numbers
decreased from the 670 reported in 2007.
Most of the terrorist attacks during the year were attributed to
terrorist group al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which emerged
in January 2007 after the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
(GSPC) allied itself with al-Qa'ida in 2006.
The year was marked by significant violence. On June 8, a double
bomb attack killed 14 persons in Lakhdaria. On August 9, a man
detonated a car bomb near a police surveillance post in Zemmouri,
killing eight persons and injuring 19. On August 17, terrorists
detonated an improvised explosive device and shot and killed eight
police officers, three soldiers, and two civilians. On August 19, a
suicide bomber detonated himself outside a police training academy in
Issers, killing at least 44 and injuring 45. AQIM claimed
responsibility for all of these attacks. Minister of the Interior
Noureddine Zerhouni stated at mid-year that 200 to 300 terrorists
operated in the country.
b. Disappearance.--Enforced disappearances, reportedly numbering in
the thousands, were a significant problem during the 1990s and
continued to be an issue covered in the media and raised by local and
international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The Government
stated that 6,546 persons were missing or disappeared as a result of
government actions between 1992 and 1999, with approximately 10,000
additional persons missing or disappeared from terrorist kidnappings
and murders. NGOs reported that security forces had played a role in
the disappearances of approximately 8,000 persons.
In February 2007 the Government signed the International Convention
for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. Law 06-
01 of 2006 provides measures for compensating victims of
disappearances. For courts to hear charges of disappearance, the law
requires at least two eyewitnesses. Many of the disappearances in the
1990s were later attributed to the security forces; however, the
Government did not prosecute security force personnel, and there was no
evidence that the Government investigated cases it acknowledged were
caused by security forces.
In 2005 voters approved by referendum President Bouteflika's
proposed Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which ended the
Ad Hoc Mechanism established in 2003 to account for the disappeared.
The charter went into effect in 2006, granting amnesty to and
preventing investigation into the conduct of the National Popular Army,
the security forces, state-sponsored armed groups, and persons who
fought on behalf of the Government.
The amnesty also covered certain persons involved in Islamist
militant and terrorist activities. To qualify for amnesty, individuals
engaged in terrorism had to cease armed activities and surrender
themselves and their weapons to the authorities. Persons implicated in
mass killings, rapes, or bomb attacks in public places were not
eligible for amnesty. Many imprisoned terrorists were given amnesty.
Some local NGOs, including SOS Disparus, Djazairouna, and the Algerian
League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH), criticized the charter
for enabling terrorists to escape justice.
On May 26, the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) reported its
concerns that Law 06-01 provides impunity for members of armed groups
and state officials and that the Government had not yet initiated
proceedings to investigate the fate of the disappeared. UNCAT also
expressed concern that the Government had not publicized the criteria
for compensating family members and required those compensated to waive
their right to seek civil damages against the state.
Families of the disappeared experienced complications and delays in
receiving compensation from the Government. According to the Ministry
of National Solidarity (MNS), the Government in 2006 created a special
fund valued at approximately 22 billion dinars ($300 million) to
compensate individuals eligible under the Charter for Peace and
National Reconciliation. In October, National Consultative Commission
for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (CNCPPDH) President
Farouk Ksentini, the Government's human rights ombudsman, said that 97
percent of families of the disappeared had accepted compensation under
the charter. As of the end of 2007 at least 17,000 requests for
compensation had been submitted, of which approximately 5,300 requests
were honored. Another 2,700 requests were under consideration. The
remaining 9,000 requests would not benefit directly from the charter,
but the individuals were scheduled to receive MNS financial assistance.
On May 16, Interior Minister Zerhouni reported that 115 of 375
kidnapping cases in the previous two years were related to terrorism.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment; however, NGO and local human rights
activists reported that government officials employed such practices to
obtain confessions. Government agents can face prison sentences of up
to 10 to 20 years for committing such acts. Nonetheless, impunity
remained a problem.
Local human rights lawyers maintained that torture continued to
occur in detention facilities, most often against those arrested on
``security grounds.''
In February human rights NGO Alkarama reported that after a protest
by inmates related to prayer room space, prison guards handcuffed,
stripped, and beat approximately 80 prisoners with iron bars and
sticks.
On May 19, a court in Blida placed four police officers, accused of
torturing five suspects at the police station in Cheraga, under
judicial control and ordered their temporary detention. On December 15,
the prosecutor in Blida asked for prison sentences of 12 years for each
officer and sought a seven-year prison sentence for the former police
chief of the station. The victims said that the officers used a taser
after their arrest to give electric shocks and force their confession
in a case involving a stolen car. The trial was pending at the end of
the year.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--During the year the
Government permitted the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), the UN Development Program (UNDP), and the Red Crescent Society
to visit regular, nonmilitary prisons. ICRC visits to persons held in
places of detention run by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and to those
detained in police stations and gendarmeries were carried out in
accordance with ICRC standard practices. The Government denied other
human rights observers visits to military and high-security prisons and
detention centers.
In February an ICRC delegation visited the El Harrach prison after
reports that security guards used violence against prisoners. According
to press reports, prisoners complained about the closure of the prayer
room.
On June 9, Mokhtar Felioune, the director general of the Prisons
Administration, announced that 7,547 prisoners benefited from temporary
release as part of a government effort to reduce overcrowding in the
country's prisons. Felioune also noted that 1,390 prisoners benefited
from work/study release programs while 8,268 received parole for good
conduct. During a December 22 press conference, Felioune stated there
were 65,000 prisoners in the country's penal system. In 2007 Felioune
stated there were 54,000 persons held in 127 prisons.
Overcrowding was a problem in many prisons. According to human
rights lawyers, the problem of overpopulation was partially explained
by the abusive recourse to pretrial detention. Pretrial detainees were
held separately from convicted prisoners. In his October 2 statement,
Felioune expressed concern about overcrowding in prisons. In some cases
overcrowding meant that juveniles were held with adults; however, the
country, in general, maintained separate juvenile detention centers. On
December 15, a local newspaper reported that the CNCPPDH conducted 34
prison visits during the year and highlighted concerns with
overcrowding, insufficient bed space, as well as poor lighting,
ventilation, nutrition, and hygiene.
In its May report, UNCAT expressed concern over reports that the
Department of Information and Security (DRS), the military intelligence
agency tasked with internal security, ran secret detention centers
inside military barracks in Algiers that operated outside judicial
authority.
The Government reported that 14,000 prisoners participated in
various vocational training, while 1,551 prisoners participated in the
middle school equivalency exam (BEF), and 1,357 prisoners took part in
the university entrance exam (BAC). On July 23, the President pardoned
260 prisoners who passed the BEF exam and 36 who passed the BAC exam.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention. On September 9, the head of the
government-appointed CNCPPDH said the abuse of pretrial detention
tarnished the image of the country's justice system.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
force, consisting of more than 108,000 members, falls under the control
of the MOI and has national jurisdiction. The National Gendarmerie,
under the Ministry of Defense, also performs police-like functions
outside urban areas. The DRS reports to the Defense Ministry and
exercises internal security functions but also performs police-like
functions in terrorism cases. Police and gendarmes were generally
effective at maintaining order. All security forces are provided a copy
of a code of conduct establishing regulations for conduct and sanctions
for abuses. Corruption existed, especially in the customs police.
According to press reports, 960 customs officials faced disciplinary
commissions for official negligence or corruption charges in the past
three years. On July 27, customs officials reported 215 disciplinary
cases during the first quarter of the year; 118 cases resulted in
official reprimands, and nine cases resulted in suspensions.
Impunity remained a significant problem. The Government did not
provide disaggregated public information on the numbers, infractions,
or punishments of police, military, or other security force personnel.
According to human rights attorneys, police officials, and local
NGOs, the most frequent abuse of police authority occurred as a result
of officers not following established guidelines for arrests.
Arrest and Detention.--According to the law, the police must obtain
a summons from the prosecutor's office to require a suspect to appear
in a police station for preliminary questioning. Summonses are also
used to notify and require the accused and/or the victim to attend a
court proceeding or hearing.
The Government issues warrants under three different circumstances:
to bring an individual from work or home to a court, to execute a
prosecutor's approved request to place a person into custody pending
trial, or to arrest a suspect considered to be a flight risk. Police
may make arrests without a warrant if they witness an offense taking
place. Lawyers reported that procedures for warrants and summonses were
usually carried out properly.
The constitution specifies that a suspect may be held in detention
for up to 48 hours without charge. If more time is required for
gathering additional evidence, the police may request that the
prosecutor extend the suspect's detention to 72 hours. Those suspected
of terrorism or subversion may be held legally for 12 days without
charge or access to counsel. In practice the security forces generally
adhered to the 48-hour limit in non-terrorism cases.
Prolonged pretrial detention remained a problem. The law does not
provide a person in detention the right to a prompt judicial
determination of the legality of the detention. Persons charged with
acts against the security of the state, including terrorism, may be
held in pretrial detention as long as 20 months according to the penal
code; the prosecutor must show cause every four months for continuing
pretrial detention.
Judges rarely refused prosecutorial requests for extending
preventive detention, which can be appealed to a higher court but was
rarely overturned. Should the detention be overturned, the defendant
can request compensation. Most detainees have prompt access to a lawyer
of their choice, and if the detainee is indigent, the Government
provides a lawyer. In November 2007, according to the prison
administration, pretrial detainees represented 6,100 individuals, or 11
percent, of the individuals held by prison authorities.
There is no system of bail, but in nonfelony cases suspects are
usually released on ``provisional liberty'' while waiting for trial.
Under provisional liberty, suspects are required to report weekly to
the police station in their district and are forbidden from leaving the
country.
The penal code requires detainees in pretrial detention to be
informed immediately of their right to communicate with family members,
receive visitors, and be examined by a doctor of their choice at the
end of detention. In addition, any suspect can request a medical
examination once on police premises or before facing the judge. In
practice, however, detainees were typically examined only at the end of
their detention. Reports that these rights were not extended to
detainees continued during the year.
According to human rights lawyers, in July authorities charged
Kamal Akkache with belonging to a terrorist organization, and he
remained in detention at year's end. Amnesty International (AI)
reported that DRS agents detained Akkache in September 2007 and held
him without charge for 10 months. At year's end Mohamed Fatmia remained
detained in Serkadji prison on terrorism charges after DRS agents
arrested him and held him incommunicado throughout 2007. Human rights
advocates reported that authorities continued to hold Mohamed Rahmouni
at the military tribunal in Blida without access to a lawyer.
Authorities released Fethi Hamaddouche in October 2007; Hamaddouche
had been held without charge in DRS custody since March 2007. NGOs
reported that authorities also released Youcef Belmouaz and Brahim Abed
in 2007 after seven months of incommunicado detention. The two men were
tried and acquitted on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization
active abroad.
In 2006 according to local and international NGOs, Mohammed Rabah
Ajine, Zeineddine Belacel, and Habib Boukhatemi disappeared and were
later placed in pretrial detention in Algiers. Four months later, they
appeared before a judge and were charged with belonging to a terrorist
group operating in Algeria and abroad. A court acquitted Belacel; Ajine
and Boukhatemi were sentenced to three years in prison.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides
for an independent judiciary, the President exercises supreme judicial
authority, and executive branch decrees and influence limited judicial
independence. The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial;
however, in practice authorities did not completely respect legal
provisions regarding defendants' rights and denied due process.
The High Judicial Council is responsible for judicial discipline
and the appointment of all judges. President Bouteflika serves as the
President of the council.
The judiciary is composed of civil courts, which hear cases
involving civilians facing charges not related to security or
terrorism, and military courts, which can hear cases involving
civilians facing security and terrorism charges. Regular criminal
courts can try cases involving security-related offenses at the local
level. Legal decisions regarding family matters are based on Shari'a
(Islamic law) as well as civil law.
Military courts in Oran, Blida, Constantine, and Bechar try cases
involving state security, espionage, and other security-related
offenses involving military personnel and civilians. Each tribunal
consists of three civilian judges and two military judges. Although the
President of each court is a civilian, the chief judge is a military
officer. Defense lawyers must be accredited by the military tribunal in
order to appear. Public attendance at the trial is at the discretion of
the tribunal. Appeals are made directly to the Supreme Court. Military
tribunals try cases but only occasionally disclose information on
proceedings. There was no public information available on any cases
before them during the year.
The nine-member Constitutional Council reviews the
constitutionality of treaties, laws, and regulations. Although the
council is not part of the judiciary, it has the authority to nullify
laws found unconstitutional, confirm the results of any type of
election, and serve as the final arbiter of amendments that pass both
chambers of the parliament before becoming law.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent and have the
right to be present and consult with an attorney, provided at public
expense if necessary. Most trials are public and nonjury. Defendants
can confront or question witnesses against them or present witnesses
and evidence on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys
occasionally were denied access to government-held evidence relevant to
their cases. Defendants have the right to appeal. The testimony of men
and women is considered of equal weight under the law.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees during the year.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary was not
fully independent and impartial in civil matters and lacked
independence in human rights cases. Family connections and status of
the parties involved reportedly influenced decisions. Individuals may
bring lawsuits, and there are administrative processes related to
amnesty, which may provide damages for human rights violations and
compensation for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions; in practice,
however, government authorities infringed on citizens' privacy rights.
According to rights activists, the Government monitored the
communications of political opponents, journalists, human rights
groups, and suspected terrorists. Security officials reportedly
searched homes without a warrant.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and press; however, the Government restricted these
rights in practice through accusations of defamation and informal
pressure on publishers, editors, and journalists.
Individuals generally were able to criticize the Government
privately without reprisal. However, citizens generally self-censored
public criticism. The Government attempted to impede criticism by
monitoring political meetings.
The law specifies that freedom of speech must respect ``individual
dignity, the imperatives of foreign policy, and the national defense.''
The state of emergency decree, introduced in 1992 and still in effect
during the year, gives the Government broad authority to restrict these
freedoms and take legal action against what it considers to be threats
to the state or public order. A 2006 Presidential decree criminalizes
free speech about the conduct of the security forces during the
internal conflict of the 1990s.
Radio and television were government-owned and broadcast coverage
favorable to the Government. During nonelection periods, opposition
spokesmen generally were denied access to public radio or television.
Some opposition parties had severely limited access to television.
These limitations, however, were less evident for radio. Political
parties and independent candidates received the same amount of radio
access time during the three-week campaign period prior to the May 2007
legislative elections and prior to the November 2007 local elections.
Several opposition parties said that their daily media allotment during
the three-week period was the first time they had been allowed media
access since the last election cycle.
The country's print media consisted of numerous publications that
supported or opposed the Government to varying degrees. According to
Ministry of Communication statistics, 29 newspapers circulated in
excess of 10,000 copies each. The Government owned two French-language
and three Arabic-language newspapers. Many political parties, including
legal Islamic parties, had access to the independent press and made use
of it to express their views. Opposition parties also disseminated
information via the Internet and in communiques.
The law permits the Government to levy fines and imprison members
of the press in a manner that restricts press freedom. The Government
directly and indirectly censored and intimidated the media into
practicing self-censorship. The Government used defamation laws to
harass and arrest journalists, and the press faced government
retaliation for criticizing government officials.
Charges of defamation are based on a 1990 law that protects Islam
from defamation, controls access to external information, and outlaws
writing that threatens national unity. In 2001 the Government amended
laws to criminalize writing, cartoons, and speech that insult or offend
the President, the parliament, the judiciary, or the armed forces. The
penal code imposes high fines and prison terms of up to 24 months for
defamation or ``the insult'' of government figures, including the
President, members of parliament, judges, members of the military, and
``any other authority of public order.'' Those convicted face prison
sentences that range from three to 24 months and fines of 50,000 to
500,000 dinars ($737 to $7,370).
The Government used these defamation laws regularly in an attempt
to pressure editors, journalists, and the owners of printing houses. In
December, Reporters without Borders (RSF) criticized the defamation
laws as ``repressive legislation.'' In October 2007 the International
Federation of Journalists condemned actions taken by the Government
against journalists.
Omar Belhouchet, editor of the French-language newspaper El-Watan,
faced government pressure throughout the year for articles published in
his newspaper. On March 4, a Jijel appeals court upheld defamation
convictions against Belhouchet and columnist Chawki Amari. Belhouchet
and Amari each received a sentence of two months in prison and fines of
one million dinars ($15,000) for comments published in a 2006 El-Watan
article.
On December 23, an Algiers court sentenced Belhouchet and reporter
Salima Tlemcani to three months in prison and a fine of 50,000 dinars
($737) for allegedly libeling a faith healer in a 2004 article.
Belhouchet and Tlemcani remained free at year's end pending an appeal.
According to RSF, a court summoned Belhouchet on December 28 in
connection with three libel cases relating to articles Belhouchet
published several years ago about airfare increases and police killings
of demonstrators. The court adjourned the cases until January 2009.
On March 15, Yasser Abdelhai, a journalist at the Arabic-language
daily newspaper Echourouk el-Youmi, received a court order to pay fines
of four million dinars ($60,000) in connection with four separate
defamation cases against him. Adbelhai faced legal sanction for
allegedly criticizing mismanagement within the Jijel local government.
On June 10, the Government revoked the Agence France-Presse (AFP)
and Reuters bureau chiefs' press accreditations in response to reports
the agencies filed on terrorist attacks in the country. Authorities
alleged that the reports exaggerated or provided false information
regarding a June 9 terrorist attack in Beni Amrane.
On October 26, a court sentenced journalist Noureddine Boukraa to a
three-month suspended sentence and a fine of 30,000 dinars ($440) after
a police chief complained about a 2007 article by Boukraa accusing
local police of corruption. Authorities originally requested a one-year
jail sentence on charges of ``disclosing secrets from an investigation
through the use of confidential documents,'' ``attacking the honor of a
state body,'' and defamation.
On October 28, an appeals court in Saida issued an additional two-
month prison sentence to journalist Hassan Bourras' original sentence
of a 40,000 dinar ($590) fine. On March 24, a local court convicted
Bourras of ``attacking state institutions'' for an article published in
2006 criticizing the municipal administration of El-Bayadh.
On December 12, authorities arrested and then later released
journalist Faycal Benmedjahed, the editor of newspaper Alger
Republicain, for an outstanding defamation charge from the 1990s as he
tried to board a plane in Algiers.
The Algiers court of appeals upheld the original suspended
sentences of six months' imprisonment in the April 2007 case against
editor Ali Fodel and reporter Naila Berahal. The court reduced the
original fine of 500,000 dinars ($7,370) to 50,000 dinars ($737). In
2006 an Algiers court convicted both men on charges of defaming Libyan
leader Muammar al-Qadhafi and endangering the security of the Algerian
and Libyan states.
There were no developments in the April 2007 appeal of Saad Lounes,
who was given a one-year sentence for tax fraud on the basis of a
complaint by the Ministry of Commerce dating back to 1995. Lounes faced
legal pressure for more than 10 years while he operated the only
private printing press in the country.
An appeals court reduced the October 2007 sentence of journalist
Dhil Talal, convicted of defamation for an article exposing monetary
losses of a government ministry, to a fine of 5,000 dinars ($75) and a
six-month suspended prison sentence. Talal appealed this decision in
September.
Government economic leverage on the media was considerable. Most
newspapers were printed at government-owned presses, except El-Watan,
El Khabar, Quotidien d'Oran, and Echourouk el-Youmi.
The Government continued to influence the independent press through
the state-owned advertising company, Agence Nationale d'Edition et de
Publicite (ANEP), which decided whether independent newspapers could
benefit from advertisements placed by state-owned agencies and
companies. ANEP, and therefore the Government, controlled the largest
source of income for most newspapers. As has been the case in recent
years, independent advertisers played a considerably smaller, but
increasingly visible, role in advertising revenue.
At the annual October Algiers Book Fair, the Ministry of Religious
Affairs (MRA) banned the sale of 1,471 religious titles. Shortly before
the book fair, the Government banned the printing of author and vocal
government critic Mohamed Benchicou's latest book, The Diary of a Free
Man. During the 2007 book fair, government officials confiscated and
banned a previous book by Benchicou, The Jailhouses of Algiers.
Satellite dish antennas were widespread and provided an estimated
60 percent of households with access to European and Arab channels.
Access to print and broadcast media for Amazigh culture continued
to grow. As in recent years, Tamazight (the Amazigh or Berber language)
programming also increased on the non-Berber language channels, as did
advertisements in Tamazight on all television and radio channels.
Beginning in the 2006-07 scholastic year, the Tamazight language was
taught officially in primary schools, starting in the fourth grade, in
17 predominantly Berber provinces. In 2007 the Government created an
Academy and a Superior Council of the Tamazight language, pursuant to
Article 3 of the constitution announcing that Tamazight is a national
language. Both institutions are under the authority of the presidency.
The Government continued restrictions on both the local and the
international media's coverage of issues relating to ``national
security and terrorism.'' Al-Jazeera's office remained closed since the
Government banned it from operating in the country in 2004 for
broadcasting a program featuring opposition figures criticizing the
Government. Several international journalists continued to have their
accreditations either withdrawn or denied.
Internet Freedom.--Access to the Internet was generally unimpeded
by the Government; however, the Government monitored e-mail and
Internet chatrooms and in some cases prosecuted persons for content
published on personal Web sites. In June 2007 a court fined blogger
Abdulsalam Baroudi 10,000 dinars ($167) for posting defamatory material
on a personal blog. Internet service providers can face criminal
penalties for the material and Web sites they host, with the objective
to prevent access to material ``incompatible with morality or public
opinion.'' No cases were brought during the year.
According to 2007 International Telecommunications Union data,
there were approximately 190,000 subscribers and 3.5 million users of
the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academic freedom generally
was restricted in the same manner as freedom of expression. Academic
seminars and colloquiums occurred without governmental interference,
but there were delays in issuing visas to international participants
and instances where international experts were denied entrance.
A ban remained in effect during the year on the broadcast of songs
by Reda Taliani following the 2007 National Radio of Algeria
restriction of his material due to references to the Western Sahara
being part of Morocco.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association; however, the
Government severely restricted the exercise of these rights in
practice.
Freedom of Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of
assembly; however, the emergency decree and government practice
continued to curtail this right. A 2000 decree banning demonstrations
in Algiers remained in effect during the year. Authorities required
citizens and organizations to obtain permits from the government-
appointed local governor before holding public meetings. The Government
frequently granted licenses to political parties, NGOs, and other
groups to hold indoor rallies, although licenses were often granted on
the eve of the event, thereby impeding publicity and outreach.
During July and August, police prevented a series of weekly sit-ins
organized by trade unions and contract teachers who attempted to
demonstrate near the Presidential offices. The police blocked walking
routes to prevent persons from gathering. Eyewitnesses reported the
police pushing and shoving participants but no beatings.
The LADDH reported continuing difficulties in obtaining permission
to hold outdoor meetings and seminars. Groups opposing the Charter on
Peace and Reconciliation had difficulty securing permission to hold
public gatherings.
In 2007 security forces banned an international seminar on forced
disappearances organized by several NGOs, and the Government denied
visas for Roberto Garreton, a UN expert on human rights, and Anne
Laurence Lacroix, deputy director of the World Organization Against
Torture, to attend.
On July 5, the NGO SOS Disparus marked the tenth anniversary of its
weekly sit-in in front of the CNCPPDH headquarters to urge President
Bouteflika to take further action on the problem of the disappeared. In
2007 the Government broke up at least four marches, protests, and
demonstrations outside the capital in El Oued, Ain Talout, Oran, and
Boussaada.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of
association; however, the emergency decree and government practice
severely restricted this right. The MOI must approve all political
parties before they may be legally established. The Government
restricted the registration of certain NGOs, associations, and
political parties on ``security grounds'' but declined to provide
evidence or legal grounds for refusing to authorize other organizations
that could not be disqualified on security grounds. The Government
frequently failed to grant official recognition to NGOs, associations,
religious groups, and political parties in an expeditious fashion. The
MOI may deny a license to or dissolve any group regarded as a threat to
the Government's authority or to public order. Political activities by
anyone responsible for having used religion leading to the ``national
tragedy'' are prohibited by the law implementing the amnesty.
The Government issues licenses and subsidies to domestic
associations, especially youth, medical, and neighborhood associations.
The MOI regarded organizations unable to attain government licenses as
illegal. Domestic NGOs encountered bureaucratic obstacles to receiving
financial support from abroad. Although not illegal, financial support
from abroad is conditioned on a series of authorizations from the
ministries of interior and national solidarity. These authorizations
have been difficult to obtain. According to the MOI, there were 81,000
registered associations, 5,000 of which were active during the year.
SOS Disparus remained unrecognized but operated without
interference.
As in 2007, AI officials did not attempt to visit the country after
having been denied visas in 2006. The Government issued visas to
officials from Freedom House, a foreign NGO.
The Government continued to make it difficult for international NGO
representatives to obtain visas to visit the country. The Government
maintained that legislation did not allow branches of foreign NGOs to
operate legally in the country.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
belief and opinion, but in practice the Government restricted religious
freedom. The constitution declares Islam to be the state religion and
prohibits institutions from engaging in behavior incompatible with
Islamic morality. More than 99 percent of the population is Sunni
Muslim. The constitution prohibits non-Muslims from running for the
presidency. Non-Muslims may hold other public offices and work within
the Government; however, human rights observers reported that such
workers were not promoted and that some hid their religious
affiliation.
In February the Government began enforcing Ordinance 06-03, which
increased restrictions on non-Muslim worship. The law limits the
practice of non-Muslim religions and restricts public assembly for the
purpose of worship. The law requires organized religious groups to
register with the Government, controls the importation of religious
texts, increases punishments for individuals who proselytize Muslims,
and treats transgressions as criminal rather than civil offenses.
According to reports from church leaders and human rights
organizations, the Government ordered the closure of 27 churches for
alleged noncompliance with the ordinance during the year. The
Government also pressured domestic pastors, religious converts, and one
foreign Catholic priest, accusing some of breaking the law's provisions
banning proselytism.
On January 30, a court in Maghnia issued a one-year suspended
prison sentence to a foreign Catholic priest for praying with
Cameroonian migrants in an unauthorized place of worship. Upon appeal
he received a reduced suspended prison sentence of two months and a
fine of 20,150 dinars ($297). He filed a new appeal, which was pending
at the end of the year.
In February authorities informed Reverend Hugh Johnson, a retired
Methodist minister who resided in the country for 45 years, that his
residence permit would not be renewed and advised him to leave the
country. He was not provided an official reason for the nonrenewal and
departed in March. According to press reports, a government official
said Johnson was ordered to leave for reasons relevant to the
``security of the state.''
The law requires religious groups to register their organizations
with the Government prior to conducting any religious activity. The
Catholic Church was the only non-Islamic religious group officially
registered to operate in the country. The Protestant, Anglican, and
Seventh-day Adventist churches had pending registration requests with
the Government and reported no government interference in their holding
services. Other churches operated without registration, some openly,
while others secretly practiced their faith in homes. Some churches,
including Methodist and Presbyterian, affiliated their organizations
with the Protestant Church of Algeria.
Between February and April, members of a church in Ouadhia said
they attempted to apply for registration 12 times. In each case local
authorities refused to accept the documents.
Conversion is not illegal under civil law, and apostasy is not a
criminal offense; however, the Government interprets Shari'a as banning
conversion from Islam to another religion. On March 30, authorities
charged Habiba Kouider with ``practicing a non-Muslim religion without
a permit.'' The prosecutor asked that Kouider be sentenced to three
years in prison. Kouider was traveling by bus when police questioned
her and found her to be carrying Bibles and other religious materials.
At year's end the case remained ongoing.
During the year authorities arrested Christian converts Yousef
Ourahmane, Rachid Seghir, Hamid Ramdani, Djammal Dahmani, Jillali
Saidi, Abdelhak Rabhi, and Chaaban Baikel for various combinations of
proselytizing, blasphemy, and illegally practicing a non-Muslim faith.
Courts sentenced each to prison terms and fines. A court acquitted
Ourahmane, Seghir, and Ramdani of their charges on October 29. The
other cases were pending at the end of the year.
Authorities arrested six residents of the town of Biskra for eating
and playing cards during daylight hours of Ramadan. On October 5, a
judge found all six guilty and fined them 120,000 dinars each ($1,770).
Six days later an appeals court judge overruled the decision, saying
that the original sentence violated the constitution, which provides
for freedom of belief. In a separate incident, the Algiers appeals
court on November 18 reduced the sentence of three years' imprisonment
to two months of time served for three men convicted of smoking during
Ramadan. Authorities arrested the men September 21 and detained them
for the duration of their trial.
The Government restricted the importation of religious literature,
including Islamic literature, intended for widespread distribution and
infrequently arrested persons carrying such materials for personal use.
In recent years non-Islamic religious texts, music, and videos were
available for purchase in some stores in larger cities. The government-
owned radio station provided broadcast time for Protestant and Catholic
radio broadcasts. The Government prohibits the dissemination of any
literature portraying violence as a legitimate precept of Islam.
The ministries of national education and religious affairs strictly
required, regulated, and funded the study of Islam in public schools
and monitored all Koranic schools to prevent extremist teachings. In
September local press reported that the MRA dismissed 53 imams and
closed 42 locations used for unauthorized Islamic worship.
The Government monitored activities in mosques for possible
security-related offenses, barred their use as public meeting places
outside of regular prayer hours, and convoked imams to the MRA for
``disciplinary action'' when deemed appropriate. The MRA provided
financial support to mosques and trained, paid, and regulated the
appointments and sermons of imams. However, officials stated that they
rarely interfered with sermons beyond an advisory capacity. The penal
code provides for prison sentences and fines for preaching in a place
of worship without the authorization of both religious and national
authorities. All persons, including imams recognized by the Government,
are prohibited from speaking during prayers at the mosque in a manner
that is ``contrary to the noble nature of the mosque or likely to
offend the cohesion of society or serve as a pretext for such
actions.'' The Government required imams to obtain permits to hold
night prayers during Ramadan.
In November local press reported that some imams filed censorship
complaints with the MRA after they faced penalties for failing to
address the November 1 anniversary of the revolution in their sermons.
The ministry denied these claims.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The country's 1992-2002 civil
conflict pitted self-proclaimed radical Muslims belonging to the Armed
Islamic Group and its later offshoot, the GSPC--now known as AQIM--
against moderate Muslims. During the year radical Islamic extremists
issued public threats against all ``infidels'' and ``apostates'' in the
country, both foreigners and citizens. The country's terrorist groups
generally did not differentiate between religious and political
killings.
The country's Jewish population numbered fewer than 100 persons,
and there were no functioning synagogues. Anti-Semitic articles,
political commentary, and cartoons appeared regularly in the Arabic-
language press. A member of the Jewish community reported receiving two
anonymous death threats, and police responded by placing the
individual's home and office under surveillance. The Government did not
promote antibias education, and there is no hate crime legislation.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement; however, the Government restricted the exercise of this
right.
The Government did not permit young men eligible for the draft, who
had not yet completed their military service, to leave the country
without special authorization; however, such authorization was granted
to students and to persons with special family circumstances.
Under the 1992 emergency decree, the interior minister and the
provincial governors may deny residency in certain districts to persons
regarded as threats to public order. The Government also maintained
restrictions for security reasons on travel into the four southern
provinces of Ouargla, El-Oued, Laghouat, and Ain-Salah, where much of
the hydrocarbon industry and many foreign workers were located. The
same decree permits the minister of the interior to place individuals
under house arrest. AI reported that the measure was used to assign a
residence to individuals already detained in DRS barracks, thus
concealing prolonged arbitrary detention.
The family code does not permit anyone under 18 to travel abroad
without a guardian's permission.
The law does not provide for forced exile, and it was not known to
occur.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. However, there were no reports that the Government granted
refugee status and asylum to new refugee applicants during the year.
According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), the Government did not accept UNHCR-determined refugee status
for individuals from sub-Saharan Africa fleeing conflict. The
Government provided informal assistance to an estimated 1,000 Tuaregs
in the south fleeing conflict in Mali and Niger. However, authorities
did not extend legal protections to an estimated 1,400 asylum seekers
from sub-Saharan Africa residing in Algiers, many of whom were deported
after trials without legal counsel.
The Government provided protection to an estimated 90,000 Sahrawi
refugees who left the Western Sahara after Morocco took control of the
territory in the 1970s. The UNHCR, the World Food Program, the Algerian
Red Crescent, and other organizations also assisted Sahrawi refugees.
Neither the Government nor refugee leadership allowed the UNHCR to
conduct a registration of the Sahrawi refugees.
In practice the Government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their freedom would
be threatened, as was the case with the Sahrawi refugees. However, the
Government did not provide protection to those fleeing conflict in west
and central Africa.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully through periodic elections based on universal
suffrage. Although elections have been generally transparent, there are
restrictions on political party activities which limit this right.
Elections and Political Participation.--Multiparty parliamentary
elections were held in May 2007 for the lower house on the basis of
universal suffrage, but not all political parties were allowed full
access to the electoral process. The MOI disqualified the Islamist
party Islah on the grounds that its leader had not been elected in a
recent party congress.
Multiparty local elections were held in November 2007, but the
election process was marred by irregularities and charges of fraud. No
monitoring of the vote counting process was allowed at the local,
district, or national level.
A contested, multiparty Presidential election was held in 2004 on
the basis of universal suffrage. The constitution mandates Presidential
elections every five years and limits the incumbent to two terms. An
election observer from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe stated in a press conference that the election was generally
free, fair, and transparent, although not without flaws. According to
the constitution, the next Presidential election was scheduled to take
place in 2009. On October 29, President Bouteflika announced his
intention to seek parliamentary approval for a set of constitutional
amendments that included a removal of Presidential term limits. On
November 12, the parliament approved the proposed amendments by a wide
margin with minimal debate.
There were reports of restrictions placed on opposition political
parties. Opposition candidates complained that the MOI regularly
blocked registered parties from holding meetings and denied them access
to larger and better equipped government conference rooms while
facilitating the activities of the pro-Bouteflika National Liberation
Front (FLN). The law requires that potential political parties receive
official approval from the MOI to be established. To obtain approval, a
party must have 25 founders from across the country whose names must be
registered with the MOI. July 2007 amendments to the electoral law
stated that a party must receive 4 percent of the vote or have received
at least 2,000 votes in 25 wilayas (provinces) in one of the last three
legislative elections in order to participate in national elections.
Membership in the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), a political party
banned in 1992, remained illegal. The Government continued to refuse to
register Wafa because its perceived ties to the banned FIS constituted
a threat to national security, according to the interior minister. In
July, Wafa leader Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi announced that he was
withdrawing from politics. The Government did not provide an official
response to the 1998 registration request of the Democratic Front,
which was not active during the year. No party may use religion or
ethnic heritage as a basis to organize for political purposes. The law
also bans political party ties to nonpolitical associations and
regulates party financing and reporting requirements.
There were three women in the cabinet. Women also held 30 of the
389 seats in the Assembly and four of the 144 seats in the Council of
the Nation. A woman led the Workers Party, and three major political
parties--FLN, National Rally for Democracy, and Rally for Culture and
Democracy--had women's divisions headed by women. The country did not
have a quota system to require election of women to a certain
percentage of seats in the parliament.
The ethnic Tamazight minority of approximately nine million
centered in the Kabylie region participated freely and actively in the
political process and represented one-third of the Government.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties of two to 10 years in prison for official corruption;
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively. In 2006
the Government passed a law establishing a national anticorruption
program, although parliamentarians removed a provision that required
elected and senior officials to declare their assets and that lifted
parliamentary immunity in certain cases. The parliamentarians argued
that the existing penal code was sufficient to punish corruption
offenses and that the decision to lift parliamentary immunity should
reside solely with the parliament. In 2006 the President issued three
decrees to implement provisions of the anticorruption legislation. The
three Presidential decrees and the penal code address the types of
offenses that the removed provision was intended to punish. The decree
also stipulates the formation of an anticorruption agency, but it had
not been established by year's end.
Public procurement was often tainted with irregularities, including
the excessive use of private agreements. According to the Ministry of
Public Works, following the President's 2005 statement that the use of
private agreements, including single source contracts, would be
prohibited, government agencies began implementing a public tender
policy for all infrastructure and large government projects. Some
agencies, however, continued to use direct contracts for smaller and
less publicized projects. For those public tenders, evaluations were
not released to participating companies, and evaluation methods and
techniques were not clearly defined.
The Government took action on several high-profile cases of
official corruption during the year. On April 6, President Bouteflika
ordered the dismissal of Abdelkader Bousmail, director of religious
affairs in Sidi bel Abbes, who was charged with mismanaging public
funds.
On May 5, press sources reported that the directorate general of
the customs service dismissed five customs officers and sanctioned
another 30 for professional incompetence and violations of the customs
code. There were 65 officials charged with corruption in the customs
service between January and October 2007.
On May 11, press reports quoted MOI officials who stated that since
2007, 1,325 employees of municipal and provincial governments were
subject to legal proceedings for wasting public funds, forgery, and
bribery. According to the report, authorities convicted 324 employees,
while the others remained under investigation or had trials pending.
In March a court found the former provincial governor, Djilalli
Araar, guilty of corruption and embezzlement of public funds. At year's
end Araar was serving a prison sentence. The Supreme Court lifted its
order of judicial control and placed the former governor of Blida,
Ahmed Bouricha, in parole status during the year. Bouricha resigned in
2005 after authorities charged him with several corruption-related
crimes in the mid-1990s.
In July 2007 a court in Skikda sentenced two senior police officers
to 10 years in prison and fined them 500,000 dinars ($7,370) for
corruption. Ten mayors involved in the same case received sentences
ranging from six months to one year and were fined 6,000 dinars ($90).
In 2007, 24 police officers were convicted of corruption and received
prison sentences; 192 police officers were sentenced in 2006.
Although permitted under the constitution, authorities restricted
access to government information. There is no law facilitating access
to information. Throughout the year the MOJ, in cooperation with the
UNDP, improved access to information about the country's judicial
system and developed a modern information management system for
penitentiaries. Citizens may now request personal legal records from
the courts and receive the documents the same day.
Lack of government transparency remained a serious problem. The
Government did not release many economic statistics. All ministries
have Web sites, but not all were updated. The MOJ provides information
on citizens' rights and legislation.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The Government continued to restrict and harass some local NGOs and
impeded the work of international NGOs. The Government interfered with
attempts by some domestic and international human rights groups to
investigate and publish their findings. Although some human rights
groups, including the Algerian League for Human Rights (LADH) and
LADDH, were allowed to move about freely, the most active and visible
organizations reported interference by government authorities,
including surveillance, monitoring of telephone calls, difficulty in
securing meeting spaces, and difficulty in obtaining approval for
international speakers to speak on sensitive issues.
Domestic NGOs must be licensed by the Government and are prohibited
from receiving funding from abroad without approval from the minister
of national solidarity. However, approximately 100 unlicensed NGOs,
such as women's advocacy groups and charity organizations, operated
openly. Unlicensed NGOs did not receive government assistance, and
citizens were at times hesitant to be associated with these
organizations. The Government was not publicly responsive to reports
and recommendations from domestic human rights NGOs.
The most active independent human rights group was the LADDH, a
legally recognized NGO with members throughout the country. The LADDH
was not permitted access to government officials for human rights
advocacy or research purposes or to prisons, except for normal lawyer-
client consultations.
The smaller LADH is an independent organization based in
Constantine. LADH was licensed and members throughout the country
monitored individual cases.
If an NGO is not legally recognized by the MOI, it is not allowed
to conduct investigations. Sometimes, however, even legally recognized
NGOs were prevented from conducting investigations. For example, the
LADDH did not have access to prison camps or detention centers.
Domestic NGO Djazairouna, also legally recognized, faced indirect
government pressure.
International NGOs continued to experience delays in obtaining
visas, and outright refusals occurred. Delays in processing visa
applications prevented NGOs from conducting programming during the
year. A forum planned for 2006 was indefinitely postponed because of
visa difficulties for international experts.
The authorities cancelled a civil society meeting sponsored by the
German Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the LADDH planned for October 5
to discuss the 20th anniversary of the 1988 riots. According to the
Ebert Foundation, officials gave no documented reason for the
cancellation.
On March 3, the prime minister urged foreign diplomatic missions to
respect diplomatic courtesy and warned civil society and political
organizations about holding meetings (with foreign missions) that
``undermine the country's internal affairs.'' On April 9, Interior
Minister Zerhouni told an audience of parliamentarians that
international NGOs in Algeria were not ``helping or building'' the
country.
The ICRC had access to civilian prisons and pretrial detention
centers.
International NGO Handicap International and local NGO the National
Foundation for Health Promotion and Research Development (FOREM), both
of which worked on children's rights, did not report difficulty
conducting investigations.
In January 2007 Yakin Erturk, UN special rapporteur on violence
against women, visited the country. However, the Government continued
to deny requests for visits from the UN Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances (pending since 1997), the UN special
rapporteur on torture (pending since 1997), and the UN special
rapporteur on extrajudicial executions (pending since 1998).
The CNCPPDH is the government-established ombudsman for human
rights. Directed by Farouk Ksentini, the CNCPPDH is composed of 22
members from governmental bodies and 23 from civil society and NGOs.
The nongovernmental members included representatives of Islamic
religious organizations, the Red Crescent Society, and women's rights
advocacy groups. The President approves nominees, and the CNCPPDH's
budget and secretariat come from his office. The CNCPPDH is mandated to
report on human rights issues, coordinate with police and justice
officials, advocate domestic and international human rights causes,
mediate between the Government and the population, and provide
expertise on human rights issues to the Government. The public
generally viewed CNCPPDH as progovernment. The group delivers its
complete annual report only to the President and provides an abstract
of the report for public viewing, thus rendering it difficult to
measure the effectiveness of the organization's work.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on birth, race,
sex, language, and social status. In general the Government enforced
the nationality and family codes, although women continued to face
legal and social discrimination.
Women.--Rape, spousal and nonspousal, occurred. Nonspousal rape is
illegal; spousal rape is not. Prison sentences for nonspousal rape
range from one to five years. Claims filed by women for rape and sexual
abuse continued to face judicial obstacles; however, women's rights
activists reported that law enforcement authorities have become more
sensitized to the issue. During the year, women's rights activists
reported a significant increase in reports of violence against women.
Spousal abuse occurred. The penal code states that a person must be
incapacitated for 15 days or more and present a doctor's note
certifying the injuries before filing charges for battery. Because of
societal pressures, women frequently were reluctant to endure this
process.
According to the CNCPPDH, approximately 4,500 women were victims of
assault during the first half of the year. Police statistics for that
time period reported 2,675 cases of physical assault, 1,359 cases of
abuse, 144 cases of sexual assault, and four deaths. Approximately 20
percent of assailants were identified as male family members. A study
researched in 2005 emphasized that the home was the ``privileged place
for spousal violence.''
In 2007 the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) and the
police reported 9,099 cases of domestic violence.
The police stated that violence against women was widespread in
large cities. However, a March 2007 study published by the INSP showed
that violence against women was more frequent in rural areas and among
less-educated persons and was less likely to be reported in such cases
because of societal pressures.
During the year local women's NGOs, including SOS Femmes en
Detresse, the Wassila Network, and Bent Fatma N'Soumer, spoke out
against violence in the family.
SOS Femmes en Detresse and the Wassila Network provided judicial
and psychological counseling to abused women. Women's rights groups
experienced difficulty in drawing attention to spousal abuse as an
important social problem, largely due to societal attitudes. Several
rape crisis centers run by women's groups operated, but they had few
resources. The Working Women section of the General Union of Algerian
Workers (UGTA) established a counseling center with a toll-free number
for women suffering from sexual harassment in the workplace. The call
center did not operate during most of the year due to budget
constraints. From January to June 2007, the center received 1,108
calls, compared with 1,524 in all of 2006. SOS Femmes en Detresse
operated one call center in Algiers and a second call center in Batna.
During the year the Algiers call center received 2,673 calls; the Batna
call center received 1,869 calls.
According to the penal code, prostitution is illegal; however, the
INSP and female advocacy groups reported that prostitution was a
growing problem.
The punishment for sexual harassment is one to two years'
imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 dinars ($750 to $1,500).
The punishment is doubled for a second offense. The police stated that
107 sexual harassment cases were reported to the police. The INSP
reported that 50 sexual harassment cases were brought to court in 2007.
The majority of reported cases of harassment occurred in the workplace.
SOS Femmes en Detresse provided legal advice and counseling to 610
women. During 2007 at least 500 women sought legal advice from the
organization. However, the majority of women seeking assistance did not
file formal complaints. According to the INSP, 10 persons were
convicted in 2007 and received fines ranging from 2,000 to 50,000
dinars ($30 to $750).
During the year the minister delegate for the family and female
condition, Nouara Djaffar, began implementation of the national
strategy to combat violence against women, which has a focus on
improving enforcement and providing assistance to victims. Local NGOs
viewed this as a positive step toward improving the effectiveness of
enforcement.
The constitution provides for gender equality; however, some
aspects of the law and many traditional social practices discriminated
against women. The family code is based in large part on Shari'a. The
family code prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims, although
this regulation was not always enforced. A woman may marry a foreigner
and transmit citizenship and nationality in her own right to both her
children and spouse. Muslim men may marry non-Muslim women. Under both
Shari'a and civil law, children born to a Muslim father are Muslim,
regardless of the mother's religion.
Women can seek divorce for irreconcilable differences and violation
of the prenuptial agreement, among other grounds. In a divorce the
amendments provide for the wife to retain the family's home until
children reach 18 years of age. Custody of children normally is awarded
to the mother, but she may not make decisions on education or take the
children out of the country without the father's authorization. In
practice more women retained the family's home when they had custody of
the children.
The family code affirms the Islamic practice of allowing a man to
marry up to four wives. In practice, however, this occurs in 1 to 2
percent of marriages, and polygamy is restricted.
The amendments to the family code, in practice, contradicted the
Shari'a requirement for a male sponsor's role and consent to the
marriage of a woman, although the requirement has been formally
retained. The sponsor continues to contract the marriage, but the woman
may choose any male that she wishes to be the sponsor.
Women suffered from discrimination in inheritance claims. In
accordance with Shari'a, women are entitled to a smaller portion of an
estate than male children or a deceased husband's brothers. According
to Shari'a, such a distinction is justified because other provisions
require that the husband's income and assets be used to support the
family, while the wife's remain, in principle, her own. However, in
practice, women do not always have exclusive control over assets that
they bring to a marriage or that they earn themselves. Married women
under 18 years of age may not travel abroad without permission of their
husbands. Married women may take out business loans and use their own
financial resources. According to the National Center of Trade Records,
9,500 women had their own businesses in 2006. According to a World
Economic Forum report, the women's unemployment rate was 17.5 percent
during the year.
Despite constitutional and legal provisions providing gender
equality, in practice, women faced discrimination in employment.
Leaders of women's organizations reported that discriminatory
violations were common.
In urban areas there was social encouragement for women to pursue a
higher education or a career. Girls had a higher high school graduation
rate than boys. According to 2006 official statistics, females
represented 60 percent of the medical profession, 55 percent of the
media profession, 30 percent of the upper levels of the legal
profession, and more than 60 percent of the education profession. Of
the 8.7 million workers, 1.5 million were female, representing only 18
percent of the workforce. Women may own businesses, enter into
contracts, and pursue careers similar to those of men. In addition, 36
percent of judges were women. Women served at all levels in the
judicial system, and female police officers were added to some
precincts to assist women with abuse claims.
In 2006 the ministries of religious affairs and health initiated a
series of training sessions for imams and female guides in order to
better address social and medical issues, including HIV/AIDS. As part
of the program, 100 copies of a national guide on Islam and HIV/AIDS
were distributed to the attendees.
Children.--The Government was generally committed to protecting the
welfare, rights, health, and education of children. Child abuse is
illegal but continued to be a problem. NGOs that specialized in the
care of children cited continued instances of domestic violence against
children, which they attributed to the ``culture of violence''
developed since the civil conflict of the 1990s and the social
dislocations caused by the movement of rural families to the cities to
escape terrorist violence. Experts assumed that many cases went
unreported because of familial reticence.
In 2006 there were press reports of incidents involving the kidnap
and rape of girls by terrorists, as well as numerous child deaths
generally attributed to the GSPC. Terrorist groups did not claim
responsibility for any of the incidents.
The Government provides free education for children through high
school. Education is compulsory until the age of 16. According to 2007
statistics from the Ministry of National Education, 99 percent of
children completed the ninth grade, compared with 98 percent in 2006.
Boys and girls generally received the same education, although girls
from rural areas were slightly more prone to leave school because of
familial financial reasons, while sons were often given educational
priority.
The Government provided free medical care for all citizens,
including children with disabilities, albeit in generally rudimentary
facilities, and to both sexes equally.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit trafficking in
persons, and officials instead consider the issue covered by existing
laws on illegal migration. The country is a transit point to Europe and
a destination country for men, women, and children from sub-Saharan
Africa and Asia trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation.
The Government did not acknowledge trafficking to be a problem but saw
it as part of the larger issue of illegal immigration. According to the
Government, in the absence of specific antitrafficking laws, other laws
against illegal immigration, prostitution, and forced labor are used to
enforce antitrafficking standards. There were no indications of
official government involvement in trafficking.
Forced prostitution and domestic servitude of illegal immigrants
from sub-Saharan Africa occurred as immigrants transited through the
country, with the help of smugglers, seeking economic opportunity in
Europe. The Government does not compile official statistical estimates
of the severity of trafficking. No government assistance programs
existed for victims, nor were there any information campaigns about
trafficking.
According to a June 2007 National Gendarmerie report, between 2001
and 2007, the number of illegal African and Arab migrants exceeded
30,000, most of them of African origin. Additionally, 14 percent of
them came from Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt, Syria,
Tunisia, and Iraq. Some migrants also came from Pakistan. Among the
30,000 illegal migrants, there were 1,683 women and 1,300 minors.
Statistics did not exist detailing how many of these migrants faced
conditions of trafficking before, during, or after entering the
country.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or the provision of other state services, although the
Government did not effectively enforce these provisions in practice.
The law provides protection, including free medical care, for persons
with disabilities, especially children; however, there was widespread
social discrimination against persons with disabilities. No government
buildings were accessible to persons with disabilities. Public
enterprises, in downsizing their work forces, generally ignored a
requirement that they reserve 1 percent of jobs for persons with
disabilities. Social security provided payments for orthopedic
equipment, and some healthcare-oriented NGOs received limited
government financial support. The MNS provided financial support to
NGOs; however, for many NGOs this financial support represented
approximately 2 percent of their budgets. The MNS maintained that there
were 1.5 million persons with disabilities in the country. However,
according to the Algerian Federation of Wheelchair Associations, there
were three million persons with disabilities living in the country.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The penal code
criminalizes public homosexual behavior, and there is no specific legal
protection to homosexuals in the country. There was societal
discrimination against homosexuals, but there was no reported violence
or official discrimination. While some homosexuals lived openly, the
vast majority did not.
HIV/AIDS is considered a shameful disease in the country. According
to March 2007 statistics released by the Ministry of Health, 2,100
citizens were HIV-positive, and 736 persons suffered from HIV/AIDS.
There were 54 centers offering free services to detect HIV/AIDS.
According to a 2007 survey of 30,000 families in the 48 provinces
performed by the United Nations Children's Fund, only 15 percent were
aware of means to protect themselves from contracting HIV/AIDS. During
the year the Health Ministry and the NGO AIDS Algerie launched an HIV/
AIDS prevention campaign, stressing the need to avoid discrimination,
especially in the workplace, against those with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Workers Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution allows workers to
form and join unions of their choice but requires workers to obtain
government approval to form a union. The law on labor unions requires
the Ministry of Labor (MOL) to approve or disapprove a union
application within 30 days and allows for the creation of autonomous
unions. However, the Government may invalidate a union's legal status
if its objectives are determined to be contrary to the established
institutional system, public order, good morals, or the laws or
regulations in force. There are no legal restrictions on a worker's
right to join a union. Approximately two-thirds of the labor force
belonged to unions. The UGTA was the only legally recognized labor
confederation. The UGTA includes national unions that are specialized
by sector.
Unions have the right to form and join federations or
confederations. Unions may also recruit members at the workplace. In
practice attempts by new unions to form federations or confederations
were obstructed by delaying administrative maneuvers. Since 1996 the
Autonomous Unions Confederation, which functions without official
status, has attempted unsuccessfully to organize the autonomous unions.
The law permits unions to affiliate with international labor bodies and
develop relations with foreign labor groups. For example, the UGTA is a
member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
However, the law prohibits unions from associating with political
parties and also prohibits unions from receiving funds from foreign
sources. The courts are empowered to dissolve unions that engaged in
illegal activities.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice, subject to some conditions. Under the state of
emergency decree, the Government can require public and private sector
workers to remain at work in the event of an unauthorized or illegal
strike. According to the law on industrial relations, workers may
strike only after 14 days of mandatory conciliation or mediation. On
occasion the Government offered to mediate disputes. The law states
that decisions reached in mediation are binding on both parties. If no
agreement is reached in mediation, the workers may strike legally after
they vote by secret ballot to do so. A minimum level of public services
must be maintained during public-sector service strikes.
The law provides that all public demonstrations, protests, and
strikes receive prior government authorization. During the year strikes
and labor meetings occurred in various sectors, including the
construction, medical, port facility, and education sectors.
In January the autonomous unions mobilized thousands of middle and
high school students throughout the country to protest a November 2007
salary package for education workers. The strike effectively shut down
the education system for almost five days. In February the autonomous
unions held two separate three-day strikes nationwide to demand better
compensation for public-sector workers. During the summer contract
teachers organized a 40-day hunger strike and attempted to stage a
series of weekly sit-ins in front of the President's office. Unions
continued to organize small-scale protests in October and November in
the education, industrial, and maritime sectors.
The authorities generally tolerated strikes but continued to
enforce a ban on marches and demonstrations in Algiers in effect since
2001.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining for all unions, and the Government
permitted the exercise of this right, in practice, for authorized
unions. According to the UGTA, 8.7 million workers are covered by
collective bargaining agreements. The UGTA signed a total of 218
collective bargaining agreements between 2000 and 2007, including
sector-wide collective bargaining agreements and salary agreements
covering industry, public works, and services. The UGTA is the only
union authorized to negotiate collective bargaining agreements.
The law prohibits discrimination by employers against union members
and organizers and provides mechanisms for resolving trade union
complaints of antiunion practices by employers.
There were no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by
children; however, there were reports from the MOL that such practices
occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits participation by minors in dangerous, unhealthy, or
harmful work or in work that is considered inappropriate because of
social and religious considerations. The minimum legal age for
employment is 16, except for apprentice positions. In order to be an
apprentice, minors must have the permission of a legal guardian. In
2006 the MOL stated that only 95 ``young workers'' were identified
during site visits performed by labor inspectors at 5,847 companies.
The MOL makes some surprise inspections of public sector enterprises,
but it does not consistently enforce relevant statutes in the
agricultural or private sectors.
In 2005 the MOL reported a rate of child participation in the labor
force of 0.56 percent. That figure was challenged in 2007 by the local
NGO FOREM, a children's rights watchdog group financed by the European
Union. According to FOREM, in the eight most populous provinces, 6
percent of children age 10 and younger participated in the labor force,
while 63 percent of children age 13 to 16 participated. The survey
found children working a variety of hours in small workshops, on family
farms, and especially in informal trades and street vending. In a
November 2007 press conference, FOREM representatives said there were
one million children working in the country, at least half of whom were
under the age of 16.
The MOL is responsible for enforcing child labor laws, but
enforcement was hindered by a lack of sufficient human resources. In
2006 and 2007 FOREM implemented a public awareness campaign aimed at
encouraging children to remain in school until the age of 16, rather
than participating in the workforce.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of
12,000 dinars ($177) per month did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. The minimum wage was established in
2006 by a tripartite social pact between business, government, and
labor. MOL inspectors were responsible for ensuring compliance with the
minimum wage regulation; however, enforcement was inconsistent.
The standard workweek was 37.5 hours, with one 10-minute break and
one hour for lunch. Employees who worked beyond the standard workweek
received premium pay on a sliding scale from time-and-a-half to double-
time, depending on whether the overtime was worked on a normal workday,
a weekend, or a holiday. In general the MOL effectively enforced labor
standards, particularly in the civil service and in public sector
companies; however, enforcement was less efficient in the private
sector because of low union density.
The law contains well-developed occupational, health, and safety
standards, but MOL inspectors did not enforce these regulations
effectively. There were no reports of workers being dismissed for
removing themselves from hazardous working conditions. Because
employment was usually based on detailed contracts, workers rarely were
subjected to unexpected conditions in the workplace. If workers were
subjected to such conditions, they first could attempt to renegotiate
the employment contract or, failing that, resort to the courts;
however, the high demand for employment in the country gave an
advantage to employers seeking to exploit employees. Economic migrants
from sub-Saharan Africa working in the country without legal
immigration status were not protected by the country's labor standards,
making them vulnerable to exploitation.
__________
BAHRAIN
Bahrain is a monarchy with a population of approximately 1,050,000,
including approximately 530,000 who are citizens. King Hamad Bin Isa
Al-Khalifa is the head of state and all branches of government. The
King appoints a cabinet of ministers; half are members of the minority
Sunni Al-Khalifa ruling family. The 2002 constitution reinstated a
legislative body with one elected chamber, the Council of Deputies, and
one appointed chamber, the Shura Council. All political societies
participated in the 2006 parliamentary and municipal elections. Trained
local observers did not report significant problems during the
elections, although allegations persisted that the Government
manipulated general poll center vote counts in some cases and
gerrymandered political districts. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
Citizens did not have the right to change their government. The
Government restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of press,
speech, assembly, association, and some religious practices. Domestic
violence against women and children persisted, as did discrimination on
the basis of gender, religion, nationality, and sect, especially
against the Shia majority population. Trafficking in persons and
restrictions on the rights of expatriate workers remained problems.
On January 8, the Government passed comprehensive antitrafficking
legislation that provides for significant fines and jail time for
trafficking in persons. On December 23, the Government successfully
prosecuted its first case under this law.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed politically
motivated killings during the year; however, in December 2007 Ali Jasem
died after participating in a protest where Shia activists clashed with
security forces. The official autopsy reported he died of ``acute
cardiovascular and respiratory collapse'' after running more than two
miles, but local human rights observers alleged his death was linked to
inhaling tear gas used to disperse demonstrators.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there
were allegations during the year that security forces employed them.
On several occasions during the year, police detained dozens of
young men in connection with small but frequent skirmishes between
police and youths throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. These youths
routinely alleged that while in custody, security forces beat them.
Security forces denied the accusations, and some opposition political
activists expressed doubt about some of the allegations.
Following December 2007 protests, security forces arrested and
detained dozens of protestors in the Adliya jail. Some detainees
reported that judicial interrogators beat and electrocuted them in
prison. One detainee, Maytham Badr al-Shaykh, alleged that
interrogators sexually assaulted and electrocuted him. Officials denied
the allegations of abuse. On April 6 and 9, a court-appointed medical
team examined the detainees, and on April 10, the team testified that
they could neither prove nor disprove the defendants' accusations of
abuse. The Government denied the allegations, and on July 13, the high
criminal court sentenced 11 of the 15 defendants to between one and
seven years' imprisonment. The 11 lost their appeal on December 28.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to previous
reports, prisons generally met international standards, although the
Government did not permit any independent inspections. Throughout the
year some detainees alleged that prison and detention facility guards
physically abused them, a charge that the Government denied. Court-
ordered medical examinations of those alleging abuse were inconclusive.
The quasi-governmental Supreme Council for Women (SCW) conducted
the most recent visit of the country's women's prison in Isa Town in
2006. There was no publicly released SCW report on the visit.
Although International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials
visited the country during the year, they did not request prison
visits. Bahrain Red Crescent Society officials reported that ICRC
officials had not visited prisons since the release of all political
prisoners in 2000.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed
these prohibitions, although there were some allegations to the
contrary.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the
Interior (MOI) is responsible for public security. It controls the
Public Security Force and the extensive security service, which are
responsible for maintaining internal order. The Bahrain Defense Force
(BDF) is responsible for defending against external threats and also
monitors internal security. The security forces were generally
effective in maintaining internal order.
A widespread lack of transparency made corruption in the security
services difficult to assess. The press reported that in a number of
cases, authorities jailed and/or fined law enforcement officials for
misconduct, most often for accepting bribes.
On November 22, the MOI announced that it disciplined 23 police
officers during the year for committing human rights abuses. They
received prison time and/or fines. The MOI maintained a hot line for
citizens to report police abuses; however, many in the Shia community
believed that the MOI condoned police activities and therefore did not
report allegations of abuse. In practice the MOI responded to
allegations of abuse and public complaints by establishing ad hoc
investigation committees. These committees did not issue public reports
of their findings.
Arrest and Detention.--To apprehend felony suspects, the police
must convince a judge based on evidence to issue an arrest warrant,
which the police present to suspects upon arrest. Police and security
forces must transfer suspects to the Public Prosecutor's Office within
48 hours, and they generally respected that requirement in practice.
Within seven days of arrest, a detainee must appear before a judge in
the Public Prosecutor's Office. If the judge decides the suspect is a
flight risk or a danger to society, he may allow up to an additional 45
days of detention while the Public Prosecutor's Office conducts an
investigation. This process may continue through subsequent reviews by
different judges, but pretrial detention may not exceed six months.
Judges may grant bail to a suspect and did so regularly.
The 2006 counterterrorism legislation allows the public prosecution
to detain a terrorism suspect for a five-day period. Upon request the
public prosecutor may extend this period based on the needs of the
investigation for up to an additional 10 days. At the end of this
period, the detainee must be transferred to the public prosecution and
questioned within three days. The public prosecutor must then decide to
issue a detention order or to release the detainee. The detention order
may not exceed 60 days.
Detainees were generally allowed prompt access to visiting family
members. Detainee access to attorneys was often restricted in the early
stages of detention; attorneys must seek a court order to confer with
clients. The state provided counsel to indigent detainees.
On June 5, authorities released Khalid Nour and Hussain al-Ali on
bail; police arrested the two in September 2007 on charges of taking an
illegal commission and held them for 48 hours without access to an
attorney. At year's end, the case remained pending.
Amnesty.--On July 30, the King announced an amnesty for nearly 225
persons, including many charged for rioting. The Government required
those arrested for rioting to sign a pledge not to riot again. Seventy
individuals refused to sign the pledge; they were released on August 2.
On September 2, the King pardoned 136 persons convicted of crimes.
Many had been detained and charged with riot-related offenses; others
were common criminals.
On January 31, the amnesty for illegal immigrants that began in
August 2007 ended. At the end of the amnesty, 12,897 workers had
returned to their home countries, 29,804 workers had transferred to a
new employer, and 13,641 had renewed their expired visas, all without
paying fines.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary. In contrast to previous years, the Government
generally respected judicial independence in practice. During the year
the Government lost cases or had appeals result in lighter sentences
than sought by prosecutors. For example, on January 16, a judge
sentenced the defendants in a prominent counterterrorism case to six
months' imprisonment over the objections of the public prosecutor and
political leaders, who had publicly called for lengthy prison terms.
Some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) alleged that many resident
alien judges were susceptible to pressure from the Government, a charge
the Government denied. There were also allegations of corruption in the
judicial system; however, those alleging corruption provided no
evidence. The constitution provides that the King appoint all judges by
royal decree. The King also serves as chairman of the Supreme Judicial
Council, the body responsible for supervising the work of the courts
and the public prosecution.
The legal system is based on a mix of British civil law, common
law, Shari'a (Islamic law), and traditional laws. The judiciary is
comprised of civil law courts and Shari'a courts.
The civil law courts adjudicate all civil and commercial cases,
criminal cases, and personal status cases among non-Muslims. The courts
of minor cases (the lower courts and the Court of Execution) have one
judge, while the high courts have three judges with jurisdiction over
felonies, personal status cases, and appeals.
The Shari'a courts have jurisdiction over personal status cases
involving citizen and noncitizen Muslims. There are separate courts for
Sunni and Shia Muslims, each of which has three levels: the Shari'a
court, the High Shari'a Court, and the High Shari'a Court of Appeal.
The High Shari'a Court of Appeal is composed of a minimum of two
judges. In the event of a disagreement, the Ministry of Justice and
Islamic Affairs (MOJIA) provides a third judge, and the decision is
based on a majority vote. There are 13 judges in the Sunni Maliki
Shari'a courts and 14 judges in the Shi'a Ja'afari Shari'a courts.
The Constitutional Court provides final and binding ruling on the
constitutionality of laws and statutes. The court's membership consists
of a President and six members, all appointed by the King to nine-year
terms that may not be abridged.
The BDF maintains a separate court system that tries only military
personnel accused of offenses under the Military Code of Justice. The
MOI has a similar system for trying police officials. There were no
reports of either court considering cases involving civilian, common
criminal, or security cases during the year.
Trial Procedures.--According to the constitution, defendants are
presumed innocent until proven guilty. Civil and criminal trial
procedures provided for an open trial. Juries are not used. By law and
in practice, defendants have the right to prompt consultation with an
attorney of their choice within 48 hours, and the Government provided
counsel to indigent defendants. Defendants are present during trial
proceedings, and they have the right to present witnesses and evidence
on their behalf and question witnesses against them. No law governs
defendants' access to government-held evidence, and the Government
often reviewed evidence prior to defendants' access to it. Women's
legal rights varied according to Shia or Sunni interpretations of
Islamic law.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens may bring civil
suits before the court seeking cessation of or damages for human rights
violations; however, the Government maintained that the 2001 general
amnesty granted immunity for alleged human rights violations committed
prior to 2001.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for personal freedom and
freedom from arbitrary interference with privacy, home, and
correspondence except under the provisions of the law and under
judicial supervision. The Government is required to obtain a court
order before monitoring telephone calls, e-mail, and personal
correspondence. Many Shia believed police informer networks were
extensive and sophisticated but were unable to provide concrete
evidence.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
restricted freedom of speech and of the press, but the Government
limited the exercise of these rights in practice. Both censorship and
self-censorship took place.
The law forbids any speech or discussion infringing on public order
or morals. In private settings individuals openly expressed critical
opinions regarding domestic political and social issues. There was also
considerable freedom of expression on the Internet, in letters to the
editor, and occasionally on state-run television call-in shows.
The Government did not own any print media, but the Ministry of
Information (MOINFO) exercised considerable control over local,
privately owned print media. The Government owned and operated all
local radio and television stations and vetted the selection of the
country's Al-Jazeera correspondent. Radio and television broadcasts in
Arabic, Farsi, and English from countries in the region, including by
satellite, were received without interference.
The Government enforced at its discretion the press law to restrict
freedom of speech and press. The law provides for prison sentences of
at least six months for criticizing Islam or the King or inciting
actions that undermine state security, and it allows fines up to 2,000
dinars ($5,300) for 14 other offenses, including publicizing statements
issued by a foreign state or organization before obtaining the consent
of the minister of information, publishing any news reports that may
adversely affect the value of the national currency, reporting any
offense against the head of a state that maintains diplomatic relations
with the country, or publishing offensive remarks towards an accredited
representative of a foreign country because of acts connected with the
person's position.
Government censorship took place. MOINFO representatives actively
monitored and blocked local stories on sensitive matters, especially
those related to sectarianism and national security or criticism of the
royal family, the Saudi royal family, and judges. Journalists also
practiced widespread self-censorship. According to some members of the
press, government officials contacted editors directly and asked them
to stop writing about certain subjects or asked them not to publish a
press release or a story. There were reports that the Government paid
journalists to represent the 2006 parliamentary elections favorably. In
addition the Press and Publications Directorate at the MOINFO reviewed
all books and publications prior to issuing printing licenses.
A 2006 High Criminal Court injunction against the publication of
any news, commentary, or other information, including on the Internet,
about a report on election manipulation written by Salah al-Bandar
remained in effect at year's end.
The Government did not pursue a May 2007 libel complaint against
Isa al-Shaiji for articles that allegedly criticized Egyptian Islamic
Brotherhood preacher Wagdy Ghunaim's views.
In November 2007 the Government began granting licenses previously
denied for publication of several books pertaining to Islamic history,
modern history of the country, and democracy. At year's end four books
were still denied publication.
Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted use of the Internet.
The Government was a major shareholder in the Bahrain
Telecommunications Company (Batelco), the country's principal
telecommunications company, which prohibited user access to Internet
sites considered antigovernment or anti-Islamic. Unlike in previous
years, e-mail use reportedly was not monitored. The Government
continued to invoke the press code to justify the questioning of some
journalists and bloggers. By law Web site administrators face the same
libel laws that apply to print journalists, and Web masters are held
jointly responsible for all content posted on their Web sites or chat
rooms.
Most residents had access to the Internet in the home, workplace,
or Internet cafes. The number of Internet users increased by 25 percent
in 2007, and at year's end there were approximately 86,000 Internet
subscribers.
The Government regularly monitored and attempted to block local
access to numerous Web sites, including local blogs and chat sites,
human rights Web sites, sites containing information about Arab
Christians, and the Wa'ad political society's Web site. Public
discussion of blocked Web sites was widespread. Many users were able to
access blocked sites through alternate servers.
On June 22, the prime minister ordered the creation of a committee
to monitor Web sites to combat sectarianism and promote national unity
and the country's Arab identity. On June 23, the committee, headed by
the MOI with MOINFO and MOJIA representatives, ordered three Web sites,
two Sunni and one Shia, blocked pending government registration and
removal of all sectarian material. The two Sunni sites removed
sectarian material and applied for registration, and the Government
removed the blocks the following day. By year's end the Shia Web site,
Awaal.net, had not complied and remained blocked.
On June 28, the Government detained six Shia opposition political
society members for publishing material on the Internet and in a
newsletter that incited ``hatred against the Government'' and
sectarianism. Authorities released them after 20 hours. On July 2, the
case was suspended in exchange for their promise to post no more
inflammatory content.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The constitution provides
for academic freedom.
There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or
cultural events during the year. However, some academics self-censored,
avoiding contentious political issues.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of free assembly,
but the law restricts the exercise of this right, and security forces
intervened in some demonstrations during the year. Organizers must
submit requests for public gatherings or demonstrations to the MOI at
least 72 hours in advance. Three citizens from the proposed
demonstration area must sign the application. If there is no response
to the request, the gathering may proceed. The law prohibits public
gatherings near hospitals, airports, commercial centers, designated
security-related facilities, or funeral processions, as well as
gatherings between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., unless the chief of public
security or his deputy permits such in writing. The law states that
funeral processions may not be turned into political rallies and that
security officials may be present at any public gathering. The head of
public security must notify the organizers about any official changes
to the request (such as location, time, or route) at least 48 hours
prior to the event. Organizers of an unauthorized gathering face prison
sentences of three to six months.
The Government specifically limited and controlled political
gatherings. The law regulates election campaigns and prohibits
political activities at worship centers, universities, schools,
government buildings, and public institutions. Unlike in previous
years, there were no reports that the MOI told mosque leaders and
owners of ma'tams (Shia religious community centers) to close their
doors to prevent meetings from occurring; however, the Government did
not allow ma'tams or other religious sites to be used for political
gatherings without permission.
On May 15, the Amal political society used a ma'tam for internal
party elections. On May 18, the MOJIA charged Amal with violating the
law and attempted to have its financial aid suspended for 90 days. Amal
appealed, and on October 27, the MOJIA announced it had dropped the
case.
Government security forces intervened in some demonstrations during
the year.
Antigovernment demonstrations occurred in numerous Shia villages
around the country on an almost weekly basis during the year. Bands of
Shia youth, allegedly instigated by members of the unregistered Haq
movement, regularly appeared at the end of both registered and
unregistered demonstrations where, according to Shia community members
and MOI officials, they burned tires and trash and threw Molotov
cocktails and stones at riot police.
The police often dispersed demonstrations with tear gas. Local
human rights NGOs alleged that riot police used tear gas against
peaceful demonstrators; however, the MOI countered that it used tear
gas in response to attacks by demonstrators. Numerous organizations,
including Al Wifaq National Islamic Society, the Bahrain Human Rights
Society (BHRS), and the officially disbanded Bahrain Center for Human
Rights (BCHR), alleged that MOI forces used rubber bullets to break up
demonstrations. Senior MOI officials said the police used only less
dangerous rubber baton rounds.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of
freedom of association; however, the Government limited this right in
practice. Although the Government does not allow the formation of
political parties, it authorized registered political societies to run
candidates and participate in other political activities.
The Government required all groups to register: civil society
groups with the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD), political
societies with the MOJIA, and labor unions with the Ministry of Labor
(MOL). The Government decided whether the group was social or political
in nature based on its proposed bylaws. The law prohibits any activity
by an unlicensed society and any political activity by a licensed civil
society group.
To apply for registration, a political society must submit its
bylaws signed by all founding members, a list of all members and copies
of their residency cards, and a financial statement identifying the
society's sources of funding and bank information. The society's
principles, goals, and programs must not run counter to either Shari'a
law or the national interest as interpreted by the judiciary, and it
may not be based on sectarian, geographic, or class identity.
A civil society organization applying for registration must submit
its bylaws signed by all founding members and minutes of meetings of
the founding committee stating names of founding members, their
professions, their place of residence, and containing their signatures.
The law provides the MOSD the right to reject the registration of any
civil society if it finds the society's services unnecessary, already
provided by another society, contrary to state security, or aimed at
reviving a previously dissolved society. Associations whose
applications are rejected or ignored may appeal to the High Civil
Court, which may annul the MOSD's decision or refuse the complaint.
The MOSD continued to deny the National Committee for the
Unemployed to register as a civil society group because of the
political nature of its activities and the Bahrain Youth Human Rights
Society (BYHRS), likely because some of its members were under 18 years
of age and because of its ties to the dissolved BCHR. On November 6,
the MOJIA filed legal proceedings against the BYHRS President that
superceded the November 2007 MOSD case. At year's end the case was
pending.
On August 12, the MOSD appointed Fakhria Dairi chairwoman of the
Bahrain Nurses Society (BNS) after the BNS failed to hold regular
elections in conformance with its bylaws. The BNS subsequently held an
election on August 24, which the ministry determined was illegal
because the board failed to notify the MOSD in advance. BNS supporters
alleged that the ministry enforced the law as punishment for a BNS
threat to strike at the largest public hospital.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution states that Islam is the
official religion and that Shari'a is a principal source for
legislation. The constitution provides for freedom of conscience, the
inviolability of worship, and the freedom to perform religious rites
and hold religious parades and meetings, in accordance with the customs
and laws of the country; however, the Government placed some
limitations on the exercise of this right. The law requires all
religious groups to obtain a permit from the MOJIA to operate and hold
religious meetings. Depending on a group's activities, it may also need
approvals from the MOSD, the MOINFO, and/or the Ministry of Education.
The constitution prohibits speech considered blasphemous or anti-
Islamic.
The Baha'i congregation, repeatedly denied registration in previous
years, continued to gather and worship freely without government
interference. Numerous Christian churches operated freely, although
several could not successfully register. Most of these cases related to
zoning concerns and neighbors' complaints about parking near houses
used as unregistered churches. Other religious minorities, including
Sikhs and Hindus, practiced freely. Immigrants and noncitizens faced no
government restrictions on religious observance.
The Government funded and closely controlled all official religious
institutions, including Shia and Sunni mosques, Shia ma'tams, Shia and
Sunni waqfs (religious endowments), and the religious courts, and it
may withhold funding to punish particular individuals or places of
worship, although reports of this were not common. New mosques were
dependent upon the Government's nontransparent land allocation process,
and allocation reportedly was not proportionate to the Shia community's
relative population in the country. At year's end the MOJIA had not
approved an application for a Shia ma'tam that was close to the
community in Hamad Town, leading individuals in the community to
convert parts of their homes into ma'tams.
Islamic studies are mandatory for all public school students.
The law prohibits proselytizing by non-Muslims; however, bookstores
owned by Bahrainis, other Arabs, and other expats openly sold and
displayed religious materials, including Christian Bibles, without fear
of government intervention or reprisal.
The Government scrutinized carefully those who chose to pursue
religious study in Iran.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Government and societal
discrimination against the majority Shia population remained a problem.
Sunnis received preference for employment in sensitive government
positions and in the managerial ranks of the civil service, and the
defense and internal security forces were predominantly Sunni. Unlike
in previous years, there were no reports of religious discrimination in
university faculty employment. Although Shia citizens held posts in the
security forces, with few exceptions positions were not high ranking.
During the year the Ministry of Defense did not recruit Shia for
military service; however, the MOI made increasing efforts to recruit
Shia into unarmed security agencies such as traffic and community
police. In the private sector, Shia tended to work in lower-paid, less-
skilled jobs. Educational, social, and municipal services in most Shia
neighborhoods were inferior to those found in Sunni communities.
The Jewish community had approximately 36 members, one of whom
served in the Shura Council until the King appointed her ambassador to
the United States on April 22.Some anti-Jewish political commentary and
editorial cartoons appeared, usually linked to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, without government response. Although the one synagogue was
not open due to the small size of the Jewish community in the country,
Jews practiced their faith privately without interference from the
Government.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
The law provides that the Government may reject applications to
obtain or renew passports for ``reasonable cause,'' but the applicant
has the right to appeal such decisions before the High Civil Court. In
practice authorities relied on determinations of national security when
adjudicating passport applications.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports
of forced exile or return from exile during the year. Some political
oppositionists who refused the 2001 amnesty remained in self-imposed
exile.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and there is
no system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the
Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents. By
law foreign women who marry citizens are eligible for citizenship after
five years of marriage; however, foreign men who marry citizens are not
entitled to citizenship, and neither are their children. The Bahrain
Women's Society (BWS) reported that there were 128 stateless children
in the country. In 2006 King Hamad issued a royal decree granting
citizenship to at least 372 children of citizen mothers and noncitizen
fathers. However, this action did not change the law, so children born
after the decree continued to face statelessness.
The law clearly defines naturalization requirements, but
adjudication of naturalization applications was not transparent.
Opposition groups claimed that the Government regularly ignored
naturalization rules to manipulate demographics for voting purposes and
to maintain Sunni domination of the police and defense forces.
According to these opposition groups, the Government was more lenient
with naturalization requests from expatriates in the security forces,
while Shia and other applicants experienced delays in the processing of
their cases. The Government occasionally granted citizenship to Sunni
residents from neighboring countries. The Government stated that some
Saudis who had received citizenship were the grandchildren of Bahraini
citizens who had immigrated to Saudi Arabia and had a legal right to
citizenship. The Ministry of Interior reported that it has naturalized
7,012 persons, including formerly stateless children, since 2003.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens do not have the right to change their government or their
political system; however, the constitution provides for a
democratically elected Council of Deputies, the lower house of
parliament. The King appoints the prime minister, who then proposes
cabinet ministers. Members of the royal family held all strategic
cabinet ministry positions and approximately half of all ministerial
slots.
The bicameral National Assembly consists of the 40-member popularly
elected Council of Deputies and the 40-member appointed Shura
(Consultative) Council. Members of either house may propose
legislation, but the Office of Legal Affairs, a quasi-independent body
linked to the MOJIA, drafts the actual text of bills. The King may veto
bills passed by the National Assembly, which in turn may override a
veto by a two-thirds majority vote. If the legislature overrides a
veto, the King must promulgate the bill into law within one month.
Since the reopening of parliament in 2002, the King has not vetoed any
legislation, and the Government has not submitted any bill to
parliament that a member of either council proposed.
The King may dissolve the Council of Deputies at his discretion. He
retains the power to amend the constitution and to propose, ratify, and
promulgate laws. Either council may question government ministers, and
the Council of Deputies may require a minister's resignation with a
two-thirds majority vote of no confidence. The Council of Deputies may
introduce a resolution indicating it cannot cooperate with the prime
minister, in which case the joint National Assembly would have the
option to pass the resolution by a two-thirds majority, requiring the
King to either dismiss the prime minister or dissolve the Council of
Deputies. The situation of a no-confidence vote has never arisen.
Elections and Political Participation.--All registered political
societies, including the four that boycotted the 2002 elections,
participated in the 2006 Council of Deputies elections. Although no
international observers participated, the Government permitted nine
local civil society groups, including the Bahrain Human Rights Watch
Society (BHRWS) and the Bahrain Society for Public Freedoms, access to
poll stations to observe voting. The Bahrain Transparency Society and
the BHRS joined efforts to form the Election Monitoring Joint Committee
(EMJC) and trained more than 200 local observers. The Government asked
a foreign organization involved in political party training and
election observation to leave the country during the campaign process
and elections.
In its February 2007 report, the EMJC stated there were no
widespread attempts to influence the outcome of the elections, although
it noted that candidates did not cease campaign activities 24 hours
prior to the polls as required by law. Official polling station
observers did not report significant problems during the voting
process, although there were allegations that in some cases the
Government may have manipulated general poll center vote counts against
opposition candidates in close races. The opposition also alleged that
the Government gerrymandered the districts to protect Sunni interests.
The Government did not allow the formation of political parties,
but 15 political societies, which received some government funding and
operated like political parties, chose candidates for parliamentary and
municipal elections, campaigned for political office, developed
political platforms, held internal elections, and hosted political
gatherings. Political societies were highly critical of provisions in
the law requiring them to notify the MOJIA before contacting political
groups abroad.
The law prohibits civil society groups from engaging in political
matters; however, the Government permitted such activity at its
discretion.
There were 10 women in the Shura Council and one in the Council of
Deputies. Two women served as cabinet ministers, three women sat as
judges in the criminal courts, and one was a judge in the
constitutional court.
Shia and Sunni citizens have equal rights before the law; however,
Sunnis dominated political life even though Shia comprised the majority
of the citizen population. Twenty Shura Council members were Shia
Muslims, 19 were Sunni, and one was Christian. Four of the 23 cabinet
ministers were Shia, including a deputy prime minister.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
always implement the law effectively, and some officials reportedly
engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Significant areas of
government activity continued to lack transparency. The annual National
Audit Bureau report released on November 7 analyzed the accounts of
state-owned entities and alleged that oil revenue of more than 232
million dinars ($615 million) was unaccounted for.
On February 25, the Lower Criminal Court found an officer and a
manager of the parastatal ship-building company Arab Shipbuilding and
Repair Yard guilty of embezzlement and misuse of company charge cards
and sentenced them to one year's imprisonment, suspended, and three
years' imprisonment, respectively. The Government increased official
supervision of the company by appointing the director of customs as
chairman of the yard's board.
On November 16, the Lower Criminal Court sentenced the manager of a
cleaning company to three years' imprisonment and a 5,000 dinar
($13,250) fine for attempting to bribe the new minister of
municipalities. His lawyer immediately appealed the case, and the
appeal remained pending at year's end.
In June 2007 the Ministry of Industry and Commerce filed a
complaint with the public prosecution accusing nine employees of
embezzlement. A few days later authorities arrested the individuals.
The court released the nine on bail, and the case remained pending at
year's end.
The law does not provide citizens access to government-held
information or require government officials to provide financial
disclosures.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Restrictions on freedom of association and expression hindered
investigation or public criticism of the Government's human rights
policies; however, local and international NGOs published reports on
human rights during the year. There were three major human rights
groups that reported on issues of concern: the independent BHRS, which
was widely viewed as allied with the socialist legacy party Wa'ad; the
BHRWS, which considered itself independent, although some leaders were
also members of the appointed Shura Council and its former President
was appointed in April as an ambassador; and former members of the
dissolved BCHR, which often coordinated its activities with the
unregistered oppositionist Haq movement.
In recent years the Government has allowed increased interaction
between local civil society groups and international human rights
organizations. During the year citizen members of Amnesty
International, who have not registered as an NGO with the MOSD, carried
out several activities without interference by the Government.
On January 24, the Public Prosecution authorized the BHRS to visit
some detainees from the December 2007 riots, as long as physicians did
not accompany the BHRS. On January 26, the public prosecutor withdrew
permission when the BHRS insisted that physicians accompany the
inspection team.
On April 27, the Government submitted its report as part of the
UN's periodical review of human rights. Some human rights NGOs,
including the BHRS, BHRWS, Bahrain Transparency, and members of the
disbanded BCHR, alleged that the Government did not inform them of the
deadline for submission of concurrent reports. The NGOs attended the
review and submitted their own reports.
Although the law prohibits foreign NGOs from registering with the
Government, the Government generally did not interfere with their
activities provided it did not perceive these activities as interfering
in the political system. In previous years the Government provided
written warning to foreign NGOs it believed had interfered in internal
political matters. In 2006 the Government declined to renew the
residence permit of an NGO chief who had become the focus of
controversy, with the result that the NGO's local office closed. The
NGO resumed operations in 2007 from a regional hub office located
outside the country, and in partnership with a local NGO.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equality, equal opportunity, and the
right to medical care, welfare, education, property, capital, and work
for all citizens. However, these rights were protected unevenly,
depending on the individual's social status, sect, or gender.
Women.--Rape is illegal; however, the law does not address spousal
rape. The press reported cases of men arrested for the crime, including
a few cases in which fathers of rape victims sought lighter sentences
for perpetrators. There was no information on the number of rape and
sexual assault cases brought to the public prosecutor or any resulting
convictions.
No government policies or laws explicitly addressed domestic
violence against women. Spousal abuse of women was widespread,
particularly in poorer communities. Women rarely sought legal redress
for violence, and there was little public attention devoted to the
problem. The Batelco Care Center for Family Violence continued to offer
free medical, psychological, legal, and social assistance to victims of
violence, primarily women and children, and it operated an abuse hot
line that recorded 728 cases involving domestic abuse during the year.
Prostitution is illegal, but it occurred. Most prostitutes were
expatriate women, and some were victims of trafficking. Customers were
primarily expatriates.
Sexual harassment is prohibited but remained a widespread problem
for women, especially foreigners working as domestics and in other low-
level service jobs. The press reported a number of cases of men
arrested for sexually harassing women.
Women faced discrimination under the law. Women have the right to
initiate a divorce; however, religious courts may refuse the request.
In divorce cases the courts routinely granted mothers custody of
daughters under age nine and sons under age seven. Custody usually
reverted to the father once the children reached those ages. Regardless
of custody decisions, the father retained guardianship, or the right to
make all legal decisions for the child, until the child reached the age
of 21. A noncitizen woman automatically loses custody of her children
if she divorces their citizen father without just cause. A Muslim woman
can legally marry a non-Muslim man if the man converts to Islam.
Women may own and inherit property and represent themselves in all
public and legal matters. In the absence of a direct male heir, Shia
women may inherit all property; however, Sunni women without a direct
male heir inherit only a portion as governed by Shari'a, while the
brothers or male relatives of the deceased divide the balance. In
practice better-educated families used wills and other legal maneuvers
to mitigate the negative effects of these rules.
Labor laws prohibit discrimination against women; however,
discrimination against women was systemic in the country, especially in
the workplace. The influence of religious traditionalists sometimes
hampered women's rights. According to the Central Bank, women
constituted 16 percent of the private sector workforce and 46 percent
of the Government workforce in 2007.
Children.--The Government generally honored its commitment to
children's welfare through enforcement of related civil and criminal
laws and an extensive social welfare network. Children born to citizen
mothers and noncitizen fathers were not entitled to citizenship and
were not eligible for certain social services.
According to the BWS, child abuse was common. The BWS ``Be Free''
Campaign, which has sponsored a Web site for victims of child abuse
since 2002, reported that during the year it received between 300 and
400 e-mails per month from persons reporting to have been victims of
child abuse.
Trafficking in Persons.--On January 8, the Government enacted a
comprehensive law that prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons;
however, there were reports that persons were trafficked to and through
the country.
The country was a destination for persons trafficked from Southeast
Asia, South Asia, the Horn of Africa, and the former Soviet Union.
Reports also indicated that the country was a transit point for workers
from these regions to Europe. Some victims were trafficked for
commercial sexual exploitation, but victims were most commonly
trafficked for unskilled construction and domestic labor.
According to the Migrant Workers Protection Society (MWPS), the
principal traffickers were illegitimate recruiting companies in source
countries. Traffickers used debt bondage, contract substitution, and
threats of legal action against their victims. The MWPS reported that
victims often recruited additional victims from their home regions in
an attempt to pay off debt.
Under the January 8 antitrafficking law, traffickers face fines of
between 2,000 and 10,000 dinars ($5,300 and $26,500) and mandatory
prison sentences of up to 10 years for each offense, and anyone who
trafficks a person on behalf of a corporation faces a fine of up to
100,000 dinars ($265,000) and the same mandatory prison sentences.
``Aggravating circumstances,'' including if the victim is a woman or
less than 15 years of age, double the fines and prison sentences.
On December 23, the Government found Arfa Ching guilty of
trafficking in persons and sentenced her to three and a half years'
imprisonment and a 5,000 dinar ($13,250) fine.
The Government established a 10-person unit within the MOI's
Criminal Investigation Directorate to combat trafficking in persons.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) headed a committee that set
trafficking policy and included representatives from the Ministries of
Interior, Justice, Information, and Social Development, as well as the
Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) and three NGOs. The MOSD
headed another committee charged with evaluating and determining the
status of victims, which included representatives from the MOFA, MOI,
and the LMRA.
Fear of deportation or employer retaliation deterred many foreign
workers from making complaints to the authorities. Many foreign workers
were unaware of their rights under the law. The Government published
pamphlets on expatriate workers' rights in several languages, provided
manuals on these rights to local diplomatic missions, and operated a
telephone hot line for victims.
On July 1, the LMRA implemented new visa rules for migrant workers
in the public and private sectors to reduce the incidence of employers
holding workers' passports or otherwise restricting their movement. The
new rules also targeted the illegal practice known as ``free visas,''
whereby a sponsor enabled a laborer to enter the country under the
cover of working for the sponsor and then allowed the worker to find
other work, at an often exorbitant fee payable to the sponsor.
During the year the Government shelter for abused and migrant women
housed women who ran away from employers. The Government also
collaborated with a foreign NGO to help train its antitrafficking unit
and personnel at its shelter for female migrant workers.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law protects the rights of persons
with disabilities, and a variety of governmental, quasi-governmental,
and religious institutions are mandated to support and protect persons
with disabilities. New public buildings in the central municipality
must include facilities for persons with disabilities. The law does not
mandate access to nonresidential buildings for persons with
disabilities.
There were no reports of discrimination against persons with
disabilities in employment, education, or access to health care.
Children with learning disabilities, physical handicaps, speech
impediments, and Down syndrome were enrolled in specialized education
programs in public schools.
The law requires the Government provide vocational training for
persons with disabilities who wish to work. The law requires any
employer of more than 100 persons to hire at least 2 percent of its
employees from the Government's list of workers with disabilities;
however, the Government did not monitor compliance. The Government
placed persons with disabilities in some public sector jobs.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law grants citizenship to
Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 15 years and non-
Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 25 years. However,
there was a lack of transparency in the naturalization process, and
there were reports that the citizenship law was not applied uniformly.
For example, there were allegations that the Government allowed
expatriate Sunni Arabs who had served less than 15 years in the
security services to apply for citizenship. There were also reports of
Arab Shia who had resided in-country for more than 15 years and non-
Arab expatriates who had resided more than 25 years who had not been
granted citizenship.
In past years the Government offered citizenship to several
thousand stateless ``Bidoon'' persons, mostly Shia of Persian origin.
However, according to Freedom House, Bidoon and citizens who spoke
Farsi as their first language continued to encounter discrimination in
the society and work force.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law does not
criminalize homosexual relationships between consenting adults of at
least 21 years of age.
While discrimination against homosexuality and HIV/AIDS was not
common or apparent, both attributes were socially taboo and not widely
covered in the media.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law grants workers, including
noncitizens, a limited right to form and join unions. Members of the
military are prohibited from joining unions. Public sector workers may
join private trade unions and professional societies, but public sector
unions are illegal. The General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions
(GFBTU), which all unions were required to join, recognized seven
public sector unions that the Government considered illegitimate.
Approximately 28 percent of the private-sector labor force was
unionized. The GFBTU did not report any government interference in its
private sector activities, and the law restricted the right to strike.
The law allows for the establishment of additional federations;
however, there were none. The law prohibits unions from engaging in
political activities.
The law holds the right to strike is a legitimate means for workers
to defend their rights and interests; however, this right was
restricted. The law prohibits strikes in certain vital sectors, which,
by decree, include the oil, gas, education, telecommunication, and
health sectors, as well as pharmacies and bakeries. For workers
permitted to strike, the law requires arbitration before a vote to
strike and a two-week notification that a union intends to strike.
Although government sources held that the arbitration provision did not
preempt the right to strike, the law does not clearly specify that a
union may proceed to a strike vote if it disagrees with the
arbitrator's decision.
In July 2007 Batelco fired two trade-union organizers, including
the union's vice President, for engaging in a work stoppage that it
deemed in violation of the ban on such action in the telecommunications
sector, even though the union did not call for or attempt a strike. On
March 12, Batelco reinstated the employees in compliance with a court
order.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively. Employers
and the Government are required to treat unions as independent judicial
entities. Unions did not generally practice collective bargaining. In
the private sector, the law prohibits antiunion discrimination and
employer interference in union functions, and the Government generally
protected this right. The law also provides protection to workers
terminated for their union activities.
On July 23, employees of the public bus company Cars went on strike
to demand higher wages. At the behest of the Government and GFBTU, the
workers successfully employed collective bargaining and achieved a
salary increase. Although strikes in the transportation sector are
prohibited, the Government did not enforce the prohibition.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred, particularly in cases of domestic
workers and those working illegally. There were no reports of forced or
compulsory child labor.
Foreign workers, who made up 59 percent of the workforce (78
percent of the private sector workforce), in some cases arrived in the
country under the sponsorship of an employer and then switched jobs,
while continuing to pay a fee to their original sponsor, which made it
difficult to monitor and control their employment.
In numerous instances employers withheld salaries from their
foreign workers for months and even for years and refused to grant them
the necessary permission to leave the country. The Government and the
courts generally worked to rectify abuses if they were brought to their
attention, but they otherwise focused little attention on the problem.
The fear of deportation or employer retaliation prevented many foreign
workers from making complaints to the authorities.
Labor laws do not fully cover domestic workers. There were numerous
credible reports that domestic workers, especially women, were forced
to work 12 to 16 hour days, given little time off, were malnourished,
and were subjected to verbal and physical abuse, including sexual
molestation and rape. Between 30 to 40 percent of the attempted suicide
cases handled by the Government's psychiatric hospitals were foreign
domestic workers.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibits
forced and compulsory child labor, and the Government enforced this
prohibition effectively.
The minimum age for employment is 16 years of age. The MOL makes
rare exceptions on a case-by-case basis for juveniles between the ages
of 14 and 16 who have an urgent need to assist in providing financial
support for their families. Minors may not work in industries deemed
hazardous or unhealthy by the Ministry of Health. When employed, minors
may work no more than six hours a day and may be present on the
employment premises no more than seven hours a day. These regulations
do not apply to family-operated businesses in which the only other
employees are family members. MOL inspectors enforced child labor laws
effectively in the industrial sector; child labor outside that sector
was monitored less effectively, but it was not believed to be
significant outside family-operated businesses. Even in such
businesses, it was not widespread.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage. Unskilled foreign laborers in particular did not earn as much as
the guidelines suggested. The law allows employers to consider benefits
for foreign workers such as annual trips home, housing, and education
bonuses as part of the salary.
The MOL enforced the labor law and mandated acceptable conditions
of work for all adult workers, except domestic workers, including a
maximum of 48 hours per week. Except for Muslims during Ramadan when
work should not exceed six hours per day and 36 hours per week, workers
are entitled to one day of rest after six consecutive days of work and
to annual paid vacations of 21 days after one year of service. The
labor law for the private sector permits 12 hours of overtime per week
that is to be paid at a rate of 25 percent above the normal wage if
conducted during the day and 50 percent if completed at night. Special
MOL permission is required for anyone working more than 60 hours per
week. The Labor Inspectorate conducted periodic, comprehensive
inspections of private sector enterprises, including verification of
employee hours and wages.
Workplace safety standards are adequate, but inspection and
compliance were substandard. The MOL set occupational safety and health
standards and sporadically enforced them by performing workplace
inspections. The ministry employed a team of eight engineers from
multiple specialties that it trained as safety inspectors and gave the
authority to levy fines and close work sites if employers did not
improve conditions by specified deadlines. During the year the press
reported several workplace deaths owing to a combination of inadequate
safety procedures, worker ignorance of those procedures, and inadequate
safety standards for equipment, but exact figures were not available.
Trained inspectors visited labor camps to verify if workers'
accommodations met required safety and hygiene standards. During the
year, inspectors visited 1,287 labor camps, of which 106 failed the
inspection because of safety issues such as gas and electricity
problems, overcrowding, poor hygiene, and the general state of
disrepair. Inspectors cited poor hygiene in warnings issued to 126
camps, as well as part of their rationale for the closure of 23 camps.
The inspectors were authorized to inspect only premises that had a
commercial registration, not private homes, where most domestic workers
resided and worked, or unregistered ``private'' camps, where many
unskilled laborers lived.
Reports of employers and recruiting agencies beating or sexually
abusing foreign women working in domestic positions were common.
Numerous cases were reported to local embassies, the press, and the
police; however, most victims were too intimidated to sue their
employers, although they had the right to do so. If the victim brings a
suit against the employer, the plaintiff cannot leave the country for
the duration of the case. The MWPS continued to support several victims
who took their cases to court, but compensation to victims was
reportedly very low.
When a worker lodges a complaint, the MOL opens an investigation
and often takes remedial action. The MOL reportedly received 3,426
complaints during the year, including those from domestic workers. On
average there were nine complaints from domestic workers per month.
Ministry officials said that they were able to resolve more than half
of these cases through mediation in the ministry. The public prosecutor
took up the remaining cases for investigation. Complaints brought
before the MOL that cannot be settled through arbitration must be
referred to the court within 15 days.
A few companies still transported expatriate workers in open trucks
on benches, despite a ministerial decree banning the practice.
Accidents, sometimes fatal, resulted. On April 13, the cabinet approved
a decree instructing all companies to transport workers in buses,
prohibiting even covered trucks, by the end of the year.
A ministerial decree prohibits outdoor work between the hours of
noon and 4 p.m. during the months of July and August. As a result,
health officials reported a decrease in the number of heatstroke cases
from 1,154 cases in 2007 to 981. According to the MOL, it fined 26
companies between 50 to 300 dinars ($132 to $792) per worker for
allegedly violating the ban during the year, an increase from 21 in
2007.
__________
EGYPT
The National Democratic Party (NDP) has governed the Arab Republic
of Egypt, which has a population of approximately 82 million, since the
party's establishment in 1978. The NDP, which continued to dominate
national politics by maintaining an overriding majority in the
popularly elected People's Assembly (PA) and the partially elected
Shura (Consultative) Council, derives its governing authority from the
1971 constitution and subsequent amendments. Executive authority
resides with the President and the cabinet. In 2005 President Hosni
Mubarak won a fifth consecutive six-year term with 88 percent of the
vote in the country's first Presidential election, which was marred by
low voter turnout and charges of fraud. The civilian authorities did
not always maintain effective control of security forces, who committed
numerous, serious abuses of human rights.
The Government's respect for human rights remained poor, and
serious abuses continued in many areas. The Government limited
citizens' right to change their government and continued a state of
emergency that has been in place almost continuously since 1967.
Security forces used unwarranted lethal force and tortured and abused
prisoners and detainees, in most cases with impunity. Prison and
detention center conditions were poor. Security forces arbitrarily
arrested and detained individuals, in some cases for political
purposes, and kept them in prolonged pretrial detention. The executive
branch placed limits on and pressured the judiciary. The Government's
respect for freedoms of press, association, and religion declined
during the year, and the Government continued to restrict other civil
liberties, particularly freedom of speech, including Internet freedom,
and freedom of assembly, including restrictions on nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs). Government corruption and lack of transparency
persisted.
The Government made significant and effective efforts to combat
female genital mutilation (FGM). These efforts included education,
outreach, and the passage and enforcement of legislation criminalizing
FGM. In addition, courts issued the first two convictions on sexual
assault charges.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government did
not commit any politically motivated killings; however, security forces
committed arbitrary or unlawful killings during the year. Most killings
resulted from police brutality. Although the exact number of deaths was
unknown, the Al-Nadim Center for Psychological Rehabilitation of the
Victims of Torture documented 32 cases of police officers torturing
victims to death in a nine-month period from June 2007 to March.
Security forces also unlawfully killed refugees and asylum-seekers (See
Section 2.d.).
On February 26, police officer Saad Mohamed Mansour reportedly beat
and drowned fisherman Ahmed Fayad in Al Manzala Lake. On October 24, Al
Mansoura Criminal Court sentenced Mansour to three years in prison and
fined him LE 10,000 (approximately $1,800).
On March 24, police officers in Tanta killed Eid Ahmed Ibrahim by
driving a police van over the victim, who was trying to prevent the
arrest of his brother. An estimated 2,000 villagers protested, accusing
the police of deliberately killing Ibrahim. On November 15, Tanta
Misdemeanor Court sentenced police officers Mohamed Sadaawi and Ahmed
Abdel Aal to three years in prison, ordering each to pay LE 10,000
($1,800 compensation). The verdict is subject to appeal.
On October 9, a police officer in the town of Samalut allegedly
killed a pregnant woman, Mervat Abdel Salam Abdel Fattah, while
searching for her brother-in-law on suspicion of theft. The case
remained pending at year's end.
On November 23, a police officer in Aswan, Mohamed Labib, allegedly
shot and killed Abdel Wahab Abdel Razeq after apparently entering the
wrong apartment in pursuit of a drug dealer. During the demonstrations
that followed the killing, an elderly Aswan resident, Yehia Abdel
Hamid, died from inhaling tear gas that the police had released. On
November 25, the Government detained police officer Mohammed Labib for
his suspected role in the killing.
Security forces used lethal force against protesters in other
instances. On April 6 and 7, security forces killed four protesters
during violent clashes between police and protestors in Mahalla el
Kubra, a textile town in the Nile Delta. Police used live ammunition,
rubber bullets, and tear gas to suppress protests against low wages and
price hikes on basic goods. Among those killed was 15-year-old Ahmed
Ali Mabrouk Hamada, whom police shot on April 6 in his family's
apartment near Mahalla's Jumhuriya Square. At year's end the Government
had not taken any corrective action to prosecute the police officers
responsible.
Also, on November 11, Civilian Security Forces (CSF) killed three
Bedouin tribesmen in the North Sinai during demonstrations that
followed the November 10 CSF killing of a suspected drug smuggler. The
Government did not take public action to investigate these killings.
Authorities did not investigate the June 2007 killing of Ahmed
Abdel Salam Ghanem during the Shura Council elections or any of at
least three killings in 2007 of refugees or asylum-seekers at the
Israeli border.
On June 7, an appeals court upheld the seven-year prison sentence
and fine against police officer Mohamed Moawad for the July 2007
killing of Nasser El Saeedi.
On April 21, Public Prosecutor Mahmoud Abdel Meguid ordered a
reinvestigation into the case of 13-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh Abdel
Aziz, who allegedly died after chief of investigations Captain Mohamed
Qandil, police officer Abou el-Ezz Fathy Mansour, and detective Yasser
Mekawy tortured him with electric shocks in August 2007. At year's end
there were no further developments in the case.
At year's end the trial of police officers Maher Hussein, Hassan
Mohammed Hassan and Ahmed Al Nawawy for torturing Nasser Sediq Gadallah
to death in August 2007 was ongoing.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Article 42 of the constitution prohibits the infliction of
``physical or moral harm'' upon persons who have been arrested or
detained; however, the law fails to account for mental or psychological
abuse, abuse against persons who have not been formally accused, or
abuse occurring for reasons other than securing a confession. Police,
security personnel, and prison guards routinely tortured and abused
prisoners and detainees, especially in cases of detentions under the
Emergency Law, which authorizes incommunicado detention for prolonged
periods. The Government rarely held security officials accountable, and
officials often operated with impunity.
Domestic and international human rights groups reported that the
State Security Investigative Service (SSIS), police, and other
government entities continued to employ torture to extract information
or force confessions. On August 6, the Egyptian Organization for Human
Rights (EOHR) documented 40 cases of torture and 14 cases of torture
resulting in death in 2007 by police officers. Between 2000 and 2007,
the EOHR documented more than 226 cases of torture inside police
stations, including 93 deaths likely caused by torture and
mistreatment. In numerous trials, defendants alleged that police
tortured them during questioning. Human rights activists also continued
to call attention to more than a dozen amateur videos that observers
with mobile phone cameras circulated on the Internet documenting abuse
of citizens by security officials.
Although the Government investigated torture complaints in some
criminal cases and punished some offending police officers, punishments
generally did not conform to the seriousness of the offenses. On April
17, Assistant Interior Minister Hamdy Abdel Kerim publicly stated that
of 18 torture cases brought against police officers in the previous
year, there were 11 acquittals, two convictions, and five cases pending
investigation. The courts continued to award compensation to hundreds
of detainees for alleged torture by security forces; however, by year's
end many had not received any compensation. On December 28, the
official government-run news service reported that Deputy Interior
Minister for Legal Affairs Hamid Rashid told the People's Assembly (PA)
that the ministry had suspended 280 police officers from duty due to
charges of human rights violations against them, and was investigating
the charges. Rashid did not specify over what time period the MOI
actions occurred. Rashid also told the PA that the ministry had
discharged 1,164 lower-ranking policemen for misconduct and abuse of
power.
Some victims sought justice outside of the country. In November the
African Commission on Human Rights and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR)decided
in favor of an NGO, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
(EIPR),in its lawsuit against the Government for failure to prosecute
perpetrators who allegedly sexually assaulted women during a 2005
opposition rally.
Police and the SSIS reportedly employed torture methods such as
stripping and blindfolding victims; suspending victims by the wrists
and ankles in contorted positions or from a ceiling or door-frame with
feet just touching the floor; beating victims with fists, whips, metal
rods, or other objects; using electric shocks; dousing victims with
cold water; and sexual abuse, including sodomy. Victims reported that
security officials threatened them and forced them to sign statements
for use against themselves or their families should they in the future
lodge complaints about the torture. Some victims, including women and
children, reported that security officials sexually assaulted or
threatened to rape them or their family members. Human rights groups
reported that the lack of legally required written police records often
effectively blocked investigations.
During the year human rights groups and the media documented
numerous cases of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,
including against persons alleged to have HIV/AIDS, lawyers attempting
to defend their clients, journalists and bloggers who reported on
torture or other controversial topics, and labor demonstrators.
Following the April 6-7 violent clashes between police and
protestors in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, police reportedly tortured people
who observed the clashes or supported the Mahalla strike. According to
Human Rights Watch, officers reportedly subjected detainees to electric
shocks, beatings, and denial of food and drink.
On April 30, police officer Ahmed Antar Ibrahim assaulted Al Nadim
Center director and anti-torture activist Dr. Magda Adly and her
colleague Dr. Mona Hamed inside a courthouse in Kafr Al Dawwar. During
the assault, the police officer fractured Adly's shoulder and inflicted
a head wound that caused her to lose consciousness for 30 minutes. The
two doctors were at the courthouse to attend and testify in a case
concerning the Hussein family, who alleged torture by local police.
Sobhi Mohamed Hussein and his sons, Ahmed and Mohomed, reported that
police detained, burned, and beat them in Kafr Al Dawwar police station
on April 22 after they complained about a police raid at their home.
Hussein's sons sustained multiple injuries, including internal bleeding
and a broken hand. Following the attack on Adly, police officer Ibrahim
confessed that police intelligence officer Ahmad Maklad of the Kafr Al
Dawwar police station ordered him to attack Adly; Maklad was implicated
in the Hussein family's torture allegations. The court ordered Ibrahim
detained pending an investigation, which was ongoing at year's end. On
May 2, Amnesty International (AI) issued a statement describing the
incident as ``a disturbing development at a time when authorities
purport to be combating torture.''
On June 30, according to local NGOs, police officers beat and
shackled lawyer Magdy Ibrahim Taha to the door of a detention room at
the Hadeq Al Qoba police station after a policeman allegedly arrested
Taha's client without a warrant. On July 3, approximately 150 lawyers
reportedly held a sit-in at the police station to protest the
mistreatment of their colleague. Authorities arrested Taha and three
other lawyers--including Tareq Al-Awadi, Adel Sayed Abdrabu, and
Muhammad Abdu Hailqan--during the protest and charged them with
assaulting judicial personnel. On July 2, the West Cairo Court ordered
the release of all four on bail ranging from LE 500 to LE 1,000 ($90 to
$180). There were no updates at year's end.
On August 2, according to the Observatory for the Protection of
Human Rights Defenders (OHRD), relatives of a police officer convicted
of raping a refugee stopped the refugee's lawyer, Mohamed Bayoumi, on
the street, beat him, and stole the refugee case file. On August 13,
Bayoumi's family and business partner received phone calls claiming
Bayoumi had been shot and killed and otherwise threatening Bayoumi. The
Government had not taken corrective action to investigate this case by
year's end.
According to January 2007 press reports, 100 detainees affiliated
with Islamic Jihad filed complaints with the public prosecutor alleging
that police officers tortured and abused them during unspecified
periods of time. The detainees reported that authorities stripped them
of their clothes, beat and verbally humiliated them, and confiscated
their personal belongings. The public prosecutor had not responded by
year's end.
Authorities did not take any corrective action to investigate the
February 2007 alleged detention and torture of Fawzi Hassan and his
children. The Nadim Center accused a number of police officers of
involvement in the alleged detention and torture, including Mohamed El-
Banna, Mohamed Sarhan, Mohsen Nagib, Mohamed el-Ashmawy, Mesbah el-
Kasabi, and Mohamed Shalabi.
On February 9, Matrouh Public Prosecution transferred the torture
case of Yehia Abdallah (by police officers Alaa Mousa and Mohamed Al
Khodargy in July 2007) to the West Alexandria Public Prosecutor for
potential future criminal prosecution.
Police did not take any corrective action to investigate the July
2007 illegal detention of 40 individuals in Alexandria, or the August
2007 torture by assistant investigations officer Ashraf Morgan of
lawyer Ahmed Abdel Aziz.
On January 15, the Interior Ministry made public that it provided
compensation in November and December 2007 to 800 of the 3,000 Islamic
Group detainees awarded compensation in an October 2007 court verdict.
On February 2 and again on May 29, Cairo appeals courts upheld one-
two- three-year prison sentences and fines against nine of 12 suspected
HIV-positive men arrested in October 2007 on charges of debauchery. The
arrests began after two men, stopped on the street during an
altercation, told police officers they were HIV positive. According to
Human Rights Watch (HRW), authorities arrested and interrogated the
men, pressuring them to name their sexual contacts, whom police
subsequently arrested. Ministry of Health doctors forced all 12 to
undergo HIV tests without their consent, and Forensics Medical
Authority doctors performed forcible anal examinations on the men,
purportedly to prove that they had had sexual intercourse with other
men. The detainees who proved to be HIV positive were held for weeks in
hospitals chained to their beds, until February 25, when the Ministry
of Health ordered the hospitals to unchain them. The prosecutor dropped
the charges against three of the men, who were then released.
On May 21, an appeals court rejected police officer Islam Nabih's
appeal of his November 2007 conviction for assaulting and sodomizing
Cairo minibus driver Imad al-Kabir in 2006. Nabih and officer Reda
Fathi, convicted for the same crime, were serving three-year sentences
at year's end.
Authorities did not take steps to investigate and prosecute
security officials responsible for the 2006 torture and sexual assault
of blogger Mohamed Al Sharqawi.
There was an update regarding the 1994 killing by state security
officers of Islamic Group leader Abdel Hareth Madany. On January 6, the
State Council Administrative Court made public its verdict ordering the
Government to pay LE 50,000 (approximately $9,000) in compensation to
Madany's family. The compensation sum is the largest compensatory
verdict in the history of the Islamic Group. At year's end no further
information was available.
On August 17, the MOI announced its approval of compensation to
Islamists who were detained without trial during the 1990s, despite
court orders for their release. The Minister agreed to pay a total of
LE 10 million (approximately $1.87 million)) to an estimated 1,000
members of Al Jamaa Al Islamiya (the Islamic Group) who won court cases
against the Ministry. The Ministry refused to compensate 1,000 other
detainees whose cases the Ministry rejected.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions and
conditions in detention centers remained poor. Prison cells remained
overcrowded, with a lack of medical care, proper hygiene, food, clean
water, and proper ventilation. Tuberculosis was widespread; sexual and
other abuse, especially of juveniles in adult facilities, was common,
and guards brutalized prisoners.
On June 24, guards in Borg Al Arab prison in Alexandria allegedly
beat 17 inmates who were detained following the April 6-7 El-Mahalla
clashes. The prisoners had launched a hunger strike to protest
conditions of their detention. Security officials denied the
allegations, and authorities had not taken action to investigate the
case by year's end.
In July police at Torah prison allegedly beat American detainee
Mohamed Hesham Seif and transferred him, without allowing him to bring
his personal belongings, to Al Wadi Al Gadid prison, where he was
beaten again.
On September 8, police quashed a prison riot and a jailbreak
attempt in Assiut with tear gas and live fire, killing one prisoner and
wounding 25 others. Prisoners claimed guards had tortured a prisoner to
death prior to the riot. Authorities commenced an investigation into
the riot but had not taken further action at year's end.
Authorities did not investigate the July 2007 death in custody,
reportedly due to heat and overcrowding, of a prisoner in Al-Omraneya
prison.
Although separate prison facilities existed for men, women, and
juveniles, adults were not always separated from juveniles.
Visits and visitors to prisoners incarcerated for political crimes
or terrorism were subject to restrictions. Pretrial detainees were
sometimes held together with convicted prisoners.
The Government did not permit visits to prisons or other places of
detention by any independent human rights observers during the year,
despite repeated requests from the International Committee of the Red
Cross and other domestic and international human rights monitors. Some
prisons remained completely closed to the public. As required by law,
the public prosecutor continued to inspect all regular prisons during
the year, including police stations in Cairo, Alexandria, and Hurghada.
On March 15, authorities inpecting the Hurghada police station
reportedly found 11 suspects held for seven days without legal
justification. At year's end there were no updates on their statuses.
On November 29, the People's Assembly Committee on Human Rights
announced its decision to visit police stations randomly and inspect
detention centers to determine whether they complied with human rights
standards. SSIS detention centers were excluded from such inspections.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, during the year, police and
security forces engaged in such practices, including large-scale
detentions of hundreds of individuals without charge under the
Emergency Law, which was extended on April 26 for two more years.
Role of Police and Security Apparatus.--The MOI controls local
police forces, which operate in large cities and governorates; the
SSIS, which conducts investigations; and the Central Security Force
(CSF), which maintains public order. SSIS and CSF officers are
responsible for law enforcement at the national level and for providing
security for infrastructure and key officials, both domestic and
foreign. Single-mission law enforcement agencies, such as the Tourist
and Antiquities Police and the Antinarcotics General Administration,
also work at the national level.
The security forces operated under a central chain of command and
were considered generally effective in their efforts to combat crime
and terrorism and maintain public order. However, a culture of impunity
militated against systematic prosecution of security personnel who
committed human rights abuses.
There was widespread petty corruption in the police force,
especially below senior levels. The Government claimed to investigate
corruption and other instances of police malfeasance using a
nontransparent internal affairs mechanism, and it failed to investigate
many credible allegations of torture and mistreatment by police and
security forces. In an increase from the previous year, the Government
prosecuted cases it investigated in the judicial system; there were at
least 25 cases of security officers engaging in mistreatment and abuse
during the year, resulting in convictions of at least eight officers.
Working with the UN Development Program (UNDP), the Government
continued to provide human rights training for thousands of judicial
and law enforcement officials.
Arrest and Detention.--Individuals may be arrested and detained
under the Emergency Law or the penal code, both of which give the
Government broad powers.
The Emergency Law allows arrest without a warrant and detention of
an individual without charge for up to 30 days, after which a detainee
may demand a court hearing to challenge the legality of the detention
order. A detainee may resubmit a motion for a hearing at one-month
intervals thereafter; however, there is no limit to the detention
period if a judge continues to uphold the order or if the detainee
fails to exercise the right to a hearing, and there is no possibility
of bail. Many detainees under the Emergency Law remained incommunicado
in state security detention facilities without access to family members
or to lawyers before their cases were transferred to trial, and some
faced torture in detention.
Arrests under the penal code occurred openly and with warrants
issued by a district prosecutor or judge. A prosecutor must bring
charges within 48 hours following arrest or release the suspect.
Detainees under the penal code were sometimes not informed promptly of
charges against them. Authorities may hold a suspect for a maximum of
six months while they investigate. There was a functioning system of
bail for persons detained under the penal code. In criminal cases under
the penal code, defendants had the right to counsel promptly after
arrest and access to family members at the discretion of the court;
however, they often faced obstacles and were unable to secure regular
access to either.
On January 12, Minister of Interior Habib Al Adly issued decrees,
which were subsequently implemented, allowing phone access in all
prisons and increasing the number of visits allowed to prisoners,
especially to mothers in prison. Notwithstanding the prevailing state
of emergency and the Government's use of the Emergency Law provisions,
the Government continued to rely on the penal code for the majority of
criminal investigations and prosecutions.
In recent years, authorities detained thousands of persons
administratively under the Emergency Law on suspicion of terrorist or
political activity, including dozens of terrorism suspects in the Sinai
in 2006. AI, the Human Rights Association for the Assistance of
Prisoners (HRAAP), and other NGOs estimated that the Government
continued to hold approximately 5,000 persons in administrative
detention without charge or trial. Failure to implement judicial
rulings regarding the release of detainees also remained a problem. On
May 25, 280 prisoners in Borg Al Arab prison went on a hunger strike
because authorities had not released them despite court verdicts
ordering their release.
In February authorities released 20 Bedouins who were arrested
after the Taba, Dahab, and Sharm Al Sheikh bombings in previous years.
An estimated 300 Bedouins remain in detention.
During the year there were cases of pre-trial detention exceeding
legal limits.
Amnesty.--The Government issued several amnesties during the year,
including one on March 17 for approximately 100 members of the banned
group Al Takfir Wal Hijra (Excommunicate and Immigrate) after the
members signed statements renouncing violence; another in March for 510
members of Islamic groups; in April for 200 members of Islamic groups
(including four senior leaders of Islamic Jihad and Tala'e Al Fath);
and on September 16 for a group of Salafi detainees and those from the
group ``Al Waad.''
On July 23, Egypt's National Day, President Mubarak pardoned 1,587
prisoners who had served half their sentences.
On October 1, President Mubarak pardoned 738 prisoners on the
occasions of the Eid holiday and the October 6 holiday commemorating
the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary was subject to
executive influence and corruption. The President may invoke the
Emergency Law to refer any criminal case to the emergency or military
courts, in which the accused does not receive most of the
constitutional protections of the civilian judicial system, and the
Government continued to use the Emergency Law to try non-security cases
in these courts and to restrict many other basic rights. The
constitution provides for the independence and immunity of judges and
forbids interference by other authorities in the exercise of their
judicial functions. The Government generally respected judicial
independence in non-political cases in civilian courts. Emergency
courts, however, were not independent.
The President appoints all judges upon recommendation of the Higher
Judicial Council, a constitutional body composed of senior judges.
Judges receive tenure, limited only by mandatory retirement at age 70.
Only the Higher Judicial Council may dismiss judges for cause, such as
corruption. Headed by the President of the Court of Cassation, the
council regulates judicial promotions and transfers.
There have been cases of judges taking bribes. For example, on
September 4, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced the head judge of South
Cairo Compensation Court, Al Husseini Mohamed Al Husseini, to seven
years in prison and fined him LE 100,000 (approximately $18,000) for
taking a LE two million ($368,000) bribe from a jeweler.
In the civil court system, there are criminal courts, civil courts,
administrative courts, family courts and the Supreme Constitutional
Court. There are three levels of regular criminal courts: primary
courts; appeals courts; and the Court of Cassation, which represents
the final stage of criminal or civil appeals. Civil courts hear civil
cases and administrative courts hear cases contesting government
actions or procedures; both systems have upper-level courts to hear
appeals. The Supreme Constitutional Court hears challenges to the
constitutionality of laws or verdicts in any of the courts.
Emergency courts share jurisdiction with military courts over
crimes affecting national security. The President can appoint civilian
judges to emergency courts upon the recommendation of the minister of
justice or military judges upon recommendation of the minister of
defense. Military courts were established under the Code of Military
Justice Law No. 25 of 1966. Under the Code of Military Justice the
President can refer civilians to military courts for certain offenses
in the Penal Code such as acts harmful to the security of the
Government and deliberate destruction of property to harm national
security. The law was amended in April 2007 to include an appeal
mechanism. Military verdicts were subject to review by other military
judges and confirmation by the President, who in practice usually
delegated the review function to a senior military officer. Defense
attorneys claimed that they were not given sufficient time to prepare,
and that military judges tended to rush cases involving a large number
of defendants.
On December 15, the Tanta Emergency Supreme State Security Court
convicted 22 people on charges of assaulting police officers, robbery
and possession of unlicensed weapons during the April 6-7 protests in
Mahalla. The court acquitted the 27 other defendants of the same
charges.
On April 15, a closed military tribunal sentenced Muslim
Brotherhood (MB)Second Deputy Chairman Khairat El Shater and 24 other
civilian MB members, seven in absentia, to prison terms ranging from
three to 10 years on charges including money laundering and planning
terrorist activities. The tribunal acquitted 15 others. A Cairo
civilian criminal court had acquitted 17 of the defendants of all
charges in January 2007, but police rearrested them immediately after
the verdict, and President Mubarak transferred their cases to the
tribunal along with 23 others. This marked the first use of a military
tribunal against civilians since MB trials in 2002. The tribunal
regularly barred press and observers from human rights organizations
and occasionally excluded defense attorneys and family members. AI
described the verdict as a ``perversion of justice,'' and Human Rights
Watch (HRW) described it as a ``transparently political verdict from a
court that should have no authority to try civilians.''
On June 3, MB lawyers filed a complaint against the Government
regarding the validity of the trial; a military judge confirmed the
verdicts on July 13. The Administrative Court postponed the appeal
court session to March 2009.
At year's end Ossama Al-Nakhlawi, Younis Alyan, and Mohamed Gayez
Sabah remained on death row following November 2006 convictions for
involvement in the 2004 Taba terror bombings. HRW issued statements
after the verdict noting that the convicts' claims of incommunicado
detention, lack of access to counsel, torture, and forced confession
raised serious questions about the Ismailiya High State Security
Emergency Court verdict. HRW urged a retrial ``that complies with basic
standards of due process.''
Trial Procedures.--In civilian courts, the Government provides a
lawyer at the state's expense if the defendant does not have counsel,
and a defendant may appeal if denied this right; however, detainees in
certain high-security prisons continued to allege that they were denied
access to counsel or that such access was delayed until trial, thus
denying them time to prepare an adequate defense. The law allows
defendants to be present and to question witnesses against them and
present witnesses and evidence on their behalf, and it provides
defendants and their attorneys the right to access government-held
evidence against them. There are no juries and trials are usually
public. In civilian courts, defendants have the right of appeal up to
the Court of Cassation and the Supreme Constitutional Court. Judges
used guidelines for sentencing, defendants had the right to counsel,
and statements of the charges against defendants were made public.
Observers needed government permission to attend court sessions. Human
rights activists are generally able to attend trials in civilian courts
but are excluded from most military trials.
Sentences are subject to confirmation by the President, although an
April 2007 amendment to the emergency law allowed the right to appeal.
Defendants in military courts do not have the legal right to counsel,
but usually had lawyers who defended them. The President may alter or
annul a decision of an emergency court, including a decision to release
a defendant.
The Government has asserted that referral to emergency courts
usually has been limited to terrorism or national security cases, as
well as major cases of drug trafficking; however, the Government also
has occasionally used emergency courts to prosecute homosexuals,
heterodox religious groups, and political dissidents.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Egyptian human rights
organizations estimated in 2007 that 4,000 to 5,000 people remained in
prolonged detention without charge under the law, though Minister of
Interior Habib Al Adly stated that the total number of political
prisoners and detainees does not exceed 1,800. There were varied and
conflicting estimates of the number of ``extraordinary detainees''
(citizens held by the Government, often without trial, for alleged
political crimes). In 2006, credible domestic and international NGOs
estimated that there were between 6,000 and 10,000 such detainees in
addition to the prisoners in the ordinary criminal justice system. The
Government held detainees, including many MB activists, for several
weeks to several months or longer, and did not permit international
humanitarian organizations access to political prisoners.
As in previous years, the Government arrested and detained hundreds
of MB members and supporters without charge or trial. The precise
number of MB activists in detention at year's end was unknown, but the
MB estimated that 250 members remained in detention.
During the weeks leading up to April 8 local council elections,
police detained an estimated 1,000 MB members, 148 of whom were
potential candidates. On July 9, SSIS reportedly arrested at least 38
MB members in advance of the July 13 parliamentary by-elections for
four open parliamentary seats. At year's end the Government had
allegedly released most of the MB members who had been arrested before
the local council elections.
Runner-up in the 2005 Presidential election and leader of the
opposition Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party Ayman Nour remained in prison at
year's end, despite continued appeals for parole on health and
humanitarian grounds. The New Cairo Felonies Court convicted Nour in
2005. On November 25, the Government refused Nour's appeal for release
on medical grounds.
The Government tried to prevent Nour from sending letters from
prison, but he succeeded in publishing articles in the independent
daily newspaper, Al-Dostour.
Approximately 20 members of the banned Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami
(Islamic Liberation Party) remained in prison at year's end. In 2004
the Supreme State Security Emergency Court convicted 26 men linked to
Hizb al-Tahrir for belonging to a banned organization. Several of the
defendants, including three Britons, alleged they had been tortured to
compel them to sign confessions.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals had access to
civil courts for lawsuits relating to human rights violations, and
filed such lawsuits; however, the courts were not entirely independent,
especially in politically high-profile cases. Human rights observers
recommended that rules for pursuing judicial and administrative
remedies, including standards for considering damages for victims, be
established to obtain equitable redress and parity in compensation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for the privacy of the home,
correspondence, telephone calls, and other means of communication;
however, the Emergency Law suspends the constitutional provisions
regarding the right to privacy, and the Government used the Emergency
Law to limit these rights. Furthermore, authorities in terrorism cases
may disregard constitutional protections of privacy of communications
and personal residences.
Under the law, police must obtain warrants or court orders before
undertaking searches and wiretaps, but some human rights observers
alleged that the Government routinely violated the law. Police officers
who conducted searches without proper warrants were subject to criminal
penalties, although courts seldom imposed them. The Emergency Law
empowers the Government to place wiretaps, intercept mail, and search
persons or places without warrants. Security agencies frequently placed
political activists, suspected subversives, journalists, foreigners,
and writers under surveillance, screened their correspondence
(especially international mail), searched them and their homes, and
confiscated personal property. Authorities also punished or threatened
to punish family members.
On March 20, according to the Al Nadim Center and the Association
for Human Rights Legal Aid (AHRLA), police chief of investigations Ali
Kedr and officers Hossam Abdel Moneim and Mahmoud Al Deeb of the Menia
Al Nasr police station allegedly raided the home of Ibrahim El Sayed
Metwally because of a debt he owed. The officers severely beat and
verbally abused Metwally's mother and siblings. Metwally's sister
claimed the officers detained her, beat her with a stick, and
threatened to strip her. On May 27, press reports stated that Al
Daqahleya Public Prosecution had begun an investigation. There were no
further updates at year's end.
Authorities did not investigate the June 2007 home raid of writer
and blogger Mohamed Mossad Yaqout.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government partially
restricted these rights in practice, particularly by using the
Emergency Law. Nevertheless, citizens openly expressed their views on a
wide range of political and social issues, including vigorous criticism
of government officials and policies and direct criticism of the
President. During the year there was continued public debate about
political reform, human rights, corruption, press freedom, and related
issues.
During the year a number of opposition political activists,
journalists, and NGOs continued to advocate for political reform and
openly criticized the Government. A number of government actions
including wide-scale detentions of MB members, lawsuits against
independent journalists, and government restrictions on civil society
organizations led many observers to charge that the Government sought
to curtail criticism and activism.
The penal code and press and publications law govern press issues.
The constitution restricts ownership of newspapers to public or private
legal entities, corporate bodies, and political parties. There were
numerous restrictions on legal entities seeking to establish
newspapers, including a limit of 10 percent ownership by any
individual; the Government apparently enforced this limit unevenly. The
Government owned stock in the three largest daily newspapers, which
generally followed the Government line, and the President appointed
their top editors. The Government also controlled the licensing,
printing, and distribution of newspapers, including those of opposition
political parties, which frequently criticized the Government and gave
greater prominence to human rights abuses than did state-run
newspapers. The daily independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, which
focuses on domestic politics, continued to offer significant,
independent coverage of controversial topics.
During the year the Supreme Press Council revoked the licenses of
at least 14 news publications. It revoked the licenses of 12 of the 14
newspapers according to council guidelines because the newspapers were
not regularly published. It revoked the license of the magazine Al-
Zuhour at the behest of SSIS after MB member Salah Abu-al-Maqsud was
appointed editor-in-chief, and the newspaper Al-Shuruq Al-Gadid on the
grounds that some of the journalists were shareholders, in violation of
Press Syndicate regulations. By year's end, Al-Shuruq Al-Gadid received
a new license, though the others remained closed.
On December 16, an administrative court overturned a decision by
the Government Central Auditing Agency (CAA) to monitor the financial
and administrative records of privately owned independent newspapers.
The court ruled that freedom of expression is guaranteed by the
Constitution and cannot be restricted.
The Ministry of Information owned and operated all ground-based
domestic television and radio stations. Two private satellite stations,
Al-Mihwar and Dream TV, operated without direct government control,
although the Government had a financial stake in both. The Government
blocked reception of at least one foreign channel via satellite.
According to media reports, security personnel detained, harassed,
and assaulted journalists during the year.
While the Government generally permitted foreign journalists to
operate in the country, there were at least two instances of government
harassment of foreign journalists.
On February 3, security forces briefly detained an Agence France-
Presse journalist and a photographer in Rafah. Plainclothes police
officers erased the memory cards in the photographer's camera, saying
journalists were no longer allowed to photograph the Egypt-Gaza border,
which authorities had closed after Hamas breached the border in
January. Police also confiscated the journalists' identity cards before
taking them to the local security office in Rafah for three hours of
questioning, after which police forbade them from working in Rafah for
``national security reasons.''
On April 7, authorities detained nine photojournalists and
cameramen, including Reuters photographer Nasser Nouri, for several
hours because of their coverage of the April 6 and 7 Mahalla protests.
On June 17, according to several human rights organizations,
Rahmaniya police officers Mohammed Badrawy, Amr Allam, and Mohamed
Basiouni arrested Kamal Murad, a journalist for Al Fagr weekly
newspaper, who had reportedly been taking photos of police beating
farmers in Ezbat Mohram to coerce them to sign leases with a local
businessman. The officers allegedly beat Murad, verbally assaulted him,
and seized his notes and mobile phone memory card. Human rights
organizations alleged that the officers arrested Murad because he had
previously reported on the 2007 high-profile police torture case of
Emad Al-Kabir; the officers reportedly referred to Murad as ``the one
who sent the officer to jail for three years.'' On June 21, three human
rights organizations (ANHRI, the Arab Council for the Support of a Fair
Trial and the Hisham Mubarak Law Center) requested that the Ministry of
Interior investigate the officers responsible. At year's end, the MOI
had not taken action to investigate this case.
Although in recent years opposition party newspapers published
articles critical of the President and foreign heads of state without
being charged or harassed, the Government and private individuals
continued to charge journalists with libel under the portion of the
press and publication law that forbids malicious and unsubstantiated
reporting. Under the law, an editor-in-chief could be considered
criminally responsible for libel contained in any portion of his or her
newspaper, and journalists faced fines of as much as LE 20,000
(approximately $3,600) and as long as five years in prison for
criticizing foreign leaders or the President. The Government also
charged and convicted journalists for ``disturbing public order'' on
national security-related grounds when their reporting was politically
embarrassing.
On October 11, the Cairo Criminal Court fined the editor-in-chief
of the independent sensationalist newspaper Al-Fagr, Adel Hamouda, and
a reporter for the paper, Mohammed Al-Baz, LE 80,000 ($15,000) each for
publishing images of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar dressed in papal robes and
wearing a cross, alongside a September article urging the Sheikh not to
visit the Vatican.
On October 26, a court fined the owner of the Cairo News Company
media transmission firm LE 150,000 ($27,000) and confiscated some of
his equipment for operating the firm without the required licenses. The
Government shut down the firm in April after it provided uplink
services for an Al-Jazeera broadcast of protestors trampling on posters
of President Mubarak during the April Mahalla clashes.
On November 25, the public prosecutor ordered the trial of Magdy El
Galad, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm,
Abass El Tarabily, editor in chief of the opposition newspaper Al Wafd,
and three other journalists from the two newspapers for violating the
press ban on the trial of former NDP member of parliament Hisham Talaat
Mustafa for allegedly ordering the murder of Lebanese pop singer
Suzanne Tamim. At year's end the trial of the journalists was scheduled
to begin on January 8, 2009.
In January 2007 lawyers affiliated with the ruling NDP filed suit
based on Article 102 of the Criminal Law alleging that on January 26,
Al-Wafd newspaper published false news that damaged the reputation of
the judiciary by printing an article about the justice minister's
alleged public criticism of a number of judges in January 2007.
On February 12, a North Cairo court commuted a six-month prison
sentence imposed by a lower court in May 2007 against Al-Jazeera
producer Huweida Taha Metwalli for allegedly damaging the country's
image. However, the court allowed Metwalli's conviction to stand.
Metwalli had admitted to staging reenactments of allegedly real torture
for an Al-Jazeera documentary.
At year's end a verdict in the appeal case of four independent
editors, including Ibrahim Eissa, editor in chief of the independent
newspaper Al-Dostour, was scheduled to be issued on January 31, 2009.
The editors were free on bail at year's end. The four editors were
convicted in September 2007 on charges ranging from misquoting the
justice minister to defaming the President and senior officials of the
NDP. Private individuals affiliated with the ruling party sponsored the
lawsuits that led to the editors' convictions. Under the law, such
lawsuits can result in criminal convictions. In December 2007, charges
were dropped against three of the original seven defendants.
On March 26, Bulaq Misdemeanor Court convicted Ibrahim Eissa on
charges of spreading false information ``liable to harm the general
interest and the country's stability'' for August 2007 reporting on
President Mubarak's health. The court issued Eissa a six-month
suspended sentence, which Eissa appealed. On September 28, Bulaq
Misdemeanor Court of Appeals upheld the conviction and ordered Eissa to
serve a two-month jail sentence; on October 6, President Mubarak
commuted Eissa's sentence. At year's end Eissa was free and employed at
the newspaper. On December 22, a court ordered the pro-government
newspaper Al-Ahram and a translation service to jointly pay a 50,000 LE
(approximately $9,090) fine to Sheikh Youssef El-Badry for insulting
El-Badry in an August 2007 article.
The September 2007 case against Mohamed al-Sayed Sa'eed remained
pending at year's end. In September 2007 an NDP-affiliated lawyer,
Samir Al-Sheshtawy, filed a lawsuit against Mohamed al-Sayed Sa'eed the
editor-in-chief of the independent daily Al-Badeel, for ``defamation''
after Al-Badeel ran an editorial on September 5 describing al-Sheshtawi
as ``a Mubarak-loving lawyer.'' In October 2007 the first hearing in
the case took place.
There were developments regarding the 2007 case of Dr. Saad Eddin
Ibrahim, founding chairman of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development
Studies. On August 2, the Al-Khalifa Misdemeanor Court ruled against
Ibrahim in a civil lawsuit accusing him of ``tarnishing Egypt's image
abroad,'' and sentenced Ibrahim in absentia to two years imprisonment
and imposed a 10,000 LE (approximately $1,886) fine. Ibrahim had been
living in self-imposed exile in Qatar and the United States since July
2007. In late 2007 Lawyers' Syndicate Deputy President Abul Naga al-
Merhezi brought the civil lawsuit against Ibrahim for allegedly harming
the country's image after Ibrahim criticized the Government in a series
of articles and speeches on democracy. Ibrahim was living in the United
States at year's end.
The Emergency Law authorizes censorship for reasons of public
safety and national security, and the Government frequently censored
domestic and international publications and media content during the
year, including works deemed offensive to public morals, detrimental to
religion, or likely to cause a breach of the peace. Domestic media also
practiced self-censorship due to fear of government reprisal. The
Government regularly confiscated publications by Islamists and other
critics of the state, and it increasingly ceded confiscatory authority
to Al-Azhar University and acted on its recommendations.
During the year the Government banned the sale of four
international newspapers (Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and
Die Welt, Britain's Observer, and the U.S.'s Wall Street Journal)
because they contained pictures ``offensive to Prophet Mohammed.'' The
Government confiscated German magazine Der Spiegel's special edition on
Islam.
On April 1, the Nilesat network, a government-owned satellite
transmission company, stopped the broadcast of Al-Hiwar, a privately
owned London-based channel, without prior notice. Al-Hiwar had featured
talk shows such as ``People's Rights,'' which had hosted prominent
government critics such as Ibrahim Eissa. The Committee to Protect
Journalists expressed deep concern about the suspension, noting ``the
decision comes in retaliation for the station's critical reporting on
Egyptian and Arab world politics.'' At year's end the station was still
suspended.
In late October Nilesat also stopped the transmission of the
Islamic satellite channel ``Al Hikma'' without prior notice.
On April 8, authorities confiscated 5,000 copies of a book written
by former senior police officer Amr Afifi. The book discusses legal
procedures relating to interactions with police officers, including
investigations, arrests, and inspections, and it explains citizens'
rights vis-a-vis security forces. Afifi subsequently fled the country
and remained in exile at year's end. Authorities also banned a number
of books from the Cairo International Book Fair, including four works
by Czech author Milan Kundera and Moroccan Mohamed Choukri's
autobiographical For Bread Alone. These works are banned in several
Arab countries because they contain references to teenage sex and drug
use. The Government also banned Love in Saudi Arabia by novelist
Ibrahim Badi and Women of Sand and Myrrh by Lebanese writer Hanan al-
Sheikh.
On July 27, the Press and Publications Department of the MOI denied
having banned the book Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the
Brink of a Revolution. On July 23, the AFP reported the book's New
York-based publishers Palgrave Macmillan confirmed the book had been
banned in the country.
Throughout the year the Government routinely searched imported
written material to confiscate items deemed insulting to religious
sensibilities.
Internet Freedom.--Approximately 10 million persons had access to
the Internet, which the Government actively promoted through low-cost
access. There were reportedly more than 160,000 bloggers in the
country. The Government blocked access to some Web sites and monitored
the Internet during the year. On August 9, according to ANHRI, the
Government imposed a regulation requiring Internet cafes to gather
personal information of Internet users including names, e-mail
addresses, and telephone numbers. ANHRI described the measure as an
increase in censorship and a violation of users' privacy. Although
there is no specific legislation regarding the blocking of Web sites,
the authorities forced Internet service providers to block sites on
public safety or national security grounds. Private use of Internet
encryption devices is prohibited by the Telecommunications Act. The
Government blocked Web sites discussing the April 6-7 Mahalla clashes.
Also, on May 4, a government-owned Internet service provider blocked
the Web site of the opposition movement Keyafa. Authorities
subsequently censored Keyafa for 12 days because it has supported calls
for a May 4 strike against inflation and low wages.
During the year police detained and allegedly tortured bloggers.
The bloggers' arrests usually appeared to be linked primarily to their
efforts to organize demonstrations through their blogs, and their
participation in street protests or other activism.
On April 7, police detained an activist who contributed to
organizing the April 6 general strike. The activist had used a Facebook
group to call for the strike. Authorities released the activist from
prison on April 23.
On May 7, SSIS officers apprehended and tortured an Internet
activist who had called for a general strike on May 4 to protest low
wages and inflation. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the
officers allegedly blindfolded and stripped him naked before beating
him for 12 hours and releasing him without charge. On May 10, HRW
requested that the MOI investigate and prosecute the police officers
responsible. At year's end authorities had not taken action against the
officers. The Government also blocked Web sites discussing the strike.
On July 21, police detained Mohamed Rafat Bayoumi, a blogger and
mass communications student at Cairo University. Rafat had called upon
the readers of his blog to launch public demonstrations to commemorate
the July 23, 1952, Free Officers Revolution. The police officers
accused Rafat of public agitation and disturbing social peace. Rafat
was released on September 29.
On October 24, blogger Ahmed Abdel Kawi, a third-year journalism
student at Cairo University, was excluded from university housing
despite having met all of the necessary conditions. During the year
Kawi had criticized government policy on his blog. The Arabic Network
for Human Rights Information issued a statement criticizing the measure
the university took as unlawful. ANHRI urged the university to maintain
the independence of academic institutions and to end complicity with
state security regarding the abrogation of students' legal rights.
On November 16, State Security Forces arrested blogger Mohamed
Khairi and detained him in Fayoum. Khairi was accused of attempting to
overthrow the regime, membership in an illegal group, and possession of
leaflets calling for lifting the siege on Gaza. The prosecutor of
Fayoum ordered Khairi's release on November 19, and the Government
released him on November 28.
On November 16, Sinai University officials excluded student and
blogger Amr Salama from student union elections although all his
documents had been in order and his name had been included on the final
list of candidates.
On November 20, State Security arrested MB-affiliated blogger
Mohammed Adel and allegedly tortured him. On November 21, SSIS seized
many of his books and CDs from his home. Adel's blog called for MB
detainees to be released. At year's end, Adel remained in custody.
On December 2, the Government prevented an Internet activist from
traveling to the United States to participate in the December 3-5
``Alliance of Youth Movements Summit.''
During the second half of the year SSIS also arrested two other
bloggers, Abd Altawab Mahmoud and Khalifa Ebaid. Karim Amer, a
university student and blogger convicted in February 2007 of spreading
disruptive information, and blogger Abdel Karim Nabil Suleiman,
convicted in 2006 of ``denigrating'' Islam and insulting Mubarak,
remained in prison at year's end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted
academic freedom through various means. It selected deans rather than
permitting the faculty to elect them, justifying the measure as a way
to combat Islamist influence on campus. It also banned academic travel.
On March 31, SSIS prevented political science professor Dr. Abdel Hamid
El Ghazali from traveling to Saudi Arabia to attend a conference on
Islamic economics. On August 20, SSIS prevented him from traveling to
Algeria to attend a conference on social reform. On November 11,
Egyptian authorities banned MB-affiliated doctors Essam Al Eryan and
Mohamed Gamal Heshmat from traveling to Damascus to attend a conference
on ``The Right of Return for Palestinians.'' In September the
Government refused to grant the MB permission to hold its annual
Ramadan ``iftar'' dinner for hundreds of guests.
The Ministry of Culture must approve all scripts and final
productions of plays and films. The ministry censored foreign films to
be shown in theaters but was more lenient regarding the same films in
videocassette or DVD format. Government censors ensured that foreign
films made in the country portrayed the country in a favorable light.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but the
Government restricted the exercise of this right. Citizens must obtain
approval from the MOI before holding public meetings, rallies, and
protest marches. The MOI refused to grant permits for some political
events, and the Government tightly controlled public demonstrations,
including some meetings on private property and university campuses.
On April 2, Parliament passed a law criminalizing protests in
places of worship and surrounding areas, with prison sentences of as
long as one year and fines as much as LE 5,000 (approximately $900).
In numerous incidents, authorities showed little tolerance for
peaceful demonstrations by opposition groups and activists protesting
government policies.
Police generally responded to political demonstrations during the
year with high numbers of riot police deployed by the Ministry of
Interior to contain both the size and effectiveness of the
demonstrations, and sometimes used excessive force, such as in the
April 6-7 Mahalla clashes. A pattern of arresting demonstrators, and
detaining them for at least 15 days ``pending further investigation''
continued, particularly in cases of unauthorized rallies. In a number
of unauthorized demonstrations, police detained suspected organizers,
some of whom alleged mistreatment in detention.
On April 1 and 2, MB members demonstrated across the Delta area
(Gharbeya, Qalyubiya, Zagazig and Alexandria) against government
efforts to prevent the MB from running in the April 8 local elections.
Authorities arrested hundreds of MB members and injured approximately
10 persons.
On April 6 and 7, in Mahalla, police in riot gear used live
ammunition and rubber bullets to suppress protests against low wages
and price hikes for basic goods. Protestors reportedly threw rocks and
Molotov cocktails, injuring five police officers, and burned two
schools and other property. A 15-year-old bystander was killed and
dozens were wounded. Security forces detained more than 300
demonstrators.
On July 23, police arrested 26 members of a Facebook social
networking group known as the ``6th of April Youth'' as they
demonstrated in support of Egypt's July 23, 1952, revolution.
Authorities arrested the activists on charges including ``causing a
public disturbance'' and ``disrupting traffic in an attempt to stage
street riots.'' On July 28, a court in Alexandria ruled that the
protesters should be released, but 14 remained in custody for several
more days before they were released.
On December 30 and 31, police prevented protesters from
demonstrating in downtown Cairo against Israeli attacks in Gaza. Police
reportedly arrested large numbers of protesters, and released most of
them after a few hours.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association; however, the Government significantly restricted the
exercise of this right. The minister of social solidarity has the
authority to dissolve NGOs by decree. The law also requires NGOs to
obtain permission from the Government before accepting foreign funds.
According to officials, donations from foreign governments with
established development programs in the country were excluded from this
requirement.
On March 30, Giza Administrative Court ruled that the Center for
Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS)--a labor rights organization
that monitored trade union elections and provided legal aid to
candidates and voters--should be permitted to register as an NGO,
responding to complaints filed after the Government closed CTUWS
headquarters in three cities in 2007. On June 26, the Ministry of
Social Solidarity issued a decree reopening CTUWS, and it subsequently
re-opened. On October 26, in response to international and domestic
pressure, Cairo Administrative Court overturned the Government decision
to dissolve AHRLA, and the organization was able to continue to operate
normally throughout the rest of the year. In September 2007 the
Government ordered the closure of AHRLA for accepting funds from
foreign donors without government approval. AHRLA played a role in
exposing several cases of torture by security personnel, specifically
in a lawsuit against a state security officer who allegedly tortured
Mohamed Abdel Kader al-Sayed to death in 2003.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
belief and the practice of religious rites; however, the Government
restricted the exercise of these rights. According to the constitution,
Islam is the official state religion, and Shari'a (Islamic law), the
primary source of legislation. Religious practices that conflict with
the Government's interpretation of Shari'a are prohibited.
Members of non-Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by
the Government generally worshiped without harassment and maintained
links with coreligionists in other countries.
Members of religions not recognized by the Government, particularly
Baha'is, experienced personal and collective hardship. Religious groups
seeking recognition must submit a request to the MOI, which determines
whether, in its view, the group would pose a threat to national
security or social order. The MOI also consults leading religious
figures, particularly the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the
sheikh of Al-Azhar. The last official recognition of a religious group
occurred in 1990. The Government did not recognize marriages of
citizens adhering to faiths other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam,
nor did it recognize conversions of Muslim-born citizens to other
religions.
The law prohibited blasphemy and the ``denigration of religions.''
Though there were no reported prosecutions, at least one Koranist was
arrested and was being held without charges at year's end. The
Government prosecuted members of religious groups whose practices
deviated from mainstream Islamic beliefs and whose activities were
believed to jeopardize communal harmony. The law bans Baha'i
institutions and community activities and stripped Baha'is of legal
recognition. The Government continued to deny civil documents,
including ID cards, birth certificates, and marriage licenses to
members of the Baha'i community. The MOI requires identity card
applicants to self-identify as a Jew, Christian, or Muslim. As a
result, Baha'is faced difficulties in conducting civil transactions,
including registering births, marriages, and deaths, obtaining
passports, enrolling children in schools, and opening bank accounts.
During the year Baha'is were compelled either to misrepresent
themselves as Muslim, Christian or Jewish, or go without valid identity
documents. Many Baha'is chose the latter course.
Traditional practices and some aspects of the law discriminated
against religious minorities, including Christians and particularly
Baha'is. The law requires non-Muslims to obtain a Presidential decree
to build a new place of worship. In addition, MOI regulations, issued
in 1934 under the Al-Ezabi decree, specify a set of 10 conditions the
Government must consider before a Presidential decree for construction
of a new non-Muslim place of worship can be issued. The conditions
include the requirement that the distance between a church and a mosque
not be less than 100 meters (328 feet) and that approval of the
neighboring Muslim community be obtained before a permit to build a new
church may be issued.
The law also requires non-Muslims to obtain a governor's approval
to repair, renovate, or expand existing church complexes. Decree 291 of
2005 delegated such authority, formerly held by the President, to the
governors, but loopholes in the law have been exploited to prevent
implementation. For example, some local authorities refuse to process
applications without ``supporting documents'' that were virtually
impossible to obtain (e.g., a Presidential decree authorizing the
existence of a church that had been established during the country's
monarchical era). Church and lay leaders also maintain that security
forces blocked them from using permits that had been issued, and at
times denied them permits, for repairs to church buildings and the
supply of water and electricity to existing church facilities. As a
result, in general, congregations continue to wait many years to be
able to build and repair church properties.
The constitution requires elementary and secondary public schools
to offer religious instruction. Public and private schools provided
religious instruction according to the faith of the student.
The Government did not carry out forced conversions; however, there
were again reports of forced conversions of Coptic women and girls to
Islam by Muslim men. Reports of such cases are disputed and often
include inflammatory allegations and categorical denials of kidnapping
and rape. Observers, including human rights groups, find it difficult
to determine whether compulsion was used, as most cases involve a
female Copt who converts to Islam when she marries a Muslim male.
On September 24, the Alexandria Court of Appeals upheld a 2006
Family Court ruling that the father of Mario Medhat Ramses, 11, and
Andrew Medhat Ramses, 13, a convert from Christianity to Islam, was
entitled to custody of his sons. The ruling would permit him to convert
children to Islam over the objection of their Christian mother, who
continued to raise them as Christians after her husband converted to
Islam. Although Article 20 of the civil code grants custody of children
to their mothers until age 15, the court applied Shari'a guidelines to
reach the verdict. Despite the court order, the boys remained in their
mother's custody at year's end.
Neither the constitution nor the civil and penal codes prohibit
proselytizing, but police harassed or arrested some individuals
proselytizing on charges of ridiculing or insulting the ``heavenly
religions'' (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) or inciting sectarian
strife.
Jehovah's Witness leadership reported that authorities monitored
the homes, telephones, and meeting places of members of Jehovah's
Witnesses. The Government also reportedly maintained regular and
sometimes hostile surveillance of Muslim-born citizens who were
suspected of having converted to Christianity. On September 17, a
criminal court sentenced Bahya Nagy Ibrahim to three years in prison
for falsely claiming to be Christian. She remained free at year's end
and human rights observers noted that they did not expect the sentence
to be enforced; her sister, Shadia, was convicted of the same crime in
November 2007, a conviction the public prosecutor subsequently
reversed. Ibrahim had listed her religion as Christian on her marriage
certificate in the 1980s, not knowing her father's brief conversion to
Islam in 1962 made her official religion Islam according to the
country's interpretation of Islamic law.
Authorities monitored and occasionally placed restrictions on
religious materials (published in the country and imported) as they did
other written materials.
The Government banned women and girls in public primary schools
from wearing veils. Girls in secondary or preparatory schools could
wear a veil only upon a parent's written request.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal religious
discrimination and sectarian tension continued during the year.
For example, on November 24, hundreds of Muslims attacked a
recently opened, unlicensed Coptic church in the Ain Shams area of
Cairo, fighting with Coptic worshippers and police attempting to
restore order.
Authorities continued to detain two Copts accused of killing a
Muslim who died at the time of the attack on the Abu Fana Monastery.
There were no charges filed against the assailants who assaulted the
monastery and abused the monks who were abducted.
The constitution provides for equal public rights and duties
without discrimination based on religion or creed, and in general the
Government upheld these protections; however, government discrimination
against non-Muslims existed. The Government continued to discriminate
against non-Muslims in public sector employment and in admission to
publicly financed Al Azhar University.
Anti-Semitism in the media was common, although less prevalent than
in recent years. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts directed
toward the country's approximately 125 Jews. Anti-Semitic sentiments
appeared in both the pro-government and opposition press. Anti-Semitic
editorial cartoons and articles depicting demonic images of Jews and
Israeli leaders, stereotypical images of Jews along with Jewish
symbols, and comparisons of Israeli leaders to Hitler and the Nazis
were published throughout the year. The Government advised journalists
and cartoonists to avoid anti-Semitism. Government officials insisted
that anti-Semitic statements in the media were a reaction to Israeli
government actions against Palestinians and did not constitute anti-
Semitism.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice with some notable exceptions. Citizens and foreigners may not
travel in areas of the country designated as military zones. Males who
have not completed compulsory military service may not travel abroad or
emigrate, although this restriction may be deferred or bypassed under
special circumstances. Unmarried women younger than 21 must have
permission from their fathers to obtain passports and travel, and
police reportedly required such permission for married women in
practice, although the law no longer required it. The Government did
not consistently cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing
protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
On May 1, SSIS prevented MB member and blogger Abdel Moneim Mahmoud
from traveling to Morocco to participate in a conference on press
freedom.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not
use it during the year.
Protection of Refugees.--The constitution includes provisions for
the granting of refugee status or asylum to persons who meet the
definition in the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
and its 1967 protocol; however, the country has no national legislative
framework or system for granting asylum. The Government admits refugees
on the understanding that their presence in the country is temporary,
and the UNHCR assumes full responsibility for the determination of
refugee status on behalf of the Government.
From January to June, the Government denied the UNHCR access to all
potential Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees who were imprisoned for
illegally entering the country. On June 16, the Government allowed the
UNHCR to meet with the estimated 140 Eritreans and 40 Ethiopians
detained in Aswan. Most Eritreans were granted refugee status; all
Ethiopians were denied. The Ethiopians subsequently requested
repatriation to Ethiopia.
In practice, the Government sometimes did not provide protection
against the expulsion or forced return of refugees to countries where
their lives or freedom would be threatened.
On April 19, the Government forcibly deported to southern Sudan an
estimated 30 Sudanese men and boys, at least 11 of whom UNHCR
recognized as refugees or asylum seekers. According to HRW, police
arrested the individuals on February 8 after Sudanese gangs in Cairo
had been accused of vandalizing cars.
In June authorities forcibly returned at least 1,200 Eritrean
nationals to Eritrea, triggering a June 19 letter from 18 local human
rights organizations expressing concern about the deportations. By
year's end authorities had not responded to the letter. On December 24,
Egypt forcibly repatriated another 25 more Eritreans.
On August 26, police arrested 23 Sudanese refugees in Sinai and
deported them to Khartoum on November 7 for allegedly illegally
crossing into Israel. According to the Darfur Democratic Forum, they
were transported to Cairo and interrogated, beaten, and tortured before
being transferred to the Sudanese embassy, which organized their
departure.
Refugees faced violence by security forces, abuse, and
discrimination.
During the year in at least 16 separate incidents, security forces
shot and killed at least 33 African migrants attempting to cross
illegally into Israel. At year's end the Government had not taken
action to prosecute any of the officers involved in these incidents.
For example, on February 16, security forces shot and killed Mervat Mer
Hatover, an Eritrean woman, as she attempted to cross the border near
the El Kuntilla region in the Sinai Peninsula. On June 28, security
forces shot and killed a seven-year-old Sudanese girl and man
attempting to cross the border south of Rafah. There was an increase in
the number of Eritrean, Sudanese, and other African asylum seekers who
attempted to migrate illegally through the country to Israel during the
year. Throughout the year authorities arrested more than 1,300 sub-
Saharan refugees on charges of attempting an unlawful crossing of
Egypt's eastern border with Israel. Detainees were tried in military
courts that, according to AI, did not meet international standards for
fair trial. Courts often imposed one year sentences followed by
immediate deportation procedures.
Many African and Sub-Saharan refugees faced discrimination,
including restrictions on employment, poor housing, limited access to
health and education, and societal discrimination based on race. Iraqi
refugees faced restrictions on employment and access to health and
education services.
Baha'i men of draft age had difficulty obtaining passports because
they are unable to establish that they have fulfilled or are exempt
from military service obligations.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides that citizens shall elect the President
every six years and the 454-seat People's Assembly every five years.
The constitution also provides that two-thirds of the 264-member Shura
Council, the upper house of parliament, are elected and one-third are
appointed by the President. Shura council terms are for six years, with
half of the Shura's elected seats contested every three years. There
continued to be limitations on citizens' rights to change their
government peacefully, due to consistent election irregularities,
including technical problems and fraud.
Elections and Political Participation.--On February 17, President
Mubarak announced that local council elections would take place April
8. Local councils are responsible for implementing legislation and
monitoring daily local functions of the Government municipalities; in
addition, the law requires independent Presidential candidates to
obtain at least 140 signatures from local council members in at least
14 governorates.
On February 29, the Government banned election campaigning in
places of worship, schools, universities, and public transportation.
The decree also banned the use of funds from abroad for campaigning.
Many opposition candidates from registered political parties and
the MB reported difficulties registering and alleged a government
campaign to prevent opposition candidates from participating in the
elections. More than 3,000 MB candidates prevented from registering
sued the Government. Although the courts ruled in favor of the MB
candidates in 2,664 suits, the majority of the rulings were not
implemented. The Government arrested and detained an estimated 1,000 MB
members prior to the elections. On March 30, HRW issued a statement
noting that government arrests of MB-affiliated candidates ``put the
legitimacy of the election in serious doubt.'' AI also expressed
concern over the arrests and called for the Government to release the
detained individuals.
On April 7, following weeks of arrests and official hurdles placed
in the way of candidate registration, the MB called on citizens to join
it in ``boycotting this fraudulent process.'' Only 20 MB candidates
registered and none ran for office after the MB announced its boycott.
On April 8, the local elections took place in 26 governorates where
candidates contested approximately 52,000 total seats. There were
57,000 candidates in total, of whom 52,000 were NDP members.
Independent observers estimated that the voter turnout was less
than 3 percent. NDP candidates won 92 percent of the seats, and the
rest went to the liberal Wafd party, the socialist Taggamu party, the
liberal Democratic Front Party, the liberal Al-Ghad party, and
independents.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace described the
elections as ``a step backwards for Egyptian politics,'' and the
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) did not monitor the
elections because of citizens' reluctance to participate and the
elections' lack of competitiveness.
Observers, including the Egyptian Alliance for Democracy Support
and the NCHR, reported numerous violations and irregularities,
including NDP monopolization of distinctive symbols, government
prevention of observers from entering polling stations, violence
between supporters of different candidates, ballot box stuffing, group
voting, vote buying, counting of votes before the polls closed, and a
shortage of ballots in some polling stations. The NCHR also reported
that candidates' supporters attempted to influence voters in some
polling stations.
On July 3, Minister of Interior Habib Al Adly set parliamentary by-
elections for four vacant parliament seats in Kafr Al Sheikh and
Alexandria for July 13. The four seats had been vacant since a legal
challenge during the 2005 parliamentary elections. The NDP won the four
contested seats. MB-affiliated candidates ran for three of the seats,
and the MB accused the Government of rigging the vote to favor the NDP.
The NDP continued to dominate national politics by maintaining an
overriding majority in the People's Assembly and the Shura Council. It
also dominated local governments, mass media, labor, and the public
sector, and controlled licensing of new political parties, newspapers,
and private organizations. The law prohibits political parties based on
religion, and the MB remained an illegal organization; however,
independent members of Parliament linked to the MB continued to
participate actively in Parliament. The Government refused to grant
official registration to 12 political parties that had filed
applications in the past. At year's end, none of the 12 parties had
reapplied to the Political Parties Affairs Committee.
There were nine women in the People's Assembly (out of 454 total
seats) and 21 in the Shura Council (out of 264). Two women served among
the 32 ministers in the cabinet.
There were six Christians (five appointed, one elected) in the
People's Assembly; 10 Christians (all appointed) in the Shura Council;
and two Christians in the cabinet. Christians, who represent 8 to 12
percent of the population, held fewer than 2 percent of the seats in
the PA and Shura Council. In 2006, for the first time in more than 30
years, the Government appointed a Copt as one of the country's 28
governors in Qena. During the year the Government reappointed the
Christian governor of Qena. There were no Christians in the upper ranks
of the security services and armed forces.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, but the Government did not
consistently and effectively implement the law, and impunity was a
problem. Media routinely reported on confirmed cases of low-level
corruption, including the fraudulent alteration of official documents,
embezzlement, and bribery.
There was an update regarding the November 2007 detention of Ayman
Abdel Moneim. On October 8, a Cairo criminal court convicted Moneim and
two other Ministry of Culture officials, and sentenced them to 10-year
prison terms. The court fined Moneim LE 200,000 (approximately
$35,000), and the other two officials LE 125,000 ($22,000) and LE
550,000 ($100,000). In November 2007 Assistant Minister of Justice
Ahmed al-Shalaqany ordered the provisional detention of Ayman Abdel
Moneim, director of the Ministry of Culture's Office for Monuments,
after Moneim was accused of receiving bribes. On November 25, the
public prosecutor transferred Moneim and eight other suspects to a
criminal court on charges of receiving bribes and manipulating the
ministry's tenders, which accounted for LE 930,000 ($170,000). At
year's end Moneim and the two other officials were in prison.
On July 27, Safaga Misdemeanors Court acquitted ferry owner and
Shura Council member Mamdouh Ismail, along with five other defendants,
for failing to offer assistance in the 2006 sinking of the Al-Salaam
Bocaccio 90 ferry in the Red Sea, which killed more than 1,000 people.
Ismail's relationship with Presidential chief of staff Zakaria Azmi had
sparked public debate about corruption. Four hours after the verdict
was issued, the public prosecutor appealed the decision. The case
remained pending at year's end, and Ismail remained in London.
On November 20, Cairo Criminal Court sentenced former Deputy
Minister of Agriculture Youssef Abdel Rahman and Chairman of the
Agricultural Bourse Randa Al Shamy to 10 and seven years of
imprisonment, respectively. Both were found guilty of importing
carcinogenic pesticides to Egypt, bribery, and embezzlement of public
money.
There were no financial disclosure laws for public officials, nor
were there legal provisions for public access to government
information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Government restrictions on NGO activities, including limits on
organizations' ability to accept foreign funding, continued to limit
reporting on human rights abuses. Government officials were selectively
cooperative and responsive to some NGOs' views.
Local independent human rights NGOs included the EOHR, the HRAAP,
the AHRLA, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the
EIPR, the Ibn Khaldun Center, the Arab Center for the Independence of
the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP), the Arab Network for
Human Rights Information, the Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of
Victims of Torture and Violence, and the Egyptian Center for Women's
Rights (ECWR). The Government closed AHRLA in September 2007, but the
organization continued to operate as the Center for Human Rights and
Legal Aid until an October 26 court ruling allowed it reestablish using
its original name. The AOHR generally took a softer line toward the
Government. Informal coalitions of Internet activists and bloggers
continued to play an increasingly significant role in publicizing
information about human rights abuses. On September 12, prominent
Egyptians, including former foreign minister Ahmed Maher, announced the
formation of a new NGO called ``The Police and the People for Egypt,''
which seeks to address existing tensions between police and citizens.
Several leading human rights groups and civil society organizations
continued to press legal challenges against government decisions that
prohibit them from registering under the NGO law. Although these
organizations generally were allowed to conduct operations, albeit on a
limited basis, they did so in technical violation of the NGO law with
the omnipresent prospect of government interference and/or closure
looming over them.
The Government did not demonstrate a consistent approach to
cooperating with human rights NGOs, sometimes harassing them or
restricting their activities, and it detained and abused some bloggers.
On May 18, the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary
and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) reported that the Government forced
it to conclude a May 14-16 human rights conference in Alexandria one
day earlier than planned. Security officials allegedly harassed the
hotel staff where the conference took place.
In June the Government removed EIPR from the list of participants
for the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS on June
10 and 11. Domestic and international NGOs described the incident as
``a disturbing escalation of the atmosphere of harassment and
restrictions targeting independent human rights organizations.''
On December 5, CIHRS issued its first annual report detailing the
state of human rights in the Arab world, accusing the Government of
using its influence in international organizations to thwart efforts at
human rights reform.
The Government generally allows international human rights NGOs to
establish informal operations. Organizations such as HRW made periodic
visits as part of their regional research program and were able to work
with domestic human rights groups. On April 7, according to press
reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs withdrew approval for the
International Federation for Human Rights to open a regional office in
Cairo. At year's end the NGO was still waiting for official approval.
The National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute,
and International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), which
provide technical assistance in support of expanded political and civil
rights, remained unregistered but were able to pursue limited
activities.
The Government cooperated selectively with the UN and other
international organizations. It did not respond to standing visitation
requests from at least five UN special rapporteurs, including those on
torture, the situation of human rights defenders, freedom of religion,
independence of judges and lawyers, human rights, and counterterrorism.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees criticized the
Government for its forced returns of Eritrean asylum seekers during the
year. On January 17, the European Parliament issued a resolution
criticizing the country's human rights record. The resolution called on
the Government to release Ayman Nour, end harassment of journalists and
human rights activists, lift the state of emergency, amend the law
governing military tribunals, investigate suspected cases of torture,
and enhance the independence of the judiciary. The Government responded
by condemning the resolution and threatening to sever relations with
the European Parliament and the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary
Assembly.
The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) is a subsidiary of the
Shura Council in consultative status. The NCHR continued to monitor
government abuses of human rights, formally submitting citizen
complaints to the Government, and issued reports critical of the
Government. On March 30, the NCHR issued its fourth annual report on
the status of human rights in the country, covering 2007. The NCHR
reported that it received more than 6,600 complaints during the year,
of which 30 percent were alleged violations of civil and political
rights. The report documented that the Government responded to 53
percent of the complaints, an improvement of the 2006 response rate.
The report called on the Government to address mistreatment of citizens
in detention centers, improve judicial supervision of prisons and
detention centers, provide the draft counterterrorism law to the NCHR
for review, lift restrictions on political parties and NGOs, issue new
election regulations, follow up on the implementation of political
rights, and enforce citizenship rights. At year's end the Government
followed up on some of the NCHR's recommendations, such as improving
employment conditions and releasing specific individual prisoners from
detention. By year's end the NCHR had opened a rotating complaints
office, following its announced intention to do so in February 2007.
The People's Assembly had a Human Rights Committee, which human
rights activists deemed ineffective.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equality of the sexes and equal
treatment of non-Muslims; however, aspects of the law and many
traditional practices discriminated against women and religious
minorities.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, prescribing penalties of 15 to 25
years imprisonment or life imprisonment for cases involving armed
abduction. The Government did not always enforce the law, in part due
to women's fear of reporting rape incidents. Spousal rape is not
illegal. According to a May 2007 study by the National Center for
Criminal and Social Research, there were approximately 20,000 cases of
rape during the year.
Although the law does not prohibit domestic violence or spousal
abuse, provisions of law relating to assault in general may be applied
with accompanying penalties. However, the law requires any kind of
assault victims to produce multiple eyewitnesses, a difficult condition
for a domestic abuse victim to meet. Domestic violence continued to be
a significant problem. Several NGOs offered counseling, legal aid, and
other services to women who were victims of domestic violence.
The law does not specifically address honor crimes, in which a male
violently assaults or kills a female, usually a family member, because
of a perceived lack of chastity. There were no reliable statistics
regarding the extent of honor killings.
Prostitution and sex tourism were illegal but continued to occur,
particularly in Cairo and Alexandria. Prostitution existed in cities
and in some rural areas. Sex tourism existed in Luxor and Sharm El-
Sheikh. Street children were subject to prostitution. Most sex tourists
came from Europe and the Gulf.
There is no specific law criminalizing sexual harassment, but the
Government prosecuted sexual harassment under a statute titled ``Public
Exposure and the Corruption of Morals.'' Sexual harassment remained a
serious problem. An ECWR survey, released July 17, found that 83
percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women in the
country had been sexually harassed and that approximately half of women
surveyed faced harassment on a daily basis. Women reported men staring
inappropriately at their bodies, touching them inappropriately, making
sexually explicit comments, and stalking them. The study found the
majority of women did nothing in response to sexual harassment,
although many reported suffering negative physical and emotional
effects. Only 2.4 percent of Egyptian women and 7.5 percent of foreign
women reporting sexual harassment sought help from police, and some
reported police officers mocked or harassed them.
On October 21, for the first time in the country's history, a court
heard a sexual assault case, and convicted and sentenced Sherif Gomaa
Gibrial to three years in prison for groping a woman in June. The court
also fined Gibrial LE 5001 (approximately $895).
On November 17, a court convicted and sentenced Islam Megdy to one
year in prison on charges of sexual assault for the attempted rape and
groping of three women on a street in the Cairo neighborhood of
Mohandiseen on October 2.
On November 20, police arrested and briefly detained approximately
500 young men and boys for sexual harassment in schools and public
parks.
At year's end the Government had not investigated 2006 reports of
groups of young men sexually harassing female pedestrians in downtown
Cairo.
The law provides for equality of the sexes; however, aspects of the
law and many traditional practices discriminated against women.
Laws affecting marriage and personal status generally corresponded
to an individual's religion. For example, a female Muslim citizen may
not marry a non-Muslim man without risking arrest and conviction for
apostasy; under the Government's interpretation of Shari'a, any
children from such a marriage could be put in the custody of a male
Muslim guardian. Khul divorce allows a Muslim woman to obtain a divorce
without her husband's consent, provided she is willing to forgo all her
financial rights, including alimony, dowry, and other benefits. The
Coptic Orthodox Church permits divorce only in specific circumstances,
such as adultery or conversion of one spouse to another religion.
Muslim female heirs receive half the amount of a male heir's
inheritance, and Christian widows of Muslims have no inheritance
rights. A sole female heir receives half her parents' estate with the
balance going to designated male relatives, but a sole male heir
inherits his parents' entire estate. A woman's testimony is equal to
that of a man in court.
Labor laws provide for equal rates of pay for equal work for men
and women in the public sector, though this did not always happen in
practice. According to 2003 government figures, women constituted 17
percent of private business owners and occupied 25 percent of
managerial positions in the four major national banks. Educated women
had employment opportunities, but social pressure against women
pursuing a career was strong. Women's rights advocates claimed that
Islamist influence inhibited further gains. Women's rights advocates
also pointed to other discriminatory traditional or cultural attitudes
and practices, such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the
traditional male relative's role in enforcing chastity.
During the year the Government appointed women to several positions
of authority within the Government. On July 19, Dar Al Ifta, a
government body responsible for fatwas (religious edicts) issued a
formal fatwa stating it is religiously permissible for an Egyptian
woman to become the head of state or assume a position as a judge. On
February 26, Zagazig Court appointed the first female marriage
registrar in the country. On March 19, President Mubarak appointed 103
women as assistant district attorneys. On May 6, the Supreme Judicial
Council approved the appointment of 12 female judges in first instance
courts. In November the minister of interior appointed the country's
first Coptic woman mayor, Eva Habil Kirolos, in Qena.
At year's end the Supreme Judicial Council had not ruled on the
2006 cases of two female attorneys, Fatma Lashin and Amany Talaat, who
had challenged the Government's refusal to appoint them as public
prosecutors.
The Ministry of Social Solidarity operated more than 150 family
counseling bureaus nationwide to provide legal and medical services.
The National Council for Women proposed and advocated policies to
promote women's empowerment and designed development programs to
benefit women. The Office of the National Ombudsman for Women provided
assistance to women facing discrimination in employment and housing,
domestic violence, sexual assault, and child custody disputes. A number
of active women's rights groups worked to reform family law, educate
women on their legal rights, promote literacy, and combat FGM.
Children.--Despite a formal fatwa and a government law
criminalizing it, FGM remained a serious problem, although it declined
from previous years. In December the National Council for Childhood and
Motherhood (NCCM) estimated that 55 percent of girls who married
younger than 18 underwent FGM, with 9 percent in cities and 65 percent
in rural areas. Previously, reported rates were as high as 97 percent.
Tradition and family pressure continued to play a leading role in the
persistence of FGM. On June 7, the People's Assembly criminalized FGM,
except in cases of medical necessity, with penalties of three months to
two years in prison, or a fine of as much as LE 5,000 (approximately
$900). Criminal prosecutions in FGM cases occurred following the
passage of the new law. The quasi-government NCCM operated a hotline
for children. At year's end the NCCM did not yet have statistics on the
number of FGM reports it received during the year. It continued a
public awareness campaign in 120 villages in the country, and numerous
senior government officials spoke out publicly against FGM during the
year.
On April 26, Al Maghagha Misdemeanors court sentenced Dr. Hanan
Amin to one year of imprisonment with hard labor and a fine of LE 1,000
(approximately $180). Amin had administered a fatal anesthesia overdose
to 12-year-old Badour Shaker during a June 2007 FGM operation in an
illegal medical unit. However, on May 20, the Al Maghagha Misdemeanors
Appeal Court acquitted Amin and fined her LE 200 ($35) after she
reconciled with the victim's family.
On June 7, the People's Assembly approved new and amended
provisions of the Child Law that included criminalization of FGM,
except in cases of medical necessity, and stipulated penalties of three
months to two years in prison or a fine from LE 1,000 ($180) to LE
5,000 ($900). The Government continued to support efforts, including
though its child abuse hot line, to educate the public about FGM.
Although reliable data are lacking, several NGOs (including the
Hope Village Society, the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, and the
Alliance for Arab Women) reported that child marriages, including
temporary marriages intended to mask prostitution, were a significant
problem. On June 7, as part of the Child Law amendments, the Government
raised the official marriage age from 16 to 18. The amendments also
allow the mother of a child whose father is unknown to issue a birth
certificate for the child under the mother's name.
On December 26, an Alexandria court sentenced teacher Haitham Nabil
Abdel Hamid to six years in prison with hard labor for beating to death
his 11-year-old student, Islam Badr, in October.
The Ministry of Social Solidarity offered shelters for street
children, but many children chose not to seek refuge there. Throughout
the year, the shelters closed at night, forcing the children back onto
the street. The NCCM offers a hotline for street children and abused
children, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
In 2006 a court convicted six individuals of kidnapping, deceiving,
molesting, and murdering 24 street children between April and November
2006. In May 2007 two received death sentences and the others received
long prison terms. At year's end a court of cassation decision on the
defendants' appeal was expected in January 2009.
Trafficking in Persons.--There is no specific comprehensive law
prohibiting trafficking in persons; however, other laws, such as the
labor code and the new child law amendments, which the parliament
adopted on June 7, may be used to prosecute traffickers. Although no
laws specifically proscribe trafficking of adults, the Government
nonetheless prosecuted trafficking-related cases under laws prohibiting
commercial sexual exploitation, with a maximum penalty of seven years'
imprisonment and forced labor. Under the child law amendments, an
individual who sells, buys, or offers a child for sale may be sentenced
to at least five years of imprisonment and fined as much as LE 200,000
(approximately $37,000). There were occasional reports of persons
trafficked from Eastern Europe and Asia through the country to Israel
for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Some antitrafficking activists suggested children were being
trafficked from rural areas within the country for work as domestic
servants or laborers in agriculture, and urban street children were at
risk for forced prostitution or panhandling. Caritas Internationalis
estimated that 80 percent of street children were victims of some form
of sexual exploitation. ECWR reported that women were sexually
exploited through ``temporary marriages'' to tourists from the Gulf.
The National Coordinating Committee to Combat and Prevent
Trafficking in Persons, established in July 2007, improved
intergovernmental coordination on antitrafficking initiatives. The
Government indicated that authorities investigated 102 cases from 2003
to 2007-08 that may have involved elements of trafficking in persons,
including 73 cases involving commercial sexual exploitation and seven
cases of abusing or forcing children into begging. Since there is no
trafficking law, the Government did not report any prosecutions,
convictions, or punishments for trafficking offenses.
The Government continued to lack a formal victim identification
program, and police reportedly arrested and mistreated street children
for violating prostitution or other laws. The Government offered
minimal protection services to victims during the year, and it
continued to operate a child abuse hot line.
The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) formed a
new antitrafficking unit to provide services and training, and held
several workshops during the year.
In August press reports stated that Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid
Mahmoud approved issuing booklets for prosecutors including orders on
treatment of children, banning FGM, child trafficking, and child abuse.
In December First Lady Suzanne Mubarak hosted an event to introduce the
Arabic version of the International Organization on Migration's (IOM)
Arabic ``Handbook on Direct Assistance for Victims of Trafficking.''
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides that all businesses
must designate five percent of their jobs for persons with physical or
mental disabilities; however, there were no laws prohibiting
discrimination against persons with disabilities in education, access
to health care, or the provision of other state services, nor was there
legislation mandating access to buildings or transportation. Widespread
societal discrimination remained against persons with disabilities,
particularly mental disabilities, resulting in a lack of acceptance
into mainstream society. government-run treatment centers for persons
with disabilities, especially children, were poor.
Statistics regarding the practical implementation of the employment
laws were unavailable; however, on April 14, the deputy of the
employment force district in Sohag stated that most employers did not
comply with the governorate's orders to implement the right of
employment for persons with disabilities.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Solidarity
share responsibility for protecting rights of persons with
disabilities. Persons with disabilities rode government-owned mass
transit buses free of charge, received expeditious approval for the
installation of new telephone landlines, and received reductions on
customs duties for specially equipped private vehicles to accommodate
disabled drivers.
The Government worked closely with UN agencies and other
international aid donors to design job-training programs for persons
with disabilities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although the law does
not explicitly criminalize homosexual acts, police targeted homosexuals
and persons with HIV/AIDS, leading to arrests on charges of
``debauchery.'' Authorities also reportedly forced individuals in
detention to undergo HIV tests and conducted abusive anal examinations.
Homosexuals and persons with HIV/AIDS faced significant social stigma
in society and in the workplace.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--There are no legal obstacles to
establishing private sector labor unions, although such unions were
uncommon. Workers may join trade unions but are not required to do so.
Workers are able to form a local union or workers' committee if at
least 50 employees express a desire to organize. Local unions can only
operate if they affiliate with one of the 23 existing trade unions that
operate with government authorization. The Government requires all 23
trade unions to belong to the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF),
the sole legally recognized labor federation. ETUF controlled
nomination and election procedures for trade union officers and
permitted public authorities to intervene in union financial
activities.
State-owned enterprises employed most union members, who made up
approximately one-quarter of the labor force.
On December 20, civil service tax collectors established the
country's first independent trade union since the creation of ETUF in
1957. According to the Land Center for Human Rights (LCHR), ETUF has
about 4.5 million registered workers, fewer than 20 percent of whom
work in agriculture.
The 2003 Unified Labor Law permits peaceful strikes, but only after
an extended negotiation process and provided the strike is announced in
advance and organized by the trade union to defend vocational,
economic, or social interests. In practice, strikes are rarely, if
ever, approved. To call a strike, the trade union must notify the
employer and concerned administrative authority at least 10 days in
advance, giving the reason for the strike and the date it would
commence. Prior to this formal notification, a two-thirds majority of
the ETUF board of directors must approve the strike action. The law
prohibits strikes while collective bargaining agreements are in force
or during the mediation and arbitration process. The law also prohibits
strikes in a lengthy list of ``strategic or vital'' entities in which
the interruption of work could result in a disturbance of national
security or basic services.
There were no formal, authorized strikes during the year; however,
numerous illegal strikes and related actions took place, with
complaints encompassing fears over privatization and job losses,
demands for payment of promised incentives and bonuses, and issues
related to health insurance and medical treatment. According to a Sons
of Land Center report, between January and July workers initiated 118
sit-in protests, 68 strikes, 48 demonstrations, and five protests.
Strikes were largely peaceful despite the often heavy government
security presence at the larger strikes. The majority of high-profile
strikes occurred in the textile industry.
On April 6, police occupied the state-owned Misr Helwan Spinning
and Weaving Company and prevented 27,000 employees from gathering at
the end of their shifts for a strike against low wages. Police later
clashed with 2,000 protesters in the Mahalla al Kubra town square,
killing four protesters and detaining at least 50, some of whom were
abused.
On April 14, 3,000 workers from the Alexandria Spinning and Weaving
Company initiated a strike to demand the 15-day bonus Prime Minister
Ahmed Nazif had called for earlier in the month. Workers conducted a
sit-in outside the headquarters with their families for one week.
Employers partially accepted their demands.
On May 25, 6,000 Amereya textile workers initiated an open strike
after their company completed the previously determined one-month
period for the company to answer demands for a bonus and meal
compensation. Security forces surrounded the building on the second day
of the strike and prevented participants from entering the building,
even for food or drinks. On the third day, 1,500 workers tried to enter
the headquarters. Security forces tried to prevent them but the workers
made it inside. There were no reported injuries. On the sixth day of
the strike, a compromise granted protesters half of their demands.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining; however, the law requires
tripartite negotiations--employer, workers, and government--and the
Government is heavily involved in any negotiations.
On June 22, in response to a January Supreme Constitutional Court
decision, an amended labor law took effect, reestablishing labor courts
as the primary vehicle for labor dispute resolution and doing away with
special ``pentagonal committees,'' which were formerly responsible for
resolving disputes.
The law does not permit antiunion discrimination, and there were no
reports of attempted discrimination.
Labor law and practice were the same in the six existing export
processing zones (EPZs) as in the rest of the country.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children. Such
practices were reportedly rare. There were NGO reports that women were
sexually exploited through ``temporary marriages'' to tourists from the
Gulf.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits children younger than 14 to work in most sectors. The law
limits the type and conditions of work that children younger than 18
may perform. In nonagricultural work, the minimum age for employment is
14 if the child has completed basic education, which is offered until
age 15. Provincial governors, with the approval of the minister of
education, may authorize seasonal work for children between the ages of
12 and 14, provided that duties are not hazardous and do not interfere
with schooling. Children are prohibited from working for more than six
hours per day, and one or more breaks totaling at least one hour must
be included. Several other restrictions apply to children: they may not
work overtime, during their weekly day(s) off, between 7 p.m. and 7
a.m., or on official holidays. Children are also prohibited from
working for more than four continuous hours. Children under 16 are
prohibited from working in 44 hazardous industries, including
agricultural work involving the use of pesticides.
On March 13, NCCM Secretary-General Mushira Khattab spoke to Al
Ahram Weekly about the child law amendments, calling the new penalties
for child labor exploitation ``relatively severe.'' A person convicted
of forcing children below the minimum age into work faces a prison
sentences of between three and six months. MOMM, working with the NCCM
and the MOI, generally enforced these regulations in state-owned
enterprises, but enforcement in the informal sector was lax. Employers
continued to abuse, overwork, and generally endanger many working
children. NGOs estimated that as many as 2.7 million children worked,
78 percent in agriculture. Children also worked in light industry, on
construction sites, and in service businesses such as auto repair
shops. Press reports continued to focus attention on the estimated
2,000-3,000 children working in stone quarries in Minya and hundreds of
children working in small brick factories in the Arab Jbour area.
According to credible NGO reports, street children in Egypt are at risk
of being sexually exploited or forced to panhandle.
Enforcement of child labor laws remained spotty, and when offenders
were prosecuted, the fines imposed were often as small as LE 500
(approximately $90) and thus had questionable deterrent effects. The
Government made progress toward eliminating the worst forms of child
labor, pursuant to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC);
however, many challenges remain. The NCCM continues working with the
MOMM, ETUF, ILO, World Food Program, UNICEF, and government ministries
to formulate a national strategy to combat child labor and eliminate
the worst forms of child labor; police officers trained on children's
rights and working with juveniles coordinated with the Ministry of
Education to incorporate study of the CRC into curricula and to set up
social and economic projects in several governorates to transfer
working children into non-hazardous activities. NCCM also worked during
the year to provide working children with social security safeguards
and reduce school dropout rates by providing their families with
alternative sources of income.
In practice, however, these programs experienced obstacles.
According to the June 28 issue of Al Masry Al Youm daily newspaper,
NCCM noted it had made a mistake in the planning and implementation of
its project for combating child labor and school dropout rates. NCCM
stated that the project lacked complete coordination with the Ministry
of Education.
The Government's campaign to increase public awareness of child
labor issues was highlighted by workshops and conferences throughout
the year. Many of these efforts were characterized by high-level
government involvement. On June 25, Suzanne Mubarak, first lady and
NCCM President, led a conference on how best to address the economic
cost of curbing child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government did not set a
formal private sector minimum wage, although general public sector
compensation practices, including a public sector minimum wage, were
followed. The public sector minimum wage frequently did not provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family; however, base pay
commonly was supplemented by a complex system of fringe benefits and
bonuses that may double or triple a worker's take-home pay.
The National Council of Wages determined working hours for
government and public sector employees, but there were no standards for
the private sector. The law stipulates that the maximum work week is 48
hours. Most private sector employees work five days per week, usually
Sunday to Thursday.
Overtime for hours worked beyond 36 hours per week is payable at
the rate of 35 percent extra for daylight hours and 70 percent extra
for work performed at night. The premium for work on rest days is 100
percent and workers should receive 200 percent for work on national
holidays. The labor law permits overtime work in limited circumstances.
The Ministry of Labor sets and enforces worker health and safety
standards, which also apply in the EPZs; enforcement and inspections
were uneven. The law prohibits employers from maintaining hazardous
working conditions, and workers have the right to remove themselves
from hazardous conditions without risking loss of employment.
There were occasional reports of employer abuse of undocumented
workers, especially domestic workers. A few private sector employers
were prosecuted during the year for abuse of domestic workers, but many
claims of abuse were unsubstantiated because undocumented workers were
reluctant to make their identities public.
__________
IRAN
The Islamic Republic of Iran,\1\ with a population of approximately
70 million, is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shia
Muslim clergy dominate the key power structures. Government legitimacy
is based on the twin pillars of popular sovereignty--albeit
restricted--and the rule of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic
Revolution. The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was not
directly elected but chosen by a directly elected body of religious
leaders, the Assembly of Experts, in 1989. Khamenei's writ dominated
the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. He
directly controlled the armed forces and indirectly controlled the
internal security forces, the judiciary, and other key institutions.
The legislative branch is the popularly elected 290-seat Islamic
Consultative Assembly, or Majles. An unelected 12-member Guardian
Council reviewed all legislation passed by the Majles for adherence to
Islamic and constitutional principles and also screened Presidential
and Majles candidates for eligibility. In 2005 hardline conservative
Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad won the presidency in an election widely viewed by
the international community as neither free nor fair. Civilian
authorities did not fully maintain effective control of security
forces.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The United States does not have an embassy in Iran. This report
draws heavily on non-U.S. Government sources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Government's poor human rights record worsened, and it
continued to commit numerous serious abuses. The Government severely
limited citizens' right to change their government peacefully through
free and fair elections. The Government executed numerous persons for
criminal convictions as juveniles and after unfair trials. Security
forces were implicated in custodial deaths and committed other acts of
politically motivated violence, including torture. The Government
administered severe officially sanctioned punishments, including death
by stoning, amputation, and flogging. Vigilante groups with ties to the
Government committed acts of violence. Prison conditions remained poor.
Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, often
holding them incommunicado. Authorities held political prisoners and
intensified a crackdown against women's rights reformers, ethnic
minority rights activists, student activists, and religious minorities.
There was a lack of judicial independence and fair public trials. The
Government severely restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of
speech, expression, assembly, association, movement, and privacy, and
it placed severe restrictions on freedom of religion. Official
corruption and a lack of government transparency persisted. Violence
and legal and societal discrimination against women, ethnic and
religious minorities, and homosexuals; trafficking in persons; and
incitement to anti-Semitism remained problems. The Government severely
restricted workers' rights, including freedom of association and the
right to organize and bargain collectively, and arrested numerous union
organizers. Child labor remained a serious problem. On December 18, for
the sixth consecutive year, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a
resolution on Iran expressing ``deep concern at ongoing systematic
violations of human rights.''
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the Government and its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful
killings.
On January 6, security forces arrested Kurdish-Iranian student
Ebrahim Lotfallahi as he left a university exam. According to a
domestic human rights group, the revolutionary court in the province of
Sanandaj had issued an arrest warrant, but Lotfallahi's family was not
aware of the charges against him. Nine days later, the authorities
notified Lotfallahi's family of his death and told them he had
committed suicide in prison. Intelligence officials buried Lotfallahi
in secret against the wishes of his family, who did not believe he had
committed suicide. On February 9, the judiciary announced there would
be no autopsy conducted on Lotfallahi, nor an investigation into his
death. According to the domestic press, intelligence officials
threatened to file charges against Lotfallahi's family for publicly
questioning the suicide claim.
On May 16, family members alleged that Kurdish political prisoner
Kaveh Azizpour died in police custody due to torture, according to
press reports. Authorities had arrested Azizpour in 2006 and charged
him with supporting the banned Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran.
Judiciary officials stated that 25-year-old Azizpour died as a result
of a stroke, but family members argued that the stroke was caused by
torture.
On November 27, according to domestic human rights activists,
security agents in Zahedan entered a private home and severely beat
Bahman Rigi and a man identified only as ``Mohammad'' before taking
them to an undisclosed location. Four days later, officials notified
Mohammad's family that he had died in custody due to withdrawal from
methamphetamines. Mohammad's family stated he did not have a history of
drug use and that his body showed obvious signs of severe abuse such as
a cranial fracture, bruises, and broken fingers. According to
activists, authorities targeted Rigi and Mohammad because they were
members of the Baluch ethnic group.
On December 21, according to domestic press reports, Ali Sadeqi, a
prisoner in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan whom authorities arrested on
charges of drug trafficking, allegedly died from torture while in
custody.
There were no updates in the May 2007 killing of 11-year-old Roya
Sarani, reportedly by members of the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF). The
Government did not investigate the incident.
On February 26, judiciary officials reportedly agreed to exhume the
body of Zahra Bani-Ameri (also known as Zahra Bani-Yagoub) at the
request of her family to determine the cause of her death; by year's
end this had not happened. In October 2007 Bani-Ameri, a 27-year-old
female physician, died while in custody in the town of Hamedan.
Security forces arrested her and her fiance in a public park on charges
of having an ``illegal relationship.'' The next day, officals informed
her family that she committed suicide while in detention.
According to international press reports, authorities executed
approximately 240 individuals during the year following unfair trials
(trials conducted in secret or without adhering to basic principles of
due process). Exiles and human rights monitors alleged that many
persons supposedly executed for criminal offenses, such as narcotics
trafficking, were political dissidents. The law criminalized dissent
and applied the death penalty to offenses such as apostasy (conversion
from Islam), ``attempts against the security of the state,'' ``outrage
against high-ranking officials,'' and ``insults against the memory of
Imam Khomeini and against the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.''
On August 4, authorities in Zahedan executed journalist and
education activist Yaghoob Mirnehad after a secret trial in which he
was accused of ties to the militant group People's Resistance Movement
of Iran (formerly Jundallah). Human rights organizations believe
Mirnehad, an ethnic Baluch, was targeted because he criticized local
government officials in Sistan va Baluchistan province.
Public executions continued throughout the year despite the
judiciary chief's January 30 directive banning them (except in cases he
approved). On July 10, officials in Bushehr province hanged four men in
a public square in Borazjan. On July 14, a government-owned radio
station reported that six men were publicly hanged in Khorasan
province. The report did not identify the men by name and provided no
details of the charges against them.
The Government executed minors and juvenile offenders despite an
October 15 judicial directive banning the practice. Three days after
the prohibition was announced, Hussein Sebhi, deputy for judicial
affairs to the prosecutor general, told the press the ban applied only
to narcotics cases and judges did not have the authority to vacate the
death penalty in murder cases. On September 2, UN Commissioner for
Human Rights Navi Pillay called on the Government to end the practice
of juvenile executions. According to press reports, authorities
executed at least eight juvenile offenders during the year, and
approximately 130 remained on death row at year's end.
For example, on June 10, authorities in Sanandaj executed 16-year-
old Mohammed Hassanzadeh for his alleged role in the death of another
youth. Hassanzadeh was 14 at the time of the incident.
On August 19, authorities in Isfahan hanged 20-year-old Seyyed Reza
Hejazi for his alleged role in the death of a man during a fight
involving several others. Hejazi, who was 15 at the time, insisted he
did not intend to kill the man. According to human rights
organizations, authorities failed to give Hejazi's lawyer 48 hours'
notice of the pending execution as required by law.
During the year, the Government did not investigate allegations
from human rights groups that authorities in the southeastern province
of Sistan va Baluchistan executed at least 50 detainees in 2007 after
reportedly unfair trials for attacks against government officials.
In January 2007 three UN independent experts released a joint
statement calling on the Government to halt the imminent executions of
seven Ahvazi Arabs--Ghasem Salami, Mohammad Lazem Kaabpour, Abdolamir
Farjolah Kaab, Alireza Asakereh, Majad Albughbish, Adolreza Sanawati
and Khalaf Dohrab Khanafereh--after unfair trials in Khuzestan
province. The status of these individuals was unknown at year's end. On
January 29, officials executed Ahvazi activist Zamel Bawi without
providing his lawyer 48 hours' notice, as required by law.
Adultery remained punishable by death by stoning. On July 20, the
international press reported that courts sentenced eight women and one
man to death by stoning for adultery and sex-related offenses. On
August 5, judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi announced that the
Government had suspended several stoning sentences and commuted four to
lashings or prison terms. However, according to domestic human rights
activists, on December 25, officials in Mashhad executed two men by
stoning, including Houshang Koudadadeh, who was convicted of rape and
adultery. A third convicted man, identified only as Mahmoud G., escaped
during the stoning.
On January 14, according to domestic press reports, the case of the
2003 death of Zahra Kazemi, a dual Iranial-Canadian citizen, was
returned to the public prosecutor's office and the Tehran appeals court
to be reinvestigated. This action followed the Supreme Court's December
2007 annulment of the original verdict of the primary court. Kazemi, a
photojournalist arrested for taking pictures outside Tehran's Evin
Prison during a student-led protest, died in custody in 2003 after
security forces tortured her. Authorities admitted she died as a result
of a blow to the head but claimed the death was ``unintentional,'' and
acquitted an intelligence officer in 2004.
b. Disappearance.--There were reports of politically motivated
abductions during the year. Plainclothes officers or security officials
often seized journalists and activists without warning and held them in
incommunicado detention for several days before permitting them to
contact family members. Families of executed prisoners did not always
receive notification of their deaths.
In January Sunni cleric Ayoub Ganji disappeared after delivering a
Friday sermon in Sanandaj in which he criticized the Government's
exclusion of candidates in the Majles elections, as well as the
custodial death of Ebrahim Lotfallahi. After two weeks, an unmarked car
dropped Ganji off in Sanandaj; supporters had threatened to hold mass
protests over his disappearance. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW),
Ganji was in poor physical condition and suffered from hallucinations
and amnesia.
The Iranial-American Jewish Federation reported that 11 Jewish men
who disappeared in 1994 and 1997 remained missing. In 2007 witnesses
claimed they saw some of the men in Evin Prison.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit torture; however, there
were numerous credible reports that security forces and prison
personnel tortured detainees and prisoners.
Common methods of torture and abuse in prisons included prolonged
solitary confinement with sensory deprivation, beatings, long
confinement in contorted positions, kicking detainees with military
boots, hanging detainees by the arms and legs, threats of execution,
burning with cigarettes, sleep deprivation, and severe and repeated
beatings with cables or other instruments on the back and on the soles
of the feet. Prisoners also reported beatings on the ears, inducing
partial or complete deafness; punching the area around the eyes,
leading to partial or complete blindness; and the use of poison to
induce illness. According to HRW, student activists were particularly
likely to be subjected to torture and abuse.
In March 30-year-old student activist Ahmad Batebi fled the
country; authorities had permitted him to leave Evin Prison temporarily
for medical treatment related to a partial stroke. Batebi, whose death
sentence for his involvement in a 1999 student protest was commuted to
15 years in prison, stated prison and security officials thrashed him
with a metal cable, beat his testicles, kicked in his teeth, and forced
his face into a pool of excrement. Batebi stated authorities often tied
him to a chair and kept him awake for multiple days and nights, cutting
him and rubbing salt into the wounds.
In October Peyman Fatahi was hospitalized after security officials
reportedly beat him severely after summoning him for questioning
related to his association with a group known as the ``Ale-Yasin
community.'' Authorities first arrested Fatahi in June 2007 and
conditionally released him after holding him for six months in Evin
Prison on charges of ``acting against national security.'' Group
members alleged that he was also severely beaten during his 2007
imprisonment.
In January 2007 former political prisoner Kianush Sanjari alleged
that he was subjected to ``white torture'' for extended periods of time
while detained at Evin Prison in late 2006. This is a form of extreme
sensory deprivation in which prisoners are not shown colors and are
held in complete silence (solitary confinement). According to
activists, this kind of torture leaves no physical trace, but instead
attempts to crush the prisoner psychologically.
In July 2007 the families of three student activists arrested in
May and June 2007 sent an open letter to the judiciary chief alleging
that security forces tortured their sons in Evin Prison where they
remained in solitary cells during the year. Although the judiciary
chief reportedly ordered an investigation into the allegations,
according to human rights activists, the results of the investigation
were not released to the public.
On April 10, HRW called for the Government to investigate
allegations of torture of activists Behrooz Karimizadh, Peyman Piran,
Ali Kantouri and Majid Pourmajid, members of the organization Students
Seeking Freedom and Equality whom authorities arrested in December
2007.
Some judicially sanctioned corporal punishments constituted cruel
and inhuman punishment, including amputation for multiple theft
offenses and lashings and execution by stoning for adultery. In January
authorities in Sistan va Baluchistan province amputated the right hands
and left feet of five men convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping. On
December 15, according to domestic press reports, prison authorities
amputated the hand of a man convicted of robbery. Also in December a
court sentenced a man to be blinded with battery acid after the man was
convicted of doing the same to a woman who had declined his marriage
proposals. The sentence had not been carried out by year's end.
During the year the Government did not initiate any investigations
into reports of torture or punish those believed to be responsible.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
poor. Many prisoners were held in solitary confinement or denied
adequate food or medical care as a way to force confessions.
Overcrowding was a significant problem. In September the UK-based
International Center for Prison Studies reported that more than 150,000
prisoners occupied facilities constructed to hold a maximum of 65,000
persons. Numerous prisoners complained that authorities intentionally
exposed them to extreme cold for prolonged periods.
Some prison facilities, including Evin Prison, were notorious for
cruel and prolonged torture of political opponents of the Government.
Authorities also maintained ``unofficial'' secret prisons and detention
centers outside the national prison system, where abuse reportedly
occurred.
Human rights activists and international press reported cases of
political prisoners confined in the same wing as violent felons. In
December journalist Shahnaz Gholami, imprisoned for ``jeopardizing
national security,'' began a hunger strike to protest being held in a
ward with convicted murderers and drug dealers. There were also reports
of juvenile offenders detained with adult offenders. Pretrial detainees
occasionally were held with convicted prisoners.
The Government did not permit independent monitoring of prison
conditions by any outside groups, including the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC). In September 2007 the Government granted
foreign journalists a tour of Evin Prison for the second time in two
years. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), during the visit the
director of Tehran prisons, Sohrab Soleimani, denied that there were
political prisoners in Evin Prison but told the journalists there were
15 prisoners in Evin on ``security'' charges.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, these practices remained
common.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Several agencies share
responsibility for law enforcement and maintaining order, including the
Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), the LEF under the
Interior Ministry, and the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The
Basij and various informal groups known as the ``Ansal-e Hizballah''
(Helpers of the Party of God) were aligned with extreme conservative
members of the leadership and acted as vigilantes.
Corruption and impunity were problems. The regular and paramilitary
security forces both committed numerous, serious human rights abuses,
but there were no transparent mechanisms to investigate security force
abuses and no reports of government actions to reform them.
Arrest and Detention.--The constitution and penal code require
warrants or subpoenas for arrests and state that arrested persons must
be informed of charges within 24 hours; however, these safeguards
rarely occurred in practice. Detainees often went weeks or months
without charges or trial, and authorities held detainees incommunicado,
frequently denying them prompt contact with family or timely access to
legal representation. In practice there was neither a legal time limit
for incommunicado detention nor any judicial means to determine the
legality of the detention. According to the law, the state is obligated
to provide indigent defendants with attorneys only for certain types of
crimes. The courts set bail at prohibitively high levels, even for
lesser crimes. Detainees and their families were often compelled to
submit property deeds to post bail. Prisoners released on bail did not
always know how long their property would be retained or when their
trials would be held.
There were numerous reports of arbitrary and false arrests during
the year.
On February 21, authorities arrested Ebrahim Mirnehad, the brother
of journalist Yaghoob Mirnehad, executed on August 4 for alleged ties
to separatists. Security agents also reportedly arrested his companion,
Fazlorahman Jahras. On September 16, a court in Zahedan sentenced
Mirnehad to five years' imprisonment on charges of ``acting against
national security'' and ``spreading propaganda.'' According to Amnesty
International (AI), these charges related to his public condemnation of
the death sentence imposed on his brother. Authorities reportedly did
not grant Mirnehad access to a lawyer and tortured him in custody.
Authorities released Jahras.
Adherents of the Baha'i faith continued to face arbitrary arrest
and detention. In March and May intelligence agents arrested all seven
members of the Baha'i national leadership body and held them in
incommunicado detention. On November 26, authorities extended the
detention orders for all seven prisoners by an additional two months.
At year's end charges had not been filed against the group.
In late June security agents seized brothers Arash and Kamiar Alaei
from their mother's home in Tehran. The two physicians, both
internationally known HIV/AIDS experts, were held incommunicado in Evin
Prison. On December 31, prosecutors in a revolutionary court began to
try the brothers for ``communicating with an enemy government,'' a
crime which carries a sentence of up to 10 years' imprisonment.
According to the doctors' attorney, the Government also made secret
charges against the brothers. Neither the brothers nor their attorney
were informed of the charges, or provided a chance to defend themselves
against them. At the end of the year, the Alaeis remained in Evin
Prison, and authorities did not allow them to post bail.
In August authorities arrested university professor Mehdi Zakerian
for offenses related to national security, including espionage,
according to reports from his family. AI speculated that Zakerian's
arrest may have been related to his plans to leave the country for a
job at a foreign university. After an October 7 meeting with him
supervised by security agents, members of Zakerian's family expressed
concern that he might have been tortured in prison. Authorities
released Zakerian from detention in mid-October.
In early December, three men claiming to be security officers
detained and interrogated an American academic for unspecified reasons
on two separate occasions for a total of nine hours in his hotel room.
The men threatened to prevent the American, traveling in the country as
part of a science exchange program, from leaving the country.
During the year and in 2007 security forces separately arrested
several Iranial-American activists and academics on charges of
espionage and ``acting against national security.'' Prison authorities
subjected the individuals to harsh interrogation techniques and
solitary confinement and in most cases kept them in prison for several
months.
During the year, authorities released Somaye Bayanat, ex-wife of
former political prisoner Ahmed Batebi. Bayanat, a dentist, had been
detained on charges of forging medical documents and performing illegal
abortions since her arrest by plainclothes security forces in February
2007.
Pretrial detention often and arbitrarily was lengthy, particularly
in cases in which violations of national security laws were alleged. Of
the prisoners held in state prison facilities, reportedly about one-
quarter were pretrial detainees.
In recent years the Government used house arrest to restrict the
movements and communications of senior Shia religious leaders whose
views regarding political and governance issues were at variance with
the ruling orthodoxy; however, there were no new instances of this
practice publicly reported during the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides that the
judiciary is ``an independent power"; in practice the court system was
corrupt and subject to government and religious influence. After the
1979 revolution, the judicial system was revised to conform to an
Islamic canon based on the Koran, ``Sunna'' (the traditions of the
Prophet), and other Islamic sources. The constitution provides that the
head of the judiciary shall be a cleric chosen by the supreme leader.
The head of the Supreme Court and prosecutor general also must be
clerics. Women continued to be barred from serving as certain types of
judges.
There are several court systems. The two most active are
traditional courts, which adjudicate civil and criminal offenses, and
Islamic revolutionary courts. The latter try offenses viewed as
potentially threatening to the Islamic Republic, including threats to
internal or external security, narcotics and economic crimes, and
official corruption. A special clerical court examines alleged
transgressions within the clerical establishment, and a military court
investigates crimes connected with military or security duties. A press
court hears complaints against publishers, editors, and writers. The
Supreme Court has review authority over some cases, including appeals
of death sentences.
Trial Procedures.--Many aspects of the prerevolutionary judicial
system survive in the civil and criminal courts. For example, according
to the constitution and the criminal procedure code, a defendant has
the right to a public trial, presumption of innocence, a lawyer of his
or her choice, and the right of appeal in most cases involving major
penalties. However, these rights were not respected in practice. Panels
of judges adjudicate trials. There is no jury system in the civil and
criminal courts. In the press court, a council of 11 persons
specifically selected by the court adjudicates the case. Defendants did
not have the right to confront their accusers, and were not granted
access to government-held evidence.
UN representatives, including UN special representatives (UNSRs)
and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, as well as independent
human rights organizations, noted the absence of procedural safeguards
in criminal trials. Numerous human rights groups condemned trials in
the revolutionary courts for disregarding international standards of
fairness. Revolutionary court judges were chosen in part due to their
ideological commitment to the system. Authorities often charged
individuals with undefined crimes, such as ``antirevolutionary
behavior,'' ``moral corruption,'' and ``siding with global arrogance.''
If postrevolutionary statutes did not address a situation, the
Government advised judges to give precedence to their knowledge and
interpretation of Islamic law. Secret or summary trials of only five
minutes' duration occurred frequently. Other trials were deliberately
designed to publicize a coerced confession.
The legitimacy of the special clerical court system continued to be
subject to debate. The clerical courts, which investigate offenses and
crimes committed by clerics and which are overseen directly by the
supreme leader, are not provided for in the constitution and operated
outside the domain of the judiciary. According to a 2007 AI report,
defendants could only be represented by court-nominated clerics who are
not required to be legally qualified. AI reported that in some cases
the defendant was unable to find a person among the nominated clerics
willing to act as defense counsel and was tried without legal
representation. Critics alleged clerical courts were used to prosecute
clerics for expressing controversial ideas and participating in
activities outside the sphere of religion, such as journalism or
reformist political activities.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Exact data regarding the number
of citizens imprisoned for their political beliefs were not available;
however, human rights activists estimated the number in the hundreds.
Although there were few details, the Government arrested, convicted,
and executed persons on questionable criminal charges, including drug
trafficking, when their actual ``offenses'' were political. The
Government charged members of religious minorities with crimes such as
``confronting the regime'' and apostasy, and conducted trials in these
cases in the same manner as it would treat threats to national
security.
Authorities occasionally gave political prisoners suspended
sentences or released them for short or extended furloughs prior to
completion of their sentences, but they could be ordered back to prison
at any time. These suspended sentences often were used to silence and
intimidate individuals. The Government also controlled political
activists by holding a file in the courts that could be opened at any
time and attempted to intimidate the activists by calling them in
repeatedly for questioning. Numerous observers considered Tehran public
prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi the most notorious persecutor of political
dissidents and critics.
Authorities routinely held political prisoners in solitary
confinement for extended periods of time and denied them due process
and access to legal representation. Political prisoners were also at
greater risk of torture and abuse while in detention. The Government
did not permit access to political prisoners by international
humanitarian organizations.
The Government reportedly held some persons in prison for years
under charges of sympathizing with outlawed groups, such as the
terrorist organization Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK).
On January 14, police arrested writer and student leader Amin
Ghazain Tehran along with 14 other students. At year's end, according
to AI, authorities reportedly held him in solitary confinement in Evin
Prison without charge or trial despite several health problems.
Authorities reportedly tortured him and denied him access to family or
counsel.
On July 19, a court sentenced political prisoner Behrouz Javid-
Tehrani, first arrested during the 1999 student uprising, to three more
years in prison following a secret trial in which he did not have legal
representation. According to human rights organizations, he was
convicted of having contact with foreign opposition groups. At the time
of the most recent conviction, Javid-Tehrani was in solitary
confinement in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj. Javid-Tehrani alleged
security agents severely tortured him on numerous occasions while he
was incarcerated.
On February 27, authorities released Azeri cultural and linguistic
rights activist Jelil Ghanilou after he posted bail of 860 million
rials (approximately $86,000). Ghanilou claimed he faced torture and
constant interrogation after his February 2007 arrest. He was neither
charged nor given access to legal representation. AI considered
Ghanilou a ``prisoner of conscience,'' detained solely because of the
peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression in connection
with his participation in International Mother Language Day.
Authorities released him on bail but rearrested him in May 2007
following demonstrations marking the anniversary of the 2006
publication of a cartoon many Iranian Azeri activists considered
offensive.
On May 11, a revolutionary court sentenced Azeri human rights
lawyer Saleh Kamrani to a five-year suspended sentence after charging
him with ``publicity against the Islamic Republic.'' In August 2007
security forces detained Kamrani and did not inform his family of his
whereabouts for several days. Authorities released him in December 2007
after he paid approximately 1.5 billion rials (approximately $150,000)
in bail.
On July 12, a Tehran revolutionary court upheld an eight-year
prison sentence against political activist Abbas Khorsandi for ``acting
against national security through formation of an illegal
association.'' According to human rights groups, Khorsandi founded the
Iran Democratic Party, an Internet forum for political debate. Security
forces arrested him at his shop in Tehran province in September 2007
and held him incommunicado for three months. At year's end Khorsandi
remained in Evin Prison and was reportedly not allowed to see a doctor
despite being in ill health.
On April 7, Hadi Qabel, a reformist cleric and member of the
reformist political group Islamic Iran Participation Front, began a 40-
month term in prison for acting against national security, propaganda
against the state, and disturbing public opinion. Qabel, who was tried
by the special court for the clergy, also was defrocked. After his
initial arrest in September 2007, more than 580 activists and academics
released a statement calling for Qabel's release. According to press
descriptions, the statement called Qabel's arrest and others an attempt
by the Government to create a ``suffocating environment'' in advance of
the 2008 Majles elections.
On October 5, authorities officially released journalist and human
rights lawyer Emadoldin Baghi, head of the Society for the Defense of
Prisoners' Rights, three days before the end of the one-year sentence
he was serving. Officials provisionally released Baghi on September 15
to seek treatment for severe health problems he developed while in
custody. In July 2007 a revolutionary court convicted Baghi of
``activities against national security'' and ``publicity in favor of
the regime's opponents'' for his public criticism of the death
sentences imposed on several Iranian Arabs in 2005. The court also
reportedly sentenced Baghi's wife and daughter to three years in
prison, suspended in favor of five years' probation for ``assembly and
collusion with the aim of committing offenses against the country's
national security.'' While serving his prison sentence, prosecutors
brought new charges against Baghi related to his criticism of the
treatment of imprisoned human rights activist Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-
Kho'ini. At year's end these charges were pending.
On November 8, according to press reports, authorities rearrested
Ali Nikunesbati, spokesman for the student group Office for
Consolidating Unity. Nikunesbati's father said security agents also
confiscated his computer and personal documents from his home. In 2007
security forces detained Nikunesbati twice for his role in student
protests.
In November supporters of dissident cleric Ayatollah Mohammad
Kazemeini Boroujerdi reported that prison authorities severely beat him
and moved him from Evin Prison to an undisclosed location despite
appeals for release on medical grounds. Police arrested Boroujerdi at
his home in 2006, reportedly after he had come under increased pressure
from the Government for his belief that religion and the state should
be separated. Boroujerdi has been arrested and imprisoned several times
since 1992 and claimed he was tortured and threatened with execution.
In October authorities also rearrested nine of 70 of his followers who
were originally arrested in late 2006 and released in 2007.
On October 29, authorities released Azeri activist Abbas Lisani
after he completed two consecutive sentences totaling 30 months in
prison for participation in two demonstrations. According to AI,
security agents interrogated Lisani for 10 hours in early October about
his post-release plans, and the Ardebil general prosecutor personally
threatened Lisani and his family.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--By law, the judiciary was
independent from the executive and legislative branches; in practice it
remained under the influence of executive and religious government
authorities. According to the constitution, under the supervision of
the head of the judiciary, the Court of Administrative Justice
investigates the grievances of citizens with regard to government
officials, organs, and statutes. In practice, citizens' ability to sue
the Government was limited. It appeared that citizens were not able to
bring lawsuits against the Government for civil or human rights
violations. Dispute resolution councils are available to settle minor
civil and criminal cases through mediation before referral to courts.
Property Restitution.--The constitution allows the Government to
confiscate property acquired either illicitly or in a manner not in
conformance with Islamic law. The UNSR on adequate housing noted
religious minorities, including members of the Baha'i faith, were
particularly targeted. The UNSR's 2006 report noted the ``abusive use
of (the law) is seen as an instrument for confiscating property of
individuals as a form of retribution for their political and/or
religious beliefs.'' The report noted documentation of approximately
640 Baha'i properties confiscated since 1980, instances of numerous
undocumented cases, and court verdicts declaring confiscation of
property from the ``evil sect of the Baha'i'' legally and religiously
justifiable. Rights of members of the Baha'i faith were not recognized
under the constitution, and they had no avenue to seek restitution of
or compensation for confiscated property.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution states that ``reputation, life,
property, (and) dwelling(s)'' are protected from trespass except as
``provided by law"; however, the Government routinely infringed on
these rights. Security forces monitored the social activities of
citizens, entered homes and offices, monitored telephone conversations
and Internet communications, and opened mail without court
authorization. There were widespread reports that government agents
entered, searched, or ransacked the homes and offices of reformist
journalists in an attempt to intimidate them.
Vigilante violence included attacking young persons considered too
``un-Islamic'' in their dress or activities, invading private homes,
abusing unmarried couples, and disrupting concerts. During the year,
the Government continued its crackdown on ``un-Islamic dress'' or ``bad
hijab'' (headcovering). According to press reports, morality police
stopped or detained more than two million individuals during the year
and in 2007 for ``inappropriate hairstyles'' or wearing headscarves
that revealed too much hair. There were reports that police used force
in these instances less frequently after an image of a girl's face
covered in blood following a beating by police for un-Islamic dress was
circulated widely in 2007. According to press reports, the Tehran
police chief stated the girl had ``instigated the incident herself.''
In December, according to press reports, police in the northern city of
Qaemshahr arrested 49 persons for ``appearing in public wearing satanic
fashions and unsuitable clothing.''
There were also reports during the year that the MOIS pressured
families of political prisoners, banning them from speaking to foreign
press and blocking their telephone conversations. Radio Free Europe
journalist Parnaz Azima, sentenced in absentia in March to a one-year
prison sentence for ``propaganda against the regime,'' stated the
Government threatened to seize her 95-year-old mother's home if she did
not return to the country to serve the sentence.
Authorities entered homes to remove satellite TV dishes, although
the majority of satellite dishes in individual homes reportedly
continued to operate.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of expression and of the press, except when it is deemed
``detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam or the rights of
the public.'' In practice the Government severely restricted freedom of
speech and of the press. HRW reported that authorities ``systematically
suppressed freedom of expression and opinion'' during the year. Basic
legal safeguards for freedom of expression did not exist, and the
independent press was subjected to arbitrary enforcement measures by
the Government, notably the judiciary. Censorship, particularly self-
censorship, limited dissemination of information during the year.
Journalists were frequently threatened as a consequence of their work.
The Government continued to crack down on underground music groups
(any group that fails to obtain a recording license from the Ministry
of Culture and Islamic Guidance). In October, according to human rights
activists, security forces arrested a group of rap musicians returning
from a trip to Dubai. Eyewitnesses reported seeing them in Evin Prison.
Rap music is forbidden in the country; according to the BBC, it is
particularly popular among young men due to its political, social, and
sexual lyrics.
In December the Tehran prosecutor general announced the creation of
a special office to review Internet and text message-related crimes
associated with the June 2009 Presidential election.
The country's media outlets were varied, including state-controlled
television, radio, and print publications, as well as private
newspapers and magazines that cover current affairs, politics, the
arts, and sports. The Government closely monitored all media outlets,
and private media lacked independence in practice. Press members who
failed to abide by the Government's guidelines faced intimidation,
arrest, or closure of their publications. As a result, the Government
held significant influence over all media in the country. The
Government's Press Supervisory Board (PSB) was responsible for issuing
press licenses, which it sometimes revoked in response to critical
articles, and for examining complaints filed against publications or
individual journalists, editors, or publishers.
International media did not operate freely; the Government required
foreign correspondents to provide detailed travel plans and proposed
stories before granting visas, and it closely monitored and attempted
to influence reporting to garner more favorable coverage. Authorities
did not renew the visa and residence permit for Robert Tait, a British
correspondent for The Guardian, forcing Tait to leave the country on
January 4. Tait had previously been ordered to leave the country in
March 2007 but had successfully appealed the order. On July 22,
authorities ordered AFP's Tehran bureau chief Stuart Williams to leave
the country, despite Williams' possession of a valid resident's permit.
This happened less than two weeks after the AFP reported that the
Government doctored pictures of a recent missile test.
The Government, through a state-controlled entity called the Voice
and Vision Organization, directly controlled and maintained a monopoly
over all television and radio broadcasting facilities; programming
reflected the Government's political and socioreligious ideology.
Because newspapers and other print media had limited circulation
outside large cities, radio and television served as the principal news
source for many citizens. Satellite dishes that received foreign
television broadcasts were forbidden, and the Government periodically
confiscated them from homes. Private broadcasting was illegal.
The Government imposed significant restrictions on press outlets
and banned or blocked some publications that were critical of the
Government, including Zanan, Asr-e Panjshanbeh, Rah-e Ayandeh, Tehran
Emrouz, Hamshahri, Sargarmi, and Sharvand-e Emrouz. The Government
banned Kargozaran for publishing an excerpt from a statement by a
student group that criticized Hamas actions during the crisis in Gaza.
The closure of reformist newspapers led to unemployment among
progressive journalists, effectively silencing them. On March 16, the
PSB announced the closure of nine cinema and lifestyle magazines for
publishing pictures and stories about the life of ``corrupt'' foreign
film stars and promoting ``superstitions.'' On March 20, domestic press
reported that the Government had banned 27 publications in 2007.
The PSB referred complaints to the press court for further action,
including closure. The court's hearings were conducted in public with a
jury composed of appointed clerics, government officials, and editors
of government-controlled newspapers. Public officials often lodged
criminal complaints against reformist newspapers that led to their
closure, along with fines for offending writers. Some human rights
groups asserted that the increasingly conservative press court assumed
responsibility for cases before PSB consideration.
The press law forbids censorship but also forbids disseminating
information that may damage the Islamic Republic or offend its leaders
and religious authorities, and censorship occurred. Government
officials also routinely intimidated journalists into practicing self-
censorship.
On January 15, an Interior Ministry official told an Iranian
Students News Agency reporter the media could not use the names of
unauthorized political parties. In September 2007 the deputy interior
minister announced that ``publications and other media outlets are
forbidden from writing about parties or political groups that have not
obtained a license.'' These actions followed other reports of
government efforts to limit political debate and the spread of
information in advance of the Majles elections.
On April 26, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad
Hossein Saffal-Harandi told publishers and writers that they ``were
aware of the vetting code, so (they should) censor pages which are
likely to create a dispute'' and urged writers to observe the country's
``religious, moral, and national sensitivities.''
On September 30, according to a press report, former Deputy
Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh stated that the Government imposed
censorship regarding the Government's nuclear policy ``to the greatest
degree.''
There were no updates to the July 2007 announcement by the head of
the President's public relations office regarding the creation of a
special team to confront publications critical of the Government.
During the year, the Government detained, jailed, tortured, or
fined numerous publishers, editors, and journalists (including Internet
media) for their reporting. The penal code states that ``anyone who
undertakes any form of propaganda against the state'' can be imprisoned
as long as one year; the law does not define ``propaganda.'' The law
also subjects writers to prosecution for instigating crimes against the
state or national security or ``insulting'' Islam; the latter offense
is punishable by death.
On June 13, authorities reportedly arrested journalist Mahboubeh
Karami after she criticized police for beating demonstrators. She was
held on a charge of ``activity against national security'' in Evin
Prison. Authorities released Mahboubeh on August 26 after she paid
bail.
On July 25, Intelligence Ministry officials arrested Kurdish
journalist Saman Rasoulpour and detained him on charges of
``distributing propaganda against the state.'' He was released on bail
on August 13. Rasoulpour works for a domestic nongovernmental
organization (NGO) and writes for the publication Rooz Online.
On September 10, authorities arrested four Azeri journalists--
Alireza Safari, Said Mohamadi, Hossain Rashedi, and Akbar Azad--as they
met with a political activist in Tehran. According to NGO reports, on
September 17, a judge ordered they be detained without access to a
lawyer and without informing their families of the charges against
them. They were reportedly released on bail on November 11.
On March 1, a Tehran court sentenced Radio Free Europe journalist
Parnaz Azima in absentia to a one-year prison sentence for ``propaganda
against the regime,'' according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Authorities confiscated Azima's passport in January 2007 when she
entered the country and prevented her from leaving for eight months. At
year's end she remained in self-imposed exile. In January authorities
allowed French-Iranian filmmaker Mehrnoushe Solouki to leave the
country, according to RSF. In February 2007 authorities arrested
Solouki for ``intent to commit propaganda against the regime'' after
she discovered a mass grave outside Tehran in the course of her
research on the burial rites of some religious minorities. After one
month in Evin Prison, she was released on bail, but the Government held
her passport and prevented her from leaving the country for 10 months.
On June 11, a Tehran revolutionary court reportedly gave journalist
Said Matinpour an eight-year suspended sentence for ``publicity against
the Islamic Republic'' and ``maintaining relations with foreigners.''
Matinpour was arrested in May 2007 and held in pretrial detention until
his release on bail on February 26, with no contact with his family or
lawyer for most of that time.
In August the supreme leader conditionally released student
journalists Ahmad Ghassaban, Ehsan Mansouri, and Majid Tavakoli from
prison. They had been detained since May and June 2007 on national
security charges related to a publication in a university newspaper.
On March 1, a court sentenced journalist Bahman Ahmadi Amoee to a
six-month suspended sentence for ``activity against national
security.'' Police arrested Amoee, who works for the publication
Sarmayeh, in June 2007 while he was covering a demonstration in Tehran.
At year's end, authorities were holding his passport, preventing him
from leaving the country.
On March 17, a court sentenced Kurdish journalist Abdolvahed
``Hiva'' Boutimar to death for a second time on espionage-related
charges. The original July 2007 death sentence against Boutimar was
overturned in October 2007 on a procedural point, but his case was
retried. On September 4, the Supreme Court overturned a death sentence
against Kurdish journalist Adnan Hassanpour. The death sentence against
Hassanpour was originally issued in July 2007 and following an appeal
was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2007. Hassanpour, the
cousin and colleague of Boutimar, currently faces retrial on espionage-
related charges.
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance must grant permission
to publish any book, and it inspected foreign printed materials prior
to their domestic release.
Internet Freedom.--According to NGO reports, the Government
increased control over the Internet during the year as more citizens
used it as a source for news and political debate. Government and
independent reports estimated that approximately 18 to 23 million
citizens used the Internet. The Government imposed limits on Internet
speed and technology, making it more difficult to download Internet
material or to circumvent government restrictions to access blocked Web
sites. In December RSF reported that the Government censored 38 Web
sites during the year.
All Internet service providers (ISPs) must be approved by the
Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and the Government used
filtering software to block access to domestic blogs and some Western
Web sites, reportedly including the Web sites of prominent Western news
organizations and NGOs. The Government required all owners of Web sites
and blogs in the country to register with the Ministry of Culture and
Islamic Guidance; however, in practice this regulation was rarely
enforced.
In February authorities banned five Web sites ``for poisoning the
public domain,'' according to RSF. One of the sites, which was
operating again at year's end, had criticized Ayatollah Khomeini's
grandson after he questioned the Government's disqualification of
Majles election candidates.
On April 8, authorities arrested blogger and journalist Esmail
Jafari and seized his computer equipment, which allegedly held photos
of a demonstration in Bushehr. Officials released Jafari on April 24,
but on December 6, a court sentenced him to five months in prison for
``antigovernment publicity.'' At year's end he was free pending an
appeal.
On April 22, security forces arrested blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi
and detained him for 41 days in Evin Prison. On December 15, a
revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced him to 30 months in prison for
propaganda against the state and criticism of the supreme leader.
On May 9, authorities blocked access to Mehdi Mohseni's blog after
a post describing problems caused by pollution in Khuzestan. The
Government has reportedly blocked access to this site four times since
2004.
On May 21, the Government blocked access to at least 14 feminist
Web sites in anticipation of the upcoming Presidential election,
according to NGO reports. All of the sites had supported the ``One
Million Signatures'' campaign to change the country's laws that
discriminate against women.
On August 12, the Government began filtering the Web site Alef,
making it inaccessible to users inside the country, according to a
domestic report. The report indicated that the site had questioned the
validity of new Interior Minister Ali Kordan's degree from Oxford
University. The filtering was lifted on August 30, following an order
from the judiciary chief.
On November 29, according to RSF, a clerical court sentenced online
journalist Mojtaba Lotfi to four years in prison and a five-year
banishment from his home city of Qom for publishing a sermon by
Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri that was critical of the President.
Authorities arrested Lotfi in October. He was previously arrested in
2004 on similar charges.
On November 20, security officers arrested well-known blogger
Hossein Derakhshan in Tehran. At the end of the year, judiciary
officials confirmed they were holding Derakhshan but did not specify
the charges against him.
In November authorities arrested blogger and activist Shahnaz
Gholami for publishing ``propaganda against the Islamic Republic'' and
``jeopardizing national security.'' A court sentenced her to six months
in prison.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government significantly
restricted academic freedom. In 2006 President Ahmadi-Nejad called for
the removal of secular and liberal professors from universities.
Reports indicated dozens of university professors were dismissed,
forced to retire, or denied sabbaticals abroad since 2006. To obtain
tenure, professors had to refrain from criticism of the authorities.
Admission to universities was politicized; in addition to
standardized exams, all applicants had to pass ``character tests'' in
which officials eliminated applicants critical of the Government's
ideology. Members of the Basij were given advantages in the admissions
process. Student groups reported that a ``star'' system inaugurated by
the Government in 2006 to rank politically active students was still in
use. Students deemed ``antigovernment'' through this system reportedly
were banned from university or prevented from registering for upcoming
terms.
The Government censored cultural events with stringent controls on
cinema and theater and a ban on Western music. It also monitored
cultural associations. As the main source of production funding, the
Government also effectively censored domestic filmmaking. Producers
were required to submit scripts and film proposals to government
officials in advance of funding approval. Movies promoting secularism,
feminism, unethical behavior, drug abuse, violence, or alcoholism were
illegal, and some domestic directors were blacklisted. A 2006 NGO
report noted that censorship by authorities and a culture of self-
censorship strongly inhibited artistic expression in the country.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution permits assemblies and marches ``provided
they do not violate the principles of Islam"; in practice the
Government restricted freedom of assembly and closely monitored
gatherings to prevent antigovernment protests. Such gatherings included
public entertainment and lectures, student meetings and protests, labor
protests, women's gatherings and protests, funeral processions, and
Friday prayer gatherings. According to activists, the Government
arbitrarily applied rules governing permits to assemble, with
conservative groups rarely experiencing difficulty, and groups viewed
as critical of the Government experiencing harassment regardless of
whether a permit was issued.
The Government continued to prohibit and forcibly disperse peaceful
demonstrations during the year. Paramilitary organizations such as the
Ansal-e Hizballah also harassed, beat, and intimidated those who
demonstrated publicly for reform. They particularly targeted university
students.
From late February to early March, students at Shiraz University
held a peaceful sit-in; they called for the university President's
resignation, greater student freedom, and better dormitory conditions.
According to Radio Farda and the International Campaign for Human
Rights in Iran, authorities arrested at least a dozen of the
organizers, beat some of the students they arrested, and held some in
solitary confinement during their detention.
On June 12, police arrested at least nine women who organized a
meeting to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the largest feminist
demonstration in Tehran. Officials banned the meeting in advance and
stationed security forces outside the location. Authorities reportedly
released the women the following day.
Many individuals who participated in demonstrations during 2006 and
2007 remained imprisoned at year's end. Ali Reza Hashemi, head of the
Iranian Teachers Organization, remained under a three-year suspended
sentence for ``provoking teachers to gather and organizing to disrupt
the national security of the country.''
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the
establishment of political parties, professional associations, Islamic
religious groups, and organizations for recognized religious
minorities, as long as such groups do not violate the principles of
``freedom, sovereignty, and national unity'' or question Islam as the
basis of the Islamic Republic; however, the Government limited freedom
of association in practice through threats, intimidation, imposing
arbitrary requirements on organizations, and arresting group leaders
and members.
On October 1, security forces arrested teachers seeking to attend a
trade union meeting to discuss World Teachers Day, according to
Education International. Authorities released all of those arrested,
although Education International alleged that some of the teachers had
been beaten. According to foreign NGOs, authorities arrested as many as
400 teachers around the country during the year.
On May 25, authorities released Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, general
secretary of the political party Democratic Iranian Front, who had been
detained without charge in Evin Prison since November 2007 for founding
the party and allegedly damaging national security.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution states that Shia Islam is
the state religion and that all laws and regulations must be based on
Islamic criteria. The constitution also nominally protects other
Islamic denominations, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Judaism;
however, the Government severely restricted freedom of religion in
practice, particularly the Baha'i faith.
The central feature of the country's Islamic system was rule by the
``religious jurisconsult.'' Its senior leadership consisted principally
of Shia clerics, including the supreme leader of the revolution, the
head of the judiciary, and members of the Assembly of Experts and the
Guardian Council.
Apostasy was punishable by death according to Shari'a law. There
were no reported instances of the death penalty being applied for
apostasy during the year. On August 20, Intelligence Ministry officials
in Mashhad arrested Ramtin Soodmand, a Christian preacher, and took him
to an unknown detention center. Authorities released Soodmand in
November, and at year's end he was awaiting trial on charges of
``promoting antigovernment propaganda,'' although his family maintained
he was arrested solely for expression of his religious beliefs. The
Government executed Soodmand's father in 1990 for apostasy due to his
conversion 30 years earlier from Islam to Christianity.
The Government continued to repress Baha'is and prevent them from
practicing their religion by closing their places of worship. It banned
them from government and military leadership posts, the social pension
system, and public schools and universities, unless they concealed
their faith. The courts also denied Baha'is the right to inherit
property and refused to recognize Baha'i marriages or divorces.
According to the law, Baha'i blood is considered ``mobah,'' meaning
Baha'is may be killed with impunity. The Government repeatedly
pressured Baha'is to recant their religious beliefs in exchange for
relief from mistreatment.
According to human rights groups, all seven members of the Baha'i
national leadership body and a total of at least 40 Baha'is were
imprisoned at year's end.
On December 28, authorities on Kish Island arrested and
interrogated Faegheh Rafeie and eight of her relatives, including
several minors, for discussing their Baha'i faith with a local
shopkeeper. Authorities released some members of the group the
following day but held others for two to three more days.
All religious minorities suffered varying degrees of officially
sanctioned discrimination, particularly in employment, education, and
housing. In 2006 the UNSR for adequate housing visited the country and
reported that rural land, particularly that belonging to minorities
including Baha'is, was expropriated for government use, and owners were
not fairly compensated. Inheritance laws favored Muslims over non-
Muslims.
According to human rights activists, the Government continued to
grow increasingly intolerant of Sufism.
On November 16, a court sentenced Amir Ali Mohammad Labaf to a
five-year prison term, 74 lashes, and internal exile to the
southeastern town of Babak for ``spreading lies,'' based on his
religious practices as a member of one of the country's largest Sufi
sects, the Nematollahis or ``Gonabadi Dervishes.'' Security agents
reportedly arrested numerous other Gonabadi Dervishes during the year
in other cities, including Isfahan and Karaj.
On December 30, security services arrested five members of the Sufi
community without official charges in Hormozgan province and
confiscated their books and computer equipment.
During the year clerics in Qom accused the Sufi community of
``opposing Islamic ideas.'' In 2006 police in Qom arrested
approximately 1,200 Sufis and closed a major center of Sufi worship.
With the exception of Baha'is, the Government allowed recognized
religious minorities to conduct religious education of their adherents,
although it restricted this right considerably in some cases. The law
required all Muslim students to take Islamic studies courses.
Proselytizing of Muslims by non-Muslims was illegal. The
authorities have been increasingly vigilant in recent years in curbing
proselytizing activities by evangelical Christians.
The Government carefully monitored the statements and views of all
religious leaders, including the country's senior Muslim religious
leaders. It restricted the movement of several Muslim religious leaders
who had been under house arrest for years and continued to detain at
least one dissident cleric, Ayatollah Boroujerdi, during the year. The
Government pressured all ranking clerics to ensure their teachings
conformed to (or at least did not contradict) government policy and
positions.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Government actions continued
to support elements of society who created a threatening atmosphere for
some religious minorities.
Sunni Muslims and Christians encountered societal and religious
discrimination and harassment at the local, provincial, and national
levels. Some Mandeans reportedly fled the country in previous years to
escape discrimination.
The Government's anti-Israel stance, in particular the President's
repeated speeches decrying the existence of Israel and calling for the
destruction of its ``Zionist regime,'' coupled with the perception
among many citizens that Jewish citizens supported Zionism and Israel,
created a threatening atmosphere for the community. Government
officials also continued to make statements and organize events during
the year designed to cast doubt on the Holocaust.
On June 2, President Ahmadi-Nejad said that Israel ``will be wiped
off the pages of history'' and on August 24 that ``the celebration of
the elimination of Zionism and destruction of the arrogant will soon be
held.''
On August 17, the President made remarks in which he referred to
the Holocaust as a ``historical lie'' perpetuated to justify Israel's
existence.
On September 26, a Holocaust denial book by student members of the
Basij was released. The cover depicted a hook-nosed Jew dressed in
traditional Jewish clothing drawing outlines of dead bodies on the
ground. Inside pages pictured bearded Jews leaving and re-entering a
gas chamber with a counter reading 5,999,999. Another picture showed a
hospital patient covered in an Israeli flag and on life support,
breathing lethal Zyklon-B gas used in the Holocaust.
In previous years several programs broadcast on state-run TV
reportedly espoused anti-Semitic messages; a domestic newspaper held a
Holocaust denial editorial cartoon contest; and the Government
sponsored a conference focused on denial of the existence or scope of
the Holocaust.
In recent years the Government made the education of Jewish
children more difficult by limiting distribution of nonreligious Hebrew
texts and requiring several Jewish schools to remain open on Saturday,
the Jewish Sabbath. There were limits on the level to which Jews could
rise professionally, particularly in government.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, the Government placed some restrictions on these
rights. The Government cooperated with the Office of the High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with regard to some refugees from
Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Government required exit permits for foreign travel for all
citizens. Some citizens, particularly those whose skills were in short
supply and who were educated at government expense, had to post bond to
obtain an exit permit. The Government restricted the foreign travel of
some religious leaders and individual members of religious minorities
and scientists in sensitive fields, and it targeted journalists,
academics, and activists for travel bans and passport confiscation.
On March 3, authorities removed human rights activist Parvin
Ardalan from her flight, confiscated her passport, and served her with
a court summons as she was leaving the country for Stockholm to receive
a humanitarian award, according to Human Rights First. Authorities told
her she must present invitations to conferences abroad as a
precondition for the removal of her travel ban, although the law does
not require individuals to seek prior permission to travel.
On October 26, authorities banned women's rights activist Sussan
Tahmasebi from leaving the country, according to RSF. Authorities had
summoned Tahmasebi to court for questioning regarding postings on a
women's rights Web site. Police also placed Tahmasebi under
surveillance.
At year's end Abdolfattah Soltani, a lawyer who represented several
political prisoners, remained under a travel ban imposed in 2005.
A woman must obtain the permission of her husband, father, or other
male relative to obtain a passport. A married woman must receive
written permission from her husband before leaving the country.
The Government did not use forced external exile; however, the
Government used internal exile as a punishment, and many dissidents
practiced self-imposed exile to be able to express their beliefs
freely.
There were indications that members of all religious minorities
were emigrating at a high rate, although it was unclear whether the
reasons for emigration were religious or related to overall poor
economic conditions.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides means for granting asylum
or refugee status to qualified applicants in accordance with the 1951
UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol,
and the Government had a system for providing protection to refugees.
The Government did not always provide protection against the expulsion
or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would
be threatened.
On December 1, UNHCR estimated that there were 915,000 registered
Afghan refugees in the country, 3,166 of whom the UNHCR repatriated to
Afghanistan during the year. The Government continued to postpone
discussions to renew the tripartite repatriation agreement; however, at
an international conference on resettlement and repatriation held in
Kabul in November, the Government verbally committed to permit
registered Afghan refugees to stay until they voluntarily repatriate or
resettle elsewhere.
In addition to the 915,000 registered Afghan refugees, UNHCR
estimated as many as 1.5 million Afghans illegally resided in the
country as migrant workers. The Government continued to deport illegal
Afghan migrants. On March 4, the Government announced it would deport
all Afghans who lacked refugee documentation, and UNHCR reported that
403,000 Afghans were deported. There were reports of some registered
refugees included in mass deportations during the last several years,
although these reports were not officially documented. According to
HRW, many of those deported received no warning that they were being
deported, and many were separated from their families or had little
time to collect belongings and wages. Other deportees claimed they were
beaten, detained, or required to perform forced labor for several days
before being deported. Among the deportees were vulnerable individuals
and families who required humanitarian assistance upon arrival in
Afghanistan. At the November conference on Afghan refugees in Kabul,
the Iranian delegate stated that Afghan refugees would continue to be
treated as ``respected guests'' and that the two countries were
discussing the issuance of 300,000 visas to Afghan workers. However, no
new visa arrangement had been announced by year's end.
Since 2007 authorities maintained approximately 19 ``No Go Areas''
in the country for Afghan refugees, according to UNHCR. Refugees were
required to register and relocate in areas the Government approved;
those who did not were considered unregistered and remained subject to
deportation. Afghan and Iraqi refugees faced a lack of job
opportunities, and the Government at times failed to grant them
residence or work permits, effectively preventing them from obtaining
health insurance coverage.
According to UNHCR, a total of 58,091 Iraqis were registered as
refugees in the country during the year. The Government's 2007
registration was open only to Iraqis who had arrived before 2005. UNHCR
registered later arrivals. Voluntary repatriation by Iraqis increased
over the past two years; UNHCR did not assist any Iraqi repatriations
in 2006 but supported 238 in 2007 and 2,376 during the year. However,
UNHCR noted that most repatriates were those who fled Iraq before 2007
and new Iraqi refugees continued to arrive in the country. The majority
of Iraqi refugees lived in urban areas, but an estimated 5,000 Iraqis
lived in 12 settlements and received UNHCR and World Food Program
assistance.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change peacefully
the President and the parliament through free and fair elections;
however, the authority of unelected representatives over the election
process severely abridges this right in practice. The Assembly of
Experts elects the supreme leader, the recognized head of state, who
can be removed only by a vote of the assembly. The assembly was
composed of 86 members and was restricted to clerics, who served eight-
year terms and were chosen by popular vote from a list approved by the
Guardian Council (a 12-member body composed of government-appointed
clerics and religious jurists). There was no separation of state and
religion, and clerical influence pervaded the Government. The supreme
leader also approved the candidacy of Presidential candidates, with the
exception of an incumbent President.
Elections and Political Participation.--On March 14, the country
held Majles elections, which outside observers regarded as neither free
nor fair. The Interior Ministry rejected the candidacy of almost 2,000
applicants, citing disqualifying reasons such as ``having ill repute in
their place of residency,'' ``insulting religious sanctities,'' and
``acting against the state,'' according to HRW. Authorities
disqualified numerous other candidates following closed-door
negotiations with the Guardian Council. Most of the disqualified
candidates were considered reformists. Conservatives won approximately
70 percent of the seats.
The constitution allows for the formation of political parties,
although the Interior Ministry granted licenses only to political
parties with ideological and practical adherence to the system of
government embodied in the constitution. There were more than 240
registered political organizations, but most were small entities, often
focused around an individual, and did not have nationwide membership.
Political parties approved by the Interior Ministry generally operated
without restriction or outside interference.
According to the Guardian Council's interpretation, the
constitution barred women and persons of non-Iranian origin or
religions other than Shia Islam from becoming President. Women were
also barred from serving as supreme leader or as members of the
Assembly of Experts, Guardian Council, or Expediency Council (a body
responsible for mediating between the Majles and the Guardian Council
and serving as a consultative council for the supreme leader). Two of
the 10 vice Presidents were women. Eight women served in the Majles
during the year. Five Majles seats were reserved for the recognized
religious minorities. Other ethnic minorities in the Majles included
Arabs and Kurds. There were no non-Muslims in the cabinet or on the
Supreme Court.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and official corruption remained a
serious problem in all three branches of government, including the
``bonyads'' (tal-exempt foundations designed for charitable activity
that control consortia of substantial companies).
All government officials, including cabinet ministers and members
of the Guardian Council, Expediency Council, and Assembly of Experts
were required to submit annual financial statements to the state
inspectorate. There was no information available regarding whether
these government officials obeyed the law.
In January authorities executed a customs contractor for corruption
and sentenced three other customs employees to death for ``office
corruption and other economic crimes,'' including accepting a bribe of
more than 10 billion rials (approximately one million dollars).
Also in January a court sentenced three state gas company managers
to 10 years in prison and 74 lashes each for taking bribes totaling 23
billion rials (approximately $2.3 million), according to international
press reports.
On June 11, authorities arrested former parliamentarian Abbas
Palizdar for ``spreading lies and slander'' and ``causing public
distress,'' according to international press reports. In May, Palizdar
publicly accused senior religious leaders and politicians of
involvement in corruption. Following his speeches, which were widely
circulated on the Internet, judiciary officials arrested and indicted
11 persons named by Palizdar, most of them government employees, on
corruption charges. At year's end Palizdar had not gone to trial.
On June 18, according to domestic press reports, authorities
detained Abdollah Shahbazi for several days on charges of ``slander and
spreading lies,'' after he claimed on his Web site that several high-
ranking officials from Fars province had expropriated land.
There were no laws providing for public access to government
information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The Government continued to restrict the work of human rights
groups and sometimes responded to their inquiries and reports with
harassment, arrests, monitoring, unlawful raids, and closures. The
Government continued to deny the universality of human rights and
stated that human rights issues should be viewed in the context of a
country's ``culture and beliefs.'' On May 20, judiciary chief Hashemi
Shahroudi told the Human Rights Task Force, an intragovernmental entity
established in 2001, that the international community uses human rights
as a weapon against the Islamic world.
Hundreds of domestic NGOs operated in areas such as health and
population, women's rights, development, youth, environmental
protection, human rights, and sustainable development during the year
despite the restrictive environment, including pressure not to accept
foreign grants. During the year, the Government routinely restricted
human rights defenders, civil society activists, journalists, and
scholars from traveling abroad, particularly to attend international
conferences.
According to AI, independent human rights groups and other NGOs
faced intensifying harassment and threat of closure from government
officials as a result of prolonged and often arbitrary delays in
obtaining official registration.
Human rights activists also reported receiving intimidating phone
calls and threats of blackmail from unidentified law enforcement and
government officials. Government officials routinely harassed family
members of human rights activists, including making false criminal
charges against them and blocking their access to higher education.
Courts routinely applied suspended sentences to human rights activists;
this form of sentencing acted as de facto probation, leaving open the
option for authorities to suddenly and arbitrarily arrest or imprison
individuals. This threat was sometimes enough to silence activists or
pressure them into providing information about other activists.
On December 21, security forces unlawfully raided and closed the
Center for the Defense of Human Rights, a Tehran NGO headed by Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. The raid occurred immediately prior
to a scheduled ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to the state-run
Islamic Republic News Agency, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said the
Government closed the center for operating without a valid permit. On
December 29, government security officers posing as tax officials
raided Ebadi's private law offices, seizing office files and computers.
Professional groups representing writers, journalists,
photographers, and others attempted to monitor government restrictions
in their respective fields, as well as harassment and intimidation
against individual members of their professions. The Government
severely curtailed these groups' ability to meet, organize, or effect
change.
In 2007 local NGO the Society for the Defense of the Rights of
Prisoners published its second report about prison conditions in the
country. There was no indication during the year that the Government
responded to the group's appeal for attention to cases of political
prisoners.
In March 2007 a revolutionary court closed the offices of three
prominent civil society and women's rights NGOs, the Iran Civil Society
Organizations Training and Research Center, the Raahi Legal Center, and
the NGO Training Center after authorities briefly detained activists
affiliated with these organizations, including Sohrab Razzaghi, Shadi
Sadr, and Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, and charged them with violations
related to their NGO activities.
Despite receiving numerous appeals, the Government denied requests
from international human rights NGOs to establish offices in or conduct
regular investigative visits to the country. The last visit by an
international human rights NGO was AI's 2004 visit as part of the
European Union's human rights dialogue with the country. In October,
according to domestic press reports, the interior minister stated that
the Government would refuse any request by the Americal-Iranian Council
to open an office inside the country.
The ICRC and UNHCR both operated in the country with some
restrictions. According to HRW, since the Government issued a standing
invitation to all UN human rights agencies in 2002, there have been six
visits to the country by UN special human rights institutions; however,
the Government generally ignored recommendations these bodies made and
failed to submit required reports to the UN Human Rights Committee and
the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
The Government ignored repeated requests for visits by UN special
rapporteurs covering the areas of arbitrary executions, freedom of
religion, torture, independence of judges, and minority issues.
The December 18 UNGA resolution on the country's human rights
record called on the Government to respect fully its human rights
obligations and to abolish torture, arbitrary imprisonment, and
juvenile and public executions, including stonings. The resolution also
called on the Government to eliminate discrimination and other human
rights violations against women and religious, linguistic, and ethnic
minorities. In an October report, the UN Secretary-General criticized
the country's human rights record and urged the Government to do more
to combat discrimination against women and minorities in the country.
In 2001 the supreme leader called for the creation of a human
rights task force, chaired by the judiciary chief and comprising the
ministers of intelligence, interior, foreign affairs, justice, and
culture, as well as other judicial and military officials. The
committee, which did not convene until 2006, was not considered
effective. In one of his first public statements as the committee
secretary, Mohammad Javad Larijani defended death by stoning as a
punishment for adultery.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the constitution formally prohibits discrimination based
on race, gender, disability, language, and social status ``in
conformity with Islamic criteria,'' the Government discriminated on the
basis of religion, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
Women.--Rape is illegal and subject to strict penalties, but it
remained a problem. Spousal rape is not illegal.
Spousal abuse and violence against women occurred. According to a
study published during the year using 2005 data, 27 percent of women
reported being physically abused during the survey year. Abuse in the
family was considered a private matter and seldom discussed publicly,
although there were some efforts to change this attitude. Domestic
violence was not specifically prohibited by law, but some
nongovernmental shelters and hotlines existed to assist victims.
According to a police official quoted in a domestic newspaper
during the year, 50 honor killings were reported during a seven-month
period, although official statistics were not available. The punishment
for perpetrators was often a short prison sentence.
In May a man local papers identified as Ahmad allegedly killed his
daughter in Isfahan after her former brother-in-law kidnapped and slept
with her. Both men were in police custody at year's end.
In June a man identified as Morteza allegedly killed his sister
near Bandar Abbas after she married a man without her family's
permission. Local press reported that Morteza would be sentenced to
only three to five years in prison since the victim's parents did not
seek a murder charge.
Prostitution is illegal, but it took place under the legal cover of
``sigheh,'' or temporary marriage. International press reports
described prostitution as a widespread problem. The problem appeared
aggravated by difficult economic conditions and rising numbers of drug
users and runaway children. In March authorities arrested Tehran police
chief Reza Zarei after he was discovered in a brothel during a police
raid.
There was a lack of reliable data on the prevalence of sexual
harassment in the country; however, media reports indicated unwanted
physical contact and verbal harassment occurred. There are laws
addressing sexual harassment in the context of physical contact between
men and women. In June, thousands of university students in Zanjan
protested an alleged episode of sexual harassment of a student by a
university official.
The constitution nominally provides women with equal protection
under the law and all human, political, economic, social, and cultural
rights in conformity with Islam; however, provisions in the Islamic
civil and penal codes, in particular sections dealing with family and
property law, discriminate against women. Shortly after the 1979
revolution, the Government repealed the 1967 Family Protection Law that
provided women with increased rights in the home and workplace and
replaced it with a legal system based largely on Shari'a practices.
Although a male can marry at age 15 without parental consent, the
law states that a virgin female needs the consent of her father or
grandfather to wed, or the court's permission, even if she is older
than 18. The country's Islamic law permits a man to have as many as
four wives and an unlimited number of sigheh, based on a Shia custom in
which a woman may become the wife of a Muslim male after a simple
religious ceremony and a civil contract outlining the union's
conditions. Such wives were not granted rights associated with
traditional marriage. The Government does not recognize marriages
between Muslim women and non-Muslim men or Baha'i marriages.
Women have the right to divorce only if the husband signs a
contract granting that right; cannot provide for his family; or is a
drug addict, insane, or impotent. A husband was not required to cite a
reason for divorcing his wife.
Traditional interpretations of Islamic law recognized a divorced
woman's right to part of shared property and to alimony. The law
provides divorced women preference in custody for children up to seven
years of age; however, divorced women who remarry are forced to give
the child's father custody. After the child reaches seven years of age,
the father is entitled to custody (except in cases in which the father
was proven unfit to care for the child). The court determined custody
in disputed cases.
A man could escape punishment for killing a wife caught in the act
of adultery if he was certain she was a consenting partner; the same
rule does not apply for women whose husbands committed adultery. Women
sometimes received disproportionate punishment for crimes such as
adultery, including death sentences. The law provides that a victim of
stoning is allowed to go free if he or she escapes; however, it is much
harder for women to escape, as they are buried to their necks, whereas
men are buried to their waists.
The testimony of two women is equal to that of one man. The blood
money paid to the family of a female crime victim is half the sum paid
for a man.
Women had access to primary and advanced education. Reportedly 65
percent of university students were women; however, government
officials admitted the use of quotas to limit women's university
admissions in certain fields, such as medicine and engineering. In
addition, social and legal constraints limited their professional
opportunities. Women were represented in many fields of the work force,
including the legislature, municipal councils, police, and
firefighters. According to a World Economic Forum report, the
unemployment rate for women was 17 percent, compared with 10 percent
for men. Women cannot serve as President or as certain types of judges.
Women may be consultant and research judges without the power to impose
sentences.
The Government enforced gender segregation in most public spaces,
including medical care, and prohibited women from mixing openly with
unmarried men or men not related to them. Women must ride in a reserved
section on public buses and enter public buildings, universities, and
airports through separate entrances.
The penal code provides that if a woman appears in public without
the appropriate Islamic covering (hijab), she can be sentenced to
lashings and/or fined. However, absent a clear legal definition of
appropriate hijab or the punishment, women were at the mercy of the
disciplinary forces or the judge. Pictures of uncovered or immodestly
dressed women in the press or in films were often digitally altered.
The Government intensified its campaign against members of the
``One Million Signatures'' campaign, which activists launched in 2006
to promote women's rights and demand changes to discriminatory laws. In
a report released October 20, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon noted
``an increasing crackdown in the past year on the women's rights
movement.''
On April 8, security forces arrested campaign member Khadijeh
Moghaddam at her home. A revolutionary court reportedly charged her
with ``spreading propaganda against the state,'' ``disrupting public
opinion,'' and ``actions against national security.'' Officials
released her on bail on April 16.
On October 15, authorities arrested an Iranial-American dual
citizen for an alleged traffic violation in Tehran and held her in
solitary confinement in Evin Prison for one month. She was in the
country conducting research on the women's rights movement for her
graduate thesis. On November 10, authorities released her on bail, but
she remained under a travel ban at the end of the year.
On October 17, authorities ordered Parastoo Alahyaari and several
other campaign activists to submit their identity cards after security
officers broke up their meeting in a public park in Tehran. On October
18, authorities searched Alahyaari's home and confiscated her computer
and many personal belongings.
On November 21, according to human rights activists, authorities
arrested Mehri Moshrefi, her husband, and two of her children and
transferred them to Evin Prison. Security officers reportedly arrested
them at a cemetery where the ``One Million Signatures'' campaign was
staging a protest; activists claimed the family was not involved in the
gathering. Authorities held Moshrefi's two children (one of whom was a
minor) for one month; Moshrefi and her husband remained in Evin Prison
at year's end. Prison officials did not allow the family to contact
their third child, who was not with the rest of the family at the time
of arrest, for more than two weeks.
Several members of the ``One Million Signatures'' campaign,
including Parvin Ardalan, Nushin Ahmadi Khorasani, and Sussan
Tahmasebi, remained under suspended prison sentences and travel bans at
year's end. A court sentenced Fariba Davoudi Mohajer to one year in
prison in absentia after she spoke publicly about these activists
during a trip outside the country.
In May a court sentenced Amir Yaghoub Ali to one year in prison for
``endangering national security'' due to his work for the ``One Million
Signatures'' but later suspended the sentence for four years. In July
2007 security forces detained him in Evin Prison for four weeks for
collecting signatures on behalf of the campaign in Tehran's Andishe
Park.
In July 2007 authorities sentenced women's rights activist Delaram
Ali to 20 lashes and 34 months in prison for her participation in a
2006 women's rights rally. The judge charged her with ``acting against
national security'' and ``propaganda against the system.'' Following
international protests, in November 2007 the judiciary reduced her
sentence to 10 lashes and two and one half years in prison and then
temporarily suspended her sentence.
In August 2007 authorities sentenced Nasim Sarbandi and Fatemeh
Dehdashti to six months in prison and two-year suspended sentences
reportedly for collecting signatures for ``One Million Signatures'' at
a Tehran train station.
On August 13, authorities charged Ronak Safazadeh with ``spreading
propaganda against national security.'' Security agents arrested
Safazadeh in Sanandaj in October 2007 for collecting signatures for
``One Million Signatures.'' On September 6, a court sentenced her to
nine months in prison and fined her for publicizing the conditions of
her detention; at year's end authorities had not tried Safazadeh for
the original charges against her.
On June 18, a court sentenced Hana Abdi, whom police arrested in
November 2007 for collecting signatures for ``One Million Signatures,''
to five years' imprisonment. On October 7, a court reduced her sentence
to 18 months.
On January 2, authorities released women's rights activists Maryam
Hosseinkhah and Jelveh Javaheri. Police arrested both women in late
2007 for ``propaganda against the system.''
The Government Center for Women and Family continued to publish
reports on feminism with a negative slant and limited the debate on
women's issues to only those related to the home.
Children.--There was little current information available to assess
government efforts to promote the welfare of children.
Although primary schooling up to age 11 is free and compulsory,
media and other sources reported lower enrollment rates for girls than
boys in rural areas.
There was little information available to reflect how the
Government dealt with child abuse, including child labor. Abuse was
largely regarded as a private family matter, and there was no evidence
of progress as a result of 2005 UN Children's Fund actions to prevent
child abuse in the country. According to the UN's Integrated Regional
Information Network, child sexual abuse was rarely reported.
The law requires court approval for the marriage of girls younger
than 13 and boys younger than 15; however, it was reportedly not
unusual in rural areas for parents to have their children marry before
they become teenagers, often for economic reasons.
There were reportedly significant numbers of children, particularly
Afghan but also Iranian, working as street vendors in Tehran and other
cities and not attending school.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits human trafficking.
However, according to foreign observers, the country was a source,
transit, and destination point for trafficking. Women and girls were
trafficked from the country to Pakistan, Turkey, Europe, and the Gulf
states for sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. Boys from
Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan were trafficked through the
country to Gulf states. Afghan women and girls were trafficked to the
country for sexual exploitation and forced marriages. Internal
trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor also occurred. In
some cases, authorities tried and convicted persons involved in
trafficking.
In September 2007 police reportedly disbanded an international
smuggling network based in Tehran, but it was unclear how many, if any,
of these were actual trafficking offenses. The group smuggled women and
girls from Central Asia through the country to the Gulf states. Police
reportedly arrested 25 persons for involvement in the network. There
were also reports that the Government arrested and punished several
trafficking victims on charges of prostitution or adultery.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Discrimination against persons with
disabilities was prohibited by law. The law also provided for state-
funded vocational education for persons with disabilities, but
according to domestic news reports, vocational centers were confined to
urban areas and unable to meet the needs of the entire population of
persons with disabilities. Building accessibility for persons with
disabilities remained a widespread problem.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution grants equal
rights to all ethnic minorities and allows for minority languages to be
used in the media and schools. The Government disproportionately
targeted minority groups, including Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, and Baluch,
for arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention, and physical abuse. These
groups also reported political and economic discrimination,
particularly in the provision of economic aid, granting of business
licenses, university admissions, permission to publish books, and
housing and land rights. State broadcasting had weekly programs in
ethnic languages, but the Government consistently denied minorities
their constitutional right to study and use their language in school.
In 2007 then interior minister Mustafa Purmohammadi ranked ethnic
divisions as one of the biggest problems his ministry had to address.
The Government blamed foreign entities, including a number of Western
countries, for instigating some of the ethnic unrest. Other groups
claimed the Government staged the 2005 and 2006 Khuzestan bombings as a
pretext for repression.
According to AI, in January authorities detained and questioned
three child care facility directors in Kurdistan province on the
grounds that they permitted the teaching of a nonnational language.
Authorities threatened other facilities with closure. Kurds were not
allowed to register certain names for their children in official
registries.
On July 9, security forces arrested Zeinab Bayazidi in Kurdistan
province and charged her with ``acting against national security'' and
``belonging to an illegal organization'' for her work with a human
rights group. According to human rights activists, a court sentenced
her to four years in prison after a secret trial with numerous
irregularities.
On August 8, according to domestic human rights groups, security
forces arrested journalist and Kurdish rights activist Massoud Kordpour
on espionage charges related to interviews he gave to foreign media
outlets. Authorities reportedly held Kordpour incommunicado for several
months before a revolutionary court sentenced him to one year in
prison.
On October 30, a Tehran appeals court upheld an 11-year prison
sentence against Kurdish journalist Mohammad Sadegh Kaboudvand
according to NGO reports. Police arrested Kaboudvand in July 2007 after
he founded the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK) in 2005.
He was serving his sentence at year's end, and family members reported
he had severe health problems, including a second heart attack in
December.
On February 25, a revolutionary court sentenced to death Farzad
Kamangar, superintendent of high schools in Kamayaran, on charges of
``endangering national security.'' Kamangar was involved with a number
of civil society organizations, including the local teacher's union, an
environmental group, and HROK. The court also sentenced fellow Kurdish
activists Ali Heydarian and Farhad Vakili to death. In July the Supreme
Court upheld the three death sentences. On November 24, according to
AI, prison officials removed Kamangar from his cell, beat him, and
threatened him with execution. Authorities originally arrested the
three men in 2006 for their human rights activism.
In 2006 Kurds clashed with police, reportedly resulting in three
deaths and more than 250 arrests. There were also strikes and
demonstrations in 2005 following the killing of a Kurdish activist by
security forces. According to HRW and other sources, security forces
killed at least 17 persons and wounded and arrested large numbers of
others.
In February authorities tried Sa'id Sa'edi, a founder of the East
Kurdistan Cultural Research Institute, and Ajlal Qavami, a journalist
and board member of HROK, on charges of criminal damage relating to
their participation in a peaceful demonstration in 2005.
Foreign representatives of the Ahvazi Arabs of Khuzestan claimed
their community of 2 to 4 million in the southwest section of the
country suffered from oppression and discrimination, including the lack
of freedom to study and speak Arabic. Ahvazi and human rights groups
alleged torture and mistreatment of Ahvazi Arab activists, including
detention of the spouses and young children of activists.
In September a court sentenced Arab journalist Mohammad Hasan
Falahiezadeh to three years in prison. Authorities arrested
Falahiezadeh in December 2007 for his reporting of street protests by
members of the Arab minority in Ahvaz. On October 5, he began a hunger
strike to protest prison officials' alleged denial of basic legal
rights.
Ethnic Azeris comprised approximately one-quarter of the country's
population, were well integrated into government and society, and
included the supreme leader among their numbers. However, Azeris
complained of ethnic and linguistic discrimination by the Government,
including banning the Azeri language in schools, harassing Azeri
activists or organizers, and changing Azeri geographic names. Azeri
groups also claimed there were a number of Azeri political prisoners
jailed for advocating cultural and language rights for Iranian Azeris.
The Government charged several of them with ``revolting against the
Islamic state.''
In a series of arrests beginning in July, police reportedly
detained at least eight Azeri-Iranian students in Tabriz and charged
them with ``establishing illegal groups in order to disrupt national
security'' and ``propaganda against the state.'' According to AI, the
student activists were campaigning for greater cultural and linguistic
rights, including the right to education using the Azeri language and
the right to celebrate Azeri culture and history. On October 28, all
but one were released on bail; at year's end, Dariush Hatemi remained
in prison because he was unable to raise the bail of 500 million rials
(approximately $50,000) required for his release.
On September 10, authorities arrested a group of Azeri cultural
rights activists, including author Hasan Rashedi, poet Mehdi Naimi
Ardabili, writer Alireza Sarafi, and journalist Saeed Mohammadi
Moghalani, at an Iftar celebration. Authorities held the men
incommunicado and without charge for several weeks before releasing
them on bail on November 9.
In 2006 there were large-scale riots in the Azeri majority regions
of the northwest following publication of a newspaper cartoon that
depicted a cockroach speaking in Azeri. Police forcibly contained the
protests and reported that four persons were killed and several
protesters were detained. Authorities blamed foreign governments for
inciting unrest.
Local and international human rights groups alleged serious
economic, legal, and cultural discrimination against the Baluch
minority during the year. The Government did not investigate
allegations that authorities in Sistan va Baluchistan executed at least
50 detainees in 2007 (See Section 1.a.). Baluch journalists and human
rights activists, including Yaghoob Mirnehad, faced arbitrary arrest,
physical abuse, and unfair trials, often ending in execution.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Special Protection
Division, a volunteer unit of the judiciary, monitored and reported
moral crimes. The law prohibited and punished homosexuality; sodomy
between consenting adults was a capital crime. According to HRW, the
last known death sentences for homosexual conduct were handed down in
2005, although there were allegations of executions related to
homosexual conduct in 2006 and 2007. The punishment of a non-Muslim
homosexual was harsher if the homosexual's partner was Muslim. On
September 29, President Ahmadi-Nejad called homosexuality an
``unlikable and foreign act'' that ``shakes the foundations of
society.''
On February 28, police reportedly raided a home in Isfahan and
arrested approximately 30 men on accusations including consensual
homosexual conduct. The men were held for multiple weeks without access
to lawyers and without being charged, according to HRW.
Persons with HIV/AIDS reportedly faced discrimination in schools
and workplaces. The Government supported programs for HIV/AIDS
awareness and generally did not interfere with private HIV/AIDS-related
NGOs.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to
establish unions; in practice the Government did not permit independent
unions. A national organization known as Workers' House was the sole
authorized national labor organization. It served primarily as a
conduit for government control over workers. The leadership of Workers'
House coordinated activities with Islamic labor councils in industrial,
agricultural, and service organizations comprising more than 35
employees. These councils, which consisted of representatives of
workers and a representative of management, also functioned as
instruments of government control but nonetheless frequently blocked
layoffs and dismissals in support of workers' demands. Restrictions on
the ability of workers to associate continued during the year.
On June 24, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs threatened to
dissolve the Association of Iranian Journalists (AIJ) because it
allegedly failed to uphold its internal regulations. According to RSF,
authorities sought the removal of the association's executive committee
on grounds of alleged procedural irregularities in voting during its
general assemblies. On July 6, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic
Guidance sent a letter instructing domestic newspapers not to report on
the group. The AIJ held internal elections to satisfy the Ministry of
Labor's concerns but had yet to receive their approval at year's end.
On December 22, according to human rights groups, security agents
arrested trade union member Mohsen Hakimi on unspecified charges. His
whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
In April 2007 security forces arrested 45 members of the Hamedan
Teachers' Association. Judiciary officials stated the teachers were
arrested because of their continued affiliation with a banned
organization. In December 2007 a court sentenced nine of the members to
91 days' imprisonment for ``participating in unlawful strikes'' and for
closing schools.
On April 6, authorities released labor activist Mahmoud Salehi,
former head of the Saqqez Bakery Workers' Union, after he spent one
year in prison for ``acting against national security"; the court
immediately opened another case against him, for which Salehi
reportedly posted bail of 430 million rials (approximately $43,000). He
was free pending trial at year's end.
On August 25, authorities reportedly transferred labor leader
Mansur Osanloo from Evin Prison to Rajayee Shahr Prison in the city of
Karaj. Osanloo, who reportedly suffered from numerous health problems,
remained in custody under a 2007 charge of ``acting against national
security'' and ``propaganda against the system.'' In July 2007
unidentified men arrested and detained him, following repeated arrests
in 2006. Osanloo, head of the Syndicate of Bus Drivers of the Tehran
and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e-Vahed), had been targeted by the
Government because of his calls for labor rights.
On December 27, plainclothes security agents arrested Ebrahim
Madadi in Tehran on unknown charges. Authorities previously arrested
Madadi in August 2007 for protesting the arrest of Mansur Osanloo and
released him in December 2007 following an appeals court ruling that
cleared him of the charge of acting against national security.
Ali Reza Hashemi, head of the Iranian Teachers Organization,
remained under a three-year suspended sentence on charges related to a
March 2007 protest during which security forces arrested hundreds of
teachers demanding pay and benefits equal to those government employees
received. According to a domestic labor rights organization,
authorities held dozens of the teachers in Section 209 of Evin Prison
for as long as 60 days without charges, before releasing most of them
on bail of approximately 300 million rials (approximately $30,000)
each.
The law prohibits public sector strikes, and the Government
considered unlawful any strike deemed contrary to its economic and
labor policies, including strikes in the private sector; however,
strikes occurred. According to an October UNGA report, attempts to
create a number of workers' associations and conduct labor strikes over
wages have been met with arbitrary arrests and violence by security
forces.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers did not
have the right to organize independently or to negotiate freely
collective bargaining agreements. According to the International Trade
Union Confederation, labor legislation did not apply in export
processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The labor code
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by
children; however, there were reports that such practices occurred.
Female citizens were trafficked internally for the purpose of forced
prostitution. Citizen children were trafficked internally, and Afghan
children were trafficked to the country for the purpose of forced
commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude as beggars and
laborers.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits employment of minors younger than 15 years and places
restrictions on the employment of minors younger than 18; however, the
Government did not adequately enforce laws pertaining to child labor,
and child labor was a serious problem. The law permits children to work
in agriculture, domestic service, and some small businesses, but
prohibits employment of minors in hard labor or night work. There was
no information regarding enforcement of these regulations.
According to government sources, 3 million children were prevented
from obtaining education because their families forced them to work.
Unofficial sources claimed the figure was closer to 5 million. In 2007
Tehran reportedly opened several shelters for street children. There
were reportedly significant numbers of children--particularly Afghan
but also Iranian--working as street vendors in major urban areas. Many
Afghan children were unable to attend school because they lacked birth
certificates or identification cards, which the Government reportedly
refused to issue in an effort to curb illegal immigration.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law empowers the Supreme
Labor Council to establish annual minimum wage levels for each
industrial sector and region. In March President Ahmadi-Nejad increased
the minimum wage levels by 20 percent to 2.2 million rials
(approximately $220) per month, which labor groups stated did not
provide a decent standard of living for workers and their families.
There was no information regarding mechanisms to set wages, and it was
not known whether minimum wages were enforced. Afghan workers,
especially those working illegally in the country, often were paid less
than the minimum wage.
The law establishes a maximum six-day, 48-hour workweek, with a
weekly rest day, normally Friday, and at least 12 days of paid annual
leave and several paid public holidays.
According to the law, a safety council, chaired by the labor
minister or his representative, protects workplace safety and health.
Labor organizations outside the country have alleged that hazardous
work environments were common in the country and resulted in thousands
of worker deaths annually. The quality of safety regulation enforcement
was unknown, and it was unknown whether workers could remove themselves
from hazardous situations without risking the loss of employment.
__________
IRAQ
Iraq, with a population of approximately 27.5 million, is a
republic with a freely elected government led by Prime Minister Nouri
Jawad al Maliki. The current administration assumed office in 2006
after the Council of Representatives (COR) approved a unity government
composed of the major political parties. The 2005 COR elections
establishing this government met internationally recognized electoral
standards for free and fair elections, and the results of the elections
reflected the will of the voters, according to the final report of the
International Mission for Iraqi Elections.
Since the second half of 2007 and during the year, the general
security situation in the country substantially improved. Violence has
decreased to the lowest level since 2004, although attacks on military,
police, and civilians continued. According to Multinational Force-Iraq
(MNF-I), civilian deaths from violence during the year fell 72 percent
to approximately 15 per day; Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) deaths from
violence fell by 57 percent to five per day, compared to the previous
year. Successful ISF operations contributed to decreasing violence by
establishing government control of areas previously dominated by Shia
special groups and other extremists. Throughout the year the Shia
militia Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) or Mahdi's Army reorganized, repudiating
violence against Iraqis, and ``Sons of Iraq'' (SOI) neighborhood
security forces--many affiliated with Sunni tribal groups--continued to
combat insurgents and terrorists. These developments undermined the
terrorist group al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI) and Sunni insurgent influence,
contributing to even further reductions in violence.
During the year, the Ministries of Interior (MOI) and Defense (MOD)
increased the numbers of trained security forces. At the end of the
year there were over 590,000 trained security forces, an increase from
430,000 in November 2007. The strengthened ISF led successful
operations, often jointly with the MNF-I, against insurgents and
terrorists in Basrah, Maysan, Baghdad, Diyala, Ninewa, Qadisiyah, and
Wasit Provinces. Civilian authorities generally maintained control of
the ISF, although sectarian and party-affiliated militias, which
sometimes controlled local security, at times failed to provide even-
handed enforcement of the law and acted independently. Although
reduced, continuing violence, corruption, and organizational
dysfunction undermined the Government's ability to protect human
rights.
During the year, the following significant human rights problems
were reported: a climate of violence; misappropriation of official
authority by sectarian, criminal, and extremist groups; arbitrary
deprivation of life; disappearances; torture and other cruel, inhuman,
or degrading treatment or punishment; impunity; poor conditions in
pretrial detention and prison facilities; denial of fair public trials;
delays in resolving property restitution claims; immature judicial
institutions lacking capacity; arbitrary arrest and detention;
arbitrary interference with privacy and home; other abuses in internal
conflicts; limitations on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and
association due to sectarianism and extremist threats and violence;
restrictions on religious freedom; restrictions on freedom of movement;
large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees; lack
of protection of refugees and stateless persons; lack of transparency
and widespread, severe corruption at all levels of government;
constraints on international organizations and nongovernmental
organizations' (NGOs) investigations of alleged violations of human
rights; discrimination against and societal abuses of women, and ethnic
and religious minorities; human trafficking; societal discrimination
and violence against individuals based on sexual orientation; and
limited exercise of labor rights.
Insurgent and extremist violence, coupled with weak government
performance in upholding the rule of law, resulted in widespread and
severe human rights abuses. Although their influence and ability to
attack was significantly weakened since 2007, terrorist groups such as
AQI and other extremist elements continued to launch attacks against
Shia and Sunnis, fueling sectarian tensions and undermining the
Government's ability to maintain law and order. Extremist and AQI
attacks against Sunni SOI and tribal leaders and offices rose during
the year. Extremists and AQI also conducted high-profile bombings near
Shia markets and mosques and killed Shia religious pilgrims. Shia
militias and armed paramilitary groups, some substantially incorporated
into the ISF, also frequently attacked civilians and government
officials. Religious minorities, sometimes labeled ``anti-Islamic,''
were caught in the violence. Amidst attacks, Shia armed groups fought
each other and against government forces for control of the nine
provinces in the South, especially in Basrah. Insurgents also carried
out a number of attacks against civilians and ethnic and religious
minorities. During the year, despite some reconciliation and easing of
tensions in several provinces, the Government's human rights
performance consistently fell short of according citizens the
protections provided for by the law.
The constitution and law provide a strong framework for the free
exercise of human rights. A major achievement was the passage of the
Provincial Election Law on September 24 calling for provincial
elections on January 31, 2009, in 14 majority-Arab provinces, with
elections later in the year in the three Kurdish provinces and in
Tameem (Kirkuk). As well, the adoption on November 16 by the COR of the
law authorizing the establishment of the constitutionally mandated
Independent High Commission for Human Rights marked a step forward
towards the goal of building institutions to protect those rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year,
there were numerous reports that the Government or its agents committed
arbitrary or unlawful killings in connection with the ongoing conflict.
Security forces under government control killed armed fighters or
persons planning to carry out violence against civilian or military
targets. According to personal accounts and numerous press reports,
these forces caused civilian deaths during these operations. The UN
Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) cited reports that the ISF in
January Basrah battles and April Sadr City battles against Shia militia
failed to distinguish sufficiently between combatants and civilians,
and often used disproportionate force.
An extensive security operation in Diyala Province resulted in mass
arrests, denial of due process, and credible reports of torture, some
resulting in death. In one case, Sheikh Bashir, a Diyala community
leader, was arrested by police in November and died in custody shortly
thereafter. Government officials claimed he died from a pre-existing
kidney condition, but his corpse had markings consistent with torture.
With the increased exercise of central government authority over
security forces, the phenomena of widespread and confirmed unauthorized
government agent involvement in extrajudicial killings has ceased to
reoccur. UNAMI did not report in its January-June Human Rights Report
that there was involvement of ISF in extrajudicial killings in Baghdad,
nor were there reports of MOI-affiliated death squads targeting Sunnis.
In the central and southern parts of the country, successful
government military operations against militia activity significantly
reduced the ability of JAM and the Badr Organization of the Islamic
Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) factions in the security forces to
pursue political agendas. The change in leadership was not without
disruption, however. On August 21, there were three attempts to kill
General Sabah, the Provincial Chief of Police in Dhi Qar. Three Iraqi
Police (IP) officers were arrested and charged with planting improvised
explosive devices (IEDs). At year's end there was no further reported
judicial follow-up.
There was virtual impunity for officials tried for killings. In
February 2007 several high officials in the Ministry of Health (MOH)
who were JAM members--including Deputy Minister Hakim al-Zamili--were
arrested and charged with organizing the killing of hundreds of Sunnis
in Baghdad's hospitals. On March 2, their trial began after a month of
delays due to the unavailability of witnesses. On March 3, the three-
judge panel, citing a lack of evidence, acquitted the defendants, who
were released soon after. There were allegations of witness
intimidation throughout the process. At year's end, an appeal by the
prosecution was pending. According to local residents, in May 2007
personnel wearing MOI police uniforms reportedly arrested and killed 16
individuals in the Hay al-Amel neighborhood. MOI Internal Affairs and
Hay al-Amel Chief of Police investigated but did not find any evidence
to substantiate the reports. There were no further developments related
to the investigations into 2006 killings of Sunni Arabs by MOI-
affiliated death squads.
On August 24, seven men in military uniforms attacked the editor of
the Kurdish monthly review Araa, Sadiq Jaafar Bashir, at his home in
Baghdad, seriously wounding him and killing his sister, according to
the international NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF). There was no
confirmation that the assailants were ISF; criminals have often
disguised themselves in ISF or police uniforms
Insurgent and terrorist bombings, executions, and killings were a
regular occurrence throughout all regions and sectors of society. In
Baghdad there were 92 persons killed in September, 86 in October, 82 in
November, and 56 in December. The attacks were sometimes targeted at
police stations or Army patrols, but often were indiscriminate, killing
morning rush-hour commuters and market-goers. The Ministry of Human
Rights (MOHR) annual report on Victims of Terrorism reported that 6,787
civilians were killed by terrorist attacks during the year, and 20,178
were wounded.
On March 6, two bombings in Baghdad killed 70 civilians and wounded
hundreds. On August 24, a suicide bomber targeted a group of Sunni
sheikhs known for cooperating with Coalition Forces (CF) who were
celebrating a release of a family member from prison, killing at least
25 and wounding 29. On November 10, a roadside IED followed by a
suicide bomber mingling in the crowd destroyed a minibus carrying
school girls in Baghdad, resulting in 28 deaths. On August 28, the
Karbala judiciary found JAM member Ali Abd al-Ta'an guilty of
committing terrorist acts and sentenced him to death. Al-Ta'an
confessed to multiple killings and involvement in the August 2007
Shabaniyah violence.
Incidents of terrorist attacks by female suicide bombers increased.
On February 1, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in pet
markets in Baghdad, killing an estimated 100 civilians. On July 28, a
female suicide bomber detonated her explosives in the middle of a
public demonstration on the elections law in Kirkuk, killing 10 and
wounding 40. The police then fired into the crowd to clear the crowd,
causing 20 more deaths and 60 additional injuries. The UNAMI human
rights report recorded 13 attacks by female suicide bombers between
January and June in Baghdad, Diyala, and Karbala, which left 140 dead
and 307 wounded.
During the year insurgents, terrorists, and extremist group members
beat, dismembered, beheaded, and electrically drilled and shocked their
victims. On May 19, police found three unknown bodies in Kirkuk.
According to the police, two of the victims were exposed to torture
including burning with acid and gunshot wounds. The third body was
beheaded. On July 27, Police found four unidentified bodies in Mosul.
The bodies had been subjected to torture and chemical burns. On July
23, the Iraqi NGO Constitutional Rights and Freedoms Observer reported
that there had been a total of 1,538 unidentified bodies recovered
between January and July, many bearing signs of torture. According to
the NGO, the number of bodies found rose in the spring but has dropped
since mid-year. Most of the bodies were found in Diyala and Baghdad.
An estimated 1,900 ISF members were killed during the year. Police
officers were particularly targeted. On February 25, a suicide bomber
killed Major General Abdul Jabbar Muttar, the assistant police chief in
Samarra in Salah al-Din Province. On June 22, a female suicide bomber
killed seven and injured 10 police officers near a heavily fortified
courthouse in central Baquba, in Diyala Province.
Terrorists also targeted political institutions and leaders,
religious institutions, and minorities. On March 17, a female suicide
bomber killed 39 Shia worshippers near a mosque in Karbala. On April
29, Dhia Jodi Jaber, a director general at the Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs (MOLSA), was killed by a roadside bomb outside his
house. On July 28, three suicide bombers and a roadside bomb struck
Shia pilgrims taking part in a religious procession in Baghdad, killing
24 and wounding 72. On August 23, senior Ministry of Culture official
Kamel Shiaa was shot dead in Baghdad. On October 9, Saleh al-Ugaili, a
Sadrist parliamentarian, was killed along with two others in his convoy
by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
AQI attacks against SOI and Sunni tribal leaders increased over the
year. On February 11, twin car bombs targeted a meeting of Sunni tribal
leaders killing 22, including Sheik Ali Hatem al-Sulaiman, deputy chief
of Anbar's largest Sunni tribe and a leading member of the Anbar
Awakening Council, and wounding at least 40. On June 26, a bomb
exploded at a SOI meeting in the city of Garma in Anbar, killing 20 and
injuring 27. On August 5, the convoy of senior SOI leader Sheik Ibrahim
Karbouli came under attack resulting in his death along with six of his
guards in an ambush south of Baghdad.
There also were reports throughout the South that Shia militias and
special groups increased their attacks seeking to intimidate government
officials and influence government actions. On April 2, a roadside bomb
exploded in Basrah, targeting Ministry of Defense (MOD) spokesman Major
General Mohammed al-Askari and Basrah security chief Lieutenant General
Mohan al-Firaji. One person was injured in this attack, which occurred
a week after military operations began in Basrah. Shia militias also
targeted other rival Shia groups. In June, the ISCI-affiliated Badr
Organization reportedly launched new covert actions called ``the yellow
way'' aimed at killing other Shia leaders, including journalists.
In 2007, Shia militias and criminal gangs terrorized civilians in
Basrah through a campaign of killings, intimidation, kidnappings, rape,
and other abuses. There also were a series of killings and attempted
killings by sniper fire of police and political figures in Basrah.
Iraqi military operations in Basrah launched in March have reduced Shia
militia and criminal gang attacks.
A 2006 terrorist bombing, and one again in 2007, of the Al-Askariya
Shrine in Samarra provoked a cycle of daily sectarian retaliatory
attacks.
On July 23, a bomb exploded in Kirkuk, killing 23 and wounding 98
persons who were demonstrating against the provincial elections law. On
December 11, at the end of a four-day Islamic holiday, a bomb exploded
in a popular restaurant in Kirkuk, killing 100 and wounding 50. On
December 22, ISF arrested a group of terrorists who confessed to the
explosion. These attacks highlighted the tensions among Kurdish, Arab,
and Turkmen residents of Kirkuk. Kirkuk is at the center of ongoing
deliberations over the implementation of Article 140 of the
constitution, which provided a December 31, 2007, deadline for a
referendum over the future of disputed internal boundaries.
In Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk, the three provinces comprising
the majority of the area under the jurisdiction of the Kurdish Regional
Government (KRG), there were significantly fewer reports of sectarian
violence than elsewhere in the country.
Unlike in the previous year, there were reports of KRG security
forces using excessive lethal force. On August 17, residents of Sreshma
village in Erbil demonstrated in favor of improved access to water. As
they reached the Khalifan village mayor's office, the police opened
fire, killing a 15-year-old bystander and injuring four others. The
governor of Erbil suspended the head of the Khalifan police, and
several police were imprisoned. Since both police and villagers were
shooting, no individual was found responsible for the killing, and the
police were released.
During the year, terrorist attacks in the KRG were infrequent. On
March 10, a car bomb killed two and injured dozens in the Sulaymaniyah
city center. On March 20, 10 AQI-linked terrorists were arrested for
involvement in the attack, including an alleged leader, Riyadh Jasim
Nouri. Four terrorists, including Riyadh Jasim Nouri, were convicted
and sentenced to death. There were no further developments at year's
end.
Since February Turkish ground forces entered KRG territory in
northern Iraq targeting the terrorist group Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK), leading to dozens of PKK casualties. On several occasions,
Turkish and Iranian air forces bombed PKK sites. Beginning in March
Iranian forces shelled areas in northern Iraq, which it claimed had
been infiltrated by members of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan
(PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish separatist rebel group. Bombings in March
and April led to forced displacement of 130 families fleeing the
attacks. In December, the Pishdar District Mayor stated the district,
with the assistance of UNHCR, is expected to build a new IDP camp for
those fleeing the bombing in their villages. There were weekly reports
of Turkish bombings throughout the year.
Press reports on November 11 indicated that a court in Tikrit
convicted and sentenced to death a Salah Al Din Provincial Council
member, Abd Al Hadi Tameel Shindikh and his son, Mohammad, for the July
2006 killing of Dr. Amina Al Rubaie, wife of Salah Al Din's governor,
Hamid Hammoud Al Qaisi.
During the year, there were no other known developments in the
killings reported in section 1.a. in the previous year's report.
Other parts of this report contain related information; see
Sections 2.a., 2.c., and 2.d.
b. Disappearance.--During the year kidnappings and disappearances
remained a severe problem; many individuals disappeared and incidents
of child kidnapping increased in the latter half of the year. Unlike in
the previous year, the majority of the reported cases were not
sectarian related. According to UNAMI's January-June human rights
report and government sources, almost all of the cases during the year
appeared to be motivated by monetary reasons. Police believed that the
great majority of cases were unreported.
According to the MOI, unlike in previous years, there were very few
kidnappings by MOI personnel for ransom or sectarian motivations, and
there were fewer reports that police arrested civilians without an
arrest warrant and held them for ransom. UNAMI did not report any
kidnappings by MOI personnel in its January-June human rights report.
Kidnappings were often conducted for ransom, and religious
minorities were often the target of such kidnappings. On July 9, two
Shabak individuals, Luqman Hamza and Hayder Shahab, were allegedly
kidnapped in Ninewa. They both were released four days later after a
ransom payment of approximately $40,000 (approximately 47 million
dinars). On August 28, police found the body of Tariq Al Katane, a
Christian doctor, in Mosul. He had been kidnapped four days earlier,
and his body showed signs of abuse and bullet wounds. During the year
the police solved virtually none of these cases and rescued few
kidnapped individuals. The MOI Human Rights office reported that it
investigated 525 missing person cases during the year; results are
pending.
Incidents of political kidnappings occurred during the year. On
February 28, Matar Thamer Muhyee, the director of the Basrah
Electricity Department, was kidnapped. On April 6, seven workers from
the Ministry of Energy were kidnapped in Balad. On May 17, Dr. Sabbar
Abdallah, the director of the Tikrit teaching hospital, was kidnapped,
along with his two aides. All were released after being held for two
weeks.
On February 10, men in security uniforms kidnapped Richard Butler,
a British journalist working for CBS news, and his Iraqi interpreter in
Basrah. The ISF freed the Iraqi interpreter a few days later and Butler
on April 14.
There was no further information available on the following 2007
disappearances: five British men (a computer expert and four
bodyguards) and acting undersecretary of the Ministry of Science and
Technology Samir Salim al-Attar.
By year's end there were no new developments in the following 2006
disappearances: Ali al-Mahdawi, director of Diyala Health Directorate;
Ahmed al-Mosawi, the head of the Iraq Human Rights Society;
approximately 50 persons from the Salhiya neighborhood in Baghdad
reportedly by assailants wearing police uniforms; and approximately 70
Ministry of Industry and Minerals employees.
Until its fall in 2003, the former regime caused the disappearance
of many thousands of persons. Additional mass graves from that period
were still being discovered during the year. In June, government human
rights officials opened a mass grave in Najaf Province and examined the
remains of over 170 Kurdish victims from 1984.
There also were more recent mass graves. On March 26, villagers in
Zahamm in Diyala province uncovered a mass grave of at least 52 persons
killed by AQI during the last two years. On December 6, Iraqi officials
discovered 27 bodies in two graves, one south of Baghdad and one near
Tal Afar.
In the first half of the year, UNAMI reported that between three to
five unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad almost daily; however,
the number of unidentified bodies discovered was lower than the
previous year.
Other parts of this report contain related information; see
Sections 1.b. and 2.a.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution expressly prohibits torture in all its
forms under all circumstances, as well as cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment. During the year there were documented instances of torture
and other abuses by government agents and similar abuses by illegal
armed groups. The Government's effectiveness in adhering to the rule of
law in these circumstances was hampered by ongoing large-scale
violence, corruption, sectarian bias, and lack of civilian oversight
and accountability, particularly in the security forces and detention
facilities.
During the year local and international human rights organizations
and the MOHR continued to report torture and abuse in several MOI and
MOD detention facilities, as well as in KRG security forces' detention
facilities. In August, the MOHR reported that electricity and cold
water, which leave few physical traces, were the most commonly used
torture methods.
Numerous and serious reports of torture and abuse were leveled at
MOI's Kadhamiya National Police detention facility and the MOD/MOJ
Harithiya facility in Baghdad. As in previous years, reports of abuse
at the point of arrest and during the investigation period,
particularly by MOI's National Police forces and MOD's battalion-level
forces, continued to be common. Accusations included extreme beatings,
sexual assault, and threats of death. In 2007, former detainees in MOI
and MOD facilities reported that they suffered severe beatings,
electric shocks, sexual assault, suspension by the limbs for long
periods, threats of ill-treatment of relatives, and in some cases,
gunshot wounds.
On February 14, thousands of protestors reportedly called for
Diyala provincial police chief, Ghanim al-Quraishi to be fired for
several incidents of torture. An investigation begun in February
resulted in his being relieved of duty in mid-August.
There were other indications that disciplinary action was taken
against security forces accused of human rights abuses. From 2006 to
June, the MOI Internal Affairs, which has a staff of approximately
2000, investigated and convicted 218 lower-level officers of human
rights violations. According to MOI Internal Affairs, many officers
accused of major violations are arrested and fired although when there
is a lack of evidence, the officers are only transferred. During the
year the MOI Human Rights office, with a staff of 50 investigators,
opened 42 investigations into human rights abuse cases and sent 28
cases to court for further investigation. At year's end 19 officers
were being investigated. Several suspects have been convicted and
sentenced, including high-ranking officials.
In March 2007, joint British and Iraqi Special Forces raided the
MOI National Iraqi Intelligence Agency headquarters building in Basrah
and arrested an alleged death squad leader. The special forces found 30
detainees with signs of torture. According to press reports, the Prime
Minister's office stressed the need to punish the special forces that
carried out the raid. Several Iraqi officers who participated in the
raid were arrested and others fired, according to MOI Internal Affairs.
There was little judicial follow-up in older torture cases. Four
MOD officers in the Iraqi Army 24th Brigade in the 6th Division were
implicated in the May 2007 torture and killing of a detainee. One
arrest warrant was outstanding for a high-ranking IA official in
connection with the case, but was not executed by year's end. In
October 2007, arrest warrants were issued for Lieutenant Nabil Rahmin
Ali for murder and manslaughter, but he fled Baghdad before it was
executed. On March 4, 13, and 19, Brigadier General Nasser and Colonel
Hassan were ordered to appear in court concerning Lt Nabil's escape.
Neither man appeared; they were granted amnesty for allowing a suspect
to escape after applying on March 17. Two IA officers were arrested in
November 2007 in connection with the torture and murder charges; one
was released in May, and one was still in custody at year's end. In
June Lt. Nabil was found in Al Hillah and arrested. Despite the
evidence against him, he was released on September 8.
Abusive interrogation practices reportedly occurred in some
detention facilities run by the KRG internal security (Asayish) forces
and the KRG intelligence services. Allegations of abuse included
application of electric shocks, suspension in stress positions, and
severe beatings. In some cases, police reportedly threatened and
sexually abused detainees, including juveniles, and also committed acts
of torture, including beatings and use of drills.
At year's end there were no new developments in the following 2006
cases: Basrah police station torture chambers and a Mulla Eid mass
grave. At year's end a National Police ``Lieutenant Colonel A,''
accused of assaulting and torturing dozens of Sunni captives in custody
on behalf of a Shia militia at the ``Site 4'' Baghdad Central Detention
Facility in 2006, was in government custody and awaiting trial in
Baghdad (See Section 1.d.).
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Despite a law mandating
that detention facilities be under the sole control of the Ministry of
Justice (MOJ), detention facilities were operated by four separate
Ministries: MOJ, MOI, MOD, and MOLSA for juvenile detention.
Additionally, the KRG Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MOLSW)
operated prisons in the KRG, and the KRG MOI operated pretrial
detention facilities. The KRG internal security (Asayish) forces and
the KRG intelligence services operated separate detention facilities as
well.
At year's end there were 10 MOJ prisons and six pretrial detention
facilities. The total number of MOI detention facilities was estimated
to be six National Police facilities and 294 Iraqi Police facilities.
Including police holding stations, there were estimated to be more than
1,200 official MOI detention locations. The MOD operated 51 Iraqi Army
(IA) pretrial detention centers for detainees captured during military
raids and operations. Additionally, there were reports of unofficial
detention centers throughout the country. Continued detention beyond
the date of ordered release and unlawful releases, as well as targeting
and kidnapping of Sunni Arab detainees, were reported. Kurdish
authorities operated eight detention facilities that combined pretrial
and post conviction housing and an additional eight internal security
pretrial detention facilities.
Treatment of detainees under government authority was generally
poor, although MOJ prison and detention facilities and personnel
(otherwise known as the Iraqi Correctional Services or ICS) generally
met internationally accepted standards for basic prisoner needs. ICS is
required to provide food for all detainees, although ICS did not pay
for a food contract for facilities in Anbar Province until July 1.
Previously detainees relied on food donations and other non-Iraqi
government grants.
The ICS internal affairs department monitored abuse or violations
of international standards for human rights in prisons. Increased
allegations of harassment and abuse have resulted in the disciplining
of ICS officers in some cases. On August 12, according to the deputy
minister of justice, there were allegations that 19 Iraqi correction
officers (ICO) physically abused detainees being transferred to
Kadhamiya Maximum Security Prison. The deputy minister investigated and
determined 16 were innocent; the other three were transferred to
prisons in Samawah, Nasiriyah, and Hillah, with the possibility of
future criminal prosecutions. In August, the MOHR reported that 14
deaths of detainees under investigation in 2007 were pending at year's
end. Medical care in MOJ/ICS prisons was satisfactory and in some
locations exceeded the community standard.
Kadhamiya Female Prison, an ICS facility, was reportedly
infiltrated by JAM and operated as a brothel at night. On August 22,
the acting minister of justice acted to rectify the problem by
relocating the inmates (174 females and 17 children) to a new female
prison at the Rusafa Rule of Law Complex.
Most detention facilities under MOI and MOD control did not meet
international standards. Overcrowding remained endemic. Many lacked
adequate food, exercise facilities, medical care, and family
visitation. Detainee populations under government control, estimated at
more than 40,000, were high due to mass arrests carried out in security
and military operations. Limited infrastructure or aging physical
plants in some facilities resulted in marginal sanitation, limited
access to water and electricity, and poor quality food. Medical care in
MOI and MOD detention facilities was not provided consistently, and
rape, torture, and abuse, sometimes leading to death, have been
reported in some facilities.
During the year food, medical supplies, and hygiene conditions at
the MOD detention facility in Abu Ghraib operated by the IA 24/6
Brigade vastly improved. Overcrowding was reduced, and at the end of
the year there were less than 200 detainees compared to 550 in July
2007.
During the year the Second National Police Detention Center in
Kadhamiya, a neighborhood of northern Baghdad, which was built to hold
approximately 350 persons, was overcrowded. By year's end the detention
facility held a population of approximately 625. Partially treated
wounds, skin diseases, and unsanitary conditions were common, as was
extortion by guards. Former and current detainees at Kadhamiya alleged
that they were tortured while in the facility. Several investigations
were launched with evidence from the MOHR and were pending at year's
end.
The law mandates that women and juveniles be held separately from
men. While this law is generally upheld, in some cases women were
housed in the same detention facility as men. Juveniles were also
occasionally held with adults. A number of juvenile detainees, mostly
young teenagers, alleged sexual abuse at the hands of MOI and MOD
personnel and adult prisoners. Additionally pretrial detainees and
convicted prisoners were often held in the same facility due to space
limitations.
MOLSA's juvenile facilities lacked adequate resources and space and
did not adequately support rehabilitative programs. On July 13,
international media reported that two Sunni juveniles were killed in
the facility, but these allegations were unsubstantiated by
investigations. There have been other allegations of torture but no
confirmed cases. There were no reports by juvenile detainees of abuse
or torture cases in MOLSA facilities. According to MOLSA officials,
children were often abused and tortured during interrogation while
detained by MOI and MOD security forces, particularly by National
Police, before their transfer to MOLSA facilities.
National detention facilities permitted visits by representatives
of the national MOHR and KRG detention facilities permitted visits by
the KRG MOHR. In accordance with a prime ministerial directive, the
national MOHR continued its own inspection program inspecting every
detention facility monthly, apart from those run by the KRG, and
published its second annual report on the state of detention
facilities. The report addressed general conditions and populations of
detention facilities, judicial processes, and torture allegations. It
reported 112 confirmed cases of torture or abuse within the MOI, 69
cases within the MOD, 107 cases in KRG facilities, and no cases in the
MOJ. The cases are being investigated by the HJC. The report was
generally critical of prison standards across the country.
The KRG minister for human rights visited several KRG MOLSA
detention facilities during the year; however, a report was not
available at year's end. The KRG intelligence services reportedly
maintained separate detention facilities; however, there were no
reports of access by independent organizations to these facilities. On
August 2, the Kurdish newspaper Hawlati reported that prisoners and
detainees face sexual abuse, lengthy detentions without trial, and
risks of disappearing in KRG detention facilities.
Domestic and international human rights NGOs and intergovernmental
organizations did not generally have access to national MOI detention
and pretrial facilities or to similar facilities of the KRG internal
security (Asayish) and intelligence forces. Only the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) inspected several detention
facilities and prisons under the MOI, MOD, and MOJ around the country
and had access to KRG detainees, some of whom were held in Asayish
facilities. The ICRC visits to these facilities were in accordance with
standard modalities. During the first half of the year, UNAMI reported
visits to four prison and detention facilities in Baghdad and Anbar,
and 17 facilities in the KRG.
Other parts of this report contain related information; See
Sections 1.d. and 5.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution provides for
protection against arbitrary arrest and detention without a warrant,
except in extreme exigent circumstances as provided for in a state of
emergency. In practice, there were a number of instances of arbitrary
arrest and detention. On April 1, a prime ministerial order to all
security agencies forbade any raids or arrests without prior warrants.
In practice, the order was frequently not followed.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISF were composed
of MOI security forces and the MOD military forces. The MOI exercised
its responsibilities throughout the country, except in the KRG area.
These responsibilities included providing internal security through
police and domestic intelligence capabilities, facilities protection,
and regulating all domestic and foreign private security companies. ISF
also had responsibility for emergency response, border enforcement,
dignitary protection, firefighting, and internal monitoring of the
conduct of MOI personnel. The army, under direction of the MOD, also
played a part in providing domestic security. In an effort to
strengthen IA leadership, the Government began a recall effort to
attract former IA officers and NCOs to return to service. The
expectation was that most of the 114,000 officers and NCOs from the
former army registered through this process would be processed for
formal retirement and a smaller number brought back to service to fill
identified skill deficiencies in the IA.
The MOI security forces included several components: the 280,000-
member Iraqi Police Service deployed in police stations; the 41,000-
member National Police, overwhelmingly Shia and organized into
commandos and public order police; the 40,000-member Border Enforcement
Police, as well as the 83,000 Facilities Protection Service security
guards employed at MOI direction at individual ministries. The MOI was
responsible for approximately 500,000 employees, nearly 10 percent of
the country's male labor force.
Unlike in previous years, there were improvements within the
security services in militia integration into the ISF, strengthened
chain of command and control, and personnel and equipment shortages.
Total trained ISF numbers grew to at least 590,000 from 430,000, which
allowed ISF to successfully pursue military operations against
extremist activity around the country and particularly in Baghdad. The
overall security situation improved as oversight by MOI and MOD
Internal Affairs increased. A November study by researchers from the
College of William and Mary found that the MOI was making meaningful
reform efforts and is substantively addressing problems of lack of
efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, and professionalism. Some
problems continued, however, with all security services regarding
sectarian divisions, corruption, and unwillingness to serve outside the
areas in which they were recruited.
The inability of the overwhelmingly Shia ISF to retain Sunni
personnel and convince Sunni communities that they were not biased in
their enforcement was a problem. However, the GOI's commitment to
assume payment for approximately 94,000 ``Sons of Iraq'' neighborhood
security forces, largely Sunni tribesmen and former insurgents, with a
commitment to integrate 20 percent of them in to the ISF, was a
positive development. At the end of the year, SOI transition was
ongoing in Baghdad Province, with preparations underway for transition
elsewhere in the country. The targeting of members of the SOI for
arrest in connection with previous insurgent or Ba'athist activity
hampered effectiveness.
The KRG maintained its own regional security forces as set forth in
the constitution. Pending further progress on implementing the
Unification Plan for the KRG, the two main parties of the Kurdish
region maintained MOI Peshmerga units as regional guards outside the
control of the KRG, internal security units (Asayish), and intelligence
units. KRG security forces and intelligence services were involved in
the detention of suspects in KRG-controlled areas. The variety of
borders and areas of authority remained a cause of confusion, and
therefore concern, with regard to the jurisdiction of security and
courts.
The KRG functioned with two party-based Ministries of Interior. The
PUK Party controlled the Ministry with oversight of the province of
Sulaymaniyah, and the KDP controlled the Ministry with oversight of the
provinces of Erbil and Dohuk. KRG officials stated that unification of
the party-based Ministries of Interior was their goal but missed two
self-announced deadlines for doing so during the year.
Authorities often did not maintain effective control over security
forces despite increased efforts. MOI security force effectiveness,
particularly the National Police, was seriously compromised, although
less frequently than the previous year, by militias, sectarianism, and
political party influences. Rampant corruption, organized criminality,
and serious human rights abuses were embedded in a culture of impunity.
Unlike the previous year, there were new mechanisms to investigate
and punish abuse and corruption, but their effectiveness in holding
high-level officials accountable for serious violations remained
unproven. On April 17, the MOI established an internal criminal court
system to try crimes committed by MOI officials, and the first cases
were heard in July. There are five regional courts in: Erbil, Mosul,
Baghdad, Hillah, and Basrah. All have conducted trials. There is a
cassation court to hear appeals in Baghdad. By year's end, the five
regional courts had reviewed 1,315 cases, returned 655 cases for
further investigation, completed 314 cases, and have 346 cases pending.
The officials convicted ranged from officers to police. In November,
the court had convicted and sentenced 69 officials to jail and fined
one official. In December, the court convicted and sentenced three
officials to between five and 15 years, two officials to one to five
years, and 91 officials to less than a year in jail, and fined one
official.
Between January and June, MOI Internal Affairs opened 3,539
investigations and closed 3,369 of the cases. The MOI fired 499 MOI
personnel as a result of the investigations. By September MOI Internal
Affairs investigations between January 2006 and June had resulted in
2,529 firings or forced retirements, 3,283 arrest warrants, 2,475
disciplinary actions, 149 arrests for bribe-taking police officers, and
218 convictions. Over the past several years, members of the MOI
Internal Affairs staff have been targeted for assassination. The head
of MOI Internal Affairs has faced 13 assassination attempts. The MOI
director general of internal affairs reported there had been 288 cases
of human rights violations and that 180 corruption cases were referred
to the Commission of Integrity (COI). On September 4, the inspector
general of the MOI reported that the IG office has 384 cases under
investigation and referred 49 to the COI for further investigation
during the year. The IG office recovered almost 610 million dinars
(approximately $520,000) from salaries from nonexistent employees
within the MOI. The MOI appointed a director general for human rights
in August; the directorate conducted 42 investigations into human
rights violations during the year.
In an environment lacking convictions of allegations, there were
fewer allegations of MOD abuses during the year than in the previous
year. There were continuing reports of torture and abuse throughout the
country in many police stations; the incidents generally occurred
during the interrogation phases. MOI employees accused of serious human
rights abuses were often transferred rather than fired or arrested.
During the year several members of the security forces were tried
or convicted in judicial or internal courts in connection with alleged
violations of human rights, but most were not held for more than a few
days or weeks. Many of the officials accused of killings and torture in
the 2005 Jadriyah bunker incident have returned to work in the
Government. Following the 2006 discovery by a joint inspection team of
the abuse at the ``Site 4'' facility in Baghdad, arrest warrants were
issued in 2006 for over 50 suspected abusers. However, the MOI executed
only three of the arrest warrants by year's end, and there were no
trials or convictions (See Section 1.c.).
Investigative judges rarely referred security force officials to
the Central Criminal Court of Iraq because of Section 136 (b) of the
Criminal Procedure Code, which stipulates that such referrals are
possible only with the permission of the minister responsible for the
suspect. Permission was only given during the year for lower-level
officials.
Arrest and Detention.--The constitution prohibits ``unlawful
detention'' and mandates that preliminary investigative documents be
submitted to an investigative judge within 24 hours from time of
arrest, a period which can be extended only by one day. For offenses
punishable by death, the defendant can be detained for as long as
necessary to complete the judicial process. Under a state of emergency,
the Prime Minister has the authority under ``extreme exigent
circumstances'' to provide authorization for suspects to be detained
and searched without an arrest warrant. Law enforcement authorities
reportedly continued to detain and search individuals without an arrest
warrant after the state of emergency expired in April 2007, although
there were no reliable statistics available on such incidents.
In practice police and army personnel frequently arrested and
detained suspects without judicial approval. Security sweeps sometimes
were conducted throughout entire neighborhoods, and numerous persons
were reportedly arrested without a warrant or probable cause. Police
often failed to notify family members of the arrest or location of
detention, resulting in incommunicado detention.
At the end of the year the number of non-Coalition detainees in the
country was estimated at 40,000, the great majority being Sunni. The
ICS held 19,766; the MOI, unverified but estimated at 19,000; the MOD,
2,388; and the MOLSA, approximately 800. The KRG total was
approximately 2,200, not including central government facilities
located in the KRG or Asayish and KRG intelligence service facilities.
In practice few detainees saw an investigative judge within the
legally mandated time period. Many complained of not seeing the
investigative judge until months after arrest and detention. In some
cases, individuals identified as potential witnesses were also detained
for months. Incommunicado detention took place. Lengthy detention
periods without judicial action were a systemic problem. The lack of
judicial review was due to a number of factors, whose relative weight
was difficult to assess, but included undocumented detentions, backlogs
in the judiciary, slow processing of criminal investigations, and a
grossly insufficient number of judges. As of June, fewer than half of
detainee cases went before a judge within a year of detention.
There were a number of reports that KRG detainees were held
incommunicado. KRG internal security units reportedly detained suspects
without an arrest warrant and transported detainees to undisclosed
detention facilities. There were reports that detainees' family members
were not allowed to know their location or visit them. Reportedly
police across the country continued to use coerced confessions and
abuse as methods of investigation.
The law allows release on bond, and in practice criminal detainees
were generally allowed to be released after paying bail, pending the
outcome of a criminal investigation.
Judges are authorized to appoint paid counsel for the indigent and
did so in practice; however, some attorneys appointed to represent
detainees complained that poor access to their clients after their
appointment hampered adequate attorney-client consultation.
There were continued reports that MOI detention facility personnel
took bribes in exchange for releases. Guards at the MOI's Second
National Police Detention Center in Baghdad and other officials were
reportedly asking families for 1170 to 2340 dinars (approximately $1000
to $2000) to free their relatives. According to MOI internal affairs,
the bribe amounts were significantly lower than in the previous year.
Amnesty.--The COR passed a general Amnesty Law on February 13.
Instructions from the Higher Judicial Council (HJC) implementing the
law became effective on February 27. The law was published in the
Official Gazette on March 3. Pursuant to the law, the HJC formed
amnesty committees in each province headed by four judges and a
prosecutor to review all detainee cases and, where appropriate,
recommend release. The law, designed to foster national reconciliation
since detainees are disproportionately Sunni Arab, allowed amnesty for
cases predating the passage of the law. It was not applicable for
detainees sentenced to death and excluded from amnesty other specified
crimes, such as murder and acts of terrorism. At the end of the year
the HJC had reviewed over 156,000 cases and granted amnesty in over
23,600 cases affecting individuals held in pre- or post-trial
confinement, which relates to an estimated 20,000 detainees (some
detainees have multiple cases). At the end of the year, there were
approximately 7,500 releases, according to data from the Ministry of
Human Rights.
In April 2007, the Kurdistan National Assembly passed a General
Amnesty Law for the KRG. The KRG minister of human rights reported on
December 16 that over 660 of the approximately 4000 detainees had been
amnestied.
Other sections of this report contain related information; See
Sections 2.a. and 2.d.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary. Although the judicial system was credited with
efforts to maintain an independent stance, unstable circumstances in
the country, as well as the law, made the judiciary weak and dependent
on other parts of the Government. Threats and killings by insurgent,
sectarian, tribal, and criminal elements caused fear of retribution,
impairing judicial independence in virtually all provinces. The MOI
agreed to supplement security for judges.
Judges frequently faced death threats and attacks. The MOHR
reported in its annual Victims of Terrorism report that 10 judges and
86 lawyers were killed during the year, an increase from five judges
killed in 2007 and seven in 2006. Other international reports indicate
that six judges were killed during the year. On January 14, Appeals
Court Judge Amir Naeib was assassinated on his way to work in Baghdad.
On June 26, Judge Kamil Al-Showaili, President of the Rusafa Court of
Appeals, was assassinated after leaving the Rusafa Rule of Law Complex
in his unarmored car. On June 30, there were five assassination
attempts against five judges from the Rusafa Court of Appeals when
bombs detonated outside their homes in Baghdad. The judiciary suffered
from a severe shortage of security and other support for judges, which
has contributed to major deficiencies in the rule of law.
While individual judges were generally viewed as objective and
courageous, judges also were vulnerable to intimidation and violence.
In Ninewa, the only convictions made in such crimes during the year
were by traveling judges from Baghdad. In Wasit, investigative judges
refused to issue arrest warrants for terrorists. There were reports
that criminal cases at the trial level or on appeal to the Court of
Cassation were decided by corruption or intimidation. There were also
reports that court-issued detainee release orders were not consistently
enforced.
Security threats hindered the ability of citizens to access courts
and the judicial system. Witness intimidation continued, and witnesses
to criminal trials often failed to attend trials and testify due to
threats against them.
The law also restricted the free investigation of wrong-doing.
Ministers were afforded the opportunity to review and prevent the
execution of arrest warrants against ministry employees lawfully issued
by sitting judges presiding over criminal investigations. This
provision provided immunity to selected government employees and
enabled a component of the executive branch to terminate proceedings
initiated by the judicial branch.
On December 14, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that the Central
Criminal Court-Iraq failed to meet basic international fair trial and
due process standards. The report documented lengthy delays before
detainees face a judge, low standards of evidence, and inadequate
access to legal representation.
The judiciary at all levels--investigative, trial, appellate, and
supreme--is managed and supervised by the Higher Judicial Council
(HJC), an administrative body of sitting judges from the Federal
Supreme Court, the Court of Cassation, and the appeals courts.
Representatives of the Office of the Public Defender, a judicial
oversight board (that hears charges of misconduct by judges), and
regional judicial councils also sit on the HJC. Unlike the formal
courts, the HJC does not investigate and adjudicate cases involving
criminal conduct or civil claims.
The constitution provides for an independent judiciary in all
regions. In November 2007, the KRG passed the Judicial Power Law of
2007, which attempted to create a more independent judiciary. The
Kurdish Judicial Council (KJC), which had been part of the KRG
executive branch's MOJ, became legally independent and took
responsibility for the creation of its own budget, human resource
management, and reporting. The KRG MOJ no longer has direct operational
control over the judiciary, the KRG Ministry of Finance relinquished
control of the KJC's budget, and the chief justice was appointed by
other judges and not by the executive branch. The executive's influence
has been important in politically sensitive cases such as freedom of
speech and the press.
The judicial system includes civil courts that address domestic,
family, labor, employment, contract, and real and personal property
claims. Challenges to the judgments rendered in these civil proceedings
are first taken to the appeals courts of the provinces in which the
trial courts sit; after that, secondary appeals may be made to the
Court of Cassation.
In addition to the criminal and civil trial and appellate courts,
the court system includes a Federal Supreme Court, the jurisdiction of
which is limited to resolving disputes between branches of government,
between the Federal Government and the provinces (governorates), and
reviewing the constitutionality of laws, regulations, procedures, and
directives of the various branches and units of government throughout
the country. The Presidency Council appointed the nine members of the
Federal Supreme Court.
At the end of the year the HJC reported a total of approximately
1,200 judges and prosecutors. There were 673 courts throughout the
country: 16 appeals courts, 19 criminal courts, 17 juvenile courts, 15
labor courts, 15 commerce courts, 137 civil courts, 138 family affairs
courts, 136 misdemeanor courts, 148 investigative courts, 16 Central
Criminal Courts, 13 central investigative courts, and three customs
courts.
In 2003, the Governing Council created the Iraqi High Tribunal
(IHT), formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal, to try persons accused of
committing war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and specified
offenses from July 17, 1968, through May 1, 2003. After a trial, the
IHT in 2006 sentenced former dictator Saddam Hussein to death based
upon his conviction for crimes against humanity relating to the killing
of 148 villagers from Al-Dujayl following an alleged assassination
attempt against him in 1982. Two other regime members, Barzan al-
Tikriti and Awad al-Bandar, were also convicted and sentenced to death
at the same time for similar crimes. The verdicts were confirmed on
appeal. Saddam Hussein was executed in 2006. Al-Tikriti and al-Bandar
were executed in January 2007.
In June 2007, in the Anfal Trial, Ali Hassan al-Majid, widely
referred to as ``Chemical Ali,'' and two codefendants, Sultan Hashem
Ahmed and Hussein Rashid Mohammed, were convicted of genocide and
related charges and sentenced to death. The sentences were upheld on
appeal. Codefendants Farhan Jubouri and Saber Abdel Aziz al-Douri were
sentenced to life imprisonment, and Taher Tawfiq al-Ani was acquitted.
The Anfal trial, which concluded in June 2007, concerned the deaths of
an estimated 182,000 Kurdish men, women, and children, in part by the
use of chemical weapons. The death sentences have not been carried out
at year's end because of a dispute between the Prime Minister's office
and the Presidency Council (the President and two deputy Presidents)
over whether the sentences have to be affirmed by the Presidency
Council.
In August 2007, the IHT began its third trial, the 1991 Intifada
case, in which 15 defendants were charged with crimes against humanity
in the Maysan and Basrah Provinces. The 15 defendants are former high-
level members of the former regime and key military and Ba'ath Party
officials, including ``Chemical Ali'' (Ali Hasan Al-Majid). The
prosecution's closing arguments were heard September 3, and the
defendant's closing arguments were made October 19-23. On December 2,
the IHT sentenced al-Majid and Abdul Ghani Abdul Ghafour to death.
Former minister of defense, Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, was sentenced
to 15 years (al-Tai already had been sentenced to death for his role in
Anfal). The sentences were submitted for appellate review. Four
defendants received life sentences, Sultan Hashim and five others were
sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, and three defendants were acquitted
of all charges. The events in other provinces involving the 1991
Intifada are still under investigation and have yet to be referred to
trial.
In April, the IHT began its fourth trial, the merchants' case,
where in 1992 the former regime blamed merchants for shortages and high
prices. At that time a ``Special Court'' was convened and 42 merchants
brought before the court were convicted and executed within a matter of
hours. The eight defendants include former deputy prime minister Tariq
Aziz.
On July 21, the IHT began its fifth trial, the Friday Prayers
trial, involving the 1999 Shia protests following the killing by
Sadddam's agents of the Shia leader and father of Muqtada, Mohamed
Sadiq al-Sadr. The protests in Baghdad, Maysan, Basrah, and Muthanna
were brutally quashed by the 3rd and 4th Iraqi Army Corps, overseen by
Ali Hassan al-Majid. Fourteen defendants, including Ali Hassan al-Majid
and Tariq Aziz, are standing trial. The prosecution presented its case
at year's end, and the defendants are scheduled to present their
evidence subsequently.
Two additional cases were referred to the trial chamber. The
Halabja case, which includes five defendants and began on December 21,
involves the chemical attacks on the Kurdish town of Halabja that
resulted in the death of over 5,000 civilians. On December 28, the
trial of 25 defendants who are part of the former regime and were
allegedly involved in the persecution of DAWA party members began.
In addition to the two new trials in December, three additional
cases are scheduled to begin in early 2009. These cases are the Fayli
Kurd case, the Ethnic Cleansing case, and the Barzani Clan case.
During the year investigations continued into a number of crimes
allegedly committed by members of the former regime, including other
atrocities following the 1991 uprising, the draining of the southern
marshes, and the invasion of Kuwait. The IHT has also dropped charges
against some detainees.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and judges--investigative, trial, and appellate--generally
sought to enforce that right. An accused person is considered innocent
until proven guilty and has the right to privately-retained or court-
appointed counsel. One of the significant challenges facing the
criminal trial courts, however, was insufficient access to defense
attorneys. Defense attorneys theoretically were provided, but detainees
rarely had access to them before the initial judicial hearing. Many
detainees met their lawyers for the first time during the initial
hearing. Most of the time defense attorneys were provided at public
expense if needed. On May 12, the Rusafa Legal Defense Center opened at
the Rusafa Prison Complex in Baghdad providing 25 attorneys to assist
7,500 detainees. On average the attorneys consult with 83 detainees per
day, for four days a week. Since May, the attorneys have met with 6,129
detainees including 62 female detainees held at the Rusafa women's
prison.
The criminal justice system is based on a civil law regime similar
to the Napoleonic Code. It is fundamentally inquisitorial--and not
adversarial--in form and content. The system is focused centrally on
the search for the truth, initiated and pursued almost exclusively by
judges, whose role is to assemble evidence and adjudicate guilt or
innocence.
Investigative judges, working collaboratively with judicial
investigators, and in some cases police officers, are responsible for
interviewing witnesses, assembling evidence, examining suspected
criminals, and generating files on the results of the investigative
work. Although prosecutors and defense attorneys frequently
participated in these pretrial investigative hearings, their roles
were, for the most part, limited to recommending the pursuit of certain
lines of investigation, including posing suggested questions of
witnesses and detainees. They rarely appealed decisions of judges about
the manner and scope of their investigations.
Three-judge panels are responsible for trying the accused persons
in trials open to the public, based largely on the results of judicial
investigations. During those trials the presiding judges question the
accused detainees; witnesses may testify at these proceedings. The
prosecutor and the defense attorney can make brief closing statements.
After deliberation among the members of the panel, the presiding
judge announces the verdict and, in the case of a conviction, the
sentence. Criminal judgments of conviction and acquittal may be
appealed to the Court of Cassation, a judicial panel that reviews the
evidence assembled in the investigative and trial stages and renders a
decision.
The constitution provides for the establishment of military courts,
but only military crimes committed by the armed forces and the security
forces may come before such courts.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Unlike in 2007, there were some
reports of political prisoners detained during the year. During a major
security operation in Diyala Province launched by the Government in
August, an estimated 97 percent of the approximately 1,600 security
detainees were Sunni Arabs. In this operation a number of prominent
members of the province's Sunni Arab political establishment were
arrested, prompting complaints from Sunni Arabs that the Government was
pursuing sectarian political objectives rather than counterterrorist
objectives. Sunni Arabs make up around 60 percent of the province's
population. The most prominent detainee was a Diyala Provincial Council
member, who remains in custody without trial and without access to
legal representation. The Government stated that a rogue unit conducted
the arrests, and it would investigate the situation. Some of the Sunni
Arab detainees were released, but approximately 300 remain in
detention. No further developments in the investigation have been
reported.
On December 18, approximately 24 MOI officials were accused of
allegedly plotting a coup against the Government and were arrested
reportedly by the Prime Minister's Counter-Terrorism Bureau. Most of
the MOI officials arrested were low-level traffic police. A judge found
no evidence to the allegations and ordered their release after two days
in detention. The MOI reported that all 24 were released on December
20.
There was scant information concerning persons detained in Kurdish
detention facilities.
The Political Prisoners Organization, a quasi-governmental
organization with 500 employees, worked on behalf of Saddal-era
political prisoners to reintegrate them into society and the work
force. It provided former prisoners with monthly stipends of 500,000
dinars (approximately $430) and is generally considered to be an
effective organization.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The legal framework
exists, as well as an independent and impartial judiciary, for dealing
with civil issues in lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of,
human rights violations. Administrative remedies also exist. However,
during the year the priorities of an understaffed judiciary and
government administration focused on issues more directly related to
security, and these procedures and remedies were not effectively
implemented.
Property Restitution.--There was a problem with serious delays in
adjudicating claims for property restitution. The Commission for the
Resolution of Real Property Disputes (CRRPD), formerly the Iraq
Property Claims Commission, is governed by a 2005 law and is an
independent governmental commission. Its purpose is to resolve claims
for real property confiscated, forcibly acquired, or otherwise taken
for less than fair value by the former regime between 1968 and 2003,
for reasons other than land reform or lawfully applied eminent domain.
The CRRPD process is intended primarily to benefit those whose land was
confiscated for ethnic or political reasons as part of the former
regime's ``Arabization'' program and other policies of sectarian
displacements. The previously announced deadline for filing claims of
June 2007 was extended and remained open at year's end.
By year's end the CRRPD received over 164,000 claims nationwide. To
date, the CRRPD reportedly has resolved over 67,000 claims nationwide
of which over 10,000 relate to Kirkuk. The claims were handled on a
case-by-case basis through a technically complex process, but most
claims were resolved in a matter of months. There is a CRRPD appellate
commission in Baghdad comprised of seven judges. Since 2003, some Arabs
previously settled in the Kirkuk region by Saddam's anti-Kurdish
policies (wafadin) have returned to their prior homes in the center and
south of the country and have applied for compensation. As of December
4, 24,250 wafadin have applied for compensation to the Article 140
committee, which resolves claims for wafadin who seek compensation for
returning to their original provinces. Approval for compensation has
been given to 16,500, and 8,602 wafadin have received compensation, and
in theory, have returned to their original provinces.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution mandates that homes not be entered or
searched except with a judicial order issued in accordance with the
law. The constitution also prohibits arbitrary interference with
privacy. In practice, security forces often entered homes without
search warrants and took other measures interfering with privacy,
family, and correspondence.
Under the constitution the COR may consent to a state of emergency
upon the joint request of the President and the prime minister. Under
this authority the prime minister may authorize authorities to detain
suspects and search them, their homes, and their work places. The law
provides that all such actions must be pursuant to an arrest or search
warrant unless there are extreme exigent circumstances. The state of
emergency lapsed in April 2007 and was not renewed by year's end;
however, there were reports that law enforcement activities often
continued as if the state of emergency was still in effect. The police
were instructed to comply with legal warrant requirements but
reportedly often entered homes without search warrants.
In the KRP-controlled provinces, there was pressure on citizens to
join the PUK party in the province of Sulaymaniyah, and the KDP party
in the provinces of Erbil and Dohuk.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution broadly provides
for the right of free expression, provided it does not violate public
order and morality. Despite this protection of freedom of expression,
the law provides, if authorized by the prime minister, for fines or a
term of imprisonment not exceeding seven years for any person who
publicly insults the COR, the Government, or public authorities. In
practice the main limitation on the exercise of these rights was self-
censorship due to fear of reprisals by insurgent and sectarian forces.
The law prohibits reporters from publishing stories that defame
public officials. Many in the media complained that these provisions
prevented them from freely practicing their trade by creating strong
fears of persecution. There was widespread self-censorship.
The law restricts media organizations from incitement to violence
and civil disorder, and expressing support for the banned Ba'ath Party
or for ``alterations to Iraq's borders by violent means.''
There were several hundred daily and weekly publications, as well
as dozens of radio and television stations at the national, regional,
and local levels, broadcasting in Arabic, Kurdish (two dialects),
Turkmen, and Syriac. Political parties strongly influenced virtually
all media. For private media, sales and advertising revenues typically
did not produce a reliable income stream, and lack of a constant power
supply was often a problem.
The Government acted to restrict freedom of expression in some
circumstances. On March 3, the Journalists' Freedom Observatory
reported that IA members physically abused reporters covering a Baghdad
car bombing and confiscated their cameras. On September 3, the press
reported that the governor of Babil restricted journalists from
covering a public protest by civil servants. Also on September 3,
according to press reports, guards of the minister of science and
technology physically abused and detained briefly a correspondent of
the al-Sumeria channel in Baghdad. The Government's 2007 closure of the
Baghdad office of the Dubal-based independent Al-Sharqiya satellite
television channel continued, although the channel's informal office in
the KRG continued to operate.
In February 2007, interior ministry forces arrested 11 media
workers at the Baghdad offices of Wasan Media and charged them with
inciting terror. They had supplied video footage of a controversial
interview with Sabrine al-Janabi, a citizen allegedly raped by police
officers in February, to the Al-Jazeera satellite news television
channel which continued to be banned from operating in the country.
Wasan Media officials denied the accusations. In August 2007, a judge
dismissed the charges, and nine of the 11 media workers were released.
There was no update at year's end on the two who remained imprisoned.
Media workers often reported that politicians pressured them not to
publish articles criticizing the Government. There were numerous
accounts of intimidation, threats, and harassment of the media by
government or partisan officials. The threat of legal action was used
actively against media workers. On January 27, the editor-in-chief of
Al-Sabah newspaper fired several editors on requests from COR members
after the newspaper published several articles criticizing
representatives' salaries and other financial benefits. On February 20,
journalists in Basrah reported that the governor threatened a
journalist for criticizing conditions in Basrah. Security forces
frequently harassed local journalists. On October 9, 35 journalists
were detained inside the COR for one hour after they filmed an argument
between parliamentarians.
Print publications and broadcast media were a primary source of
news and public discourse in the KRG provinces; however, almost all
media outlets were controlled or funded by the major political parties
and followed party lines in their publications and broadcasts. On
September 22, the KRG approved a KRG press law abolishing jail terms
for defamation.
The KDP sponsored a Kurdish-language newspaper, an Arabic-language
version, and two television stations. The PUK sponsored a Kurdish-
language newspaper, an Arabic-language newspaper, and KurdSat
television. Minor parties such as the Kurdish Islamic Union also had
their own newspapers, radio stations, and a widely watched television
station.
In the KRG, in addition to the party press, there were a few
notable independent media outlets that covered government and party
corruption, for example, the weekly newspapers Hawlati (the Citizen)
and Awene (Mirror), Lvin magazine, and Radio Nawa. However, libel
remains a criminal offense in the KRG area, and judges issued arrest
orders for journalists on this basis. Journalists were sometimes
imprisoned while police investigated the veracity of the information
they published.
There also was a marked increase in intimidation of independent
journalists by extrajudicial means in the KRG region. Local security
forces harassed and jailed editors of major independent publications
for publishing articles that were critical of the KRG or Kurdish party
officials, especially for alleged corruption. For example, on January
29, President Talabani filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against the
editor-in-chief of Hawlati for printing an article originally published
abroad that criticized the President. At year's end the lawsuit was
still pending as more evidence was collected. On July 20, a journalist,
Sherzad Shakhani, was sentenced to one month in prison reportedly
because of a disagreement with the Erbil governor. On September 3,
Edito.--i.--Chief of Biraw newspaper, Mariwan Tofiq, was arrested by
police and imprisoned for five days because he allegedly defamed a
Kurdish hero.
On July 3, the Kurdistan Journalists' Syndicate published a report
accusing KRG security forces of routinely using violence against
journalists. On August 4, the International NGO Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) issued an open letter to KRG President Barzani
condemning the July 22 killing of Lvin magazine reporter Soran Hama and
several other attacks against journalists. Lvin Edito.--i.--Chief Ahmed
Mira claimed that the killing was likely a result of Lvin's critical
stance toward the Kurdish parties operating in Kirkuk. The KRG took no
action to help solve the Soran Hama case, claiming that it lacked
jurisdiction because the killing happened in Kirkuk.
Violence against the media, primarily by militia and insurgency
groups, was commonplace. Media workers reported that they refrained
from producing stories on insurgency and militia activity for fear of
retaliatory attacks. On February 12, police found the body of Hisham
Mijawet Hamdan, a board member of the Young Journalists' Association.
Hamdan, whose body showed signs of torture, had been kidnapped two days
earlier. On February 27, the head of the Iraqi Journalist Syndicate,
Shihab Al-Tamimi died after being shot by unknown gunmen. In April, the
Society for Defending Press Freedoms in Iraq, a domestic NGO, reported
that JAM was threatening to kill journalists in southern Iraq if they
portrayed Sadrists in a negative light. According to the NGO Society
for Defending Press Freedoms, JAM elements set fire to homes of
journalists and launched rockets at the Ahwar local TV station in
Amarra. On September 13, four employees operating out of the informal
office in the KRG of the Dubal-based Al-Sharqiya television channel
were kidnapped and killed in Mosul. Security officials reported that
they arrested 68 suspects. According to the domestic NGO Journalists
Freedoms Observatory (JFO), two suspects were still in custody after
confessing to the crime. During the year there were 11 journalists
killed, one journalist abducted, and two media workers killed,
according to the CPJ. The international NGO Press Emblem Campaign
reported 15 journalists killed during the year. According to the
domestic NGO Journalists Freedoms Observatory, violence against
journalists rose by 60 percent in the year beginning in May 2007.
During that period, there were 88 violent incidents, harassment, and
threats by ISF; 30 arrests by ISF; and nine criminal defamation
lawsuits by government officials. The MOHR reported in its Victims of
Terrorism report that 197 journalists were killed in various acts of
violence between 2004 and 2006.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Internet access was generally low for direct access due to a lack of
infrastructure in homes. However, the prevalence of internet cafes
contributed to extensive usage among Iraqi youth. According to
International Telecommunications 2007 data, there were an estimated
14,900 subscribers and 275,000 users.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. However, social
and religious as well as political pressures restricted the exercise of
freedom of choice in academic and cultural matters. In all regions,
various groups reportedly sought to control the pursuit of formal
education and the granting of academic positions. During the year
extremists, insurgents and terrorists targeted cultural figures such as
doctors, academics, and scientists. On January 23, dean of the dental
college of Baghdad University, Munthir Mirhij Radhi and Mosul
University professor Aziz Suleiman al-Nuaimie were killed in Baghdad
and Mosul, respectively. On August 23, an unidentified gunman killed
Kaamal Shiya, a leading cultural figure and chair of the National
Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of
Iraq. On February 17, the international NGO Amnesty International (AI)
reported that 10 staff members from the University of Baghdad, School
of Dentistry, including three professors were arrested. They were
released after a few weeks in detention. During military operations in
Diyala in August, several professors from the Diyala University were
arrested, allegedly for sectarian reasons. Two professors remain in
detention at the end of the year.
In the central and southern parts of the country, there were a
number of reports of threats by militia, extremists, or insurgent
groups against schools and universities, urging them to modify
activities, favor certain students, or face violence. Educational
institutions often complied with the threats.
According to the MOHR, 340 university professors and 446 students
were killed between 2005 and 2007 by insurgents and militias. In 2007,
the Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MODM) reported that at
least 30 percent of professors, doctors, pharmacists, and engineers
have fled the country since 2003. On August 26, the inspector general's
office in the MOH stated that 650 of the 8,000 doctors who fled the
country since 2003 returned to their jobs in July and August. On
September 1, the minister of higher education reported that he recently
received 150 applications from academics who want to return to the
country. Following the successful military operations in Basrah,
academics have started returning to their positions in the
universities. Universities in Baghdad reported that professors have
returned to their jobs following the improvement in security.
During the beginning of the year, threats against secular female
students were occasionally posted on billboards and spral-painted on
the walls of Basrah University. A female university professor reported
that there were no more threats after the ISF operations in March in
Basrah.
Other parts of this report contain related information; See
Sections 1.b. and 1.d.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
peaceful demonstration, and the Government generally respected this
right in practice, although there were reports of abusive KRG practices
against protesters. Until April 2007, the prime minister invoked the
emergency law, which gave him the authority to restrict freedom of
movement and assembly pursuant to a warrant or extreme exigent
circumstances. In general, this emergency law did not prevent peaceful
assembly from occurring, although it was used often to impose curfews.
Police in the central and southern parts of the country generally did
not break up peaceful demonstrations except when a curfew was violated.
Following the lapse of the state of emergency, the Government continued
to claim the right to declare curfews in late evening and on holidays
in response to security threats.
Unlike in 2007, there were reports that KRG security forces killed
or detained protesters when demonstrations protested government acts.
Other parts of this report contain related information; See Section
1.a.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to
form and join associations and political parties and specifically
mandates that this right be regulated by law. The Government generally
respected this right in practice, except for the legal prohibition on
expressing support for the Ba'ath Party. Within the KRG provinces, some
major labor unions and associations were directly affiliated to the PUK
in Sulaymaniyah and the KDP in Erbil and Dohuk.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution proclaims Islam as the
official religion of the state. While providing for full religious
rights for all individuals ``such as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean
Sabeans,'' the constitution also stipulates that no law may be enacted
that contradicts the established provisions of Islam. While the
Government generally respected the right of individuals to worship
according to thought, conscience, and belief, private conservative and
radical Islamic elements continued to exert tremendous pressure on
other groups to conform to extremist interpretations of Islam's
precepts.
The Government publicly called for tolerance and acceptance for all
religious minorities on many occasions, and it established a high-level
minorities committee to monitor and report on the situation of
religious minorities. In September, the MOHR published a report on
minorities which outlined the major demands of minority communities,
discussed the legal rights of minorities, and recommended specific
government actions for improving the situation of minorities. The
Government also undertook security operations against violent groups in
Basrah, Baghdad, and Ninewa, the provinces with the greatest
concentrations of minorities. Article 50 of the Provincial Elections
Law guaranteed political representation for minorities.
Frequent attacks on places of worship, as well as sectarian
violence, hampered the ability of citizens to practice their religion
freely. On April 5, Father Adel Youssef, a Christian Assyrian priest,
was killed in central Baghdad near his house. On July 12, Mullah Abbas
Khadhim, a Shabak leader, was killed in Ninewa Province by unknown
gunmen.
On December 14, seven members of a Yazidi family were killed by
unknown assailants in their home in Sinjar, a city outside the KRG
region but with some links to Kurds.
During the year there were a number of reports indicating that
women were pressured to wear veils or face security threats, regardless
of the individual's religious affiliation.
There were also allegations of religiously based employment
discrimination during the year. Several ministries reportedly hired and
favored employees who conformed to the religious preference of the
respective minister.
Religious groups are required to register with the Government. The
requirements include having at least 500 followers. Unlike previous
years, non-Muslims did not report that the Government disregarded their
religious holidays. On December 20, the MOI sponsored a public
Christmas event in Baghdad, which was well attended by Christians and
Muslims.
Members of religious minorities continued to flee to the KRG to
escape targeted violence, particularly against Christians. In October,
violence against Christians in Mosul prompted over 2,000 families to
flee to safe-havens in remote parts of Ninewa Province and the KRG. By
year's end more than half the families had returned to their home.
During the year, there were allegations that the KRG continued to
engage in discriminatory behavior against religious minorities. Members
of these groups living in areas north of Mosul, such as Yazidis and
Christians, asserted that the KRG encroached on their property and
illegally built Kurdish settlements on the confiscated land.
Since the MOI's April 2007 cancellation of its regulation
prohibiting issuance of a national identity card to those claiming the
Baha'i Faith, six or seven Baha'is have been issued identity cards.
There were reported implementation problems, limiting the numbers of
Baha'is who received the identification cards.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Religious extremists,
including terrorist groups and special group members, targeted many
individuals because of their religious identity. Others were targeted
because of their secular leanings. Religious-based violence between
Shia and Sunni Arabs continued to decline since mid-2007. The reduction
in sectarian violence enabled Shia pilgrims to travel to Samarra and
visit the remains of the Al-Askariya Shrine.
Sectarian attacks appeared to decline during the reporting period.
All groups continued to report receiving death threat letters demanding
they leave their homes. The Government took action to restrain and
punish violence and discrimination, such as focusing military
operations in areas with heavy militia activity and providing more
security for groups facing sectarian threats.
Religious leaders, groups, and centers were in several instances
targeted for killings. In January, Christian churches and convents were
the target of ten reported bomb attacks. On January 17, a Shia mosque
in Baqubah, northeast of Baghdad, was bombed. Police reported eight
dead and 14 injured among the worshippers who had gathered to observe
Ashura, one of the Shia holy days. The same mosque had been targeted
twice before. On February 15, two suicide bombers blew themselves up
during Friday prayers at the Shia Jawad al-Sadiq mosque in Tal Afar, a
Turkomen town 260 miles northwest of Baghdad. At least four persons
were killed and 13 wounded. On April 6, Father Adel Youssef, an
Assyrian Orthodox priest, was shot and killed in Baghdad's Karrada
district. UNAMI received information that 17 Christians were victims of
attacks and kidnappings in the first half of the year, resulting in at
least 10 killings. Nine of the incidents were in Mosul; the others
occurred in Basrah, Baghdad, and Kirkuk.
In October, 12 Christians were reported killed in Mosul. The
attacks began after hundreds of Christians began protesting an initial
parliamentary removal of guarantees of seats for minorities on
provincial councils in Mosul and the surrounding area. According to
UNHCR, 2,000 Christian families fled Mosul after the attacks. The
Government, UN, and NGOs provided prompt humanitarian assistance to the
displaced. The Government moved quickly to enhance security in Mosul
following the attacks. On October 12, Prime Minister Maliki publicly
denounced the killings vowing to take ``immediate action to resolve the
problems and difficulties faced by Christians in Mosul.'' Iraq's
National Security Council set up a committee to assess the situation.
In response to the violence and in support of ongoing ISF operations,
the Government dispatched two brigades of National Police and increased
patrols around Christian neighborhoods. The prime minister also
launched an investigation into the attacks; results of which had not
been released by the end of the reporting period. According to UNHCR,
violence has decreased in Mosul as a result of greater MOI presence,
leading to the return of approximately half of the families that had
left.
There were also kidnappings, with ransoms paid, of religious
figures. On February 29, Archbishop of the Chaldean Catholic Church
Paulos Faraj Rahho was kidnapped in Mosul; his body, along with those
of his two guards and his driver, was found buried on March 13. On May
18, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the Central Criminal
Court-Iraq sentenced Ahmed Ali Ahmed, an al-Qaida leader also known as
Abu Omar, to death for Archbishop Rahho's killing; the sentence has not
yet been carried out.
Sabeal-Mandaean leaders reported that their community continued to
be targeted by Islamic extremists. They reported forced conversions,
forced hijab (head scarf) wearing by Sabeal-Mandaean women, and
kidnappings for ransom. While ransom payments secured the release of
some victims, other victims, despite the payment, were killed or
remained missing. On February 2, 10 members of a Sabeal-Mandaean family
died in a rocket attack on their house in the Alaza area in Kut after
having received threats from Islamist militants. On September 8, armed
men reportedly killed three Sabeal-Mandaean family members, including a
child, in their family store in Baghdad. In March the Mandaean Human
Rights Group NGO reported 42 killings, 46 kidnappings, 10 threats, and
21 attacks against Mandaeans in the 13-month period beginning in
January 2007.
Members of the Yazidi community reported that they continued to be
targeted by Islamists and discriminated against by the KRG throughout
the year. UNAMI reported that at least five Yazidis were killed in the
first half of the year. A prominent Yazidi leader reported that Yazidis
are restricted from entering the KRG and have to get KRG approval for
finding jobs in Ninewa Province.
Islamist militants continued to target stores that provided goods
or services considered to be inconsistent with Islam. Islamic
extremists bombed, looted, and defaced liquor stores in Baghdad and
elsewhere.
The country's Jewish population was virtually nonexistent as a
result of emigration over decades. However, anti-Semitic sentiment
remained a cultural undercurrent. A 2006 citizenship law, among other
provisions, precludes Jews who emigrated from regaining citizenship.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
Other parts of this report contain related information; See
Sections 2.d., 4, and 5.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for the
right of free movement in all parts of the country and the right to
travel abroad and return freely. The Government generally respected
these rights. However, there were some limitations in practice,
particularly regarding travel into and residence in the KRG region.
Unlike the previous year, restrictions by provinces on the entry of new
IDPs had little impact as there was little new displacement during the
year. During the year the World Food Program and the ICRC delivered
food rations to IDPs who were unable to access the Public Distribution
System.
In September, after Sunni COR member Mithal al-Alusi traveled to
Israel, the COR stripped him of his parliamentary immunity in order to
make him eligible for prosecution under a 1950s era law that makes
travel to Israel punishable by death. In November, the Supreme Federal
Court overturned the decision to strip him of immunity in a unanimous
vote, ruling it to be unconstitutional.
The Government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern, although effective systems were not completely established by
year's end.
Under the state of emergency, the prime minister can restrict
movement pursuant to a warrant, impose a curfew, cordon off and search
an area, and take other necessary security and military measures (in
Kurdish areas, only in coordination with the KRG). Although the state
of emergency lapsed in April 2007, the Government availed itself of
these powers in practice over the course of the year. In response to
security threats, the Government continued to declare curfews and take
other necessary military and security measures of limited duration
after the state of emergency expired.
Since May 2007, the KRG did not allow persons, including citizens
from outside the region, to enter unless a Kurdish resident met them in
person and ``guaranteed'' their stay. Similarly, those from outside the
region seeking to live within the jurisdiction of the KRG must have a
local resident guarantor, and register on arrival with the KRG
Residency Office.
The MOI's Passport Office maintained a policy of requiring women to
obtain the approval of a close male relative before being issued a
passport.
The constitution expressly prohibits forced exile of all native-
born citizens. The injunction also applies to naturalized citizens,
unless a judicial decision establishes that the naturalized citizen was
granted citizenship on the basis of material falsifications. Forced
exile did not occur.
There were no known government restrictions on emigration. Exit
permits were required for citizens leaving the country, but the
requirement was not enforced.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--In 2006, sectarian militia
and terrorist actions provoked fear and chaos leading to large-scale
movements of Sunni and Shia populations from mixed Sunni/Shia areas
towards areas of greater sectarian homogeneity. Although the rate of
displacement has declined since late 2007, the total numbers of
displaced remained high. At the end of the year the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR estimated the number of
refugees to be two million and IDPs within the country to be 2.8
million, with an estimated one million refugees and 1.5 million IDPs
displaced following the 2006 destruction of the dome of Al-Askariya
Mosque and Shrine in Samarra, a Shia holy site. Further movements were
stimulated by the June 2007 destruction of its two remaining minarets.
In October 2007, IOM estimated the August 2007 bombing attacks on the
Yazidi areas in Ninewa Province displaced up to 1,000 families. On
March 20, an international IDP working group, which includes UNHCR,
other UN agencies, NGOs, and the IOM, reported that of the 2.8 million
IDPs, only 1 percent were displaced in the first three months of the
year.
According to the KRG, MODM, UNHCR, and IOM, the KRG hosts
approximately 873,000 IDPs. Of the total, 635,000 were Kurds displaced
from southern and central regions during the previous regime. IDPs
arriving after February 2006 numbered 238,000. Hygiene and sanitation
for IDPs were generally better in the KRG than in other areas; however,
shelter, food, and other concerns remained critical. There were fewer
reports than in 2007 of threat letters delivered to Shia and Sunni
residents warning them to leave their homes within a certain period of
time or face death; however, in general Christian residents in the
north saw increased threats in the second half of the year, for example
in Mosul during October.
Many Baghdad residents migrated to other neighborhoods due to
sectarian violence and lawlessness, while others left the city
altogether. Since 2006 according to MODM, approximately 154,000
families have left their homes. According to the March 20 international
IDP working group assessment most of the 2006 to 2008 IDPs came from
Baghdad and Diyala. Eighty percent of UNHCR-registered refugees came
from Baghdad.
Small numbers of IDPs have begun to move back into former
residences, particularly in Baghdad. According to information collected
by UNHCR a total of 185,000 IDPs and 23,000 refugees returned during
the year. Returns to neighborhoods were haphazard and lacked a
comprehensive government plan for handling consequent displacement of
squatters and were often marred by violence. On August 20, there were
press reports of three sniper fire incidents in one week targeting
returning Shia IDPs to Sunni neighborhoods in western Baghdad. Many
returns occurred spontaneously without assistance or registration.
Prime Ministerial Order 101 and Council of Ministers' Decree 262
promised a process for restitution of property and eviction of
squatters, along with a system of grants and stipends for IDPs. The
Government provided stipends of one million dinars (approximately $805)
to encourage families to return. According to MODM, as of mid-November,
9,149 families had received the one million dinar grant, and another
1,050 claims were being processed. In August and September the
Government opened two Returns Assistance Centers in Baghdad, at which
prospective returnees could document their property and ask the police
to evict illegal occupants. MODM committed to make rent subsidy
payments of 300,000 dinars (approximately $254) for six months to
registered IDPs who are forced into secondary displacement by returnees
and the property restitution process. According to UN and NGO sources,
the Government made few rent subsidy payments. The Government
implemented a policy on property restitution enforced by ISF. In
districts where returns occurred, ISF reportedly evicted several
thousand squatters with minimal violence.
The Government has no policy for undoing sectarian cleansing. The
property restitution policy depended on individual requests for
restitution from property owners. There was no wholesale eviction of
squatters from neighborhoods. Sunni Arab leaders frequently cited the
lack of steps to reverse the worst of the sectarian cleansing as
calling into question whether the Government genuinely wants Sunni Arab
refugees and IDPs to return to Baghdad.
The Government allowed IDP access to domestic and international
humanitarian organizations and permitted them to accept assistance
provided by these groups. The majority of IDPs in Kirkuk Province are
Kurds who left the KRG under the sponsorship of the Kurdish political
parties.
Most IDPs were living with families or renting houses in the host
community. Other IDPs have occupied abandoned buildings, public
buildings, or homes abandoned by other displaced families. Some were
living in ad hoc ``camps.''
The Government, through the MODM, allowed IDPs access to
humanitarian organizations, collected information about IDPs and
provided some protection and assistance in the form of humanitarian
supplies. MODM also coordinated the provision of aid to IDPs with the
Iraqi Red Crescent Society. Non-registration limited IDPs' access to
basic services and legal documentation necessary to receive food
rations from the public distribution system. The Government did not
target IDPs or forcibly return them under dangerous conditions. In
2007, the KRG established a directorate for displacement and migration
in the KRG Ministry for Extra Regional Affairs.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government did not establish by year's end an effective system for
providing protection to refugees. In practice, the Government provided
protection against ``refoulement,'' the return of persons to a country
where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
The Government cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian
organizations to provide protection and assistance to 15,000
Palestinian refugees, according to UNHCR. Generally refugee groups of
Turkish and Iranian Kurds in the KRG reached a high level of
integration. For the majority of the 11,135 Iranian Kurds registered by
UNHCR as refugees in the north, local integration remained the best and
most likely option. For the 15,553 Turkish Kurds registered by UNHCR as
refugees, UNHCR's strategies included voluntary repatriation and local
settlement, subject to negotiations with Turkey and the Iraqi
government on a Tripartite Voluntary Repatriation Agreement and a Local
Settlement/Resettlement Protocol for those willing to remain and
integrate. Refugee groups in central and southern regions, particularly
refugees who were perceived to have been privileged by the former
regime such the Palestinians, Ahwazis in the South, and Syrian Arabs in
Baghdad and Mosul, had a lesser chance of integration and continued to
face discrimination and protection problems.
Since the end of 2007 there have been few reports of attacks and
arrests of refugees in central and southern Iraq. Refugees were
targeted periodically in attacks carried out by insurgents, militias,
and criminals. According to UNHCR, there has been a reduction in
general violence in central Iraq and attacks against Palestinians.
There were some credible reports that police targeted Palestinians for
arbitrary arrest, detention, house raids, and extortion. On May 22,
police arrested 15 Palestinian refugees from Al Waleed camp. UNHCR
intervened and secured the release of all detainees by May 25. The
arrested refugees alleged that they were subjected to beatings,
threats, and intimidation. Some of the refugees had fresh marks
consistent with their claim that they were beaten with cables and
burned with cigarettes. According to the refugees, they were made to
confess verbally under duress that they had participated in terrorist
activities. According to UNHCR hundreds of Palestinian refugees left
Baghdad to seek refuge in Jordan and Syria during the year; however,
there were very few numbers of Palestinians trying to flee Baghdad for
Al Waleed camp. UNHCR reported that it was working with MODM to provide
ID cards to the 15,000 Palestinians remaining in Iraq. MODM reported in
August that it had registered 10,500 Palestinians in Baghdad and
expected to provide ID cards to an estimated 3,000 Palestinians in
Basrah and Ninewa.
Sudanese refugees were relocated to UNHCR's newly established
Emergency Transit Center (ETC) in Romania for third country
resettlement by UNHCR. The 139 Darfurians, who could not return to
Sudan after 2003, were subjected to violence in Baghdad in 2004 and
2005 and fled the capital to a makeshift camp in the Anbar desert. In
December, 97 arrived at the ETC, with the remainder expected to follow
in January 2009.
The threats against refugees favored by the previous regime
subsided throughout the year. Nevertheless, lack of proper
identification documentation compromised freedom of movement and
personal security for certain refugee groups, namely Palestinians and
Syrians in Baghdad and Ahwazis in Basrah.
Other parts of this report contain related information; See
Sections 1.a., 1.d., and 2.c.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
In 2005 citizens voted in a referendum to adopt a permanent
constitution, which included the full panoply of protections of human
rights including the right of citizens to change their government
peacefully through periodic, free, and fair elections based on
universal suffrage. Citizens exercised this right at the national level
in 2005 when they elected the 275 members of the COR. The Independent
Electoral Commission of Iraq had sole responsibility for administering
the 2005 referendum and elections.
In January 2007, the COR passed the Independent High Electoral
Commission (IHEC) Law, which the Presidency Council approved in
February 2007. In April 2007, the COR appointed the nine IHEC
Commissioners in a process that the UN deemed fair and transparent.
Article 140 of the constitution calls for resolution of the status
of Kirkuk and other disputed internal boundaries by December 31, 2007.
At the end of 2007 the major political blocs, including the Kurdish
parties and the KRG, agreed to a six-month technical delay in
implementation and to seek technical assistance from UNAMI on
structuring a process of implementation. The Provincial Elections Law
adopted in October provided for a committee to be established that
would submit a report to the COR by March 31, 2009 on mechanisms for
power-sharing, property restitution, and demographics in Kirkuk. The
COR was expected to enact a special law for the elections in Kirkuk
subsequent to submission of the report. UNAMI was working with
respective entities on a process to implement Article 140 on all
disputed internal boundaries in Iraq. The first stage of the UN report
was delivered to the KRG in July, and the KRG rejected its
recommendations. A second report was due after provincial elections in
January 2009.
Elections and Political Participation.--The 2006 final report of
the International Mission for Iraqi Elections stated that the 2005
national elections met internationally recognized electoral standards
for free and fair elections and the election results reflected the will
of the voters.
Political parties and candidates had the right to propose
themselves or be nominated by other groups. The Government did not
restrict political opponents, nor did it interfere with their right to
organize, seek votes, or publicize their views, apart from the legal
prohibition on supporting the Ba'ath Party.
The country's political parties, as a general rule, tended to be
organized along either religious and/or ethnic lines. Shia Islamist
parties, such as the ISCI, the al-Dawa al-Islamiyya Party, and the
Sadrist Trend, as well as Kurdish nationalist parties such as the KDP
and PUK, were the predominant political forces. Other political players
included the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party and ethnic minority parties,
such as the Assyrian Democratic Movement.
Membership in some political parties conferred special privileges
and advantages in employment and education. The KDP and PUK reportedly
prevented the Government employment of non-party citizens.
On September 24, the COR passed and on October 3, the Presidency
Council ratified a law on provincial, district, and sub-district
elections. The law provides for Provincial Council elections in the 14
provinces other than Tameem (Kirkuk) and the provinces of the KRG by
January 31, 2009, and district and sub-district elections within six
months of provincial elections. The Law of Governorates Not
Incorporated into a Region (Provincial Powers Law), passed by the COR
in February, was scheduled to go into effect when the new Provincial
Councils are seated. The Provincial Councils, which coordinate with the
national government to provide resources and services, such as
gasoline, security, health, and education, to the local population, was
expected to have further latitude when the law goes into effect. There
was no quota required for women, but entities were required to have 25
percent representation of women on their list of candidates.
On November 3, the Council of Representatives passed an amendment
to the law that granted six seats to minorities. Christians received
three seats, one each in Baghdad, Ninewa, and Basrah; Yazidis and
Shebaks received one seat each in Ninewa; and Sabean Mandeans received
one seat in Baghdad. The amendment was approved by the Presidency
Council on November 8. Minorities also are eligible to compete for
general seats.
Past Sunni Arab election boycotts caused the under-representation
of Sunni Arabs in provincial councils. In Baghdad Province, which in
2005 was approximately 40 percent Sunni Arab, only one Sunni Arab was
elected to the 51-member Baghdad provisional council. The Sunni boycott
in Tameem (Kirkuk) also resulted in clear under-representation.
In the 2005 election, female voter turnout was reportedly as high
if not higher than male turnout. The 2005 national elections law
provides for the election of women to the COR, aiming to achieve a
minimum of one-quarter female representation.
There were 75 women in the COR, under 25 percent of the membership.
Women chaired two of the 24 standing committees. There were five female
ministers of 37 in the cabinet: the ministers of state for women's
affairs and provincial affairs; and the ministers of human rights,
environment, and housing and construction. Additionally two cabinet
members were from religious and ethnic minority groups.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, large-scale corruption
pervaded the Government, and public perception of government corruption
continued to be high. Intimidation and political influence were factors
in some allegations of corruption, and officials sometimes used the
``de-Ba'athification'' process to further political and personal
agendas.
Anticorruption institutions were fragmented and interaction among
them was hampered by a lack of consensus about their role, partly due
to a lack of effective legislation, as well as lack of political will
to eliminate widespread corruption. Lack of accountability continued to
be widespread and was reinforced by several provisions in statute as
well as lack of transparency.
The law did not provide public access to government information for
citizens and non-citizens, including foreign media. Government
officials who were required by law to file financial disclosure
reports, such as ministers, governors, and parliamentarians, in many
cases failed to do so. The Commission of Integrity (COI), formerly the
Commission on Public Integrity, was authorized by law, but was not
powerful enough to enforce such disclosures. On January 3, the
Government held its first conference on corruption and outlined an 18-
point plan to fight corruption. On March 17, the Government signed the
UN Convention against Corruption.
The COI, formed in 2004, is the Government's commission charged
with preventing and investigating cases of corruption in all ministries
and other components of the Government nationwide (except for the KRG).
The COI, with a staff of 1,285, which reports to the commissioner of
integrity and legislature, has the authority to refer cases for
criminal prosecution. Since its establishment, the COI sent to trial
only 300 of more than 4,000 cases under investigation and 143 persons
were convicted on corruption charges. Approximately 70 percent of those
convictions were overturned as a result of an amnesty law passed on
February 28. An estimated 700 of the investigations, including the
convictions, were curtailed as a result of amnesty. Even with the case
reduction, the caseload far outstripped the organization's
investigative capacity and reflected intimidation and lack of training.
According to a prime ministerial order, the COI may not initiate
cases and has instructed the ministerial Inspectors Generals to perform
all initial investigations. In practice this order has placed the
ministers in control of any investigation of corruption within their
own ministry. There are documented instances where the ministers have
ordered major corruptions investigations to be dropped.
The constitution provides immunity from arrest to COR members
unless the member is caught in the criminal act or charged with a
felony and the immunity is overturned by a majority vote of the COR.
Paragraph 136 (b) of the Criminal Procedure Code provides ministers
with the ability to prevent enforcement of the arrest of their
employees. This law allows ministers to halt corruption proceedings
against their employees. Although in 2007 there were at least 67
separate occasions when a minister reportedly halted adjudication and
arrest of employees suspected of corruption by the COI, there was only
one such case reported during the year. The prime minister created a
committee in April to review all 136 (b) cases. In other cases,
ministers ignored the court and prevented prosecution without formally
refusing permission to try a case in court. Other incidents included
ministries effectively stalling the investigation by failing to provide
information or not complying with requests for officials to appear in
court. The prime minister's approval was required before corruption
cases proceed forward against members of the Presidency, the Council of
Ministers, or any current or previous ministers.
In October 2007, COI Commissioner Judge Radhi al-Radhi alleged
during testimony before a foreign legislature that corruption cost the
Government 22.5 quadrillion dinars (approximately $18 billion) in the
previous three years, affecting virtually every government ministry and
involving some of the country's most powerful public officials. The
Government accused Radhi of fleeing the country to avoid corruption
charges and appointed Moussa Faraj to replace him as Acting COI
Commissioner. Radhi denied the accusations, and the sums about which
Radhi testified have not been independently verified. On April 11,
Faraj said corruption cost the Government $250 billion in the last five
years and added that the MOD was the most corrupt ministry, followed by
electricity, oil, trade, interior, and health. On January 17, the
Council of Ministers appointed Judge Raheem al-Ugaili to head the COI,
although the COR had not confirmed his nomination by year's end.
Unlike in 2007, there was one new high-profile corruption case in
the courts. On July 7, several top officials of the Iraqi Red Crescent
Society (IRCS) were dismissed for the alleged misuse of IRCS funds; the
dismissal was confirmed by the IRCS board in September. Arrest warrants
were issued against Sa'ed Hakki, President of the IRCS, Jamal Karbouli,
vice-President, Adnan Khademi, Hakki's deputy, and others and stemmed
from alleged misappropriation of government funds provided to the IRCS
for the past four years and other forms of corruption. Karbouli was
arrested; Dr. Hakki remained at large at year's end.
On March 5, the COR Integrity Committee decided to further
investigate Minister of Health Salih al-Hasnawi after criminal charges
were dropped in court, based on information submitted by the Inspector
General of the Ministry of Health, who uncovered fraud related to the
import of counterfeit medicines and financial corruption. All officials
charged and imprisoned with criminal negligence and implicated in the
former defense minister's 2004 theft of 1.3 trillion dinars
(approximately $1 billion) were granted amnesty immediately after
passage of the Amnesty Law, except for the minister who remained
outside the country and was convicted in absentia in 2006. In
September, six officials from the Ministry of Trade were forced into
early retirement as part of an anticorruption plan; there were no
charges.
There have been several accusations by government officials
supported by documented evidence pointing to large scale corruption,
but these allegations have not yet been investigated.
In 2006, former minister of electricity Ayham al-Samaraii was
sentenced to two years' imprisonment on charges of corruption. Several
charges were amnestied following the Amnesty Law passage. After fleeing
the country, he remained al-large at year's end.
According to an external assessment of the Ministry of Interior,
nearly 3,000 employees were fired on administrative corruption charges
between 2006 and June.
The Government also has a system of 34 inspectors general (IG) in
the various ministries, the city of Baghdad, the Central Bank
(dismissed on September 16), and the religious endowments. In September
2007 the Council of Ministers issued an order effectively blocking
ministries' cooperation with the COI, making the inspectors general,
appointed by the prime minister and confirmed by the COR, the primary
investigators of corruption in the central government ministries. The
mandate of the inspectors general, with 1,795 total staff, is to audit,
inspect, and investigate in order to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse.
More than 50 percent of these offices have a human rights unit within
their organization.
According to the Government, eight IGs were relieved of duty after
evaluation of their work by the head of the Board of Supreme Audit
(BSA), head of the COI, and Secretary General of the Council of
Ministers. The IGs were from the Ministries of Culture, Foreign
Affairs, Municipalities, Water Resources, and Youth and Sports, as well
as the Sunni Endowment, Christian Endowment, and Central Bank.
In contrast to the internal audit function performed by the
ministerial IGs, the role of external auditing was conducted by the
BSA. BSA is responsible for conducting audits of all ministerial
contracts; the BSA also audits the COR, the COR presidency, and each
member's allowance and expenditures. BSA, COI, and ministerial
Inspectors General continued to suffer from a lack of political
support.
Political parties subjected the COI to a number of high-level
attempts to influence prosecutions. Members of the legislature also
reportedly attempted to pressure the court on numerous occasions.
There were allegations that during the year, government authorities
along party lines avoided pursuing prosecutions of document fraud and
misrepresentation of credentials.
There were reports that various government ministries employed a
substantial, but undetermined number of nonexistent ``ghost'' employees
with multiple records and duplicate salaries. During the year in the
KRG there were roughly one million employees on the Government payroll
out of a total population of approximately three million.
Unlike previous years, rates of absenteeism and desertion of ISF
members decreased, and there were fewer reports of payroll fraud.
On August 25, the KRG established a corruption committee, comprised
of seven KRG ministries, to review the level of corruption and make
recommendations on how to prevent corruption. KRG Minister of Planning
Othman Shwani headed the committee. The KRG contracted an international
accounting firm to study KRG institutions and make recommendations on
anticorruption measures.
Local business organizations in the KRG complained that the KRG did
not publicly tender contracts in sufficient time to allow local
business owners to compete, and that political and personal favoritism
determined the results.
Both the COI and the inspection system remained vulnerable during
the year. There was widespread intimidation, but there were fewer
killings and attacks than the previous year against COI employees,
inspection personnel, witnesses, and family members involved with COI
cases. On May 25, the director of investigations at the Ministry of
Health was killed in Baghdad, and in an unrelated attack on the same
day the BSA Director General at the Ministry of Trade was attacked as
she left the Ministry. COI employees reported that one employee was
killed during the year and 39 employees or family members were killed
since 2005.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The Government's cooperation with NGOs and with the UN and its
agencies on human rights issues was minimal, generally citing varied
security restrictions. On May 4, the Government signed an agreement
with the ICRC, granting it legal status and permanent representation in
the country. ICRC also has increased access to visit detainees at
central government detention facilities due to verbal agreements it has
with several ministries that grant it unrestricted access to all
detention facilities. A prime ministerial order declared that only ICRC
and MOHR had unrestricted access to all detention facilities in the
country except those run by the KRG. ICRC had a separate agreement with
the KRG for unrestricted access to KRG detention facilities.
All nongovernmental investigations of alleged human rights
violations, such as access to prison and detention facilities,
continued to be highly restricted. The Government attributed
restrictions to the security situation and its policy of allowing only
MOHR and ICRC unrestricted access to detention facilities. The
Government generally did not permit detention center or prison visits
by NGOs. However, the MOHR did meet with domestic NGO monitors and
responded to their inquiries by opening MOHR investigations into
alleged violations.
During the year activity and advocacy by the country's relatively
new NGOs remained weak overall. At the end of the year more than 6,000
NGOs were registered, although according to the director of the NGO
Office, only approximately 1,800 were operational, including 235 human
rights NGOs and 181 women's rights NGOs. The vast majority of human
rights NGOs were affiliated with political parties or with a particular
sect and frequently focused human rights efforts along sectarian lines.
Branches of international NGOs and NGOs serving women did not generally
subscribe to this pattern.
The Council of Ministers Secretariat's (COMSEC) NGO Assistance
Office continued to impede the activities of NGOs through onerous
registration processes and excessive documentary requirements. Only one
office in the country, located in Baghdad, accepted registrations for
NGOs. Unlike the previous year, NGOs did not have their assets frozen
arbitrarily by the Government, according to two well-established NGOs.
As a standard practice, the Central Bank of Iraq froze the assets
of organizations, including both international and domestic NGOs,
contractors, and unions if the Government determined that the
organization held a significant amount of funds from an unknown source.
This practice affected NGOs that were not registered or have not held
elections that the Ministry of State for Civil Society Affairs (MOSCA)
has judged to be fair. Women's rights NGOs appeared especially
vulnerable to this disruption, which many attributed to disapproval of
their activities and services. According to NGOs, unlike last year,
assets of women's rights NGOs were not seized.
During the year, unannounced and intimidating visits to some NGOs
by representatives of the COMSEC NGO Assistance Office demanding
photographs, passport details, names, and addresses of all staff and
their family members continued to occur.
Terrorist organizations frequently targeted human rights
organizations, and the poor security situation severely limited the
work of NGOs.
The Kurdish areas, which have been largely autonomous since 1991,
were able to develop a stronger NGO community, although many Kurdish
NGOs were closely linked to the PUK and KDP political parties. The KRG
and Kurdish political parties generally supported humanitarian NGO
activities and programs.
The national government and the KRG were both ``strongly critical''
of UNAMI's April 2007 assessment of the human rights situation in the
country, based largely on the tone rather than the substance of the
report, according to UNAMI. There was little criticism of UNAMI's
January-June report.
Although no ombudsman existed, a national MOHR and a KRG ministry
focused on raising awareness and knowledge of human rights and
conducting prison visits. Each ministry reported to its respective
prime minister. The MOHR published a 2007 report on prison conditions,
but not a new report by year's end. The KRG published no similar
report. The national MOHR attempted to monitor human rights abuses and
advocate for and assist victims, and issued public reports on prisons
and detention centers, minorities, and victims of terrorism. Limited
resources and poor cooperation from other ministries limited the
Ministry's effectiveness. The effectiveness of the KRG MOHR was limited
by a lack of trained human resources and effective follow-up throughout
the Government on human rights issues. The KRG MOHR and the KRG's Honor
Killing Monitoring Commission, established in June 2007, were active on
women's issues, particularly on steps to end honor killings. The KRG
MOHR collated and published monthly data on honor killings.
On November 16, the COR Committee on Human Rights passed
legislation establishing an Independent High Commission of Human
Rights. On December 14, the legislation was ratified. The COR Committee
also advocated publicly the raising of standards in government
detention facilities and prisons. The KRG's legislative body, the
Kurdistan National Assembly, formed a special committee to deal with
human rights and detainee issues in 2007 but did not issue any public
reports.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides that all citizens are equal before the
law without regard to gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality,
religion, or origin. The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of
race, disability or social status. The Government did not effectively
enforce these provisions.
Women.--The constitution provides for equal treatment before the
law without discrimination based on gender; however, in practice,
discrimination existed, and enforcement of equal treatment was uneven.
The general lack of security in the country and increasingly
conservative societal tendencies had a serious, negative impact on
women. Women's rights activists continued to be targeted by militant
groups. On December 18, Nahla Hussain, the leader of the women's league
of the Kurdish Communist Party, was killed by gunmen in Kirkuk. The
MOHR reported in its annual Victims of Terrorism report that 580 women
were killed and 1,940 wounded in various acts of violence during the
year. UNAMI reported in its January-June human rights report that
kidnapping of young women increased in the second quarter of the year.
UNAMI received information of 26 kidnapping cases of women aged 11 and
older. Most of the women were released within days; there was no
further information into the circumstances of the kidnappings.
The penal code prohibits rape, does not address spousal rape, and
imposes a maximum sentence of seven years' imprisonment on
perpetrators. It was difficult to estimate the incidence of rape or the
effectiveness of government enforcement of the law; however, there were
many allegations of rape at police stations during the initial
detention of prisoners.
The constitution prohibits all forms of violence and abuse in the
family, school, and society. Anecdotal evidence from local NGOs and
media reporting indicated that domestic violence often went unreported
and unpunished by the judicial system, with abuses customarily
addressed within the family and tribal structure. Harassment of legal
personnel working on domestic violence cases, as well as a lack of
police and judicial personnel, further hampered efforts to bring
perpetrators to justice.
There are no specific laws that concern domestic violence. Under
the Penal Code, a husband is legally entitled to punish his wife
``within certain limits prescribed by law or custom.'' Existing laws
were widely unenforced, including those on domestic violence.
During the year, NGOs reported that domestic violence against women
increased, although no reliable statistics existed. On June 23, the NGO
Iraqi Women's Network reported that violence against women increased in
the first half of the year. Throughout the year 72 women were
reportedly killed in Basrah for various reasons, according to local
statistics. According to statistics from the Basrah Police Directorate
Statistics Division, 147 women were killed in 2007, the majority due to
terrorism.
``Honor killings'' were a serious problem. Legislation in force
permits ``honor'' considerations to mitigate sentences. During the
first three months of the year before ISF operations in Basrah, 35
women were killed. From April to December 37 women were killed,
including six honor killings and nine killings from domestic violence.
On December 19, the Basrah Police spokesman reported that honor
killings had dropped 90 percent during the year compared to 2007 due to
the improved security situation. Rand Abdel-Qade was killed by her
father on March 16 for befriending a British soldier. Her mother, Leila
Hussein was killed on May 17 after denouncing and divorcing her
husband. On December 19, national media reported that two women were
killed in honor crimes in Basrah.
Honor killings were also widespread in the Kurdish region. The KRG
minister of human rights reported on December 16 that the KRG does not
consider an honor killing legally different from murder, thus making
punishment for an honor killing equal to punishment for murder. The KRG
MOHR reported that between January and August, 77 women were killed in
honor killings. During this period, 211 women were burn victims.
According to the Erbil hospital, 154 women were killed in Erbil between
January and November. On April 2, three persons accused of an honor
killing in Sulaymaniyah were arrested by the Asayish, according to
press reports, but were later released. The suspects reportedly fled
the country. The KRG reported that there were 528 honor killings in
2007; civil society observers and UNAMI in its human rights report
considered the number to err on the low side. During the year, there
were anecdotal reports from an NGO that between 200 and 250 women self-
immolate in the region each year.
On May 13, two days after a shooting at a women's shelter, the KRG
Violence Against Women Commission, which is under the direct
supervision of the prime minister and deputy prime minister, created
monitoring boards to ensure that the region's existing laws to protect
women are upheld and enforced by the courts. The commission also
recommended that ``komalayati'' bodies, or traditional panels led by
village elders to reconcile disputes, no longer play a role in deciding
legal cases. The monitoring boards are reportedly underfunded, and
members lack appropriate training. Komalayati boards still play a role.
In October and November, five murder cases were resolved by these
boards.
Private shelters for women exist; however, space was limited.
Information regarding their locations was closely held. Some NGOs
worked with local provincial governments to train community health
workers to treat victims of domestic violence. Victims of domestic
violence received no substantive assistance from the Government. On May
11, armed gunmen attacked the women's shelter Asuda, a Sulaimaniyal-
based women's NGO that provided shelter for victims of violence and
abuse, seriously wounding one of the shelter's residents. Asuda had
worked since 2000 to highlight the plight of female victims of
violence, domestic abuse, and tribal honor killings.
Prostitution is illegal. During the year, reports of prostitution
increased. According to the NGO Organization for Women's Freedom in
Iraq, some women have resorted to prostitution in order to provide for
their children. On June 15, the Kurdish Lvin magazine published a
detailed report on police involvement in a major Kirkuk prostitution
ring, which routinely bribed government officials with prostitutes. The
woman who ran the network asserted that there are over 200 brothels in
Kirkuk. The author of the Lvin article, Soran Hama, was killed on July
21. The case remained unsolved at year's end.
Although the constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of
gender, in practice conservative societal standards impeded women's
abilities to exercise their rights. Throughout the country women
reported pressure to wear veils. Women were targeted for undertaking
normal activities, such as driving a car, and wearing trousers, in an
effort to force them to remain at home, wear veils, and adhere to a
conservative interpretation of Islam.
Islamic extremists reportedly continued to target women in a number
of cities, demanding they stop wearing Western-style clothing and cover
their heads while in public. On April 30, according to international
press reports Basrah police acknowledge that 15 women a month were
killed for breaching Islamic dress codes. In December 2007, Basrah's
police chief Major General Abdul Jalil Khalaf, who has since been
replaced with Adil Daham in June, confirmed that police documented that
57 women were killed and their bodies dumped in the streets of Basrah
since mid 2007 for behavior deemed un-Islamic.
Women's NGOs reported that during the beginning of the year warning
messages were posted in public areas in Basrah threatening women
against wearing makeup or appearing in public without a headscarf.
Several sources suggested the restrictions against women significantly
decreased since the March ISF operations in Basrah.
The MOI's Passport Office maintained a national policy requiring
women to obtain the approval of a close male relative before receiving
a passport.
The Ministry of State for Women's Affairs, with an approximately
20-person professional staff, functioned primarily as a policy office
without an independent budget or the ability to hire more employees.
Weak labor laws and the lack of an equal opportunity employment law
left women vulnerable to arbitrary dismissal. The deteriorating
security situation disproportionately affected women's ability to work
outside the home.
The MOLSA Social Care Directorate administered a variety of social
care institutions, among them institutions for orphans and the elderly.
No substantive shelter assistance was offered for victims of domestic
violence. Women who were heads of single-parent households received a
minimal cash stipend from the ministry; however, the budget for this
assistance did not meet the need.
Children.--The Government in general was committed to children's
rights and welfare, although non-citizen children were denied
government benefits. They had to pay for services that were otherwise
free, such as public schools, health services, and, except for several
hundred Palestinian families, were not eligible for the national food
rationing program.
Unlike in 2006 the Higher Education Commission set up by the Tameem
(Kirkuk) Provincial Council stated that any student could enroll in
school if they had Tameem registration papers. Free primary education
is compulsory for citizen children for six years, and 89 percent of
students reached the fifth grade. According to the Ministry of
Education, total elementary school enrollment during the 2007-2008
school year was 4.33 million students, an increase from 4.15 million
during the 2006-2007 school year.
According to information from the Central Organization for
Statistics and Information Technology in the Ministry of Planning,
literacy (15 to 45 years-old) was 65 percent. There was an increase in
the number of illiterate children between the ages of six to 11 who are
not in school due to security, poverty, and homelessness. NGOs and
international organizations noted increasing numbers of street children
since mid-2007. Approximately 66 percent of women between the ages of
15-24 were literate. Literacy varied considerably between urban and
rural areas of residence, with less than half the women in rural areas
literate compared to 80 percent in metropolitan areas and 72 percent in
other urban areas.
MOH clinics provided health care, which was largely free to all
citizens. There was no systemic difference in the care provided to boys
and girls.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is not illegal and was reported in
the rural areas of the Kurdish region. The Government offered no
substantive assistance for victims of FGM.
Although there were no statistics, a tradition of marrying young
girls (14 or older) continued, particularly in rural areas.
MOLSA operated 19 orphanages for older children in Baghdad and the
provinces, housing a total of 392 children, and 40 orphanages for young
children, housing approximately 2,000 children.
In June 2007, an orphanage in Baghdad was discovered to be housing
24 severely malnourished boys from 3 to 15 years-old. The boys were
found naked in a darkened room without windows and were tied to their
beds. The children were provided medical treatment (six had cholera)
and moved to another orphanage. Arrest warrants were issued for three
employees of the orphanage, all of whom remained at large at year's
end.
Despite laws against child labor, children often worked illegally
on farms or in street commerce.
In April, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Children in Armed Conflict issued a report that highlighted
widespread child recruitment into armed militia groups throughout the
country. There were numerous reports of children being used to fight
government forces during military operations in Sadr City in March and
April. The MOHR reported in its annual Victims of Terrorism report that
376 children were killed and 1,594 wounded from various acts of
terrorism during the year.
Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution states that forced labor,
slavery, slave trade, trafficking in women or children, and the sex
trade should be prohibited; however, there were reports that persons
were trafficked to, from, and within the country. In October, the
Government established a committee to examine trafficking problems
after the MOHR raised concerns about the existence of trafficking in
the country.
Although reliable statistics did not exist, Iraq was a source and
destination country for men and women trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation and involuntary servitude. Children are trafficked within
the country and abroad for commercial sexual exploitation. Women are
trafficked within the country, as well as to Syria, Jordan, Kuwait,
Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran for the purpose of
commercial sexual exploitation. The country is also a destination for
men and women trafficked from Georgia, India, Pakistan, Indonesia,
Nepal, Philippines, and Sri Lanka for involuntary servitude as
construction workers, cleaners, and handymen. Women from the
Philippines and Indonesia are trafficked into the Kurdish territory for
involuntary servitude as domestic servants. Some of these workers are
offered fraudulent jobs in Kuwait or Jordan, but are then tricked or
forced into involuntary servitude in Iraq instead; others went to the
country voluntarily, but were still subjected to conditions of
involuntary servitude after arrival.
On January 29, the domestic press reported that two Swedish
journalists discovered a market for selling children in Baghdad. On
February 26, Tariq Al Ta'e, chairman of the NGO Iraqi Human Rights
Justice Center in Baghdad, stated his center was following 16 cases of
missing children.
On April 23, 42 Bangladeshis were repatriated with the help of IOM
after being trafficked into the country by illegal traders. Those who
returned estimated that an estimated 10,000 more Bangladeshis were
still in the country, without jobs and proper documents, and stated
that agents seized passports from workers in and around Kurdistan. On
August 14, press reports indicated 43 Nepalis were repatriated after
allegedly coming to the country for work but found upon arrival that
their passports were seized, and they were forced to live in one hotel
room. In December, IOM began investigations into the cases of third
country nationals who had been abandoned after seeking employment in
Iraq and were forced to live in transit housing and makeshift camps by
the Baghdad Airport. IOM began facilitating the return of some of the
workers; others found jobs with international contracting companies.
Anecdotal evidence and media reports suggested that some
trafficking victims were taken from orphanages and other charitable
institutions by employees of these organizations. MOLSA and the
Ministry of State for Women's Affairs continued to accuse private
orphanages of involvement in these activities and stated a private
orphanage in Sadr City trafficked young girls for forced prostitution.
MOLSA called for all private orphanages to be under its purview and
inspection authority; however, MOLSA did not achieve this goal by
year's end. There were also reports that criminal gangs used threats
and blackmail to exploit teenage boys sexually for commercial and other
motives.
Both the MOI and the KRG MOI have responsibility for trafficking-
related issues. However, the demands of the security situation
relegated trafficking to a lower priority. Trafficking crimes were not
specifically enumerated in MOI statistics on criminal activity. During
the year, the Government neither prosecuted any trafficking cases nor
convicted any traffickers. The Government offered no protection
services to victims of trafficking, reported no efforts to prevent
trafficking in persons, and did not acknowledge trafficking to be a
problem in the country. On August 11, KRG Parliamentarian, Kareen
Bahri, told the press that there is no trafficking of women in the KRG.
The MOI did not monitor trafficking crimes, include them in the
police-training curriculum, or conduct trafficking-related
investigations.
The MOLSA and MOHR also had roles in anti-trafficking efforts. The
Government did not have programs to prevent trafficking; however, it
operated orphanages and homeless shelters, which may have prevented
vulnerable individuals from becoming trafficking victims.
Victims of trafficking reportedly were prosecuted for a number of
crimes, including prostitution and document and passport fraud. There
were also documented cases of female victims being kept in ``protective
custody'' in detention centers to deter violence against them by their
families and traffickers. Few shelters existed in the country; most
were run by NGOs.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination in
employment, education, access to health care, and other state services
against persons with physical disabilities. The Government enforced the
law in the Government sector but not in the private sector.
MOLSA operated several institutions for the education of children
and young adults with disabilities. MOLSA also operated workshops and
associations to provide employment opportunities to persons with mental
disabilities.
As of October, 17 institutes operated in Baghdad and the non-KRG
provinces outside of the KRG for persons with mental and psychological
disabilities and housed approximately 1,100 persons. Additionally,
there were 34 institutes throughout the country for persons with
physical disabilities, including homes for the blind and deaf, as well
as vocational/rehabilitation homes. The Government, through the Prime
Minister's Office and Ministry of Health, provided benefits for
thousands of veterans with disabilities, many of whom supplemented
their benefits with some employment.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnically, the country's
population includes Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and
Armenians. The religious mix is likewise varied. Assyrians and
Chaldeans are considered by many to be a distinct ethnic group. These
communities speak a different language, preserve Christian traditions,
and do not define themselves as Arabs.
The constitution identifies Arabic and Kurdish as the two official
languages of the state. It also provides the right of citizens to
educate their children in their mother tongue, such as Turkmen, Syriac,
or Armenian, in government educational institutions in accordance with
educational guidelines or in any other language in private educational
institutions.
During the year, discrimination against ethnic minorities was a
problem. There were numerous reports of Kurdish authorities
discriminating against minorities in the North, including Turkmen,
Arabs, and Assyrians. According to these reports, authorities denied
services to some villages, arrested minorities without due process and
took them to undisclosed locations for detention, and pressured
minority schools to teach in the Kurdish language. Ethnic and religious
minorities in Tameem (Kirkuk) frequently charged that Kurdish security
forces targeted Arabs and Turkmen.
Palestinians reportedly experienced arrest, detention, harassment,
and abuse by police, by individuals pretending to be police, and by the
general public. A 2006 citizenship law prevents Palestinians from
obtaining citizenship or Jews who emigrated to other countries from
reclaiming citizenship.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were continued
reports of societal discrimination and reported violence against
individuals based on sexual orientation.
Since 2003, the Iraqi Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Organization stated that 430 gay men have been killed because of their
sexual orientation. The international NGO provided shelter for an
estimated 40 men between 14 and 28 in several Baghdad safe houses.
During the year there were reports of discrimination and violence
against homosexual men and women, mostly by militias. On September 25,
a coordinator of the NGO was killed in Baghdad by militia members,
according to press reports. There were no government statistics on
discrimination or on government programs protecting such groups, and
requests by news agencies for information have been largely ignored.
According to press reports, on November 24, freelance journalist
Adel Hussein was sentenced by a court in Erbil to six months in prison
for violating a public decency law by writing an article about
homosexuality. On December 7, KRG President Barzani pardoned him. The
article was published by independent Kurdish Hawlati in April 2007.
Other parts of this report contain related information; See
Sections 1.c, 2.c., and 6.d.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution provides the right
to form and join unions and professional associations, subject to
regulating law. Labor Law 150 of 1987, enacted by the Saddam
government, did not technically remove that right. However, it declared
virtually all public sector workers to be government ``executives,''
and therefore legally ineligible to form or to join unions, a move
that, in effect, eliminated unions and the right of association from
the public sector. In the private sector, the extant 1987 Trade Union
Organization Law allows employees to form workers' committees, with
limited rights of association, in private sector worksites employing
more than 50 workers. Originally, this was also intended, in practice,
to remove the right of association from a majority of private sector
workers, because most private sector businesses employ fewer than 50
workers. Decree 8750 of 2005, which cancelled unions' leadership
boards, froze their assets, and formed an inter-ministerial committee
to administer unions' assets and assess their capacity to resume
activity, also inhibited union activity. The laws and decree do not
prohibit antiunion discrimination by employers or others. In addition
to this oppressive legal and regulatory framework, violence and
insecurity, high unemployment, and maladapted labor organizational
structures inhibited the exercise of labor rights.
Despite the restrictions, however, MOLSA worked with the
International Labor Organization (ILO) during the year to prepare
modern labor legislation that was expected to supersede the 1987 laws
and the 2005 decree, and conform to international statutes and to
retrain ministry staff in applying its provisions. The legislation was
under constitutional review at year's end.
During the year MOLSA also made some progress toward reforming and
removing some the limitations the Saddam regime had imposed on workers'
rights. In the private sector, MOLSA extended the right to form
workers' committees to work sites employing fewer than 50 persons. In
the public sector, it permitted workers in several state-owned
enterprises (SOEs) and in some sectors of the Ministry of Oil to form
workers' committees. Several of these committees were in the nascent
phase of their existence, so there was little reliable information as
to their numbers or their effectiveness at year's end. However, MOLSA
officials stated that the committees are already cooperating with MOLSA
to help enforce occupational safety standards. However, public sector
unions were still not permitted in practice, while private sector
unions enjoy the right to seek government arbitration for labor
disputes, but not the right to strike.
The MOLSA Labor Directorate has jurisdiction over the labor code,
child labor, wages, occupational safety and health issues, and labor
relations.
The Government was the largest employer in the country; reliable
estimates indicate the public sector accounted for 30 to 35 percent of
the total workforce. There were no government-sponsored prosecutions or
attacks on trade union activists during the year.
During most of the year MOLSA only recognized and dealt with
private sector unions belonging to the General Federation of Iraqi
Workers (GFIW). The GFIW formed in 2005 when the Iraqi Federation of
Workers' Trade Unions, the General Federation of Trade Unions, and
General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions merged. During the year MOLSA
also worked to monitor workplace safety and workers' rights with 11
independent unions, which were officially registered with the
Government but would not be formally recognized unless the new ILO-
compatible legislation is enacted.
The constitution states that every citizen has the right to
demonstrate and strike peaceably in accordance with the law; however,
the extant 1987 labor code rules out the existence of public sector
labor unions capable of carrying out industrial action and prohibits
striking in the public and private sectors. There were no major
strikes. However, workers at state-owned companies affiliated with the
Ministry of Oil in Basrah walked off the job briefly in June to protest
a government decision to transfer eight labor activists and to demand
the legal right to strike. The event was resolved following MOLSA
mediation. Public sector workers in several areas also engaged in
organized protests or brief work stoppages in August in support of a
government bill to raise wages.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The extant 1987
labor code in effect rules out the existence of labor unions able to
carry out any free and independent labor union activity and therefore
effectively prohibits independent organizing and collective bargaining
in the public and private sectors.
Because unions have no legal power to negotiate with employers,
proactive protection of workers' rights through collective bargaining
and written collective contracts is not possible. Unions, however, can
play a reactive role when there are labor disputes, and they have the
right to demand government arbitration. The 1987 Trade Union
Organization Law defines ``labor disputes'' as collective conflicts
arising between workers and employers over the provisions of the labor
code and/or individual employment contracts. Government labor courts
are empowered to rule on labor code violations and disagreements. MOLSA
officials, who are charged with ensuring that public and private sector
employers provide workers government-mandated social security, pension,
health care, and other benefits regardless of the size of the company,
readily acknowledged that enforcing these social safety net laws was
made more difficult without the partnership and cooperation of strong
unions.
The absence of collective bargaining and collective contracts at
national and local levels significantly diminished unions' power to
defend workers' rights pertaining to their access to social protection.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, according
to press reports, foreign workers were sometimes subjected to abusive
forced labor. Foreign workers were also reportedly induced, tricked, or
forced to enter the country for work via nearby countries. In some
cases, they were the victims of involuntary servitude involving high
indebtedness, passport confiscation, and virtual imprisonment, or fraud
amounting to involuntary servitude and trafficking. There were reports
throughout the year that foreign workers in the Kurdish region
complained they were unable to return to their countries of origin
because their employment agencies seized their passports when they
arrived in the country. Some countries of origin undertook efforts to
repatriate workers.
Other parts of this report contain related information; See Section
5.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the worst forms of child labor; however, the Government
did not effectively enforce these laws. The law limits working hours
for workers less than 18 years of age and prohibits their employment in
dangerous occupations. The minimum age for employment was 15 years;
however employment of anyone under 16 years in work detrimental to
health, safety, or morals was prohibited. MOLSA's Child Labor Unit
sought to enforce child labor standards, but its work suffered from
insufficient personnel and budget resources.
Poor families routinely used children to augment their income-
earning potential. This work often took the form of seasonal labor in
rural areas or begging or peddling in urban settings. There were
anecdotal reports of children working in hazardous famil.--owned
automobile shops or on construction sites.
The Government introduced a targeted, means-tested social safety
net (SSN) program in 2005 to reduce poverty and protect children
against the deteriorating living conditions in their households. To
date, one million families have received benefits and services
administered by MOLSA. The SSN package included a child allowance,
conditional upon school attendance, and programs to assist former and
current street children were also funded by the Government. Additional
projects to enhance the protection of children have been funded by
international organizations and NGOs.
Other parts of this report contain related information; See Section
5.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Wages are set by contract in the
private sector and set by the Government in the public sector. The
national minimum wage for a skilled worker was less than 10,500 dinars
(approximately $7) per day and for an unskilled worker less than 5,250
dinars ($3.50) per day. The standard workday is eight hours with one or
more rest periods. Up to four hours of overtime work per day is
permitted, and premium pay for overtime is required. The average salary
was approximately 1.875 million dinars ($1,250) per year. These
earnings were barely above poverty level ($2 or 3,000 dinars per day)
and did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and
family.
According to international governmental organizations, NGOS, and
press reports, some foreign workers in the country were subjected to
abusive treatment, including confiscation of travel and identity
documents, confinement, physical abuse, unwanted sexual advances,
delayed or no pay, forced daily and weekly overtime, and hazardous
working conditions; no legal action in this area was reported.
The occupational safety and health component of MOLSA had staff
located throughout the country. The law provides that workers have the
right to remove themselves from a situation endangering health and
safety without prejudice to their employment. Occupational safety and
health standards and programs existed and were sometimes enforced in
state-owned enterprises. However, MOLSA officials acknowledged that
enforcing occupational safety and health standards was made more
difficult without the partnership and cooperation of strong unions.
__________
ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Israel is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with a population of
approximately 7.3 million, including Israelis living in the occupied
territories. Israel has no constitution, although a series of ``Basic
Laws'' enumerate fundamental rights. Certain fundamental laws, orders,
and regulations legally depend on the existence of a ``State of
Emergency,'' which has been in effect since May 19, 1948. The 120-
member, unicameral Knesset has the power to dissolve the Government and
mandate elections. March 2006 elections for the Knesset were considered
free and fair. On September 17, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced
that he would resign following a Kadima Party primary election but
remain as caretaker prime minister pending the outcome of general
elections scheduled for February 10, 2009. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces within
Israel. (An annex to this report covers human rights in the occupied
territories. This report deals only with human rights in Israel and the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.)
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, although there were problems in some areas. There were
several high-profile cases involving corruption by political leaders.
Institutional, legal, and societal discrimination against Arabs, non-
Orthodox Jews, and other religious groups continued, as did societal
discrimination against persons with disabilities. Women suffered
societal discrimination and domestic violence. The Government
maintained unequal educational systems for Arab and Jewish students.
Trafficking in and abuse of women and foreign workers remained a
problem, as did societal discrimination against persons with
disabilities.
Palestinian rocket and terrorist attacks killed 24 civilians in
Israel during the year. One terrorist attack allegedly perpetrated by
radical members of the Jewish settlement movement injured one Israeli
civilian.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit politically motivated killings.
On March 21, two police officers beat Sabri al-Jarjawi, a 25-year-
old Bedouin man from the Negev, until he fell into a coma for three
months before dying. A friend of al-Jarjawi, who was present during the
incident, stated that the attack was unprovoked. According to a police
statement, the two officers resorted to force after one of the two
Bedouin men assaulted one of the officers. A Police Investigation
Department (PID) investigation continued at year's end.
In October 2007 a Palestinian prisoner, Mohammed al-Askar, was
killed during a riot at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel. Prisoners
alleged that security forces improperly used crowd-dispersal weapons,
including rubber bullets and bean bag projectiles. An internal Israel
Prison Service (IPS) investigation concluded during the year and was
forwarded to the district attorney for review, according to the
Government. The result of the IPS investigation was not revealed to the
public, and there were no further developments at year's end.
On January 17, border policeman Avraham Tomer was convicted of
manslaughter for killing Palestinian laborer Iyad Abu Aya during a 2006
raid near Tel Aviv. Court documents revealed that Tomer and two other
border police officers detained and beat three undocumented Palestinian
laborers with clubs before Tomer shot and killed Abu Aya. On November
9, Tomer was sentenced to one year in prison.
On November 11, in an initial hearing, a border policeman pled not
guilty in the 2006 killing of Nadim Milham, an Israeli Arab. The
policeman, searching for weapons in Milham's home, allegedly beat and
shot him from behind when he attempted to escape, according to the
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab
Citizens of Israel (Mossawa).
In 2006 the attorney general ordered a review of the PID decision
to end its investigation of the 2000 police killings of 13 protesters.
Following the review the attorney general announced on January 27 that
he was upholding the PID decision to close the case without
indictments. The decision was met with protests and strikes throughout
the Arab-Israeli community.
Palestinians killed 24 civilians (23 Israelis and one noncitizen)
in rocket and other terrorist attacks.
For example, on February 4, a Palestinian suicide bomber struck a
shopping mall in the southern town of Dimona, killing one person and
injuring nine others. Israeli police killed a second attacker before he
was able to detonate his bomb belt. Two terrorist groups, the al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
claimed joint responsibility for the attack.
On March 6, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem shot and
killed eight students and wounded 11 others at the Mercaz Harav Kook
Yeshiva (Jewish religious school) in West Jerusalem. An off-duty
soldier entered the yeshiva and killed the assailant.
On July 2, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem killed three
persons and wounded at least 18 others with a bulldozer in West
Jerusalem before being shot and killed by an off-duty soldier. The
Government defined the incident as a terrorist attack, but the police
were unable to determine a clear motive.
Palestinian terrorists routinely fired rockets and mortars from the
Gaza Strip into Israel. According to the Government, citing numbers
from the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Palestinians
fired 1,571 rockets and 1,531 mortars into Israel, up from 896 rockets
and 749 mortars in 2007. Rocket, mortar, and sniper fire from the Gaza
Strip killed 10 civilians during the year.
According to the NGO B'Tselem, Israeli military operations killed
an estimated 782 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, including at
least 315 by year's end as a result of Israeli Air Force (IAF)
airstrikes. The strikes were targeted against Hamas security
installations, personnel, and other facilities in the Gaza Strip. The
Israeli military operation continued at the end of the calendar year
(See Annex).
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--According to a 1999 High Court ruling, torture and the
application of physical or psychological pain are illegal. However,
Israel Security Agency (ISA) interrogators may be exempt from criminal
prosecution if they use such methods in extraordinary ``ticking bomb''
cases. Human rights NGOs alleged that the ISA applied this exemption
more often than the court intended. In November three NGOs--the
Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), HaMoked: Center for the
Defense of the Individual, and the Public Committee against Torture in
Israel (PCATI)--filed a contempt of court motion to enforce the High
Court's ruling. The motion was pending at year's end.
During the year NGOs filed numerous complaints alleging that
security forces tortured or abused Palestinians from the occupied
territories (see Annex).
On June 20, HaMoked reported that three police officers detained
and severely beat one of its employees, East Jerusalem resident Tareq
Abu Laban, while he was visiting friends in Tel Aviv. A PID
investigation continued at year's end.
On July 19, police arrested two soldiers for attacking two Druze
families on a beach near Haifa. One of the victims, an off-duty border
policeman, suffered moderate injuries when he was beaten with rifle
butts, batons, and a fire hydrant, according to witnesses cited in
press reports. The victims told police the two soldiers were drunk and
made racist remarks throughout the attack. The police investigation
continued at year's end.
The NGO Hotline for Migrant Workers (Hotline) reported receiving
four complaints regarding violence by the immigration police, down from
six in 2007.
On April 13, two policemen allegedly detained and beat Fadi
Darab'i, an undocumented Palestinian laborer, at a construction site in
the Israeli town of Gan Yavneh. Darab'i accused one of the policemen of
twisting his arm while the other kicked him in the groin. According to
Darab'i and other Palestinian detainees, police at the station where
Darab'i was taken refused his request for an ambulance. Darab'i
eventually received treatment for his injuries at a Palestinian
hospital in the West Bank, where he underwent surgery to remove a
damaged testicle. On October 28, the PID indicted officers the two
officers, Iyad Huzeyl and Dani Havery, for assault involving grievous
injury. The case continued at year's end.
On September 25, prominent Hebrew University professor and critic
of the settlements Ze'ev Sternhell was wounded when a pipe bomb,
allegedly planted by radical members of the settlement movement,
exploded as he opened the door of his home in West Jerusalem. After the
attack police found flyers near Sternhell's home calling for the
establishment of a new state in the West Bank based on Jewish religious
law. The flyers, signed by a Jewish extremist group called the Army of
the State Liberators, also offered 1.1 million NIS ($314,000) to anyone
who killed a member of the NGO Peace Now.
In 2006 three border police officers--Eliran Levy, Moshe Yekutiel,
and Almit Asarsa--were indicted on charges of aggravated assault for
abusing Abd Tareq Ahrub, a West Bank resident caught in Jerusalem
without a permit. During the year the case was scheduled for a hearing
in January 2009.
In October 2007 the Supreme Court began considering the state's
appeal of a district court decision not to dismiss a lawsuit filed
against the state by Lebanese citizen Mustafa Dirani, who charged that
Israeli security forces tortured and raped him during interrogations
between 1994 and 2004. The case was awaiting a Supreme Court hearing
date at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The law provides detainees
the right to conditions that do not harm their health or dignity.
Conditions in IPS facilities for common criminals and security
prisoners generally met international standards. (Conditions in four
facilities for detainees are covered in the annex.) The International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regularly monitored IPS facilities,
interrogation facilities, and the two Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
Provisional Detention Centers. The Israel Bar Association (IBA) and
public defenders were permitted to inspect IPS facilities. Overcrowding
remained a significant problem. Regulations require at least 48 square
feet of living space per person, but the Prison Authority reported in
October 2007 that the average space was 31 square feet per prisoner.
In August the IBA issued a report on Sharon and Hadarim prisons
alleging that security prisoners did not receive adequate health care,
and that special IPS units assigned to the prisons routinely used dogs
to attack prisoners. Unsanitary and poorly lit cells were also cited as
problems. The IPS disputed the report and stated that the accusation
that prison guards used dogs to abuse prisoners had been examined and
found false.
In July the Public Defender's Office released its annual report
covering conditions in Israeli prisons and detention centers in 2007.
The report revealed that in one-third of prisons visited, inmates and
detainees complained that guards regularly treated them with violence,
threats, and humiliation. The report applauded the IPS for creating a
special team to deal with shortcomings in the previous year's report
but noted that almost nothing had been accomplished to improve
conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions for citizens. Arab Israelis are subject to the same laws
as all citizens. Noncitizens of Palestinian origin detained on security
grounds fell under military jurisdiction even if detained in Israel
(see Annex). Non-Israeli residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights were subject to the same laws as Israeli citizens.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISA (or Shin Bet),
under the authority of the prime minister, combats terrorism and
espionage in Israel and the occupied territories (see Annex). The
National Police, including the Border Police and the Immigration
Police, are under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Security.
Police corruption generally was not a problem.
The PID, within the Ministry of Justice, reviews complaints against
police officers and may impose disciplinary measures or recommend
indictments. Human rights groups alleged that the PID lacked
independence and failed to investigate adequately complaints filed
against police officers by Arab Israelis and Palestinians. In 2006 in
response to a State Comptroller report, the PID announced a six-year
plan to cede control over police investigations to a new civilian body.
According to the Government, the PID hired and trained 15 civilian
investigators during the year.
The police carried out training programs in coordination with
academic institutions and human rights NGOs to promote human rights
awareness and cultural sensitivity. During the year the National Police
provided mandatory Arabic language and culture classes for all new
cadets.
Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that an arrested citizen is
considered innocent until proven guilty and has the right to habeas
corpus, to remain silent, to be represented by an attorney, to contact
family members, and to receive a fair trial. The Government may
withhold evidence from defense lawyers on security grounds; however,
the evidence must be made available to the court. A bail system exists,
and a decision denying bail can be appealed. As a general practice,
non-Israelis of Palestinian origin detained for security violations
were not granted bail. An individual suspected of a criminal offense
may be held without charge for 24 hours before being brought before a
judge. Suspects in nonsecurity cases were apprehended openly with
warrants based on sufficient evidence and issued by an authorized
official. Detainees in such cases generally were informed promptly of
the charges against them. Persons detained on security grounds may fall
under one or more of the legal regimes described below.
Under a 2006 ``temporary law'' on criminal procedures that has
twice been renewed, individuals suspected of a security offense may be
held for 96 hours before being brought before a judge. The law, which
is set to expire again in December 2010, allows the court to authorize
holding a detainee for up to 20 days without an indictment and to bar a
detainee from consulting a lawyer for up to 50 days. Decisions may be
further extended and made without the detainee being present or, in
some cases, informed of the hearing.
The 1979 Emergency Powers Law allows the Defense Ministry to detain
persons administratively without charge for up to six months, renewable
indefinitely. Such detainees, almost all Palestinians, were permitted
legal representation. The court may rely on classified evidence denied
to detainees and their lawyers. Detainees can appeal their cases to a
military court and ultimately to the Supreme Court.
Persons detained under the 2002 Illegal Combatant Law have the
right to see an attorney within seven days, can be held for 14 days
without judicial review, may be denied access to counsel for up to 21
days, and may be held indefinitely subject to twice yearly district
court reviews. The law also established a military court system inside
Israel that may, under certain circumstances, rule on requests to
extend a detainee's incarceration. In June the Government extended for
an additional four years a ``temporary provision'' that exempts law
enforcement personnel from the law requiring them to film and audio
record all interrogations of detainees suspected of security offenses.
Human rights groups alleged administrative security detention
orders by military commanders based on ``security reasons'' were used
even when the accused posed no clear danger. As of November 30,
according to the NGO B'Tselem, there were 569 administrative detainees
in IPS detention centers, while the IDF held none as of October 29.
While most administrative detainees were held for periods ranging from
six months to three years, in August the IBA reported that at least one
administrative detainee in Sharon Prison, Mahmoud Azan, had been
imprisoned for 10 years without charge.
The law provides that a foreign national suspected of immigration
violations be afforded a hearing within four days of detention. They
have the right to, but no guarantee of, legal representation. According
to Hotline, appropriate interpreters were not always present at the
hearings, despite a 2002 written commitment by the Government to the
Supreme Court to provide translators. Hotline reported that in Ketsiot,
where most asylum seekers are detained, translators were rarely present
during hearings. According to Hotline, persons held in immigration
detention rarely were released pending judicial determination of their
status. Moreover, if the detainee's country of origin had no diplomatic
or consular representation, he or she could remain in detention for
months. According to Hotline, at the end of the year more than 1,000
detainees were waiting for determination of their asylum claims, more
than 100 of them children.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government respected this provision in
practice. The judiciary has ruled against the executive, including in
security cases.
The judicial branch comprises magistrate courts, six district
courts, the Supreme Court, and High Court of Justice. Magistrate courts
adjudicate misdemeanors and lesser civil disputes; district courts
adjudicate felonies and serious civil cases. There are also military,
religious, labor relations, and administrative courts, with the High
Court of Justice as the ultimate judicial authority. The High Court of
Justice is a court of first instance for claims against the Government.
Its members also sit as the Supreme Court, adjudicating appeals of
lower court rulings. Religious courts have jurisdiction over matters of
personal status for their adherents.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The
country's criminal justice system is adversarial, and professional
judges decide all nonmilitary court cases. Administrative detainee
hearings are not trials and do not follow established trial procedures.
Trials are public except when the court determines that a closed
trial is required to protect state security, foreign relations, a
party's or witness's right to privacy, or a sexual offense victim.
Security or military trials are open to independent observers at the
discretion of the court but not to the general public. All indigent
defendants facing imprisonment receive mandatory representation.
According to the Government, counsel represented all defendants in
district and Supreme Court trials and in approximately 80 percent of
cases in the magistrate courts.
Defendants have the right to question witnesses against them, to
present witnesses on their behalf, to access evidence (except when the
court determines such access would compromise state security), and to
appeal.
Military courts provide some, but not all, of the procedural rights
granted in civil criminal courts. The 1970 evidentiary rules governing
trials under military law of Palestinians and others applicable in the
occupied territories are the same as evidentiary rules in criminal
cases. Convictions may not be based solely on confessions; however,
B'Tselem, PCATI, and other NGOs alleged that in practice security
prisoners have been sentenced on the basis of coerced confessions,
coerced testimony of others, or both. The use of secret evidence is
widespread in military trials. Counsel may assist the accused in such
trials, and a judge may assign counsel to defendants. Indigent
detainees do not automatically receive free legal counsel for military
trials. The defendant and the public receive the charges in Hebrew, and
the court can order an Arabic translation. Interpreters and translators
were not always available. Defendants can appeal through the Military
High Court and petition the High Court of Justice. Military courts
treat Palestinian minors ages 16 and 17 as adults.
There are also custodial courts and four deportation courts to
address the removal of illegal immigrants.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
Israeli citizen political prisoners or detainees (See Annex).
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--An independent and
impartial judiciary adjudicates lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, human rights violations. Administrative remedies exist,
and court orders were usually enforced.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law provides for protection of privacy of the
individual and the home. In criminal cases the law permits wiretapping
under court order; in security cases, the defense ministry must issue
the order. Under emergency regulations authorities may open and destroy
mail on the basis of security considerations.
On June 27, a new law went into effect allowing police officers and
other public investigators to request court orders to obtain personal
information from private communications companies, including landline
and cellular telephones and Internet service providers (ISPs). To
access private communications records under the new law, investigators
must demonstrate that their goal is to save or preserve life,
investigate or prevent crime, or seize property in accordance with the
law. Civil rights NGOs accused the Government of seeking to interfere
with citizens' right to privacy. The Government countered that the law
codified existing practices and was necessary to fight crime.
Separate religious court systems adjudicate personal status, such
as marriage and divorce, for the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze
communities. Jews can marry only in Orthodox Jewish services. Civil
marriages, marriages of non-Orthodox Jews, or marriage to someone from
another faith must take place abroad in order to be recognized.
According to the NGO New Family Organization, more than 5,000 couples
marry in civil ceremonies abroad each year, most in Cyprus. The
Government allows consular marriages as long as both parties are
classified as having no religion or belonging to a religious community
the state does not recognize.
The authority to grant status (citizenship and residency) to a non-
Israeli spouse, including Palestinian and other non-Jewish foreign
spouses, resides with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI). On July 1,
the Knesset extended for another year the temporary 2003 Citizenship
and Entry Law, which prohibits a citizen's Palestinian spouse from the
occupied territories from residing in the country. A Palestinian male
spouse age 35 and older and female spouse age 25 and older may apply
for temporary visit permits. In 2007 Mossawa, citing MOI statistics,
claimed the law affected ``at least 21,298 families,'' including
couples with long-1standing marriages. Civil rights groups criticized
the denial of citizenship and residency status to spouses of Israeli
Arabs, who constitute the majority of Israelis married to residents of
the occupied territories. In March 2007 the Knesset also expanded the
law to bar family reunification in cases where one spouse is a non-
Jewish citizen of Iran, Iraq, Syria, or Lebanon.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice. The law prohibits hate speech and incitement to
violence, and the 1948 Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance prohibits
expressing support for illegal or terrorist organizations.
Israel has 13 daily newspapers, at least 90 weekly newspapers, more
than 250 periodicals, and a number of Internet news sites. All
newspapers were privately owned and managed. Journalism laws dating
from the British mandate period require that the MOI license newspapers
and allow the minister, under certain conditions, to close a newspaper.
The state-owned Israel Broadcast Authority controls the Hebrew-
language Israel Television and an Arabic-language channel, as well as
Kol Israel (Voice of Israel) radio, which airs news and other
programming in Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages. The Second
Television and Radio Authority, a public body, supervises the two
privately owned commercial television channels and 14 privately owned
radio stations.
A cable company, HOT, and one satellite television company carried
international networks and programs produced for domestic audiences. In
July 2007 HOT dropped the Christian network Daystar TV from its
subscriber package citing ``editorial and content considerations''
following complaints about proselytizing. A petition by Daystar TV to
the Supreme Court was pending at year's end.
The law authorizes the military to censor sensitive material
reported from Israel or the occupied territories. Under an agreement
between the Government and media representatives, all media
organizations must submit to military censors materials that deal with
specific military issues as well as strategic infrastructure issues,
such as oil and water supplies. The censor's decisions may be appealed
to the High Court, and the censor cannot appeal a court judgment.
Foreign journalists were required to submit sensitive articles and
photographs to the military censor but in practice rarely complied. The
MOI has no authority over the military censor.
All journalists operating in Israel must be accredited by the
Government Press Office.
News printed or broadcast abroad may be consumed in Israel without
censorship, apart from security exceptions. There were no reports that
the Government fined newspapers for violating censorship regulations
during the year.
The Government prohibited Israeli journalists from entering the
Gaza Strip, and those who did were subject to legal penalties such as
fines and restraining orders. In early November the Government also
started preventing foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip. On
November 24, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel filed a
petition to the High Court requesting that it overturn the ban on
foreign journalists entering the Gaza Strip. On December 31, the High
Court ruled in favor of the FPA petition. The Government had not
complied at year's end.
Internet Freedom.--There were generally no restrictions on Internet
access. The Government monitored cellular and landline telephones and
ISPs. The December 2007 survey results published in Globes newspaper
indicated Israelis averaged 37.4 hours per month of Internet usage.
Approximately four million persons had Internet access.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were generally no
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
Israeli universities are required to justify to the IDF acceptance
of Palestinian students from the occupied territories. According to
revised government criteria submitted in response to a November 2007
High Court order, as many as 70 students from the West Bank may pursue
graduate studies in Israeli universities at any given time, provided
there is no practical alternative and the chosen program is not in a
field that could provide knowledge or skills capable of harming Israel.
There were no students from Gaza (See also Annex).
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the Government
generally respected this right in practice.
On May 15, approximately 15,000 Arab Israelis and other activists
marched to the former Arab village of Safouriya, now a Jewish
community, as part of a demonstration to mark the 60th anniversary of
the establishment of the State of Israel. The procession, which started
peacefully, ended with clashes between demonstrators and security
forces. The police stated that they acted with restraint and
appropriate force after several demonstrators began throwing stones at
them, while the demonstrators claimed that the police attacked first.
The Israeli NGOs Adalah and the Arab Association of Human Rights (AAHR)
released video footage that, according to press reports, showed police
beating or kicking some demonstrators in the head and face as they sat
handcuffed on the ground. According to press and NGO reports, police
attacked several local and international journalists, including a CNN
correspondent, and in some cases confiscated cameras and erased
footage. On September 25, Adalah and AAHR submitted a formal complaint
to the PID. The PID investigation continued at year's end.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the right of
association, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
On April 10, Adalah appealed to the attorney general to halt ISA
interrogations of political activists from the Israeli-Arab Balad
party, which holds three Knesset seats. Adalah stated that the ISA was
intimidating Balad members and interfering with the legitimate
political activity of the Arab minority. In his May 12 response, the
attorney general denied Adalah's appeal and argued that the ISA's
activities were necessary to ensure that relationships between former
Balad leader and Knesset member Azmi Bishara (who fled the country in
2007 amid espionage allegations) and Balad members still in the country
could not be exploited to harm Israel.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of worship,
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
The Basic Law and Declaration of Independence recognize the country
as a ``Jewish and democratic state,'' while also providing for full
social and political equality, regardless of religious affiliation. The
Government recognized only Orthodox Jewish religious authorities in
personal and some civil status matters concerning Jewish persons. The
Government implemented policies including marriage, divorce, education,
burial, and observance of the Sabbath based on Orthodox Jewish
interpretation of religious law, and allocations of state resources
favored Orthodox Jewish institutions. According to government figures,
during the year the budget for religious services and religious
institutions for the Jewish population was approximately 1.6 billion
NIS ($457 million). Religious minorities, which comprised slightly more
than 20 percent of the population, received approximately 65 million
NIS ($18.6 million), or just less than 4 percent of total funding.
The law confers recognition on some religious communities, granting
them authority over their members in personal status matters.
Recognized communities are: Eastern Orthodox, Latin (Roman Catholic),
Gregorial-Armenian, Armenial-Catholic, Syrian (Catholic), Chaldean
(Uniate), Greek Catholic Melkite, Maronite, Syrian Orthodox, Orthodox
Jewish (both Ashkenazic and Sephardic rites), Druze, the Evangelical
Episcopal Church, and the Baha'i. The status of several Christian
denominations is defined by arrangements with government agencies.
Legislation enacted in 1961 afforded Muslim courts exclusive
jurisdiction in matters of personal status concerning Muslims, although
the state regulates judicial appointments to these courts. Secular
courts have primacy over questions of inheritance, but parties may
bring cases to religious courts by mutual agreement. Muslims also may
bring alimony and property division matters associated with divorce to
civil courts.
Several religious communities, including Protestant groups, were
not recognized. Unrecognized communities generally practiced their
religion freely and maintained communal institutions but were
ineligible to receive government funding for religious services.
Under the Law of Return, the Government grants immigration and
residence rights to individuals who meet established criteria defining
Jewish identity. Included in this definition is a child or grandchild
of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew, and the
spouse of a grandchild of a Jew. The Government uses a separate, more
rigorous standard based on Orthodox Jewish criteria to determine the
right to full citizenship, entitlement to government financial support
for immigrants, the legitimacy of conversions to Judaism performed
within the country, and Jewish status for purposes of personal and some
civil status issues.
Many Jewish citizens objected to exclusive Orthodox control over
aspects of their personal lives. Approximately 310,000 citizens who
immigrated either as Jews or as family members of Jews are not
considered Jewish by the Orthodox Rabbinate. They cannot be married,
divorced, or buried in Jewish cemeteries within the country. A 1996 law
requiring the Government to establish civil cemeteries has not been
fully implemented.
The 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law protects all holy sites, but
the Government implemented regulations only for 137 Jewish sites,
leaving many Muslim and Christian sites neglected, inaccessible, or
threatened by property development. The Holy Sepulchre and other well-
known sites have de facto protection as a result of their international
importance; however, community mosques, churches, and shrines often
faced threats from developers and municipalities that Jewish sites did
not face. Christian pilgrimage sites around the Sea of Galilee faced
regular threats of encroachment from district planners who wanted to
use parts of the properties for recreation.
In response to a court order, in 2006 the Government appointed an
interministerial committee to examine the administrative and budgetary
management of holy sites. In August 2007 the Supreme Court ordered the
Government to explain its failure to protect Islamic holy sites and to
provide funds for their maintenance. On March 5, the Government
responded that the promulgation of specific regulations was not
necessary to maintain and protect the holy sites of any religion. The
Government also announced it would grant a special two million NIS
($571,000) budget to the Israel Land Administration (ILA) for the
upkeep of unused mosques on lands the ILA manages.
Offering or receiving material inducements for conversion, as well
as converting persons under 18 years of age, remained illegal unless
one parent was of the religion to which the minor wished to convert.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints refrained from
proselytizing under an agreement with the Government. While officially
legal, missionaries faced harassment and discrimination by some Haredi
(Ultra-Orthodox) Jewish activists and organizations and certain local
government officials.
On April 28, immigration police arrested German student Barbara
Ludwig and prepared to deport her for failing to maintain a valid
student visa. According to Ludwig and her attorneys, Ludwig made
repeated attempts to renew her student visa but was denied because the
Interior Ministry determined that she was a Messianic Jew. In an April
29 article, the Jerusalem Post described letters addressed to Ludwig
from the MOI criticizing her alleged missionary activity.
The legal defense NGO Jerusalem Institute of Justice (JIJ) also
alleged that MOI officials denied services to certain citizens based on
their religious beliefs. The JIJ's legal defense caseload for such
cases contained approximately 143 open files during the first half of
the year. This included numerous cases dealing with MOI attempts to
revoke citizenship or failure to process immigration applications from
persons entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return, if it was
determined such persons held Messianic or Christian beliefs.
On April 16, the High Court responded to a petition filed by the
JIJ on behalf of 12 immigration applicants born of Jewish fathers and
non-Jewish mothers by ruling that the Government could not deny status
to a person eligible to immigrate under the Law of Return on the basis
of that person's identification as a Messianic Jew, as long as that
person was not defined as Jewish according to the Chief Rabbinate's
Orthodox criteria. The High Court did not prohibit the Government from
discriminating on the basis of religious belief in cases involving
immigrants who meet the Orthodox criteria for being a Jew, for example
by having a Jewish mother or by undergoing a Chief Rabbinate-recognized
Orthodox conversion.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports of societal
abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice.
Members of Jehovah's Witnesses reported an increase in assaults and
other crimes against their membership in 2007 and during the year and
noted the difficulties their members faced convincing the police to
investigate or apprehend the perpetrators. Between September 2007 and
September, members of Jehovah's Witnesses filed 46 criminal complaints
against antimissionary activists, most of whom belong to the Haredi
antimissionary organization Yad L'Achim. The crimes ranged from
harassment to assault. Police responded to 15 of 35 calls for
assistance during the same time period, according to the Jehovah's
Witnesses legal department. The JIJ noted a similar increase in crimes
and violent assaults against members of the congregations it
represents. In September the police reissued a 1999 directive to police
reminding them of their duty to investigate fully crimes against
minority religious communities.
On May 15, residents of the Tel Aviv suburb of Or Yehuda publicly
burned hundreds of Christian Bibles missionaries had distributed in the
community. The incident was reportedly organized by the deputy mayor of
Or Yehuda, Uzi Aharon, after he received complaints about the Messianic
Jewish presence from area residents. Aharon told the newspaper Maariv
the municipality operated a team of activists devoted entirely to
uprooting missionary activity, including the burning of New Testaments,
and that their activities were a fulfillment of the commandment to
``burn the evil from your midst.'' Aharon subsequently expressed regret
for any damage done to Jewish-Christian relations, but he later stated
on the country's Army Radio that it was necessary to ``purge the evil
among us.''
On May 27, the Chief Rabbinate, joined by Christian and Muslim
leaders from the country and the West Bank, issued a statement
condemning the Or Yehuda New Testament burnings but also condemning all
attempts to convert a person from one faith to another. On May 29, the
Foreign Ministry condemned the burnings as ``contrary to the values of
the State of Israel.''
On March 3, unknown vandals broke into the Hassan Bek Mosque in Tel
Aviv, damaging the gardens and property.
On August 13, unknown arsons attacked the Beit Yaakov Synagogue in
the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, destroying the synagogue's Torah
scrolls.
In September 2007, during the Jewish Holy Day of Yom Kippur when
driving is prohibited in Jewish areas, a 20-year-old Arab-Israeli man,
Ashad Shibli, ran over a 9-year-old girl while she was riding her
bicycle in the northern town of Kfar Tavor. Witnesses stated that he
had tried to run over two other residents earlier in the same day. On
October 12, authorities indicted Shibli for manslaughter. The trial
continued at year's end.
In 2006 approximately 100 Haredi Jews assaulted approximately 50
Christian tourists in a Jerusalem neighborhood, injuring three. Two of
the attackers were subsequently convicted of assaulting a policeman and
participating in a riot. Sentencing was scheduled for November 10.
The national public bus service operated sex-segregated
transportation for Haredi Jews. Haredi passengers also tried to impose
sex segregation on some mixed buses. According to press reports, women
who refused to sit in the rear of such buses were regularly harassed
and sometimes assaulted. Following a legal petition against the
legality of sex-segregated public buses, the High Court recommended on
January 21 that the Government establish a committee to examine legal
and operational issues related to the operation of sex-segregated
buses. The committee, headed by the transportation ministry, continued
to deliberate at year's end.
During the year Haredi Jews threw rocks at motorists to protest
driving on the Sabbath, and soccer fans from certain teams chanted
``death to Arabs'' and anti-Muslim slogans during games between Israeli
Jewish and Arab teams.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and
the Government generally respected them in practice for citizens (See
Annex).
Citizens generally were free to travel abroad and to emigrate,
provided they had no outstanding military obligations and no
administrative restrictions. The Government may bar citizens from
leaving the country based on security considerations. Citizens,
including dual nationals, must enter and leave the country using their
Israeli passports only. In addition no citizen is permitted to travel
to any state officially at war with the country without government
permission.
During the year there were numerous reports of foreign nationals
with Arab or Muslim names subjected to harsh and degrading treatment at
border crossings. Diplomatic missions regularly protested such
treatment regarding their nationals.
Arab Israelis required a special permit to enter area A (the area,
according to the Interim Agreement, in which the Palestinian Authority
exercises security responsibility). They could travel abroad using
their Israeli passports without restriction. Arab Israelis regularly
complained of discrimination and degrading treatment by airport
security officials. In May 2007 ACRI and Adalah petitioned the High
Court to demand that the Israel Airports Authority, Shin Bet, and the
Ministry of Transportation no longer use Arab ethnicity as a sufficient
reason for conducting intensive security checks at Israeli airports.
The case was pending at year's end.
An August 4 Physicians for Human Rights Israel report accused the
ISA of preventing Palestinians from leaving Gaza to seek medical
treatment in Israel or abroad unless they agreed to become informers
for Israeli intelligence. According to testimony collected in the
report, the ISA used blackmail and coercion to elicit cooperation from
gravely ill patients, some of whom required urgent treatment for life-
threatening illnesses. The ISA denied the allegation.
The law prohibits forced exile of citizens, and the Government
generally respected this prohibition in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--Israel is party to the 1951 UN Refugee
Convention and its 1967 protocol. Israel has not enacted any
legislation implementing the 1951 Convention or 1967 Protocol but in
practice has established a system for the reception and consideration
of asylum claims.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern in Israel.
UNHCR registered 7,483 new asylum seekers during the year, of whom
40 percent were Eritrean and 29 percent were Sudanese, and estimated
that almost every new arrival transited Egypt en route to Israel. The
Government estimated that there were approximately 15,000 asylum
seekers in Israel at year's end; approximately 4,000 were Sudanese, and
5,000 to 7,000 were Eritrean.
Although the Government complied with its obligation not to return
persons to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened,
Israeli and international NGOs and UNHCR protested ``coordinated
returns'' of some asylum seekers to Egypt because of allegations that
those individuals were later sent back to their countries of origin in
violation of international agreements against refoulement. Between
August 24 and 28, the IDF Liaison Unit turned 91 asylum seekers who
crossed into Israel from Egypt over to Egyptian authorities. According
to NGO and media reports, the number was higher, and they were at risk
because Egypt often deported such persons to their countries of origin.
Hotline submitted portions of what it claimed were letters of protest
to the minister of defense from two reserve soldiers who participated
in the deportation. One section stated that while performing reserve
duty during August, the soldier participated in or witnessed four or
five occasions in which asylum seekers were returned to Egyptian
authorities after they entered Israel. The letter claimed the asylum
seekers were blindfolded and handcuffed.
The Government considered the Eritreans and Sudanese to be
receiving temporary protection, as their status was considered
differently than other asylum seekers and ``infiltrators.'' On that
basis, the Government provided temporary protection to approximately
9,000 to 11,000 individuals during the year.
The Government does not have its own status determination system
and relies on UNHCR, which referred eligible refugee applicants to an
advisory committee, the National Status Granting Body (NSGB). The MOI
renders final adjudications based on NSGB recommendations. The Tel Aviv
University Refugee Rights Clinic argued that the NSGB's procedures were
not transparent.
Refugees recommended by UNHCR and recognized by Israel received
six-month visas renewable until final status determination. A refugee's
status is evaluated after one year. No legal option exists for a
refugee to become a naturalized citizen.
Those denied asylum and unwilling to leave may remain in
immigration detention indefinitely. Some newly arrived illegal migrants
were placed in hotels, kibbutzim (Israeli cooperative communities), and
other employment situations. UNHCR reported that the MOI released an
unknown number of asylum seekers from detention during the year without
reference to the Immigration Tribunal and UNHCR. Hotline reported that
most asylum seekers who entered during the year were taken to the
Ketziot facility and released after several months, under
geographically restricted conditions.
A July MOI decision stated that Eritrean asylum seekers would be
restricted to locations removed from the center of the country to
improve employment opportunities. NGOs argued that this placement
hindered access to social services in the Tel Aviv area. On January 7,
the MOI started giving six-month work visas to approximately 2,000
Eritreans who arrived in Israel prior to December 2007. Hotline stated
that the approximately 3,000 Eritreans who arrived after this date
spent months with no legal possibility of work and were forced to live
in substandard conditions in crowded shelters in Tel Aviv. For asylum
seekers from states officially at war with Israel, the Government
attempted to find a third country to accept them.
According to the state comptroller's annual report submitted to the
Knesset in May, between 2000 and 2007, 8,377 Africans requested refugee
status and political asylum; 109 were granted refugee status and
asylum.
In July the Government created the Authority for Immigration and
Border Crossings to implement government policy and hold MOI authority
over foreign nationals and population issues. The authority was
designed to consolidate all relevant bodies dealing with immigration
issues, including asylum seekers. Most asylum officers have not yet
received sufficient training to make refugee status determinations, and
at year's end the Government had not yet assumed status determination
responsibility from UNHCR.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Israel is a parliamentary
democracy with an active multiparty system. Relatively small parties,
including those primarily supported by Arab Israelis, regularly win
Knesset seats. The Basic Law requires that a party obtain 2 percent of
the vote to win Knesset seats. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigned
following a Kadima Party primary election on September 17 but remained
as caretaker prime minister at year's end.
The Basic Law prohibits the candidacy of any party or individual
that denies either the existence of the State of Israel as the state of
the Jewish people or the democratic character of the state, or that
incites racism. Otherwise, political parties operated without
restriction or outside interference.
At year's end the 120-member Knesset had 18 female members,
including the speaker. The Knesset included 10 Arabs and two Druze. The
29-member cabinet included two women, one Druze, and one Arab-Israeli
Muslim. Five members of the 14-member High Court, including its
President, were women. An Arab Christian was on the High Court, but no
Muslim or Druze citizens have served.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law penalizes official
corruption, and the Government generally sought to implement the law.
Investigations of numerous allegations of misconduct by senior
political figures and in government ministries occurred during the
year. The national police, the state comptroller, the attorney general,
and the finance ministry accountant general officially were responsible
for combating official corruption. Senior officials were subject to
comprehensive financial disclosure laws.
Prominent political figures were prosecuted. For example, on April
1, Member of Knesset (MK) Shlomo Benizri was convicted of bribery,
fraud, and breach of trust for crimes committed between 1996 and 2001
when he was minister of health and minister of social affairs. Benizri
was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment and an 80,000 NIS ($23,000)
fine.
On June 4, prosecutors indicted former finance minister Avraham
Hirchson, who resigned from the cabinet in July 2007, on charges of
bribery and aggravated fraud, money laundering, breach of trust, and
falsifying corporate documents. The case continued at year's end.
During the year the state comptroller and attorney general
investigated Prime Minister Olmert for a range of alleged crimes,
including fraud, bribery, breach of trust, money laundering, and tax
offenses. Six separate criminal investigations were under way
throughout the year, one of which was closed for lack of evidence on
December 4. No charges had been filed by year's end. The public
reaction to the allegations forced Prime Minister Olmert to announce
his resignation on September 20.
Criminal investigations or trials of other officials, including
Finance Minister Ronnie Bal-On, MK Tzachi Hanegbi, MK Ruhama Avraham,
MK Yaakov Edri, MK Yitzhak Ziv, and numerous senior law enforcement and
civil service officials continued throughout the year.
On February 27, former MK Omri Sharon began serving a seven-month
prison sentence following a 2005 conviction on corruption and fraud
charges for crimes committed during the 1999 Likud party primary
campaign of his father, former prime minister Ariel Sharon. Omri Sharon
was released after five months for good behavior.
The Government does not effectively implement its 1998 Freedom of
Information Law. Many government bodies did not disclose their internal
regulations as required, and others failed to publish annual reports.
The 2008 State Comptroller's report found that approximately half of
government authorities investigated did not make available to the
public their administrative directives or procedures for requesting
information or services. In April 2007 the High Court started
deliberations on a 2005 ACRI petition demanding that the IDF and
Ministry of Defense make their unclassified archives available to an
Israeli journalist for research purposes. At year's end the case
continued.
In December 2007, in response to a petition filed by five human
rights NGOs, the Jerusalem Administrative Court ruled that the MOI
violated the law by withholding from the public its regulations
concerning the Population Registry, which governs determinations
regarding citizenship, residency, and entitlements. The court ordered
the ministry to publish its regulations on the ministry's Web site
within 30 days, which it did by January 7.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Numerous domestic and international human rights groups operated
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their
findings on human rights cases. Government officials were cooperative
to varying degrees, and some NGOs, including those critical of the
Government, were routinely invited to participate in Knesset hearings
on proposed legislation. A Foreign Ministry liaison unit maintained
relations with certain international and domestic NGOs. The Government
responded publicly to criticisms that it believed to be unfounded.
Under the 1980 Law of Associations governing nonprofit
organizations, NGOs must register and pay annual fees.
Some registered NGOs were eligible to receive funding from
government ministries. According to government figures, such funding
amounted to approximately 2.5 billion NIS ($715 million) per year.
Government funding for NGOs disproportionately favored Jewish NGOs,
especially those that promote ``traditional and religious Jewish
activities.''
During the year the MOI, operating under a 2002 order, barred entry
to all foreign nationals affiliated with certain Palestinian human
rights NGOs and solidarity organizations (see Annex).
Between January 20 and 27, Asma Jahangir, UN special rapporteur on
freedom of religion and belief, visited the country. Special
rapporteurs on three other subjects had outstanding requests to visit
at year's end. Nine special rapporteurs or UN missions concerned with
human rights visited the country in the last three years, according to
the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
marital status, political beliefs, or age.
Women.--Rape is illegal, and the law doubles the penalty if the
perpetrator assaults or rapes a relative. Through September the
Government reported 796 open rape files, 342 prosecutions, and six
convictions.
On April 8, former President Moshe Katsav withdrew from a plea
bargain he had agreed to in 2007. Women's rights activists and
government transparency NGOs had opposed the plea bargain, which
carried convictions for indecent acts and sexual harassment but dropped
two rape charges against him and imposed a suspended prison sentence.
At year's end no charges had been refiled.
The Equality of Women Law provides equal rights for women and
protection from violence, harassment, exploitation, and trafficking;
however, domestic violence against women was a problem. Through
September the Government received 13,612 spousal abuse complaints filed
by women.
The Social Affairs Ministry provided a battered women's shelter and
operated a hot line. The police operated a call center to inform
victims about their cases. Women's organizations provided counseling,
crisis intervention, legal assistance, and shelters. Prostitution is
not illegal and was widespread but not highly visible. The law
prohibits operation of brothels and organized sex enterprises. Between
January and November the police opened 244 cases for managing a place
for the purpose of prostitution and arrested 46 suspects in these
cases. In addition, 50 brothels were closed, and 78 suspects were
arrested for trafficking or related offenses, of whom 11 remained in
custody pending completion of their trials.
The Prevention of Stalking Law and the Prevention of Family
Violence Law require that suspected victims be informed of their right
to assistance. During the year the Government opened 290 files, and the
State Attorney's office opened 58 cases of sexual harassment, resulting
in six indictments and one conviction. At year's end 81 police files on
sexual harassment were pending.
In December Mahmoud Abu-Ghanem was arrested for allegedly murdering
his teenage sister Dalia of Ramle, who had been missing for more than
two weeks. Police believed she was the ninth woman in the Abu-Ghanem
family to fall victim to an honor killing. According to the November 7
Kull al-Arab newspaper, human rights activist Ayidah Tuma-Sulayman,
head of Association of Women Against Violence, charged that at least
three other women were the victims of honor killings and that families
may claim the acts were something other than honor killings because of
the severe sentences such crimes receive.
``Modesty patrols'' harassed Haredi women in Haredi communities.
According to one indictment, in June seven men entered a woman's
apartment in Jerusalem, beat her as they interrogated her about her
relations with men, and threatened further assaults and death if she
did not move out of her apartment building. Also in June, a 14-year-old
girl in Betar Illit, predominantly an ultra-Orthodox community,
reportedly had acid thrown on her face and body in an incident the
press attributed to a modesty patrol.
Religious courts restricted the rights of Jewish and Muslim women.
A Jewish woman is not allowed to initiate divorce proceedings without
her husband's consent. Consequently, thousands of so-called agunot
(chained women) may not remarry or have legitimate children because
their husbands disappeared or refused to grant divorces. Rabbinical
tribunals may sanction a husband who refuses divorce but may not grant
a divorce without his consent. Women do not have redress to civil
courts; only religious courts can rule on personal status issues.
A Muslim woman may petition for and receive a divorce through the
Shari'a courts without her husband's consent under certain conditions,
and a marriage contract may provide for other cases where she may
obtain a divorce without her husband's consent. A Muslim man may
divorce his wife without her consent and without petitioning the court.
On November 10, the High Court of Justice accepted an appeal
submitted by the Wake Up Jerusalem movement, which ran candidates for
the capital's city council, and ruled that companies in Israel cannot
refuse to display election posters of female political candidates.
The law provides for class action suits and requires equal pay for
equal work. As of August women comprised 38.5 percent of officers of
corporations listed with the Board of Government Corporations. Numerous
government policies and programs worked to eliminate economic
discrimination against women. For example, the Government enacted
several amendments during the year to the Women's Employment Law that
improved women's maternity benefits. In April legislation provided
further incentives to employers to modify workplaces and work
conditions for women and parents. The Ministry of Education established
a department dedicated to the promotion of gender equality within the
school system.
The Mahut Feminist Center in Haifa reported that more than 65
percent of employees in part-time jobs were women, more than 35 percent
of working women earned minimum wage or less (compared to 14.2 percent
of working men), and women made up 70 percent of employees working in
contractor companies that provided lower wages, lack of employment
stability, and no social benefits.
Children.--The law provides for the overall protection of
children's rights and welfare, and the Government generally was
committed to ensuring enforcement of these laws. According to the
National Council for the Child, social welfare offices treated a record
number of 62,273 children in 2006 considered at risk from physical,
sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect.
Education is compulsory through the ninth grade. The Government
operated separate school systems for Hebrew-speaking children, Arabic-
speaking children, and Orthodox Jews. Haredi political parties
continued to oppose government regulation of their government-funded
school systems.
Academic institutions and advocacy groups have long charged that
resources devoted to the education of Arab children were inferior to
those devoted to Jewish children in the public education system. The
State Comptroller's February 10 report on local governments noted that
in the 28 Arab communities surveyed, there was a combined shortage of
1,082 classrooms in local schools. In June a joint committee of the
Education Ministry and the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee reported
the Arab sector would need an additional 9,236 classrooms by 2012 to
keep pace with national standards.
Trafficking in Persons.--Trafficking in persons for the purposes of
both prostitution and labor is prohibited under the law. Israel is a
destination country for trafficking for the purposes of labor and
prostitution. Neither the Government nor NGOs could quantify accurately
the extent of the problem. The Government, NGOs, and the media
expressed concern at an apparent rise in internal trafficking of
citizens for the purposes of prostitution, although the Government's
antitrafficking coordinator classified such cases as prostitution
rather than trafficking.
The Government reported that most victims of trafficking for
prostitution in the country came from the former Soviet Union,
primarily from Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, and Uzbekistan.
Antitrafficking and women's advocacy NGO Isha L'Isha reported a new
trend of trafficking women from China and the Philippines for
prostitution. Organized crime groups trafficked women for prostitution,
luring them with promises of service-sector jobs. Some reportedly sold
women to brothels.
The penal code stipulates that coercion to engage in prostitution
is a criminal offense, punishable by four to 20 years' imprisonment,
depending on the specific type of crime. Civil law verdicts have begun
to favor the victims, and most verdicts involved compensation, although
NGOs expressed a need for larger compensation awards.
Hotline charged that there are forms of trafficking the law does
not cover, including what it described as ``trafficking to obtain
financial advantage'' or a ``flying visa,'' whereby a worker pays a
commission to an agency in the home country to get a work permit for
work in Israel but arrives in Israel to find that there is no job. In
such a case, the worker does not have a valid permit under Israeli law
and is subject to arrest and deportation.
The Government reported that during the year the police conducted
nine criminal investigations on trafficking in persons for the purpose
of prostitution, which resulted in six indictments and five convictions
for trafficking for the purpose of prostitution and related offenses.
The Government reported 12 cases were pending at year's end, in
addition to seven pending appeals.
Victims of labor trafficking varied by sector. The most significant
groups were Thai agricultural workers, Chinese construction workers,
and domestic/nursing care workers from the Philippines, India, Nepal,
and Sri Lanka.
The labor law was amended in 2006 to criminalize trafficking for
slavery, forced labor, prostitution, pornography, sexual abuse, and
organ selling, and provides a maximum sentence of seven to 20 years
depending on the offense. In November the State Attorney's Office and
the Immigration Administration jointly filed the first indictment for
forced labor under the new amendments to the trafficking law. The case
remained pending at year's end. Four additional cases were in various
stages of preparation and review by the State Attorney's Office at
year's end (See Section 6.c.). Two additional cases (involving four
defendants) concerning fraud perpetrated against migrant workers were
also pending at year's end.
The Tel Aviv shelter, the only government-operated shelter for
victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, had the
capacity for 50 women. The Government reported that at year's end, the
shelter housed 25 women and five children, all of whom police referred
to the shelter during the year. The shelter provided free medical care
and other services. The Government reported that all trafficking
victims in the shelter received temporary visas and work visas if
requested, whether or not they chose to testify against their
traffickers. A woman who chose to testify also received a visa for the
duration of the court proceedings, generally lasting one year. Isha
L'Isha reported that it was difficult to admit trafficked women into
the shelter if they had children and noted the Ministry of Health had
not yet found a solution outside the shelter for women who had no
medical insurance.
On November 16, the Government enacted an amendment to the Legal
Aid Law to provide free legal aid to every victim of trafficking and
slavery. On the same day, the Protection of Witnesses Law was also
enacted.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for protection and
equality of the rights of persons with disabilities, although societal
discrimination and accessibility issues persisted in areas such as
employment and housing.
The Commission for Equal Rights of People with Disabilities (CERPD)
within the Justice Ministry took legal action in the areas of
accessibility and employment. In a 2007 study, the CERPD found that 85
percent of employers do not employ any persons with disabilities, and
25 percent of employees stated they had no interest in employing such a
person in the future.
The law requires television stations to include subtitles and sign
language and the courts to accommodate testimony from persons with
intellectual disabilities or mental illness. Accessibility to public
transportation was mandated by law but not always available.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Arab Israelis continued to
suffer various forms of discrimination in public and private life.
Tensions between Arabs and Jews also remained high in areas where the
two communities overlap, such as the Galilee and Negev, and in certain
mixed cities with separate Jewish and Arab neighborhoods.
According to press reports, Jewish residents of Jerusalem
perpetrated at least 20 violent assaults against Palestinian residents
of Jerusalem during the year, most often using knives, clubs, and other
weapons. Many of these attacks were reportedly premeditated.
On March 14, a policeman from the town of Kfar Saba attacked two
Arab Israelis while shouting, ``Death to Arabs.'' Another police
officer who witnessed the attack intervened to prevent injury.
On October 8, violence erupted between Israeli-Jews and Arabs in
the city of Acre (Akko) at the beginning of the Jewish Holy Day of Yom
Kippur after an Arab resident drove into a predominantly Jewish
neighborhood. Driving on Yom Kippur was generally prohibited in Israel.
Rioting ensued for several days, as Jewish and Arab extremists incited
their communities against one another. While the inflammatory rhetoric
was mutual, the majority of those inciting to violence were Jewish,
according to the Northern District police commander. According to press
reports, both communities suffered significant property damage, and
several Arab families were displaced from their homes in or near Jewish
neighborhoods. Police continued to pursue and arrest the chief
instigators after the violence subsided. On October 20, police arrested
six young Jewish men in Tel Aviv for allegedly firebombing two Arab
homes in an attempt to spread the anti-Arab incitement to Jaffa and
other mixed neighborhoods around Tel Aviv.
On September 9, a number of Jewish local and district-level
government leaders held a conference under the banner of the Renewing
Zionism Movement in the Galilee town of Kfar Tavor, during which the
leaders urged the need to ``Judaize'' the Galilee and warned of dire
consequences if Jews lose their majority in the Galilee.
In contrast the neighboring Gilboa Regional Council actively
promoted Jewish-Arab coexistence, including by holding a Gilboa
Coexistence Festival in August and cohosting, with the NGO Abraham Fund
Initiatives, an interfaith breaking of the Ramadan fast on September
11.
During the year the Israel Land Fund NGO launched a program to
purchase Arab land in the Galilee and market it at discounted rates to
Jewish buyers by distributing flyers to synagogues throughout the
region stating the time was ripe to redeem the ``Land of Israel.''
Public debate continued over the idea of ``transferring'' Arab-
Israeli communities from Israel to the Palestinian territories (in
return for transferring Jewish settlements in the West Bank to Israel)
as part of a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Arab Israelis overwhelmingly condemned the proposal, while Jewish
opinion ran the gamut from support to condemnation. Members of Yisrael
Beiteynu, a right-wing party headed by Knesset Member Avigdor
Leiberman, advocated the idea in media interviews at public gatherings
throughout the year. In a March poll commissioned by the Knesset
television station, 75 percent of the Jewish public supported the
transfer of at least some Arab Israelis as part of a peace deal with
the Palestinians, including 28 percent who believed all Arab Israelis
should be forcibly transferred.
Although Arabic is an official language, the National Insurance
Institute requires that documents submitted for claims be translated
into Hebrew.
Approximately 93 percent of land was in the public domain, and of
this approximately 12.5 percent was owned by the Jewish National Fund
(JNF), whose statutes prohibit sale or lease of land to non-Jews. In
2005 the attorney general ruled the Government cannot discriminate
against Arab Israelis in marketing and allocation of lands it manages,
including those of the JNF. As an interim measure, the Government
agreed through the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) to compensate the
JNF for any land leased to an Arab by transferring an equal amount of
land from the ILA to the JNF. Legal petitions against the JNF policy of
leasing public land only to Jews were ongoing at year's end.
Arab-Israeli advocacy organizations have challenged the demolition
of illegal buildings in the Arab sector on grounds that the Government
restricted building permits, limiting Arab natural growth. New
construction is illegal in towns that do not have master plans and in
the country's 46 unrecognized Bedouin villages. In 2004 the Supreme
Court ruled that omitting Arab towns from specific government social
and economic plans was discriminatory. At year's end, according to the
Government, master plans were completed for 29 of the country's 128
Arab communities. According to the Harvard International Human Rights
Clinic, between January and August, authorities demolished 97 Bedouin
homes. On December 15, authorities demolished the entire Bedouin
village of al-Atrash, consisting of at least 12 homes.
At year's end the Government had not complied with a 2006 Supreme
Court ruling that government development policy making impoverished
areas eligible for special funding was discriminatory because it
included only four Arab communities among the 539 communities slated
for enhanced assistance.
Arab Israelis were underrepresented in most fields of employment,
including government, despite a five-year-old affirmative action
program to promote hiring Arab Israelis (including Druze and Bedouin)
in the civil service. According to the Government, 6.2 percent of
government employees in 2007 were Arab.
A 2000 law requires that minorities have ``appropriate
representation'' in the civil service and on the boards of government
corporations. As of December 2007, Arabs (including Druze and
Circassians) filled 51 of 528 board seats of state-run companies. Of
the 55,000 persons working in government companies, 1 percent were
Arab.
The law exempts Arab Israelis from mandatory military service.
Citizens who do not perform military service enjoy less access to
social and economic benefits. Arab Israelis generally were ineligible
to work in companies with defense contracts or in security-related
fields. In June the Government started a civilian service program for
citizens not drafted for military service, giving Arab Israelis and
Haredi Jews the opportunity to serve and be eligible for the same
benefits accorded military veterans. According to press reports, the
National Service Administration registered almost 600 Arab-Israeli
volunteers during the 2007-08 academic year.
The Israeli Druze community comprised approximately 8.3 percent of
the minority population, and the Circassian community numbered some
3,000. Males of both communities were subject to the military draft,
and the majority accepted willingly. Some Bedouin and, to a lesser
degree, other Arab citizens not subject to the draft also served
voluntarily. Non-Jewish military veterans complained that they
continued to receive fewer benefits from their service than Jewish
veterans.
The Bedouin population was the most disadvantaged. Half of the
160,000 Bedouin lived in seven state-planned or eight recognized
communities, which were impoverished but received basic state services.
The seven state-planned townships were among the eight poorest
communities in the country, according to a March 31 report by the NGO
Human Rights Watch. The other half of Israel's Bedouin lived in at
least 46 unrecognized villages, which did not have water and
electricity and lacked educational, health, and welfare services. The
unrecognized villages, made up mostly of tents and shacks, evolved as a
result of the Government's refusal to recognize Bedouin land claims
based on traditional usage prior to the establishment of the state.
Government planners noted there were insufficient funds to relocate
Bedouin living in unrecognized villages to new townships, and the
average Bedouin family could not afford to purchase a home in existing
townships. Many Bedouin also complained that moving to government-
planned townships required giving up claims to land they had lived on
for generations. On December 11, the government-appointed Goldberg
Committee for Regulation of Bedouin Settlements in the Negev urged the
Government to recognize officially and extend services to unrecognized
villages where existing structures were not obstructing regional master
plans, and to provide assistance for the relocation of others.
On April 1, the Government acted on a 1993 pledge by the late Prime
Minister Rabin to authorize the construction of a permanent community
for members of two Bedouin tribes in the Negev who had appealed to
Rabin for assistance to overcome their unrecognized status.
In 2006 Adalah petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn a Water
Tribunal decision not to connect unrecognized villages to water
service. The Supreme Court's ruling was pending at year's end.
The approximately 20,000 non-Israeli residents of the Golan Heights
are subject to Israeli authority and Israeli law. Israel accords them
permanent resident status, but most of them are Druze and citizens of
Syria who largely have refused or been denied Israeli citizenship. As
legal residents, they received Israeli travel documents and held
identity cards that entitled them to many of the same social benefits
as Israeli citizens. However, Druze communities in the Golan Heights
received little or no support for municipal services or infrastructure
maintenance (see Annex for discussion of Palestinian residents of East
Jerusalem).
The Government prohibits Druze citizens, like all citizens, from
visiting Syria; the Government allowed noncitizen Druze from the Golan
Heights to visit holy sites in Syria through the ICRC-managed
pilgrimage program.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal violence and
discrimination based on sexual orientation or against persons with HIV/
AIDS existed in isolated cases. The Government continued to uphold laws
criminalizing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or HIV/
AIDS.
In 2006 the High Court issued a ruling requiring the Government to
recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in foreign
jurisdictions. There was no information available about whether the
Government recognized such marriages in practice.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Citizens generally may join and
establish independent labor organizations. Most unions belong to
Histadrut (the General Federation of Labor) or to a smaller rival
federation, the Histadrut Haovdim Haleumit (National Federation of
Labor). Both are independent. There were no restrictions on collective
bargaining agreements, and no prior government approval was required.
According to a 2001 amendment to the Collective Agreements Law, workers
are protected from discrimination resulting from their membership in or
activity with a labor organization. The Government reported that
litigation stemming from discrimination of this kind was negligible.
Legal foreign workers, who constituted approximately 45 percent of
the foreign work force, and nonresident Palestinians may join Israeli
trade unions and organize their own unions in Israel. Benefits and
protections in Histadrut work contracts and grievance procedures extend
to legal nonresident workers in the organized sector, but these workers
cannot vote in Histadrut elections. In April the Government agreed to
approve an additional 5,000 employment permits for Palestinians within
Israel.
Unions have the right to strike, and workers exercised this right.
If essential public services are affected by a strike, the Government
may appeal to labor courts for back-to-work orders during continued
negotiations. Worker dismissals and the terms of severance arrangements
traditionally have been the central issues of disputes.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Citizens' legal
rights to organize and bargain collectively are protected by law and
these laws are enforced. The law specifically prohibits antiunion
discrimination, and none was reported.
Foreign workers must pay an agency fee and can pay union dues,
entitling them to employment protection and some entitlements won by
collective bargaining agreements. Collective bargaining agreements
extend to nonunion workplaces in the same sector.
There are no export processing zones in the country.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Israeli laws
prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and
criminalize gradations of labor exploitation.
The law provides foreign laborers legal status, decent working
conditions, health insurance, and a written employment contract;
however, some employers forced individual laborers who entered the
country, both legally and illegally, to live under conditions that
constituted involuntary servitude.
The Crime Unit in the Immigration Administration, working with the
State Attorney's Office, opened 16 investigations concerning forced
labor during the year. Following investigations by the Immigration
Administration of cases involving migrant workers, the Government filed
15 indictments on fraud offenses and 10 indictments on exploitation and
withholding of passports offenses. Civil rights groups and NGOs,
however, claimed unscrupulous employers exploited adult non-Palestinian
foreign workers, both legal and illegal, and held them in conditions
that amounted to involuntary servitude.
On October 10, the newspaper Maariv quoted a representative from
Hotline as stating that many ``pressure groups'' in Israel--the report
named farmers, the handicapped, and contractors--enjoy cheap labor, and
that the state was subsidizing them by not enforcing labor laws.
There were numerous documented cases of foreign laborers living in
harsh conditions, subject to debt bondage, and restricted in their
movements. Hotline charged that the Immigration Police failed to act
quickly or adequately when they alerted them to some of these cases,
and that the police sometimes returned the person to the employer.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws
protect children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibit forced
or compulsory labor; the Government generally enforced these laws.
Children at least 15 years of age who have completed education
through grade nine may be employed as apprentices. Those who are 14 may
be employed during official school holidays in light work that will not
harm their health. Working hours for those between 16 and 18 are
restricted.
The Government reported that through September it inspected more
then 2,000 potential cases involving minors, opened 565 investigations,
and imposed 293 fines on employers.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was
approximately 47.5 percent of the average wage, 3,850 NIS
(approximately $1,100) per month for a 43-hour week. The Government
considered the minimum wage, supplemented by special allowances for
citizens, to provide a citizen worker a decent standard of living. Some
union officials, NGOs, and social commentators disputed this claim.
Histadrut charged that occupational health and safety standards were
not adequate or adequately enforced by the Israel Institute for
Occupational Health and Hygiene.
The law allows a maximum 43-hour workweek at regular pay. Premium
pay was 125 percent for the first two hours and 150 percent for any
additional hours, with a limit of 15 hours of overtime per week.
Histadrut reported that Israeli and foreign workers operated under the
same rules.
Labor laws also apply to noncitizens, although enforcement was not
adequate, according to workers' rights NGO Kav LaOved. Documented
foreign workers were entitled to many of the same benefits as citizens
but not national health care. Employers were legally required to
provide such insurance, and most employers did so. All labor laws also
apply to undocumented foreign workers. Enforcement of labor law in the
home health care sector, which employs numerous foreign workers, was
particularly difficult.
An employer must obtain a government permit to hire non-Israeli
workers who live in the occupied territories. Most Palestinians from
the occupied territories working legally in the country were employed
on a daily basis and, unless employed on shift work, were not
authorized to spend the night in the country. According to Histadrut,
there were few such regular workers during the year.
Palestinian employees recruited through the Ministry of Industry,
Trade, and Labor received their wages and benefits through the
ministry, which deducted a union fee and contributions for National
Insurance Institute (NII) benefits workers did not receive, such as
unemployment insurance, disability payments, and low-income
supplements. A legal mechanism was established in 2005 for non-
Palestinian migrant workers employed in the construction sector to
receive benefits, but in other sectors, such as agriculture and care
giving, there was no comparable mechanism. Israeli employers paid
Palestinian employees not employed through the ministry directly after
deducting the union fee and NII contribution; such workers received the
same benefits as workers paid through the ministry.
A major issue contributing to a number of work stoppages was that
many municipalities routinely failed to meet payrolls in recent years.
Despite a variety of court orders and government interventions, the
problem persisted.
Since 2000 the Government prevented most Palestinians from
traveling from the occupied territories to employment in Israel during
times of closure. During periods of nonclosure, Palestinians required
Israeli permits to enter the country for a single day or for periods of
several months. Frequently authorities invalidated existing permits,
requiring long-established travelers to secure new permits, so
statistics on permit issuance did not reflect actual numbers of
individuals allowed into the country.
The Labor Inspection Service, along with union representatives,
enforced labor, health, and safety standards in the workplace, although
resource constraints affected overall enforcement.
According to the Government, a foreign worker can remove him or
herself from a dangerous work situation and seek alternate employment.
However, according to Kav LaOved, a comprehensive system to do so,
which included the home health care sector, was not implemented by
year's end.
All workers could challenge unsafe work practices through
government oversight and legal agencies. Through September the
Government imposed 1,873 administrative penalties for violations of the
Foreign Workers Law and 64 penalties for violation of the minimum wage
law. The Immigration Administration estimated that nursing-care workers
from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines--particularly women--
and construction workers from China were at greatest risk for abuse.
Brokers and employers are permitted to collect hiring fees from
migrant workers. The Government limited such fees to 3,135 NIS
(approximately $895) per worker, but NGOs charged that many foreign
workers continued to pay as much as 80,000 NIS ($23,000). The
Government reported that through September it held 79 hearings on
cancelling or restricting permits to employ foreign workers, resulting
in 23 restricted and nine cancelled permits in the nursing sector, two
restricted and 44 cancelled permits in the agriculture sector, and one
permit cancelled in the construction sector.
During the year the Enforcement Division of the Foreign Workers
Department in the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor (MITL) opened
2,685 investigative files opened against employers suspected of
violations and imposed 2,367 administrative fines on employers. The
Prosecution Division of the MITL Foreign Workers Department filed 4,400
criminal indictments against employers for violations of foreign
workers law and the minimum wage law, which the Government described as
a significant increase. On August 31, the licenses and permits of all
the private bureaus in the nursing care field were canceled. New
licenses and permits were granted on September 1 exclusively to private
bureaus ``geared towards bringing, mediating, and caring for foreign
workers in the nursing care.'' Caregiver licenses were particularly
sensitive because of the widespread employment of foreign workers.
On November 10, the Government reported that it issued 93,950
permits for non-Palestinian foreign workers during the year and that
there were approximately 100,000 legal foreign workers and 80,000 to
150,000 illegal foreign workers. On October 10, a Maariv article
claimed there were 200,000 foreign workers, 55 percent of whom were
illegally present in the country. Workers may contest deportation
orders, but lack of fluency in Hebrew placed them at a considerable
disadvantage. According to Kav LaOved, the lack of interpreters in
various governmental agencies continues to be a grave problem.'' Kav
LaOved also charged that, ``despite numerous promises from the
authorities'' on this issue, leaflets on worker rights were not
provided to workers upon arrival or voluntarily provided by the
authorities at any other point during a migrant worker's stay in
Israel, and such leaflets were only available online at the MITL Web
site, which was not available to most migrant workers without Internet
access.
THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES (INCLUDING AREAS SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION
OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY)
Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and East
Jerusalem during the 1967 War. During the year the Palestinian
population of Gaza was approximately 1.5 million, of the West Bank 2.35
million, and of East Jerusalem 210,000. Approximately 191,000 Israelis
resided in East Jerusalem and 290,000 in the West Bank. During the
1990s various agreements transferred civil responsibility to the
Palestinian Authority (PA) for Gaza and parts of the West Bank.
However, after Palestinian extremist groups resumed violence in 2000,
Israeli forces resumed control over a number of these areas, citing the
PA's failure to abide by its security responsibilities. PA civilian
authorities' control over its security forces in the West Bank improved
during the year.
The PA has a democratically elected President and legislative
council, which select a prime minister and cabinet. In 2005 Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Mahmud Abbas won 62 percent of
the vote in a Presidential election regarded as generally free and
fair. In 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections, Hamas, a
terrorist organization, backed candidates under the name ``Reform and
Change Movement'' and won 74 of 132 seats in elections that generally
met democratic standards. In February 2007 Hamas formed a national
unity government (NUG) with the Fatah party, but in June 2007 Hamas
staged a violent takeover of PA government installations in Gaza and
killed hundreds in the Fatah movement and PA security forces. Since
June 2007, when President Abbas dismissed the NUG, a cabinet of
independents led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has governed the West
Bank, while elements of the former Hamas government formed the de facto
ruling authority in Gaza.
On June 19, Hamas and Israel began a six-month ``calm,'' which
generally led to a reduction in the number of rocket and mortar attacks
from Gaza into Israel, although rocket and mortar attacks continued. On
November 4, citing an imminent threat from crossborder tunneling by
Hamal-affiliated terrorists, Israel launched a raid into the Gaza
Strip. In response to a sharp increase in the number and frequency of
rocket attacks into Israel shortly prior to and following the formal
expiration of the ``calm'' on December 19, the Israeli Air Force (IAF)
launched airstrikes on December 27 targeted against Hamas security
installations, personnel, and other facilities in the Gaza Strip. The
Israeli military operation continued at the end of the calendar year
and resulted in the deaths of at least 315 Palestinians, including some
civilians, by December 31.
President Abbas and his subordinates controlled PA security forces
in the West Bank. Armed militias and terrorist organizations were still
active in some areas. In Gaza Hamas established de facto security
forces. The Israeli government maintained effective control of its
security forces.
There were reports of PA torture, arbitrary and prolonged
detention, poor prison conditions, insufficient measures to prevent
attacks by terrorist groups, impunity, corruption, and lack of
transparency. Domestic abuse of women, societal discrimination against
women and persons with disabilities, and child labor remained serious
problems. In Gaza there were reports that Hamas security forces
continued to kill, torture, kidnap, arrest, and harass Fatah members
and other Palestinians with impunity. Hamas and other Palestinian
factions in Gaza shelled civilian targets in Israel.
Both Israeli and Palestinian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
reported that Israeli authorities used excessive force, abused
civilians and detainees, tortured Palestinian detainees, failed to take
proper disciplinary actions, improperly applied security internment
procedures, maintained austere and overcrowded detention facilities,
imposed severe restrictions on internal and external freedom of
movement, and limited cooperation with NGOs. A partially completed
Israeli-built separation barrier isolated portions of the West Bank and
restricted Palestinian movement and access to West Bank land west of
the barrier.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Killings by
Palestinian security forces occurred, but with less frequency than
previous years. Killings by Palestinian terrorist groups and Israeli
security forces remained a serious problem. Killings of Palestinians by
Palestinians also dropped sharply, from 346 in 2007 to 18 through
November. Palestinians killed 10 IDF soldiers and 19 Israeli civilians
in the territories. Palestinians killed 24 civilians in terrorist
attacks in Israel, including eight killed by a gunman at a religious
school in West Jerusalem and one killed by a suicide bombing in Dimona.
Israeli military operations killed an estimated 782 Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza, including at least 315, including some civilians,
as a result of airstrikes on Hamas security installations, personnel,
and other facilities in the Gaza Strip in late December.
On February 22, Majid al-Barghouti, an imam believed to be
affiliated with Hamas, died in the custody of the Palestinian Authority
General Intelligence Service (GI) after being detained in the West Bank
on February 14. Human Rights Watch (HRW) concluded based on photographs
of the body and interviews with fellow prisoners that al-Barghouti's
death was a result of torture. PA officials stated that al-Barghouti
suffered heart failure, and President Abbas directed the attorney
general to investigate. By year's end no information was released.
On June 26, Hamas police arrested 72-year-old Taleb Mohammed Abu
Sitta and took him to Dir al-Balah police station, where he
subsequently died in custody. On June 27, Abu Sitta's body was taken to
Gaza City for forensic examination. His son, who was also incarcerated,
told a human rights organization that Hamas repeatedly beat his father
during his brief incarceration.
On July 12, Bassam Anani, a Fatah leader from Nusseirat refugee
camp, died after two weeks in a hospital from injuries sustained while
detained by Hamas.
On August 2, clashes between Hamas security forces and members of
the Hilles clan in east Gaza City resulted in the death of 15 persons
and injury to at least 103 others. The incidents occurred as a result
of attempts by Hamas security forces to arrest members of the Hilles
clan suspected in a July 25 bomb explosion on a Gaza City beach that
killed five members of the armed wing of Hamas and one child.
Palestinian terrorist groups killed Israeli civilians in Israel
with rockets, mortars, and one suicide bombing (see the Israel report).
They frequently fired at Israel from civilian areas, increasing the
risk that return fire would harm noncombatants. PA President Abbas made
repeated public statements calling for an end to violence against
Israel and internal violence between Fatah and Hamas, but these
statements did not prevent numerous attacks.
The IDF conducted numerous incursions into Palestinian areas to
carry out arrest operations and kill suspected terrorists. Palestinian
gunmen fired on Israeli forces and booby trapped homes and apartment
buildings. In response, the IDF raided and often destroyed buildings
allegedly harboring militants. These actions often resulted in civilian
casualties. Multiple incursions in Jenin and Nablus hampered the PA's
efforts to deploy its own security forces.
Israeli NGO B'Tselem estimated that 39 percent of the 444 killed
during Israeli military and police operations through November were
civilians not taking part in the hostilities at the time of their
death. According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), 1,807
Palestinians were injured during the year by live ammunition, rubber-
coated bullets, tear gas, and blast shrapnel.
On April 16, an IDF tank fired an antipersonnel shell dispensing
metal darts into the central Gaza strip, killing Reuters cameraman
Fadel Shana'a and three others, including a 14-year-old and 17-year-
old. HRW claimed there was evidence the tank crew knowingly targeted
the journalist. According to Palestinian NGOs, Shana'a was covering the
aftermath of a missile attack near Juhor al-Dik earlier that day, in
which two missiles fired from an Israeli aircraft killed three adults
and six minors and wounded six adults and 12 minors. In August the IDF
announced its investigation cleared the tank crew, but several human
rights organizations criticized the IDF's investigations as lacking
seriousness.
On July 29, in one of several incidents connected to protests
against construction of the separation barrier near Na'alin village,
11-year-old Ahmed Moussa was shot with live fire by an IDF soldier
responding to demonstrations near the village. On August 4, Yousif
Ahmed Amira died after being shot by IDF soldiers in the head with two
rubber-coated bullets on July 30. On August 17, an internal affairs
unit at the Ministry of Justice informed B'tselem it had opened an
investigation into Amira's death. No additional information was
available at year's end.
In 2006 the High Court ruled that targeted killings were not per se
illegal, but each case must be meticulously examined through an
independent investigation. According to B'Tselem, during the year
Israeli forces targeted and killed 14 Palestinians, many affiliated
with terrorist organizations.
According to a September study by the Israeli NGO Yesh Din, the
Israeli Military Police Criminal Investigation Division launched 1,246
criminal investigations between September 2000 and December 2007 into
cases in which soldiers were suspected of killing, injuring, and
committing criminal offenses against Palestinian civilians. Of the
1,246 investigations opened, 6 percent (78) led to indictments against
a total of 135 soldiers. As of September, 113 had been convicted of at
least one offense, four had been acquitted of all charges, eight had
their cases dismissed, and 10 cases were still pending.
During the year reports continued of Palestinians being killed in
the perimeter zone, as reported in previous years. Israel declared this
area off limits to Palestinians in response to attacks against Israelis
originating in those areas.
IDF prosecutors informed B'tselem that the June 2007 case of the
killings of 14-year-old Ahmed Sabri Suliman Ali Abu Zubeida and 13-
year-old Zaher Jaber Muhammad al-Majdalawi was pending. According to
press reports, IDF troops saw the boys crawling towards the fence,
shouted a warning over a loudspeaker, fired warning shots, and then
shot live fire. According to B'Tselem, they had been flying a kite.
In January 2007 10-year-old Abir Aramin died from a wound to the
back of the head as she was leaving school during clashes between
Israeli Border Police and Palestinians. The Jerusalem District
Prosecutor closed the investigation for lack of evidence. In September
2007 the Israeli NGO Yesh Din appealed, alleging that according to 14
witnesses and independent Israeli pathologist Dr. Chen Kugel, she was
shot with a rubber-coated bullet while running away. On February 12,
the State Prosecutor's Office denied Yesh Din's petition to reconsider
the decision to close the investigation.
There were no developments in the following 2007 killings of
Israelis in the West Bank: Erez Levanon, Ahikham Amihai, David Rubin,
or Ido Zoldan.
There were no developments in the 2007 killings outside Beit Hanoun
by a shell fired from an IDF tank of 8-year-old Mahmoud Mousa Hassan
Abu Ghazala, 11-year-old Yahya Ramadan Atiyyah Abu Ghazala, and 8-year-
old Sarah Suliman Abdallah Abu Ghazala.
There were no investigations into the 2007 IDF killings of Jihad
Khalil Hussein al-Shaer or Muhammad Ali Mesbah Jabarin, and no charges
were brought in the 2007 IDF killing of Anan Muhammad Assad al-Tibi.
There were no developments in the investigation started in March
2007 into the 2006 IDF killing of Palestinian Nafia Abu Musaid.
On February 26, the IDF advocate general announced that no military
police investigation would be launched into the 2006 IDF artillery
shelling in the Gazan town of Beit Hanoun, which killed 19 Palestinians
and injured others. The advocate general attributed the incident to a
malfunction in the artillery control system.
There were no developments in the 2006 killings of Abu Yusif,
military leader of the terrorist Popular Resistance Committees (PRC);
Brigadier General Jad al-Tayeh of the GI and his four bodyguards; and
three children of a senior PA intelligence officer and their driver.
On April 28, the Jerusalem District Court sentenced border
policeman Yanai Lazla to six and a half years in prison. Lazla was one
of four officers prosecuted for the 2002 Hebron killing of 17-year-old
Imran Abu Hamdiyah, who was beaten and ejected from a moving police
vehicle. On July 1, Lazla failed to appear to begin serving his
sentence. In 2005 the first of the four officers was sentenced to four
and a half years' imprisonment. At year's end the trial of the
remaining two officers continued.
b. Disappearance.--There were fewer reports of politically
motivated kidnappings and disappearances in connection with internal
Palestinian conflict than in previous years.
On April 13, individuals in two vehicles abducted Sami 'Atiya
Khattab of Dir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip. On April 15, Hamal-
controlled police informed the family that Khattab's body was found
southwest of Gaza City. According to a human rights organization, the
body showed cuts, bruises, and other signs of violence.
There were no developments in the 2007 abduction and killing of
Maher Halim Daoud Juri.
In 2006 PRC and Hamas militants tunneled from Gaza to Israel,
killed two soldiers, and abducted a third, Gilad Shalit. At year's end
Shalit had not been released.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The PA Basic Law prohibits torture or use of force against
detainees; however, international human rights groups reported that
torture was a significant problem. Torture by PA security forces and
the Hamas Executive Force reportedly was widespread and not restricted
to security detainees. The PA's actions to properly investigate,
punish, and discourage torture and other abuses by its forces were
minimal, lacked transparency, and were not generally effective. Hamas
took no action to investigate reports of torture. Documentation of
abuses was limited, due partly to fear of retribution by alleged
victims. Palestinian NGOs alleged in previous years that the PA
pressured individuals not to communicate allegations of abuse to NGOs.
PA security officers have no formal guidelines regarding
interrogations; convictions were based largely on confessions. Until
issuance of a Presidential decree in November 2007, the Preventive
Security Organization (PSO) lacked the legal authority to detain
suspects or manage detention facilities.
On July 29, HRW released a report documenting abuses by Hamas
security forces against Fatal-affiliated officials in Gaza and by Fatah
against Hamas members and supporters in the West Bank.
There were reports of significant abuses by PA security forces. The
PSO and the GI were more frequently implicated in complaints of abuse
than other security organizations. The Military Intelligence (MI)
organization frequently exceeded its legal authority to investigate
other security services' officers and detained civilians.
There continued to be reports of widespread abuse and violence by
Hamas security forces against Fatal-affiliated officials in the Gaza
Strip.
In July 2007 Hamas Executive Force members detained Fatah member
Muhammad Kamel al-Shekhrit during a demonstration and beat him at the
former headquarters of the National Security Forces in Rafah. In August
2007 Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade members beat Yasser Ouda Joma Abu
Shabab, a police officer from Rafah, and interrogated him about his
ties to Fatah. In September 2007 MI detained and beat Hamas member
Rasem Khattab Hasan Mustafa in Nablus. In September 2007 PA Preventive
Security officers beat Fayez al-Tarada during the arrest of his
brother, Hamal-supporter Fawwaz Hisham Hussein al-Tarada, and during
interrogation in Hebron beat Fawwaz with a stick. No investigations
were opened.
Israeli law, as interpreted by a 1999 High Court decision,
prohibits torture and several interrogation techniques but allows
``moderate physical pressure'' against detainees considered to possess
information about an imminent terrorist attack. The decision also
indicates that interrogators who abuse detainees suspected of
possessing such information may be immune from prosecution. Human
rights organizations reported that ``moderate physical pressure'' has
been used in practice to include beatings, requiring an individual to
hold a stress position for long periods, as well as painful pressure on
shackles and restraints applied to the forearms.
Incidents of IDF abuse of Palestinian detainees continued to be a
significant problem. Abuses did not appear to be limited solely to
certain units, but incidents involving the Kfir Brigade were
particularly prominent. The IDF said it made efforts to retrain the
brigade through simulations and workshops facilitated by human rights
organizations, but there were reports that such training did not
eliminate incidents of abuse. The IDF attributed an increase in
incidents to growing willingness among commanders to report abuses.
On January 29, the Israeli press reported that soldiers in the Kfir
Brigade beat and kicked detainees and documented their actions on cell
phone cameras.
On February 11, three soldiers from the Haruv Battalion of the Kfir
Brigade were indicted as a result of assaults near the West Bank
settlement of Shavei Shomron. On June 3, the soldiers were convicted of
beating two handcuffed and blindfolded minors and applying a heating
device to the face of a detainee. They were sentenced to five and a
half months in jail.
On March 11, two policemen from Ma'ale Adumim police station were
arrested for severely abusing a Palestinian from Bethany. The Israeli
NGO the Public Committee on Torture in Israel (PCATI) complained that
in November 2007 the officers beat and urinated on the man, in addition
to inserting objects into his body cavities. At year's end no
additional information was available.
On July 7, in Na'alin village, an IDF soldier shot Ashraf Abu Rahma
in the foot at close range with a rubber-coated bullet, while Abu Rahma
was handcuffed and blindfolded. The soldier who fired the shot alleged
that the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Omri Borberg, ordered him to
shoot. On August 7, Borberg was charged with conduct unbecoming an
officer and reassigned by the IDF chief of staff from his duties as
commander of the 71st Armored Battalion. On August 19, the Israeli NGO
the Association for Civil Rights in Israel filed a petition with the
High Court seeking to compel the judge advocate general to file a more
serious charge. On October 6, the High Court asked the IDF to consider
charging a more serious crime. On November 4, the military advocate
general announced that the original charge would not be changed.
According to an August 12 report in the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth,
four soldiers from the Haruv Battalion received administrative
punishments for hitting a bound Palestinian and throwing him on the
side of the road. The soldiers were punished for agreeing not to report
the incident; three received a reprimand, and a fourth, the most
senior, was confined for 21 days and suspended for 14 days.
Also in Na'alin, on September 1, IDF soldiers searching a house for
a demonstrator shot Awad Srour at least three times in the head and
chest with rubber-coated bullets. As a result, Srour lost an eye. IDF
operations in Na'alin were frequent and linked to protests against the
separation barrier, which often involved rock throwing by demonstrators
and use of tear gas and rubber-coated bullets on by the IDF.
On July 27, a volunteer for Christian Peacemaker Teams was attacked
by a masked settler while escorting children from nearby Al Tuwani
village between their homes and summer camp. The volunteer sustained
head injuries and was treated at a nearby hospital.
Israeli law prohibits forced confessions, but a detainee may not
have legal representation until after interrogation, a process that may
last weeks. Most convictions were based on confessions made during this
period. Detainees sometimes stated in court that their confessions were
coerced, but in previous years Israeli NGOs reported there were no
instances of judges excluding such confessions. In May 2007 B'Tselem
and HaMoked reported that isolation from the outside world is a common
Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) practice whereby detainees are
prevented from meeting with attorneys, International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) representatives, and their families during the initial
period of interrogation or for its duration. They also reported sleep
deprivation, protracted handcuffing, insults and humiliation, threats,
and naked body searches.
Israeli human rights organizations reported that Israeli
interrogators used psychological abuse more frequently in recent years,
including threats of house demolition or of questioning elderly
parents, and kept prisoners in harsh conditions, including solitary
confinement for long periods. In October 2007 PCATI submitted a letter
to the attorney general citing three cases in which family members were
detained allegedly to put psychological pressure on detainees. In his
response the attorney general agreed that such actions were not
appropriate and stated that the ISA agreed to refrain from such
methods. On April 13, PCATI submitted a report to the Knesset
Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, documenting its allegations.
For example, on February 1, the ISA arrested and began
interrogating Jalal Sawafta. After six days of interrogation, Sawafta's
parents were brought to the interrogation room and asked to convince
Sawafta to confess to involvement in rigging a car to explode. The ISA
interrogator allegedly threatened to demolish the family home if
Sawafta's parents did not convince Sawafta to confess. On February 28,
PCATI filed a complaint with the Ministry of Justice and received a
response indicating the complaint would be investigated. No results had
been released at year's end.
In May 2007 Israeli NGOs B'Tselem and HaMoked published a report
alleging serious abuses of detainees from the occupied territories in
Israeli detention facilities. The report stated that from 2001 to 2006,
the State Attorney's Office failed to launch criminal investigations
into any of over 500 complaints of ill treatment by ISA interrogators.
It also found that in two thirds of 73 cases examined, detainees
claimed that ISA interrogators used one or more forms of abuse. In
December 2007 PCATI reported that from January 2005 to July 2007 the
Military Prosecutor's Office received 138 complaints of physical abuse
against IDF soldiers, filed six indictments, and initiated three
disciplinary actions.
There were no updates in the following 2007 cases: Amin Saud
Mahmoud Hasuna and his brother, Yasser, and Jalal al-Batsh.
In January 2007 the Hebron police opened an investigation into
Jewish Quarter resident Yifat Alkobi's verbal and physical assault on
the Abu Aysha family, which was documented on video and broadcast on
the media. At year's end there was no information available on the
status of the investigation.
There were no developments in the 2007 beating of children from the
Abu Hatah family in Hebron by settlers from Kiryat Arba or in the 2007
case of 15 Israelis from Ma'on settlement, who attacked two shepherds
from Mufaqara.
There were no further developments or investigations had not
concluded in the following 2006 claims of beatings and other abuse: of
an ISA detainee from the village of Koud at Kishon Detention Center, or
by IDF soldiers at al-Fawar checkpoint, in Ramin Plain, and in Bil'in
village.
There was no investigation of the 2006 attack by a group of Israeli
settlers seriously injuring a European woman escorting Palestinian
schoolchildren in Hebron.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--PA prison conditions were
poor. Many prisons were destroyed during the Intifada and were not
reconstructed. Prisoners were kept informally incarcerated, and
conditions of detention and imprisonment varied widely. During the year
the PA generally permitted the ICRC access to detainees and regular
inspections of prison conditions; however, the PA denied access to some
detainees within 14 days following their arrests as required. The PA
permitted independent monitoring of its prisons by the Independent
Commission for Human Rights (ICHR, formerly known as PICCR) and other
Palestinian NGOs, but human rights groups, humanitarian organizations,
and lawyers in past years reported difficulties gaining access to
specific detainees. Human rights organizations stated their ability to
visit PA prisons and detention centers varied depending on which
security organization ran the facility.
Gaza prison conditions were reportedly poor, and little information
was available. The ICRC was able to conduct monitoring visits to
prisoners held in Gaza by Hamas in most cases but not to captured IDF
soldier Gilad Shalit.
IDF detention centers were less likely than Israel Prison Service
(IPS) prisons to meet international standards with some, such as the
Ofer detention center, providing living space as small as 15 square
feet per detainee. A November 2007 petition filed before the High Court
asked for improved holding cells, regular toilet access, drinking
faucets, three daily meals, and improved ventilation for detainees. At
year's end the legal case between PCATI and the Ministry of Justice was
pending.
Israel permitted independent monitoring of prison conditions by the
ICRC. The Israeli Bar Association and other NGOs sent representatives
to meet with prisoners and inspect prison, detention, and IDF
facilities. Human rights groups reported delays and difficulties in
gaining access to specific detainees, frequent, transfers of detainees
without notice, and the significantly limited ability of families of
Palestinians imprisoned in Israel to visit.
According to the NGO Palestinian Prisoners Club, Israel held 24
Palestinian prisoners in some form of solitary confinement during the
year.
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody 16 years and older were
treated and housed as adults. B'Tselem reported that as of November,
the IPS held 318 Palestinians under the age of 18, including 25 minors
age 15 or younger. The IDF held six Palestinian minors in its two
Provisional Detention Centers as of October, according to B'Tselem. An
international organization reported that most Palestinian minors were
held in Hasharon prison, while the remainder were housed at Damoun and
Ofek prisons; all were being held as security prisoners. Minors in the
two IDF facilities, where detention is limited to 21 days, were not
separated from adults.
According to the PA Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs, there were 161
critical medical cases of Palestinians in Israeli prisons in 2007.
Since 2004 Israel authorized several private doctors to visit and
increased medical attention; however, prisoners continued to claim
inadequate medical attention.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Palestinian law prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention. It allows police to hold detainees
without charges for 24 hours and with court approval for up to 45 days.
A trial must start within six months or the detainee must be released.
In practice the PA detained many without charge for months.
Israeli law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, but the
security services did not always observe these prohibitions.
Palestinian security internees were under the jurisdiction of military
law, which permits 10 days' detention without seeing a lawyer or
appearing before court. There is no requirement that a detainee have
access to a lawyer until after interrogation, a process that may last
weeks. The ICRC is required to be notified of arrests within 12 days
after they occur and allowed to visit detainees within 14 days after
the arrest.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--In PA-controlled areas
of the West Bank, Palestinian police were normally responsible for law
enforcement for Palestinians and other non-Israelis. In Gaza, Hamas
enforced laws selectively.
PA security forces included the National Security Forces (NSF), the
PSO, the GI, the Presidential Guard (PG), and the police. Quasi-
military security organizations, such as the Military Intelligence,
exercised the equivalent of law enforcement powers. The PSO, the civil
police, and civil defense fall under the legal control of the interior
minister, who reports to the prime minister. President Abbas has legal
authority over the NSF, PG, and GI, although all PA security branches
have been put under the interior minister's operational control. The
interior and justice ministries investigate complaints regarding
conduct of the PA security forces.
Hamas exercised de facto authority over the Gaza Strip, including
policing and security functions.
Israeli authorities maintained effective control over West Bank
security forces that consisted of the IDF, the ISA, the Israeli
National Police, and the Border Police. Israeli authorities
investigated and punished abuse and corruption, although there were
reports of failures to take disciplinary action in cases of abuse.
Arrest and Detention.--PA security forces often ignored laws by
detaining persons without warrants and without bringing them before
judicial authorities. PA security forces also occasionally disregarded
court decisions calling for release of alleged security criminals.
Suspects often were held without evidence and denied access to lawyers,
families, or doctors. The law provides for a prompt judicial
determination of the legality of detention and was observed in
practice. Detainees were informed of the charges against them, although
sometimes not until interrogation. There was a functioning system of
bail.
Both Hamas and the PA detained hundreds of individuals because of
their affiliation with the rival faction without recourse to judicial
review. On August 1, Fatah leadership including Khan Yunis Governor
Usama al-Farra, and Gaza Governor Muhammad al-Qidwa were arrested and
released after nearly two months in jail. In the West Bank, more than
100 Hamas affiliated municipal council members and activists were
detained because of their political affiliation as of late August,
according to a Palestinian organization.
Under applicable occupation orders, Israeli security personnel may
arrest without warrant or hold for questioning a person suspected of
having committed or being likely to commit a security-related offense.
Israeli Military Order 1507 permits detention for 10 days before
detainees see a lawyer or appear before court. Administrative security
detention orders can be issued for up to six-month periods and renewed
indefinitely by judges. The law expressly authorizes an appeal of the
circumstances of each security detention order to the High Court. No
detainee successfully appealed a detention order.
Israeli Military Order 1369 provides for a seven-year prison term
for anyone not responding to a summons in security cases. Suspects are
entitled to an attorney, but this right can be deferred during
interrogation, which can last up to 90 days. Israeli authorities stated
that policy is to post notification of arrests within 48 hours, but
senior officers may delay notification for up to 12 days. A military
commander may request a judge to extend this period indefinitely.
Evidence for administrative detentions in security cases was often
unavailable to the detainee or his attorneys due to security
classification, but it was made available to the court.
On July 23, IDF soldiers arrested Jamal Hussein Amira during a
protest against the separation barrier near Na'alin village. Amira's
daughter filmed the July 7 shooting of a handcuffed and blindfolded
Palestinian by an IDF soldier. Human rights activists expressed concern
that the arrest may have been in retribution for the family's role in
exposing the previous IDF abuse. A military judge agreed, noting that
out of all those protesting at the time, it was the girl's father who
was arrested. The charges were dismissed for lack of evidence.
According to Palestinian and Israeli NGOs, there were approximately
8,300 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including 1,800 common law
criminals in IPS prisons and the three IDF detention centers in Israel
and the West Bank. This number included approximately 325 minors and
570 administrative detainees.
Israel conducted some mass arrests in the West Bank; however, most
arrests targeted specific persons. According to the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the number of IDF search
and arrest campaigns increased during the first 10 months of the year.
From January 1 to October 31, the IDF arrested an average of 83 persons
weekly in the West Bank. There were a total of 4,078 search and arrest
campaigns conducted in the first 10 months of the year, compared to
2,613 in the same period in 2007. At year's end 37 of the 132 members
of the PLC remained in jail in Israel, including 33 from the terrorist
group Hamas, three from Fatah and one from the terrorist group Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Of those, 20 were
awaiting trial, four remained in administrative detention, and 13 were
serving sentences.
Palestinians transferred to prisons in Israel had difficulty
obtaining legal representation because only Israeli citizens or
Palestinian lawyers with Jerusalem identification cards were permitted
to visit them. Israeli authorities in some instances scheduled
appointments but then moved the prisoners to other prisons reportedly
to delay lawyer-client meetings.
The Israeli government often failed to notify foreign consular
officials in a timely manner after detaining their citizens in the
occupied territories.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The PA court system is based on PA
legal codes as well as Israeli military orders and Jordanian and
Ottoman Law that predate the 1967 occupation. The Basic Law provides
for an independent judiciary, but in practice, the PA sometimes avoided
prosecuting cases against politically connected individuals and
circumvented the authority of the courts when expedient. A High
Judicial Council maintained authority over most court operations.
Military courts, established in 1995 and guided by the 1979 PLO Penal
Code, have jurisdiction over security personnel and crimes by civilians
against security forces. They do not provide the same rights as
nonmilitary courts and generally apply longer sentences. There is a
nine-judge court for election issues.
In September 2007 former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Hanniyeh named
a de facto High Judicial Council for Gaza. Hamal-affiliated members
replaced PA prosecutors and judges. The PA declared the council
illegal; however, it continued to function in Gaza.
PA courts were inefficient, lacked staff and resources, and often
did not ensure fair and expeditious trials. A severe shortage of funds
and judges and an absence of lawyers and witnesses, due in part to
travel restrictions, curfews, and closures, resulted in significant
backlogs in both criminal and civil cases. PA executive and security
services frequently failed to implement court decisions and otherwise
inhibited judicial independence.
IDF restrictions on access and movement throughout the West Bank
significantly impacted the PA's efforts to improve administration of
justice. Palestinian lawyers and judges reported frequent delays of
several hours and difficulty obtaining approval to transport prisoners
across checkpoints.
Israeli law provides for an independent judiciary, and the
Government generally respected civil court independence in practice.
The IDF tried Palestinians accused of security offenses in military
courts. The law defines security offenses to include charges as varied
as rock throwing or membership in terrorist organizations. Israeli
military courts rarely acquitted Palestinians charged with security
offenses; sentences occasionally were reduced on appeal.
Trial Procedures.--The Independent Judiciary Law, passed by the PLC
in 2004, provides for the right to a fair trial, and an independent
judiciary generally enforced this right. Juries are not used.
Trials are public, except when the court determines privacy is
required by PA security, foreign relations, a party's or witness's
right to privacy, or protection of a victim of a sexual offense or
honor crime. The law provides for legal representation, the right to
question and present witnesses, to review government-held evidence, and
to appeal. Authorities generally observed these rights in practice for
all citizens. Human rights organizations reported delayed hearings due
to an extensive backlog and a lack of legal representation.
PA law allows the death penalty for certain offenses, including
types of treason and murder. In recent years, most PA death penalty
convictions were issued by military courts under the PLO Revolutionary
Penal Code of 1979. Trials conducted in PA military courts lacked due
process protections, and human rights organizations criticized the PLO
code for allowing the death penalty to be applied to a broad range of
offenses.
On July 15, a PA military court in Jenin sentenced Wael Said Saed
Saed and Mohammad Saed Mahmoud Saed to death by firing squad.
Palestinian NGOs reported that the trial was hasty and that journalists
were prevented from entering the courtroom until the sentences were
given and were prevented from taking photographs.
On April 28, a PA military court in Hebron sentenced Imad Saad to
death for collaboration with Israel. Saad was arrested in August 2007
on allegations that he provided Israeli intelligence services with the
locations of four Palestinian gunmen who were subsequently killed by
the IDF. Saad is the first person sentenced by the PA to death for the
charge of collaboration since 2004. At year's end his sentence had not
been carried out because it had not been ratified by PA President
Abbas.
(For information on the rights granted in Israeli military courts,
See the Israel Report.)
The Israeli Government sometimes delayed trials for extended
periods, occasionally for years, because security force witnesses did
not appear, the defendant was not brought to court, files were lost, or
travel restrictions delayed attorneys. Palestinian legal advocates
claimed that delays were designed to pressure defendants to settle
their cases, including crowded facilities, poor arrangements for
scheduling and holding attorney-client consultations, and confessions
prepared in Hebrew that hindered defense efforts.
Israelis living in settlements in the West Bank and in East
Jerusalem were tried under Israeli law in the nearest Israeli district
court.
A May report by Yesh Din on police investigations into settler
violence against Palestinians determined that 8 percent of the 205
cases being tracked resulted in indictments. The remaining 92 percent
were dismissed.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Palestinian sources estimated
the PA imprisoned 22 persons suspected of collaboration with Israel
during the year. During the year seven persons were arrested on charges
of collaboration and other charges. Many of those held in Gaza as
Israeli ``collaborators'' reportedly were released in 2007 after Hamas
took over (See Section 1.d.). Hamas executed, kneecapped, or arrested
an unknown number of Palestinians in Gaza, including supporters of
Fatah, in late December. Hamas claimed those arrested and killed were
collaborating with Israel.
Palestinians claimed that security detainees held under IDF
military orders were political prisoners.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil suits are handled by
the PA civil and magistrate courts. A citizen can file a suit against
the Government. The execution of court orders was not systematic.
Israeli law permits Palestinians residing in the occupied
territories to seek compensation for death, injury, or property damage
at the hands of the IDF.
An investigation continued in the 2004 case in which IDF soldiers
shot and killed 13-year-old Iman al-Hams as she approached an IDF
outpost in Gaza carrying a bag of schoolbooks that troops suspected
contained explosives. In November 2007 the parents' petition for
compensation, which had been accepted by the High Court, was
transferred to the military attorney general. At year's end the case
was pending.
Property Restitution.--Israeli authorities confiscated Palestinian
property for construction of the separation barrier or military
installations. In some cases, the IDF offered some compensation;
however, Palestinians largely declined due to concern that this would
legitimize the confiscations. Due to documentation issues dating from
the Ottomans and a land tenure system with communal, family, and
individual rights commingled, Palestinians have had difficulty
attempting to prove ownership in Israeli courts (See Section 1.f.).
On June 16, the IDF confiscated 89 acres of land to expand a
military base near the settlement of Roi. Palestinian officials claimed
the land was privately owned Palestinian land and expressed concern
that the confiscation would cut off access to the village of al-
Hadidiya.
On October 31, the IDF razed Bedouin dwellings in communities south
of Hebron and east of Ramallah, leaving 142 homeless, according to
media reports. The Israeli planning rights NGO, Bimkom, in a June
report, said Israeli data showed that between 2000 and September 2007:
4,820 buildings received demolition orders in area C, which is
designated under the Oslo accords as West Bank land under full Israeli
civil and military authority; 1,626 buildings were demolished; and
1,624 applications for building permits in area C were submitted by
Palestinians, of which 91 permits (5.6 percent) were approved.
In a 2006 study based on official data, the Israeli NGO Peace Now
concluded that 38.7 percent of the 15,271 acres occupied by Israeli
settlements, outposts, and industrial zones in the West Bank was
privately owned Palestinian property, and that West Bank settlements
violated Israeli law and juridical decisions. The Israeli Yesha
settlement council condemned the report on technical and substantive
grounds.
A July 2007 OCHA report on the humanitarian impact of Israeli
settlements concluded that 40 percent of West Bank land includes
Israeli infrastructure including 1,032 miles of roads, military bases,
nature reserves, settlements, and outposts. According to the Israeli
Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS), the population of Israeli
settlements grew 5.6 percent in 2006-07, while Israel's population grew
1.6 percent. There were no updated statistics available during the
year. ICBS also reported that the number of starts on new construction
in settlements was 42 percent higher between January and June than in
the same period in 2007.
In March 2007 the Israeli Ministry of Finance transferred to the
Government of Israel ownership of 7.5 acres of olive orchard known as
``Mufti's Grove'' in East Jerusalem's Shaykh Jarrah neighborhood. In
April 2007 the Israeli government leased the land to the Ateret Cohanim
settler group. In December 2007, responding to a petition submitted by
Arab Hotels Company Limited contesting ownership of Mufti's Grove, the
High Court of Justice set a September 26 hearing date, which was
subsequently delayed. At year's end no hearing had taken place.
In 2006 the Israeli Committee for the Preservation of Historic
Sites made a recommendation to demolish the historic Shepherd Hotel in
East Jerusalem, which was owned by the Husseini family from 1945 to
1967, confiscated as absentee property by the Government of Israel in
1967, and privately purchased in the 1980s. At year's end plans to
build six eight-story apartment buildings remained in dispute.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The PA required the attorney general to issue warrants
for entry and searches of private property; however, Palestinian
security services frequently ignored these requirements.
Under occupation orders, only IDF lieutenant colonels and above
could authorize entry into private homes and institutions without a
warrant, based upon military necessity. Israeli authorities stated that
violating this order entailed punishment, but there were no reported
cases of IDF soldiers punished for acting without fulfilling this
requirement.
Israeli forces are prohibited from using ``human shields'' by law,
High Court rulings, and an IDF order, but the prohibition was not
always observed. There was no additional information available in the
disciplinary proceedings against Brigadier General Yair Golan who
ordered the 2007 operation in which 24-year-old Samah Amira was held at
gun point to serve as a human shield as the IDF searched houses in
Nablus. In October 2007 IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi initiated a
disciplinary proceeding against Brigadier General Yair Golan for
authorizing the operation. In 2006 B'Tselem claimed that during an
incursion in northern Gaza, IDF soldiers seized control of two
buildings and used six residents as human shields. The IDF previously
informed B'Tselem that the investigation continued; however, at year's
end there were no developments.
Israeli authorities limited Palestinian home construction, notably
in East Jerusalem. The municipality of Jerusalem demolished 88 houses
in East Jerusalem during the year because they were defined by the
Israeli government as illegal. Additional demolitions of houses by the
IDF in Jersualem were not tracked by the municipality. The NGO Israeli
Committee Against Home Demolitions recorded a total of 93 demolitions
in Jerusalem during the year. Israeli authorities generally restricted
Palestinian home building elsewhere in the West Bank and near Israeli
settlements. According to OCHA, 110 homes were demolished in the West
Bank and Gaza, leaving 489 Palestinians homeless.
During the year the IDF destroyed numerous citrus, olive, and date
groves and irrigation systems in Gaza, stating that Qassam rockets were
being fired from those areas. For example, on January 6, the IDF
carried out land-leveling operations in conjunction with a military
operation in al-Bureij camp in Gaza, uprooting 20 acres of olive trees.
On January 23, IDF bulldozers operating on agricultural land northeast
of Beit Hanoun uprooted approximately 85 acres of olive and citrus
trees.
As in previous years, there were numerous incidents of vandalism of
Palestinian olive groves by Israeli settlers. On October 2, following
the IDF evacuation of the illegal outpost at Shavut 'Ami, settlers
burned 2.5 acres of land belonging to farmers from Immatin village near
Qalqiliya, destroying an estimated 100 olive trees. On October 11,
settlers from Yitzhar injured three Palestinians and cut down 18 olive
trees before IDF soldiers intervened.
During the year violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians
increased significantly. On June 20 and July 21, settlers from Yitzhar
and Har Bracha settlements launched multiple improvised rockets at
nearby Palestinian villages. Israeli police arrested Gilad Herman, a
student at Od Yosef Hai Yeshiva in Yitzhar following an investigation
of the June 20 incident. On July 28, a Molotov cocktail attack on a
house on the outskirts of Burin, next to Har Bracha, caused significant
damage when it landed in a child's crib. The family was not at home.
Palestinian villages in the south Hebron hills and south of Nablus
were particularly affected. The press widely covered a June 8 attack on
Tamam al-Nawajah and two other members of her family who were farming
near Susiya settlement. Press coverage was in large part due to the
availability of footage taken by a member of al-Nawajah's family. On
June 17, Israeli police arrested three residents of Susiya in
connection with the assaults. They were later released for lack of
evidence. At year's end the investigation continued.
On July 5, settlers from Ashael tied Madahat Abu Kirash to a
telephone pole and beat him. The incident was also filmed and widely
reported in the press. A spokesman for a South Hebron Hills settler
organization denied involvement and alleged that Palestinians or
leftist activists had staged the attack. Israeli police arrested three
people who were released to house arrest with electronic monitoring
bracelets pending trial. They were prohibited from entering the West
Bank.
Israeli authorities arrested 19-year-old Daniel Avraham, a settler
from Yitzhar settlement, and charged him on August 25 with possession
of weapons and endangering lives on a road in an August 1 attack in
which a large stone thrown onto a vehicle wounded a pregnant woman and
two of her daughters. At year's end no additional information was
available.
In September Yesh Din reported that Israeli police regularly failed
to bring charges in cases of alleged settler violence against
Palestinians. A continuing review of 205 cases determined that 163
files had been closed, with 13 resulting in indictments and 149 closed
without charges. The most common reasons cited were lack of evidence
and unknown identity of the attacker.
The IDF cleared and took control of privately owned Palestinian
land to construct the separation barrier. According to OCHA, at the end
of 2007, 254.2 miles of the 449.4 mile-barrier had been constructed and
8,887 acres of West Bank land confiscated in the process. There were no
updated statistics available during the year. Israeli government policy
was to build the barrier on public lands where possible, and where
private land was used, provide opportunities for compensation. Numerous
cases were filed in Israeli courts challenging barrier route (See
Section 2.d.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The Basic Law permits every person
the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and expression, orally, in
writing, or through any other form. The PA does not have laws providing
for freedom of press. A press law enjoins criticizing the PA or the
President, but it was not applied. The climate of violence induced
self-censorship, and both the PA security forces in the West Bank and
members of the Hamas security apparatus in Gaza restricted freedoms of
speech and press. Individuals criticizing the authorities publicly
risked reprisal, and during the year PA security forces and Hamas
Executive Forces closed media offices, confiscated equipment, prevented
the delivery of newspapers, and assaulted journalists during
demonstrations.
There were three Palestinian daily and several weekly newspapers,
several monthly magazines, and three tabloids. The PA operated one
television and one radio station. There were approximately 30
independent television and 25 independent radio stations. Violence
between Hamas and Fatah resulted in polarization of the Palestinian
press. Working conditions for journalists in the West Bank and Gaza
deteriorated noticeably during the year; however, some international
news outlets maintained offices in Gaza.
Since June 2007 the PA has maintained its distribution ban on the
pro-Hamas Al-Risala twice-weekly and Felesteen daily, both Gaza-based
publications.
On July 27, Hamas banned distribution of the three dailies in Gaza.
On August 24, the ban was lifted against Al-Quds newspaper but remained
in place against Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. According to
officials from those newspapers, Hamas demanded that its own
newspapers, Al-Risalah and Felesteen, be allowed to circulate in the
West Bank in order to lift the ban against the two West Bank-based
papers.
On February 10, a Hamal-run court in Gaza ruled in support of
banning the distribution of the independent daily Al-Ayyam, while
sentencing the paper's editor and its main political cartoonist (both
resident in the West Bank) to suspended jail terms. The decision was
the result of a court case alleging defamation filed by several Hamas
legislators, over a political cartoon published in the paper in
November 2007.
In June 2007, following its take-over of the Gaza Strip, Hamas
closed down all Fatal-affiliated broadcast outlets in Gaza. The Fatal-
allied Palestinian TV and Voice of Palestine radio buildings in Gaza
City were taken over by Hamas gunmen and closed down. Both stations
have since been operating from Ramallah. Two other Fatal-affiliated
radio stations in Gaza, Al-Hurriyah and Al-Shabab, also went off the
air at the same time.
The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported that after the
takeover of Gaza in 2007, Hamas leaders announced that they would apply
a 1995 press law that was drafted but never passed by the PLC, under
which journalists can be imprisoned for up to six months and newspapers
closed for reports liable to ``jeopardize national unity or incite
crime, hatred, division or sectarian dissention or for criticizing the
police and security forces.''
Pro-Hamas journalists in the West Bank were exposed to threats.
Only pro-Hamas broadcast media and PFLP-affiliated radio outlet Voice
of the People have operated in Gaza since June 2007. In 2007 Hamas
closed Voice of the People for two and a half months and again during
the year between August 2 and August 6. According to RSF, at least nine
news media outlets stopped operating in Gaza, three of which were state
owned and six privately owned.
On January 1, PA forces arrested four journalists in the West Bank
city of Tulkarm, including the head of Hamal-affiliated Al-Aqsa
television in the West Bank, Muhammad Shteiwi; a reporter for the same
television station, Tariq Shahab; a reporter for the Hamas daily
Felesteen, Salim Tayeh; and a fourth journalist, Fareed As Sayed. Both
Shahab and Tayeh were released shortly after their arrest. Shteiwi was
held for three days before being released and was subject to periodic
questioning by PA security forces but was not subsequently held in
custody.
On March 12, the independent Ramattan News Agency reported that PA
security forces forcibly entered the agency's offices in Ramallah and
arrested the editor in charge, Nawwaf Al-Amer. Al-Amer was held for
questioning and then released by PA security forces.
On July 26, Hamas forces arrested Fouad Jarrada of the Palestinian
Broadcasting Corporation, the official Palestinian television station,
and Amro Farra of the official Palestinian WAFA News Agency. The press
reported that Hamas forces raided the office of WAFA in Gaza as part of
a crackdown on Fatah activists and institutions, following a large
explosion in Gaza believed by Hamas to be a Fatah attack against Hamas.
Also on July 26, the PA intelligence services in the West Bank
arrested Alaa el Titi, a correspondent of the Hamas television station
Al Aqsa, and Mostapha Sabri, the editor of the Hamas daily Felesteen.
Again on July 26, Hamas arrested Sawah Abu Saif, a cameraman
working for Germany's ARD television network. He was released on July
30. According to press reports, Abu Saif was arrested by Hamas forces
in an effort to gather information on staff and correspondents of ARD,
accused by Hamas of producing negative reports about its government and
the overall situation in Gaza. On July 31, ARD closed its office in
Gaza.
Israeli authorities limited freedom of expression, ordering that in
East Jerusalem displays of Palestinian political symbols were
punishable by fines or prison, as were public expressions of anti-
Israeli sentiment and of support for terrorist groups. Israeli
authorities censored coverage of the Intifada and reviewed Arabic
publications for security-related material.
As a general rule, Israeli media covered the occupied territories,
except for combat zones where the IDF temporarily restricted access.
Since November 6, journalists were prohibited from entering the
territory by the IDF. The military's ban on travel by journalists
continued at year's end.
Closures, curfews, and checkpoints limited the ability of
Palestinian and foreign journalists to do their jobs (See Section
2.d.).
In July 2007 al-Aqsa television cameraman Imad Ghanem was shot by
IDF soldiers while covering an IDF operation in al-Barij Camp in Gaza
and subsequently lost both legs. RSF called for an investigation, but
there was no known investigation by year's end.
On July 10, the IDF closed the independently owned Afaq TV in the
West Bank city of Nablus. According to press reports, the IDF closed
the station for one year, accusing it of affiliation with a terrorist
entity.
On August 20, the IDF raided three Hebron media outlets reportedly
looking for the source of interference with Ben Gurion airport
operations, according to staff at the outlets. IDF soldiers damaged and
confiscated some equipment and detained two employees.
Internet Freedom.--There were no PA restrictions on access to the
Internet or reports that the PA monitored e-mail or Internet chat
rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression
of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. According to a 2006
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics survey, 18 percent of
Palestinians knew how to use the Internet, and 16 percent of households
had access to the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no PA
restrictions on academic freedom and cultural events. During the year
Palestinian authorities did not interfere with education; however,
violence and restrictions on movement adversely affected academic
institutions (See Section 2.b.). In Gaza Hamas continued to remove
Fatal-affiliated employees from all sectors, including firing several
principals and teachers. Israeli authorities continued to prohibit
Palestinians from undergraduate university study in Israel.
Israeli authorities prevented many Palestinian cultural events that
they reportedly perceived to be associated with Palestinian political
ambitions. Seven times during the year, including most recently on
November 21, the Ministry of Interior closed the Palestinian National
Theater, al-Hakawati, for lack of proper licenses. The theater and
event organizers claimed the performances did not require a license and
that the closures were intended to reduce Palestinian cultural activity
in Jerusalem.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--PA law permits public meetings, processions, and assemblies
within legal limits. It requires permits for rallies, demonstrations,
and large cultural events, but authorities rarely denied them. The PA
prohibited calls for violence, displays of arms, and racist slogans,
although it rarely enforced these provisions. Following November 2007
Fatal-Hamas clashes in Gaza, Hamas banned rallies, impeded freedom of
assembly, and the carrying of arms by Fatah members. Hamas members were
permitted to hold demonstrations and display weapons in public in Gaza.
On April 26, Hamas decreed that any public assembly or celebration
was required to receive prior permission, in contradiction to the Basic
Law.
On May 10, four plainclothes Hamas security forces entered the
Commodore Hotel in Gaza and broke up the annual conference of Bada'el
Media Research and Studies Center, citing the failure of the conference
to obtain permission from the police.
In June Hamas detained Fatah activists mourning the anniversary of
the June 2007 killing of Jamal Abu al-Jidyan, a senior al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade member and Fatah Secretary for northern Gaza.
Israeli security forces used force against Palestinians and others
involved in demonstrations, and military orders banned public
gatherings of 10 or more persons without a permit. Since 2005
Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists demonstrated each
week in Bil'in village to protest the construction of the separation
barrier. On several occasions, soldiers tear gassed, beat, or injured
them with rubber bullets.
Freedom of Association.--PA law allows for the freedom of
association, but it was limited in practice. PA security services
frequently raided and closed Hamal-affiliated organizations and
charities. On August 6, the PA raided four charitable organizations and
two printing houses in Hebron Governorate and confiscated vehicles and
computers.
Between July 26 and July 28, in the aftermath of a July 25
explosion on a Gaza beach, Hamas closed at least 45 NGO offices. Most
of the NGOs were Fatal-affiliated, but a number were independent of any
political affiliation.
Overnight on July 7 and July 8, the IDF conducted a series of raids
in Nablus against organizations allegedly affiliated with Hamas,
including a major commercial mall.
Prominent Palestinian centers in East Jerusalem, such as the
Chamber of Commerce and Orient House, remained closed by Israel on
grounds they operated under PA supervision. On July 2, Israel closed
the Palestinian Housing Council (PHC) in East Jerusalem on the grounds
that it was acting as a representative of the PA. The organization
released a statement saying it had been a registered Israeli company
since 1991. PHC reopened on December 31 after the closure order expired
without further action by the Government of Israel.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The Basic Law provides for religious
freedom, and the PA generally respected this right in practice.
The Basic Law states that Islam is the official religion and that
the principles of Islamic law shall be the main source of legislation
but also calls for respect and sanctity for other ``heavenly''
religions. Religion must be declared on identification papers and
personal status legal matters must be handled in ecclesiastical courts.
The PA's Ministry of Religious Endowments and Religious Affairs
(Awqaf) constructed and maintained mosques and paid salaries of imams.
Christian clergymen and charitable organizations received limited
financial support. The PA did not provide financial support to any
Jewish institutions or holy sites in the occupied territories; these
areas were generally under Israeli control. The PA required that
religion be taught in PA schools and provided separate instruction for
Muslims and Christians.
Due to the Hamas take over of the Gaza Strip, the PA was unable to
pursue cases of religious discrimination there. Attacks on the
Christian community in Gaza increased in 2007, and the press reported
the Hamas regime did not arrest suspects in these attacks. There were
numerous attacks in the Gaza Strip by Muslim extremist groups who went
by variations of the name ``Swords of Right,'' ``Swords of Justice,''
and ``Swords of Islam.'' Some Gazan Christians stated that they
believed they were under scrutiny for being different from their Muslim
neighbors, and they raised concerns that no authority was willing or
able to rein in extremist groups.
There were multiple attacks on schools and institutions affiliated
with the small Christian community in Hamal-controlled Gaza. On
February 15, armed men broke into the YMCA compound in Gaza City and
attacked the guards. They set off two bombs, including one in the
library that damaged thousands of books. On February 21, armed
militants forced their way into the Lighthouse Baptist School in Gaza
City, assaulted a guard, and vandalized classrooms.
On March 20, a 15-year-old boy from the West Bank settlement of
Ariel was seriously wounded by shrapnel after explosion of a bomb that
was concealed in a Purim gift basket in front of his home. The boy's
father, a Messianic Jew, was previously the victim of a smear campaign
by Orthodox Jews, who hung posters of his face with the caption
``dangerous missionary.'' It was widely reported that the family was
attacked because of their religious beliefs.
On May 16, unknown assailants detonated a bomb outside a Christian
school in Gaza City, causing no injuries. Hamas officials stated they
were looking into the incident, and the case remained open at year's
end. On May 31, unidentified militants again attacked the Lighthouse
Baptist School in Gaza City, injuring a guard and stealing a bus from
the Holy Book Association.
There were no developments in the October 2007 cases of Rami Khader
Ayyad, who was abducted and killed on his way home from work at the
Baptist-affiliated Holy Bible Association in Gaza, or the arson at a
synagogue near the settlement of Dolev in the West Bank.
Israeli authorities generally respected religious freedom and
permitted all faiths to operate schools and institutions; however, some
increases in societal abuses and discrimination contributed to a slight
decline in respect for religious freedom during the year. Israeli
permit restrictions on entering Jerusalem prevented many Christian and
Muslim worshipers from reaching holy sites in the city.
Religious workers from Christian organizations in Jerusalem, the
West Bank, and Gaza found it increasingly difficult to obtain or renew
visas from the Israeli government. In October 2007 the Interior
Ministry announced it had cancelled all reentry visas for Christian
clergy in the occupied territories. Clergy who wished to return to or
visit their parishes in the occupied territories were required to apply
for new, single-entry visas at Israeli consulates abroad, a process
that could take months.
In October 2007 the Interior Ministry told the newspaper Ha'aretz
that the unannounced mass visa revocation was conducted at the request
of security officials, and that the ministry was ``trying to coordinate
a means of operation that would make it easier for clergymen and women
to travel.'' According to the President of the Holy Land Christian
Ecumenical Association, quoted in an October 2007 Ha'aretz report, some
clergy refused to leave the occupied territories, fearing that they
would not be allowed to return, while others remained outside the
country after being turned back by border officials while trying to
return home. As in past years, the shortage of foreign clergy impeded
the functioning of Christian congregations and other religious and
educational institutions.
The construction of the separation barrier by Israel, particularly
in and around East Jerusalem, limited access to mosques, churches, and
other holy sites, and seriously impeded the work of religious
organizations; however, at times the Israeli government made efforts to
lessen the impact on religious communities. For security reasons, the
Israeli government frequently prevented nearly all West Bank
Palestinians and most male Muslim worshippers with Jerusalem
identification cards under a certain age (usually 45 or 50) from
attending Friday prayers inside the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, the
third holiest site in Islam. Israeli authorities restricted many West
Bank and virtually all Gaza residents from entering Jerusalem during
Ramadan.
Israeli police escorted tourists to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple
Mount in Jerusalem, who reportedly wished to assert the right of non-
Muslims to visit. However, non-Muslims were not permitted to worship
publicly at the shrine. The administration of the shrine accused
Israeli police of permitting Jewish groups to worship publicly there.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Palestinian media frequently
published and broadcast material that included anti-Semitic content.
Rhetoric by Palestinian terrorist groups included expressions of anti-
Semitism, as did sermons by some Muslim religious leaders carried on
the official PA television. Some Palestinian religious leaders rejected
the right of Israel to exist. Hamas' al-Aqsa television station carried
shows for preschoolers extolling hatred of Jews and suicide bombings.
Israeli settler radio stations often depicted Arabs as subhuman and
called for Palestinians to be expelled from the West Bank. Some of this
rhetoric contained religious references.
The PA Ministry of Education and Higher Education completed the
revision of its primary and secondary textbooks in 2006 and began a
process to consider further revisions. International academics
concluded the textbooks did not incite violence against Jews, but
showed imbalance, bias, and inaccuracy. There are cases where the maps
in Palestinian textbooks do not depict the current political reality.
Palestinian textbooks are inconsistent in defining the 1967 borders and
labeling areas and cities with both Arabic and Hebrew names.
On December 31, 2007, Israeli settlers from Elazar and Newe
Daniyyel burned a 700-year-old mosque in Khirbet Humeida village near
Bethlehem. There was no known investigation.
For more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International Religious
Freedom Report at www.state/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The Basic Law provides for freedom of
movement, and the PA generally did not restrict freedom of movement.
The IDF restricted the movement of Palestinians and frequently
heightened these restrictions citing military necessity. These
restrictions on movement affected virtually all aspects of life,
including access to places of worship, employment, agricultural lands,
schools, hospitals, and the conduct of journalism and NGO activities.
The Israeli government continued construction of a separation
barrier along parts of the Green Line (the 1949 Armistice line) and in
the West Bank. As of September, 57.2 percent of the route of the
separation barrier was completed, 8.6 percent was under construction,
and 34.2 percent was not yet constructed. The route of the barrier
separated approximately 9.5 percent of the West Bank, totaling
approximately 135,000 acres, including East Jerusalem, from the rest of
the West Bank. Areas near the barrier or its projected route are
designated military zones where Palestinians were not able to obtain
building permits.
A 2004 International Court of Justice advisory opinion concluded
that construction of the barrier was in a number of aspects contrary to
international law. In 2005 the High Court reaffirmed its 2004 decision
that the barrier is permissible under both international and Israeli
law if properly routed; however, it questioned whether a segment near
Jerusalem in the West Bank utilized the least intrusive route available
and asked the Government to consider an alternative. The High Court has
ordered the Government to reroute three specific sections of the
barrier. At year's end the Government had not begun to implement the
2005 ruling regarding the barrier near Alfe Menashe settlement or the
September 2007 ruling regarding the portion near Bil'in village. In
November work implementing the 2006 ruling on the routing near 'Azzun
and Nebi Alias villages began.
Palestinians filed a number of cases with the Israeli High Court
challenging the route of the barrier, several of which remained active
at year's end. In September 2007 the High Court ordered the IDF to
redraw, partially dismantle, and rebuild the route of a 1.1 mile
section of the barrier around Bil'in that separated Palestinian
residents from much of their farmland. The High Court instructed the
IDF to present a revised plan within a reasonable period of time and
explicitly required a parcel of land belonging to the village allocated
for expansion of the settlement of Modiin Ilit to be placed on the
Palestinian side of the barrier. During the year two proposed
reroutings were offered by the IDF, each of which was rejected for not
meeting the requirements of the September 2007 court decision. At
year's end following a December 15 ruling against the most recent
proposal, the IDF was drafting a third draft revision to the routing of
the existing barrier.
During the year Israeli authorities required thousands of
Palestinian schoolchildren who resided on the eastern side of the
barrier to transit gated checkpoints to attend school in East
Jerusalem. Students from Bir Nabala, which is surrounded by the
barrier, were prohibited from crossing near their homes; instead, they
were forced to take hour-long detours of seven to 10 miles to pass
Rafat/Masyion and Qalandiya checkpoints to reach school.
Near Jerusalem, Highway 443 crosses the West Bank southwest of
Ramallah and since 2006 has been restricted by military order from use
by nearly all Palestinians. On March 5, the Israeli High Court deferred
a decision on the legality of Highway 443 until an update could be
provided on the progress of an alternate road for use by Palestinians,
effectively sanctioning the restrictions in place at the time. Human
rights organizations said that land for Highway 443 had originally been
expropriated for the purpose of improving transportation for
Palestinians between Ramallah and outlying villages.
In ``seal-zone'' communities in the West Bank, located between the
separation barrier and the Green Line, Israel requires Palestinians to
obtain residency permits to remain in their homes. Services for these
communities are generally located on the east side of the separation
barrier, so children, patients, and workers must pass through barrier
gates to reach schools, health services, and workplaces. Gates are
neither open around the clock nor are ambulances allowed free access.
In the aftermath of terrorist attacks or during military exercises,
Israeli authorities prohibited travel between some or all West Bank
towns. Such ``internal closures'' were supplemented, during periods of
potential unrest and during major Israeli, Jewish, and Muslim holidays,
by ``comprehensive, external closures,'' which precluded Palestinians
from leaving the West Bank. The IDF imposed temporary curfews confining
Palestinians to their homes during arrest operations; the West Bank was
under curfew a total of 873 hours in 2007.
Since June 2007 Israel has enforced a strict blockade of Gaza,
seriously impeding people and goods from entering or leaving. Virtually
no humanitarian goods or fuel entered Gaza between November 5 and
December 25 during a flare-up of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
Israel permitted additional humanitarian goods to enter Gaza
immediately prior to and during IAF airstrikes that began on December
27. The shortages of fuel caused by the closure resulted in widespread
blackouts throughout Gaza and damaged electrical grid infrastructure.
Israeli prohibition of access to Gaza beginning in early November for
foreign journalists resulted in widespread protests by international
news agencies. Israel also denied entry to Gaza to foreign staff of
international NGOs working in Gaza from November 4 until the end of the
year.
In response to Qassam rocket fire, the IDF announced in 2005 that
Palestinians should keep a distance of 460 feet from the Gaza perimeter
fence and declared the former northern settlement block a ``no-go''
zone. Entry into this area for the 250 Palestinian residents requires
prior coordination with the IDF. Although the official buffer remained
460 feet, Palestinians were often prevented from approaching areas as
far as 3,280 feet from the fence in some areas. According to OCHA,
since May 2007, due to continuing IDF military activities, Palestinian
farmers have been unable to reach their farms in the area.
Access to Israel and Egypt for medical treatment by Gazans
continued to be highly restricted. However, between February and March,
several hundred medical patients were allowed to leave Gaza using
shuttles. On August 4, Physicians for Human Rights reported that the
ISA questioned patients transiting Erez checkpoint from Gaza and could
refuse passage to persons refusing to provide intelligence information
to ISA. Jerusalem-based ambulances were not permitted to serve
Palestinian patients in nine communities located within the Jerusalem
municipality but isolated by the separation barrier. PRCS ambulances
from the West Bank were subjected to delays or refused entry to
Jerusalem by IDF soldiers at checkpoints. PRCS employees reported being
objects of verbal or physical abuse on 30 occasions through October.
According to OCHA, as of September, in the West Bank there were 630
obstacles to movement, including 75 fully manned checkpoints, 18
occasionally manned checkpoints, 230 earth mounds, 68 cement
roadblocks, 97 road gates, 46 earthen walls, 22 trenches, and 74 road
protection fences. There were an additional 69 obstacles in the H2 area
of Hebron not otherwise counted as staffed checkpoints which OCHA
counted separately from the total number of obstacles. During the year
of the 71 gates or checkpoints along the separation barrier, 40 were
accessible only to Palestinians in possession of permits. Operating
hours of the accessible gates were limited and although schedules were
announced, openings and closings were erratic. Closure of major
checkpoints was at times arbitrary and hindered Palestinians from
reaching workplaces, school, places of worship, and health services.
Between January and October, OCHA recorded 3,078 ``temporary''
checkpoints in the West Bank, a weekly average of 76.2, due to arrests
or other operations. Over the same period Israeli forces made 3,341
arrests.
Israel continued to restrict access to the Jordan Valley by
Palestinians residing in other areas of the West Bank. Highway 90, the
main north-south highway in the Jordan Valley, was not explicitly
restricted from use by Palestinians, but Palestinians not resident in
the valley have been prohibited from driving cars across the four main
access points since April 2007.
Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled section of Hebron (H2),
according to OCHA, faced 78 significant obstacles to movement.
According to a November-December 2006 B'Tselem survey, these policies
have since 2000 resulted in Palestinians abandoning more than 1,000
homes (40 percent of all Palestinian homes) and at least 1,829 (more
than 76 percent) businesses in H2.
West Bank and Gaza residents can enter Jerusalem only with an
Israeli-issued travel permit. During the year Israeli authorities
prohibited passage between Gaza and the West Bank, except for a very
limited number of Palestinians holding Israeli permits. During the
month of Ramadan, only Palestinian men over 50 and women over 45 were
permitted to enter Jerusalem without a permit. Palestinians under the
age limit were required to obtain a permit.
In December 2007 a court-ordered, IDF-operated shuttle service
between Gaza and the West Bank ceased operating. The shuttle, started
following the June 2007 closure of the Rafah crossing in Gaza, allowed
students and holders of long-term visas, residency, or citizenship of a
foreign country to leave Gaza. The shuttle system operated four times,
and 550 people were allowed to leave, but after Israel declared Gaza a
``hostile entity'' in September 2007, the shuttle service was
discontinued. In response to a petition by the Israeli NGO Gisha (Legal
Center for Freedom of Movement), the High Court in October 2007 ordered
that it be renewed, and in December the shuttle service transported 484
students and their families.
In January the High Court petition filed by Gisha was withdrawn
after all named petitioners either reached universities or had
admissions to overseas universities cancelled. Gisha estimated that
approximately 70 students were granted exit permission for foreign
study on a cas.--b.--case basis during the year on the condition that
diplomats from the countries of study escorted students while
transiting Israel to and from Gaza.
The IDF banned Gazan students from studying in the West Bank and
limited West Bank Palestinians from university study in East Jerusalem
and Israel (See Section 2.a.).
The PA issued passports for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Because there were no commercial flights from the territories and
permits to use Ben Gurion airport were not available, travelers
departed by land into Jordan or Egypt. NGOs claimed that Israeli
authorities harassed their representatives who landed at Ben Gurion
airport. Foreign citizens of Palestinian ethnicity had difficulty
obtaining or renewing visas permitting them to enter the West Bank and
Israel both from Ben Gurion airport and land entry points.
Palestinians with Jerusalem identification cards issued by the
Israeli government needed special documents to travel abroad. Upon the
individual request of Palestinians, the Jordanian government issued
passports to Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Residency restrictions affected family reunification. Israeli
authorities did not permit Palestinians who were abroad during the 1967
War, or who subsequently lost residence permits, to reside permanently
in the occupied territories. It was difficult for foreign-born spouses
and children of Palestinians to obtain residency. Palestinian spouses
of Jerusalem residents must obtain a residency permit and reported
delays of several years. Palestinians in East Jerusalem also reported
delays in registering newborn children. In September 2007 the High
Court ordered reconsideration of the freeze on family unification in
the West Bank. There were no further developments at year's end.
The Basic Law prohibits forced exile, and the PA under President
Abbas did not use forced exile in practice. Revocations of Jerusalem
identification cards continued in recent years. B'tselem reported that
1,363 were revoked in 2006. In 2007, the most recent year for which
data were available, HaMoked stated that the Israeli Ministry of
Interior recorded 289 revocations. Reasons for revocation include
having acquired residency or citizenship in a third country, living
abroad for more than seven years, or, most commonly, being unable to
prove a ``center of life'' in Jerusalem.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian
Refugee Council, citing data gathered by Palestinian refugee-rights NGO
BADIL in September 2007, estimated there have been more than 110,000
internally displaced persons (IDPs) since 1967. The UN Relief and Works
Agency (UNRWA) estimated that between January and March, at least 544
individuals, including 159 children, were displaced as a result of 74
residential structure demolitions in the occupied territories, almost
exclusively in the West Bank. This internal displacement in the West
Bank is primarily the result of actions by the Israeli government,
including home demolitions, land expropriation, and revocation of
Jerusalem residency rights.
Internal displacement in Gaza was significant, resulting from
damage to housing and flight from conflict areas during the IAF air
strikes in the last five days of December. At year's end UNRWA
estimated that 370 people were living in shelters in Gaza as a result
of continuing Israeli military operations.
With limited exceptions, Israel did not provide protection or
assistance to IDPs in the occupied territories. Israel made available
monetary compensation for land expropriations, which was generally
refused by Palestinians. The PA provided some assistance through rental
subsidies and financial assistance to reconstruct demolished houses.
International response and assistance to internally displaced persons
lacked coordination, and there was no single agency responsible for
protection of IDPs during the year.
Neither Israel nor the PA forcibly returned IDPs to their original
residences under dangerous conditions during the year.
UNRWA was not consistently permitted by the Israeli government to
provide humanitarian assistance to refugee communities in Gaza and
parts of the West Bank. UNWRA's mandate is to provide direct relief and
services to registered Palestinian refugees, 70 percent (nearly one
million) of Gaza's population and 30 percent (687,000) of the West
Bank's population.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 the 132-member PLC
was elected in a process that international observers concluded
generally met democratic standards in providing citizens the right
peacefully to change their government. The PLC did not meet during the
year due to lack of a quorum (See Section 1.d.).
The 2005 primary elections to determine Fatah candidates for the
2006 PLC elections were marred by violence and allegations of fraud and
were never completed in some areas. Israeli authorities restricted
campaigning for the PLC elections in Jerusalem. Hamal-backed candidates
participated in the 2006 PLC elections but only under the name ``Reform
and Change Movement,'' not ``Hamas,'' and won 74 of 132 seats. Fatah
won 45 seats; independents and candidates from third parties won the
remaining seats.
In 2005 Palestinians elected Mahmud Abbas as PA President. Seven
candidates competed in a vigorous election campaign. In both the 2005
Presidential election and the PLC election, the Israeli government and
the PA followed the 1996 parameters for Palestinians residing in East
Jerusalem to vote, but inadequate arrangements kept turnout in
Jerusalem low.
While Palestinians with residency permits were eligible to vote in
Jerusalem municipal elections, most did not recognize Israeli
jurisdiction in Jerusalem and did not participate. Turnout among
Palestinians resident in Jerusalem was extremely low in November
elections, and there continued to be no Palestinians on the Jerusalem
City Council.
There were 17 women in the 132-member PLC and three women in the
16-member Cabinet formed in June. There were seven Christians in the
PLC and two in the cabinet during the year.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively.
There was a widespread public perception of corruption, notably
within the PA security forces and the Hamas Executive Force. Many
social and political elements called for reform. PA ministers were
subject to financial disclosure laws, and the PA attorney general's
office is responsible for combating government corruption.
The law requires official PA institutions to ``facilitate''
acquisition of requested documents or information to any Palestinian,
but it does not require PA agencies to provide such information.
Reasons for denial generally referred to privacy rights and security
necessity.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Palestinian human rights groups and several international
organizations monitored the PA's human rights practices. According to
the PA Ministry of Interior, at year's end approximately 4,700 NGOs
were registered and 1,700 were active in the West Bank. PA officials
usually cooperated with and permitted visits during the year by UN
representatives or other organizations such as ICRC; however, since the
beginning of the Intifada, several NGOs voluntarily deferred criticism
of the PA's human rights performance, and documentation of abuses was
very limited. NGOs, however, criticized the PA's inadequate security
performance.
The GI and the civil police in the West Bank appointed liaisons
with human rights groups.
Israeli, Palestinian, and international NGOs monitored the Israeli
government's practices in the occupied territories and published their
findings, although the security situation, including closures in the
West Bank and fighting and access restrictions in Gaza, increasingly
made it difficult to carry out their work. The Israeli government
permitted human rights groups to publish and hold press conferences and
provided the ICRC and other groups with access to detainees.
The IDF entered UNRWA facilities 14 times during the year, causing
some damages, usually in the course of arrest operations in the West
Bank. PA security forces in the West Bank entered UNRWA facilities
twice. UNRWA recorded multiple incidents during the year of UN staff
being harassed or having weapons pointed at them by IDF soldiers at
checkpoints.
The quasi-governmental ICHR serves as the PA's ombudsman and human
rights commission.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law states that all Palestinians are equal without
discrimination because of race, gender, color, religion, political
views, or disability. There was societal discrimination against women,
persons with disabilities, and homosexuals; child abuse also persisted.
Women.--Rape is illegal, but its legal definition does not address
spousal rape. PA law does not explicitly prohibit domestic violence,
but assault and battery are crimes. According to HRW, few cases were
successfully prosecuted. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of
Statistics, violence against wives, especially psychological, was
common in the West Bank and Gaza. A woman must provide two eye
witnesses, not relatives, to initiate divorce on the grounds of spousal
abuse.
In April the Palestinian NGO Society Voice Foundation released the
results of a field study concluding that in the Gaza Strip 75 percent
of women witnessed verbal, physical, sexual, or other types of
violence, and 42 percent were victims of violence.
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), conditions in Gaza
were associated with increased levels of violence against women. In
2007 two in five women in Gaza reported being victims of violence, up
from one in five in 2006. There were a handful of NGO-funded women's
shelters in the West Bank; there were no shelters in Gaza. Women
generally approached village or religious leaders for assistance.
The PA Ministry of Women's Affairs reported there were 51 honor
killings from 2004 to 2007.
Prostitution is illegal, and it was not openly practiced.
Palestinian labor law states that work is the right of every
capable citizen and regulates the work of women. However, during the
year the rate of female participation in the workforce did not exceed
14 percent compared to 67 percent for males. Women endured prejudice
and repression. Cultural restrictions associated with marriage
occasionally prevented women from completing mandatory schooling or
attending college. Families often disowned Muslim and Christian women
who married outside their faith. Local officials sometimes advised such
women to leave their communities to prevent harassment.
For Muslims, personal status law is derived from Shari'a (Islamic
law). Shari'a pertaining to women is part of the governing 1976
Jordanian Status Law, which includes inheritance and marriage laws.
Women can inherit but not equally. Men may take more than one wife but
rarely do. Women may make marriage contracts to protect their interests
in divorce and child custody but rarely did so. Children often stayed
with the mother; men paid child support and alimony. Ecclesiastical
courts rule on personal status issues for Christians.
Children.--Israel registers births of Palestinians in Jerusalem.
The PA registers Palestinians born in the West Bank and Gaza, and
Israel requires that the PA pass this information to the Israeli Civil
Administration.
According to the Jerusalem-based NGO Ir Amim, 48 new classrooms
were built in East Jerusalem between 2001-06 after a 2001 Israeli High
Court order that the municipality build 245 new classrooms within four
years. On September 9, two additional schools containing a total of 46
classrooms were inaugurated in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Umm
Lison. Ir Amim, citing a 2006 study by the Knesset Education Committee,
stated that by 2010 the projected shortfall of classrooms in East
Jerusalem would be 1,900.
Child abuse was reported to be a widespread problem. A 2006 HRW
study cited a Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics survey
indicating high levels of domestic violence, aggravated during times of
political violence. There were no updated statistics during the year.
The Basic Law prohibits violence against children; however, PA
authorities rarely punished perpetrators of familial violence.
International and domestic NGOs promoted educational, medical, and
cultural services for children, and other groups specialized in the
needs of children with disabilities.
The IDF used minors as human shields; Palestinian terrorist groups
used minors to conduct attacks, smuggle weapons, and act as human
shields. OCHA reported that between January 1 and December 23, 71
children were killed in Gaza by the IDF. Palestinian factional violence
killed 15 children in Gaza over the same period. In the West Bank, 17
children were killed, including 13 by the IDF, two by Israeli settlers,
and one by Palestinians. Excluding the final week of the year in Gaza,
a total of 618 children were injured in the West Bank and Gaza. The IDF
and Israeli settlers were responsible for 99 percent of the 397
injuries to children OCHA recorded in the West Bank (352 were reported
as injured by the IDF and 41 by Israeli settlers).
Trafficking in Persons.--Palestinian law does not specifically
prohibit trafficking in persons; however, there were no reports that
persons were trafficked to, from, or within the occupied territories.
Persons With Disabilities.--The Basic Law states all Palestinians
are equal without discrimination because of disability. Access to
public facilities was not mandated. There was societal discrimination
against Palestinians with disabilities. In 2005 the Health,
Development, Information, and Policy Institute estimated 2,900
Palestinians injured since 2001 would have permanent disabilities.
Poor quality care for Palestinians with disabilities was a problem.
The PA depended on NGOs to care for those with physical disabilities
and offered substandard care for mental disabilities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was no legal
discrimination against homosexuals. However, cultural and religious
traditions reject homosexuality, and Palestinians alleged that PA
security officers harassed, abused, and sometimes arrested homosexuals
because of their sexual orientation.
The PA Ministry of Health provided treatment and privacy
protections for patients with HIV/AIDS; however, societal
discrimination against affected individuals was high.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law permits workers to form and
join independent unions of their choice and was respected in practice.
Labor unions in Gaza continued to operate, despite a severely weakened
economy during the year.
The two most active unions were the General Union for Palestinian
Workers and the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU).
The PGFTU was a member of the International Trade Union Confederation.
Both were registered with the PA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Workers in Jerusalem may establish unions but may not join West
Bank federations; however, this restriction was not enforced. Workers
holding Jerusalem identity cards may belong simultaneously to West Bank
unions and the Israeli General Federation of Labor (Histadrut).
Palestinians working in Israel or Jerusalem prior to 2000 were
partial members of Histadrut and entitled to limited benefits.
Histadrut and West Bank union officials negotiated an agreement in 1995
to transfer half of their dues to the PGFTU. At year's end the PA
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) reported that 20 percent
of dues had been transferred.
PA law provides for the right to strike. In practice, however,
strikers had little protection from retribution. Prospective strikers
must provide written warning two weeks in advance of the basis for the
strike (four weeks in the case of public utilities), accept MOLSA
arbitration, and are subject to disciplinary action if they reject the
result. If MOLSA cannot resolve a dispute, it can be referred to a
special committee and eventually to a court. Accordingly, in practice
the right to strike remained questionable.
PA employees organized three short-term strikes over salary payment
issues against the PA during the year. The strikes pertained to the
payment of salary arrears and teacher contracts in East Jerusalem
schools. All these issues were resolved within a day or two of the
strike.
Individual offices within the PA ministries in Gaza conducted
strikes and work stoppages against Hamal-led public offices in Gaza
throughout the year. Public sector health care workers and teachers
held extended strikes against Hamas for reported discrimination against
non-Hamas affiliated PA employees. At year's end these types of strikes
continued in Gaza with reduced rates of participation compared to
earlier strikes.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining is protected by law, and this law has been enforced in
certain cases. However, there were reports that PA enforcement of
collective bargaining rights for unions serving other than PA employees
was limited in recent years. Collective bargaining agreements covered
20 percent of workers. Antiunion discrimination and employer
interference in union functions are illegal, and the Government
enforced these prohibitions. Most unions in the West Bank and Gaza
serve Palestinian Authority employees, and negotiations on labor issues
occur between union leadership and the prime minister's office. Trade
unions of non-PA employees have had good relations with the PA and have
received PA permission to operate and negotiate on PA contracts. During
the year the PA was more effective at protecting bargaining rights for
unions of non-PA employees in the West Bank than in previous years.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law states that
work is a right and that the PA will strive to provide it to any
capable individual. MOLSA interpreted this statement to prohibit forced
and compulsory labor, including by children. PA labor law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age of Employment
The minimum employment age is 15, and there are special conditions
for employment under 18. The law states that children shall not be
allowed to perform work that might damage their safety, health, or
education, and prohibits working at night, hard labor, and travel
beyond their domicile. However, many underage children worked in family
farms and shops, as street vendors, or in small enterprises. The UN
estimated that during the year, 17,000 Palestinians worked in West Bank
settlements and industrial areas, but it was unclear how many were
minors.
The PA had eight child labor inspectors for the West Bank and Gaza.
MOLSA stated that Palestinian children working in Israeli settlements
faced security problems, exploitation, and harassment since there was
no enforceable law to monitor and protect child laborers, and there
were no Israeli inspectors in West Bank settlements and industrial
zones.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no minimum wage. Prior
to 2000, average wages for full-time workers provided a decent living
standard; however, living standards dropped significantly over the past
eight years due to increases in cost of living which outpaced salary
increases.
According to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the
unemployment rate in the third quarter of the year was 36 percent in
Gaza and 17 percent in the West Bank. In September the World Bank
reported that two-thirds of Palestinians lived below the official
poverty line and were unable to support themselves and their families
without international assistance. In October OCHA reported that 88
percent of the Gaza population lived in poverty and depended on
international assistance.
MOLSA reported that most employees work at least 50 hours each
week; the maximum official work week is 48 hours. There were reports
that PA employees were pressured to work additional hours to be
promoted. The PA observed religious holidays, but they were not
incorporated in labor law. Employers are required to allow Christians
to attend church on Sunday if the employee desires. Some employers
offered Christians the option of taking Sunday off, rather than Friday.
Responding to a petition filed by the Israeli NGO Kav La Oved, the
High Court in October 2007 ruled that Israeli labor laws apply to
relations between Palestinian workers and Israeli employers in
settlements and in the occupied territories. The ruling granted
Palestinian workers the same rights and benefits as workers in Israel.
On November 28, a Dutch NGO, United Civilians for Peace, reported that
Palestinian workers in settlements continued to receive wages below the
Israeli minimum wage and often worked extra hours without compensation.
MOLSA was responsible for safety standards, but its enforcement
ability was limited. The ministry stated new factories and workplaces
met international health and safety standards, but older ones did not.
Employees of small construction and service firms were at greatest risk
for work place injuries, according to union officials. Unions
complained that smaller worksites were not effectively monitored by the
PA and were at times below legal standards for safety. Palestinians who
work in Israel must contribute to the National Insurance Institute and
are eligible for limited benefits.
__________
JORDAN
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy ruled
by King Abdullah II bin Hussein. It has a population of approximately
six million. The constitution concentrates executive and legislative
authority in the King. The multiparty parliament consists of the 55-
member House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan), appointed by the King. and a
110-member elected lower house, the Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-
Nuwwab). The November 2007 elections for the lower house of parliament
by and large went smoothly; however, local observers alleged some
irregularities. Authorities effectively controlled the security forces,
but there were some instances in which domestic and international
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) accused members of the police and
security forces of committing human rights abuses.
The Government respected human rights in some areas, but its
overall record continued to reflect problems. The Government restricted
citizens' right to change their government. Domestic and international
NGOs reported cases of torture, arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention,
and the continuance of poor prison conditions. Impunity, denial of due
process of law, and limited judicial independence remained problems.
Infringements on citizens' privacy rights continued. The Government
harassed religious activists and opposition political party members and
restricted to varying degrees freedom of speech, press, assembly,
association, and movement. Legal and societal discrimination existed
against women, converts from Islam, and persons of Palestinian origin.
Restrictions on labor rights and abuse of foreign domestic workers
remained problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--In contrast with
2007, there were no reports during the year that the Government or its
agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. The Government
completed investigations of allegations made in two 2007 deaths in
police custody due to mistreatment.
Two prison guards were sentenced to two and one-half years in
prison with hard labor for the fatal May 2007 beating of Firas Zeidan
in detention. The court also sentenced a third guard to two months for
neglect in carrying out duties, found a fourth guard innocent, and
removed and fined the prison director 120 dinars (approximately $168)
for ordering Zeidan into solitary confinement without assessing his
health. According to autopsy reports, Zeidan's lung collapsed and his
body was covered with bruises and contusions.
The medical and police investigations of the August 2007 death of
Ala Abu Tair in Swaqa prison stated the cause of death was a heart
attack. The Government removed the prison director after the autopsy
revealed Tair's body was heavily bruised.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but several domestic and
international NGOs alleged torture and mistreatment of prisoners in
police and security detention facilities. Article 208 of the penal code
prohibits torture by public officials, including psychological harm,
and provides penalties of up to three years' imprisonment, including
hard labor if serious injury occurs. During the year there were no
prosecutions of torture under this article.
Although torture is illegal in the country, an October report by
the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), ``Torture and Impunity in Jordan's
Prisons,'' concluded that torture remained a widespread practice.
Interviews with 66 prisoners in seven of the country's 10 prisons
produced allegations of ill-treatment, which HRW concluded often
amounted to torture. Common forms of torture detailed in the interviews
were beatings with cables and sticks and suspension in metal cuffs for
hours at a time. Political prisoners, including Islamists convicted of
crimes against national security, reportedly received greater abuse
than ordinary prisoners. The report also documented the severe lack of
punishment and failure to investigate abusive guards.
In a January 2007 report the UN special rapporteur on torture
described police and security forces as practicing ``widespread''
torture based on ``consistent and credible allegations,'' which he
stated were substantiated by forensic medical evidence. April and May
2007 reports from the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) and
Amnesty International (AI), respectively, alleged torture and ill-
treatment in government detention centers. The National Center for
Human Rights' (NCHR) ``Fifth Report on Prison Conditions,'' released in
December 2007, reported 45 complaints of mistreatment or torture at
Public Security Directorate (PSD) prisons. In 2006 there were 46
reported complaints, down from 70 the previous year and even higher
numbers in years prior. The NCHR report recounted allegations of
mistreatment and abuse in General Intelligence Directorate (GID)
facilities, but it did not provide specific information on these
complaints.
According to press reports, some defendants before the State
Security Court claimed they were tortured while in custody. Between
September 2007 and May 2008 security forces allegedly tortured five men
accused of monitoring military sites for Hamas, possessing firearms
with illicit intent, obtaining information that would threaten national
security, and recruiting people to join illegal operations. The men
claimed that officers tortured them to obtain confessions. On January
14, two men accused of exporting weapons to the West Bank and
possessing illegal weapons claimed their confessions were also obtained
through torture. At year's end the cases against the men were ongoing.
On January 17, Nidal Momani, Tharwat Draz, and Sattam Zawahra
repeated their May 2007 claims that they were beaten and
psychologically pressured to confess to participating in plots to kill
a foreign leader visiting the country in 2006. At year's end there were
no new developments in their case.
There was no update in the case of the two defendants who reported
in March 2007 before the State Security Court that security forces
tortured them to force confessions.
At year's end there were no developments in the investigation of
Ali Utoum's alleged August 2007 abduction and beating.
A police court sentenced Majid al-Rawashda, the Swaga prison warden
who reportedly ordered beatings of several hundred inmates in August
2007, to two months' imprisonment and dismissed him from his position.
The court exonerated 12 guards who participated in the beatings,
stating that they were following orders. An NCHR investigation into the
incident concluded that the inmates were beaten and ill-treated and
that prison officials denied a large number of inmates access to
medical care.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to several
international and local NGOs, prisons continued to be overcrowded and
understaffed, with inadequate food and health care and limited
visitation. Prison guards beat detainees, usually with impunity, and
prison riots and hunger strikes were common. However, prison health
care somewhat improved, according to an August 12 International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) report.
On April 14, Muwaggar prison inmates Firas al-'Utti, Hazim Ziyada,
and Ibrahim al-'Ulayan burned to death during a riot. According to NCHR
and HRW, mistreatment and beatings of inmates by some police officers
led to the riot. As confirmed by the Government, approximately 28
prisoners set fire to their mattresses, and prisoners in adjoining
cells joined in the protest and shouted and inflicted harm on
themselves with sharp objects. Prison guards entered the prison
building to secure the burning cell, but they reported being unable to
open the doors because the prisoners had allegedly barricaded them with
beds. One eyewitness said that the guards did nothing for 10 minutes
despite cries from the prisoners inside the burning cell to open the
doors. The NCHR asserted that the doors of the cell opened out,
allowing them to be opened regardless of any barricade inside.
According to eyewitnesses, when the fire was almost extinguished, the
guards opened the doors and beat those who exited, then pushed 18
people back into the cell, including the three whose bodies were later
found. After relocking the cell door, a second, much bigger fire
started. HRW claimed that eyewitnesses to the killings were held in
solitary confinement and lawyers, family members, and human rights
investigators were not allowed to speak with them. The PSD
investigation committee tasked with investigating the riots referred 23
inmates to the judiciary on charges of ``causing damage to public
property.'' The guards on duty did not face charges or punishment.
On April 15, according to the NCHR, dozens of inmates were injured
during a riot in Swaqa prison that the Government claimed was started
by inmates out of solidarity with the rioters in Muwaqqar prison.
On July 7, according to the NCHR, 14 inmates at Jweideh prison went
on a week-long hunger strike over visitation scheduling and harassment
during transportation to court hearings.
The Government generally held men, women, and juveniles in separate
prison and detention facilities. The GID held some persons detained on
national security grounds in separate detention facilities but
conditions for such prisoners reportedly did not differ significantly.
The Government permitted local and international human rights
observers to visit prisons and to conduct private interviews in
prisons. During the year the ICRC visited prisoners and detainees in
all prisons, including those held by the GID and the military
intelligence directorate, according to standard ICRC modalities. In
February the NCHR opened a permanent human rights office in Swaqa
prison, as directed by the King. to investigate and handle complaints
by inmates. The NCHR also continued routine and unannounced prison
inspections during the year; however, after it released a report on the
April Muwaqqar riot that was critical of the Government response,
authorities closed the NCHR office in Swaqa prison and restricted
prison inspections for several months.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, according to local and international
human rights groups, the Government did not always observe these
prohibitions in practice. The law provides that citizens are subject to
arrest, trial, and punishment for the defamation of heads of state or
public officials and dissemination of ``false or exaggerated
information outside the country that attacks state dignity.''
Some human rights groups continued to voice concern over the 2006
Prevention of Terrorism Act, complaining that its definition of
terrorism might lead nonviolent critics of the Government to be
arrested or detained indefinitely under the provisions of the act.
However, the Government had yet to make use of the act at year's end.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PSD controls
general police functions. The PSD, GID, and military share
responsibility for maintaining internal security. The PSD reports to
the interior minister with direct access to the King when necessary,
and the GID in practice reports directly to the King. Security and
policing activities were effective.
During the year citizens made allegations of corruption and abuse
against both the PSD and GID. In 2007 citizens filed 625 complaints
against PSD personnel. The PSD's preventative security office
investigated officers' performance and reported incidents of poor
officer performance to the PSD director's office. Citizens may file
complaints of police abuse or corruption to one of the PSD's eight
offices of complaints and human rights. Although allegations of torture
and ill-treatment were widespread according to numerous credible
observers, including the UN special rapporteur on torture, the low
number of prosecutions for such crimes indicated PSD impunity was
common. The GID's mechanisms for investigating complaints of abuses and
the number of complaints against the GID were not made public.
New PSD officers received special instruction on preventing
corruption and human rights abuses.
Arrest and Detention.--The law allows suspects to be detained for
up to 48 hours without a warrant in most cases. Human rights observers
claimed that police continued to make arrests prior to obtaining
warrants. The criminal code requires that police notify legal
authorities within 48 hours of an arrest and that legal authorities
file formal charges within 10 days of an arrest; however, local NGOs
have stated courts routinely granted requests from prosecutors for 15-
day extensions, as provided by law. This practice generally extended
pretrial detention for protracted periods. Bail is allowed under the
penal code and used. Some detainees reported not being allowed prompt
access to a lawyer, but authorities generally permitted visitation by
family members. There were allegations of incommunicado detention,
particularly in GID facilities.
The State Security Court gives the judicial police, charged with
conducting criminal investigations, authority to arrest and keep
persons in custody for a period of seven days when necessary in any
crime under the jurisdiction of the court, which includes many
misdemeanors. In cases purportedly involving state security, the
security forces arrested and detained citizens without warrants or
judicial review, held defendants in lengthy pretrial detention without
informing them of the charges against them, and did not allow
defendants to meet with their lawyers, at times until shortly before
trial. Defendants before the State Security Court usually met with
their attorneys only one or two days before their trial. Several
inmates were in detention without charge at year's end.
Local governors have the authority to invoke the Crime Prevention
Law, which allows them to place individuals in administrative detention
(prison) or under house arrest for up to one year without formally
charging them. The NCHR objected to the number of administrative
detentions, noting that 12,178 persons were detained in 2007.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary. In practice the judiciary's independence was
compromised due to allegations of nepotism and the influence of special
interests. The Judicial Council, a committee led by the President of
the Court of Cassation, is comprised of other high-ranking judges from
various courts and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). This council approves
judicial appointments after the initial nominations by the MOJ and
assigns and evaluates judges. The Judicial Council lacks the internal
capacity to manage judicial administrative and financial matters that
would ensure its independence.
The judicial system consists of civil, criminal, commercial,
security, and religious courts. Most criminal cases are tried in
civilian courts, which include the Court of Appeal; the High Court of
Justice, convened for specific cases; and the Court of Cassation, the
highest court. The State Security Court, headed by two military
officers and one civilian as judges, has jurisdiction over offenses by
civilians and military personnel against the state and drug-related
crimes. From January through September the State Security Court heard
1,840 cases, of which 1,450 were adjudicated. The religious courts are
subdivided into Shari'a (Islamic law) courts and tribunals for non-
Muslims. Shari'a courts have jurisdiction over all matters relating to
the personal status of Muslims, including marriage, divorce, and
inheritance. Christian courts have jurisdiction over marriage and
divorce cases among Christians, but Shari'a is applied in inheritance
cases.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides that all civilian court trials,
including state security court trials, are open to the public unless
the court determines otherwise. Juries were not used. Defendants were
presumed innocent and entitled to legal counsel, which the Government
provided for the indigent. Defendants could present witnesses on their
behalf, question witnesses presented against them, and appeal verdicts.
All citizens were accorded these rights. Appeals were automatic for
cases involving the death penalty. In the State Security Court,
defendants convicted of felonies had the right to appeal their
sentences to the Court of Cassation, which is authorized to review
issues of both fact and law. Civil, criminal, and commercial courts
accord equal weight to the testimony of men and women; however, in
Shari'a courts the testimony of two women was equal to that of a man in
most circumstances. Defense attorneys were guaranteed access to
government-held evidence relevant to their clients' cases.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports by citizens
and NGOs that the Government continued to detain individuals, including
political opposition members and journalists, allegedly for political
reasons, and that governors continued to use administrative detentions
for what appeared to be political reasons. In a few cases reported in
the media or by human rights organizations, detainees were kept in
solitary confinement and denied access to lawyers.
In December 2007 police arrested Hassan Abu-Shawer, a 19 year-old
student, and charged him with ``fueling national discord and
dishonoring the national flag'' during a protest by the Islamic Action
Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. Authorities
released Abu-Shawer in June on a 3,000-dinar (approximately $4,200)
bond. At year's end there were no developments in his case.
At year's end there was no update in the reported arrest and
detention since June 2007 of three IAF members in Zarqa or the arrest
and detention since September 2007 of two IAF members in Aqaba.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
judiciary in civil matters, and individuals may bring lawsuits related
to human rights violations and did so during the year. The High Court
of Justice hears administrative complaints. The courts are open to all
residents. Courts also have jurisdiction over any person in a civil or
criminal matter, including in lawsuits where the Government is a
plaintiff or a defendant.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary interference in private
matters; however, in practice the Government did not respect this
prohibition. Citizens widely believed that security officers monitored
telephone conversations and Internet communication and read private
correspondence, and that the Government engaged in limited surveillance
without a court order of persons deemed a threat to national security.
The law requires that security forces obtain a warrant from the
prosecutor general or a judge before conducting searches or otherwise
interfering with these rights. In an April 2007 report, the AOHR
alleged that the Government conducted late night raids on homes and
made arbitrary arrests between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Some political and religious activists reported that the GID
withheld certificates of good behavior required for job applications or
to open a business and threatened not to allow activists and their
children to graduate from university.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and press; however, the Government imposed some
restrictions on these rights. A 2007 press law abolished imprisonment
of journalists for ideological offenses; however, limited detention and
imprisonment of journalists for defamation and slander continued
through provisions in the penal code. Many journalists reported that
the threat of stringent fines of up to 28,000 dinars ($70,000) led to
self-censorship.
Citizens generally were able to criticize the Government, although
they exercised caution in regard to the King. the royal family, the
GID, and many other topics deemed sensitive, such as religion.
On December 15, authorities prevented Gamal Eid, executive director
of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, from entering
Jordan, detained him for six hours at the airport, and deported him
back to Cairo. Eid claims that these actions were taken by security
officials due to his criticisms of freedom of expression in Jordan at a
2006 conference in Amman.
On November 2, authorities released Ahmad Abbadi; he had completed
a two-year prison term for ``undermining the country's reputation''
based on a letter he posted online accusing senior officials of
corruption and criticizing the Government's respect for human rights.
The Government continued to limit the freedom of the press. Media
contacts reported that the Government influenced the appointment of
editor-in-chief at some major publications, whether directly by virtue
of officials' positions on the boards of directors of government-
affiliated publications or indirectly through undisclosed contacts.
When covering controversial subjects, government-owned Jordan
Television reported only the Government's position. International
satellite television and Israeli and Syrian television broadcasts were
available and unrestricted. The law provides foreign media operations
freedom of expression.
During the year there were reported instances of arrest and
government harassment of journalists and other writers based on their
work.
For example, on October 19, authorities arrested poet and Al Arab
Al Yawm reporter Islam Samhan and charged him with slandering Islam for
incorporating verses of the Koran and prophets in his book of love
poetry, which was perceived to contain sexual themes. On October 24,
authorities released Samhan on a 1,000 dinar ($1,400) bail, but at
year's end he faced up to three years in jail and/or a 20,000 dinar
($28,000) fine.
On August 17, the conciliation court acquitted Khalid Khawaja of
contempt of a public employee. Khawaja, a reporter with the leading
government-owned Arabic newspaper Al-Rai, was arrested for allegedly
assaulting a police officer while he was covering the distribution of
meat to underprivileged citizens in Ain Al-Basha in February 2007.
Khawaja had previously filed a complaint against three police officers
he claimed beat him.
Journalists claimed that the Government used informants in the
newsrooms and de facto censors at printing presses to review articles
and reject language considered objectionable by the Government.
According to a 2006 Committee to Protect Journalists report,
authorities pressured printers to delay publication of several
newspapers until editors agreed to remove critical articles. Editors
reportedly received telephone calls from security officials instructing
them how to cover events. The annual report by the Ammal-based National
Center for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) stated that the
Government used detention and prosecution or the threat of prosecution
to intimidate journalists into practicing self-censorship.
On March 12, the online news outlet Ammoun News posted a commentary
article by veteran journalist Randa Habib that allegedly attacked a
senior government official. The commentary article was removed from the
Web site within an hour. It was posted again the following week.
Subsequently, the Web site encountered technical difficulties that
prevented most viewers within the country from accessing it.
The law forbids insulting the King. slandering the Government or
foreign leaders, offending religious beliefs, and stirring sectarian
strife and sedition. The Government prosecuted and convicted
journalists for such crimes during the year. The punishment for
defamation of the King or royal family is three years in prison.
According to CDFJ, there are more than 50 such cases against
journalists pending before the Amman Court of First Instance.
On March 13, the Court of First Instance sentenced two editors and
three reporters from the leading newspapers of Al-Dustour, Al-Arab Al-
Yawm, and Al-Rai to three months in jail for contempt of court and
defamation. Four of the journalists were indicted after the Higher
Judicial Council filed a complaint for publishing commentary on a
ruling it passed. The fifth journalist was indicted for defamation
after criticizing a government official on the Internet. The five were
released pending appeals, which were ongoing at year's end.
On October 28, police arrested and detained El-Ekhbariya editor-in-
chief Fayez Al-Ajrashi for five days in Al-Juweida prison before
releasing him on a 3,000 dinar ($4,200) bail. At year's end he faced
criminal charges of ``inflaming sectarian strife'' and ``sowing
national discord'' under the penal code before a military court and
libel charges before a civil court. Ajrashi alleged both complaints
were linked to his articles criticizing Amman governor Sa'ad Al-
Manaseer's record and exposing cases of corruption.
The Government continued to enforce bans on the publication of
selected books for religious, moral, and political reasons. Some
foreign films were edited prior to release.
Internet Freedom.--The Government controlled access to certain
Internet content, and citizens and activists widely assumed that the
Government monitored electronic correspondence and Internet chat sites.
According to 2007 International Telecommunications Union data, there
were approximately 225,000 subscribers and 1.3 million users in the
country. The Government blocked access to some Web sites during the
year.
In March the Ministry of Interior (MOI) issued instructions for
monitoring Internet cafes for reasons of security, including the
installation of cameras in Internet cafes to monitor users. The new
measures require cafe owners to register users' personal data, hand
over data about Web sites explored by users, and prevent access to
questionable Web sites, as defined by the MOI.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government placed
limitations on academic freedom. Members of the academic community
claimed that there was an ongoing intelligence presence in academic
institutions, including the monitoring of academic conferences and
lectures. Some academics alleged they received threats of dismissal.
On June 2, the IAF director sent a letter to the prime minister
complaining about the Government's regular harassment of university
professors and their students. The letter claimed that university
security and officials routinely detained and questioned students and
limited academic freedom.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however,
the Government restricted this right.
On July 31, an amended Public Gatherings Law was enacted. It
stipulates that organizations do not need approval to hold routine
internal meetings and activities but that routine public meetings,
including workshops and trainings, still require approval. Governors
are not required to provide a legal reason for denial of permission to
hold an event, and there is no standard in the law for what constitutes
an impermissible public gathering. If an organization fails to apply
for permission for an event, its members face imprisonment from one to
six months and a fine of up to 3,000 dinars ($4,200). The response
period was shortened from 72 to 48 hours, and if the governor does not
issue a response within 48 hours, applicants are entitled to hold the
event without legal liability.
Several civil society organizations and political parties accused
the Government of being stringent in issuing permits for public
gatherings based on political factors rather than security concerns.
Governors sometimes denied requests for peaceful demonstrations,
political seminars, and civil society gatherings. In some cases, the
Government granted approval at the last moment, making it difficult for
organizers to plan events.
On at least four occasions during the year, governors rejected Al-
Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center's requests for meetings and conferences,
including a seminar on economic issues.
On April 12 and on September 8, the Amman governor reportedly
denied the IAF permission to stage a protest against the arrest of
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood members and a sit-in against Egyptian
policy towards Gaza, respectively, both to be held in front of the
Egyptian embassy. On November 14, the Al-Zarqa governor reportedly
denied the IAF permission to hold a speech rally.
On June 4, the Balga governor rejected the bar association's
request to hold a symposium focused on the constitutionality of a
controversial casino deal.
There were no updates regarding the 20 IAF supporters imprisoned
during a licensed protest in December 2007.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of
association; however, the Government limited this freedom in practice.
The law prohibits the use of associations for the benefit of any
political organization.
The parliament passed and the King signed, on September 17, a new
law governing associations that imposes numerous additional legal
restrictions on associations and gives the Government broader powers to
intervene in associations' internal affairs. Civil society leaders
expressed concern at many of the law's requirements, including
increased government oversight and prior approval to receive foreign
funding, as many have long depended on international sources for day-
to-day operational costs.
The new law centralizes the registry of civil society in the
Ministry of Social Development and gives the ministry the right to
reject registration applications for any reason. The law introduces
significant new oversight powers to the Government over civil society
and increases the Government's engagement in any association's internal
affairs. It gives the ministry significant controls over the internal
management of associations, including the ability to dissolve
associations; appoint new boards of directors; send two government
representatives to any board meeting; prevent two associations from
merging their operations; and appoint an auditor to examine an
association's finances for any reason. The law also requires
associations to inform the ministry of board meetings, submit all board
decisions to the ministry for approval, disclose members' names, and
obtain MOI security clearances for board members. The law includes
severe penalties, including fines up to 10,000 dinars ($14,000) and/or
three months in jail per violation.
International and domestic NGOs have strongly criticized this new
law, which they allege will make it almost impossible for any NGO to
maintain its independence.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom to
practice the rites of one's religion, provided that religious practices
are consistent with ``public order and morality"; however, the
constitution also restricts freedom of religion in stipulating that
Islamic law, which forbids the conversion of Muslims to another
religion, governs Muslim citizens' personal status. The Government also
continued to impose some restrictions on religious freedom in practice.
The state religion is Islam, which effectively restricted others'
rights, especially in terms of family law. For official recognition,
the Government required Christian denominations to have citizens among
their constituency and to be recognized by the Middle East Council of
Churches. Christian religious leaders stated that the MOI also conducts
background investigations of church leaders. The Government did not
recognize the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Christ, the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Druze, but each of these
denominations conducted most religious services and activities without
interference. The Government did not recognize or permit Baha'is to
hold religious councils, did not recognize marriages by the Baha'i
Assembly, and did not permit Baha'is to register properties or
endowments in the name of the Baha'i community. The Government
continued to stigmatize the Baha'is by recording ``dashes'' in the
religion field of their national identity cards and categorized Druze
as Muslims on these documents. Atheists must associate themselves with
a recognized religion for official identification purposes.
In December 2007 the Government required MOI approval for old and
existing places of worship, after which several Christian churches
reported being ordered to close. Representatives of a few evangelical
churches reported that the MOI ordered landlords who previously rented
them properties for church services and offices not to renew those
leases.
There are no restrictions on collective worship as long as worship
practices do not violate the law; however, several religious workers
and pastors stated that authorities prevented them from conducting
meetings or conferences during the year in hotels or public venues on
security grounds.
Public schools provide mandatory religious instruction for all
Muslim students during which Christian students are allowed to leave
the classroom. Christian students in private and public schools must
learn verses from the Koran and Islamic poetry in Arabic and social
studies classes in preparation for mid-year and end-of-year exams. The
constitution provides that congregations have the right to establish
schools for the education of their own communities, ``provided that
they comply with the general provisions of the law and are subject to
government control in matters relating to their curriculums and
orientation.''
Conversion to Islam is allowed; however, a Muslim may not convert
to another religion. Such converts may lose their inheritance,
children, spouse, and civil rights. Several converts reported being
called in by the GID for repeated interrogations.
Neither the constitution nor the law explicitly prohibits
proselytizing; however, the Government restricted efforts to
proselytize Muslims. During the year the Government deported, detained,
or refused residency renewal to approximately 30 Christian pastors and
other religious activists after questioning them about their religious
activities with Muslims or converts. Four religious activists were
later permitted to reenter the country.
The Government monitors sermons at mosques and requires that
preachers refrain from commentary that could, in its view, instigate
social or political unrest. Christian activists reported that the GID
regularly called them in for questioning regarding their congregation's
membership, proselytizing of Muslims, and alleged distribution of
Christian literature. Some Christian churchgoers reported the presence
of security police at the church door requesting to see identity cards.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Muslims who converted to other
religions reportedly faced societal discrimination, threats, and abuse
from their families and Muslim religious leaders. Families usually
strongly discouraged interfaith romantic relationships, at times
ostracizing or, in some cases, committing violence against the couple.
Baha'is also faced societal discrimination, and Iraqi Mandeans
residing in the country complained that individuals who did not
understand their faith sometimes interfered in their baptismal rituals.
Following a February 4 public statement issued by the Council of
Church Leaders in Jordan that accused evangelicals of being
``illegitimate'' and of creating sectarian strife, some articles
critical of evangelicals appeared in the press, which contributed to an
acrimonious public climate.
Anti-Semitism in the media was present, and editorial cartoons,
articles, and opinion pieces sometimes depicted negative images of Jews
without government response. Aside from expatriates, there was no
resident Jewish community in the country.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, there were some restrictions. The Government
generally cooperated with the office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA), and other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
The law requires that all minors obtain written permission from
their father to apply for a passport. Consular officers and activists
encountered cases of mothers who reported that they were prevented from
departing with their children because authorities enforced requests
from fathers to prevent their children from leaving the country. The
GID sometimes withheld passports from citizens for alleged security
reasons.
Citizens receive passports that are valid for five years. Some
persons of Palestinian origin living in the country were citizens and
received passports; however, the Government reported that there were
approximately 130,000 Palestinian refugees, mostly of Gazan origin, who
did not qualify for citizenship. Approximately half received two-year
passports valid for travel but which do not connote citizenship. West
Bank residents without other travel documentation are eligible to
receive five-year passports that do not connote citizenship.
Numerous human rights activists continued to charge that the
Government did not consistently apply citizenship laws, especially in
cases in which passports were taken from citizens of Palestinian
origin. The Government maintained this policy was in line with its
efforts to implement the Government's disengagement from its former
claims to the West Bank. However, activists complained that the process
was not transparent and that the MOI appeal process was virtually
nonexistent. Claimants reported that appeals were not resolved to their
satisfaction. The Government asserted that all cases it closed involved
persons without valid claims to citizenship or travel documents.
Human rights activists claimed that approximately 10,000 to 12,000
former residents of Palestinian origin remained outside the country,
and that the Government refused to renew their passports at embassies
overseas.
The law prohibits internal and external forced exile, and the
Government did not use forced exile in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 protocol and
does not have any national legislation pertaining to the status and
treatment of refugees. The Government respected the UNHCR's eligibility
determinations regarding asylum seekers, including those who entered
the country clandestinely. A 1998 memorandum of understanding between
the Government and the UNHCR contains the definition of a refugee,
confirms the principle of nonrefoulement, and allows recognized
refugees a maximum stay of six months during which period a durable
solution must be found. The Government provided protection against the
expulsion or forced return of refugees to countries where their lives
or freedom would be threatened.
The UNRWA and the Government continued to provide basic services,
such as limited health, education, and social services, to Palestinian
refugees during the year. At year's end approximately 1.9 million
Palestinian refugees were registered with UNRWA.
The Government granted nationality to approximately 700,000 persons
displaced from former Jordanian territories during the 1967 war. An
additional 120,000 persons displaced during the 1967 war held temporary
residency permits. An additional 200,000 Palestinian refugees were also
estimated to be living in the country without any direct assistance.
The Government generally recognized UNHCR's requests to grant
temporary protection for all Iraqi asylum seekers, including new
arrivals, rejected cases, and recognized refugees whose cases had been
suspended by resettlement countries. In May the Government began
requiring Iraqis to obtain visas before entering the country. According
to a May 2007 survey by Norwegian research institute Fafo, an estimated
450,000 to 500,000 Iraqis were living in the country. At year's end the
Government was still using this figure in most of its assessments,
although some NGOs suggested that the number could be significantly
lower. As of November 30, 54,516 Iraqis had registered with UNHCR as
refugees or asylum seekers, and most received legal and material
assistance from UNHCR and other international and nongovernmental
humanitarian organizations. The Government provided education and
health care services to Iraqis and tolerated the prolonged stay of many
Iraqis beyond the expiration of the visit permits under which they
entered the country.
The Government did not permit Iraqi refugees to work, except under
existing agreements for certain professional fields. Civil society
organizations and religious leaders stated that this restriction led to
impoverishment of some refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully. Citizens have no legal authority to replace the
King. They participate in the political system through their elected
representatives in the lower house of parliament; however, the King may
use his discretion to appoint and dismiss the prime minister, cabinet,
and upper house of parliament; dissolve or extend parliament; and
establish public policy. The cabinet, based on prime minister's
recommendation, appoints the mayors of Amman, Wadi Musa (Petra), and
Aqaba, a special economic zone. The mayors of the other 93
municipalities are elected.
After appointment by the King. a prime minister is required to
submit his cabinet to a parliamentary vote of confidence, if there is a
seated parliament. Executive power is vested in the King (or, in his
absence, the regent), who exercises his power through his ministers in
accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
The King proposes and dismisses extraordinary sessions of
parliament and may postpone regular sessions for up to 60 days. If the
Government amends or enacts a law when parliament is not in session, it
must submit the law to parliament for consideration during the next
session; however, such ``provisional'' laws do not expire and, while
technically subject to action by parliament when it returns to session,
in practice remain in force without legislative approval.
Elections and Political Participation.--In July 2007 nationwide
multiparty municipal elections were held. Domestic civil society
organizations and the opposition IAF alleged a number of election
irregularities, including exploiting armed forces personnel to vote en
masse for progovernment candidates. There were no local or
international observers present.
In November 2007 multiparty parliamentary elections were held. The
Government permitted 150 local observers under the umbrella of the NCHR
to monitor the elections and granted them full access inside polling
stations. The NCHR and other local observers alleged a number of
irregularities, including vote buying, multiple voting, and transfer of
votes.
The Government routinely licensed political parties and other
associations but prohibited membership in unlicensed political parties.
The High Court of Justice may dissolve a party if it violates the
constitution or the law. A 2007 Political Parties Law stipulated that a
political party must have a minimum of 500 founding members from five
governorates, causing 17 of the 36 existing parties to dissolve
themselves or became legally defunct in 2007. The law also created a
mechanism for public financing of political parties. Opposition
parties, including dissolved parties, complained that the law was
unconstitutional and obstructed political dynamism. Political parties,
NGOs, and independent candidates found the registration requirements,
restrictions, and processes to be onerous and costly. Additionally,
parties criticized the GID's new annual screening process of founding
members. However, NGOs and political analysts largely agreed that the
law did not fundamentally change the political system, citing the
historic lack of support for political parties and the fact that only
small parties with few members were dissolved.
The electoral law leads to significant underrepresentation in urban
areas. For instance, Amman's second district has more than 200,000
constituents and was granted four representatives, while Karak's sixth
district has approximately 7,000 constituents and was granted three
representatives. Analysts considered electoral districting unfair,
claiming it was intended to reduce the representation of areas heavily
populated by citizens of Palestinian origin and because of a lack of
balance between the population and the number of seats per district.
The law allows voters to choose one candidate in multiple-seat
districts. In the largely tribal society, citizens tended to cast their
vote for members of the same tribe.
Citizens of Palestinian origin, estimated to be more than half of
the total population, are underrepresented at all levels of government.
The election law reserves nine lower house seats for Christians and
three for either the Circassian or Chechen ethnic minorities. No seats
were reserved for the relatively small Druze population, but they were
permitted to hold office under their government classification as
Muslims. The law also stipulates that the non-Christian and Circassian/
Chechen seats must be held by Muslims. In November 2007 King Abdullah
appointed four Christians to serve in the upper house. Christians
served regularly as cabinet ministers. The Government traditionally
reserves some positions in the upper levels of the military for
Christians (4 percent); however, Muslims held all senior command
positions.
Women have the right to vote. Seven women serve in the Senate,
seven in the Chamber of Deputies (six seats are reserved for them),
four in the cabinet, and one as governor. The law provides a 20 percent
quota for women in municipal council seats. The MOJ established a
minimum membership quota of 15 percent for women in the Judicial
Institute of Jordan; such membership is a prerequisite to becoming a
judge.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government increased
investigations of alleged corruption; however, there were few
convictions for corruption during the year, raising criticisms that
officials enjoyed impunity. The use of family, business, and other
personal connections to advance personal business interests was
widespread; allegations of lack of transparency in government
procurement and dispute settlement remained.
On June 1, the Audit Bureau released its annual report to the
public, which noted that the bureau prosecuted 48 cases of violations
of handling public money totaling 1.06 million dinars (approximately
$1.5 million). Judgments were issued in 16 of the cases, and the
Government reclaimed approximately 43,000 dinars ($61,000). The
remaining cases were pending further court action or were in settlement
talks at year's end.
On June 3, the Anticorruption Commission announced that it referred
its first 21 cases to the courts for prosecution. The cases dealt with
fraud, misuse of public office, forgery, bribery, and embezzlement and
reportedly resulted from over 200 complaints that were investigated.
Some commentators questioned the commission's independence and
effectiveness. In 2007 two members of the commission resigned over
allegations of corruption. Individuals who submit baseless claims to
the commission may be subject to civil and criminal prosecution.
The law requires certain government officials to declare their
assets privately to be reviewed by the chief justice in the event of a
complaint. On May 16, three days after a one-month grace period for
reporting ended, the Government stated that 2,863 of 3,600 officials
had complied with the law. Subsequently, 246 officials complied after
receiving court notices and 150 of the remaining cases were forwarded
to prosecutors for legal action. Under the law, a failure to submit
disclosures could result in prison from a week to three years or fines
from five to 200 dinars ($7 to $280). At year's end officials failing
to submit a disclosure had not been punished.
The law provides for public access to government information once
it becomes a matter of legal record but allows requests to be denied
for reasons of ``national security, public health, and personal
freedoms.'' Journalists criticized the law, claiming that it permits
the Government to deny requests without justification. In a Higher
Media Council survey released on July 21, nearly half of the
journalists surveyed reported difficulty accessing information or had
requests denied outright.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups operated with some
restrictions, publicly investigating and reporting allegations of human
rights abuses throughout the year; however, the organizations often
claimed that the Government did not rectify the problems they
identified. Major local human rights observers included the government-
funded NCHR and several independent organizations: the MIZAN Law Group
for Human Rights, the Amman Centre for Human Rights Studies, the AOHR,
the CDFJ, and the Adaleh Center for Human Rights Studies. The new law
on associations introduces new oversight powers to the Government over
civil society and increases the Government's role in any association's
internal affairs.
The Government generally cooperated with international NGOs, the
UN, and other international governmental organizations; however, some
observers said they were unable to meet with security detainees held
incommunicado.
The Government provided the NCHR most of its funding, which other
local human rights groups complained unduly influenced the
organization; however, the NCHR's reporting was regarded as objective
and critical. The NCHR commissioner general and chairman of the board
are appointed based on the prime minister's recommendation. On March
23, the NCHR issued its fourth annual report on the state of human
rights in 2007, highlighting as negative developments the Crime
Prevention Law; excessive use of administrative detention; withdrawal
of Jordanian passports and ID cards; regression of workers' rights,
especially those of migrant domestic workers; recession in democratic
and political development as evidenced by both the municipal and
parliamentary elections; and worsening conditions of child labor.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of
race, disability, language, or social status; however, the law
prohibits some types of discrimination. The law treats women unequally,
and minorities faced discrimination in employment, housing, and other
areas.
Women.--Violence and abuse against women continued, including
widespread domestic violence, numerous honor crimes, and spousal rape.
In rural areas violence against women was reported more frequently than
in major cities; however, women's rights activists speculated that many
incidents in cities went unreported.
The law stipulates a sentence of not less than ten years'
imprisonment with hard labor for rape of a girl or woman 15 years of
age or older. Spousal rape is not illegal. The PSD Family Protection
Unit (FPU) treated and investigated 507 cases of sexual assault from
January until August 31.
Women may file a complaint in court against their spouses for
physical abuse; however, in practice familial and societal pressures
discouraged them from seeking legal remedies. From January to August
31, the FPU forwarded 539 complaints of domestic violence for
prosecution. Spousal abuse is technically grounds for divorce, but
husbands may seek to claim religious authority to strike their wives.
In January the Chamber of Deputies endorsed the Family Protection Law,
which gave the FPU jurisdiction to handle cases of domestic violence
and included protection order provisions with penalties of up to six
months in prison.
Cultural norms continued to discourage victims of domestic violence
from seeking medical or legal assistance. The government-run shelter,
Dar al-Wafaq, assisted approximately 500 victims of domestic abuse and
provides reconciliation and counseling services to victims and their
families. The FPU domestic violence hotline received 2,307 calls during
the year. The NGO Jordanian Women's Union also maintained a telephone
hotline for victims of domestic violence and sheltered abuse victims.
During the year authorities prosecuted 16 reported instances of
honor crimes that resulted in death of the victim, although activists
reported that numerous additional unreported cases likely occurred. A
November 2007 UN Development Fund for Women study stated that 25
percent of honor crime victims in the country were killed merely
because of their suspected involvement in an illicit relationship,
while 15 percent were killed after such a relationship was allegedly
proven. Although maximum sentences for first- and second-degree murder
were death and 15 years' imprisonment, respectively, the court usually
found perpetrators of honor killings guilty of a ``crime of passion,''
which merited a maximum sentence of three years. While defendants were
almost universally found guilty, they often received token sentences of
no more than six months.
After the King's November 9 call for harsher punishments for
individuals convicted of harming women and children, two men in
separate cases received prison sentences of seven and one-half years
for honor-related crimes. No legislative changes were made, however, in
line with these comments, and there was no indication that the King's
view had been incorporated into long-term judicial policy. On December
1, a criminal court sentenced the men, both of whom said they murdered
their female relatives for tainting their family's honor. In one case,
a man shot his niece in August 2007 because she refused to divorce a
man she had sex with before they were married. In the other case, the
man strangled his 16-year-old sister in January because she disappeared
for three days after a quarrel with her husband and refused to tell her
brother where she had been.
On March 7, a man reportedly shot and killed his 23-year-old sister
after he found her walking in a forested area at 1 a.m. with a
houseguest in Azraq. The criminal prosecutor charged the brother on
March 10 with premeditated murder and two others in complicity with the
murder. The case was ongoing at year's end.
The case of the man who shot and killed his daughter in 2007 after
forcing her to undergo an abortion for a pregnancy out of wedlock was
ongoing at year's end.
The police regularly placed potential victims of honor crimes in
involuntary protective custody in Jweideh Correctional and
Rehabilitation Center, a detention facility where some have remained
for more than 20 years. A human rights organization estimated that at
year's end more than 20 women were in protective custody. One NGO
continued to work with the Government to provide a temporary but
unofficial shelter where the women could live in relative anonymity as
an alternate to protective custody.
Prostitution is illegal, but it occurred.
According to the law, sexual harassment is strictly prohibited. The
law does not make a distinction between sexual assault and sexual
harassment; both carry a minimum prison sentence of four years with
hard labor. Women's groups state that harassment is common but that
victims are often hesitant to file a complaint and rarely do so.
Women experienced legal discrimination in pension and social
security benefits, inheritance, divorce, ability to travel, child
custody, citizenship, and in certain limited circumstances, the value
of their Shari'a court testimony.
Under Shari'a as applied in the country, female heirs receive half
the amount that male heirs receive, and non-Muslim widows of Muslim
spouses have no inheritance rights. A sole female heir receives half of
her parents' estate; the balance goes to designated male relatives. A
sole male heir inherits both of his parents' property. Male Muslim
heirs have the duty to provide for all family members who need
assistance. The existing temporary divorce law allows women to seek
divorces and retain their financial rights only under specific
circumstances, such as spousal abuse. In these cases the woman has the
burden of proof. Special courts for each denomination adjudicate
marriage and divorce matters for Christians.
The Government provided men with more generous social security
benefits than women. The Government continued pension payments of
deceased male civil servants but discontinued payments of deceased
female civil servants to their heirs. Laws and regulations governing
health insurance for civil servants do not permit women to extend their
health insurance coverage to dependents or spouses. However, divorced
and widowed women may extend coverage to their children.
Women activists complain that the law granting women equal pay for
equal work was not consistently enforced. Many women stated that
traditional social pressures discouraged them from pursuing
professional careers, especially after marriage. During the year the
unemployment rate for women was 23.6 percent, compared to 12 percent
for the country as a whole.
The law states that women have the right to obtain passports
without the written permission of their husbands, although in practice
the husband's permission is often required. Married women do not have
the legal right to transmit citizenship to their children; however,
female citizens married to noncitizen men can pass citizenship to their
children upon the permission of the Council of Ministers. In practice
this permission was usually granted, except in cases where the father
was of Palestinian origin. Women may not petition for citizenship for
their noncitizen husbands. The husbands themselves must apply for
citizenship after fulfilling a requirement of 15 years of continuous
residency. Once the husbands have obtained citizenship, they may apply
to transmit citizenship to their children. However, in practice such an
application may take years, and in many cases citizenship may be denied
to the husband and children. Such children become stateless and, if
they do not hold legal residency, lose the right to attend public
school or seek other government services.
Children.--Education is compulsory from ages six through 16 and
free until age 18; however, no legislation exists to enforce the law or
punish guardians for violating it.
During the year authorities received and investigated complaints of
physical abuse and sexual abuse of children. The law specifies
punishment for abuses against children; for example, conviction for
rape of a child less than 15 years of age potentially carries the death
penalty. The current minimum age for marriage is 18 years. However,
with the consent of a judge and a guardian, children as young as 15, in
most cases girls, may be married. The National Council for Family
Affairs' July report stated that current legislation does not provide
sufficient protection from abuse to women or children, specifically
citing the legal authorization for parents to discipline their children
using force. The Government continued to fund a child protection center
that provided temporary shelter, medical care, and rehabilitation for
abused children age six to 12. From January to August 31, the FPU
handled 353 cases of child abuse, of which 320 were sexual assaults.
In January the Chamber of Deputies endorsed the Family Protection
Law, which covers violence against children and gave the FPU
jurisdiction over child abuse cases.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit all
forms of trafficking in persons, but the Government prohibits
trafficking in children. Other statutes governing kidnapping, assault,
rape, and fraud may be used to prosecute trafficking offenses,
including withholding of passports and non-payment of wages.
International and local observers assess that the trafficking of
domestic workers remains a serious problem.
The country was a destination and transit point for men and women
from South and Southeast Asia trafficked for forced labor, as well as a
destination for women from Eastern Europe and Morocco for prostitution.
Women from countries including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the
Philippines migrated to work as domestic servants, but some were
subjected to conditions of forced labor, such as withholding of
passports, restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and
physical or sexual abuse. Some Chinese, Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri
Lankan, and Vietnamese men and women encountered conditions similar to
forced labor in some factories in Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs),
including unlawful withholding of passports, nonpayment of wages and
overtime, and physical abuse. However, reports of forced labor
conditions in QIZs substantially decreased from previous years. Foreign
workers in the QIZs and domestic workers were generally recruited by
registered recruitment agencies that worked with agencies in source
countries.
Authorities may utilize laws prohibiting slavery, kidnapping,
withholding of passports, and other crimes to prosecute offenders, with
penalties of up to three years' imprisonment. As of October 31, the
Government investigated and forwarded 19 cases for prosecution
involving forced labor offenses. In July the Government amended the
labor law to extend protections over domestic and agriculture laborers;
however, at year's end implementing regulations had not been enacted. A
separate amendment added penalties for forced labor and sexual assault
of employees, including a fine of up to 1,000 dinars ($1,400) for
threatening or coercing a person to work, including withholding
passports.
The Government provided no formal protective services for victims
of trafficking; however, a few local NGOs and embassies offered limited
services. Some foreign workers who fled from abusive employers or faced
sexual assault were falsely charged with crimes by their employer or
put into ``protective custody.'' To varying degrees, source country
embassies operated their own shelters for domestic workers fleeing
their employers. In July the Ministry of Labor (MOL) created a
humanitarian and legal assistance fund to assist migrant workers,
especially victims of trafficking.
The MOL continued antitrafficking efforts, including participation
in a forced labor and trafficking awareness campaign in QIZs,
distribution of a guidebook for domestic workers on their rights, and
operation of a multilanguage abuse prevention hotline.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides equal rights to
persons with disabilities, who numbered around 200,000, according to
government estimates, although UN estimates placed the number closer to
500,000. Access to education and other services in rural areas for
persons with disabilities was widely reported by citizens and NGOs as a
problem. The Special Buildings Code Department is tasked to enforce
accessibility provisions and oversees retrofitting of existing
buildings to comply with building codes; however, many private and
public office buildings continued to have limited or no access for
persons with disabilities.
The law mandates that public and private sector establishments
between 25 and 50 workers employ one disabled person, and
establishments over 50 workers must reserve 4 percent of their
positions for persons with disabilities; however, the NCHR received
some complaints from disabled persons regarding employers who
discriminated against them on the grounds of disability. High
unemployment restricted job opportunities for persons with
disabilities. The Government provided monetary assistance to citizens
with severe mental and multiple physical disabilities whose families
earned less than 250 dinars ($350) per month.
National/Ethnic/Racial Minorities.--There were three groups of
Palestinians residing in the country, many of whom faced some
discrimination. Those who migrated to the country and the Jordal-
controlled West Bank after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war were given full
citizenship, as were those who migrated to the country after the 1967
war and hold no residency entitlement in the West Bank. Those still
residing in the West Bank after 1967 were no longer eligible to claim
full citizenship but were allowed to obtain temporary passports without
national numbers, provided they did not also carry a Palestinian
Authority travel document. Refugees who fled Gaza after 1967 were not
entitled to citizenship and were issued temporary passports without
national numbers.
Several human rights activists maintained that despite the codified
passport issuance procedures, MOI employees revoked national numbers of
many citizens of Palestinian origin. Individuals claimed that their
temporary passports were confiscated after spending time in the West
Bank. Palestinians were underrepresented in parliament and appointments
to many senior positions in the Government and the military, as well as
in admittance to public universities, and had limited access to
university scholarships.
During the year there were reports of societal discrimination
against Iraqis living in the country. Some employers reportedly refused
to pay or underpaid Iraqis working illegally, and some landlords
reportedly would not rent or sell to Iraqis.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal discrimination
against homosexuals existed. There were reports of individuals leaving
the country out of fear they would be harmed by their family for being
homosexual.
On October 23, security forces arrested for ``lewd acts'' four
homosexuals in a park in West Amman following a set-up by the police.
Amman governor Sa'ad Al-Manaseer placed them in solitary confinement in
Jweidah prison without bail. They were released after guaranteeing they
would not carry out any such acts in the future.
HIV/AIDS was a largely taboo subject, and public awareness was
limited. Many citizens assumed the disease was a problem exclusively of
foreigners due to government requirements that foreigners be tested for
HIV annually. Foreigners who tested HIV positive were deported.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides citizens working in
the private sector, in some government-owned companies, and in certain
professions in the public sector the right to form and join unions, and
in practice this right was respected. According to official figures,
more than 10 percent of the workforce was organized into 17 unions. The
law limits membership to citizens, effectively excluding the country's
more than 200,000 registered foreign workers from union membership.
Some unions represented the interests of foreign workers informally;
for instance, the textile union provided medical and legal services to
migrant workers in textile factories in addition to citizens.
Government involvement in union activities continued to occur. For
example, the Government required unions to register and to be members
of the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU), the sole
trade union federation. The Government subsidized and audited the
GFJTU's salaries and activities, and it monitored union elections in
the event of a complaint to ensure compliance with the law. In recent
election cycles, when the number of candidates exceeded the number of
seats, the Government allegedly persuaded some candidates to withdraw.
Workers have the right to strike under certain conditions. The law
mandates that workers must give the employer and government, at a
minimum, 14 days' notice of a strike. Strikes are prohibited if a labor
dispute is under mediation or arbitration.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Unions have the
right to bargain collectively, and in practice the Government respected
this right. The constitution prohibits antiunion discrimination, and
the MOL received no complaints of antiunion discrimination during the
year.
Nearly 75 percent of the workers in the QIZs were noncitizens and
thus were not permitted to form or participate in unions or to engage
in collective bargaining.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, except in a state of emergency
such as war or natural disaster; however, there were reports of forced
labor, particularly of domestic workers and foreign workers in QIZs,
during the year (See Section 5). In July the labor law was amended to
include fines for practices related to forced labor, including
withholding of passports, ranging from 500 to 1,000 dinars ($700 to
$1,400). The law does not specifically prohibit forced or compulsory
labor by children, and such practices were known to occur.
During the year allegations of forced labor decreased substantially
due to more rigorous MOL inspections. The MOL regularly investigated
such allegations, required violators to pay fines when appropriate,
publicized the outcomes of their findings, and forwarded 19 cases
related to trafficking of QIZ or domestic workers to the courts for
criminal prosecution.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
labor law forbids employment for children under the age of 16, except
as apprentices; however, there were reports of child labor. Children
worked as street vendors, carpenters, blacksmiths, and painters in
Amman, Zarqa, and Irbid, and in agriculture throughout the country. In
April the NCHR estimated there were approximately 50,000 working
children between the ages of five and 17 in the country.
Children under the age of 18 may not work for more than six hours
continuously between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., or during
weekends, religious celebrations, or national holidays. Children under
18 may not work in hazardous occupations. The law provides that
employers who hire a child under the age of 16 must pay a fine of up to
500 dinars (approximately $700), which is doubled if the offense is
repeated.
A 2007 MOL study estimated that 13 percent of working children in
the country were subject to forced labor and 16 percent earn 50 dinars
($70) or less per month. The study stated that heavy machinery, noise
pollution, poor lighting, and exposure to chemicals were common risks
faced by working children.
The MOL's Child Labor Unit coordinates government action regarding
child labor and is tasked to receive, investigate, and address child
labor complaints; however, no complaints had been received by year's
end, as Article 77 of the Labor Law, which sets penalties regarding the
illegal recruitment of children, was not enforced. The Government
provided limited training on child labor, including identification, to
the 140 MOL inspectors responsible for enforcing the relevant laws.
Labor inspectors have issued fines for child labor violations but state
they often attempt alternative approaches first, such as removal from
hazardous conditions or attendance in nonformal education.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage was
110 dinars ($154) per month, which did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. MOL inspectors enforced the minimum
wage but due to limited resources were unable to ensure full
compliance.
In some cases, the law requires overtime pay for hours worked in
excess of the 48-hour standard workweek. Compulsory overtime is
prohibited, but the law allows the employer to require the employee to
work more than 48 hours a week for specific purposes such as carrying
out annual inventory, closing accounts, preparing to sell goods at
discounted prices, avoiding loss to goods that would otherwise be
exposed to damage, and receiving special deliveries. In such cases, the
actual working hours may not exceed 10 hours per day, the employee must
be paid overtime, and the period may not last more than 30 days.
Employees were entitled to one day off per week.
The law specifies a number of health and safety requirements for
workers, which the MOL is authorized to enforce. Workers do not have a
statutory right to remove themselves from hazardous conditions without
risking the loss of their jobs. Foreign workers were more susceptible
to dangerous or unfair conditions. Some foreign workers suffered from
abusive labor practices in factories, although allegations decreased
substantially following more rigorous inspection efforts. MOL
inspections identified problems at certain factories regarding delayed
or non-payment of wages, excessive or forced overtime, withholding
identity or travel documents, non-contractual deductions for food and
shelter, and physical abuse of workers. In such cases, MOL issued
warnings and fines and closed some factories.
Abuse of foreign domestic servants reportedly continued, although
it was not thoroughly documented. Employers allegedly routinely limited
their domestic employees' freedom of movement, failed to pay full
wages, did not allow them a day off, imposed isolation and excessively
long working hours, and often confiscated identity or travel documents.
In July the MOL created a fund to provide support to victims of labor
abuses. The fund may be used to provide humanitarian assistance and to
pay the legal fees for victims filing criminal or libel cases against
their employers. In September the fund paid for the repatriations of 38
Bangladeshi workers when their factory closed without notice.
__________
KUWAIT
Kuwait is a constitutional, hereditary Emirate ruled by the Al-
Sabah family with a population of 3.39 million, of which 1.3 million
are citizens. Although there were reports of vote buying by the
Government and certain candidates in the May 17 parliamentary election,
local observers and the press considered the election generally free
and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.
The Government limited citizens' right to change their government
and form political parties. There were reports that security forces
abused prisoners and detainees, and the Government did not make public
any investigations or prosecutions of perpetrators. The Government
limited freedoms of speech, press, religion, and movement for certain
groups. Government corruption and trafficking in persons remained
problems. The status of stateless Arab residents (called ``Bidoon'')
remained unresolved. Women did not enjoy equal rights, and expatriate
workers faced difficult conditions in the domestic and unskilled
service sectors.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
There were no developments in the two 2006 cases of nonnationals
who died in police custody.
b. Disappearance.--There were no politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment; however, some police and members of
the security forces reportedly abused detainees during the year. Police
and security forces were more likely to inflict such abuse on
noncitizens, particularly non-Gulf Arabs and Asians, and there were
several reported accounts of police abuse of transgendered persons. The
Government stated that it investigated all allegations of abuse and
punished at least some of the offenders; however, in most cases the
Government did not make public either the findings of its
investigations or any punishments it imposed.
On March 14, according to Human Rights Watch, police arrested two
transgendered persons at a checkpoint, made them take off their men's
hats and jackets, and hit them on their faces as they stood in their
female clothing. Authorities allegedly held them for five days and
shaved their heads before releasing them.
On July 28, security officials allegedly abused hundreds of
Bangladeshi workers on strike. Security officials reportedly imprisoned
and beat the workers for five days before forcibly deporting them to
Bangladesh.
There were no further developments in the December 2007 cases of
reported physical and psychological abuse of five transgendered women
in Tahla prison. However, after they reported abuse by other inmates,
the director of the prison separated them from the general population.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions varied. Some were poor, with inadequate sanitation
and lack of sufficient medical staff. Authorities reportedly mistreated
prisoners and failed to prevent inmate-to-inmate violence.
A new men's prison building that met all international standards
opened in 2006, reducing previously severe overcrowding.
On September 30, the parliamentary Human Rights Committee reported
that Talha Prison was no longer suitable for inmates and stressed the
need to renovate the dilapidated building.
The Government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers. During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross
carried out several visits to the Central Prison, both the men's and
women's wards. It also visited temporary jails at police stations. The
local nongovernmental organization (NGO) Kuwait Human Rights Society
(KHRS) visited the women's ward at the Central Prison during the year,
in addition to several temporary jails at police stations.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions, although police sometimes arbitrarily arrested
nonnationals.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police have sole
responsibility for the enforcement of laws not related to national
security. Kuwait State Security oversees intelligence and national
security-related matters. Both are under the purview of civilian MOI
authorities. The military is responsible for external security.
The police were generally effective in carrying out core
responsibilities; however, there were frequent reports of corruption,
especially when one party to a dispute had a personal relationship with
a police official involved in a case. There were also reports that some
police stations did not take the requests of complainants, especially
foreigners, seriously and obstructed their access to the justice
system.
In cases of alleged police abuse, the district chief investigator
examines abuse allegations and refers worthy cases to the courts for
trial. Unlike in the past, no security officials were relieved of their
duties as a result of credible allegations of abuse of detainees during
interrogation.
Arrest and Detention.--Police officers generally must obtain an
arrest warrant from state prosecutors or a judge before making an
arrest, except in cases of hot pursuit. There were credible reports of
police arresting and detaining foreigners without a warrant during the
year. However, the courts generally do not accept cases without
warrants issued prior to arrests. According to the penal code,
suspected criminals may be held at a police station for up to four days
without charge, during which authorities may prevent lawyers and family
members from visiting them. In such cases lawyers are permitted to
attend legal proceedings but are not allowed to have direct contact
with their clients. If charges are filed, prosecutors may remand a
suspect to detention for an additional 21 days. Prosecutors also may
obtain court orders for further detention pending trial. There is a
functioning bail system for defendants awaiting trial. The bar
association provided lawyers for indigent defendants.
Of the approximately 3,500 persons serving sentences or detained
pending trial, approximately 150 were held in the ``state security
ward'' on security grounds, including some held for collaborating with
Iraq during the 1990-91 occupation. Arbitrarily lengthy detention
before trial was a problem, and approximately 10 percent of the prison
population consisted of pretrial detainees.
During the year foreigners at the deportation facility in Shuwaikh
were incarcerated, on average, between 10 days and two months awaiting
deportation. Some were held there for much longer periods, often due to
delays in the court system or bureaucracy.
Amnesty.--On February 28, the Emir issued an amnesty that freed 380
prisoners, reduced sentences for 703 prisoners, and canceled
deportation orders for 127 foreigners.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary and the right to a fair trial and states that
``judges shall not be subject to any authority"; however, the Emir
appoints all judges, and the renewal of judicial appointments is
subject to government approval. Judges who are citizens have lifetime
appointments; however, many judges are noncitizens who hold one- to
three-year renewable contracts. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) may
remove judges for cause but rarely does so. Foreign residents involved
in legal disputes with citizens frequently claimed that the courts
showed bias in favor of citizens.
The secular court system tries both civil and criminal cases, all
of which originate with the Court of First Instance, composed of a
three-judge panel. Both defendants and plaintiffs may appeal a verdict
to the High Court of Appeals, with a three-judge panel, which may rule
on whether the law was applied properly as well as on the guilt or
innocence of the defendant. These decisions may be presented to the
Court of Cassation, where five judges review the cases to determine
only whether the law was applied properly. The Emir has the
constitutional authority to pardon or commute all sentences.
Sunni and Shia Shari'a (Islamic law) courts have jurisdiction over
family law cases for Muslims. Secular courts allow anyone to testify
and consider male and female testimony equally; however, in the family
courts the testimony of a man is equal to that of two women.
The Constitutional Court, whose members are senior judges from the
civil judiciary, has the authority to issue binding rulings concerning
the constitutionality of laws and regulations and also rules on
election disputes.
The martial court convenes in the event the Emir declares martial
law. The law does not specifically provide for a military court or
provide any guidelines for how such a court would operate. The military
operates tribunals that can impose punishments for offenses within the
military.
Trial Procedures.--By law criminal trials are public unless a court
or the Government decides that ``maintenance of public order'' or
``preservation of public morals'' necessitates closed proceedings.
There is no trial by jury. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence
and have the right to confront their accusers and appeal verdicts.
Defendants in felony cases are required by law to be represented in
court by legal counsel, which the courts provide in criminal cases. The
bar association is obligated upon court request to appoint an attorney
without charge for indigent defendants in civil, commercial, and
criminal cases, and defendants utilized these services. Defendants and
their attorneys generally have access to government-held evidence
relevant to their cases. The law affords these protections to all
citizens.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however,
enforcement of rulings was a significant problem. Administrative
punishments, such as travel bans, are also available in civil matters.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law provides for individual privacy and the
sanctity of the home, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice. Security forces occasionally monitored individuals'
private communications and activities.
The law forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men
and requires male citizens serving in the military to obtain government
approval to marry foreign nationals. In practice the Government offered
only nonbinding advice in such matters.
When a Bidoon resident applies for citizenship, the Government
considers security or criminal violations committed by his or her
family members as a barrier to that resident getting citizenship.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and the press ``in accordance with the conditions and
in the circumstances defined by law.'' In practice the Government
sometimes did not respect these rights. Journalists and publishers
practiced self-censorship.
Individuals were able to criticize the Government freely in private
and informal gatherings and in public gatherings as long as they did
not attack Islam, the Emir, or the crown prince. Pointed criticism of
ministers and other high-ranking government officials was widespread,
and individuals were not subjected to punishments as a result.
The country had 14 Arabic and three English-language daily
newspapers, all of which were privately owned. Print media generally
exhibited independence and diversity of opinion, although there were
reports that they practiced self-censorship at timesin order to avoid
unnecessary conflict with the Government. The Government continued its
September 2007 ban on the import and circulation of several Egyptian
newspapers. The Government owned nine local radio and four television
stations, and there were 11 privately owned television stations. A
private satellite television news channel, Al-Rai, was affiliated with
its sister newspaper of the same name.
The law prohibited the publication of material criticizing Islam,
the Emir, the constitution, or the neutrality of the courts or public
prosecutor's office. The law also mandates jail terms for journalists
who ``defame religion,'' and any Muslim citizen may file criminal
charges against an author the citizen believes has defamed Islam, the
ruling family, or public morals. Citizens often filed such charges for
political reasons.
On May 28, according to Reporters Without Borders, a court ordered
Fuad al-Hashem of the daily Al-Watan to pay 7,190 dinars (approximately
$25,000) for defamation as a result of three cases brought by the
Qatari prime minister, who accused Al-Hashem of harming his reputation
in articles dealing with his relations with Israel. At year's end there
was no information as to whether al-Hashem had paid the fine.
On November 11, the Court of Cassation sentenced the person who
posted a comment insulting the Emir on Bashar Al-Sayegh's Web site in
2007 to two years in prison. Al-Sayegh himself was acquitted of any
charges on February 2.
The MOI censored all books, films, periodicals, videotapes, and
other imported publications deemed morally offensive, although
satellite dishes were widely available and allowed some citizens to
receive unfiltered media. The MOI controlled the publication and
distribution of all informational materials.
The law requires newspaper publishers to obtain an operating
license from the MOI. Publishers may lose their license if their
publications do not appear for three months in the case of a daily
newspaper, or six months in the case of a less-frequent publication.
Internet Freedom.--There were approximately 900,000 users of the
Internet in the country. The Government monitored Internet
communications, such as blogs and discussion groups, for defamation and
security reasons. The Ministry of Communications (MOC) continued to
block Web sites deemed to ``incite terrorism and instability'' and
required Internet service providers to block other Web sites, some
political. Internet cafe owners were obligated to obtain the names and
civil identification numbers of customers and to submit the information
to the MOC upon request.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The law provides for freedom
of opinion and of research; however, academic freedom was limited by
self-censorship, and the law prohibited academics from criticizing the
Emir or Islam.
The MOI reserved the right to approve or reject public events and
rejected those it deemed politically or morally inappropriate. The
ministry reported that it rejected many applications for events but did
not release the names of these events. Some hotels and performance
halls reported increased hesitation to host musical functions because
of what they perceived as a rise in the power of cultural
conservatives. For example, on August 24, conservative members of
parliament reportedly chided and demanded the punishment of a hotel
owner and party organizers for sponsoring a mixed-gender dance. On
August 27, the ministry referred the owner of the hotel to the
Commercial Attorney's Office for investigation. There were no updates
in the case at year's end.
The MOI censored films based on objectionable content such as
extreme violence, profanity, and all intimacy between genders.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the Government
generally respected the right in practice. Organizers of public
gatherings of more than 20 persons must inform the MOI of their plans.
The law also protects ``diwaniyas'' (informal weekly social and
political gatherings). Many adult male citizens, including members of
the Government and of the National Assembly, and increasing numbers of
female citizens, hosted or attended diwaniyas to discuss current
economic, political, and social issues. Women held diwaniyas of their
own, but such diwaniyas were uncommon; a few diwaniyas were open to
both sexes.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association; however, the Government restricted this right in practice.
The law prohibits officially licensed groups from engaging in political
activities.
The Government used its power to license associations as a means of
political control. There were 73 officially licensed NGOs in the
country, including a bar association, professional groups, and
scientific bodies. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) did
not license any new NGOs during the year, compared with one licensing
the previous year and seven the year before. At year's end there were
149 NGOs pending licensing by the MOSAL; many have been waiting years
for approval.
The 45 NGOs licensed prior to 2004 continued to receive an annual
government subsidy of 12,000 dinars (approximately $41,000) for their
operating expenses, including travel to international conferences. NGOs
licensed since 2004, when the MOSAL began issuing licenses after a long
period of refusing to do so, do not receive financial assistance. The
MOSAL rejected some license requests on the grounds that established
NGOs already provided services similar to those proposed by the
petitioners. The MOSAL also can reject an NGO's application if it deems
that the NGO does not provide a public service. The minister has
discretion to change a proposed NGO's name prior to licensing and
sometimes did so on the grounds that the name was too close to that of
an already existing NGO. Members of licensed NGOs must obtain
permission from the MOSAL to attend international conferences as
official representatives of their NGO.
There were many unlicensed civic groups, clubs, and unofficial NGOs
in the country. These unofficial associations did not receive
government subsidies and had no legal status.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion; however, the Government limited this right. The constitution
protects the freedom to practice religion in accordance with
established customs, provided that it does not conflict with public
policy or morals. The constitution declares that Islam is the state
religion and that Shari'a is ``a main source of legislation.''
Non-Muslim religious groups unanimously reported that freedom of
belief is respected, but non-Muslim religious organizations had more
difficulty operating. The Government did not recognize some Christian
churches, and they could not operate openly. Some recognized churches
found quotas on clergy and staff visas burdensome. Shia faced some
disadvantages in comparison with Sunnis.
Members of religions not sanctioned in the Koran, such as Baha'is,
Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs, may not operate official places of
worship, but they were allowed to worship in their homes without
government interference. There is no specific law banning the
establishment of other non-Muslim places of worship; however, in
practice the Government denied permission to the few groups that
applied for licenses to build new places of worship, deterring some
religious groups applying.
Islamic religious instruction is mandatory in all government
schools and in any private school that has one or more Muslim students.
The law prohibits organized religious education other than Islam;
however, in practice the Government allowed non-Muslim religious
instruction as long as no Muslim students were taking part in the
education. The Government did not interfere with religious instruction
inside private homes.
Muslims who wished to convert from Islam to another religion faced
intense societal pressure and generally had to hide their new religious
affiliation. The law prohibits naturalization of non-Muslims and
forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men; these
prohibitions effectively coerced individuals to convert to Islam.
The Government prohibited non-Muslim missionaries from
proselytizing to Muslims, although they may serve non-Muslim
congregations. The Islamic Presentation Committee, under the authority
of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, actively proselytized to
non-Muslims.
The Government does not permit the establishment of non-Islamic
religious publishing companies, and only one private company had an
import license for non-Muslim religious materials.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--While discrimination based on
religion reportedly occurred on a personal level, most observers agreed
it was not widespread.
Parliamentarians, the media, and mosque leaders engaged in anti-
Jewish rhetoric during the year. On August 31, a columnist for Al-Watan
daily, Dr. Ahmad Al-Duaij, wrote an article questioning the veracity of
the Holocaust and describing Jews as ``diabolical.'' There were no
known Jewish citizens and very few expatriate workers.
The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (MAIA) continued to
promote its ``moderation'' project, which aimed to discourage extremism
among Muslims and improve the image of Muslims among non-Muslims.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution generally provides
for freedom of movement within the country; however, there are numerous
laws constraining foreign travel, and the Government placed some limits
on freedom of movement in practice. The Government did not cooperate
with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees or other
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
During the year some laborers claimed that they were not allowed to
leave the residential camps where they lived.
Women, persons under 21 years of age, and Bidoon faced problems
with, or restrictions on, foreign travel. While not sanctioned by law,
MOI regulations mandate that all persons under 21 years of age obtain
permission from their father or another male relative to receive a
passport and travel abroad and that married women obtain their
husband's permission to apply for a passport. Further, a husband may
request that immigration authorities prevent his wife's departure from
the country for 24 hours, after which a court order may extend the
travel ban. The Government severely restricted the ability of the
Bidoon population to travel abroad; however, it permitted some Bidoon
to travel to Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj.
The law also permits the Government to place a travel ban on any
citizen or foreigner accused or suspected of violating the law, and it
allows citizens to petition authorities to do so. In practice this
resulted in citizens and foreigners arbitrarily being prevented or
delayed from departing the country.
The law prohibits the deportation or forced exile of citizens,
although the Government can revoke citizenship for various causes
including felony conviction and subsequently deport individuals. On
November 4, the Council of Ministers issued a decision to revoke
Kuwaiti citizenship from five individuals whom they deemed ineligible
for citizenship. Although the Government formed a committee to
investigate the cases, there was no update at year's end.
Protection of Refugees.--The laws do not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, neither of
which the country has signed. There is no system for providing
protection to refugees, and the Government did not grant refugee status
or asylum during the year. In practice the Government provided
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to a country
where their lives or freedom would be threatened, and the constitution
prohibits the extradition of political refugees; however, the
Government often kept such persons in detention until they agreed to
return or made alternative travel arrangements, and it rarely granted
them permission to live and work in the country.
Stateless Persons.--According to Refugees International,
citizenship is derived entirely from the father; children born to
citizen mothers and non-national fathers do not inherit citizenship
unless the mother is divorced or widowed. The law further fails to
provide non-nationals, including Bidoon and non-Muslims, the
opportunity to gain nationality on a nondiscriminatory basis.
Although the exact number of Bidoon residents was unknown, the
Ministry of Planning estimated there were more than 100,000 Bidoon in
the country at the end of 2006. The Government continued to
discriminate against the Bidoon in areas such as education, employment,
medical care, and freedom of movement. Bidoon children may not attend
public schools. Although the Government accepted Bidoon in an
increasing number of government positions, it barred Bidoon from
enlisting in the armed forces. Bidoon generally did not qualify for the
subsidized health care that citizens received, and the Government also
made it difficult for Bidoon to obtain official documents necessary for
employment or travel, such as birth certificates, civil identification
cards, driving licenses, and marriage certificates.
The Government continued to grant citizenship to a small number of
Bidoon. During the year it granted citizenship to 573 Bidoon on the
basis of sufficient ties to the country; however, more than 80,000
citizenship requests were pending at year's end. Many Bidoon were
unable to provide documentation proving sufficient ties to the country
or present evidence of their original nationality, as they were truly
stateless. However, the Government maintained that the vast majority of
Bidoon were concealing their true identities.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their
representatives in the legislative branch of government, and citizens
exercised this right in practice. However, citizens had only a very
limited, indirect impact on control of the executive branch as the
constitution stipulates that the country is a hereditary Emirate. The
elected National Assembly must approve the Emir's choice of crown
prince (the future Emir) and may remove the Emir from power if it
declares him unfit. In 2006 the National Assembly exercised this power
for the first time in the country's history.
Elections and Political Participation.--On May 17, two months after
the Emir dissolved the National Assembly, Islamists gained seats in an
early parliamentary election that was generally considered free and
fair. According to press reports, 35 percent of Kuwaiti citizens were
eligible to vote, and this election was the first since the number of
electoral districts was reduced from 25 to five in 2006.
There is no formal law banning political parties; however, the
Government did not recognize any political parties or allow anyone to
form political parties. Although the law does not address political
parties, they are in effect forbidden. Nevertheless, several well-
organized, unofficial blocs, acting much like political parties,
existed and were active in National Assembly elections. Assembly
candidates must nominate themselves as individuals and may run for
election in any of the country's electoral districts. Tribes dominated
two of the five constituencies and also exerted influence on the other
three.
There were no women in the National Assembly; however, there were
two women on the Municipal Council, and the ministers of education and
housing and of state for development affairs were women.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law mandates criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials often engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. The Audit Bureau is the Government agency
responsible for combating government corruption.
The MOSAL and the MOI continued to discover numerous cases during
the year of ministry employees forging documents enabling the
importation of foreign workers. The Government response was not
effective in combating this problem. Violations were referred to
investigative bodies within the ministries and then sent to the general
attorney's office for action. No rigorous action was taken against the
violators.
Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
The law provides for public access to unclassified government
information by citizens and noncitizens alike. The Government enforced
this law.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The law permits the existence of NGOs; however, the Government
continued to deny licenses to some NGOs. NGOs may not engage in overtly
political activity and are prohibited from encouraging sectarianism.
They must also demonstrate that their existence is in the public
interest. The only local independent NGOs dedicated specifically to
human rights were the KHRS and the Kuwaiti Society for Fundamental
Human Rights (KSFHR). The KHRS, which operated since the early 1990s
and received its official license in 2004, sporadically published a
magazine and met with senior government officials. The KSFHR, which
came into existence in 2005, aimed to approach human rights from an
Islamic perspective. Its leaders have spoken out on human rights issues
such as the treatment of foreign workers and the Bidoon, but it had not
published anything other than a booklet describing the organization and
had not conducted any activities. Other local licensed NGOs devoted to
specific groups, such as women, children, foreign workers, prisoners,
and persons with disabilities, were permitted to work without
government interference. Also, an unknown number of local unlicensed
human rights groups operated without government restriction during the
year.
The Government and various National Assembly committees met
regularly with local NGOs and responded to their inquiries.
The Government permits international human rights organizations to
visit the country and establish offices, although none operated in the
country. The International Office for Migration's regional director
visited the country during the year. Refugees International performed
and published a human rights study on the Bidoon in 2007 without
government interference.
The Government permitted visits by international governmental
organizations. The UN undersecretary for humanitarian affairs and
emergency relief visited the country twice during the year and met with
senior government officials including the foreign minister. One of the
UN human settlements officers met with the minister of housing and the
minister of state for planning affairs. The Government also continued
to cooperate fully with the work of the UN special rapporteurs for Iran
and Iraq and the high-level representative of the Secretary General on
the issue of its citizens missing in Iraq since the end of the Gulf
War.
The National Assembly's Human Rights Defense Committee is an
advisory body. During the year its work consisted primarily of hearing
individual complaints of human rights abuses.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, origin, disability,
or language; however, in practice the Government did not uniformly or
consistently enforce laws against discrimination, and a number of laws
and regulations discriminated against women, noncitizens, and domestic
workers.
Women.--Violence against women continued to be a serious and
overlooked problem. Rape is criminalized with a maximum penalty of
death, which the country imposes for the crime; however, spousal rape
is not a crime. The media reported hundreds of rape cases during the
year. Many of the victims were noncitizen domestic workers. The police
occasionally arrested rapists, and several were tried and convicted
during the year; however, laws against rape were not always enforced
effectively. According to third-country diplomatic sources, victims
reported that some police stations and hospitals handled their cases in
a professional way, but many did not.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, although
cases are tried as assault, and a victim of domestic violence may file
a complaint with the police requesting formal charges be brought
against the abuser. Each of the country's 83 police stations reportedly
received weekly complaints of domestic abuse. However, even with
documented evidence of the abuse, such as eyewitness accounts, hospital
reports, and social worker testimony, police officials rarely arrested
perpetrators of domestic violence. Noncitizen women married to citizens
reported domestic abuse and inaction or discrimination by police during
the year. A woman may petition for divorce based on injury from abuse,
but the law does not provide a clear legal standard as to what
constitutes injury. In addition a woman must provide at least two male
witnesses (or a male witness and two female witnesses) to attest to the
injury suffered. The courts have found husbands guilty of spousal
abuse; however, most domestic abuse cases were not reported, especially
outside of the capital, and individuals reportedly bribed police
officials to ignore domestic abuse charges. Abusive husbands, if
convicted, rarely faced severe penalties.
There are no shelters or hot lines specifically for victims of
domestic violence, although a temporary shelter for domestic workers
opened in September 2007 housed victims during the year. In the year
since it was opened, the shelter has housed 279 domestic workers.
Honor crimes are prohibited; however, the penal code reduces
penalties for such crimes to misdemeanors with a maximum prison
sentence of three years. There were no reported cases of honor crimes
during the year.
The police actively enforced laws against pandering and
prostitution, with arrests reported regularly. During the year police
also uncovered numerous prostitution rings. However, according to
reports, the prostitution rings were made up of women who were not
being forced or held captive against their will. The Government
generally deported prostituted persons to their countries of origin;
however, some were released after signing a pledge of good conduct.
Pimps received stiff jail terms. Some unemployed, runaway foreign
domestic workers were recruited or kidnapped and forced into
prostitution.
There is no specific law that addresses sexual harassment. Human
rights groups characterized sexual harassment against women in the
workplace as a pervasive but unreported problem. While no official
statistics on the problem were available, a June 2007 newspaper survey
found that 40 percent of female respondents from various professions
had experienced sexual harassment.
Women have political rights; however, they do not enjoy the same
rights as men under family law or property law or in the judicial
system, and they continued to face discrimination in many areas.
Nevertheless, women have attained prominent positions in government and
business. A parliamentary committee for women's and family affairs
exists.
Women continued to experience legal, economic, and social
discrimination. Shari'a discriminates against women in judicial
proceedings, freedom of movement, and marriage. Inheritance is governed
by Shari'a, which differs according to the school of Islamic
jurisprudence followed by the different populations in the country. In
the absence of a direct male heir, Shia women may inherit all property,
while Sunni women inherit only a portion, with the balance divided
among brothers, uncles, and male cousins of the deceased. A divorced
woman loses her right to live in housing purchased through the
Government loan program when her children reach age 18, regardless of
any payments she may have made on the loan, and a female citizen
married to a noncitizen cannot, by law, even qualify for the loan
program. Female citizens married to noncitizens were also required to
pay annual residence fees of 217 dinars (approximately $740) for their
husbands and children; the law grants residency only if the noncitizen
husband is employed, and citizen women cannot pass citizenship to their
noncitizen husbands or their children. Male citizens married to female
noncitizens did not face such discrimination in law or practice.
The law provides for female ``remuneration equal to that of a man
provided she does the same work"; however, it prohibits women from
working in ``dangerous industries'' and in trades ``harmful'' to
health. On June 8, the Constitutional Court ruled that the housing
benefits package outlined in a resolution by the Council of Ministers
for judges, general attorneys, and counselors in the legal advice and
legislation department was unconstitutional. According to the
resolution, married employees of both genders received a housing
allowance of 323 dinars (approximately $1,100), single male employees
received 217 dinars ($740), and single female employees received
nothing. Educated women maintained that the conservative nature of
society limited career opportunities, although there were limited
improvements. On June 29, the police academy enrolled its first group
of female cadets.
The law also requires that classes at all universities, private and
public, be segregated by gender. Public universities enforced this law
more rigorously than private universities.
Children.--The Government is generally committed to the rights and
welfare of citizen children, although noncitizen children suffered. The
Government did not issue birth certificates to Bidoon children, which
resulted in the denial of free public services to those children.
Education, which for citizen children was free through the university
level and compulsory and universal through the secondary level, was
generally unavailable to Bidoon children, who sometimes attended
private schools.
There was no societal pattern of child abuse, although there were
isolated instances.
The legal age for girls to marry is 15, but younger girls continued
to marry within some tribal groups. The MOJ estimated the problem at 2
to 3 percent of total marriages. The Government attempted to educate
the rural community through the MAIA and imams in local mosques.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not explicitly prohibit
trafficking in persons, although it prohibits transnational slavery and
forced prostitution. Trafficking in persons was a serious problem.
The country was a destination and transit point for men and women
for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Victims came from
South and East Asia, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines, although individuals from other
countries, such as Ethiopia and Eritrea, also reportedly were
trafficked. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians worked in the country,
and some were subjected to trafficking, particularly in the form of
debt bondage. There were reports that foreign workers under age 18 were
employed in homes in the country, but most victims were adults.
Principal traffickers were labor-recruitment agencies and sponsors
(employers) of foreign workers. The primary method used to obtain and
transport victims was for employers to offer valid contracts to workers
and then not honor those contracts. There were reports that employers
gave workers new contracts at lower salaries than those they signed
previously or deducted multiple fees from their salaries. Some
companies reportedly kept workers' cash cards and withdrew part of the
salary after the paycheck had been deposited. Workers found it
difficult to leave these situations for several reasons: employers
frequently withheld workers' passports or otherwise restricted their
movements; employees often were in debt from their travel to the
country; and employers could file or threaten to file criminal charges
against workers for absconding. Workers had only limited ability to
transfer from the sponsorship of one employer to another. Some workers
also faced physical and sexual assault as means of forcing them to
work.
Some traffickers, citizens and noncitizens, would set up a ``sham''
company and get permission to import a certain number of foreign
workers. The trafficker's agent in a foreign country would collect high
fees from prospective workers, purportedly for the right to come to the
country to work. However, when the workers arrived, they found there
was no work for them. In some cases, the employer would file an
absconding charge or simply report that the employee was no longer
employed. Victims were left without means of support and sometimes in
violation of immigration laws and were thus vulnerable to trafficking,
while the employer could then import more workers and charge them the
same fees. In other cases, workers knew that they were merely paying
for sponsorship and that it was up to them to find work.
Traffickers also forced some female domestic workers into
prostitution after they had escaped an abusive employer or by deceiving
them with a promise of a job in a different sector.
Although the law does not explicitly prohibit trafficking in
persons, traffickers may be prosecuted for transnational slavery, with
a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment, or forced prostitution,
with a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment or seven for minors.
However, the Government reported no such prosecutions or convictions
during the year Penalties for trafficking-related crimes range from
fines and incarceration for failure to abide by the standardized
domestic labor contract to life sentences and death for rape. However,
in most cases, law enforcement efforts were not effective and focused
on administrative measures, such as shutting down companies in
violation of labor laws or issuing the return of withheld passports or
payment of back-wages, rather than criminal punishments for abusive
employers.
During the year the courts did not make convictions for
trafficking-related crimes. The MOSAL, the Government agency
responsible for enforcing labor regulations, referred 29 companies to
the Investigation Department for nonpayment of worker salaries.
The Government assisted some trafficking victims; however, victims
were sometimes detained, prosecuted, or deported for acts, such as
prostitution or absconding, committed as a result of being trafficked.
The Government sheltered some trafficking victims in the domestic
worker shelter built in 2007, and it occasionally paid for airline
tickets to repatriate runaway or abused domestic workers. The Domestic
Workers Administration sometimes brokered solutions between employers
and former employees. There were no government programs to prevent
trafficking during the year.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state/gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities and imposes penalties against
employers who refrain from hiring persons with disabilities without
reasonable cause. The law also mandates access to buildings for persons
with disabilities. The Government generally enforced these provisions.
There was no reported discrimination against persons with disabilities
generally; however, noncitizens with disabilities did not have access
to government-operated facilities or receive stipends paid to citizens
with disabilities, which covered transportation, housing, job training,
and social welfare.
Representatives from ministries, other governmental bodies, Kuwait
University, and several NGOs constituted the Government's Higher
Council for Handicapped Affairs, which made policy recommendations,
provided financial aid to persons with disabilities, and facilitated
the integration of such persons into schools, jobs, and other social
institutions. The Government supervised and contributed to schools and
job and training programs that catered to persons with special needs.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Homosexuality is
illegal, and there was discrimination against homosexuals, in addition
to cases of police abuse of transgendered persons.
In December 2007 the National Assembly approved a law to impose a
fine of 1,059 dinars (approximately $3,600) and/or one year's
imprisonment for those imitating the appearance of the opposite sex in
public. There were no updates at year's end regarding the men arrested
under this law in December 2007.
Unmarried men continued to face housing discrimination based solely
on marital status. Although the law prohibits single men from obtaining
accommodation in many urban residential areas, at year's end the
Government had yet to fulfill a plan to construct housing for them on
the outskirts of the capital.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--With the notable exceptions of the
country's approximately 540,000 domestic servants and an unknown number
of maritime employees, the law provides that workers have the
restricted right to join unions without previous authorization. An
estimated 80,000 persons, or 5 percent, of a total workforce of 1.6
million were organized into unions. The law empowers the Government to
interfere significantly in union activities, including the right to
strike; however, the Government did not impede strikes.
The Government restricts the right of freedom of association to
only one union per occupational trade and permits only one federation,
the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF), which comprises 15 of the 47
licensed unions. The law stipulates that any new union must include at
least 100 workers, 15 of them citizens. Both the International Labor
Organization and the International Trade Union Confederation have
criticized this requirement because it discourages unions in sectors
that employ few citizens, such as the construction industry and much of
the private sector.
The Government essentially treated licensed unions as parastatal
organizations, providing as much as 90 percent of their budgets and
inspecting financial records. The law empowers the courts to dissolve
any union for violating labor laws or for threatening ``public order
and morals,'' although such a court decision may be appealed. The Emir
also may dissolve a union by decree. No union was dissolved during the
year. The Government denied several unions' applications for official
recognition during the year.
The law denies domestic servants (one-third of the noncitizen
workforce) and maritime employees the right to associate and organize.
It also discriminates against over one million other foreign workers by
denying them union voting rights, barring them from leadership
positions, and permitting them to join unions only after five years of
residence, although the KTUF stated that this last requirement was not
widely enforced in practice.
The law limits the right of workers, especially noncitizens, to
strike. Most labor disputes are resolved in compulsory negotiations; if
not, either party may petition MOSAL for mediation. If mediation fails,
the dispute is referred to a labor arbitration board composed of
officials from the Court of Appeals, the office of the attorney
general, and MOSAL. The law does not contain any provision ensuring
strikers' freedom from legal or administrative action taken against
them by the Government. Employers generally try to settle the disputes
with their workers themselves in order to retain them.
On July 28, Bangladeshi workers, mainly cleaners and trash
collectors, began a strike over grievances related to pay and work
conditions. One of the demonstrations reportedly became violent, with
workers smashing windows and vandalizing cars, and police responded
with tear gas and clubs. According to reports, security officials
imprisoned and beat the workers for five days before forcibly deporting
them to Bangladesh. However, these strikes served to raise government
awareness, and on September 11, parliament established an independent
committee for foreign workers' problems.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides workers, with the important exceptions of domestic servants,
maritime workers, and civil servants, with the right to bargain
collectively, subject to certain restrictions; the Government generally
respected in practice the rights of those workers covered by the law.
Approximately 70 percent of the labor force was covered by collective
agreements. There are no restrictions on collective bargaining.
The law also prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer
interference with union functions; and the Government generally
protected those rights. Any worker alleging antiunion discrimination
has the right to appeal to the judiciary. Employers found guilty of
such discrimination must reinstate workers fired for union activities.
There were no reports of discrimination against employees based on
their affiliation with a union.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, ``except in cases
specified by law for national emergency and with just remuneration";
however, there were reports that such practices occurred. Domestic
servitude and forced prostitution were the most common types of forced
labor.
Some foreign domestic workers, often trafficked, were victims of
forced labor. Physical or sexual abuse of female domestic workers was a
serious problem, and the police and courts took action against
employers when presented with evidence of serious abuse. There were
frequent reports of domestic workers allegedly committing or attempting
suicide because of desperation over poor working conditions or abuse.
For example, on December 10, a citizen reported that his Asian
housemaid committed suicide in Jeleeb Al-Shuyoukh, Kuwait City. On
December 13, a citizen woman hospitalized her Ethiopian housemaid after
the latter attempted suicide by swallowing a chemical detergent.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits child labor; however, there were credible reports of
underage workers, including domestic servants.
The legal minimum age for employment is 18; however, employers may
obtain permits from the MOSAL to employ juveniles between the ages of
14 and 18 in nonhazardous trades. Juveniles may work a maximum of six
hours a day on the condition that they work no more than four
consecutive hours followed by a one-hour rest period.
There were reports that some children were trafficked to the
country to provide domestic labor, and some underage workers reportedly
falsified their ages in order to enter the country. During the year
underage Asian girls reportedly worked as domestic servants after
entering the country on false travel documents obtained in source
countries.
The Labor Inspection Department monitored private firms routinely
for labor law compliance, including laws against child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The public sector minimum wage
for citizens was 217 dinars (approximately $740) per month, while the
public sector noncitizen wage was 97 dinars ($333). The public sector
minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a citizen worker
and family. There was no legal minimum wage in the private sector,
except for those domestic workers who had signed contracts since 2006
who received at least 40 dinars ($136) per month. The MOSAL is
responsible for implementing the minimum wage, which was effectively
enforced.
The law establishes general conditions of work for the private
sector. The law limits the standard workweek to 48 hours (40 hours for
the oil industry) with one full day of rest per week and one hour of
rest after every five consecutive hours of work. These standards were
not well enforced, and domestic servants and other unskilled foreign
workers in the private sector frequently worked in excess of 48 hours a
week, often with no day of rest.
The Government issued occupational health and safety standards;
however, compliance and enforcement by MOSAL appeared poor, especially
with respect to unskilled foreign laborers. To decrease accident rates,
the Government periodically inspected enterprises to raise awareness
among workers and employers and to ensure that they abided by safety
rules, controlled pollution resulting from certain industries, trained
workers to use machines, and reported violations. Workers have the
right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without
jeopardizing their continued employment, and legal protection existed
for both citizen and foreign workers who filed complaints about such
conditions. However, government attention to worker safety issues
remained insufficient, resulting in poor training of inspectors,
inadequate injury reports, and no link between insurance payments and
accident reports.
The law provides that all outdoor work stop when the temperature
rises to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit); however, media sources
alleged that the Government falsified official readings to allow work
to proceed. The Meteorological Division consistently denied these
allegations. MOSAL enforced the ban on working during the hottest times
of the day by doing site visits. In June MOSAL inspection teams visited
506 open work sites and discovered more than 530 persons working during
the daytime ban.
__________
LEBANON
Lebanon, with a population of approximately four million, is a
parliamentary republic in which the President is a Maronite Christian,
the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the chamber of
deputies a Shia Muslim. On May 25, parliament elected President Michel
Sleiman, who serves as the head of state, in a process that was
facilitated by Qatar and the Arab League. As stipulated in the
constitution, former President Emile Lahoud stepped down in November
2007 at the end of his term, and the powers of the presidency were
transferred to the cabinet. Although parliament was scheduled
originally to begin the Presidential election process in September
2007, the speaker rescheduled the session 19 times.
On May 7, opposition fighters led by Hizballah, a Shia opposition
party and terrorist organization, seized control of Beirut
International Airport and several West Beirut neighborhoods to protest
government decisions to declare Hizballah's telecommunication network
illegal and remove the airport security chief because of the presence
of Hizballah's surveillance cameras monitoring the airport. During the
heavy fighting, 84 persons were killed and approximately 200 were
injured. On May 21 in Doha, Qatar, rival leaders reached an agreement
to end the violence and the 18-month political feud. Sectarian clashes
continued to break out between the Druze and Hizballah across the
country and between Sunnis and Alawites in the northern part of the
country, leading to the deaths of approximately 70 persons and the
wounding of 275. UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 1559 and 1701
call upon the Government to take effective control of all Lebanese
territory and disarm militia groups. However, despite the presence of
the Lebanese and UN security forces, Hizballah retained significant
influence over parts of the country, and the Government made no
tangible progress towards disbanding and disarming armed militia
groups, including Hizballah.
There were limitations on the right of citizens to change their
government peacefully. Militant and sectarian groups committed unlawful
killings, and security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained
individuals. Torture of detainees remained a problem, as did poor
prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention, and long delays in the
court system. The Government violated citizens' privacy rights, and
there were some restrictions on freedoms of speech and press, including
intimidation of journalists. The Government suffered from corruption
and a lack of transparency. There were limitations on freedom of
movement for unregistered refugees, and widespread, systematic
discrimination against Palestinian refugees and minority groups
continued. Domestic violence and societal discrimination against women
continued, as did violence against children and child labor.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
militant groups killed civilians during the year in connection with the
May 7-21 conflict and other internal sectarian clashes (See Section
1.g.).
There were no further developments in the investigations following
several 2007 car bomb deaths: Member of Parliament (MP) Walid Eido and
10 others in June, MP Antoine Ghanem and eight others in September, and
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) chief of operations Brigadier General
Francois el-Hajj and his bodyguard in December.
The four suspected members of the terrorist group Fatah al-Islam
(FAI) arrested in March 2007 for the 2006 Ain Alaq twin bus bombings
remained in detention at year's end, without formal convictions.
In June 2007 the news Web site Al-Mustaqbal reported that Judge
Sa'id Mirza brought charges against Lebanese citizen Ibrahim Hasan
Awadah and Syrian citizens Firas Abd al-Rahman, Mahmoud Abd al-Karim
Imran, and Izzat Muhamad Tartusi for the 2005 attempted assassination
of the defense minister and incoming Deputy Prime Minister Elias Murr,
which injured Murr and killed one person. The suspects allegedly
remained outside of the country in an unknown location at year's end.
Alleged FAI official Walid al-Bustani remained detained at year's
end for his reported connection to the 2006 assassination of then-
industry minister Pierre Gemayal.
There were no further developments in the investigations of the
2006 killings of Islamic Jihad member Mahmoud Majzoub and his brother
or of the roadside bombs in Rmeileh that injured Internal Security
Forces (ISF) Lieutenant Colonel Samir Shehade and killed four of his
bodyguards. The ISF alleges that Israel was behind the Majzoub killings
because the victims were Palestinian. Shehade, the former head of the
ISF intelligence unit, departed for Canada following the assassination
attempt against him.
During the year the UN International Independent Investigation
Commission (UNIIIC), established under UNSC resolution 1595, continued
its investigation into the 2005 assassination of former prime minister
Rafiq Hariri and other political killings. While preliminary reports
pointed to possible linkages to Syrian intelligence services, the
UNIIIC did not reach a firm conclusion by year's end.
Israeli cluster munitions from the 2006 conflict continued to kill
and injure civilians during the year. The UN Mine Action Coordination
Center estimated that 560,000 to 1.1 million unexploded munitions
remained despite ongoing removal and that munitions had killed 42
persons since the end of the conflict.
b. Disappearance.--During the year there were no reports of
politically motivated disappearances.
On July 16, Hizballah returned to Israel the bodies of two Israeli
soldiers kidnapped in 2006; in exchange Israel returned five living
prisoners to Hizballah, as well as the bodies of 200 Lebanese,
Palestinian, and other Arab fighters.
On August 27, a Lebanese judge accused Libyan President Moammer
Qadafi and six of his aides of inciting and participating in the 1978
disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr.
On September 2, the Public Prosecutor issued charges against 14
persons for the April 2007 kidnapping and killing of Ziad Ghandour and
Ziad Qabalan, two youths affiliated with Progressive Socialist Party
leader Walid Jumblatt, a Druze Muslim allied with the Government. The
ruling requested the death penalty for five brothers who were at large
at year's end, Mohammed, Shehadeh, Abdallah, Abbas, and Ali Shamas; a
life term of hard labor for helping conceal the crime for Mustafa Omar
al-Saeedy, Ayman Fouad Safwan, Wissam Ghazi Orabi, and Saeb Ibrahim al-
Dakkdoki; and up to three years' imprisonment for hiding Ali Shamas and
failing to notify the authorities about the crime for Hanan Atwi, Abeer
Qabalan, Hassan Hazeemah, Hana Ismail, and Rabih Houili.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law does not specifically prohibit torture. Security
forces abused detainees and in some instances used torture. Human
rights groups, including Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights
Watch (HRW), reported that torture was common. In a February 14 letter
to the Association Council between the European Union and Lebanon and
an October 7 letter to the interior minister, HRW reported there were
instances of torture during the year at the Ministry of Defense and the
Information Section, the ISF's intelligence branch, as well as in
certain police stations. The Lebanese Association for Education and
Training (ALEF) also reported during the year instances of torture in
the ISF's Drug Repression Bureau detention facilities in Beirut and
Zahle.
On September 18, parliament authorized the Government to ratify the
Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (CAT); however, at
year's end the Government had not submitted its initial report under
the CAT. On November 5, eight international and local human rights
organizations issued a press release stating that over the last two
years they had gathered testimonies from a number of detainees who
claimed that security officials beat and tortured them. The press
release requested the Government to take concrete and public measures
to stop the use of torture in detention facilities and submit the
initial report under the CAT, seven years overdue.
In May 2007 HRW and the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH)
called for an investigation into allegations of torture and ill
treatment of nine of 12 detainees whose military court trial began in
April 2007. In interviews with HRW and CLDH, some detainees alleged
that interrogators tortured them during their detention at the Ministry
of Defense to force confessions, while other detainees claimed they
were ill-treated and intimidated. Five detainees reported being
blindfolded and frequently punched during questioning. On September 5,
the court acquitted for lack of evidence the 12 suspects of allegedly
planning to assassinate Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah; however, 11
of the 12 were sentenced to three to five years' imprisonment for
conspiracy to commit crimes against the state with the aim of inciting
sectarian strife and possession and transfer of weapons and explosive
material. At year's end HRW and CLDH's call for an investigation had
not been answered.
In May 2007 the Lebanese daily Al-Diyar reported that the ISF
Information Section called Muhammad Abu-al-Amir Salhab in for
questioning following the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister
Rafiq Hariri. According to Al-Diyar, security forces detained Salhab
for three days, during which he ``was subjected to all types of
torture.'' At year's end Salhab remained in France seeking political
asylum.
In 2006 the nongovernmental human rights organization Support of
Lebanese in Arbitrary Detention (SOLIDA) issued a report documenting
the various types of torture allegedly practiced at the Ministry of
Defense between 1992 and 2005, before Syria withdrew its troops in
2005. Torture methods included physical abuse, sleep deprivation, and
prolonged isolation. In April 2007 the army released a statement
dismissing news reports that detainees suspected of belonging to armed
groups were subjected to torture during interrogation. According to the
Daily Star, the statement denied that any detainees had undergone ``any
sort of physical or psychological torment in order to force them to
give false testimonies.''
The Government acknowledged that violent abuse of detainees
sometimes occurred during preliminary investigations at police stations
or military installations where suspects were interrogated without an
attorney. Such abuse occurred despite national laws that prevent judges
from accepting confessions extracted under duress.
In June 2007 security forces arrested five dual Australial-Lebanese
citizens--Hussein Elomar, Omar al-Hadba, Ibrahim Sabbough, Ahmed
Elomar, and Mohammed Bassel--during a raid on al-Habda's workshop in
Tripoli on suspicion of supplying weapons to FAI. Security forces
reportedly broke Hussein Elomar's jaw in detention and forced his
nephew, Ahmed Elomar, to stand for long periods of time and beat him
severely if he tried to rest. Ahmed's injuries included damage to his
knee. Police dropped charges against Ahmed Elomar and Mohammed Bassel.
The other individuals remained in custody at year's end.
Abuses also occurred in areas outside the Government's control,
including in Palestinian refugee camps. During the year there were
reports that members of various Palestinian factions and foreign
militias detained their rivals during clashes over territorial control
of the camps, particularly in the north and south.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
poor and did not meet minimum international standards. Prisons were
overcrowded, and sanitary conditions, particularly in the women's
prison, were very poor. According to HRW failure to provide appropriate
medical care and negligence of authorities were likely causes of 13
deaths in prisons during the year. The Government did not consider
prison reform a high priority. The number of inmates was estimated to
be 4,700, including pretrial detainees and remand prisoners. The
Government made a modest effort to rehabilitate some inmates through
education and training programs.
Overcrowding and limited prison facilities meant that pretrial
detainees were often held together with convicted prisoners, and
juveniles may have occasionally been held together with adults during
the year.
The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights groups and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In February 2007 the
ICRC and judicial and security authorities signed a protocol enabling
the ICRC to visit all prisons in the country in accordance with decree
8800. According to its 2007 annual report released on May 27, the ICRC
carried out 59 visits, visited 6,764 detainees, and monitored the cases
of 415 detainees in 2007. According to its January-April report on its
activities in the country, the ICRC carried out 15 visits to detainees
in seven prisons to monitor conditions and the treatment of detainees
so far during the year. The ICRC's 2008 report detailing their
activities for the rest of the year had not been issued by year's end.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the law requires
judicial warrants before arrests, except in immediate pursuit
situations, the Government arbitrarily arrested and detained persons.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISF, under the
Ministry of Interior (MOI), enforces laws, conducts searches and
arrests, and refers cases to the judiciary while the State Security
Apparatus, which reports to the prime minister, and the Surete Generale
(SG), which is under the MOI, control the borders. The LAF may arrest
and detain suspects on national security grounds. Both the State
Security Apparatus and the SG collect information on groups deemed a
possible threat to state security.
Laws against bribery and extortion by government security officials
and agencies also apply to the police force. In practice, however, a
lack of strong enforcement limited their effectiveness. The Government
acknowledged the need to reform law enforcement, but the lack of
political stability and security hampered these efforts. The ISF
maintained three hot lines for complaints, which are believed to
operate efficiently. Operation centers are set up for North Lebanon,
South Lebanon, Biqa', Mount Lebanon, and Beirut. Each operation center
receives approximately 50 calls per day with the exception of the
Beirut operation center, which receives approximately 100 calls per
day. Depending on the urgency and the seriousness of the calls, the ISF
dispatches its forces for assistance. During times of security
instability, these centers receive a greater number of calls.
Arrest and Detention.--Military intelligence personnel made arrests
without warrants in cases involving military personnel and those
involving espionage, treason, weapons possession, and draft evasion.
According to ISF statistics, of the 4,686 persons held in prison, 2,780
had not been convicted of crimes. Also, there were reports that
security forces arrested civilians during the May clashes without
warrants.
The law generally requires a warrant for arrest and provides the
right to a lawyer, a medical examination, and referral to a prosecutor
within 48 hours of arrest. If a detainee is held longer than 48 hours
without formal charges, the arrest is considered arbitrary and the
detainee must be released. In such cases officials responsible for the
prolonged arrest may be prosecuted on charges of depriving personal
freedom. A suspect caught in the act of committing a crime must be
referred to an examining judge, who decides whether to issue an
indictment or order the release of the suspect. Bail is available in
all cases regardless of the charges. Family members were allowed to
visit detainees every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Many provisions of the law were not observed in practice, and
security forces and extralegal armed groups continued the practice of
arbitrary arrest and detention.
On April 26, Hizballah members detained Karim Pakzad, who was
representing the French Socialist Party at a two-day socialist
conference held in Beirut, and another person who were taking pictures
at a Hizballah stronghold. After interrogating the two for four hours,
Hizballah released them.
On August 15, Hizballah members detained Brazilian journalist
Marcos Losekanna de Paulo Pimentel and Beirut-based Brazilian BBC
journalist Tarek Saleh and interrogated them for five hours. The
journalists were working on a story about a diner located in
Hizballah's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut that sold
sandwiches named after weapons, dishes inspired by terrorist attacks,
and snacks wrapped in camouflage paper.
In mid-September Hizballah members detained five employees from
LebanonFiles.com who were conducting a survey in the southern Beirut
suburb of Dahiyeh. The employees were reportedly interrogated for six
hours before being released.
A November 2007 UN Commission for Human Rights working group cited
as an example of arbitrary detention the UNIIIC arrest of four Lebanese
generals for the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. The
generals remained in prison at year's end. On August 6, Investigative
Magistrate Saqr Saqr turned down a request for the release of the four
generals. Separately, Saqr released two of another nine detainees held
for giving false information related to the Hariri investigation. On
August 26, the lawyers for one of the generals, General Security Major
General Sayyed, filed a lawsuit in France against former UN Chief
Investigator Detlev Mehlis for distorting the investigation and calling
false witnesses.
Palestinian refugees were subject to arrest, detention, and
harassment by state security forces and rival Palestinian factions.
Human rights activists believed that there were numerous Lebanese
and Palestinians from Lebanon in prolonged and often secret detention
in Syria. The NGO Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile (SOLIDE)
estimated that more than 600 Lebanese prisoners remained in Syria. On
August 20, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar stated in a televised
interview that there were 745 Lebanese citizens missing in Syria,
divided into two categories: convicted criminals and victims of
``enforced disappearances.'' Najjar was the first government official
to publicly classify the detainees.
On September 7, the Syrian delegation of the joint Lebanese-Syrian
commission charged with investigating the missing individuals presented
a list of 115 names of convicted Lebanese citizens held in Syrian
jails; however, the Syrian list differed from the Lebanese delegation's
list and contained names only of convicted Lebanese, rather than any of
those classified as ``enforced disappearances,'' the primary focus of
human rights activists. According to SOLIDE, at year's end the Syrian
delegation had not granted approval for Lebanese judges to check on the
prisoners, although it agreed in principle.
During the year there were no reports of Syrian forces operating in
the country carrying out searches, arrests, or detentions of citizens
outside any legal framework.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides
for an independent judiciary, in practice the judiciary was subject to
political pressure, particularly in the appointments of key prosecutors
and investigating magistrates. Influential politicians, as well as
Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officers at times intervened and
protected their supporters from prosecution. With UNIIIC support,
however, the judiciary continued to detain once-powerful security and
intelligence chiefs who had cooperated with Syria's occupation. Despite
intimidation generated by a series of unresolved political
assassinations committed by unidentified assailants beginning in 2004,
the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri led to gradual
progress in eliminating political and security influence over the
judiciary.
The judicial system consists of a council to determine the
constitutionality of newly adopted laws upon the request of 10 members
of parliament; the civilian courts; the military court, which tries
cases involving military personnel and civilians in security-related
issues; and the Judicial Council, which tries national security cases.
There are also tribunals of the various religious affiliations, which
adjudicate matters of personal status, including marriage, divorce,
inheritance, and child custody. The religious Shari'a courts are often
used by both the Shia and Sunni religious communities to resolve family
legal matters. There are also religious family courts in the various
Christian-sect and Druze communities.
The military court has jurisdiction over cases involving the
military as well as those involving civilians in espionage, treason,
weapons possession, and draft evasion cases. Civilians may be tried for
security issues, and military personnel may be tried for civil issues.
The military court has two tribunals: the permanent tribunal and the
cassation tribunal. The latter hears appeals from the former. A
civilian judge chairs the higher court. Defendants on trial under the
military tribunal have the same procedural rights as defendants in
ordinary courts.
The Judicial Council is a permanent tribunal of five senior judges
that adjudicates threats to national security and some high-profile
cases. Upon the recommendation of the minister of justice, the cabinet
decides whether to try a case before this tribunal. Defendants before
the Judicial Council had the same procedural rights as other
defendants; however, there was no right to appeal and judges had the
discretion to order the generally public sessions be closed. On
September 18, the cabinet referred the assassination case of Saleh
Aridi to the Judicial Council, which was already considering the
assassination cases of MPs Walid Eido, Antoine Ghanem, and Pierre
Gemayel.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) appoints all other judges, taking
into account the sectarian affiliation of the prospective judge. A
shortage of qualified judges impeded efforts to adjudicate cases
backlogged during the years of internal conflict. Trial delays were
aggravated by the Government's inability to conduct investigations in
areas outside of its control, specifically in the Hizballal-controlled
areas in the south and in the 11 Palestinian-controlled refugee camps
in the country.
Trial Procedures.--There is no trial by jury; trials were generally
public, but judges had the discretion to order a closed court session.
Defendants have the right to be present at trial and the right of
timely consultation with an attorney. While defendants do not have the
presumption of innocence, they have the right to confront or question
witnesses against them, but they must do so through the court panel,
which decides whether or not to permit the defendant's question.
Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence
relevant to their cases and the right of appeal. These rights generally
were observed. While there was no state-funded public defender's
office, the bar association operated an office for those who could not
afford a lawyer, and a lawyer was often provided for indigent
defendants. A member from the Beirut Bar Association's Legal Aid
Committee estimated that as many as 20 percent of the cases did not
receive proper representation; however, this was believed to be related
to the competence of the lawyer handling the case.
Palestinian groups in refugee camps operated an autonomous and
arbitrary system of justice not under the control of the state. For
example, local popular committees in the camps attempted to resolve
disputes using tribal methods of reconciliation. If the case involved a
killing, the committees occasionally handed over the perpetrator to
state authorities for trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year there were no
reports of political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While there is an
independent judiciary in civil matters, in practice it was seldom used
for bringing civil lawsuits for seeking damages for human rights
violations committed by the Government. During the year there were no
examples of a civil court awarding an individual compensation for human
rights violations committed against them by the Government.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--While the law prohibits such actions, authorities
frequently interfered with the privacy of persons regarded as enemies
of the Government. The law requires that prosecutors obtain warrants
before entering homes, except when the security forces are in close
pursuit of armed attackers; these rights were generally observed.
The Army Intelligence Service monitored the movements and
activities of members of opposition groups. Although the law regulates
eavesdropping, security services continued to eavesdrop without prior
authorization.
Militias and non-Lebanese forces operating outside the area of
central government authority also frequently violated citizens' privacy
rights. Various factions used informer networks and monitoring of
telephones to obtain information regarding their perceived adversaries.
There were no developments in the 2005 decree to create an
independent judicial committee to receive telephone-tapping complaints
and permit security services to monitor criminals' telephones.
Similarly, there were no developments in the 2005 decree to create a
centralized unit to supervise tapping telephones related to military
personnel only. During a parliamentary session on August 26, Parliament
Speaker Berri announced his intention to form a parliamentary
investigative committee to look into telephone-tapping. Telecom
Minister Gebran Bassil also noted the same day the need to formally
regulate the practice of the country's two cellular telephone service
providers in supplying information to any individual or party.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Internal strife along confessional divides and between the Government
majority and the opposition continued to plague the country throughout
the year, and militant groups committed violence against political
figures and government institutions.
On January 15, an explosion targeted a diplomatic embassy vehicle,
killing three persons in an adjacent vehicle and injuring two security
employees.
On January 25, a car bomb killed ISF Information Technology
Intelligence branch head Captain Wissam Eid and three others and
injured 36. Eid played a significant role in a number of sensitive
investigations, including the assassination of PM Rafiq Hariri.
On January 27, violent riots broke out when youth from the
predominantly Shia Muslim area of Shiyah were protesting what they
perceived to be discriminatory power cuts. When an Amal movement
official was killed by unknown gunfire, the riots turned violent with
protesters throwing stones and setting cars ablaze. The riots led to
the death of seven civilians, including the Amal Movement official, and
more than 19 injured. On February 2, the LAF arrested 17 persons,
including 11 soldiers and three officers, for their excessive use of
force in containing the protests. Investigations were ongoing at year's
end.
On April 20, two Phalange party supporters, Nasri Marouni and Salim
Assi, were killed during the inauguration of the Phalange headquarters
in Zahle. Alleged suspects Joseph and Tony Zouki, supporters of pro-
"March 8 Alliance'' MP Elie Skaff, remained at large.
Between May 7 and 21, Hizballal-led opposition fighters occupied
parts of downtown Beirut to protest two government decisions taken
against Hizballah. Armed clashes ensued between the predominantly Shia
opposition and Sunnis aligned with the majority. The takeovers targeted
Sunni-run political party offices and media outlets. Armed clashes also
broke out between Druze and Hizballah in the mountains and between
Sunnis and Alawites in the north. The May conflict reportedly resulted
in more than 80 deaths and 250 injuries.
According to HRW, during the May conflict members of the opposition
groups Hizballah, Amal, and the Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP)
used small arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) in densely
populated areas of Beirut, killing numerous civilians. For example, HRW
reported that on May 8, opposition gunmen shot and killed Amal Baydoun
and her son, Haytham Tabbarah with an RPG while they were trying to
flee their Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood. Opposition gunmen shot and
injured Tabbarah's two brothers later that day while they were trying
to join their family at the hospital.
Also during May supporters of the progovernment groups Future
Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) also resorted to
violence against civilians and offices associated with opposition
groups in areas under the progovernment groups' control in northern
Lebanon, the Biqa', and the Shouf. According to Hizballah, PSP fighters
detained and then executed two Hizballah followers. After examining
photos of the two Hizballah members, HRW reported that at least one had
been shot in the head at close range while the other appeared to have
had part of the skin of his forearm removed. In Halba, a village in the
north, armed Sunnis killed members of the SSNP after they had
surrendered.
On May 31, a blast killed Lebanese soldier Ossama Hassan at an army
intelligence post in the northern village of al-Abdeh near the northern
city of Tripoli. In two separate attacks on August 13 and September 29,
culprits bombed buses packed with LAF soldiers on their way to work in
Tripoli, killing 20 persons, including 14 soldiers, and injuring more
than 90. On October 28, the public prosecutor issued charges against 34
suspects accused of carrying out terrorist attacks, including the
attack on the intelligence post and the Tripoli bus bombings. If
convicted the 26 detained suspects and the eight who remained at large
could face the death penalty.
On September 10, unknown actors planted a car bomb that killed
Druze opposition figure Saleh Aridi and injured six others. Aridi
reportedly played a major role in the reconciliation efforts of Druze
leaders Walid Jumblatt and Talal Arslan following the May conflict.
In June 2007 HRW reported that LAF and ISF forces arbitrarily
detained and physically abused some Palestinian men fleeing the
fighting in the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp. During the conflict the LAF
interrogated many men as they left the camp and detained those
suspected of supporting or having information about FAI. The LAF
interrogated some Palestinian detainees at the Kobbeh military base
near Tripoli, approximately 10 miles from Nahr al-Barid. HRW reported
that other interrogations took place at checkpoints and private houses
near the camp.
In one case documented by HRW in June 2007, the Lebanese military
detained a Palestinian man from Nahr al-Barid for interrogation at
different locations for four days. During the interrogations, army
interrogators reportedly punched and slapped him, giving him food only
twice in four days. HRW also reported that members of the Lebanese
military intelligence allegedly subjected detainees to kicks, punches,
and beatings with rifle butts during interrogation.
The Nahr al-Barid conflict caused other humanitarian concerns.
Palestinian refugees and Lebanese displaced by the violence were
without running water, sewage, or electricity for weeks. Refugees who
left the camp were treated for dehydration, diarrhea, and stomach
illnesses, and the regular UNRWA-run health care clinics in the camp
were not fully functioning due to security problems.
Members of international humanitarian organizations were attacked
by FAI when attempting to enter the Nahr al-Barid camp. In May 2007, UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour condemned an attack by
FAI on a UN aid convoy at Nahr al-Barid during the conflict that
claimed the lives of two Palestinian refugees.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice, although journalists continued to feel
intimidation, compounded by the May conflict. Individuals are free to
criticize the Government but are legally prohibited from publicly
criticizing the President.
Dozens of newspapers and hundreds of periodicals were published
throughout the country and were financed by and reflected the views of
various local, sectarian, and foreign interest groups. There was very
limited state ownership of newspapers and periodicals. Of the seven
television and 33 radio stations, all but one television and one radio
station were owned privately. The majority of media outlets had
political affiliations, and a news station's political affiliations
sometimes hampered its ability to operate freely.
Despite a general increase in media freedom since 2005, the tense
political atmosphere, weak judiciary, and the Government's failure to
apprehend the perpetrators of the 2005 killings of journalists Samir
Kassir and Gibran Tueni meant that journalists continued to feel
intimidated. Partly due to the political divisions in the country,
several journalists received threats from parties, politicians, or
their fellow journalists.
The law permitted censoring of pornographic, political opinion, and
religious materials when they were considered a threat to national
security. The SG reviews and censors all foreign newspapers, magazines,
and books before they enter the country. The law also prohibits attacks
on the dignity of the head of state or foreign leaders. The Government
may prosecute offending journalists and publications in the
Publications Court. The 1991 security agreement between the Government
and Syria, still in effect, contains a provision that prohibits the
publication of any information deemed harmful to the security of either
state. The media also practiced self-censorship at times due to fear of
reprisal.
On May 9, Hizballal-led opposition fighters forced the pro- March
14 Future News television station and Radio al-Sharq to stop their
transmission for four days. Using the LAF as an interlocutor, the
gunmen threatened that if the employees did not suspend transmission,
they would destroy the buildings. Management suspended transmission, at
which point the gunmen entered the premises and cut all cables in the
studio to guarantee no rebroadcast. Hizballah gunmen also set fire to
the Future News archives building, destroying all records. On the same
day, the gunmen also burned parts of March 14 majority leader Saad
Hariri's Al-Mustaqbal newspaper offices as well as the Armenian radio
station Sevan, located in the same building.
On November 27, a Beirut criminal court dismissed slander charges
against Muhammad Mugraby, a prominent lawyer and human rights activist,
resulting from a speech he gave to a European Parliament delegation in
Brussels in 2003. Beirut public prosecutor Joseph Maamari appealed the
verdict on December 11. The speech criticized the Government for using
the judiciary, particularly the military court, to suppress dissent.
Mugraby also condemned the use of torture to coerce confessions from
suspects and the court-ordered closure in 2002 of a television station
that had criticized the authorities. Eight other legal actions were
pending against Mugraby, including criminal actions initiated by the
Higher Judicial Council, former and current judges, and the Beirut Bar
Association.
There were no developments in the appeal filed by Al-Mustaqbal
editor in chief Tawfiq Khattab and staff reporter Fares Khashan;
authorities fined the two 50 million pounds ($33,000 ) each for libel
and damaging the reputation of President Lahoud in 2006.
The 2006 case in which the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC)
broadcast a show that ridiculed Hizballah Secretary General Hassan
Nasrallah remained pending with the cabinet at year's end.
Also in 2006 the minister of justice filed a complaint against Al-
Akhbar newspaper for alleging that two members of the Judicial Council
had met with the head of the ISF Intelligence Department to discuss
judicial appointments.
Most judicial cases launched in previous years against journalists
were not pursued during the year. Investigations into the 2005 killings
of Samir Kassir and Gebran Tueni and the 2005 attack on May Chidiac
continued at year's end. There were no developments in the 2005 case
against Al-Mustaqbal reporter and Future TV anchor Zahi Wehbe.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail and
Internet discussion groups. The International Telecommunications Union
indicated that the Internet penetration rate in Lebanon was 26.6
percent, with 950,000 Internet users. Internet access was publicly
available, and the Government continued to expand its high-speed
infrastructure. The SG and MOJ sometimes contacted Internet providers
to block pornographic and religiously provocative sites.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom; however, the Government censored
films, plays, and other cultural events. Filmmakers, playwrights,
festival organizers, and others practiced self-censorship.
The SG reviews all films and plays and prohibits those that offend
religious or social sensitivities. On March 26, the SG banned the
Oscal-nominated film Persepolis, which portrayed the Islamic Revolution
in Iran, then reversed its decision the following day. In 2006 the SG
prohibited the film The Da Vinci Code, and it obliged playwright Lina
Khoury to revise a play inspired by The Vagina Monologues.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the
Government sometimes restricted this right. The MOI required prior
approval to hold rallies, and groups opposing government positions
sometimes were not granted permits.
On May 7, the General Labor Confederation's (GLC) strike calling
for an increase in the minimum wage was called off soon after it
started, when the demonstrators were unable to reach their designated
demonstration points after opposition forces had taken advantage of the
strike to set up roadblocks and burning tires in the streets. This led
to the May conflict in and around Beirut. The roadblocks and burning
tires remained in place until the Doha agreement was concluded on May
21. The opposition ``sit-in'' that began in 2006 also ended on May 21.
In January 2007 security forces failed to protect protestors in two
instances: the Hizballal-led strike that left three dead and 133
injured and the Beirut Arab University violence, which killed four
persons and injured more than 150. In June 2007 security forces
reportedly fired on Palestinian refugees protesting in Nahr al-Barid
camp, killing three and injuring 50.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association and the Government did not interfere with most
organizations; however, it imposed limits on this right. The law
requires every new organization to submit a notification of formation
to the MOI, which issues a receipt. However, the MOI sometimes imposed
additional and inconsistent restrictions and requirements and withheld
receipts, turning the notification process into a de facto approval
process. For example, the MOI in some cases sent notification of
formation papers to the security forces to conduct inquiries on an
organization's founding members. On February 22, the Lebanese Center
for Human Rights received the MOI's receipt of acceptance for the
notification it submitted in 2006.
Organizations also must invite MOI representatives to any general
assembly where votes are held for by-law amendments or when elections
are held for positions on the board of directors. The MOI must then
validate the vote or election; failure to do so could result in the
dissolution of the organization.
The MOI did not immediately validate the February 28 elections of
the Israeli Communal Council, representing the small Jewish community
and Jewish property owners who do not reside in the country. Similar to
the previous two such elections, the MOI did not validate them until
May 15, following diplomatic intervention.
The cabinet must license all political parties. The Government
scrutinized requests to establish political movements or parties and to
some extent monitored their activities. The Army Intelligence Service
monitored the movements and activities of members of some opposition
groups.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion and the freedom to practice all religious rites, provided that
the public order is not disturbed. The Government generally respected
these rights; however, there were some restrictions.
Formal recognition by the Government is a legal requirement for
religious groups to conduct most religious activities. The group must
ensure the number of its adherents is sufficient to maintain its
continuity.
Alternatively, religious groups may apply for recognition through
existing religious groups. Official recognition conveys certain
benefits, such as tal-exempt status and the right to apply the
recognized religion's codes to personal status matters. Each recognized
religious group has its own courts for family law matters, such as
marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Although the
Government did not recognize officially some Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu,
and Protestant Christian groups, they were allowed to practice their
faith without government interference; however, their marriages,
divorces, and inheritances in the country were not recognized under the
law.
Protestant evangelical churches are required to register with the
Evangelical Synod, which represents those churches to the Government.
Representatives of some churches complained that the Synod has refused
to accept new members since 1975, thereby preventing their clergy from
ministering to adherents in accordance with their beliefs. The
Pentecostal Church applied for recognition from the Evangelical Sect,
but the leadership of the Evangelical Sect, in contravention of the
law, refused to register new groups. The Pentecostal Church pursued
recourse through the MOI; however, at year's end it had not been
registered.
Although the law stipulates that anyone who ``blasphemes God
publicly'' may face imprisonment for up to one year, no prosecutions
were reported under this law during the year.
The unwritten ``National Pact'' of 1943 stipulates that the
President, the prime minister, and the speaker of parliament be a
Maronite Christian, a Sunni Muslim, and a Shia Muslim, respectively.
The 1989 Taif Accord, which ended the country's 15-year civil war,
reaffirmed this arrangement but also codified increased Muslim
representation in parliament and reduced the power of the Maronite
President.
Religious affiliation is encoded on national identity cards and
indicated on civil status registry documents but not on passports, and
the Government complied with requests of citizens to change their civil
records to reflect their new religious status.
The law provides that only religious authorities may perform
marriages; however, civil marriage ceremonies performed outside the
country were recognized by the Government.
There were no legal barriers to proselytizing; however, traditional
attitudes and edicts of the clerical establishment strongly discouraged
such activity.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal harassment and
discrimination based on religion occurred, and the Government failed to
prevent or punish such actions. There were approximately 100 Jews in
the country and 6,000 registered Jewish voters who lived abroad but
could vote in parliamentary elections.
During the year Hizballah directed strong rhetoric against Israel
and the Jewish population, and it cooperated in the publishing and
distribution of anti-Semitic literature. Lebanese media outlets such as
Al-Manar TV, which is controlled and operated by Hizballah, as well as
independent newspapers, such as Al-Nahar and Al-Mustaqbal, continued to
publish anti-Semitic material and drew no government response.
On April 16, representatives from the Israeli Communal Council, the
legally registered Jewish organization, reported acts of vandalism and
theft committed against a Jewish-owned cemetery in downtown Beirut
where Hizballah flags had been raised.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights for
Lebanese citizens but placed limitations on the rights of Palestinian
refugees.
The Government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in
military and other restricted areas. There were few police checkpoints
on main roads or in populated areas. The security services used
checkpoints to conduct warrantless searches for smuggled goods,
weapons, narcotics, and subversive literature. Security forces were
unable to enforce the law in the predominantly Hizballah Beirut
southern suburbs and did not typically enter the Palestinian refugee
camps.
The law prohibits direct travel to Israel. After the cancelation in
2005 of mandatory military service, there was no limitation on the
travel of young men.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to international
humanitarian organizations, a significant number of persons remained
displaced from the 1975-90 civil war and the July 2006 war. Estimates
from the Ministry of Displaced and the World Bank of persons displaced
by the civil war range from 500,000 to 800,000, with an estimated 20-25
percent having returned home.
During the year there were no substantiated reports that the
Government deliberately attacked IDPs or made efforts to obstruct
access of international humanitarian organizations from assisting IDPs
in returning to their residence. Similarly, there were no reports that
the Government forcibly resettled IDPs.
The Government continued to encourage IDPs displaced during the
1975-90 civil war to return, reclaim their property, and rebuild their
homes. Despite this encouragement, many have not attempted to reclaim
and rebuild their property due to the hazardous social and economic
situation in some areas.
The second primary category of IDPs is those individuals displaced
during the July 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah. The
Government encouraged the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced
persons to return to their homes. According to the Internal
Displacement Monitoring Center, at the height of the conflict, up to
one million persons fled their homes; approximately 735,000 were
internally displaced, while some 230,000 fled to neighboring countries.
According to the Government's Higher Relief Council, more than 700,000
displaced persons and refugees returned to their homes. While the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) believed there
was no official and reliable figure, according to its data on the
number of houses completely destroyed and damaged, the UNHCR reported
that 40,000-70,000 persons remained displaced at year's end.
During the 2006 conflict, the Government opened public schools to
provide shelter for the individuals displaced from the south.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but the
Government has mechanisms to provide assistance. The Government
cooperated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and with the UNHCR and
other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum
seekers. According to the UNHCR, the main theoretical protection
against the refoulement of refugees was Article 3 of the CAT, to which
Lebanon is a party. A number of judges have ruled that Article 3 was
applicable to refugees, thus stopping their deportation or expulsion.
However, this has not been systematic. Similarly, the SG has in most
cases not implemented deportation orders against refugees, but there
have been exceptional cases where Article 3 of the CAT was violated.
The Government also provided temporary protection to individuals who
may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention or the 1967
protocol. According to the UNHCR, the Government has not officially
provided temporary protection to refugees. However, in practice there
has been a policy of tolerance that permitted many undocumented
refugees not to be arrested or detained. This has been the case for the
estimated 50,000 Iraqis.
A 2003 agreement between the SG and the UNHCR recognizes and grants
protection to non-Palestinian refugees, providing temporary relief for
those seeking determination of refugee status. Those wishing to claim
refugee status must do so within two months of arriving in the country.
The SG issues residence permits, valid for three months, during which
time the UNHCR must make a refugee status determination. The SG
extended residency permits for up to 12 months for those accorded
refugee status by the UNHCR. The Government granted admission and
temporary (six months) refuge to asylum seekers but not permanent
asylum. The SG sometimes arbitrarily detained asylum seekers at its
detention facility for more than a year before deporting them.
UNRWA has the sole mandate to provide health, education, social
services, and emergency assistance to Palestinian refugees residing in
the country as well as in the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, and Jordan. As of
September 30, there were approximately 419,285 UNRWA-registered
Palestinian refugees living in or near 12 camps throughout the country.
The vast majority of Palestinian refugees were those displaced during
the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 and their descendents. Additional
Palestinians arrived in 1967 after the Six-Day War and in the 1970s
after many were expelled from Jordan.
Palestinian refugees residing in the country were not able to
obtain Lebanese citizenship and were not citizens of any other country.
However, Palestinian refugee women married to Lebanese men were able to
obtain citizenship and transmit Lebanese citizenship to their children.
Palestinian refugees have limited social and civil rights, restricted
access to governmental public health and education, and no access to
public social services. The majority rely entirely on UNRWA for
education, health, relief, and social services. Lebanon is the only
country in which UNRWA operates secondary schools to address restricted
access to public schools and the high costs of private schools.
Palestinian refugees in the country have the worst socioeconomic
situation in all of UNRWA's five fields of operations resulting in the
highest percentage of Special Hardship Cases (SHCs). SHCs receive
direct humanitarian support from UNRWA, including food aid, cash
assistance, and shelter rehabilitation. There were approximately 50,144
registered SHCs during the year, which totaled 12 percent of the
registered Palestinian refugee population in the country, in comparison
with 9 percent in Gaza and 3 percent in Jordan.
According to a credible international human rights group,
Palestinian refugees faced severe restrictions in their access to work
opportunities and diminished protection of their rights at work. Very
few Palestinians received work permits, and those who found work
usually were directed into unskilled occupations. Some Palestinian
refugees worked in the informal sector, particularly in agriculture and
construction. Palestinian incomes continued to decline. In 2005 the
minister of labor issued a memorandum authorizing Palestinian nationals
born in the country and duly registered with the MOI to work in 50 (out
of 72) professions banned to foreigners. However, there were no
indications that this memorandum was implemented consistently.
Property laws do not explicitly target Palestinian refugees but bar
those who are not bearers of nationality of a recognized state from
owning land and property. Under this law Palestinians may not purchase
property, and those who owned property prior to the 2001 issuance of
this law are prohibited from passing it on to their children. The
parliament justified these restrictions on the grounds that it was
protecting the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the homes
they fled after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. All other
foreigners may own a limited-size plot of land, but only after
obtaining the approval of five different district offices.
The amount of land allocated to official refugee camps in the
country has only marginally changed since 1948, despite a fourfold
increase in the registered refugee population. Two refugee camps
previously destroyed in the civil war were never reconstructed.
Consequently, most Palestinian refugees lived in overpopulated camps
that suffered repeated heavy damage as a result of fighting during the
1975-90 civil war, the 1980s Israeli invasion of the country,
continuing camp feuds, the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and
Hizballah, and the Mal-September 2007 Nahr al-Barid conflict. The
Government generally prohibited the construction of permanent
structures in the camps on the grounds that such construction
encouraged refugee settlement in the country. Refugees frequently
feared that the Government might reduce the size of the camps or
eliminate them completely.
Over the last three years, the Government, in coordination with
UNRWA, took concrete steps to improve relations between Palestinian
refugees and the Lebanese community and address the housing conditions
in the camps. In October 2005 Prime Minister Siniora supported the
launch of UNRWA's multiyear Early Recovery Plan and Camp Improvement
Initiative to support new infrastructure development projects, by
improving housing and upgrading sewage, water, and electricity systems
in the camps.
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, 16,000
Palestinian refugees were displaced at the height of the July 2006
conflict.
As a result of the Mal-September 2007 Nahr al-Barid conflict, an
estimated 35,000 Palestinian refugees were displaced. The majority
sought shelter with host families in the neighboring Beddawi camp in
northern Lebanon, while several hundred families sought shelter in
UNRWA as well as government-run schools throughout the north of the
country. In October 2007 refugees began returning to the ``new camp''
along the periphery of Nahr al-Barid. In September UNRWA estimated that
approximately 2,400 families had returned to the ``new camp.'' UNRWA
estimated that there were approximately 5,300 families in the camp
before the Nahr al-Barid conflict.
During and after the fighting in Nahr al-Barid in September 2007,
the Government provided emergency relief, with assistance from UNRWA,
the international donor community, and relief nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), to Palestinian refugees who had fled Nahr al-
Barid. UNRWA, in coordination with the Government, provided temporary
housing in schools in nearby Beddawi camp and started efforts to begin
removing the rubble in preparation for new camp housing to be built.
Most humanitarian assistance to refugees was provided through UNRWA's
2007 and 2008 Emergency Relief Appeal. At year's end small numbers of
refugees had returned to areas adjacent to the camp; however, a full
return was expected to take three years or longer. Among the most
pressing concerns was ensuring temporary accommodation and emergency
food assistance for refugee families, as well as addressing the loss of
employment. Displaced communities raised concerns about their security
and freedom of movement, as security measures tightened in response to
sporadic clashes in northern Lebanon. In June UNRWA, the Government,
and the World Bank launched a comprehensive three-year plan to rebuild
Nahr al-Barid camp and surrounding communities.
Children of Palestinian refugees faced discrimination in birth
registration and access to adequate housing, social security, and
education. The Government did not provide health services or education
to Palestinian refugees, who relied on UNRWA for these services. Many
Palestinian children reportedly had to leave school at an early age to
help earn income. Poverty, drug addiction, prostitution, and crime
reportedly prevailed in the camps, although reliable statistics were
not available.
At year's end the MOI had not rendered a decision on the legal
status of approximately 4,000 persons who stood to lose Lebanese
citizenship due to the State Consultative Council's 2003 decision to
invalidate the 1994 naturalization decree, which naturalized several
thousand Palestinians.
The Government issued travel documents to Palestinian refugees to
enable them to travel and work abroad. The Government did not issue
visitors visas to Jordanian nationals who were born in the country and
were of Palestinian origin.
After Palestinians, the next largest group of refugees in the
country was Iraqis, of which there were more than 10,407 registered
with the UNHCR at year's end; however, this number did not include a
substantial number of Iraqi refugees who entered the country illegally
in search of jobs, education, and security. According to the UNHCR, an
estimated 50,000 Iraqis were living in the country. During the year the
Government provided very limited services for Iraqi refugees and had no
process for regularizing their status. Due to government inaction and
Lebanon's not being a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967
Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, there remained no
temporary protection regime for Iraqi asylum seekers, as advocated by
the UNHCR, and the Government regularly deported Iraqis who may have
had valid persecution claims. According to a December 2007 HRW report,
authorities during the year arrested Iraqi refugees without valid visas
and detained them indefinitely to coerce them to return to Iraq.
According to the SG, there were 16 detained Iraqis in the country at
year's end. During the year the SG deported 183 Iraqis to Iraq for
illegal immigration into Lebanon. From February 18 until June 18, the
SG granted a grace period for illegal immigrants, including Iraqis, to
regularize their status and allowed Iraqi detainees an additional three
months to arrange for new sponsors in Lebanon if they did not wish to
return to Iraq.
Stateless Persons.--There were approximately 3,000 Palestinian
refugees who were registered neither with UNRWA nor with authorities.
Also known as undocumented, or non-ID Palestinians, most moved to the
country after the Palestinian Liberation Organization's (PLO) expulsion
from Jordan in 1971 and faced increased protection issues after the PLO
leadership departed Lebanon in 1982. Non-ID Palestinians were not
eligible for assistance from UNRWA, faced restrictions on their
movements, and lacked access to fundamental rights under the law. The
vast majority of non-ID Palestinians were males, and UNRWA refugee and
Lebanese women were unable to transmit their citizenship or refugee
status to their husbands. In January the Government and Palestinian
leaders struck a quiet agreement that would grant a new legal status to
non-ID Palestinians. The Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC)
was working with UNRWA to implement the Government's new policy by
facilitating the issuance of identification cards to non-ID
Palestinians.
There were thousands of Kurds who lived without citizenship despite
decades of family presence in the country. Most were descendents of
migrants and refugees who left Turkey and Syria during World War I but
were denied the right to citizenship in order to preserve the country's
fragile sectarian balance. The Government issued a naturalization
decree in June 1994, but high costs and other obstacles prevented many
from acquiring official status. Approximately 75,000 Kurds resided in
the country. At year's end an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Kurds in the
country lacked official status or held an ``ID under consideration,''
which states no date and place of birth.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government in
periodic, free, and fair elections; however, lack of control over parts
of the country, defects in the electoral process, and corruption in
public office significantly restricted this right.
Elections and Political Participation.--The law provides that
elections for the parliament must be held every four years and that the
parliament elects the President every six years. The President and the
parliament nominate the prime minister, who, with the President,
chooses the cabinet. According to the unwritten National Pact of 1943,
the President must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni
Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.
In 2004, amid evidence of heavy Syrian manipulation and coercion,
parliament voted for a constitutional amendment extending the term of
President Emile Lahoud to November 2007. Many citizens considered this
amendment to violate the constitution. In September 2007 parliament was
scheduled to meet to begin the process of choosing President Emile
Lahoud's successor; however, because two-thirds of the members were not
present, the speaker cancelled the session. In November 2007 President
Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term and, as stipulated in the
constitution, the powers of the presidency were transferred to the
cabinet, led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, until the election of a
new President. The speaker rescheduled the session 19 times due to
internal political deadlock before President Michel Sleiman was elected
on May 25.
In August 2007 parliamentary by-elections in Metn and Beirut were
held to replace two seats vacated by the assassinations of MPs Pierre
Gemayel and Walid Eido. The Lebanese Association for Democratic
Elections monitored the elections and reported a few incidents of voter
fraud, including instances in which voters used fake identity cards or
national identity cards instead of the voter identity cards.
On September 29, parliament approved a new electoral law as part of
the Doha agreement. The law established an independent election
commission, abolished the voter card, and provided for one-day
elections and regulation of campaign finance and media. Out-of-country
voting provisions were also approved for the 2013 parliamentary
elections.
Political parties could organize, seek votes, and publicize their
views without government restriction. The political system is based on
confessional lines, and parliamentary seats are allotted on a sectarian
basis.
There were four major and numerous smaller political parties. The
largest party in the parliamentary majority was the Future Movement,
led by Saad Hariri. Its membership was predominantly Sunni, but
Hariri's parliamentary bloc included a number of members from other
sects. The Progressive Socialist Party, led by Walid Jumblatt,
predominantly represented Druze interests and allied itself with the
Future Movement. The Free Patriotic Movement, led by Michel Aoun,
represented a significant portion of the Christian community. The
party's leadership decided to remain outside the cabinet. Two smaller
Christian parties were the Lebanese Forces, led by Samir Geagea, and
the Phalange party, led by former President Amine Gemayel. The largest
party representing the Shia community was Hizballah, a designated
terrorist organization, led by Hassan Nasrallah. A smaller Shia party,
Amal, was led by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. While a number of
smaller parties existed or were in the process of forming, the larger,
sectarial-based parties maintained the greatest influence in the
country's political system.
There were significant cultural barriers to women's participation
in politics. Prior to 2005 no woman held a cabinet position; however,
at year's end there was one woman who was selected as a member of the
national unity cabinet formed on July 11.
Minorities were able to participate in politics to some extent.
Regardless of the number of adherents, every recognized religion was
given at least one seat in parliament. There were four parliamentarians
representing minorities (one Evangelical, one Syrian Orthodox, and two
Alawites.) Additionally, these minority groups held high positions in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the LAF. Palestinian refugees,
however, had no political rights. An estimated 17 Palestinian factions
operated in the country and were generally organized around prominent
individuals. Most Palestinians lived in refugee camps controlled by one
or more factions. Refugee leaders were not elected, but there were
popular committees that met regularly with UNRWA and visitors.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The Government provides
criminal penalties for official corruption, but they were seldom
enforced, and government corruption was a serious problem. Public
officials were required by law to disclose their financial assets to
the Constitutional Council; however, the information was not open to
the public. The Court of Accounts, the Central Inspection Department,
and the Disciplinary Board were charged with fighting corruption.
There are no laws regarding public access to government documents,
and the Government did not respond to requests for documents.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of local and international human rights groups, including
the Lebanese Association for Human Rights, the Foundation for Human and
Humanitarian Rights-Lebanon, the National Association for the Rights of
the Disabled, the ICRC, and AI, generally operated freely without overt
government restriction and investigated and published their findings.
Government officials generally were cooperative with NGOs; however,
following the 2007 Nahr al-Barid conflict, the Government obstructed
the visit of several international and domestic NGOs, including HRW,
ALEF, the Palestinian Human Rights Organization (PHRO), and the
Palestinian Foundation for Human Rights (Shahed), to the refugee camp
to monitor the conditions of the return of IDPs. During the year the
Government continued to deny ALEF the right to enter the camp and
allegedly threatened the organization not to push its request any
further.
The Government cooperated with international governmental
organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives and other
organizations such as the ICRC. On May 27, the ICRC released its 2007
annual report on Lebanon. In February 2007, the Government signed an
agreement granting the ICRC access to all detainees in the country and
visits began in March 2007.
In conjunction with the UN Development Programme and the UN Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights
Parliamentary Committee concluded during the year the first phase of
its Human Rights National Action Plan by publishing 22 of the planned
24 background papers on various human rights topics. The thrust of the
endeavor was the development of a roadmap that guides the ministries to
amend the law where necessary and implement measures, such as improving
prison conditions, needed to protect and ensure specific human rights.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for equality among all citizens; however, in
practice, some aspects of the law and traditional beliefs discriminated
against women. Although the law reserves a percentage of private sector
and government jobs to persons with disabilities, few accommodations
were made for them. Discrimination based on race, language, or social
status is illegal; however, foreign domestic servants often were
mistreated, sometimes suffered physical abuse, had pay withheld or
unfairly reduced, or were forced to remain locked within their
employer's home for the duration of their contracts.
Women.--The law prohibits rape and the Government effectively
enforced it. The minimum prison sentence for a person convicted of rape
is five years, or seven years for raping a minor. Spousal rape was not
criminalized. According to local NGO KAFA (Enough) Violence and
Exploitation, 80 percent of domestic violence victims were exposed to
spousal rape. Even though there were no official statistics on the
number of abusers that were prosecuted, prosecution was rare according
to KAFA.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, which,
including spousal abuse, was a problem; however, there were no
authoritative statistics on its extent. Despite a law prohibiting
battery with a maximum sentence of three years in prison for those
convicted, some religious courts legally may require a battered wife to
return to her home in spite of physical abuse. Women were sometimes
compelled to remain in abusive marriages because of economic, social,
and family pressures.
The Government provided legal assistance to domestic violence
victims who could not afford it; however, in most cases police ignored
complaints submitted by battered or abused women. A local NGO, the
Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women (LCRVAW), worked
actively to reduce violence against women by offering counseling and
legal aid and raising awareness about domestic violence. From January
to August, the LCRVAW received 51 cases, excluding consultations it
received on its hot line. From January to October, KAFA received 133
cases.
Foreign domestic servants, usually women, often were mistreated,
abused, and in some cases raped or placed in slavery-like conditions.
Asian and African female workers had no practical legal recourse
available to them because of their low status and isolation and because
labor laws did not protect them. Because of the prevalence of such
abuse, the Government prohibited foreign women from working if they
were from countries that did not have diplomatic representation in the
country.
The legal system was discriminatory in its handling of honor
crimes. According to the penal code, a man who kills his wife or other
female relative may receive a reduced sentence if he demonstrates that
he committed the crime in response to a socially unacceptable sexual
relationship conducted by the victim. For example, while the penal code
stipulates that murder is punishable by either a life sentence or the
death penalty, if a defendant can prove it was an honor crime, the
sentence is commuted to seven years' imprisonment at most. According to
a March 7 Agence France Presse article, although honor crimes were not
widespread in the country, every year a number of women were killed by
male relatives under the pretext of defending family honor. Several
honor crimes that resulted in convictions were reported in the media.
Although the law on prostitution requires that brothels be
licensed, including regular testing for disease, government policy was
not to issue new licenses for brothels in an attempt gradually to
eliminate legal prostitution in the country. Therefore, most
prostitution was unlicensed and illegal. Some prostitutes were Eastern
European and Russian women that entered the country for sexual
exploitation. Women working in adult clubs were closely monitored by
the SG. Their residency permits did not exceed six months, and they
were deported if they were caught overstaying their permits. Most of
the women entered the country knowing that they would be working in
adult clubs.
The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, it was a widespread
problem, and the law was not effectively enforced. Social pressure
against women pursuing careers was strong in some parts of society. Men
sometimes exercised considerable control over female relatives,
restricting their activities outside the home or their contact with
friends and relatives.
Women suffered discrimination under the law and in practice. Women
may own property but often ceded control of it to male relatives for
cultural reasons and because of family pressure. The law provides for
equal pay for equal work for men and women, but in the private sector
there was some discrimination regarding the provision of benefits.
Many family and personal status laws discriminated against women.
For example, Sunni inheritance law provides a son twice the inheritance
of a daughter. Although Muslim men may divorce easily, Muslim women may
do so only with the concurrence of their husbands. Immigration law
discriminates against women, who may not confer citizenship on their
spouses and children, except for widows, who may confer citizenship on
their minor children.
Children.--There is legislation to make the country compliant with
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which it has acceded.
In order to follow up on the country's commitment to children's rights,
the Government established in 1994 the Higher Council for Childhood
(HCC) under the Ministry of Social Affairs. At year's end the HCC was
working on a National Children Action Plan in conjunction with the
appropriate parliamentary committees.
The Government did not register the births of children born in the
country to Palestinian refugees or non-ID Palestinian parents,
resulting in the denial of citizenship and restricted access to public
services, including school and health care. In addition children of
Lebanese mothers and Palestinian fathers were not granted citizenship.
Palestinian refugee and non-ID children were restricted from attending
public secondary schools because they lacked the identity documents
required to sit for the intermediate schooling exam. However, according
to the Secretary General of the HCC, although Palestinian refugee
births were not officially registered, the SG had birth figures adding
that some Palestinian refugees did attend public schools.
Other refugees that were in a similar situation to Palestinians
included Iraqi, Sudanese, and Somali refugees.
According to an October 15 report by the Integrated Regional
Information Networks (IRIN), children born in the country of migrant
domestic workers had no official identity. For Sri Lankans, Filipinos,
and West Africans, the law allows for a child who is already registered
in a Lebanese school to have residency. Many children of domestic
workers faced marginalization and racism because of their parents'
social status; however, according to the NGO Caritas, marginalization
and racism were not perceived to exist in schools. No accurate
statistics on the number of children of domestic workers born in the
country existed at year's end, although according to a Caritas estimate
conducted in September, there were approximately 150 children of
domestic workers born in the country.
In some families with limited incomes, boys received more education
than girls.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit
trafficking in persons, and it remained a problem.
The country was a destination for eastern European, Russian, and
Syrian women who were contracted as dancers in adult clubs and sexually
exploited. Most of these women engaged in voluntary illegal
prostitution, but some reported facing intimidation or coercion and
having their movements restricted, while others were at risk as targets
of abuse.
The country also was a destination for women from Africa and Asia,
usually contracted as household workers. Some of these workers found
themselves in situations of involuntary servitude under conditions such
as restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, nonpayment of
wages, threats, and physical or sexual assault with little practical
legal recourse.
A high percentage of traffickers were employers and employment
agencies.
Many women became illegal workers because their employers did not
renew their work and residency permits or because they ran away from
their employer. These women were subject to detention, rendering them
vulnerable to trafficking when abusive sponsors used the women's
illegal immigration status to intimidate them and coerce them into
labor. Unscrupulous employers sometimes falsely accused the employee of
theft to relinquish contractual responsibility for the employee as well
as the taxes and a return airline ticket.
Employers often restricted foreign employees' movement and withheld
passports.
The penal code stipulates that abduction be punished by hard labor
and that abductors who engage in sexual exploitation be sentenced to at
least one year in prison. According to the MOJ, there were no
prosecutions or convictions during the year. NGOs and foreign embassies
reported that many victims of exploitation and abuse preferred quick
administrative proceedings, which resulted in monetary settlements and
repatriations, instead of often lengthy and difficult legal
proceedings. Court cases were often dropped before prosecution was
completed. In March/April, SG investigators received training on
investigative techniques. A small number of exploited foreign workers
won cases against their employers, but nonjudicial action resolved the
majority of these cases. As a result workers frequently were
repatriated without further judicial action. A few cases were referred
to the judiciary for further action, although the Government took
minimal steps to prosecute traffickers.
The SG, which falls under the MOI, the MOJ, and the Ministry of
Labor (MOL), are all responsible for combating trafficking in the
country. The MOL regulates local employment agencies that place migrant
workers with sponsors. During the year the MOL closed two employment
agencies for a specified period and warned a number of others for
noncompliance with MOL regulations.
The Government did not provide trafficking victims with relief from
deportation, with shelter, or with legal, medical, or psychological
services; however, the SG worked with Caritas Lebanon to provide some
of these functions. The SG allowed Caritas social workers unrestricted
access to its retention center for foreign persons where they provided
detainees with counseling, assistance, and legal protection. The SG
also continued to refer potential victims to Caritas. The SG sometimes
granted victims permission to stay up to two months to assist in the
investigation of their cases and the prosecution of their abusers. Once
victims were identified as such, they were transferred to a safe house
and Caritas was allowed to assist them.
The SG allows migrant workers who do not wish to be repatriated to
their home country to legally change their sponsor with a ``release
paper'' from the original employer. A court may order an abusive
employer to provide such a release paper as part of a decision, or this
may be part of a negotiated out-of-court settlement.
Two types of booklets explaining regulations governing migrant
workers, including descriptions of their rights and responsibilities,
were available upon request, or distributed as needed.
Persons With Disabilities.--Although prohibited by law,
discrimination against persons with disabilities continued. The Civil
Service Board, which is in charge of recruiting government employees,
continued to refuse applications from persons with disabilities. The
law mandates access to buildings by disabled persons; however, the
Government failed to amend building codes. Approximately 100,000
persons were disabled during the 1975-90 civil war. Families generally
cared for their own family members with disabilities. Most efforts to
assist persons with disabilities were made by approximately 100
relatively active but poorly funded private organizations.
Many persons with mental disabilities were cared for in private
institutions, several of which were subsidized by the Government.
The law stipulates that at least 3 percent of all government and
private sector positions be filled by persons with disabilities,
provided that such persons fulfill the qualifications for the position.
However, there was no evidence that the law was enforced in practice.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Council of Disabled
are responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
According to the President of the Arab Organization of Disabled People,
little progress has been made since the law was passed, and progress
was further hindered by the 18-month political deadlock.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were reports that Syrian
workers, usually employed in manual labor occupations, continued to
suffer discrimination following the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian forces.
Many Syrian laborers also reportedly left Lebanon out of fear of
harassment. No further data was collected on this situation during the
year, and the true extent of the problem was unknown.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Discrimination against
homosexuals persisted during the year. The law prohibits what is termed
unnatural sexual intercourse, which is punishable by up to one year in
prison. The law was sometimes applied to homosexuals.
There are no discriminatory laws against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that all workers,
except government employees, may establish and join unions with
government approval, and workers exercised this right in practice. The
MOL must approve formation of any union. The MOL controlled all trade
union elections, including election dates, procedures, and ratification
of results. The law permitted the administrative dissolution of trade
unions and forbade them to engage in political activity.
The GLC estimated that there were approximately 900,000 workers in
the active labor force. Approximately 5 to 7 percent of workers were
members of some 450 to 500 labor unions and associations, half of which
were believed to be inactive.
The law provides that unions conduct activities free from
interference; however, the MOL at times interfered in union elections
and registered unions not considered representative. Unions also have
the right to demonstrate; however, advanced notice and approval by the
MOI are required.
Most unions belonged to federations.
There were 47 federations that were voting members of the GCL, five
of which were considered illegal by the judiciary in 2007. Many others
were reportedly unrepresentative and created by political interest
groups to offset the votes of the 13 established labor confederations
that represent workers. The GCL remained the only organization
recognized by the Government as an interlocutor that represented
workers. However, approximately 13 federations no longer participated
in GCL meetings and created the so-called salvation committee of the
GCL, but they have not declared an official breakaway.
Palestinian refugees may organize their own unions; however,
because of restrictions on their right to work, few Palestinians
participated actively in trade unions. Palestinian refugees are legally
barred from entering certain unionized professions such as engineering,
law, and medicine.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The right of
workers to organize and to bargain collectively exists in law and
practice, and the Government supported this right. Most worker groups
engaged in some form of collective bargaining with their employers. No
government mechanisms promoted voluntary labor-management negotiations.
The law protected workers against antiunion discrimination, although
common practice among private employers suggested otherwise.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not
specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by
children; however, articles within the law prohibit behavior that
constitutes forced or compulsory labor. Nevertheless, children, foreign
domestic workers, and other foreign workers sometimes were forced to
remain in situations amounting to coerced or bonded labor. Women from
Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Russia were trafficked and forced to
provide sexual or domestic services.
Recruitment agencies and employers were required to have signed
employment contracts with the foreign worker. According to NGOs
assisting migrant workers, however, these agreements were often
undermined by second contracts signed in the source countries that
stipulated lower salaries. Employers and agencies used these changes to
pay the migrant a lower salary. Anecdotal evidence suggested that some
employers did not pay their workers on a regular basis and some
withheld the salary for the duration of the contract, which was usually
two years.
Government regulations also prohibited employment agencies from
withholding foreign workers' passports for any reason. However, in
practice employment agencies and household employers often withheld
maids' passports.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace,
but the Government sometimes did not effectively enforce these laws.
According to 2005 UNICEF statistics, 7 percent of children ages five to
14 were involved in child labor. The International Labor Organization
estimated there to be 100,000 child workers during the year. Out of
these, 25,000 were thought to be in the tobacco industry, and a large
percentage worked in informal sectors of the economy, including
construction, agriculture, and fisheries. Street children worked
selling goods, polishing shoes, and washing car windows. Children also
were engaged in various forms of child labor, including commercial
sexual exploitation and working under hazardous conditions in several
sectors, such as metal works, construction, automobile repair, welding,
and seasonal agriculture.
The minimum age for child employment is 14 years. The law prohibits
the employment of juveniles, defined as children between 14 and 18
years of age, before they undergo a medical exam to ensure their
fitness for the job for which they are hired. The labor code prohibits
employment of juveniles under the age of 18 for more than six hours per
day and requires one hour of rest if work is more than four hours.
Juveniles under the age of 17 are prohibited from working in jobs that
jeopardize their health, safety, or morals, as well as working between
the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The law also prohibits the
employment of juveniles under 16 in industrial jobs or jobs that are
physically demanding or harmful to their health.
During the year there were reports of children trafficked within
the country for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and labor
in the metal works, construction, and agriculture sectors. Street
children were particularly vulnerable. There were no official
statistics on children being used for drug trafficking during the year.
The MOL's enforcement of these requirements slightly improved, as
it worked to train its inspectors and recruit new ones. The MOL also
worked to amend the law to include a list of the most hazardous forms
of child labor. The Higher Council of Childhood provided education to
families and children to help prevent child abuse.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On September 9, the Government
approved an increase in the legal minimum wage from 300,000 pounds
($200) to 500,000 pounds ($330) per month, the first increase since
1996; however, despite the increase, it was difficult to provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family with the minimum
wage.
The law prescribes a standard 48-hour workweek with a 24-hour rest
period per week. In practice workers in the industrial sector worked an
average of 35 hours per week, and workers in other sectors worked an
average of 30 hours per week. The law stipulates that 48 hours is the
maximum duration of work per week in most corporations except
agricultural entities. A 12-hour day is permitted under certain
conditions, including a stipulation that the overtime provided is 50
percent higher than the rate of normal hours. The law includes specific
occupational health and safety regulations. Labor regulations require
employers to take adequate precautions for employee safety. The MOL was
responsible for enforcing these regulations but did so unevenly. Labor
organizers reported that workers did not have the right to remove
themselves from hazardous conditions without jeopardizing their
employment.
Some private sector firms failed to provide employees with family
and transport allowances as stipulated under the law and to register
them at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). Employers sometimes
registered their employees declaring lower salaries, in order to
decrease their contribution to the NSSF and en.--o.--service pay to the
employee himself. Some companies also did not respect occupational
health and safety regulations stipulated by the law. Workers are
permitted to complain about violations to the GCL, an umbrella
organization for trade unions, the MOL and the NSSF. In most cases,
however, they preferred to remain silent for fear of arbitrary
dismissal.
The law does not protect foreign domestic workers. Foreign domestic
workers, mostly of Asian and African origin, were mistreated, abused,
raped, or placed in situations of coerced labor or slavery-like
conditions. Domestic workers often worked 18 hours per day and in many
cases did not receive vacations or holidays. There was no minimum wage
for domestic workers. Official contracts stipulate a wage ranging from
150,000 to 450,000 pounds ($100 to $300) per month, depending on the
nationality of the worker. Victims of trafficking or abusive labor may
file civil suits or seek legal action, but most victims, often
counseled by their embassies or consulates, settled for an
administrative solution, which usually included monetary compensation
and repatriation. The Government did not release information on legal
actions filed, but NGOs indicated that fewer than 10 legal actions were
undertaken during the year.
On August 26, HRW reported that 95 domestic workers had committed
suicide or fallen from tall buildings since January 2007 in efforts to
escape forced confinement, excessive work demands, employer abuse, and
financial pressures. The SG, Caritas, and employment agencies responded
that HRW published an exaggerated number.
During the year the MOL closed two employment agencies for
violations of workers' rights, including physical abuse. Perpetrators
of the abuses, however, were not further prosecuted for a number of
reasons, including the victims' refusal to press charges or a lack of
evidence. An unknown number of other cases of nonpayment of wages were
settled through negotiation. According to source country embassies and
consulates, many workers did not report violations of their labor
contracts until after returning to their home countries.
An employer accused of attempted murder was arrested in Beirut in
September 2007 but released after a week. He was arrested again two
days later when the district judge issued an arrest warrant. He was
released again when the victim withdrew her complaint after the
offender paid her 9,756,500 pounds ($6,500) in compensation for
damages. In another case two Nigerian male migrant workers were the
victims of fraud. The trafficker who brought them in was arrested in
June 2007, and the Nigerian men were given the chance to stay in the
country pursuant to an exceptional decision made by the SG. In 2006 a
judge awarded an Ethiopian migrant worker financial compensation to be
paid by her abusive employer, which marked the first time a domestic
worker was awarded compensation for physical abuse. The employer,
however, was not criminally prosecuted for physical assault.
__________
LIBYA
The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is an
authoritarian regime with a population of approximately six million,
ruled by Colonel Mu'ammar al Qadhafi since 1969. The country's
governing principles are derived predominantly from Colonel al-
Qadhafi's Green Book ideology. In theory citizens rule the country
through a pyramid of popular congresses, communes, and committees, as
laid out in the 1969 Constitutional Proclamation and the 1977
Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People. In
2006 Secretary of the General People's Committee al-Baghdadi al-
Mahmoudi (prime minister equivalent) and the remaining delegates of the
760-member General People's Congress began three-year terms. In
practice, however, al-Qadhafi and his inner circle monopolized
political power. These authorities generally maintained effective
control of the security forces.
The Government's human rights record remained poor. Citizens did
not have the right to change their government. Remaining problems
included reported disappearances; torture; arbitrary arrest; lengthy
pretrial and sometimes incommunicado detention; official impunity and
poor prison conditions. Similarly, denial of a fair public trial by an
independent judiciary, political prisoners and detainees, and the lack
of judicial recourse for alleged human rights violations were problems.
The Government restricted civil liberties and freedoms of speech, press
(including Internet and academic freedom), assembly, and association.
The Government did not fully protect the rights of migrants, asylum
seekers, and refugees. Other problems included restrictions on freedom
of religion; corruption and lack of transparency; societal
discrimination against women, ethnic minorities, and foreign workers;
trafficking in persons; and restriction of labor rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--On May 29, Mohammed
Adel Abu Ali died in custody after being returned to the country when
his asylum claim was denied in Europe. According to Human Rights Watch
(HRW), he was tortured in detention. London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat
reported that he belonged to the oppositionist ``al-Tabu'' Front for
the Liberation of Libya.
There were no developments in the case of Hafed Mansour al-Zwai, a
prisoner at the Abu Salim Prison who reportedly was killed in clashes
between prisoners and guards in 2006. Opposition groups published
articles in October 2007, the first anniversary of the clashes,
criticizing the Government for failing to investigate.
Daif al-Ghazal, a prominent opposition journalist and
anticorruption activist, was killed in 2005. According to the
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Reporters without Borders (RSF), his
family stated that a Tripoli court sentenced three unnamed individuals
to death in connection with the case in July 2007. On July 24, Saif al-
Islam al-Qadhafi, son of Muammar al-Qadhafi, conceded that officials
killed al-Ghazal but claimed they had done so without official
sanction. He called for public trials for the officials. There was no
further information by year's end.
b. Disappearance.--In February 2007 security services arrested
Abdulrahman al-Qutiwi and Juma'a Boufayed, along with 12 others who
appeared subsequently in court to face criminal charges. Authorities
did not bring al-Qutiwi and Boufayed to trial, and Juma'a Boufayed's
whereabouts were unknown until authorities released him on May 27. They
had detained him incommunicado for 15 months at an unknown location.
The location of al-Qutiwi, reportedly a fourt.--year medical student,
remained unknown at year's end.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but security personnel
routinely tortured prisoners during interrogations or as punishment.
Reports of torture were difficult to corroborate because detainees
often were held incommunicado.
The reported methods of torture and abuse included chaining
prisoners to a wall for hours; clubbing; applying electric shock;
applying corkscrews to the back; pouring lemon juice in open wounds;
breaking fingers and allowing the joints to heal without medical care;
suffocating with plastic bags; depriving detainees of sleep, food, and
water; hanging by the wrists; suspending from a pole inserted between
the knees and elbows; burning with cigarettes; threatening with dog
attacks; and beatings on the soles of the feet.
In 2007 the United Nations Human Rights Committee noted that
corporal punishments, such as amputation and flogging, were rarely
implemented, although sanctioned by law. Agence France-Presse (AFP) as
well as opposition Web site Libya al-Youm reported that the Libyan
lawyers' union alleged that unidentified individuals abducted,
interrogated, and tortured lawyer Dhaw al-Mansuri on June 29. No
further information was available at year's end.
On July 24, Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi conceded that acts of torture
and excessive violence had taken place in prisons. Al-Qadhafi denied
government culpability, arguing that the individuals responsible for
the torture had acted on their own initiative and were being tried
within the legal system. At year's end, no information had been
released on the progress of trials.
Ashraf Ahmad Jum'a al-Hajuj, a Palestinian medical professional who
for eight years was held on charges that he deliberately infected
Libyan children with HIV was released in July 2007. In January he filed
suit in France and at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, arguing
that he was tortured repeatedly in detention. According to testimony
obtained by AFP, the torture included rape by a German shepherd,
fingernails ripped off, and electric shocks. He also testified that he
was present when five Bulgarian nurses detained with him were tortured.
He said most of the torture occurred during the early period after his
imprisonment in 1999.
In an August 2007 interview, al-Hajuj provided a detailed account
of these incidents, which included beatings, electric shocks, and
injections with what police officers claimed was the HIV virus.
According to his account, security services first arrested him in
January 1999, forced him to wear a hood, and detained him without
clothes in a 12-foot-square cell for 10 months. For several days he was
detained in a room with three dogs, which police officers ordered to
attack him as they attempted to extract a confession. Police also bent
his knees against his chest, tied his hands and feet around his legs,
threaded an iron bar through the rope and spun him around the bar
``like a roasted chicken.'' For months, police forced him to sleep
hanging from the wall with his hands tied behind his back.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to diplomatic
missions and international organizations, prison and detention center
conditions ranged from poor to adequate. Pretrial detainees, who
reportedly accounted for more than half of the prison population, were
held in the same facilities as convicts. Prison officials frequently
held pretrial detainees for long periods.
Security forces reportedly subjected prisoners and detainees to
cruel, inhuman, or degrading conditions and denied them adequate
medical care.
International organizations did not have access to prisons and
detention facilities in the country, except in migrant detention
facilities. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did not
have an office in the country.
In March a medical doctor from the international NGO Physicians for
Human Rights (PHR) and a representative from HRW visited political
activist and al-Qadhafi critic Fathi al-Jahmi in the Tripoli Medical
Center, where he was detained under 24-hour guard.
In November 2007 a group of Libyan activists abroad met to demand a
government investigation into the 1996 Abu Salim Prison riot, in which
a large but unknown number of prisoners died. The group alleged that
security services killed 1,200 political prisoners in the riot. In 2005
the authorities established a committee to investigate the incident.
Since 2001, according to the Swiss-based Libyan Human Rights Solidarity
(LHRS) opposition group, government officials notified 112 of the 350
families in contact with the group that a family member died in the
incident, but officials did not provide bodies or explain the causes of
death. The remaining families did not receive confirmation from the
Government on the status of their family members by year's end.
According to HRW, a North Benghazi court of first instance ruled in
June that the state must reveal the identities of the dead from the Abu
Salim riot and investigate the circumstances of their deaths. In a
speech on July 24, Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi acknowledged excessive use
of force at the prison and called for public trials for officials who
had directed the Government response, whom he claimed had acted on
their own initiative and not under orders from the Government.
Following that speech, the Web site Akhbar Libya reported that the
Government had agreed to compensate the families of 144 prisoners and
that three families had refused the compensation.
According to the LHRS, Muhammad Bosadra, a prisoner who reportedly
negotiated with guards during the incident, has been held incommunicado
since 2005, when government officials moved him to an unknown facility.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but the Government did not observe these
prohibitions. As in previous years, there were reports that security
forces arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens during the year.
In October 2007 security services detained a regime critic, Fouad
Nassar al-Mahmoudi, upon his return from a long stay abroad. At year's
end al-Mahmoudi remained in incommunicado detention.
There were no developments in the case of Mahmoud Muhammad
Boushima, a government critic resident abroad since 1981, whom police
arrested during a 2005 trip to the country, according to an Amnesty
International (AI) report.
Role of Police and Security Apparatus.--The country maintains an
extensive security apparatus that includes police and military units,
multiple intelligence services, local revolutionary committees,
people's committees, and ``purification'' committees. The result is a
multilayered, pervasive surveillance system that monitors and controls
the activities of individuals. The legal basis of security service
authority is unclear; citizens have no obvious recourse if they believe
security services have exceeded their authority. Frequently cited laws
are the 1971 and 1972 ``Protection of the Revolution'' laws, which
criminalize activities based on political principles inconsistent with
revolutionary ideology. Although the law prohibits arbitrary arrest and
detention, in practice security services can detain individuals without
formal charges and hold them indefinitely without court convictions.
Security forces committed serious human rights abuses with
impunity, including the lengthy extralegal detentions of Boufayed, al-
Hameed, and Boushima. They intimidated, harassed, and detained
individuals without formal charges and held them indefinitely without
court convictions, particularly in cases involving the political
opposition. In addition, they regularly enjoyed impunity from criminal
acts committed while performing their duties.
In November opposition members living abroad alleged that security
forces battled Toubou tribesmen in the southeastern part of the
country. Other observers within the country characterized clashes in
the town of Kufra as societal violence between Toubou and Zawiya
tribes. According to a November 20 report in MEED Business
Intelligence, the initial deployment of security forces to quell the
violence was insufficient, and unrest continued for more than one week,
during which time authorities cut communication networks in the area
and left locals without supplies for days. There were reports that
between 11 and 30 civilians were killed in the fighting.
Arrest and Detention.--The law stipulates that detainees can be
held for investigation after being arrested up to eight days. In
practice security services can hold detainees indefinitely. Although
the law requires that detainees be informed of the charges against
them, it was not enforced in practice. The law states that in order to
renew a detention order detainees must be brought before a judicial
authority at regular intervals of 30 days, but in practice security
services detained persons for indefinite periods without a court order.
By law, bail must be set for pretrial detainees, and detainees must
have access to counsel. A public defender must be appointed for anyone
who cannot afford a private attorney. Detainees reportedly did not
receive information on their right to legal representation during
interrogation.
Incommunicado detention remained a problem. The Government held
many political detainees incommunicado for unlimited periods in
unofficial detention centers controlled by branches of the security
services. The Government reportedly held political detainees, including
as many as 100 associated with banned Islamic groups, in prisons
throughout the country, but mainly in the Ayn Zara, Jadida, and Abu
Salim prisons in Tripoli. Some human rights organizations and foreign
diplomats speculated there were 2,000 political detainees, many held
for years without trial. Hundreds of other detainees may have been held
for periods too brief to permit confirmation by outside observers.
According to a 2006 HRW report, migrants and refugees in detention
centers complained consistently of not being informed of the reason for
their arrest, of lengthy periods of pretrial detention, and of
restricted access to a lawyer.
Women and girls suspected of violating moral codes reportedly were
detained indefinitely in ``social rehabilitation'' homes without access
to legal representation or the opportunity to contest their detention
in court.
Amnesty.--On April 8, authorities reportedly released 90 members of
the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) after they renounced violence.
In November 2007 Ayman al-Zawahiri of al-Qa'ida announced that LIFG had
merged with al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb that September. The
released members had served six to eight years as part of their prison
terms, which ranged from 10 years to life.
On August 28, as a regular part of its annual Revolution Day
commemoration, the Government reportedly pardoned 3,133 prisoners.
Another 1,573 prisoners were pardoned on December 7 in honor of Eid al-
Adha.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, but it was not independent in practice. The law
stipulates that every person has the right to resort to the courts, but
security forces had the authority to pass sentence without trial,
particularly in cases involving the political opposition. The
Government used summary judicial proceedings to suppress domestic
dissent. Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi may, at his discretion, interfere in the
administration of justice by altering court judgments, replacing
judges, or manipulating the appeal system. The judiciary failed to
incorporate international standards for fair trials, detention, and
imprisonment.
The judicial system is composed of four tiers: the summary courts,
the courts of first instance, the three courts of appeal, and the
Supreme Court. The summary courts hear cases involving misdemeanors.
The decisions of this court may be appealed to the courts of first
instance, which are composed of chambers of three judges and have the
authority to adjudicate in all civil, criminal, and commercial cases.
Jurors of the court of first instance apply Shari'a (Islamic law) in
family law cases. Cases from the courts of first instance may be
appealed to the three courts of appeal, which are composed of three-
judge panels. The Shari'a court of appeals hears cases from the lower
Shari'a court.
The final court of appeal is the Supreme Court, composed of five
separate chambers of five judges. The court has chambers for civil and
commercial, criminal, administrative, constitutional, and Shari'a
cases. The General People's Congress elects the presiding judge and
other members of the Supreme Court.
The Higher Judicial Council, an extrajudicial body that reviews
Supreme Court decisions for political implications, has the authority
to overturn Supreme Court verdicts or grant amnesty in cases involving
capital punishment.
The Supreme Council for Judicial Authority is the administrative
authority of the judiciary that handles appointments, transfers, and
disciplinary matters.
In August 2007 the Supreme Council for Judicial Authority
established a state security court of appeals responsible for hearing
national security cases. The court's portfolio includes cases stemming
from three laws: Law 80 of the 1975 Penal Code stipulating the death
penalty for offenses against the security of the state; Law 71 of 1972,
which classifies as ``treason'' all independent political activity; and
a 1969 revolutionary council decision that prohibits all forms of
peaceful political opposition. Opposition groups raised concerns that
defendants in cases before the state security court may be denied
access to an attorney and that cases are conducted in secret.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the presumption of
innocence, informing defendants of the charges against them, and the
right to legal counsel. The presiding judge appoints defense lawyers
automatically, even if the defendant has declined representation. In
practice defendants often were not informed of the charges against them
and usually had little contact, if any, with their lawyers.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--A large but unknown number of
persons were in detention or prison for engaging in peaceful political
activity or for belonging to an illegal political organization. The law
bans any group activity based on any political ideology that is
inconsistent with the principles of the 1969 revolution.
During the year authorities sentenced 11 men whom a state security
court had convicted for attempting to foment rebellion and for
conducting unauthorized communications with a foreign government; by
year's end authorities released from custody nine of them. Before their
arrest in February 2007 the original group of 14 men, led by Dr. Idriss
Boufayed, had planned a peaceful demonstration calling for greater
political openness. The group reportedly began a hunger strike in
October 2007 to protest their lengthy pretrial detention in overcrowded
cells and the alleged mistreatment of them.
On June 10, the court handed down prison sentences to Idriss
Boufayed (25 years); Al-Mahdi Humaid, Al-Saidz Salih Humaid, Faraj
Humaid, and Ali Humaid (15 years); Jamal al-Hajj (12 years); and Ahmad
Yusef al-Ubaidi, 'Alaa al-Dirsi, Farid al-Zuwi, Bashir al-Haris, and
Al-Sadiq Qashut (six years). Adel Humaid was found not guilty and
released the same day. Juma'a Boufayed was released on May 28.
On October 8, authorities released Idriss Boufayed from custody,
reportedly due to his advanced lung cancer. Boufayed was the head of
the National Union for Reform, an opposition group he ran in exile for
16 years until his return to Libya in September 2006, two months before
he was arrested the first time. According to opposition Web site Libya
al-Yuom, the QDF facilitated Boufayed's travel to Switzerland on
December 11 for medical treatment.
AI reported that authorities released eight of the remaining
prisoners on December 7 and began the legal process to pardon them
formally.
Two men remained in custody at year's end, Faraj Humaid and Jamal
Ahmad al-Hajj, and the whereabouts of Abdulrahman al-Qutiwi were
unknown. HRW maintained that authorities denied consular access to al-
Hajj, who holds Danish citizenship.
Political activist and al-Qadhafi critic Fathi al-Jahmi remained in
custody at year's end. Although in March the Government announced it
had released al-Jahmi, at year's end he remained under 24-hour guard in
the hospital. Authorities allowed al-Jahmi's family to visit him early
in the year; after April, however, visits were significantly
restricted.
With the exception of two weeks in 2004, al-Jahmi has been
continually detained since 2002. Authorities rearrested him in 2004
after he called publicly for democratic reforms and gave press
interviews criticizing the regime and calling for free media and free
elections.
According to HRW, the Government contended it arrested al-Jahmi for
telephoning foreign officials and ``providing them with information
with the purpose of making their countries hate the Great Jamahiriya''
and for conspiring to serve the interests of a foreign country. The
formal charges were attempting to overthrow the Government, slandering
al-Qadhafi, and communicating with a foreign official without
permission. Al-Jahmi's lawyer reportedly believed these charges could
carry the death penalty.
The QDF facilitated the March visit of HRW and PHR to al-Jahmi. In
this visit, Dr. Scott Allen, a physician with PHR, found that al-Jahmi
was seriously ill. Although al-Jahmi's physical condition appeared to
have improved since January, the lack of appropriate medical care
before January led to a serious deterioration of his health since his
rearrest in 2004. PHR reported that al-Jahmi suffered from diabetes,
hypertension, and coronary artery disease. PHR assessed that despite
his health problems, al-Jahmi was stable enough to be treated as an
outpatient and that he should be released to seek medical care of his
choosing.
According to HRW and PHR, a court ordered in 2006 that al-Jahmi be
transferred to a psychiatric facility, where he was detained for
approximately one year, although PHR did not find evidence of
significant mood or thought disorders in its two visits. In July 2007
al-Jahmi was transferred to the Tripoli Medical Center. According to
HRW and PHR, al-Jahmi's doctors said at the time of his transfer he was
experiencing congestive heart failure.
There were no developments in the case of Abdel Nasser Younis
Meftah al-Rabassi, who was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 2003
for posting an article on an Arabic-language Web site criticizing the
corruption in the Qadhafi government. According to human rights
activists and AI, he did not have access to adequate medical care and
was tortured, held incommunicado, and unable to hire his own attorney.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens did not have
access to courts to seek damages for, or cessation of, human rights
violations. Security services intimidated, harassed, and detained
individuals outside the legal system and without judicial oversight. In
practice individuals did not have the right to seek redress for
security service actions in civil court. Neither judicial nor
administrative remedies generally were available for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but the Government did
not respect the prohibitions. Security agencies often disregarded the
legal requirement to obtain a warrant before entering a private home.
They routinely monitored telephone calls and Internet usage, including
e-mail communication with foreign countries.
Security agencies and the revolutionary committees oversaw an
extensive network of informants engaged in surveillance for the
Government. The Government threatened to seize and destroy property
belonging to ``enemies of the people'' or those who ``cooperate'' with
foreign powers. Exiled government opponents reported that authorities
harassed their family members and threatened them with detention.
Authorities inflicted collective punishment on the relatives of
individuals, particularly those of convicted oppositionists.
Punishments by law include denial of access to utilities (water,
electricity, and telephone), fuel, food, and official documents; denial
of participation in local assemblies; and termination of new economic
projects and state subsidies.
In November 2007 the UN Human Rights Committee noted the collective
punishment of a community in Bani Walid, where security services
reportedly burned the property of relatives of a political activist who
had been arrested after calling for a multiparty system.
There were no reports of application of the ``purge law'' that
provides for the confiscation of private assets above a nominal amount.
The law describes wealth in excess of such unspecified amounts as ``the
fruits of exploitation or corruption.''
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech ``within the limits of public interest and principles of the
Revolution,'' but in practice the Publication Act of 1972 severely
limits the freedoms of speech and of the press, particularly criticism
of government officials or policy. The Government tolerated some
difference of opinion in people's committee meetings and at the General
People's Congress. In August 2007 Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi called for
greater openness within the People's Congress system but cautioned that
all political speech must stay within four ``red lines": Islam,
national security, territorial integrity, and Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi's
primacy in the political sphere. On August 20, Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi
reiterated the four ``red lines'' he had outlined in 2007 and
emphasized that the primacy of Muammar al-Qadhafi was key among them.
The Government prohibited all unofficial political activities. By
law, many forms of speech or expression may be interpreted as illegal.
The wide reach of security services and broad networks of informants
resulted in pervasive self-censorship.
The Government owned and controlled virtually all print and
broadcast media. The official news agency, the Jamahiriya News Agency
(JANA), was the designated conduit for official views. government-
controlled media neither published nor broadcast opinions inconsistent
with official policy. During the year the quasi-official 1/9 Media
Group, a QDF subsidiary controlled by Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi,
launched a satellite television station, a radio station, and two
independent newspapers. According to RSF, most of the journalists at
these newspapers also work for official media outlets, and the
newspapers were printed on the Government's presses. Local
revolutionary committees published several small newspapers.
Foreign publications were not widely available. In 2006 the 1/9
Media Group began distributing foreign publications domestically for
the first time. In February 2007 QDF began distributing foreign Arabic-
language publications through select news outlets, but one month later
the QDF discontinued the distribution of all foreign publications. Some
outlets in Tripoli had limited quantities of international weeklies.
Although the publications law in theory restricts publishing rights to
public entities, private companies were able to publish in practice.
Satellite television was widely available, but the Government
blocked foreign programming at times.
Internet Freedom.--A single government-owned service provider
offered Internet access. The number of Internet users was small but
growing. According to 2007 data of the International Telecommunications
Union, there were approximately 82,500 Internet subscribers and 260,000
users. The Government reportedly monitored Internet communications.
According to a 2007 report by the OpenNet Initiative, an academic
partnership, authorities regularly blocked opposition Web sites and
occasionally blocked others, including those that advocated minority
rights. During the year, however, most of these Web sites were
accessible to users of the state-owned Internet provider; many Internet
cafes operated via satellite connection to Europe, bypassing potential
blocking by the state.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government severely
restricted academic freedom. Professors and teachers who discussed
politically sensitive topics faced the risk of government reprisal.
Authorities frequently denied foreigners access to schools and
university campuses.
All cultural events require advance government approval. Any group
or individual seeking to organize a cultural event needs a government
sponsor. The Government at times denied permission for musical
performances and denied visa applications for foreign musical
performers to visit the country.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law stipulates that ``individuals may meet peacefully,
and no police personnel are entitled to attend their meetings;
moreover, they are not obliged to notify the police of such
gatherings.'' The law also provides for the right to hold public
meetings in accordance with the regulations set by law. In practice,
however, the Government severely restricted these rights and permitted
public assembly only with its express approval and only in support of
its positions.
Freedom of Association.--The Government restricted the right of
association to institutions affiliated with the Government. The
Government did not allow the formation of groups based on political
ideology inconsistent with the 1969 revolution.
c. Freedom of Religion.--Although there is no explicit law
guaranteeing religious freedom, in practice the Government generally
respected the right to observe one's religion. Islam is the equivalent
of a state religion and is thoroughly integrated into everyday
political and social life.
The Government regulated mosques, religious schools, and clerics to
ensure all views were in line with the state-approved form of Islam.
The Government strongly opposed militant forms of Islam, which it
viewed as a threat to the regime.
The World Islamic Call Society (WICS), an international educational
institution, operated a state-run university in Tripoli that provided
Muslims outside the Arab world with a broad education in literature,
history, science, and religion. WICS also organized vocational training
programs, offered students exposure to international academic speakers,
and maintained relations with local non-Muslim religious groups,
including Christian churches. On October 27, WICS held its eighth
General Congress in Tripoli, which included representatives from the
Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches.
Although there is no law prohibiting conversion from Islam, the
Government prohibits efforts to proselytize Muslims and actively
prosecutes offenders. The Government permitted Christian churches to
operate freely but imposed a limit of one church per denomination per
city and monitored religious services, including Islamic services, for
evidence of political discourse. There were no official places of
worship for Hindus, Buddhists, or Baha'is.
A noncitizen female who marries a Muslim citizen is not required to
convert to Islam, but a noncitizen male must convert to Islam to marry
a Muslim woman. The Government maintained the position that all
citizens were Muslims.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of
religious groups.
Although no statistics were available during the year, the
country's Jewish population was extremely small and possibly
nonexistent.
The Government renovated a former Jewish school in Tripoli to serve
as a city archive. There was no functioning synagogue. Discussions
between the Government and representatives of the former Jewish
community on possible compensation for Jewish communal property the
Government confiscated after 1948 have been ongoing since 2004.
Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi made statements denigrating Christians and
Jews. In a March 19 speech, echoing statements in a March 2007 speech
in which he declared that all those who did not practice Islam were
``losers,'' al-Qadhafi said the Christian Bible and the Jewish Torah
are forgeries and that the original versions mentioned the Prophet
Muhammad. Al-Qadhafi stated in a March 2007 interview that ``Jews will
go extinct because everyone hates them.''
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law stipulates that ``each
citizen, during times of peace, may move freely, choose the place where
he or she wishes to live, and may return to the country and leave
whenever he or she chooses.'' The Government generally did not restrict
the freedom of movement within the country, but freedom to travel
outside the country was at times restricted by the arbitrary seizure or
non-issuance of passports. When foreigners married to citizens entered
the country, authorities routinely held the foreigners' passports.
The law does not allow, nor did the Government impose, forced exile
as a punishment. The Government continued to encourage dissidents
abroad to return and publicly promised their safety. There were
numerous reports, however, that the Government detained dissidents who
returned from exile. The Government reportedly interrogated students
returning from study abroad and at times discouraged students from
studying abroad, claiming they would be recruited to work as foreign
agents against the country.
Protection of Refugees.--The laws do not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government did not grant refugee status or asylum. The Government also
has not established a system for providing protection to refugees.
As in previous years, the Government generally cooperated with the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which has
operated in the country assisting refugees and asylum seekers since
1998 and as an independent office since 2002, despite the absence of a
formal memorandum of understanding.
The Government operated at least 10 detention centers for
undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, among others. International
organizations and some foreign diplomats had occasional access to these
detention centers. UNHCR and the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) had regular access to asylum seekers and irregular
migrants in prisons and detention facilities. UNHCR staff was allowed
to conduct private interviews with asylum seekers at government-
operated detention facilities with facilitation by the quasi-NGO
International Organization for Peace, Care, and Relief (IOPCR). UNHCR
had regular access to government officials and detained refugees
through IOPCR.
International observers reported gradual improvement in migrant
detention conditions since 2005, in particular in medical services.
The law prohibits the extradition of political refugees. In
practice, the Government provided some protection against the expulsion
or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would
be threatened. Although the Government did not target UNHCR-recognized
refugees for forcible deportation, the Government regularly and
forcibly deported foreigners without properly screening refugees and
asylum seekers from economic migrants. AI reported that authorities
took preliminary steps on June 21 to deport forcibly a group of 230
detained Eritrean asylum seekers but that UNHCR intervened on their
behalf. At year's end all 230 remained in detention.
Government sources claim to have returned to their country of
origin 30,940 illegal migrants in 2007 of the estimated 1.5 to two
million illegal migrants in the country. In January HRW reported that
the Government claimed none of the undocumented foreigners in the
country were refugees. During the year, according to international
organizations working in the country, the Government became more
rigorous in differentiating between legitimate refugees and asylum
seekers and other economic migrants.
During the year UNHCR registered approximately 9,000 refugees,
although UNHCR estimated there were approximately 30,000 in the
country. Of the total refugee population, an estimated 3,500 were in
regular contact with the UNHCR mission in Tripoli. During the year
UNHCR reported an increase in the number of refugee applications, which
contributed to an eight month waiting period for asylum seekers to
receive an appointment with the organization. The majority of refugees
were Palestinians, Iraqis, and Somalis, followed by smaller but growing
numbers from Sudan, Eritrea, and sub-Saharan Africa.
The Government stipulates that any foreigner who enters the country
illegally shall be deported. The Government operated detention camps to
hold noncitizens pending deportation and did not routinely inform
diplomatic representatives when their nationals were detained. Persons
in detention camps reportedly were abused, including reports of sexual
abuse of women. On April 6, in a case reported by AFP, authorities
expelled 110 undocumented Malians who alleged that authorities beat
them, detained them for months, and confiscated their savings and some
property before repatriating them. International organizations also
reported mass deportations of irregular migrants, including more than
200 Nigerians in September and approximately 400 Malians on November 8.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The country does not have a constitution, and citizens do not have
the right to change their government. The country's governing
principles stem from al-Qadhafi's Green Book, which combines Islamic
ideals with elements of socialism and pan Arabism. The Green Book
states that direct popular rule is the basis of the political system
and that citizens play a role in popular congresses; in practice,
however, al-Qadhafi and his close associates monopolized government
decisio.--making.
Elections and Political Parties.--The Government prohibits the
creation of and subsequent membership in political parties. The 1977
Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People
dictates how citizens exercise their political rights. The Government
is structured in a pyramid of committees, communes, and congresses,
each layer of which is involved in the selection of the next-higher
level. Citizens participate through numerous organizations, including
vocational, production, professional, and crafts congresses. Voting for
leaders of the local congresses is mandatory for all citizens age 18 or
older.
The elected secretaries of these various congresses and committees
select the members of the highest legislative organization, the General
People's Congress, which is composed of 760 members serving three year
terms.
In theory, revolutionary committees, composed primarily of youth
members, guard against political dissent and ensure that citizens
adhere to sanctioned ideology. These committees approve candidates for
the General People's Congress. In practice, however, revolutionary
committees played an unclear role in enforcing official ideology,
sometimes appearing increasingly marginalized and sometimes appearing
active in political life.
Elections occur every three years. The people's congresses, the
local bodies comprising all citizens, choose their leadership
committees. The last renewal of people's congresses took place in March
2006. The election process continues through the hierarchy of people's
congresses until the nationwide General People's Congress chooses the
General People's Committee, which manages the daily affairs of the
Government.
According to a 2007 UNDP report, women held 7.7 percent of the 760
seats in the General People's Congress. No reliable information existed
on the representation of minorities in the Government.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--Laws stipulating criminal
penalties for official corruption are unclear and inconsistently
applied. The Administration Monitoring Board is the Government agency
responsible for oversight of official activities and prevention of
corrupt practices. Officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices
with impunity. Government corruption was perceived to be a severe
problem, which, coupled with favoritism based on family and tribal
ties, contributed to government inefficiency.
In a series of speeches in 2006, Muammar al-Qadhafi called for all
senior government officials to declare their earnings and assets or
risk unspecified punitive action by the state; at year's end, no clear
deadline had been set for officials to comply.
The law does not provide for public access to government
information, and the Government did not provide access in practice to
citizens or foreign media.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Numerous government-sanctioned charitable associations operate in
the country, but the Government prohibited the establishment of
independent human rights organizations. Restrictive laws that imposed
imprisonment for forming or joining international organizations without
government authorization forced individuals wishing to carry out human
rights work to operate abroad.
Associations engaging in unauthorized political activity were
illegal. A government body known as the Libyan Arab Human Rights
Committee did not release any public reports. The Libyan Society for
Human Rights, operating under the sponsorship of the semiofficial QDF,
followed government policy priorities rather than operating as an
independent entity.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion,
disability, or social status. The Government did not enforce these
prohibitions effectively, however, particularly with regard to women
and minorities.
Women.--The 1969 Constitutional Proclamation granted women equality
under the law. In practice, however, traditional attitudes and
practices continued to be used as reasons for discrimination against
women. Shari'a governs inheritance, divorce, and the right to own
property.
The law prohibits domestic violence, but there was no reliable
information on the penalties. There was little detailed information
regarding the extent of violence against women. Domestic abuse was
rarely discussed publicly.
The law prohibits rape. The convicted rapist must marry the victim,
with her agreement, or serve a prison term of up to 25 years.
The law does not distinguish between rape and spousal rape.
According to government officials, spousal rape occurred and was
resolved by ``social solutions.''
The law prohibits prostitution, but authorities tolerated it in
practice.
The law does not prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM), which is
foreign to the culture and society. There were reports that FGM
occurred in remote areas of the country within African migrant
communities.
Women and girls suspected of violating moral codes reportedly were
detained indefinitely without being convicted or after having served a
sentence and without the right to challenge their detention before a
court. They were held in ``social rehabilitation'' homes, which
provided social services, including education and health care. Many
detained in these facilities had been raped and then ostracized by
their families. The Government stated that a woman was free to leave a
rehabilitation home when she reached ``legal age'' (18 years),
consented to marriage, or was taken into the custody of a male
relative. According to HRW, most were transferred to these facilities
against their will, and those who came of their own volition did so
because no genuine shelters for survivors of violence exist. HRW
maintained that the Government routinely violated women and girls'
human rights in ``social rehabilitation'' homes, including violations
of due process, freedom of movement, personal dignity, and privacy.
The law criminalizes sexual harassment, but there were no reports
on how this law was enforced in practice.
The Department of Social Affairs under the General People's
Committee secretariat collects data and oversees the integration of
women into all spheres of public life. Women did not hold any cabinet-
level offices in the Government, though the General People's Congress
has a representative for women's affairs.
The General Union of Women's Associations, which the Government
established as a network of quasi-nongovernmental organizations,
addresses women's employment needs. According to a 2005 International
Labor Organization (ILO) report, 32 percent of women older than 15
years were economically active. Traditional restrictions continue to
discourage some women from playing an active role in the workplace.
The Government is the country's largest employer. Civil service
salaries are set by education and experience. Women and men with
similar qualifications are paid at the same grade for positions that
are substantially similar. The emerging private sector does not
formally discriminate on the basis of gender for access to employment
or credit, although cultural conceptions of gender roles reduce women's
involvement in the economy.
Educational differences between men and women have narrowed, but a
significant proportion of an older generation of rural women did not
attend school and instilled in their children traditional beliefs, such
as preserving women's subservient role in society.
Children.--The Government generally protected children's rights and
welfare.
The Government subsidized primary, secondary, and university
education, and primary education was compulsory until the age of 15. In
July 2007 the Government amended the law to impose high fees on
noncitizens enrolled in primary and secondary schools, prompting many
foreigners to leave the country. The UN Human Rights Committee noted
that schools discriminate against children born out of wedlock.
According to a 2003 UNDP report, 96 percent of school age children
attended primary school and most reached at least a sixth grade level;
53 percent of girls and 71 percent of boys attended secondary school.
The Government subsidized medical care and improved the welfare of
children, but general economic mismanagement led to a low standard in
medical services. Boys and girls enjoyed equal access to medical care.
The law prohibits child abuse, and that prohibition was respected
in practice.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit
trafficking in persons, and there were reports that persons were
trafficked to the country for commercial sexual exploitation and forced
labor purposes.
The country was both a transit point for trafficked persons en
route to Europe and a destination country for victims from sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia. International observers estimated that 1 to 2
percent of Libya's 1.5 to two million foreign residents may be victims
of trafficking.
The law does not expressly criminalize trafficking for purposes of
sexual exploitation or involuntary servitude, and the Government
provided no information on prosecutions related to trafficking
offenses. On February 17, the Government agreed to repatriate 26 Indian
nationals whom an agent reportedly convinced to work for a local
company, where they were paid low wages and locked up when they
complained. The company agreed to pay five months' wages and airfare to
India.
There were no reports of any government participation in, or
facilitation of, trafficking in persons.
As in previous years, the Government did not provide adequate
protection to victims of trafficking. The Government failed to screen
vulnerable populations adequately to identify trafficking victims.
Victims were susceptible to punishment for unlawful acts committed as a
result of being trafficked, including unlawful presence in the country,
working without a valid work permit, and engaging in prostitution.
Trafficking victims, intermingled with economic migrants, may have been
deported without receiving medical, psychological, or legal aid.
During the year the Government took steps to prevent trafficking in
persons by supporting a series of training workshops for members of the
law enforcement community and select government-sponsored charity
associations to raise awareness of trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for the rights of
persons with disabilities and provides for monetary and other types of
social care. There were a number of government approved societies that
care for persons with disabilities. Access to employment, education,
health care, and other state services was generally protected.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Arabic speaking Muslims of
mixed Arab Amazigh (Berber) ancestry constituted 97 percent of
citizens. The principal minorities were Amazighs and Tuaregs. Both
minority groups are predominantly Sunni Muslims but identify with their
respective cultural and linguistic heritage rather than with Arab
traditions. Several nomadic groups live in areas along the country's
desert borders, including members of Tuareg and Toubou tribes. The
country is home to an estimated 1.5 to two million foreign workers. Of
those nearly one million are thought to be of Sahelian or Sub-Saharan
African origin in the country as irregular migrants.
During the year the Government took steps to alleviate
discrimination against the country's Berber minorities. In 2007 the
Government abolished a law prohibiting the use of Amazigh and Tuareg
names. Unlike in previous years, limited exhibitions of Amazigh culture
were permitted, including a televised history program. The written
Amazigh language was allowed on more signs, but reportedly was still
forbidden in official contexts.
Berber Web site Tawalt.com reported that Revolutionary Committee
members targeted Berber leaders near Yefren on December 24.
Demonstrators reportedly chanted anti-Berber slogans, vandalized
properties, and physically confronted counter protesters. Opposition
Web sites alleged the individuals acted in collusion with local police.
According to MEED Business Intelligence, the Tabou minority faced
discrimination in the town of Kufra. Authorities reportedly withdrew
citizenship from members of the Tabou tribe in Kufra during the year,
and local authorities reportedly issued decrees barring members of the
Tabou tribe who did not have Libyan citizenship from access to
education and health care services.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation.
There were no reports of societal violence or discrimination
against persons living with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law prohibits independent
association; workers are allowed, however, to join the government-
organized General Trade Union Federation of Workers. The Federation
played an active role in the International Confederation of Arab Trade
Unions, the Organization of African Trade Union Unity, and the World
Federation of Trade Unions. The Government required candidates for
trade union office to be citizens. Active government employees are
often enrolled automatically.
The law does not give workers the right to strike, and there were
no reports of strikes during the year. Although trade unions have
existed officially for more than 25 years, workers historically have
seen them as idle organizations. Recent anecdotes indicate that unions
are taking a more active role in petitioning for workers' rights, such
as a reported 2007 intervention to secure back pay for employees of the
National Oil Corporation. No information was available on any
additional mechanisms to protect workers' rights.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
circumscribes the conduct of union activities, and collective
bargaining is restricted in practice. For example, the Government must
approve all collective agreements between unions and employers to
ensure that they are in line with the country's economic and social
objectives.
A free trade zone in Misrata officially opened in 2004, although
through year's end it was not operating.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
any form of forced or compulsory labor, including by children, although
there were some reports of forced labor of migrant workers,
particularly in the construction sector, after they were smuggled into
the country.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law forbids children under the age of 18 from employment, except when
it is a form of apprenticeship. There was no information available on
the prevalence of child labor.
No information was available concerning whether the law limits
working hours or sets occupational health and safety restrictions for
children. The General People's Committee for Manpower, Employment and
Training is responsible for preventing child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor law defines the rights
and duties of workers, including matters of compensation, pension
rights, minimum rest periods, and working hours. In 2006 the Government
shortened the legal workweek from 48 to 40 hours. The law stipulates
the minimum wage, standard working hours, night shift regulations,
dismissal procedures, and training requirements. The law does not
specifically prohibit excessive compulsory overtime.
The Green Book forbids wages, so workers are paid in the form of
``entitlements.'' Although some public sector categories, such as
professors, have seen wage increases in recent years, a freeze imposed
more than a decade ago continues to depress earnings. In 2006 the
Government raised the minimum wage to 130 dinars ($105) per month for a
single person, 180 dinars ($146) for a married couple, and 220 dinars
($178) for a family of more than two. Although there was no information
available regarding whether the average wage was sufficient to provide
a worker and family with a decent standard of living, the Government
heavily subsidized rent, utilities, and government workers received an
additional 130 dinars ($105) per month for basic food staples during
the year.
Labor inspectors were assigned to inspect places of work for
compliance with government-defined health and safety standards, and the
law grants workers the right to court hearings regarding these
standards. Certain industries, such as the petroleum sector, attempted
to maintain standards that foreign companies set. There was no
information whether workers could remove themselves from an unhealthy
or unsafe work situation without jeopardizing their employment.
Foreign workers reportedly constituted 1.6 million of the 3.2
million person work force in 2004, but the labor law does not accord
foreign workers equal treatment. Only foreign workers who have work
contracts, a fraction of the total, are covered under the laws on
acceptable conditions of work, as other migrants are considered to be
in the country illegally. Authorities permitted foreign workers to
reside in the country only for the duration of their work contracts,
and they could not send more than half of their earnings to their home
countries. They were subject to arbitrary pressures, such as changes in
work rules and contracts, and had little option other than to accept
such changes or depart the country. Many foreign workers were deported
arbitrarily for not having newly required work permits for unskilled
jobs they already held. In practice, the Government had no practical
means to track foreign workers or remittance flows, relying instead on
the threat of deportation and random roun.--ups to exercise authority.
__________
MOROCCO
Morocco is a monarchy with a constitution, an elected parliament,
and a population of approximately 34 million. According to the
constitution, ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, who
presides over the Council of Ministers and appoints or approves members
of the Government. The King may dismiss ministers, dissolve the
parliament, call for new elections, and rule by decree. In the
bicameral legislature, the lower house may dissolve the Government
through a vote of no confidence. The September 2007 parliamentary
elections for the lower house went smoothly and were marked by
transparency and professionalism, according to international observers,
and the elections were judged relatively free from irregularities. The
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
Citizens did not have the right to change the constitutional
provisions establishing their monarchical form of government or the
establishment of the practice of Islam. Reports of torture and other
abuses by various branches of the security forces persisted, and prison
conditions remained below international standards. Reports of arbitrary
arrests, incommunicado detentions, and police and security force
impunity continued. Politics, as well as corruption and inefficiency,
influenced the judiciary, which was not fully independent. The
Government restricted freedoms of speech, religion, and the press.
Corruption was a serious problem in all branches of government.
Trafficking in persons continued, and child labor, particularly in the
unregulated informal sector, remained a problem.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
On April 28, a set of human remains were discovered at the Civil
Protection (Fire Department) barracks in Nador. The local prosecutor,
forensic units, and the Consultative Council on Human Rights (known by
its French acronym CCDH) linked the remains to security force abuses in
1984. On May 13, human remains were discovered in El Jadida, and an
initial investigation dated them to 40 years ago. At year's end,
authorities continued to investigate the new sites, process DNA
evidence, and inform relatives.
As in previous years, there were reports of deaths of Sub-Saharan
migrants trying illegally to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
Arrests and beatings continue on the borders, principally on the
Spanish side.
A person was killed on December 31 when 80 illegal migrants
attempted to force their way into Melilla by overwhelming the Moroccan
guards manning the border fence. Moroccan police fired warning shots,
one of which fatally injured one of the people climbing the barrier.
Another individual was injured.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
In 2006 the Justice and Reconciliation Authority (known by its
French initials, IER), formed to investigate forced, long term
disappearances of opponents of the Government between independence in
1956 and 1999, issued a final report. The report stated that 742
disappearances had been resolved, but that 66 remained for
investigation by a successor organization, the CCDH. Human rights
groups and families continued to claim that the IER did not acknowledge
all cases of disappearances, many from the Western Sahara.
In November 2007 the CCDH stated that it had completed the
compensation and identification process for Morocco and Western Sahara
(approximately 2,000 cases), with the exception of 24 cases, including
that of missing independence activist Mehdi Ben Barka, who disappeared
in France in 1965. The Government announced it had issued benefits to
12,000 families and individuals and extended coverage to a total of
45,000 individuals through joint and extended family coverage health
care cards to individuals with approved cases.
The Government further reported that the CCDH launched three
initiatives in 2007 and 2008 totaling approximately 57 million dirhams
($6.9 million), as part of its regional reparation program to address
lingering issues in areas affected by adverse governmental policies
between the 1970s and 1990s. Implementation of projects and
disbursements under this initiative continued during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the Government
denied the use of torture. According to domestic and international
human rights organizations, prisoners, and detainees, however, members
of the security forces tortured and abused individuals in their
custody. The penal code stipulates sentences of up to life imprisonment
for public servants who use or allow the use of violence against others
in the exercise of their official duties.
While there has been a marked diminution of allegations of abuse by
Moroccan security officials in Western Sahara (see separate report),
there have been multiple allegations of abuse and torture levied
against a police official in southern Morocco. The officer, who
previously served in Western Sahara, was the subject of multiple abuse
complaints in both locations. The Government reported that it had
investigated the allegations against the officer in both locations and
determined that they were politically motivated and took no action.
In May during violent student demonstrations to protest 22 cases of
food poisoning at Alqadi Ayad University in Marrakech, Qadimi El Ouali
fell from a fourth floor window and was paralyzed. Activists charged
that security officers threw him from the building.
According to the ministry of justice (MOJ), the Government
prosecuted six members of the gendarmerie for cases related to abuse of
citizens. Another case resulted in a not guilty verdict, and cases
against four individuals were pending at year's end. The national
police (DGSN) did not bring any abuse cases against its members. In
February authorities released two officers convicted and sentenced to
10 years' imprisonment in 2007 for the 2005 beating death of Western
Saharan activist Hamdi Lembarki. Their sentences were reduced to time
served following the death of another policeman during disorders in Tan
Tan. Verdicts remained unknown in most of the 17 cases prosecuted in
2007.
In May authorities released union activists Abd el Rehim Qarad and
Mahdy El Barboushy, whom police arrested during a demonstration in May
2007 for insulting the monarchy. The two men claimed police extracted
their signed confessions through torture.
In July 2007 the Government opened the trial of 52 individuals
arrested in 2006 as part of the so-called Ansar El Mehdi case on
charges of conspiring to overthrow the monarchy through terrorism. Many
of the defendants claimed to the media, nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), and in court that they had been tortured and mistreated. They
were denied permission to call witnesses, and in February the
defendants were sentenced to 25 years in prison.
In 2006 the Government enacted an antitorture law requiring judges
to refer a detainee to a forensic medicine expert if asked to do so or
if judges notice suspicious physical marks on a detainee. During the
year, according to the Government, at least 15 cases were referred to
doctors. In one of those cases, the doctors found sufficient evidence
of injury to warrant further investigation. Results of that
investigation and the three cases that warranted further investigation
in 2007 were not available at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
poor and generally did not meet international standards. Extreme
overcrowding, malnutrition, and lack of hygiene characterized the poor
conditions inside prisons. In a November 2007 report, the NGO Moroccan
Observatory of Prisons (OMP), a government-subsidized human rights
organization, stated that the prison system was overcrowded and failed
to meet local and international standards. It also stated that current
prison capacity was sufficient for only half of the prison population.
Approximately 60,000 detainees lived in less than 16 square feet per
person. Pretrial detainees were not held separately from convicts.
In April, after nine prisoners escaped from Kenitra prison in
central Morocco via a tunnel they had dug over the course of a year,
the King transferred responsibility for prison management from the MOJ
to a newly created Directorat.--General for Prison Administration.
Juveniles are sometimes held together with adults, particularly in
pretrial detention and in police stations. Political prisoners are held
in the same facilities and manner as ordinary criminals.
Human rights activists continued to dispute the circumstances of
Dada Ould Hamma Ould Nafaa's July 2007 death in Agadir, which was
blamed on poor or inadequate medical care while he was incarcerated.
During the year NGOs continued to call for an investigation into
prison deaths and violations of prisoners' rights that allegedly led to
a mass hunger strike at Sale prison in September and October 2007.
Police violently broke up a sit-in in June organized by al-Nassir, a
local NGO support group for Islamist prisoners, after a photo showing
an officer striking one of the prisoners' wives sparked public protest
and condemnation on a Web site affiliated with Al-Qa'ida in the Lands
of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The Government responded by detaining
the photographer for several hours.
The Government permitted visits during the year by independent
human rights observers, including local and international human rights
groups and the media. The Government permitted the OMP and other NGOs,
such as Relais Prison, to visit prisons and detention centers
unhindered to observe conditions, hear complaints, and conduct
programs. However, visits by international donors ceased. During the
year the International Committee of the Red Cross did not visit any
prisons.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law does not prohibit
arbitrary arrest or detention, and police used both practices. Police
did not always observe due process. In practice, according to local
NGOs and associations, they did not always identify themselves when
arresting suspects or always obtain warrants. Police reportedly held
some detainees without charging them.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The security apparatus
includes several police and paramilitary organizations with overlapping
authorities. The National Police (DGSN) manages the border and
immigration services, as well as internal law enforcement, and reports
to the Ministry of Interior (MOI). The General Directorate of
Territorial Security (known by its French acronym, DGST) and the
auxiliary forces are separate entities with security responsibilities
that also report to the MOI. The Royal Gendarmerie reports to the
Ministry of Defense and is responsible for law enforcement in rural
regions and on national highways. The judicial police--the main federal
investigative body--is a hybrid DGSN/MOJ entity. It investigates
violations of the penal law, terrorism, organized crime, and white-
collar crime under MOJ prosecutors. The Department of Royal Security
reports to the palace.
Corruption and impunity remained problems and impacted police
effectiveness. The MOI increased investigations of police abuse and
corruption, but the investigations rarely resulted in reported
disciplinary action or judicial proceedings. Cases usually languished
in the investigatory or trial phases without reaching resolution.
In February six prison guards were sentenced to between two months
suspended and four years' imprisonment on charges of forgery,
corruption, and aiding a prisoner in escaping from custody. On December
30, two gendarmes were arrested after they were caught receiving
bribes. One was sentenced to five years in prison, and the other
awaited trial at year's end. Authorities arrested 30 non-commissioned
officers in the gendarmerie on corruption charges. Of those, 16 were
sentenced to between two months and six years' imprisonment, and 14
remained in custody awaiting trial.
In August 2007 the police chief in Rabat was charged with
participation in a drug smuggling and prostitution ring. His case was
pending at year's end.
In December 2007 three gendarmes in Inezgane were convicted and
sentenced to one year in prison and fired from the gendarmerie for
accepting a bribe to help convince a woman to withdraw her charges of
rape. The MOJ prosecuted six members of the gendarmerie for cases
related to abuse of citizens. Another case resulted in a not guilty
verdict and cases against four individuals are pending. The DGSN did
not bring any abuse cases against its members.
In 2007 six security agents, three members of auxiliary forces,
three civil servants from the MOI, and 11 others were sentenced to
between three and five years in prison for acquiring forged documents
to receive government benefits fraudulently.
Arrest and Detention.--Police may make an arrest following a
general prosecutor's issuance of an oral or written warrant. In
practice warrants were sometimes issued after the fact. Authorities
denied defendants' access to counsel or family members during the
initial 96 hours of detention, during which police interrogated
detainees and abuse or torture was most likely to occur.
Under the antiterrorism law, after the first 96 hours two
additional 96-hour extensions are allowed at the prosecutor's
discretion. Under the law a person may be detained without trial for up
to one full year while an investigating magistrate completes his work.
At year's end as many as half the inmates of prisons were awaiting
trial. The law provides for a limited system of bail, but bail was
rarely granted. The law does not require a written authorization for a
person to be released from detention. In some instances judges released
defendants on their own recognizance. The antiterrorism law does not
include a system of bail. Under a separate military code, military
authorities may detain members of the military without a warrant or
public trial.
According to the law, all defendants have the right to be
represented by attorneys and, if a defendant cannot afford private
counsel, a court-appointed attorney must be provided when the criminal
penalty exceeds five years in prison. In practice, effective counsel
was not always provided. The police were required to notify a person's
next-of-kin of an arrest as soon as possible after the initial 48-hour,
incommunicado detention in nonterrorism cases, unless arresting
authorities applied for, and received an extension from a magistrate,
but this provision was not always respected. Because of delays in
notifying family, lawyers sometimes were not informed promptly of the
date of arrest and were not able to monitor compliance with
administrative detention limits, which authorities exceeded when
individuals were suspected of links to terrorism. Several defendants in
the Ansar El Mehdi case waited as long as eight months before being
allowed to consult a lawyer, forcing delays in the mass trial.
The Association El Nassir, an NGO that advocates on behalf of
jailed Islamists, estimated that 200 individuals remained in custody
without charge at the end of 2007 as a result of terror-related
dragnets.
As in recent years, law enforcement efforts continued to focus
arrests more narrowly than the previous broad dragnets used following
the 2003 Casablanca attacks. Police disrupted six suspected terrorist
cells during the year and arrested more than 100 individuals.
Amnesty.--Royal pardons were used as the principal judicial
mechanism for early release and functioned instead of a parole system.
During the year, 3,787 prisoners received royal pardons.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but in practice the courts were not always
independent. According to observers, corruption remained prevalent.
Judges also did not consistently base rulings on new laws and at times
referred to outdated laws in their decisions, resulting in inefficiency
as well as miscarriages of justice.
There are four levels in the common law court system: communal and
district courts, courts of first instance (regional courts), the
appeals court, and the Supreme Court. All decisions made in criminal
and civil matters in which the penalty exceeds 330 dirhams ($40) may be
appealed to the courts of first instance. The regional courts are
subdivided into civil, commercial, administrative, penal, and
rabbinical sections. Cases may be appealed from the regional courts to
the appeals court. There were no restrictions on appeals at this level.
At the Government's discretion, serious state security charges,
such as those relating to the monarchy, Islam, or territorial integrity
(in practice, advocating independence for the Western Sahara) may be
brought against civilians before a tribunal convened by the MOI.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair public
trial for all citizens. However, according to NGOs, a fair public trial
did not always occur in practice, especially for those protesting the
incorporation of Western Sahara into Morocco. Juries are not used,
following principles of the Napoleonic legal system.
Although accused persons generally are brought to trial within the
initial period of two months, prosecutors may request up to five
additional two-month extensions of pretrial detention. An accused
person therefore may be kept in detention for up to one year prior to
trial. Defendants are presumed innocent.
According to the law, all defendants have the right to be
represented by attorneys. If a defendant cannot afford private counsel,
a court appointed attorney is provided when the offense carries a
maximum sentence of more than five years. However, attorneys were not
appointed consistently, or if provided, were poorly paid, often
resulting in inadequate representation. Judges sometimes denied defense
requests to question witnesses and present mitigating witnesses or
evidence. Defendants are given the right to be present at their trial
and to timely consultation with an attorney, although these rights were
not always applied in practice. Defendants generally have access to
government evidence, but are sometimes prevented or hindered from
calling mitigating witnesses.
Individuals are arraigned before a court of first instance. If the
judge determines that a confession was obtained under duress, the law
requires that it be excluded from evidence. Human rights NGOs, however,
charged that judges decided cases often on the basis of forced
confessions, especially in cases of Islamists accused of terrorism or
in the cases of some Sahrawis. Police statements about detainees were
sometimes used in place of defendants' confessions.
The Supreme Court may overturn an appellate court's ruling on
procedural grounds only. As a result, appeals to the Supreme Court were
infrequent. An investigation by an examining magistrate was mandatory
only when life imprisonment or the death penalty was a possible
penalty.
Family courts generally adjudicated divorce and child custody cases
according to the family law. These courts addressed family issues for
Muslim citizens, and judges were trained in Shari'a (Islamic law) as
applied in the country and in the requirements of the 2004 family law.
Family matters for Jewish citizens were handled by the parallel legal
system available to them.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The law does not distinguish
political and security cases from common criminal cases. The Government
did not consider any of its prisoners to be political prisoners. The
Government stated that it detained individuals under criminal law only.
Several NGOs, including the Moroccan Association for Human Rights
(AMDH), Sahrawi organizations, and Berber activist groups, however,
charged the Government with detaining persons for political activities
or beliefs under cover of criminal charges, such as AMDH members
arrested for shouting antimonarchy slogans.
On April 13, police arrested Sahrawi activist Enaama Asfari in
Marrakech after a night-time traffic altercation. He said that three
plainclothes policemen slapped, punched, stripped, and kicked him,
including in the stomach and on the soles of his feet, and burned him
with cigarettes. They subsequently took him to a hospital for
treatment, but when he requested a medical certificate of injury, he
was whisked away. According to Asfari, he was later forced to sign a
statement he had not written or read, admitting to drunk driving, and
did so to stop the beatings. He was denied the opportunity to contact
his family. During the trial the judge refused to allow a medical
examination. Authorities expelled Asfari's wife and two other trial
observers from Tan Tan and then the country for incitement. He was
sentenced to two months in prison and fined 3,000 dirhams ($420) and
was freed on June 13.
On October 27, according to Amnesty International (AI) and Sahrawi
activists, Mustafa Abdel Dayem, a member of both the AMDH and the
Sahrawi Journalists' and Writers' Union, was arrested in Assa following
antigovernment protests by Sahrawis. While Abdel Dayem claimed not to
have participated in the protests, he admitted to having lowered the
national flag from the secondary school where he worked as a security
guard. He explained that his action was intended to show his support
and solidarity with the demonstrators and his opposition to the
intervention of law enforcement officers to break up the protests.
On November 4, the Court of First Instance of Guelmim sentenced
Mustapha Abdel Dayem to a three-year prison term and a fine of 50,000
dirhams ($6,220) and forbade him from working in the educational sector
for 10 years.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary, often
inefficient and believed to be swayed by corruption, was not fully
independent and was subject to influence, particularly in sensitive
cases such as those dealing with the monarchy, religion, and Western
Sahara. There are administrative as well as judicial remedies for
alleged wrongs.
A national ombudsman resolves civil matters when the judiciary is
unable to do so and has gradually expanded the scope of its activities.
The number of complaints it received rose from 4,500 in 2006 to 7,000
during the year. Additionally, the percentage of actionable complaints
rose from 29 percent in 2004 to 91 percent during the year. Despite the
significant increase in numbers of complaints the ombudsman received,
most citizens still looked to the CCDH for redress of human rights
complaints. The CCDH serves as a conduit through which citizens offer
complaints about government malfeasance or human rights violations. It
also supervised the international observation of the parliamentary
elections in September 2007.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution states that an individual's home is
inviolable and that a search may take place only with a search warrant,
but authorities sometimes ignored these provisions in practice. The law
stipulates that a prosecutor may issue a search warrant on good cause,
particularly in cases of suspected terrorism. Plainclothes security
officers who did not identify themselves or present search warrants
conducted home searches.
As in the last few years, authorities reportedly searched and
closed the homes of members of the Justice and Good Works Organization
(known also as the Justice and Charity Organization, or JCO), an
Islamist opposition sociopolitical group that chooses not to
participate in electoral politics. Members allegedly used these homes
as ``open houses'' where they held politically oriented meetings.
In May during significant and sometimes violent unrest sparked by
complaints over economic inequalities in the region around the coastal
town of Sidi Ifni, residents charged that security forces illegally and
unnecessarily entered private homes unrelated to the demonstrations and
searched, destroyed, or stole private property and raped several women.
The Moroccan Center for Human Rights (CMDH) initially passed on reports
that up to 12 people had been killed in the unrest. Two photo
journalists who covered the event were detained for two hours without
charge and then released, but their film was seized by security
officers.
Parliament formed an independent commission of inquiry, as did a
consortium of NGOs. Both were allowed unrestricted access to the town
and witnesses. The NGO consortium charged that police did use excessive
force but found no conclusive evidence of rapes or killings. Other
activists insisted, however, that some rapes did occur, but the victims
did not feel comfortable testifying before officials. The parliamentary
commission submitted its report to the legislature's leadership, and it
was released to the public on December 18. The regional police
commander in charge of operations in Sidi Ifni was relieved of duty.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law generally provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, although criticism of Islam, the
monarchy, and territorial integrity (including the issue of Western
Sahara) was not permitted. While the Government generally respected
these rights in practice, during the year freedom of the press remained
restricted. The press reported on previously restricted subjects,
including military, security, palace affairs, activities of human
rights organizations, and even on the Western Sahara.
There were several arrests for public or Internet expression.
However, following conviction and pressure from local and international
activists, the individuals were released. On February 22, engineering
student Fouad Murtada was convicted by the Casablanca Court and
sentenced to three years in prison on charges of identity theft. He
created a page on the social networking site Facebook purporting to be
that of Prince Moulay Rachid, brother of King Mohammed VI. Murtada
stated that he created the page as a joke. After widespread protests in
Morocco, the King pardoned him on March 19.
On September 4, blogger Mohammed Erraji was arrested on charges of
insulting the King under article 41 of the press code for posting a
blog entry entitled ``King encourages dependency on handouts.'' He was
sentenced to two years in prison by the Agadir court and fined 5,000
dirhams ($538) on September 8. On September 18, an appeals court
overturned his case on procedural grounds and released him.
On October 21, high school student Yassin Belaasal was sentenced to
one and one-half years in prison on charges of insulting the King. He
had rewritten the country's motto on a blackboard to read ``God,
Country, Barca'' (for the popular Spanish football club FC Barcelona),
instead of ``God, Country, King.'' He was released on his own
recognizance pending his appeal. The court upheld the conviction on
November 12 but reduced the sentence to one year and suspended it.
Activists criticized the Government for violating Belsaal's right of
free expression, while the Government stated that he had written other,
even more insulting, comments about the King's father on the
blackboard.
In 2007 one case of withholding sources of information in a
sensitive national security matter resulted in a prison sentence, at
least three in suspended sentences, and five in fines. The rest were
pending at year's end. None led to an acquittal.
The Government often penalized publications and reporters that
tested the boundaries of the law. In August the international NGO
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported that since the beginning of
King Mohammed VI's reign in 1999, at least 34 media institutions had
been censored and at least 20 journalists had been prosecuted under
press, penal, or antiterror laws. RSF's annual report stated that press
freedom deteriorated during the year.
The antiterror law and the press code impose financial penalties on
journalists and publishers who violate the restrictions related to
defamation, libel, and insults including critical discussion of the
monarchy, state institutions, territorial integrity, and Islam. Prison
sentences can be imposed on those convicted of libel. The press code
lists threats to public order as one of the criteria for censorship.
The Government has the ability to revoke licenses and to suspend and
confiscate publications. Within these very broadly construed limits,
politically diverse newspapers and weeklies published news and
commentary often critical of nonsensitive policies and personalities.
The Ministry of Communication (MOC) issued directives and guidance,
and subsidized publications including those critical of the Government.
The placement of government-directed advertising also influenced
revenue of print media outlets. Direct government subsidies varied
according to the percentage of the population reading the publication.
The Government temporarily suspended publications it judged offensive.
After some delay, it allowed suspended publications to continue
operation. Newspapers reported exercising self-censorship as a result
of these restrictions.
The Government registered and licensed domestic newspapers and
journals.
On October 31, the MOC banned distribution of the international
edition of the French weekly L'Express which carried a cover story
entitled, ``The shock: Jesus-Mohammed: Their journey, their message,
their vision of the world.''
The Government owned la Societe Nationale de la Radiodiffusion et
de la Television, formerly Moroccan Radio Television, which owned and
operated several local television and radio stations. It also partially
owned the 2M television and radio network. The French-backed Medi-Sat
television and Medi 1 radio were nominally private and independent. A
government appointed committee monitored broadcasts. The Government
owned or partially owned the only television stations whose broadcasts
could be received in most parts of the country without decoders or
satellite dishes. Since 2006 the Government has licensed the operations
of several independent radio stations that offer news and information.
Satellite dishes were widely used. The Government did not impede the
reception of foreign broadcasts.
The MOC accredited 115 foreign correspondents, including 17
international press agencies, 29 television correspondents, six radio
reporters, and 24 daily and weekly journalists.
Authorities subjected journalists to harassment and intimidation
during the year. In April police beat three journalists for covering a
protest against rising food prices outside of parliament.
On May 6, the Government suspended Al-Jazeera's broadcasting
license, forcing it to cease broadcasting its nightly Maghreb news
bulletin from Rabat. Al-Jazeera was permitted to retain its office in
Rabat.
On July 11, a court fined Al-Jazeera Rabat bureau chief Hassan al-
Rachidi 49,000 dirhams ($6,000) and suspended his press accreditation
for ``publishing false information'' after the channel quoted human
rights activist Brahim Sab Alail as alleging that security forces
killed protesters during protests in the town of Sidi Ifni. At one
point, Rachidi's attorneys withdrew from his case in protest, claiming
that the court refused to allow them to call defense witnesses. Al-
Rachidi appealed, claiming that the court did not follow correct
procedures for the suspension of his press accreditation. On December
3, the Rabat appeals court postponed hearing the case until January 7.
On May 21, Rafael Marchante, a Spanish photographer employed by
Reuters, claimed he was attacked by police while covering a
demonstration by unemployed university graduates in Rabat.
In August 2007 a Casablanca court sentenced Abderrahim Ariri,
publisher of Al Watan, to a six-month suspended prison sentence while
Mustapha Hormatallah, a journalist for the paper, was sentenced to
eight months in prison. Both journalists were also fined 1,000 dirhams
($130). The men were arrested and detained on July 17 for publishing an
article containing a confidential military document warning of an Al-
Qa'ida attack. Both men were held incommunicado for several days after
their original arrest, and Ariri claimed he was ``roughed up'' and
denied access to his attorney. Hormatallah was freed on bail during his
appeal, but returned to prison to serve his sentence after losing his
appeal. He was released on July 13. During the year there was no change
in the status of Nadia Yassine, who authorities summoned to court in
2005 for publicly stating her belief that the country would be
healthier as a republic than as a monarchy. Her trial remained in
abeyance.
In August 2007 authorities seized editions of TelQuel and its
Arabic-language sister publication Nichane. Their director, Ahmed Reda
Benchemsi, was charged with ``lack of respect for the King's person and
for public morality.'' The seized issues published an editorial on the
King's July 30 Throne Day speech, in which the King stated that the
upcoming parliamentary elections would strengthen the country's
democracy and also an article entitled ``Sex in Islamic Culture.''
Nichane was withdrawn from newsstands, but TelQuel was seized before
publication. The case against Benchemsi was postponed repeatedly and
remains pending.
Internet Freedom.--There is no specific law and no judicial
decision concerning Internet content or access. On occasion the
Government, through Maroc Telecom, temporarily blocked access to
specific Web sites. Authorities blocked the JCO Web site sporadically.
On February 5, police arrested engineering student Fouad Murtada
and charged him with criminal impersonation and identity theft for
creating a page on the Facebook social networking site purporting to be
that of King Mohammed VI's younger brother, Prince Moulay Rachid.
Murtada said he had set up the page ``as a joke'' and to ``attract
women,'' while the Government stated that he had engaged in ``criminal
impersonation and identity theft.'' On February 22, the Casablanca
court convicted Murtada and sentenced him to three years in prison.
After widespread protests, the King pardoned him on March 19.
On September 4, blogger Mohammed Erraji was arrested on charges of
insulting the King under article 41 of the press code for posting a
blog entry entitled ``King encourages dependency on handouts.'' He was
sentenced to two years in prison by the Agadir Court and fined 5,000
dirhams ($538) on September 8. On September 18, an appeals court
overturned his case on procedural grounds and released him.
In May 2007 authorities blocked access to YouTube.com for six days
after it aired videos considered insulting to the King and for four
days due to concerns about a video implicating police in corruption.
Since 2006 the Government blocked the sites ``Google Earth,'' ``Google
Maps,'' and LiveJournal.com on various occasions. Internet access is
widely available in urban areas and to a lesser extent in rural
sectors. Internet cafes are numerous and can be found in even the most
remote parts of the country. According to 2007 International
Telecommunication Union data, there were approximately 483,400
subscribers and 6.6 million users in the country.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--By law and in practice, the
Government restricted presentations or discussions critical of the
monarchy, Islam, or the status of Western Sahara. Islamist groups
controlled many student unions and sometimes acted to constrain
academic freedom. The MOI approved the appointments of university
rectors.
The Government banned Islamist literature it termed extremist at
the 2008 Casablanca Book Fair.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association within the limits
provided by law. In practice the Government suppressed demonstrations
or prohibited associations that went beyond the limits set by the law
for freedom of speech and press.
Freedom of Assembly.--The MOI required permission for public
assemblies. During the year the police forcibly prevented and disrupted
some peaceful demonstrations and mass gatherings. Violent police
actions were fewer than in previous years.
In February all AMDH members that authorities arrested and
imprisoned for allegedly chanting antimonarchical slogans at a May 2007
protest had their sentences commuted and were released.
On April 13, security forces violently disrupted a daily,
unauthorized demonstration by the Union of Unemployed College Graduates
in front of parliament.
On June 7, police forcefully dispersed a week-long blockade of the
port in Sidi Ifni by protestors demanding economic reforms. According
to government reports, 48 members of the security forces and 23
protestors were injured. Protestors and civil society organizations
stated that police officers broke into homes of innocent residents,
ransacked them and stole private property. There were no fatalities,
although accusations of rape remained unresolved. Police arrested Sab
Alail, a member of the CMDH, after he provided subsequently disproven
information on fatalities to local and international media
organizations. A court sentenced Alail to six months in prison and
fined him 58,000 dirhams ($7,000) for incitement. On December 3, the
Rabat court postponed an appeal hearing to January 7, 2009.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association as provided by law. The Government reported that more than
2,500 NGOs and associations were registered in the country. New
organizations are required to register with the MOI. A proposed
organization must submit its bylaws to the ministry. If the bylaws
support the monarchy, Islam, and territorial integrity, the ministry
issues a receipt to the organization, which signifies formal approval.
The organization may apply for tax exemption and government funding. If
the organization does not receive a receipt within one week, it is not
formally registered. Many organizations functioned without the
receipts.
Organizations supporting self-determination for Western Sahara were
not permitted to register, including the Association of Victims of
Grave Human Rights Abuses (ASVDH) and the Sahrawi Collective of Human
Rights Defenders (CODESA). Unregistered organizations cannot access
government funds or legally accept contributions. ASVDH remained
unregistered despite a 2005 Agadir administrative court decision
requiring authorities to do so.
During the year authorities continued to monitor JCO activities. In
February 2007 authorities raided the home of JCO member Hussein
Marjane, disrupted an ``open house'' organizational meeting and
detained all attendees. Police later evicted Marjane's wife and
children from the house.
However, struggles between the Government and the JCO continued
during the year. For example, on February 23, the media reported the
arrest of 53 members of the JCO in Essaouira for holding an
unauthorized meeting at the house of a regional leader. The meeting was
attended by the movement's regional leaders from Marrakech, Casablanca,
Mohammedia, and Essaouira.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion and stipulates that Islam is the official state religion.
According to the constitution, the King is the ``Commander of the
Faithful and the Supreme Representative of the Muslim community.'' Non
Muslim communities openly practiced their faiths with varying degrees
of official restrictions. The law proscribes efforts to proselytize
Muslims. However, voluntary conversion is not prohibited by civil law.
The Government supported and facilitated religious activities of
the Jewish community.
The Government prohibited the distribution of Christian religious
materials for the purpose of proselytism, but tolerated several small
religious minorities.
The Government did not license or approve religions or religious
organizations. The Government provided tax benefits, land, building
grants, subsidies, and customs exemptions for imports necessary for the
observance of the major religions.
The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (MEIA) continued to
monitor Friday mosque sermons and Koranic schools to ensure the
teaching of approved doctrine. During the year the ministry broadcasted
approved programs to 38,000 mosques via government-provided television
sets and satellite dishes. It placed restrictions on individual Muslims
and Islamic organizations whose activities were deemed to exceed the
bounds of religious practice or to be political in nature. The
Government strictly controlled the construction of new mosques and
required a permit for construction. Authorities instituted these
measures to avoid exploitation of mosques for political propaganda,
such as distributing pamphlets, raising funds, or disseminating
extremist ideas.
On October 27, the MEIA suspended six imams in the southern town of
Taroudant for teaching an unapproved and extreme form of Islam and,
among other acts, for allowing the marriage of young girls. The
religious schools at which they taught were subsequently closed. This
followed closure of dozens of madrasas (religious schools) affiliated
with an imam who sparked controversy with a fatwa which was interpreted
to permit the marriage of girls as young as nine years old, on the
grounds that the decision encouraged pedophilia. On November 10, the
MEIA informed parliament that he had signed an agreement with the MOI
to ``protect mosques as secure places for worship.''
The Government generally limited mosque activities to the
propagation of Islam, education, and charity. The Government did not
close any mosques during the year.
The small foreign Christian community operated churches,
orphanages, hospitals, and schools without restrictions or licensing
requirements. Missionaries who conducted themselves in accordance with
cultural norms largely worked unhindered, but those who proselytized
publicly faced expulsion. In March the media reported the arrest in
Zagora of two foreign tourists who were in possession of Bibles and
compact discs on suspicion of proselytizing. Later, they were allowed
to leave the country. The number of local Christians, apart from
foreign spouses of citizens, was estimated to be between 5,000 and
25,000 persons.
Any attempt to induce a Muslim to convert is illegal, but this
prohibition was not invoked in practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts, publications, or incitements to violence.
Representatives of the Jewish minority, estimated by community
leaders to number 4,000 members, generally lived in safety throughout
the country, and the Government provided appropriate security. The
Jewish community operated schools and hospitals whose services were
available to all citizens. The Government provided funds for religious
instruction to the parallel system of Jewish public schools. Jews
continued to hold services in synagogues throughout the country.
There are two sets of laws and courts--one for Muslims and one for
Jews--pertaining to marriage, inheritance, and family matters. Under
the family code, which applies to Muslims, the Government began
retraining judges and recruiting new civil judges, while rabbinical
authorities continued to administer family courts for Jews. There are
no separate family courts for other religious groups, which rely upon
the civil system. The Government continued to encourage tolerance and
respect among religions.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/gdrl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation. In practice the Government severely restricted movement
in areas regarded as militarily sensitive, including Western Sahara.
The MOI restricted the freedom to travel outside the country for
all civil servants, including teachers and military personnel. Civil
servants must obtain written permission from their ministries to leave
the country.
The law provides for forced exile. There were no known instances of
its use during the year.
The Government welcomed voluntary repatriation of Jews who had
emigrated. Jewish emigrants, including those with Israeli citizenship,
freely visited the country. The Government also encouraged the return
of Sahrawis if they acknowledged the Government's claim to the Western
Sahara territory. The Government eliminated previous informal
restrictions on the travel of Sahrawis and made travel documents fully
available.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. It provides
for the rights of asylum seekers and the temporary residency of persons
who do not qualify for refugee status or asylum. However, the
Government has not yet established a national asylum procedure and
instead defers to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as the
sole agency in the country entitled to grant refugee status and verify
asylum cases. In July 2007 the Government signed an agreement with
UNHCR to strengthen cooperation in the face of rising rates of migrants
attempting to reach Europe. The agreement raised the UNHCR office in
the country to full representation and provided UNHCR staff with
greater access to relevant departments in the Government. Before
signing the agreement, UNHCR provided training to government officials
on the appropriate treatment of refugees.
In practice the Government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. Although refugees recognized by UNHCR are
no longer returned under such circumstances, their asylum claims are
not processed or recognized by the Government of Morocco. This means
that they are unable to obtain residence permits that would allow them
access to the national health care system and the legal right to work.
At year's end the UNHCR reported 877 refugees and 369 asylum seekers in
the country.
On April 28, media organizations reported that between 15 and 40
irregular migrants died when a Moroccan sailor deliberately punctured
their inflatable boat in the waters between Morocco and Spain. The
Government stated that the boat had been damaged accidentally during an
attempt to turn the migrants around and that a subsequent rescue
operation saved more than 100 lives. The Navy launched an inquiry that
exonerated the sailors.
Spain continued to return to the country illegal immigrants taken
into custody at sea. The Government and the International Organization
for Migration (IOM) reported 210 cases of voluntary return by migrants.
The Government also reported that 8,735 migrants who failed to make the
crossing to Spain were taken into custody by Moroccan authorities.
Spanish authorities reported a substantial drop in illegal migration
from Morocco. Although the Government denies the practice, credible
reports from NGOs and international organizations stated that illegal
migrants are regularly driven into the desert at the border of Algeria
where they are left without food or water and instructed to walk in the
direction of Algeria.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides for regular, free elections on the basis of
universal suffrage, including elections to parliament. Citizens vote
for the legislature from which the Government is drawn; therefore, they
had an indirect say in choosing a major part of the executive branches
of the Government. However, this did not apply to the monarchy, and
citizens did not have the right to fully change their government.
The King as head of state appoints the prime minister, who is the
titular head of government. The constitution authorizes the prime
minister to nominate all government ministers, although the King also
may nominate ministers and has the power to replace any minister. The
Government consists of 34 cabinet level posts, including the prime
minister and five sovereign ministerial posts that traditionally report
directly to the King (i.e., interior, foreign affairs, justice,
endowments and Islamic affairs, and defense). The MOI nominates
provincial governors (walis) and local district administrative
officials (caids) to the King. who appoints them. The King also
appoints the constitutional council that determines whether laws passed
are constitutional.
The constitution may not be changed without the King's approval.
The constitution provides that neither the monarchical system nor the
measures related to the religion of Islam are subject to revision. Only
the King has the power to put constitutional amendment proposals to a
national referendum. Amendments can be proposed directly by the King or
parliament and must pass both houses with a two-thirds majority. Once a
royal decree has been issued, the amendment can be sent to a national
referendum; however, the King has the authority to bypass any national
referendum. Citizens elect municipal councils directly; citizens elect
regional councils through representatives.
Elections and Political Participation.--Electoral law and
regulation give the MOI authority over the general operation of
elections--from drawing the electoral districts to counting the votes.
In March 2007 MOI redrew electoral districts to give more seats to less
populated areas and dilute urban votes. The number of voters
represented by each member of parliament varied significantly due to
the manner in which the electoral districts were drawn. Redistricting
took place before the 2009 local government elections.
In the September 2007 legislative elections, the King mandated the
royally chartered and appointed CCDH to supervise and facilitate the
work of domestic and international observers, leading to the most
transparent election in the country's history. The final counting was
accepted by all political parties as accurate and certified by the MOI
as legitimate.
Observers praised the Government, including the MOI, for the
professional administration of the September 2007 balloting. They
attributed the low voter participation rate and high protest vote to
weak parties and a parliament that has little vested power. Observers
criticized preelection vote buying by parties and some instances of
official misconduct at the district level. Domestic observers did not
receive accreditation to observe the process until the eve of the
election. All reports recommended the creation of an independent
electoral commission.
Between March and September 2007 a combined MOJ/MOI commission
received 1,260 allegations of preelectoral malfeasance. The majority of
complaints related to ``premature'' campaigning and, to a lesser
extent, the inappropriate use of money, unlawful attempts to influence
voting by government agents, and election or campaign violence. Seven
cases related to registration fraud. Of the allegations received, the
commission referred 53 cases for trial or judicial action. Most of the
defendants were released on bail and were still awaiting court dates.
On November 11, a court in the town of Beni Mellal, south of Rabat,
sentenced the chairman of the city council to six months in jail for
electoral fraud committed during the September 2007 legislative
elections. The court also fined a member of the Liberal Party 80,000
dirhams ($9,000) for election tampering and banned him from voting or
running for office for two years. They were both accused of using
government resources to influence voting.
Political parties faced some government-imposed restrictions. The
MOI must approve political parties. Legislation places conditions on
the establishment and functioning of political parties. The law
requires parties to hold frequent national congresses and to include
women and youth in the leadership structures. Public funding is based
on a party's total representation in parliament and the total number of
votes received nationally. Only registered members of a particular
party may make private contributions. A party can be disbanded if it
does not conform to the provisions stated in the law. To create a new
party, organizers must submit to the MOI a declaration signed by at
least 300 cofounding members from on.--half of the 16 regions of the
country.
The September 2007 parliamentary elections resulted in the
selection of 34 women out 325 total parliamentary seats--a decline of
one seat from the previous term. Thirty of the 34 new female
representatives were elected from a national list reserved for female
candidates. In contrast, Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi's new 33-member
government included five women ministers and two women secretaries of
state, compared with two in the previous government. Women occupy other
key leadership slots, such as mayor of Essaouira and governor of a
district in Casablanca. There were no female members of the Supreme
Court.
Women's representation in political parties' decision making
structures remained low. A revision of the electoral code lowered the
voting age from 23 to 21 and instituted a quota for women's membership
on local councils of 12 percent, well above the barely half of 1
percent previously on the councils.
In December 2007 the Government declared the Amazigh Democratic
Party illegal on the grounds that it violated a constitutional ban
against ethnic political parties. On January 13, the ban was upheld on
appeal. Although there is significant participation by centrist parties
such as the Popular Movement (MP) that identify themselves as
representing Amazigh interests, many segments of the Berber political
movement felt that their requests for greater cultural, political and
economic autonomy were not given a fair or influential hearing.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials often engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. Corruption was a serious problem in the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. In May
2007 the minister of justice stated that corruption and economic crimes
accounted for 10 percent of all cases in the court system. During the
year the MOJ adjudicated more than 6,000 corruption cases, although the
outcomes of most were undetermined at year's end.
The judiciary's lack of independence and susceptibility to
influence were widely acknowledged, including by the King. In April
2007 parliament adopted a law requiring judges to disclose property and
financial assets, and in March a similar law passed pertaining to
members of parliament and ministers.
In response to his July 2007 Throne Day Speech, the King charged
the Government with forming the high-level Central Commission for the
Prevention of Corruption, composed of ministerial representatives and
members of civil society, to investigate corruption allegations and
report them to the prime minister. Eighteen months later, on December
2, the prime minister announced the 42 members of the body, the
President of which is a civil society anticorruption activist and
former political prisoner. In addition to the commission, the MOJ and
the Government Accountability Court (Cour de Comptes) also had
jurisdiction over corruption issues.
During the year the accountability court conducted 245 audits of
national governmental offices and services and 198 of local
authorities. The court's report was generally critical of the level of
accountability and corruption in government services. The report levied
specific criticism against the Health Ministry, National Investment and
Development Fund, and several local mayors for rampant corruption.
There were no prosecutions by year's end.
There is no freedom of information law. In practice the Government
did not grant access to official information to citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The Government's attitude toward international human rights
organizations varied, depending on the sensitivity of the issues
addressed. Domestic and international human rights groups generally
operated without government restriction (apart from those which favor
independence for Western Sahara and some Berber organizations), and
they investigated and published findings on human rights cases.
Government officials were generally cooperative and responsive to their
views.
Domestic and independent human rights NGOs recognized by the
Government included the Moroccan Organization of Human Rights (OMDH)
and the Moroccan League for the Defense of Human Rights (LMDDH). Since
2000 the Government has subsidized these two NGOs. The AMDH did not
cooperate officially with the Government but usually shared
information. The OMP, a human rights organization recognized and
partially funded by the Government, was granted access to prisons and
prisoners. The Government sometimes met with and responded to inquiries
and recommendations of these groups.
According to 2007 government estimates, there were more than 2,500
registered NGOs in the country. International NGOs such as Human Rights
Watch, Reporters Without Borders, and Amnesty International cooperated
with the Government on several human rights projects and generally
reported unrestricted operation. The ICRC/Red Crescent conducted
international humanitarian law training with the military and at Al-
Qarawiyyin University in Agadir.
The CCDH, appointed by the King. advised him on human rights
issues. A nonjudicial ombudsman considered allegations of governmental
injustices, but in practice the CCDH filled many of the roles of
national social ombudsman. The CCDH enjoyed broad trust and was
generally viewed by the public as the only governmental body
legitimately working in the field of human rights.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, sex,
disability, language, or social status. In practice discrimination
against women continued to be a problem, particularly in rural areas.
Women.--The law severely punishes men convicted of rape or sexual
assault. Spousal rape, however, is not a crime. Defendants in rape
prosecutions bear the burden of proving their innocence. Sexual
assaults often were unreported. While not provided for by law, victim's
families may offer marriage as an alternative to rapists to preserve
family honor.
Reports by women's shelters provided a limited picture of the scale
of violence against women and also noted the Government's failure to
implement existing legislation. According to women's rights
organizations, a government campaign to prevent violence against women
launched in 2006 has had little follow-through, and major legal reforms
are still needed, although the campaign has continued.
During the year the Ministry of Social Development, Family and
Social Security recorded 14,617 cases of violence against women,
including rape. Two organizations operated counseling centers for legal
and social services. The Anaruz network (31 centers) reported 16,527
complaints of physical and sexual violence in 2007. The Democratic
League for the Rights of Women (LDDF), with 12 centers, reported 3,569
cases of violence in the same year. These counseling centers exist
exclusively in urban areas and services for victims of violence in
rural areas are limited to the local police.
The law is lenient toward husbands who commit crimes against their
wives. Police rarely involved themselves in domestic disputes.
Regarding the issue of rape, women's rights organizations pointed to
numerous articles of the law they believe perpetuate unequal treatment
for women and insufficient protection. The prosecution of the statutory
rapist of underage girls can be cancelled if the rapist agrees to marry
his victim.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence against
women, but the general prohibitions of the criminal code address such
violence. Physical abuse was legal grounds for divorce, although few
women reported abuse to authorities. Toll-free telephone numbers for
victims of domestic violence existed in 20 centers nationwide.
Honor crimes, or assaults against women with the intent to kill,
were a problem. Instead of strengthening the law after a campaign to
end ``honor killings,'' the Government extended the same protection to
wives who kill their husbands.
Prostitution is illegal. Closely linked to tourism and urban
migration, it is a growing, but not a pervasive problem. Authorities
did not effectively enforce the law.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a criminal offense, but only
when committed by one's superior and is defined as an abuse of
authority. Authorities did not effectively enforce the law. According
to the Government, although the law allows victims to sue employers,
few did out of a fear over losing their job or difficulty in proving a
case.
Women's inheritances, which are determined by Shari'a, vary
depending on the presence of children and other wives.
In 2007 Muslim women gained the right to pass nationality to their
children. Previously, nationality was passed only through the father.
The change allows children of citizen mothers and noncitizen fathers
who are both Muslims to access the educational and social benefits
available to all citizens. It also has implications for international
custodial disputes involving binational couples. Citizenship can still
be transferred to a child only if both parents are Muslim and if their
marriage is recognized by the law.
The 2004 family law changed the marriage age for women from 15 to
18 years, placed the family under the joint responsibility of both
spouses, and rescinded the wife's duty of obedience to her husband. A
marital tutor is no longer a requirement for women as a condition of
marriage, divorce is available by mutual consent, and limitations are
imposed on the practice of polygamy.
Implementation of the family law remained a concern because it
largely depends on the judiciary's ability and willingness to put it
into practice. Due to its controversial nature, the law was written in
such a way as to provide broad interpretive latitude to individual
judges, not all of whom agreed with its intent. Corruption among
working-level clerks in the courts and a lack of knowledge about its
provisions among many lawyers also constituted obstacles.
On February 11, the MOJ released statistics that pointed to the
positive effects of the 2004 family law. Divorce by mutual consent, a
new right in the law, made up nearly 30 percent of cases in 2007. The
code also allows women to initiate divorce proceedings. There were
26,547 applications for divorce by women in 2007, compared with 14,181
lodged by men. The code also allows women to marry without permission
from a guardian. In 2007, 62,162 women arranged their own marriages,
which was 3.4 percent more than in 2006.
Many NGOs worked to advance women's rights and promote women's
issues. Among these were the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women,
the Union for Women's Action, the Democratic League for the Rights of
Women, and the Moroccan Association for Women's Rights. All advocated
enhanced political and civil rights. There were numerous NGOs that
provided shelters for battered women; promoted literacy; and taught
women basic hygiene, family planning, and childcare.
Children.--The Government was generally committed to the protection
of children's welfare. The constitution provides for compulsory, free,
and universal education for children between the ages of six and 15.
According to national statistics, approximately 250,000 children
drop out of primary school each year and another 130,000 students leave
middle and high school. A 2006 UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) study
reported that 87 percent of all children stated that they were subject
to some kind of violence at school.
During the school year 2007-08, according to the Ministry of
National Education, 91,802 students graduated from high school The
number of students enrolled in university came to 396,849.
According to statistics released by the MOJ on February 12, ten
percent of all marriages were with girls under the age of 18. The legal
marrying age of women is 18 years, but parents may secure a waiver from
a judge.
Children were exploited through prostitution within the country and
increasingly were victims of sex tourism.
The Government maintained accords with Spain and Italy to
repatriate unaccompanied minors. Repatriation remained slow due to the
lack of agreement by local families to allow the minors to return home
as well as the small number of spaces in reception centers for minors
with no place to return.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons.
However, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and
within the country. The country was a source for men, women, and
children trafficked to Europe and the Middle East for forced labor and
sexual exploitation. Internal trafficking remained a problem. The two
most commonly trafficked groups were girls sent involuntarily to serve
as child maids and women forced to perform sexual services. According
to UNICEF and national NGOs, recruiters habitually visited isolated
rural villages in the Atlas Mountains, where they persuaded parents
that their daughters would be better off as child maids. Women were
trafficked to Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates and
forced into prostitution after being promised jobs as domestics.
The country was a transit point for trafficked persons. Men and
women from Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan were
trafficked to Europe or other Near Eastern countries. Sub-Saharan
Africans transiting the country to Europe were also victims of
traffickers. Women were often pressured into commercial sexual
exploitation and involuntary servitude in exchange for food and
shelter.
Organized criminal gangs coordinated some of the clandestine
migration to Europe, particularly by sub-Saharans transiting the
country. Some of this activity may include trafficking. Police in the
north, who reportedly ignored trafficking for financial gain, were
arrested and convicted of a variety of crimes. Most trafficking rings
were small criminal groups. Unofficial reports stated that hotel
personnel arranged to transport girls and young women from rural areas
to cities to be used in commercial sexual exploitation.
In 2007 the Government charged two police officers in Casablanca
with organizing a criminal gang to facilitate the illegal entry of
foreigners and to assist in their exit from the country. These officers
were convicted and sentenced to two years in prison.
In 2006 officials dismantled a large international network that was
trafficking and smuggling migrants from India and arrested 70 suspects,
including a police officer. At year's end they were convicted and
sentenced to two years in prison.
The Government made efforts to prosecute traffickers and
trafficking-complicit officials during the year. Penalties prescribed
by the law for sex trafficking offenses are stringent and commensurate
with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. In 2007
authorities prosecuted 150 cases of inciting minors into prostitution
and convicted 129 individuals for this trafficking crime. The
Government did not provide any sentencing data to demonstrate that
these convicted traffickers were punished. Security officers were
convicted of trafficking offenses in Tangier, Tetouan, and Nador. Their
sentences ranged from two months' suspended sentences with a fine to
four years' imprisonment. During the year authorities reported
dismantling 220 ``trafficking rings.'' Since the Government continued
to make no distinction between migrant smuggling and trafficking, it is
not clear how many, if any, actually were trafficking rings. In July
2007 the Government investigated incidents of alleged sexual
exploitation of women and girls in Cote d'Ivoire by Moroccan
peacekeepers. The Government dropped charges when alleged victims
failed to testify and claimed that they had been coerced into making
the accusations.
Protection of trafficking victims was a problem. Foreign
trafficking victims were not properly identified, and often were
arrested and subject to detention and automatic deportation along with
other illegal migrants. There were reports that authorities routinely
rounded up illegal sub-Saharan migrants, including victims of
trafficking, and left them at the Algerian border, often without food
or water. As the Government has not provided data regarding these
expulsions, the extent of this problem is not known.
NGO reports indicated that police physically abused trafficking
victims. The Government did not offer legal alternatives to the removal
of foreign victims of trafficking to countries where they might face
hardship or retribution. Very few victims were repatriated. The
Government provided in-kind support to NGOs assisting victims.
UNHCR protection was available to trafficked individuals in theory,
but the Government has no procedures in place to refer trafficked
individuals to UNHCR. The Government continued to repatriate
trafficking victims. IOM assisted in the voluntary repatriation of
1,437 people during the year. The Government of Morocco reported that
it expelled 8,735 illegal migrants during the year.
The National Observatory of Migration formulated antitrafficking
policy, which was implemented primarily by the MOI. Clandestine
migration was the purview of immigration officials; prostitution was a
police issue; and child bride cases were reviewed by local authorities,
who ultimately report to MOI. Law enforcement officers often
participated in training and seminars relating to trafficking and human
rights in general.
In March the Government committed approximately 26 million dirhams
($3 million) to develop the income-generating capacity of families at
risk of sending their children for domestic work. The Government also
signed agreements with Catalonia, Spain and Italy to prevent illegal
migration of Moroccan children, who are at extremely high risk of being
trafficked. The Government did not, however, show significant efforts
to raise public awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of
children and women in major cities, especially tourist areas, and did
not take any reported measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex
acts.
Persons With Disabilities.--The Government did not effectively
implement laws and programs to ensure access to buildings for persons
with disabilities. The Ministry for Social Development, Families, and
Solidarity had responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities and attempted to integrate persons with disabilities into
society. In practice, however, integration was largely left to private
charities. Typically, families supported persons with disabilities. A
limited number survived by begging.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The official language is
Arabic. Both French and Arabic are used in the news media and
educational institutions. Science and technical courses are taught in
French, thereby reducing participation of the large, monolingual
Moroccan-dialect, Arabic speaking, or Tamazight (Berber)-speaking
populations. Educational reforms in the past decade emphasized the use
of Arabic in secondary schools. Failure to transform the university
system similarly led to the disqualification of many students from
higher education in advanced technical fields. The poor lacked the
means to obtain the necessary additional French instruction to
supplement the curriculum taught in public schools.
Approximately 60 percent of the population claimed Amazigh
heritage, including the royal family. Amazigh cultural groups contended
that their traditions and language were being lost rapidly to
Arabization. The Government added television programs in Tamazight in
September 2007, and Tamazight language classes were included in the
curriculum of a limited number of primary schools. In the 2007-08
school year, the Government instituted an Amazigh language class in
3,470 schools, an increase of 2,806 from the previous academic year.
Programs in one of the Berber languages were increasingly available on
both radio and television.
Despite the fact that the country is majority Amazigh, rural areas
that are predominantly Amazigh are the poorest in the country.
Illiteracy in some areas runs as high as 80 percent, and authorities
there often do not provide basic governmental services.
In December in the town of Beni Mellal, in the strongly Amazigh
Middle Atlas, five men died from exposure to the cold. In 2006, in the
Amazigh town of Anfghouh, 35 people died of exposure during the winter.
Amazigh activists criticize the Government for extracting rich natural
resources from impoverished areas while making no provision for
residents to benefit from the exploitation. The Amazigh political and
cultural movement also demanded that the Berber be made an official
language on par with Arabic and French. Some members of the Amazigh
community have described difficulty registering traditional names of
children, such as Massinissa and Yugurtha, with authorities, who denied
them based on the fact that they were not Arab names. In June the
President of the banned Amazigh Democratic Party publicly criticized
the Government for this practice.
In January several Amazigh activists were arrested in the town of
Boulmane n'Dades and subsequently sentenced to between two and five
years in prison. The activists stated that they were celebrating the
traditional Berber New Year, while the Government charged them with
disturbing the peace and incitement.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was some societal
violence based on sexual orientation. The penal code criminalizes
homosexual acts, but these provisions were infrequently enforced. In
April authorities raided a religious festival in Marrakech and charged
some participants with violating laws against homosexuality.
In November 2007 an angry mob ransacked the home of a man who had
hosted an alleged gay wedding the previous weekend. In December 2007 he
and five other participants were tried and convicted for violating the
law against homosexual acts. All were released in March.
The few people living with HIV/AIDS in the country faced
discrimination and had limited treatment options.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution permits workers to
establish and join trade unions. In practice the laws reportedly were
not implemented in some areas. The law provides workers with the right
to strike except for certain categories of government employees (e.g.,
members of the armed forces, police, and judiciary). Domestic and
agricultural workers are not covered by the labor code and do not have
the right to form unions. While most union federations were allied with
political parties, unions were free from government interference.
Approximately 5.5 percent of the country's workers were organized. Any
group of eight workers may organize a union, and a worker may change
union affiliation easily.
The labor law details restrictions on the number of overtime hours
worked per week and the rate of pay for holidays, nightshift work, and
routine overtime. According to national and international NGOs, workers
sometimes worked more than the standard 44 hours per week, and overtime
hours were often required without pay.
The law prescribes the Government's authority to intervene in
strikes when national security, domestic stability, or vital economic
interests are threatened. Employers cannot initiate criminal
prosecutions against workers participating in strikes. Unlike in
previous years, there were no reports that union officers were subject
to government pressure.
The law requires compulsory arbitration of disputes, prohibits sit
ins, calls for a 10-day notice of a strike, and allows for the hiring
of replacement workers. The Government can intervene in strikes, and a
strike cannot take place around issues covered in a collective contract
for one year after the contract comes into force. The Government has
the authority to break up demonstrations in public areas where strikes
have not been authorized and to prevent the unauthorized occupancy of
private space.
Unions may not prevent nonstrikers from working and may not engage
in sabotage. Any striking employee who prevents a replacement worker
from working is subject to a seven-day suspension. A second offense
within one year is punishable by a 15-day suspension.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The right to
organize and bargain collectively is protected by law, and the
Government generally upheld this right. The right to strike is freely
practiced. Less than 6 percent or 600,000 of the 11.3 million-strong
workforce belonged to a union. A work site may contain several
independent locals or locals affiliated with more than one labor
federation. Only unions having 35 percent of the workforce as members
may be recognized as negotiating partners.
Collective bargaining was prevalent in many sections of the
economy. The wages and conditions of employment of unionized workers
generally were set in discussions between employer and worker
representatives; however, employers set wages for the vast majority of
unionized and non-unionized workers unilaterally. Labor disputes arose
in some cases as the result of employers failing to implement
collective bargaining agreements and withholding wages.
The law specifically prohibits antiunion discrimination and
prohibits companies from dismissing workers for participating in
legitimate union-organizing activities. The courts have the authority
to reinstate arbitrarily dismissed workers and are able to enforce
rulings that compel employers to pay damages and back pay. Unions may
sue to have labor laws enforced, and employers may sue unions when they
believe unions have overstepped their authority.
Employers wishing to dismiss workers are legally required to notify
the provincial governor through the labor inspector's office. In cases
in which the employer plans to replace dismissed workers, a government
labor inspector provides replacements and mediates the cases of workers
who protest their dismissal.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced, compulsory labor and clandestine labor, including by children.
However, there were reports that such practices occurred. Child and
forced labor was especially common in the agricultural and
manufacturing sectors. Young girls often worked in urban areas as
domestic servants. In practice the Government did not inspect the small
workshops and private homes where the vast majority of such employment
occurred. Forced labor persisted in the practice of adoptive servitude
in households.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibits
forced or compulsory labor. The Government did not effectively
implement these laws, except in organized labor markets.
According to government statistics, during the first half of the
year, 94 inspections led to citations being issued for 39 instances of
employment of children under the age of 15. A total 184 site visits and
616 investigations uncovered 19 cases of employment of children between
15 and 18 years.
The inspection visits found that the bulk of child laborers work in
the carpentry/forestry (23 percent), mechanical (19 percent) and
construction sectors (12 percent). Noncompliance with child labor laws
was common, particularly in the agricultural sector. In 2006 domestic
and international NGOs reported that up to 87 percent of the country's
underage workers worked on family farms.
The labor law sets the minimum age for employment in all sectors at
15 years. According to the law, children under the age of 16 are
prohibited from working more than 10 hours per day, which includes at
least a one-hour break. Children under the age of 16 are not permitted
to work between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in nonagricultural work
or between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. in agricultural activities. Employment of
children under the age of 18 is prohibited in stone quarries, mines, or
in any other positions deemed hazardous by the Government.
In practice children were apprenticed before age 12, particularly
in small, family-run workshops in the handicraft industry. Children
also worked in the informal sector in textile, carpet, and light
manufacturing activities. Children's safety and health conditions and
wages were often substandard. Many young girls were exploited as
domestic servants. The labor code does not cover domestic labor and
therefore does not prohibit the employment of child maids. NGOs
estimated that between 66,000 and 88,000 children worked illegally as
domestic servants.
Credible reports of physical and psychological abuse of domestic
servants were common. Some orphanages were charged as complicit in the
practice. The public generally accepted the concept of adoptive
servitude. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the majority of child
domestics worked 14 to 18 hours per day without breaks, seven days a
week, for salaries of approximately $.05 to $.13 (at $0.40 to one
dirham) per hour. Most child domestics did not receive monetary
payment. They worked for food, lodging, and clothing. Children were
also ``rented'' out to street businessmen by their parents or other
relatives to beg. Parents received a fee for the use of their children,
and the person ``renting'' the child kept a portion of the day's income
from the child's begging.
The Ministry of Employment is responsible for implementing and
enforcing child labor laws and regulations. The law provides for legal
sanctions against employers who recruit children under the age of 15,
with fines ranging from 27,000 to 32,000 dirhams ($3,250 to $3,900).
Legal remedies to enforce child labor laws include criminal penalties,
civil fines, and withdrawal or suspension of one or more civil,
national, or family rights, including denial of legal residence in the
country for a period of five to 10 years. The law prohibits begging
that exploits children and the buying and selling of child brides, but
was not followed in practice.
Application of the legal minimum employment age continues to be
flouted in both the formal and informal sectors. According to MOJ
officials, no employer has been convicted of employing a child under
the age of 15 despite acknowledgement of the child's age. The informal
sector, where the majority of children work, was not monitored by the
MOL's small cadre of labor inspectors. There were no labor inspectors
dedicated solely to child labor issues.
Reportedly, police, prosecutors, and judges rarely enforced legal
provisions on child abuse or on ``forced labor in cases involving child
domestics,'' and few parents of children working as domestics were
willing, or able, to pursue legal avenues that were likely to provide
any direct benefit.
The country continued to experience a high rate of child labor due
to lack of enforcement of legal codes aimed at ending the exploitation
of children, despite the 2006-15 National Plan of Action for Children.
The Government expanded coordination with local, national, and
international NGOs on various education and training programs during
the year. As part of the National Plan of Action for Children and the
GOM's anti-child labor efforts, the Ministry of Employment and
Professional Formation led by the Office of the Director of Work, in
conjunction with ILO-IPEC and local NGO partners, oversaw a number of
programs to deal with the issue of child labor. The ministry is
currently managing four programs implemented by local NGOs in the
provinces of Kenitra, Taroudat, and two in Marrakech. The programs seek
to decrease incidents of child labor through awareness raising,
financial assistance to needy families, and lowering obstacles to
school attendance. The total budget for the four programs is
approximately $236,000.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was
approximately 10.14 dirhams ($1.25) per hour in the industrialized
sector and 52.50 dirhams ($6.50) per day for agricultural workers.
Businesses in the informal sector, which hire approximately 60 percent
of the labor force, often ignored the minimum wage requirements.
Neither minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a worker
and family, even with government subsidies. In many cases several
family members combined their incomes to support the family. Most
workers in the industrial sector earned more than the minimum wage.
Including traditional holidal-related bonuses, workers generally were
paid the equivalent of 13 to 16 months' salary each year.
The law provides for a 44-48 hour maximum workweek, with no more
than 10 hours in any single day, premium pay for overtime, paid public
and annual holidays, and minimum conditions for health and safety,
including a prohibition on night work for women and minors. Employers
did not observe these provisions universally, and the Government did
not enforce them effectively in all sectors. The Labor Code does not
cover domestic or agricultural workers.
Occupational health and safety standards were rudimentary, except
for a prohibition on the employment of women and children in certain
dangerous occupations. Labor inspectors attempted to monitor working
conditions and investigate accidents, but they were too few in number
and lacked sufficient resources. While workers in principle had the
right to remove themselves from work situations that endangered health
and safety without jeopardizing their continued employment, there were
no reports of workers attempting to exercise this right.
WESTERN SAHARA
Morocco claims the Western Sahara territory, with a population of
approximately 383,000, according to recent UN estimates, and
administers Moroccan law and regulations in the estimated 85 percent of
the territory it controls. However, Morocco and the Polisario (Popular
Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), an
organization that has sought independence for the formerly Spanish
territory since 1973, dispute its sovereignty.
The Moroccan government sent troops and settlers into the northern
two provinces of the territory after Spain withdrew in 1975 and
extended its administration over the third after Mauritania renounced
its claim in 1979. Moroccan and Polisario forces fought intermittently
from 1975 until the 1991 ceasefire and deployment to the area of a UN
peacekeeping contingent, the UN Mission for a Referendum in Western
Sahara (MINURSO).
Sahrawis, literally ``people of the desert'' in Arabic, live in the
south of internationally recognized Morocco, in the area of the
territory controlled by Morocco and, to a lesser extent in Mauritania.
Some also live as refugees in Algeria near the border with Morocco. An
approximately 2,000 kilometer stone and sand defensive wall constructed
by Morocco in the late 1980s, known as the ``berm,'' is the effective
limit of Moroccan administrative control.
In 1988 Morocco and the Polisario agreed to settle the dispute by
referendum. However, disagreements over voter eligibility and which
options for self-determination (integration, independence or something
in between) should be on the ballot were not resolved, and a referendum
never took place. Over the years, there have been several attempts to
broker a solution.
In 2007 the first face to face negotiations between representatives
of the Moroccan government and the Polisario began under UN auspices,
after Morocco offered a political solution based on autonomy for the
territory within the Kingdom of Morocco, while the Polisario continued
to insist on a potential referendum in which full independence would be
an option. By year's end four rounds of talks had taken place in
Manhasset, New York. On April 30, the UN Security Council adopted
Resolution 1813, extending MINURSO until April 2009. The resolution
also called on member states to consider voluntary contributions to the
Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) carried out under the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that allow increased contact between
family members separated by the dispute. There were no further talks by
year's end.
Morocco considers the part of the territory that it administers to
be an integral part of the Kingdom and the exercise of civil liberties
and political rights are conditioned by the same laws and structures
which apply in the Kingdom. Accordingly, ultimate authority rests with
King Mohammed VI, and human rights conditions in the territory tended
to converge with those in the Kingdom.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that the Government
or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
In June 2007 after an investigation carried out by the Moroccan
government, two police officers responsible for the death of Hamdi
Lembarki, a Sahrawi, were sentenced to 10 years in prison. Lembarki
died in police custody from wounds received at a 2005 demonstration in
Laayoune in support of the independence of Western Sahara. In March, an
appellate tribunal in Laayoune released the officers, after reducing
their sentences to two years, amounting to time served shortly after a
police officer was killed during a pro-Sahara independence
demonstration in Tal-Tan, in southern Morocco.
There were no reports of migrant killings during the year. In July
2007 two illegal migrants were killed and two were seriously injured
while trying to break through a security system in Laayoune.
Authorities stated that 37 sub-Saharan persons attempted to break
through the surveillance system on the berm despite warning shots fired
by security forces, and 26 were arrested. In July 2007 the Moroccan
government launched an investigation, but no results were made public
by year's end.
On January 4, construction workers uncovered a mass grave
containing what press reported were approximately 15 skeletons in
Smara. The facility was the site of a former military barracks built
during the 1970s, the period during which many Sahrawis disappeared or
were murdered by authorities. Local and international human rights
organizations called for an exhumation and full investigation. The
Government began a formal investigation, which was still underway at
year's end.
In November 2007 construction workers discovered another mass grave
at the Laayoune Prison. The Moroccan government stated that the bodies
could be identified from the early 20th century; however, pro-
independence organizations, such as the unrecognized Sahrawi Collective
of Human Rights Defenders (CODESA), claimed that they dated from the
1970s and 1980s. In November the Government admitted in statements to
the press that during this period activists and dissidents were
secretly detained and sometimes killed, but stated that the five
skeletons were not of that era.
In 2007 the Consultative Council on Human Rights (CCDH), a Moroccan
government organization, opened a Laayoune field office. Since 2000 the
CCDH has paid reparations, including providing medical insurance or
assisting with urgent medical or financial needs, to Sahrawis or the
family members of those Sahrawis who had disappeared or detained. The
Laayoune office continued to process and pay claims during the year. In
October the CCDH sponsored its first town hall meeting on human rights
in Laayoune, at which an estimated 400 human rights and political
activists participated, including several speakers with separatist
views. The CCDH committed to a follow-up mechanism that was to include
local human rights activists, but no further action took place by
year's end.
During the year Sahrawi human rights activists claimed that beating
and torture continued and that threats and the use of psychological and
``mental stress'' interrogations persisted. According to a local,
unregistered nongovernmental organization (NGO), the Sahrawi Collective
of Human Rights Defenders (CODESA), however, specific reports of
mistreatment and human rights violations within the territory
decreased,
Police reportedly sometimes beat detainees in transport vehicles
rather than in stations or prisons in order to deny abusing persons in
government facilities. Hamoud Iguilid, a member of the Laayoune branch
of the unrecognized Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH)
claimed that police detained him on May 10, placed him in a police
vehicle while handcuffed and blindfolded, questioned him about his
human rights activities and insulted him. The officers held him for
over an hour, confiscated money, documents related to his human rights
activism, and a computer flash drive that contained sensitive
information. They then drove him outside the city limits and released
him. He filed a complaint with judicial authorities but was not
contacted as part of an investigation.
According to a May Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, during the year
and in recent years there was impunity for police abuses. Numerous
victims of human rights abuses repeatedly named specific police or
security officials as arbitrarily arresting, either supervising or
employing excessive force and/or beating demonstrators, including
children, and forcing them to sign statements against their will that
they were prevented from reading. During the year multiple complaints
were filed with both police and judicial authorities against specific
officers who had received complaints against them in previous years.
According to HRW, authorities dismiss the overwhelming majority of
complaints without collecting evidence beyond the police's own version
of events. No officer was charged with any crimes during the year.
Despite a reduction, the Government and many NGOs reported multiple
cases of human rights abuses. For example, two activists, Dahha
Rahmouni and Brahim al-Ansari reported filing formal complaints of
police mistreatment on January 4, which authorities denied receiving.
In 2007 Zahra Bassiri, a 14-year-old girl, was arrested after a
peaceful demonstration by approximately 50 persons in support of
Western Saharan independence, according to the Associated Press.
Bassiri stated that police officers began beating her as soon as they
put her into a transport van. No investigation was conducted. Of 12
complaints of abuse that local authorities acknowledged receiving since
2005, all were found baseless by the Government or closed without
contacting the original complainant.
A new prison was under construction at year's end. The Moroccan
Observatory of Prisons (OMP), a local human rights NGO subsidized by
the Moroccan government, and other activists have limited ability to
enter prisons in the territory and interview inmates and record
complaints. The OMP regional office in Laayoune stated that a new
prison director decreased overcrowding, improved security by installing
metal detectors and cameras to prevent violence, improved diet and
access to health care, and created new cells for family visits.
Eligible inmates were able to continue to pursue their education.
However, allegations of abuse and substandard conditions persisted.
Some human rights activists and NGOs charged that the Government
had reduced overcrowding by transferring politically active prisoners
to facilities in Morocco proper, far from their families and support
networks as a punishment for activism. The Government stated that the
transfers were administrative and were undertaken only to improve
conditions. Some antigovernment activists continued to serve their
sentences in Laayoune. Human rights activists and NGOs claimed that the
court system in Laayoune dispensed justice unfairly. Many activists
claimed that although they were arrested for political activities, they
were officially charged with drug or other criminal offences and that
courts often refused to bring in experts to testify about torture.
Human rights and pro-independence activists claimed that authorities'
repressive measures were also focused on them or other activists in
areas of southern Morocco inhabited by Sahrawis. Activists and their
attorneys also alleged multiple cases of forced or falsified
confessions.
During the year activists and NGOs alleged that police violated
Moroccan law by holding minors for up to 72 hours without informing
parents. Activists also claimed that minors were often seized and
arrested for short periods of time, during which they were allegedly
beaten before being released.
Youths supporting independence were reportedly detained and
mistreated. Activists claimed that they were regularly taken into
custody, beaten, and released, generally within 24 hours, without being
formally arrested or charged.
Police reportedly used excessive force or violence to disperse some
pro-independence demonstrations, which continued intermittently
throughout the year. On April 12, police broke up a demonstration in
Laayoune's central square. Several individuals were injured and
arrested. Authorities claimed that they did not intervene in any
demonstrations until demonstrators became violent and destroyed
personal property.
Moroccan media and satellite television are available in Western
Sahara. However, it is illegal to publish or express views publicly
calling for independence or a referendum which would include that
option. Most other abuses are related to persons attempting to exercise
these rights. The Government denied access to Web sites considered
controversial, such as those advocating independence, and offenders
were quickly detained.
According to Amnesty International (AI), on June 17, Brahim Sabbar,
Secretary General of the unrecognized Sahrawi Association of Victims of
Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH)
was released following two years' imprisonment after unfair trials in
2006 and 2007. Sabbar had been convicted of having led demonstrations
in 2005 and 2006 against the Moroccan administration of Western Sahara
and for belonging to the ASVDH, an unauthorized organization.
On June 17, Moroccan authorities forcibly prevented parties and
other gatherings from celebrating the release of Brahim Sabbar.
Security officers assaulted Mohamed Dadach, a prominent human rights
activist, recipient of the 2002 Rafto Human Rights Award from Norway
and the President of the Support Committee for the Sahrawi People's
Self-Determination, after he left the home of another activist in
Laayoune. The activists were preparing to celebrate the release of
Brahim Sabbar. Dadach claimed that approximately 15 police officers
beat him on the face and body.
On September 22, pro-independence activists attacked a police
vehicle in Smara and burned it with Molotov cocktails after Polisario
President Abdelaziz called on Sahrawis living in Moroccan-controlled
territory to launch an uprising. Police subsequently broke up
demonstrations, sometimes with excessive force.
In May Naf'i al-Sah and Abdallah al-Boussati were released from
prison after serving 10 months sentences for damaging a police car and
injuring its three occupants with a Molotov cocktail in June 2007. Both
men signed confessions but claimed that they were extracted under
torture; there were also evidentiary irregularities.
Protests by Sahrawi activists, including some from the territory,
intensified in Morocco. The Moroccan government response included
arrests, and there were allegations of abuse. (See Morocco report.)
Some security personnel in the territory also received new
training, which included a human rights component. The retention of
other personnel in key roles who allegedly have perpetrated past
abuses, however, highlighted continuing problems of impunity. According
to the Polisario, Morocco continued to withhold information on
approximately 150 missing Polisario combatants and supporters whom the
Polisario listed by name. Morocco formally denied that any Sahrawi
former combatants remained in detention. During the year the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continued to
investigate such Polisario claims, as well as Moroccan claims that the
Polisario had not fully divulged information on the whereabouts of 213
Moroccan citizens. The total number of unresolved cases of missing
Algerian and Polisario soldiers in which Morocco was implicated
decreased from 249 in 1994 to 58 at year's end.
In October 2007 the pro-independence CODESA applied to the Moroccan
government for recognition as a NGO. CODESA claimed that authorities
successfully impeded the organization's Constitutive Conference planned
for October 2007. At year's end CODESA's application, sent by
registered mail to the local authorities, had not been acknowledged.
Since 2005, the Government has refused to approve ASVDH's
application to register as a legal NGO despite two administrative court
decisions in its favor. The Government filed an appeal against the
decision to order registration, which it maintained was the rationale
for nonimplementation of the court order.
Both CODESA and ASVDH continued to operate informally, but the lack
of legal status hindered normal activities, including securing space
for public meetings and domestic fundraising and prevented
international funding for the voluntee.--based organizations.
The laws and restrictions regarding religious organizations and
religious freedom in the territory are the same as those in Morocco.
The constitution provides that Islam is the state religion, and that
the state provides the freedom to practice one's religion. Unlike in
previous years, external observers and international human rights
activists increasingly gained access to the territory, and activists
from the territory traveled abroad and returned unharmed. On December
15, Sahrawi former ``disappeared'' human rights defender Aminatou
Haidar travelled abroad to accept a prestigious human rights award from
a private foundation. She was accompanied by more than half a dozen
activists, and all returned to the territory without incident.
Unlike in previous years, antigovernment activists were able to
obtain passports. Both the Moroccan government and the Polisario
restricted movement in militarily sensitive areas.
Since 1977 the inhabitants of the Western Saharan provinces of
Laayoune, Smara, Awsard, and Boujdour (and Oued El-Dahab since 1983)
have participated in Moroccan national and regional elections. In 2007
parliamentary elections, Sahrawis with pro-Morocco political views
filled all the parliamentary seats allotted to the territory. No
Sahrawis opposed to Moroccan sovereignty were candidates in the
elections. According to government statistics, 37 percent of registered
voters turned out for the election nationally, but 62 percent of
registered voters in the territory voted. While the international
mission that observed the September elections did not monitor voting in
Western Sahara, domestic observers leveled accusations of corruption,
principally vote buying, in some races.
In 2006 King Mohammed VI appointed a new Royal Consultative Council
for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS). In its three meetings during the year,
the council focused principally on technical issues. There was no
activity by its formerly active human rights committee except for
attendance at the CCDH conference in Laayoune and participation in the
general CORCAS conference in December held in Rabat.
In the largely traditional Sahrawi society, there was
discrimination in practice against women.
The penal code imposes stiff fines and prison terms on individuals
involved in or failing to prevent trafficking in persons. However, the
territory remained a transit region for traffickers of persons.
The Moroccan labor code applied in the Moroccan-controlled areas of
the territory. Moroccan unions were present in those areas but were not
active.
There were no known strikes, other job actions, or collective
bargaining agreements during the year. Most union members were
employees of the Moroccan government or state-owned organizations.
These individuals were paid 85 percent more than their counterparts in
Morocco as an inducement to relocate to the territory. The Government
exempted workers from income and value added taxes.
The Moroccan labor code prohibited forced or bonded labor,
including labor by children, and there were no reports that such
practices occurred. Sahrawis and Moroccans protested against the
reported holding of slaves among the Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf,
Algeria.
Human Rights Watch investigated allegations of slavery in the
Tindouf camps in Algeria, but could find no conclusive proof of the
allegations.
Regulations on the minimum age of employment were the same as in
Morocco. Child labor did not appear to be a problem.
The minimum wage and maximum hours of work were identical to those
in Morocco. In practice, however, during peak periods, workers in some
fish processing plants worked as many as 12 hours per day, six days per
week, which was well beyond the 10-hour day, 44-hour week maximum
stipulated in the Moroccan labor code. Occupational health and safety
standards were the same as those in Morocco and enforcement was
rudimentary, except for a prohibition on the employment of women in
dangerous occupations.
On February 20, security forces arrested Sahrawi trade unionist
Edeya Ahmed, his wife, and a delegation of European trade unionists at
his home and then subsequently released them without charge. The
delegation visited Western Sahara to meet with the workers and retirees
from the phosphate mine at Boucraa, who claim violations of their labor
rights have occurred on a regular basis since 1977 when Spain ceded its
majority holding in the company to Morocco. The workers claim that
Morocco immediately broke agreements and contracts with 721 Sahrawi
workers, while 300 Spaniards were allowed to work under the terms of
their original agreement. Sahrawi workers alleged they were
consistently paid below market wages. Since 1999 representatives of the
600 workers and retirees have met with company representatives to air
their grievances, but maintain that they have not had a fair hearing.
Both activists and other individuals reported a range of informal
restrictions, including threats, by authorities to their ability to
obtain employment, including with the MINURSO in Laayoune. They alleged
that they were discriminated against in favor of persons who moved to
the territory from Morocco.
__________
OMAN
The Sultanate of Oman is a hereditary monarchy with a population of
approximately 3.3 million, including approximately 900,000
nonnationals, ruled by Sultan Qaboos Al Bu Sa'id since 1970. Only the
Sultan can amend the country's laws through royal decree. The 84-member
Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council) is a representative advisory
institution that can review legislation. In October 2007 approximately
245,000 registered voters participated in generally free and fair
elections for all of the council's seats. The civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
Citizens did not have the right to change their government. The
Government restricted freedoms of privacy, speech, press, assembly,
association, and religion. Discrimination and domestic violence
persisted for women. There was a lack of sufficient legal protection
and enforcement to secure the rights of migrant workers. There were
reports that expatriate laborers, particularly domestic workers, were
placed in situations amounting to forced labor and that some suffered
abuse.
On November 16, the Government established an independent human
rights commission with membership from both the public and private
sectors. On November 24, it also passed a comprehensive law to combat
trafficking in persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
Government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that any prison cells
lacked proper sanitation.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Office, part
of the cabinet, controls internal and external security and coordinates
all intelligence and security policies. Under the Royal Office, the
Internal Security Service investigates all matters related to internal
security, and the Sultan's Special Force has limited border security
and antismuggling responsibility. The Royal Oman Police (ROP), also
part of the cabinet, performs regular police duties, provides security
at points of entry, serves as the country's immigration and customs
agency, and operates the coast guard. The Ministry of Defense, and in
particular the Royal Army of Oman, is responsible for securing the
borders and has limited domestic security responsibilities.
There were isolated reports of corruption during the year. The
ROP's Directorate General of Inquiries and Criminal Investigation is
charged with investigating allegations of police abuse, and its
findings are turned over to the Directorate General of Human Resources
for disciplinary action. There is no public information about the ROP's
internal disciplinary action. Officers received human rights training
at the police academy.
Arrest and Detention.--The law does not require the police to
obtain a warrant prior to making an arrest. The law provides that
within 48 hours of arrest, the police must either release the accused
or refer the matter to the public prosecutor. Within 24 hours the
public prosecutor must formally arrest or release the person. In
contrast with 2007, detainees were generally informed promptly of the
charges against them. The state provided public attorneys to indigent
detainees. Authorities must obtain court orders to hold suspects in
pretrial detention. Judges may order detentions for 14 days to allow
investigation and may grant extensions if necessary. There was a
functioning system of bail. Detainees generally had prompt access to a
lawyer of their choice; however, the police sometimes failed to notify
a detainee's family, or the detainee's sponsor in the case of an
expatriate laborer, of the detention. There were isolated reports that
foreign workers suspected of being in the country illegally were
detained without charge pending confirmation of their immigration
status.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the Sultan may act as a court of final
appeal and exercise his power of pardon as chairman of the Supreme
Judicial Council, the country's highest legal body, which is empowered
to review all judicial decisions.
The Ministry of Justice administers all courts. The magistrate
court system is composed of courts of first instance, courts of appeal,
and the Supreme Court. There are 42 courts of first instance located
throughout the Sultanate that hear civil, criminal, commercial, labor,
and personal status cases. One judge presides over each court of first
instance. There are six courts of appeal, each with a panel of three
appointed judges. The Supreme Court, comprising five judges,
standardizes legal principles, reviews decisions of lower courts, and
monitors judges in their application and interpretation of the law. The
Sultan can pardon or reduce sentences but cannot overturn a Supreme
Court verdict. The Supreme Judicial Council can hear appeals beyond the
Supreme Court. Members of the Supreme Judicial Council included the
President of the Supreme Court, the minister of justice, the public
prosecutor, and the inspector general.
Principles of Shari'a inform the civil, commercial, and criminal
codes. Laws governing family and personal status are based on the
Government's interpretation of Shari'a.
The Administrative Court, under the authority of the Diwan of the
Royal Court, reviews complaints about the misuse of governmental
authority. It has the power to reverse decisions made by government
bodies and award compensation. Appointments to this court are subject
to the approval of the Administrative Affairs Council. The court's
President and deputy President are appointed by royal decree based on
the council's nomination.
The State Security Court tries cases involving national security
and criminal matters that require expeditious or especially sensitive
handling. The security court procedures mirror those applicable
elsewhere in the criminal system. The Sultan may exercise his powers to
extend leniency, including in cases involving state security.
Military and security personnel are subject to a military tribunal
system of justice to which there is limited outside visibility or
access.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and the judiciary generally enforced this right for all citizens. The
law also provides for the presumption of innocence. Juries are not
used; however, citizens have the right to a public trial, except when
the court decides to hold a session in private in the interest of
public order or morals.
Defendants have the right to be present, to consult with an
attorney in a timely manner, and to present evidence and confront
witnesses. The prosecution and defense counsel directs questions to
witnesses through the judge. Defendants and their lawyers generally had
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Courts
provide public attorneys to indigent detainees and offer legal defense
for defendants facing prison terms of three years or more. Those
convicted may appeal jail sentences longer than three months and fines
of more than 480 rials (approximately $1,250).
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil cases are governed
by applicable civil procedure codes. Citizens and nationals of other
countries were able to file cases in the courts. There were instances
in which courts ruled in favor of domestic servants against their
sponsors, requiring sponsors to return the workers' passports and allow
them to break the employment contract. In some of these instances, the
court issued orders to apprehend the sponsor and force his or her
appearance before the court. Both citizens and foreign workers can
lodge complaints regarding working conditions with the Ministry of
Manpower (MOM) for administrative redress. The MOM may refer cases to
the courts if the ministry is unable to negotiate a solution.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law provides for broad governmental discretion,
which the Government used in practice.
The law does not require police to obtain search warrants before
entering homes, although the police often obtained warrants from the
public prosecutor's office. The Government monitored private
communications, including mobile phones, e-mail, and Internet chat room
exchanges. The Ministry of Interior (MOI) required citizens to obtain
permission to marry foreigners except nationals of Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) countries; permission was not granted automatically.
Citizen marriage to a foreigner abroad without MOI approval may cause
the foreign spouse to be denied entry into the country and prevent a
legitimate child from claiming citizenship rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for limited
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government generally
restricted these rights in practice. Journalists and writers exercised
self-censorship, due to both the expectation of official censorship and
fear of government reprisal.
The law prohibits criticism of the Sultan in any form or medium;
``material that leads to public discord, violates the security of the
state, or abuses a person's dignity or his rights"; messages of any
form that violate public order and morals or are harmful to a person's
safety; and ``defamation of character.'' Courts have interpreted these
laws to mean it is illegal to insult any public official.
There are five privately owned newspapers in the country, three in
Arabic and two in English. Editorials generally were consistent with
the Government's views, although authorities tolerated some limited
criticism regarding domestic and foreign affairs issues, including GCC
policies, which the country participated in determining. In addition
there were two state-owned newspapers and more than 30 state-owned and
privately owned magazines in circulation. The Government owned three
radio stations and two television stations, none of which generally
aired politically controversial material. There were also three private
radio stations that aired occasional news bulletins supplied by the
state-owned Oman News Agency. Access to foreign broadcasts via
satellite was widespread in the major urban areas; however, there was
no permanent international media presence in the country. Occasional
international reporting tended to focus on special events or human
interest stories.
The Ministry of Information strictly censored material viewed as
politically, culturally, or sexually offensive from all domestic and
imported publications. All content in both public and private print
outlets was subject to an official, nontransparent review and approval
process prior to publication.
Various media companies reportedly refused to publish articles by
journalists who previously criticized the Government; however, unlike
in 2007, there were no reports that the Government maintained an
alleged blacklist of journalists and writers whose work is not to be
published in the country. The authorities tolerated a limited degree of
criticism of policies, government officials, and agencies, particularly
via the Internet; however, such criticism rarely appeared in
traditional mass media.
The Government continued to use libel laws and concerns for
national security as grounds to suppress criticism of government
figures and politically objectionable views.
There were no major publishing houses in the country and very
little publication of books. The Government restricted the importation,
distribution, and publication of books as it restricted other media.
Internet Freedom.--The law restricted free speech via the Internet,
and the Government enforced the restrictions. The Government's national
telecommunications company made Internet access available for a fee to
citizens and foreign residents. Despite infrastructure increases, less
than 5 percent of the population had subscription Internet access
during the year; however, Internet access was widely available via
Internet cafes in urban areas.
The Government's telecommunications company restricted access to
numerous Web sites considered pornographic, culturally or politically
sensitive, or competitive with local telecommunications services. The
criteria for blocking Internet sites were not transparent. The
Government placed warnings on other Web sites that criticism of the
Sultan or personal criticism of government officials would be censored
and could lead to police questioning, which increased self-censorship.
The Government also monitored Internet communications and reportedly
questioned some chat room contributors who were critical of government
officials or policies, or whose postings precipitated criticism, after
tracking the contributors through their Internet service provider
addresses.
The country's former most popular chat room site, al-Sablah al-
Omania, remained closed at year's end. In January 2007 police arrested
the site's founder and 10 of his associates for publishing comments
critical of government officials. After a four-month trial, a court of
first instance acquitted the founder and three codefendants on charges
of slander but fined the six other defendants and sentenced one
defendant to one month in jail. Although several sites served as
replacements for al-Sablah, all were rigorously cautious concerning
content, and moderators reportedly quickly deleted potentially
offensive material.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted
academic freedom, particularly publishing or discussing controversial
matters such as domestic politics, through the threat of dismissal. As
a result, academics generally practiced self-censorship. There were no
reported cases during the year in which the Government dismissed an
academic on these grounds.
The appropriate government authority must approve all public
cultural events. Organizations avoided controversial issues, reportedly
due to belief that the authorities might not approve such events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for circumscribed freedom of assembly, and
the Government restricted the exercise of this right in practice. Prior
government approval was necessary for all public gatherings. The
authorities enforced this requirement with rare exceptions.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association ``for legitimate objectives and in a proper manner.'' The
Council of Ministers approves the establishment of nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs)--officially recognized as associations--to work on
a set of acceptable issues, including women, children, the elderly,
persons with disabilities, the environment, and others approved by the
council. The council limited freedom of association in practice by
prohibiting associations whose activities were deemed ``inimical to the
social order'' or otherwise not appropriate and did not license groups
regarded as a threat to the predominant social and political views or
the interests of the country. Associations must also register with the
Ministry of Social Development, which approves association bylaws. The
average time required to receive approval and register an association
was about two years. Formal registration of nationalit.--based
associations was limited to one association for each nationality.
Women's associations were able to register somewhat faster than
other organizations because women's associations only have to register
with the Ministry of Social Development and do not have to be approved
by the Council of Ministers.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for the freedom to
practice religious rites as long as doing so does not disrupt public
order. The Government generally respected this right, but within
defined parameters that placed limitations on the right in practice.
The law provides that Islam is the state religion and that Shari'a is
the source of legislation. Most citizens were Ibadhi or Sunni Muslims,
with some Shia and a few non-Muslim citizens. The Government permitted
worship by non-Muslim residents. All religious organizations must be
registered with the Government.
Non-Muslims were free to worship at churches and temples built on
land donated by the Sultan. In 2006 the Government formally prohibited
religious gatherings in locations other than government-approved houses
of worship and mandated that non-Islamic institutions receive approval
from the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs (MERA) prior to
issuing publications within their communities. The Government enforced
the prohibition on places of worship only if there was a specific
complaint, and it generally did not review religious publications prior
to their dissemination.
Islam was taught from a cultural and historical perspective in
public and private schools, and Islamic studies were mandatory for
Muslim students. Non-Muslim students in both systems were exempt from
this requirement, and many private schools provided alternate religious
studies instruction.
The law does not prohibit proselytizing, but the MERA can stop
individuals or groups from engaging in proselytizing if the ministry
receives complaints. The Government may use immigration regulations and
laws against harassment to enforce the ministry's policy.
The MERA monitored sermons at mosques to ensure imams did not
discuss political topics or instigate religious hatred or divisions.
The Government expected all imams to preach sermons within the
parameters of standardized texts distributed monthly by the ministry.
Imams may be suspended or dismissed for exceeding government
boundaries; however, there were no reported suspensions or dismissals
during the year. The Government monitored but did not attempt to
control the content of sermons in non-Islamic communities.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal violence or harassment against members of religious groups;
however, anti-Semitism was present in the media. There was no Jewish
population and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts or public
statements by community or national leaders that vilified Jews.
However, anti-Semitic editorial cartoons depicting stereotypical and
negative images of Jews, along with Jewish symbols, were published
during the year. These expressions occurred primarily in the privately
owned daily newspaper Al-Watan without government response.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country and repatriation, and the Government
respected these rights in practice. The law does not specifically
provide for foreign travel or emigration; however, the Government
generally respected these rights in practice. The Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) did not visit the country during the
year, and the UNHCR did not maintain an office or personnel in the
country. The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reported
cases during the year.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, although the
country is not party to either the convention or the protocol. The ROP
is responsible for determining refugee status but did not accept
refugees for resettlement during the year. The ROP's system for
granting refugees was not transparent, and the law does not specify a
time frame in which the ROP must adjudicate a resettlement application.
In practice the Government did not provide protection against the
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened. Tight control over the entry of foreigners effectively
limited refugees and prospective asylum seekers. Authorities
apprehended and deported hundreds of Somalis, Yemenis, Ethiopians, and
Eritreans, who sought to enter the country illegally by land and sea in
the south, and Afghans and Pakistanis, who generally came to the
country by boat via Iran in the north. Authorities generally detained
these persons in centers in Salalah or the northern port city of Sohar,
where they stayed an average of one month before being deported to
their countries of origin.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens with the right to change their
government. The Sultan retains ultimate authority on all foreign and
domestic issues.
Elections and Political Participation.--In October 2007 more than
60 percent of almost 400,000 registered voters participated in
elections for the Consultative Council, which has no formal legislative
powers. Electoral commissions reviewed potential candidates against a
set of educational and character criteria before allowing candidates'
names on the ballot. There were no notable or widespread allegations of
fraud or improper government interference in the voting process.
Although the Government did not permit independent monitoring of the
elections, the Ministry of Information invited foreign journalists to
cover the voting in several locations throughout the country.
The law does not provide for political parties.
There were 14 women in the 154-seat Council of Oman, comprising the
Consultative Council, whose members are elected, and the State Council,
whose members are appointed by the Sultan. There were four appointed
female ministers, three of whom served in the 32-member cabinet.
The Council of Oman and the Cabinet of Ministers were composed of
representatives from a variety of linguistic, religious, racial, and
other backgrounds.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of
government corruption during the year.
The law does not provide public access to government information;
however, all royal decrees and ministerial decisions were published for
public access.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The Government restricted NGO activity. There were no registered
domestic human rights NGOs or fully autonomous human rights groups in
the country. On November 16, the Government established a human rights
commission to protect and report on human rights via the State Council
to the Sultan.
No association may receive funding from an international group
without government approval. Individuals convicted of doing so could
receive up to six months in jail and a 500-rial (approximately $1,310)
fine. Heads of domestic NGOs reported that the Government periodically
asked to review their financial records to confirm sources of funding
and required NGOs to inform the Government of any meetings with foreign
organizations or diplomatic missions.
In 2006 there were reports that the Government threatened an
activist involved in a foreign-registered organization with arrest or
loss of government employment or scholarships. There were no further
reports of this practice during the year.
The Government allowed several international organizations to work
in the country without interference, including the UN Children's Fund,
the World Health Organization, and the International Labor Organization
(ILO).
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination against citizens on the basis of
gender, ethnic origin, race, language, religion, place of residence,
and social class. However, the Government did not effectively enforce
the law, and discrimination of various types existed.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, with penalties of up to 15 years
in prison, but it does not criminalize spousal rape. The Government
generally enforced the law when cases were reported; however, cultural
and societal influences may have prevented many women from reporting
rape. As a result, there was no estimate of the extent of the problem.
Foreign nationals working as housemaids occasionally reported that they
had been raped by their sponsors or by employees of labor recruitment
agencies. According to officials in foreign missions, police
investigations resulted in few rape convictions; sponsors repatriated
most of the women who made the allegations.
The law does not specifically address domestic violence. Assault,
battery, and aggravated assault carry a maximum sentence of three years
in prison. Allegations of spousal abuse in civil courts handling family
law cases were reportedly common. Victims of domestic violence may file
a complaint with the police; however, due to cultural and societal
customs, women often sought private family intervention to protect them
from violent domestic situations. Authorities enforced the law when
they were aware that such crimes had occurred.
According to a 2006 report by the World Health Organization, female
genital mutilation (FGM) occurred in rural areas to a limited extent.
There is no law prohibiting FGM, but the Ministry of Health prohibited
doctors from performing the procedure in hospitals. The problem
remained sensitive and was not discussed publicly. Planners at the
Ministry of Health have not taken action to eliminate FGM.
Prostitution was illegal. However, observers reported that, despite
strict cultural norms and immigration controls, women from Eastern
Europe, South Asia, North Africa, and China engaged in prostitution.
Despite legal and some social progress, including the appointment
of women as ministers, ambassadors, and senior government officials,
women continued to face many forms of discrimination. Aspects of
Islamic law and tradition as interpreted in the country discriminated
against women. The law favors male heirs in adjudicating inheritance.
Many women were reluctant to take an inheritance dispute to court for
fear of alienating the family. Women married to noncitizens may not
transmit citizenship to their children.
Although women may own property, government officials applied
different standards to female applicants for housing loans, resulting
in fewer approvals for women. On November 16, the Government enacted
new laws to equalize the treatment of men and women in receiving free
government land for housing. Illiteracy among women 45 and older
hampered their ability to own property, participate in the modern
sector of the economy, or educate themselves about their rights.
Government policy provided women with equal opportunities for
education, and educated women have attained positions of authority in
government, business, and the media; however, many women still faced
job discrimination based on cultural norms. In both the public and
private sectors, women were entitled to maternity leave and equal pay
for equal work. The Government, the country's largest employer of
women, observed such regulations, as did many private sector employers.
The Ministry of Social Development is the umbrella ministry for
women's affairs. The ministry provided support for women's economic
development through the Oman Women's Association and local community
development centers.
Children.--The Government is committed to the rights and welfare of
children in Oman. Primary school education for children, including
noncitizen children, was free and universal but not compulsory.
There were no public reports of violence against children; however,
FGM allegedly was performed on some girls ages one to nine.
Trafficking in Persons.--On November 24, the Government enacted a
law that prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons. Trafficking
remained a problem in the country. The law establishes the ``National
Committee for Combating Trafficking in Persons'' under the leadership
of a government minister.
The sultanate was a destination and transit country for men and
women trafficked primarily from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka,
Indonesia, and the Philippines, some of whom became victims when they
were subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude as domestic
workers and laborers. It was also a destination country for women from
the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, India, Morocco, and
Eastern Europe for commercial sexual exploitation.
During a 2006 fact-finding visit, the UN special rapporteur (UNSR)
for trafficking in persons received reports that some local recruitment
agencies brought domestic servants and laborers to the country under
fictitious contracts and sometimes confiscated passports and other
labor documents.
Persons convicted on trafficking charges face three to 15 years in
prison and fines of 5,000 to 100,000 rials (approximately $13,000 to
$260,000). The Government arrested, prosecuted, and punished
individuals in at least two prostitution cases during the year.
The MOM, ROP, and public prosecutor's office are primarily
responsible for combating trafficking. The Government worked with
foreign governments to prevent trafficking in persons. For example, the
Government signed a memorandum of understanding with India regarding
the treatment of its expatriate workers in Oman and also worked with
sending countries to identify and prosecute recruitment agencies
involved in trafficking.
During the year the MOM employed new labor inspectors trained by
the ILO to identify victims of trafficking in persons and began more
rigorous inspections of privately owned companies in the country. The
Government continued to operate a 24-hour hot line to register
complaints from potential victims and held training sessions for MOM
officials on trafficking and forced labor during the year.
The State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report can be found
at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides persons with
disabilities the same rights prescribed for other citizens, although a
February 2007 report by the UNSR on disabilities identified a lack of
protective legislation to ensure equal educational opportunities.
Although there were no reports of government discrimination against
persons with disabilities, the Government did not effectively enforce
the law, and persons with disabilities faced societal discrimination.
The law mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities.
Access to buildings is sometimes possible, but persons with
disabilities still face challenges and many older buildings and
historical sites were not retrofitted to conform to the law. The law
also requires private enterprises employing more than 50 persons to
reserve at least 2 percent of positions for persons with disabilities.
In practice this regulation was not widely enforced.
The Ministry of Social Development is responsible for protecting
the rights of persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Education
initiated programs in the Muscat area during the year to reintegrate
students with disabilities into the mainstream education system.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The penal code
criminalizes homosexuality, with a jail term of six months to three
years; however, there were no reports of prosecutions for homosexual
conduct during the year.
There were no reports of discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--In 2006 the Government officially
recognized workers' rights to form unions and a general federation to
represent unions in regional and international fora. Members of the
armed forces, public security institutions, government employees, and
domestic workers are prohibited from forming or joining unions. At
year's end, according to the MOM, workers had formed 58 unions at the
enterprise level.
Workers have the right to strike; however, they must give employers
three weeks' notice of intent to strike. In May 2007 workers at the
Port of Salalah went on strike demanding higher wages and changes to
policies covering health and safety. The MOM declared the strike
illegal because workers had not provided sufficient advance
notification. The strike ended after one day with most of the striking
workers returning to their jobs, and the parties subsequently achieved
a negotiated settlement.
Some government control over union activities remained. The law
prohibits accepting grants or financial assistance from any source
without the MOM's prior approval. The Government also requires unions
to register.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
for collective bargaining, and regulations require employers to engage
in collective bargaining on the terms and conditions of employment,
including wages and hours of work. The law prohibits employers from
firing or imposing penalties for union activity.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including of children; however, there were
reports that adult forced labor occurred.
At times foreign workers were reportedly placed in situations
amounting to forced labor. In 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that foreign
workers may change employers without first receiving permission from
their original sponsor. However, some employers of domestic workers
continued to withhold documents releasing them from employment
contracts or demanded release fees totaling as much as 600 rials
(approximately $1,560) before allowing them to change employers.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits all child labor; the minimum age for employment is 15
years, or 18 for certain hazardous occupations. Children 15 to 18 may
only work between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Minors are prohibited
from working for more than six hours per day, on weekends, or on
holidays. The MOM generally enforced the law effectively; however, in
practice, enforcement often did not extend to small family businesses
that employed underage children, particularly in the agricultural and
fishing sectors.
Child labor did not exist in any formal industry. As a cultural
practice, Bedouin children voluntarily participated in camel racing for
their families. The Government continued one-year increases in the
minimum age of camel riders; the 1.--year minimum is scheduled to be
achieved in 2009.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage for citizens of
140 rials (approximately $364) per month did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. Further, minimum wage
regulations did not apply to a variety of occupations and businesses,
including small businesses that employed fewer than five persons,
dependent family members working for a family firm, and some categories
of manual labor. There is no minimum wage for foreign workers. There
were reports that migrant laborers in some firms and households worked
more than 12-hour days for as little as 30 rials ($78) per month. The
MOM effectively enforced the minimum wage for citizens.
The private sector workweek was 40 to 45 hours and included a rest
period from Thursday afternoon through Friday. Government workers had a
35-hour workweek. Although the law does not designate the number of
days in a workweek, it requires at least one 24-hour rest period per
week and mandates overtime pay for hours in excess of 48 per week.
Government regulations regarding hours of employment were not always
enforced, especially for foreign workers. Employees who worked extra
hours without compensation could file a complaint with the MOM's
Directorate of Labor Care.
The law states that an employee may remove himself or herself from
dangerous work without jeopardy to continued employment if the employer
knew about the danger and did not implement corrective measures.
Employees covered under the labor law may recover compensation for job-
related injury or illness through employer-provided medical insurance.
Domestic workers are not covered under the labor law, but separate
domestic employment regulations obligate the employer to provide
domestic workers with local medical treatment free of charge throughout
the contract period. Medical professionals reported that some employers
did not provide low-skilled, migrant workers with medical insurance or
provided them with coverage as low as five rials (approximately $13)
per month with any excess costs deducted from their salaries.
Inspectors from the Department of Health and Safety of the Labor Care
Directorate generally enforced the health and safety standard codes and
made regular onsite inspections as required by law.
__________
QATAR
Qatar is a constitutional monarchy headed by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin
Khalifa Al-Thani. The population is approximately 1.7 million, of whom
approximately 225,000 are citizens. The Emir exercises full executive
power. The 2005 constitution provides for continued hereditary rule by
the Emir's male branch of the Al-Thani family. Shari'a (Islamic law) is
a main source of legislation. The Emir ultimately approves or rejects
legislation after a process of consultation with the appointed 35-
member Advisory Council and cabinet, formalized by the constitution.
There are no elections for national leadership and political parties
are forbidden by law. In 2007 citizens elected the 29 members of the
Central Municipal Council. Monitoring by the government-appointed
National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and informal observations by
diplomatic missions noted no apparent irregularities. The civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
Citizens lacked the right to change the leadership of their
government by direct ballot. There were prolonged detentions in
overcrowded and harsh facilities, often ending in deportation. The
Government placed varying restrictions on civil liberties, including
freedoms of speech, press (including the Internet), assembly,
association, and religion. Foreign laborers faced restrictions on
foreign travel. Trafficking in persons, primarily in the labor and
domestic worker sectors, was a problem. Cultural discrimination against
women limited their full participation in society. The unresolved legal
status of ``Bidoons'' (Arabic for ``without'' meaning ``without
citizenship"; stateless persons with residency ties) resulted in
discrimination against these noncitizens. Worker rights were severely
restricted, especially for foreign laborers and domestic servants.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and the law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Documentation of abuses was very limited due partly to hesitancy of
alleged victims to make public claims of torture or abuse.
During the year the Government conducted training for law
enforcement and military personnel focusing on the prohibition of
torture. A 2006 UN Committee Against Torture report questioned the
country's implementation of its obligations under the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, citing the lack of a comprehensive definition of torture in
domestic law and the absence of training and education for law
enforcement, medical personnel, and public officials about the
prohibition. However, under the constitution, the terms of all
international agreements ratified by the Government become domestic
law, and the Government considers its definition of torture to be the
one contained in the UN convention. During the year the Government
conducted training for law enforcement and other personnel about the
prohibition on torture. The Government did not submit a report by
February 10 as required under the convention.
There were no developments in the 2006 case of an Indian citizen
who alleged that police intentionally burned him with cigarettes during
interrogation. According to the NHRC, the Ministry of Interior (MOI)
investigated and filed charges against a police officer, and the
officer remained suspended at year's end pending trial.
The courts ordered corporal punishment (flogging) prescribed by
interpretation of Shari'a in cases of alcohol consumption. On April 18,
a court sentenced an Egyptian citizen to 40 lashes after he confessed
to driving while drunk. On appeal, this type of sentence was typically
reduced to a fine. Authorities did not carry out corporal punishment
during the year.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The NHRC conducted regular
visits to prisons, jails, and detention centers. Authorities informed
the NHRC of the citizenship of prisoners and allowed them to monitor
the length of time each prisoner was detained. Several embassies
reported, however, that notification of arrest was frequently delayed.
The NHRC and other sources reported an improvement in the conditions at
the Deportation Detention Center (DDC) during the year, including fewer
detainees (approximately 800-1,000 at any given time), and reduced
duration of detention (approximately two months). The Government
permitted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to
these prisoners in 2007. There were no requests for visits by
independent human rights observers during the year. The Government
granted regular access to the DDC and the central prison to staff from
several foreign embassies. The Government did not approve requests by
diplomatic representatives to visit the state security prison and
police detention centers.
In March authorities moved the Capital Police Detention Center
(CPDC) to a facility which offered improved conditions with beds and
separation according to sex. Citizen and noncitizen detainees were
housed together. After conviction, political prisoners were held with
the general prison population at the state security prison, where
conditions were generally better than at the central prison. Some men
and women awaiting civil or criminal trial as plaintiffs were held with
persons awaiting deportation at the DDC. Some pretrial detainees were
held with convicted prisoners at the central prison because of
overcrowding at the CPDC. The Ministry of Social Affairs had authority
over juvenile detainees, and held them separately under the supervision
of a social worker.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention. However, individuals may be detained at
the state security prison for indefinite periods under the 2002
Protection of Society Law and Antiterrorism Law. The NHRC reported that
authorities detained three persons during the year under the 2002 law.
Their status is unknown. There were an unknown number of reported cases
of individuals held for up to 30 days without charges in accordance
with the Protection of Society and Combating Terrorism Law. Processing
speed for deportations increased for most DDC detainees during the
year.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the military and internal police
forces. The police were under the authority of the MOI and were
generally regarded as effective by the population. The Government had
mechanisms to investigate abuse and corruption. During the year the
Government instituted training programs to prevent corruption and
torture by the police forces, which decreased reports of official
impunity.
Arrest and Detention.--The criminal law requires that persons be
apprehended openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence and
issued by a duly authorized official, be charged within 24 hours, and
be brought before a court without undue delay. The Protection of
Society and Combating Terrorism Law provides an exception which permits
detention without charges for up to two years (in six month periods
which can be extended) and allows detention for up to six months
without charges for investigation purposes, extendable indefinitely by
a special court order. Decisions taken under the Protection of Society
and Combating Terrorism Law may not be appealed in the courts. This law
empowers the minister of interior to detain a defendant for crimes
related to national security, honor, or impudence upon the
recommendation of the director general of public security. The prime
minister adjudicates complaints against these detentions. This
provision was generally not used in practice.
In normal cases a judge may order a suspect released, remanded to
custody to await trial, held in pretrial detention pending
investigation, or released on bail. Although suspects are entitled to
bail (except in cases of violent crimes), it is used infrequently in
practice. Citizens are more likely to be granted bail than noncitizens.
Noncitizens charged with minor crimes can be released to their citizen
sponsor, although they are prohibited from leaving the country until
the case is resolved.
Judges may also extend pretrial detention for one month at a time
to allow authorities to conduct investigations. The accused is entitled
to legal representation throughout the process and prompt access to
family members in nonsecurity cases. There are provisions for state-
funded legal counsel for indigents in criminal cases, and this
requirement is generally honored in practice. Suspects detained under
the Protection of Society and Combating Terrorism Law generally were
afforded access to counsel, but access to family members was delayed
although eventually granted. Once prisoners are found guilty of state
security violations, they are held at the state security prison. In
2007 authorities released 18 persons detained under the Protection of
Society and Combating Terrorism Law. According to the NHRC, authorities
detained these individuals for five months while a public prosecutor
conducted an investigation, which did not result in charges. The
Government deported some of the detainees, while some remained in the
country.
Amnesty.--A committee within the MOI reviews individual cases for
possible leniency and makes recommendations to the Emir, who
customarily grants amnesties on religious holy days and other special
occasions. At the end of Ramadan the Emir granted amnesty to 85
prisoners, and to another 20 on National Human Rights Day.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice all judges were appointed
by Emiri decree, based on the recommendation of the chief justice.
Approximately 25 percent of the judges were foreign nationals dependent
on residence permits granted by the civil authorities. Prosecutors were
similarly appointed based upon the recommendation of the attorney
general. All judges held their positions at the discretion of the Emir.
The Supreme Judicial Council recommends candidates. There were no
reports of political or governmental interference in the courts.
Although the Emir has the ability to remove judges, he has never
exercised this power.
The law provides for a three-tiered court system: the courts of
first instance, appeals, and cassation. The courts of first instance
are the courts of justice (civil, criminal, and commercial). The court
of appeals hears appeals of decisions from the courts of first
instance. Separate Shari'a courts were eliminated in 2003, although
Shari'a law still governs family cases heard by the civil courts. The
Court of Cassation has four chambers, two for the appeals of civil
cases, and two for the appeals of criminal cases. It hears cases from
the appeals court that may have been contradictory to established law
or where the law may have been mistakenly interpreted. The Court of
Cassation is the court of final appeal, except on constitutional
matters. A separate constitutional court rules on disputes related to
the constitutionality of laws and rules and the jurisdiction of lower
courts.
An administrative court of at least one circuit exists within each
of the three tiers (first instance, appeal, and cassation). Each
circuit consists of three judges and is the sole party concerned with
settling administrative disputes between government entities.
There are no provisions in the law for the establishment of
security tribunals. The established court system would handle such
cases. The constitution provides for the establishment of military
tribunals, but their use is restricted to periods of martial law, and
only military crimes committed by the armed forces and the security
forces may come before such tribunals.
There are provisions for nonjudicial proceedings for administrative
discipline of military and security personnel. No such proceedings were
reported during the year.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial
for all citizens, and the judiciary generally enforced this right.
Although separate Shari'a courts have been eliminated, women were
denied equal status in certain civil proceedings through the
application of Shari'a.
Both Muslim and non-Muslim litigants are tried under the unified
court system, regardless of citizenship. All courts are united under
the Supreme Judicial Council, which regulates the judiciary. Trials are
by jury and open to the public, but the presiding judge can close the
courtroom to the public if the case is deemed sensitive. In October the
Court of Cassation limited the media's access to courts by requiring
journalists to obtain a judge's permission to attend. All sentences
were announced in public.
Lawyers prepare litigants and speak for them during the hearing.
Non-Arabic speakers are provided interpreters. Defendants are entitled
to legal representation throughout the trial and pretrial process. In
matters involving religious issues, Shia and Sunni judges may apply
their interpretations for their respective group. There was an adequate
number of both Shia and Sunni judges.
The Government increased the number of judges and prosecutors
during the year to address delays in the processing of criminal cases.
Felony cases were completed within four to six months of detention, and
misdemeanor cases within one to two months of citation. Defendants have
the right to be present and the right of appeal. Their attorneys have
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases, once the
case has been filed in the court. Defendants may consult with an
attorney in a timely manner.
Defendants have the right to confront and question witnesses
against them and present witnesses and evidence on their behalf. The
law provides defendants the presumption of innocence; in practice,
however, those charged with a crime carry the burden of disproving the
charge against them at trial.
The fee for appealing to the Court of Cassation is high, and
constitutes a restriction on the right to appeal. The appellant must
deposit 20,000 riyals (approximately $5,500) for the appeal if the case
was decided by the court of appeals and 5,000 riyals ($1,375) if the
case was decided by the court of first instance. An appeal to the court
of appeals costs 1,000 riyals ($364). Litigants must deposit 10,000
riyals ($2,750) for an appeal to the Constitutional Court. Sums may be
seized, in whole or in part, should the court decide to reject the
appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Of the 37 individuals convicted
in the 1996 planned counter-coup, 19 received death sentences and 18
were sentenced to life in prison. Of the 37, 27 remained in prison at
the end of the year. The Emir ordered nine of the individuals to be
released in 2007 reportedly for health reasons, including a member of
the ruling family sentenced to death. The Government permitted the ICRC
access to these prisoners in 2007. In July authorities released a Saudi
member of the group following efforts by the Saudi government to secure
his release.
In July 2007 the Government released a reform activist held in
detention for four months for inciting women to protest publicly.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law and judiciary
generally permit persons with civil grievances to seek redress in the
court system, although the judiciary is not impartial and independent
in practice, as judgments tend to favor citizens. The law specifies a
number of circumstances in which a judge must be removed from a case
for conflict of interest, and these were observed in practice. There
are civil and criminal remedies available for those seeking damages
for, or cessation of, human rights violations, but no cases were
reported during the year. In 2006 a laborer brought a lawsuit against
his sponsor for suppression of the right of freedom of movement. The
resolution of the case remained unknown at year's end.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the criminal procedures code
prohibit such actions, and the Government generally respected these
prohibitions in practice. Traditional attitudes of respect for the
sanctity of the home and the privacy of women provided protection
against arbitrary intrusion for both citizens and noncitizens. Judicial
authorities must grant warrants before police may search a residence or
business, except in cases involving national security or emergencies,
of which there were none reported during the year. Police and security
forces were believed to monitor telephone calls and e-mails,
particularly when an individual was suspected of a crime.
Citizens must obtain government permission to marry foreigners and
may apply for residence permits or citizenship for their spouses. Such
permission generally was granted. The nationality law allows for both
males and females to apply for citizenship for their spouses.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press in accordance with the law, but the
Government limited these rights in practice. Journalists and publishers
continued to self-censor due to political and economic pressures when
reporting on government policies, material deemed hostile to Islam, the
ruling family, and relations with neighboring states. There were
reports that security authorities threatened both individuals and
organizations against publishing certain articles. According to a
regional human rights organization, interference of media owners in the
content of media material was prevalent. Journalists reported that they
were forbidden by their editors from printing the names of specific
companies involved in labor cases.
The 1979 Press and Publications Law provides for criminal penalties
and jail sentences for libel and slander, including injury to dignity,
as well as for closure and confiscation of assets of the publication.
All cases involving the media fall under the jurisdiction of the
criminal courts.
In December 2007 the Emir established the Doha Centre for Media
Freedom to protect threatened journalists and promote the free flow of
news and information around the world. In June the center provided
refuge for an Afghan journalist whose life was threatened for her
reporting. In November the center provided refuge for a Somali
journalist who had received death threats for her reporting on Somali
television.
On May 22, a court sentenced Jordanian journalist Amal Eisa in
absentia to three years in prison for defamation after she wrote a
story about a case of medical malpractice at government-owned Hamad
Hospital. The court also fined her editor 20,000 riyals (approximately
$5,500).
In October authorities arrested and detained Gulf Times reporter
Peter Townson on charges of ``spreading racial hatred'' and bringing
the country ``disrepute'' after he filed stories on family day policies
that prevent Asian laborers from entering entertainment areas on
certain days. The Doha Centre for Media Freedom intervened in the case,
but it remained unresolved at year's end.
According to a 2007 Freedom House report, a court sentenced a
noncitizen journalist to one year in prison for slandering a citizen.
Citizens publicly discussed sensitive political and religious
issues. The much larger foreign population, however, did not express
itself on sensitive topics. The Government did not prosecute anyone for
expression of views. During the year the government-supported Qatar
Foundation continued to fund the ``Doha Debates,'' a series of public
debates broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
featuring citizens and noncitizens speaking about internationally
controversial topics. In January a debate about the policies of Arab
countries in Darfur was held in which several participants criticized
the policy of the Government. In November debate participants drew
attention to the challenges facing migrant workers throughout the
region.
While the seven daily newspapers are not state-owned, owners are
members of the ruling family or have close ties to government
officials. The Government reviewed and censored foreign newspapers and
magazines for objectionable sexual, religious, and political content.
In 2007 several citizens whose writings appeared in regional and
international media outside of the country reported that authorities
deliberately banned their work in the local press. Authorities lifted
these bans during the year.
The censorship office in the Qatar Radio and Television Corporation
(QRTC) and customs officials censored material. There were no specific
reports of political censorship of foreign broadcast news media or
foreign programs, although foreign movies were censored. A division of
the QRTC, Qatar Media Services, buys books and screens them for
suitability before allowing them to be sold in the country.
State-owned television and radio reflected government views.
However, callers to the state-owned radio station's popular morning
show frequently discussed topics such as government inefficiency and
the lack of responsiveness to citizens' needs.
Doha-based Arabic language Al-Jazeera satellite television network
focused coverage and commentary on international news topics. Al-
Jazeera and the Government claimed that the channel was independent and
free of government influence, but the Government exercised editorial
and programmatic control on the channel through its supply of funding
to the network and its influence on the selection of the station's
management. Al-Jazeera covered local news when there was an
international component. Al-Jazeera English covered in-depth some
government policies, particularly labor practices. In August 2007 the
channel aired an investigative documentary entitled, ``Blood, Sweat,
and Tears,'' which highlighted forced labor practices in the Gulf, with
several references to Qatar. The documentary was also shown on the Al-
Jazeera Arabic channel and rebroadcast during the year.
Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet and censored the Internet for
political, religious, and pornographic content through a proxy server,
which monitored and blocked Web sites, e-mail, and chat rooms through
the state-owned Internet service provider. For example, the Government
blocked access to the Arab Times, an Aral-American online newspaper,
which at times published articles critical of the Government.
Authorities also blocked other sites such as boingboing.net, a
technology and fashion site. A user who believed that a site was
censored mistakenly could submit the web address to have the site
reviewed for suitability; however, there were no reports that Web sites
were unblocked using this procedure. According to 2007 International
Telecommunication Union data, there were an estimated 87,000
subscribers and 351,000 users of the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The constitution provides
for freedom of opinion and scientific research. In practice, the
Government generally permitted academic freedom, although instructors
at Qatar University noted that they often exercised self-censorship.
Instructors at the foreign-based universities operating in the country
reported enjoying academic freedom. There were no reported government
restrictions on cultural events, although some groups organizing
cultural events reported that they exercised self-censorship.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for, but regulates, freedom of
assembly; however, a number of restrictions and conditions must be met
in order to acquire a permit. For example, the permission of the
director general of public security must be obtained, and his decision
is not subject to appeal. During the year the Government granted
permission for a public demonstration in opposition to Israeli actions
in the Gaza Strip. A group that organized an Indian cultural event
reported that the Government promptly granted an event permit after the
group disclosed the time, purpose, and number of participants.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to
form societies, defined by the Advisory Council as professional
societies. A number of professional societies exist, but the conditions
placed on forming such associations severely limited this right in
practice. The law imposes strict conditions on the establishment,
management, and function of professional societies. They are prohibited
from engaging in political matters and must obtain approval from the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which can deny their
establishment if deemed a threat to the public interest. In the case of
professional societies, they must pay 50,000 riyals (approximately
$13,740) in licensing fees and 10,000 riyals ($2,750) in annual fees.
There is a requirement for frequent reregistration. Registrations are
valid for a three-year period, after which they must register again and
again pay the same fees. The law allows noncitizens to participate in
private societies only in cases where their participation is deemed
necessary to the work of the society. However, the prime minister must
approve their participation, and their number cannot exceed 20 percent
of the total membership.
Since 2004, 15 societies have been approved. An additional 29 were
under consideration at year's end, including five new ones that applied
for registration during the year. In 2007 the ministry approved one
request for a nongovernmental human rights organization designed to
support persons with disabilities. Applications first submitted in 2005
(applications must be resubmitted yearly) to establish a journalists'
association and a teachers' association were pending at year's end.
Informal organizations, such as community support groups and
activity clubs, operated without registration; however, they may not
engage in activities that could be deemed ``political.'' The
regulations prohibit international affiliation of associations.
A 2006 law regarding the establishment of ``private establishments
having public interest'' allows for relaxed requirements for the
formation of independent local and international nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) in the country. Although untested, as written, the
law allows the registration of independent NGOs without the
administrative hurdles and monetary requirements of the previously
enacted law governing the formation of professional societies.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
worship and forbids discrimination based on religion in accordance with
the law and the requirements of protecting the public order and
morality; however, the Government continued to prohibit proselytizing
by non-Muslims and placed some restrictions on public worship. Among
non-Muslims, only Christians have requested and been allowed to rent
space for public worship. In May the Ministry of Justice established a
registration procedure for Christian marriages performed by registered
churches in the country. Adherents of other faiths may privately
practice their religion without harassment.
The state religion is Islam. Both Sunni and Shia Muslims practiced
Islam freely. Shia Muslims (approximately 10 percent of the citizen
population) organized traditional Shia ceremonies and performed rites
in their own mosques because they chose not to perform them publicly.
The Government allowed Shia to build and decorate Shia mosques without
restriction, and Shia were well represented in the Government and
business communities.
The Government and the ruling family are linked inextricably to
Islamic institutions and practices. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs
administers the construction of mosques, clerical affairs, and Islamic
education for adults and new converts. The Ministry of Education
administers Islamic education in the public schools. The Emir
participated in public prayers during both Eid holiday periods and
personally financed the Hajj journeys of poor pilgrims.
From May 13 to 15, the sixth Conference for Religious Dialogue took
place in Doha. Representatives from the three largest monotheistic
religions--Christianity, Islam, and Judaism--were invited. Invitations
were extended to the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Coptic
Church, Middle East Churches Council, Orthodox Church, the Vatican, and
Jewish rabbis, among others. Rabbis and religious scholars from several
foreign countries delivered speeches and participated in panel
discussions.
There was no prohibition of or action to discourage specific
religions or religious factions. The Government provided legal status
to Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, and many Indian
Christian churches. The Government allowed recognized congregations to
open bank accounts and sponsor clergy for visas. Construction continued
on five Christian churches on property leased from the Government. On
March 15, at an event attended by the deputy prime minister, a Roman
Catholic Church was consecrated and opened to the public. Hindus,
Buddhists, Baha'is, and members of other religious groups do not
operate as freely as Christian congregations.
Religious services were held without prior authorization from the
Government; however, congregations have been asked not to advertise
them in advance or use visible religious symbols such as outdoor
crosses.
According to the criminal law, individuals proselytizing on behalf
of an organization, society, or foundation, for any religion other than
Islam, may be sentenced to a prison term of up to 10 years.
Proselytizing on behalf of an individual for any religion other than
Islam can result in a sentence of up to five years. Individuals who
possess written or recorded materials or items that support or promote
missionary activity can be imprisoned for up to two years.
Converting to another religion from Islam is technically a capital
offense; however, there has been no execution or other punishment for
such an act.
Disclosure of religious affiliation is required when applying for a
passport or other identity documents; however, affiliation is not
reflected in the issued documents.
Islamic instruction was compulsory in public schools. While there
were no restrictions on non-Muslims providing private religious
instruction for children, most foreign children attended secular
private schools. There were no religious private schools.
The Government regulated the publication, importation, and
distribution of non-Islamic religious literature. Individuals were
allowed to import Bibles and other religious items for personal or
congregational use. Government officials only monitored Islamic
religious literature and copies of the Koran. Religious materials for
use at Christmas and Easter were readily available in local shops.
Bibles were not publicly available in local bookstores, either in
Arabic or English.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was no indigenous Jewish
community; the few Jews in the country were foreigners with no
restrictions on their traveling to or working in the country. On
occasion in response to political events and developments in the
region, some of the country's privately owned Arabic-language
newspapers carried cartoons depicting offensive caricatures of Jews and
Jewish symbols and editorial comparisons of Israeli leaders and Israel
to Hitler and the Nazis. These occurred primarily in the daily
newspapers, Al-Watan, Al-Sharq, Al-Arab, and Al-Raya, and drew no
government response. The Government does not officially collect or
publish statistical data on the religious affiliation of the
population.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for these
rights; the Government's practice, however, included notable
exceptions. The Government severely restricted in-country movement and
foreign travel for noncitizens. There were no reports that the Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asked the Government
to assist refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern.
The only restrictions on in-country movement for citizens concerned
sensitive military, oil, and industrial installations. However,
authorities restricted in-country movement of noncitizens, and
reportedly prevented groups of foreign workers from entering
entertainment areas in Doha on weekends and during certain periods
designated as ``family times.'' Arab and Western men were not barred
from entering the entertainment areas at any time.
The Protection of Society and Combating Terrorism Law allows the
Government to prevent some citizens from foreign travel. Men may
prevent adult female family members from leaving the country, but only
by seeking and securing a court order. No cases of women over the age
of 18 being prevented from traveling abroad were reported during the
year.
Official policy severely restricted foreign travel for expatriate
workers. Citizen employment sponsors frequently confiscated and held
the passports of their noncitizen workers, and they could not travel
outside of the country without their sponsor's permission and an exit
visa. The Government did not allow noncitizen custodial parents to take
their children out of the country without the permission of the citizen
parent.
The constitution prohibits internal and external forced exile of
citizens, and the Government respected this prohibition in practice.
The constitution provides citizens who have left the country the
right to return. Noncitizen women who were married to citizens were
granted residence permits and could apply for citizenship; however,
they were required to relinquish their foreign citizenship. There were
no restrictions on emigration from the country.
The Government occasionally revoked citizenship or passports for
political reasons, thereby restricting freedom of movement. According
to Amnesty USA, in 2007 the Government restored the citizenship of
approximately 2,000 persons, many of whom were members of the Al-Murrah
tribe. Some in this group alleged that authorities modified birth
documents to show birth outside of the country, eliminating their
eligibility to vote. In 2006 the Emir ordered the reinstatement of
citizenship for as many as 6,000 persons from the Al-Murrah tribe whose
citizenship the Government revoked in 2004 and 2005. By the end of 2007
the Government restored citizenship to all but approximately 200 of
those who had lost it.
Amnesty USA also reported several cases of denationalization of
individual citizens in 2007. Maher Ibrahim Mohamed Hanoon alleged that
the Government arbitrarily stripped him and his family of their
nationality in July 2007, leaving the family at risk of deportation.
In July 2007 the MOI stripped Abeer al-Tamimi and her children of
their citizenship and threatened her with deportation, according to
Amnesty USA. Because her children were vacationing in Jordan at the
time, authorities confiscated their passports at the Qatari Embassy in
Amman, separating the family for a long period of time.
Protection of Refugees.--The constitution prohibits the extradition
of political refugees; however, the country is not a party to the 1951
UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol,
and the Government has not established a system for providing
protection or status to refugees. There were no reports that the
Government closed its borders to asylum seekers. Individuals who were
able to obtain local sponsorship or employment were allowed to enter
and could remain as long as they were sponsored. They were not,
however, granted asylum status. Entries were generally based on
political or friendship ties.
The Government generally provided protection against refoulement,
the forcible return of a person to a country or territory where his
life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social group or political
opinion.
Stateless Persons.--The Government provides a legal means for long-
term residents to apply for and acquire citizenship; however, in
practice restrictions and uneven application of the law prevent
stateless persons from acquiring citizenship. The Nationality Law
allows noncitizen residents to apply for citizenship after residing in
the country 25 consecutive years, but only 50 may be granted per year,
and only a small number have been granted under this provision.
Citizenship is derived solely from the father. Women are not
permitted to transmit citizenship to their children, even if the child
is born in wedlock in the country. Women must obtain permission from
the authorities before marrying a foreign national, but they do not
lose nationality upon marriage. According to the UNHCR, there were
approximately 1,500 stateless Bidoons in the country. There were
reports of summary deportation orders issued against long-term
residents and Bidoons, although all family and economic ties remained
in the country. The Permanent Committee for Naturalization Affairs
commissioned a study during the year to determine the extent of these
practices.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution does not provide citizens the right to change
their government by direct ballot. However, it provides several methods
by which the Advisory Council may exercise significant influence over
ministries, such as by votes of no confidence. The constitution
provides for hereditary rule by the Emir's branch of the Al-Thani
family. The constitutional provision for the initiation of legislation
by the Advisory Council has not been implemented. The influence of
family and tribal traditions was strong, and the Government did not
permit political parties or opposition groups to organize.
Elections and Political Participation.--The Emir exercises full
executive powers, including appointment of cabinet members. In April
2007 citizens elected the 29 members of the third Central Municipal
Council to 4-year terms. The council advises the minister of municipal
affairs and agriculture on local issues such as street repair, green
space, trash collection, and public works projects for the entire
country. Informal observation by diplomatic missions noted no apparent
irregularities in these elections. Nearly 50 percent of the less than
50,000 eligible voters participated.
Approximately 75 percent of citizens could not vote in the 2007
municipal elections, as this right was limited to families that were in
the country prior to 1930. All citizens over 21 were permitted to run
for seats on the council, regardless of gender. The law also limits
political participation for persons whose citizenship was withdrawn but
subsequently restored. These persons are denied the right to candidacy
or nomination in any legislative body for a period of 10 years from the
date of restoration of their citizenship.
The law forbids formation of and membership in political parties.
In July the Emir postponed elections for the expanded 45-member
Advisory Council and extended the term of the current council for two
years.
Influence of traditional attitudes and roles continued to limit
women's participation in politics; however, some women served in public
office as: minister of health, minister of education; President of the
Permanent Election Committee; head of the General Authority for Health,
vice President of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) with
ministerial rank, head of the General Authority for Museums, and
President of Qatar University. Also, one woman served on the Central
Municipal Council.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; no cases of corruption involving
public officials were reported during the year. Public officials were
not subject to financial disclosure laws.
In December 2007 the Emir established the National Committee for
Accountability and Transparency. The committee is charged with
implementing articles of the UN Convention for Combating Corruption,
developing a national strategy to support transparency, implementing an
awareness campaign, investigating complaints from the public, managing
the state's properties, suggesting related legislation, and training
staff. In November the audit bureau reported that it had referred 26
cases involving private sector corruption in the administration of
government contracts to the public prosecutor during the year. These
prosecutions resulted in five convictions, with judgments in favor of
the Government totaling more than 23 million riyals (approximately $6.5
million).
The Government publishes its laws in the official gazette and some
information was available on the Internet. Although there is a
mechanism for individuals and private institutions to request this
information, budget, government expenditure, and draft law information
was generally not available.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
No international or independent domestic NGO or international
organizations focusing on human rights or humanitarian issues were
resident in the country. During the year representatives from the
Solidarity Center, the National Democratic Institute, and the American
Bar Association visited the country to meet with authorities and local
contacts.
In May 2007 the Secretary General of Amnesty International (AI)
participated in a BBC ``Doha Debate'' on the prevalence of torture and
whether it should be permitted under medical and judicial supervision
for the purpose of saving lives. During the visit, the Secretary
General publicly noted that the issue of statelessness related to the
Al-Murrah tribe is a key human rights problem. She credited the country
with the establishment of the NHRC but noted that it must be strong and
independent to be effective.
By law, domestic associations or NGOs may not engage in political
activity or be critical of the Government. One foreign NGO successfully
registered in 2007, and another began the process during the year.
The NHRC is an organization funded by the Government. An Emiri
decree established the NHRC in 2002 to investigate and improve local
human rights conditions. Its 12 members were all appointed by the
Government, five from government ministries and seven from civil
society. Since 2006 votes by government members do not count, but they
continue to participate in NHRC deliberations. The committee issued its
most recent report in 2006, and it was published in all local
newspapers and on the NHRC Web site. The NHRC did not issue a report
during the year. In September the Secretary General of the NHRC said
that the committee issues a quarterly report to the cabinet, to which
the Government does not generally respond cooperatively. He stated that
the NHRC handled 1,500 petitions during the preceding 12 months, one-
third of which were submitted by citizens and the rest by expatriate
workers.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on nationality,
race, language, religion, and disability. However, in practice
government actions were heavily influenced by local custom, and legal,
cultural, and institutional discrimination existed based on gender.
There were no reports of discrimination based on religious affiliation.
Noncitizens were afforded fewer rights under the law. There were no
reports of discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Women.--According to the Qatari Foundation for the Protection of
Women and Children (QFPWC), a quasigovernmental organization, domestic
violence against women was a problem. A total of 122 cases of domestic
abuse against women were reported to the foundation during the year.
According to the organization, the increase was due to greater
awareness among the community, the requirement that all health care
facilities report suspected abuse cases, and the use of the established
hotline system. There were no arrests or convictions for family
domestic violence among citizens publicized in the press, although
cases involving noncitizens appeared. The law criminalizes domestic
violence and rape but does not address spousal rape. There were cases
of rape publicized between foreigners, but none were reported involving
citizens. The penalty for rape is 10 years' imprisonment, or 14 years
if the victim is below the age of 16. If the perpetrator is the
teacher, guardian, or caregiver of the victim, the penalty is life
imprisonment. The Government's ability to enforce the law against rape
was hampered due to underreporting by victims who feared the social
stigma of being identified as a rape victim.
A Qatar University study found that 63 percent (out of 2,778
surveyed) of citizen and noncitizen female students at the university
reported they had been victims of physical abuse, with 52 reporting
cases of ``strong violence,'' such as rape, and 120 reporting sexual
harassment. Approximately 50 women reported they considered suicide
because they were afraid of the repercussions they would face should
they notify authorities.
In September 2007 the SCFA established a shelter under the
supervision of the QFPWC to accommodate abused women and children.
Since its opening, the shelter has accommodated 61 women and 73
children. The shelter provided a variety of services, including
financial assistance, legal aid, and psychological counseling.
The legal system allows leniency for a man found guilty of
committing a ``crime of honor,'' or a violent assault against a woman
for perceived immodesty or deviant behavior. Although not deemed an
honor killing by the court, in January 2007 the court of appeals
commuted the three-year imprisonment sentence of a Jordanian teenager
to one suspended year for killing his sister as the court stated that
there was no overwhelming evidence to prove that it was a case of
premeditated murder. The lower court observed that it could not be
termed a case of honor killing as the postmortem report proved the
victim was a virgin.
Sponsors sexually harassed and mistreated foreign domestic servants
in some cases. Most domestic servants did not press charges for fear of
losing their jobs. Sexual harassment is illegal and carries penalties
of imprisonment and/or fines. The Sri Lankan Embassy reported 700 cases
of sexual harassment against housemaids during the year, the majority
of them by citizen employers. When brought to the attention of the
authorities, the housemaids were often deported and no charges filed
against the employer. The Indonesian Embassy reported five cases of
alleged rape against housemaids during the year and an increase in the
number of complaints alleging physical abuse and sexual harassment.
Prostitution is illegal and was considered a problem by the
Government. Government officials reported an increasing number of cases
involving prostitution, but provided no information about the scale of
the problem.
The constitution asserts the principle of equality between citizens
in rights and responsibilities, and the Civil Service Law, the Housing
Law, and others consolidate this principle of equality. Traditions and
interpretation of Shari'a, however, placed some women at a disadvantage
in inheritance cases. The Government adhered to an interpretation of
Shari'a that recognizes Muslims have the automatic right to inherit
from their Muslim spouses. Non-Muslim spouses (invariably wives, since
Muslim women cannot legally marry non-Muslims) do not inherit unless
their spouse formally wills them a portion (up to one-third of the
total) of their estates. Similarly a Muslim husband does not
automatically inherit the property of a non-Muslim wife. Muslim wives
have the right to inherit from their husbands. The proportion that
women inherit depends upon their relationship to the deceased; however,
in the cases of siblings, sisters inherit only one-half as much as
their brothers.
In cases of divorce, young children usually remain with the mother,
regardless of her religion, unless she is found to be unfit. Male
children remain in the custody of the mother until 13 and females until
15. In certain conditions the court may extend the age of maternal
custody to 15 years for males and to the time of marriage for females.
As an exception, the mother retains custody of children with
disabilities with no age limit stipulated.
The law allows a female citizen married to a noncitizen man
residing in the country for the previous five years to benefit from the
Government housing system. Widows and divorced women may also benefit
if they have children and have not inherited a house from a deceased
husband. Unmarried males or females can benefit if they support
parents, brothers, and sisters or are above 35 years old. The law is
generally applied fairly in practice.
Women may attend court proceedings and may represent themselves,
but they were generally represented by a male relative. In cases
involving financial transactions, the testimony of two women equals
that of one man, but the courts routinely interpreted this requirement
on a cas.--b.--case basis. A non-Muslim woman is not required to
convert to Islam upon marriage to a Muslim, but many make a personal
decision to do so. Children born to a Muslim father are considered to
be Muslim.
According to the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, women
constituted approximately 13 percent of business owners in the country,
and served in the workforce as university professors, public school
teachers, and police. Women served as professionals in government
service, education, health, and private business. Women received equal
pay for equal work, but often did not receive equal allowances, which
generally covered transportation and housing costs.
The SCFA seeks to improve the status of women and the family under
both civil and Islamic law. The council contributed to a number of
national and international conferences, studies, and reports on the
status of women in the country. The council played an integral role in
the drafting of legislation affecting women and children. In December
the SCFA held its second conference on combating violence against
women, a subject once considered taboo in the country. The discussion
focused on the first-ever study of ``Violence against Women in Qatari
Society.''
Children.--The Government is committed to the welfare of citizen
children. The Government provided for a well-funded, free public
education system (elementary through university) and a complete medical
protection program. Education was compulsory for citizen children
through the age of 15 and was free through primary school (the
equivalent of ninth grade) for noncitizen children whose parents worked
in the Government sector. There was generally no difference in
attendance of girls and boys at the primary and secondary levels. Girls
constituted the majority of the students at post-secondary
institutions.
Medical care was available to noncitizen children for a nominal
fee. Officials routinely granted fee waivers to those parents who could
not pay for their child's care. Health care services were provided
equally for noncitizen girls and boys.
There was no societal pattern of child labor or abuse. There were
some cases of children who had suffered from various forms of family
violence and physical and sexual abuse. The QFPWC reported that 73
cases involving abuse of children were reported to the organization
during the year. In September five women were convicted and sentenced
to imprisonment for conspiring to purchase a child in another country
to bring to Qatar.
The government-funded Qatar Orphan Foundation provided shelter,
medical care and education to orphans from birth to 18 years of age.
The children are housed in a modern facility, segregated by age and
sex, with adult supervision and medical care provided. The foundation
seeks to place the orphans with citizen families, though there is no
provision for adoption under Islamic law.
The QFPWC maintained a children's hotline called the ``Friendly
Line'' for use by children and conducted awareness campaigns on the
rights of the child. The system allowed both citizen and noncitizen
children to call with questions and concerns ranging from school,
health, and psychological problems to concerns about sexual harassment.
This hotline was operated in conjunction with the family abuse hotline;
statistics on use were not available. During the year, the SCFA hosted
a conference focused on raising public awareness of children's issues.
Trafficking in Persons.--There is no specific antitrafficking law.
Provisions of the Sponsorship Law create conditions that could lead to
forced labor activities and slave-like conditions. Although the law
criminalizes many related practices, including slavery, forced labor
and forced prostitution prosecutions did not occur.
In 2007 the UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on Trafficking in Persons
noted that the country is a destination and, in some instances, transit
point for trafficking of migrant workers, mainly for forced labor as
low-skilled workers or domestic servants, including on camel farms and
for sexual exploitation. The UNSR criticized the sponsorship system as
an unjust arrangement that increases the vulnerability of foreign
migrant workers by rendering them dependent on their sponsors, thus
fostering demand for trafficking. The UNSR also raised concern that the
labor law excludes foreign domestic workers from protection and in
practice places them in a situation whereby their working conditions
are regulated as private matters. Contracts between domestic employees
and their employers were recognized and enforced by the courts.
Men and women from Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East travel
willingly to the country as laborers and domestic servants but often
subsequently face conditions of forced labor and physical and sexual
exploitation.
Some women and girls who traveled to the country voluntarily to
work were forced into prostitution by their economic circumstances.
Most often, victims were not prosecuted for prostitution; the
Government issued a deportation order and sent the women to the DDC.
Women and girls also traveled to the country to work as domestic
servants, where they were vulnerable to domestic servitude and physical
and sexual exploitation and unprotected by labor legislation. The
Indian Embassy reported that 236 maids had been forced into these
conditions in 2007.
Legislation guiding the sponsorship of foreign laborers created
conditions constituting forced labor or slavery. Under the law foreign
laborers were not allowed to leave the country without a signed exit
permit or change employment without a written release from their
sponsor. The dependence of foreign laborers on their employer for
residency rights and the inability to change employment or to travel
without the sponsor's permission left them vulnerable to abuse, arrest,
and deportation. Some sponsors intimidated and coerced foreign
employees to work for longer periods, reduced or withheld pay, and
commonly withheld passports and failed to obtain or renew residence
permits.
Authorities arrested workers without valid residence permits and
detained them at the DDC. There were between 800 and 1,000 detainees
awaiting deportation at the DDC at all times. During the year the
Ministry of State for Interior Affairs created a committee to reduce
the delays in deportation. The facility currently holds both detainees
waiting to be deported for criminal offenses and those awaiting
repatriation at the termination of their employment contracts. The
committee is planning a new facility that will house them separately.
Principal traffickers included individual employers, contractors,
and employment recruitment agencies. Most victims travel legally into
the country by means of recruiting agencies in their home countries,
but then subsequently face conditions of forced labor and trafficking
after they reach the country. Some workers are recruited for jobs in
the country but then abandoned by their recruiters upon arrival in the
country or by employers after the work is completed, making them even
more vulnerable to trafficking.
Violators of the law banning child camel jockeys may receive six
months' imprisonment or a fine of 3,000 riyals (approximately $825). In
cases involving the employment of minors, the punishment is three
years' imprisonment or a fine of approximately 10,000 riyals ($2,748).
There were no reported cases, and there have been no prosecutions under
this law.
Traffickers can be prosecuted under slavery or forced labor
articles of the Criminal Law of 2004, which bans forced or coerced
labor with penalties of up to seven years and a fine of no more than
10,000 riyals ($2,748). The criminal law also addresses crimes that
violate human liberty and sanctity (kidnapping) with penalties of
imprisonment up to 10 years.
The law specifically criminalizes the handling of money related to
trafficking of women and children.
No antitrafficking or related cases against employers or labor
recruitment agencies were prosecuted during the year, and there was no
indication that the Government assisted with international
investigations or extradited citizens who were accused of trafficking
in other countries.
While there is no evidence of institutional involvement by
government bodies or officials, some may own or operate companies that
subject their employees to forced labor conditions.
The country's antitrafficking prevention efforts continued during
the year. A government committee conducted visits to camel racing
tracks, the police services continued to incorporate antitrafficking
training into the basic training curriculum for police officers, and a
media campaign highlighted sponsors' responsibilities and resources
available to victims. In March the National Office to Combat
Trafficking in Persons (NOCTP) co-sponsored an international conference
that highlighted the migrant worker problem in the country and the
broader Gulf Cooperation Council countries. During the year the NOCTP
increased technical expertise in areas such as on-time payment of
wages, forced labor, and involuntary servitude.
In November the Qatar Foundation sponsored a Doha Debate on the
plight of migrant workers in the Gulf.
In 2005 the Government established a human rights department in the
MOI to receive and process victims of human rights abuses and
trafficking in persons. In March the director of this department stated
publicly that human trafficking does not constitute a problem in the
country.
In 2005 the Government opened a shelter for trafficking victims to
serve the needs of abused domestic workers, other laborers and
children. The shelter was managed by the National Trafficking in
Persons Coordinator, and referral by police or other government
agencies for access was no longer required. According to government
policy, any person facing criminal or immigration violations, i.e.
absconding, cannot be considered a victim by the shelter and will not
receive assistance. This policy continued to severely limit the
effectiveness of the shelter during the year.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law requires the allocation of
resources for persons with disabilities and prohibits discrimination
against such persons. The Government acts on complaints from
individuals and from the NHRC and enforces compliance. The law requires
that 2 percent of all jobs in government agencies and public
institutions be set aside for persons with disabilities. Private sector
businesses employing a minimum of 25 persons were required to hire
persons with disabilities. Employers who violated these employment
provisions were subject to fines. There were no reported cases during
the year.
The special rapporteur of the UN Commission for Social Development
on Disability, a citizen, noted in October 2007 that government schools
in the country provided 21 percent of the required services for their
students with disabilities, while the private and independent schools
in general provided 68 percent of the required services. The UNSR also
noted that there were only three public places in the country with the
required standards of accessibility for persons with disabilities, and
new buildings were not considering these standards. On July 12, the
Government ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. The SCFA was charged with ensuring compliance with the
rights and provisions mandated under the law; however, compliance was
not effectively enforced.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Government distinguished
between citizens and noncitizens in the areas of employment, education,
housing, and health services, but only to the extent that noncitizens
were required to pay for health care, electricity, water, and education
(services that were provided without charge to citizens). Noncitizens
were eligible for medical coverage at a nominal fee. Noncitizens
generally could not own property; however, the law provides for
property ownership in three designated areas. The largest noncitizen
groups were Indian, Nepalese, Sri Lankan, expatriate Arabs, Filipino,
Bangladeshi, Iranian, Pakistani, and Indonesian. In the private sector,
Iranians occupied some of the highest positions.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law prohibits same-
sex relations between both males and females. Penalties for adults
range from a maximum of seven to 15 years imprisonment. There were an
unknown number of cases before the court during the year. The verdict
in the 2006 case involving a male citizen and an Asian expatriate male
remained unknown at year's end.
There was discrimination against HIV patients. HIV-positive
foreigners, whose condition was typically diagnosed during their
medical examinations upon arriving in the country, were deported. HIV-
positive citizens were quarantined and received treatment.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The labor law and regulations provide
for the right of worker organizations for citizens over 18 years of age
in private enterprises with more than 100 citizen workers. In practice
the law makes union formation difficult. Noncitizens were not eligible
to form worker committees, and foreign workers could only be members of
joint labor-management committees. Those working in the Government
sector were prohibited from joining a union. The law and regulations
permit only the single General Union for the Workers of Qatar (composed
of various General Committees for the Workers in a trade or industry,
which are in turn made up of worker committees at individual firms) and
forbid affiliation with groups outside the country. There were no
worker committees, joint labor-management committees, general
committees, or a national trade union, and there were no reported
attempts to form them during the year.
The law grants workers the right to strike, but the restrictive
conditions imposed by the statute made the likelihood of a legal strike
extremely remote. Nevertheless, foreign workers staged at least 10
strikes during the year to seek redress and improvement in their work
situation from employers. Foreign embassies reported several cases in
which they intervened to prevent or settle strikes by their nationals
working in the country. They reported that the Government responded to
labor unrest by dispatching large numbers of police to the work sites
or labor camps involved, and that the strikes generally ended
peacefully after these shows of force. In most cases, the Government
summarily deported strike organizers. Government employees, domestic
servants, and those in the public utility, health, and security
services were prohibited from striking. These workers may legally seek
permission to hold a public gathering; however, none are known to have
occurred.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Under the labor
law, workers in private enterprises with more than 100 citizen workers
were granted the right to bargain collectively and to sign joint
agreements, i.e. agreements reached between employer and worker
regarding a work-related issue. The Government circumscribed the right
through control over the rules and procedures of the bargaining and
agreement processes. Collective bargaining was not freely practiced,
and there were no workers under collective bargaining contracts.
Private employers and workers set wages without government
involvement. Local courts handled disputes between workers and
employers; however, foreign workers avoided drawing attention to
problems with their employers for fear of retaliation and deportation.
According to resident embassies of foreign workers and some individual
migrant workers, the labor department was widely perceived to be
objective within its narrow mandate when dealing with the nonpayment of
wages. The labor department claimed that it resolved 80 percent of
worker complaints amicably with a very small percentage referred to the
labor courts for judgment. During the year the labor inspection
department increased its staff to 67, and trained inspectors who were
provided with the power of law enforcement. During the year they
conducted more than 17,000 inspections.
There were no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred, and the Government did not
enforce the law. Foreign workers in many cases were employed under
circumstances that constituted forced labor. According to government
figures, more than 85 percent of the workforce was comprised of foreign
workers who, entirely dependent on their employer for residency rights,
were vulnerable to abuse. For example, employers must give consent
before exit permits are issued to any foreign employee seeking to leave
the country. Some employers temporarily withheld this consent to force
foreign employees to work for longer periods than they wished.
Unskilled workers and domestic servants were particularly vulnerable to
nonpayment or late payment of wages.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits forced and compulsory labor by children, and the
Government generally enforced this prohibition. The labor law
stipulates the minimum age for employment as 16 years. The labor law
provides that minors between the ages of 16 and 18 can be employed with
parent or guardian permission, and some children worked in small,
family-owned businesses such as small markets or as office clerks.
Minors may not work more than six hours a day or more than 36 hours a
week. Employers must provide the labor department with the names and
occupations of their minor employees and obtain permission from the
Ministry of Education to hire a minor. The labor department may
prohibit the employment of minors in jobs that are judged dangerous to
the health, safety, or morals of minors.
Violators of the law banning child camel jockeys may receive six
months' imprisonment or a fine of approximately 3,000 riyals
(approximately $825). In cases involving the employment of minors, the
punishment is three years' imprisonment or a fine of approximately
10,000 riyals ($2,748). The Government effectively enforced this law
during the year.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Although the labor law provides
the Emir with authority to set a minimum wage, he did not do so. The
average wage of noncitizen workers did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. The law prescribes a 48-hour workweek
with a 24-hour rest period, although most government offices followed a
36-hour workweek. Employees who worked more than 48 hours per week or
36 hours per week during the holy month of Ramadan were entitled to
overtime pay. Government offices and major private sector companies
adhered to this law; however, it was often not observed with respect to
unskilled laborers and domestic and personal employees, the majority of
who were foreigners. Many such workers frequently worked seven days per
week and more than 12 hours per day with few or no holidays, no
overtime pay, and no effective means to redress grievances.
The rights of noncitizen workers continued to be severely
restricted. Some employers mistreated foreign domestic servants,
predominantly those from South Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Such mistreatment generally involved the nonpayment or late payment of
wages and in some cases involved rape and physical abuse. Some foreign
embassies provided temporary shelter for 48 hours to their nationals
who left their employers as a result of abuse or disputes before
transferring the case to local government officials. According to their
embassies, the majority of cases were resolved within 48 hours. Those
not resolved within 48 hours were transferred to the Criminal Evidence
and Investigation Department of the MOI for a maximum of seven days.
Cases not resolved within seven days were transferred to the labor
court, a special section of the first instance civil court.
The Nepalese Embassy reported that it received approximately 1,500
complaints during the year, the majority of which were related to
nonpayment of salaries, failure to pay overtime, and refusal to obtain
residence permits. No cases of sexual abuse or harassment were reported
by the Nepalese Embassy during the year. The Sri Lankan Embassy
received between 50 and 60 complaints per day. Complaints included
sexual harassment, delayed and nonpayment of salaries, forced labor,
contract switching, holding of passports, poor accommodation,
nonrepatriation, termination and deportation without cause, physical
torture or torment, overwork, imprisonment, and mistreatment. Abused
domestic servants usually did not press charges for fear of losing
their jobs. According to the Nepalese Embassy, 85 of its reported
280,000 nationals died. Heart attacks claimed 65, work-related
accidents 17, and suicides three. Local support groups believed that
authorities reported the cause of death as heart attacks to hide
workplace deaths. The Indonesian Embassy reported an increase in the
number of complaints for rape and physical abuse during the year,
including five allegations of rape.
The Government has enacted regulations regarding worker safety and
health, but enforcement, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of
Energy and Industry, the Ministry of Health, and the Labor Department,
while improving, was uneven due to insufficient training and lack of
personnel. Diplomatic representatives visited labor camps and found the
majority of unskilled foreign laborers living in cramped, dirty, and
hazardous conditions, often without running water, electricity, or
adequate food. The labor inspection department conducted a limited
number of random inspections of labor camps and when found to be below
minimum standards, the operators received a warning, after which
compliance was enforced. Statistics on the number of inspections were
not available, but most foreign labor attaches reported that most labor
camps in the country remained far below minimum standards. The
Indonesian Embassy reported good conditions at the three camps which
house its nationals, and that Embassy staff were permitted to visit on
a regular basis.
The Department of Public Safety oversaw safety training and
conditions, and the state-run petroleum company had its own safety
standards and procedures. The regulations listed partial and permanent
disabilities for which compensation may be awarded, some connected with
handling chemicals and petroleum products or construction injuries. The
law does not specifically set rates of payment and compensation. The
Government provided free medical treatment to workers who suffered
worK-related sickness or injuries.
Foreign workers may enter the country on a visitor's visa, but a
sponsor is needed to convert a visitor's visa to a work visa, and the
worker must have a sponsor's permission to depart the country. In
September the Ministry of Labor announced that it had punished or
warned 850 firms for violating the country's labor laws, although this
information could not be independently confirmed since journalists are
not permitted to print the names of firms alleged to have violated
labor laws. The ministry stated that raids against the firms had
uncovered violations of safety and health standards, nonpayment of
wages, and evidence of illegal employment. Those firms were prohibited
from importing labor until they entered into compliance with the law.
The law does not provide workers the specific right to remove
themselves from hazardous work conditions, and workers often hesitated
to do so for fear of dismissal. The law provides any worker with the
right to seek legal relief from onerous work conditions; however,
pursuing such relief risked deportation, and there were no reports of
workers seeking such relief during the year.
__________
SAUDI ARABIA
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the Al-Saud
family. The population is 28.2 million, including 5.8 million
foreigners. Since 2005, King Abdullah bin Abd Al Aziz Al-Saud has ruled
under the title Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a reference to his
responsibility for Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina. The
Government bases its legitimacy on its interpretation of Shari'a
(Islamic law) and the 1992 Basic Law. The Basic Law sets out the system
of governance, rights of citizens, and powers and duties of the
Government. The law also provides that the Koran and the Traditions
(Sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad serve as the country's constitution. In
2005 the country held male only elections on a nonparty basis for half
the members of municipal councils, the first elections for any
government position since 1963. The civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
During the year the following significant human rights problems
were reported: no right to change the Government peacefully; beatings;
judicially sanctioned corporal punishment; impunity, particularly on
the part of the religious police; denial of public trials and lack of
due process in the judicial system; political prisoners; incommunicado
detention; restrictions on civil liberties such as freedoms of speech
(including the Internet), assembly, association, movement, and severe
restrictions on religious freedom; corruption; and lack of government
transparency. Violence against women and discrimination on the basis of
gender, religion, sect, and ethnicity were common. The sponsorship
system limited the rights of foreign workers and remained a severe
problem.
Improvements during the year included: increased publicly available
information concerning specific instances of official corruption or of
government action against corruption; no reports that authorities
confiscated personal religious materials from individuals at ports of
entry; and a process developed by the Government for prenuptial
agreements when the wife is a noncitizen, permitting her to travel
without her husband's permission.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. In contrast to the previous year, there were no
reports of custodial deaths involving the Government's Committee for
the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), also known as
the religious police, or Mutawwa'in. However, the CPVPV was involved in
two high-profile car chases that ended in the deaths of the pursued
parties.
On March 16, two persons--a male and a female who were not married
to one another--died after a car chase involving the CPVPV in Medina.
On March 31, two men and two women died after another car chase
involving the CPVPV. In both cases the victims fled due to concerns
over CPVPV treatment if they were found violating the country's
interpretation of Shari'a, which prohibits unmarried, nonfamily persons
of the opposite gender from associating. In July authorities jailed,
investigated, cleared, and released the CPVPV members involved in each
of the incidents. The families of the deceased appealed the release of
the CPVPV members. Also in July the President general of the CPVPV,
Ibrahim al-Ghaith, announced that CPVPV members were prohibited from
following fleeing suspects.
On June 6, human rights lawyer Abdel Rahman al-Lahem filed an
appeal to contest a Riyadh court's acquittal of two members of the
religious police in the beating death of Suleiman al-Huraisi, detained
for possession and sale of alcohol in May 2007. There were no updates
on the status of the appeal at year's end.
In July 2007 the Tabuk General Investigation and Prosecution
Authority cleared members of the religious police of any wrongdoing in
the June 2007 case of Ahmad al-Bulawi, who died in CPVPV custody after
officers arrested him on suspicion of being in ``illegal seclusion''
with an unrelated woman. An autopsy revealed he had been beaten on the
face.
There were no developments in the August 2007 case of a Bangladeshi
man who died in Medina in the custody of the religious police.
During the year the press reported that the Government announced
executions (by beheading) of 102 individuals who were convicted of
murder, narcotics related offenses, armed robbery, and rape. Court
proceedings in capital cases were closed, making it impossible to
determine whether the accused were allowed to present a defense or were
denied basic due process. Contrary to the previous year, there were no
executions for sorcery, although death sentences for two women accused
of witchcraft remained in effect. The Government executed 153 persons
in 2007 and 37 in 2006.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The Basic Law prohibits torture, and Shari'a prohibits
judges from accepting confessions obtained under duress. Nevertheless,
during the year the non-governmental organization (NGO) Amnesty
International (AI) continued to report that authorities systematically
subjected prisoners and detainees to torture and other physical abuse.
Government contacts claimed privately that measures were taken to
ensure that torture did not occur in the penal system, such as alleged
Ministry of Interior (MOI) formal rules prohibiting torture. The
Government occasionally withheld medical care from prisoners.
During the year there were reports of physical abuse by the police
and the CPVPV, as well as judicially sanctioned corporal punishments.
On March 9, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), police
in Khamis Mushayt (Asir region) seeking to arrest a group of 25
undocumented Yemenis, including several children, allegedly set fire to
the garbage dump in which they were hiding to force them to come out.
At least 18 persons suffered severe burns. The victims alleged that
instead of transporting them to the hospital, the police took them in
an ambulance to a police station for questioning before treating them.
The Government claimed the police rescued the individuals from an
accidental fire. At year's end the Government had not investigated the
incident.
On March 30, Al-Watan newspaper reported that a Makkah court
endorsed the flogging sentence of five persons who attacked the CPVPV
building in Khaybar in 2007. The sentences ranged from three months'
imprisonment and 250 lashes to eight months' imprisonment and 400
lashes.
On December 22, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported that the court of
cassation endorsed a lower court's sentence for three persons accused
of theft. One individual was sentenced to four years' imprisonment and
400 lashes, while two others received sentences of two years'
imprisonment and 200 lashes.
In September an appeals court increased the sentences of Raouf El-
Arabi and Shawki Abd Rabuh, Egyptian doctors for the royal family, to
15 years in prison and 1,500 lashes each. The court convicted them of
malpractice after they reportedly administered inappropriate medication
to a princess, and police accused them of ``driving a patient to
addiction.''
The Government also imposed corporal punishment by flogging for
offenses including the harassment of women or for being alone in the
company of an unrelated person of the opposite gender. There were no
reports of flogging in women's prisons. There were no reports of
judicially sanctioned amputation during the year.
In 2007 the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), a government-
funded human rights organization, reported complaints of torture by the
religious police, the General Administration of Narcotics Control, and
the Directorate of General Investigations (internal security police or
Mabahith). Neither the Human Rights Commission (HRC) nor the NSHR
reported these abuses during the year.
Also in 2007, according to AI, at least six cases of torture and
custodial death were brought against members of the religious police.
In all cases, courts exonerated the CPVPV members. The unlicensed
domestic human rights group Human Rights First Society (HRFS) reported
in 2007 that during the past four years there was a significant decline
in the use of torture in prisons, including the formal banning of the
use of torture and dismissal of some officials who failed to implement
this ban.
In April 2007 an Internet news Web site posted five video clips of
a prison guard beating prisoners at the al Ha'ir Correctional Facility.
The videos show a prison guard repeatedly beating the prisoners on the
palms of their outstretched hands and the soles of one prisoner's feet.
According to AI, prison authorities suspended two guards involved in
the incident for 20 to 30 days.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--There were no reported
prison visits during the year by the Governmental HRC or the NSHR. In
2006 both the HRC and the NSHR visited prisons in accordance with
international standard modalities. They found below acceptable
conditions in hygiene, food, medical, and social services, prolonged
detention of detainees and prisoners in poor health, and brutalization
by guards in some prisons and detention centers.
During the year diplomats and human rights advocates reported that
detention centers remained overcrowded, and that some prisoners who had
completed their sentences were detained for additional periods of time.
A May 17 Internet article Matrouk al-Faleh wrote after a visit to
detainees in al-Buraida Prison described the presence of 30-40 persons
in a cell appropriate for only eight to 10 inmates and lack of adequate
medical attention. The article also claimed one prisoner died of
medical neglect.
On October 13, the Consultative Council asked authorities to give
the General Investigation and Prosecution Authority unfettered access
to the country's prisons to look into the cases of prisoners who have
served their jail term but remained imprisoned.
The Government occasionally withheld medical care from prisoners.
In the absence of visits during the year by HRC, NSHR, and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), health conditions in
prisons were not directly reported by domestic organizations. In 2007
several prisoners reportedly died of tuberculosis in two prisons and
there were two other health-related deaths in deportation centers. The
Government investigated the deaths but did not release any information
on these cases.
Terror suspects were held separately from criminal suspects to
prevent the spread of extremist ideology. According to diplomatic
sources, these suspects were held in facilities similar to those of the
general prison population.
Authorities restricted consular visits to prisoners. Notification
of relevant consulates in the cases of several dual national prisoners
was delayed or did not occur. There were reports that authorities
executed third country nationals before their embassies were notified
of their arrest or conviction.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The Basic Law prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention and limits the period of arrest to 72
hours without charges being filed. The law provides for trial of the
detained within six months. However, because of ambiguous
implementation of the law and a lack of due process, the MOI maintained
broad powers to arbitrarily arrest and detain persons indefinitely
without judicial oversight or effective access to legal counsel or
family. In practice, persons were held for weeks or months and
sometimes longer.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The King. the minister
of interior, the minister of defense, and the Saudi Arabian National
Guard (SANG) commander all have responsibility in law and in practice
for law enforcement and maintenance of order. King Abdullah remained in
command of the SANG. Crown Prince Sultan, the minister of defense and
aviation, had responsibility for all of that ministry's armed forces.
The minister of interior, Prince Nayef, exercised control over
government internal security forces, the internal security police, the
Directorate of General Investigation (Mabahith), the Special Security
Forces, the Special Emergency Forces, the Public Security Forces, the
Highway Patrol, the Facilities Security Forces, customs, the General
Administration of Narcotics Control, the coast guard, and the border
guard. The General Intelligence Presidency (GIP), reporting directly to
the King. is the Government's primary external intelligence agency and
maintained its own forces. The civil police and the internal security
police are authorized to arrest and detain individuals. Security forces
were generally effective at maintaining law and order; however, there
was a perception that small-scale corruption occurred among security
forces and a perception that security forces acted with impunity. The
Board of Grievances was the only formalized mechanism available to
investigate claims of abuse. Citizens can report abuses by security
forces at any police station, to the Governmental HRC, and to the NSHR;
however, no information was available on the number of complaints filed
or the results.
The CPVPV constitutes a semiautonomous agency that reports to the
King via the Royal Diwan (royal court). The MOI also has an undefined
and mostly unenforced oversight role over the religious police. The
religious police monitor public behavior to enforce strict adherence to
conservative Islamic norms.
Arrest and Detention.--According to the criminal procedure
legislation, ``no person shall be arrested, searched, detained, or
imprisoned except in cases provided by law, and any accused person
shall have the right to seek the assistance of a lawyer or a
representative to defend him during the investigation and trial
stages.'' Any person can be summoned to be investigated, and an arrest
warrant can be issued based on sufficient evidence; however, warrants
were not required in cases of probable cause and sometimes were not
used. Warrants were required for searches of inhabited dwellings and
seizures of items resulting from such searches. Regulations provide
bail for less serious crimes, although authorities sometimes released
detainees on the recognizance of a patron or sponsoring employer
without payment of bail. There were no established procedures providing
detainees the right to contact family members following arrest. There
were no established procedures providing for appeal of deportation.
There were reports of arbitrary arrest and pretrial detention.
Although the law prohibits detention without charge, authorities
detained without charge security suspects, persons who publicly
criticized the Government, Shia religious leaders, and others who
violated religious standards.
Security suspects arrested by the internal security police were
held incommunicado in special prisons during the initial phase of the
investigation, which may last indefinitely under the MOI's broad legal
authority. Authorities restricted access to detainees by family or
lawyers.
The number of detainees was not known at year's end. In October
detainees held indefinitely awaiting trial included at least 720
suspects. A September 8 AI submission to the UN Human Rights Council
cited the minister of interior in July 2007 confirming that 3,016
security suspects were in detention at that time. According to an
October 3 HRW report, in November 2007 authorities released 1,500
suspected militants after a reeducation program in prison. They had
been detained without charge or trial.
In 2007 the NSHR reported that some police officers detained
individuals with no justifiable cause and abused their authority by
threatening to detain individuals to pressure them to obtain
confessions or information relevant to an investigation.
The religious police are required to have a police officer
accompany them at the time of an arrest. However, there were some cases
in which religious police detained persons without the presence of a
police officer. Particularly in the more conservative Nejd region,
religious police accosted, abused, arrested, and detained citizens and
noncitizens, especially women, for allegedly violating dress and
behavior standards.
On September 21, the Saudi Gazette newspaper reported that the
chief of the CPVPV, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ghaith, barred the commission's
agents from checking the family sections of restaurants or hotels
without first obtaining his permission.
The religious police continued to monitor public behavior. For
example, in February CPVPV arrested and jailed a foreign businesswoman
for being present in public with a male who was not her relative.
Authorities released her the following day.
In February 2007, according to HRW, internal security police in
Jeddah and Medina arrested Isam Basrawi, his assistant, and eight other
men, all of whom were prominent reform advocates. Basrawi was
reportedly released for health reasons in September 2007, although the
others remained in prison at year's end. They have not been charged;
however, there were allegations in the media that they financed
terrorism outside the country. In November the group and several
outside supporters organized a two-day hunger strike to protest their
ongoing detention.
Authorities continued to hold without charge Jordanian citizen
Tariq Yunis, who was arrested in January 2007 as part of a contractual
dispute. An agent for Princess Basma bint Sa'ud bin Abd Al-'Aziz Al-
Sa'ud brought a civil case against Yunis alleging that Yunis owed the
Princess money.
Amnesty.--During the year the Government continued its tradition of
pardoning or granting amnesty on special occasions, including holy days
and during Ramadan. For example, the Saudi Gazette reported that the
King pardoned 102 prisoners in the Asir and Eastern Province regions on
September 5.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The Basic Law provides for an
independent judiciary, but one that cooperates with the executive and
legislative authorities, with the King as arbiter. Allegations of
interference with judicial independence were uncommon. The courts have
not attempted to exercise jurisdiction over senior members of the royal
family. The Supreme Judicial Council, whose members are appointed by
the King. appoints, transfers, and removes judges. The Ministry of
Justice (MOJ) disciplines judges. The MOJ judicial system is Shari'a-
based, whereas specialized tribunals in the executive branch decide
many civil disputes relying on regulatory/legislative precepts and
refrain from ruling on matters Islamic jurisprudence clearly addresses.
The legal system is based on the Government's interpretation of
Shari'a in all general courts. Ordinary, or summary, courts exercise
jurisdiction over common criminal cases and rely on interpretation of
the Koran rather than a penal code in civil suits regarding marriage,
divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Their jurisdiction extends to
non Muslims for crimes committed in the country. Judgments from these
courts can be appealed to two appellate courts located in Riyadh and
Mecca. The third and final level is the Supreme Judicial Council, which
has 11 members, supervises the work of the lower courts, and expresses
legal opinions on judicial questions. The council cannot reverse
decisions made by the courts of appeal; however, the council can review
lower court decisions and affirm or remand them for reconsideration.
The Ministry of Trade generally adjudicates commercial disputes,
but occasionally Shari'a courts try commercial cases with the
assistance of an advisory panel. The Ministry of Labor handles all
labor disputes through the Commission for the Settlement of Labor
Disputes. Other similar bodies deal with monetary issues, traffic, and
customs.
Other civil proceedings, such as those involving claims against the
Government and enforcement of foreign judgments, are held before
various specialized administrative tribunals. The Board of Grievances
serves directly under the King and is roughly comparable to
administrative courts and hears complaints against government actions
including against the religious police. Noncitizens have occasionally
won their cases against government actions in these tribunals.
Shari'a is not based on a system of precedent, which can result in
widely divergent rulings and has led to complaints that judges have
acted capriciously. According to the MOJ, judges are free to base their
decisions on any of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence. In
practice judges usually follow the Hanbali school of jurisprudence.
The Government permitted Shia citizens to use their own Jaafari
legal tradition to adjudicate cases involving domestic issues,
inheritance, and Islamic endowments. The Jaafari system, with
jurisdiction over cases in the Al-Ahsa/Qatif area only, consisted of
two basic courts, each with two judges in Qatif and Al-Ahsa and a
three-judge appeals court in Qatif. The Jaafari courts, however, have
limited power. For example, if a litigant disagreed with the Shia
court's decision, that person could seek a rehearing in a Sunni court,
which could overrule any previous determination.
The military justice system has jurisdiction over uniformed
personnel and civil servants who are charged with violations of
military regulations. The defense minister and the King review the
decisions of military tribunals. Security courts are established within
the existing court system and are overseen by Shari'a judges.
The Council of Senior Religious Scholars (Ulema) is an autonomous
advisory body of 21 senior religious jurists, including the minister of
justice. It interprets Shari'a and establishes the legal principles
that guide lower court judges.
Trial Procedures.--Laws and regulations state that defendants
should be treated equally in accordance with Shari'a. The law does not
require a public trial, and the majority of trials were closed. Whether
to open a trial to the public is at the discretion of the judge. Many
cases, including capital cases, proceed through trial to verdict and
sentencing with no public notice, unless the verdict is reported in the
media.
According to the Criminal Procedure Law, defendants do not enjoy a
presumption of innocence. The law provides persons under investigation
the right to a lawyer and permits lawyers to present arguments in
criminal courts; however, an attorney is not provided at public expense
if the defendant cannot afford to hire one. The law does not
specifically protect a defendant's right to consult with an attorney
upon arrest. The law provides for defendants to have access to relevant
government-held evidence, and convicted persons are to be informed of
their right to appeal rulings. Defendants also have the right to
confront or question witnesses against them; however, witnesses are
questioned before the initiation of a trial and not during the trial.
Juries are not used.
Shari'a discriminates against criminal defendants and civil
litigants on the basis of religion and gender, which can affect the
admissibility and weight of evidence, and thus the outcome of legal
proceedings.
In a Shari'a court, the testimony of one man equals that of two
women. Under the Government's interpretation of Shari'a, judges may
discount the testimony of persons who are nonpracticing Sunni Muslims,
including Shia Muslims. Sources reported that testimony by Shia was
often ignored in courts of law or was deemed to have less weight than
testimony by Sunnis.
Female parties in court proceedings such as divorce and family law
cases generally had to deputize male relatives to speak on their
behalf. In the absence of two witnesses, or four witnesses in the case
of adultery, confessions before a judge were almost always required for
criminal conviction.
Sentencing is not always uniform. In wrongful death cases, the
amount of indemnity or ``blood money'' awarded to relatives has varied
with the nationality, religion, age, and gender of the victim. A
sentence may be changed at any stage of review, except for punishments
stipulated by the Koran.
Provincial governors and senior officials have authority to reduce
a sentence. In cases between two individuals, the wronged party has the
right to accept money or impose no punishment instead of the punishment
decreed by the judge.
The King and his advisors review cases involving capital
punishment. The King has the authority to commute death sentences and
grant pardons, except for capital crimes committed against individuals.
In such cases, he may request the victim's next of kin pardon the
killer--usually in return for compensation from the family of the
convicted person or from the King.
In June 2007 Sri Lankan domestic worker Rizana Nafeek faced
execution after being found guilty of murdering an infant in her care.
Nafeek had no legal representation. In addition, because she was
allegedly provided forged documents in Sri Lanka, she may have been 17
at the time. An appeals hearing revealed that an interpreter may not
have been qualified. The infant's family has continuously refused to
consider clemency. The appeal of Nafeek's death sentence was pending at
year's end.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--On May 19, security forces
arrested Professor Matrouk al-Faleh at King Saud University. On May 17,
he had posted on a Web site a three-page criticism of the justice
system, including conditions in Buraida Prison following a visit to
detained reformers Isa and Abdullah al-Hamid. Al-Faleh remained in
prison without charge at year's end. According to HRW, the Government
did not permit his lawyers or international humanitarian organizations
access to him.
On July 8, authorities released Isa al-Hamid. His brother, Abdullah
al-Hamid, was released on August 28. According to press reports, in
July 2007 the internal security police arrested the two prominent
reformers for instigating a public demonstration during which women
peacefully protested the continued detention of relatives without
charge or trial. HRW reported that a court in Buraida sentenced the al-
Hamid brothers to four and six month prison terms, respectively, in
November 2007.
According to HRW, Mansur al-'Awdha, a reform activist from Jawf,
has been in al-Ha'ir prison without charge since December 2007.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The Board of Grievances,
reporting to the King. considers cases in which a government agency is
a party. There were no reports of human rights cases presented to the
board during the year.
There were also no reports of lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, human rights violations. Instead, complainants generally
referred their cases to the HRC, which either advocated on their behalf
or provided courts with opinions on their cases. Domestic violence
cases were the most common. The HRC was generally responsive to
complaints. Administrative and judicial remedies were available for
alleged violations.
Individuals with complaints against police or security forces could
file a complaint with their governorate office, which logged complaints
and performed investigations. Some investigations reportedly resulted
in the discipline or dismissal of police.
Shari'a discriminates against non-Muslims and women in calculating
accidental death or injury compensation. According to the prevailing
Hanbali interpretation of Shari'a, once a court determines fault, a
Muslim male receives 100 percent of the amount of compensation
determined, a Jew or Christian male receives 50 percent, and all
others, including ``polytheists,'' receive one sixteenth of the amount
a Muslim male receives. Women receive 50 percent of what men receive in
each of these categories.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The Basic Law guarantees the inviolability of homes
and the privacy of correspondence. The Criminal Procedure Law requires
authorities to obtain a warrant prior to searching a residence or a
court order prior to perusing personal correspondence and documents.
Royal decrees include provisions for the Government to defend the home
from unlawful intrusions, and laws and regulations prohibit officials
from intercepting mail and electronic communications except when
necessary during internal security and criminal investigations; in such
cases the police must demonstrate reasonable cause and obtain
permission from a provincial governor. The Government generally
respected this inviolability, but there were some cases in which the
Government infringed on these rights, such as religious police raids on
private residences.
Despite these legal provisions, customs officials routinely opened
mail and shipments to search for contraband, including material deemed
pornographic or that appeared to be non Sunni Islamic religious
material. In some areas, informants reported ``seditious ideas,''
antigovernment activity, or ``behavior contrary to Islam'' in their
neighborhoods to the MOI.
Religious police enforcement of strict standards of social behavior
included closing commercial establishments during the five daily prayer
observances, insisting upon compliance with strict norms of public
dress, and dispersing gatherings of women in public places designated
for men, as well as preventing unaccompanied men from entering public
places designated for families. Religious police frequently reproached
both citizen and foreign women for failure to observe strict dress
codes and arrested men and women found together who were not married or
closely related. Since there are no clear standards for what
constitutes improper attire or prohibited gender mixing, enforcement of
these rules is arbitrary and subject to the personal views of CPVPV
field officers.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The Basic Law does not provide for
freedom of speech or the press, and the Government generally did not
respect these rights in practice. Several major media outlets were
owned by members of the royal family, and individuals were not
permitted to criticize the royal family publicly. The Government
actively impeded criticism and monitored citizens' political activity.
In rare cases, individuals criticized specific government bodies or
actions publicly without repercussions.
According to the Basic Law, the media's role is to educate the
masses and promote national unity. Media outlets can legally be banned
or publication temporarily halted if they are deemed to promote
``mischief and discord, compromise the security of the state and its
public image,'' or if it ``offends a man's dignity and rights.'' The
Government continued to restrict freedom of speech and press by
interrupting publication and dissemination of news sources critical of
the royal family or of Islam. Authorities prevented or delayed
distribution of foreign print media, effectively censoring these media
and publications. During the year media discussions took place that
tested the boundaries of permissible topics for media coverage,
including political and social reforms, actions of government
ministries, domestic and child abuse, rights of women and human rights,
corruption, drug and alcohol abuse, crime rates and violence,
trafficking in persons, HIV/AIDS, and the religious police.
The Government continued to enforce existing laws based on Article
12 of the Basic Law, which provides the state with the authority to
``prevent anything that may lead to disunity, sedition, and
separation.'' All public employees are enjoined from ``participating,
directly or indirectly, in the preparation of any document, speech or
petition; engaging in dialogue with local and foreign media; or
participating in any meetings intended to oppose the state's
policies.''
An unwritten yet routinely followed media policy prohibits the
dissemination of criticism of the royal family and the Government. In
this regard, the print media exercised self-censorship. Some newspapers
have close ties to members of the royal family, including widely
circulated pan-Arab newspapers Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat and Al-Hayat, which
members of the royal family own. A 1982 government media policy
statement still in effect urges journalists to uphold Islam, oppose
atheism, promote Arab interests, and preserve cultural heritage. The
Ministry of Culture and Information (MCI) must approve the appointment
of all senior editors and has the authority to remove them. The
Government provides guidelines to newspapers regarding controversial
issues. The Government owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reports on
official government news. All newspapers in the country must be
licensed by the Government.
From March to June the press extensively covered the March deaths
of six citizens allegedly caused by members of the religious police
during high-speed car chases. The deaths resulted in significant
criticism both in the print press and in online fora, and the media
called for investigations and accountability regarding the accidents.
Authorities cleared and released members of the religious police after
investigations.
On July 7, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported the arrest of a Saudi judge
in Dubai on drug possession and use charges. The MOJ stated the man was
not a judge; however, Al-Riyadh published a confirmation by its sources
that the man was a Saudi judge.
In June Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, the President of the Saudi Red
Crescent Society and a son of the King. filed a defamation lawsuit
against Al-Watan journalist Saleh al-Shehy within the established
grievance process set up by the MCI. There was no conclusion by year's
end.
In August 2007 the MCI halted distribution of Al-Hayat newspaper,
based either on what media reports claimed was the ministry's
disapproval of Al-Hayat's ``Western style'' format and criticism on
local issues or an implied link between respected religious scholars
and terrorism.
The Saudi Journalist Association operates under a government
charter. Membership is voluntary and open to both men and women.
Although theoretically noncitizen journalists working in the country
were eligible to join, they have no voting rights, and may not attend
the association's general assembly. The organization's elected nin.--
member board of directors includes two women, all approved by the MCI.
During the year access to information and government statistics
improved incrementally but remained limited. Access to information
related to the Government's budget and accountability of public
officials improved. The Government owned and operated most domestic
television and radio channels. In domestic broadcast programs,
government censors removed references to religions other than Islam,
pork or pigs, alcohol, and sex. Private, Saudi-owned satellite networks
such as the MBC, Orbit, and ART media groups, although headquartered
outside of the country, maintained local offices and operated under a
system of self-censorship. Many other foreign satellite stations
broadcast a wide range of programs into the country.
Approximately 30 radio stations continued to await operating
licenses during the year, although several new independent newspapers
began operations.
Although they were technically illegal, the Government did not
place restrictions on several million satellite receiving dishes that
provided citizens with foreign television programming. Access to
outside sources of information, such as Arabic and Western satellite
television channels and the Internet, was widespread. The Government
did not censor foreign television programming. Royal or affluent
merchant families owned most of the media companies that brought
foreign television programming to the country via satellite.
Journalists occasionally faced harassment and intimidation via
phone calls or e-mails; however, there were no reports of violent
harassment of journalists during the year.
In March according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ),
Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak, a Saudi cleric, called for the trial of
two writers for their ``heretical articles'' and their deaths if they
did not repent. In September the head of the Supreme Judicial Council,
Sheikh Saleh al-Lihedan, stated during a radio program that it is
permissible under Shari'a to kill owners of satellite television
channels that broadcast immoral content. Following strong domestic and
international reaction, al-Lihedan clarified his remarks to state that
media owners could be subject to the judicial process, including the
death penalty.
Media reports noted Al-Ekhbariya TV, a government-run news channel,
suspended one of its presenters and temporarily discontinued live
broadcasts because the presenter allowed negative comments about a
governmental policy to air. The channel later reinstated the presenter.
The MCI facilitated the opening of Al-Jazeera Arabic and Associated
Press bureaus in Riyadh. At year's end both media outlets could file
and broadcast from within the country.
The Consultative Council allowed the media, both print and
broadcast, to observe its proceedings and meetings, but the council
closed certain high-profile or controversial sessions to the media.
In June 2007, according to AI, university professor Sa'id Bin
Zu'air was arrested on charges of financially aiding terrorists; other
sources have argued that he may have been arrested to prevent him from
appearing on Al-Jazeera and criticizing the Government. He remained in
detention at year's end.
Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted access to the
Internet, and the Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) reportedly
monitors e mail and Internet chat rooms. During the year more citizens
appeared to engage in exchanges of views and information via the
Internet, including e-mail and blogs. The Government continued to block
access to Web sites it deemed sexual, pornographic, politically
sensitive, offensive to the Government or members of the royal family,
``un Islamic,'' or disruptive because of controversial religious
content. In October, for example, the STC blocked access to the Voice
of Saudi Women Web site for material it deemed in opposition to
government policy.
According to the International Telecommunications Union, in 2007
there were approximately 1.8 million Internet subscribers and 6.38
million users. By law access to the Internet was available only through
local government monitored servers. In practice the law was not
enforced, as some citizens openly circumvented controls by accessing
the Internet through servers in other countries via satellite. The
Government continued to streamline the process for citizens to request
that a site become unblocked. Authorities reported requests have
resulted in unblocking certain Web sites. Authorities routinely blocked
sites carrying content the Government considered to violate religious
norms or to be extremist and anti-government. Most social networking
tools such as Facebook were not blocked. The Google social network
Orkut remained blocked throughout the year.
The law criminalizes defamation on the Internet, hacking,
unauthorized access to government Web sites, and stealing information
related to national security. At year's end there were no reported
prosecutions; however, authorities did arbitrarily arrest and detain
some bloggers posting content the Government found objectionable.
On April 26, authorities released from detention Fouad Ahmed al-
Farhan, a popular blogger and owner of proreform Web site Alfarhan.org.
Authorities had arrested him in December 2007 and issued no formal
charges. Online and print media reports quoted a MOI official stating
his arrest was due to ``mistakes he committed.''
On May 5, a prosecutor charged Rai'f Badawi in absentia with
``setting up an electronic site that insults Islam,'' and asked for a
sentence of five years in prison and a fine of three million riyals
(approximately $800,000). According to HRW, Badawi used the site to
track abuses by the religious police and question the dominant
interpretation of Islam. Badawi sold the Web site and fled the country
prior to the charge. In March authorities detained and interrogated
Badawi about the Web site for one day.
On November 4, self-identified members of the CPVPV detained poet/
blogger Roshdi Algadir in Dammam for ``writing poetry with quotations
from a book of sorcery and blasphemy.'' The individuals briefly
detained the poet, beat him, and forced him to sign an agreement
promising he would not publish his work on the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government continued to
restrict academic freedom. The Government prohibited the study of
evolution, Freud, Marx, Western music, and Western philosophy.
Informants reportedly monitored classroom comments and reported to the
Government and religious authorities. Academics practiced self-
censorship.
In contrast to previous years, several books dealing with taboo
subjects such as religious diversity and philosophy were displayed and
sold at the Riyadh International Book Fair. Women were permitted to
work as book vendors, and the Japanese, French and American booths
included female staff during both family and men-only days. However,
female visitors were not permitted to approach male authors during book
signings, and female writers did not enjoy the same opportunities to
sign their works in public. Religious police present during the fair
were required to wear identity badges.
Educational exhibitions in Qatif prohibited female participation.
For the past two years, the Qatif Educational Fair has been unable to
secure government approval for female participation or for a parallel
female only educational fair.
The Government censored public artistic expression and prohibited
cinemas and public musical or theatrical performances, except those
considered folkloric. According to media reports, 12 men suspected of
links to the religious police disrupted Riyadh's official spring
cultural festival--which featured plays for men and theater and movies
for children--by destroying exhibits and approaching visitors who were
allegedly violating CPVPV rules. Taif's Okaz Cultural Festival also
came under criticism by conservatives for promoting ``un-Islamic and
pagan tradition,'' but senior officials and academics publicly defended
the government-sponsored festival.
Cultural and recreational gatherings sponsored by private citizens
continued, although the organizer cancelled a women's basketball
tournament in Jeddah following a series of telephone threats, allegedly
from the religious police. The Jeddah Literary Club welcomed a visiting
delegation of writers from the University of Iowa, and the Riyadh
Literary Club hosted the group for a discussion that was open to the
public. Local authorities continued to force closings or social fora in
the majority Shia Al-Ahsa region of Hofuf.
The Government temporarily lifted a restriction on the public
showing of films with the screening of a movie in Jeddah and Taif in
December. Many international and local films were privately screened
during the third annual Jeddah Film festival in July. On May 20, the
minister of culture and information opened the country's first official
film contest in the city of Dammam. The contest lasted four days and
all 33 competing films were produced by citizens.
The Riyadh religious police arrested a television crew for
allegedly filming during prayer times.
Public performance of plays and music were allowed if they were
traditional and part of a special event. A foreign embassy sponsored a
classical concert for a mixed-gender audience in Riyadh. In addition
public art exhibitions by male and female artists at hotels, malls, and
open galleries were held throughout Jeddah, largely under royal
patronage. Another exhibit by a female artist was held in Al-Rashid
Mall in Al-Khobar.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The Basic Law does not address freedom of assembly, which
the Government strictly limited in practice. Public demonstrations were
prohibited.
Public meetings were usually segregated by gender. However, the
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and other commercial and
medical gatherings were frequently mixed gender. At media press
conferences, female journalists may be restricted to front-row seats
rather than provided a separate room with close.--circuit television.
The authorities monitored large nonfamily gatherings, particularly if
women were present. The religious police dispersed any large nonfamily
groups in public places, such as restaurants. However, men and women
could mix in some public places that cater to noncitizens.
Authorities arrested at least 12 participants following a
demonstration in support of Gazan Palestinians in the Shia-majority
city of Qatif, Eastern Province. On December 29, police dispersed a
similar demonstration in Qatif, again arresting participants in the
subsequent days. However, police did not disrupt another similar
demonstration December 29 in Safwa, Eastern Province.
On December 31, the MOI, citing security concerns, denied a request
by activists to hold a peaceful sit-in in Riyadh on behalf of
Palestinians in Gaza.
In July 2007 police arrested five women after they held a sit in
outside a prison to advocate for timely trials for relatives who had
been imprisoned. There were no government-permitted peaceful political
demonstrations during the year.
Freedom of Association.--The Basic Law does not address freedom of
association, and the Government strictly limited this right in
practice.
The Government prohibited the establishment of political parties or
any group it considered as opposing the regime or possibly overstepping
the bounds of criticism by challenging the King's authority. All
associations must be licensed by the MOI and comply with its rules and
regulations; however, previous requests for licensing from citizens
have gone unanswered.
For example, human rights activist Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb and his
group Human Rights First Society (HRFS) applied for a license in 2002.
Despite its continued activity, to date the group has received no
response to this request. As the group is formally ``unlicensed,'' it
remained unclear which group activities were permitted and which could
draw criticism or punishment from the Government. Further, without a
license the group may not raise operating funds, which severely limited
its activities. The Government took no steps to license HRFS during the
year but permitted its informal operation.
In September 2007 a group calling itself the Association for the
Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia transmitted to
the King a petition with 1,100 signatures asking for a repeal of the
ban on women driving. At year's end the Government had not replied.
According to HRW, the group received a warning against mounting any
demonstrations. The association did not have legal status at year's
end.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The Basic Law states that Islam is the
official religion. All citizens are expected to adhere to Islamic
principles. The legal system is based on the Government sanctioned
version of Shari'a. Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is
considered apostasy, and persons accused of apostasy face physical
abuse and threats of execution unless they recant. There have been no
confirmed reports of sanctioned executions for apostasy since 1992, but
in the late 1990's there were reports of prisoners who were beaten to
death by government authorities for refusing to recant their alleged
apostasy.
There is no legal recognition or protection of religious freedom,
and it was severely restricted in practice. The Government limited the
practice of all but the officially sanctioned version of Islam,
limiting the public practice of Muslim sects other than Sunni Islam and
prohibiting the public practice of, profession of, or possession of
literature and symbols relating to other religions. The Government
stated that as a matter of public policy it protects the right to
private worship for all, including non Muslims who gather in homes for
religious services. This right was not always respected in practice and
is not defined by law.
The public practice of non Muslim religions is prohibited. Although
the Government stated its policy to protect the right to possess and
use personal religious materials, it did not provide for this right by
law.
In contrast to similar incidents in recent years, the Government
reversed its decision to deport foreign Christians arrested for
conducting a worship service in incidents in April in the Western
Province and in May in Qassim Province.
In June there were reports from Al-Khobar that authorities closed
three Shia mosques that had been operating for years. Sunni mosques
continued to operate freely and without government harassment.
The law criminalizes blasphemy. On March 31, a court sentenced
Sabri Bogday, a Turkish barber, to death after two men reported to the
authorities that he blasphemed God and the Prophet Muhammad in his
barbershop. On May 1, an appellate court upheld his conviction of
blasphemy. At year's end the sentence had not been carried out.
Citizens and especially foreigners were occasionally accused of
believing in or practicing ``magic,'' ``superstition,'' and
``sorcery.'' Under the Government's interpretation of Shari'a, magic
was regarded as one of the worst forms of polytheism, and is a capital
offense. Unlike the previous year, there were no reports of executions
of individuals convicted of magic.
In February HRW appealed to the King to stop the execution of Fawza
Falih Muhammad Ali, who was arrested in 2005 and accused of witchcraft.
There was reportedly weak evidence and the court followed highly
irregular procedures. Her case was transferred to the Royal Court in
January. At year's end she remained imprisoned and in poor mental
health. In November 2007 police officers in Taif arrested a Nigerian
woman for alleged witchcraft. No further information was available
concerning either case at year's end.
In October the press reported that an appeals court confirmed the
sentence of a Sudanese ``sorceress'' to three years' imprisonment,
1,500 lashes, and deportation.
During the year there were fewer reports of government officials
confiscating religious materials and no reports that customs officials
confiscated religious materials from travelers, whether Muslims or non-
Muslims. Individuals were able to bring personal Bibles, crosses, DVDs
of sermons, and other religious materials into the country without
difficulty.
There were fewer reported religious police raids on religious
gatherings in the Western Hijaz region and in the Eastern Province. In
addition there were reports of large public and private celebrations of
Shia holidays in Qatif. Government restrictions on celebration of Shia
holidays differed by region.
For example, the January Ashura holiday in Qatif was marked by a
greater number of commemorations and participants than in past years
and less security presence. In addition there was wider practice of
ritual self-flagellation, a practice the Government had previously
sought to discourage.
In contrast, in other areas with large Shia populations such as al-
Ahsa and Dammam, authorities continued to restrict Shia religious
practices. The Government imposed restrictions on public observances of
Ashura in these and other areas where both Shia and Sunni live.
Authorities banned public marches, loudspeaker broadcasts of clerics'
lectures from Shia community centers, and in some instances, gatherings
within the centers. There were reports that these measures were applied
strongly in al-Ahsa, where the local governor allegedly gathered
approximately 30 Shia community leaders two weeks before the Ashura
celebration to warn them against public celebrations. It was not clear
if this action was expressly anti-Shia or designed to prevent conflict
in mixed areas. In addition, security forces patrolled the streets of
al-Ahsa to ensure that there were no banners or flags, which are
associated with the religious holiday.
In February the Government reportedly prohibited the public
celebration of the Shia Arbaeen religious holiday in all areas except
the majority Shia area in Qatif.
On June 22, authorities arrested a prominent Shia sheikh in al-Ahsa
after he called a previous anti-Shia statement by 22 Salafi clerics an
incitement to violence and demanded greater rights and political
representation for the Shia of al-Ahsa. Authorities detained the sheikh
for one week.
On October 13, the Web site Al-Rasid reported that authorities
arrested Shia rights activist Farid al-Nemer as he returned from
Bahrain. He was allegedly arrested and detained for five or six days
for his antigovernment and pro-Shia activities.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs (MOIA) took measures to reduce
extremist rhetoric in sermons. On February 22, Okaz newspaper reported
that the MOIA appointed 1,500 people to monitor sermons in mosques and
the activities of imams across the country. According to the article, a
leading MOIA official fired some imams due to violations of MOIA
regulations. On April 28, Al-Watan reported that the Jeddah branch of
the MOIA had summoned a number of imams and khateeb (those who deliver
a sermon during Friday prayer) for questioning related to their
deviation from MOIA directions intended to prevent the preaching of
extremist ideologies.
On October 17, the Saudi Gazette reported that Minister of Islamic
Affairs Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh stated that imams were
free to address modern issues in their sermons but within limits. He
stated that imams are not permitted to defame countries, people, or
organizations, and that imams have the role of correcting
misconceptions and counteracting deviant thought.
The Government did not officially permit non Muslim clergy to enter
the country for the purpose of conducting religious services, although
some did enter under other auspices, and the Government generally did
not disrupt discreet religious functions. Such restrictions made it
difficult for most non Muslims to maintain contact with clergymen and
attend services but did not prevent them from gathering to practice
their faith. Proselytizing by non Muslims, including the distribution
of non Islamic religious materials such as Bibles, was illegal. Anyone
wearing religious symbols in public that were considered idolatrous
within the Hanbali school risked confrontation with the religious
police.
Islamic religious education was mandatory in public schools at all
levels. Regardless of the Islamic tradition to which their families
adhere, all public school children receive religious instruction that
conforms to the conservative Hanbali tradition of Sunni Islam.
Expatriate non Muslim students in private schools were not required to
study Islam. There was inconsistent enforcement of the law that imposes
quotas on attendance of non-Saudi Muslim children at international
schools in the country (other than their national community schools).
In contrast to the previous year, there were no reports that
religious police pressured employers and sponsors to reach verbal
agreements with non Muslim employees that they would not participate in
private or public non Muslim worship services.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Government continued to
enforce the Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam. Adherents of Shia
Islam faced significant political, economic, legal, social, and
religious discrimination condoned by the Government, including limited
employment and education opportunities and underrepresentation in
official institutions. There were also restrictions on the practice of
their faith and on the building of places of worship and community
centers.
The Shia Muslim minority, estimated to be between 8 and 10 percent
of the citizen population, lived mostly in the Eastern Province,
although a significant number resided in the Western Province and in
Najran in the southwest. The local government in the Najran area
subjected members of the Sulaiman Ismaili minority (a branch of Shia
Islam) to officially sanctioned discrimination in employment, the
justice system, and the ability to practice their religion freely.
At year's end Hadi al-Mutif, a Sulaimani Ismaili Shia, remained
imprisoned under a 1996 death sentence for ``insulting the Prophet
Muhammad.'' Then-King Fahd stayed the death sentence and King Abdullah
upheld the stay; however, al-Mutif has remained in prison and has faced
periods of solitary confinement following suicide attempts.
While they constituted approximately 40 percent of the Eastern
Province population, there were only three Shia among the 150 members
of the Consultative Council, the royally appointed body that advises
the King. initiates legislation, and reviews and comments on policies
as requested.
On January 25, the Al-Rasid Web site reported that extremists
distributed leaflets in the Eastern Province before Ashura accusing the
Shia of plotting to demolish the Grand Mosque in Mecca, remove the
Kaaba and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, and annihilate all Muslims
except the rafidah, a branch of Shia Muslims.
On September 7, police arrested Shia religious leader Shaikh Tawfik
al-Amer for performing prayers according to Shia practice. Authorities
released him after 11 days in detention. According to NGO reports,
police also arrested al-Amer in June for criticizing a statement signed
by 22 Sunni clerics that described Shia as enemies of Sunnis.
There were no public places of worship for non Muslims. Although
significant numbers of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and a few Jews
resided in the country, no public churches, temples, or synagogues were
allowed. There were reports of violence against and harassment of
Christians, due to societal discrimination against foreign workers
coupled with religious discrimination.
The Government required noncitizens to carry legal resident
identity cards that contained a religious designation for ``Muslim'' or
``non Muslim.'' Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that
some sponsors withheld pay and residency card renewal based on
religious factors.
There were reports that religious vigilantes, unaffiliated with the
CPVPV and acting on their own, harassed and assaulted citizens and
foreigners.
On infrequent occasions, editorial cartoons exhibited anti-Semitism
characterized by stereotypical images of Jews along with Jewish symbols
and comparisons of Israeli government actions to those of the Nazis.
Anti Semitic editorial comments sometimes appeared in the Government
and private print and electronic media in response to regional
political events.
There continued to be instances in which Sunni imams, who receive
government stipends, used anti-Jewish, ant.--Christian, and ant.--Shia
language in their sermons and some instances in which mosque speakers
prayed for the death of Jews and Christians, including from the Grand
Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. There were reports
the MOIA dismissed some imams for espousing intolerant ideas, but other
imams who made such statements were allowed to continue. There were
reports of imams in the Eastern Province who included calls for divine
punishment of Jews as part of special prayers.
Since 2001 the Government has claimed it has projects under way to
revise textbooks, curricula, and teaching methods to promote tolerance
and remove content disparaging religions other than Islam. Despite its
most recent effort begun in 2006, elementary and secondary education
textbooks still retained some language that was intolerant of other
religious traditions, especially Jewish, Christian, and Shia beliefs,
and in some cases provided justification for violence against non-
Muslims.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The Basic Law does not provide for
these rights.
Freedom of movement was restricted. The Government restricted this
right for women based on its interpretation of Shari'a. With the
exception of some rural areas where the restriction was not enforced,
all women in the country were prohibited from driving. The Government
must issue an exit visa for an individual to leave the country. A male
citizen younger than 21 requires the permission of his guardian to
travel outside the country. Minor and single adult daughters of citizen
fathers must obtain written permission from a male relative. A woman
can obtain her own national photo identity card, although the
Government required permission from a male relative or guardian. A
female citizen with a valid passport can obtain an identity card on the
basis of her own passport; however, if a woman does not have a
passport, she needs a male guardian to verify her identity. During the
year the Government continued to issue national identity cards to
women, despite opposition by religious conservatives. There were
reports that some women had difficulty obtaining identity cards.
If a husband refused to grant his noncitizen wife permission to
travel, her choices were to divorce her husband or not to travel. If
she divorced her husband, the Government could issue her an exit visa,
but she was unlikely to be allowed to reenter the country. In March the
Government instituted a prenuptial agreement for marriages in which the
wife is a noncitizen. Both partners must sign an agreement that permits
the noncitizen wife to travel without the husband's permission. The law
is not retroactive.
Females and minor children, even those with dual nationality, may
also be subject to ``blacklisting'' by government entities or family
members wishing to prohibit their travel. A January royal decree gave
women the right to check into hotels without a male guardian. In cases
involving custody disputes of citizens or resident noncitizens, the
male guardian is legally able to prevent the travel of his spouse and
his minor and adult children out of the country.
The Basic Law prohibits employers from retaining foreign workers'
passports; in practice, most sponsors reportedly disregarded the law
and retained possession of foreign employees' passports. Foreign
workers must obtain permission from their sponsors to travel abroad.
Sponsors involved in a commercial or labor dispute with foreign
employees could ask the authorities to prohibit the employees from
departing the country until the dispute was resolved. In some contract
disputes, sponsors used this leverage to force employees to accept
disadvantageous settlements or be deported. Foreigners were allowed to
reside or work in the country only under the sponsorship of a citizen
or business. The law did not permit foreigners to change their
workplace without their sponsor's permission.
The Government seized the passports of all potential suspects and
witnesses in criminal cases and suspended the issuance of exit visas to
these individuals until the case was concluded. As a result, some
foreign nationals were forced to remain in the country for lengthy
periods against their will.
The Government did not use forced exile, but it has previously
revoked the citizenship of opponents of the Government who resided
outside the country.
Citizens may emigrate. The Government prohibited dual citizenship;
however, only children who held other citizenship by virtue of birth
abroad were permitted to leave the country using noncitizen passports.
A 2005 citizenship law allows certain long term residents and other
foreigners to obtain citizenship.
The Government continued to impose travel bans on some reformers.
Authorities sometimes confiscated passports of suspected opposition
members and their families. In addition the Government revoked the
rights of some citizens to travel outside the country for political
reasons without notifying the individual or providing opportunities to
contest the restriction.
In December authorities stopped previously detained blogger Fouad
al-Farhan in the Jeddah airport and prevented him from leaving the
country to speak at the third annual Arab Free Press Forum.
Authorities have banned Abdulrahman al-Lahem, the lawyer for the
female victim in the 2006 Qatif rape, from travel abroad since 2004.
During the year the Government prevented him from traveling abroad to
receive two prestigious human rights awards. The travel ban was
scheduled to expire in March 2009. In November 2007 authorities
suspended and confiscated his license to practice because of his
attempts to publicize the rape case. His license was reinstated during
the year.
The NSHR reported in 2007 that some Shia activist writers and
public figures have been stripped of their identity cards for as long
as 15 years and denied any document proving their nationality because
they had allegedly illegally acquired national identity. Some in this
group had papers proving they had been serving in government posts for
long periods. Others had their identity cards taken away.
Protection of Refugees.--The Basic Law does not provide for the
granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol,
but the Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government claimed to provide protection
against refoulement, the forced return of persons to a country where
there is reason to believe they feared persecution. The Basic Law
provides that ``the state will grant political asylum, if so required
by the public interest.''
The Government provided temporary protection to individuals who may
not qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention and the 1967
protocol. Government policy is not to grant refugee status to persons
who are in the country illegally, or who have overstayed a pilgrimage
visa.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in assisting refugees and asylum-seekers.
The UNHCR Representative Office to the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) countries reported that as of July, 57 Iraqi refugees remained in
the country. The Rafa refugee camp was closed last year. According to a
representative of the UNHCR, since 1991 the UNHCR has facilitated the
resettlement of more than 25,000 Iraqi refugees to third countries.
During the year the UNHCR did not find any evidence of forcible
repatriation. In September there were three cases in which Chinese
Muslim Uighurs awaiting resettlement were threatened with possible
deportation.
Stateless Persons.--UNHCR unofficially estimated that there were
70,000 stateless persons in the country, almost all of whom were
native-born Arab residents known as Bidoon. As noncitizens, Bidoon were
unable to obtain passports and had limited ability to travel abroad.
During the year, the MOI, the NSHR, and the HRC for the first time
announced their intent to study the Bidoon issue.
Bidoon include those whose ancestors failed to obtain nationality,
such as descendants of nomadic tribes who were not counted among the
native tribes during the reign of the country's founder, King
Abdulaziz; descendants of foreign born fathers who arrived before
citizenship was institutionalized; and rural migrants whose parents
failed to register their births. Bidoon were denied employment and
educational opportunities because of their lack of citizenship. Bidoon
were among the poorest residents of the country due to their
marginalized status. The Ministry of Education took steps to admit
Bidoon children to school. The Government issued resident permits to
Bidoon for 5-year periods.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens did not have the right to change their government
peacefully. The Basic Law states that the Government is established on
the principle of shura (consultation) and requires the King and crown
prince to hold majlis meetings, open door events where in theory any
male citizen or foreign national may express an opinion or a grievance.
A prince or other important national or local official can also hold a
majlis. The Basic Law states that all individuals have the right to
communicate with public authorities on any issue. The Government
interpreted this as a right to be exercised within traditional
nonpublic means, not through the use of mass media.
Elections and Political Participation.--Under the family monarchy
system enshrined in the Basic Law, only a few members of the ruling
family have a voice in the choice of leaders, in the composition of the
Government, or in changing the political system. In 2006 the King
issued a new succession law that amended the 1992 Basic Law and
formalized the process by creating the Allegiance Commission that will
select a King and crown prince upon the death or incapacitation of
either. The Allegiance Commission is composed of all living sons and,
for sons who are deceased, some grandsons of Abdulaziz bin Abd Al
Rahman Al-Saud, the founder of the modern kingdom. This commission
expands the role of the ruling family in the selection process.
The King serves as prime minister and his crown prince serves as
deputy prime minister. The King appoints all other ministers, who
appoint subordinate officials with cabinet concurrence.
Only male, nonmilitary citizens at least 21 years of age were
eligible to vote in the nationwide 2005 elections for 592 seats on 178
municipal advisory councils (half the total seats). There were no
independent election observers. Unofficial estimates were that between
10 and 15 percent of eligible voters actually voted. The King completed
the formation of the councils in 2005 by appointing 592 men to fill the
other half of the council seats.
The 1992 Basic Law also created the Consultative Council that
reviews, votes on, and provides recommendations to the King on some
legislation proposed by the ministries. The Consultative Council
consists of 150 male members appointed to four-year terms in 2005 and
is divided into 11 committees. The council has authority to initiate
its own legislation, which is sent to the King for approval. The
Government generally accepted the council's proposed amendments. The
council held hearings with some government officials to review the
performance of their ministries; all government ministers, including
senior princes, were required to submit to hearings. Some but not all
of the hearings were televised after the fact. The council has the
power to request documents from government ministries. It has indirect
and limited budget authority in that it must approve the spending
priorities of different ministries. The council effectively blocked the
imposition of new taxes.
The Supreme Ulema Council is another advisory body to the King and
the cabinet. It reviews the Government's public policies for compliance
with Shari'a. The council is an important source of religious
legitimacy for the Government and royal family and the Government
generally responded to the Ulema's opinions on legislation and policy.
Communication between citizens and the Government traditionally has
been expressed through client patron relationships and by affinity
groups such as tribes, families, and professional hierarchies.
Ministers and district governors could be approached for discussion at
their weekly open forum.
It was not legal to form political parties. The Green Party was the
only political party that operated, and it did so illegally. In 2006
the Paris based group Saudi Democratic Opposition Front (SDOF)
announced its formation and called for the peaceful overthrow of the
monarchy. During the year the SDOF was not publicly active.
During the year and since 1992, various groups, including women and
Shia, have submitted petitions calling for political reform. Women were
not permitted to vote and did not sit in the cabinet or as judges.
However, the Government allowed women to run for positions on the board
of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, although none were
elected. In 2007 two women were elected to the board of the JCCI. There
were no women in the 150-member Consultative Council, in the cabinet,
or on the Supreme Judicial Council. In 2006 the Consultative Council
appointed six women as part time advisors on family and women's issues.
There were no religious minorities in the cabinet. Only three of
the 150-member Consultative Council and some judges were Shia, although
no laws prevent the participation of religious minorities in the
Government.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption by employees. Employees who accept
bribes face 10 years in prison or fines of as much as one million
riyals (approximately $267,000). However, corruption remained a problem
and there was widespread public perception of corruption on the part of
some members of the royal family and the executive branch of the
Government. The absence of transparency in government accounts and in
decision-making encouraged this perception. Public officials were not
subject to financial disclosure laws, and there were no laws providing
public access to government information, including ministerial budgets.
However, in contrast to previous years, information concerning specific
instances of corruption, allegations regarding corruption, and
government actions against corruption was publicly available within the
country. The Consultative Council called ministers before it for
questioning in exercise of its oversight responsibility.
The Prosecution and Investigation Commission, an independent body
reporting to the Council of Ministers, investigated cases of corruption
against public service officials. The commission considered 12,466
cases involving public service officials and agencies during the first
half of the year. The commission identified instances of forgery,
bribery, and public mistreatment, among others. During that same
period, the Court of Grievances delivered 2,695 verdicts on criminal
(1,368) and disciplinary cases against public officials and agencies.
On August 14, the Saudi Gazette reported that Minister of Health
Hamed Al-Mane revealed an attempt by a private company to bribe a
ministry employee. The employee reported the bribery attempt;
authorities arrested the company representative and financially
penalized the company.
On October 8, Arab News requested an investigation on corruption
involving contracts for major road work, highlighting a project
originally contracted for 698 million riyals (approximately $186.1
million) that was subcontracted multiple times and ultimately performed
for 18.2 million riyals ($4.9 million).
In November a court in Taif ruled against 26 individuals, including
24 civil servants, accused of accepting bribes of approximately 100,000
riyals ($27,000).
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Government actions to protect human rights are guided by its
interpretation of Shari'a. According to Article 26 of the Basic Law,
``The State shall protect human rights in accordance with the Islamic
Shari'a.''
Two MOI-licensed domestic human rights institutions--the
Governmental HRC, founded in 2005, and the government-funded NSHR--
operated in a restricted ambit and were reliant on government support.
The one nonlicensed human rights group, HRFS, operated without legal
status. In September 2007, according to HRW, a group of citizens
presented a second request, following an initial one in 2003, to the
minister of social affairs to register the ``National Saudi Committee
of Human Rights.'' There is no information on a government response.
The NSHR continued to receive requests for assistance and
complaints about the Government. Most of its members are academics, and
two of its former members are ministers. Ten of its 41 members were
women. The NSHR maintained offices in Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh, and
Jizan. The NSHR attempted to resolve cases by working with government
agencies. The NSHR developed a booklet titled ``Get to Know Your
Rights,'' which was available in multiple languages. The booklet
informs those accused of crimes of their rights under the law with
respect to arrest, investigation, search, and trial. The Government
funded NSHR and accepted the group's advice and opinion but did not
always act on its recommendations.
On September 3, the HRC announced the opening of a women's branch
in Riyadh to look into human rights violations involving women and
children. In October the HRC reported that the branch had handled 52
domestic violence cases. On September 9, the Arab News reported that
the HRC handled more than 10,000 complaints in its first three years in
existence.
During the year the HRC facilitated a visit by HRW to examine the
conditions of expatriate laborers. HRW published a report of its
findings critical of the country. HRW and AI on various occasions
criticized the Government and called on it to halt scheduled executions
or highlighting the arrest and detention of activists. The Government
generally viewed international NGOs with suspicion. In October HRW
formally requested permission to visit the country to observe trials of
terror suspects; the request had not been granted by year's end.
From February 3 to 13, Yakin Erturk, the UN Special Rapporteur on
Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences, visited the
country. Requests to visit the country by five different UN human
rights special rapporteurs or working groups dating from 2005 remained
unanswered at year's end.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race but not nationality.
Nevertheless, there were reports of racial discrimination against
persons of non-Arab descent, especially persons of African descent. The
prevailing interpretation of Shari'a institutionalizes discrimination
based on gender, witnessed in application of inheritance and divorce
laws and legal process, as well as in restricted educational and
socioeconomic opportunities for women. The Government and private
organizations cooperated in providing services for persons with
disabilities; however, there is no legislation mandating public access.
The Shia minority continued to suffer social, legal, economic, and
political discrimination.
Women.--Discrimination against women was a significant problem. For
example, UN special representative Yakin Erturk, while acknowledging
progress in the status of women, and particulary women's access to
education, noted the lack of women's autonomy, freedom of movement, and
economic independence; discriminatory practices surrounding divorce and
child custody; the absence of a law criminalizing violence against
women; and difficulties preventing many women from escaping abusive
environments.
Shari'a prohibits abuse and violence against all innocent persons,
including women. Shari'a also criminalizes rape, an act punishable by
death, although this punishment did not extend to spousal rape.
Statistics on incidents of rape and convictions were not available, but
some cases were publicly known. For example, on April 20, Arab News
reported the Government executed two soldiers for the rape of a 20-
year-old noncitizen woman. On October 14, as reported by the Saudi
Press Agency, authorities executed a citizen in Qassim for theft and
rape under the influence of alcohol.
Cases of rape were difficult to document in view of the associated
social stigma against the victims; however, available information
indicated that rape against women and boys and domestic violence
against women remained serious problems. The majority of rape cases are
not reported because victims face societal reprisal, often being deemed
unfit for marriage or even punished as a result of having been raped.
There were no laws specifically outlawing domestic violence, and
the number of cases was difficult to determine due to taboos about
public reporting. In 2007 the NSHR reported that women continued to
suffer largely unreported abuse at the hands of their husbands,
fathers, and brothers. Violence against women was widely tolerated.
Abusers were rarely prosecuted, and investigations were rarely carried
out for complaints of violent attacks, rapes, murders, or suicides of
women. Women who reported rape faced imprisonment and accusations of
adultery.
In July 2007, in response to the lack of services for victims of
domestic violence, the King issued a royal decree establishing the
National Family Safety program. In September the Committee of Social
Protection, a new organization consisting of various government
departments, launched a program to inform health workers about domestic
violence and child abuse. During the year the HRC fielded complaints of
domestic abuse and facilitated their resolution by referring them to
other government offices. In 2007 media reports highlighted the lack of
effectiveness by public institutions in responding to domestic
violence. Public institutions, including the Ministry of Social
Affairs, HRC, and NSHR, continued to receive reports of domestic
violence. Reports indicated improvement in responsiveness to claims
from the public. Media reports on the problem decreased during the
year.
According to a study by HRW, there were approximately 1.5 million
foreign domestic workers in the country, most of whom were women. No
statistics were available on the frequency of domestic worker abuse;
however, foreign NGOs and the English language press frequently
reported cases. On June 12, the Saudi Gazette reported an Indonesian
domestic worker was admitted to a Dammam hospital with signs of
physical abuse and died shortly after being admitted. On June 27, Arab
News reported a domestic worker was gang-raped by four men, including
her employer, and left at the gate of her country's embassy. On July
27, Arab News reported a domestic worker had taken shelter at her
country's embassy after she was abducted and gang-raped. On August 8, a
Nepali woman sought help from her embassy and claimed rape and physical
abuse by her sponsor.
The English language press published several editorials calling
attention to problems relating to domestic workers' rights. Embassy
representatives from origin countries stated that cases of foreign
domestic worker abuse were increasing, but added that these represented
the minority of experiences among their nationals in the Kingdom. NSHR
submitted proposed changes to the sponsorship system that would
redefine the relationship between employee and sponsor, with the intent
of decreasing abuse; the Government had not acted on these
recommendations by year's end.
More than 500 domestic workers sought shelter at their respective
embassies as a result of sexual abuse or other violence. Foreign
embassies received many reports that employers abused foreign women
working as domestic servants. Some embassies from countries with large
domestic servant populations maintained safe houses for citizens
fleeing work situations that included forced confinement, withholding
of food, nonpayment of salaries, beating, physical abuse, or rape. In
one case an employer accused a recruiting agency of beating domestic
workers. The media and diplomatic missions of sending countries accused
employers of committing many abuses against domestic workers, such as
forced confinement, withholding of food, nonpayment of salaries, and
beatings.
During the year reports of domestic worker abuse increased.
According to the Arab News, the Indonesian Embassy reported 102
complaints of sexual assault and 156 cases of physical torture
involving its citizens in the first half of the year. The Sri Lanka
Bureau of Foreign Employment reportedly decided to curb the number of
Sri Lankan domestic workers coming to the region, citing increased
cases of abuse. An estimated 500,000 Sri Lankan domestic workers live
in the Kingdom. On September 11, the Saudi Gazette reported that the
Government of the Philippines is considering increasing the minimum age
requirement for Philippine domestic workers in the country to reduce
exposure to abuse. A public awareness campaign called ``Don't Deprive
Me of My Humanity,'' launched by a television station in Qatar and
broadcast in the country, highlighted abuse of domestic workers through
graphic imagery and sparked national debate on the subject.
Prostitution is illegal. However, some women (and men), primarily
noncitizens, reportedly engaged in prostitution. The extent of
prostitution was unknown. Trafficking of women and children for
commercial sexual exploitation was reported.
Law and custom discriminated against women. Women--particularly in
villages and rural areas--continued to face discrimination and remained
uninformed of their rights under Shari'a. Although they have the right
to own property and are entitled to financial support from husbands or
male relatives, women have few political or social rights and were not
treated as equal members of society. In accordance with the religious
establishment's interpretation of Shari'a, women were prohibited from
marrying non Muslims, but men were permitted to marry Christians and
Jews. Women may not marry noncitizens without government permission;
men must obtain government permission to marry noncitizen women from
outside the six states of the GCC.
There were no legally recognized human rights groups focusing
specifically on women's rights. NSHR addressed various women's rights
issues. HRC opened a women's branch in Riyadh to look into human rights
violations against women and children. Human rights activists reported
there was more progress in women's rights than in other human rights
areas.
Women were restricted in their use of public facilities when men
were present and sat in designated sections. Women risked arrest by
religious police for riding in a vehicle driven by a male who was not
an employee or a close male relative.
In public a woman must wear an abaya (a black garment that covers
the entire body) and also cover her head and hair. The religious police
generally expected Muslim women to cover their faces and non Muslim
women from other Asian and African countries to comply more fully with
local customs of dress than non Muslim Western women.
Women were also subject to discrimination under Shari'a as
interpreted by the Government. While Shari'a provides women with a
basis to own and dispose of property independently, women were often
constrained from asserting such rights because of legal and societal
barriers, especially regarding employment and freedom of movement. In a
Shari'a court, the testimony of one man equals that of two women, and
Shari'a stipulates that daughters receive half the inheritance awarded
to their brothers.
Divorce laws also discriminated against women. Women had to
demonstrate legally specified grounds for divorce, but men could
divorce without giving cause. In doing so men were required to pay
immediately an amount of money agreed upon at the time of the marriage
that serves as a one time alimony payment. Women who demonstrate legal
grounds for divorce also were entitled to this alimony. Under the
country's interpretation of Shari'a, husbands who ``verbally'' divorce
their wives, or refuse to sign final divorce papers, leave their wives
in legal limbo, unable to travel, obtain a business license, attend a
university or college, or seek hospital care. If she is divorced or
widowed, a Muslim woman normally may keep her children until they
attain a specified age: seven years for boys and nine years for girls.
Courts awarded custody of older children to the divorced husband or the
deceased husband's family. Numerous divorced foreign women continued to
be prevented by their former husbands from visiting their children
after divorce.
Women had access to free but segregated education through the
university level. They constituted more than 58 percent of all
university students but could not study some subjects such as
architecture or civil engineering. Women's participation increased in
vocational training, with course offerings in information technology,
finance and accounting, and fields that promoted development of small
business, such as graphics, Web design, food manufacturing and fashion.
On October 15, Arab News reported that under the King Abdullah Foreign
Scholarship program, 2,858 of 4,779 students selected for master's
degree scholarships were women. Of the 127 students selected for
doctoral degree scholarships, 86 were women. Men may study overseas;
the law provides that a woman may do so only if accompanied by a spouse
or male guardian or the family provides written permission. The
Government paid the costs for a male guardian (or in some cases an
older female guardian) to accompany female students on scholarships.
Most employment opportunities for women were in education and
health care. Despite limited educational opportunities in many
professional fields, some female citizens were able to study abroad and
returned to work in architecture, journalism, banking, and photography.
During the year women were allowed to study law for the first time. In
October King Abdullah launched construction of the country's first
women-only university.
Women who wished to enter nontraditional fields were subject to
discrimination. Women may not accept jobs in rural areas if there are
no adult male relatives present with whom they may reside and who agree
to take responsibility for them. Most workplaces in which women were
present were segregated by gender. Frequently, contact with a male
supervisor or client was allowed only by video conference, telephone,
or fax machine. The degree of segregation varied by region, and the
central region had the most restrictions. Despite gender segregation,
the law provides women the right to obtain business licenses for work
in fields that might require them to supervise foreign workers,
interact with male clients, or deal on a regular basis with government
officials.
Businesswomen were constrained by the concept of guardianship,
which required a male guardian to give permission before a woman could
own or operate a business. However, home-based and women-only
businesses increased, with government support. According to a study by
the JCCI, 78 percent of women were unemployed, although 45 percent of
respondents saw no hurdles that prevented their participation in the
job market.
In medical settings and in the energy industry, women and men
worked together, and in some instances women supervised male employees.
Women have the right to maternity leave and child care in
establishments with 50 or more female employees.
Sexual harassment as a social phenomenon was reported in the Arabic
language press, but its extent was difficult to measure. The
Government's interpretation of Shari'a currently guides courts on cases
of sexual harassment, which are seldom reported. Many workplaces
maintained separate male and female work spaces.
Children.--The Government acted to protect children, and society
generally considered protection of children a human rights priority.
The Government provided all citizen children with free education and
medical care, but these benefits did not extend to noncitizen children.
Children were segregated by gender in public and government-sponsored
schools, usually beginning at the age of seven; however, schools were
integrated through the fourth grade, or around the ages of 10 and 11,
in some areas.
Abuse of children occurred, although it was difficult to gauge its
prevalence since the Government kept no national statistics on child
abuse. The Committee for Social Protection initiated a campaign to
train health workers to identify signs of abuse. At least three NGOs--
one in Riyadh, one in Qasim, and one in Jeddah--ran shelters for women
and children.
The press reported a number of cases of child marriage involving
young female children wed to young male children or to much older
males, both by arranged marriage and without the participants' consent.
Several cases were challenged in court. On August 18, the Saudi Gazette
reported a court in Bisha granted the divorce of a 14-year-old girl and
a 70-year-old man. On August 29, the Saudi Gazette reported a court
would hear the divorce cases of two minor females, ages 16 and 11, both
married to men older than 70. In December a judge refused to annul the
marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a man in his 50s in a case that drew
international media attention. The girl's father arranged the marriage
to help settle his debts with a close friend. These cases led the
public, the media, and local human rights organizations to call for an
end to child marriages. The HRC called upon the MOJ to establish a
minimum age for marriage, highlighting that the country is a signatory
to the 1996 Convention on the Rights of the Child. In November the
Consultative Council recommended that the King raise the legal age of
adulthood from 15 to 18.
In contrast to previous years, there were no reports of sexual
exploitation of foreign children brought to the country during the
Hajj.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit all forms of
trafficking in persons. The labor law penalizes some types of forced
labor but limits penalties to fines and bans on future hiring of the
trafficked person. The labor laws do not apply to domestic servants,
the largest group of forced labor victims in the country. There is no
law specifically prohibiting trafficking for commercial sexual
exploitation. The Government did not demonstrate efforts to criminalize
trafficking as a distinct crime during the year. There have been some
cases of assault against foreign workers resulting in physical injuries
or death and reports of widespread worker abuse. The Government
reported no criminal investigations, prosecutions, convictions, or
sentences for trafficking offenses, and there were no penalties
prescribed for particular offenses. The Government does not enforce
fines or bans on hiring workers imposed upon abusive employers or
recruitment agencies, and police were criticized for being unresponsive
to requests for help from foreign workers. The Government on rare
occasions imposed small fines or bans on importing foreign labor to
individuals or companies found culpable in nonpayment of employees.
The country was a destination for large numbers of workers from
Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Yemen, Pakistan, the Philippines,
and Indonesia and for smaller numbers of workers from many other Middle
Eastern, Asian and African countries. The hiring of African laborers,
particularly as domestic servants, increased due to a decrease of Asian
and Southeast Asian domestic workers. Some foreign workers were
subjected to conditions that constituted involuntary servitude,
including nonpayment of wages, debt bondage, withholding of passports,
confinement, and forced 18-hour days with no days off. Domestic
employees were especially vulnerable to trafficking into forced labor,
in part due to deceptive hiring practices. The widespread practice of
the employer holding passports and requiring the permission of the
employer to secure an exit visa greatly increased the risk of
trafficking, particularly for domestic workers. The Saudi Gazette
reported on August 23 that the number of illegal maids in the country
increased by 40 percent during the year. Many domestic workers leave
their original employer to flee abuse or seek higher wages. Women from
Yemen, Morocco, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tajikistan, and Thailand
were also trafficked to the country for commercial sexual exploitation,
although no statistics indicate the prevalence of this practice. Others
were reportedly kidnapped and forced into prostitution after running
away from abusive employers. The country is a destination for children
from Niger, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Chad, and Sudan, with victims
often trafficked for forced labor as beggars and street vendors. Many
of these individuals were trafficked across the border with Yemen. The
MOI addressed the problem of children forced into begging by conducting
raids to return trafficked children to their home countries.
The embassies of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines
maintained unofficial (unlicensed) safe houses in Riyadh for their
citizens who were victims of trafficking. The consulates of these
countries maintained safe houses in Jeddah. In August the Sri Lankan
Consulate in Jeddah reported there were five people staying in the
consulate's safe house, which can hold a maximum of 25-30 people. An
estimated 1 percent of cases the Sri Lankan Consulate received involved
abuse by employers; the consulate estimates another 1 percent of Sri
Lankan domestic workers were trapped against their will by their
employers and could not reach the consulate. Approximately 500,000 Sri
Lankans work in the country. In August the Philippines Consulate in
Jeddah reported 46 women were staying at the consulate safe house.
The Government provided trafficking awareness and technical
training for officials in the justice community, including prosecutors,
investigators, and judges. However, it is not clear how many officials
participated in this training. Due to a lack of victim identification
procedures in deportation centers and police stations, many victims of
trafficking reportedly were arrested and deported rather than being
afforded protection services. Some victims were protected at one of
three shelters the Ministry of Social Affairs operated in Riyadh,
Dammam, and Jeddah. Trafficking victims who needed medical care were
treated at public hospitals. Others feared arrest or deportation due to
their status as runaways (technically, it is illegal for a foreign
employee to run away from a legal sponsor in the country) or as
prostitutes; as such, most victims fled directly to their respective
embassies to await repatriation rather than approaching the Government.
The Government assisted some domestic worker trafficking victims with
shelter, access to legal and medical services, and temporary residency
status, including temporary relief from deportation. The Government did
not provide information about whether protection services were afforded
to victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
There were no reports of government or police involvement in
trafficking during the year.
The Government distributed a brochure outlining noncitizen workers'
rights and obligations, as well as contact information for seeking
assistance. The brochure is distributed to foreign embassies and is
available at ports of entry.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not prohibit
discrimination against persons with disabilities. A 2000 royal decree
provides prevention, welfare and habilitation services to persons with
disabilities and their families, and encourages institutions and
individuals to contribute to charitable activities within the field of
disability. There is no legislation that mandates public accessibility;
however, newer commercial buildings often included such access, as did
some newer government buildings. The provision of government social
services increasingly brought persons with disabilities into the public
mainstream. The law provides hiring quotas for persons with
disabilities, but information regarding whether employers met these
quotas was not available. The Government and private charitable
organizations cooperated in education, employment, and other services
for persons with disabilities.
Foreign criminal rings reportedly imported children with
disabilities for the purpose of forced begging. According to the
Ministry of Social Affairs, there were numerous government sponsored
centers for persons with disabilities, including organizations for
children with Down syndrome and autism.
On July 3, the JCCI held an entertainment festival for persons with
disabilities. The festival aimed to encourage local businesses to hire
persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although racial discrimination
is illegal, there was substantial societal prejudice based on ethnic or
national origin. Foreign workers from Africa and Asia were subject to
various forms of formal and informal discrimination and had the most
difficulty in obtaining justice for their grievances.
During the year there were fewer media reports of married couples
whom family members forced to divorce because either the husband or
wife was from ``inappropriate lineage,'' i.e., a nontribal family or an
``inferior'' tribe. In January an appeals court in Riyadh upheld the
forced divorce of Fatima al-Timani and her husband. Al-Timani's half-
brothers successfully filed for their divorce on the grounds that the
husband had lied about his tribal lineage.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Under Shari'a as
interpreted in the country, sexual activity between two persons of the
same gender is punishable by death or flogging. It is illegal for men
``to behave like women'' or wear women's clothes and for women to wear
men's clothes. There were reports of societal discrimination, physical
violence, and harassment based on sexual orientation.
In June the Saudi Gazette reported that the Court of Cassation
declined to endorse an ``excessive'' court sentence of a man convicted
by a lower court of ``trying to be a woman'' by wearing makeup and
women's clothes. The lower court sentenced the man to 10 years'
imprisonment and 1,500 lashes. No further information on the sentence
status was available.
According to media reports, in late July police arrested 55 people
at a ``gay party'' on a farm near Qatif. Also in July, police arrested
a group of persons at a pool hall in Jeddah for ``practicing
homosexuality.'' At year's end there were no reports of outcomes in
either case.
In October 2007 a court in al-Baha Province sentenced two men to
7,000 lashes each for engaging in sexual intercourse with other men.
According to AI, the two men have reportedly received part of their
sentence.
There was no overt discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS,
although the disease is treated as a social taboo. Press reports
indicated the disease was found in noncitizens. By law foreign workers
were required to provide a health certification proving they did not
have HIV/AIDS before entering the country.
Incitement to Acts of Discrimination.--In 2007 the Government
reported that the 2006 multi year project to revise textbooks,
curricula, and teaching methods to promote tolerance and remove content
disparaging religions other than Islam was under way. Despite revisions
to elementary and secondary textbooks, the books still retained some
language that was intolerant of other religious traditions, especially
Jewish, Christian, and Shia beliefs.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The labor code does not allow workers
to form and join independent unions of their choice; however, the
Government allowed a few citizen-only labor committees to operate with
heavy limitations on the right of association. Several small strikes
occurred during the reporting period, with workers immediately arrested
and/or deported.
The labor code makes no provision for workers legally to strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining is not protected by law and was not practiced.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although labor laws
do not specifically address all forms of forced or compulsory labor,
they outlaw slavery. Labor laws also establish rules for voluntary
working conditions and pay, including by children, and thus implicitly
prohibit forced labor; however, many foreign workers were nevertheless
subjected to abusive conditions that constituted involuntary servitude
or forced labor, including nonpayment of wages for months and years,
debt bondage, confinement, confiscation of travel and identity
documents, long hours without days off, contract switching,
intimidation, and physical abuse.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor occurred in the country, with child begging among poor
citizens and trafficked foreigners the most common form. Children from
other countries, primarily Yemen, were forced into child begging rings,
street vending, and possibly family businesses. There were reports of
foreign domestic workers younger than 18, some of whom traveled to the
country with forged documents.
No person younger than 15 may be legally employed unless he is the
only family worker. There is no minimum age for workers employed in
family owned businesses or in other areas considered extensions of the
household, such as farming, herding, and domestic service. Children
younger than 18 may not be employed in hazardous or harmful industries,
such as mining or industries employing power operated machinery, and
there is no evidence that this occurred.
A study commissioned by the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and
Technology found that child labor was a growing phenomenon. According
to the study, 1.54 percent of children work, including 2.3 percent in
Eastern Province. A separate study reported by Arab News found that
nearly 69 percent of child beggars in Riyadh are citizen children. On
October 13, Okaz reported the result of a study by the King Abdullah
Institute for Research and Studies indicating there are more than
83,000 children working on the streets in the country.
The MOJ has jurisdiction and has acted as plaintiff in the few
cases that have arisen against alleged violators. The Social Affairs
Ministry maintained special offices in Mecca and Medina to combat the
growing problem of child beggars.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage for workers; however, the unofficial private sector minimum wage
for citizens was 1,500 riyals (approximately $400) per month, based on
the minimum monthly contribution to the pension system, and this
appeared to provide a decent standard of living for a citizen worker
and family. Individual contracts also set wages that varied according
to the type of work performed and the nationality of the worker, with
low and unskilled expatriate workers generally receiving lower wages
than citizens. Foreign workers comprise approximately 88 percent of the
workforce in the private sector.
Labor regulations establish a 48 hour work week at regular pay and
allow employers to require up to 12 additional hours of overtime at
time and a half pay. The law also provides for a 24 hour rest period,
normally on Fridays, although the employer may grant it on another day.
However, there were credible reports that female domestic servants were
sometimes forced to work 16 to 20 hours per day, seven days per week,
with little or no pay. Such reports are more common during the month of
Ramadan, when citizens commonly eat and socialize at night.
Many foreign workers were subjected to abusive conditions,
including nonpayment of wages for periods of time ranging from several
months to more than a year, debt bondage, confinement, confiscation of
travel and identity documents, long hours without days off, contract
switching, intimidation, and physical abuse; however, the Ministry of
Labor's department for protection of foreign workers addressed some
cases of abuse and exploitation. Foreign workers were able to submit
complaints and seek help from the 37 Labor Ministry offices throughout
the country, although responsiveness was an issue. The ministry
occasionally banned individuals and companies who mistreated foreign
workers from sponsoring such workers for five years. Employers with
repeated violations were banned indefinitely.
Foreign workers in occupations other than household work could also
turn to labor courts to resolve labor disputes. These courts regularly
ruled in favor of workers; due to red tape and lack of capacity, they
sometimes took many months to reach a final ruling. Because labor laws
do not apply to foreign domestic servants, the servants may not seek
the protection of labor courts, although there were reports that some
domestic workers pleaded their cases before a judge.
Bilateral labor agreements stipulate work conditions for workers
from some countries, although enforcement was sometimes a problem.
Labor regulations require employers to protect some workers from
job related hazards and disease, although violations occurred. These
regulations did not cover farmers, herdsmen, domestic servants, and
workers in family operated businesses. Foreign nationals reported
frequent failures to enforce health and safety standards. Many foreign
workers were not able to exercise their right to remove themselves from
dangerous situations. This was particularly true for domestic workers,
who were occasionally locked inside the home or threatened with
nonpayment if they left their employer.
__________
SYRIA
Syria, with a population of approximately 19 million, is a republic
under the authoritarian Presidential regime of Bashar al-Asad. The
President makes key decisions with counsel from a small circle of
security advisors, ministers, and senior members of the ruling Ba'ath
Party (Arab Socialist Renaissance). The constitution mandates the
primacy of Ba'ath party leaders in state institutions and society.
President al-Asad and party leaders, supported by various security
services, dominated all three branches of government. In May 2007
President al-Asad was confirmed for another seven-year term in
elections that were considered by international and local human rights
advocates as neither free nor fair. Civilian authorities maintained
effective control of the security forces, and members of the security
forces committed numerous, serious human rights abuses.
The Government's respect for human rights worsened, and it
continued to commit serious abuses. The Government systematically
repressed citizens' abilities to change their government. In a climate
of impunity, there were instances of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation
of life. Members of the security forces tortured and physically abused
prisoners and detainees. Security forces arrested and detained
individuals without providing just cause, and lengthy pretrial and
incommunicado detention remained a serious problem. Considered common
practice since 2006, the Government violated citizens' privacy rights
and imposed significant restrictions on freedoms of speech, press,
assembly, and association, amid an atmosphere of government corruption.
Security services disrupted meetings of human rights organizations and
detained activists, organizers, and other regime critics without due
process. In addition, throughout the year the Government sentenced to
prison several high-profile members of the human rights community,
especially individuals affiliated with the national council of the
Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change (DDDNC), an
umbrella organization bringing together a range of reform-minded
opposition groups. Violence and societal discrimination against women
continued. The influx of Iraqi refugees, moreover, exacerbated the
incidence of sexual exploitation, including of minors. The Government
discriminated against minorities, particularly the Kurds and the
Ahvazis, and severely restricted workers' rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year
there were reports of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life.
On March 20, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), security forces
fired into a crowd of Kurds celebrating the New Year holiday (Nowruz)
in Qamishli. The attack killed Muhammad Yahya Khalil, Muhammad Zaki,
and Muhammad Mahmoud Hussein, all between the ages of 18 and 25. The
three men were among approximately 200 celebrants gathered around a
bonfire in the middle of a street. After firefighters and security
forces failed to disperse the crowd with bullets and tear gas,
individuals in civilian dress drove by in a truck and fired assault
rifles at the group.
On July 5, prison guards and military officials fired on rioting
inmates at Sednaya prison, reportedly killing between 25-50 inmates.
According to HRW, military police officers triggered the riot when they
insulted inmates and stepped on copies of the Koran during an
aggressive search of the prison. Only nine of the fatalities were
identified by year's end: Zakariyya Affash, Muhammad Mahareesh, Mahmoud
Abu Rashid, Abdul-Baqi Khattab, Ahmed Shalaq, Khaled Bilal, Mo'ayad al-
Ali, Muhanad al-Omar, and Khidr Alloush.
In September, according to local human rights observers, government
authorities arrested Ahmed Musa al-Shukaifi, a teacher from the town of
Jarjanaaz of Maarat Al-Numan in Idlib Province, for unknown reasons. A
week later his corpse was returned to his family. He allegedly died as
a result of torture. At year's end there was no investigation into the
circumstances surrounding his death.
On October 14, a customs patrol shot and killed Sami Maatouk, the
nephew of human rights lawyer Khalil Maatouk, and Joni Suleiman in the
village of al-Mushrifah, near the Syria-Lebanon border, according to a
report from a local human rights group. The report stated that the
patrol purportedly was pursuing smugglers in the area and killed
Maatouk while he was sitting outside his house. On October 20,
unidentified individuals reportedly destroyed evidence at the scene to
hamper any investigation.
On December 27, according to local human rights observers, military
officials stationed inside Sednaya prison killed approximately 50
inmates. Reportedly, a military officer, in the company of a group of
soldiers, verbally threatened to shoot inmates. The inmates took the
threat seriously enough that they rushed the soldiers, prompting the
soldiers to open fire.
Authorities failed to conduct independent investigations into any
of these deaths by year's end, except for the case of Sami Maatouk and
Joni Suleiman, which the Government claimed it would look into. At
year's end there was no further development in that case. Likewise,
there were no investigations or developments in the 2007 deaths in
detention of Fahed Mohammed Omar in June, Abdul Moez Salem in July, or
Ghafoor Abdul-Baqi in December, all of which reportedly followed
torture or mistreatment by security services, or the November 2007
killing of Issa Khalil, a Qamishli resident who reportedly participated
in a demonstration following a pro-Kurdistan Workers Party protest
(PKK).
At year's end the UN International Independent Investigation
Commission had not issued a final report on the assassination of former
Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri and 22 other individuals. In
March and July 2007, the chief investigator for the commission issued
interim reports that described general satisfactory cooperation from
Syrian authorities into the investigation, neither concluding nor
ruling out their possible involvement.
b. Disappearance.--There were reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
In mid-December 2007, according to a January 18 human rights group
report, authorities arrested Abdul Rahman Wazzan upon his arrival at
Damascus International Airport. Wazzan, a civil engineer, had been
living in France for the last 20 years and was en route to Aleppo to
spend the Eid al-Adha holidays with family and to sort out legal issues
connected to the death of his mother. At year's end the reason for his
arrest and his whereabouts were unknown. However, according to the
Muslim Brotherhood Web site IkhwanWeb.com, he was arrested because of
his religious belief, presumably perceived by authorities as overly
Islamist.
On February 21, according to human rights organizations, Syrian
Military Intelligence (SMI) authorities summoned Kamal al-Mwayel to
Damascus for questioning, likely regarding his presence at a December
2007 DDDNC meeting. He went missing after meeting with the SMI and was
not released until September 18, according to local human rights
observers. The Government imprisoned Al-Mwayel previously from 1982 to
1989 for involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood.
On March 27, unidentified authorities reportedly arrested Mustafa
Sheikh, an orthopedic surgeon, at the hospital where he worked. The
reason for the arrest, according to a human rights organization, may
have been connected to his religious beliefs, which authorities
presumably viewed as overly Islamist. However, the exact charges, the
arresting authority, and where Sheik was incarcerated remained unknown
at year's end.
On July 5, during a riot at Sednaya prison, detainee Sameer al-
Bahar disappeared after he attempted to negotiate with prison officials
on behalf of his fellow prisoners, according to a local human rights
group. When al-Bahar met the officials and conveyed the prisoners'
refusal to surrender, he was beaten and taken away in an armored car.
His whereabouts remained unknown at year's end.
On the night of July 16, according to a human rights organization,
Mu'awiyah Ali al-Dablan, a police officer from the village Al-Taaminah
in Hama, and his friend Bashar Aziz were arrested in al-Dablan's home.
The reason for the arrest and the whereabouts of the two men were
unknown at year's end.
On October 28, a local human rights organization announced that in
the first half of August, 10 individuals from Deir al-Zour were
arrested by local authorities: Muhammad Ameen al-Shawa (high school
math teacher), Burhan Juneid (shop owner), Nabeel Khleewi (arrested on
August 13), Abdul Hadi al-Salameh (university student), Bilal Sufyan,
the brothers Ahmed and Sufyan Dumaim, Iyad Hussein, Hassan Muhammad,
and Muhammad Taha. According to the organization, all the men were
``religious men of a moderate outlook,'' and none were political
activists. The specific reasons for their arrest and whereabouts were
unknown at year's end.
In July, according to human rights observers, security forces
released Egyptian citizen Amro Ahmad Mohamad Yousef, who had been
detained since May 2007.
There were no new developments in the 2007 disappearance of Khalid
Muhammad Ahmed or the 2006 disappearance of Rami Ahmad Farhat.
The Government continued to withhold information on the welfare and
whereabouts of persons who disappeared in previous years; little was
known other than the approximate date of their disappearance. The
Government had a long record of allegedly ``disappearing'' individuals,
some of whom were believed to have died while others were likely in
long-term detention, and it did not investigate or punish any security
force members for their role in disappearances.
The Government continued to deny reports that security forces
``disappeared'' an estimated 17,000 persons in the late 1970s and early
1980s. According to HRW, the ``disappeared'' were mostly detained
Muslim Brotherhood (MB) members and other Syrian activists, as well as
hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians who were detained in Syria or
abducted from Lebanon by Syrian forces or Lebanese and Palestinian
militias. The Lebanese nongovernmental organization (NGO) Support of
Lebanese in Detention and Exile (SOLIDE) estimated that more than 600
Lebanese prisoners remained in Syria. During the year various Lebanese
news outlets quoted Lebanese Member of Parliament (MP) Fouad al-Saad as
saying the number of missing Lebanese citizens in Syria numbered 91. On
August 20, Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar stated in a
televised interview that there were 745 Lebanese citizens missing in
Syria, divided into two categories: convicted criminals and victims of
``enforced disappearances.''
A visit by Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman to Damascus in August
produced an agreement to address detainee issues; by year's end the two
governments had made no further progress on the issue. On September 7,
the Syrian delegation of the joint Lebanese-Syrian commission charged
with investigating the missing individuals presented a list of 115
convicted Lebanese citizens held in Syrian jails; however, the Syrian
list failed to include any of those classified as ``enforced
disappearances.'' According to SOLIDE, at year's end the Syrian
delegation had not formally approved the allowing of Lebanese judges to
check on the 115 named prisoners. Various NGOs and family members of
those who allegedly remained in prison continued to dispute the 1999
government claim that all abductees had been released.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the penal code
provides punishment for abusers. Under Article 28 of the constitution,
``no one may be tortured physically or mentally or treated in a
humiliating manner.'' However, security forces reportedly continued to
use torture frequently.
Local human rights organizations continued to cite numerous cases
of security forces allegedly abusing and torturing prisoners and
detainees and claimed that many instances of abuse went unreported.
Individuals who suffered torture or beatings while detained refused to
allow their names or details of their cases to be reported for fear of
government reprisal.
Former prisoners, detainees, and reputable local human rights
groups reported that methods of torture and abuse included electrical
shocks; pulling out fingernails; burning genitalia; forcing objects
into the rectum; beating, sometimes while the victim was suspended from
the ceiling; alternately dousing victims with freezing water and
beating them in extremely cold rooms; hyperextending the spine; bending
the detainees into the frame of a wheel and whipping exposed body
parts; using a backward-bending chair to asphyxiate the victim or
fracture the victim's spine; and stripping prisoners naked for public
view. Throughout previous years the international NGO Amnesty
International (AI) documented 38 types of torture and ill-treatment
used against detainees in the country. AI reported that torture was
most likely to occur while detainees were held at one of the many
detention centers operated by the various security services in the
country, particularly while authorities attempted to extract a
confession or information. Courts systematically used ``confessions''
extracted under duress as evidence, and defendants' claims of torture
were almost never investigated.
For example, on January 9, police in Raqqa arrested Ibrahim al-
Khoja on the charge of theft, according to a human rights organization.
While he was in jail, local police reportedly tortured al-Khoja,
resulting in a broken leg and crushed hand. In February al-Khoja's
lawyer, Abdullah al-Khalil, filed a lawsuit against the police. At
year's end no progress had been made on this case.
On January 28, according to human rights organizations, eight
political activists who had been incarcerated at Adra prison for
political crimes informed the third investigative judge in Damascus,
Muhammad Subji al-Sa'ur, during a trial hearing that security officials
had beaten them during interrogation to force them to sign confessions.
The men testified that they were punched in the face, kicked, and
slapped. The eight men were part of a group of 12 signatories to the
Damascus Declaration who were jailed in late 2007 and early 2008.
Also on January 28, according to HRW, authorities at Adra prison
transferred 'Ali al-Abdullah, a signatory to the Damascus Declaration,
to a medical examiner to receive treatment for an ear injury sustained
at the hands of his interrogators. The examiner declined to issue a
report, claiming that he was not a specialist in ear injuries.
In September authorities detained and reportedly tortured to death
Ahmed Musa Al-Shukaifi, according to a human rights organization. The
reasons for al-Shukaifi's detention and torture were unknown. He was a
teacher in Idlib Province.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally were poor and did not meet international standards for health
and sanitation. At some prisons security officials demanded bribes from
family members. Overcrowding and the denial of food remained problems
at several prisons. The Government did not permit visits by
international human rights observers.
According to local and international human rights organizations,
prisoners and detainees were held without adequate medical care, and
some prisoners with significant health problems reportedly were denied
medical treatment. Throughout the year local and international human
rights organizations highlighted the case of political prisoner and
former MP Othman Haji Suleiman, who died on February 18, soon after his
February 5 release from al-Maslamieh prison in Aleppo, where he had
been held incommunicado since November 2007. Authorities previously
detained Suleiman in 1995, 2002, 2005, and 2006. The November 2007
arrest was for his alleged involvement in organizing a demonstration in
Ein al-Arab to protest against Turkish military interventions in
Kurdistan, Iraq. Suleiman's health reportedly deteriorated rapidly
after he was tortured in prison.
On January 28, security forces arrested the Damascus Declaration
National Council Secretary General, Riad Seif, who suffered from
prostate cancer and a heart condition. His lawyers told HRW that prison
authorities forced Seif to sleep in the general hall of the prison with
nothing more than a single blanket after his arrest. On October 29, the
Damascus criminal court sentenced him to two and on.--half years in
prison. At year's end Seif was reportedly receiving medical care and
was moved to a cell with a bunk in Adra prison.
On August 28, a local human rights group reported the death of
Abdul Sattar Qattan, whom authorities had imprisoned at three different
times for a total of 28 years. During his last period of incarceration,
his kidneys degenerated, and he never received appropriate treatment.
Sednaya prison officials released him in June 2007 after his illness
became critical. Qattan attempted previously to leave the country for
medical treatment and a transplant, but the Government banned his
travel.
The Government failed to provide adequate security for prisoners
and detainees during the year, including during the July 5 and December
27 Sednaya riots (See Section 1.a.). In past years there were reports
of prisoners being beaten by other prisoners while guards stood by and
watched. For example, in March 2007 criminal convict Jaber Yousef beat
prisoner of conscience Habib Saleh while prison guards and other
prisoners watched, according to local human rights organizations.
There were separate detention facilities for men, women, and
children; however, minors reportedly were sometimes held in adult
facilities. Pretrial detainees, particularly those held for political
or security reasons, were usually held separately from convicted
prisoners. However, according to local human rights organizations,
political prisoners were sometimes deliberately placed in crowded cells
with convicted and alleged felons and subjected to verbal and physical
threats. For example, prisoner of conscience Habib Saleh cut himself on
a razor blade hidden in his prison bunk by a fellow inmate on October
23, according to Reporters Without Borders. Saleh has been held in Adra
prison since May 7.
Some former detainees reported that the Government denied political
prisoners access to reading materials, including the Koran. Facilities
for political or national security prisoners, especially accused
Islamists, were generally much worse than those for common criminals.
Released political detainees confirmed reports of poor prison
conditions, including overcrowded cells and a shortage of beds.
Each branch of the four security services operated its own
detention centers. The majority of reported torture or mistreatment
cases occurred in these facilities, according to local human rights
organizations.
The Government prohibited independent monitoring of prison or
detention center conditions and publishing of any materials on prison
or detention center conditions; however, diplomatic and consular
officials were granted limited access in rare cases during the year.
During the year the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not officially
allow consular visits to prisons.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, in practice these activities
persisted and remained significant problems.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The role of the
security services extends far beyond necessary security matters due to
a state of emergency, which has been in place since 1963. The
Government justified the ongoing Emergency Law on the basis of its
conflict with Israel and threats from terrorist groups. The SMI and Air
Force Intelligence are military agencies.
The four major branches of security forces include the SMI,
Political Security Directorate (PSD), General Intelligence Directorate
(GID), and Syrian Air Force Intelligence (SAFI), all of which devote
some of their overlapping resources to monitoring internal dissent and
individual citizens. The four branches operate independently and
generally outside of the control of the legal system.
The Ministry of Interior (MOI) controls the police forces, which
consist of four separate divisions: emergency police, traffic police,
neighborhood police, and riot police.
Corruption continued to be a serious problem in the police forces
and security services. Human rights lawyers and family members of
detainees cited solicitation of bribes for favorable decisions and
provision of basic services by government officials throughout the
legal process in both courts and prisons. Traffic police officers
regularly solicited bribes from drivers.
No mechanisms for investigations of security force abuse existed.
Arrest and Detention.--Upon arrest an individual is brought to a
police station for processing and detained until a trial date is set.
At the initial court hearing, which may be months or years after the
arrest, the accused may retain an attorney at personal expense or be
assigned a court-appointed attorney, although lawyers were not ensured
access to their clients before trial. The individual is then tried in a
court, where a judge renders a verdict. While the prison code provides
for prompt access to family members, human rights organizations and
families reported inconsistent application of the code, with some
families waiting as long as a year to see relatives. Civil and criminal
defendants had the right to bail hearings and possible release from
detention on their own recognizance. However, this right was not
applied consistently throughout the legal system and was rarely
available to detainees under the emergency law.
The 1963 Emergency Law authorizes the Government to conduct
preventive arrests and overrides constitutional and penal code
provisions against arbitrary arrest and detention, including the need
to obtain warrants. In cases involving political or national security
offenses, arrests were often carried out in secret with cases assigned
in a seemingly arbitrary manner to military, security, or criminal
courts. Suspects were detained incommunicado for prolonged periods
without charge or trial and denied the right to a judicial
determination regarding pretrial detention. Unlike defendants in
regular criminal and civil cases, security detainees did not have
access to lawyers prior to or during questioning, as well as throughout
the preparation and presentation of their defense. In most cases
detainees were not informed of charges against them until their
arraignment, which often was months after their arrest. Additionally,
those suspected of political or national security offenses were
arrested and prosecuted under ambiguous and broad articles of the penal
code and subsequently tried in either the criminal or security courts.
The Government did not notify foreign governments when their
citizens were arrested or detained, as required under Article 36 of the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, or did so only after the
person was released or deported. For example, on November 7, Syrian
police arrested three Jordanian men, Nidal Kayed, Ayman Hawarat, and
Ahmad Abu Durais, for inquiring about sensitive locations. The
Jordanian embassy was not notified, and the Syrian Prime Minister's
Office denied that the three were in custody, according to the Jordan
Times. Authorities eventually released the men on November 23.
Arbitrary and false arrests were problems, and detainees had no
legal redress. The authorities detained those critical of the
Government under the emergency law and charged them with a wide range
of political crimes, including treason. Continuing a trend that began
in 2006, the Government tried some political prisoners in criminal
courts, although the charges were security related and not covered by
the criminal code. For example, the trial of 12 members of the DDDNC
for their political opposition activities took place in the Damascus
First Criminal Court on October 29. Similarly, cyber-dissident Habib
Saleh, arrested on May 7 for his critical writings, had his initial
defense hearing in the Damascus Second Criminal Court on December 1.
Incommunicado detention was a severe problem. Many persons who
disappeared in past years were believed to be in long-term detention
without charge or possibly to have died in detention. Many detainees
brought to trial were held incommunicado for years, and their trials
often were marked by irregularities and lack of due process. Arrest and
search warrants were issued only for non-security related cases;
however, police bypassed this requirement in many instances by claiming
security or emergency grounds for entry. Protracted court proceedings
were caused by a shortage of available courts and the absence of legal
provisions for a speedy trial or plea bargaining.
On September 30, President al-Asad issued legislative decree 69.
The new law states that in the case of a crime committed by military
officers, members of the internal security forces, and customs police
officers in the pursuit of their normal duties, only the General
Command of the Army and Armed Forces can issue a warrant of arrest. The
new decree also requires that any pending criminal cases against such
officers be transferred from criminal to military courts.
During the year security forces reportedly continued to arrest
alleged Islamists. Local human rights organizations estimated that
approximately 1,600 Islamists were arrested during the year, although
it was unclear how many of those remained in detention at year's end.
On January 22, intelligence services reportedly arrested 13
Islamists in the al-Sfeerah area of Aleppo, including students Hamza
Haaj Hamza, Hossam Qana'a, and Muhammad Moaz Qana'a, primary school
teacher Muhammad Raheem, and pharmacist Barakaat al-Aswad. Their
whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
On July 11, a local human rights group reported the arrest of
Sheikh Yusuf Omar Mobayyedh, a religious scholar known for his moderate
views and disavowal of violence. His whereabouts were unknown at year's
end.
During the year the Government continued its sustained crackdown on
civil society and human rights activists. Under the authority of laws
that criminalize membership and activity in organizations the
Government deems illegal, security forces arrested a number of persons
with links to local human rights groups, prodemocracy student groups,
as well as scores of other minorities, particularly Kurds, members of
the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), and suspected Islamic extremists.
For example, on January 3, security agents arrested Fayez Sarah, a
writer, journalist, and member of the DDDNC. Sarah's arrest signaled
the continuation of the Government's 2007 efforts to neutralize the
newly formed prodemocracy movement. Security forces subsequently
arrested Muhammed Haji Darwish on January 8, Marwan al-Esh on January
15, Riad Seif on January 28, and Talal Abu Dan on January 30. Human
rights observers reported that authorities arrested these individuals
for attending a DDDNC meeting in December 2007. At year's end
authorities held the individuals at Adra prison, along with six other
attendees of the DDDNC meeting arrested in December 2007: Ahmad Toumah,
Akram al-Bunni, Jaber al-Shoufi, Muhammad Yasser al-Eitti, Ali
Abdullah, and Walid al-Buni. Authorities transferred DDDNC chairperson
Fidaa al-Hourani, who also was arrested in December 2007, from prison
to Ibn al-Nafis hospital on February 25, after she suffered health
problems. On October 29, the Damascus criminal court sentenced all of
the aforementioned DDDNC members to two and on.--half years in prison.
On February 17, authorities arrested Kurdish university student
Hozan Muhammad Amin Ibrahim in Damascus, according to a local human
rights organization. Ibrahim had previously spent a year in prison
after his arrest at a demonstration in front of the Damascus branch of
the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2003. Ibrahim remained in prison at
year's end.
On February 27, according to a local human rights organization,
security authorities arrested activist Osama Edwar in Hasakah,
reportedly for writing an article critical of the Government. He was
released on March 8.
On March 2, the SMI arrested Mohammad Badih Dak al-Bab, a former
political prisoner and an alleged MB member. Dak al-Bab was previously
arrested in 2000 for his MB affiliations and sentenced to 15 years in
prison but received a Presidential pardon in 2005. The most recent
arrest reportedly stemmed from articles he had written that criticized
Minister of Information Moshen Bilal. Authorities released Dak al-Bab
on September 17.
According to a local human rights group, the Syrian Air Force
Security Service detained Pierre Rustum on March 15. Rustum was an
activist, writer, a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party in the
country, and a council member for the Damascus Declaration group.
Rustum was released on March 22.
On April 2, unidentified agents took Qais Ahmed Ali, a Kurd, from
his home in Damascus. He was released on July 28.
On May 5, according to human rights observers, the SAFI arrested
political and human rights activist Hammam Ahmad Haddad, presumably for
his public writings on human rights abuses. His whereabouts were
unknown until his release in July.
On June 16, security forces reportedly arrested independent member
of the DDDNC, Mahmoud al-Najjar,in Aleppo. Authorities did not provide
a reason for his arrest, according to the report. He was released on
July 24.
On July 9, GIA detained Hassan Younes Kasim, a member of the
Committees for the Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in
Syria (CDF), according to a local human rights group. Authorities
released him on July 24.
On August 3 and 4, the PSD arrested Jawan Abdo, Ra'id Fawaz al-Ali,
Markeen Mustafa, and Salahidin Baro. All four individuals were Kurds
living in Aldirbasiah in the northern part of the country. Their
whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
On August 11, intelligence authorities arrested human rights
activist and Damascus Declaration member Ghazi Qadoor in his home in
Aleppo, according to human rights observers. His whereabouts were
unknown at year's end.
On August 15, security forces abducted Mashaal Tammo, the head of
the Kurdish Future Movement Party, as he was driving near Aleppo. The
Government held Tammo incommunicado for two weeks, after which he
appeared at a preliminary court hearing in Damascus on August 27. At
his first court hearing, no specific charges were announced. At year's
end he remained detained at Adra prison in Damascus.
On August 26, according to a local humanitarian organization,
security forces arrested Khaldoun al-Jaza'iri, a dentist, at his home
in Damascus. Al-Jaza'iri is the son of prominent nuclear scientist
Makki al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri. His whereabouts were unknown at year's
end.
On October 26, security forces in Hasakah Province reportedly
arrested Muhammad Sa'id Husayn and Sa'dun Mahmud Shekho, both general
executive members of the Kurdish Freedom Party in Syria. At year's end
their whereabouts remained unknown.
On November 6, according to Jordanian news dailies, three Jordanian
men, Nidal Kayed, Ayman Hawarat, and Ahmad Abu Durais, entered Syria
together for a three-day vacation. On November 7, they were arrested by
security authorities for allegedly inquiring about ``sensitive
locations.'' The Government denied that the three men were in custody.
The three men were held incommunicado until their release on November
23. Their release followed Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi's
visit to Syria, where he raised the subject with officials.
On November 15, according to human rights observers, security
forces arrested Osam Hamdan Makarem, a businessman in Suweida, a small
city south of Damascus. At year's end, the reason for his arrest and
his location were unknown. However, observers speculated that the
arrest might have been connected to a recent financial dispute that
Makarem took to court and won. The day after the courts decided the
case, October 19, Makarem was arrested, detained for a day, and
released.
On November 17, SMI agents arrested Bassam Zakia in Hama, according
to human rights observers. Zakia had allegedly returned to the country
from Jordan three months earlier, after an unspecified period abroad,
in order to obtain a visa that would allow him to work in Saudi Arabia.
Bassam had reportedly contacted the Syrian embassy in Jordan and
obtained a visit permit. Once he was in Hama, the SMI called him to
their office several times before finally arresting him. The reason for
his detention and his whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
At year's end Muhammad Bakor and Sufian Bakor remained in
detention. In January 2007, according to local human rights observers,
the PSD in Hama arrested Muhammad Bakor and Sufian Bakor, sons of
dissident Muhammad Bakor, an exile in Iraq.
On August 24, according to human rights observers, authorities
released Kawthar Tayfore and Aisha Afandi, both Kurdish members of the
Democratic Union Party (PYD). Tayfore and Afandi had been held
incommunicado, with no access to legal counsel, since November 2007.
A local human rights group reported that in December 2007,
authorities detained Ghaleb Amer, a board member of the Arab
Organization for Human Rights. He was released the next day along with
four other individuals: Yousef Sayasneh, Muhammad Jabr Masalmeh, and
Muhammad Zaki Huwiedi.
There were no new developments in the 2007 case of Nader Sanoufi.
On June 13, according to a local human rights group, authorities
released Fa'ik al-Meir, a member of the Central Committee of the Syrian
Democratic People's party. Al-Meir was detained in Tartous in 2006 for
allegedly establishing ties with Lebanese March 14 forces and sentenced
to 18 months in prison in December 2007.
There were also numerous reports from human rights organizations
that security services arrested citizens who were apparently not
involved in political activities. The security services provided no
information on the reasons for the arrests and, in many cases, family
and friends were unable to obtain information on the whereabouts of the
detained at year's end.
On April 7, the PSD arrested Waleed Muhammad Ali Hussein, an art
student, after summoning him several times to security offices in
Hasakah, according to a local human rights group. The reason for his
detention and his whereabouts remained unknown at year's end.
There were no new developments in the 2007 arrests of Muhammad
Naama, a student at a medical college in Damascus, and Omar Muhammad
Khalalo, or the 2006 arrests of Fahd Da'doush, Ahmet Muhammad Ibrahim,
and Muhammad Sheikhmos Aali (also known as Sheikh Aali).
Amnesty.--Unlike in the previous year, the President did not issue
any amnesties; however, following tradition, authorities released sick
prisoners who had completed three-quarters of their sentences.
The Government rarely includes political prisoners in periodic
Presidential amnesties; however, on August 7, Arif Dalila received a
Presidential pardon and was released from prison. Dalila had been
incarcerated since his arrest in 2001. Dalila, a well-known Syrian
economist, had participated in the informal political reform
discussions associated with the Damascus Spring movement of 2001. He
was originally arrested in 2001 for criticizing government policy in
both print and public remarks and sentenced to 10 years in prison by
the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) in 2002.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, courts were regularly subject to
political influence. According to observers, approximately 95 percent
of judges were Ba'athists or closely aligned to the Ba'ath Party and
therefore not independent.
The judicial system is composed of civil and criminal courts under
the Ministry of Justice and religious courts, which adjudicate matters
of personal status such as divorce and inheritance. The Court of
Cassation is the highest court of appeal. The Supreme Constitutional
Court (SCC) rules on the constitutionality of laws and decrees, hears
special appeals regarding the validity of parliamentary elections, and
tries the President if he is accused of criminal offenses; however, it
does not hear appeals from the civil and criminal justice system. The
SCC is composed of five members who are appointed by the President for
renewable fou.--year terms.
Military courts have authority over crimes committed by soldiers or
members of other military or police branches. If the charge against a
soldier or member of the military or police branch is a misdemeanor,
the sentence against the defendant is final. If the charge is a felony,
the defendant has the right to appeal to the Military Chamber at the
Court of Cassation. Military courts also have authority to try
civilians in cases based on military law. Civilians have the right to
appeal all sentences in a military court. A military prosecutor decides
the venue for a civilian defendant. There were reports that the
Government operated military field courts in locations outside
established courtrooms. Such courts reportedly observed fewer formal
procedures than regular military courts. For example, in October 2007
the Military Field Court, located in an undisclosed location in
Damascus, convicted and sentenced five criminals to public hanging in
Aleppo.
The SSSC tries political and national security cases and operates
under the provisions of the 1963 Emergency Law, which authorizes the
prosecution of anyone ``opposing the goals of the revolution,'' and
creating ``sectarian strife.'' Although the Government stated that the
SSSC tried only persons who sought to use violence against the
Government, the majority of defendants before the SSSC were prosecuted
for exercising their political rights.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants before civil and criminal courts are
entitled to legal representation of their choice; the courts appoint
lawyers for indigents. Defendants are presumed innocent, and they are
allowed to present evidence and to confront their accusers. Trials are
public, except for those involving juveniles or sex offenses.
Defendants can appeal verdicts to a provincial appeals court and
ultimately to the Court of Cassation. Appeals are often difficult to
win because the lower courts do not provide verbatim transcripts of
cases, only summaries prepared by the presiding judges. There are no
juries. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held
evidence relevant to their cases. However, human rights lawyers noted
that the prosecution case file, which defense lawyers were allowed to
see, frequently did not include any evidence in politically charged
cases.
The law extends the above rights to all citizens in criminal cases.
However, a number of sections of family and criminal law are based on
Shari'a (Islamic law) and do not treat men and women equally. Some
personal status laws utilize Shari'a regardless of the religion of
those involved in the case, although the number of Shari'a-based laws
affecting non-Muslims decreased significantly after the 2006 passage of
a Personal Status Law for Catholics.
The SSSC does not observe constitutional provisions safeguarding
defendants' rights. Its verdicts are not subject to judicial appeal;
however, the minister of interior may ratify, nullify, or alter an SSSC
ruling, and the President must approve the verdict or may ask for a
retrial. Charges against defendants before the SSSC were usually vague,
and authorities sometimes prevented defendants' access to their lawyers
before the trial. Under SSSC procedures, defendants and their lawyers
are not present during the preliminary or investigative phase of the
trial, during which the prosecutor presents evidence. Lawyers submitted
written defense pleas rather than making oral presentations. Trials
took place before three judges and usually remained closed to the
public as well as to the defendants' families. Authorities did not
permit human rights NGOs to visit the SSSC; however, local lawyers
affiliated with local NGOs acted as defense counsel in some cases.
Authorities granted SSSC access to diplomatic observers during the
year.
For example, in February 2007 security authorities arrested
dissident poet Dr. Mahmoud Hussein Sarem, who faced charges before the
SSSC from a 2005 arrest. His case was referred to the military general
prosecution. Sarem was subsequently sent to Adra prison, where he
remained detained until his release on March 15. On October 1, a
military judge cancelled the charges against Sarem in the military
court; however, his SSSC case remained pending at year's end.
Authorities did not present evidence that he used violence against the
state.
Human rights organizations estimated that the SSSC tried hundreds
of cases annually. The majority of cases during the year involved
charges relating to membership in various banned political groups,
including religious parties such as the MB, the Islamic Liberation
Party, and Syrian Kurdish parties. During the year the SSSC sentenced
more than 150 citizens to sentences ranging from three years'
imprisonment to execution, which can be commuted to 12 years'
imprisonment. For example, on May 5, the SSSC sentenced Ismail al-
Sheikha to death for membership in the MB and then commuted his
sentence to 12 years in prison.
On April 14, Mohamed Hilal Abu Hawa, detained since 2005, was
sentenced to three years in prison for disclosing confidential
information.
On April 18, Taiseer Nassan, a member of the Islamic Liberation
Party, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for obstructing the goals of
the Ba'ath Revolution and for forgery.
On May 5, the SSSC sentenced Ismail Al-Sheikha, from Aleppo, to
death for belonging to the MB. The court commuted the sentence to 12
years of hard labor.
On May 12, the SSSC sentenced Muhammad Abdulhai Shalabi, from Al-
Tal, to 12 years in prison for his alleged membership in the MB. The
sentence was commuted to eight years.
Membership in the MB is punishable by death, although in practice
the sentences were usually commuted to 12 years in prison.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The number of political
prisoners and detainees remained difficult to determine due to a
continuing lack of official government information. Authorities refused
to divulge information regarding numbers or names of persons in
detention on political or security-related charges. Various local human
rights observers estimated that between 1,500 and 3,000 political
prisoners, including accused Islamists, remained in detention.
Authorities refused to divulge information regarding numbers or names
of persons in detention on political or security-related charges.
Since 2006 the Government has tried some new political detainees in
criminal court, and once convicted on political or security related
charges, they were treated like common prisoners. The Government did
not permit regular access to political prisoners or detainees by local
or international humanitarian organizations. Human rights groups
reported that many political prisoners serving long-term sentences
remained in prison after the expiration of their sentences.
There also were Jordanian, Lebanese, Iraqi, Palestinian, and
Western political prisoners and detainees. Estimates of foreign
detainees were difficult to confirm because different branches of the
security services, which maintained their own incarceration facilities,
held significant numbers, and there was no centralized tracking system.
Detainees were frequently held for extended periods of time without
trial and without information provided to their families. Finally,
estimates were difficult to confirm because the Government did not
verify publicly the number of detentions without charge, the release of
detainees or amnestied prisoners, or the subsequent sentencing of
detainees to prison. In 2005 a number of human rights organizations
estimated that there were between 25 and 250 remaining Lebanese
prisoners in the country. During the year various Lebanese media
outlets reported the numbers to be between 91 and 175.
In November 2007 the French Press Agency reported that the
Government agreed to release an unspecified number of Jordanian
prisoners after Jordanian King Abdullah II's visit to Damascus.
Authorities released 18 Jordanians in 2007, but there were no known
further releases. On November 24, the Jordan Times reported that Abdul
Karim Shraideh, who heads the Jordanian Committee for Defending
Prisoners and Missing People, said the number of Jordanians missing in
Syria was approximately 256 persons.
In March a former prisoner held in al-Hasakah Province told a human
rights group that he had met two Lebanese Christian priests who had
been held there since 1990. According to the witness, Syrian
intelligence forces arrested Suleiman Abu Khalil and Albert Sherfan at
the monastery of Beit al-Qala'a in Beit Meri, Lebanon, during a raid
involving Lebanese soldiers who had taken refuge there. No additional
information was available at year's end.
Former prisoners were subjected to a so-called rights ban, which
lasts from the day of sentencing until seven years after the expiration
of the sentence in the case of felony and three years in the case of
misdemeanor convictions. In practice restrictions sometimes continued
beyond that period. Persons subjected to this ban were not allowed to
vote, run for office, or work in the public sector; they also were
often denied passports.
On April 23, the First Military Criminal Court in Damascus
sentenced Kamal Labwani to an additional three years in jail for
illegal conversations with fellow prisoners. In May 2007 the criminal
court convicted Labwani of encouraging a foreign power to invade Syria
and sentenced him to life in prison, commuted to 12 years. In 2005
authorities arrested Labwani upon his arrival in Damascus following a
three-month trip abroad.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however, in
practice the courts are neither independent nor impartial. According to
observers, approximately 95 percent of judges are either Ba'athists or
closely aligned to the Ba'ath Party and therefore not independent.
Property Restitution.--According to the law, a municipality may
appropriate property for the public good. The municipality usually
compensated individuals; however, many reported that the restitution
was not fair. While individuals have the legal right to sue the
municipality for more compensation, only a few win such cases.
Security forces routinely seized property and personal items of
arrested and detained individuals, such as computers and mobile
telephones. According to local human rights contacts, the phenomenon
was too common to track or record specific cases. Security forces did
not appropriate, confiscate, or catalogue these materials in accordance
with the law, and although detained individuals theoretically had the
right to retrieve them after release, many items remained missing.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the Emergency
Law authorizes security services to enter homes and conduct searches
without warrants if broadly defined security matters are involved. The
security services selectively monitored telephone conversations and fax
transmissions. The Government opened mail addressed to both citizens
and foreign residents. The Government routinely monitored Internet
communications, including e-mail, and either blocked or monitored
access to some Web sites.
The Government and the Ba'ath Party monitored and attempted to
restrict some citizens' visits to foreign embassies and participation
in cultural activities. There were reports during the year that
invitees to diplomatic functions received phone calls from the security
services instructing them not to attend.
The Government did not permit new political parties or license
politically based NGOs. In practice, however, the Government tolerated
some illegal political parties, such as the Communist Union Movement.
Additionally, there were illegal parties, such as the Communist Action
Party, the People's Party, and the Arab Social Union, that suffered
harassment but not automatic arrest for membership. The Government
forbids membership in Islamist parties, and members of Islamist parties
were subjected to immediate arrest and execution.
The Government detained relatives of detainees and fugitives to
obtain a confession or surrender, respectively, and harassed and
intimidated the families of activists and political prisoners. There
were unconfirmed reports that security personnel forced prisoners to
watch relatives being tortured to extract confessions.
On March 6, a prison officer inappropriately touched the wife of
Walid al-Bunni, a prisoner of conscience and signatory to the Damascus
Declaration, while she was visiting her husband in Adra prison.
According to local human rights observers, she immediately lodged a
complaint with the supervising officer, who refused to hear her case.
On July 31, security forces detained the wives of three imprisoned
Islamist suspects in the village al-'Otayba, outside of Damascus,
according to HRW. HRW identified the women as Usra al-Husein, wife of
Jihad Diab; Raw'a al-Kilani, wife of Ziad al Kilani, detained by the
SAFI in 2004; and Bayan Saleh 'Ali, wife of Ahmad Saleh 'Ali, arrested
in 2005 and held in Sednaya prison on charges of membership in an
association ``created to change the economic and social structure of
the state'' and for issuing calls that weaken national sentiment and
incited racial or sectarian tensions. No charges were brought against
the women, and their whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and the press; however, the Government significantly
restricted these rights in practice, relying when necessary on
emergency law provisions that suspend such rights and supersede
constitutional practices. The Government strictly controlled the
dissemination of information and prohibited criticism of the Government
and discussion of sectarian issues including religious and ethnic
minority rights. Authorities detained and abused journalists, writers,
and other individuals for expressions of opinion that violated these
restrictions, leading them to practice self-censorship. The Government
also attempted to impede criticism through monitoring of political
meetings and informer networks.
Emergency law and penal code articles dealing with crimes against
state security allow the Government broad discretion to determine what
constitutes illegal expression. The Emergency Law prohibits publication
of ``false information'' that opposes ``the goals of the revolution.''
Penal code articles prohibit acts or speech inciting confessionalism.
On March 3, security forces reportedly detained Ammar Rashed, Saleh
al-Ali, and Tayseer Omar, professors at the Shari'a College at the
University of Damascus, for their public criticism of government
corruption and for advocating freedom of expression. All three men were
released on March 5.
On May 25, authorities reportedly cancelled a lecture on freedom of
the press that journalist Mazen Darwish was to deliver, despite the
Ministry of Culture's prior approval. Security forces also briefly
detained Darwish in January for allegedly defaming state institutions.
Darwish was sentenced to 10 days, which was later commuted to five
days.
In December 2007, according to Arraee.org, an opposition Web site
established by the Syrian Peoples' Democratic Party, authorities
arrested Tayseer Kafa after his colleagues at the school where he
worked submitted a report to authorities alleging that he criticized
the Government during a conversation with them. He was released on
January 24.
The media were heavily influenced by the Government, and the
Government or the Ba'ath Party owned most newspaper publishing houses.
A number of quasi-independent periodicals, usually owned and operated
by figures with government connections, were published during the year,
including the National Progressive Front's (NPF) Communist party
newspaper The People's Voice; the NPF's Socialist Union party's
newspaper The Unionist; and privately owned newspapers The Nation (Al-
Watan), The Economy (Al-Iktissad), and, Al-Khabar, the latter two of
which were sometimes critical of the Government's economic policies and
performance. The Government prohibited all Kurdish-language
publications, although there were credible reports that such
publications were available in the country. The Ministry of Information
continued to deny permission to publish Al-Ousboua Al-Iktissadi, a
business weekly; and Al-Riyada Wa Al-Shabab, a new magazine for young
sports fans.
The print and electronic media were critical at times of the Ba'ath
Party and government performance. They reported openly on a range of
social and economic issues, such as corruption in the energy and
communications sectors. The media covered some Israeli-Palestinian
developments factually, but others were reported selectively to support
official views. For example, local media described Israeli actions in
occupied Palestinian territory as ``aggression,'' ``state terrorism,''
and ``Israeli massacres,'' while describing Palestinian actions as
``resistance.''
While the Government or the Ba'ath Party owned and operated some
radio and most television companies, examples of privately owned
stations included Al-Medina radio station and Al-Douni and Al-Rai
television stations. The Ministry of Information closely monitored
radio and television news and entertainment programs to ensure
adherence to government policies. The Government did not interfere with
broadcasts from abroad. Satellite dishes were widely used and
available.
As in previous years government forces detained, arrested, and
harassed journalists and other writers for works deemed critical of the
state. Harassment included banning from the country, firing for
association with international organizations, and failing to respond to
requests for journalists' accreditation. The Government also arrested
journalists and others who wrote in Kurdish or in favor of greater
Kurdish rights.
On March 13, according to a local human rights group, the SMI
detained activist Adnan Hamdan, director of the Syrian Center for
Freedom of Media and Expression. He was released on March 15.
On June 11, PSD authorities in Qamishli arrested writer Khaled
Jamil Muhammad, according to a local human rights group. During his
detention, authorities ordered Muhammad to ask his family to bring his
passport, a copy of his latest book, and the texts of delivered
lectures to the authorities. At year's end there was no information as
to whether authorities still had these items in their custody. Muhammad
remained detained at year's end.
On June 20, according to human rights observers, authorities
detained Sudanese journalist Hashem Othman, editor of the journal
Fada'at Dawleyeh, which was published in Syria for three years, for no
known reason. Othman was released on June 21 and traveled to Khartoum,
Sudan, on the same day.
On March 13, authorities reportedly released Kurdish poet Muhammad
Iso, held incommunicado since his arrest in 2006. The alleged reason
for his arrest was his Kurdish-language poetry and for allegedly
encouraging sectarian strife.
In November a newspaper journalist was relieved of his editorial
responsibilities at a local news daily for meeting with international
media organizations. The name of the journalist and news outlet were
withheld to protect the individual in question.
Also in November an independent private journalist was fired after
criticizing the Government in his editorial positions. The name of the
journalist and news outlet were withheld to protect the individual in
question.
The Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Culture and
National Guidance (MCNG) continued to censor domestic and foreign
publications prior to circulation or importation and stopped
circulation when content was judged to be critical or sensitive.
Publication or distribution of any material deemed by security
officials as threatening or embarrassing to the Government was
prohibited. Censorship usually was greater for materials in Arabic.
Journalists also practiced self-censorship.
In February the MOI briefly halted distribution of three journals
for criticizing government policies: Al-Hal, a monthly review; Al-
Iktissad wa Mujtamma (Economy and Society); and Al-Dabbour, a satirical
weekly. The MOI stopped distribution of Al-Hal again in August, and at
year's end the ban remained in place. After September 30, the
Government prevented the circulation of the Saudi-owned and London-
based newspaper Al-Hayat. The Government then blocked the Al-Hayat Web
site several weeks later. The Government also continued the 2007
decision to cease distribution of Al-Sarq Al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned,
London-based newspaper. At year's end both remained unavailable.
In mid-year the moderate online news Web site DamasPost was closed
down for several weeks. No specific reason was cited. In April Syria
Life, an independent online news site, was closed by authorities.
Again, no specific reason was given. However, its owner and editor said
that he could ``no longer work under these circumstances.''
In 2007 the Government shut down Sham Channel, owned by
parliamentarian Akram al-Jindi. No reason for the closure was given.
Sham Channel moved its operations to Egypt and was broadcasting into
Syria at year's end.
The law prohibits the publication of ``inaccurate'' information,
particularly if it ``causes public unrest, disturbs international
relations, violates the dignity of the state or national unity, affects
the morale of the armed forces, or inflicts harm on the national
economy and the safety of the monetary system.'' Persons found guilty
of publishing such information are subject to prison terms ranging from
one to three years and fines ranging from 500,000 to 1 million Syrian
pounds ($10,000 to $20,000). The Government used these laws during the
year to suppress criticism. The law also imposes strict punishments for
reporters who do not reveal their government sources in response to
government requests.
Internet Freedom.--The Government relied on its press and
publications laws, the penal code, and the Emergency Law to censor
access to the Internet. The Internet was widely available in both dial-
up and highspeed wireless connections. Web cafes continued to
proliferate throughout the major cities. The Government monitored
Internet usage and in some instances blocked access to Internet sites
or Web-based e-mail that contained or transmitted information deemed
politically sensitive.
According to an international human rights group, all three of the
country's Internet service providers regularly blocked access to a
variety of Web sites. The Government restricted access to Web sites
associated with Kurdish opposition groups and both the MB and Syrian
MB. Other electronic media that the Government restricted during the
year included Amazon.com, the social-networking site Facebook, YouTube,
online pan-Arabic newspapers such as Asharqal-Awsat, the online phone
service Skype, and online news services such as LevantNews.com. The
proreform Web site All4syria.org has remained blocked since 2004.
In April authorities blocked the Web site SyriaNews.com for 10
days, according to a local human rights group.
On May 10, the SSSC sentenced Tareq Bayasi to six years in prison
for publishing online comments critical of the Government. The sentence
was subsequently commuted to three years. According to local human
rights observers, in July 2007 the SMI in Tartous summoned Bayasi, son
of former political prisoner Omar Bayasi regarding comments he had made
in an Internet discussion forum. The authorities detained him,
transferred him to Damascus, and held him incommunicado for months. The
SMI had arrested Baysi previously in June 2007 for insulting security
services online.
On August 15, according to the Web site Elaph.com, authorities shut
down the Web site Nazaha.com (Integrity) and detained its publisher,
Abdullah Ali Suleiman, for 13 days. Founded in 2005, Nazaha.com was
regularly subjected to Web-based attacks. In February 2007 hackers
destroyed the site's archives.
On May 7, security agents arrested Habib Saleh for ``spreading lies
and undermining the state.'' Previously Saleh, an Elaph.com
contributor, was in prison from May to September for publishing
articles critical of the Government on the Internet. He was arrested in
2001 and 2005 on similar charges. He had one preliminary hearing on
December 1 in the Damascus Second Criminal Court. At year's end there
were no further developments in his case.
There were few developments in the case of Karim 'Arbaji, detained
by the Mantaqa branch of the SMI in June 2007 allegedly for moderating
Akhawia.net, a popular online social and political forum for youth.
According to various human rights organizations, 'Arbaji was being held
at the Sednaya military prison in preparation for a June 8 trial before
the SSSC. However, the SSSC did not meet in June, and a new trial date
was not set. There were no further developments in this case by year's
end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted
academic freedom and cultural events. Teachers generally were not
permitted to express ideas contrary to government policy. Authorities
permitted slightly more freedom of expression at the university level;
however, the Government imposed restrictions on the ability of public
universities to associate with foreign cultural centers. Universities
gave Ba'ath Party members preferential admissions treatment.
On March 3, according to a local human rights organization report,
security forces detained Ammar Rashed, Saleh al-Ali, and Tayseer Omar,
professors at the Shari'a College at the University of Damascus, for
their public criticism of corruption and for advocating freedom of
expression. All three men remained detained at year's end.
The MCNG censored films and exercised the right of approval over
films shown at cultural centers operated by foreign embassies.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of assembly;
however, Emergency Law provisions superseded this right, and the
Government did not respect it in practice. MOI permission is needed for
demonstrations or any gathering of more than three persons. During the
year HRW reported that the Government routinely prohibited or
interrupted meetings of human rights and civil society activists. The
Government or the Ba'ath Party organized most public demonstrations.
The Government required political forums and discussion groups to
obtain prior approval to hold lectures and seminars and to submit lists
of all attendees. However, several domestic human rights and civil
society groups held meetings without registering with the Government or
obtaining prior approval. In many instances the Government took steps
to disrupt such gatherings or prevent them from occurring. For
instance, on December 31, local police broke up a peaceful
demonstration by a group of independent journalists protesting violence
in Gaza. The journalists held a sit-in at the Journalists' Federation
in Damascus and had requested permission from the Ministries of
Interior and Information. The President of the federation, however,
asked the Government to break up the sit-in because it was not
authorized by the federation itself.
Demonstrations occurred during the year, including some permitted
or organized by the Government.
For example, on January 21 and February 23, demonstrations against
Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank took place without government
interference in the Yarmouk Palestinian Refugee Camp in the suburbs of
Damascus.
On March 3 and 5, the Government approved a march to protest the
siege of Gaza in Damascus and Homs, respectively.
On March 6, according to a local human rights organization,
authorities broke up a gathering of Kurdish families waiting in front
of the SSSC to attend the hearing of five Kurdish activists. The SSSC
had changed the court date without notifying family members.
Authorities arrested dozens of individuals but released them within a
few hours.
On March 8, security forces fired warning shots and used tear gas
to disrupt a celebration of Women's International Day in Ein al-Arab,
according to human rights observers.
On April 17, police prevented approximately 400 students from
making a Damascus University sponsored trip to the coast. Police
ordered the students, who had gathered in front of the faculty of
medicine, back into the school.
On April 19, the Syrian Committee for supporting Syrian Prisoners
in Israeli Prisons organized a candlelight demonstration without
government interference in front of the International Committee of the
Red Cross offices in Damascus.
On May 15, quasi-government organizations sponsored a number of
large rallies in major cities to protest the 60th anniversary of the
founding of Israel.
On August 24, local human rights observers reported that an
estimated 2,000 security and military personnel prevented a large group
of demonstrators from gathering in front of the home of Mashaal Tammo,
head of the Kurdish Future Movement Party. The demonstrators were
protesting the Government's August 15 detention of Tammo.
On October 30, an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 persons gathered in a
Damascus square without government interference to protest the alleged
October 26 U.S. military raid on Abu Kamal, a town on the Syria-Iraq
border. Observers stated government employees were allowed to leave
their offices, and a number of high-school and university classes were
dismissed to ensure a large crowd.
On November 2, a coalition of Kurdish political opposition parties,
including the Yeketi Party, organized a protest against Decree 49, a
new law that curtails already limited property rights along the
country's borders. The protest was to take place in front of the
parliament building in Damascus, but as Kurdish activists gathered at a
nearby staging point and began moving toward the parliament building,
they were set upon by military intelligence and the police's Special
Forces Unit. In all, 192 persons were arrested and released
approximately 12 hours later. While the use of force was restrained,
police tasered one individual in the throat.
At a December 3 event to welcome Lebanese Change and Reform Bloc
leader Michel Aoun, approximately 3,000-5,000 students, parents, and
journalists gathered in the Christian area of Damascus's old city with
government approval. Observers stated the Government pulled students
out of school to ensure a good turnout.
From December 27 until the end of the year, the Government actively
encouraged numerous large peaceful protests against Israeli actions in
Gaza. As was often the case with other protests during the year, the
Government frequently closed schools and released civil servants from
work in an effort to increase the number of participants.
At year's end the Government had not filed charges against the
perpetrators of the 2006 demonstrations that destroyed the Norwegian
embassy and heavily damaged the building housing the Danish, Chilean,
and Swedish embassies. The embassies received some financial
compensation from the Government, but not enough to cover the actual
cost of damages, according to diplomatic sources.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution permits private
associations but also grants the Government the right to limit their
activities. In practice the Government restricted freedom of
association, requiring prior registration and approval for private
associations. The Government often denied requests for registration or
failed to act on them, presumably on political grounds. None of the
approximately 14 local human rights organizations operated with a
license during the year. By year's end no license had been issued to an
independent association of journalists reporting for regional Arab
media, according to press reports. The Government continued to block
the six-year effort by journalists to form the association.
In addition, the Government did not permit the establishment of
independent political parties. In recent years citizens have sought to
establish political parties but have not received licenses from the
Government. In practice, however, the Government tolerated some
political parties, such as the Communist Union Movement. Additionally,
there are illegal parties, such as the Communist Action Party, the
People's Party, and the Arab Social Union, that suffer harassment but
not automatic arrest for membership. The Government forbids membership
in Islamist parties, and members of Islamist parties were subjected to
immediate arrest and execution.
The Government granted registration to some groups not engaged in
political or other activities deemed sensitive. However, the Government
restricted the activities of associations and their members, and the
executive boards of professional associations were not independent.
On March 18, according to a human rights organization, the SSSC
sentenced Taiseer Naasan, who allegedly belonged to the Islamic
Liberation Party, to 12 years in prison for belonging to an
organization ``created to change the economic or social structure of
the state,'' opposing the objectives of the revolution, and forgery. On
the same day, five other individuals--Hilal Hameed, Adel Ahmed Hajj,
Jumaa Hussein Shehada, Yasir Hameed Saleh, and Muhammad al-Gallway--
were sentenced to prison terms of seven to 12 years for their alleged
membership in an organization ``created to change the economic or
social structure of the state.'' The men had been in detention since
2005.
On November 2, the Court of Cassation overturned an August 20
ruling by the second criminal court of Damascus that had rejected
Michel Kilo's and Mahmoud Issa's request for early release. Kilo and
Issa were arrested in 2006 and sentenced in May 2007 to three years in
prison for ``weakening national sentiment.'' Before Kilo and Issa were
released, however, the prosecutor appealed the decision. On December
15, the Court of Cassation in a plenary appeal session ruled against
Kilo and Issa's early release, requiring them to serve their full
sentences.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice; however, it imposed some restrictions. The Government
discouraged public proselytism and monitored groups it considered to
practice militant Islam. Human rights organizations reported that
alleged Islamist prisoners and detainees were subject to torture and
mistreatment in custody. The Government continued its 1964 ban of
Jehovah's Witnesses; however, they continued to practice their religion
privately.
There is no official state religion; however, the constitution
requires that the President be Muslim and stipulates that Islamic
jurisprudence is a principal source of legislation. Sunni Muslims
constituted approximately 74 percent of the population. Other Muslim
groups, including Alawi, Ismailis, and Shi'a, constituted an estimated
13 percent of the population. The Druze accounted for an estimated 3
percent of the population, while various Christian denominations
accounted for the remaining 10 percent.
All religions and religious orders must register with the
Government, which monitored fundraising and required permits for all
meetings by religious groups, except for worship. The constitution
stipulates the separation of religious institutions and the state;
however, the Government routinely intervened in and controlled
religious groups up to and including the grand mufti, who is appointed
by the Government. Religious groups tended to avoid any involvement in
internal political affairs.
The Government generally refrained from involvement in strictly
religious issues. However, a local human rights group stated that in
February, in the northeastern province of Deir Ezzor, the SMI arrested
a number of citizens for their opposition to Shiite proselytism in the
area, especially in the town of Khatlah. The human rights group stated
that the detainees were affiliated with moderate Sufiism. Three of the
detained were identified as Tareq al-Hasan (civil engineer), Ahmad
To'mah (dentist), and Ahmad al-Rumh (teacher and speaker at the Mus'ab
Ibn Umair' Mosque in Deir Ezzor). The Government cited national
security as the reason for barring Jewish citizens from government
employment, serving in the armed forces, and maintaining contact with
Israel. Jews also were the only religious minority group whose
passports and identity cards noted their religion. Jewish citizens had
to obtain permission from the security services before traveling abroad
and faced excessive government scrutiny when applying for licenses,
deeds, or other official documents. The Government enforced a law
against exporting historical and cultural treasures to prohibit the
Jewish community from sending historical Torahs abroad.
All public schools are overseen by the Government and are
nonsectarian; however, Christian and Druze minorities operated a number
of private schools that followed the state curriculum. There was
mandatory religious instruction in schools with government-approved
teachers and curriculums. Religion courses were divided into separate
classes for Muslim and Christian students. Although Arabic is the
official language in public schools, the Government permitted the
teaching of Armenian, Hebrew, Syriac (Aramaic), and Chaldean as
``liturgical languages.''
Muslims and Christians are subject to their respective religious
laws on marriage and divorce. In 2006 a new Personal Status Law for
Catholics went into effect, giving Catholics their own laws for
adoption, inheritance, and guardianship. Previously, Catholics were
subject to some Shari'a-based laws. Orthodox and other Christians
remained subject to Shari'a in matters pertaining to adoption,
inheritance, and guardianship. In matters pertaining to marriage and
divorce, however, Orthodox and other Christians were to follow the laws
of their respective churches. Regardless of religion, however, child
custody laws for all children remained based on Shari'a.
Although the law does not prohibit proselytizing, in practice the
Government discouraged such activity, deeming it a threat to relations
among religious groups. Foreign missionaries were present but operated
discreetly.
The Government considered militant Islam a threat and monitored its
adherents. The Government also monitored and controlled sermons and
dictated that mosques (except those which are major tourist sites)
remain closed outside of prayer time.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was little evidence of
societal discrimination or violence against religious minorities. Some
Islamic education textbooks stated that Christians and Jews resident in
Islamist states should pay jiziah (a special tax).
Societal conventions as well as religious and theological
proscriptions made conversions relatively rare, especially from Islam
to Christianity. In many cases societal pressure forced those who
undertook such conversions to relocate within the country or leave the
country altogether to practice their religion openly.
There were no reported acts of physical violence against, or
harassment of, Jewish persons, an estimated 100 of whom lived in the
country, according to the Israeli Web site Haaretz.com. The Government
condoned anti-Semitism in state-owned radio and television programming,
newspapers, and other mass media. Anti-Israel material was widespread,
some of which carried anti-Semitic overtones.
On February 11, Syrian Satellite TV in Damascus aired ``Circle of
Events,'' a live talk show hosted by Nidal Qabalan. In his opening
comments he made reference to ``Nazi Zionists.'' One of the guests on
the show, Hasan Junyeh, a professor of international law, stated that
Israel did not have a democratic government, but a ``Fascist Zionist
regime.''
On March 3, an editorial appearing in Damascus Syria Times argued
that only a concerted effort by nations in the region could halt the
``neo-Nazi Israeli genocide.''
On March 9, Damascus Syria Times published an on-line article that
criticized United States support of ``Israeli neo-Nazis.''
On March 9, Al-Thawra published an Internet article that accused
the Western media of not paying attention to ``the Zionist holocaust in
Gaza.''
On April 11, Al-Thawra published an article on the Internet that
stated the crimes of Israel were ``worse than the Nazi and Fascist
crimes.''
On May 17, in reaction to the U.S. President's speech before the
Knesset, Tishrin published an article accusing both major U.S.
political parties of being committed to the ``religious edicts of
Zionist rabbis'' and that these edicts were more ``racist, brutal, and
terrorist than the Nazi pronouncements.''
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for freedom of
movement ``within the territories of the state unless restricted by a
judicial decision or by the implementation of laws.'' While citizens
are ostensibly free to travel internationally, the Government limited
freedom of movement in practice by requiring citizens to apply for exit
visas.
The Government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in
military and other restricted areas. There were few police checkpoints
on main roads or in populated areas. The security services used
checkpoints to conduct searches without warrants for smuggled goods,
weapons, narcotics, and subversive literature.
During the year the Government increased the use of travel bans to
prevent more than 100 critics of the regime, human rights activists,
political reformers, and civil society leaders from leaving the
country. The Government usually applied travel bans without any
explanation for their basis or duration, even when individuals needed
to travel for health reasons. In some cases citizens learned of the ban
against their travel only after being prevented from departing the
country.
Individuals whom the Government banned from traveling
internationally during the year included a naturalized American citizen
of Syrian descent; Mustafa Haied, prohibited from leaving the country
for alleged security reasons; Abdulhafeez Hafez, whose place of work (a
library) was also raided by security forces; lawyer, former cabinet
minister, and Democratic Arab Socialist Union deputy general secretary
Muhammad Abdul-Majeed Manjounah, who reportedly planned to travel to
Yemen to attend a Pal-Arab conference; Radeef Moustapha, chairman of
the Kurdish Committee for Human Rights in Syria, who planned to travel
to France to attend a training workshop; writer and journalist Khaled
Smeisima; Dr. Hassan Abbas, a translator and professor; Mazen Darwish,
head of the Syrian Center for Media and the Freedom of Expression;
internationally acclaimed film director Muhammed Malas, who planned to
travel to Paris and Rome on film-related business; Ma'rouf Mulla Ahmed,
senior member of the Kurdish Yekiti Party; Abdul Satter Qattan, a human
rights activist and former prisoner of conscience; Rajaa Al-Nasser,
secretary of the Arab Democratic Socialist Union party; and Muhanad al-
Hasani, chairman of Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. There were no
updates on travel bans instituted in previous years.
During the year authorities also reportedly imposed heavy fines on
more than 10 women from neighboring Gulf states before they could
return to their home countries. Human rights observers believed the
fines evinced corrupt government officials' attempts at extortion.
Travel to Israel is illegal, and the Government restricted travel
near the Golan Heights.
Women over the age of 18 have the legal right to travel without the
permission of male relatives; however, a husband or a father may file a
request with the MOI to prohibit his wife or minor dependents'
departure from the country.
The Government refused to recognize the citizenship of, or grant
identity documents to, approximately 300,000 persons of Kurdish
descent. Lack of citizenship or identity documents restricted their
travel to and from the country. In his inauguration speech in July
2007, the President stated again that the Government would try to
resolve the issue of stateless Kurds; however, at year's end there had
been no progress. Syrian emigrants who did not complete mandatory
military service could pay a fee to avoid conscription while visiting
the country. Persons of Syrian origin who were born in a foreign
country but were able to demonstrate service in the army of the country
of birth were exempted from military service without payment.
Until September 2007, as has been long-standing practice, citizens
of Arab League countries were able to enter the country without a visa
for a stay of up to three months, a period that could be renewed. On
September 10, 2007, the Government, citing the ongoing Iraqi refugee
crisis, required all Iraqis to obtain a visa before entry. The
Government postponed implementation of this new policy until October 1.
At year's end Iraqis needed a visa to enter the country; however, the
extent to which this policy was being enforced at the border and the
exact visa requirements remained unclear.
Residency permits required proof of employment and a fixed address
in the country. Officials continued to assert publicly that
nonpermanent resident males between the ages of 18 and 30 could be
denied entry for a number of reasons, including traveling alone,
student or recent graduate status, residence in a country other than
their own, and ``suspicious'' travel abroad.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports
of forced exile during the year.
The law provides for the prosecution of any person who attempts to
seek refuge in another country to escape a penalty in Syria. Persons
who have unsuccessfully sought asylum in other countries and who have
past connections with the MB have been prosecuted upon their return to
Syria. The Government routinely arrested both dissidents and former
citizens with no known political affiliation who tried to return to the
country after years or even decades in exile.
On January 16, security services arrested Izzideen Muhammad
Hussein, a Syrian and German citizen, upon his arrival at Damascus
International Airport and held him for three days. No reason for his
arrest was given.
On February 2, the PSD reportedly arrested Faisal Ahmad al-Kurdi at
Damascus International Airport upon his arrival from Germany where he
lived. Before traveling, the report stated, al-Kurdi sought and
received assurances from the Syrian embassy in Berlin that he was not
wanted by any Syrian security branch, and al-Kurdi had completed his
required military service. He was reportedly held for several days and
then released.
On March 9, the SMI in Aleppo arrested Abdul Rahman al-Khamis a few
weeks after his return from Saudi Arabia, where he had lived for the
last 25 years, according to a local human rights group. Authorities
reportedly gave no reason for the arrest and released al-Khamis on
April 27.
On August 8, authorities reportedly arrested Syrial-Czech citizen
Na'eem Nasla upon his arrival at Aleppo airport from the Czech Republic
where he lived and worked. He was transferred to the SMI Palestine
Branch for interrogation and released on August 11.
On October 9, authorities reportedly arrested Fuad Hussein, a
British national of Palestinian descent, at the Syrial-Jordanian
border, according to human rights observers. Hussein was traveling to
Damascus with his wife to visit her relatives. Hussein, an engineer,
left Britain three years ago to live in Jordan. He suffers from a
number of health conditions, including high blood pressure and
diabetes. There was no further information on his status or
confirmation on his nationality at year's end.
Protection of Refugees.--The Government is not a party to either
the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967
protocol. It generally cooperated with the office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in assisting
internally displaced persons, refugees, stateless persons, and asylum
seekers and respected UNHCR's eligibility determinations regarding
asylum seekers. Generally, the Government provided some protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened. One notable exception to this was
the detention and alleged forced return of several Iranian Ahvazis who
were recognized refugees.
The Ahvazi Centre for Human Rights and other sources reported that
the Government arrested and returned seven Ahvazis to Iranian
authorities during the year. These include Danish citizen Saied
Hammadi, arrested on March 5 at Damascus International Airport, and
Masouma Al-Kaabi, wife of Habib Jaber, a refugee in Denmark, and their
five children, who were arrested in Damascus on September 28.
UNRWA reported that there were approximately 450,000 registered
Palestinian refugees in the country during the year. The General
Authority of Palestinian Arab Refugees in Syria, the Government agency
established to coordinate assistance and protection to refugees,
continued to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees during the
year. Palestinian refugees with Syrian travel documents generally
reported little difficulty traveling in and out of the country. The
Government refused to permit the full integration of these Palestinians
into Syrian society. At year's end there were approximately 300
Palestinian refugees from Iraq registered at al-Hol, while another
group of over 900 Iraqi Palestinians remained stranded between the
Iral-Syria border at the al-Tanf crossing. Other sources have reported
that security forces deported some Palestinian refugees (coming from
Iraq) from Damascus, where they sometimes tried to blend into the
larger Palestinian community or pass themselves off as Iraqis, to the
camp at al-Tanf.
On October 9, according to Lebanese media outlets Al-Liwaa and
Naharnet.com, security agents killed Palestinian refugee Abu Ibrahim in
the unofficial Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk. Abu Ibrahim (which
was the individual's alias) was married to Wafaa al-Absi, the daughter
of Shaker al-Absi, a leader of Fatah al-Islam.
As of November more than 219,000 Iraqi refugees registered with the
UNHCR, and most received legal and material assistance from the UNHCR
and other international and nongovernmental humanitarian organizations.
On November 17, the Government and UNHCR signed a memorandum of
understanding that stipulates for UNHCR to support the efforts of the
Government in providing medical services to Iraqi refugees until the
end of 2008. No new memorandum was signed by year's end. The Government
estimated in September that approximately 1.2 million displaced Iraqis
lived in the country with valid visas. It is not known how many Iraqis
are in the country without visas.
In October, approximately 400 Iraqi Christians, fleeing violent
attacks aimed at the Christian community in Mosul, Iraq, crossed into
northern Syria as refugees. According to its Web site UNHCR has been
closely monitoring the situation in order to ensure these refugees are
given proper assistance upon arrival in Syria. AT year's end, the UNHCR
has registered or is in the process of registering around 45 families
from Mosul (20 in Aleppo and the rest in Damascus) and has begun
assessing them for emergency grants and food assistance.
The Government generally continued to honor UNHCR's request that
states maintain some temporary protection for all Iraqi asylum seekers
and persons whose applications have been rejected. The Government
recognized refugees whose cases had been suspended by resettlement
countries during the year. However, UNHCR received unconfirmed reports
that the Government deported some Iraqis during the year.
UNHCR does not promote voluntary repatriation to Iraq; however,
given that some families are returning, UNHCR provided counseling and
assistance to 68 returning families. According to UNHCR figures, during
the year 8,180 persons from Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan,
Algeria, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Iran were recognized as refugees
or had asylum cases pending.
There are no direct provisions in the law giving refugees the right
to work. However, according to UNRWA, the rules for employment of
citizens were applicable to Palestinian refugees provided that they
have been living in the country for at least ten years. Obtaining a
work permit is a lengthy and complicated process; refugees were rarely
granted a permit. In reality many refugees found daily labor in the
informal sector mainly as guards, construction workers, street vendors,
and in other manual labor jobs. There were reports of refugees,
particularly Iraqi girls and women, who worked in the country as
prostitutes, but no reliable statistics were available.
Most public schools were unable to accommodate fully the large
number of children of Iraqi refugees. The Government allowed Iraqi
children to attend schools, and according to a UNHCR estimate, more
than 49,000 Iraqi children were enrolled in public schools during the
2007/2008 academic year. Many Iraqi children were still not attending
school for multiple reasons including overcrowded schools, difficulties
with the curriculum, and previous psychological trauma of the parents
and children.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from the father, not
place of birth or birth mother. Following the 1962 census,
approximately 120,000 Syrian Kurds lost their citizenship, which the
Government has never restored. As a result, those who lost their
nationality, including their children, remained severely disadvantaged
in participating in civil life and in receiving government services
including health and education, as well as employment open only to
citizens. Stateless Kurds had limited access to university education.
UNHCR and Refugees International estimated there were approximately
300,000 stateless Kurds.
Despite the President's repeated promises to work to resolve the
issue of the Kurds, the latest in his July 2007 inauguration speech, no
progress was made during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution requires that the President be elected by
referendum, and the parliament selects a Presidential candidate at the
discretion of the regional Ba'ath Party leadership. A Presidential
candidate is then approved by a majority of votes in a popular
referendum. Although citizens vote for the President and MPs, in
practice they did not have the right to change their government because
elections were neither free nor fair.
Elections and Political Participation.--No general elections took
place during the year on the parliamentary, Presidential, or local
levels. However, on November 9, the Damascus Chamber of Commerce (DCC)
held elections. Eight DCC officials, who ran together on a single
slate, were re-elected. Another incumbent won election as an
independent. Voters elected in three new members, two of whom ran
together and one who ran as an independent. Eligible voters for DCC
elections must own a properly government-registered business, be
registered with the DCC, and have paid in full all DCC dues. No foreign
national business owners, with the exception of Palestinians who have
Syrian residency documents, are eligible to vote in these elections.
For the DCC election, 7,150 out of 30,000 members were eligible to
vote; 2,513 actually voted. DCC conducts elections on an open list
system for the twelve available seats: candidates can run together as a
slate or independently. There are no restrictions on how many
candidates can appear on a single slate. Voters may choose to vote for
a whole slate, selected individuals on a slate, as well as
independents.
In 2007 Presidential, parliamentary, and local elections occurred.
International election monitors were not allowed to enter the country
to observe any of the elections. International and local human rights
advocates judged all three elections as neither free nor fair and
asserted that they served to reassert the primacy and political
monopoly of power wielded by President al-Asad and the Ba'ath Party
apparatus.
In May 2007 an unopposed referendum confirmed Bashar al-Asad as
President for a second seven-year term. Although some opposition groups
estimated voter turnout at significantly less than 50 percent,
government statistics declared al-Asad had won 98 percent of the vote
with voter turnout officially reported at 96 percent. Outside observers
uniformly dismissed the voter statistics as fraudulent and not
representative of observed participation. Citizens were not formally
required by law to vote; however, voters received a stamp on their
voter card, which authorities sometimes requested when providing
services.
The President appoints the vice Presidents, prime minister, deputy
prime ministers, and Council of Ministers and has the discretion to
change these appointments. The President and his senior aides,
particularly those in the military and security services, made most
political and economic decisions with a very limited degree of public
accountability.
The President and the Ba'ath Party suppressed political opposition.
The constitution provides that the Ba'ath Party is the ruling party and
ensures it has a majority in all government and popular associations,
such as workers' and women's groups. The Ba'ath Party and nine other
smaller satellite political parties comprise the NPF, originally
established in 1971. The NPF represented the only framework for legal
political party participation for citizens; however, the Ba'ath Party
dominated it, and the on.--party character of the political system
remained.
The Ba'ath Party dominated the 250-member parliament, or People's
Council. Parliamentarians can criticize policies and modify draft laws;
however, the executive branch retains ultimate control over the
legislative process. During parliamentary and local elections in August
2007, NPF candidates won an overwhelming majority of offices in
elections observers characterized as neither free nor fair. Some
carefully vetted independents were permitted to run and win seats at
both levels.
Women and minorities, with the exception of the Jewish population
and stateless Kurds, participated in the political system without
restriction. During the year, a female vice President and two female
cabinet ministers were in office. Thirty of the 250 MPs were women.
The Government did not provide information on the ethnic or
religious composition of parliament or the cabinet. According to human
rights observers, ethnic and religious minorities claimed they had no
genuine representation in the Government.
In 2004 the Government banned all political activities by the 12
Syrian Kurdish parties, although enforcement has varied. The Syrian MB
has remained banned in the country since 1963.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, corruption and impunity
remained serious problems. It is rare for the highest-level officials
to be exposed to corruption charges. In nearly all cases, such charges
were used by the regime as a political tool to attack its perceived
enemies or rivals.
At year's end the Government had dismissed approximately 300 public
employees on charges of corruption and similar abuses.
There are no laws providing for public access to government
information. There are no public financial disclosure laws for public
officials.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were no legal domestic human rights groups, but approximately
14 human rights groups operated illegally in the country. During the
year there were reports of government harassment of domestic human
rights activists, including regular, close surveillance and the
imposition of travel bans on them as they sought to attend workshops
and conferences outside the country.
The Government stated that it responds in writing to all inquiries
from NGOs regarding human rights issues, including the cases of
individual detainees and prisoners, through an interagency governmental
committee attached to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.
However, NGOs reported that they rarely receive responses from the
Ministry. The Government normally responded to queries from human
rights organizations and foreign embassies regarding specific cases by
claiming that the case was still under investigation, that the prisoner
in question violated national security laws, or, if the case was in
criminal court, that the country has an independent judiciary and the
executive cannot interfere.
In general the Government remained highly suspicious of
international human rights NGOs and typically did not allow them into
the country; however, in June and July 2007 the Swiss NGO Geneva
Institute for Human Rights offered human rights training for police
officers in the country. The NGO worked closely with and eventually
received the sponsorship of the MOI. Neither HRW nor AI visited the
country during the year.
In past years the Government had never allowed an international NGO
to set up aid and development operations in the country. By year's end,
according to the UNHCR, the Government had signed memoranda of
understanding with 10 international humanitarian NGOs (Premiere
Urgence, the Danish Refugee Council, International Medical Corps, the
Qatari Red Crescent, the Institut Europe de Cooperation et de
Developpement, the Turkish Blue Crescent, Enfants du Monde Droits de
l'Homme, HELP, International Rescue Committee, and the Islamic Relief
France), officially authorizing them to begin work in the country. At
year's end three of the 10 had begun operating: Premiere Urgence, the
Danish Refugee Council, and International Medical Corps.
As a matter of policy, the Government has denied in the past to
international human rights groups that it commits human rights abuses.
On February 14, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres
visited the country and met with President Asad. Guterres stated that
he received assurances from the President that Iraqi refugees would not
be sent back against their will.
From April 7 to 10, UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd
attended meetings with First Lady Asma al-Asad, the prime minister, the
deputy minister of foreign affairs, and the minister of social affairs
and labor to discuss UNRWA's growing microfinance program, its Neirab
rehousing project in Aleppo, its reform efforts, and the overall
situation of Palestine refugees in the country. She returned for the
October 14 launch of UNRWA's ``Violence-Free Schools'' campaign and the
opening of new school buildings in Homs and Khan Eshieh camps. The
General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees supported her visit and
cooperated in the Agency's campaign. As in past years, UNRWA reported
having a ``highly productive'' working relationship with the Syrian
government.
On June 9, 23 members and observers from the UNRWA Advisory
Commission visited a Damascus refugee training center and a number of
projects in the Yarmouk Camp. In addition, the commission held a
meeting on June 10 and 11 under Syria's chairmanship. UNRWA
Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd attended.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equal rights and equal opportunity
for all citizens, and discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status is prohibited; however, the Government did
not enforce the law effectively. For example, membership in the Ba'ath
Party or close familial relations with a prominent party member or
powerful government official helped economic, social, or educational
advancement. Party or government connections paved the way for entrance
into better elementary and secondary schools, access to lucrative
employment, and greater power within the Government, the military, and
the security services. Certain prominent positions, such as that of
provincial governor, were reserved solely for Ba'ath Party members.
There was governmental and societal discrimination against stateless
Kurds and Jews.
Women.--Rape is a felony; however, there are no laws against
spousal rape. According to the law, ``the punishment for a man who
rapes a woman (other than his wife) is at least 15 years in prison.''
However, if the individual who commits the crime agrees to marry the
victim, he faces no punishment. The victim's family sometimes agrees to
this arrangement to avoid the social scandal and stigma attached to
rape. If the victim is too young for marriage, the rapist receives a
longer prison sentence. No statistics were kept on spousal rape because
it is not a crime under the law.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and
violence against women occurred during the year. A 2006 study reported
that as many as one in four women surveyed had been victims of
violence. The vast majority of domestic violence and sexual assault
cases likely went unreported, as some victims were reluctant to seek
assistance outside the family. Observers reported that when some abused
women tried to file a police report, the police did not respond
aggressively, if at all, to their claims. Women reported incidents at
police stations of sexual harassment, verbal abuse, hair pulling, and
slapping by police officers when attempting to file police reports,
particularly at the Criminal Security branch at Bab Musallah in
Damascus.
Victims of domestic violence have the legal right to seek redress
in court, but few did so because of the social stigma attached to such
action. The Syrian Women's Federation offered counseling services to
battered wives to remedy individual family problems. The Syrian Family
Planning Association also provided counseling. Some private groups,
including the Family Planning Association, organized seminars on
violence against women. There was believed to be at least one private
shelter specifically designated for battered women who fled from their
husbands.
The law specifically provides for reduced sentences in ``honor''
crimes; however, the Government began to discuss changing the law. In
October the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs, in cooperation with
the Ministries of Justice and Religious Endowments, convened a national
forum to discuss the revocation of laws mitigating punishment for honor
killings, and parliamentarians in attendance reportedly voiced support
for the repeal.
No official statistics were kept on honor crimes, and when cases
were reported, full names were rarely given. Advocacy groups did not
release full names in order to protect victims. However, there were
numerous press and anecdotal reports of honor crimes throughout the
year.
In late December 2007 or early January 2008, Muhammad Saleem Kefaya
slit the throat of his sister, Yasmina Kefaya, and then immediately
turned himself into the police, claiming that he had killed her to
``wash away'' the family's dishonor. Authorities had previously
arrested Muhammad and Yasmina for theft and prostitution, respectively.
There were no new developments on this case at year's end.
A women's advocacy Web site reported on January 5 that 22-year-old
Eman Watta was killed by her brother at their home near Idlib, in
northwestern Syria. Watta's shame was that her husband divorced her and
returned her to her parents' home because he suspected her of being
disloyal. Watta's brother surrendered himself to police. At year's end
there was no further information as to whether police had actually
charged and imprisoned the individual.
On February 28, a 23-year-old man named Haitham reportedly
attempted to kill his 20-year-old sister Widad for having a second
marriage without a legal divorce from her first husband. Haitham shot
at his sister but hit and critically injured her second husband
instead. There were no further developments in the case at year's end.
In May, in Latakia, according to the Web site of the International
Campaign Against Honor Killings, a local court sentenced an
unidentified male to 15 years' imprisonment for the murder by shooting
of his sister. The court made its decision based on a coroner's report
stating that the victim's hymen was intact. The defendant claimed to
have been told that his sister was concealing a pregnancy.
On May 10, 14-year-old Zeina Daadoush was killed by her brother
because of her purported relationship with a 16-year-old male youth.
In September a man reportedly shot and killed his two sisters,
Safanah and Joumana, in Ragga for dishonoring their family. The sisters
had left home in 2007 without telling their family. The family filed a
missing persons report with the police, which eventually led to the
detention of the two sisters. Police released the two sisters to family
members after the family signed a statement forswearing violent
punishment. Eight months after their return, their brother killed them
both at home and then surrendered to police. There were no further
developments in the case at year's end.
On September 15, a local women's advocacy Web site reported that in
the town of Idlib, 17-year-old Dardaa was killed by her father as a
result of her alleged involvement with a married man. The married man
reportedly lured Dardaa to Damascus with the prospect of marriage.
After a short time, he returned her to her family, never having married
her. At year's end there were no further developments in this case.
There were no new developments in the January 2007 case of the
honor killing of 16-year-old Zahra al-Ezzo by her brother.
The law prohibits prostitution, but it was not strictly enforced.
During the year there was evidence that Iraqi women residing in the
country, including minors, were increasingly resorting to prostitution
in order to survive. Police placed criminal liability in nearly all the
cases on the person in prostitution, not others involved. Anecdotal
evidence also suggested that the country was a destination for sex
tourism for men from other countries in the region.
The UNHCR observed that there was a growing practice of muta'a, a
temporary pleasure marriage conducted by some Shiite clerics. The
length of these marriages are predetermined at the outset and become
null and void once the agreed-upon term has passed. They can last as
little as one day and primarily serve individuals seeking to legitimize
patronizing prostitutes. However, the majority of Shiite clerics viewed
the practice as suspect and did not conduct such marriages.
The law prohibits sexual harassment and specifies different
punishments depending on whether the victim is a minor or an adult.
Sexual harassment was rarely reported.
The constitution provides for equality between men and women and
equal pay for equal work. Moreover, the Government sought to overcome
traditional discriminatory attitudes toward women and encouraged
women's education by ensuring equal access to educational institutions,
including universities. The Commission for Family Affairs, the Ministry
of Justice, and the Ministry for Social Affairs and Labor all share
responsibilities in ensuring legal rights of women.
The Government has not changed personal status, retirement, or
social security laws that discriminate against women. Under criminal
law, if a man and woman separately commit the same criminal act of
adultery, the woman's punishment is double that of the man's. Also, for
Muslims personal status law is based on the Government's interpretation
and application of Shari'a, which discriminates against women.
Husbands and wives can claim adultery as grounds for divorce;
however, criminal law discriminates against women in this regard. A man
can be accused of adultery only if his actions occur in the home that
he shares with his wife; a woman can be accused of adultery regardless
of venue. The court accepts any evidence a man presents when claiming
adultery; if a woman attempts to file for divorce based on adultery,
her husband must admit to the crime, or there must be a third witness
to the act. During the year there were no reported cases where a woman
successfully filed for divorce based on adultery.
A divorced woman might not be entitled to alimony in some cases,
particularly if she gave up her right to it in order to persuade her
husband to agree to the divorce. In addition, under the Personal Status
Law modified in 2003, a divorced mother loses the right to physical
custody of her sons when they reach the age of 13 and of her daughters
at age 15. Guardianship, or control over exercise of the legal rights
of the children, always goes to the paternal side of the family after
the age of 13 and 15, respectively.
Inheritance for all citizens except Catholics is based on the
Government's interpretation of Shari'a. Accordingly, Muslim women
usually were granted half of the inheritance share of male heirs. In
all communities, however, male heirs must provide financial support to
the female relatives who inherit less. If they do not, females have the
right to sue. During the year, however, there were reports that in some
regions of the country custom prevailed over the law, and women were
denied any inheritance whatsoever.
For example, Turkish Weekly reported on October 18 that local
communities in Deir al-Zur, a rural region in the northeastern region,
denied women their legal inheritance. This report was based on a study
conducted during the year by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.
According to the article, family and community members threatened and
intimidated women into giving up pursuit of their lawful inheritance.
In some cases women gave up their rights voluntarily.
Polygamy is legal but was practiced only by a small number of
Muslims.
A husband, or any male relative, may request that his wife and his
wife's children's travel abroad be prohibited. While official
statistics were not available, foreign embassies reported a number of
such incidents during the year. Women participated actively in public
life and were represented in most professions, including the armed
forces. Women were not impeded from owning or managing land or other
real property. During the year women constituted approximately 13
percent of judges, 18 percent of lawyers, 65 percent of teachers below
university level, 27 percent of university professors, and 49 percent
of university graduates. In addition, women accounted for 30 MPs, one
cabinet minister, and one vice President. The President promoted a
former cabinet minister to the position of political and media advisor
to the President; she maintained ministerial rank.
Children.--The Government provided free public education to citizen
children from primary school through university. Education is
compulsory for all children, male and female, between the ages of six
and 12. Non-citizen children could also attend public schools for free
but required prior permission from the Ministry of Education. According
to a 2005 joint study by the UN Development Program and the State
Planning Commission, 49.6 percent of students through the secondary
level were female. Nevertheless, societal pressure for early marriage
and childbearing interfered with girls' educational progress,
particularly in rural areas, where the dropout rates for female
students remained high.
In general Palestinians and other noncitizens, including stateless
Kurds, can send their children to school and universities; however,
stateless Kurds are ineligible to receive a degree documenting their
academic achievement.
The legal age for marriage is 18 for males and 17 for females.
However, a male 15 years of age or older and a female 13 years of age
or older may be married if both are deemed by a judge to be willing
parties to the marriage and ``physically mature'' and with consent by
the father or grandfather. While underage marriage has declined
considerably in the past decades, it was still common in the country.
It occurred in all communities but tended to be more prevalent in rural
and lesse.--developed regions.
The law provides for severe penalties for those found guilty of the
most serious abuses against children. Although there were cases of
child abuse, there was no societal pattern of abuse against children.
Human rights organizations reported multiple cases where security
services detained minors and placed them in adult prisons.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons;
however, the Government does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking and did not make
significant efforts to do so during the year. Syria was a destination
and transit country for women trafficked from South and Southeast Asia
and Africa for the purpose of domestic servitude and from Eastern
Europe and Iraq for sexual exploitation. There were no statistics
available on the scope and type of trafficking that exists.
There were reports by NGOs and the press indicating that Iraqi
women and girls may be subjected to forced commercial sexual
exploitation, some by Iraqi criminal networks in the country. No
reliable statistics were available regarding the number of Iraqi
refugees working as prostitutes. Credible sources reported that police
detained and either released or deported back to Iraq approximately six
to 10 Iraqi girls and 50 to 70 women each month for prostitution. In
many cases where women or girls were returned to Iraq, they were
frequently retrafficked back into Syria. Police placed criminal
liability in nearly all on the female, not the traffickers.
A 2003 International Organization for Migration (IOM) study also
indicated that some individuals brought into the country to work as
domestic workers suffered conditions that constituted involuntary
servitude, including physical and sexual abuse, threats of deportation
or other legal consequences, denial or delayed payment of wages,
withholding of passports, and restriction of movement. The IOM study
documented cases in which manpower agencies in the country that hired
foreign domestic workers lured some victims through fraudulent or
deceptive offers of employment, despite the fact that such manpower
agencies are banned.
The penal code stipulates that whoever incarcerates another person
is subjected to a prison sentence of six months to two years, including
hard labor if the incarceration lasts for more than one month or
includes torture. The law also states that any foreigner who tries to
enter the country with false documentation and anyone who may have
aided that foreigner is subject to imprisonment of three months to one
year and a fine of 500 to 2,000 pounds ($10-$40). However, these laws
were not enforced for antitrafficking purposes in practice during the
year.
The Government did not provide victims of trafficking with shelter
or other rehabilitative services, and some minor victims were
reportedly housed in juvenile detention facilities.
In August Oasis, a women's shelter in Damascus, opened its doors
under the supervision of the Association for Women's Role Development,
a local organization sponsored by First Lady Asma al-Asad.
The UNHCR operated several safe houses in Damascus for women deemed
``at risk.'' They provided financial assistance to more than 20,000
female victims at all age levels, 2,116 of whom represented single
female households.
On December 31, the first shelter for victims of trafficking in the
country opened in cooperation between the IOM, the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Labor (MSAL), and local NGOs. MSAL provided the premises
for the shelter, which provided victims a temporary safe haven,
psychosocial support, life skills development, and return and
reintegration assistance. It also provided direct livelihood assistance
to potential vulnerable groups of Iraqi women and children and other
nationalities.
In addition, a local Christian convent operated a women's shelter
and a daily hot line, and it also offered free legal counsel.
The Government also does not regulate illegal employment agencies
that bring in and, in some cases, facilitate victims' exploitation. The
Governments of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, East Timor, and the Philippines
banned their citizens from taking employment as domestic workers in the
country due to the absence of formal mechanisms to regulate such
employment. Despite public statements by officials of their intent to
pass legislation to regulate private manpower agencies, which operated
illegally in the country, no progress on the matter was made public.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities and seeks to integrate them into the
public sector work force; however, implementation remained
inconsistent. The law protects persons with disabilities from being
discriminated against when it comes to education, access to health, or
provision of other state services. Government regulations reserve 4
percent of government and public-sector jobs for persons with
disabilities. There are no laws that mandate access to public buildings
for persons with disabilities. MSAL is responsible for assisting
persons with disabilities and worked through dedicated charities or
organizations to provide assistance, often to promote self-sufficiency
through vocational training.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Government generally
permitted national and ethnic minorities to conduct traditional,
religious, and cultural activities; however, the Government's attitude
toward the Kurdish minority remained a significant exception.
Security services arrested hundreds of Kurdish citizens during the
year, and the SSSC prosecuted them, in most cases on charges of seeking
to annex part of Syria to another country.
On February 17, security forces reportedly arrested two Kurdish
activists and PYD supporters, Jehan Muhammad Ali and Hanifa Habo, after
the two attended a demonstration in Aleppo on the anniversary of
Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan's arrest. Both men remained detained at
year's end.
On February 20, security services reportedly arrested Kurdish
citizen Jaker Khwen Mala Ahmad for his participation in the Yekiti
party. He was released on February 25 without being charged.
On March 4, authorities arrested Kurdish citizen Nalin Jamal Sarik,
who had participated in a PYD-sponsored gathering in Qamishli.
On April 22, authorities reportedly arrested four Kurds in Ifreen,
including Muhammad Rasho, Bakara Muslim, and Saema Ismael. There were
no further developments in this case at year's end.
On March 20, according to a local human rights group, authorities
arrested Aras al-Yosef and Bawer Abdulrazaq Oso, both Kurds and
university students. Al-Yosef and Oso were released on March 21 and 23,
respectively.
On May 5, a security patrol reportedly arrested two Kurds, Bahrouz
Sarif Yousef and Hussein Biro Darwish, in Damascus. A human rights
organization's report alleged the reason for their detention was their
public stance on Kurdish issues. Yousef was released in July; there
were no further developments in Darwish's case at year's end.
On October 26, security forces reportedly arrested two leaders of
the Kurdish Azadi Party, Saadun Mahmoud Sheykho and Muhammed Said
Hussein al-Omar, and detained them in Ra's al-Ayn, a city on the
Turkish border in northeastern Syria. At year's end their whereabouts
remained unknown.
On November 2, Hervin Osse, Hasan Saleh, Fouad Aleko, and Abdul
Hakim Bashar were among more than 191 Kurds whom security forces
arrested in connection with an attempted demonstration in front of the
parliament building in Damascus. The protesters intended a peaceful
sit-in, but they were rounded up by police before reaching the
parliament. Nearly all were released the same evening.
On March 5, authorities released Kurdish political activist Marouf
Mella Ahmad. Mella, a leading figure in the Yeketi Party, was detained
in August 2007.
According to a human rights group, during the year authorities
released from detention 36 Kurdish youth held since November 2007. All
the individuals were reportedly from Ein al-Arab, a small city on the
Syri.--Turkey border.
There were no further developments in the 2007 case of Muhammad
Khalil Abo Zaid.
The trial of 49 Kurds connected to the 2005 protest following
Kurdish Sheikh Mashook al-Khaznawi's kidnapping and death continued at
year's end with no notable developments, despite the Government's
announcement that they were granted amnesty in 2006. The most recent
trial appearance took place on March 13, at which time the trial was
postponed until August 5. The trial was ongoing at year's end.
Although the Government contended that there was no discrimination
against the Kurdish population, it placed limits on the use and
teaching of the Kurdish language. It also restricted the publication of
books and other materials written in Kurdish, Kurdish cultural
expression, and at times, the celebration of Kurdish festivals.
For example, in February security forces reportedly arrested 71-
year-old Kurdish singer Ali Tajo. There were conflicting stories
surrounding his disappearance. One Kurdish human rights organization
claimed that a Kurdish television program in Iraq had scheduled Ali
Tajo to participate in a folkloric production and that he was arrested
at the Syria-Iraq border. A second Kurdish group stated that Tajo had
entertained a group of Kurdish singers from Iraqi Kurdistan in his
Aleppo home. Afterwards, local police raided Tajo's home and took him
in for interrogation before eventually handing him over to security
forces in Damascus. There was no further information on this case at
year's end.
On November 11, according to human rights observers, the governor
of Hassakeh and the chairman of the city council approved the
invitation of the Narine Kurdish Folkloric troupe to participate in the
closing ceremony of Al-Khabour Festival for Young Writers. On the eve
of the performance, however, the troupe was informed they were
prohibited from presenting their show. The Baath Party branch in
Hassakeh allegedly issued the ban.
On March 13, security forces reportedly arrested four Kurdish
brothers, Joma'a, Ahmad, Muhammad, and Bahman Hamdo, three of whom
worked as tailors producing traditional Kurdish clothing. At year's end
their whereabouts were unknown.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. However,
there was a belief among human rights activists that the extent of the
problem was widely underreported.
The law criminalizes homosexuality.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--While the constitution provides for
the right of association and to form unions, in practice workers were
not free to establish unions independent of the Government. Foreign
workers, according to a 2008 International Trade Union Confederation
(ITUC) survey, may join the union representing their profession but may
not stand for election to union offices. The ITUC report also stated
that while the law does not prohibit labor strikes, they are severely
restricted by threat of punishment and fines. All unions belonged to
the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), which was dominated by
Ba'ath Party members and was part of the Government's bureaucratic
structure. The GFTU advised the Government on legislation, organized
workers, and formulated rules for various member unions, effectively
controlling nearly all aspects of union activity. Union elections were
generally free of direct, overt GFTU interference; however, successful
campaigns usually required membership in the Ba'ath Party. The GFTU
President was a senior member of the Ba'ath Party, and he and his
deputy could attend cabinet meetings on economic affairs. According to
the government-published 2007 Statistical Abstract, there were 204
trade unions filling the ranks of the GFTU with a collective membership
of 808,419 workers. This represents less than one third of the total
labor force. Additionally, in 2007 there were 5,622 agricultural
cooperatives with 994,820 members; 101 passenger transport cooperatives
with 38,269 members; and 24 transport services cooperatives with 9,561
members.
By the end of the year, there were no reports that any individual
union, the GFTU, or any cooperatives had exercised their right to
collective bargaining. Additionally, there were no reports of strikes
at the end of the year.
The law does not prohibit strikes; however, previous government
crackdowns, including fines and prison sentences, deterred workers from
striking. Forced labor was imposed on individuals who caused
``prejudice to the general production plan.''
On February 26, security authorities in Qamishli reportedly
arrested Kurdish unionist Jan Ahmad Rasool for critical comments made
during a speech at a February 24 union meeting. Rasool was elected as
an ``independent'' to a leadership role in the local Foodstuff and
Tourism Union in 2007.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to bargain collectively; however, this right
does not exist in practice as the unions were effectively led by Ba'ath
Party officials closely tied to the Government. Government
representatives were part of the bargaining process in the public
sector. Public sector unions did not normally bargain collectively on
wage issues, but union representatives participated with
representatives of employers from the government-affiliated Chambers of
Industry and Commerce and the supervising ministry in establishing
minimum wages, hours, and conditions of employment in the private
sector. Workers served on the boards of directors of public
enterprises, and union representatives were included on the boards.
The law provides for collective bargaining in the private sector,
although past repression by the Government dissuaded most workers from
exercising this right.
Unions have the right to litigate disputes over work contracts and
other workers' interests with employers and are able to ask for binding
arbitration. In practice labor and management representatives settled
most disputes without resort to legal remedies or arbitration.
Management has the right to request arbitration, but that right seldom
was exercised. Arbitration authority is vested in the Ministry of
Justice's Administrative Petition Court. In practice this court did
little more than certify agreements and had almost no role in
arbitrating disputes, since such disputes did not occur with any
regularity.
There were no reports of antiunion discrimination. Since the unions
were part of the Government's bureaucratic structure, the law protects
union members from such discrimination.
There were no unions in the seven free trade zones (FTZs). Firms in
the zones were exempt from the laws and regulations governing hiring
and firing, although they were required to observe some provisions on
health, safety, hours, and sick and annual leave. Ninety percent of the
workers in the FTZs were citizens.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not
prohibit all forms of forced or compulsory labor and the problem
existed. The Governments of Sri Lanka and the Philippines banned their
citizens from taking employment as domestic workers in the country
because of abuses and the lack of a mechanism to protect the rights of
their citizens.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
labor law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in
the workplace, and independent information and audits regarding
government enforcement were not available.
The private-sector minimum age for employment is 15 years for most
types of nonagricultural labor and 18 years for heavy work. Working
hours for youths of legal age are set at six hours per day. According
to the law, youths are not allowed to work during night shifts,
weekends, or on official holidays. In all cases parental permission is
required for children under the age of 16 to work. The majority of
children under age 16 who worked did so for their parents in the
agricultural sector without remuneration. While the law prohibits
children from working at night, it applies only to children who work
for a salary. Those who work in family businesses and who are
technically not paid a salary--a common occurrence--do not fall under
the law. Children under age 15 are prohibited by law from working in
mines, at petroleum sites, or in other dangerous areas. Children are
not allowed to lift, carry, or drag heavy objects.
According to a February 2007 report by the Arab Council for
Childhood and Development, the total number of citizen children who
performed ``tough jobs in unhealthy working conditions'' was more than
600,000. Also, there was evidence that children engaged in some of the
worst forms of child labor during the year, including forced labor and
prostitution. The Government, however, did little to address the
problem. In 2006 the minister of social affairs and labor stated that
most children who worked did so seasonally and for limited amounts of
time.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs monitored employment
conditions for persons under the age of 18; however, there were too few
inspectors to ensure compliance with the laws. The Labor Inspection
Department performed unannounced spot checks of employers on a daily
basis to enforce the law, but the scope of these checks was unknown.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 6,110
pounds ($131.40) per month, plus benefits, including compensation for
meals, uniforms, and transportation. The minimum wage did not provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family; however, private-
sector companies usually paid much higher wages than the minimum. Also,
many workers in both the public- and private-sectors took additional
jobs or were supported by their extended families.
The labor and social affairs minister was responsible for enforcing
minimum wage.
The public sector work week was 35 hours; the private sector's was
48 hours. Workers were guaranteed one 30-minute lunch break per day at
minimum, although anecdotal evidence suggested that many workers
enjoyed longer lunch breaks and short, informal breaks during the day.
Premium pay exists for overtime worked, and a prohibition on excessive
compulsory overtime exists in several sectors.
Officials from the Ministries of Health and Labor were designated
to inspect work sites for compliance with health and safety standards;
however, such inspections were sporadic, apart from those conducted in
hotels and other facilities that catered to foreigners. The enforcement
of labor laws in rural areas was more lax than in urban areas, where
there were a larger number of inspectors. Workers may lodge complaints
about health and safety conditions with special committees established
to adjudicate such cases. Workers have the right to remove themselves
from hazardous conditions without risking loss of employment. There is
no legal framework governing relations between domestic workers and
their employers, and the Government did not educate employers or
workers on the rights of domestic workers. The law provides protection
for foreign workers who reside legally in the country but not for the
unknown number of illegal workers in the country.
__________
TUNISIA
Tunisia is a constitutional republic with a population of
approximately 10 million, dominated by a single political party, the
Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD). Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been
the President since 1987. The international community generally did not
consider the 2004 Presidential election to be free and fair. President
Ben Ali ran against three opposition candidates and was declared the
winner with approximately 94 percent of the popular vote. In concurrent
elections for the Chamber of Deputies, the RCD won 152 of the 189
seats. During the year the indirect elections for some members of the
Chamber of Advisors, the upper house of parliament, resulted in a
heavily pro-RCD body. The civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
There were significant limitations on citizens' right to change
their government. Local and international nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) reported that security forces tortured and physically abused
prisoners and detainees and arbitrarily arrested and detained
individuals. Security forces acted with impunity sanctioned by high-
ranking officials. There were also reports of lengthy pretrial and
incommunicado detention. The Government infringed on citizens' privacy
rights and continued to impose severe restrictions on freedoms of
speech, press, assembly, and association. The Government remained
intolerant of public criticism, and there were widespread reports that
it used intimidation, criminal investigations, the judicial system,
arbitrary arrests, residential restrictions, and travel controls to
discourage criticism by human rights and opposition activists. Media
freedom was severely restricted during the year and corruption was a
problem.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
security forces killed demonstrators during the year.
On May 6, according to domestic NGOs, protestor Hichem Alaimi was
fatally electrocuted at a power station in Redeyef when local officials
proceeded to restore power to the station, although Alaimi and others
refused to let go of the cables after alleged warnings by officials
that power would be restored. Protestors had temporarily shut down the
generator during a sit-in protesting unemployment. Two other protestors
were non-fatally electrocuted.
On June 6, security forces shot and killed Hafnaoui Al-Maghzaoui
during an unemployment protest in Redeyef. Security forces also shot
Abdelkhalak Amaidi, who died on September 13 due to complications
resulting from the wound. Government officials claimed that protestors
threw Molotov cocktails at security forces, prompting them to open
fire; however, local civil society leaders maintained that the protest
was peaceful and that security forces began firing without warning. At
year's end there was an investigation into the circumstances of the
shootings, but no charges had been filed.
There were no developments in the 2006 case of Tarek Ayari,
allegedly killed by Bechir Rahali, a Tunis police chief, who hit the
victim on the head with the handle of a pickaxe.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, according to
human rights organizations, security forces tortured detainees to
elicit confessions and discourage resistance. Reported abuses included
sexual abuse; sleep deprivation; electric shock; death threats;
submersion of the head in water; beatings with hands, sticks, and
police batons; suspension, sometimes manacled, from cell doors and rods
resulting in loss of consciousness; and cigarette burns. According to
international human rights groups, on occasion, police and prison
officials used threatened and actual sexual assault against prisoners'
wives and daughters to extract information, intimidate, and punish.
Charges of torture in specific cases were difficult to prove, and
authorities generally did not take steps to investigate allegations or
punish perpetrators. There were several allegations that authorities
often denied victims of torture access to medical care until evidence
of abuse disappeared. The Government maintained that it investigated
all complaints of torture and mistreatment filed with the prosecutor's
office and noted that alleged victims sometimes accused police of
torture without filing a complaint, a prerequisite for an
investigation. However, according to defense attorneys and local and
international human rights groups, police routinely refused to register
complaints. In addition, judges dismissed complaints without
investigation and accepted as evidence confessions allegedly extracted
through torture. The Government can open an administrative
investigation of allegations of torture or mistreatment of prisoners
without a formal complaint; however, in those cases the results were
not made public or available to the lawyers of affected prisoners.
Consistent with an effort to extract information or coerce
confessions, reports of torture were more frequently associated with
the initial phases of interrogation/investigation and in pretrial
detention centers more than prisons. Human rights activists, citing
prisoner accounts, identified facilities at the Ministry of Interior
(MOI) as the most common location for torture. Political prisoners,
Islamists, and persons detained on terrorist-related charges allegedly
received harsher treatment than other prisoners and detainees.
Defense attorneys for protestors arrested during the January to
June unemployment protests in the southwestern region of Tunisia allege
that their clients were tortured while in police custody but have not
been able to obtain cour.--ordered medical exams to prove their
charges.
According to local NGO, Freedom and Equity, Gafsa prison guards
raped Wahid Brahmi, sentenced to two years and four months in prison on
charges of spreading false information, during his incarceration
beginning on February 12. The guards threatened reprisals if Brahmi
told his family what happened to him. Brahmi made several complaints to
the head of the prison, but his complaints were dismissed, and
authorities transferred him to Mornaguia Prison. At year's end Brahmi
remained in prison.
On July 25, security forces arrested Zakia Dhifaoui, a teacher,
journalist, and member of the opposition Democratic Forum for Freedom
and Labor (FDTL), after she took part in a demonstration in Redeyef. On
September 15, a court sentenced her to four-and-a-1half months in
prison on charges of participating in an illegal demonstration. During
her trial, Dhifaoui told the judge she was harassed by security
officials. Authorities granted her early release on November 4, and
upon her release, Dhifaoui told the international press that she had
been raped by prison officials while incarcerated.
On January 16, the Tunis Court of First Instance acquitted and
released Oualid Layouni after he had been detained at Mornaguia Prison
since January 2007. There was no investigation of his allegations that
officials hit him on the head and body, confined him to a small space
without natural light or aeration, and subjected him to sleep
deprivation.
On May 23, the Court of Cassation confirmed the convictions on
terrorism charges of Ramzi el Aifi, Ousama Abbadi, and Mahdi Ben Elhaj
Ali, sentenced to life, 30 years, and eight years in prison,
respectively. There was no investigation into the men's November 2007
allegations of torture, including Aifi's claim that officials inserted
a stick into his anus, and the men remained in prison at year's end.
There were no developments in the December 2007 case of 30 citizens
who alleged torture by security forces, or the 2006 case of Aymen Ben
Belgacem Dridi who reported that security forces beat, kicked, and
subjected him to falka (beatings on the soles of the feet) in the Borj
el-Roumi prison.
On May 23, the Court of Cassation upheld Mohamed Amine Jaziri's 30-
year sentence. He was arrested in 2006 on terrorist-related charges.
From 2006 to January 2007 authorities reportedly blindfolded, bound,
and beat him with electric cables. At year's end he remained in prison,
and there had been no public investigation of his allegations.
Police assaulted human rights and opposition activists throughout
the year.
On February 18, according to the Committee for the Respect of
Freedom and Human Rights in Tunisia (CRLDHT), security forces assaulted
CRLDHT Secretary General Fatma Ksila and Tunisian Association for
Combating Terrorism (ATLT) member Samia Abbou and prevented them from
meeting with torture victims' families. The officers allegedly hit
Ksila and Abbou repeatedly, abused them verbally, and confiscated their
cash, a camera, and a tape recorder.
On April 17, security forces assaulted a member of the opposition
Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) while she was selling copies of the
PDP's Arabic weekly in central Tunis.
On June 18, according to an Agence France-Presse report, four
security officers attacked and kicked Hamma Hammami, a member of an
unregistered political party, in front of his 9-year-old daughter as he
was leaving his home.
There were no developments in the June 2007 case of regional union
leader Khaled Barhoumi, reportedly attacked by police during a protest;
the August 2007 case of Aymen Rezgui, assaulted by police as he was
leaving a PDP press conference; or the 2006 case of lawyers Ayachi
Hammami, Abderraouf Ayadi, and Abderrazak Kilani, reportedly assaulted
while they were staging a three-week sit-in to protest a new law
creating a government-controlled training institute for lawyers.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally did not meet international standards. Overcrowding and
limited medical care posed a significant threat to prisoners' health.
During the year there were credible reports that authorities sometimes
denied injured or sick prisoners prompt access to medical care. The
Government permits the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
access to prisons, but not other independent human rights observers.
According to human rights organizations, prison conditions in the
country continued to fall short of minimum adequate standards. Hygiene
was extremely poor, and prisoners rarely had access to showers and
washing facilities. Sources reported that 40 to 50 prisoners were
typically confined to a single 194-square-foot cell, and up to 140
prisoners shared a 323-square-foot cell. Most prisoners were forced to
share beds or sleep on the floor. Current and former prisoners reported
that lack of basic facilities forced inmates to share a single water
and toilet facility with more than 100 cellmates, creating serious
sanitation problems. Contagious diseases, particularly scabies, were
widespread, and prisoners did not have access to adequate medical care.
Additional discriminatory and arbitrary measures such as restrictions
on family visits worsened the conditions for detainees, particularly
when prisoners sought redress for grievances about treatment and
conditions.
According to domestic and international human rights organizations,
from April to May, Sfax prison officials denied journalist Slim
Boukhdhir access to a shower for six weeks. As a result, he developed
scabies, and for a time prison officials withheld medication. In
addition, on May 27, an inmate threatened to stab Boukhdhir, and guards
near his cell did not respond to his repeated calls for help.
According to international NGOs, on November 11, prison officials
at Mornaguia Prison refused to give former prisoner Ridha Boukadi, who
suffered from kidney problems, his medical file. President Ben Ali
granted Boukadi conditional release on November 4 after more than a
decade in prison.
On April 5 and April 20, security forces allegedly beat Adnan
Hajji, and also extinguished lit cigarettes on his skin. On December
11, a court in Gafsa sentenced Hajji to ten years in prison on charges
of forming a criminal group with the intent of destroying public and
private property, leading an armed rebellion, and assault on officials
during the exercise of their duties.
Political prisoners were separated from the general prison
population and were under the authority of security forces working for
the Department of State Security in the MOI and Local Development
instead of Ministry of Justice (MOJ) officials. Other inmates were
instructed to stay away from political prisoners and were punished
severely for making contact with them. In addition, Human Rights Watch
(HRW) reported that the Government continued to keep some political
prisoners, most of whom were outlawed Islamist party Al-Nahdha leaders
in small-group isolation; however, the Government released the
remaining al-Nahdha prisoners on November 4. Former Al-Nahdha President
Sadok Chourou, one of those released on November 4, was subsequently
rearrested on December 3, shortly after giving an interview to the
London-based satellite television station Al-Hiwar. He was sentenced to
one year in prison for membership in an unauthorized organization on
December 13.
According to prisoner and detainee testimony, prison conditions for
women were generally better than those for men. On July 23, the
Government passed a law mandating that prisons have separate areas for
pregnant women and nursing mothers. The law also reduced the period of
time infants and toddlers are allowed to reside with their mothers from
three years to one. The law requires that pretrial detainees be held
separately from convicted prisoners, but in practice they were not
always separate.
The ICRC continued to visit detainees in prisons and detention
facilities in the country. Per ICRC standard modalities, its
observations and recommendations were shared on a confidential and
bilateral basis with the authorities. The Government did not permit
media to inspect or monitor prison conditions.
The Governmental Higher Commission on Human Rights and Civil
Liberties (HCHR) continued to make unannounced prison visits and
inspections of MOJ facilities during the year; however, the HCHR's
reports were not made public.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but the Government did not observe these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MOI controls
several law enforcement organizations including the police, who have
primary responsibility within the major cities; the National Guard,
which has responsibility for border security and policing smaller
cities and the countryside; and state security forces, which monitor
groups and individuals that the Government considers to be a threat,
such as opposition parties and leaders, the media, Islamists, and human
rights activists.
In general law enforcement groups were disciplined, organized, and
effective; however, incidents of petty corruption and police brutality
took place. Law enforcement organizations operated with impunity
sanctioned by high-ranking officials. Police attacked dissidents and
oppositionists.
The MOI's Higher Institute of Internal Security Forces and Customs
has oversight of law enforcement officers in the ministries of interior
and customs. The organization's stated mission was to reinforce human
rights and improve law enforcement; however, no information was
available about its operations, and no information was available about
any punishment of police and prison guards.
Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that the police must have a
warrant to arrest a suspect, unless the crime committed is a felony or
is in progress; however, arbitrary arrests and detentions occurred. The
penal code permits detention for up to six days prior to arraignment,
during which time the Government may hold suspects incommunicado. This
requirement, however, was not always observed. For example, a 2007
National Council for Freedom and Labor (CNLT) report documented 24
cases in which the six-day pre-arraignment detention reportedly was
exceeded. Arresting officers are required to inform detainees of their
rights, immediately inform detainees' families of the arrest, and make
a complete record of the times and dates of such notifications, but
those rules were sometimes ignored. Detainees were allowed access to
family members when they were not being held incommunicado, although
the Government did not always facilitate the efforts of family members
to identify the whereabouts of their detained relatives.
Detainees have the right to know the grounds of their arrest before
questioning and may request a medical examination. They do not have a
right to legal representation during the pre-arraignment detention.
Attorneys, human rights monitors, and former detainees maintained that
authorities illegally extended detainment by falsifying arrest dates.
Police reportedly extorted money from families of innocent detainees in
exchange for dropping charges against them.
The law permits the release of accused persons on bail, and
detainees have the right to be represented by counsel during
arraignment. The Government provides legal representation for
indigents. At arraignment the examining magistrate may decide to
release the accused or remand him to pretrial detention.
In cases involving crimes for which the sentence may exceed five
years or that involve national security, pretrial detention may last an
initial period of six months and may be extended by court order for two
additional four-month periods. For crimes in which the sentence may not
exceed five years, the court may extend the initial six-month pretrial
detention by an additional three months only. During this pretrial
stage, the court conducts an investigation, hears arguments, and
accepts evidence and motions from both parties. Complaints of prolonged
pretrial detention were common.
On June 25, according to Amnesty International (AI), police
arrested Zied Fakraoui but failed to notify his family of his
whereabouts until July 2 when local government officials told
Fakraoui's lawyers that he had been brought before an investigating
magistrate without the presence of counsel. At year's end Fakraoui was
believed to still be in custody.
On August 27, police arrested International Association for the
Support of Political Prisoners (AISPP) member Tarek Soussi shortly
after his interview with Al-Jazeera regarding several recent arrests.
He was charged with spreading false news likely to disturb public
order. According to Reporters Without Borders (RWB), security forces
did not present a warrant at the time of Soussi's arrest and posed as
electric company employees to gain entrance to his home. Soussi was
released on September 25, following a ruling by the Bizerte Court of
Appeals. At year's end no court date had been set.
There were no developments in the May 2007 case of founding AISPP
member Lassaad Jouhri, reportedly detained by police for approximately
12 hours and questioned on his plans to accompany international NGOs
Human Rights First (HRF) and Frontline to El Kef prison.
According to international and domestic human rights organizations,
police arrested individuals (more than one thousand since late 2006)
following security operations to disrupt an armed cell that was
plotting to carry out terrorist attacks. Families made inquiries about
the individuals, but authorities provided no information. Local and
international groups have expressed concern that authorities held the
arrested in incommunicado detention at the MOI State Security
Department, where they would be at risk of torture and other il.--
treatment.
Although 30 suspects charged with plotting against state security
were convicted, the total number of those in pretrial detention is
unknown.
Amnesty.--The Government did not grant amnesty during the year;
however, judges sometimes exercised their authority to release
prisoners or suspend their sentences in favor of conditional parole.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the executive branch and the President
strongly influenced judicial procedures, particularly in political
cases. The executive branch exercised indirect authority over the
judiciary through the appointment, assignment, tenure, and transfer of
judges, rendering the system susceptible to pressure. The President
headed the Supreme Council of Judges, composed primarily of
Presidential appointees.
The law provides citizens legal recourse to an administrative
tribunal to address grievances against government ministries, although
officials rarely respected the tribunal's nonbinding decisions. The
Government permitted observers from diplomatic missions and foreign
journalists to monitor trials. Observers may be allowed to attend
sessions of military tribunals at the court's discretion.
The training institute for lawyers that President Ben Ali signed
into law in 2006 became operational in October. Once it was granted a
management role, the Tunisian Bar Association no longer opposed the
creation of the institute; previously it argued that the institute
would undermine judicial independence by giving the Government control
of those admitted to the bar.
The civil court system is a three-tiered hierarchy. At the first
level, there are 51 district courts, in which a single judge hears each
case. At the second level there are 24 courts of first instance, which
serve as the appellate courts for the district courts but also have
original jurisdiction for more serious cases. The Court of Cassation
(or Supreme Court) serves as the final court of appeals. The Supreme
Court considers only arguments pertaining to points of law. The
organization of the criminal court system is similar to that of the
civil court system. In most cases the presiding judge or a panel of
judges dominates a trial, and attorneys have little opportunity to
participate substantively.
Military courts fall under the Ministry of Defense. Military
tribunals have the authority to try cases involving military personnel
and civilians accused of national security crimes. Defendants may
appeal the military tribunal's verdict to the civilian Supreme Court.
In 2007, according to AI, the military courts sentenced at least 15
civilians to up to 10 years' imprisonment.
There is also an administrative tribunal, which hears
administrative cases between citizens and the Government.
Trial Procedures.--The law extends the same trial procedure rights
to all citizens, and it provides for the right to a fair trial;
however, according to international and domestic NGOs, this did not
often occur in practice.
Trials in the regular courts of first instance and in the courts of
appeal are open to the public. By law the accused has the right to be
present at trial, to be represented by counsel (provided at public
expense for the indigent), and to question witnesses; however, judges
did not always observe these rights in practice. The law permits the
trial in absentia of fugitives from the law. Both the accused and the
prosecutor may appeal decisions of the lower courts.
The law provides that defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty; however, that presumption was sometimes ignored in practice,
especially in politically sensitive cases. Defendants may request a
different judge if they believe the assigned one is not impartial;
however, judges are not required to recuse themselves. Juries are not
used.
Lengthy trial delays remained a problem. Defendants do not have the
right to a speedy trial, nor is there any time limit on cases. Defense
lawyers claimed that judges sometimes refused to let them call
witnesses on their clients' behalf or to question key government
witnesses. Defense lawyers contended that the courts often failed to
grant adequate notice of trial dates or allow time to prepare their
cases. There were reports that judges restricted access to court
records and evidence, especially to that held by the Government, and in
some cases required all the lawyers working on a case to examine
documents together on a single date in judges' chambers, without
allowing them to copy relevant documents.
Lawyers and human rights organizations reported that courts
routinely failed to investigate allegations of torture and mistreatment
and accepted as evidence confessions extracted through torture. These
groups also reported that the summary nature of court sessions
sometimes prevented reasoned deliberation and that erratic court
schedules and procedures deterred observers of political trials.
Although family and inheritance law is codified, civil law judges
were known to apply Shari'a (Islamic law) in family cases if the two
systems conflicted. Some families avoided the application of Shari'a
inheritance rules by executing sales contracts between parents and
children to ensure that daughters received shares of property equal to
that of sons.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The number of political
prisoners remained unknown. Human rights organizations alleged that the
Government had arrested and imprisoned approximately 2,000 persons
since 2005 without sufficient evidence that they had committed or
planned to commit terrorist acts. Human rights activists and lawyers
alleged that many of these detainees were tortured in MOI facilities
and forced to sign confessions under duress.
All remaining Al-Nahdha leaders in prison were pardoned, however
one was subsequently re-arrested soon after his release.
Former political prisoners stated that upon their release,
officials failed to give them their identification cards, marked their
identification cards in a specific way, or denied them the certificate
attesting that they had served their sentences and were permitted to
work. They also reported being closely monitored by both uniformed and
plainclothes police.
The ICRC and the HCHR had access to political prisoners in Ministry
of Justice-controlled prisons and detention facilities.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While a court system
existed through which a human rights complaint could be made, the
judiciary was not independent and impartial in cases involving human
rights violations when the Government was involved. Administrative
remedies were available through the Office of the Ombudsman at the
Presidency or the Administrative Court under the Prime Ministry.
However, decisions taken by these institutions were not binding and
were often ignored by other government departments and agencies.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions ``except in exceptional
cases defined by law;'' however, the Government generally did not
respect these prohibitions in practice. Police sometimes ignored the
requirement to have a warrant before conducting searches if authorities
considered state security to be involved. Domestic NGOs and civil
society activists reported that members of the security forces entered
their offices when they were not present and searched without a
warrant.
Authorities may invoke state security to justify telephone
surveillance. According to numerous reports by NGOs and the news media,
the Government intercepted faxes and e-mails. The law does not
explicitly authorize these activities, but the Government stated that
the code of criminal procedure implicitly gives investigating
magistrates such authority. Opposition political activists experienced
frequent and sometimes extended interruptions of service to home and
business telephones, faxes, and the Internet. Human rights activists
accused the Government of using the postal code, with its broad and
undefined prohibition against mail that threatens the public order, to
interfere with their correspondence and interrupt the delivery of
foreign publications. Authorities reportedly opened and read letters,
many of which never reached the recipients. Security forces routinely
monitored the activities, telephone, and Internet exchanges of
opposition, Islamist, and human rights activists, as well as
journalists, and placed some under surveillance.
Human rights activists claimed that the Government punished family
members of Islamist activists by denying them jobs, educational
opportunities, business licenses, and travel due to their relatives'
activism. Police also subjected relatives to surveillance and
questioning. For example, during the week of April 13, according to
RWB, two security officers threatened the family of journalist Taoufik
Ben Brik.
Human rights activists reported that the Government made it
difficult for released prisoners suspected of Al-Nahdha membership to
find employment. Other released political prisoners found it hard to
get MOI statements that they had no criminal records, and even when not
imprisoned, political activists and Islamists had their identification
cards confiscated, which created problems with receiving health care,
signing a lease, buying or driving a car, and accessing bank accounts
and pensions. Police may demand identification cards at any time and
may detain those unable to produce their cards until police establish
their identity. AISPP member Lasaad Johri has not had an identification
card since 1999.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
limited freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government
generally did not respect these rights in practice. The Government
restricted press freedom and severely intimidated journalists, editors,
and publishers into practicing self-censorship. Security forces closely
monitored both foreign and domestic press activity.
Individuals were not free to criticize the Government without fear
of reprisal, and the Government restricted some types of speech. The
law prohibits individuals from discussing national politics on foreign
radio or television channels during the two weeks prior to national
elections, with up to a 25,000 dinar (approximately $20,833) fine per
offense. Security forces often questioned citizens seen talking with
foreign visitors or residents, particularly visiting international
human rights monitors and journalists. The Government also attempted to
prevent private meetings with foreign diplomats and to influence public
meetings by surrounding meeting places with scores of plainclothes
policemen.
On January 14, police arrested comedian Hedi Ouled Baballah for
alleged possession of cannabis and counterfeiting, shortly after he
performed a satirical comedy sketch about President Ben Ali. Baballah
denied the charges against him and domestic and international NGOs
alleged that he was framed, noting that in March 2007, after he
performed a similar sketch, police arrested, beat, and detained him in
Bouchoucha detention center for several days. On February 4, a court
sentenced him to one year in prison and a 1,000 dinar (approximately
$833) fine for ``possession of a category B drug;'' however, on March
20, President Ben Ali granted Baballah an early release.
The Government does not require licensing of print media; however,
it rigidly controls print media through a publishing permit process.
Print media must request a copyright registration from the MOI, which
issues a receipt that constitutes an official permit to publish valid
for one year. The Press Code requires that the receipt be issued before
printing, effectively prohibiting any unlicensed publications. The code
also requires the publisher to inform the MOI of any change of printer.
Printers and publishers violating these rules are subject to
substantial, per copy, personal fines under the Press Code.
CNLT produced the on-line newspaper/magazine Kalima without a
license, but it was accessible only from outside the country. On April
26, the CNLT made its fifth attempt to register Kalima, but government
officials refused to acknowledge their application had been received.
International human rights NGOs alleged that the Government refused
registration of Kalima due to its commentary critical of the
Government. On October 8, the Kalima Web site was hacked and its
archives destroyed. Previously, in May 2007 between 30 and 60
plainclothes policemen reportedly blocked the entrance to Kalima's
offices for more than six weeks, beginning shortly after Kalima's
representatives met with members of international NGOs Frontline
International and HRF.
On November 13, the assistant general prosecutor summoned the
Secretary General of the opposition FDTL to answer questions about an
October 22 editorial in FDTL's Arabic weekly Mouatinoun. The editorial
accused government officials of ordering the destruction of Kalima's
Web site. Government officials also removed the Mouatinoun edition in
question from newsstands.
The Government stated that there were 950 foreign publications and
newspapers distributed in the country and that 90 percent of domestic
newspapers were ``privately owned and editorially independent.''
However, two of the eight mainstream dailies were government owned, two
were owned by the ruling party, and two, although nominally private,
reportedly took editorial direction from senior government officials.
All media were subject to significant governmental pressure over
subject matter. There were seven opposition party newspapers with small
circulations. Five of them received government subsidies under a law
providing government financing to papers representing opposition
parties with seats in parliament.
Broadcast media are controlled by the granting or denial of a
frequency by the Tunisian Frequencies Agency, a part of the Ministry of
Communications Technologies. These licenses, or acceptance of the
application, are tightly restricted.
Government regulations required foreign correspondents to obtain
written approval before video recording in public. The Government
controlled the satellite transmissions of local correspondents
reporting for foreign television stations by refusing to license
correspondents and insisting all correspondents use government-owned
facilities for satellite uplinks.
There were widespread reports that the Government impeded most
criticism in the mainstream press and that it harassed, arrested, and
abused journalists during the year, especially those active in
opposition activities. The Government cited preserving public order as
grounds to suppress criticism and used defamation laws to prosecute
journalists however, journalists most often faced charges of unrelated
offenses (such as counterfeiting), often by private parties. The law
authorizes sentences up to five years in prison for offensive
statements against the President and up to three years for defamation
of constitutional bodies, including the Chamber of Deputies, Chamber of
Advisors, constitutional councils, the administration, government
members, or deputies.
As a result of his coverage of the January to June unemployment
protests in southwestern Tunisia for the private television station al-
Hiwar Attounsi, journalist Fahem Boukadous was sentenced on December 11
in absentia to six years in prison on charges of disseminating
information that might disturb public order and belonging to a criminal
organization.
On March 3, security forces assaulted human rights journalist Sihem
Bensedrine and her husband Omar Mestiri, both members of the CNLT, upon
their arrival at the port of La Goulette. They were held for six hours,
and Bensedrine's arm was injured in the assault. Plainclothes officers
confiscated several documents, which were not returned. On August 19,
according to RWB, security officers prevented Bensedrine from boarding
a flight to Europe. According to the International Freedom of
Expression Exchange (IFEX), the officers were physically and verbally
abusive and pushed her to the floor. At year's end there was no known
investigation into the allegations.
On July 4, former PDP Secretary General Nejib Chebbi was questioned
on charges relating to defamation of the judicial system. The charges
stem from an editorial in the May 9 edition of the PDP's Arabic weekly
al-Mowqif. At year's end the case was ongoing.
On June 6, according to RWB, security forces detained Mouwatinoun
reporter Hedi Raddaoui for 36 hours after he attempted to photograph
demonstrators injured by security forces during a protest in the mining
town of Redeyef.
On November 24, police arrested reporter Fatine Al-Hamdi in Tunis,
reportedly hitting her with a baton and dragging her by the hair.
Police detained and interrogated her for four hours at the Sidi Bachir
police station, reportedly in connection with her employer, the
unregistered Internet radio station called Radio Kalima.
There were no developments in the March 2007 case of journalist and
press freedom advocate Mohamed Fourati, sentenced in absentia to 14
months in prison for membership in the unauthorized Al-Nahdha party.
Fourati previously helped edit the opposition newspaper al-Mowqif and
authored several articles critical of the Government.
There were no developments in the April, June, or September 2007
incidents in which police reportedly assaulted journalists Lotfi Hajji
and Aymen Rezki and forcibly prevented Hajji from entering PDP offices.
In June 2007 authorities added 26 months to the internal exile of
journalist Abdullah Zouari, who once worked for Al-Fajr, the weekly
newspaper of the Al-Nahdha party. Zouari has remained under
administrative control and in internal exile since 2004. According to
RWB, no explanation was given for the extension, which continued at
year's end.
On July 21, authorities granted an early release from prison to
journalist Slim Boukhdhir, sentenced in December 2007 to one year in
prison for ``aggression against a public employee,'' ``violation of
public morality standards,'' and ``refusal to present identity papers
to police.'' However, on September 20, according to RWB, plainclothes
police officers abducted, detained, and threatened Boukhdhir for
several hours. Boukhdhir told the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) that he believed the incident was prompted by his recent article
urging President Ben Ali to loosen the Government's hold on civil
society. The Government reportedly continued to refuse Boukhdir a press
card.
On December 11, a court sentenced journalist Fahem Boukadous in
absentia to six years in prison on charges of disseminating information
that might disturb public order and belonging to a criminal
organization. In November 2007 authorities arrested Boukadous and a
colleague working for the private television station al-Hiwar, where
they were covering a labor union meeting.
There were no developments in the 2006 case of opposition political
leader Moncef Marzouki, charged with ``threatening to disturb the
public order'' following appearances on Al-Jazeera in which he
criticized the Government and called for civil disobedience. Marzouki
departed the country before his case was heard by the court.
The law prohibits censorship of local newspapers, magazines, and
books; however, the Government continued to censor international media.
For example, it banned the October 30 issue of French weekly L'Express
Internationale. The edition carried six articles on Islam and
Christianity. Furthermore, self-censorship and obvious government
interference continued.
The Government routinely seized and prevented distribution of
domestic newspapers when it found articles or photos contrary to
government policies. For example, authorities reportedly suppressed the
March 14, March 21, and April 4 editions of the opposition weekly al-
Mowqif, which carried articles on possible increases in the state-
controlled prices of semolina and bread, governmental corruption, and
the possibility of unsafe cooking oil on the domestic market,
respectively.
According to many journalists and non-journalist sources, senior
government officials routinely called news directors and editors to
inform them which issues they were forbidden to cover or publish and to
direct editorial content and news coverage. The Government also often
pressured newspapers to carry the Government wire service's version of
an event, even when their own journalists were present. The Tunisian
Agency for External Communications enforced these informal censorship
mechanisms by favoring certain publications for placement of government
advertising. In addition, private companies were unwilling to advertise
in newspapers no longer receiving government advertisements to avoid
the appearance of siding with a media organization being punished by
the Government.
Directors and owners of existing private media, as well as
journalists at the government- and ruling party-owned press, practiced
a high degree of self-censorship. Journalists in the mainstream press
regularly refrained from investigative reporting on national issues.
Only the small opposition press reported regularly on controversial
national issues.
The law stipulates that the publication, introduction, and
circulation of foreign works may be restricted. The MOI required book
fair publishing representatives to deposit publication titles in
advance; it rejected many titles from the display list for the April
25-May 4 book fair. Authorities also restricted the timely purchase of
foreign publications that included articles deemed critical of the
country or that the Government determined could prompt a security
threat.
Internet Freedom.--The law allows the Government to block or censor
Internet content deemed obscene or content threatening public order,
defined as ``incitement to hate, violence, terrorism, and all forms of
discrimination and bigoted behavior that violate the integrity and
dignity of the human person, or are prejudicial to children and
adolescents.'' However, the Government blocked access to a wide variety
of Internet sites during the year. There were also reports that the
Government monitored Internet usage and communications.
According to the 2007 OpenNet Initiative (ONI) country profile,
there were approximately one million Internet users in the country.
In June the Government unblocked the Web sites of HRW and AI. From
August 18 to September 1, the Government blocked Facebook but unblocked
it after President Ben Ali intervened. However, the Government blocked
nearly all sites belonging to domestic human rights, opposition, and
Islamist groups, including discussion sites. Opposition news sites and
Internet discussion sites were periodically blocked throughout the
year. Some foreign Web sites remained blocked at year's end, including
RWB's site and YouTube. According to RWB, the Journaliste Tunisien blog
was blocked on October 23, one day after it posted RWB's 2008 Press
Freedom Index.
The 2007 ONI report indicated that the Government pervasively
blocked Web sites of political opposition groups, opposition news,
human rights groups, and some sites allegedly critical of the Koran and
Islam. According to ONI, the Government used a commercial software
program loaded onto government-controlled servers to block sites
consistently on the country's 12 Internet service providers (ISPs). In
addition to filtering software, the Government reportedly used
regulatory means and surveillance to monitor and control Internet
usage.
The AISPP reported that authorities continued to arrest individuals
for visiting Web sites that the Government associated with terrorism
and detained them without proper legal procedures or sufficient
evidence of commission of a crime.
The law requires all ISPs to obtain a license from the Ministry of
Communications Technologies. Each ISP must submit, monthly, a list of
its subscribers to the quasi-governmental Tunisian Internet Agency
(ATI). Internet users and those who maintain Web sites and servers are
also responsible for infractions of the law.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government limited
academic freedom and fostered a culture of self-censorship in
universities. The Government closely monitored administrators,
teachers, and students to identify any political activity. Both
uniformed and plainclothes police maintained a significant presence on
university campuses and discouraged students from openly expressing
dissent.
Authorities subjected academic publications to government approval
before publication, and university libraries did not purchase foreign
books or subscribe to foreign magazines deemed critical of the
Government. Close government control over academic research funds
prevented university administrators from authorizing or applying for
grants on research topics that they believed the Government would find
objectionable. Professors avoided teaching classes on subjects
considered sensitive, such as legal courses on political systems,
comparative politics, and classes on civil liberties. University
professors often avoided discussion of subjects deemed sensitive enough
to interest the Government, and faculty members reported that they were
hesitant to gather outside the classroom. Faculty members had to
request Ministry of Higher Education approval to hold conferences,
submitting conference topics and invitee lists.
A planned conference at a cultural center was cancelled by security
forces.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, but the Government severely
restricted this right in practice.
Freedom of Assembly.--The law requires groups wishing to hold a
public meeting, rally, or march to obtain a permit from the MOI at
least three days before the proposed event and to submit a list of
participants. Authorities routinely approved permits for groups
supporting the Government and generally refused permission for
dissenting groups. As in previous years, NGO leaders reported
difficulty in renting space to hold large meetings, maintaining that
police pressured venue managers to prevent them from renting space.
Hotel managers and businesses denied any specific ban on renting space
to opposition groups; however, they acknowledged cooperating with the
MOI and accommodating its requests when possible.
The Government consistently blocked meetings of the Tunisian Human
Rights League (LTDH), whether in its headquarters in Tunis or in
regional offices. On January 7 and 8, police reportedly blocked LTDH
meetings organized by its steering committee. On June 13, security
forces prevented LTDH members from the La Marsa, La Goulette, Ariana,
and Le Kram chapters from entering the LTDH headquarters. On December
10, the LTDH attempted to host a reception in honor of the 60th
anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(International Human Rights Day); however, security forces allowed only
members of the LTDH Executive Bureau to enter the LTDH headquarters and
turned all other invitees, both citizens and foreign diplomats, away.
On July 23, the opposition al-Tajdid party attempted to hold a
meeting on the unemployment protests in Redeyef and Gafsa. Security
forces prevented guests from accessing the conference room, though a
few were ultimately allowed access.
On September 20, according to the online magazine Kalima, the FDTL
planned to hold a conference regarding elections and the role of the
opposition parties. That afternoon, before the conference was scheduled
to begin at a private hotel, the hotel owner faxed the FDTL to inform
them that he would be unable to accommodate them, citing ongoing
construction. An FDTL member asserted that the Government pressured
hotel management to cancel the reservation to prevent the FDTL from
holding the planned event.
In June 2007 police reportedly blocked the Kairouan regional
chapter of the LTDH from accessing the Union Generale Tunisienne du
Travail (UGTT) regional office, where the LTDH hoped to commemorate its
30th anniversary; in November 2007 police reportedly blocked a LTDH
meeting organized by members of its steering committee; and in August
2007 the Government allegedly pressured hotel management to cancel the
PDP's reservation for a summer youth program.
The Government used police and other state security forces to
monitor, control, and sometimes break up demonstrations. In general,
demonstrators and security forces did not resort to violence; however,
there were some exceptions, such as scuffles ensuing from
demonstrators' attempts to cross police lines barring access to a
demonstration site or demonstrators not dispersing when ordered by
police.
Between January and June there were multiple protests in the
southwestern mining town of Redeyef. The Government reportedly used
violence to break up several unauthorized demonstrations held to
protest high levels of unemployment and the cost of living and in
support of those arrested or detained during prior protests. Government
statements maintained that protestors attacked security forces, who
then responded. According to domestic NGOs, however, the protests were
peaceful, and the aggressive police response in each case was
unprovoked, leaving several people injured.
In 2006 the Government refused to allow several demonstrations to
take place. Opposition groups, human rights NGOs, the Tunisian labor
union, and students petitioned for permission for multiple
demonstrations to protest Israeli actions in Lebanon. Police in Sfax,
Gabes, and Kairouan reportedly used violence in breaking up
unauthorized demonstrations held in protest against the conflict
between Israel and Lebanon in 2006. Also, in 2006, on World Press
Freedom Day, plainclothes policemen blocked a planned demonstration
supporting press freedom.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association; however, the Government generally did not respect this
right in practice. The law requires that new NGOs apply for
registration with the Government. If the Government does not reject the
application within 90 days, the NGO is automatically registered. The
Government routinely blocked registration of new independent NGOs by
refusing to provide receipts for their applications. Without such a
receipt, NGOs were unable to counter the Government's assertions that
they had not applied to register and therefore were not allowed to
operate. In such cases NGOs could be shut down, their property seized,
and their members prosecuted for ``membership in an illegal
organization.'' Several protestors in Gafsa were arrested or prosecuted
on this charge after they participated in a demonstration against
governmental corruption and unemployment.
There were reports that significant numbers of RCD members
attempted to join independent NGOs or labor unions with the apparent
intent of limiting the organizations' independence by gaining control
through elections or disrupting operations. In February 2007 a court
again ruled that the LTDH could not hold its national congress because
of a suit filed by seven members of the LTDH allegedly loyal to the
RCD.
In 2006 the Government appointed new leaders of the Association of
Tunisian Judges (AMT). They implemented measures reducing the number of
members serving on the executive board and excluding regional members.
The prior leadership was evicted by the Government in 2005.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion
on the condition that it does not disturb public order; however, the
Government restricted and abused this right.
Islam is the state religion, and the law stipulates that the
President must be a Muslim.
The Government recognizes all Christian and Jewish religious
organizations established in the country before independence in 1956.
Although it permitted other Christian denominations to operate, the
Government formally recognized only the Roman Catholic Church. The
Provisional Committee of the Jewish community met weekly and performed
religious activities and charity work, although the Government had not
granted it permanent registration. The Government regarded the Baha'i
faith as a heretical sect of Islam and permitted its adherents to
practice their faith only in private.
The law provides that only persons appointed by the Government may
lead activities in mosques, and the Government paid the salaries of
imams. The Government required that mosques remain closed except during
prayers and other authorized religious ceremonies, such as marriages or
funerals. Authorities instructed imams to espouse governmental, social
and economic programs during prayer times in mosques.
The Government required Islamic religious education in public
schools. The religious curriculum for secondary school students also
included histories of Judaism and Christianity. The Government also
allowed Jewish communities to operate private religious schools. Jewish
children on the island of Djerba were permitted to divide their
academic day between public secular schools and private religious
schools.
While it was not illegal to change religions, government officials
occasionally discriminated against converts from Islam to another
religion using legal and social pressure to discourage conversion.
Customary law based on Shari'a forbids Muslim women from marrying
outside their religion. The Government required non-Muslim men to
convert to Islam before marrying a Muslim woman. The Government did not
allow married couples to register their children with non-Muslim names.
The Government prohibits efforts to proselytize Muslims. While
authorities did not deport foreigners suspected of proselytizing, the
Government did not renew the visas of suspected missionaries. As in the
past year there were no reports of official action against persons
suspected of proselytizing.
The Government did not permit the establishment of political
parties based on religion, and it used this prohibition to continue to
refuse to register the Islamist Al-Nahdha party and to prosecute
suspected Al-Nahdha members for ``membership in an illegal
organization.'' The Government continued to maintain tight surveillance
over Islamists and monitored activity in mosques. According to human
rights lawyers, the Government also continued to question individuals
observed praying frequently in mosques. Some Christians reported
government harassment in the form of surveillance and interrogation.
The Government subjected religious publications to the same
restrictions on freedom of speech and the press as secular
publications. Christian groups could distribute religious documents
only in European languages. Only sanctioned Muslim religious groups
could distribute religious documents. In the Government's view,
distribution by other groups constituted an illegal ``threat to public
order.''
The Government sought to suppress certain outward signs of
citizens' religious practices, such as hijabs on women or beards on
men. Authorities characterized the hijab as a ``garment of foreign
origin having a sectarian connotation'' and sought to restrict its use
in public institutions. Police continued efforts to eradicate sectarian
dress (including the hijab) in official buildings, schools, and
universities. During the year authorities detained some women in public
places and told them to remove their hijab.
In September, according to domestic NGOs, the head of the Superior
Institute of Technology Studies in Sidi Bouzid asked female students to
sign statements promising they would not wear the hijab and
acknowledging that they understood they would be expelled from the
university if they were found wearing the hijab.
During a 2006 meeting of the government-loyal NGO, National Union
of Tunisian Women (UNFT), senior UNFT officials demanded that all women
in the audience remove their veils, on occasion tugging at their veils
and verbally abusing them.
There were no developments in the 2006 case of Abdelhamid Sghaier,
fined for demonstrating for the right of female students at a Tunis
university to wear the hijab.
Police also reportedly detained and harassed men with what were
termed ``Islamic'' beards, forcing them to shave at a police station or
threatening them with arrest unless they returned home immediately to
shave. These reports increased in frequency after security operations
against alleged Islamist terrorists in 2006 and 2007. According to
international NGOs and domestic human rights organizations, following
these security operations, police arrested more than one thousand young
men on terrorism charges. Human rights groups asserted that some of
these arrests may have been targeted at some individuals because of
their Islamic appearance, frequent attendance at mosques, or other
actions related to their practice of Islam.
There were no reports during the year that any Christians' passport
renewals were delayed as they had been in previous years.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal discrimination based
on religion continued during the year. Muslims who converted to other
religions were often ostracized. The Government cooperated closely with
and protected the 1,500-person Jewish population, 900 in Djerba and the
remainder in and around Tunis, although Jews faced some discrimination
in the media.
Cartoons in some mainstream newspapers used derogatory images of
historically stereotypical Jews to portray the state of Israel and
Israeli interests. Most of these cartoons were drawn outside of the
country and reprinted locally.
In 2006 approximately 100 students at Manouba University near Tunis
reportedly shouted anti-Jewish slogans during a ceremony to mark a
donation from the late Tunisian Jewish historian Paul Sebag.
The Government promoted anti-bias and tolerance education through a
series of lectures regarding religious tolerance. Jewish community
leaders reported that the Government actively protected synagogues,
particularly during Jewish holidays, paid the salary of the grand
rabbi, and partially subsidized restoration and maintenance costs for
some synagogues.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice; however, it refused to issue, renew, amend, or accept
passports of some dissidents, Islamists, and their relatives. The
Government also may impose a five-year period of ``administrative
control'' at sentencing on certain former prisoners that constituted a
type of internal exile. The Government generally cooperated with the
office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other
humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees, asylum seekers, and
other persons of concern; however, it did not provide protection for
such persons; it did not permit the UNHCR access to detention centers;
and it had not officially accredited the UNHCR.
The law authorizes the courts to cancel passports and contains
broad provisions that both permit passport seizure on national security
grounds and deny citizens the right to present their case against
seizure or to appeal the judges' decision. The MOI is required to
submit to the courts requests to seize or withhold a citizen's passport
through the public prosecutor; however, the ministry routinely bypassed
the public prosecutor with impunity.
Many citizens, particularly journalists, reported difficulty
applying for or renewing their passports and accused the Government of
blocking their applications solely on the basis of political
opposition. Former Al-Nahdha leader Mohamed Sedki Labidi has been
deprived of his passport for the last 13 years without a court
decision.
On December 10, according to international NGOs, authorities
detained human rights lawyer Mohamed Abbou and journalist Lotfi Hidouri
at the Tunis airport while they were en route to the Independent Arab
Press Forum in Beirut. Authorities told Abbou, who was imprisoned for
more than two years for defaming the judicial system and assault, that
he needed to provide documentation proving he was no longer subject to
parole restrictions. It was the fifth time since his release that Abbou
was prevented from traveling abroad. Police arrested Hidouri at the
airport on charges of not paying a 2002 fine and took him to Bouchacha
Detention Center. Hidouri was freed on December 11, after providing
proof that the fine had already been paid.
According to the constitution, no citizen can be exiled from the
country nor prevented from returning; however, the Government used
administrative control measures as a type of punitive internal exile.
Administrative control measures, which take effect upon a convict's
release from prison, are similar to parole restrictions, except that
they may be applied to prisoners even after they have completed their
sentences. The Government requires those individuals to stay ``in the
area of their residence,'' which is determined by the Government and
may be anywhere in the country. They also may be required to report to
a police station frequently each day at times determined only the
previous evening. At the police station, they may be forced to wait
hours before they are allowed to sign in, making normal employment
impossible. Numerous Islamists released from prison in recent years
have been subjected to such punishment.
By law administrative control measures may only be imposed at
sentencing; however, a former high school teacher, Nouri Chniti,
claimed that, although his sentence did not include administrative
control, he has been subject to extrajudicial administrative control
measures since 1991 when he received a suspended sentence for
membership in Al-Nahdha. Some political opponents in self-imposed exile
abroad were prevented from obtaining or renewing their passports to
return to the country.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol; however, the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees or other persons of concern. In practice the Government did
not provide protection against the expulsion or return of persons to
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
There were significant limitations on citizens' right to change
their government. The law provides that citizens shall directly elect
the President and members of the Chamber of Deputies for five-year
terms, but irregularities routinely called into question the legitimacy
of elections. The ruling party has maintained power continuously since
the country's independence in 1956, dominating the cabinet, the
legislature, and regional and local governments.
Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2004 national
elections, President Ben Ali faced three candidates and officially
received 94.9 percent of the popular vote to secure a fourth term. Ben
Ali has ruled since 1987. The third opposition candidate, Mohamed
Halouani of the al-Tajdid party, cited government restrictions and
other irregularities to explain why he received less than one percent
of the official vote count. According to official election returns,
more than 90 percent of registered voters went to the polls; however,
independent NGOs estimated that the actual turnout was closer to 30
percent.
Irregularities characterized the polling. A coalition of three
local independent NGOs--the LTDH, CNLT, and Tunisian Association of
Democratic Women (ATFD)--cited as serious problems the opposition's
lack of media access during the campaign and media bias in favor of the
ruling party. Opposition candidates and other observers also cited
voter intimidation as well as restrictions on disseminating campaign
materials and organizing campaign events.
On July 28, the President approved of a law requiring Presidential
candidates to be elected heads of political parties who had held that
position for at least two years.
In 2008 the Government conducted elections for half of the 126
seats in the Chamber of Advisors, a second parliamentary chamber
created in 2002. The voters consisted of 4,555 officials, including
municipal counselors, mayors, and the 189 members of the Chamber of
Deputies. Only 305 of the 4,555 voters belonged to opposition parties.
The law specifies that seats must be allocated among various regional
and professional organizations, including 14 seats for the UGTT, which
refused to name candidates, citing a lack of independence and democracy
in the candidate selection process. The President directly appointed 20
candidates. The majority of elected members of the chamber were members
or supporters of the ruling RCD party.
The President appoints the prime minister, the cabinet, and the 24
governors. The Government and the party are closely integrated; current
and former senior government officials constitute the top ranks of the
RCD. The President of the country is also the President of the party,
and the party's vice President and Secretary General each hold the rank
of minister. All members of the RCD politburo hold ministerial rank
based on their current or former government service.
RCD membership conferred tangible advantages. For example, there
were widespread reports that RCD members and their families were much
more likely to receive educational and housing benefits, small business
permits, and waivers on zoning restrictions.
To reduce the advantages wielded by the ruling party, the Electoral
Code reserves 25 percent of seats in the Chamber of Deputies (47 of
189) for the seven officially recognized opposition parties and
distributes them on a proportional basis to those parties that won at
least one directly elected district seat. In the 2004 elections, five
of the opposition parties gained seats under that provision. The RCD
holds the remaining 152 seats.
In 2006 authorities authorized the establishment of the Green Party
for Progress (PVP), the first new political party created since 2002.
The Government refused to recognize an environmental political party,
Green Tunisia Party, despite its long-pending application.
The Government partially funded legal opposition parties. The
Government raised the public subsidy for operational costs of
opposition parties represented in parliament to 270,000 dinars per
party (approximately $225,000) per year. Opposition parties represented
in the chamber who publish newspapers received additional funding.
By law the Government prohibits the establishment of political
parties on the basis of religion, language, race, or gender.
There were 60 women in the 301-seat legislature, one woman in the
29-seat cabinet, and five women among the 15 secretaries of state
(regarded as junior cabinet members). Following municipal elections in
2005, more than one-fourth of municipal council members elected were
women. Three women served as Presidents of chambers on the Supreme
Court, and two women served on the 15-member Higher Council of the
Magistracy.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption. Anecdotal evidence suggested that
the incidence of corruption was on the rise; however, corruption
allegations were difficult to prove.
On February 7, a National Guard officer reportedly stopped a
journalist for a traffic violation and asked for a bribe.
In May 2007 a Tunis court sentenced two civil service employees
involved in a corruption case to four years in prison. One of the
employees, a Tunis airport employee, received 1,500 dinars
(approximately $1,234) for helping the other employee travel from Tunis
to Marseilles with a false passport.
In November 2007 police arrested an employee of the state-owned
National Pedagogical Center on charges of corruption and
misappropriation of foreign currency. At year's end the Court of Tunis
had not handed down a verdict.
The Higher Institute of Security Forces and Customs is tasked not
only with ``reinforcing human rights and improving law enforcement''
but also reducing corruption. There were no public reports of the
organization's activities during the year. No laws to provide
government documents to citizens exist. Public officials are not
subject to financial disclosure laws.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The Government actively hindered investigations of human rights
abuses by domestic and international groups, who had difficulty
investigating and publishing their findings, and it sought to monitor
and control the activities of some foreign NGOs within the country.
There were approximately 12 domestic human rights NGOs, although
only half were authorized. Some NGOs loyal to the Government received
government funding. The Government met with registered domestic human
rights NGOs and on occasion responded to their inquiries; however, it
also harassed, targeted, and prosecuted some individuals.
Citing a court ruling that stated that the LTDH could not hold its
National Congress, the Government blocked its meetings and events
throughout the year. The LTDH traditionally was one of the most active
independent advocacy organizations, with 41 branches throughout the
country, although the blockage of LTDH activities by the Government
limited its operational effectiveness. The organization received and
investigated complaints and protested abuses, although the Government
rarely responded to LTDH communiques. The Government continued to block
an EU grant to the LTDH, citing a law on NGO financing that includes
broad prohibitions on funding of NGOs without government approval.
Since 1998 the Government has refused to authorize the CNLT's
registration as an NGO. The CNLT issued statements sharply criticizing
the Government's human rights practices. Government officials have
accused CNLT members of violating the pro forma submission requirements
by publishing communiques without prior government approval.
On April 20 and 21, domestic NGO Freedom and Equity, an
organization that tracks human rights abuses and political prisoners,
announced that security forces had surrounded the home and law offices
of its President, Mohamed Nouri. According to the statement, security
forces prevented Freedom and Equity members from meeting and also
stopped Nouri's legal clients from entering the building. On July 18,
Freedom and Equity alleged that the Government had cut off its Internet
connection, stating that it considered this to be part of a pattern of
government interference designed to isolate civil society organizations
in the country.
In June 2007 police reportedly questioned the President of AI's
Tunisian chapter about the launch of a coalition against the death
penalty, which had been announced the day before. The police reportedly
characterized the effort as ``illegal.''
In December 2007 police reportedly detained AISPP cofounder and
steering committee member Samir Ben Amor. According to HRW, before his
release, police told him to cease his activities with the AISPP. The
Government has refused to register the association since its creation
in 2002.
In 2006 the International Freedom of Expression Exchange-Tunisia
Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of international human rights
and freedom of expression NGOs, conducted fact-finding missions. The
IFEX-TMG reported heavy police surveillance of their activities and
government interference with their mission. Police prevented
translators and private citizens traveling with the group from
attending some meetings.
In 2006 authorities arrested and expelled Yves Steiner, a visiting
member of the Executive Committee of the Swiss chapter of AI. According
to AI, Steiner had delivered a speech to members of AI's local chapter
in which he condemned growing human rights abuses in the country,
notably restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of
association. According to international media, a government source said
that Steiner had posed a threat to public order.
There were credible reports that police prevented some family
members of prisoners from visiting ICRC offices and monitored,
occasionally harassing, families that visited ICRC offices.
The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has the lead on government
policy regarding human rights issues, although other ministries also
had human rights offices. The ministry did not release any public
reports of cases or investigations. The HCHR, a government-appointed
and government-funded body, received, addressed, and occasionally
resolved human rights complaints in regard to prison conditions,
requests for amnesty from families of prisoners, and other issues. The
commission submitted confidential reports directly to the President;
however they were not available to the public.
In June the Government made the HCHR a separate item in the budget;
previously, the HCHR received its funding through the President's
office. President Ben Ali also approved legislation allowing the HCHR
to conduct proactive outreach, suggest changes to Tunisian law, and
instigate investigations.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides that all citizens are equal before the law, and
the Government generally respected this provision, although in
inheritance and family law, biased gender-based provisions in the civil
code adversely affected women.
Women.--The penal code specifically prohibits rape, including
spousal rape, and the Government enforced the laws vigorously, giving
significant press coverage to rape cases; however, there were no
reports of prosecution for spousal rape. The penalty for rape with the
use of violence or threat with a weapon is death. For all other rape
cases, the penalty is life imprisonment.
Laws against domestic violence provide for fines and imprisonment
for assaults committed by a spouse or family member that are double
those for the same crimes committed by an unrelated individual, but
enforcement was rare. Domestic violence was considered a serious
problem. According to the UNFT, 935 women consulted with UNFT during
the year about domestic violence, including 515 new cases. The ATFD has
provided services for approximately 2,000 victims of domestic violence
since opening their women's center in 1993. The UNFT, a government-
sponsored organization that ran a center to assist women and children
in difficulty, sponsored national educational campaigns for women.
The penal code prohibits prostitution, and few persons were
convicted of violating this law. There were government-sanctioned
brothels, although under the penal code there is a penalty for
prostitution of up to two years in prison. The Government officially
sanctions some brothels in which the workers have regular medical exams
and the environment is relatively regulated and controlled. There are
no penalties for visiting these brothels. The law applies to both women
and men and their accomplices. There were no reported cases of
trafficking or forced prostitution involving women.
Sexual harassment was a problem, although there were no
comprehensive data to measure its extent. Civil society groups
criticized the law on harassment as too vague and susceptible to abuse
as it requires women to convince a judge that they were the victims of
sexual harassment which is often difficult to prove. According to the
criminal code, the penalty for sexual harassment is one year in prison
and a 3,000 dinar (approximately $2,307) fine.
Codified civil law is based on the Napoleonic code, although judges
often used Shari'a as a basis for customary law in family and
inheritance. Most property acquired during marriage, including property
acquired solely by the wife, was held in the name of the husband.
Married couples may choose between joint or separate property systems
when signing marriage contracts. Customary law based on Shari'a
prohibits women from marrying outside their religion. Application of
Shari'a inheritance law continued to discriminate against women, and
there was a double standard based on gender and religion: non-Muslim
women and Muslim men who are married may not inherit from each other.
The Government considers all children from those marriages to be Muslim
and forbids those children from inheriting from their mothers. Female
citizens can transmit citizenship to children regardless of the
father's citizenship.
The law explicitly requires equal pay for equal work. In January
2007 a law went into effect allowing some female employees in the
public sector to work part-time while still receiving two-thirds of
their original salary. The Government stated that the law was motivated
by a desire to allow women to balance family and professional life.
Women's rights activists, including the ATFD, stated that treating
women and men differently under the law was a major setback to women's
rights in the workplace.
The Ministry for Women's Affairs, Family, Children, and Senior
Citizens sponsored several national media campaigns to promote
awareness of women's rights. The Government supported and funded the
UNFT; the Center for Research, Documentation, and Information on Women;
and women's professional associations. Several NGOs focused on women's
advocacy and research in women's issues, and a number of attorneys
represented women in domestic cases.
Children.--The law provided protections to children. Convictions
for abandonment of and assault on minors carried severe penalties. Some
child labor occurred.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit all forms of
trafficking, but traffickers may be prosecuted under laws prohibiting
forced labor, forced prostitution, participation in armed conflict, or
servitude. There were no reports that persons were trafficked to, from,
or within the country. The law specifically provides punishments for
anyone who ``guides, arranges, facilitates, assists, acts as an
intermediary or organizes the surreptitious entry or exit, even without
remuneration, of an individual to or from Tunisia by land, sea, or
air'' of three to 20 years' imprisonment and fines of 80,000 to 100,000
dinars (approximately $61,538 to $76,923).
The Ministry of Interior and Local Development and the Ministry of
Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad were the agencies
responsible for anti-trafficking efforts. There were no specific
government campaigns to prevent trafficking, although the Government
worked closely with its European neighbors to interdict smuggling, some
of which may include trafficking. The Government did not, however, have
measures to identify trafficking victims from those persons smuggled
voluntarily.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical or mental disabilities and mandates at
least one percent of public and private sector jobs be reserved for
persons with disabilities; however, leaders of NGOs dedicated to
persons with disabilities reported that this law was not widely
enforced, and many employers were unaware of its existence. There was
some discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or in the provision of other state
services. All public buildings constructed since 1991 must be
accessible to persons with physical disabilities, and this was
enforced. The Government issued special cards to persons with
disabilities for benefits such as unrestricted parking, priority
medical services, preferential seating on public transportation, and
consumer discounts. The Government provided tax incentives to companies
to encourage the hiring of persons with physical disabilities, and it
strongly supported NGOs working on behalf of persons with disabilities.
While there is still a social stigma associated with mental
illness, at a societal level several active NGOs provided educational,
vocational, and recreational assistance to children and young adults
with mental disabilities. The Government and international
organizations funded several programs. The Ministry of Social Affairs,
Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad were charged with protecting the
rights of persons with disabilities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Homosexuality is
illegal. There is anecdotal evidence that homosexuals face some forms
of discrimination.
There is anecdotal evidence that people with HIV/AIDS face some
forms of discrimination. While there were NGOs to assist persons living
with HIV, they faced discrimination in the quality of and in their
access to medical care.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to
organize and form unions, but this right was not always respected in
practice. The UGTT was the country's only labor federation.
Approximately 10 percent of the work force belonged to the UGTT,
including civil servants and employees of state-owned enterprises, and
a considerably larger proportion of the work force was covered by union
contracts. A union may be dissolved only by court order.
The UGTT and its member unions were legally independent of the
Government and the ruling party; however, they operated under
regulations that limited their freedom of action. The UGTT included
persons associated with all political tendencies. UGTT funding came
from modest union dues, revenue from an insurance company, and a
percentage of annual contributions into the National Social Security
Fund. The Government provided the UGTT with land for its new
headquarters and support for its construction. Central UGTT leadership
generally cooperated with the Government regarding its economic reform
program. During the year the UGTT again refused to submit a list of
candidates for 14 UGTT-designated seats for elections to the newly
created Chamber of Advisors, citing a lack of independence and
democracy in the selection process and an unfair distribution of seats.
The UGTT supported the LTDH and agreed to let LTDH regional chapters
use UGTT facilities for conferences and meetings.
Unions, including those representing civil servants, have the right
to strike, provided that they give 10 days' advance notice to the UGTT,
and it grants approval. The International Trade Union Conference
characterized the requirement for prior UGTT approval of strikes as a
violation of worker rights, but such advance approval rarely was sought
in practice. The law prohibited retribution against strikers, and the
Government generally respected this provision. Labor disputes were
settled through conciliation panels in which labor and management were
represented equally. Tripartite regional arbitration commissions settle
industrial disputes when conciliation fails.
On January 16 and 17, the Tunisian General Union of Secondary
School Teachers went on strike, to protest the severance of three
teachers reportedly due to their union activities.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
protects the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the
Government protected this right in practice. Wages and working
conditions are set in triennial negotiations between the UGTT member
unions, the Government, and employers. Numerous collective bargaining
agreements set standards for industries in the private sector and
covered 80 percent of the private sector.
The law prohibits anti-union discrimination by employers, although
the UGTT claimed that there was anti-union activity among private
sector employers, such as firing union activists and using of temporary
workers to avoid unionization. In certain industries, such as textiles,
hotels, and construction, temporary workers accounted for a strong
majority of the work force. The labor code protects temporary workers,
but enforcement was more difficult than for permanent workers. A
committee chaired by an officer from the Labor Division of the Office
of the Inspector General approved all worker dismissals. The committee
was composed of representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs,
Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad, the UGTT, and the company dismissing
the worker. Legally, workers have the right to reinstatement, but in
practice this was not enforced.
Export processing zones were subject to labor laws.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced and compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no
reports that such practices occurred. However, some parents placed
their teenage daughters as domestic servants and collected their wages.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the employment of children under 18 in jobs that present
serious threats to their health, security, and morality, and the UGTT
and the National Social Security Fund conducted inspection tours of
factories and industrial sites to ensure compliance.
The law generally prohibits the employment of children under the
age of 16 years, which is consistent with the age for completing
educational requirements, and inspectors of the Ministry of Social
Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad examined the records of
employees to verify that employers complied with the minimum age law.
There were no reports of sanctions against offending employers.
The minimum age for light work in the non-industrial and
agricultural sectors during non-school hours was 13 years. Workers
between the ages of 14 and 18 must have 12 hours of rest per day, which
must include the hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In nonagricultural
sectors children between the ages of 14 and 16 years may work no more
than two hours per day. The total time that children spend in school
and work may not exceed seven hours per day. Nonetheless, young
children sometimes performed agricultural work in rural areas and
worked as vendors in towns, primarily during their summer vacation from
school. Child labor also existed in the informal sector disguised as
apprenticeship, particularly in the handicraft industry.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor code provides for a
range of administratively determined minimum wages. On May 2, the
Government raised the industrial minimum wage to 252 dinars
(approximately $194) per month for a 48-hour workweek and to 218 dinars
($168) per month for a 40-hour workweek. The agricultural daily minimum
wage was 7 to 8 dinars (six dollars) per day. With the addition of
transportation and family allowances, the minimum wage provided a
decent standard of living for a worker and family, although that income
was only enough to cover essential costs. More than 500,000 workers
were employed in the informal sector, which was not covered by labor
laws.
Regional labor inspectors enforced standards related to hourly wage
regulations. They inspected most firms approximately once every two
years. The Government often had difficulty enforcing the minimum wage
law, particularly in non-unionized sectors of the economy. The labor
code sets a standard 48-hour workweek for most sectors; requires one
24-hour rest period per week and 125 percent premium pay for overtime;
and prohibits excessive compulsory overtime, although this prohibition
is not always enforced.
Special government regulations governed employment in hazardous
occupations like mining, petroleum engineering, and construction, and
the Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad had
responsibility for enforcing health and safety standards in the
workplace. Working conditions and standards generally were better in
export-oriented firms than in those firms producing exclusively for the
domestic market. Workers were free to remove themselves from dangerous
situations without jeopardizing their employment, and they could take
legal action against employers who retaliated against them for
exercising this right.
__________
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven
semiautonomous Emirates with a resident population of five million, of
whom fewer than 20 percent (900,000) are citizens. The seven Emirate
rulers constitute the Federal Supreme Council, the highest legislative
and executive body. The council selects a President and a vice
President from its membership, and the President appoints the prime
minister and cabinet. In 2004 the council selected Sheikh Khalifa bin
Zayed al-Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi Emirate, as head of state for a
five-year term. Traditionally, the Emirates are under patriarchal rule
with political allegiance defined by loyalty to tribal leaders, to
leaders of the individual Emirates, and to leaders of the federation.
There are no democratically elected legislative institutions or
political parties. There are no general elections. Citizens express
their concerns directly to their leaders through traditional,
consultative mechanisms such as the open ``majlis'' (council). The
Federal National Council (FNC), a consultative body, consists of 40
advisors, 20 of whom were elected by an appointed electoral collegein
2006. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.
Citizens did not have the right to change their government. There
were unverifiable reports of torture during the year, and security
forces sometimes employed flogging as judicially sanctioned punishment.
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention remained a problem. The judiciary
lacked full independence. The Government interfered with privacy and
restricted civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press
(including the Internet), assembly, association, and religion. There
were limited reports of corruption, and the Government lacked
transparency. Domestic abuse of women remained a problem, and there
were allegations that police sometimes enabled domestic abuse.
Trafficking in persons continued, and legal and societal discrimination
against women and noncitizens was pervasive. The Government severely
restricted the rights of foreign workers. Abuse of foreign domestic
servants was common.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits torture; however, there were
unverifiable allegations of tortured political prisoners during the
year, as well as reports that a royal family member tortured a foreign
national who had allegedly overcharged him in a grain deal.
In additional, Shari'a (Islamic law) courts sometimes imposed
flogging sentences as punishment for adultery, prostitution, consensual
premarital sex, pregnancy outside marriage, defamation of character,
and drug or alcohol abuse. Authorities used canes to administer
floggings, resulting in substantial bruising, welts, and open wounds on
recipients' bodies.
There were also reports of prison guard brutality during the year.
On July 9, a Dubai court sentenced 25 jail wardens and a former prison
director of Dubai Central Detention Facility to three- to six-month
prison terms for abusing their authority and beating inmates. Among the
allegations, wardens reportedly beat an Armenian inmate, leaving him
with a spinal injury that led to permanent disability. The defendants
appealed the ruling, and on November 18, the Dubai Court of Appeals
suspended the sentences of the 25 jail wardens. At year's end the
prison director's appeal was pending, and he was out on bail.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied
widely from Emirate to Emirate. Some prisons were overcrowded,
particularly in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Conditions for female prisoners
were equal to or slightly better than those for men. Prisoners
convicted on national security grounds were held separately from the
general populace. Conditions in these special sections were not
significantly different from other parts of the prisons. There were
credible reports that government officials discriminated against
prisoners with HIV by separating them from the general prison
population and by not granting commuted sentences or parole that other
prisoners with similar records received.
Police in Dubai and Abu Dhabi stated that nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) and the International Committee of the Red Cross
had access to observe prison conditions if requested. However, on
September 21, when members of the NGO Emirates Human Rights Association
(EHRA) went to visit female inmates at Dubai's Al-Aweer Detention
Facility, prison authorities denied the monitors access ``to protect
the prisoners' social and psychological rights.''
Although charitable NGOs visited prisons during the year, they were
only permitted to provide material support. They were unable to
determine the welfare and well-being of the prisoners. However, some
clergymen reported psychological abuse and frequent physical abuse of
their imprisoned parishioners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were reports that the
Government held persons in official custody without charge or a
preliminary judicial hearing. Current law permits indefinite, routine,
incommunicado detention without appeal. Under this procedure the
detainee may contact only his or her attorney.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal Ministry of
Interior (MOI) oversees police general directorates in each of the
seven Emirates; each Emirate, under its corresponding police general
directorate, maintains its own police force and supervises the police
stations therein. Although all Emirate police forces theoretically are
branches of the ministry, in practice they operated with considerable
autonomy and varying degrees of efficiency. The police forces, under
the umbrella of the MOI, are responsible for internal security, and the
federal armed forces are responsible for external security.
While reported incidents of police corruption were uncommon, the
MOI intervened several times in criminal cases to ensure that local
police were compliant with federal law and policy. There were no
reports of impunity.
On November 10, a police officer was charged with stealing a
suspect's personal belongings, which were confiscated while the suspect
was being questioned. The officer allegedly kept the stolen belongings,
including money and jewelry, at his house.
On November 11, a police officer was charged with unlawfully
revealing secrets and alerting a brothel allegedly run in hotel rooms
of impending police raids.
Arrest and Detention.--The law prohibits arrest or search without
probable cause; however, incidents occurred in practice. There were
credible reports that security forces failed to obtain warrants in some
cases.
Police stations received complaints from the public, made arrests,
and forwarded most cases to the public prosecutor. Cases were then
transferred to the courts. In cases involving foreign defendants,
especially for crimes of moral turpitude, authorities often summarily
deported the defendants upon completion of their jail terms. Police
must within 48 hours report an arrest to the public prosecutor, who
then must determine within 24 hours whether to charge, release, or
further detain the suspect. In practice the public prosecutor did not
always meet the 24-hour time limit, although police usually adhered to
their 48-hour time limit. Public prosecutors may order detainees to be
held as long as 21 days without charge, or longer in some cases with a
court order. Courts may not grant an extension of more than 30 days of
detention without charge; however, judges may continue to renew 30-day
extensions indefinitely and without charge. Public prosecutors may hold
suspects in terrorist-related cases without charge for six months. Once
a suspect is charged, terrorism cases are handled by the Supreme Court,
which may extend the detention period indefinitely.
There is no formal system of bail; however, authorities can
temporarily release detainees who deposit money, a passport, or an
unsecured personal guarantee statement signed by a third party.
Defendants in cases involving loss of life, including involuntary
manslaughter, can be denied release in accordance with the law. Release
is usually permitted after payment to the victim's family of
compensation, commonly called ``diya'' or ``blood money,'' which is a
form of financial penalty imposed on defendants in criminal cases
involving a death.
A defendant is entitled to an attorney only after the police have
completed their investigation. As a result police sometimes questioned
accused persons for days or weeks without providing them the benefit of
legal counsel. Persons arrested on nonsecurity charges were generally
granted prompt access to family members.
Amnesty.--On religious and national holidays the rulers of the
individual Emirates regularly pardon and pay the debts of many
prisoners. According to press reports, rulers pardoned at least 1,200
prisoners and paid their debts during the year. The Government deported
most of the foreign nationals who were pardoned. The Government did not
repeat its June-November 2007 amnesty for illegal expatriate residents.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary. In practice, however, its decisions remained
subject to review by the political leadership. The judiciary was
composed largely of contracted foreign nationals potentially subject to
deportation.
By tradition, the local rulers' offices, or ``diwans,'' maintained
the practice of reviewing many types of criminal and civil offenses
before cases were referred to prosecutors, reviewing sentences passed
by judges, returning cases to the court on appeal, and approving the
release of every prisoner whose sentence was completed. The diwans'
involvement--usually in cases between two Emirates or between a citizen
and noncitizen--led to lengthy delays prior to and following the
judicial process and lengthened the time defendants served in prison.
The diwan's decision in any court case is considered final, and in the
case of disagreement between a judge and diwan, the diwan's decision
prevails. Because diwans report to the minister of the interior, there
was often no functional separation between the executive and judicial
branches.
There is a dual court system. Shari'a courts adjudicate criminal
and family law matters based on each Emirate's interpretation of
Shari'a. Civil courts adjudicate civil law matters and, except in
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras al-Khaimah, were accountable to the Federal
Supreme Court, which has the power of judicial review, as well as
original jurisdiction in disputes between Emirates or between the
Federal Government and individual Emirates. The Emirates of Dubai, Abu
Dhabi, and Ras al-Khaimah have their own local and appellate courts,
which have jurisdiction over matters within their territories that the
constitution and federal legislation do not specifically reserve for
the federal system. These Emirates did not refer cases in their courts
to the Federal Supreme Court for judicial review, although they
maintained a liaison with the federal Ministry of Justice.
In some Emirates Shari'a courts considered all types of civil and
commercial cases as well as criminal cases and family matters. They
acted in accordance with their interpretation of Shari'a but were
required to answer to the Federal Supreme Court, with the exception of
the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras al-Khaimah. In criminal cases
Shari'a was applied first, and if evidence required by Shari'a was
found insufficient, the penal code was used. Dubai had a special Shia
council to act on matters pertaining to Shia family law.
The military has its own court system. Military tribunals try only
military personnel. National security cases are heard solely by the
Supreme Court.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants were presumed innocent until proven
guilty. The constitution provides the right to a public trial, except
in national security cases or cases deemed by the judge to be harmful
to public morality. Juries are not used. Defendants have the right to
be present at their trial and a limited right to legal counsel in
court. However, while awaiting a decision on official charges at the
police station or the prosecutor's office, a defendant is not entitled
to legal counsel. In all cases involving a capital crime or possible
life imprisonment, the defendant has a right to government-provided
counsel. The Government may also provide counsel, at its discretion, to
indigent defendants charged with felonies punishable by imprisonment of
three to 15 years. The law provides prosecutors discretion to bar
defense counsel from any investigation. Defendants and their attorneys
can present witnesses and question witnesses against them, and defense
counsel had access to relevant government-held evidence.
By law all prosecutions are conducted in Arabic; however, despite
the defendant's procedural right to a translator, in some cases
involving deportation of illegal residents, translation was provided
only at sentencing.
Each court system has an appeals process. Death sentences may be
appealed to the ruler of the Emirate in which the offense is committed
or to the President of the federation. In the case of murder, only the
victim's family may commute a death sentence. The Government normally
negotiates with victims' families for the defendant to offer diya in
exchange for forgiveness and a commuted death sentence.
In cases in which a defendant is acquitted, the prosecutor may
appeal the acquittal to a higher court, which may receive additional
evidence. An appellate court must reach unanimous agreement to overturn
an acquittal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political detainees or prisoners; however, there were persons
reportedly held incommunicado and without charge for unknown reasons.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens and noncitizens
could access the courts to seek damages for, or cessation of, human
rights violations. The civil courts, like all courts in the country,
lacked full independence. Administrative remedies were available for
labor complaints and were particularly common in cases of physical
abuse of domestic workers.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits entry into homes without
the owner's permission, except when police present a warrant in
accordance with the law; however, there were credible reports that
security forces sometimes failed to obtain warrants. Officers' actions
in searching premises were subject to review, and officers were liable
to disciplinary action if their actions were judged to be
irresponsible. Authorities did not commonly screen private
correspondence; however, there have been reports of censorship of
incoming international mail.
Local interpretation of Shari'a law prohibits Muslim women from
marrying non-Muslims and Muslim men from marrying women not"of the
book,'' i.e., adherents of religions other than Islam, Christianity,
and Judaism.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government restricted
these rights in practice. The law prohibits criticism of rulers and
speech that may create or encourage social unrest. Journalists and
editors practiced extensive self-censorship for fear of government
retribution, particularly since most journalists were of foreign origin
and feared deportation.
Public criticism of the Government and ministers is permissible in
a limited context, but criticism of ruling families, particularly
sheikhs, is not permitted. However, criticism of sheikhs occurred with
extreme caution and in private.
The Government owned three of the country's newspapers and heavily
influenced the privately owned media, including through government
subsidies. The government-owned Emirates News Agency regularly provided
material in English and Arabic that some newspapers printed verbatim.
Except for media located in Dubai's Media Free Zone and foreign
language media targeted to expatriates, most television and radio
stations were government-owned and conformed to unpublished government
reporting guidelines. With the exception of Pakistan's GEO TV, foreign
journalists and news organizations operating out of the Dubai Media
Free Zone reported no restrictions on the content of print and
broadcast material produced for use outside the country. Satellite
receiving dishes were widespread and provided access to international
broadcasts without apparent censorship.
On June 15, Pakistani television channel GEO News permanently
relocated its office and staff to an undisclosed country. Station
managers claimed they were given 48 hours to leave the Dubai Media Free
Zone or halt the broadcasting of two shows. The shows allegedly covered
efforts to reinstate judges dismissed by Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's
former President.
By law the National Media Council (NMC), appointed by the
President, licenses and censors all publications, including private
association publications. Media outlets must inform the NMC of the
appointment of editors, and the NMC is responsible for issuing press
credentials. The law authorizes censorship of domestic and foreign
publications to remove criticism of the Government, ruling families, or
friendly governments, as well as other statements that ``threaten
social stability.'' According to the council and Dubai police
officials, journalists were not given specific publishing instructions;
however, government officials reportedly warned journalists when they
published material deemed politically or culturally sensitive.
Journalists practiced extensive self-censorship regarding the issues
they chose to cover.
On May 2, the NMC instructed a printing press to stop printing six
vernacular publications, four dailies in Malayalam and two papers in
Urdu. The NMC explained that the printing press had not obtained legal
permission to print the papers. On November 18, Abu Dhabi's federal
court of appeal ruled to ban Emarat Al Youm daily newspaper from
publishing for 20 days in a defamation case raised by the Emirati
Warsan Stables owners, who are members of the ruling family; however,
the newspaper continued publishing, and the ban was never enforced. The
court also fined the newspaper's chief executive officer and editor in
chief 20,000 dirhams (approximately $5,445) each. The case revolved
around a 2006 article alleging that the stable was doping its horses to
gain advantages in international races.
The Government used libel laws to suppress criticism of its
leaders.Although no journalists have received prison sentences for
defamation since September 2007, when Vice President and Prime Minister
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum ordered that journalists no
longer be imprisoned for such violations, other punishments for
violations remained in force.
The NMC censors reviewed all imported media and banned or censored
before distribution any material considered pornographic, excessively
violent, derogatory to Islam, supportive of certain Israeli government
positions, unduly critical of friendly countries, or critical of the
Government or ruling families. Publication of books was treated in the
same manner.
Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted access to some Web
sites on the Internet and monitored chat rooms, instant messaging
services, and blogs. Individuals and groups generally engaged in
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail,
with few reports of government prosecution or punishment, although
self-censorship was apparent in many chat rooms and blogs. The UN Human
Development Report estimated there were more than 300 Internet users
per 1,000 persons.
On September 12, an appeals court upheld an August 2007 decision
sentencing Majan.net's owner and a blogger to one year in prison and a
fine of 70,000 dirhams (approximately $19,070) when they refused to
delete critical comments about a government official.
Etisalat, the country's only Internet service provider, blocked via
a proxy server material deemed inconsistent with the country's values.
Blocked material included dating and matrimonial sites; gay and lesbian
sites; sites concerning the Baha'i faith; sites originating in Israel;
and sites explaining how to circumvent the proxy server. The proxy
server occasionally blocked broad categories of sites including many
that did not meet the intended criteria. Etisalat populated its proxy
server list of blocked sites primarily from lists purchased from
commercial companies, although individuals could also report offensive
sites. Social Web site Orkut and politically oriented Web sites
ArabTimes.com and UAEPrison.com remained blocked during the year.
Etisalat denied having the authority to block any site and referred all
complaints and suggestions to the NMC.
The law explicitly criminalizes the use of the Internet to commit a
wide variety of offenses, providing fines and prison terms for Internet
users who violate political, social, and religious norms. In addition
to criminalizing acts commonly associated with ``cyber crimes,'' such
as hacking, phishing, scams, and other forms of financial fraud, the
law also provides penalties for using the Internet to oppose Islam,
proselytize Muslims to join other religions, ``abuse'' a holy shrine or
ritual of any religion, insult any religion, or incite someone to
commit sin. The law criminalizes use of the Internet in transcending
``family values'' by publishing news or photos pertaining to a person's
private life or family or by promoting a breach of public decency.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted
academic freedom and censored academic materials destined for schools.
The Government banned students from reading texts featuring sexuality
or pictures of the human body. The Government also restricted
participation in certain cultural events, primarily events that are
deemed un-Islamic.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association; however, in practice
the Government did not respect these rights.
Freedom of Assembly.--The law requires a government permit for
organized public gatherings. The Government did not permit public
meetings or demonstrations for political purposes. On December 31,
security forces in the Emirate of Sharjah prevented an assembly that
was intended to show solidarity with the people of Gaza. In practice
the Government did not regularly interfere with informal nonpolitical
gatherings held without a government permit in public places, unless
there were complaints.
During the year there continued to be periodic gatherings without
government permission, sometimes of laborers protesting wages. Except
in the few cases in which crowds became destructive or violent, the
Government did not interfere.
Citizens normally confined political discussions to informal
gatherings, or majlises, held in private homes.
Freedom of Association.--Political organizations, political
parties, and trade unions are illegal. All NGOs were required to
register with the Ministry of Social Affairs, and many received
government subsidies. Approximately 100 domestic NGOs were registered
with the ministry, mostly citizens' associations for economic,
religious, social, cultural, athletic, and other purposes. More than 20
unregistered local NGOs that focused on nonpolitical topics operated
with little or no government interference.
On June 15, 83 former teachers lodged protests with the Ministry of
Education over their transfers to other ministries or nonteaching
positions. According to the Government, the teachers were reassigned as
part of ongoing education reform initiatives; however, the teachers
alleged that the Government was suspicious of their membership in the
Reform and Social Guidance Association and therefore reassigned them.
Some of the teachers' wives, who also worked at the Ministry of
Education, claimed their promotions were suspended, and there were
allegations that some of the teachers' children were denied
scholarships.
Associations must follow the Government's censorship guidelines and
receive prior government approval before publishing any material.
Participation by NGO members in events outside the country is
subsidized and directed by the Government. Participants must obtain
government permission before attending such events, even if they are
not speakers.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion in accordance with established customs; however, the law
prohibits Muslims the freedom to change religion, and the Government
restricted religious freedom in practice. The federal constitution
declares that Islam is the official religion of the country; conversion
to Islam was viewed favorably, and the Government funded or subsidized
approximately 95 percent of Sunni Muslim mosques.
Individual Emirates exercised considerable autonomy in religious
matters. According to the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and
Endowments (GAIAE), there was no formalized method of granting official
status to religious groups other than by granting them the use of land
for the construction of a building. Land grant applications are filed
at the local level but may include a letter from the GAIAE. Several
non-Muslim groups operated houses of worship where they can practice
their religion freely. Groups that did not have their own buildings
were limited in their ability to assemble for worship; they were
required to use the facilities of other religious organizations or
worship in private homes. The police or other security forces did not
interfere with these gatherings during the year. Members of the
country's large Hindu community had to obtain official permission to
use one of the two cremation facilities and associated cemeteries.
Islamic studies were mandatory in public schools and for all Muslim
children in private schools.
The Government prohibited Muslims from converting to other
religions. Under Shari'a the ultimate penalty for converting from Islam
to another religion is death; however, the death penalty was rarely
carried out, and there have been no reports that it has been applied to
any case of conversion.
Non-Muslims were subject to criminal prosecution, imprisonment, and
deportation if they were found proselytizing or distributing religious
literature to Muslims; however, there were no reports of such actions
during the year. Missionaries continued to perform humanitarian work in
the country and faced no restrictions on proselytizing non-Muslims.
The Government monitored religious groups, including those
professing adherence to Islam. A GAIAE committee drafted and
distributed all Friday sermons to Sunni and Shia imams, and the
Government monitored the sermons for adherence to the scripted content.
The Emirate of Dubai had approval authority over preachers in private
mosques.
The Government banned or censored certain religious publications
and sometimes blocked Web sites containing religious information. These
sites included information on the Baha'i faith, Judaism, negative
critiques of Islam, and testimonies of former Muslims who had converted
to Christianity.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses based on religion; however, some discrimination
existed, and anti-Semitism was present in the media.
There were no synagogues for the small, resident, noncitizen Jewish
population. Anti-Semitism was apparent in news articles and editorial
cartoons depicting negative images of Jews. These expressions occurred
primarily in private daily newspapers without government response.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, emigration, and repatriation, and the
Government generally respected these rights in practice; however, there
were legal restrictions on foreign travel. The Government cooperated
with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on a
humanitarian basis but did not grant refugee status or asylum.
Male citizens involved in legal disputes under adjudication were
not permitted to travel overseas. Custom dictates that a husband can
bar his wife, minor children, and adult unmarried daughters from
leaving the country by taking custody of their passports. However,
there was no enforcement of this custom at exit points that would bar
an individual from traveling, unless there was a court order. The
Government may revoke naturalized citizens' passports and citizenship
status for criminal or politically provocative actions. However, such
revocations were rare, and there were no reports of its use during the
year.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reported
cases during the year.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government did not provide protection against
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
Refugees generally were required to petition for settlement in
third countries. The Government continued to detain some persons
seeking refugee status, particularly Palestinians and non-Arabs, while
they awaited resettlement in third countries.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship of the country is generally derived
from one's parents. Estimates suggested that 20,000 to 100,000 persons
without any citizenship or proof of citizenship lived in the country;
however, the Government continued to improve naturalization procedures
for these stateless residents (known as Bidoon) during the year. From
September 7 to November 6, registration centers in four Emirates
accepted naturalization applications from individuals who had been
resident in the country at least since the federation's establishment
in 1971. On October 18, the Government granted nationality to 51
previously stateless persons.
Children of female citizens married to noncitizens do not acquire
citizenship at birth; however, female citizens under these
circumstances can apply for citizenship for their children, and the
Government generally grants it. Foreign women may receive citizenship
through marriage to a citizen after 10 years of marriage, and anyone
may receive a passport by Presidential fiat.
Most Bidoon lacked citizenship because they did not have the
preferred tribal affiliation used to determine citizenship when the
country was established. Others had entered the country, legally and
illegally, in search of employment. The Bidoon faced discrimination in
employment and had limited access to medical care and education.
Without passports or other identity documents, their movement was
restricted, within the country and internationally.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully or freely change the laws that govern them. There
were no democratic general elections or institutions, and citizens did
not have the right to form political parties.
On December 16, the Government denied the FNC the right to discuss
publicly the increasingly political topics of national identity
associated with the demographic imbalance between the minority citizen
population and the majority expatriate population.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 a 6,689-member
appointed electorate elected half of the 40-seat FNC, a consultative
body that has no legislative mandate. On December 2, The Supreme
Council announced a constitutional amendment that extended the term of
FNC members from two to four years.
Federal executive and legislative power is in the hands of the
Federal Supreme Council, a body composed of the hereditary rulers of
the seven Emirates that elects from its members the country's President
and vice President. Decisions at the federal level generally were made
by consensus among the rulers, their families, and other leading
families. The ruling families, in consultation with other prominent
tribal figures, also choose new Emirate rulers.
Although the FNC has no legislative authority, it generally
reviewed all federal draft laws and decrees before they were officially
adopted by the Federal Supreme Council, and it could send legislation
back for amendment. The FNC also has the authority to question any
government minister. During the year the Government accepted 80 percent
of the FNC's recommendations. Former and present FNC members called
during the year for greater legislative powers.
Despite laws discouraging women's political activities, some women
were active in political life, mostly at the federal level. Four women
were appointed ministers in the cabinet; nine women, one of whom was
elected, served in the FNC; and despite a law prohibiting women from
serving in the judiciary, several women served as public prosecutors or
judges. In Sharjah, seven women served on the 40-seat Consultative
Council, and two women served as directors of local departments;
however, no women held nonfederal senior government positions in the
other Emirates.
Except in the judiciary, minorities, including Shia, did not serve
in senior federal positions. Many judges were contracted foreign
nationals.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented the law effectively. Government corruption reportedly
occurred at the administrative level. There were no financial
disclosure laws for public officials.
On January 8, the Abu Dhabi Naturalization and Residency Department
arrested an employee of the Al Ain Naturalization and Residency
Department for illegally issuing entry visas for cash. In Dubai there
were other high-profile corruption investigations during the year that
led to criminal charges of betrayal of trust and unlawfully taking
possession of money and property.
On October 25, the Department of Accountability returned to the
treasury approximately 300 million dirhams (approximately $82 million),
which employees had embezzled. At year's end there was no information
regarding what had happened to the employees.
The law provides for public access to government information, but
the Government followed this provision selectively. Requests for access
usually went unanswered.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The Government did not generally permit organizations to focus on
political issues.However, two recognized local human rights
organizations existed: the quasi-independent EHRA--which focused on
human rights issues and complaints such as labor rights, stateless
persons' rights, and prisoners' well-being and humane treatment--and
the government-subsidized Jurists' Association Human Rights Committee--
which focused on human rights education and conducted seminars and
symposia subject to government approval. Although it was headed by a
government prosecutor, the EHRA generally operated without government
interference, apart from the many requirements faced by all
associations in the country. However, lack of government interference
did not imply full cooperation. For example Ministry of Interior
officials refused to meet with EHRA members concerning the treatment of
prisoners and conditions in detention facilities.
The Government did not allow international human rights NGOs to be
based in the country but allowed representatives to visit on a limited
basis. There were no transparent standards governing visitation from
international NGO representatives.
The Government generally cooperated with other international
organizations, including the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UNHCR. The
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs maintained an
office in the country.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equality before the law without
regard to race, nationality, or social status, and the law prohibits
discrimination based on disability; however, legal and cultural
discrimination existed and went unpunished.
Women.--Rape is punishable by death under the penal code, but in
Shari'a courts the extremely high burden of proof often meant that the
crime was not recognized. The penal code does not specifically address
spousal rape. During the year there were 53 rape cases reported, of
which 46 resulted in convictions with sentences varying from three
months in prison to life imprisonment and deportation for noncitizens.
However, given the onerous burden of proof and societal pressure, it
was likely that the actual incidence of rape was much higher.
Domestic abuse against women, including spousal abuse, was a
pervasive problem. The penal code allows men to use physical means,
including violence, at their discretion against female and minor family
members. Nevertheless, some domestic abuse cases may be filed as
assault without intent to kill, punishable by 10 years in prison if
death results, seven years for permanent disability, and one year for
temporary injury. Victims of domestic abuse may file complaints with
police units stationed in major public hospitals. Social workers and
counselors, usually female, also maintained offices in public hospitals
and police stations. In 2007 Dubai police handled 126 cases of wife
beating and more than 200 nonphysical domestic conflict cases. Women
were often reluctant to file formal charges of abuse for social,
cultural, and economic reasons. There were several reports that police
refused to protect women and instead encouraged them to return home. In
some cases authorities contacted the allegedly abusive husbands asking
them to transport their wives home. In 2007 the Dubai Foundation for
Women and Children, funded by the Dubai government, opened a shelter to
serve victims of human trafficking and domestic violence.
There were no specific reports of honor crimes or killings,
although such incidents were rumored to occur within the Muslim
expatriate population.
Paternity denial was an emerging problem in the courts. Despite DNA
tests proving paternity, the courts could not force a man to accept
paternal responsibility. The implications for the mothers of these
children were extremely serious because the women faced potential
charges of adultery, a legally punishable crime.
Prostitution is illegal; however, it has become an increasing
problem in recent years, particularly in Dubai. Although prostitution
was widely acknowledged to exist, the Government did not address the
issue publicly. However, one police officer was charged for informing
the female head of a brothel of an impending police raid. There was no
evidence of sex tourism.
During the year the press reported that men were arrested and
prosecuted for harassing women in public. The penal code prohibits
``disgracing or dishonoring'' a person in public, punishable by a
minimum of one year in prison, and up to 15 years if the victim is
younger than 14. An ``infamous'' act against the rules of decency
carries a penalty of six months in prison, and ``dishonoring a woman by
word or deed on a public roadway'' results in up to one year in prison
and a 10,000 dirham (approximately $2,700) fine. On January 28, the
public prosecutor charged a driver with molesting a shopper in a store,
violating her privacy, and indecently gesturing in a public place.
Women also faced legal and economic discrimination. The
Government's interpretation of Shari'a was applied in personal status
cases and family law. Muslim women were forbidden to marry non-Muslims.
Unlike men, female citizens married to noncitizens did not
automatically pass citizenship to their children. The law permits a man
to have as many as four wives. Women normally inherited less than men
under the Government's interpretation of Shari'a. For example a son may
inherit double what a daughter inherits when their parent dies. It was
difficult for a woman to obtain a divorce as she is required to prove
that her husband has inflicted physical or moral harm upon her, that he
has abandoned her for at least three months, or that he has not
maintained her upkeep or that of their children. Alternatively, women
may divorce by paying compensation or surrendering their dowry to their
husbands. The law gives divorced women custody of female children only
until the age of 13 and male children only until the age of 10.
Fornication is a crime, and the Government may imprison and deport
noncitizen women if they bear children out of wedlock.
No law prohibits women from working or owning businesses, and a man
has no right under the Government's interpretation of Shari'a to ban
his wife from working if she was employed at the time of their
marriage; however, some husbands reportedly prevented their wives from
working. Women who worked outside the home sometimes did not receive
equal benefits, and women also reportedly faced discrimination in
promotion.
Women constituted 65 percent of all university students.
Coeducation is prohibited in public schools and universities except at
the UAE University Executive MBA Program. Several private schools,
private universities, and institutions are coeducational.
The Government continued to make efforts to integrate women more
fully. On January 16, the first female pilots graduated from Khalifa
bin Zayed Air College, and on September 15, the country appointed its
first two female ambassadors. Women comprised 10 percent of the
country's diplomatic corps. On November 5, at the Dubai Judicial
Institute, 10 female trainees were sworn in as the first female public
prosecutors in the Emirate of Dubai.
Children.--The Government registered Bidoon births but did not
grant citizenship to the children, who remained stateless.
Education is compulsory through the ninth grade; however,
compulsory education was not enforced, and some children did not attend
school. Noncitizen children could enroll in public schools only if they
scored at least 90 percent on entrance exams. Primary education was
provided free to citizens, but not to noncitizens. Public schools were
not coeducational after kindergarten, and statistically, in every age
group, girls and women were more academically successful and continued
to higher levels of education than their male peers.
Child abuse was not prevalent, although there was some evidence
that societal influences prevented cases from being reported. The law
protects children from abuse and trafficking and the Government
provides shelter and help for victims. However, the law does not
address female genital mutilation (FGM), which some Somali, Omani, and
Sudanese expatriates practiced. The Ministry of Health prohibits
hospitals and clinics from performing FGM, but some private clinics in
the northern Emirates and rural areas continued to carry out the
procedure.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, trafficking continued to be a serious problem. The
country remained a destination for men, women, and children from South
and East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for
involuntary servitude and sexual exploitation, and a transit point for
women trafficked into Oman and men into Iraq.
Women from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and
the Philippines migrated willingly to the country to work as domestic
servants, but some faced debt bondage to recruiters; conditions of
involuntary servitude such as excessive work hours without pay; verbal,
mental, physical, or sexual abuse; and restrictions on movement.
Similarly, men from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who came
to the country to work in the construction industry were sometimes
subject to involuntary servitude and debt bondage to pay off
recruitment costs. Although illegal, it was customary for employers to
take custody of workers' passports. Observers believed that resident
citizen employment sponsors and foreign-based traffickers partnered to
traffic women and girls into the country, especially to Dubai, for
commercial sexual exploitation. A trafficker may promise a legal
employment opportunity and supply a victim with a fraudulent passport
with an inflated age; after the victim enters the country on a
visitor's or worker's visa, a fraudulent employment sponsor might force
the victim into commercial sexual exploitation.
The law prescribes punishments including jail sentences for those
convicted of trafficking, including for commercial sexual exploitation
and involuntary servitude. The National Committee to Combat Human
Trafficking is the Government entity responsible for combating
trafficking in persons, in coordination with law enforcement and
government ministries. Although there were 11 prosecutions and
convictions during the year, enforcement and punishments generally
remained lacking.
The Government has not fully developed an effective method to
screen and identify actual or potential trafficking victims who do not
identify themselves to authorities. As a result many victims were
believed to have been deported on criminal charges without access to
protective services or without being able to testify against their
traffickers. There were reports from foreign embassies that some police
authorities pressured victims not to pursue complaints against their
employers and assisted employers in repatriating victims before a
criminal complaint could be filed. Victims who were unable to provide
evidence of trafficking were sometimes provided with food and shelter
until they acquired travel documents to return home. At least one
official and one private shelter in Dubai assisted victims of abuse and
trafficking. The National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking
continued its active efforts to eliminate trafficking through awareness
campaigns, training of law enforcement personnel, and coordination of
government efforts.
The Government continued a program with UNICEF and other countries
to repatriate and rehabilitate former camel jockeys.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities. Most public buildings provided some
form of access for persons with disabilities in accordance with the
law. There were no reported incidents of discrimination against persons
with disabilities in employment or education; however, health care
provided in the Ministry of Labor's (MOL) five federal rehabilitation
centers, as well as that in private centers, was reportedly inadequate.
Moreover, the public centers were not available to noncitizens.
Various departments within the ministries of labor and education
were responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. One percent of all Federal Government jobs and 2 percent
of government jobs in Abu Dhabi are reserved for persons with
disabilities. On May 19, the Ministry of Economy hired a severely
visually impaired woman upon a request from the EHRA, and on July 9,
the MOL acknowledged the contributions of six employees with
disabilities who had been working there since 2000.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Societal discrimination against
noncitizens, comprising approximately 80 percent of the resident
population and originating primarily from the Indian subcontinent, was
prevalent and occurred in most areas of daily life, including
employment, education, housing, social interaction, and health care.
Although the Government endeavors to improve standards of living for
all residents, there were few programs targeted at improving conditions
for noncitizens.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Both civil law and
Shari'a criminalize homosexual activity, and Islamic religious law sets
the death penalty as punishment for individuals who engage in
consensual homosexual activities. During the year there were reports
that the Government deported and sentenced to prison individuals for
being openly homosexual.
Cross-dressing, according to the law, is a punishable offense. On
May 26, Dubai police announced that transvestites would be arrested if
caught in public. Police arrested 40 cross-dressing tourists in local
shopping malls and other public places over the following three weeks
and deported them soon after.
On April 8, Dubai courts confirmed 15-year jail terms for two
citizen men and a three-year term for one male minor citizen for the
July 2007 gang rape of a 15-year-old Swiss-French boy. The victim left
the country before any criminal prosecution.
Persons with HIV/AIDS and other diseases also faced discrimination.
There were credible reports that government officials discriminated
against prisoners with HIV by not granting commuted sentences or parole
that other prisoners with similar records had received. Noncitizen
residents infected with HIV, hepatitis types B and C, and tuberculosis
were denied all healthcare benefits, quarantined, and deported. During
the year the Government deported 1,518 non-citizen residents infected
with these diseases. The EHRA also reported that several women
diagnosed with breast cancer were fired solely because of their illness
and that hundreds of women were reluctant to undergo medical
examinations to detect breast cancer for fear of losing their jobs if
they received a positive diagnosis.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law does not authorize workers to
form or join unions, and no unions existed. Professional organizations,
such as a lawyers' association, existed; however, they had to receive
government approval for international affiliation.
The law does not explicitly prohibit strikes by private sector
workers, but it allows an employer to suspend an employee for
temporarily striking. In addition the Government may cancel the work
permit of and deport any foreign worker absent from work for more than
seven days without a valid reason. The individual would be banned from
working in the country for one year. The Government forbids strikes by
public sector employees, citing national security. Public sector
employees may file an administrative grievance or a case in the civil
courts to address a labor-related dispute or grievance; however, there
was no evidence of any such grievances or cases.
The Government did not generally punish workers for nonviolent
protests in response to nonpayment of wages by employers. However,
during the year the Government took measures to break up nonviolent
protests.
Approximately 10,000 workers participated in at least seven strikes
during the year. Most grievances were related to unpaid wages and
hazardous or abusive working conditions.
For example, on February 11, more than 300 workers demonstrated in
Ajman against their Dubal-based employer over unpaid salaries. The
workers marched from their residences in Ajman to the Dubai labor
office, stopping in Sharjah to file a case against their employer. The
workers complained that they had not been paid in four months and that
their living conditions were unsuitable. Shajrah police dispersed the
strike peacefully and sent the workers back to Ajman. The MOL summoned
the employer, who agreed to resolve the dispute.
On July 7, approximately 3,000 workers in Ras Al-Khaimah protested
salary levels. The strike turned violent as workers burned cars and
buses. The MOL could not intervene in this contractual dispute because
the company operated in a free trade zone (FTZ) in the Emirate of Ras
Al-Khaimah. The workers were arrested and detained by the police for
approximately two weeks. The police imprisoned eight persons who
allegedly instigated the incident. The instigators will be deported at
the end of their sentence. At year's end there was no information on
the length of their sentence.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Employees
covered by the labor law--which excludes domestic, agricultural, and
government workers--may file collective employment dispute complaints
in Arabic with the MOL, which serves as mediator between the parties.
Unresolved disputes may be filed with the labor court system and
forwarded to the Conciliation Council. In practice most cases were
resolved through direct mediation. The Government granted some
professional associations with mostly citizen membership a limited
ability to raise work-related issues to petition the Government for
redress and to file grievances with the Government. Foreign workers may
belong to these associations; however, they do not have voting rights
and cannot serve on the boards of the organizations.
Businesses in the FTZs are not subject to labor statutes. The MOL
does not regulate the FTZs; instead, each FTZ maintained its own labor
department. Unions and strikes are not allowed in any FTZs.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
instances of forced and compulsory labor affecting some adults,
noncitizens in particular.
Some employment agents continued to bring numerous foreign workers
to the country to work under forced or compulsory conditions, and there
continued to be reports of worker suicides. Some women were brought to
the country under false promises of legitimate employment and forced
into prostitution. Low-paid unskilled and semiskilled workers were also
victims of contract switching, which occurred when a worker was offered
a certain position but received a visa labor card for a different
position.
Lack of payment to employees, especially foreign workers, for
extended periods of time was common. On June 1, to reduce the problem
of unpaid wages, the MOL and the Central Bank signed a memorandum of
understanding that facilitated direct deposits of laborers' salaries;
however, the system had not taken effect at year's end.
Some domestic and agricultural workers were subject to de facto
compulsory labor. Employers routinely held employees' passports,
severely restricting their freedom of movement. There were increasing
incidents of employees being prevented from changing positions because
their contracts stipulated that they were banned from working for a
``competitor'' for six months after their original employment ended;
the only way to overcome the six-month ban was to seek a letter of ``no
objection'' from the original employer. However, some employers, as
retribution, refused to sign such letters. The MOL made exceptions
during the year by not requiring letters of ``no objection'' if the
employee had completed three years in the original position or if the
employer had withheld salary.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits employment of persons younger than 15 and has special
provisions for employing persons 15 to 18 years of age, including
expatriate children 16 or older. The MOL is responsible for enforcing
these regulations and generally enforced them effectively. However,
there were rare reports of foreign children who came to the country
under their parents' work permits and subsequently were pressured to
work.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no minimum wage,
leaving much of the workforce without sufficient compensation for more
than a minimal subsistence. Salaries, which depend on the occupation
and employer, were estimated to range upward from 400 dirhams
(approximately $110) per month for domestic or agricultural workers and
from 600 dirhams ($164) per month for construction workers. Highly
skilled and white-collar employees generally received higher salaries.
According to the labor law, the workday is eight hours, and the
workweek six days; however, these standards were not enforced. There
were laws regulating minimum rest periods and hours worked, which
varied depending on nature of work. There was no legal provision
requiring overtime pay, nor was there a prohibition on excessive
compulsory overtime. However, domestic workers are under the
jurisdiction of the MOI and not regulated by the current labor laws.
The unregulated conditions of domestic workers left them vulnerable to
long work days and underpayment.
The law requires that employers provide employees with a safe work
and living environment; however, despite recent increases in the number
of MOL inspectors, the Government did not uniformly enforce health and
safety standards. At year's end there were 48 safety and health
inspectors. The MOL also employed language interpreters to assist
foreign workers in understanding employment guidelines.
Despite efforts to improve housing facilities, some low-skilled and
foreign employees continued to face substandard living conditions,
including overcrowded apartments or lodging in unsafe and unhygienic
``labor camps,'' which sometimes lacked electricity, potable water, and
adequate cooking and bathing facilities. Construction of newer worker
accommodations is ongoing.
On August 26, a fire killed 11 workers in a labor housing unit in
Dubai. In response, the Dubai government sent warning notices to
contractors to vacate 422 labor housing units for noncompliance with
safety conditions.
The MOL requires a break from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. for most
outdoor laborers during July and August, the hottest months of the
year; however, oil sector and asphalt and cement companies, among
others, were not required to give their employees this midday break,
putting workers at risk for heat exhaustion.
Domestic workers were routinely subject to physical, sexual, and
emotional abuse. On June 5, a Fujairah court imposed a fine of 4,000
dirhams (approximately $1,100) against a woman accused of beating her
maids and breaking their bones.
Workers' jobs were not protected if they removed themselves from
what they considered unsafe working conditions; however, all workers
have the right to lodge labor-related grievances.
During the year the press reported a number of cases of workers who
were injured or killed on job sites due to inadequate safety measures.
Although the law requires the Government to track job-related injuries
and deaths, in practice the Government registers the cases but does not
necessarily follow up on them.
__________
YEMEN
Yemen, with a population of more than 21 million, is a republic
whose law provides that the President be elected by popular vote from
among at least two candidates endorsed by parliament. In 2006 citizens
re-elected President Ali Abdullah Saleh to another seven-year term in a
generally open and competitive election, characterized by multiple
problems with the voting process and the use of state resources on
behalf of the ruling party. Saleh has led the country since 1978. The
President appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government.
The prime minister, in consultation with the President, selects the
Council of Ministers. Although there is a multiparty system, President
Saleh's General People's Congress Party (GPC) dominates the Government.
Although civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of
the security forces, there were a few instances in which elements of
the security forces acted independently of government authority.
During an ongoing internal conflict that began in 2004, the
Government used heavy force in an attempt to suppress the al-Houthi
rebels in Saada governorate. In May the conflict spread for the first
time beyond Saada to Bani Hushaish, a village on the outskirts of the
capital. Both sides agreed to a fragile ceasefire in July. Although
total deaths resulting from the conflict during the year are unknown,
an estimated 1,000 government troops were killed and 3,000 wounded in
the month of May alone. No reliable estimates for the number of rebel
or civilian deaths were available.
Significant human rights problems persisted. There were limitations
on citizens' ability to change their government due to corruption,
fraudulent voter registration, and administrative weakness. There were
reports of arbitrary and unlawful killings by government forces,
politically motivated disappearances, and torture in many prisons.
Prolonged pretrial detention, judicial weakness and fiat, serious
corruption, and poor prison conditions were also problems. During the
year excessive government force was reportedly used against
participants in public demonstrations. Arbitrary arrest and detention
and other abuses increased, particularly of individuals with suspected
links to the Zaydi Shia al-Houthi movement in and around the northern
governorate of Saada and to the series of political demonstrations in
Lahj governorate in the southern part of the country. International
humanitarian groups estimated that in the summer there were as many as
75,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of the Saada
conflict. By the end of the year, about 6,000 persons were living in
refugee camps in Saada. Academic freedom was restricted.Restrictions on
freedom of speech, the press, and peaceful assembly increased, and
harassment and intimidation of journalists and oppositionists
continued. Pervasive and significant discrimination against women
continued to occur, as did child labor and child trafficking. The right
of workers to associate was also restricted.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the Government committed arbitrary or unlawful killings during the
year. Unlike in the previous year, politically motivated killings by
the Government or its agents occurred during the year. Security forces
reportedly killed or injured suspects during apprehensions and public
demonstrations in actions that appear to have been politically
motivated.
During protests in the southern governorates that took place
throughout the year, security forces killed at least four persons and
arrested and injured hundreds.
On January 13, security forces reportedly fired bullets and tear
gas at demonstrators in the southern city of Aden, killing Saleh
Abubakr al-Sayed, Mohamed Ali Mohamed, and Saleh Talib Saeed. No
investigation into their death had been conducted at year's end.
On April 2, security forces in the city of al-Habileen in Lahj
governorate reportedly arbitrarily fired upon and killed Abdelfatah
Saif Abdullah while he was trying to enter the city. No investigation
into his death had been conducted at year's end.
On November 15, police shot and killed 16-year-old Hisham Ahmed
Muhsen during clashes between police and protesters demonstrating at a
voter registration center in Lahj governorate. The police declined to
comment and said they opened fire in self-defense. No investigation had
been conducted at year's end.
No investigation had been conducted at year's end into the 2007
deaths of Muhammad Muhammad Ahmad al-Qadi, Muhammad al-Shoaibi, or
Hashem Abdullah Yahya Hajar.
There were no new developments in the following unlawful death
cases from 2006: Abed al-Osaily, a journalist from the newspaper Al-
Nahar; killings in al-Jawf, Lahj, and Dhamar provinces during the time
of the Presidential and local council elections; and police officer
Muhammad Said Abdu while he was in custody.
Tribal violence resulted in a number of killings and other abuses,
and the Government's ability to control tribal elements remained
limited. In several cases long-standing tribal disputes were resolved
through government-supported mediation by nongovernmental actors.
Other incidents of fatal shootings and violence continued
throughout the year. In most cases, it was impossible to determine the
perpetrator or motive, and there were rarely claims of responsibility.
Some may have had criminal, religious, or political motives, and others
appeared to involve land disputes or cases of tribal revenge.
Terrorist activity increased sharply during the year. Numerous
attacks against government, foreign, and oil interests occurred,
causing injuries and deaths.
On January 18, two Belgian tourists and a Yemeni driver were killed
in Hadhramout governorate when four gunmen ambushed their four-car
convoy. The Yemen Soldiers Brigade (YSB), an al-Qa'ida in Yemen (AQY)
affiliated group, later claimed responsibility for the attack in
addition to the July 2007 attack on a convoy of Spanish tourists in
Ma'rib.
On March 18, mortars fired at a foreign embassy in Sanaa hit a
neighboring girls' school. One embassy military guard and several
schoolgirls were injured. In a March 21 statement, the YSB claimed
responsibility for the attack.
On April 6, three mortars hit residential complex housing Western
workers in Sanaa.
On April 30, two mortars hit the Customs Administration parking
lot, causing a large explosion adjacent to a foreign embassy, which
many believed to have been the intended target.
In May an AQY affiliated group claimed it mortared the Presidential
palace in Sanaa, but no official statement was released acknowledging
the incident.
In July AQY claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack on
a central security forces compound in Hadhramout governorate that
killed eight persons.
On September 17, a suicide attack on an embassy in Sanaa killed 18
persons, including seven attackers. Islamic Jihad in Yemen, reportedly
a second AQY affiliated group, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The country was contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance as
a result of several conflicts, including the 1962-70 war in the north
between republicans and royalists, the 1963-67 war of independence in
the south, the 1970-83 war against left-wing guerrillas, and the 1994
separatist war. The majority of mines were laid in border areas between
the former North Yemen and South Yemen and in the southern
governorates. Mines in the southern governorates were unmapped and
strewn along beach areas and valleys that lead to the southern coast.
Beginning in April, there were several reports of the use of
antipersonnel mines, including antitank and improvised mines, during
the conflict in the northern Saada province between government troops
and rebel forces led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. At least 60 people,
including military personnel, were reportedly admitted to hospitals
with injuries resulting from mine explosions in Saada. The media also
reported at least four deaths from mine explosions in the region during
the year.
According to the Yemen Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC), eight
people died from antipersonnel mines during the year. YEMAC tallied at
least 18 mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in 2007,
including 12 killed and six injured. In 2006 there were at least 19
mine and ERW casualties, including seven killed and 12 injured,
according to YEMAC.
At year's end YEMAC reported that approximately 215 square
kilometers of land remained to be demined.
b. Disappearance.--During the year there were reports of
politically motivated disappearances of individuals associated with
southern protests and the conflict in Saada. These disappearances were
generally characterized by short-term arrests and releases. Civil
society groups accused the Government of using sporadic disappearances
to intimidate the populace. There were also some reports of tribal
kidnappings, traditionally carried out to attract government attention
to specific grievances.
On March 31 the Political Security Organization (PSO), a security
apparatus reporting to the President, raided the homes of and arrested
three leaders of the southern political protests: Hassan Ahmed Baom,
Ali Mounasser, and Yahya Ghalib Shuaibi. No information was provided as
to their whereabouts until April 4, when a leading human rights
organization gained access to them. The PSO released all three men in
mid-September.
In March and April the PSO arrested approximately 35 other
individuals related to the southern movement, including lawyers and
journalists. They were reportedly held in isolation and some were moved
from one prison to another to create confusion as to their whereabouts.
In September President Saleh pardoned all of the detainees during
Ramadan, a tradition in the country, and all were released from prison.
On April 7, security forces took Nahr Abdullah Abdulmalik and other
persons from a hotel in Aden allegedly because of their participation
in political demonstrations and sit-ins in the south. No information
was provided as to their whereabouts until April 22, when a leading
human rights organization gained access to them. Abdulmalik and the
others were released on May 26.
On May 21, cleric and chairman of the dissolved al-Haq party's
Shura Council Mohamed Miftah was kidnapped and detained in a PSO prison
because of his alleged affiliation with the Saada conflict. The PSO
denied holding him during his disappearance. He was released on
September 12 by a pardon from President Saleh.
On June 30, human rights activist Luay al-Muayed was arrested,
reportedly in connection with the Saada conflict. No information was
provided as to his whereabouts until his September 12 release.
On July 7, Ali Yahya al-Imad was arrested, allegedly in connection
with the Saada conflict. There was no information regarding his
whereabouts at year's end.
A leading human rights organization recorded a total of 56 forcible
disappearances during the year in connection with the fighting in
Saada. Other human rights groups believe the number to be much higher.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, according to
human rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and former
detainees, authorities tortured and abused persons in detention. The
PSO stated in the previous year that torture does not occur at its
facilities and noted that new PSO officers must sign a document
certifying that they recognize torture is illegal according to the laws
and constitution of the country and that those who torture prisoners
will be punished according to the law. The 2008 Amnesty International
(AI) report alleged that many detainees were tortured in PSO custody.
Reported torture tactics included beatings with fists, sticks ,and
rifle butts; scalding with hot water; excessively tight handcuffs;
prolonged blindfolding; denial of water and access to toilets; and
death threats. Sleep deprivation and solitary confinement were other
forms of abuse reported in PSO prisons.
Ministry of Interior (MOI) officers reportedly used force during
interrogations, especially against those arrested for violent crimes.
Penal law, based on the Government's interpretation of Shari'a (Islamic
law), permits amputations and physical punishment such as flogging for
some crimes. AI reported that floggings occurred during the year in
cases related to alcohol consumption and sexual offenses.
Government sources acknowledged that torture occurred; however,
they claimed that torture was not official policy.
The domestic NGO National Organization for Defending Rights and
Freedoms (HOOD) alleged that Adel al-Azani died on May 18 as a result
of torture in a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) prison.
Security elements reported that al-Azani's cause of death was suicide.
His family, however, affirmed that al-Azani died of torture, reporting
that wounds were still visible on his body when they retrieved him from
the prison.
During the year, the Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR) reported it
received 16 complaints concerning the alleged torture of individuals at
the hands of the National Security Bureau (NSB) and the Criminal
Investigative Department (CID). Throughout the year the MOHR followed
up on cases of torture that were either reported in the press or were
forwarded to the ministry from NGOs.
No investigation had been conducted at year's end in the 2007
torture case of Shaif al-Haimi. In January 2007 National Security
Bureau (NSB) officers allegedly broke into al-Haimi's house and
arrested him on charges of theft and disguising himself as an NSB
officer. Al-Haimi alleged that authorities tortured him during his one-
month prison detention, paralyzing his right hand. Human rights groups
accused the authorities of fabricating the charge of impersonating an
NSB officer as a pretext to involve the NSB. The NSB said al-Haimi
injured himself after a partner in crime confessed to their guilt. Al-
Haimi was re-arrested and then released for health reasons in October
2007. At year's end he was still awaiting trial in a Ministry of
Justice (MOJ) specialized criminal court.
There were reports that the MOI's CID routinely used torture to
obtain confessions. Defense attorneys and some NGOs claimed that most
confessions introduced as evidence against defendants in criminal
courts were obtained through torture. The MOI denied that torture was
part of its policy. Local NGOs asserted that in several instances in
which prison abuse cases were referred to the Attorney General's office
for prosecution, the complainants withdrew their cases after being
threatened. Government sources denied this allegation.
The MOHR was unable to provide any updated information on the
torture case of Muhammad Saleh al-Amari, which it first reported to the
cabinet in June 2007. Al-Amari was detained by the security department
for seven months at the Radaa Central Prison in al-Bayda governorate
for allegedly refusing to disclose information on a murder case. He
said he was tortured during his detention.
Security forces reportedly beat detainees and prisoners during the
year.
The 2007 case of Azim Hasan Abdullah al-Wosabi was ongoing at
year's end. According to a leading local NGO, al-Wosabi was beaten when
he was arrested for stealing in May 2007. He was transferred to a
rehabilitation center the day after his arrest with wounds still
visible from the beating. Al-Wosabi was released fromthe rehabilitation
center in December 2007. The officer accused of beating al-Wosabi,
Jamal Abdul Naser al-Maghreb, was ordered to court during the year. His
case was still with the courts at year's end.
During the year, 21 CID detainees who were arrested and held
without trial or charges against them in 2006 were released and
referred to the public funds prosecution. The detainees, who held a
one-week hunger strike in May 2007, said they would sue the CID for
material losses and psychological complications resulting from alleged
mistreatment in prison, according to the Web site NewsYemen.
On December 14, three foreigners were kidnapped by tribal members
in the Bait Bous area of Sanaa. The captives were released unharmed on
December 19 after the Government reportedly paid the tribe's requested
ransom.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Local and international
observers reported that prison conditions remained poor and did not
meet internationally recognized standards. The MOHR and a number of
NGOs were granted limited access to MOI prisons. The Government
severely limited access to PSO prisons by independent human rights
observers, a claim the PSO denied in 2007.
Many prisons, particularly in rural areas, were overcrowded, with
poor sanitary conditions and inadequate food and medical care. In some
cases, prison authorities extracted bribes from prisoners to obtain
privileges or refused to release prisoners who had completed their
sentences until the prisoners' family members paid the authorities.
Women were held separately from men under equally poor conditions.
However, men's and women's prisons differed in important respects. By
custom, young children and babies born in prison were likely to remain
in custody with their mothers. Local tradition requires male relatives
of female prisoners to arrange for their release. Female prisoners
regularly were held in jail after the end of their sentences when male
relatives refused to authorize their release because of the shame
associated with the arrest of a female family member.
In some rural and women's prisons, children were held with adults,
and pretrial detainees were held with convicted criminals. Security and
political detainees generally were held in separate facilities operated
by the PSO.
Unauthorized ``private'' prisons in rural areas, often controlled
by tribes, continued to operate. Tribal leaders misused the prison
system by placing ``problem'' tribesmen in private jails, either to
punish them for noncriminal actions or to protect them from
retaliation. At times such prisons were simply rooms in a tribal
sheikh's house. Persons were often detained in such prisons for
strictly personal or tribal reasons without trial or judicial
sentencing. Although senior government officials did not officially
sanction these prisons, there were credible reports of the existence of
other private prisons located within government installations.
Persons with mental illness who had committed crimes were
imprisoned without adequate medical care. The MOI denied this charge
and asserted that nurses and doctors watched over mentally ill
detainees. In some instances, authorities detained without charge
persons with mental illness and placed them in prisons with criminals.
The MOI reported that at times, family members brought mentally ill
relatives to MOI-run prisons, asking officers to imprison the
individuals. At year's end, MOI-run prisons in Sanaa, Aden, and Taiz
operated in conjunction with the Red Crescent semi-autonomous units for
prisoners with mental illnesses; conditions in these units were
reportedly deficient. In 2005 the MOI requested from the cabinet that
the Ministry of Health (MOH) establish centers for mentally ill
detainees. At year's end, neither the cabinet nor the MOH had acted on
this request.
Limited access was granted to family members of PSO-held detainees,
but requests for access by parliamentarians and NGOs to investigate
human rights violation claims were routinely denied. PSO argued,
however, that visitors failed to comply with proper notification
procedures, necessitating refusal of access.
Individuals working for NGOs were allowed to meet with MOI
prisoners as private visitors. Representatives of the MOHR met with
domestic NGO monitors and responded to inquiries, particularly in
matters relating to prisoners. NGOs had no access to CID prisons.
The MOHR stated that it visited nine prisons in nine governorates
and four detention centers in Sanaa during the year and in March
recommended improvements for prison and detention facility conditions
to the cabinet. The MOHR reports that most of its recommendations from
the July 2007 report on prisons were implemented, such as the
separation of incarcerated adults and minors and providing educational
instruction to prisoners.
Since 2004 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has
suspended visits to PSO prisons, citing a lack of PSO agreement to
ICRC's universally applied procedures, which include regular access to
and private interviews with all detainees to assess the conditions of
detention and treatment. In response to the conflict in Saada during
the year, the ICRC sought to visit detainees according to its standard
procedures. By year's end no visits had been made and ICRC dialogue
with the authorities to obtain access to all PSO places of detention
was ongoing.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, the Government generally did not observe
these prohibitions. Enforcement of the law was irregular and in some
cases, particularly those involving suspected security offenses, was
nonexistent.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The primary state
security and intelligence-gathering apparatuses, the PSO and the NSB,
report directly to the President. Many of the NSB's duties are not
clearly defined and appear to overlap with those of the PSO. The police
CID reports to the MOI and conducts most criminal investigations and
arrests. The Central Security Organization (CSO), also a part of the
MOI, maintains a paramilitary force.
Corruption was a serious problem throughout these security and
intelligence organizations. There were no public governmental
investigations of police corruption during the year. Some police
stations reportedly maintained an ``internal affairs'' section to
investigate security force abuses, and citizens had the right to file
complaints with the prosecutor's office. However, enforcement of this
right was irregular and there were no effective investigations
reported. MOI also had a fax line for citizens to file claims of abuse
for investigation. It was unknown at year's end how many fax complaints
MOI received and how many it investigated.
Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that an individual cannot
be arrested unless apprehended in a criminal act or served with a
summons. A detainee must be arraigned within 24 hours of arrest or be
released. The judge or prosecuting attorney must inform the accused of
the basis for the arrest and decide whether detention is required. The
law stipulates that a detainee may not be held longer than seven days
without a court order. Despite the law, arbitrary arrest and prolonged
detention without charge or, if charged, without a public preliminary
judicial hearing within a reasonable time were common practices. For
example, numerous southern demonstration leaders and persons with
alleged associations to the al-Houthi movement were arbitrarily
arrested throughout the year and detained for prolonged periods of
time. A leading human rights organization asserted that there were more
than 200 of these cases during the year.
The law prohibits incommunicado detention and provides detainees
with the right to inform their families of their arrests and to decline
to answer questions without an attorney present; however, these rights
were not always respected. The law states that the Government must
provide attorneys for indigent detainees, but in practice it often did
not do so. Almost all rural cases were reportedly settled out of court
with tribal mediators. There are legal provisions for bail; however,
some authorities abided by these provisions only if bribed.
Citizens regularly claimed that security officials did not observe
due process when arresting and detaining suspects and demonstrators.
Members of the security forces continued to arrest or simply detain
persons for varying periods of time without charge, family
notification, or hearings. Detainees were often unclear as to the
investigating agency, and the agencies frequently complicated the
situation by unofficially transferring custodial authority of
individuals among agencies. Security forces routinely detained
relatives of fugitives as hostages until the suspect was located.
Authorities stated that they detained relatives only when the relatives
obstructed justice. Human rights organizations rejected this claim.
The Government failed to ensure that detainees and prisoners were
incarcerated only in authorized detention facilities. The MOI and the
PSO operated extrajudicial detention facilities; both MOI and PSO
denied this claim. Unauthorized private prisons also existed. During
the year, Yasser Abdullah al-Idrisi, the last of the 2007 Yemen
Economic Corporation (YECO) prisoners, was released and referred to the
public funds prosecution. In November 2007 a leading local NGO visited
an unauthorized private prison within YECO, formally under the Ministry
of Defense (MOD), and confirmed that five persons were being detained
in a small room adjacent to the main building. The four other detainees
were released shortly after the visit.
Other unauthorized private prisons reportedly existed at the
National Drug Company, the Yemen Television Corporation, the MOI, and
the Ministry of Religious Guidance. Local NGOs considered these prisons
unconstitutional and called for their abolition. The MOI claimed it did
not operate unauthorized private prisons.
There were numerous reports that security forces arrested hundreds
of individuals in relation to the Saada conflict and the southern
political demonstrations and detained them without charge.
Members of the security forces continued to detain journalists for
publishing articles the Government deemed controversial.
During the year, the Government also continued to detain suspects
accused of links to terrorism, at times without due process. At year's
end it was unknown how many persons the Government held on suspicion of
terrorist affiliations or activities. A large percentage of the total
prison population consisted of pretrial detainees, some of whom had
been imprisoned for years without charge. In 2007, a leading human
rights NGO estimated the number to be between 50 and 100 persons,
attributing the significant decrease to amnesties and prison escapes.
In February 2006 the MOI reported that 172 individuals were being held
for suspected terrorism links.
Amnesty.--Prisoners related to the Saada conflict were arrested,
released, and rearrested in what local human rights NGOs referred to as
a ``revolving door'' policy. This practice made it difficult to
enumerate how many prisoners were released during the year. According
to September 2007 press reports, President Saleh ordered the release of
67 prisoners detained on charges of suspected links with the al-Houthi
movement. In October 2007, Saleh granted a general amnesty and released
approximately 300 prisoners on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
autonomous judiciary and independent judges; however, a weak judiciary
was severely hampered by corruption and executive branch interference.
Many litigants maintained, and the Government acknowledged, that a
judge's social ties and occasional bribery influenced verdicts. Many
judges were poorly trained, and some were closely associated with the
ruling party. The judiciary was further hampered by the Government's
frequent reluctance to enforce judgments. Tribal members at times
threatened and harassed members of the judiciary.
The judicial system is organized in a three-tier court structure.
Courts of first instance are broadly empowered to hear all civil,
criminal, commercial, and family matters. A single judge may hear a
case in these courts. Decisions taken in the courts of first instance
may be appealed to the Courts of Appeal, of which there is one in each
province and one in the capital. Each Court of Appeal includes separate
divisions for criminal, military, civil, and family issues. Each
division is composed of three judges.
Above the Courts of Appeal is the Supreme Court, which is empowered
to settle jurisdictional disputes between different courts, hear cases
brought against high government officials, and serve as the final court
of appeal for all lower court decisions. The Supreme Court has eight
separate divisions: constitutional (composed of seven judges including
the chief justice), appeals scrutiny, criminal, military, civil,
family, commercial, and administrative. The Supreme Court has special
panels empowered to determine the constitutionality of laws and
regulations.
In addition to the regular hierarchy of courts, there are courts
for military, juvenile, tax, customs, and labor matters whose decisions
may be appealed to the Courts of Appeal.
A specialized criminal court, not a military tribunal, was first
established in 1999 under the MOJ to try persons charged with
kidnapping, carjacking, attacking oil pipelines, and other acts
considered to be a ``public danger,'' such as banditry and sabotage.
However, cases that were not security-related were referred to this
court during the year. According to a leading local NGO, this court
does not provide defendants with the same rights provided in the
regular courts. AI and local NGOs reported specialized criminal courts
to be unconstitutional. Defense lawyers reportedly did not have full
access to their clients' charges or relevant government-held evidence
and court files.
Trial Procedures.--Laws are based on a mixture of Egyptian laws,
Napoleonic tradition, and Shari'a. The law, social custom, and Shari'a,
as interpreted in the country, discriminated against women,
particularly in domestic matters. There are no jury trials. Judges, who
play an active role in questioning witnesses and the accused,
adjudicate criminal cases. By law, the Government must provide
attorneys for indigent defendants in serious criminal (felony) cases;
however, in practice, provision of legal counsel did not always occur.
By law, prosecutors are a part of the judiciary and independent of the
Government; however, prosecutors also investigate criminal cases. The
police were generally weak and played a limited role in developing
cases.
The security services continued to arrest, charge, and submit cases
to the prosecutor's office to try persons alleged to be linked to
shootings, explosions, and other acts of violence. Citizens and human
rights groups alleged that the security forces and the judiciary did
not normally observe due process.
The accused are considered innocent until proven guilty. Defense
attorneys are allowed to counsel their clients, address the court, and
examine witnesses and any relevant evidence. All defendants, including
women and minorities, have the right to appeal their sentences. Trials
were generally public, but all courts may conduct closed sessions ``for
reasons of public security or morals.'' Foreign litigants in commercial
disputes complained of biased rulings.
In addition to regular courts, there is a system of tribal
adjudication for noncriminal issues; in practice, tribal judges often
adjudicated criminal cases. The results carried the same if not greater
weight than court judgments. Persons jailed under the tribal system
usually were not charged formally with a crime, but were publicly
accused of their transgression.
Parliament has exclusive jurisdiction over executive branch
officials and their representatives for crimes including bribery,
interference, and embezzlement. No government official was investigated
or tried under this law during the year.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The number of political
prisoners or detainees and conditions in which they were held was
unclear. PSO reported in 2007 that no political prisoners were detained
in PSO prisons. Human rights activists were able to provide limited
data on any such persons, and access to such detainees by local or
international humanitarian organizations was severely restricted or not
permitted. During the year, there was a significant increase in the
number of political prisoners and detainees related to the southern
protest movement (See Section 1.g.).
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however, there
were limitations in practice. In 2006 local NGO HOOD filed the first-
ever civil suit against the President, on behalf of Ahmad Ali bin
Maeili. Maeili claimed the PSO detained him without charge for six
years. After the court rejected the case, HOOD appealed to the Supreme
Court. Maeili's case remained with the court of appeals at year's end.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family Home or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such action; however, police forces
from the PSO and MOI routinely searched homes and private offices,
monitored telephone calls, read personal mail and e-mail, and otherwise
intruded into personal matters for alleged security reasons. Activities
were conducted without legally issued warrants or judicial supervision.
PSO and MOI rejected these claims. According to the PSO, the attorney
general must personally authorize monitoring of telephone calls and
reading of personal mail and e-mail. The PSO reported that to do a
house search, it first obtains a warrant and a signed certification by
the head of the neighborhood, and officers are accompanied on the
search by two neighbors who serve as witnesses.
Local NGOs and journalists reported an increase in interference due
to the Saada conflict and southern political discontent. For example,
journalist Abdelkarim al-Khaiwani was re-arrested and in June was
sentenced to six years in jail for alleged connections with terrorism
and the war in Saada. He was released in September. Another journalist
who covered both topics, Mohamed al-Maqaleh, was arrested on April 22,
allegedly on charges of humiliating the judge in al-Khaiwani's trial.
Al-Maqaleh was released on August 29.
Throughout the year various human rights activists and journalists
reported receiving repeated threatening phone calls throughout the day
and into the night. Activists and journalists charged this is a form of
intimidation by authorities attempting to quiet the opposition, most
specifically in regard to the Saada conflict and southern political
discontent.
The law prohibits arrests or the serving of a subpoena between
sundown and dawn; however, there were reports that persons suspected of
crimes were taken from their homes without warrants in the middle of
the night.
No citizen may marry a foreigner without permission from the MOI,
but this regulation does not carry the force of law and appeared to be
enforced irregularly.
In other cases, detention of family members continued while the
concerned families negotiated compensation for the alleged wrongdoing.
Arbitration and mediation by families, tribesmen, and other
nongovernmental interlocutors were commonly used to settle such cases.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
During the year, fighting continued between the Government and the al-
Houthi rebels of Saada in the conflict that initially began in 2004.
The conflict spread in May to Bani Hushaish, a village on the outskirts
of the capital. The Government repeatedly used heavy force in an
attempt to suppress the rebels' uprising, which was suspended with a
fragile ceasefire in July. The Government also reportedly used
excessive force to suppress southern demonstrations during the year. A
leading human rights organization claimed there were more than 200
cases of arbitrary arrests of individuals linked to these internal
issues during the year.
According to an October Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, since
2007, the extent of arbitrary arrests and ``disappearances,'' mainly in
the context of the Houthi rebellion but also relating to the
Government's domestic counterterrorism efforts and its crackdown on
social unrest in the southern part of the country, expanded. Estimates
of the numbers of persons disappeared or detained vary--local NGOs have
documented dozens of disappeared persons, and hundreds arbitrarily
arrested since 2004. In August, according to HRW, officials spoke of
approximately 1,200 political prisoners still detained, some 130 of
whom were gradually being released. On August 31, President Saleh
ordered the release of 131 detainees arrested in the context of the
Saada conflict. On September 24, a credible NGO reported that at least
63 persons remained arbitrarily detained as a result of the Saada
conflict.
According to HRW, among those released in August are former
mediation committee member Shaikh Salih al-Wajman, who had been jailed
at the MOI for two years, and Shaikh Naji Bukhtan and dozens of other
detained Houthi loyalists.
During the year HRW investigated 62 cases of disappearance and
arbitrary arrest linked to the Houthi rebellion. In nearly all of the
cases, arresting officials did not identify themselves or inform the
detainee or his family why he was being arrested and where he was being
taken. The families of persons forcibly disappeared did not know for
weeks or months after their arrest whether their loved ones were alive,
who their captors were, or where their relatives were being held.
Despite the July pause in hostilities, security forces continued to
arbitrarily arrest persons from the conflict areas. Since 2004, an
estimated 130,000 persons have been displaced from their homes in the
northern governorates, although some may have returned since July.
Displaced persons in the capital remained extremely fearful of arrest.
Earlier in the year the Government arrested persons who had attempted
to visit recent conflict areas to assess damage to their property or to
bring trapped relatives to safety.
In 2007 approximately 100 individuals from Saada were reportedly
arbitrarily arrested and detained for suspected links with the al-
Houthi movement. Authorities forcibly removed approximately 45
individuals, including some minors, from Saada and imprisoned them in
the neighboring governorate of Hajja. There were reportedly 50 Saada
detainees in Sanaa and 22 in Dhamar at the end of 2007. During the
year, many of these were released, but others were arrested. Human
rights organizations referred to the Saada arrests as a ``revolving
door'' policy. Local NGOs accused the Government of illegal and
inhumane treatment of these detainees.
No investigation had been conducted at year's end into the Badr
Center intimidation case. In October 2007 the Yemen Times reported that
14 military vehicles loaded with security personnel attacked the Badr
Center for Islamic Studies in Sanaa after the head of the center, Dr.
Al-Murtadha al-Mohatwari, demanded the releases of Saada detainees.
Security authorities reportedly destroyed the main gate of the center.
There were no reliable estimates of numbers of rebels and civilians
killed at year's end. An estimated 1,000 government troops were killed
and 3,000 wounded in May. International NGOs providing humanitarian
assistance in Saada estimated there were approximately 70,000
internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Saada conflict.
In the wake of the Saada conflict, fighting broke out in November
between the al-Osaimat tribe and al-Houthi-aligned Harf Sufian tribe in
Amran governorate and continued through December. According to
unsubstantiated local reports, half or more of the fighters were
children ranging from 12 to 15 years of age.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press ``within the limits of the law;''
however, the Government did not respect these rights in practice. The
1990 Press and Publication Law criminalizes ``the criticism of the
person of the head of state...[that] does not necessarily apply to
constructive criticism,'' the publication of ``false information'' that
may spread ``chaos and confusion in the country,'' and ``false stories
intended to damage Arab and friendly countries or their relations''
with the country. The country's security apparatus, including the NSB
and elements of the military, threatened and harassed journalists to
influence press coverage. Self-censorship was practiced during the
year.
The Ministry of Information influenced the media through control of
printing presses, subsidies to newspapers, and ownership of the
country's sole television and radio outlets. Three independent
newspapers and no opposition newspapers owned their own presses.
According to the Yemeni Journalist Syndicate (YJS), there were
approximately nine government-controlled, 50 independent, and 30 party-
affiliated newspapers in the country. There were approximately 91
magazines, including 46 private, 27 government-controlled, and 18
party-affiliated magazines. The Government selected the items to be
covered in news broadcasts and rarely permitted broadcasts critical of
the Government. The Government televised parliamentary debates and
occasionally permitted broadcasts of aggressive criticism of
ministries.
Press law specifies that newspapers and magazines must apply
annually to the Government for licensing renewal and that they must
show continuing evidence of 700,000 riyals (approximately $4,375) in
operating capital. There were reports that authorities made the
registration process bureaucratically impossible for opposition figures
or organizations, while pro-government or tribal newspapers were said
to have received licenses immediately. Although exact numbers were
unavailable during the year, sources indicated that very few licenses
were granted and others were denied outright.
On March 4, according to a leading human rights organization, the
Ministry of Information instructed printing houses not to print Al-
Sabah weekly newspaper in retaliation for its coverage of protests in
the south and for ``criticizing the President.''
On April 5, Minister of Information Hassan al-Lawzi issued a decree
cancelling the license of Al-Wasat newspaper due to its publication of
``materials prohibited by the law and against the national unity.''
On April 22, Mohamed al-Maqaleh, editor-in-chief of Ishtiraki.net,
was arrested on charges of humiliating the judge after laughing in
court during the trial of journalist Abdelkrim al-Khaiwani. Al-Maqaleh
was released on August 29.
During the year the Ministry of Information also refused to grant
journalist Fikri Qasim a license to publish the newspaper Hadith al-
Medina (Talk of the Town).
In June 2007 the Government suspended the text message news service
sponsored by Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC). The head of WJWC,
Tawwakul Karman, unsuccessfully appealed the decision. The Government
instead suspended all text message news services, eventually restoring
all except those of WJWC and the Islal-affiliated Nass Mobile Service.
Karman staged sit-ins throughout the summer of 2007 in an attempt to
overturn the ruling. At year's end WJWC's news text message service
remained suspended, despite a parliamentary order allowing it to be
reestablished, according to WJWC.
In August 2007 a group of journalists and human rights activists
released a list of individuals and groups responsible for violating
press freedom since 2005. Violations included banning the issuance of
papers, preventing journalists from practicing their duties, shutting
down newspapers, beatings, harassment, and detention. Names of
ministers and heads of government offices were included on the list. In
November 2007 during a regional civil society conference in Sanaa where
the list was displayed on a banner, a member of the PSO confiscated the
banner and held it for the remainder of the conference. According to
the PSO, the officer involved did not act on official orders and was
reprimanded for confiscating the banner.
Physical attacks against journalists continued during the year,
along with government harassment, including threats against journalists
and their families, brief imprisonment, and personal surveillance.
Harassment of journalists who reported on the Saada conflict
continued during the year. According to an October HRW report, the
Government attempted to prevent news about the details of the Saada
conflict from becoming public by preventing journalists and
humanitarian workers from going to the conflict zone, by disconnecting
all but a select number of mobile telephone numbers in the governorate,
by threatening journalists not to report on the conflict, and by
arresting persons who transmitted information about the impact of the
fighting or who could have such information because they had recently
left the area.
On June 30, according to HRW, security forces arrested Lu'ai al-
Mu'ayyad, editor of the Web site yemenhurr.net (Free Yemen), where he
published critical reports on the Saada conflict. He was released by
the end of the year.
On July 20, freelance Dutch journalist and videographer Willem
Marx, along with his guide and interpreter, Ali al-Bukhaiti and
Muhammad al-Bukhaiti, was stopped at a checkpoint half an hour outside
Sanaa on their way to Ma'rib to report on the Saada conflict. They were
escorted back to Sanaa by an intelligence officer and a soldier. Ali
and Muhammad al-Bukhaiti were detained at National Security offices on
the outskirts of Sanaa and Marx was escorted to the airport and
summarily deported the same day. Authorities released Muhammad al-
Bukhaiti the week of September 13, but Ali al-Bukhaiti remained
detained at an unknown location at year's end.
On September 24, President Saleh ordered the release from prison of
journalist Abdelkarim al-Khaiwani after he was sentenced to six years
in jail on June 9 on charges of conspiring to overthrow the Government
and belonging to an armed group, the ``Sanaa terrorist cell.'' In
August 2007 a group of men, reportedly government officials, forcibly
removed al-Khaiwani from the street and put him into a car, where he
was beaten. Al-Khaiwani had been released on bail in July 2007 after
authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained him. Al-Khaiwani was
taken to a remote location in Khawlan district, approximately 9 miles
from Sanaa. His captors allegedly tortured him and threatened that if
he continued to write against his ``masters,'' he and his wife and
three children would be killed. His kidnappers stole his mobile phone
and money and left him in Khawlan, after which he went to the hospital.
The July 2007 case of Al Shari'e newspaper was ongoing at year's
end. In July 2007, 10 armed men in two military vehicles broke into the
office of the newly established Al Shari'e newspaper, reportedly
searching for its owners and editors, Nayef Hassan and Nabil Subaie,
who were not there at the time. The intruders allegedly confiscated
electronics. In July 2007 the defense ministry filed a complaint
against Al Shari'e for publishing military secrets in reference to the
Saada investigation. According to the law, cases related to the media
are arbitrated by the Press and Publication Prosecution Office;
however, Subaie and Hassan's cases will be tried by the specialized
courts for terrorist-related activity. Al Shari'e is reported to be the
first newspaper to be tried in a specialized criminal court.
No investigation had been conducted at year's end into the October
2007 attack on journalist Sadam al-Ashmori, who was attacked by more
than 10 men during his coverage of demonstrations at Freedom Square in
Sanaa. Al-Ashmori, who works as a freelance reporter for The Yemen
Times, suspected that the attackers were plainclothes security
officials. Police and other security officials who were present claimed
they did not witness the incident.
There were no developments in the following cases: the November
2006 attack and brief detention of al-Jazeera correspondent Ahmad al-
Shalafi and his cameraman, Ali al-Baidhani; the March 2006 abduction
and assault of Qaed al-Tairi, journalist for the Socialist Party weekly
Al-Thawri; the April 2006 attack on journalist Abdulfatah al-Hakimi;
and the April 2006 reported death threats against Abed al-Mahthari,
editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Al-Deyar.
There were no new government cloned newspapers during the year. In
a 2005 attempt to counter dissent, elements close to the Government or
security apparatus cloned two newspapers, Al-Shura and Al-Thawri. The
Government published newspapers with similar names, fonts, and colors,
but carried more pro-government editorials and stories. The Al-Thawri
clone ceased publication in 2005 after several weeks, but the Al-Shura
clone continued publishing at year's end.
At times, customs officials confiscated foreign publications
regarded as pornographic or objectionable due to religious or political
content. During the year there were some reports that authorities
monitored foreign publications and banned those deemed harmful to
national interests.
Book authors were required to obtain certification from the
Ministry of Culture (MOC) for publication and to submit copies to the
ministry. Publishers sometimes refused to deal with an author who had
not yet obtained certification. Most books were approved, but the
process was time-consuming. There were reports that both the MOC and
the PSO monitored and sometimes removed books from store shelves after
publication. A 2005 ban continued on publishers distributing books that
espoused Zaydi-Shiite Islamic doctrine or were deemed pornographic. The
Government denied that the media were subject to censorship by any
security apparatus.
Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted Internet use by
intermittently blocking access to some political and religious Web
sites and to sites deemed immoral. During the year the Government
reportedly blocked a number of independent and opposition news Web
sites, such as al-Shura.net and Ishtiraki.net, and the Web site for the
independent weekly Al-Ayyam newspaper. Adenpress.com, a Web site that
covered the southern demonstrations, was intermittently blocked during
the year. Yemenhurra.net, a Web site that covered the Saada conflict,
was blocked at times, and on at least one occasion the content was
allegedly changed by government officials.
The International Telecommunication Union estimated in 2007 that
156,000 of the country's population subscribed to the Internet, with
320,000 total users. Many could not afford the Internet, or were
unfamiliar with the equipment and services needed to access it. The
Government limited the Internet content its citizens could access,
using commercially available filtering technology and by controlling
its two Internet service providers, TeleYemen (operators of the service
YNET) and YemenNet, through the Ministry of Telecommunications and
Information Technology. Human rights and other NGOs complained that the
Government restricted what journalists could write and how citizens
used the Internet through a variety of intimidation tactics. Limited
Internet access was available from homes or Internet cafes in major
urban areas.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted
academic freedom, claiming it was necessary due to the politicization
of university campuses. Political parties frequently attempted to
influence academic appointments, as well as university faculty and
student elections. During the year security officials were present on
university campuses and at intellectual fora. PSO representatives had
permanent offices on the campuses. Government informers monitored the
activities of professors and students, especially those who were
alleged affiliates of opposition parties. Authorities reviewed
prospective university professors and administrators for political
acceptability before hiring them, and favoritism was commonly shown
toward affiliates or supporters of the ruling General People's Congress
(GPC) party.
A 2005 ban was intermittently enforced on new student associations
at Sanaa University. Opposition sources contended that this regulation
was not enforced against GPC-affiliated organizations.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the
Government limited this right in practice. The Government required a
permit for demonstrations, which it issued routinely. Government
informers monitored many meetings and assemblies.
The Government banned and disrupted some demonstrations, allegedly
to prevent them from degenerating into riots and violence.
On January 13, security authorities violently broke up a
demonstration in Aden by southern military retirees, unemployed youth
and opposition figures. According to a leading local human rights NGO,
the Government reacted with tear gas and live bullets, leading to three
deaths, 10 injured, and 27 detained.
On March 30, a sit-in in Dhale' of more than 200 young men
protesting the lack of acceptance of southerners into military service
was broken up by security authorities with live bullets and tear gas.
No deaths or injuries were reported.
On April 6, the opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties
organized a sit-in in Taiz in solidarity with arrested artist Fahd al-
Qarni and with those detained in previous demonstrations. This led to
the arrest of 10 protestors, who were released the same day.
On April 8, civil society organizations attempted a sit-in in Sanaa
to demand the right of freedom of assembly and in solidarity with those
detained in relation to the southern movement and the Saada conflict.
Security apparatuses, however, blocked access to Freedom Square, the
location of the sit-in, and prevented the sit-in from taking place.
On July 7, massive rallies organized by southern activists took
place in Aden and Dhale' in which protesters demanded, according to a
human rights NGO, ``the lifting of the northern military campaign from
the southern governorates.'' Security authorities dispersed the crowds
with tear gas and live bullets, and increased the presence of security
in southern governorates, including additional roadblocks and
checkpoints in Aden. According to a leading human rights NGO, a wide
arrest campaign followed in which 306 protesters were detained in Aden,
18 protesters were detained in Dhale', and numerous others were
wounded. The same NGO reported that all detainees were released from
confinement in September and October.
In August 2007 clashes occurred between security forces and
students enrolling at Sanaa University, with one student reported
injured and taken to the hospital after a security official beat him on
the head with the back of his pistol. Reportedly the incident coincided
with student protests against the admissions committee at the Faculty
of Trading and Commerce, accusing the faculty of distorting the
admissions process.
After the 1994 civil war, the northern government forced thousands
of southern military and civilian officials to retire. These
individuals have continued to demand reintegration compensation and
other redress and were especially active in 2007. Their movement
expanded throughout the year with significant southern political
support.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the Government nominally respected this right in
practice; however, the ruling party retained control of professional
associations by influencing internal elections and subsidies. According
to local observers, there were approximately 20 legally recognized NGOs
independent of the ruling party operating in the country.
All associations, including NGOs, are required to register annually
with one of four ministries: Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL), Culture,
Education, or Vocational Training and Technical Education. The
Government cooperated to varying degrees depending on the issues with
legally recognized NGOs, which by law were provided with an annual
stipend. Some ministries reportedly harassed NGOs critical of the
Government by denying their annual registration and subsidy. For
example, the Yemeni Journalist Syndicate (YSJ) reported it had not been
issued its stipend for the year. The MSAL also refused to register
Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) or HOOD, both NGOS that were
often critical of the Government.
All political parties must be registered in accordance with the
Political Parties Law, which stipulates that each party must have at
least 75 founders, verified in a court of law, and 2,500 members. In
March 2007 the opposition al-Haq Party was dissolved for reportedly
violating the Political Parties Law. However, civil society observers
claim the party was abolished due to its affiliation with the al-Houthi
rebels and for its Zaydi appeal. There were no political parties
dissolved during the year.
c. Freedom of Religion.--Neither the constitution nor other laws
protect or inhibit freedom of religion. The Government generally
respected religious freedom in practice; however, there were numerous
violations and restrictions. The constitution declares that Islam is
the state religion and that Shari'a is the source of all legislation.
Government actions to counter the increase in political violence
restricted some religious practice. The Government took actions to
counter the increase in political violence as a result of the uprisings
by the al-Houthi rebels in the northern Saada governorate. Unlike the
four previous years, the Government allowed the people of Saada to
celebrate Ghadeer Day, a holiday celebrated by some Shia. However,
media outlets reported that government officials used the occasion to
arrest individuals allegedly associated with the Houthis. According to
an October HRW report, the Government cracked down on Hashemite
preachers and scholars in Zaidi religious institutions and mosques,
apparently conflating the religious motivations that gave rise to the
original Believing Youth movement with armed rebellion. HRW in October
documented 14 cases of arrests where Hashemite identity or one's
profession as a Hashemite scholar or preacher appeared to be the
paramount reason for the arrest.
The Government also reportedly limited the hours that mosques were
permitted to be open to the public and reassigned some imams who were
thought to espouse Shia ideology or Zaydi doctrine, replacing them with
Shafi'i or Salafi preachers.
Non-Muslims were free to worship according to their beliefs and to
wear religiously distinctive ornaments or dress; however, Shari'a, as
interpreted by the Government, forbids conversion from Islam and
prohibits non-Muslims from proselytizing. The Government enforced this
prohibition. The Government required permission for the construction of
all places of worship and the constitution prohibited non-Muslims from
being elected to the presidency or parliament. Non-Muslim citizens may
vote but may not hold elected office.
Under the Government's interpretation of Islam, the conversion of a
Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy, which the Government
considers a crime punishable by death. There were reports of arrests in
cases related to proselytizing or apostasy during the year.
In June a convert to Christianity and two of his associates were
reportedly arrested in Hodeida for ``promoting Christianity and
distributing the Bible.'' They were allegedly transferred by the
authorities to a jail in Sanaa. Four other associates who evaded
capture were also sought by the authorities. No further information was
available at year's end.
On June 20, seven Baha'is (two Yemenis, four Iranians, and one
Iraqi) were arrested in their homes during raids by police. The two
Yemenis were subsequently released. The Government released the four
foreign detainees in October and gave them two months to leave the
country or face deportation. The Baha'is remained in the country at
year's end.
Official policy does not prohibit or prescribe punishment for the
possession of non-Islamic religious literature; however, in previous
years there were reports of persons being harassed and temporarily
detained for possession of religious materials with the intent to
proselytize.
Catholic, Protestant, Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, Jewish, and
Baha'i services were held without government interference.
Public schools provided instruction in Islam, but not in other
religions; however, most non-Muslims were foreigners who attended
private schools. Jewish citizens also had private schools where Hebrew
and Judaism were taught.
In 2007 the Government shuttered 1,500 schools, bringing to 4,500
the total number of schools closed because they were deemed to have
deviated from educational requirements or promoted militant ideology.
At the same time, the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Guidance
reportedly opened government-approved schools in the areas where
schools had been closed. Private and national schools were prohibited
from teaching courses outside the officially approved curriculum. The
Ministry of Endowments and Religious Guidance indicated that an unknown
number of school closures continued throughout the year.
The Government also deported foreign students found studying in
unlicensed religious schools. There were credible reports that
authorities banned publishing of some materials that promoted Zaydi-
Shiite Islam.
The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Guidance reported that it
conducted several training sessions and workshops targeted at imams and
other religious clerics with the goal of promoting moderation and
tolerance.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were isolated incidents
of anti-Semitism. In January 2007 the historic Saada community of 45
Jews was relocated to Sanaa after being threatened by a follower of the
al-Houthis. Since fleeing their homes, the community has been under
government protection in Sanaa. In April a large group of men entered,
ransacked, and destroyed two homes in Saada governorate belonging to a
member of the Jewish community now living in Sanaa. The attack was
believed to have been the work of al-Houthi rebels.
Jewish residents of Rayda and Bait Harrash in Amran governorate
experienced increased acts of violence, threats, and harassment by
their Muslim neighbors. In one case, a bullet was fired into a water
tank on the roof of one of the community's homes while a member of the
family was on the roof. Government authorities investigated the case
and arrested the perpetrator, who remained incarcerated at year's end.
On December 11, Moshe Yaish Nahari, a prominent community member
and teacher in Reyda, was murdered, allegedly by a religious extremist.
The man accused of the murder was immediately arrested and his trial
was ongoing at year's end.
In the weeks following the murder, the Reyda Jews reportedly could
not leave their homes and Jewish children stopped going to school for
fear of further violence. On December 14, an explosive device was
thrown at a Jewish home.
Jewish citizens, who number fewer than 500 in the country, are
excluded from certain occupations by social pressures and are not
eligible to serve in the military or Federal Government. A General
Election Committee policy bars all non-Muslims from running for
parliament.
Following the January commencement of the third phase of fighting
between the al-Houthi rebels and the Government, some Zaydis reported
harassment and discrimination by the Government. Authorities reportedly
targeted and harassed Sayyid Zaydi families, who are believed to be
descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
In Dhamar, celebrations of al-Ghadeer, a Shia holiday, in late
December resulted in violent clashes that left four killed and six
injured.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for these rights,
and the Government respected them with some restrictions. The
Government limited the movement of women, foreigners, and tourists. The
two latter groups were required to obtain government permission before
leaving the country. In practice the Government did not obstruct
domestic travel; however, the army and security forces maintained
checkpoints on major roads. Internally displaced persons were a
problem.
In certain areas armed tribesmen occasionally manned their own
checkpoints or operated alongside military or security officials and
subjected travelers to physical harassment, extortion, or theft.
Although not required by law, government officials customarily
asked women if they had permission from a male relative before applying
for a passport or leaving the country. One women's rights NGO asserted
that a husband or male relative could bar a woman from leaving the
country, and that this requirement was strictly enforced when women
traveled with children. During the year there were several reports of
women who were turned away at the airport because they did not have the
permission of or were not accompanied by a male relative.
Immigrants and refugees traveling within the country often were
required by security officials at government checkpoints to show that
they possessed resident status or refugee identification cards.
The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of forced
exile during the year.
During the year the Government continued to deport an unknown
number of foreigners who were studying at Muslim religious schools and
believed to be in the country illegally. The Government claimed these
persons were suspected of inciting violence or engaging in criminal
acts by promoting religious extremism. The Government used existing
laws to require foreigners to register with police or immigration
authorities within one month of arrival.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The fifth round of fighting
in the four-year conflict in Saada between the Government and the group
of rebels led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi broke out in May. Fighting
continued until the Government declared a ceasefire in July. At the
height of the fighting, HRW estimated there were as many as 70,000
internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Saada governorate. Most IDPs
lived in camps or with family in Saada City, the regional capital. The
Government and the al-Houthi rebels, who still controlled territory in
Saada, limited access to the region, preventing food and medical
supplies from reaching many IDPs. After the end of fighting in July,
some IDPs were able to return to their homes, but thousands remained in
camps for fear of retaliation from the al-Houthi rebels, according to
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR
also said IDP children showed signs of chronic malnourishment and did
not attend school.
Protection of Refugees.--The Government does not have a national
law addressing the granting of refugee status or asylum in accordance
with the UN 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its
1967 protocol, and the Government has not established a system for
providing protection to refugees. In practice, the Government sometimes
provided protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a
country where there is reason to believe they feared persecution. The
Government continued to grant prima facie refugee status to Somalis who
arrived in the country after 1991. Non-Somali asylum-seekers must go
through an individualized refugee status determination conducted by the
UNHCR, as the Government has no ability to conduct refugee status
determinations on its own. Since 2007 the Government has challenged the
ability of the UNHCR to perform refugee status determinations for non-
Somalis. Immigration authorities have deported some non-Somalis without
giving UNHCR access to conduct screenings.
The Government continued to provide temporary protection for
thousands of individuals from Iraq and the Darfur region of Sudan who
may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and its 1967
protocol, although there were some reports of deportations. There were
continued reports that some Iraqis were blocked from reuniting with
their families because they had been denied readmission into the
country.
Generally, refugees were allowed to work and travel freely within
the country, although they faced some difficulties. There were reports
of refugees refused employment or passage at checkpoints because they
lacked legal documentation. Refugee children attended local schools,
although facilities were limited and could not meet the demand in full.
In 2005 the Government and UNHCR signed a memorandum of
understanding to establish six registration centers to register and
provide greater legal protection to refugees. Currently, only one of
these centers, located in Sanaa, has been established. The center has
yet to open, awaiting approval from the Government. UNHCR operates
three reception centers in the south of the country, the newest of
which opened in March. The harassment and abuse by security forces at a
Somali refugee camp in 2006 has been improved by the replacement of the
head of the security force. Some potential asylum-seekers have been
imprisoned while their status determinations were pending with UNHCR.
UNHCR had uneven access to these refugees, but refugees were generally
released from prison upon the completion of UNHCR processing.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully through periodic elections based on universal suffrage;
however, there were limitations in practice. Decision-making and
effective powers were held by the President, who has been in office
since 1978. The President appoints the prime minister, who presides
over a 35-member cabinet chosen by the President. The latest cabinet
reshuffle occurred on May 19. In practice the President, in association
with the ruling GPC party dominated the Government. The parliament, in
which three parties were represented, was not an effective
counterweight to the executive branch and can be dissolved by the
President.
Elections and Political Parties.--After several months of
negotiations between the ruling GPC party and the opposition Joint
Meeting Parties (JMP), the Supreme Commission for Elections and
Referendum (SCER)--the body charged with conducting the April 2009
parliamentary elections--was announced in a controversial parliamentary
session on August 25. The three JMP members of the SCER, a nine-member
body, refused their appointments. In August the SCER began preparing
for the April 2009 elections without the participation of the JMP, who
at year's end continued to assert the illegality of the SCER and its
actions. Nationwide voter registration took place in November with a
boycott by supporters of the JMP. Violent protests occurred in some
southern governorates.
On May 17, governors of the 21 jurisdictions were elected by a vote
of each jurisdiction's local council. The election of governors, who
previously were appointed by the President, was an important step
toward the decentralization of power. The dominance of the ruling party
in the majority of the local councils, however, meant that these
elections did not appreciably reduce ruling party influence. This
situation was exacerbated by an opposition boycott.
According to a report by an international NGO, the September 2007
by-elections in Aden and Ibb were conducted in a generally peaceful and
orderly manner with only a few violations. The voting and counting were
generally considered to have been fair and efficient; however, there
were some delays in opening and closing female sub-committees within
voting centers. There were also numerous instances of confusion
regarding the voting procedures, especially among illiterate and
elderly voters. The report stated that some candidates wrongly used
public resources to fund their campaigns, and campaigning continued on
election day and in some cases within the polling stations. Military
personnel were also employed as members of the field commissions.
According to local and international observers, the September 2006
Presidential and local council elections were considered open and
competitive and a marked improvement over previous elections. For the
first time opposition candidates contested the Presidential elections
and had equal coverage on government-owned broadcast and print media.
There were problems, however, with voter registration, redistricting,
ballot counting, isolated incidents of election-related violence, and
use of state resources on behalf of the ruling party.
Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected to a seven-year term in this
election, the country's second nationwide direct Presidential race,
securing 77 percent of the votes. Faisal bin Shamlan, candidate of the
opposition coalition JMP, gained 22 percent. The remaining three
opposition and independent candidates had less than one percent each.
According to the SCER, approximately 65 percent of eligible voters
participated in the elections. Approximately 42 percent of the voters
were women. The constitution provides that the President is elected by
popular vote from among at least two candidates endorsed by parliament.
International NGOs and the European Union Observer Mission
characterized polling as an important and unprecedented step in the
country's democratic development. In its final post-election report,
the EU noted that the GPC had an unfair electoral advantage because
significant state resources were put at the disposal of GPC candidates
for use during their campaigns. Opposition parties, while regretting
irregularities, also hailed the elections as the first genuinely
competitive contest in the country's history. Unlike in previous years,
international and local observers did not report significant
difficulties in accessing voting centers or filing their reports.
An international NGO reported that the voter registration process
conducted in April 2006 was marred by poorly trained administrative
staff, registration of a large number of underage voters, and
interference by security officials. Local NGOs also alleged that
deceased citizens were registered as voters. The international NGO
reported that the opposition coalition JMP refused to participate in
the voter registration process due to allegations of bias on the part
of the SCER, which conducted voter registration. The SCER therefore
recruited staff members on short notice and was not able to provide
them with meaningful training before voter registration began.
In 2006 the JMP and the GPC agreed on several items of contention,
including the formation of a joint committee to review voter lists with
the SCER and decide which names needed to be removed due to technical
errors. Although the SCER requested that the courts expunge more than
200,000 names identified as underage or duplicate voters, a searchable
electronic copy of the registration list was never provided to
opposition parties or local constituencies so they could verify voter
lists before the election. There were reports that the SCER mistakenly
removed eligible voters from lists in several constituencies.
In addition, many constituencies were redistricted a month before
the election in a manner that was not transparent to the public,
international observers, or opposition parties. Independent and
opposition observers noted that redistricting resulted in the
allocation of more local council representatives for constituencies
that were viewed as progovernment.
Whereas ballot counting for the Presidential election was reported
to be generally fair and accurate, there were numerous reports that
ballots for the local council elections went uncounted in some
constituencies or were not secured after the count, rendering a recount
or inspection of the ballots impossible.
Election-related violence during the 30-day campaign period and on
election day was markedly lower than in previous elections. The SCER
reported that seven people were killed in election-related violence.
There were no reports that government security agents killed anyone in
election-related incidents.
The law mandates that political parties be viable national
organizations that cannot restrict their membership to a particular
region. The constitution prohibits the establishment of parties that
are contrary to Islam, ``oppose the goals of the country's
revolution,'' or violate the country's international commitments.
The law stipulates that each party have at least 75 founders and
2,500 members. Parties based on regional, tribal, sectarian, class,
professional, gender, or racial identities are not permitted.
Candidates from any party may declare their candidacy for elections.
The Government provided financial support to most of the 23 political
parties, including a small stipend to publish party newspapers.
The ruling GPC has been the dominant party since unification of the
country and controls 238 of the 301 seats in parliament (elected in
2003). Islah is the largest opposition party, and it controls 46 seats.
At times tribalism distorted political participation and influenced the
central government's composition. Observers noted that persons were
often selected to run for office or given jobs in particular ministries
based on their tribal affiliations. Because tribal areas were still run
by patriarchal systems, some tribal leaders reportedly influenced
tribal members to vote for certain candidates.
Although there were no formal restrictions limiting opposition
participation, the Government made it difficult for some parties to
organize. At year's end the Government continued to hold substantial
assets of the opposition Yemeni Socialist Party, including land and
buildings, which were seized after the 1994 civil war. In 2005 the
President publicly accused two minor parties of attempting to overthrow
the Government by fomenting the al-Houthi uprising. The headquarters of
the Union for Popular Forces was seized by armed men and the party was
forcibly recreated under dubious circumstances.
In 2007 the Government dissolved the al-Haq Party for reportedly
violating the Political Parties Law. However, civil society observers
claim the party was abolished due to its affiliation with the al-Houthi
rebels and for its Zaydi appeal.
Women voted and held office; however, increasingly conservative
cultural norms rooted in tribal traditions and patriarchal religious
interpretation often limited their exercise of these rights. There was
one woman in the 301-seat parliament. There were three women in the
cabinet, including the minister of human rights, the minister of social
affairs and labor, and a Supreme Court justice. In 2005 the SCER
established a Women's Department responsible for addressing gender
equality in the electoral process. The department conducted
informational campaigns on the importance and mechanism of voting prior
to the 2006 elections. In the elections, 164 women ran for and 38 won
seats on local and provincial councils. Women's rights activists and
female parliamentary candidates accused the ruling party and the
authorities of rigging the elections against women.
Many members of the Akhdam community, a small ethnic minority
descended from east Africans, did not participate in the political
process due to socioeconomic factors and discrimination. There were no
members of minority groups in parliament or the cabinet. There were no
reports that persons with disabilities were prohibited from
participating in the political process.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity. The World Bank's Worldwide Governance
Indicators reflected that there is a serious corruption problem, and a
perception of corruption in every branch and level of government was
widespread. Government officials and parliamentarians were presumed to
benefit from insider arrangements and embezzlement. Procurement was a
regular source of corruption in the executive branch.
In 2006 the Central Organization for Control and Audit (COCA), the
country's investigative body for corruption, reported that between its
creation in 1999 and 2005, COCA had investigated 518 official cases of
corruption, of which 361 were filed with COCA in 2005. The cases
represented a loss to the treasury of 4.8 billion riyals (approximately
$24.7 million). At year's end, of the 518 cases, 490 had been sent to
the judiciary for action, and the remaining 28 cases were still under
consideration. COCA's reports were rendered to the parliament but were
not accessible to the general public. Only low-ranking officials have
been prosecuted for corruption since COCA's inception. The actual
number of corruption cases was generally considered to be significantly
higher than what was reported by COCA.
Petty corruption was widely reported in nearly every government
office. Job candidates were often expected to purchase their positions.
Tax inspectors were reported to undervalue their assessments and pocket
the difference. Many government officials received salaries for jobs
they did not perform or multiple salaries for the same job.
In 2006 the President ratified an anticorruption law, creating the
first Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption (SNACC), a
new independent authority to investigate cases of official corruption.
The authority includes a council of government, civil society, and
private sector representatives.
In June 2007 parliament elected 11 members to the SNACC, whose
chair and deputy chair will serve a two-and-a-half-year term and can
serve another two-and-a-half-year term, subject to SNACC consent,
whereas regular SNACC members can serve only one five-year term. In
July 2007 President Saleh signed a decree officially establishing SNACC
and chaired SNACC's first meeting. SNACC elected former Minister of
Telecommunications Ahmed al-Anesi as chair and Sanaa University
associate professor of political science Bilquis al-Osbo'a as deputy
chair.
In early June 2007 the local authority fired Director General of
Taxes Hussein Ali al-Ameer, Director General of Public Health and
Population Fadhl Muhammad al-Akwa'a, and Director General of
Electricity Ahmad Sailan on charges of corruption in the Dhammar
province.
The law requires a degree of transparency and public access to
information, and the Press and Publications Law provides for
journalists to have some access to government reports and information;
in practice the Government offered few procedures to ensure
transparency. In 2006 parliament passed a law requiring public
disclosure of government officials' assets, and the SNACC worked to
implement this during the year. The Government provided limited
information on Internet sites; however, few citizens had access to the
Internet.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups operated with
varying degrees of government restriction, generally investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases with little constraint.
NGOs reported that government officials were not always cooperative and
responsive to their views. The Law for Associations and Foundations
regulates the formation and activities of NGOs. This law exempts NGOs
from taxes and tariffs and requires the Government to provide a reason
for denying an NGO registration. However, it also requires that any
organization have at least 41 members in order to continue operations
and forbids them from involvement in political activities.
The law permits some foreign funding of NGOs and requires
government observation of NGO internal elections. During the year the
MOHR sponsored several initiatives to advance cooperation with local
NGOs such as the Yemeni Women's Union (YWU) and the Violence Against
Women network.
Domestic human rights NGOs operated throughout the year. Although
progovernment NGOs were supported by the Government or ruling party,
others were clearly supported by opposition parties or were fully
independent. Some of the most active included the Human Rights
Information and Training Center, HOOD, the Yemen Observatory for Human
Rights, the Democracy School, Media Women Forum, and the Arab Sisters
Forum for Human Rights.
Some NGOs practiced self-censorship. Some ministries reportedly
harassed NGOs critical of the Government by delaying the procedures
required for annual registration and licensing and through bureaucratic
funding criteria. In 2007 the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor
(MSAL) refused to reissue the license for the Arab Sisters Forum for
Human Rights due to its criticism of the Government for limiting press
freedom. The group received a temporary two-year license from the
Government during the year. The Government requires NGOs to register
annually or be declared illegal. However, NGOs that were not granted
licenses continued to operate during the year. WJWC did not receive a
license during the year. In some instances the Government reportedly
registered a progovernment clone version of an NGO, recognizing the
clone as the legitimate NGO, thereby preventing the original NGO from
renewing its registration under its original name. In such cases
registration applications must be refiled under a new name. The
Government reportedly did not process some registration applications
and placed unofficial freezes on new licenses ahead of the September
2007 by-elections.
The Government monitored NGO finances. The Government reportedly
used financial reviews as a pretext to harass or close NGOs, and some
NGOs allegedly kept less than transparent records.
The Government provided Amnesty International (AI), HRW, the
Parliament of the EU, and The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
limited access to records, detention centers, and prisons. The ICRC
maintained a resident office to inspect prisons during the year,
although access to PSO prisons was suspended. ICRC also carried out
humanitarian missions in Saada to support displaced populations during
the war. Both ICRC and the Islamic Relief and the UN World Food Program
continued to provide humanitarian assistance to Saada's displaced
population. ICRC did not face governmental restrictions in providing
humanitarian assistance; however, because of the dangerous security
situation in Saada, it was unable to respond to emergencies in an
adequate manner.
The MOHR attempted to raise awareness of human rights via public
information campaigns, training of civil society organizations in how
to prepare reports, and participation in numerous conferences in
cooperation with NGOs. The MOHR also donated computers to orphanages
and juvenile centers during the year. The MOHR also succeeded in having
the country ratify the Arab Charter on Human Rights and presented
several regular reports regarding its international commitments, such
as a report on economic, social and cultural rights, and an
antiviolence report.
During the year the parliament's committee on human rights was
largely inactive, as was the consultative council's committee on human
rights.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for equal rights and equal opportunity for all
citizens; however, the Government did not effectively enforce the law.
Discrimination based on race, gender, and disability remained a serious
problem. Entrenched patriarchal cultural attitudes limited women's
ability to access equal rights.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, but the Government did not
effectively enforce the law. The punishment for rape is imprisonment
for up to 15 years; however, by year's end, this had not been imposed
in any rape case. The rape victim was often prosecuted on charges of
fornication after the perpetrator was set free. According to the law,
the accused must confess or the defense needs to provide four female or
two male witnesses to the crime. The Government has yet to introduce
DNA technology to criminal rape cases, and without witnesses cases were
difficult to prosecute. Rape cases were also often hindered by
excessive corruption. A leading local women's rights organization
asserted that the judicial system fails to bring justice to victims of
rape.
According to the law, a woman may not refuse sexual relations with
her husband; accordingly, spousal rape is not criminalized. There are
no reliable statistics on the number of rapes. Most women do not come
forward, often remaining silent in fear of shaming the family and
incurring violent retaliation.
The 2003 rape case of Anisa al-Shuaibi was ongoing at year's end.
During the year al-Shuaibi claimed she was attacked by unidentified
assailants who threw stones at her. She was also offered a bribe to
drop her case. Al-Shuaibi continued to receive threats on her life and
those of her children at year's end. In April a judge convicted one of
her three assailants, whose prison sentence was postponed. Al-Shuaibi
was also awarded one million riyals (approximately $4,994) as
compensation. At year's end an appeals process was ongoing. The CID
detained Al-Shuaibi in 2003 with her two children and charged her with
the kidnapping and murder of her husband, who was later found alive.
According to her lawyers, al-Shuaibi was detained illegally for 38 days
in a CID jail, where she was raped and tortured by two high-level CID
officers.
The law provides women with protection against violence; however,
the law was rarely enforced. Although spousal abuse occurred, it
generally was undocumented. Violence against women and children was
considered a family affair and usually went unreported to the police.
Due to social norms and customs, an abused woman was expected to take
her complaint to a male relative (rather than to the authorities) to
intercede on her behalf or provide her sanctuary, to avoid making the
abuse public and shaming the family.
A small shelter for battered women in Aden assisted victims, and
telephone hotlines operated with moderate success in Aden and Sanaa.
The MOHR announced in April 2007 it was launching a nationwide hotline
to receive complaints on abuses of human rights; it was unclear how
many domestic violence cases the MOHR hotline received. Hotline service
was interrupted due to technical difficulties, but the MOHR reported
work was under way to reactivate it as of the end of year.
The press, women's rights activists, and the MOHR continued to
investigate and report on violations of women's rights. During the year
NGOs sponsored several women's rights conferences dealing with issues
such as violence against women, increasing the political representation
of women, and economic empowerment.
The penal code allows leniency for persons guilty of committing a
``crime against honor,'' a violent assault or killing committed against
females for perceived immodest or defiant behavior. However, the law
does not address other types of honor crimes, including beatings,
forced isolation, imprisonment, forced early marriage, and deprivation
of education. Legal provisions regarding violence against women state
that a convicted man should be put to death for killing a woman.
However, a husband who kills his wife and her lover may be fined or
imprisoned for one year or less. In June a government report disclosed
2,964 cases in 2007 of violence against women. Of those cases, 130
resulted in death, and 970 in injuries.
Prostitution is illegal; however, it was a problem, particularly in
Aden and Sanaa. The punishment for prostitution is imprisonment for up
to three years or a fine. The MOI and PSO tolerated and unofficially
facilitated prostitution and sex tourism through corruption for
financial and operational gain. Although no laws addressed sex tourism,
it was a problem, particularly in Aden and Sanaa.
There are no laws prohibiting sexual harassment, which occurred
both in the workplace and in the streets.
Social custom and local interpretation of Shari'a discriminated
against women. Men were permitted to take as many as four wives. There
was no minimum age of marriage, and some girls married as young as age
eight.
A husband may divorce a wife without justifying the action in
court. A woman has the legal right to divorce; however, she must
provide a justification, and there are a number of negative practical,
social, and financial considerations that impede women from obtaining a
divorce.
Women who seek to travel abroad must customarily obtain permission
from their husbands or fathers to receive a passport and to travel.
Male relatives were expected to accompany women when traveling
internationally; however, enforcement of this requirement was not
consistent. Some women reported they traveled freely without male
escorts.
Some interpretations of Shari'a prohibit a Muslim woman from
marrying a non-Muslim man; however, a Muslim man is allowed to marry a
non-Muslim woman. Women do not have the right to confer citizenship on
their foreign-born spouses, but they may confer citizenship on children
born of a foreign-born father if the father dies or abandons the child.
The foreign wife of a male citizen must remain in the country for two
years to obtain a residence permit.
According to a MOI regulation, any citizen who wishes to marry a
foreigner must obtain the permission of the ministry. A woman wishing
to marry a foreigner must present to the MOI proof of her parents'
approval. A foreign woman who wishes to marry a male citizen must prove
to the ministry that she is ``of good conduct and behavior'' and ``is
free from contagious disease.''
According to a 2006 Ministry of Public Health and Population
survey, approximately 65 percent of ever-married women were illiterate.
A 2004 Central Statistics Organization census estimated male illiteracy
at 27 percent. The high illiteracy rate had a significant effect on
women's participation in the 2006 elections, limiting access to
information on campaigns and political rights. Election observers also
noted that illiteracy helped to perpetuate the belief that women were
incapable of holding public office. The fertility rate was 6.41
children per woman. Most women had little access to basic health care.
In general women in the south, particularly in Aden, were better
educated and had somewhat greater employment opportunities than their
northern counterparts. However, since the 1994 war of secession, the
number of women in government in the south has declined, due to
conservative cultural pressure from the north and stagnation of the
economy. According to the UN Development Program, female workers
accounted for 29.7 percent of the paid labor force in 2005.
The law stipulates that women are equal to men in employment
rights; however, female activists and NGOs reported that discrimination
was a common practice in the public and private sectors. Mechanisms to
enforce equal protection were weak or nonexistent.
According to the MSAL there were more than 170 NGOs working for
women's advancement. The Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights worked
with other NGOs, the Government, and donor countries to strengthen
women's political participation. The Yemeni Women's Union and Women's
National Committee (WNC) conducted workshops on women's rights. The
Arab Sisters Forum, with funding from the Netherlands, set up a four-
year project aimed at providing protection against violence for women
and children. This project plans to include lawyers who will handle
cases of violence, a hotline to report sexual harassment against women
and children, and a shelter to provide assistance to victims.
Children.--The Government lacked the political will and necessary
resources to ensure adequate education, health care, and welfare
services for children. The law provides for universal, compulsory, and
free education from age six to 15 years; however, compulsory attendance
was not enforced and books and school uniforms raised the cost of
attendance to about 2,000 riyals (approximately $10) per student per
year, which some parents could not afford. Public schooling was
available to children through the secondary school level. Attendance
was mandatory through the ninth grade; however, many children,
especially girls, did not attend primary school. According to 2006
government statistics, average student attendance in primary schools
was 81.6 percent for boys and 61.7 percent for girls. The 2007
Community, Habitat and Finance (CHF) ACCESS-MENA report stated that 55
percent of children between the ages of six and 15 did not attend
school.
The law provides for free medical care for children who hold
citizenship; however, this was not always enforced. Malnutrition was
common. According to 2008 UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) statistics, the
infant mortality rate was 75 deaths per 1,000 births. Male children
received preferential treatment and had better health and survival
rates.
In 2007 hundreds of children reportedly marched in front of
government buildings in Sanaa demanding more financial aid to solve
their health, education, nutrition, child labor, and trafficking
problems. The participants of the march, which was organized by local
NGO Democracy School and was attended by children's rights activists,
submitted a letter to the prime minister requesting that the Government
fulfill its promises of offering free education and health services to
children.
The law prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM); however, it was
a pervasive practice in the coastal areas on infants before they reach
40 days of age. Although government health workers and officials
discouraged the practice, women's groups reported FGM rates as high as
90 percent in some coastal areas, such as Mahara and Hodeida. The WNC
and the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Guidance provided a manual
for religious leaders on women's health issues, including the negative
health consequences of FGM.
Child marriage was a significant problem in the country. There was
no minimum age of marriage and many girls were married as young as age
eight. A law setting the minimum age for marriage as 15 years was
revoked in 1998, and multiple attempts to reinstate the law have failed
in parliament. The law does have a provision that forbids sex with
underage brides until they are ``suitable for sexual intercourse,'' an
age that is undefined. An OXFAM study calculated that among 1,495
couples, 52.1 percent of women and 6.7 percent of men were married at
an early age. The report also highlighted that 15 to 16 years is
generally considered the appropriate age of marriage for girls. This
varied, however, depending on region and socioeconomic status.
According to the MSAL, the Government did not promote public awareness
campaigns on the negative effects of child marriage due to the cultural
sensitivity of the issue.
Stories that broke in the media during the year highlighted the
problem of child marriage in the country. Nujoud and Arwa, nine and
eight years old respectively, were forced to marry men in their 30s and
subsequently obtained divorces after months of severe sexual and
physical abuse. Reem, a 12-year-old girl who was forced into marriage
by her father, was still attempting to obtain a divorce at year's end.
Married boys, ages 12 to 15 years, were reportedly involved in
armed conflict beginning in November in Amran governorate between the
Harf Sufian and al-Osaimat tribes. Local customs in tribal areas
reportedly dictated that when a boy is married he is an adult and owes
allegiance to his tribe.
The law does not define nor prohibit child abuse, and there was no
reliable data on the extent of child abuse.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not explicitly address or
prohibit trafficking in persons, but other sections of the country's
criminal code can be applied to prosecute trafficking offenses. The
country is a point of origin for children, mostly boys, who are
trafficked for forced begging, unskilled labor, and street vending.
There were no reports of underage internal sex trafficking during
the year. However, according to a local human rights NGO, an unknown
number of women, including those under the age of legal consent, were
trafficked from their homes to other regions within the country for the
purposes of prostitution. For example, there were reports that two
underage girls, one in 2005 and one in 2006, were trafficked into
prostitution in Aden after fleeing abusive homes or forced marriages in
the northern governorates.
There were no official statistics available on the number of
children trafficked out of the country. Press and NGO reports claimed
children mostly from northern governorates were trafficked out of the
country to Saudi Arabia at a rate of approximately 200 children per
week. The MSAL's Child Labor Unit (CLU) acknowledged that high rates of
children were trafficked into Saudi Arabia for work. The CLU estimated
that at least 10 children per day were trafficked into Saudi Arabia.
MSAL had no reports during the year indicating that children were
trafficked into Saudi Arabia for commercial sex work. However, experts
at international and intergovernmental organizations reported evidence
in the three governorates of Mahweet, Aden, and Taiz indicating that
girls younger than 15 were trafficked into the commercial sex trade in
those areas.
Children were trafficked by adults, older children, and loosely
organized syndicates who helped them cross the border by donkey,
automobile, or foot. They worked predominantly in hotels, casinos, and
nightclubs.
Government investigations revealed that extreme poverty was the
primary motivation behind child trafficking, and the victims' families
were almost always complicit. The traffickers were often well known by,
if not related to, the family; parents were either paid or promised
money in exchange for allowing their children to be trafficked. Many
cases were also later discovered to be instances of illegal
immigration.
The law, which does not differentiate between children and adult
victims, allows for a prison sentence of up to 10 years for anyone
convicted of crimes constituting trafficking in persons. Other laws
forbid and punish kidnapping and sexual assault. The Child Rights Law
mandates the protection of children from economic and sexual
exploitation. The country reported 14 arrests and six convictions for
child labor trafficking, but the Government did not provide information
regarding the sentences. Notably, the Government reportedly detained
and prosecuted victims of trafficking under anti-prostitution laws.
The Government continued discussions with Saudi Arabian officials
to combat child trafficking. The MOHR ran a hotline for persons to
report child trafficking.
In an attempt to prevent child trafficking, the MSAL conducted a
campaign in regions known as points of origin of trafficked children.
The MSAL warned potential victims' parents against the dangers of
allowing their children to work in Saudi Arabia.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Several laws mandate the rights and
care of persons with disabilities; however, there was discrimination
against such persons. By law, 5 percent of government jobs should be
reserved for persons with disabilities, and a law mandates the
acceptance of persons with disabilities in universities, exempts them
from paying tuition, and requires that schools be made more accessible
to persons with disabilities. It was unclear to what extent these laws
have been implemented. No national law mandates accessibility of
buildings for persons with disabilities.
During the year the parliament ratified the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which specifically mandates that
the Government take the necessary legislative actions to make its
provisions effective. Among these provisions is the right to
participate in political and public life.
The Government's Social Fund for Development and the Fund for the
Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled, administered by the MSAL,
provided limited basic services and funded more than 60 NGOs to assist
persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Akhdam (an estimated 2 to 5
percent of the population) were considered the lowest social class.
They lived in poverty and endured persistent social discrimination. The
Government's Social Fund for Development provided basic services to
assist the group. During the year human rights groups reported that
some immigrants of African origin had difficulty in securing MOI
permission to marry citizens.
During the year tribal violence continued to be a problem in Sanaa
and throughout the country, and the Government's ability to control
tribal elements responsible for acts of violence remained limited.
Tensions over land or sovereignty in particular regions continued
between the Government and a few tribes, periodically escalating into
violent confrontations.
There were no public reports of discrimination based on sexual
orientation or HIV/AIDS; however, these topics are socially sensitive
and not discussed publicly.
Incitement to Acts of Discrimination.--Two inflammatory government
newspapers, Al Dostor and Akhbar Al Youm, continuously published
propaganda for the purpose of slander and incitement to discrimination
or violence. In 2007 Al Dostor published an article with the names of
the country's top 40 female activists, branding them as apostates. The
newspaper also printed photos of four of the activists.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that citizens have
the right to form and join unions; however, this right was restricted
in practice.
Although not required by law, all current unions are federated
within the General Federation of Trade Unions of Yemen (GFTUY), a
national umbrella organization. The GFTUY claimed approximately 42,000
members in 21 unions during its June 2007 elections. The GFTUY denied
any association with the Government; however, it worked closely with
the Government to resolve labor disputes through negotiation.
The politicization of unions and professional associations
continued to hamper the right of association. In some instances the GPC
ruling party attempted to control professional associations by
influencing internal elections or placing its own personnel, usually
tied to the Government, in positions of influence in unions and
professional associations.
The law dictates that a labor union can be dissolved only by court
order or its own members; however, the Government did not respect this
right in practice. For example, in September 2007 the MSAL threatened
to dissolve the Yemen Teachers Union, Technical Education Syndicate,
and the Physicians and Pharmacists Syndicate, claiming they had not
obtained a MSAl-issued license and thus were operating illegally. This
announcement from MSAL came after months of sit-ins and demonstrations
staged around the country by the Teachers Union to demand a pay
increase.
The labor law provides unions the right to strike only if prior
attempts at negotiation and arbitration fail, and workers exercised
this right by conducting legal strikes. The proposal to strike must be
submitted to at least 60 percent of all concerned workers, of whom 25
percent must vote in favor. Strikes for explicit ``political purposes''
were prohibited.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The labor law
provides workers, except public servants, foreign workers, day
laborers, and domestic servants the right to organize and bargain
collectively without government interference. The Government permitted
these activities; however, at times it sought to influence them by
placing its own personnel inside groups and organizations. Unions may
negotiate wage settlements for their members, and may resort to strikes
or other actions to achieve their demands. Public sector employees must
take their grievances to court. The MSAL has veto power over collective
bargaining agreements. Several such agreements existed. Agreements may
be invalidated if they are ``likely to cause a breach of security or to
damage the economic interests of the country.''
The law generally protects employees from anti-union
discrimination. An employer does not have the right to dismiss an
employee for union activities; however, there were reports that private
sector employers discriminated against union members through transfers,
demotions, and dismissals.
Employees may appeal any dispute, including cases of anti-union
discrimination, to the MSAL. Employees also may take a case to the
Labor Arbitration Committee, which is chaired by the MSAL; it is
composed of an employer representative and a GFTUY representative. Such
cases often were disposed favorably toward workers, especially if the
employer was a foreign company. Neither GFTUY nor the MSAL was able to
provide statistics on how many unionized employees used this system
during the year.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports of such practices during the year. Yemeni girls were trafficked
within the country for commercial sexual exploitation in hotels,
casinos, and bars. A local NGO reported that more than 30,000 children
worked on the streets of Sana'a alone. Children were also reportedly
trafficked from the country to work as child laborers in other
countries, especially from the governorates of Hajja, Hudeidah, and
Saada. The NGO blog Human Trafficking Project reported in April that
3,000 Bangladeshis were trafficked to work in Yemen in conditions close
to indentured servitude.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
Child Rights Law prohibits child labor; however, it has not been
effectively implemented.
The established minimum age for employment was 15 years in the
private sector and 18 years in the public sector. By special permit,
children between the ages of 12 and 15 years could work. The Government
rarely enforced these provisions, especially in rural and remote areas.
The Government also did not enforce laws requiring nine years of
compulsory education for children.
Child labor was common, especially in rural areas. The 2007 CHF
ACCESS-MENA report states that children in the country were
predominantly employed in agriculture and fishing. Many children were
required to work in subsistence farming due to family poverty. Even in
urban areas, children worked in stores and workshops, sold goods, and
begged on the streets. Many children of school age worked instead of
attending school, particularly in areas where schools were not easily
accessible. Local observers reported that half or more of the fighters
involved in armed conflict between the al-Osaimat and Harf Sufian
tribes in Amran governorate, which broke out in November, were boys
ranging from 12 to 15 years of age.
The Child Labor Unit at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor
was responsible for implementing and enforcing child labor laws and
regulations; however, the unit's lack of resources hampered
enforcement.
In 2006 the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor estimated that
there were more than 500,000 working children, ages six to 14 years,
and that working children equaled 10 to 15 percent of the total work
force. CHF 2007 estimated that approximately 52 percent of male
children between the ages of 10 and 14 were in the workforce, compared
to 48 percent of female children in the same age group. CHF estimated
that 83 percent of working children worked for their families
(including street beggars) and 17 percent worked outside the family.
According to the MSAL, children working outside the family are employed
in small factories and shops. The Government was an active partner with
the International Labor Organization's International Program to
Eliminate Child Labor. During the year the program offered remedial
education, vocational training, counseling, and reintegration of child
laborers into schools.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no established minimum
wage. The labor law provides equal wages for public workers and civil
servants. Private sector workers, especially skilled technicians,
earned a far higher wage. The average daily wage did not provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family. During the year the
minimum civil service wage did not meet the country's poverty level.
The law specifies a maximum 48-hour workweek with a maximum 8-hour
workday; however, many workshops and stores operated 10- to 12-hour
shifts without penalty. The 35-hour workweek for government employees
was seven hours per day from Saturday through Wednesday.
MSAL is responsible for regulating workplace health and safety
conditions. The requisite legislation for regulating occupational
health is contained in the labor law. However, enforcement was weak to
nonexistent due to lack of MSAL capacity. MSAL has a Vocational Safety
Department that relies on committees to conduct primary and periodic
investigations of safety and health conditions in workplaces. Many
workers were regularly exposed to toxic industrial products and
developed respiratory illnesses. Some foreign owned companies and major
manufacturers implemented higher health, safety, and environmental
standards than the Government required. Workers have the right to
remove themselves from
__________
SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA
----------
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan is an Islamic republic with a population of
approximately 32 million. Under its new constitution, citizens elected
Hamid Karzai President in 2004 and the following year selected a new
parliament; although the elections did not fully meet international
standards for free and fair elections, citizens perceived the outcomes
as acceptable, and the elections established the basis for democratic
development at the federal and regional levels. A continuing insurgency
hindered the Government's capacity to govern effectively in several
areas of the country. Although civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces, there were
instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently.
The country's human rights record remained poor. Human rights
problems included extrajudicial killings; torture; poor prison
conditions; official impunity; prolonged pretrial detention;
restrictions on freedom of the press; restrictions on freedom of
religion; violence and societal discrimination against women;
restrictions on religious conversions; abuses against minorities;
sexual abuse of children; trafficking in persons; abuse of worker
rights; and child labor.
Although the Government deepened its authority in provincial
centers, Taliban or factions operating outside government control
exercised authority in some areas. During the year more than 6,340
persons died as a result of the insurgency, including deaths by suicide
attacks and roadside bombs, in contrast to 2007, when more than 6,500
persons died. The majority of the casualties were insurgent fighters
killed in combat. Taliban and anti-government elements continued to
threaten, rob, attack, and kill villagers, government officials,
foreigners, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) workers. UN
Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported 2,118 civilian
casualties during the year, an increase of 39 percent compared to 2007,
when there were 1,523 reported civilian conflict-related deaths.
The Government enacted a law criminalizing trafficking in persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were numerous
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. In addition, there were killings of civilians during
conflict, high-profile killings by unknown actors, and politically
motivated killings by insurgent groups during the year in connection
with the ongoing insurgency (See Section 1.g.).
In May the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, and
arbitrary executions visited the country and reported on many cases in
which police killed civilians with impunity. He focused on the need to
reform the Afghan National Police and judicial system, curbing Taliban
and other anti-government elements' abuses, and addressing the often
overlooked extrajudicial killing of women. His preliminary report dated
May 29 stated that although there were no reliable figures on the
numbers of such killings, the numbers of alleged killings were high
enough to give Afghans, particularly in the south, some reason to
support the Taliban. On May 10 in Nangarhar, police fired on
protesters, killing two civilians, media outlets reported. In November
the Government executed 16 prisoners. At year's end, approximately 85
additional cases of prisoners sentenced to death were pending President
Karzai's review. The EU, UN, and numerous human rights NGOs have
condemned executions, noting the lack of due process in the judicial
system did not guarantee a fair trial.
There were no developments in the investigation of a May 2007
killing of 10 persons by police in Jowzjan Province or the October 2007
case of 15 prisoners executed at Pol-e-Charkhi prison under executive
order amid allegations of lack of due process.
On August 3, an unidentified gunman shot and killed a senior
finance ministry official in Kabul. On September 4, an unknown gunman
shot and killed the chief of the Central Narcotics Tribunal Appeals
Court outside his house in Kabul. Authorities charged one suspect with
solicitation to commit murder. On September 12, according to police
reports, a remote control bomb killed the governor of Logar Province
and three bodyguards. Taliban claimed responsibility for the killings.
Taliban also claimed responsibility for the September 27 shooting that
killed Lieutenant Colonel Malalai Kaker, a senior female police officer
in Kandahar. Unknown actors killed many other high-profile government
officials; the vast majority of these acts were associated with the
ongoing insurgency (See Section 1.g).
On April 10, authorities in Balkh Province unearthed a mass grave
in the Dihdadi district containing remains of at least 10 individuals.
Construction workers in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh Province, unearthed
another mass grave on June 12 containing at least 10 remains. Local
authorities in both cases told media the remains date from the Taliban
period. Media outlets reported two additional mass graves near Kabul
discovered on approximately June 29, one containing 16 bodies and the
other 12. Authorities identified one of the bodies as former President
Daud who was killed in the Presidential palace in 1978. There were no
new developments in the April 2007 discovery of a mass grave in
Badakhshan.
b. Disappearance.--There were reports of insurgent groups and
criminals perpetrating disappearances and abductions during the year,
in connection with the ongoing insurgency (See Section 1.g.).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there
were reports of abuses by government officials, local prison
authorities, police chiefs, and tribal leaders. NGOs reported security
forces continued to use excessive force, including beating and
torturing civilians.
Human rights organizations reported local authorities tortured and
abused detainees. Torture and abuse included pulling out fingernails
and toenails, burning with hot oil, beatings, sexual humiliation, and
sodomy. A February 21 UN Secretary-General report noted detainees
continued to complain of torture by law enforcement officials.
In November 2007 Amnesty International (AI) reported prisoners
consistently were subject to torture once transferred to local
authorities. The report documented specific cases of torture and noted
AI received repeated reports from both individuals and international
organizations of torture and ill-treatment by the National Directorate
of Security (NDS). The Government rejected the report's assertions.
The Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) and NGOs reported police
frequently raped female detainees and prisoners. There were reports of
abuses by Taliban and other insurgent groups. Media reports and
firsthand accounts accused the Taliban of employing torture in
interrogations of persons they accused of supporting coalition forces
and the central government. The Taliban claimed responsibility in such
cases by contacting newspapers and television stations.
According to a June 25 Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
(AIHRC) report, approximately half of the children in detention centers
and orphanages were exposed to physical abuse. One 13-year-old boy told
AIHRC police beat him with the barrel of a gun until he confessed.
According to a UN Security Council report, cases of authorities
threatening and mistreating juvenile detainees occurred throughout the
year.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
poor. Most were decrepit, severely overcrowded, unsanitary, and fell
well short of international standards. The AIHRC continued to report
that inadequate food and water, poor sanitation facilities,
insufficient blankets, and infectious diseases were common conditions
in the country's prisons. Infirmaries, where they existed, were
underequipped. Contagious and mentally ill prisoners were rarely
separated from other prisoners.
The Government reported 34 provincial prisons and 203 district
detention centers. The Government also reported 30 active
rehabilitation centers for juveniles. Twenty-two provincial prisons and
four district detention centers reported housing female inmates at
year's end.
Children whose mothers had been convicted of a crime often lived in
prison with their mothers, particularly if they had no other family.
Prisons did not separate prisoners and lacked adequate separate housing
for women, accompanying children, and juveniles. Women were never
imprisoned with men. Authorities generally did not separate prisoners
awaiting trial from the rest of the inmate population.
On September 23, a court sentenced an ANA soldier who had raped an
11-year-old girl in Jowzjan Province to 15 years' imprisonment.
The Government permitted the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) to visit all prisons operated by the NDS and Ministry of
Justice (MOJ). The ICRC regularly visited more than 80 detention sites.
Security constraints occasionally prevented ICRC delegates from
visiting some places of detention, and the ICRC was not notified of all
places of detention and detainees. The AIHRC also monitored prison
conditions regularly. The AIHRC reported that in a few cases prison
authorities did not grant representatives full access.
According to a February 21 UN Report, in some cases tribal leaders
held persons accused of crimes in private detention. The report noted
local officials often do not intervene when they become aware of these
private facilities.
NGOs reported powerful local leaders and insurgents, including
Taliban, continued to operate private prisons. The ICRC and the AIHRC
did not have access to prisoners and hostages held in private prisons.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest or detention; however, both remained serious problems.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Afghan National
Police (ANP), under the Ministry of Interior (MOI), has primary
responsibility for internal order. The NDS has responsibility for
investigating cases of national security and also functions as an
intelligence agency. In some areas powerful individuals, some of whom
reportedly were linked to the insurgency, maintained considerable power
as a result of the Government's failure to assert control. The North
Atlantic Treaty Organization remained in control of the UN-sanctioned
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which worked closely
with the national security forces.
Official impunity remained pervasive. Illegal border checkpoints,
some reportedly manned by tribal leaders and low-level members of
insurgent groups, extorted bribes. Human rights groups and detainees
reported local police extorted bribes from civilians in exchange for
release from prison or to avoid arrest.
The MOI Human Rights Unit receives and responds to complaints of
police abuse and has trained at least two ANP officers in each province
and one at each checkpoint in Kabul to recognize and report human
rights violations. Communication and coordination of reports between
the provinces and MOI headquarters in Kabul remained a concern.
Rank and pay reform procedures put in place in 2006 were largely
complete. The force rank structure was revised to align the size of the
force with the mission requirements and to align ANP salaries with
their ANA counterparts. The reform resulted in the retirement or
demotion of more than 7,300 officers in the past two years.
International support for recruiting and training of new ANP personnel
was conditional upon new officers being vetted in a manner consistent
with international human rights standards to generate a more
professional police force. The international community worked with the
Government to develop training programs and internal investigation
mechanisms to curb security force corruption and abuses. Over the last
18 months, more than 25,000 ANP members received training in the
constitution, police values and ethics, professional development,
preventing domestic violence, and fundamental standards of human rights
in addition to core policing skills. Under the Focused District
Development (FDD) program, ANP were trained in policing skills
including human rights at the central training center and regional
training centers for eight-week periods. Nevertheless, human rights
problems persisted.
The Government made efforts to combat corruption in the security
apparatus. The Government electronically direct deposited police and
military salaries during the year, making pay a more transparent and
accountable process and less subject to corruption. In July a
commission under Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi released a report on
corruption. To implement the findings of this report, President Karzai
established through Presidential decree an anticorruption oversight
commission, charged with overseeing all governmental anticorruption
efforts, including thorough investigation and prosecution. In August
the parliament passed the Law on Monitoring the Implementation of the
Anti-Administrative Corruption Strategy, which sought to increase
ministerial transparency and accountability, tighten contracting laws,
and increase legal access to information on high-ranking individuals'
assets. President Karzai appointed the chief of the commission in
September. During December the commission opened a central office in
Kabul and hired a small staff. The Government also established an
anticorruption unit within the Attorney General's Office. Efforts to
staff the unit with prosecutors were ongoing at year's end.
NGOs and human rights activists noted societal violence, especially
against women, was widespread; in many cases security forces did not
prevent or respond to the violence.
Arrest and Detention.--Arbitrary arrest and detention remained
problems.
The law provides for access to legal counsel, the use of warrants
and bail, and provides limits on how long detainees may be held without
charges. Detainees often were not informed of charges against them.
Police have the right to detain a suspect up to 72 hours to complete a
preliminary investigation. If they decide to pursue a case, the file is
transferred to the prosecutor's office, which must see the suspect
within 48 hours. The investigating prosecutor could continue to detain
a suspect without formal charges for 15 days from the time of arrest
while continuing the investigation. The prosecutor must file an
indictment or drop the case within 30 days of arrest. In practice many
detainees did not benefit from any or all of these provisions. NGOs
continued to report that prison authorities detained individuals for
several months without charging them.
The press and human rights organizations reported arbitrary arrest
in most provinces. There was little consistency in the length of time
detainees were held before trial or arraignment. In a March 2007 report
the UN Secretary General stated in many cases there was prolonged
pretrial detention and suspects had not been given access to lawyers.
Police often detained women at the request of family members for
``zina,'' a term used broadly to refer to actions that include defying
the family's wishes on the choice of a spouse, running away from home,
fleeing domestic violence, eloping, or other offenses such as adultery
or premarital sex. Authorities imprisoned an unknown number of women
for reporting crimes perpetrated against them or to serve as
substitutes for their husbands or male relatives convicted of crimes.
Some women were placed in protective custody to prevent violent
retaliation by family members.
Authorities did not respect limits on length of pretrial detention,
and lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem in part because the
legal system was unable to guarantee a speedy trial. In other cases,
the justice system operated quickly, with the judicial system deciding
cases appealed to the Supreme Court within 10 months. There was no
system of bond, and defendants released pending appeal often
disappeared.
Authorities frequently did not re-arrest defendants even when an
appellate court convicted them in absentia. The UN Human Rights
Commission, ICRC, and AIHRC reported arbitrary and prolonged detentions
frequently occurred throughout the country. The Interim Criminal
Procedure Code sets limits on pretrial detention. In many cases courts
did not meet these deadlines. NGOs continued to report that prison
authorities detained individuals for several months without charging
them. There were credible reports during the year that police in Kabul
continued to detain prisoners after they were found innocent.
Lengthy trial procedures in some cases stemmed in part from the
severe inadequacy of the judicial system. At year's end 680 defense
attorneys were registered with the MOJ. The Supreme Court reported
there were 1,652 judges, including 189 women. International NGOs
estimated there were 2,000 to 2,500 prosecutors practicing; many of
them lacked any formal legal training. On July 30, the country's first
bar association was established. By year's end more than 300 lawyers
had enrolled in the independent organization. During the year
international groups worked with the MOJ to provide constitutionally
mandated legal aid, with more than 850 prosecutors, attorneys, and
justice professionals receiving training. The Attorney General's Office
recruited more than 200 trained lawyers to replace prosecutors who
lacked legal training.
According to the MOJ, 12,495 persons were detained in correctional
facilities nationwide, of whom 7,855 had been tried and convicted; the
remaining 4,640 were awaiting trial. There were also widespread
shortages of judges. Bamyan Province, for instance, reported during
2007 no judges were present in three districts and three others were
understaffed. Another significant barrier to justice was detainees'
lack of awareness of their rights under the 2004 Interim Criminal Code
for Courts. The Criminal Code, which human rights and legal experts
widely reported was inadequate, continued to be rewritten and improved
during the year.
Amnesty.--In February 2007 both houses of parliament drafted
versions of a bill that, if passed, would grant amnesty from
prosecution to all persons engaged in conflict for the past 25 years,
as well as those who were fighting during the year. Both versions of
the bill allow for individuals to bring cases against perpetrators.
NGOs, the AIHRC, and many citizens criticized the draft bills, noting
they would grant amnesty to gross violators of human rights, including
many parliamentarians. The drafts of the amnesty bill had a few minor
differences. Under the constitution, the parliament must convene a
joint committee to resolve these differences. At year's end this
committee had not been convened.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary was often
underfunded, understaffed, and subject to political influence and
pervasive corruption. Pressure from public officials, tribal leaders,
families of accused persons, and individuals associated with the
insurgency, as well as bribery and corruption, threatened judicial
impartiality. The Counternarcotics Tribunal in Kabul was an exception
and international organizations reported no evidence of corruption or
political influence by its officials. Other courts administered justice
unevenly according to a mixture of codified law, Shari'a (Islamic law),
and local custom.
The formal justice system was relatively strong in the urban
centers, where the central government was strongest, and weaker in the
rural areas, where approximately 75 percent of the population lives.
Nationwide, fully functioning courts, police forces, and prisons were
rare. The judicial system lacked the capacity to handle the large
volume of new and amended legislation. A lack of qualified judicial
personnel hindered the courts. Municipality and provincial authorities
as well as judges had minimal training and often based their judgments
on their personal understanding of Shari'a, tribal codes of honor, or
local custom. Both judges and prosecutors were hampered by a lack of
access to legal codes and statutes.
The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, high courts
(appeals courts), and primary courts. Judges are appointed with the
recommendation of the Supreme Court and approval of the President. The
Supreme Court has overall responsibility for the national court system.
The President appoints Supreme Court members with the approval of the
House of Representatives (Wolesi Jirga). A national security court
tried terrorists and other cases, although details on its procedures
were limited.
In 2005, President Karzai passed a counternarcotics law by decree
that serves as law pending parliamentary review. The law created a
separate central court with national jurisdiction for narcotics
prosecutions above a threshold level and an accompanying investigatory
unit. During the year, it consisted of 30 prosecutors, 35
investigators, seven primary court judges, and seven appellate court
judges. The court handled all cases beyond a threshold of two kilograms
of heroin, 10 kilograms of opium, and 50 kilograms of hashish or
precursor chemicals.
In some remote areas not under government control, Taliban enforced
a parallel judicial system. Punishments handed out by Taliban judicial
structures included beheadings, hangings, and beatings, according to
human rights activists.
Courts primarily decided criminal cases in major cities, although
civil cases were often resolved in the informal system. Due to the
undeveloped formal legal system, in rural areas local elders and shuras
were the primary means of settling both criminal matters and civil
disputes; they also allegedly levied unsanctioned punishments. Some
estimates suggested 80 percent of all cases went through shuras, which
did not adhere to the constitutional rights of citizens and often
violated the rights of women and minorities. An NGO in Herat, however,
reported shuras often treated women fairly in resolving civil matters
such as divorce and custody cases.
Trial Procedures.--Trial procedures rarely met internationally
accepted standards. The administration and implementation of justice
varied in different areas of the country. Under the law all citizens
are entitled to a presumption of innocence. In practice the courts
reportedly convicted defendants after sessions that lasted only a few
minutes. Defendants have the right to be present and to appeal;
however, these rights were not always applied. Trials were usually
public, and juries were not used. Defendants also have the right to
consult with an advocate or counsel at public expense when resources
allowed. This right was inconsistently applied. Defendants frequently
were not allowed to confront or question witnesses. Citizens were often
unaware of their constitutional rights. Defendants and attorneys were
entitled to examine the documents related to their case and the
physical evidence before trial; however, NGOs noted that in practice
court documents often were not available for review before cases went
to trial.
The court has two months to start hearing a case. An appeal must be
filed within 20 days, and the appellate court has two months to review
the case. Any second appeal must be filed within 30 days, after which
the case moves to the Supreme Court, which could take up to five months
to conclude the trial. In many cases, courts did not meet these
deadlines.
Under Shari'a, relatives of victims can pursue a case against a
suspected offender and a judge can offer restitution or even, in the
case of murder, execution, which the family could choose to carry out
only if a member of the victim's family consents. In addition, under
Shari'a law, if the family of the victim pardons the perpetrator, the
judge must issue a pardon as well.
In cases lacking a clearly defined legal statute, or cases in which
judges, prosecutors, or elders were simply unaware of the law, courts
and informal shuras enforced customary law; this practice often
resulted in outcomes that discriminated against women. This included
the practice of ordering the defendant to provide compensation in the
form of a young girl to be married to a man whose family the defendant
had wronged.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports that a
number of tribal leaders, sometimes affiliated with the Government,
held prisoners and detainees. There were no reliable estimates of the
numbers involved.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens had limited
access to justice for constitutional and human rights violations, and
interpretations of religious doctrine often took precedence over human
rights or constitutional rights. The judiciary did not play a
significant role in civil matters due to corruption and a lack of
capacity. Land disputes remained the most common civil dispute and were
most often resolved by informal local courts.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the
Government did not respect these prohibitions in practice, and there
were no legal protections for victims.
Government officials forcibly entered homes and businesses of
civilians without judicial authorization. There were reports of theft
by national security forces while they conducted raids and searched
homes. Specifically, in April coalition military commanders in Kandahar
stated that when local forces were put in charge of house searches,
looting sometimes occurred. UNAMA reported community members alleged
theft of possessions during home searches the military conducted. UNAMA
also reported searches by members of the military or security officials
involved conduct toward women that contravened local customs and
angered local communities.
The law provided for wiretapping in certain cases.
The Government's willingness to recognize the right to marry varied
according to nationality, gender, and religion. The family court could
register a marriage between a Jewish or Christian woman and a Muslim
man, but the court required the couple to accept a Muslim ceremony. A
woman of any other faith had to convert to Islam before marrying a
Muslim man. The court could not register a marriage between a Muslim
woman and a non-Muslim man. The court could not register marriages for
citizens who stated they were not Muslim, even if they were born into
other faiths. During the year these situations rarely occurred, as more
than 99 percent of the population was Muslim.
There were reports that officials arrested and sentenced
individuals, often women, for crimes other family members committed.
In the south and east, Taliban and other anti-government elements
frequently forced locals to provide food and shelter to their fighters.
Taliban also continued to loot schools, radio stations, and government
offices.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Ongoing internal conflict and the continued use of excessive force
caused civilian deaths, abductions, prisoner abuse, property damage,
and the displacement of residents.
Killings.--In late October in Paktya province AIHRC reported Afghan
police were escorting a convoy when a roadside bomb exploded. Two ANP
allegedly exited their vehicles and started shooting indiscriminately,
killing an elderly male bystander.
Persistent Taliban and al-Qa'ida activity, inter-factional fighting
between regional warlords, and criminal activity resulted in unlawful
killings and numerous civilian casualties.
Militants targeted and killed foreigners and local NGO employees.
UNAMA reported during the year anti-government forces killed 1,160
civilians, pro-government forces killed 828 civilians, and unknown
actors killed 130 civilians, for a total of 2,118 civilian casualties.
Militant suicide attacks decreased slightly, with 138 suicide attacks
during the year, compared to 143 suicide attacks in 2007. According to
UNAMA, suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices, which the
armed opposition used extensively, were the cause of 725 civilian
deaths, or 34 percent of the overall total number of civilians killed
during the year. UNAMA recorded 271 summary executions carried out by
the Taliban and their allies during the year.
Insurgents targeted national and government officials, as well as
women working in the Government and other high profile positions, but
the majority of victims were civilians. Attacks against noncombatants
(government officials, civilians, religious figures, teachers, and
students) remained a threat, with 664 in 2006, 671 in 2007, and 910
during the year. ISAF reported 76 percent of all suicide bombings
during the year targeted international and local security forces, but
the overwhelming majority of victims were civilians.
Insurgents targeted and killed approximately 15 government
officials during the year, including the governors of Logar and Zabul
Provinces, the top judge in the counternarcotics court, and a Kandahar
Provincial Council member. MOI reported 883 Afghan National police were
killed during the year.
On January 14, a suicide bombing and armed attack on the Serena
Hotel in Kabul killed six civilians. Taliban claimed responsibility in
what the press characterized as an extremely well-executed attack and
an example of the insurgency's increased tendency to target civilians.
On February 17, a bomb killed more than 100 persons, including
local police chief Abdul Hakim, gathered to watch a dog fight outside
of Kandahar.
On July 14, Taliban shot and killed seven civilians for working
with the Government and other organizations in Zabul Province,
according to police reports.
On October 16, Taliban insurgents killed 30 persons travelling by
bus through Kandahar province. According to local authorities the
Taliban claimed the victims were soldiers. However, the authorities
denied any soldiers were on the bus.
On October 20, two men on motorcycles shot and killed a British aid
worker as she walked to work in western Kabul. According to media
reports, the Taliban claimed responsibility for her killing.
During the year, anti-government elements continued to attack pro-
government religious leaders. The Taliban killed at least 10 clerics
and committed a number of acts of violence inside mosques and other
religious facilities. On January 31, a suicide bomber blew himself up
inside a mosque in Helmand, killing the province's deputy governor and
five other persons, media outlets reported. On November 14, Taliban
killed a religious leader in Farah Province days after he led prayers
condemning suicide attacks.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) reported terrorist and insurgent
attacks killed 149 teachers, other school employees, and students
during the year. On May 14, according to media reports, unidentified
gunmen shot and killed a teacher in Kunduz Province who had publicly
condemned suicide bombings. On June 9, unidentified gunmen shot and
killed a teacher and wounded his daughter in Nangarhar Province.
Investigations occurred in some cases, but the outcomes were unclear at
year's end.
Abductions.--UNAMA reported 260 abductions during the year, at
least 40 of which resulted in the death of the hostage; however, the
unreported number was believed to be much higher. The Afghanistan
International Chamber of Commerce reported insurgents and others
kidnapped 173 businesspersons during the past three years. UNAMA
reported insurgents and others kidnapped 141 aid workers during the
year, including 134 Afghans and seven international staff. UNAMA also
reported insurgents and criminal gangs killed 38 aid workers and looted
70 aid convoys during the year. Taliban, militants, tribal leaders, and
insurgents abducted security forces, civilians, and journalists for
political and financial gain. Many abductees were killed but some were
allowed to live if they vowed to resign, join anti-government elements,
or, in the case of journalists, stop reporting on issues objectionable
to the kidnappers.
On August 18, Ariana TV reported nine armed gunmen kidnapped and
raped a 13-year-old girl in Takhar Province. Media reports alleged four
of the men were police officers. Takhar police officials confirmed the
incident occurred and arrested six persons.
On August 25, unknown actors kidnapped Saleh Mohammad Kohsar, the
head of a pro-government local radio station in Paktika province. An
investigation was ongoing at year's end.
On August 26, unknown assailants abducted and killed a Japanese aid
worker in Nangarhar province.
On October 20, gang members kidnapped Humayun Shah Asifi, a
relative of the late King Zahir Shah, and imprisoned him for more than
a week. The kidnappers demanded $5 million ransom and threatened to cut
off Asifi's fingers. Security officials arrested six suspects, and the
investigation was ongoing at year's end.
Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--Landmines and unexploded
ordnance caused deaths and injuries, restricted areas available for
cultivation, and impeded the return of refugees to mine-affected
regions. The most heavily mined areas were the provinces bordering Iran
and Pakistan. The UN Mine Action Center for Afghanistan (UNMACA)
reported landmines and unexploded ordnance killed or injured an average
of 57 persons each month. Mine explosions during the past two decades
affected 4.2 million with an estimated 1.5 million casualties.
The UN, with funding from international donors, organized and
trained mine detection and clearance teams that operated throughout the
country. UN agencies and NGOs conducted educational programs and mine
awareness campaigns for women and children in various parts of the
country. HALO Trust, an anti-mine NGO, cleared 1.14 billion square feet
of land. There were almost 83.74 billion square feet of uncleared land
remaining at year's end, according to UNMACA.
During the year, there were reports of the Government providing
compensation to civilian victims of fighting between the Government and
Taliban.
Child Soldiers.--The legal recruitment age for members of the armed
forces was 18. There were unconfirmed reports of children younger than
18 falsifying their identification records to join the national
security forces, which offered a large-scale source of new employment
opportunities. There were no reports of forced child conscription by
the Government; however, Integrated Regional Information Networks
(IRIN), the AIHRC, and the UN reported children younger than 18 were
being recruited and in some cases sexually abused by the ANP and
government-supported local militias. A November 10 UN Security Council
report detailed a case where two soldiers sexually abused a 16-year-old
who had falsified an identity document and had been recruited by the
ANA.
There were reports of Taliban forces using children younger than 18
in some cases as suicide bombers. Although most of the children were
between 15 and 16 years old, children as young as 12 were used. UNAMA
reported Taliban tricked, promised money, or forced the children to
become suicide bombers.
Warlords and Taliban leaders were reported to be involved in the
sexual exploitation of young men. Rule 19 of the Taliban Rule Book,
updated in 2006, states, ``Mujaheddin are not allowed to take young
boys with no facial hair onto the battlefield or into their private
quarters,'' implying sexual exploitation of young men had occurred.
Beginning in 2004 an estimated 8,000 former child soldiers were
demobilized under a UNICEF-initiated program. Since 2004, more than
15,000 children affected by war have been supported through UNICEF's
reintegration project in 28 provinces.
Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--As in the previous year, suspected
Taliban members fired on NGO vehicles and attacked NGO offices.
Violence and instability hampered relief and reconstruction efforts. In
a study of 25 provinces, the NGO Safety Office reported 117 security
incidents involving NGOs and aid workers between January 1 and August
31. International Rescue Committee, an international NGO that assists
refugees, suspended operations for six weeks after armed men killed
four of its staff in Logar Province on August 13. NGOs reported
insurgents, locally powerful individuals, and militia leaders demanded
bribes to allow them to bring relief supplies into the country.
Assistance efforts were limited by the difficulties in moving relief
goods overland due to insurgent threat. On September 14, a suicide
bomber killed three UN workers who were part of a medical convoy in
Kandahar. There were reports in Kandahar that anti-government forces
attacked those who accepted foreign assistance, causing villagers to
refuse aid. Due to the increasing violence, the UN considered more than
one-third of the country inaccessible.
As in recent years, Taliban distributed threatening letters at
night in villages and sent threatening text messages to intimidate and
attempt to curtail development activities.
On July 26, Taliban allegedly destroyed a major bridge on the
Kabul-Kandahar highway, media outlets reported. On July 29, the
Ministry of Defense reported Taliban had tried to destroy a major
hydroelectric power plant east of Kabul but national forces stopped
them.
Militants used women and children as human shields either by
forcing them into the line of fire or by basing operations in civilian
settings. A September 8 report by Human Rights Watch documented how
insurgent forces have contributed to the civilian toll from airstrikes
by deploying their forces in populated villages, at times with the
specific intent to shield their forces from counterattack.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press; however, there were instances of insurgents,
government officials, and Taliban intimidating journalists in order to
influence reporting.
Some media observers contended individuals could not criticize the
Government publicly or privately without fear of reprisal.
In 2007 the parliament voted to suspend MP Malalai Joya for the
remainder of her term for comments she had made criticizing her fellow
MPs during a televised interview. She remained suspended at year's end.
Other members of parliament expressed criticism of government policies
without incident.
The independent media were active and reflected differing political
views. Approximately 650 print publications, 55 private radio stations,
15 television networks, and 10 news agencies operated during the year.
There were 150 private printing houses and 145 media and film
production companies across the country. The two largest TV stations
are Tolo TV, part of the Moby Media conglomerate, which has a 60
percent market share and Ariana TV, which has a 35 percent market
share. The Government owns at least 35 publications and about the same
number of radio stations. Under a new media law parliament passed in
September, the Government gave some independence to Radio Television
Afghanistan (RTA), the government-run media outlet.
Although some independent journalists and writers published
magazines and newsletters, circulation largely was confined to Kabul,
and many publications were self-censored. The freedom of speech law
covered foreign media; however, they were restricted from commenting
negatively on Islam and from publishing materials considered a threat
to the President.
During the year, various insurgents, government officials, and
Taliban subjected members of the press to harassment, intimidation, and
violence. According to independent media and observers, government
repression and armed groups prevented the media from operating freely.
Threatening calls and messages against media organizations also
remained common and some resulted in violence. In late summer, several
Kabul-based staff members of Radio Azadi, the local Radio Free Europe/
Radio Liberty affiliate, received a series of threatening phone calls
from callers who claimed to be connected to Taliban. In August in
Kandahar, a female news anchor for a local television station left the
province after she received threatening letters about her work. NDS
agents detained numerous journalists for expressing views critical of
government officials. According to Nai Media, the Government was
responsible for at least 23 of the 45 reported incidents of
intimidation, violence, or arrest of journalists between May 2007 and
May 2008.
According to many media sources, private Iranians actively
influenced Afghan media, dictating what to write and what not to write.
Some media sources reported Iran had influence over 60 to 70 percent of
the Afghan media in the country, and at least two private television
stations based in Kabul were allegedly bankrolled by private Iranians.
Some reporters said Iranian Embassy staff in Kabul called them to
prevent the publication of articles criticizing Iran. There were also
rumors that Iran paid secret salaries to a number of Afghan
journalists, in Kabul as well as in the western provinces, and
allegations that Iran intimidated reporters in the western provinces to
increase the number of anti-government reports and decrease the number
of anti-Iranian articles. Media sources and analysts contended many of
the other private television stations and newspapers were bankrolled
by, and produced content loyal to, various political factions, leaders,
and warlords.
On July 28, the NDS arrested Muhammed Naseer Fayez, news anchor and
host of the political program ``Haqeeqat'' (The Truth) broadcast on
Ariana Television. Immediately after the NDS detained Fayez, the
parliament issued a public statement condemning his detention and
demanding his release. He was released after several days of
questioning and stated the NDS told him to stop working in the media.
Although the program remained on the air, Fayez has not returned to the
show and media sources report he was seeking asylum outside the
country.
In 2006 authorities for the Office of the Attorney General detained
satirist Dr. Khalil Narmgoi after he authored an article titled, ``Who
is the President-Hamid Karzai or Farooq Wardak?'' criticizing the
influence of President Karzai's then-Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
Narmgoi issued a public apology several days later, and authorities
released him after 10 days. On June 20, NDS authorities rearrested
Narmgoi in relation to the same incident. After a closed-door hearing
in Kabul, authorities released Narmgoi on July 10.
In October 2007, police arrested Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, a student
at Balkh University and a journalist for Jahan-e Naw (New World) daily,
after he downloaded and distributed information from the Internet
regarding the role of women in Islamic societies. On January 22, Balkh
primary court sentenced Kambakhsh to death for ``insolence to the Holy
Prophet.'' Kambakhsh appealed, and the Supreme Court transferred the
case to a Kabul appeals court. On October 21, the appeals court
commuted Kambakhsh's death sentence to 20 years in prison. Kambakhsh
appealed to the Supreme Court, and he remained incarcerated at year's
end.
The parliament passed a media law in September that contained a
number of content restrictions. Under Article 45 of the law, the
following are prohibited: works and materials that are contrary to the
principles of Islam; works and materials offensive to other religions
and sects; works and materials humiliating and offensive to real or
legal persons; works and materials considered libelous to real and
legal persons and that may cause damage to their personality and
credibility, works and materials affecting the stability, national
security, and territorial integrity of the country; false literary
works, materials and reports disrupting the public's mind; propagation
of religions other than Islam; disclosure of identity and pictures of
victims of violence and rape in a manner that damages their social
prestige, and articles and topics that harm the physical, spiritual,
and moral well-being of people, especially children and adolescents.
Also under the new media law, new newspapers, printers, and
electronic media must be licensed by and registered with the Ministry
of Information and Culture. There was concern within the media
community that the new law would place greater restrictions on media
content and create an overall climate of government intimidation and
self-censorship. The Government strictly regulated and limited foreign
investment in the media.
The Ministry of Information and Culture and some provincial
governors exercised control over news content to varying degrees during
the year. Factional authorities tightly controlled media in some parts
of the country. Observers noted tighter controls, especially in the
larger provinces of Balkh, Kandahar, Herat, and Nangarhar. Male
journalists were not allowed to interview women for their reports.
Journalists reported many reporters exercised self-censorship by not
asking substantive questions of government officials. Members of the
media reported they did not interview Taliban commanders or leaders due
to government pressure. Observers also reported media self-censorship
when broadcasting certain pieces, such as music videos, by obscuring
parts of female images.
The Ministry of Information and Culture ordered four private
television stations to stop broadcasting Indian soap operas by April
15. Several initially complied with the ban, but at the end of the year
three of the four were again broadcasting the shows. In the case of one
station, Tolo TV, the outlet reached a separate arrangement with the
Ulema Council, the country's highest quasi-governmental religious
authority, which allowed Tolo to broadcast Indian soap operas provided
Tolo also dedicated a specific amount of airtime to religious
programming.
Cumbersome licensing procedures restricted operations of publishing
houses.
Nongovernmental actors also interfered in the operations of
journalists. There were allegations private Iranians bribed and
threatened reporters in the western provinces to increase the number of
anti-government reports and decrease the number of anti-Iranian
articles.
At least two journalists were killed during the year. On June 8,
BBC journalist Abdul Samad Rohani was found dead in Helmand province
several days after insurgents had kidnapped him. Although government
officials alleged Taliban killed him, Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf
Ahmad denied any involvement in his death. A Norwegian journalist was
among the eight victims of the January 15 Serena Hotel suicide attack.
In April 2007 Taliban beheaded journalist Ajmal Naqshbandi in Helmand
Province. He had been abducted the previous month, with Italian
journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo and their driver, Sayed Agha. After a
personal appeal by the Italian prime minister to President Karzai,
Mastrogiacomo was released on March 19 in exchange for Taliban
prisoners. In June 2007 Shakiba Sanga Amaj, a female reporter for
Shamshad Television, was killed. Authorities arrested two men, Arash
Khairzad and Amaj's father. A court sentenced Khairzad to six months'
imprisonment, and he has been released. The court acquitted Amaj's
father, and he has left the country. Also in June Zakia Zaki, head of
the local Radio Peace station, was killed in Parwan Province. Zaki had
been critical of local warlords and had received threats. Authorities
arrested six persons, but subsequently released them after a
preliminary investigation. There were no new developments at year's
end.
Many journalists reported receiving threats of harm from the
Taliban if they did not publish stories released on Taliban Web sites
or if they published stories favorable to the Government.
The President of the Afghan Independent Journalists Union reported
several times a week throughout the year members of Islamic
fundamentalist political parties sent him threatening text messages
telling him to stop supporting media freedom.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports the Government monitored e-mail or Internet
chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail messages.
However, Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh's case involved government sanction
against distributing information he downloaded from the Internet.
Internet access was unavailable to most citizens, and computer literacy
and ownership rates were minuscule.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Through appointment of
university officials and censoring and restriction on course content it
deemed un-Islamic, the Government restricted academic freedom.
The Ministry of Information and Culture banned the showing of
certain films including ``The Kite Runner,'' media outlets reported.
Ten MPs drafted and attempted to introduce a bill that would ban
obscene movies, female dancers, high-volume music at parties, and the
wearing of shorts. The proposed bill also sought to ban training for
certain women artists such as dancers. By year's end the parliament had
not taken any further action on the bill.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association; however, security
conditions and, in some cases, local officials restricted this right in
practice. Increased Taliban and other anti-government activity,
particularly in the south and east, forced UN agencies and NGOs to
cancel or curtail some public activities.
Freedom of Assembly.--A lack of physical security as well as
interference from local authorities and security forces inhibited
freedom of assembly in areas of the country where security was poor. In
other areas protests occurred without government interference. On March
2, approximately 1,000 individuals in Mazar-e-Sharif protested a
controversial Danish cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed and plans by a
right-wing Dutch politician to release a film about Islam. On March 9,
thousands in Herat protested the Danish cartoon. Media reports
indicated the protesters had the support of local authorities. Police
provided security but did not interfere with the protest. On May 23,
ANP killed two civilians and injured seven during a protest in Ghor
Province.
There were no developments in the May 2007 killing of 10 protestors
by police in Jowzjan Province.
Freedom of Association.--The law on political parties obliges
parties to register with the MOJ and requires them to pursue objectives
consistent with Islam. Political parties based on ethnicity, language,
Islamic school of thought, and religion were not allowed. At year's end
there were approximately 100 registered political parties. Parties
generally were able to conduct activities throughout the country
without opposition or hindrance, except in regions where anti-
government violence affected overall security.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution proclaims Islam is the
``religion of the state'' but allows non-Muslim citizens the freedom to
perform their rituals within the limits determined by laws for public
decency and peace. This right was not respected in practice. The
constitution also declares no law can be contrary to the beliefs and
provisions of Islam. For matters on which the constitution and penal
code are silent-such as conversion and blasphemy-the courts defer to
Shari'a. Family courts are governed by a Sunni Hanafi school-based
civil code, regardless of whether the parties involved are Shi'a or
Sunni. This civil code also applies to non-Muslims.
Licensing and registration of religious groups is not required; the
Government assumes all native-born citizens to be Muslim. In practice
non-Muslims faced harassment and social persecution and opted to
practice their faith discreetly. According to Islamic law, conversion
from Islam is punishable by death. In recent years this sentence was
not carried out in practice. In May 2007 the General Directorate of
Fatwas and Accounts under the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the
status of the Baha'i faith, declaring it a form of blasphemy. The
ruling also declared all Muslims who convert to Baha'i to be apostates
and all followers of the Baha'i faith to be infidels.
In November 2007, the National Council of Religious Scholars issued
a declaration calling for moderation in freedom of expression and press
freedom by urging individuals to avoid conduct that may be perceived as
insulting to local traditions and religious values.
On September 11, a Kabul court sentenced former journalist Ahmed
Ghous Zalmai and Mullah Qari Mushtaq to 20 years in prison for
publishing a Dari translation of the Koran that allegedly contained
errors and did not have an Arabic version published alongside the Dari
for comparison. Zalmai and Mushtaq appealed their sentences to the
Kabul Public Security Court. Proceedings were ongoing at year's end.
Demonstrations calling for Zalmai's punishment were held in various
towns, including a gathering in November 2007 in Jalalabad of
reportedly more than 1,000 university students who demanded the death
penalty for Zalmai.
Due to societal pressure, Christians were forced to remain
underground, not openly practicing their religion or revealing their
identity. During the year there were sporadic reports of harassment and
threats against Christians. There was only one known Christian church
in the country, located in the diplomatic quarter. Local nationals
wishing to practice Christianity did so in private locations, as the
church was not open to them. Members of the Government called for the
execution of Christian converts.
Public school curricula continued to include Islamic content but no
content from other religious groups. Non-Muslims were not required to
study Islam, and there were no restrictions on parental religious
teaching. Members of some indigenous minority groups, such as Sikhs,
operated private schools to avoid harassment and to provide religious
and cultural education to their community. In July 2007 the MOE opened
a school for local Sikh and Hindu children in Ghazni Province.
There are no laws forbidding proselytizing, although authorities
viewed proselytizing as contrary to the beliefs of Islam, and
authorities could punish blasphemy and apostasy with death under
Shari'a. Foreigners caught proselytizing were arrested and sometimes
deported.
The Government did not require women to wear burqas. Although some
women continued to wear the burqa out of personal choice, many other
women felt compelled to wear one due to societal or familial pressure.
Cases of local authorities policing aspects of women's appearance to
conform to a conservative interpretation of Islam did occur.
During the year anti-government elements continued to attack pro-
government religious leaders for supporting the Government or for
stating activities conducted by terrorist organizations were against
the tenets of Islam. According to media reports, on March 12, armed
Taliban killed a religious scholar and teacher of religious studies of
a religious school, Mowlawi Abdollah, in Nimroz Province. Anti-
government elements killed two clerics; 11 clerics had been killed in
2007. These attacks also injured more than 20 other religious
officials, compared with more than 30 in 2007.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Since Shi'a representation has
increased in government, there has been a decrease in hostility from
Sunnis. However, social discrimination against Shi'a Hazaras continued.
There were approximately 500 Sikhs and Hindus in the country.
Although those communities were allowed to practice their faith
publicly, they reportedly continued to face discrimination, including
intimidation; discrimination when seeking government jobs; and verbal
and physical abuse in public places. Although community representatives
expressed concerns over land disputes, they often chose not to pursue
restitution through the courts for fear of retaliation, particularly
when powerful local leaders occupied their property. The Government
allocated a plot of land in Kabul for Sikhs to hold funerals.
Non-Muslims faced discrimination in schools. The AIHRC continued to
receive reports students belonging to the Sikh and Hindu faiths were
prevented from enrolling in some schools and others stopped attending
due to harassment from both teachers and students. Hindus and Sikhs had
recourse to dispute resolution mechanisms such as the Special Land and
Property Court, but in practice the community felt unprotected.
Although Hindus reported being harassed by neighbors in their
communities, there were no known reports of discrimination against
Hindus by the Government.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. There was only one
known Jewish resident; he was the caretaker of a Kabul synagogue.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, certain laws limited citizens' movement, and the
Government limited citizens' movement due to security interests. The
greatest restriction to movement in some parts of the country was the
lack of security. In many areas insurgent violence, banditry, and
landmines made travel extremely dangerous, especially at night. The
Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern. In 2007, the parliament amended the passport law to
give women the right to apply for a passport without permission from a
male relative. In some areas of the country, however, local custom or
tradition forbids women from leaving the home except in the company of
a male relative.
Taxi, truck, and bus drivers reported security forces and armed
militants operated illegal checkpoints and extorted money and goods.
The number of such checkpoints increased at night, especially in the
border provinces. Residents reported having to pay bribes to ANP and
border police officials at checkpoints and the Khyber pass border
crossing between Jalalabad and Pakistan. Taliban imposed nightly
curfews on the local populace in regions where it exercised authority,
mostly in the southeast.
In July 2007, the MOI issued an order requesting it be informed of
foreign aid and assistance workers' movements outside Kabul. The MOI
maintained that this policy helped the Government protect and locate
foreigners in cases of emergency. The policy remained in place at
year's end.
In September, members of parliament accused the ministries of
defense and finance of corruption in connection with passport
processing. At year's end there was no result of the investigation.
Ethnic Hazaras reported occasionally being asked to pay additional
bribes at border crossings where Pashtuns were allowed to pass freely.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government generally did
not use it in practice.
According to the AIHRC, female residents deported from Iran remain
in government custody until their family can verify or guarantee their
citizenship.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Authorities estimated there
were more than 200,000 IDPs in the country at year's end. Many of these
were members of the residual caseload of more than one million IDPs who
left their places of origin because of drought in 1995, insecurity and
drought in 2002, and human rights violations and ethnic-based conflict
linked to land and property matters between 2003 and 2004. These
individuals resided in camp-like circumstances. Most are in the south,
but officially organized as well as spontaneous settlements have sprung
up on the outskirts of major cities, including Kabul, Herat, and
Jalalabad.
Authorities estimated approximately 44,600 individuals were newly
displaced within the country during the year, including some 10,000
individuals due to insecurity and violence linked to armed conflict in
their region of origin, approximately 6,600 persons newly affected by
drought, and more than 28,000 returnees from Pakistan who have been
unable to return to their places of origin and have settled temporarily
in camp-like situations in the Eastern region. Most of these
individuals originated from provinces in the south (Kandahar, Helmand,
Uruzgan, and Zabul) and west (Herat and Badghis). Local governments
provided housing assistance and, in some cases, food aid to conflict-
affected IDPs through provincial emergency commissions consisting of
the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Afghan Red
Crescent Society, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration,
UNAMA, and UNICEF. UNAMA reported restricted access due to insecurity
limited efforts to assess the numbers of displaced persons and made it
difficult to provide assistance.
In April, the Government launched a campaign to encourage
approximately 200,000 IDPs to return to their place of origin from the
three largest IDP camps in Kandahar, Helmand, and Herat. The Ministry
of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) offered food and transport
assistance to families that agreed to return within the first two
months of the campaign. UNHCR provided transport assistance, tents, and
food aid. Few IDPs accepted this offer, however, citing security and
economic concerns as reasons not to return. A Ministry of Public Health
(MoPH) official stated MoPH would not send health workers to the camp,
citing continuing security concerns. In one instance in 2007, emergency
assistance delivered by a PRT to a group of IDPs in Kandahar Province
to which aid agencies had little or no access was seized by anti-
government elements immediately after the PRT left the area. The UN
reported underage recruitment of IDPs into the armed services in
Helmand and Kandahar occurred during the year.
Since 2002, the Provincial Departments of Refugees and Repatriation
and UNHCR have assisted approximately 489,000 individuals to return to
their places of origin, mostly in the north. Approximately 450,000 IDPs
returned spontaneously.
In June, approximately 7,000 families fled their homes in the
Arghandab district of Kandahar due to military operations in the area.
Also in June fighting in Bamyan between Kuchis and Hazaras displaced
7,000 families, some to Kabul and some to other central highland areas.
By year's end, most of these families had returned to their villages.
In July approximately 150 families fled their homes in Qaisar district
of Faryab province due to a conflict between anti-government elements
and other residents.
Protection of Refugees.--The constitution states all matters
related to asylum would be regulated by law, and the Government
ratified the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967
protocol. There are, however, no laws providing for granting asylum or
refugee status in accordance with the constitution or the 1951
Convention and its 1967 protocol. The Government has not established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
Although the Government did not officially grant refugee status or
asylum, in practice, the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government accepted the UNHCR's
presence in the country and recognized the UNHCR's mandate to deal with
both refugees and asylum. The UNHCR issued letters to individuals
confirming their refugee or asylum status and the Supreme Court
similarly recognized refugees under the Shari'a, such as converts to
Islam. Through these means, the UNHCR and the Government provided legal
and material assistance to asylum seekers and refugees from Iran, Iraq,
and other countries.
From August to October, approximately 4,000 families fled from
Bajaur tribal agency in Pakistan to Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Some
fled to escape Pakistani military operations against insurgents and
some in response to an October order by the Political Agent in Bajaur
Agency ordering all Afghans to leave. The Kunar Provincial Government
estimated one-third of those who crossed the border were Afghans, and
two-thirds were Pakistani. Most sought shelter in the homes of
relatives in Kunar.
The country continued to focus on providing services for its own
returning refugees. Since 2002, approximately five million refugees
have voluntarily returned to the country, more than 4.3 million with
UNHCR assistance.
During the year, the UNHCR assisted more than 277,801 returning
refugees, including 274,172 from Pakistan. A total of 3,188 documented
Afghan refugees voluntarily returned from Iran with assistance from
UNHCR, as of mid-November. The return numbers significantly decreased
from the previous year's 365,000, largely due to the UNHCR's decision
to offer unregistered Afghans living in Pakistan a one-time opportunity
to repatriate with UNHCR assistance in 2007. During 2007 approximately
206,000 unregistered individuals took advantage of this opportunity.
Although fewer refugees returned to the country during the year than in
2007, almost twice as many returned as in 2006.
The continuing insurgency and related security concerns, as well as
economic difficulties, discouraged numerous refugees from returning to
the country. In Pakistan, three of the four Afghan refugee camps
scheduled for closure during the year remained open. Minister of
Refugees and Returnees Shir Mohammad Etibari publicly rejected UNHCR's
calls to boost the repatriation of Afghan refugees, citing lack of
capacity and resources to absorb more needy citizens. During the August
30 Tripartite Meeting among Afghanistan, Pakistan, and UNHCR, Pakistan
abandoned its unilateral December 31, 2009, deadline to repatriate all
Afghan refugees.
The UNHCR estimated approximately 2.6 million refugees were living
in Iran and Pakistan. Iran continued to deport economic migrants.
During the year, Iran deported more than 403,450 Afghans who were
illegally in Iran. The vast majority were single men seeking work. Some
were vulnerable individuals who needed humanitarian assistance upon
arrival in Afghanistan. Common types of extreme vulnerability, as
defined by the UNHCR, were minors unaccompanied by adult family
members, drug addiction, mental illness, and severe physical illness.
Furthermore, a small number of registered refugees were swept up in the
deportations and have had difficulty returning to Iran. The Afghan
government and the UNHCR protested these expulsions.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in the 2004
Presidential and 2005 parliamentary elections.
Elections and Political Parties.--In 2004, citizens chose Hamid
Karzai to be the first democratically elected President in an election
that was perceived as acceptable to the majority of the country's
citizens. Observers stated it did not meet international standards and
noted irregularities, including pervasive intimidation of voters and
candidates, especially women.
In 2005 citizens elected 249 members of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower
house of the National Assembly, in an election the majority of citizens
viewed as credible. The AIHRC and UNAMA reported local officials tried
to influence the outcome of the 2004 and 2005 elections. In 2005, anti-
government forces killed seven parliamentary candidates, two
parliamentarians-elect, and at least four election workers. Militants
targeted civilians and election officials in a campaign to derail
national elections. According to Human Rights Watch, in the south and
southwest anti-government forces drove down participation to nearly
one-third of registered voters.
On October 6, voter registration for the 2009 Presidential and
provincial council elections and the 2010 parliamentary elections
started under the direction of the Independent Election Commission.
The President and provincial councils selected members of the
Meshrano Jirga, the upper house of the National Assembly.
There was no established tradition of political parties; however,
they slowly grew in importance in the National Assembly. The MOJ
recognized more than 100 accredited political parties. Political
parties generally were able to conduct activities throughout the
country, except in regions where anti-government violence affected
overall security. Many tribal leaders, former mujaheddin leaders, and
insurgents were active MPs. There were reports that some used fear and
intimidation to influence the votes of other members. AIHRC and UNAMA
reported officials sometimes interfered with political parties. The
parties also exercised significant self-censorship. Political parties
were visibly suppressed or curtailed in some parts of the country.
Although women's political participation gained a degree of
acceptance, there were elements that continued to resist this trend.
Women active in public life faced disproportionate levels of threats
and violence. As required by law, there were 68 women in the 249-seat
Wolesi Jirga. President Karzai appointed 17 women to serve in the 102-
seat Meshrano Jirga, and an additional six female MPs were elected to
that house, bringing the total to 23 women in the Meshrano Jirga. There
was one woman in the cabinet. There were no women on the Supreme Court.
There were no laws preventing minorities from participating in
political life; however, different ethnic groups complained of not
having equal access to local government jobs in provinces where they
were in the minority. The law requires 10 seats of the Wolesi Jirga be
allocated to Kuchis. Some members of parliament disagreed with this
allotment arguing that under the constitution all groups were to be
treated equally.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
always implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged
in corrupt practices with impunity. In March, the UN Office on Drugs
and Crime released a statement urging the Government to crack down on
major smugglers-some linked to government officials-and stated drug
lords and corrupt government officials operated with impunity. The
Government took some steps to address corruption including becoming a
state party to the UN Convention against Corruption, adopting new
anticorruption legislation, and establishing a new anticorruption body.
However, not all of these actions had been implemented by year's end.
The Government hired two anticorruption unit employees in September and
initiated training for the employees in November. The President
replaced a cabinet minister, several governors, police chiefs, and
other officials because of their corrupt practices.
A lack of political accountability and technical capacity to
monitor government spending exacerbated government corruption, as did
low salaries. Observers alleged governors with reported involvement in
the drug trade or past records of human rights violations nevertheless
received executive appointments and served with relative impunity.
The constitution provides citizens the right to access government
information, except when access might violate the rights of others. The
Government generally provided access in practice, but officials at the
local level were less cooperative to requests for information. Lack of
government capacity also severely restricted access to information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Hundreds of local
human rights NGOs operated independently and included groups focusing
on women's rights, media freedom, and rights of disabled persons.
Government officials were generally cooperative and responsive to the
organizations' views. The lack of security and instability in parts of
the country severely reduced NGO activities in these areas.
Militant groups and Taliban directly targeted NGOs during the year.
The Government cooperated with international governmental organizations
and permitted them to visit the country.
UN Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, and Arbitrary Execution
Philip Alston visited the country in May and held extensive talks with
commanders of international forces, government officials, tribal elders
and other actors. He reported that insurgents had killed at least 300
civilians and international forces had killed approximately 200 others
as of his visit. The main themes of Alston's preliminary report
included increasing the transparency of international military forces'
investigations of collateral casualty incidents; increasing
accountability of ``campaign forces'' responsible to intelligence
agencies; reforming police and the judicial system; curbing Taliban and
other anti-government elements' abuses; and addressing the often
overlooked extrajudicial killing of women.
Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Children and
Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy visited in June and July. She
reported the number of children anti-government forces exploited for
military purposes had increased during the previous few months; Taliban
used children as ``suicide attackers,'' and the ANP and pro-government
militias recruited children, who then were vulnerable to sexual abuse.
The constitutionally mandated AIHRC continued to address human
rights problems. The President appointed the nine-member commission,
which generally acted independently of the Government, often voicing
strong criticism of government institutions and actions, and accepting
and investigating general complaints of human rights abuses. The AIHRC
operated 12 offices outside Kabul. The AIHRC was reasonably influential
in its ability to raise public awareness and shape national policy on
human rights. In 2007 some MPs sought to review the law that defines
the mandate of the AIHRC and proposed the AIHRC include religious
scholars educated in Shari'a. No action was taken on the mandate of the
AIHRC by year's end. In 2007 however, President Karzai appointed a
religious scholar as a commissioner who continued in this role
throughout the year. The Government did not fund the AIHRC, which
continued to rely on international donors.
In 2005 the Government developed the Action Plan for Peace,
Justice, and Reconciliation (APPRJ), in coordination with the AIHRC and
UNAMA. The plan included symbolic measures, such as the creation of
national memorial sites and a national museum; institutional reform by
vetting civil service employees for involvement in past atrocities, and
reform of the judiciary; truth-seeking documentation of past
atrocities; promotion of national reconciliation and unity through
public debate and awareness; and establishment of accountability
mechanisms to bring to justice those responsible for grave human rights
abuses. A November 3 report by the International Center for
Transitional Justice noted the Afghan government had shown little
political will to promote transitional justice efforts. During the
year, a committee on senior appointments reviewed nominees for certain
senior-level positions, checking the candidates' backgrounds with
several sources including the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups
(DIAG) organization and the AIHRC before clearing the candidate for
appointment. In 2007, both houses of the parliament, which included
many human rights abusers, passed versions of an amnesty law that
granted immunity to any citizens involved in the country's two and a
half decades of conflict, provided those persons recognized the central
government and the constitution. At year's end, President Karzai had
not signed the law. The Government did not take any affirmative action
in support of transitional justice.
There are three parliamentary committees that deal with human
rights in the Wolesi Jirga: the Gender, Civil Society, and Human Rights
Committee; the Counternarcotics, Intoxicating Items, and Ethical Abuse
Committee; and the Judicial, Administrative Reform, and Anticorruption
Committee. In the Meshrano Jirga, the Committee for Gender and Civil
Society addresses human rights concerns. During the year, these
committees vetted several draft laws that went before the parliament
and conducted confirmation hearings on several Presidential appointees.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination between citizens and
provides for the equal rights of men and women; however, local customs
and practices that discriminated against women prevailed in much of the
country. Equal rights based on race, disability, language, or social
status are not explicitly mentioned in the law. There were reports of
discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, and gender.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, which is punishable by death,
but under Shari'a, which the country's laws draw from and cannot
conflict, the criminalization did not extend to spousal rape. Under
Shari'a, a rape case requires a woman to produce multiple witnesses to
the incident, while the man need simply claim it was consensual sex,
often leading to an adultery conviction of the victim. Adultery is
defined in the Penal Code and designated a crime; premarital sex is not
designated a crime, but local officials often considered it a ``moral''
offense. While the MOI reported 226 cases of rape during the year;
however, the actual number of cases generally was believed to be much
higher. Of the reported cases, 28 were charges of rape against females
and 198 were of rape against males. The MOI reported 172 arrests in
connection with rape cases. Statistics on convictions were unavailable.
Rapes were difficult to document due to social stigma. Female victims
faced stringent societal reprisal from being deemed unfit for marriage
to being imprisoned. According to NGOs jail authorities frequently
raped women imprisoned overnight in jail.
The Afghan penal code criminalizes assault, and courts entered
judgments against domestic abusers under this provision. According to
NGO reports, hundreds of thousands of women continued to suffer abuse
at the hands of their husbands, fathers, brothers, armed individuals,
parallel legal systems, and institutions of state such as the police
and justice system. Many elements of society tolerated and practiced
violence against women. A Kabul women's shelter reported receiving 50
new cases of domestic violence victims a month from MOWA referrals.
According to the shelter's report the weak economy and poor security
contributed to the incidence of domestic violence. Authorities rarely
prosecuted abusers and only occasionally investigated complaints of
violent attacks, rape, or killings, or suicides of women. If cases came
to court, the accused were often exonerated or punished lightly. The
director of a women's shelter in Kabul noted domestic violence occurred
in most homes but went largely unreported due to societal acceptance of
the practice. Domestic violence usually consisted of beating women and
children and, less often, burning women. During the year, the AIHRC
initiated additional efforts to collect statistics on violence against
women.
There were at least 19 women's shelters across the country. The
five shelters in Kabul were home to more than 100 women and girls. The
Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) and other agencies referred women to
the centers, which were designed to give protection, accommodation,
food, training, and healthcare to women escaping violence in the home
or seeking legal support due to family feuds. According to the MOWA, as
many as 20 women and girls were referred to the MOWA's legal department
every day; however, space at the specialized shelters was limited.
Women in need of shelter who could not find a place in the Kabul
shelters often ended up in prison.
The concept of women's shelters was not widely accepted in society,
as many persons treated them with distrust and did not understand their
utility. The director of one shelter stated she always referred to the
location as a mediation center, as ``shelter'' was considered a
negative word. Policewomen trained to help victims of domestic violence
complained they were instructed not to do outreach to victims but
simply to wait for victims to show up at police stations. This
significantly hindered their work, as reporting domestic violence was
not socially accepted. UNAMA reported police leadership often did not
provide female officers with equipment or vehicles necessary to do
outside investigations. A Herat-based NGO, however, reported recently
graduated women police officers there were active in crime
investigation including investigating cases of domestic violence.
During the year, a local NGO conducted four domestic violence trainings
for 240 ANP officers in Kabul, including those working in ANP Family
Response Units. The Family Response Units are staffed primarily by
female police officers and address violence and crimes against women,
children, and families. They offer mediation and resources to prevent
future instances of domestic violence.
Women continued to face pervasive human rights violations and
remained largely uninformed about their rights under the law.
Discrimination was more acute in rural areas and small villages. Women
in urban areas continued to make strides toward greater access to
public life, education, health care, and employment; however, the
denial of educational opportunities during the continuing insurgency,
as well as limited employment possibilities and the threat of violence,
continued to impede the ability of many women to improve their
situation.
Societal discrimination against women persisted, including domestic
abuse, rape, forced marriages, exchange of girls to settle disputes,
kidnappings, and honor killings. In some rural areas, particularly in
the south, women were forbidden to leave the home except in the company
of a male relative.
In May, a man shot and killed his wife and another man with whom
she had been seen in Pul-e-Khumri. On June 4, a man in Baghlan Province
beheaded his bride three days after their wedding. According to the
AIHRC, there were 2,558 cases of violence against women during the
year. Although police, prosecutors, and judges discriminated against
women in criminal and civil legal proceedings stemming from violence
and forced marriages, increasing numbers of female attorneys
successfully represented female clients in these types of cases in both
formal courts and in traditional shura proceedings.
The AIHRC estimated approximately 40 percent of marriages were
forced, and distinguished this category from 20 percent of marriages
that were ``arranged,'' the latter allowing the woman the choice to
decline marriage but not to choose her spouse. During the year the
AIHRC recorded 30 cases of women given to another family to settle
disputes, although the practice is outlawed by Presidential decree. The
unreported number was believed to be much higher.
On June 8, a 20-year-old woman committed suicide in Kunduz Province
because of a forced marriage to an old man, media outlets reported.
According to a security commander, an investigation was under way at
year's end.
According to a report released during the year by Womankind, 87
percent of women complained they were victims of violence, half of it
sexual. According to the report, more than 60 percent of marriages were
forced and, despite laws banning the practice, 57 percent of brides
were under the legal marriage age of 16. The report stated many of
these girls were offered as restitution for a crime or as debt
settlement.
Local officials occasionally imprisoned women at the request of
family members for opposing the family's choice of a marriage partner
or being charged with adultery or bigamy. Women also faced bigamy
charges from husbands who had deserted them and then reappeared after
the woman had remarried. Local officials imprisoned women in place of a
family member who had committed a crime but could not be located. Some
women resided in detention facilities because they had run away from
home due to domestic violence or the prospect of forced marriage.
Several girls between the ages of 17 and 21 remained detained in Pol-e-
Charkhi prison having been captured after fleeing abusive forced
marriages.
The AIHRC documented a total of 76 honor killings throughout the
year; however, the unreported number was believed to be much higher. In
September, according to a local NGO, an 18 year-old woman in Kapisa
Province was killed by her brother because she had run away from a
forced marriage. Reportedly, after the woman ran away to a Kabul
women's shelter the Governor of Kapisa intervened in the case,
sheltered her, and forced the woman's mother to return her to Kapisa,
resulting in her death.
Women occasionally resorted to self-immolation when they felt there
was no escape from their situations. During the year the AIHRC
documented 72 cases of self-immolation, in contrast to 110 cases in
2007. Other organizations reported an overall increase during the past
two years. According to the AIHRC, almost all the women had doused
themselves with gasoline and set themselves alight. In Herat Province,
during the first six months of the year, the Herat city hospital alone
recorded 47 cases of self-immolation, of whom 40 died. There have also
been reports of relatives setting women on fire to create the
appearance of self-immolation.
Women active in public life faced disproportionate levels of
threats and violence. Supported by official government policy, women's
political participation gained some acceptance, even as conservative
elements and insurgents resisted the trend.
Many female MPs reported death threats. Women were also the targets
of Taliban and insurgent attacks.
As in the past, insurgents issued night letters threatening women
working for the Government, local NGOs, and foreign organizations.
Women who received threats were often forced to move constantly to
evade those harassing them.
Prostitution was illegal but existed. Many observers, journalists,
and international organizations also believed ``temporary marriages''
were a form of prostitution. Temporary marriages allowed for short-term
marriage, lasting from one day to a few months, in exchange for a
dowry. Several Chinese restaurants were believed to serve as fronts for
brothels where prostitutes were solicited.
There is no law specifically prohibiting sexual harassment.
Women who reported cases of abuse or who sought legal redress for
other matters reported pervasive discrimination within the judicial
system. Local family and property law were not explicitly
discriminatory toward women, but in parts of the country where courts
were not functional or knowledge of the law was minimal, elders relied
on Shari'a and tribal custom, which generally were discriminatory
toward women. Most women reported limited access to justice in tribal
shuras, where all presiding elders were men; women in some villages
were not allowed any access for dispute resolution. Women's advocacy
groups reported informal intervention from the Government through
letters to local courts encouraging interpretations of the law more
favorable to women.
The Government and NGOs continued to promote women's rights and
freedoms, but according to MOWA, women made up less than 25 percent of
government employees. There were efforts to integrate gender units into
several ministries. The foreign minister hired a woman as his chief of
staff.
The MOWA, the primary government agency responsible for addressing
the needs of women, had provincial offices, but the organization
suffered from a lack of capacity and resources. However, the provincial
offices assisted hundreds of women by providing legal and family
counseling and referring women they could not directly assist to
relevant organizations.
Informal social and familial pressure led the majority of women in
rural areas to wear burqas, and most women, even in Kabul, wore head
covering. In rural areas and villages made more accessible by new
roads, formerly unveiled women donned burqas when they worked in the
fields to avoid being seen by strangers.
Some local authorities excluded women from all employment outside
the home, apart from the traditional work of women in agriculture.
Children.--The Government demonstrated a continuing commitment to
address the concerns of vulnerable children and their families. In 2006
the Government launched its National Strategy for Children at Risk
(NSFCAR), which was designed by the Ministry of Work, Social Affairs,
Martyred, and Disabled (MOWSAMD) to improve care for vulnerable
children and families. In 2007, the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH)
trained 500 health workers on prevention of child abuse and violence
against children.
The law makes education mandatory up to the secondary level and
provides for free education up to the college level.
In most of the country the enrollment of girls in schools may have
increased, in some places significantly. However, nearly one-third of
districts and several provinces had no schools for girls. Girls'
enrollment was as low as 15 percent in some areas. Even in secure areas
such as Kabul, where access to schools was not an issue, some male
family members did not allow girls to attend school. In most regions
boys and girls attended primary classes together but were separated for
intermediate and high school-level education.
Due to insecurity, inadequate facilities, severe shortage of female
teachers, and lack of motivation to send girls to school, the status of
girls and women in education remained a matter of concern. In some
villages girls stopped attending school at the age of 12 or 13 because
parents would not permit their teenage girls to be taught by adult men.
The general lack of protection of schools from attacks and inadequate
and distant facilities, resulted in lower enrollment and higher dropout
rates among girls, as did early and forced marriages.
Violence continued to impede access to education in some parts of
the country where Taliban and other extremists threatened or attacked
schools, officials, teachers, and students, especially in girls'
schools. Where schools did remain open, parents were often afraid to
send their children to school, particularly girls. The majority of
school-related violence occurred in 11 provinces in the southern and
border regions. The MOE reported more than 120 schools were attacked
during the year and approximately 651 schools had been closed due to
insecurity, preventing approximately 173,443 students from receiving an
education than in the previous year. For example, in Helmand Province
71,203 fewer students attended schools and more than 190 schools remain
closed due to insecurity. UNICEF reported from January 2007 to June
2008 there were 311 confirmed attacks on schools, resulting in 84
deaths and 115 injuries to schoolchildren, teachers and other school
employees. On November 12, in Kandahar, men threw acid in the face of
female students outside a school. The Government promptly condemned
this action and arrested 10 suspects in the case. Hundreds of schools
in insecure areas have had to close, UNICEF reported.
NGOs and aid agencies reported during the year insecurity,
conservative attitudes, and poverty denied education to more than two
million school-age children, mainly in the south and southeastern
provinces.
Child abuse was endemic throughout the country, ranging from
general neglect, physical abuse, abandonment, and confinement to
working to pay off family debts. The Ministry of Work and Social
Affairs stated that child labor and police beatings frequently occurred
and more than five million children lived in desperate need of
humanitarian assistance. During the year drought and food shortages
across the country forced many families to send their children onto the
streets to beg for food and money. According to an AIHRC report during
the year, police regularly beat children they took off the streets and
incarcerated them. Detention centers for ``young offenders'' deprived
children of the right to an education, the report stated. In a
statement commenting on the AIHRC report, UNICEF reported a punitive
and retributive approach to juvenile justice predominated throughout
the country. Although it is against the law, corporal punishment in
schools remained common.
The legal age for marriage was 16 for girls and 18 for boys.
International and local observers estimated 60 percent of girls were
married before 16. There is no clear provision in the Criminal
Procedure Law to penalize those who arrange forced or underage
marriages. Article 99 of the Law on Marriage states marriage of a minor
may be conducted by a guardian. In March 2007, the Supreme Court
approved a new marriage contract stipulating the man needs to verify
his bride is 16 years of age, and marriage certificates would not be
issued for underage brides. According to local NGOs, legal proceedings
based on this contract proceeded in Kabul. The proceedings often took
longer than a week, and a local shelter housed numerous women during
the course of these proceedings. The AIHRC estimated as many as 70
percent of reported cases of domestic violence have roots in child
marriage.
Sexual abuse of children remained pervasive. During the year an
AIHRC study found most child victims were abused by extended family
members. A UNHCR report noted boys were also abused by tribal leaders.
In 2008, the MOI recorded 36 cases of rape of young boys, following
approximately 80 documented cases in 2007; the unreported number is
believed to be much higher. According to the AIHRC, only 24 percent of
child sexual abusers are incarcerated.
According to MOI the number of reported sexual assaults on children
in the north significantly increased during the year. UNAMA reported 80
cases of rape of girls between ages 8 and 14 in Takhar province during
the year. The AIHRC attributed the relatively high number of reported
cases of rape in the north to greater insecurity inhibiting reporting
in the south. Due to ongoing violence in many areas of the south, aid
organizations and government agencies could not assist victims or
investigate crimes to the same degree as in more secure northern
provinces.
On May 3, media outlets reported in Takhar Province a cousin and
two of his friends suffocated and gang-raped an eight-year-old girl.
MOI began a series of crackdowns including arresting a man in Mazar-e-
Sharif in August for sexually abusing a young boy in a videogame
arcade. In August the AIHRC reported a group of men gang raped a three-
year-old girl in northern Jowzjan province. On September 25, Kabul
police arrested seven persons for gang-raping a 12-year-old girl, media
outlets reported. Legal proceedings in these cases were unresolved or
ongoing at year's end.
Displacement due to the conflict also affected children. NGOs
estimated up to one-third of all refugees were children, and street
children remained a problem in urban areas, although no reliable
estimates were available. Street children had little to no access to
government services, although several NGOs provided access to basic
needs such as shelter and food.
Living conditions for children in orphanages were unsatisfactory.
Children reported mental, physical, and sexual abuse, were sometimes
trafficked out of state-run orphanages, and did not always have access
to running water, health services, recreational facilities, or
education. In Badghis, Province an orphanage administrator raped and
impregnated a 15-year-old girl, UNODC reported. Local authorities
arrested the administrator, and the investigation continued at year's
end.
Trafficking in Persons.--A new law enacted on July 14 prohibits
trafficking in persons. The law defines trafficking in persons as the
transfer, transit, employing, keeping, and or giving a person in one's
control for the purpose of exploitation or taking advantage of weak
financial status or helplessness by spending or taking money or
interest or other means of deception to gain the consent of the victim
or the guardian of the victim. A trafficker is defined as someone who
takes part in human trafficking in person or persuades, encourages, or
provides facilities to others to commit human trafficking. The law also
contains extensive provisions to protect victims of trafficking and to
coordinate among government agencies involved in prosecution and
protection efforts.
The country is a source, transit point, and destination country for
human trafficking. It is a source for women and children trafficked
internally and to Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia for forced labor and
commercial sexual exploitation. Children are trafficked internally for
forced labor as beggars or for debt bondage in the brick kiln and
carpet industries. Local women and girls are kidnapped, lured by
fraudulent marriage or job proposals, or sold into marriage or
commercial sexual exploitation within the country and elsewhere. IOM
reported 14 cases of child trafficking during the year, although many
believe this was a low estimate.
By year's end, MOI had trained and deployed more than 10,000 Afghan
Border Police to every border, including Kabul International Airport
and land border crossing points, for immigration control. In March IOM
and the ANP conducted training on investigation and prosecution of
trafficking cases for all criminal investigations department (CID)
heads. Immediately after the training, ANP created a counter-
trafficking unit (CTU) and staffed it with six IOM-trained officers
dedicated to the investigation of trafficking cases. From March 2007 to
March 2008, MOI handled 88 trafficking cases, made 134 arrests, and
rescued 15 victims.
The MOI, MOJ, and Supreme Court requested from IOM and scheduled
training on the implementation of the law. The MOWA cooperated closely
with NGOs that provide counseling and shelter to victims of domestic
violence.
The Government made modest improvements in its protection efforts.
The Government cooperated with Saudi Arabia to repatriate children
trafficked for forced begging. The MOWSAMD, with the assistance of
UNICEF, set up a transit center to assist with these returns, and other
agencies such as the AIHRC helped with the children's reunification and
reintegration. The transit center remained in operation and also served
to reintegrate children affected by the conflict.
Selling of children increased in the north due to poverty. In
January six children were sold in Balkh, Baghlan, Kunduz, and Takhar
provinces, according to media reports.
MOJ ran an Italian-supported juvenile rehabilitation center where
minor victims of trafficking in need of shelter assistance were
accommodated. NGOs operated shelters that provided medical,
psychological, and legal counseling. Adult victims were sometimes
jailed.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits any kind of
discrimination against citizens and requires the state to assist
persons with disabilities and protect their rights, including health
care and financial protection. The constitution also requires the state
to adopt necessary measures to reintegrate and ensure the active
participation of persons with disabilities in society. The Government
did not effectively enforce these protections. The Ministry of Urban
Development and Housing built access ramps for persons with
disabilities around the Kabul Municipality building and in all Kabul
public bathrooms. In April, the Ministry of Work, Social Affairs,
Martyrs, and Disabled (MOWSAMD) released the Afghanistan National
Disability Plan 2008-2011 (ANDP), which aims to address the rights and
needs of all persons with disabilities.
According to the 2006 National Disability Survey, the country's
population included 747,500 to 867,100 persons with severe
disabilities, including 17 percent who had disabilities as a result of
war and approximately seven percent as a result of landmines. More than
72 percent of all persons with disabilities have not received any
education, and fewer than 30 percent of persons with disabilities have
jobs. Although community-based health and rehabilitation committees
continued to provide services to approximately 100,000 persons, their
activities were restricted to 60 of 330 districts. The MOWSAMD worked
to coordinate and develop policy strategies that create employment
opportunities, access to education, health care, and greater mobility
for citizens with disabilities. During the year ministry services
extended to only 16 of the 34 provinces. Groups advocating the rights
of persons with disabilities repeatedly protested the inaction of the
MOWSAMD.
In the Meshrano Jirga two of the 34 seats appointed by the
President were reserved for persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--On June 15, a violent clash
between Hazaras and Kuchis in the Behsud District of Wardak province
continued for several weeks. Kuchi representatives claimed Hazaras
killed 30 Kuchis in the clash, but the AIHRC did not find evidence to
support these claims. In an August 18 report, the AIHRC noted fighters
killed 24 Hazara residents of the area during the conflict. The AIHRC
also reported that as a result of the conflict, villagers evacuated 400
villages, and fighters burned 79 houses, 10 shops, and three mosques.
According to the AIHRC, the ANA response to the conflict was
ineffective and failed to prevent an escalation of violence. The AIHRC
reported ANP units were successful in preventing some violence and
allowing some villagers to return to agricultural activities.
In early September repatriated Pashtuns and other residents of
Khowja Bahawodeen district of Takhar province clashed regarding the
resettlement of the Pashtuns in the area. President Karzai sent a
delegation to mediate. Some Pashtun members of parliament strongly
criticized the behavior of the Takhar people and threatened that if the
conflict continued, Pashtuns would attack minority ethnic groups living
in Pashtun majority areas. The President dispatched ANA units to the
area and their efforts combined with those of the Government mediators
resulted in rapid cessation of violence.
Claims of social discrimination against Hazaras and other Shi'as
continued. The Hazaras accused President Karzai, a Pashtun, of
providing preferential treatment to Pashtuns and of ignoring
minorities, especially Hazaras.
A 2006 UNHCR paper reported that although there were attempts to
address the problems ethnic minorities faced and there were
improvements in some areas, there was still a well-founded fear of
persecution. Confiscation and illegal occupation of land by insurgents
and tribal leaders caused displacement in isolated situations. Other
forms of discrimination concerned access to education, political
representation, and civil service employment. A 2006 UNHCR paper
reported that although the Government attempted to address the problems
faced by ethnic minorities and some areas improved, there was still a
well-founded fear of persecution by tribal and insurgent leaders.
Confiscation and illegal occupation of land by powerful individuals, in
some cases tied to the insurgency, caused displacement in isolated
situations. Discrimination, at times amounting to persecution,
continued in some areas, in the form of extortion of money through
illegal taxation, forced recruitment and forced labor, physical abuse
and detention.
According to the UNHCR report, although Ismailis (a minority Shi'a
Muslim group who follow the Aga Khan) were not generally targeted or
seriously discriminated against, they continued to be exposed to risks.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law criminalizes
homosexual activity; however, the authorities only sporadically
enforced the prohibition.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides broad provisions for
protection of workers, and in January 2007 the parliament passed a new
labor law that allows workers to join and form unions. Implementation
remained a problem due to lack of funding, personnel, political will,
and a central enforcement authority. Labor rights were not understood
outside the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and workers were not
aware of their rights.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The Government
allowed several unions, including Central Council National Union
Afghanistan Employees (CCNUAE), the largest, and several smaller unions
to operate without interference. However, the Ministry of Labor
reported only the CCNUAE was legally registered and thus officially
recognized by the Government. The 2007 law does not provide for the
right to strike and does not protect collective bargaining. Unions were
not involved in drafting the law. The country lacked a tradition of
genuine labor-management bargaining. There were no known labor courts
or other mechanisms for resolving labor disputes.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. There were reports of women and
girls given away as laborers to another family to settle disputes and
debts. Many employers subjected child laborers to sexual exploitation
and forced labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law recognizes the standard legal age for work as 15, but there are
provisions for 13- and 14-year-olds to work as apprentices, provided
they work only 35 hours per week. Under the law, children under 13 may
not work under any circumstances. There was no evidence that
authorities in any part of the country enforced child labor laws. Child
labor remained a pervasive problem. According to UNICEF estimates, at
least 30 percent of primary school-age children undertook some form of
work and there were more than one million child laborers under age 14.
Most child laborers worked as street vendors or shopkeepers. Others in
northern provinces worked in the carpet weaving industry. Some sectors
in which child labor was concentrated exposed children to the dangers
of landmines. AIHRC reported approximately 60,000 child laborers in
Kabul alone, the majority of whom migrated to the city from other
provinces. According to Save the Children, there were as many as 5,000
child laborers in brick factories in Nangarhar. Children faced numerous
health and safety risks at work and some of them sustained serious
injuries such as broken bones.
MOWSAMD reported the Government was working on the problem of child
labor. The NSFCAR addressed child labor and demanded the creation of
diversified services for vulnerable families to prevent family
separation and exploitation of children. MOE efforts to promote
universal basic education, such as workshops in schools and outreach to
employers, also contributed to the prevention of exploitative child
labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--MOL reported the minimum wage
was 2,000 Afghanis per month ($40) for government workers and applied
to the private sector as well. The parliament passed a law to increase
the minimum wage to 4,000 Afghanis ($80), but President Karzai had not
signed the law at year's end. The minimum wage did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family and was not observed in
practice. Wages were determined by market forces, or, in the case of
government workers, dictated by the Government. During the year, World
Monitors Inc. visited several power company worksites and reported
wages were often paid based on family affinity rather than on a set
rate.
The law defines the standard workweek as 40 hours per week, eight
hours per day with one hour for lunch and noon prayers. Reduced
standard workweeks were stipulated for youth, pregnant women, nursing
mothers, and miners and other occupations that present health risks.
Many employers allotted workers time off for prayers and observance of
religious holidays. The law provides workers the right to receive
wages, annual vacation time in addition to national holidays,
compensation for injuries suffered in the line of work, overtime pay,
health insurance for the employee and immediate family members, per
diem for official trips, daily transportation, food allowances, night
shift differentials, retirement rights, and compensation for funeral
expenses in case of death while performing official duties. These
standards were not effectively enforced, and citizens were not
generally aware of the full extent of their labor rights under the law.
There were no occupational health and safety standards and no
enforcement mechanism. Employment was at will, and although there was a
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, there were few if any protections
for workers under either the 1987 or the 2007 law. Workers did not have
the right to remove themselves from situations that endangered their
health or safety without jeopardizing their employment, as all
employment could be terminated without cause.
__________
BANGLADESH
Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy of 150 million citizens. On
December 29, the Awami League (AL) led by Sheikh Hasina Wazed won 230
of 299 Parliamentary seats in elections considered by international and
domestic observers to be free and fair and marked by isolated
irregularities and sporadic violence. The elections and the peaceful
transfer of power that followed ended two years of rule by a military-
backed caretaker government. Khaleda Zia, head of the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP), stepped down as prime minister in October 2006
when her term of office expired and transferred power to a caretaker
government to prepare for general elections the following January. In
the wake of political instability in January 2007, President Iajuddin
Ahmed, then head of the caretaker government, declared a state of
emergency and postponed the elections, appointing the new military-
backed caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed, the former
Bangladesh Bank governor, who in July 2007 pledged that elections would
be held by the end of 2008. Although civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces, these forces
frequently acted independently of government authority.
Although levels of violence declined significantly and the
caretaker government oversaw successful elections, the Government's
human rights record remained a matter of serious concern, in part due
to the state of emergency that remained in place for most of the year
and the failure to fully investigate extrajudicial killings. The state
of emergency, which was relaxed temporarily in advance of local
elections in August and finally lifted on December 17, curtailed many
fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of
association, and the right to bail. The Government promulgated the
Emergency Powers Rules (EPR) 2007 and Emergency Powers Ordinance 2007
to enforce the state of emergency. The anticorruption drive that the
Government initiated, while greeted with popular support, gave rise to
concerns about fairness and equity under the law. For most of the year
the Government banned political activities, although this policy was
enforced unevenly. There was a decrease in the number of extrajudicial
killings by security forces, but they committed serious abuses,
including extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths, arbitrary arrest
and detention, and harassment of journalists. Some members of security
forces acted with impunity and committed acts of physical and
psychological torture. Violence against women and children remained a
serious problem, as did trafficking in persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Security forces
committed numerous extrajudicial killings. The police, Bangladesh
Rifles (BDR), the military, and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
sometimes used unwarranted lethal force.
While there was a nearly 20 percent decrease in the overall number
of killings by all security personnel, the Government and military did
not take any public measures to investigate these cases. The number of
killings by the police and combined security forces also increased.
According to local human rights organizations, no case resulted in
criminal punishment, and, in the few instances in which the Government
levied charges, those found guilty generally received administrative
punishment.
According to reports published by the media, local human rights
organizations, and the Government, the RAB-a paramilitary unit composed
primarily of seconded personnel from different law enforcement
agencies-killed 68 persons during the year. The average number of such
deaths dropped from eight per month in 2007 to less than six per month
during the year. Combined security units comprising RAB members and
police killed 15 persons during the year. The deaths, many under
unusual circumstances, occurred during law enforcement operations or
while the accused were in custody. The Government, however, often
described these deaths as ``crossfire killings,'' ``gunfights,'' or
``encounter killings,'' all terms to describe exchanges of gunfire
between the RAB or police and criminal gangs.
According to reports in the media, from local human rights
organizations, and from the Government, law enforcement officials were
responsible for 149 deaths, 136 of which were attributed to crossfire.
According to reported figures, this total represented a 19 percent drop
from the previous year. The RAB accounted for 65 ``crossfire''
killings; members of the police were responsible for 50; combined
security units comprising RAB and police were responsible for 15; and
the coast guard, Bangladesh Rifles, and Joint Forces committed a
combined six crossfire killings. Since 2004 when the Minister for Law,
Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs stated that crossfire deaths under
RAB or police custody could not be considered custodial death, the
Government has not disclosed publicly any prosecution of a RAB officer
in a killing.
According to Odhikar, a leading human rights organization, there
were 116 deaths in custody during the year, including 66 deaths in
prison.
For example, on June 18, according to Odhikar and eyewitness
accounts, officers from the RAB 12 shot and killed Abdur Rashid Malitha
and Nasima Akhtar Rikta in Baradi, Kushtia. According to family members
and the RAB, Malitha was a founder of the Purbo Bangla Communist Party-
Marxist Leninist (PBCP-ML) Janajuddha. Several RAB officers conducted
the raid after investigating a number of muggings in the area that had
been linked to Malitha. According to Malitha's brother, Golam Hossain
Akash, who was present during the raid, RAB officers shot both victims
at point blank range. Akash died eight days later in the custody of RAB
12, although he was not wanted on any charges. The physician who
conducted Malitha and Rikta's post-mortems stated that there were six
bullet wounds to Malitha's chest and ribs, that Rikta's skull was blown
away, and that there was a bullet wound on Rikta's leg. RAB officers
claimed they returned fire when they entered a home and Malitha and
Rikta were killed during the exchange. A RAB officer confirmed Rikta
was not wanted on any charges. The Government did not investigate the
case.
On June 28, according to investigations by local human rights
organizations, police officers from Mirpur Police Station killed Anwar
Hossain in a brick field in Housepur. On June 26, two police officers
and eight to 10 men in civilian clothing arrested Hossain. The Mirpur
police stated he was killed in a shootout between police and
``extremists'' and refused to comment on his arrest. The doctor who
performed the autopsy would not comment on the circumstances of the
death, but a morgue assistant reportedly noted that there was one
bullet wound on the left side of Hossain's head and two in his chest,
as well as signs that the victim had been blindfolded. The Government
did not investigate the case.
The wife of Khabirul Islam, whom a naval contingent abused and
killed in February 2007, filed a complaint against the naval personnel
and challenged the post-mortem finding that her husband had committed
suicide. According to human rights organizations, she abandoned the
case due to intimidation from unknown parties and lack of funds.
The Government did not take any further action to investigate the
March 2007 killing of Choilesh Ritchil by army personnel in Madhupur or
the May 2007 killing of Mohammad Kamran Islam Mojnu by members of RAB 5
battalion.
There were no updates available concerning the March 2006 killing
of Iman Ali by RAB members in Dhaka, nor the September 2006 killings of
Abdul Hawladar and Mohammad Shamin in Khulna by RAB members.
There were fewer politically motivated killings than in previous
years, largely due to the state of emergency that suspended most
political activities. According to Odhikar, 50 deaths were suspected of
being politically motivated.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Odhikar, and local media
reports, on July 15, officers from RAB 8 in Dhaka arbitrarily arrested
and killed Moshiul Alam Sentu, an activist in the BNP's student wing,
the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD). The RAB claimed Sentu was accused
in several murder cases and had an illegal cache of weapons. Sentu's
family contended the charges were politically motivated and he had been
acquitted in all of the cases. Sentu's family stated they had been
warned in advance that he would be killed ``in a crossfire'' and had
paid a bribe of 300,000 taka ($4,500) to Major AKM Mamunur Rashid Mamun
to prevent his death. Shortly thereafter, Mamun reportedly assured her
that her son would not be mistreated. Early the following day, however,
eyewitnesses observed RAB officers dumping Sentu's body in a paddy
field in Barisal city, south of Dhaka. The body had two bullet wounds
in the chest and another in the leg. Sentu's neck was severely bruised
and possibly broken, as was his left hand, indicating possible torture.
RAB 8 later stated it had taken Sentu to Barisal to recover a cache of
hidden arms and he was killed in ``crossfire'' when the RAB team
encountered fire from Sentu's associates. HRW issued a statement urging
the Government to prosecute the officials responsible for killing Sentu
and others ``to the full extent of the law.'' The Government did not
conduct any further investigations.
On July 27, according to HRW and Odhikar, police in Naogaon killed
Dr. Mizanur Rahman Tutu (also known as Tutul), a physician and leader
of the PBCP-ML. Authorities claimed there were many cases against him,
including involvement in several killings of police officers and
political figures, though the local police superintendent stated there
were no charges filed. The autopsy indicated that Tutu had been shot
three times, that he had been tied up, and that there were signs of
excessive blood loss, suggesting abuse prior to death. Odhikar
condemned Tutu's killing, stating the police had conflated his identity
with a criminal named Tutul who had died several years earlier and had
targeted Tutul because of his political affiliation.
There were no updates in the investigation of the 2007 killing of
Azibor Rahman or the 2006 killing of Aftab Ahmad.
Media reported that Home Affairs Adviser Gen. M.A. Matin ordered
police to reinvestigate the 2005 death of Awami League parliamentarian
and former Finance Minister Shah AMS Kibria. In March 2007 the
Caretaker Government stated that it would open a new investigation, but
that effort stalled due to alleged lack of personnel. Matin rejected
that argument and ordered the reinvestigation, which was ongoing at
year's end.
Authorities sentenced three individuals from the banned Islamist
organization Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJi) to death and granted two
others life sentences in the August 2007 trials of the group charged
with organizing a grenade attack at the Hazrat Shahjalal Shrine in
Sylhet in 2004.
Killings by political parties continued, although these were fewer
in number than in previous years.
According to media reports, on February 12, political rivals killed
Md. Farman Ali of the Purbo Banglar Communist Party in Pabna.
Also according to media and NGO sources, on February 26, gunfire
between Awami League and BNP activists at Moheshkhali killed one
individual.
Violence along the border with India remained a problem, although
the number of incidents declined. According to human rights
organizations, the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) killed 59
citizens.
b. Disappearance.--Disappearances and kidnappings remained problems
during the year. According to Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of
Human Rights (BSEHR), 504 persons were kidnapped during the year. An
indeterminate number of these kidnappings were politically motivated.
According to press reports, on September 26, pirates kidnapped more
than 40 fishermen from the Kachikhali coast of Pathorghata. The victims
were taken to an undisclosed location in the Sundarbans mangrove forest
in southwest Bangladesh and held for a ransom of 1,000,000 taka
($14,700). The coast guard made several attempts to rescue the
kidnapping victims but was unsuccessful.
According to press reports and the individual's relatives, on
November 26, RAB officers arrested and allegedly disappeared Jubo
League leader Liakat Hossain. Hossain had been arrested in 2003 after
being labeled as one of the country's ``23 top criminals,'' but
received bail from the High Court on September 4. On December 2, the
High Court instructed the Government to notify it within 72 hours of
his whereabouts. The Government did not take further action.
The Government did not take steps to investigate the February 2007
kidnapping of Abdul Aziz, the June 2007 kidnapping of two Danish Aid
Agency employees, or the May 2006 disappearance of Tera Mia.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the constitution prohibits torture and cruel,
inhuman, or degrading punishment, security forces, including the RAB,
military, and police, frequently employed severe physical and
psychological abuse during arrests and interrogations. According to
human rights organizations, the use of such techniques increased in
2007 after the interim government declared the state of emergency, but
the number of incidents declined by 60 percent during the year. Abuse
consisted of threats, beatings, and the use of electric shock.
According to human rights organizations, security forces tortured 12
people to death. The Government rarely charged, convicted, or punished
those responsible, and a climate of impunity allowed such abuses by the
RAB, police, and military to continue.
For example, on March 7, according to Odhikar, police arrested and
tortured Abul Hossain Dahli in Botiyaghata Police Station. Odhikar
reported that a few hours after Dahli's arrest, police declared he had
committed suicide. Relatives who claimed the body questioned apparent
bruises, burn marks, the lack of markings on the neck consistent with
hanging, and the layout of the cell, which would have made hanging
difficult. Relatives also claimed the family had been offered 15,000
taka ($220) not to file a case. On March 20, Dahli's family filed a
case and the head of the Government committee investigating the
incident agreed that police negligence was undeniable. At year's end,
however, the Government had not investigated the case further.
On March 18, according to Odhikar and witness accounts, officers
from RAB 8 arrested and tortured Md. Afzal Khan in Sharlatpur District.
According to witness accounts, RAB officers arrested Khan at the
Mahmudpur Bazaar, where they interrogated him about an alleged illegal
arms cache and beat him with sticks, rifles, stones, and hammers. That
night, police admitted Khan to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital, where he died
the following day. According to Afzal's father, Afzal had a broken
neck, wounds on his face and skull, an inflated stomach allegedly due
to trampling, and cut veins in his legs.
On April 13, according to Odhikar, police arrested Fakir Chan in
Maulvibazar on charges of mugging. Chan's wife claimed that she did not
have access to her husband while he was in custody and that a police
officer told her that her husband would be released if she paid a
50,000 taka ($735) bribe. On April 19, police alleged that Chan fell
ill and died while in custody. According to a doctor at the Narayanganj
Hospital, several plainclothes policemen dropped off Chan's body at the
emergency division of the hospital and refused to answer questions
about his identity. The doctor conducting the autopsy stated that he
saw marks on Chan's wrists and other marks on the body suggesting Chan
had been hanged by his wrists and beaten. Authorities removed
Superintendent Saiful Islam, Assistant Superintendent of Police
Jannatul Hasan, Mamunur Rashid, and Babul Akhtar from their duty
stations. No additional legal action had been taken at year's end.
According to human rights organizations, there were at least five
recorded incidents of rape and sexual abuse by law enforcement
personnel.
For example, on July 2, according to Odhikar, RAB member Abdul
Gaffur raped a 14-year-old girl in Sonargaon, Narayanganj. Local police
arrested Gaffur, who was awaiting trial at year's end. On July 30,
Police Sub-Inspector Rezaul Karim allegedly raped a young girl who had
been collecting trash at a railway station in Kamlapur, Dhaka. The
Government did not investigate the case.
Authorities did not investigate the January 2007 torture of
Shahidul Islam, director of the NGO Uttaran, or the June 2007 torture
cases of Mohammad Jamal Uddin and Mohammad Kajol.
There were no developments concerning the May 2007 rape case
against Sub-Inspector Nuruzzaman of Karimgonj, nor the August 2007 rape
case against Sub-Inspector Abdul Mannan of Mirpur.
The 2006 case of Kishore Kumar Das remained pending at year's end.
There were no developments in the 2006 death of Tajul Islam in
Kurigram, and none in the case of AL official Asraf Hossain Khan, who
was detained and allegedly beaten and threatened with crossfire by the
RAB in Munshigonj in 2006.
Vigilante killings increased during the year. Newspapers reported
163 vigilante killings, although local human rights organizations said
the reported cases were only a fraction of the total number of actual
incidents. In 2007 there were 108 reported vigilante killings.
According to press reports, on March 3, a mob killed a mugger,
Babul, 35, and injured another when a gang of four tried to steal
100,000 taka ($1,470) from a businessman at Nasirabad.
On March 8, at Kaliakoir, near Dhaka, a mob beat two robbers, Kabir
Mia, 30, and Anwar Hossain, 35, to death, and injured another.
According to the police, the individuals had taken part in an attempted
armed robbery of a local home at 3:00 a.m., and neighbors apprehended
them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The prison system remained
abysmal due to overcrowding, inadequate facilities, and the lack of
proper sanitation. Local human rights observers considered these
conditions to be contributing factors to custodial deaths. According to
international and local human rights organizations and eyewitness
accounts, after the declaration of a state of emergency, security
forces including the military held detainees in sub-standard ad hoc
Joint Forces and military camps of the military intelligence agency,
the Directorate General-Forces Intelligence (DGFI).
According to Odhikar, 66 persons died in prison and 50 persons died
in the custody of police and other security forces during the year. Of
the total number who died, three died due to lack of proper care and 46
died of unnatural causes.
According to the Government, the existing prison population as of
December 31 was 75,480, or more than 278 percent of its official
capacity of 27,146. Of the entire prison population, approximately one-
third of the detainees had been convicted; the rest were either
awaiting trial or detained for investigation. Due to the severe backlog
of cases, individuals awaiting trial had often spent more time in jail
than if they had been convicted and served a maximum sentence. In most
cases, prisoners slept in shifts because of the overcrowding and did
not have adequate bathroom facilities.
In 2007 the inspector general of prisons (IGP) took several steps
to improve the prison system, including updating the jail code,
reducing corruption and drug trafficking in prisons, limiting the use
of full shackles on prisoners for reasons other than discipline,
improving the quality of food, creating more prisoner vocational
training opportunities and literacy classes, and improving the morale
of prison staff. The Government also opened its first jail for women in
Gazipur. NGOs argued that these reforms were helpful, but that they
were not adequately maintained and that the pace of reform during the
year was slower than in previous years. These reforms included the
construction of three new jails exclusively for women, the launch of
several small-scale training programs for prisoners to assemble
garments, and physical improvements such as the addition of television
sets and fans. During the year the IGP tried to address prisoner morale
by allowing low-level offenders to meet family and friends inside jail
cells without any physical barriers between them.
The law required juveniles to be detained separately from adults;
in practice, many juveniles were incarcerated with adults. Media
reports stated that approximately 380 children were imprisoned despite
laws and court decisions prohibiting the imprisonment of minors. In
some places, the figure was much higher, allegedly because there was no
proper means of recording age in the criminal justice system. According
to the International Center for Prison Studies, minors make up 0.4
percent of the prison population.
Although the law prohibits women in ``safe custody''--victims of
rape, trafficking, and domestic violence--from being housed with
criminals, in practice no separate facilities existed.
In general the Government did not permit prison visits by
independent human rights monitors, including the International
Committee of the Red Cross. government-appointed committees of
prominent private citizens in each prison locality monitored prisons
monthly but did not release their findings. District judges
occasionally visited prisons but rarely disclosed their findings.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the law permits authorities to
arrest and detain persons suspected of criminal activity without an
order from a magistrate or a warrant. Following the declaration of a
state of emergency in 2007, the Government promulgated the Emergency
Power Rules that gave authorities further authority to detain citizens
without filing formal charges or specific complaints. The Government
relaxed the state of emergency in August and early December before
fully lifting it on December 17.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police are organized
nationally under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) and have a mandate
to maintain internal security and law and order. Under recent
governments, police were generally ineffective and reluctant to
investigate persons affiliated with the ruling party. After the
declaration of a state of emergency, the Government formed the Joint
Forces, composed of police, the RAB, the military, and other security
agencies, and gave the special new teams responsibility for enforcing
the state of emergency. The DGFI, a military intelligence agency,
assumed the lead in enforcing the state of emergency by investigating
corruption charges and interrogating suspects.
The RAB received human rights training through the UN Development
Program; the UK government; and a local NGO, BSEHR. Although the RAB
continued to commit serious human rights violations, the number of
incidents involving the RAB dropped from the previous year.
The Government took steps to address widespread police corruption
and a severe lack of training and discipline. The Inspector General of
Police continued to implement a new strategy, partially funded by
international donors, for training police, addressing corruption, and
creating a more responsive police force.
There were no developments concerning the June 2007 beating case of
Dhaka businessman Mahbub Alam Liton by army soldiers.
There were no developments in the October 2006 National Shooting
Federation Complex incident, in which police entered the Dhaka club and
beat 25 members, including Asif Hossain Khan.
There were no developments in the August 2006 incident in Phulbari,
Dinajpur district, in which police and members of the BDR opened fire
on a crowd, killing five persons and injuring 100.
Plaintiffs rarely accused police in criminal cases due to lengthy
trial procedures and the fear of retribution. Such reluctance to
confront police continued a climate of impunity.
Arrest and Detention.--The law provides for arrest without the use
of warrants in certain cases. Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code
and Section 86 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Ordinance
authorize detention of persons on suspicion of criminal activity
without an order from a magistrate or a warrant, and the Government
used such provisions regularly. The law also limits gatherings of more
than four persons. The number of preventive and arbitrary detentions
declined from the previous year, although the overall number of arrests
remained much higher than it was prior to the state of emergency.
Human rights groups reported that the Government arrested more than
60,518 persons in special arrest drives during the year, including more
than 30,000 in the month of June alone. This number decreased by
approximately 80 percent from the previous year, although accurate
figures were difficult to obtain because the Government stopped its
practice of releasing arrest figures. In addition, Ain O-Shalish Kendra
(ASK), a domestic human rights organization, estimated that more than
2,000 routine arrests were made every day. The majority of those
arrested were released within one or two days. Although many were
released, figures from the Daily Star newspaper indicated that more
than 150 former politicians, government officials, and business leaders
were held on suspicion of corruption, extortion, or other abuses of
power under the anticorruption drive, and more than 78 persons were
arrested during the year. There were more than 222 individuals on the
corruption suspects list. More than 97 individuals were convicted on
corruption charges through October.
Between May 28 and June 15, authorities arrested approximately
32,000 persons reportedly to improve the law and order situation.
Political parties and NGOs criticized the arrests as politically
motivated and claimed that as many as 350 grassroots political
activists and local officials were arrested along with extremists and
criminals. According to government officials, many of those detained
were arrested based on existing warrants and only 191 individuals were
arrested under the EPR. Authorities also claimed that fewer than 100 of
the detained individuals had ties to political parties. In most cases,
authorities released the individuals shortly after their arrest.
According to local human rights organizations, Joint Forces, led by
the military, continued to hold suspects illegally at army camps, DGFI
headquarters, and other unofficial places of detention, where they
interrogated, often abused, and in some cases forced suspects to sign
confessions before releasing or presenting them to a magistrate. In
some cases the authorities released detainees after they agreed to file
cases against other high-profile suspects.
There were no new developments regarding the January 2007 arbitrary
arrest and detention of Giasuddin Al-Mamun by Joint Forces.
Under the Special Powers Act, the Government or a district
magistrate may order a person detained for 30 days to prevent the
commission of an act that could threaten national security; however,
authorities held detainees for longer periods. The magistrate must
inform the detainee of the grounds of detention, and an advisory board
is required to examine the detainee's case after four months. Detainees
had the right to appeal. Many detainees taken into custody during the
anticorruption drive were held under this act, and the Government
sought and received numerous detention extensions from advisory boards
consisting of two judges and a government official.
There was a functioning bail system in the regular courts, although
persons prosecuted under the EPR were ineligible for bail from January
through December 17. Family members of persons arrested under the EPR
frequently were detained without bail on suspicion of abetting
corruption. In April the Supreme Court's Appellate Division curtailed
the authority of the High Court to hear bail petitions under the EPR,
denying the court an opportunity to grant bail under these conditions.
Human rights groups and some detainees' families alleged that in cases
in which the High Court ordered high-profile detainees released on
bail, the military pressured trial judges to delay the release of the
detainee to give the Government time to file new charges against the
detainee, starting a new appeals process and preventing release.
Most criminal detainees charged with crimes were granted access to
attorneys; however, detainees arrested under the Special Powers Act
were not entitled to representation. The Government rarely provided
detainees with state-funded defense attorneys, and there were few legal
aid programs to offer such detainees financial assistance. Many persons
arrested on charges of graft under the Special Powers Act typically
would not have qualified for legal aid because of their relatively high
incomes. The Government generally permitted lawyers to meet with their
clients only after formal charges were filed in the courts, which in
some cases occurred several weeks or months after the initial arrest.
Arbitrary arrests were common, and the Government held persons in
detention without specific charges, often to collect information about
other suspects.
It remained difficult to estimate the total number of persons
detained for political reasons. Many high-level officials detained
during the state of emergency were also widely suspected of corruption
and had credible charges of corruption pending against them at year's
end. Several high profile figures, including some members of the
leadership of the BNP and AL, however, were held for months without any
charges filed against them. International and domestic human rights
organizations accused the Government of selective prosecution. For
example, according to human rights organizations, several high-profile
figures believed to be corrupt were omitted from lists of corruption
suspects, allegedly because they agreed to ally themselves with the
caretaker government and the military.
In cases not affiliated with the state of emergency or
anticorruption drive, arbitrary and lengthy pretrial detention remained
a problem. The total number of pending civil and criminal cases was
more than 1.8 million. Many persons who were arrested served longer in
pretrial detention than they would have if given the maximum sentence
for their alleged crimes. According to the International Centre for
Prison Studies, nearly 70 percent of prison inmates remained in
pretrial detention at year's end.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice a longstanding temporary
provision of the constitution placed the executive in charge of the
lower courts, judicial appointments, and compensation for judicial
officials. In November 2007 the caretaker government implemented
legislation the previous government had developed separating the
judiciary from the executive.
By April the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court stopped its
practice of overturning politically charged decisions by the High Court
Division of the Supreme Court if those rulings went against the
Government. Prior to the end of March, the Appellate Division
overturned several decisions granting bail to high-level corruption
suspects. The Appellate Division stopped this practice after the
appointment of a new Chief Justice of the Appellate Division of the
Supreme Court. High Court judges granted bail to thousands of political
figures and common criminals from April through year's end. Corruption,
judicial inefficiency, lack of resources, and a large case backlog
remained serious problems.
The court system has two levels: the lower courts and the Supreme
Court. Both hear civil and criminal cases. After the separation of the
judiciary from the executive, the Government appointed judicial
magistrates to replace the executive magistrates who had presided over
the lower courts. The Supreme Court is divided into two divisions, the
High Court and the Appellate Division. The High Court Division hears
original cases mostly dealing with constitutional issues, and reviews
cases from the lower courts. The Appellate Division hears appeals of
judgments, decrees, orders, or sentences of the High Court. Rulings of
the Appellate Division are binding on all other courts.
The EPR authorized the Government to create special speedy
anticorruption courts to adjudicate cases prosecuted by the
Anticorruption Commission (ACC). Sentences from these tribunals could
also be appealed to the High Court.
In 2005 a High Court panel rendered unconstitutional an amendment
to the constitution that legitimized martial law in the 1980s. The
prime minister's office arranged for a stay, still in effect at year's
end, of the ruling because of its ramifications for the legacy of
former President Ziaur Rahman, the late husband of the then prime
minister.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides accused persons with the right
to be represented by counsel, to review accusatory material, to call or
question witnesses, and to appeal verdicts. Cases are decided by judges
rather than juries, and trials are public. In practice a public
defender is rarely provided to defendants. Defendants are presumed
innocent, have the right to appeal, the right to be present and to see
the Government's evidence.
Corruption and a substantial backlog of cases hindered the court
system, and trials were typically marked by extended continuances,
effectively preventing many from obtaining a fair trial due to witness
tampering, victim intimidation, and missing evidence. Human rights
observers contended that magistrates, attorneys, and court officials
demanded bribes from defendants in a majority of the cases filed under
the Special Powers Act.
Alternative dispute resolution for civil cases allows citizens to
present their cases for mediation. According to government sources,
wider use of mediation in civil cases quickened the administration of
justice, but there was no assessment of its fairness or impartiality.
The Muslim Family Ordinance codifies traditional Islamic law concerning
inheritance, marriage, and divorce for registered marriages for members
of the Muslim community. There were similar sets of laws in place for
the Hindu and Christian communities.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government detained more
than 150 high-ranking politicians, businessmen, and officials as part
of its anticorruption campaign. The courts released most of these
persons during the year. The Government held many individuals for
several months under the Special Powers Act without filing charges
against them.
In 2007 the Government arrested on corruption charges both former
prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. In June the caretaker
government released Sheikh Hasina on parole under executive order of
the Government. In September the Supreme Court freed Khaleda Zia on
bail.
By year's end the ACC and the public prosecutor prosecuted 228
cases against high-ranking political officials, ranging from extortion
and money laundering to murder. Although the Government claimed these
were legitimate charges, some were considered politically motivated.
In connection with this, the 2007 cases against Law Minister Moudud
Ahmed remained pending at year's end, although on September 9, the High
Court released him on bail. Former Communications Minister Anwar
Hossain Manju was convicted and sentenced in absentia to 13 years in
jail and fined 100,000 taka ($14,500) after he left the country.
The trial against journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, detained
for his attempted 2003 travel to Israel, began in June. While the case
remained ongoing, the Government allowed Choudhury to travel abroad.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The Government did not
interfere with civil judicial procedures.
Property Restitution.--During the year the Government did not take
any measures to implement the 2001 Vested Property Return Act providing
for property restitution to persons, mostly Hindus, whose property the
Government seized after the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law allows intelligence and law enforcement
agencies to monitor private communications with the permission of the
chief executive of the MOHA. The ordinance also gives the Government,
in the interest of national security, the authority to prevent
telephone operators from delivering messages. The EPR strengthened the
ability of the Government to monitor communications, including
telephones, cell phones, text messages and e-mail. In case of national
emergency, the Government can revoke any permit to provide
communications services without providing compensation to the holder of
the license, and in 2007 the Government ordered cell phone providers to
shut down service intermittently. According to media reports, the
Government established a national monitoring center made up of
representatives from law enforcement and intelligence agencies to
monitor and coordinate phone taps during the year.
Even in cases not affiliated with the Special Powers Act, police
rarely obtained warrants, and officers violating these procedures were
not punished. Human rights organizations indicated that the Special
Branch of the police, National Security Intelligence, and DGFI employed
informers to conduct surveillance and report on citizens perceived to
be critical of the Government.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and press; however, the Government used the EPR to
curtail these rights. In September the Government approved the Right to
Information Ordinance allowing journalists and the public greater
access to information.
Certain individuals were not able to criticize the Government
publicly without fear of reprisal. Although public criticism of the
Government was common, journalists regularly practiced self-censorship.
The EPR had suspended indoor and outdoor political gatherings, allowed
the Government to take legal action against critical editors and
journalists, and allowed authorities to compel the broadcast or
publication of stories supporting the Government, although in practice
these rules were not always strictly enforced. On November 3, the
Government rescinded the ban on political rallies and gatherings. The
Government also revoked the clause of the EPR preventing the media from
publishing or broadcasting reports on public meetings or rallies and
banning so-called provocative stories, editorials, and shows. The
Government lifted these restrictions on December 17.
There were hundreds of daily and weekly independent publications.
Newspapers that were critical of the Government, particularly of the
military, came under strong pressure throughout the year. In addition
to one official government-owned news service, there are two private
news services.
Newspaper ownership and content were sometimes subject to direct
restriction by the military's Inter-Service Public Relations office and
DGFI. Journalists reported being cautioned by DGFI against criticizing
the Government or the military. In May editors from several media
outlets expressed concern over the increased pressure on media freedom.
According to Nurul Kabir, editor of the English language newspaper The
New Age, an intelligence agency of the armed forces began giving
instructions to editors of newspapers and television channels mandating
that certain news should be published or broadcast and other news
should not.
The Government owned one radio and one television station.
There were 10 private satellite television stations and three
private radio stations in operation. There were two foreign-based and
licensed satellite television stations that maintained domestic news
operations. Cable operators generally functioned without government
interference; however, cable operators were forced to drop several
international channels, allegedly for nonpayment of taxes. The
Government required all private stations to broadcast, without charge,
selected government news programs and speeches by the chief advisor and
the President.
The 24-hour all news television station, CSB, which the Government
shut down in September 2007 (purportedly for not having a proper
license), remained closed at year's end.
Attacks on journalists continued to be a problem. There was an
increase in the number of journalists who were harassed, arrested, and
assaulted by security personnel. According to Odhikar, at least 38
journalists were injured, four were arrested, 25 were assaulted, 30
were threatened, and six had cases filed against them. According to
some journalists and some human rights NGOs, journalists engaged in
self-censorship.
Examples of abuse against journalists included:
On March 28, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists,
plainclothes police in Durgapur arrested and assaulted Rabiul Islam,
reporter for the Daily Sunshine, a Rajshahi-based newspaper, after he
wrote stories implicating the Durgapur police in alleged corruption
cases. The Durgapur police held Rabiul for 12 hours, tortured him, and
extracted a confession from him before finally releasing him.
On May 24, according to Odhikar and Daily Star reports, prison
guards beat Daily Star correspondent Mirza Shakil because he
investigated allegations of corruption and harassment at a local
prison. During a visit to the prison, Shakil took photos of guards
trying to force visitors to pay bribes; shortly afterwards 12 guards
attacked him and threw him out of the jail. Local journalists rushed to
his aid and took him to a local hospital, where he was admitted with
severe injuries to the chest, back, and neck.
In May police tortured Iasinur Rahman, breaking his hands and his
legs, because he had published a story accusing local police of sexual
harassment and bribery. The Government did not take steps to hold
police officers accountable.
There were no developments regarding the August 2007 attack of
journalists at Dhaka University; the January 2007 attack of Professor
Anisur Rahmen; the 2006 torture of Focus Bangla journalist Shafiqul
Islam; or the 2006 shooting death of S. Changma Sattyajit, President of
the Panchhari Press Club and correspondent of Shamakol.
According to journalists, editors, and other media personnel,
intimidation and pressure on the media continued under the state of
emergency. DGFI officials monitored the various media outlets and
cautioned them about airing material deemed offensive to the Government
or military. Numerous editors and journalists in Dhaka reported being
summoned to DGFI headquarters for questioning, and encouragement to
file positive stories about the Government and military.
In January according to Odhikar and Amnesty International, the Home
ministry at the urging of RAB instructed police to arrest Jahangir Alam
Akash, a prominent local journalist and human rights activist, under
the EPR on extortion charges, following his reports of extrajudicial
killings by RAB units in Rajshahi. According to Akash, authorities
tortured him during his month in jail before releasing him on bail in
November.
Also in July the editor of Jai Jai Din was fired because he
published a cartoon critical of Army Chief General Moeen Uddin Ahmed.
Tasneem Khalil, former Daily Star journalist and researcher for
HRW, continued to live in exile in Sweden following his May 2007
interrogation and torture by Joint Forces.
The Government subjected foreign publications and films to review
and censorship. A government-run film censor board reviewed local and
foreign films and had the authority to censor or ban films on the
grounds of state security, law and order, religious sentiment,
obscenity, foreign relations, defamation, or plagiarism. Video rental
libraries and DVD shops stocked a wide variety of films, and government
efforts to enforce censorship on rentals were sporadic and ineffective.
The Government exercised censorship in cases of immodest or obscene
photographs, perceived misrepresentation or defamation of Islam, or
objectionable comments regarding national leaders.
There were no developments regarding the September 2007 banning of
Alpin, the satirical weekly magazine of the newspaper Prothom Alo, due
to alleged blasphemy against Islam.
The Government used defamation charges to curb freedom of speech,
although the number of cases decreased during the year.
There were no developments in the defamation lawsuit filed by Mah
Selim against Juganthor newspaper.
Internet Freedom.--Although individuals and groups generally could
engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, local
human rights organizations reported continued government monitoring of
Internet communications. Reporters without Borders claimed police
monitored journalists' e-mail. In addition, journalists and political
figures detained by the Joint Forces reported they were forced to hand
over their e-mail logons and passwords.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government did not limit
academic freedom or cultural events; however, authorities discouraged
research on sensitive religious and political topics.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The EPR
restricted freedom of assembly and freedom of association and
prohibited indoor and outdoor political activities. On May 12, the
Government relaxed some of the bans on indoor political activities
throughout the country but limited the number of people who could
attend and required parties to seek permission from the authorities to
hold meetings. The Government also allowed meetings and processions
with permission from authorities for two weeks in 11 cities prior to
the August 4 municipal elections in those cities. In September the
Government eased bans on indoor political gatherings in Dhaka but with
limits on the number of people who could attend and a requirement for
parties to seek permission from the home ministry to hold meetings. On
November 3, the Government eased the ban further by permitting
political gatherings and rallies ahead of the December parliamentary
elections and fully lifted the state of emergency on December 17.
The Government implemented the ban unevenly. For example, in April
and May 2007 Ferdous Ahmed Quareshi publicly had meetings in support of
a new progovernment party, the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
Despite considerable press coverage of these events and media
editorials questioning their legality under the state of emergency, the
Government did nothing to stop them. On September 11, the Government
released detained BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on bail and allowed her
to reopen the BNP central office.
Freedom of Assembly.--During most of the year the EPR banned public
demonstrations and political gatherings and the Government enforced the
ban. There were, however, instances of street demonstrations by factory
workers and political activists without prior notice.
On August 21, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) banned a planned
march by the BNP-led four-party coalition. The coalition had planned to
march to the Chief Adviser's office in Dhaka to demand the release of
BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and her elder son
Tarique Rahman. When coalition supporters gathered on the city's Manik
Miah Avenue to join the march, police attempted to disperse the crowd
using batons. On August 27, the coalition announced it would form human
chains throughout the country to protest the police action. Police
broke up the human chains at different points in Dhaka and other
cities, occasionally clashing with the participants.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the right of every
citizen to form associations, subject to ``reasonable restrictions'' in
the interest of morality or public order, and the Government generally
respected this right. Individuals were free to join private groups. On
September 7, the Government relaxed the ban imposed on trade union
activities under the state of emergency in January 2007 and allowed
labor rights organizations to conduct activities on a very limited
scale to allow unions to carry out financial and administrative tasks.
For example, the new rules permitted gatherings of no more than 500 and
stipulated that such gatherings must be held indoors and focused solely
on labor issues. Neither the ban nor its subsequent relaxation affected
the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) which was covered under separate
legislation, permitting only ``workers associations.'' During the year
the number of workers associations increased. The full lifting of the
state of emergency on December 17 enabled trade unions to resume their
normal activities.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution establishes Islam as the
state religion and also stipulates the right, subject to law, public
order, and morality, to practice the religion of one's choice. The
Government generally respected this right in practice. Although the
Government was secular, religion shaped the platforms of certain
political parties. Discrimination against members of religious
minorities existed at both the Governmental and societal levels, and
religious minorities were disadvantaged in practice in such areas as
access to government jobs, political office, and justice.
Shari'a (Islamic law) was not implemented formally and not imposed
on non-Muslims, but it played an influential role in civil matters
pertaining to the Muslim community. The Muslim Family Ordinance
codifies issues such as inheritance, marriage, and divorce for
registered marriages of members of the Muslim community. A Muslim man
may marry as many as four wives; however, a Muslim man must get his
first wife's signed permission before taking an additional wife.
Society strongly discouraged polygamy and it was rarely practiced.
Family laws concerning marriage, divorce, and adoption differed
slightly depending on the religion of the persons involved. Each
religion had its set of family laws. Under Hindu law, unlimited
polygamy is permitted, and although there is no provision for divorce
or legal separation, Hindu widows may legally remarry. There were no
legal restrictions on marriage between members of different faiths.
Government protection of Ahmadiyyas continued to improve, although
social discrimination continued. The High Court continued to stay the
Government ban on publishing Ahmadiyya literature, effectively allowing
Ahmadiyyas to publish.
As in previous years, the Government failed to prepare a list of
property that the Government expropriated from Hindus following the
1965 India-Pakistan War.
The Government allowed foreign missionaries to work in the country,
but their right to proselytize was not explicitly protected by the law.
Some missionaries faced problems in obtaining visas or renewing visas.
Some foreign missionaries reported that internal security forces
closely monitored their activities. The Government allowed various
religions to establish places of worship, train clergy, travel for
religious purposes, and maintain links with coreligionists abroad. The
law permitted citizens to proselytize.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Discrimination against
Ahmadiyyas, Hindus, and Christians occurred during the year. However,
there were no demonstrations by anti-Ahmadiyya groups during the year.
On March 15 and March 21, the Special Branch of police in
Brahmanbaria prevented groups of Ahamadiyyas from holding a religious
convention. Due to intervention by officials at senior levels of the
home ministry, both conventions were held.
There were reports of attacks on members of minority communities,
although many of these reports could not be independently verified and
motives for such attacks-criminal, political, or religious-could not be
ascertained.
On April 2, according to ASK, RAB officers and police severely beat
Biman Chandra Bosak, vice President of Joypurhat District Bar
Association, at his village. According to ASK, the attack on Bosak
occurred after he filed a case against a Muslim neighbor who tried to
seize land dedicated to a Hindu deity.
On April 12, according to Christian Life Bangladesh (CLB), members
of an Islamist group attacked two Christian men at Rangunia as they
were showing a film to build community awareness about arsenic
pollution, child marriage, and other social problems.
In contrast to previous years, there were no reports of the
military attempting to evict 120 Hindu families from land in the Mirpur
area of Dhaka abutting the military cantonment. The eviction, based on
a 1961 land purchase agreement by the military, was challenged legally,
and the case was pending at year's end.
In April 2007 leaders of the Catholic Khasia community in
Moulvibazar complained to the local government about harassment from
Forestry Department officials who oversee the Monchhara Forest where
many Khasia live. They stated several forestry officials filed false
cases against their community and the head of the local Catholic
mission to intimidate them. In February a meeting among Khasia
community leaders, Forest Department officials, and Kulaura sub-
district officials resulted in a government promise that the Khasia
would not be harassed if they refrained from occupying Forest
Department land. The Forest Department subsequently filed new cases
against some Khasia alleging that they had occupied government land.
Local forestry officials also harassed the Garo community in Madhupur.
In 2007 police arrested several forestry department officials allegedly
involved in corruption. Although it decreased from previous years,
harassment by forestry department officials persisted.
Religious minorities were disadvantaged in seeking government jobs
and political office. Selection boards for government services often
lacked minority group representation.
There was no Jewish community in the country and there were no
reports of anti-Semitic acts against locals, but some newspapers
occasionally printed anti-Semitic articles and commentary.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for these rights,
and the Government respected these rights in practice with specific
exceptions. The EPR gave the Government authority to curb freedom of
movement. The Government prevented persons suspected of corruption from
leaving the country. Law enforcement personnel prevented numerous
persons from departing the country via Dhaka's international airport
because they had been placed on lists of corruption suspects.
The law does not provide for exile, which was not practiced. The
country's passports were invalid for travel to Israel.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided some protection against
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
The Government continued to deny asylum to Rohingyas newly arriving
from Burma. The Government categorized these refugees as illegal
economic migrants and turned back as many persons as possible at the
border, although to a great extent the border was porous, and attempts
to stem the tide of migration proved unsuccessful. According to the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), some individuals the Government
returned were likely entitled to refugee status. Some unregistered
persons in UNHCR camps returned illegally after their official
repatriation to Burma, sharing food and lodging with relatives who
received rations as registered members of the camps. On a number of
occasions, local police picked up unregistered persons outside the
camps and imprisoned them under the Foreigners Act. There were 88
Rohingya refugees in local prisons in the Cox's Bazaar area at year's
end. Of these persons, four were sentenced and 84 remained detained. A
total of 385 refugees remained on bail at the end of the year.
According to UNHCR, this figure may be too low given the number of
unregistered Rohingyas and those in other jails that have not reported
their detention.
Working with UNHCR, the Government provided temporary protection to
approximately 28,000 registered Rohingya refugees at two official
refugee camps and to individual asylum seekers whom UNHCR interviewed
and recognized as refugees on a case-by-case basis. According to
international aid organizations active in the area, there were 200,000
to 500,000 Rohingyas not officially recognized as refugees living among
the local population in the surrounding area of Teknaf and Cox's
Bazaar, including approximately 10,000 at an unofficial site. There
were no repatriations of Rohingyas.
Working with UNHCR, the Government continued to improve conditions
in the refugee camps following findings in recent years that
sanitation, nutrition, and shelter conditions had fallen below minimum
international standards. The Government permitted the UNHCR to build
replacements for shelters and latrines and permitted more NGOs to work
in the camps on skills training, education, and health.
According to UNHCR, there were still cases of abuse against
refugees, including rape, assault, domestic abuse, deprivation of food,
arbitrary detention, and documentation problems. However, there were
fewer such incidents reported during the year.
As in previous years, the Government continued to ignore UNHCR
requests to allow Rohingya refugees who were unable to return to Burma
to work locally, get medical care, or attend school. The Government
insisted that all Rohingya refugees remain in camps until their return
to Burma. The Government claimed Rohingyans were not allowed to possess
money and that money in their possession could be confiscated. In
practice, however, enforcement of these rules remained sporadic. For
example, many refugees worked illegally as manual laborers or rickshaw
pullers in the unregulated economy and small numbers of students
studied with the assistance of private tutors and participated in
countrywide school exams.
The Government repeatedly rejected a UNHCR proposal to grant
refugees rights for temporary stay and freedom of movement under a
self-reliance program.
Stateless Persons.--On May 18, the High Court ruled that Biharis
living in the country were citizens. Approximately 160,000-200,000 non-
Bengali Bihari Muslims who immigrated to the former East Pakistan
during the 1947 partition and who supported Pakistan during the 1971
war continued to live in camps throughout the country. According to
Refugees International, many of these persons lived in unsanitary
conditions with little access to education and medical resources. Some
Biharis declined citizenship in 1972, and a minority was awaiting
repatriation to Pakistan, where the Government was reluctant to accept
them. Many of the stranded Biharis born after 1971 assimilated into the
mainstream Bengali-speaking environment.
In September 2007 the Election Commission (EC) announced it would
permit Biharis who meet citizenship requirements to register to vote in
the December 2008 elections. Approximately 80 percent of all adult
Biharis, or 184,000, were subsequently registered.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic elections held on the basis of universal suffrage,
albeit with significant instances of violence.
In January 2007 the head of state and head of the caretaker
government, President Iajuddin Ahmed, declared a state of emergency and
postponed elections in response to political violence and allegations
of flaws in the preparation for national elections scheduled for
January 22, 2007. With military support, he appointed Fakhruddin Ahmed,
a former central bank governor, to head a new caretaker government. The
caretaker appointed new election commissioners, whose mandate was to
initiate electoral reform and prepare a new, unbiased voter registry.
The EC started registration of approximately 81 million voters with
photographs in June 2007 and completed the field level work by July 9.
In a May 22 ruling, a High Court panel of the Supreme Court
concluded that the EC violated the constitution because it had not held
parliamentary elections within 90 days of dissolution of the
parliament. The court, however, accepted the commission's decision to
hold the election by December.
On August 19, the Government published the Representation of the
People (Amendment) Ordinance 2008, which significantly changed the
electoral law that had been in place since 1972, in an attempt to
address corruption in politics. The major political parties considered
some of the new provisions undemocratic, such as the abolition of
students' and women's wings and foreign chapters of the parties. Under
the amended ordinance, candidates must reveal information about their
education, wealth, and criminal records when they file to run for
parliament. Political parties must submit statements to the EC
outlining expenditures and sources of funds.
The parliament has 345 members, 300 of whom are directly elected.
The remaining 45 seats are reserved for women nominated by the
political parties, based on their proportional representation within
the 300-member group of directly elected members of parliament. Party
leaders appoint candidates for elections, and there were allegations
that wealthy candidates could purchase nominations from party leaders
with campaign contributions or personal gifts.
Elections and Political Participation.--Khaleda Zia, leader of the
BNP, stepped down as prime minister in 2006. She had become prime
minister following parliamentary elections in 2001, which international
and domestic observers deemed free and fair. The 2001 elections,
supervised by a nonparty caretaker government, took place in a climate
of sporadic violence and isolated irregularities. The BNP formed a
four-party coalition government with the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh
Jatiya Party, and the Islami Oikko Jote; however, the BNP and the
opposition AL dominated the political scene. At year's end Zia and
former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed of the AL had been released
from prison but each was still facing corruption charges. In an address
to the nation on September 20, Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed announced
that the next national parliamentary elections would be held on
December 18 and the upazila (sub-district) elections would be held on
December 24 and 28. On November 2, the Chief Elections Commissioner
amended the schedule by declaring that upazila elections would only be
held on December 28. On December 3, in a compromise move, the EC agreed
to hold national elections on December 29 and upazila elections on
January 22, 2009.
Seven women were directly elected to the last parliament. Three
women had the status of minister: Khaleda Zia, her sister (since
deceased, she was the Minister for Women and Children's Affairs) and
Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina, as the leader of the opposition party,
enjoyed the status of a cabinet minister. Three of the 67 judges of the
Supreme Court were women.
There was no provision for providing parliamentary seats for
minorities. Members of minority groups constituted approximately 10.3
percent of the population but held fewer than 3 percent of
parliamentary seats in the parliament.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity. Following the declaration of a state
of emergency, the caretaker government and military took several
significant steps to address government corruption. It appointed a
retired chief of army staff (the country's senior defense official) as
the new chairman of the ACC, formed a National Coordination Committee
to help coordinate government and security forces' efforts regarding
graft investigations, and set up several task forces to help the
committee with its work.
During the year the courts released 158 of the approximately 200
high-profile graft suspects security forces detained in 2007. Among
those detained were former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda
Zia, both of whom were charged in bribery cases related to their
government tenures. On June 11, the Government released Hasina by
executive order to facilitate her medical treatment abroad. On
September 11, the Supreme Court granted Zia bail.
Using the Special Powers Act that allows preventive detention, the
Government detained prominent business leaders. Most of those persons
were then tried under existing anticorruption legislation. Most high-
profile cases were handled under the Emergency Power Rules and
therefore initially denied suspects both the right to bail and the
right to appeal their cases during the course of the trial. The Supreme
Court, however, restored some of its bail jurisdiction through a ruling
and exercised the authority to consider bail petitions.
The release of many of the corruption suspects drew criticism from
some members of civil society who stated the Government was not serious
about fighting corruption. Government leaders argued that the
Government and the ACC would continue to pursue corruption cases
despite release of some suspects on bail.
On September 1, the Government issued a gazette notification
enforcing the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission
Ordinance, and later formed a six-member selection committee headed by
a Supreme Court judge to recommend names for appointment to the three-
member commission. On November 19, the President named Justice Amirul
Kabir Chowdhury, a retired former judge of the Supreme Court, as
chairman of the commission. He also appointed two other members of the
Commission.
On September 20, the Council of Advisers approved the Right to
Information Ordinance. This replaced the Official Secrets Act which had
helped to protect corrupt government officials.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated independently and without government restriction,
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases.
Although human rights groups were often sharply critical of the
Government, they also practiced self-censorship.
The Government required all NGOs, including religious
organizations, to register with the Ministry of Social Welfare. After
the Government declared the state of emergency, NGOs came under
heightened scrutiny by the caretaker government and the military.
Transparency International Bangladesh alleged that some local NGOs were
guilty of corruption.
According to Odhikar, on November 3, a major from RAB 3 battalion
called to request a meeting with the Odhikar director for unspecified
reasons. Odhikar agreed to meet the major at his office but he never
arrived and provided no explanation for his absence afterward.
The NGO Affairs Bureau, the office within the Prime Minister's (and
now Chief Adviser's) Office that approves NGO projects, delayed
approval of NGO proposals related to elections and human rights.
Odhikar's registration was still pending with the NGO Affairs Bureau at
year's end.
At year's end Asudullah Al-Galib had been released on bail while
awaiting trial for the 2005 attack on several offices of leading NGOs,
including the Grameen Bank and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement
Committee (BRAC). In 2005 authorities charged Al-Galib, the leader of
Ahle Hadith, a local Islamic group, with bombing the Grameen and BRAC
offices and targeting a series of cultural events and organizations.
The case was still pending at year's end, although the police dropped
charges in four out of 10 cases.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination; however, the Government did not
strongly enforce laws aimed at eliminating discrimination. Women,
children, minority groups, and persons with disabilities often
confronted social and economic disadvantages.
Women.--Laws specifically prohibit certain forms of discrimination
against women, provide special procedures for persons accused of
violence against women and children, call for harsher penalties,
provide compensation to victims, and require action against
investigating officers for negligence or willful failure of duty;
however, enforcement of these laws was weak. In 2003 parliament passed
an amendment to the current law, weakening provisions for dowry crimes
and addressing the issue of suicide committed by female victims of acts
of dishonor.
The law prohibits rape and physical spousal abuse but makes no
specific provision for spousal rape. According to Odhikar, there were
454 reported incidents of rape during the year, including 202 against
women and 252 against children. According to human rights monitors, the
actual number of rape cases was higher because many rape victims did
not report the incidents due to social stigma. Prosecution of rapists
was not consistent.
Domestic violence was widespread, although violence against women
was difficult to quantify. Research showed that as many as 50 percent
of women experienced domestic violence at least once in their lives.
The Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association (BNWLA) reported 622
incidents of domestic violence. Some of the reported violence against
women was related to disputes over dowries. There was an increase in
the number of dowry-related killings during the year. Odhikar reported
188 dowry-related killings although other NGOs place the figure much
higher, at 300 to 500. Domestic violence is not criminalized.
There were no developments in the case of Tajul Islam, a
businessman accused in 2006 of raping a 12-year-old girl who was
working in his home. Islam fled the village when neighbors filed a case
against him, and was at large at year's end.
Female prostitution was legal. Male prostitution was illegal,
although local NGOs claimed it was common in the major cities. The
authorities generally ignored the minimum age of 18, often circumvented
by false statements of age, for legal female prostitution. The
Government rarely prosecuted procurers of minors, and large numbers of
underage girls in prostitution worked in brothels. Local NGOs estimated
the total number of female prostitutes was as many as 100,000. The UN
Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated in 2004 that there were 10,000
underage girls used in commercial sexual exploitation in the country,
but other estimates placed the figure as high as 29,000. Trafficking of
women internally and internationally remained a problem.
NGOs such as BNWLA ran facilities to provide shelter to destitute
persons and distressed women and children. According to BSEHR, persons
in safe custody were no longer housed in prisons. Courts sent most of
them to shelter homes. In a few cases they were sent to prison as a
transit for short periods.
A High Court ruling in 2001 banned fatwas. Islamic tradition
dictated that only those muftis (religious scholars) who have expertise
in Islamic law are authorized to declare a fatwa. Despite these
restrictions, village religious leaders sometimes made such a
declaration in an individual case and called the declaration a fatwa.
Such declarations could result in extrajudicial punishments, often
against women for alleged moral transgressions.
Incidents of vigilantism against women-sometimes led by religious
leaders by means of fatwas-occurred. According to ASK, 20 incidents of
vigilante justice against women occurred during the year. The
punishments included whipping, hilla or forced marriage, exclusion from
the community, and other forms of physical and mental repression. Acid
attacks remained a serious problem. Assailants threw acid in the faces
of women and sometimes men, leaving victims disfigured and often blind.
The acid attacks often related to allegations of spousal infidelity.
During the year, according to Odhikar, 133 persons were attacked with
acid. Of these, 73 of the victims were women, 34 were men, and 26 were
children.
According to press accounts documented by ASK and BSEHR, on
September 11, Mahmuda, a mother of two children in South Kalikapur, was
verbally divorced by her husband during a quarrel. After the couple
reconciled, several local influential persons, including a madrassah
teacher, issued an edict stating that Mahmuda was divorced from her
husband and was required to marry another person and divorce him after
physical consummation to be eligible to remarry her original husband.
As Mahmuda refused to undergo this ritual known as ``hilla,'' the local
community shunned her and her family and threatened to drive them out
of the village.
The law provides for speedier prosecutions of acid-throwing cases
in special tribunals and generally does not allow bail. The Women and
Child Repression Control Act (2000) also seeks to control the
availability of acid and reduce acid violence directed toward women,
but lack of awareness of the law and poor enforcement limited its
effect. Although the special tribunals were not entirely effective,
according to the Acid Survivors Foundation, tribunals convicted 444
persons for acid attacks since 2002, including 216 during the year.
Women remained in a subordinate position in society, and the
Government did not act effectively to protect their basic rights.
Employment opportunities increased at a greater rate for women than for
men in the last decade, largely due to the growth of the export garment
industry. Women constituted approximately 80 percent of garment factory
workers. Pay was generally comparable for men and women.
On March 8, the head of the caretaker government announced a
women's development policy that included reservation of approximately
one-third of parliamentary seats for women, with direct election, and
new laws to provide women with greater access to property. However,
several Islamist groups argued that the policy sought to give men and
women equal inheritance rights, contravening Shari'a and the existing
Muslim Family Law. Although government advisers publicly refuted the
claim, the Government formed a committee of Islamic scholars to review
the policy. The committee, headed by the senior religious leader at the
national mosque, recommended changes to the policy. Government
officials reported, however, that elements of the women's development
policy were implemented through other mechanisms, such as the poverty
reduction policy.
Children.--The Government, with the assistance of local and foreign
NGOS, worked to improve children's rights and welfare, enabling the
country to make significant progress in improving children's health,
nutrition, and education. Despite the progress, according to UNICEF
slightly fewer than half of all children remained chronically
malnourished.
Primary education was free and compulsory, but the implementation
of compulsory education fell short, in part because parents kept
children out of school to work for money or help with household chores.
Government incentives to families sending children to school
contributed significantly to the rise in primary school enrollments in
recent years. Despite these efforts and contrary to established
policies, public schools imposed fees that were burdensome to poor
families and created a disincentive to attend school.
There were a few government hospitals designated exclusively for
children. Boys and girls had equal access to medical care in government
hospitals.
Although the legal age of marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys,
underage marriage was a widespread problem. Reliable statistics
concerning underage marriage were difficult to find because marriage
registrations were sporadic and birth registrations to verify a
person's age were available to approximately 10 percent of the
population. One local human rights NGO, Mass Line Media, concluded from
a survey in 2004 that an estimated 40 percent of all marriages could be
considered child marriages. In an effort to reduce child marriage, the
Government offered stipends for girls' school expenses if parents
promised to delay their daughters' marriage until at least age 18.
According to the Bangladesh Child Rights Forum, 47 children were
abducted, 154 were murdered, 388 were injured in various forms of
violence, 115 were raped, 15 were victims of acid attacks, and 394
others were missing.
According to human rights monitors, child abandonment, kidnapping,
and trafficking continued to be serious and widespread problems.
Despite advances, including the creation of a monitoring cell in the
home ministry, trafficking of children continued to be a problem.
Child labor remained a problem in certain industries; it frequently
resulted in the abuse of children, mainly through mistreatment by
employers during domestic service, and occasionally included servitude
and trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation abroad. According to
a 2006 study by the Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies, attacks on
children constituted more than 50 percent of the deaths, injuries, and
sexual assaults reported among domestic workers during the year.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons;
however, trafficking remained a serious problem affecting men, women,
and children. Trafficking in children for ``immoral or illegal
purposes'' carries the death penalty or life imprisonment, and the
Government took measures for the expeditious prosecution of
traffickers. During the year special courts dealing with incidents of
repression against women and children adjudicated 30 cases. Courts
convicted 32 persons and ordered life sentences for 22 convicted
traffickers.
Trafficked women and children went to India, Pakistan, Bahrain, the
United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and destinations within the country. Men
seeking work abroad as expatriate labor in countries such as Malaysia
and the Middle East occasionally found themselves in exploitative
situations of forced labor, with conditions including restrictions on
movement, threats, and physical assault. Some women and children were
trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation. Some children
faced forced labor in the fishing industry, and entire families were
subject to bonded labor throughout the country.
According to government sources, law enforcement personnel rescued
164 victims of trafficking during the year. Some of the rescued victims
remained in government homes or at NGO-run shelters and received social
and vocational skills training while NGOs attempted to locate their
families.
BNWLA rescued 232 trafficking victims from within the country and
repatriated 545 others during the year. The actual number of persons
arrested for trafficking was difficult to assess, as charges against
traffickers were sometimes for lesser crimes, such as crossing borders
without proper documents. According to the Centre for Women and Child
Services, most trafficked boys were younger than 10 years of age, while
most trafficked girls were between 11 and 16 years of age.
The exact number of women and children trafficked was unknown. Most
trafficked persons were lured by promises of jobs or marriage, and some
were forced into involuntary servitude outside and within the country.
Parents sometimes willingly sent their children away to escape poverty.
Unwed mothers, orphans, and others outside the normal family support
system were also vulnerable. For example, traffickers living abroad
often married women and deserted them upon arrival in the destination
country, where they would be sold into bonded labor, menial jobs, or
commercial sexual exploitation. International criminal gangs conducted
some of the trafficking. The border with India was loosely controlled,
especially around Jessore and Benapole, which continued to make illegal
border crossings easy.
As many as 10,000 children were used in brothels for commercial
sexual exploitation, and procurers of minors were rarely prosecuted.
Government corruption greatly facilitated the process of
trafficking. Police and local government officials often ignored
trafficking in women and children for commercial sexual exploitation
and were easily bribed by brothel owners and pimps.
Because the number of workers traveling to Southeast Asia and the
Middle East increased, the expatriate labor market remained lucrative.
Labor recruiters sometimes offered nonexistent jobs or conditions that
left migrant workers stranded upon arrival in the receiving country.
Recruiters also often charged exorbitant fees that made workers
extremely vulnerable to forced labor and debt bondage. Some women were
subjected to forced prostitution upon arriving in the receiving
country. During the year the Government closed 11 expatriate labor
recruitment agencies because the agencies had allegedly defrauded
workers. Former members of parliament and other senior political
figures allegedly owned several of the agencies. The Government
suspended the activities of seven recruiting agencies and ordered six
to forfeit their security deposits due to fraudulent activities and
breach of contract. In 2007 the Government agreed to eliminate the role
of recruitment agencies and to have the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare
recruit workers directly as part of negotiations to send expatriate
workers to South Korea. In October 2007 the Government of Malaysia
announced it would suspend the import of Bangladeshi expatriate
laborers after persistent problems with recruitment agencies.
Although a lack of resources hindered investigations, the
Government maintained antitrafficking police units in all 64 districts
to encourage victims to testify against their traffickers and to
compile data on trafficking. In response to inadequately trained police
and prosecutors, the Government worked with legal experts to provide
specialized training to prosecutors and with the International
Organization on Migration (IOM) to develop an anti-trafficking course
for the National Police Academy.
The Government continued its efforts to combat trafficking in
persons through intensive case tracking by the trafficking monitoring
cell at police headquarters and holding monthly interministerial
committee meetings headed by the MOHA. The cell monitored police
activities and assisted in prosecuting relevant cases. The Government
had district monitoring committees headed by the deputy commissioners
in all 64 districts in the country. These committees transmitted to
Dhaka daily progress reports on arrests, convictions, acquittals, and
repatriation of trafficked victims.
The ministries of Foreign Affairs, Expatriate Welfare, and Home
Affairs worked closely with foreign donors to develop an action plan to
combat labor trafficking and migration issues. In 2007 the Foreign
Ministry issued new instructions to all consular staff worldwide on how
to handle trafficking cases abroad and introduced training courses for
director-level Foreign Ministry officials in labor trafficking issues.
During the year 25 foreign ministry officials received training to
enhance their capacity to protect the victims of human trafficking. In
addition, 12 labor attaches received training on ensuring migrant
workers' rights and monitoring the compliance of contractual agreements
in destination countries.
During the year the MOHA arrested 178 persons on trafficking
charges and disposed of 37 trafficking cases. Of those cases, 43
persons were convicted, 32 of whom were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Although the death sentence exists for convicted human traffickers, no
death sentences were handed down during the year. The Government's
efforts remained focused primarily on the trafficking of women and
children. Government projects included conducting awareness campaigns,
research, lobbying, and rescue and rehabilitation programs.
The MOHA secretary continued to meet monthly with NGOs working on
antitrafficking issues to facilitate coordination and cooperation
between the Government and civil society. The MOHA continued awareness
and motivation campaigns to combat trafficking in persons. During the
year, MOHA, in consultation with NGOs and other stakeholders, enhanced
its information campaign policy by incorporating definitions of
trafficking in persons that referenced special courts dealing with
incidents of repression against women and children and applicable
national and international legal provisions. MOHA also formed a
committee to adopt a national plan of action to combat human
trafficking in the country.
Since 2005 a cooperative effort among NGOs, the Government, and the
UAE resulted in the repatriation of 199 camel jockeys, 198 of whom were
reunited with their biological parents. Authorities from the Government
and the NGO community continued to monitor the repatriation,
rehabilitation, and social integration of the former camel jockeys. All
camel jockeys received 104,000 taka ($1,500) as compensation. The
Government, with assistance from UNICEF, initiated the second phase of
the camel jockey rehabilitation project to focus on ensuring the
sustainability of community care groups and livelihood options for
victims.
Many NGOs, community-based organizations, and local government
leaders worked on trafficking through prevention, research, data
collection, documentation, advocacy, awareness creation, and
networking, cross-border collaboration, legal enforcement, rescue,
rehabilitation, and legislative reform. Despite constraints such as
lack of birth and marriage records at the village level, trafficking
cases were prosecuted. There was limited success in increasing shelter
capacity and developing rehabilitation programs, including skills and
vocational training, to facilitate sustainable social reintegration of
the survivors.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for equal treatment
and freedom from discrimination for persons with disabilities; in
practice, persons with disabilities faced social and economic
discrimination. The law focuses on prevention of disability, treatment,
education, rehabilitation and employment, transport accessibility, and
advocacy.
The Ministry of Social Welfare, the Department of Social Services,
and the National Foundation for the Development of the Disabled were
the Government agencies responsible for protecting the rights of
persons with disabilities.
Government facilities for treating persons with mental handicaps
were inadequate. Several private initiatives existed for medical and
vocational rehabilitation, as well as for employment of persons with
disabilities.
Indigenous People.--Tribal people had marginal ability to influence
decisions concerning the use of their lands. There was little progress
in the implementation of the 1997 Chittagong Hill Tracks Peace Accord.
The Government refused to cede responsibility for key functions such as
land use and natural resources to local authorities, as the accord
called for. Law and order problems and alleged human rights violations
continued, as did dissatisfaction with the implementation of the Peace
Accord.
The Government allowed some mobile phone and Internet coverage to
the three Hill Tract districts. Although the Government cited security
concerns as the reason for limiting coverage, human rights groups and
local officials claimed that lack of coverage was also aimed at
stunting the development of the region. The Land Commission dealing
with land disputes between tribal individuals and Bengali settlers did
not function effectively in addressing critical land disputes. Tribal
leaders remained disappointed with the lack of assistance to those who
left the area during the insurgency. Local human rights organizations
alleged that security forces took advantage of the state of emergency
to increase human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, against
indigenous people.
In February 2007 the Government withdrew 16 temporary camps of
security forces in the Rangamati area of the Hill Tracts. Since the
signing of the 1997 Peace Agreement, the Government has withdrawn 212
camps, leaving approximately 270 camps. The Government did not conduct
further withdrawals in the region.
The conflict continued between the Parbattya Chattagram Jono
Sanghati Samity (PCJSS), which signed the 1997 Peace Agreement with the
Government, and the United Peoples' Democratic Front (UPDF), which is
opposed to the Peace Agreement. There were no further updates regarding
the 2007 killing of PCJSS activist Vinku Kumar Chakma.
Tribal organizations continued to allege that security forces
abused the indigenous population of the Hill Tracts. There were no
updates to the 2007 land dispute in Mahalchari in Khagrachari district.
The PCJSS and indigenous leaders alleged that Joint Forces
personnel led by the army took advantage of the state of emergency to
step up ``suppressive actions'' against indigenous people, including
arrests and filing of false cases. According to their report,
individuals could not protest due to the state of emergency.
There were no developments in the March 2007 arrest of UPDF members
Bimol Bikash Chakma and Milon Bihari Chakma.
Tribal people in other areas continued to report loss of land to
Bengali Muslims. The Government continued work on national park
projects on land traditionally owned by indigenous communities in the
Moulvibazar and Modhupur forest areas. In addition, indigenous
communities, local human rights organizations, and churches in the area
continued to claim that the Government had yet to withdraw thousands of
false charges the Forestry Department filed against indigenous
residents.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Homosexual acts remained
illegal; in practice the law is rarely invoked.
There were some informal support networks for homosexual men, but
organizations to assist lesbians were rare.
Attacks on homosexuals were known to occur but difficult to track
because victims desired confidentiality; there was a social stigma
surrounding homosexuality; and local human rights groups did not
monitor the problem. There were few studies on homosexuality in the
country.
There were no reported cases of violence or discrimination against
HIV/AIDS patients. NGOs believed this was partly a function of the
refusal of victims to self-identify and an absence of research given
the relatively low rate of HIV/AIDS in the country.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to
join unions and, with government approval, the right to form a union;
Export Processing Zones (EPZs) have a separate set of labor laws. In
practice the Government did not consistently respect the right of
association. After the Government enforced the EPR, the right of labor
unions to meet lawfully, conduct activities, or hold public
demonstrations was suspended. Additionally, during the year several
labor leaders and organizations reported intimidation and scrutiny by
security forces. In September the Government relaxed portions of the
EPR to allow for some union and labor activities, and when the state of
emergency was fully lifted all activities resumed. The measure had
little practical impact on the constraints on forming and registering
unions and did not affect the Workers Representation and Welfare
Committees that are allowed in the EPZs.
The total labor force was approximately 50 million, of whom
approximately 1.9 million belonged to unions, many of which were
affiliated with political parties. There were no reliable labor
statistics for the large informal sector in which the majority (nearly
80 percent) of citizens worked.
Overall implementation of labor regulations in the EPZs was
inconsistent. EPZ-specific labor laws allowed workers to organize into
``workers associations,'' which have collective bargaining rights.
These laws allowed the formation of workers representation and welfare
committees starting in 2006, followed by the workers association in a
two-stage process with the ultimate aim of achieving full rights of
association, namely workers unions. Many workers associations were not
formally registered. According to labor groups, approximately 60
percent of factories in the EPZs had workers associations in place.
Workers filed legal cases against EPZ factories that did not follow
the Bangladesh Labor Act of 2006 (BLA), and the courts made no
decisions on this point. According to the law a workplace cannot have
more than three trade unions operating at the same time. On May 4,
through an amendment of the BLA, the Government declared that no trade
union office can be established inside or within 200 meters of any
industrial institution or group of institutions. Therefore, any trade
union offices within these limits must be moved within three months of
the date that the amendment was implemented.
The BLA consolidated laws from 25 separate acts into one
comprehensive law. The Director of Labor is responsible for the
registration and abolition of unions. During the year some unions were
deregistered, primarily for labor law violations. The law afforded
unions the right of appeal in the case of abolition or denial of
registration.
The law recognized the right to strike if 75 percent of union
membership consented to strike. In practice few strikes followed legal
requirements; often, strikes or walkouts occurred based on the
spontaneous decisions of workers, sometimes prompted by rumors.
The law established mechanisms for conciliation, arbitration, and
labor court dispute resolution. The law enhanced and facilitated the
process of dispute resolution. Workers have the right to strike in the
event of a failure to reach settlement. If a strike lasts 30 days or
longer (less in cases of public safety or national interest), the
Government can curtail or prohibit the strike and refer the dispute to
the labor court for adjudication. However, because most strikes were
conducted outside the legal provisions for conducting a strike, the
Government did not exercise its authority to curtail them. The
Government did file cases against some striking labor leaders and
workers for destruction of property, blocking roads, or violation of
EPR provisions. In some cases, the appeals courts subsequently
acquitted strikers.
A separate law, the EPZ Workers' Association and Industrial
Relations Act (EWAIRA) specified association rights in EPZs, although
EPZ authorities did not recognize the broader applicability of the BLA,
which covered workers' rights beyond the freedom of association.
Under EWAIRA, starting in 2006, workers were permitted to form
workers' associations that would have the legal right to strike. A
special provision prohibited striking until the end of the current
year, however, and instead required mandatory arbitration. Other
provisions of EWAIRA allowed collective bargaining but did not permit
affiliation with labor organizations outside the EPZ.
Unions were highly politicized and were strongest in state-owned
enterprises, including jute mills, textile mills, chemical industries,
and the government-run Port of Chittagong.
Civil service and security force employees were legally prohibited
from forming unions. Teachers in the public and private sector had
previously been banned from forming trade unions. However, in practice,
many teachers and professors formed long-standing professional
associations without the rights of a union. In 2006 new categories of
workers, including teachers and NGO workers, were permitted to form
unions. Due to the broad limitations on union organizing during the
state of emergency, these regulations were not formally instituted. The
BLA also has specific provisions allowing workers in specialized fields
in civil aviation and on ocean-going vessels to form trade unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
protects the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively
without interference, but that right was not always effectively
enforced. The BLA includes provisions protecting unions from employer
interference in organizing activities. Implementation of these
provisions was uneven, and many private sector employers discouraged
union activity. Some employers fired workers suspected of organizing or
sympathizing with unions, placed informants in work areas, and
intimidated workers with threats of violence.
The Director of Labor ruled on union-organizing discrimination
complaints outside the EPZs. Throughout the year the labor court
ordered reinstatement of workers who had been fired for union
activities, but a large backlog of unresolved cases remained. Most
workers in such cases, however, sought financial compensation rather
than reinstatement. Of the 329 cases lodged during the year, only 10 to
15 sought reinstatement with the employer. Increasingly, labor disputes
were settled informally prior to scheduled hearing dates in the labor
court.
Under the BLA, legally registered unions are entitled to bargain
collectively with employers. The BLA simplified and clarified the
procedure for selecting a collective bargaining agent and specified
time limits for steps in the process. Labor organizations reported that
in some companies, workers feared reprisals and did not exercise their
collective bargaining rights.
EPZ officials interpreted their regulations and applicable laws
narrowly, and claimed they were exempt from the broader labor law.
Labor groups challenged this claim. For example, the EPZ did not permit
Worker Representation and Welfare Committee (WRWC) members to meet with
WRWC members in other factories. Some factory managers strongly
discouraged workers from meeting outside labor groups and sometimes
terminated workers who disregarded these warnings. The challenges to
EPZ officials were ongoing at year's end.
Pursuant to the law, individual factory owners received prior
authorization from the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority
(BEPZA) Executive Chairman to terminate WRWC employees for no cause, or
to dismiss them for cause. In cases where the grounds for termination
were believed to be the worker's labor organization activities,
workers' groups protested the decision to the BEPZA Executive Chairman.
The chairman claimed his office held every employer personally
accountable for termination, though workers' groups reported that this
was not fully enforced.
Federations of workers associations within the EPZ were permitted.
As in previous years, the Government did not establish an EPZ labor
tribunal or an EPZ labor appellate tribunal as required by EWAIRA.
Workers in EPZs began filing complaints in the national labor courts to
enforce broader legal rights in the EPZs, in addition to provisions of
the EWAIRA.
Throughout the year labor organizers reported acts of intimidation
and abuse as well as increased scrutiny by security forces and the
National Security Intelligence Agency. Sporadic labor unrest occurred
throughout the country. In the wake of unrest, labor organizers
reported frequent acts of intimidation and abuse, arbitrarily locked
out employees, firing of workers, and increased scrutiny by security
forces.
Authorities sometimes arrested labor organizers in what some NGOs
considered a crackdown on labor rights activists. For example, on
January 24, authorities arrested Mehedi Hasan of the Worker's Rights
Consortium because he had investigated the worker protests. NGOs
alleged that the Government arrested him in an attempt to intimidate
labor organizers from launching similar protests. Largely due to
significant international pressure, authorities released Hasan on
February 3.
Similarly, on January 18, according to media reports and Odhikar,
police arrested 11 labor workers due to their involvement in labor
protests in Mirpur and Kachukhet. During the protests, police used
clubs and tear gas to disperse the crowd, injuring approximately 100
protesters. Among others, four of the labor organizers were arrested on
charges of violating the Emergency Powers Rules; in addition, one was
charged with assault of an officer, and the others were charged with
vandalizing garment factories and vehicles. Two of the charges remained
pending at year's end.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The BLA prohibits
forced or bonded labor and labor by children younger than 14, although
in some occupations children between 12 to 14 years of age may legally
work. The Government has not enforced these prohibitions effectively.
The BLA created inspection mechanisms to strengthen laws against forced
labor, but these laws were not enforced.
The Government succeeded in eliminating some bonded and forced
labor from large-scale industries. However, in some industries, such as
tanning hides, ship breaking, shrimp processing, restaurants, and
domestic servitude, labor groups, NGOs and newspapers reported child
labor.
There continued to be numerous reports of violence against domestic
workers. The Government continued to bring criminal charges against
employers who abused domestic servants. Many impoverished families
chose to settle for financial compensation. Trafficking of women and
children remained a problem.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
BLA regulates child employment depending on the type of work and the
child's age. Because of widespread poverty many children began to work
at a young age. In 2006 the International Labor Organization (ILO)
released a 2005 Baseline Survey for Determining Hazardous Child Labor
Sectors, which estimated that of the 2.2 million workers in 45 targeted
hazardous sectors, 532,000 child workers age five to 17 did hazardous
labor. According to the survey, no children worked in ship breaking,
manufacture of cigarettes, manufacture of pesticides, or fireworks
manufacture during the survey period. According to the study, child
labor prevailed in hazardous establishments such as saw milling,
battery recharging, welding, metal works, and carpentry. In addition,
the report concluded that children were verbally and physically abused.
During the year the Government, with ILO support, established a
child labor unit at the Ministry of Labor and Employment to coordinate
planning and execution of all child-related labor interventions.
Children routinely performed domestic work. The Government
occasionally brought criminal charges against employers who abused
domestic servants. Under the law every child must attend school through
grade five or the age of 10 years, but there is no effective legal
mechanism to enforce this provision.
There was little enforcement of child labor legislation outside the
export garment sector. The BLA specifies penalties for child labor
violations, typically nominal fines of less than 5,000 taka ($80).
Agriculture and other informal sectors that had no government oversight
employed large numbers of children.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The National Minimum Wage Board
(NMWB) announced a new national minimum wage in 2007 for all economic
sectors not covered by industry-specific wages at 1,800 taka a month
($26.50). Given the low standard for minimum wages and high inflation,
worker advocacy groups stated that none of the set minimum wages were
sufficient for a decent standard of living. The NMWB convenes every
five years in a tripartite forum to set wages and benefits industry by
industry, using a skill-level range. In the garment industry, wages
were sometimes higher than the minimum required wages, due to skilled
labor shortages. Wages in the EPZs were considerably higher than
general national wage levels. It was also common practice for garment
factories to force workers to work overtime, delay their pay, and deny
full leave benefits.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association
(BGMEA) reported implementation of the minimum wage at nearly 99
percent compliance in the factories surveyed. BGMEA identified 32
noncompliant garment factories as subcontracting operations. Workers
groups contested BGMEA's sampling methods.
The BLA established occupational health and safety standards.
Workers groups stated that legally established standards were
sufficient, but they were rarely implemented. Workers may resort to
legal action for enforcement of the law's provisions, but few cases
were prosecuted. Enforcement by the Labor Ministry's industrial
inspectors was weak, due to the low number of labor inspectors and
endemic corruption and inefficiency among inspectors. Because of a high
unemployment rate and inadequate enforcement of the laws, workers
demanding correction of dangerous working conditions or refusing to
work under hazardous conditions risked losing their jobs. A work day is
eight hours; however, a worker may work 10 hours a day in certain
instances. Overtime is permitted but the employer must pay double the
basic wage and other allowances and ad hoc or interim wage for the
overtime work.
A standard work week is 48 hours but can be extended up to 60
hours, subject to the payment of overtime allowances. However, annually
the average weekly working hours should not exceed 56 hours. Workers
must get one hour of rest if they work for more than six hours a day,
one-half hour of rest if the worker needs to work more than five hours
a day, and one hour's rest at intervals for more than eight hours' work
in a day. Factory workers receive one day off every week. Shopworkers
receive one and one-half days off per week.
__________
BHUTAN
Bhutan is a democratic, constitutional monarchy with a population
of approximately 700,000. During the year the country completed its
transition from a hereditary monarchy. On July 18, the parliament
formally adopted the constitution, originally drafted in 2003 and
published in 2005. On March 24, citizens elected a national assembly of
the new bicameral parliament, while elections in December 2007
installed the national council. The current King. Jigme Khesar Namgyel
Wangchuck, is the head of state, and executive power is vested in the
cabinet, headed by the prime minister. The civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
The transition to a parliamentary democracy helped the human rights
situation to improve considerably; however, there were continued
difficulties with the regulation of religion, and some discrimination
against the ethnic Nepalese minority.
In January and February several bomb blasts hit the country's
southern districts prior to the March 24 elections. The Government
blamed the blasts on Maoists and ethnic Nepalese rebels. A human rights
group alleged that the Government unlawfully detained 50 suspected
Maoists in connection with the blasts, but there was no specific
evidence to support this charge. On December 30, United Revolutionary
Front of Bhutan (URFB) rebels attacked a group of forest workers,
killing four persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, however, in contrast to
previous years, some human rights groups alleged that the army
mistreated arrested cadres of the Bhutan Communist Party o- Marxist
Leninist Maoist (BCP-MLM) after a string of bomb blasts prior to the
March elections. The South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre
(SAHRDC) received anecdotal information from Indian border towns that
the Government detained Maoist leaders and denied them food and medical
treatment. There was no confirmation of these allegations.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
reportedly satisfactory, and buildings and installations remained in
fairly good condition. In November 2007 the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Lodrai sub-district jail and Chamgang
central jail. In both locations authorities kept prisoners incarcerated
for politically motivated crimes in areas separate from common
criminals. The Government extended the ICRC prison visits program for
an additional year, as it had done annually since the Government and
the ICRC signed a five year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 1998.
Authorities have been cooperative and allowed the ICRC unhindered
access. The MOU is routinely renewed every year for the following year.
The latest one is valid for one year starting October 20. However, the
ICRC did not make their annual visit to the country due to the King's
coronation celebration but planned to come in early 2009.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions. However, a human rights group reported that 50 CPM-MLM
cadres arrested in connection with the bomb blasts in January and
February continued to be detained, although no information was
available regarding their whereabouts or whether they had been charged.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Bhutan
Police, under the control of the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs,
was responsible for internal security. The Royal Bhutan Army was
responsible for external threats but also some internal security
responsibilities, such as guarding forests, providing security for
important persons, and conducting counterinsurgency operations. The
army and police both have internal investigative procedures, and a
court of inquiry undertakes the investigation of any allegation of
inappropriate conduct. If a case arises, the King or another senior
official makes the final decision. In corruption cases, the Anti-
Corruption Commission (ACC) is authorized to investigate.
Arrest and Detention.--Under the law police may not arrest a person
without a warrant, and in practice the police generally respected the
law, which requires an immediate statement of the charge and a
reasonable effort to inform the person's family. The authorities are
required to bring an arrested person before a court within 24 hours,
exclusive of travel time from place of arrest. Bail is available
depending on the severity of charges, the suspect's past criminal
record, likelihood of flight, and potential threat to the public.
Unlike previous years, no ethnic-Nepalese or Bhutanese attempted to
return to the country through camps in Nepal. There were no attempts to
hold demonstrations on the border during the year. ICRC and the Nepal
Red Cross Society continued to partially reimburse the travel fare for
the families of detainees living in camps administered by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Nepal wishing to
visit their relatives detained in Chamgang. ICRC authorities offered
families living in neighboring countries assistance to visit relatives
held in the country. In addition, the ICRC relayed Red Cross messages
between detainees and their families.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--In January 2007 the Government
passed the Judiciary Services Act (JSA), establishing the formal
separation of the judiciary from the executive. The act established
conduct standards for judges and other judicial service personnel. In
practice the judiciary generally enforced the right to a fair trial.
The judiciary is overseen by the National Judicial Commission (NJC).
The JSA created a Supreme Court that has the responsibility of
overseeing the interpretation and application of the constitution. The
judicial system consists of subdivisional courts, district courts, and
a high court. The NJC nominates and the King confirms judges to the
High Court and 20 district court justices. Judges may be removed,
suspended, or censured by the King only at the request of the NJC. The
chief justice of the High Court, using recommendations of the Judicial
Service Council, makes judicial appointments to the subdivisional
courts.
The Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) is the judicial support
department of the Government and conducts state prosecutions, drafts
and reviews legislation, and renders legal counsel. The OLA consists of
a legal services division with domestic, international, and human
rights sections, and a prosecution division with both a criminal and
civil section.
Village headmen, who have the power to arbitrate disputes,
constituted the bottom rung of the judicial system. Magistrates with
responsibility for a block of villages reviewed the decisions of
village headmen. Magistrates' decisions could be appealed to district
judges; there was one for each of the country's 20 districts.
Trial Procedures.--The law stipulates that defendants receive a
fair and speedy trial, as long as it does not limit the ability of the
accused to prepare an adequate defense, and the Government generally
respected these conditions in practice. A preliminary hearing must be
convened within 10 days of registration with the appropriate court.
Before any guilty or no contest plea is registered, the court must
determine whether the accused is mentally sound and understands the
consequences of such action. Defendants enjoy a presumption of
innocence, and cases must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Juries
were not used. Punishments included imprisonment, probation, fines, or
restitution. Defendants have the right to appeal to the High Court and
may make a final appeal to the King. who traditionally delegated the
decision to the Royal Advisory Council. Trials were conducted publicly,
except for family law and cases involving juveniles.
Citizens generally had the right to a fair trial. Courts tried
criminal and civil cases under both customary law and the legal code.
State appointed OLA prosecutors filed charges and prosecuted cases for
offenses against the state. In other cases the relevant organizations
and departments of government filed charges and conducted the
prosecution. Defendants and their attorneys had access to government-
held evidence.
The law provides for the right to representation in criminal cases,
including state provision of counsel pro bono when the defendant cannot
afford to pay. However, in practice there are no instances of the
Government providing free legal counsel to political opponents, and
many citizens who were unable to afford representation did not receive
professional legal assistance. Defendants may choose legal
representation from a list of government licensed advocates. The
Government stressed the utility of judiciary Web sites for legal
information as a means of self-help. The OLA stated that most
defendants sought legal assistance only in serious criminal cases.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year the Human
Rights Organization of Bhutan estimated that the Government released
four or five individuals who had been imprisoned for violence
associated with political dissidence from 1991 to 1992. No ICRC visits
took place during the year. However, in 2007 the Government permitted
ICRC regular access to 37 detainees and the ICRC monitored 41 newly
registered cases, visiting 78 detainees in total. The ICRC facilitated
the distribution of 120 Red Cross messages from family members to
detainees.
Several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) asserted that while
some of the detainees were sentenced to life in prison, other sentences
varied and most ranged from three months to three years.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Criminal matters and most
civil matters are resolved by application of the 17th century legal
code as revised in 1957 and 2001. Precedence is not used in the
delivery of justice. Questions of family law are governed by
traditional Buddhist or Hindu law. Minor offenses are adjudicated by
village headmen.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government
generally respected these prohibitions.
Human rights groups claimed that the Government interfered with
individual rights by requiring all citizens, including minorities, to
wear the traditional dress of the ethnic majority in public places. The
Government strictly enforced the law only for Buddhist religious
buildings, government offices, schools, official functions, and public
ceremonies. Increasingly, younger citizens flouted this regulation.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
In January and February a series of five explosions occurred, including
one in the capital, Thimphu, which injured 11 persons. The Government
blamed the attacks on Maoists and ethnic Nepalese rebels, including the
BCP-MLM, the Bhutan Tiger Force, and the URFB. Security forces on both
sides of the border suggested that the Maoist groups frequently crossed
into India to purchase weapons and explosives; consequently, during the
year, both countries fortified the 250-mile border.
Ethnic Nepalese political organizations, such as the HUROB, claimed
that security forces harassed persons in the southern part of the
country.
On January 16, a Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) patrol exchanged fire with
a group of militants in Lower Dhanessey, in Tsirang. RBA reported that
the militants came from the refugee camps in Nepal.
On January 20, four bomb explosions occurred in four districts:
Samste, Thimphu, Chukha, and Dagana. The URFB claimed responsibility.
On February 3, police reported that a bomb exploded behind the
Renewal Natural Resources office in Ghmauney. There were no casualties.
Near the scene of the explosion, police allegedly found BCP-MLM
pamphlets threatening to disrupt the national assembly elections.
In March police reported that they raided two small Maoist camps in
the jungles of the southern districts and arrested eight rebels,
including a Maoist ``commander.'' Police also claimed that they killed
at least five suspected Maoists during several operations in the same
month.
On March 13, police reported that Bik Bahadur Subba died while
handling an explosive device at his house. Police claim that Subba was
a member of BCP-MLM and was one of four militants responsible for
planting two bombs in Dagapela on January 20.
On March 15, two blasts destroyed the base of an electric tower in
Ahley village of the Chukha district. The tower transports hydropower
from the Tala project to India. The URFB allegedly left pamphlets
claiming responsibility.
On December 30, URFB rebels attacked a group of forest workers in
the Sarpang district in southern part of the country. The rebels had
planted an improvised explosive device on the road and opened fire on
the workers after the explosion. The attack killed four forest workers
and injured two others.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government attempted
occasionally to impede criticism and monitor political meetings.
Individuals were able to criticize the Government publicly.
Several independent newspapers operated freely and published
stories critical of the Government. Foreign newspapers and magazines
were available. In May 2007 the Government proposed controls on
advertising; after many unfavorable newspaper editorials, the
Government withdrew the proposal.
The Government allowed foreign broadcasts. Private radio and
television stations were active and expressed a variety of views,
although the Government may have limited the number of television
channels available. In April 2007 a private radio station, Radio Valley
FM, began operations in English and Dzongkha. International
organizations maintained that the operational costs were often more
prohibitive than government restrictions. The Government did not censor
content.
Internet Freedom.--Individuals and groups could generally engage in
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, although there were some
reports of government restrictions. The Government blocked access to
two news sites, bhutantimes.com and bhutannews.com. Government
officials said forum discussions on bhutantimes.com were too critical
of Minister Sangey Nidup, maternal uncle of the King. In August 2007
bhutantimes.com reported that the Government lifted its block on
service within the country. Bhutannews.com was no longer operational at
year's end. The Government continued to monitor material on the
Internet and blocked what it deemed pornographic.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right to freedom of
peaceful assembly and freedom of association, with the caveat that
membership to associations that are ``harmful to the peace and unity of
the country'' are excluded. In January 2007, according to SAHRDC, a
group of ethnic Nepalese staged a protest in Phuntsholing as part of
their continuing effort to pressure the Government to resolve the
Bhutanese refugee problem in Nepal. Police arrested the demonstrators
and handed them to the Jaigaon police of West Bengal in India.
NGOs that work on overtly political issues were not allowed to
operate inside the country. In December 2007 the Samtse District Court
in the southwest sentenced 30 members of the BPB-MLM, based in Nepal,
for alleged acts of sedition. In recent years, security forces arrested
citizens for taking part in peaceful prodemocracy demonstrations. They
also arrested and deported Southern Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal
who entered and demonstrated inside the country for the right to return
home.
Freedom of Association.--The law provided for freedom of
association, and the Government permitted the registration of some
political parties and organizations. However, the Government did not
permit political parties organized by ethnic Nepalese citizens.
According to international NGOs, local civil society organizations
attempted to balance criticism of the Government to foster a mutually
comfortable working relationship.
c. Freedom of Religion.--Mahayana Buddhism is the state religion;
however, the law provides for freedom of religion. There were
allegations that the Government restricted this right in practice.
The Government favored the Drukpa Kagyupa and Ningmapa Buddhist
groups through subsidization of monasteries and shrines, as well as aid
for monks. The Government stated its actions were in accordance with a
1956 agreement following its seizure of Buddhist land for
redistribution to landless citizens. Societal pressure to practice
Buddhism was not apparent. Major Buddhist holy days are state holidays.
The King declared one major Hindu festival a national holiday, with
royal family participation.
NGOs reported that the Government required permission to build
religious temples but rarely granted it for non-Buddhist buildings.
Followers of religions other than Buddhism and Hinduism were free to
worship in private homes but could not erect religious buildings or
congregate in public. International Christian relief organizations and
Jesuit priests were active in education and humanitarian activities.
Proselytism and forced conversion are barred under the National
Security Act, which prohibits speech that promotes ``enmity or hatred''
between religious groups. Violation of the law is punishable with up to
three years' imprisonment, although government enforcement of this
provision was unclear.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to dissidents living
outside the country, the Government permitted only Drukpa Kagyupa and
Ningmapa Buddhist religious teaching in schools. Some dissidents
claimed that Buddhist prayer was compulsory in all government-run
schools; however, the Government contended that Buddhist teaching was
permitted only in monastic schools and that religious teaching was
forbidden in other schools. Local NGOs confirmed that although students
took part in a prayer session each morning, it was nondenominational
and noncompulsory. Government authorities occasionally asked applicants
to state their religion before rendering public services. The
Government required all civil servants to take an oath of allegiance
that did not have religious content but was administered by a Buddhist
Lama. There were no reports of Hindus and Christians in government
service being denied promotions.
The country does not have a Jewish population, and there were no
reports of anti-Semitic acts.
The formal practice of Hinduism is permitted.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for these rights,
but the Government limited them in practice. In districts along the
Chinese and Indian borders, the Government administered highway
checkpoints and required travelers to show their citizenship identity
cards.
The law does not address forced exile. Although the Government
officially does not use formal exile, there were over 100,000 ethnic
Nepalese Bhutanese living in refugee camps in Nepal and India after a
government campaign in the 1980s forced them out of the country. While
the Government has agreed, in principle, to accept many into the
country, they have declined requests to visit the refugee camps. In
previous years many political dissidents freed under government amnesty
stated they were released on the condition that they depart the
country. The Government denied this assertion. Many of those released
subsequently registered at refugee camps in Nepal, while some relocated
to India.
The Government restricted emigration and prohibited the return of
citizens who left the country. The country's citizenship laws state
that persons who have left the country of their own accord, without the
knowledge or permission of the Government, or whose names are not
recorded in the citizenship register maintained in the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA), would not be considered citizens of the country. Some
dissidents and human rights groups claimed that the Government wrote
the law specifically to deny citizenship to ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese.
Human rights groups also alleged that some ethnic Nepalese with
relatives in the camps faced insurmountable bureaucratic challenges and
were denied identification cards for procedural reasons. As a result,
these individuals were unable to participate in the election process.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for granting
asylum in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the Government has not
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice,
the Government provided some protection against the expulsion or return
of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened.
From 1990 to 1993 more than 80,000 ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese
entered Nepal. Approximately 15,000 additional refugees fled Nepal to
India, but UNHCR did not accord them refugee status. According to Human
Rights Watch (HRW), there were between 25,000 and 45,000 unregistered
ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese refugees living outside refugee camps in
India and Nepal who also did not have Bhutanese citizenship, rendering
these persons stateless. The Government has stated its commitment to
receiving ``genuine'' refugees wishing to return voluntarily from the
camps but maintains that only a small number of persons in the Nepali
camps are genuine Bhutanese.
Stateless Persons.--Implementation of a government conducted
nationwide census in 1985 resulted in the denationalization of many
ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese. The census was redone in 1988-1989 in the
southern districts. At that time persons were required to present land
ownership documents from 1958. Those who then lost citizenship under
the 1985 law were permitted to re-apply for citizenship provided that
certain conditions were met. The Government considered those who could
not meet the harsher citizenship requirements as illegal immigrants.
Beginning in 1988 the Government expelled large numbers of ethnic-
Nepalese Bhutanese under the 1985 citizenship law.
The law provides for the revocation of the citizenship of any
naturalized citizen who ``has shown by act or speech to be disloyal in
any manner whatsoever to the King. country, and people of Bhutan.'' The
MHA later declared that any nationals leaving the country to assist
``antinationals,'' and the families of such persons, would forfeit
their citizenship. The law permits re-application for citizenship after
a two-year probationary period. The Government re-issued citizenship
upon successful completion of the probation period and a finding that
the person in question is not responsible for any act against the
Government.
There were allegations that the Government sponsored discrimination
targeted at the remaining ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese living in the
country through restrictive citizenship laws. Ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese
must meet very strict criteria to be considered ``genuine'' Bhutanese
and obtain citizenship and security clearances in the form of No
Objection Certificates (NOCs). Without citizenship they are stateless
and face discrimination with regard to education, employment, and land
ownership.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The country completed its successful transition from a hereditary
monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, marking the final step in the
transition to a parliamentary democracy. National Assembly elections
took place in March, and on July 18, the constitution was adopted. The
constitution stipulates limited rights to change the Government, a
separation of powers, and protection of human rights.
Elections and Political Participation.--In March 2007 the
Government began allowing political parties to register for the first
time under terms of the draft constitution. Three parties registered
with the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB). In November 2007 the ECB
disqualified the Bhutan People's United Party, for ``failing to prove
its credibility'' as a national political party because its candidates
did not meet the education requirements. There was no action on its
appeal. Activists reportedly were arrested in mid-2007 for putting up
posters and other campaign materials for unregistered political
parties. The Government regarded political parties organized by ethnic-
Nepalese Bhutanese living in Nepalese refugee camps as illegal,
terrorist, and antinational. These parties, which sought the
repatriation of refugees and democratic reforms, were unable to conduct
activities inside the country.
The new constitution stipulates a bicameral parliament, and the
Election Act specifies that a candidate must have at least a bachelor's
degree to contest the parliamentary election. On March 24, voters
elected the 47-member National Assembly, the lower house. The Druk
Phensum Tshogpa won 44 out of 47 seats in which 80 percent of the
320,000 voters cast a ballot. HRW reported that the Government excluded
13 percent of the population from voting because, as ethnic-Nepalis,
they were considered ``non-nationals'' in the 2005 census. Nonetheless,
nine Nepali speaking candidates were elected.
There are 25 members of the National Council, or upper house of
parliament; the King appoints five members and the remaining members
are elected. In December 2007 elections for the National Council,
voters elected three women, two Nepali speakers and one Hindu, and one
Christian. International monitors judged the elections free and fair.
Women constituted 26 percent of civil service employees and held
more than 30 percent of positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
There were no women on the high court, although there was one female
judge in a district court. There was no provision for allocating a set
number or percentage of parliamentary seats for women or members of
minority groups.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. The Government took an active role
in addressing the issue through the public accounts committee in the
National Assembly and the Royal Audit Authority, which monitored the
use of government funds. The anticorruption fraud alert system allowed
citizens to post information on its Web site regarding corrupt
practices. During 2007 the ACC received 283 complaints, mostly by civil
servants, with 18 investigations underway.During the year the ACC
received 1,576 complaints and investigated 34 cases involving 196
persons.
A 2007 Corruption Perception Survey underlined that 43 percent of
the responding citizens perceived a rise in corruption during the past
five years.
There is no law providing public access to government information;
however, NGOs reported that the Government regularly provided
unclassified information upon request.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were no legal human rights organizations in the country. The
Government regarded human rights groups established by ethnic-Nepalese
Bhutanese as political organizations and did not permit them to operate
in the country. The ICRC was the only human rights monitoring group
officially operating in the country. However, various civil society
organizations function locally and informally. Several international
NGOs recently started operations in the country.
In July the Government condemned UNHCR for its failure to screen
individuals entering camps in Nepal in the early 1990s to determine if
they were genuine citizens and refugees. The demarche charged that
individuals who entered the camps before screening and registration
mechanisms were established are not citizens and are, with UNHCR's
protection, using the camps as a base for terrorist activities against
the country.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
sex, disability, language, or social status.
Women.--The law mandates that the Government should take
appropriate measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination and
exploitation of women, including trafficking, prostitution, abuse,
violence, harassment, and intimidation both at work and at home, and
generally the law is enforced. NGOS reported that women faced little
overt discrimination and had equal access to health care, education,
and public services. While there was no evidence that rape or spousal
abuse were extensive problems, NGOs reported that many women did not
report rape because of cultural taboos or because they were unaware of
their rights.
The law contains a clear definition of criminal sexual assault and
specifies penalties. In cases of rape involving minors, sentences range
from five to 17 years in prison. In extreme cases a rapist may be
imprisoned for life. Spousal rape is illegal. There were few reported
instances of sexual harassment.
Women were accorded respect in the traditions of most ethnic groups
and participated freely in the social and economic life of the country.
Inheritance law provides for equal inheritance among all sons and
daughters, but traditional inheritance practices, which vary among
ethnic groups, may be observed if the heirs choose to forego legal
challenges. For example, traditional inheritance laws for the majority
of Buddhists stipulate that daughters inherit family land. As a result,
60 percent of rural women held land registration titles, accounting for
the large number of women who owned shops and businesses. Tradition
dictates that the most capable member of the family runs the household,
which often resulted in the mother or eldest daughter holding this
position. Within the household men and women were relatively equal.
Employers generally paid women in unskilled jobs slightly less than men
in the same positions. In 2004 women constituted approximately 30
percent of the formal work force. Dowries were not customary, even
among ethnic Nepalese Hindus.
Prostitution took place on a limited scale, mostly in border towns.
The law covers questions related to family issues, including
divorce, child custody, and inheritance. The minimum age of marriage
for women is 18 years. The law provides for equal treatment for men and
women. Polygamy is allowed provided the first wife gives her
permission. Polyandry is permitted but rare. Marriages may be arranged
by the marriage partners themselves as well as by their parents. The
law requires that all marriages be registered.
The National Women's Association of Bhutan tried to encourage women
to improve their living standards and socio-economic status. A National
Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) actively defended the rights
of women and children during the year. Respect, Educate, Nurture and
Empower Women, a new organization operating with funding and direction
from the Queen, focused on HIV/AIDS and other health issues to improve
the lives of underprivileged and marginalized women. In April 2007, the
Government established the Women and Child Protection Unit, run by
female police officers in collaboration with the NCWC. The unit
provides a setting for women to voice problems freely and works to
ensure that victims receive appropriate care.
Children.--The law provides for children's rights, and the
Government's policies generally supported these provisions. Child abuse
was rare. Terrain and settlement patterns prevent all births from being
registered. NGOs assert that children of nonregistered ethnic-Nepalese
Bhutanese may not have their births registered. The failure of timely
birth registration has negative consequences, as children may find it
more difficult to obtain citizenship cards.
The Government provides 11 years of universal, free education.
According to the United Nations Development Program's 2007 report, the
primary school net enrollment rate was 82.1 percent. The Ministry of
Education reported that enrollment of girls at every level of general
education has slowly, but steadily increased since 2002. Girls
comprised 49 percent of the enrollment in schools and, in several
districts, the average surpassed 50 percent. Approximately 33 percent
of university students were female and only 18 percent of the students
receiving study abroad scholarships were also female.
There is no law barring ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese children from
attending school. However, the Government denied NOCs to children of
ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese whom the Government claimed were
antinationals, thus denying them higher education. Exile groups claimed
that the Government discriminated against ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese
secondary-level students in distribution of educational advantages and
benefits, particularly if they were related to prominent dissidents or
refugees. The Government refuted this claim, stating that all
scholarships were merit based.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons,
and reliable sources indicated that low numbers of individuals were
trafficked both to and from the country, although exact numbers were
difficult to ascertain due to a lack of NGOs and government officials
working on this issue. There were no reported cases of trafficking
within the country.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not protect specifically
the rights of citizens with disabilities; however, it directs the
Government to try to provide security in the ``event of sickness and
disability.'' There was no evidence of official discrimination against
persons with disabilities in matters of employment, education, access
to health care, or in the provision of other state services. The law
stipulates that new buildings must be constructed to allow access for
persons with disabilities; however, the Government did not enforce the
law consistently. Under the Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation
Program, the Government seeks to provide medical and vocational
rehabilitation for persons with all types of disabilities, promote
integration of children with disabilities into normal schools, and
foster community awareness and social integration.
There are special educational institutes for students with
disabilities. The National Institute for the Disabled in Khaling
educates visually impaired children, and there is a deaf education
resource unit in Paro. There are special education facilities in
Thimphu to meet the needs of children with physical and mental
disabilities. While there were no government sponsored social welfare
services available for persons with disabilities, the National Pension
and Provident Fund grants benefits to persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--An estimated 100,000 ethnic-
Nepalese Bhutanese left the country in the early 1990s, although the
Government asserted that a substantially smaller number departed.
Ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese claimed they were subject to discrimination
and prejudice in employment, while the Government insisted they were
proportionally represented in civil service and government jobs. Human
rights groups outside the country contended that the Government's
employment claims are based on intentionally inaccurate numbers.
The Government resettled Drukpa Bhutanese in the southern part of
the country on land vacated by the ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese. Human
rights groups maintained that this prejudiced any eventual outcome of
negotiations over the return of the refugees to the country. The
Government maintained that it occasionally resettled Lhotsampa from the
south on more fertile land in other parts of the country. In the same
fashion, the Government's one-time only policy on the forced retirement
of refugee family members in government service, and the resettlement
of Drukpa on land vacated by expelled ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese in the
south, reinforced prejudice against the ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese. The
Government argued that the resettlement scheme was part of a nationwide
program to discourage migration to urban centers and reduce the
dependence of landless persons of migrant farming.
The law requires that the national dress be worn for official
occasions and as a school uniform, and that the Dzongkha language be
taught as a second language in all schools. No instruction in Nepali as
a second language was required or offered. Discriminatory measures with
regard to ethnic minority communities continued.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Homosexuality is illegal
in the country and punishable as a petty misdemeanor with a prison
sentence ranging from one month to one year. There were no reported
cases of such charges.
There is no mention of HIV/AIDS or language referring to
discrimination based on illnesses in the constitution. However, these
topics were not considered taboo in the country and the World Bank
reported that the Government discussed sexual health issues openly and
positively.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form
workers' associations; however, there were no associations operating in
the country during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does
not authorize collective bargaining. The Labor and Employment Act of
2007 grants workers the right to litigate. Workers do not have the
right to strike.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Government
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however,
there were reports that such practices occurred. The Government
required community service to build local roads, schools, and
hospitals. NGOs reported that in southern areas of the country, where
Drukpas were resettled following the move of ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese,
remaining ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese were required to perform a
disproportionate amount of compulsory labor. The Government and NGOs
stated that rural workers often volunteered to work on national
projects and were paid slightly above the minimum wage.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the employment of children; however, child labor was
prevalent. There is no minimum age for employment. The Labor and
Employment Act of 2007 allows for employment of children between the
ages of 13 and 17 in environments that would not damage their health.
Children under 18 often performed agricultural work and chores on
family farms and shops after school and during holidays. Girls are
occasionally employed as domestic workers, where they are vulnerable to
abuse and exploitation. NGOs estimated that there were approximately
45,000 persons under 18 who were working. Labor inspectors operating
under the Ministry of Labor and Human Resources enforced child labor
laws sporadically.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law addresses issues such as
minimum wage, sexual harassment, workers' associations, acceptable
forms of child labor, and labor inspection regulations. In 2007
parliament passed a Labor Act which allows employees to form an
association in one office if at least 12 employees join the
association. The law was first tested on September 24, when Bhutan
Telecom employees decided to form an association after they accused
management and the Government of discriminatory behavior in promotions.
There have been no subsequent updates on the formation of the
association. The law does not allow for the formation of unions or for
strikes.
The national minimum wage of 99.44 ngultrums (approximately $2.50)
per day plus various allowances paid in cash or kind provided a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. In June the Ministry of
Labor announced that it planned to form a committee that will examine
the minimum wage in terms of employers' ability to afford the wage,
employee productivity, type of work, and cost of living. The committee
had not released its findings by year's end. The workday is defined as
eight hours with a one-hour lunch break, and employers must grant
regular days of leisure. Work in excess of this must be paid at one and
one-half times the normal rates.
All citizens are entitled to free medical care. The Government
transported persons who could not receive adequate care within the
country to other countries (usually India) for treatment. Workers are
eligible for compensation in the case of partial or total disability,
and in the event of death, their families are entitled to compensation.
Existing labor regulations do not grant workers the right to remove
themselves from work situations that endanger health and safety without
jeopardizing their continued employment.
__________
INDIA
India is a multiparty, federal, parliamentary democracy with a
bicameral parliament and a population of approximately 1.1 billion with
an active civil society. Manmohan Singh became prime minister following
his Congress Party-led coalition's victory in the 2004 general
elections, which were considered free and fair, despite scattered
instances of violence. Serious internal conflicts affected the states
of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as several states in the north and east.
While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of
the security forces, security forces occasionally acted independently
of government authority during incidents of communal tensions in states
such as Karnataka.
The Government generally respected the rights of its citizens;
however, serious problems remained. Major problems included
extrajudicial killings of persons in custody, disappearances, and
torture and rape by police and other security forces. Investigations
into individual abuses and legal punishment for perpetrators occurred,
but for the majority of abuses, the lack of accountability created an
atmosphere of impunity. Poor prison conditions and lengthy detentions
during both pretrial and trial proceedings remained significant
problems. Officials used special antiterrorism legislation to justify
the excessive use of force. Corruption existed at all levels of
government and police. The Government applied restrictions to the
travel and activities of visiting experts and scholars. Significant
restrictions remained on the funding and activities of NGOs. Increasing
attacks against religious minorities and the promulgation of
antireligious conversion laws were concerns. Violence associated with
caste-based discrimination occurred. Domestic violence, child marriage,
dowry-related deaths, honor crimes, female infanticide and feticide
remain serious problems. Trafficking in persons and exploitation of
indentured, bonded, and child labor were continuing problems.
Separatist guerrillas and terrorists in Kashmir, the Northeast, and
the Naxalite belt committed numerous serious abuses, including killing
armed forces personnel, police, government officials, judges, and
civilians. Insurgents engaged in widespread torture, rape, beheadings,
kidnapping, and extortion; however, the number of incidents declined
compared to the previous year.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were credible
reports that the Government and its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings of suspected
criminals and insurgents. A high rate of encounter killings occurred in
the Northeast, particularly in the states of Assam and Manipur. Sources
also reported encounter killings in Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, and
Chhattisgarh. Custodial deaths remained a serious problem, and
authorities often delayed prosecutions.
Despite the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC)
recommendations that all police encounter deaths be investigated by the
Criminal Investigations Department (CID), many states conducted
internal reviews only at the discretion of senior officers. For
example, between January and July, Mumbai police killed 12 alleged
criminals in nine separate encounters. There was no investigation of
these incidents despite NHRC recommendations to do so. On August 31,
police dismissed senior inspector Pradeep Sharma of the Mumbai police
after he was implicated in numerous encounter deaths. He is alleged to
have killed more than 112 persons over 25 years.
On July 4, according to Human Rights Alert, Manipur Police arrested
L. Bimolchandra in Imphal, Manipur, on suspicion of armed activities
against police. His death in police custody at Changangei prompted a
July 6 general strike by civil society organizations; the inquiry into
his death continued at year's end.
On September 19, police killed two suspected terrorists for
involvement in the September 13 Delhi serial blasts during an encounter
at Batla House, Delhi. Police Inspector MC Sharma was killed. Media and
human rights groups alleged that Delhi police staged the encounter,
including the shooting of Inspector Sharma. After the NGO Real Cause
filed a petition to investigate the shooting, the court directed an
inquiry according to NHRC guidelines. The investigation continued at
year's end.
On October 27, Rahul Raj, who had taken passengers hostage on a
public bus, was shot by police in Mumbai. The case was under
investigation at year's end.
There were no updates on several high profile killings. These
included the March 2007 killings of seven villagers near Santoshpur
village in Dantewara district of Chhattisgarh by ``unknown uniformed
persons.'' No investigation occurred in the April 2007 killings of two
boys, Asif Iqbal and Sahin Sk, allegedly by Border Security Forces
(BSF) in Murshidabad district. No developments occurred in the October
2007 arrest of Mohammed Tariq for the alleged torture and encounter
killing of schoolteacher Abdur Rashid Mir in Jammu.
In February a civil court in Srinagar charged seven policemen,
including Hans Raj Parihar, Senior Superintendent of Police, for the
2006 encounter killing of Abdur Rahman Padder. A trial continued at
year's end.
There were no developments in the following 2006 cases: the killing
of Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, the killing of Abu Osama, or the encounter killing
of two suspected Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) terrorists in Delhi. The 2006
death of Captain Sumit Kohli in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, remained
unresolved, with the army claiming he committed suicide but the family
alleging that he was killed because he was scheduled to testify against
another officer.
The 2006 Ram Narayan Gupta case before the Mumbai High Court
continued after investigators introduced evidence in September that
Gupta had been killed while in police custody.
Deaths while in police and judicial custody remained a significant
problem. According to the Home Ministry, the NHRC reported 1,459 deaths
nationally in police and judicial custody between April and December
2007. The Asian Center for Human Rights (ACHR) alleged that custodial
deaths were a severe problem and reported that 7,468 persons died in
prison or police custody since 2002.
According the NHRC, several states had significant numbers of
reported deaths in custody. In Jammu and Kashmir, 3,575 persons died in
custody during the past six years. The NHRC noted that deaths in
custody declined in both Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu due to measures
undertaken to improve prison conditions. In 2007, 25 persons died in
custody in Maharashtra compared to 21 in 2006. Beginning in June 2007,
according to a media report, the Government of Maharashtra stopped
automatic CID probes into custodial deaths to avoid ``demoralizing the
police force.'' According to the Kerala State Human Rights Commission
(KSHRC), 46 persons died in state custody in 2007, but the commission
found no evidence that any of the deaths were the result of police
torture as alleged by human rights groups.
NGOs reported other cases of deaths in custody. For example, on
March 30, Kadir Shaikh died in the custody of the Navi Mumbai police.
On May 3, Mohammad Yusuf died in Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. While NGOs
asserted that he died from beatings, prison officials claimed he died
from narcotics withdrawal. On May 25, Mainabai Naitam died while in the
custody of Gadchiroli district police. In these cases, the Government
of Maharashtra ordered a CID enquiry, all of which continued at year's
end.
There was no further progress on 2007 cases, such as the death of
Krishnapada Das in the Pathor Pratima police station in West Bengal or
the beating death of Hayat Seikh during a one-week detention at the
Beldanga police station for which one policeman had been suspended.
On March 11, authorities arrested Subinspector Narayan Tamuli,
assistant subinspector Pramode Ranjan Nath, and Constable Ramjan
Hossain for the custodial death of Matahar Ali Talukdar in 2007.
There were no developments in the 2006 custodial deaths of Gurmail
Singh, Madan Lal, or Premnath Janardan Rao.
As a result of an army inquiry into the 2006 killing of eight
civilians during protests of the custodial death of Ajit Mahanta, a
military court suspended soldier Nishant Sharma for one year and
imprisoned soldier Sudip Gurung for two months. The army paid 100,000
rupees (approximately $2,066) in compensation and agreed to pay for the
education and basic needs of Ajit Mahanta's two children. The Assam
government paid 500,000 rupees ($10,330) to Mahanta's widow and 300,000
rupees ($6,198) each to the families of those who died in the firing.
There were no updates following the July 2007 judicial inquiry
commission report into 15 custodial deaths in Kerala in 2006. It was
not known whether compensation promised by the Kerala home minister had
been paid to the families of nine victims.
In July Justice Basant ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation
examination into the 2005 custodial death of Udayakumar in Kerala.
Authorities had arrested three police constables and charged two with
murder and in 2007, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court directed
the CBI to investigate the case. A pending appeal against the High
Court's Division Bench order at the Supreme Court of India has
prevented the investigation.
Government agencies funded and directed combat operations of former
separatist guerrillas who surrendered to the Jammu and Kashmir
government and who used their own weapons as part of police auxiliary
units. According to NGOs, these units also used children both as
soldiers and in logistical and tactical support. There were credible
allegations that Naxalites (Maoist militants) in eastern and central
parts of the country who surrendered retained their weapons and worked
for the police as ``anti-People's War Group (PWG) officers'' to kill
other Naxalites and human rights activists with Maoist links. Police
denied the charges, attributing such killings to feuds within the PWG.
On February 5, police fired 30 rounds into a group of Forward Bloc
supporters in Dinhata, killing five persons. On February 11, the West
Bengal Chief Minister ordered a judicial probe into the incident, which
was pending at year's end.
A magisterial inquiry into the July 2007 killing by members of the
Anti-Naxal Special Police Force of five persons at Ammadlu village in
Chikmagalur district found that two of those killed were Naxalites,
while three were relatives of one of the militants. The inquiry
absolved the state police.
Unlawful killings due to societal violence, including vigilante
action, continued. For example, in September 2007, villagers in Bihar
beat to death a group of 10 suspected robbers. There were no updates in
this case during the year. Credible sources estimated that nearly 1,100
persons, including 726 civilians, have been killed by Maoists since
2004.
In November 2007 a key witness in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case
involving senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler reappeared. A Delhi
court ordered the CBI to reinvestigate the 1984 case and file a fresh
report. The case accused Tytler of encouraging Congress party workers,
police, and mobs in Delhi to kill Sikhs and destroy their property in
retribution for the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi. The case continued at year's end. Additional court action on
the 1984 anti-Sikh riots occurred on August 27 when the Delhi High
Court sentenced four persons to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of
21,000 rupees (approximately $477). The court found them guilty of
rioting, murder, and conspiracy.
Allegations of witchcraft resulted in several deaths. In June
crowds of villagers in Sonitpur district of Assam killed four members
of a family for allegations of witchcraft. In October three members of
another family were killed in another village in Assam. There were no
further developments during the year concerning the 2006 killing in
Sonitpur of five family members.
b. Disappearance.--As in the previous year, there were credible
reports that police throughout the country failed to file required
arrest reports for detained persons, resulting in hundreds of
unresolved disappearances. Police usually denied these claims.
While the Government maintained that state government screening
committees provided information about the detainees to their families,
other sources indicated that families often needed to bribe prison
guards to confirm detention of their relatives. The screening committee
for Jammu and Kashmir has not met for the past two years, although in
2006 the committee released 140 persons detained under the state Public
Safety Act (PSA).
On June 23, the Jammu and Kashmir police exhumed the body of
Mohammed Ashraf Shiekh, who disappeared on June 3. Police arrested
Reyaz Ahmed Chechi (alias Regan) and Tahir Ahmed Pathan of Shiek Muqam
Aloosa. Regan and Pathan alleged that Indian Army troops of the 3rd
Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment (JAKLI) killed Ashraf in
their presence. The case continued at year's end.
There were no developments during the year in the 2006 case filed
by Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the widow of human rights activist Jaswant
Singh Khalra, against former police chief K.P.S. Gill, or in the case
of Ghulam Nabi Mir, who disappeared in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir,
after Rashtriya Rifle officers allegedly raided his home.
Despite a special investigatory commission, the Government made
little progress during the year in holding hundreds of police and
security officials accountable for disappearances committed during the
Punjab counterinsurgency and the Delhi anti-Sikh riots of 1984-94. On
February 25, the NHRC criticized the Justice Bhalla Commission for its
inability to identify 657 victims still unaccounted for during the
Punjab counterinsurgency. The Government initially had investigated
2,097 cases of death and cremation during that period.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and generally did not allow for
confessions extracted by force to be admissible in court; however,
allegations were made that authorities used torture to extort money, as
summary punishment, and to obtain confessions. In some instances, these
confessions subsequently were used as evidentiary support for a death
sentence.
Methods of torture and abuse reportedly included beating; electric
shock; denial of food and water; rape; stripping; pins under nails;
chili pepper inserted in body cavities; denial of medical treatment;
and threats to harm children. Armed groups have used torture methods
such as severing of the ears and nose, rape, abduction, and beating.
According to the ACHR, prison authorities and armed forces were the
main perpetrators of torture, and the practice was considered routine
in police detentions and antiterrorist operations. Alleged reasons for
torture included obtaining bribes, extracting information, preventing a
complaint that may lead to a criminal inquiry, and compelling
confessions.
Because many alleged torture victims died in custody, and other
victims were afraid to speak out, there were few firsthand accounts.
Marks of what appeared to be torture were found on deceased detainees.
Police and jailers allegedly assaulted new prisoners or threatened
violence in exchange for money, favors, and personal articles. Although
police were subject to prosecution for such offenses, the Government
often failed to hold them accountable. According to Amnesty
International (AI), torture was ``endemic'' to the justice system and
often used against individuals ``on the basis of their caste, religion,
socioeconomic, and sexual identity.''
NGOs asserted that custodial torture was common in Tamil Nadu, and
credible sources claimed that police stations in Punjab, Andhra
Pradesh, Haryana, and Chandigarh used torture to obtain desired
testimony. The AHRC claimed that police used torture and assault in
Kerala as a means of criminal investigation. According to the AHRC,
Gujarat interrogation centers also used torture as part of questioning.
Between February 12 and 16, according to AHRC, officers at the
Bally police station in the Howrah district of West Bengal tortured
Ajay Yadav Kumar, when they found a body suspected of being Kumar's
missing wife, who disappeared in December 2006. At year's end Ajay
Yadav remained in jail, and the Government had not investigated the
case.
On April 3, the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission
directed the state police to reopen a 2003 rape case of an unnamed
victim involving army troops in the Kathua district. There were no
developments at year's end.
Several 2007 cases continued at year's end. The case against
Deganga Police Inspector Julfikaqr Ali Mollah for allegedly burning
Giasuddin Mando with acid was reported by the West Bengal Human Rights
Commission, and the CID began an investigation. On August 13, the local
magistrate ordered Mando released and hospitalized. The 2007 case of
Syed Aliin Vadapalani who died in Chennai police custody remained
unsolved at year's end, although the Tamil Nadu government ordered an
inquiry into allegations that the death resulted from police torture.
There were no developments in the 2006 torture and death of Saju, a
private bus driver. According to the AHRC, police tortured him when he
refused to pay a bribe, and he subsequently died in police custody.
On June 11, the NHRC asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to pay
300,000 rupees (approximately $6,818) in compensation to the next of
kin of Banarsi Das Sharma. He and his two sons were arrested in 2000,
and Sharma subsequently died. NHRC alleges that Army Intelligence
tortured Sharma and requested a report from the state government.
In Jammu and Kashmir, torture victims and relatives reportedly had
difficulty opening cases because local police were waiting for
permission from higher authorities. Concerns were raised about the
Jammu and Kashmir Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) of 1990,
which states that no ``prosecution, suit, or other legal proceeding
shall be instituted against any person'' without the approval of the
central government. The act allows security forces to shoot suspects
and destroy structures suspected of harboring violent separatists or
containing weapons. Human rights organizations claimed this provision
allowed security forces to act with impunity.
NGOs asserted that rape by police, including custodial rape, was
more common than NHRC figures indicated. A higher incidence of abuse
appeared credible, given other evidence of abusive behavior by police,
and the likelihood that many rapes went unreported due to the victims'
shame and fear of retribution. However, legal limits placed on the
arrest, search, and police custody of women appeared to reduce the
frequency of rape in custody. There were no recent NHRC data available
on the extent of custodial rape.
There was a pattern of rape by paramilitary personnel in Jammu and
Kashmir and the Northeast as a means of instilling fear among
noncombatants in insurgency-affected areas, but these incidents were
not included in NHRC statistics, as the NHRC does not have direct
investigative authority over the military.
On February 21, Chandigarh police detained two commandos belonging
to the Haryana police on charges of rape. Authorities ordered a First
Information Report (FIR) registered and a medical examination
conducted. The case continued at year's end.
During the year the CBI's Ambala, Haryana, court continued its
investigation into the 2007 rape and suicide of a woman, Savita, at the
Haryana police headquarters in Panchkula.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
life threatening and did not meet international standards. Prisons were
severely overcrowded, and food and medical care were inadequate. On
April 16, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that since 2007, 38,366
cases of human rights violations were registered in prisons throughout
the country. A 2006 NHRC report, the latest available, indicated that
the country's prisons were overcrowded on average by 38.5 percent,
according to each prison's capacity. According to the NHRC report, the
country's prisons held 324,852 persons, with an authorized capacity of
234,462.
The legal system was overburdened. On September 7, Chief Justice KG
Balakrishnan reported that 610,000 cases were pending in the lower
courts, while the Delhi High Court records showed 330,000 pending
cases. During the year 48,000 cases were pending in the Supreme Court
and 3,800,000 cases were pending in high courts throughout the country.
Balakrishnan stated that the country needs at least 5,000 more courts,
1,539 more High Court judges, and 18,479 subordinate court judges to
clear the backlog of cases. On September 8, the Dwarka districts courts
complex in New Delhi opened with 79 courtrooms and 344 lawyers'
chambers to address this issue.
In September 2007 NHRC notified Uttar Pradesh's director general of
police (DGP) that the conditions in Mirzapur prison for female inmates
were in extremely poor condition and lacked medical facilities. Minor
girls were also lodged in the prison instead of government homes for
children, in violation of the law. NHRC asked the DGP for a detailed
report, which was pending at year's end.
The NHRC requested high court chief justices to resolve the problem
of overcrowded prisons. In 2006 the Government introduced a plea
bargain option to reduce the pending time of cases in trial courts and
overcrowded prisons. The Government set up 1,562 Fast Track Courts
during the year, but there was no information on the numbers of cases
pending or resolved.
According to the 2006 NHRC report, a large proportion of the deaths
in judicial custody were from natural causes such as tuberculosis and
HIV/AIDS, which were aggravated by poor prison conditions. The NHRC
assigned a special rapporteur to ensure that state prison authorities
performed medical checkups on all inmates. Authorities released no
information on the number of such deaths.
While local authorities appeared to hide custodial deaths, the NHRC
and the courts investigated and prosecuted some perpetrators. While the
courts awarded monetary compensation of 17,600-97,000 rupees
(approximately $400-$2,200) to the next of kin, NGO sources claimed
that relatives often had to pay bribes to receive the compensation or
never received it at all.
There were no developments in the Maharashtra State Human Rights
Commission's investigation into the 2006 allegations that officials in
the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai ignored a prisoner who died after
suffering from chest pains.
By law, juveniles must be detained in rehabilitative facilities,
although at times they were detained in prison, especially in rural
areas. Pretrial detainees were not separated from convicted prisoners.
The Government allowed some NGOs to work in prisons, within
specific guidelines, but their findings often remained confidential due
to agreements with the Government. Increased press reporting and
parliamentary questioning provided evidence of growing public awareness
of custodial abuse. The NHRC identified torture and deaths in detention
as one of its priority concerns.
According to the Home Ministry, the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) conducted 832 visits since 2005 to 67 detention
centers, including all 25 acknowledged detention centers in Jammu and
Kashmir and all facilities where Kashmiris were held elsewhere in the
country. The ICRC was not authorized to visit interrogation or transit
centers, nor did it have regular access to detention centers in the
northeastern states. Surprise visits to state prisons by the NHRC were
authorized by 2006 amendments to the 1993 Protection of Human Rights
Act (PHRA).
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but both occurred during the year. In May 2007,
authorities arrested Manipur human rights activist Irom Sharmila on
charges of attempted suicide. She has conducted an intermittent six-
year hunger strike against the AFSPA and was force-fed in government
custody.
On May 29, the NHRC asked the Uttar Pradesh government to pay
50,000 rupees (approximately $1,136) in compensation to Naveen Upadhyay
for illegal detention in 1999. The state government had not submitted
the incident report that the NHRC requested by year's end.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The central government
provides guidance and support for the 28 states and seven union
territories that have primary responsibility for maintaining law and
order. The Ministry for Home Affairs controls most paramilitary forces,
the internal intelligence bureaus, and the nationwide police service,
and provides training for senior police officers of the state-organized
police forces.
Corruption in the police force was pervasive and acknowledged by
many government officials. Officers at all levels acted with impunity
and were rarely held accountable for illegal actions. When officers
were found guilty of a crime, the punishment was often a transfer.
Human rights activists and NGOs reported that bribery was often
necessary to receive police services.
According to the 2007-08 Ministry of Home Affairs Annual Report,
1,158 complaints of human rights violations were reported between 1994
and 2007 against army and Central Military Forces personnel. Of these,
1,118 were investigated, 1,085 were found false, and 33 were judged as
genuine. The military imposed penalties on 62 personnel and, in six
cases, awarded compensation. On May 16, the army announced that it had
punished 80 personnel for human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir
during the past 19 years. Punishments ranged from dismissal to 10
years' imprisonment.
Arrest and Detention.--The law requires that detainees be informed
of the grounds for their arrest, be represented by legal counsel, and,
unless held under a preventive detention law, arraigned within 24 hours
of arrest, at which time the accused must either be remanded for
further investigation or released. However, in practice thousands of
criminal suspects were detained without charge, adding to already
overcrowded prisons.
The law provides arrested persons the right to released on bail and
prompt access to a lawyer; however, those arrested under special
security legislation often received neither. Court approval of a bail
application is mandatory if police do not file charges within 60 to 90
days of arrest. In most cases, bail was set between 485 rupees
(approximately $11) and 198,000 rupees ($4,500).
By law detainees should be provided an attorney and allowed access
to family members. In practice this was rarely implemented.
In 2004 the Government repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act
(POTA) and replaced it with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act
(UAPA). The revised UAPA provides broader protection for human rights.
For example, coerced confessions are no longer admitted as evidence in
court.
The South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC) reported
that more than 1,000 persons remained in detention under POTA and that
cases opened under POTA continued through the judicial system. In
December Union Minister Kapil Sibal announced that there were between
90 and 100 POTA cases.
On July 20, the Mumbai High Court reversed a POTA court decision
and directed that the credibility of two prime witnesses in the August
2003 terror blasts be examined and the case expedited.
On October 21, the Supreme Court followed the recommendations of
the Central POTA Review Committee and directed that 134 persons charged
under POTA for the 2002 Godhra (Gujarat) train burning incident be
charged under the Penal Code. The court also ordered persons accused
under POTA in various states to receive bail if the central POTA review
committee has so determined. However, not all state governments had
complied as of year's end.
In 2003 the Supreme Court stayed nine high profile cases, including
the Godhra train arson case, while it considered transferring the cases
outside Gujarat. In March the court instituted a Special Investigation
Team (SIT) to reinvestigate these cases. The SIT began its work in May,
and in November, arrested 11 individuals allegedly connected with three
incidents from 2002 relating to the train burning and resulting
communal riots in which 138 persons were killed. Three of those
arrested were local leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
The UAPA is used to hold persons without bail for extended periods
prior to the filing of formal charges. In 2007 Mumbai police arrested
and held under UAPA Arun Ferreira Sridhar Srinivasan (alias Vishnu),
Murli Ashok Reddy, and Vernon Gonsalves for allegations of involvement
in Naxalite violence. In December 2007 the Mumbai High Court intervened
and, citing concerns of possible abuse in police custody, ordered
Gonsalves and Srinivasan transferred to a Mumbai jail under the court's
jurisdiction. The court also compelled the police to provide medical
care to Reddy. As of year's end, trials had not commenced, as
prosecutors had not been appointed. The defendants commenced a habeas
corpus proceeding in the Mumbai High Court.
The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) Act, which was
annulled in 1995, curtailed legal protections for cases that were filed
under the Act. For example, in TADA courts, defense counsel was not
permitted to see prosecution witnesses, and confessions extracted under
duress were admissible as evidence. On April 30, the Ministry of Home
Affairs reported that 142 persons were in detention under TADA. On
October 6, a TADA court in Jalandhar, Punjab acquitted ex-militant
Mohinder Singh Titu for a case which was registered 18 years ago under
the Penal code and TADA Act.
Maharashtra police utilized preventive arrests to curb public
unrest. For example, on August 28, police arrested over 1,000 activists
of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) political party after MNS
activists damaged some stores.
The National Security Act (NSA) permits police to detain persons
considered security risks anywhere in the country, except Jammu and
Kashmir, without charge or trial for as long as one year. State
governments must confirm the detention order, which is then reviewed by
an advisory board of three high court judges within seven weeks of the
arrest. Family members and lawyers are allowed to visit NSA detainees,
who must be informed of the grounds of their detention within five days
(10 to 15 days in exceptional circumstances).
Human rights groups expressed concerns that the NSA would allow
authorities to order preventive detention after only a cursory review
by an advisory board and that no court would overturn such a decision.
The PSA, which applies only in Jammu and Kashmir, permits state
authorities to detain persons without charge and judicial review for up
to two years. During this time detainees do not have access to family
members or legal counsel. According to press reports, in the past five
years, 2,700 Kashmiris had been arrested under the PSA. From January to
May, 117 cases of detention under PSA were reported.
The 2005 NHRC set guidelines regarding arrest, which included
establishing reasonable belief of guilt; avoiding detention if bail is
an option; protecting the dignity of those arrested; refusing public
display or parading; and allowing access to a lawyer during
interrogation.
In practice police routinely employed arbitrary and incommunicado
detention and denied detainees, particularly the destitute, access to
lawyers and medical attention to extract confessions. Lower-caste
individuals were more likely to be illegally detained than others. The
Government appeared to avoid prosecuting security officers by providing
financial compensation to victims' families in lieu of punishment. In
some instances victims or their families who distrusted the military
judicial system petitioned to have their cases transferred to a civil
court. The NHRC has no jurisdiction over any courts, including military
courts.
In 2006 the Chhattisgarh state government enacted the Special
Public Security Act (SPSA), which allows up to three years' detention
for loosely defined unlawful activities. NGOs criticized the law for
being overly broad. For example, Dr. Binayak Sen, a human rights
activist and a leader of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL),
was arrested in May 2007, denied bail in December 2007, and held in
solitary confinement for three weeks. His trial began in May and
continued at year's end. Concerns were raised that the law criminalizes
any support given to Naxalites, even with evidence of duress.
The PUCL filed a petition against the SPSA in the Supreme Court in
May, but the court refused to hear the case, ruling that any challenge
to a state law must first be brought before the high court of that
state. The PUCL petition identified 52 citizens illegally detained
under the law. The petition was filed with the state court and was
pending at year's end.
The AFSPA remained in effect in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and parts
of Tripura, and a version of the law was in effect in Jammu and
Kashmir. Under AFSPA the Government can declare any state or union
territory a ``disturbed area.'' This allows the security forces to fire
on any person to ``maintain law and order'' and to arrest any person
``against whom reasonable suspicion exists'' without informing the
detainee of the grounds. Security forces are also granted immunity from
prosecution for acts committed under AFSPA.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this
provision; however, serious problems remained. In Jammu and Kashmir,
members of the judiciary were subject to threats and intimidation by
insurgents and terrorists.
The judicial system is headed by the Supreme Court, which has
jurisdiction over constitutional issues, and includes state high
courts, state lower courts, and special tribunals. Lower courts hear
criminal and civil cases, and appeals go to state high courts. The
President appoints judges, who may serve until the age of 62 on state
high courts and 65 on the Supreme Court.
Trial Procedures.--The Criminal Procedure Code provides that trials
be conducted publicly, except in proceedings involving official
secrets, trials in which statements prejudicial to the safety of the
state might be made, or under provisions of special security
legislation. Defendants are presumed innocent and can choose their
counsel. Sentences must be announced publicly, and there are effective
channels for appeal at most levels of the judicial system. The state
provides free legal counsel to indigent defendants. The law allows
defendants access to relevant government-held evidence in most civil
and criminal cases; however, the Government reserved the right to
withhold information and did so in cases it considered sensitive.
The Supreme Court continued efforts to find those responsible for
the 2002 violence following the train burning in Godhra in which 59
men, women, and children died. In June 2007, after the Supreme Court
asked Gujarat police to review the closure of 1,600 complaints from
2002 without investigation, the Gujarat police concluded in January
that a majority of these cases could not be reinvestigated due to lack
of witnesses. The Supreme Court instituted a Special Investigation Team
(SIT) to reinvestigate nine high profile cases. The SIT was scheduled
to submit its report to the Supreme Court by the end of the year.
In 2006 Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that Hindu extremists
threatened and intimidated victims, witnesses, and human rights
activists attempting to investigate the Gujarat riots. HRW claimed the
Gujarat government launched selective tax probes against Islamic
organizations to pressure Muslim witnesses to withdraw murder and arson
charges. AI's 2007 annual human rights report noted that ``justice
continued to evade'' victims and survivors of the riots. Muslim victims
faced difficulty obtaining housing and access to public resources.
However, 41 police were being tried for their alleged roles in the
violence.
During the year the Gujarat High Court continued to conduct DNA
analysis on remains recovered in mass graves discovered in 2005 and
2006 in Kidiad town and near Lunawada town that seemed to be from the
2002 violence. According to government figures, 223 individuals, mainly
Muslims, remained missing after the 2002 violence.
In January a Mumbai special court sentenced 11 Hindu rioters and
one policeman in the 2002 gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the killing of
several members of her family.
Since 1993, central and state governments have jointly funded Fast
Track Courts, which concentrate on a specific type of case, allowing
judges to develop expertise in a given area. Preference was given to
cases pending for extended periods, and fees were generally lower since
trials were shorter. Most Fast Track cases were civil.
As in previous years, courts were regularly in session in Jammu and
Kashmir. Nevertheless, the judicial system was hindered because of
judicial tolerance of abuses committed as part of the Government's
counterinsurgency campaign and the frequent refusal by security forces
to obey court orders.
Due in part to intimidation by insurgents and terrorists, courts in
Jammu and Kashmir often were reluctant to hear cases involving
insurgent and terrorist crimes and failed to act expeditiously, if at
all, on habeas corpus cases.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Political prisoners were
reported in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Government temporarily detained
hundreds of persons characterized as terrorists, insurgents, and
separatists. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) estimated the
number of political prisoners at 500, while human rights activists
based in the state identified 150 such prisoners.
On August 26, leaders of the APHC and the Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front were among 100 activists arrested and released in
connection with the Amarnath shrine controversy and subsequent
protests, except for Shabir Shah and Asiya Andrabi, who were detained
under the PSA.
The Government permitted international humanitarian organizations,
such as the ICRC, access to such persons on a regular basis.
There was no update in the 2007 case of 34 Burmese nationals who
spent nine years in detention for allegedly being members of the
National United Party of Arakan and Karen National Union. The trial
continued at year's end.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There are different
personal status laws for the various minority religious communities,
and the legal system accommodates religion-specific laws in matters of
marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance. Muslim personal status
law governs many noncriminal matters, including family law and
inheritance.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice; however, at times
the authorities infringed upon the right to privacy. Police must obtain
warrants to conduct searches and seizures, except in cases where such
actions would cause undue delay. Police must justify such warrantless
searches in writing to the nearest magistrate with jurisdiction over
the offense. In Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Manipur, authorities
have special powers to search and arrest without a warrant.
On July 6, Jammu residents accused the Rapid Action Force (RAF) of
using excessive force and illegal entry into their homes during a
peaceful protest. No action was taken on the allegations by year's end.
The Information Technology Act allows police under certain
circumstances to search premises and arrest individuals without a
warrant. The act specifies a one-year sentence for persons who fail to
provide information to the Government on request and a five-year
sentence for transmitting ``lascivious'' material.
The Indian Telegraph Act authorizes the surveillance of
communications, including monitoring telephone conversations and
intercepting personal mail in cases of public emergency or ``in the
interest of the public safety or tranquility.'' The central government
and state governments used these surveillance techniques during the
year.
Although the Telegraph Act gives police the power to intercept
telephonic conversations, such evidence is inadmissible in court. The
UAPA allows use of evidence obtained from intercepted communications in
terrorist cases. While legal safeguards to prevent police from
encroaching on personal privacy existed, there were no such protections
in terrorist cases.
Laws favoring families that have no more than two children remained
in place in seven states. The laws, lightly enforced, provide
government jobs and subsidies to those who have no more than two
children and reduced subsidies and access to health care for those who
have more than two. National health officials noted that the central
government was unable to regulate state decisions on population issues.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Terrorist and insurgent groups killed members of rival factions,
government security forces, government officials, and civilians in
Jammu and Kashmir, several northeastern states, and in the Naxalite
belt in the eastern part of the country.
Killings.--Security forces allegedly staged encounter killings to
cover up the deaths of captured non-Kashmiri insurgents and terrorists
from Pakistan or other countries. Human rights groups claimed that
police officials refused to turn over bodies in cases of suspected
staged encounters. The bodies were often cremated before their families
could view them. Most police stations failed to comply with a 2002
Supreme Court order requiring the central government and local
authorities to conduct regular checks on police stations to monitor
custodial violence.
According to human rights groups, security forces in Jammu and
Kashmir targeted suspected terrorists, insurgents, and their
supporters, but there were no widely accepted data on the magnitude of
extrajudicial killings and custodial deaths. The Justice Makhan Lal
Kaul Commission of Inquiry, which investigated alleged custodial
killings and encounters in Jammu and Kashmir, received only five
complaints and was extended by two months on April 10. The commission
asked for another extension, as it had not been able to complete its
investigations.
On March 25, the Jammu and Kashmir Police stated that civilian
deaths by terrorists had declined by 50 percent. The security forces
often claimed that insurgents or civilians died in crossfire. According
to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) in 2007, 164 civilians, 121
security force personnel, and 492 terrorists were killed as a result of
terrorist violence. According to local NGOs based in Jammu and Kashmir,
124 security forces and 233 militants were killed through August.
According to media reports, two civilians were killed by security
forces during the year.
Human rights groups maintained that, in Jammu and Kashmir and in
the northeastern states, the military and paramilitary forces continued
to hold numerous persons. Human rights activists feared that many of
these unacknowledged prisoners were subjected to torture and that some
may have been killed.
Civilians were reportedly killed in crossfire in Jammu and Kashmir
during the year. According to JKCSS based in Jammu and Kashmir, 55
persons were killed and 1,500 injured in a mass uprising in the state
during the year. After an October 9 hearing into the 2006 deaths of
four youths, the army expressed regret and offered to compensate the
victims' families.
On May 13, eight blasts took place in Jaipur, Rajasthan, killing 80
and injuring 150. Authorities suspected that the Students Islamic
Movement of India (SIMI) was responsible. On July 26, 17 blasts took
place in different parts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, killing 53 persons and
injuring 145. The SIMI was suspected in the attack.
On July 25, eight low intensity blasts killed one person and
injured seven in Bangalore. The organization behind the blasts was not
identified.
On September 13, five synchronized bombs blasts exploded throughout
New Delhi, killing 30 persons and injuring over 100 persons. The
Islamist ``Indian Mujahideen'' claimed responsibility in an email to
major television channels. Police arrested several suspects.
From November 26 to 29, 10 terrorists carried out coordinated
attacks across Mumbai, targeting luxury hotels, restaurants, the
railway station, a hospital, and the Nariman House. The attackers
killed 173 persons and injured at least 308 persons. Mohammed Ajmal
Amir Kasab, the only terrorist captured alive, disclosed that the
attackers belong to LeT. Investigations continued at year's end.
In the Northeast, violence persisted despite talks between
separatist groups and state government officials and a 1997 government
ceasefire. In August 2007 the Government and the National Socialist
Council of Nagaland Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) extended the ceasefire
indefinitely. Factional violence between the NSCN-IM and the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland Khaplang (NSCN-K) resulted in numerous
deaths. The Institute for Conflict Management indicated that of the 108
persons killed in 2007, 88 died due to intrafactional fighting. In
April the central government extended the ceasefire with the NSCN-K for
one year.
During the year SATP reported 373 deaths related to insurgency in
Assam, where the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) continued its
violent campaign against Hindi-speakers from the northern part of the
country. In 2007 ULFA militants killed more than 110 persons in bomb
attacks in the Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, and Sivsagar districts of Assam.
SATP reported the following deaths as a result of insurgency-
related violence in the seven northeast states during the year: 402
civilians, 36 security forces, and 599 militants. For Jammu and
Kashmir, SATP reported that 69 civilians, 90 security forces, and 382
militants were killed.
There was no progress in the complaint filed by family members in
the August 2007 killing of Md. Ramesh and Md. Isir by the Assam Rifles
(AR). The AR claimed the dead were members of the People's United
Liberation Front; the victims' families denied this.
In February Maoist attacks in Nayagarh and Daspalla in Orissa
killed 15 persons. On June 29, the Maoists killed 33 special forces of
the Andhra Pradesh police in the Malkangiri district of Orissa. On July
9, Maoists killed a former minister and sitting legislator, Ramesh
Singh Mundu. The attack also killed three bodyguards and one student.
On July 16, Maoist insurgents killed at least 21 persons, including 17
policemen, in the Malkangiri district of Orissa. In August Chhattisgarh
police raided a Naxalite camp and killed four Maoists in two incidents
in Dantewara district.
On March 12, four persons were killed and four injured when police
opened fire in Bengtol in Assam to combat what the police claimed was a
camp set up by the militant group National Democratic Front of Bodoland
(NDFB). On March 13, police killed three persons and injured 10 who
were protesting the dismantling of the NDFB camp.
On March 15, the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) attacked
an AR post at T. Minnou village near the Burma border. While the UNLF
claimed to have killed 10 soldiers, the AR stated that one trooper died
and four others were wounded. The AR claimed soldiers killed two
militants and wounded five others. On May 1, two AR personnel were
killed and four others injured in the New Somtal area of Chandel
district.
In March and June, many encounters between ULFA and security forces
occurred. For example, on March 15, four persons died and 54 others
were injured when suspected ULFA militants set off a grenade in Jonai,
Dhemaji. On June 10, security forces killed three ULFA militants during
an encounter in the Dibrugarh district. On June 14, ULFA militant
Prabin Gogoi was killed in Dibrugarh district of Assam.
According to the Home Affairs Annual Report, 76 districts in the
nine states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa,
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal were
affected by Naxalite violence.
In 2005 officials in Chhattisgarh organized the Salwa Judum
movement to counter Naxalite groups in Dantewada district. The Naxalite
response resulted in violent civil conflict and a large number of
civilian deaths. Many villagers fled to makeshift refugee camps near
towns. The Chhattisgarh government commissioned some Salwa Judum
members in the camps as Special Police Officers (SPOs) and used them in
anti-Naxalite operations. The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
and HRW claimed that the Salwa Judum had become part of a state-
sponsored counterinsurgency effort that committed atrocities against
the tribal persons of southern Chhattisgarh, including killing, arson,
rape, assaults, and forcing villagers from their homes into internally
displaced persons (IDP) camps. In April the Supreme Court ordered the
NHRC to investigate the Salwa Judum. In October the NHRC found some
allegations false, could not confirm other allegations, and concluded
that many abuses, including extrajudicial killings, could not be
specifically attributed to Salwa Judum, SPOs, state security forces, or
Naxalites and called for further investigation.
In 2007 the SATP found 619 deaths related to Naxalite attacks on
internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, government installations,
police patrols, and remote villages, and in police-Naxalite skirmishes.
Of the 336 individuals killed in Chhattisgarh, 93 were civilians, 170
were police personnel (regular forces, as well as SOPs), and 73 were
alleged Naxalites. According to the Andhra Pradesh police, incidents of
Maoist violence declined 42 percent in 2007. Maoists killed 211
civilians in 2005, 40 in 2007, and 26 through August. Police operations
resulted in the death of 124 Maoists in 2005, 43 in 2007, and 25
through August.
On February 8, the Kolkata High Court directed the West Bengal
state government to provide compensation to the victims of the
Nandigram violence, which included 14 persons killed and 45 injured by
police. In November 2007, Communist Party Marxist (CPM) members, whom
human rights groups claimed had state government support, conducted a
violent campaign to regain control over the Nandigram area from the
Bhumi Uchhed Protirodh Committee (BUPC). News reports and eyewitness
accounts noted that CPM cadres fired on BUPC supporters and local
villagers, raped villagers, and burned houses. Journalists later
discovered mass graves in the area. The CID responded by launching an
inquiry into the identity of the bodies; the case was pending at year's
end.
Abductions.--Human rights groups maintained that, in Jammu and
Kashmir and in the northeastern states, numerous persons continued to
be held by military and paramilitary forces. Human rights activists
feared that many of these unacknowledged prisoners were tortured and
that some may have been killed.
There were no reliable figures for disappearances in Jammu and
Kashmir during the year. While the Association of Parents of
Disappeared Persons (APDP) and other NGOs reported a decrease in
disappearances, estimates on the number of disappearances varied
widely. For example, the Jammu and Kashmir government stated in 2003
that 3,931 persons had disappeared since 1990, compared with an APDP
estimate of between 8,000 to 10,000 persons. ACHR reported in 2005 that
more than 6,000 cases of disappearances remained unresolved in the
state. According to JKCCS, based in Jammu and Kashmir, 38 cases of
disappearances were reported during the year. In May the Chief Minister
reported that there had been no cases of custodial disappearances in
the state in the past two years.
On July 6, the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK)
reported that it abducted and then released two boys from their
neighborhood in the Imphal West district. On July 8, PREPAK reportedly
abducted two other schoolchildren in the Thoubal district and claimed
the children had voluntarily joined PREPAK.
On December 31, the United Liberation Front of Barak Valley
insurgents along the Assam-Mizoram border kidnapped three persons,
including the son of a Congress Party leader, and demanded a ransom of
approximately 1,000,000 rupees (approximately $25,000).
Physical Abuse.--Raj Thackeray, Chief of the Mahrashtra Navnirman
Sena (MNS), repeatedly verbally attacked north Indians settled in
Maharashtra. On February 3, MNS members assaulted and injured 10
persons attending a rally in Mumbai. Attacks by MNS members continued
over the next several days in Mumbai, Pune, and Nasik. While the police
did not stop the attacks, they later arrested over 60 MNS members and
ordered a probe into Thackeray's remarks. MNS activists were alleged to
have threatened north Indians in Nasik and Pune, causing many laborers
to flee the state. MNS activists allegedly hit one person with stones,
who later died of his injuries. Police charged Thackeray with inciting
the violence, and twice briefly arrested him. On February 22, the
Supreme Court condemned Thackeray's inflammatory remarks against north
Indians. The investigation of the February incidents continued at
year's end.
In October MNS activists assaulted and injured dozens of north
Indian candidates who came to Mumbai for an Indian Railways recruitment
examination, preventing many from taking the exam. Mumbai police
arrested Thackeray for instigating the violence, and MNS members rioted
and caused considerable damage. Police arrested more than 2,000
rioters. Multiple cases continued against Thackeray in various Mumbai
courts and in the Jharkhand High Court at year's end. He and most MNS
activists arrested in October remained out on bail.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The constitution provides for freedom of speech and expression;
however, freedom of the press is not explicitly mentioned. The
Government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press. Under the
1923 Official Secrets Act, the Government may prosecute any person who
publishes or communicates information that could be harmful to the
state. However, no such cases were reported during the year.
The Press Council is a statutory body of journalists, publishers,
academics, and politicians, with a government-appointed chairman, that
investigates what it believes is irresponsible journalism and sets a
code of conduct for publishers. This code includes injunctions against
publishing stories that might incite caste or communal violence. The
council publicly criticized those it believed had broken the code of
conduct.
Independent newspapers and magazines regularly published and
television channels broadcast investigative reports, including
allegations of government wrongdoing, and the press generally promoted
human rights and criticized perceived government lapses. Most print
media and 80 percent of television channels were privately owned.
After filmmaker Ajay TG was arrested in May under the SPSA and held
for two months with no charges filed, journalists in Raipur reportedly
feared being arrested and were reluctant to report critically on the
state's actions to address the Naxalite problem. The PUCL identified TG
and 53 others arrested under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security
Act in its petition challenging the law.
With the exception of radio, foreign media generally were allowed
to operate freely. Private satellite television distributed widely
provided competition for Doordarshan, the government-owned television
network. While there were allegations that the Government network
manipulated the news, some privately owned satellite channels often
promoted the platforms of political parties their owners supported. On
September 19, the Union Indian Cabinet approved foreign news magazines
to print local editions of their publications. Previously only
scientific, technical, and specialty periodicals were allowed to be
printed by foreign magazines.
The Government often held foreign satellite broadcasters, rather
than domestic cable operators, liable under civil law for what it
deemed objectionable content on satellite channels-notably, tobacco and
alcohol advertisements and adult content.
AM radio broadcasting remained a government monopoly. Private FM
radio station ownership was legal, but licenses only authorized
entertainment and educational content. Local editions of foreign press
were prohibited; however, the Government allowed country-specific
editions published by a local company, with no more than a 26 percent
foreign partnership.
The authorities generally allowed foreign journalists to travel
freely, including in Jammu and Kashmir, where they regularly met with
separatist leaders and filed reports on a range of issues, including
government abuses.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the Newspapers Incitements to Offenses Act
allows a district magistrate to prohibit publication of material likely
to incite violence. Newspapers in Srinagar were able to report in
detail on alleged human rights abuses by the Government, and separatist
Kashmiri groups regularly published press releases. However, due to the
threat of violence by terrorist groups, many journalists self-censored
their articles. Smaller media outlets also self-censored for fear of
losing state government advertising revenue.
On August 3, the Jammu District Magistrate prohibited the
transmission of JK channel and Take-1 news channel for violating the
Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 during the Amarnath
shrine dispute. The order was revoked, and transmission resumed of what
many observers felt was coverage aimed at inciting communal hatred.
On August 24, security personnel belonging to the Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) beat 13 media personnel and damaged their vehicles
in Srinagar. The following day, the security personnel beat six more
journalists, and local television channels remained off the air in
protest. Local English and Urdu dailies also protested by not
publishing on August 25. During this period the local government banned
cellular phone text messaging service for fear of its role in inciting
communal tension. The authorities also took off the air from August 24
to September 2 local television channels in Jammu and Kashmir for
broadcasting protests.
There were several attacks against journalists for allegedly
inciting attacks. These included an August 25 attack by CRPF soldiers
against Asif Qureshi of Star News at Hyderpora, Jammu and Kashmir, and
an August 29 attack by army soldiers against Hakeem Irfan, a
correspondent with Rising Kashmir.
In August the Kangleipak Communist Party (Military Council)'s L.
Khuman faction in Manipur imposed a ban on the newspaper Poknapham
after it failed to publish a story on the front page. On August 5,
Manipur media called a strike in sympathy with the newspaper.
Some attacks on the media were apparently intended to harass or
inhibit the free expression of opinions. On January 20, Hindu Samrajay
Sena members attacked the office of NDTV in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, to
protest the television channel's broadcast in support of a state award
for controversial painter M.F. Hussein.
On April 2, activists of the Hindu Garjana Pratishthan damaged the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) office in Pune and
assaulted three party workers. Police detained and released 12 persons
but issued no formal charges. In June the MTV office in Mumbai was
vandalized for an allegedly negative portrayal of a Sikh in a publicity
campaign. On June 5, Shiv Sangram Sena activists damaged the house of
Mumbai journalist Kumar Ketkar to protest an article written by him.
Police registered a complaint and arrested the alleged attackers.
On October 16, the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission
(SHRC) responded to the 2007 attack and torture of Naseer Ahmad Khora,
a journalist and human rights activist, by directing the state
administration to pay 70,000 rupees (approximately $1,489) in
compensation. The SHRC noted that such acts pose a threat to the
freedoms of press and expression.
There were no developments stemming from the May 2007 fire that
killed three persons at the Dinakaran newspaper office in Madurai.
Police were present but did not stop a faction of Tamil Nadu's ruling
party from entering the compound.
There were no developments from the August 2007 assault allegedly
by CPI(M) workers against three journalists of the Malayala Manorama
Group during a demonstration at Kannur.
There were no developments in the 2006 killing of Arun Narayan
Dekate, a rural correspondent for Marathi daily Tarun Bharat.
The Government maintained a list of banned books that may not be
imported or sold in the country for fear of aggravating communal
tensions. In July religious and opposition party members accused the
ruling CPI(M) government in Kerala of promoting communist ideology in
seventh grade social science books.
On November 13, the Maharasthra government banned the showing of
the film Deshdrohi due to police concerns it might incite violence
between North Indians and ethnic Marathis. The Film Censor Board had
cleared the movie for distribution throughout the country.
In 2007 three legislators of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul
Muslimeen in Hyderabad attacked Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen for
alleged anti-Muslim remarks. In November she self-censored her
autobiography after a series of protests in West Bengal in which 43
persons were injured. She was granted asylum in New Delhi, but she left
the country for Sweden. She briefly returned to the country but was not
allowed to visit Kolkata, and left the country in October.
In 2006 the Government of Rajasthan banned Haqeeqat (Reality), a
Hindi translation of a controversial anti-Hindu book by Kerala-based
evangelist M.G. Mathew.
The Government's Film Censor Board reviewed films before licensing
them for distribution, censoring material it deemed offensive to public
morals or communal sentiment.
Internet Freedom.--The Informational Technology Act provides for
censoring the Internet on public morality grounds and defines
``unauthorized access to certain types of electronic information'' as a
crime. The Government retained the right to limit access to the
Internet, specifically information deemed detrimental to national
security. The act requires Internet cafes to monitor Internet use and
inform the authorities of offenses.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government continued to
apply restrictions to the travel and activities of visiting experts and
scholars. During the year the Ministry of Home Affairs denied visas to
three scholars. In 2003 the Ministry of Human Resources Development
(MHRD) passed academic guidelines requiring all central universities to
obtain HRD permission before organizing ``all forms of foreign
collaborations and other international academic exchange activities,''
including seminars, conferences, workshops, guest lectures, and
research. While the restrictions remained in force, in most cases, the
MHRD permitted the international academic exchanges to take place after
bureaucratic delays.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected this right in practice.
Freedom of Assembly.--The authorities normally required permits and
notification prior to holding parades or demonstrations, and local
governments ordinarily respected the right to protest peacefully,
except in Jammu and Kashmir, where the local government sometimes
denied permits to separatist parties for public gatherings and detained
separatists engaged in peaceful protest. During periods of civil
tension, the authorities may ban public assemblies or impose a curfew
under the Criminal Procedure Code.
On some occasions, security forces either claimed harsh tactics
were warranted or failed to protect demonstrators from violence during
demonstrations. On February 6, during a strike, police killed five
activists from the All India Forward Bloc party and injured 25 in
Dinhata, West Bengal.
In May 41 persons were killed in clashes between the police and
members of the Gujjar tribe in Rajasthan. Twenty-six persons were
killed in similar clashes in 2007. A six-member team from the NHRC
visited the state to investigate.
According to media reports, on August 11, security forces killed
five persons, including Hurriyat Party leader Shiekh Abdul Aziz, and
injured 230 when security forces opened fire during a protest in
Kashmir. On August 12, security forces killed an additional 15 persons
across Jammu and Kashmir during additional protests. Media and NGOs
reported that on August 25, 59 persons were killed and 200 injured when
the CRPF and the army fired upon protesters who defied curfew and
staged demonstrations in Jammu and Kashmir. No official figures were
available at year's end.
On August 13, police killed two persons and injured 45 in Noida,
Uttar Pradesh, during a demonstration.
In 2007 Andhra Pradesh police shot and killed six villagers in
Mudigonda in the Khammam district after a two-month protest demanding
free land for the poor. The Government announced compensation of
491,000 rupees (approximately $12,500) and a government job for one
family member of each person killed, as well as two acres of
agricultural land and education for victims' children.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the freedom of
association, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
NGOs must secure approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs before
organizing international conferences. Human rights groups contended
that this provided the Government with political control over the work
of NGOs and restricted their freedom of assembly and association. NGOs
alleged that some members from abroad were denied visas arbitrarily.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for secular government
and the protection of religious freedom, and the central government
generally respected these provisions in practice. While the law
generally provides remedy for violations of religious freedom, it was
not enforced rigorously or effectively in many cases of religiously
oriented violence. Some Hindu hardliners interpreted ineffective
investigation and prosecution of their attacks on religious minorities,
particularly at the state and local levels, as evidence that they could
commit such violence with impunity. The country's federal political
system accords state governments exclusive jurisdiction over
maintenance of law and order, which limits the national government's
capacity to deal directly with state-level abuses, including abuses of
religious freedom.
Legally mandated benefits were assigned to certain groups,
including some defined by their religion. For example, the Government
allowed educational institutions administered by minority religions to
reserve seats for their coreligionists even when they received
government funding. Article 17 of the constitution outlawed
untouchability; however, members of lower castes remained in a
disadvantageous position. A quota system reserved government jobs and
places in higher education institutions for Scheduled Castes (SC) and
Scheduled Tribes (ST) members belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, and
Buddhist religious groups, but not for Christians or Muslims. Christian
groups filed a court case demanding that SC converts to Christianity
and Islam enjoy the same access to ``reservations'' as other SC groups.
The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which had not ruled by the
end of the reporting period.
The Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act of 1988
criminalizes the use of all religious sites for political purposes or
the use of temples to harbor persons accused or convicted of crimes.
The Religious Buildings and Places Act requires a state government
permit before construction of any religious building. The act's
supporters claimed that its aim is to curb the use of Muslim
institutions by Islamist extremist groups, but the measure became a
controversial political issue among Muslims.
The states of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya
Pradesh, and Orissa have laws against conversion by force, enticement,
or coercion. Arunachal Pradesh has a similar law that has not been
implemented. On March 20, the Government of Rajasthan passed a law that
restricts and regulates religious proselytism. On April 1, the state of
Gujarat published the rules and regulations necessary to activate its
``Freedom of Religion Law,'' which was adopted by the legislature in
2003.
In May 2007 the Andhra Pradesh government enacted a law that
sharply limits the ``propagation of other religion in places of worship
or prayer.'' The law forbids the distribution of literature of one
religion within the vicinity of designated places of worship of a
different religion. The Andhra Pradesh assembly passed an act modeled
on this ordinance in July 2007.
Faith-based NGOs and media reported that under the Penal Code, the
Criminal Procedure Code, and state anti-conversion laws, there were 17
arrests in Andhra Pradesh, six in Chhattisgarh, 25 in Madhya Pradesh,
and two in Uttar Pradesh through October 14. In most cases police
released on bail those arrested after a night in jail. Faith-based NGOs
alleged that this was a systematic strategy to discourage Christian
prayer meetings.
There is no national law barring a person from professing or
propagating his or her religious beliefs; however, the law prohibits
international visitors on tourist visas from engaging in religious
proselytizing without prior permission from the Ministry of Home
Affairs. Travel by any foreigner to some of the northeastern states is
granted on a case-by-case basis due to political instability and
security concerns in the region. Missionaries and religious
organizations must comply with the Foreign Contribution (Regulation)
Act (FCRA) of 1976, which restricts funding from abroad. The Government
can ban a religious organization that violates the FCRA, provokes
intercommunity friction, or has been involved in terrorism or sedition.
The legal system accommodates minority religions' personal status
laws by providing for different personal laws for different religious
communities. Religion-specific laws are paramount in matters of
marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance. The personal status laws
of the religious communities sometimes discriminated against women.
The law limits inheritance, alimony payments, and property
ownership of persons from interfaith marriages and prohibits the use of
churches to celebrate marriage ceremonies in which one party is a non-
Christian. Clergymen who break the law could face up to 10 years'
imprisonment. However, the act does not bar interfaith marriages.
Two significant episodes of communal violence erupted in the
Kandhamal district of Orissa, on Christmas Day 2007 and again in August
2008. The December 2007 violence was triggered by desecration of
Christmas holiday displays and an attempt on the life of Hindu
religious leader Laxmanananda Saraswati. Five persons were killed and a
number of homes, businesses, and churches were damaged.
On August 23, unidentified individuals killed Laxmanananda
Saraswati and four other religious leaders. Their deaths caused revenge
killings, assaults, and property destruction in the district, with a
few incidents located in surrounding districts. According to government
statistics, 40 persons died and 134 were injured, including tribal
Kandhas and ethnic Panas, Christians, and Hindus, although more than 80
percent of the attacks were against Christians. Property disputes and
social tensions also played a role in the violence. The extent of the
violence attracted worldwide media attention, including the alleged
August 25 rape of a Christian nun.
The majority of attacks occurred within the first week of violence
when local police were unable to control the situation. Attacks
continued until mid-October. The police arrested more than 1,200
persons and opened almost 1,000 criminal cases, although the killers of
the Hindu religious leaders had not been identified by year's end. An
estimated 9,500 individuals remained in temporary camps in Kandhamal
and Gajapati at year's end, wary of returning. Government sources
calculated that at least 4,215 houses had been damaged or destroyed and
that potentially 252 prayer halls and religious places had been
damaged. The Government allocated funds to compensate next of kin and
repair damaged houses, businesses, and places of worship. A government
commission was established to investigate the killing of Laxmanananda
and the resulting violence.
On September 14 and 15, militant Hindu activists attacked Christian
churches in and around Mangalore in Karnataka. Three Christians were
critically injured and more than a dozen others were assaulted.
Mahendra Kumar, the local leader of the Hindu Bajrang Dal organization,
claimed responsibility, stating the attacks were in response to
``forced conversions'' and insults towards Hindu deities. Media and
Christian groups reported that some police refused to intervene to
protect Christians and suppress the violence. There were also reports
that police entered and damaged at least three churches. The central
government threatened to invoke emergency provisions if the state
government failed to take action. On September 18, police arrested
Kumar, which sparked additional vandalism against churches in the
state. While the state government increased security around churches,
occasional acts of vandalism against churches and assaults on persons
occurred sporadically in Karnataka. The state initiated a judicial
inquiry into the September 14-15 attacks, which continued at year's
end.
On July 3, Hindus and Muslims clashed in Indore, Madhya Pradesh
when protests called by Hindu nationalist parties BJP and VHP turned
violent. The parties called the protests in response to the
Government's revocation of its decision to transfer land in the Muslim-
occupied area of Kashmir to the Amarnath Shrine, a Hindu religious
site.
On August 6, the Supreme Court extended the ban on the Students
Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for six weeks. The Delhi High Court
had removed the ban after an appeal by SIMI.
On August 15, MNS activists damaged a school in Pune for allegedly
failing to celebrate Independence Day. In August MNS activists damaged
several shop fronts in Mumbai for not having signs in the local
language, Marathi. In both these incidents, the police arrested MNS
activists for vandalism.
On April 16, the Ministry of Home Affairs testified to the
parliament that 4,356 victims' claims connected to the 1984 anti-Sikh
riots following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi were pending with the various state governments. So far, 27,916
claims had been settled. On August 27, the Delhi High Court sentenced
four persons to life imprisonment for their involvement in the 1984
anti-Sikh riots. A fine of 21,000 rupees (approximately $477) was
imposed on Lal Bahadur, Ram Lal, Virender, and Surinder Pal Singh after
finding them guilty of rioting, murder, and conspiracy. The verdict
came 18 years after a trial court acquitted the four due to lack of
evidence.
On October 5, 10 persons were killed, 383 persons injured, 1,157
homes damaged, and 400 homes destroyed during Hindu-Muslim violence in
Dhule, Maharashtra.
At year's end Harkat-ul-Jehad-i-Islami activist Mohammed Abdul
Sahed (alias Bilal) remained the key suspect in the May 2007 bomb
explosion in the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, which killed nine persons
and injured more than 50.
Two Catholic nuns, arrested in July 2007 in Mayurbhanj, Orissa, for
allegedly forcibly converting and torturing students in their school,
were released on bail days after their arrest.
On July 8, a special riot court in Mumbai sentenced Madhukar
Sarpotdar, Shiv Sena leader and former member of parliament, to one
year in prison in connection with the 1993 Mumbai riots. The court
sentenced two others to similar punishments and a fine of 5,000 rupees
(approximately $113).
In May the central government announced (approximately $80 million)
in compensation for victims of the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.
Approximately 1000 relatives of those killed have received
compensation, but property loss claims had not been paid by year's end.
On September 18, the Gujarat state-organized Nanavati-Mehta
Commission published the first part of its report on the February 2002
Godhra train burning and subsequent violence that killed more than one
thousand persons, the majority of whom were Muslims. The commission
differed from other investigations in both exonerating Chief Minister
Narendra Modi for instigating anti-Muslim violence and finding the
Godhra incident to be premeditated and not accidental. The Government
of Gujarat granted a one-year extension, to December 31, 2009, to the
commission.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--On May 9, the Ministry of Home
Affairs testified to the parliament that 761 cases of communal violence
occurred in 2007, in which 77 persons were killed and 2,227 were
injured. These attacks occurred against several different communities
including Christian, Hindu, and Muslim.
According to the NCRB, 75,027 persons were arrested for atrocities
against STs and SCs in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, 35,563 incidents were
reported against STs and SCs. In 2007 the average conviction rate for
SCs was 27.6 percent and for STs, 28 percent. In 2006 the Ministry,
citing NCRB records, found that 13,449 persons faced conviction for
crimes against persons belonging to the SC/STs. The NCRB had not
released updated conviction rates by year's end.
Several human rights and religious freedom NGOs continued to
express concern over anti-Christian violence in several states governed
by the BJP and claimed that some attackers had affiliations with the
Hindu extremist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
During October 3-6, communal violence broke out between migrant
Muslim settlers and Bodos, killing 47 persons and leaving 86,000
persons homeless in two districts in Assam. Twenty-two persons were
killed by police fire.
NGOs reported that attacks against Christians occurred in many
urban areas. On September 5, two nuns and children in their care were
removed from a train in Chhattisgarh by alleged VHP and Bajrang Dal
activists, who claimed that the nuns were forcibly converting the
orphans. All were released after the local bishop interceded and spoke
to the governor.
In April a lawsuit seeking compensation for Muslim youths who were
allegedly tortured by police was filed in Hyderabad city civil court.
Police detained a youth on suspicion of involvement in the 2007
Hyderabad attacks. Hyderabad-based Muslim organizations alleged that
police detained innocent Muslim youths to link them to terrorist
activities in the state.
Muslims in some Hindu-dominated areas continued to experience
intimidation and reported poor government attention to their concerns,
resulting in a lack of access to work, residency, or education. In some
areas, primarily in Gujarat, Hindutva groups displayed signs stating
``Hindus only'' and ``Muslim-free area.'' Hindutva is the ideology that
espouses politicized inculcation of Hindu religious and cultural norms
above other religious norms. There were also allegations of
prohibitions on the Muslim call to prayer.
Hindu organizations frequently alleged that Christian missionaries
forced or lured Hindus, particularly those of lower castes, to convert
to Christianity. In Christian majority areas, Christians reportedly
harassed members of other communities.
From April to July, Hindu groups such as the Hindu Aikya Vedi
organized violent marches against Christian organizations and churches
in Kerala. In April in Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta District, marchers
threw stones at Christian buildings and in July, protesters prevented
Christians in Kottayam from meeting by throwing stones. No serious
injuries were reported.
Hearings in the 2007 Rizwanur Rehman killing case continued at
Kolkata High Court. The body of Rehman, a Muslim who had married the
daughter of a Hindu businessman, was discovered in 2007. While a CBI
report had indicated ``suicide prompted by circumstances'' was the
cause of death, on October 1, three officers of the Kolkata City Police
were among seven persons charged by the CBI and sent to judicial
custody for Rehman's death. On October 28, the CBI raided the house of
Ashok Todi, father-in-law of Rehman. In December police arrested Todi
and his brother.
Most Indian Jews emigrated to Israel in 1948. There are believed to
be only 13 Indian-born Jews from seven families still living in Kochi
and approximately 40 Jews living in Delhi. Small but active communities
remain in Mumbai, estimated at around 1,500. Most Mumbai Jews are known
as Baghdadi Jews who came from Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Afghanistan
possibly 250 years ago. In Northeastern India, an estimated 9,000
Indians started practicing Judaism in the 1970s, saying they were a
lost tribe and descendants of the tribe of Manasseh. In recent years
over 1,400 members of the community emigrated to Israel. During the
November 26 attacks in Mumbai, terrorists allegedly belonging to LeT
attacked the Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch center located at the Nariman
House, as part of several coordinated attacks on high profile civilian
targets in the city. The attackers killed six Jewish persons of United
States, Israeli, and Mexican nationality before being killed by
security forces.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement, and the Government generally respected this in practice;
however, in certain border areas the Government required special
permits.
Security forces often searched and questioned occupants at vehicle
checkpoints, mostly in troubled areas in the Kashmir Valley or after
major terrorist attacks. The Government also completed construction
(except in areas of difficult terrain) of a 330-mile security fence
along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, causing difficulties as
it cut through some villages and agricultural lands. The Government
asserted that a decline in insurgent crossings during the year was due
in part to the fence.
Under the Passports Act of 1967, the Government may deny a passport
to any applicant who may engage in activities outside of the country
``prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.'' The
Government prohibited foreign travel by some government critics,
especially those advocating Sikh independence, and members of the
separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of the Government
using the issuance of passports or travel documents to restrict travel
of separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir. However, citizens from
Jammu and Kashmir continued to face extended delays, often up to two
years, before the Ministry of External Affairs would issue or renew
their passports. Government officials demanded bribes for applicants
from Jammu and Kashmir who required special clearances. Applicants born
in Jammu and Kashmir-even the children of serving military officers
born during their parents' deployment in the state-were subjected to
additional scrutiny, requests for bribes, and police clearances prior
to passport issuance.
There was no law banning forced exile and no reports of its use
during the year.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the Norwegian
Refugee Council, regional conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, and
the northeast displaced at least 650,000 persons. According to the
Ministry of Home Affairs' Annual Report for 2007-08, there were 55,456
Kashmiri Pandit migrant families, of which 34,878 resided in Jammu,
19,338 in Delhi, and 1,240 in other states. There were 230 migrant
families living in 14 camps in Delhi and 5,778 families in 16 camps in
Jammu.
The 2007-08 report stated that the ministry had engaged the
Government of Mizoram on the repatriation of Reang refugees from
Tripura to Mizoram.
According to media sources, tensions in six Reang/Bru refugee camps
in Kanchanpur were due to noninclusion of over 7,000 children in ration
cards. A survey conducted by Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples'
Network (AITPN) on Bru internally displaced families found that more
than 94 percent of the camp inmates had documents issued by Mizoram
authorities to prove their bona fide residence.
On October 1, 300 cadres belonging to United Liberation Front of
Barak Valley (ULFBV), a militant group of Reang tribe members,
surrendered before Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
AITPN presented its findings to the Supreme Court, but neither the
state nor central governments tried to verify the Brus' status. Despite
the Tripura government's recommendation, the central government failed
to increase the ration card numbers to include 1,514 children, forcing
families to share their food allocation. More than 1,000 Hmar refugees,
one of the numerous tribes that belonged to the Chin-Kuku-Mizo tribe,
were reportedly displaced in and around Mizoram, some of them from
Manipur.
In 2005 the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Home Affairs, the
election commission, and the Governments of Mizoram and Tripura to
resettle approximately 40,000 displaced Reangs and add them to the
electoral rolls. By year's end, approximately 1,000 Reangs were
resettled in Mizoram.
The Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) and Mizoram government
agreed on a financial package of 278 million rupees (approximately $6.3
million) and paved the way for the return of Reang IDPs in North
Tripura.
The violence in Gujarat in 2002 displaced, according to the
National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in 2006, 5,307 Muslim families
to 46 camps in ``precarious conditions'' across Gujarat. By November
2007, the Government of Gujarat completed the process of giving ration
and voter cards to the IDPs at their camp addresses, confirming their
permanent relocation.
More than 87,000 persons lived under poor conditions in IDP camps
in Assam as a result of continuing violence in the northeast. According
to press reports, nearly 2,000 families who were riot victims from the
Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, and Dhubri districts in Assam awaited
rehabilitation grants sanctioned by the state government following the
periodic riots that occurred during 1993-99 in these areas.
An NGO reported that the Assam state government released part of
the grants in 2007. The Government also provided assistance to IDPs and
allowed them access to NGO and human rights organizations. As in
previous years, there were no reports that the Government attacked or
forcibly resettled IDPs. No government programs were specifically
designed to facilitate resettlement.
During 2006 the Chhattisgarh government opened IDP camps in
Dantewara district for tribal persons caught in fighting between
Naxalites and the Salwa Judum. Credible reports claimed the police
forced villagers to relocate to the camps. In October the NHRC report
identified 23 government relief camps, with an estimated camp
population of 40,000 IDPs, down from 27 camps with as many as 60,000
IDPs in 2006.
The camps lacked adequate shelter, food, health care, education,
and security. Civil society groups alleged that men, women, and
children from the camps were trafficked for labor, sexual exploitation,
and child soldiering. Numerous sources alleged that children were armed
by both Naxalites and Salwa Judum activists. Police acknowledged that
some minors could have been armed as SPOs but stated they dismissed
minors upon learning their true ages.
NGOs alleged that hundreds of Chhattisgarh IDPs settled in reserved
forest areas in Andhra Pradesh were denied basic assistance, including
food, water, shelter, medical facilities, and sanitation. Little was
known about the population or its living conditions. According to HRW,
the Andhra Pradesh forest department made several attempts to evict
displaced persons from Kothooru.
Protection of Refugees.--According to the World Refugee Survey
2007, 435,900 refugees were in the country, including the Dalai Lama,
spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists.
The laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee
status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but the Government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees against the expulsion or
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened, especially to Tibetans and Sri Lankans. According to the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), during the
year there were 11,321 refugees under UNHCR mandate in the country.
Since 1960, the Government has hosted approximately 110,000 de facto
refugees from Tibet. Tibetan leaders in the country stated that the
Government treated them extremely well. The Ministry of Home Affairs
has spent 180,600,000 rupees (approximately $4.2 million) on Tibetan
refugee resettlement.
Due to the absence of clear guidelines, the refugees are governed
under the Foreigners Act 1946 that defines a foreigner as a person who
is not a citizen of India and is thus eligible to be deported.
Prior to the Olympic Games in August, Tibetan refugees protested
throughout the country. The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) organized most
of the protests and reported that, on the whole, police did not
mistreat the refugees during arrests or dispersion of the crowds. These
demonstrations began on March 13, when an estimated 100 Tibetan
protesters were arrested near Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, in their
protest march to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. Police detained the
protesters for 11 days. On April 15, 45 TYC members participated in the
Tibet Independence Torch relay, and 33 of them were arrested and
detained in Tihar jail. The following day, 65 activists protested at
the Chinese Embassy in Delhi, and 48 were arrested.
According to TYC reports, some female activists were injured when
police officers forcibly arrested them.
On April 17, TYC organized 300 protesters to demonstrate against
the arrival of the Olympic torch in the country. According to TYC,
police arrested almost all of the protesters. TYC accused Mayapuri
police of beating some protesters, resulting in injuries for two
protesters.
On April 30, in an address before the parliament, the Ministry of
Home Affairs stated that 680 Tibetan protesters were arrested in
various states in the country during the March protests.
On July 28, TYC launched a series of three hunger strikes in Delhi
as part of the Olympic protests. When police forcibly removed the first
group of hunger strikers, Tibetans protested. Police arrested 86
protesters who tried to prevent police from reaching the hunger strike
tent; the protesters were released on August 20. On August 24, TYC
terminated the fast.
The Government generally denied NGOs, international humanitarian
organizations, and the office of the UNHCR direct access to refugee and
IDP camps, particularly in Mizoram. While the UNHCR had no formal
status, the Government permitted its staff to access refugees in urban
centers and maintained a local office in Tamil Nadu. The Government did
not formally recognize UNHCR grants of refugee status, although it
provided ``residential permits'' to many Afghans and Burmese. An
estimated 1,908 Burmese refugees have lived in New Delhi since 1982.
The Government considered Tibetans and Sri Lankans in settlements and
refugee camps to be refugees and provided assistance to them, but since
it regarded most other groups, especially Bangladeshis, as economic
migrants, it did not provide them with aid. However, in recent years a
number of court rulings extended protection to refugees whom the
Government had formerly considered economic migrants.
The Government permitted recognized refugees to work, and the state
and central governments paid for the education of refugee children and
provided limited welfare benefits.
According to NGOs, conditions in the Sri Lankan refugee camps were
generally acceptable, although much of the housing, as well as water
and sanitation facilities, were of poor quality. The UNHCR continued to
meet outside the camps with Tamil refugees considering voluntary
repatriation. The NGO Organization for Eelam Refugee Rehabilitation had
regular access to the camps during the year. As of September 8, a total
of 73,536 Sri Lankan refugees resided in 117 refugee camps throughout
Tamil Nadu. The central government and the state of Tamil Nadu jointly
provided monthly cash payments and food subsidies to the refugees. The
refugees were free to move in and out of the camps, but they had to
return for periodic roll calls. The refugees were subject to
surveillance by police. Refugee children generally were enrolled in
local schools.
Those living in the country not formally recognized as refugees
included approximately 80,000 Chakmas and approximately 200,000
Santhals, both from Bangladesh, who remained in Arunachal Pradesh,
Mizoram, and Assam. Afghans, Iraqis, and Iranians without valid
national passports were also present. The Government chose not to
deport them, issued them renewable residence permits, or ignored their
presence. Due to financial and other reasons, many refugees were unable
or unwilling to obtain or renew their national passports and could not
regularize their status.
UNHCR provided refugee status and assistance to approximately 1,800
Chins from Burma living in New Delhi. However, UNHCR did not have
access to the larger population of ethnic Chin living in the
northeastern states. An estimated 80,000 Chins lived and worked
illegally in Mizoram. NGOs stated that in 2005, 10,000 Chins with
alleged ties to Burmese insurgent groups were expelled to Burma, where
the military government reportedly jailed them. Mizoram human rights
groups estimated that approximately 31,000 Reangs, a tribal group from
Mizoram displaced by sectarian conflict, remained in six camps in North
Tripura. Conditions in these camps were poor, and the Tripura
government asked the central government to allot funds for their care.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The country has a
democratic, parliamentary system of government, with representatives
elected in multiparty elections. The Government changed hands following
free and fair national parliamentary elections in April and May 2004.
The parliament sits for five years unless dissolved earlier for new
elections, except under constitutionally defined emergency situations.
Citizens elected state governments at regular intervals, except in
states under the President's rule. The 2007 elections in Uttar Pradesh
resulted in a Dalit-led party winning a majority of seats in the State
Assembly. During the year free and fair assembly elections were held in
Nagaland, Karnataka, Meghalaya and Tripura, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi. According to the
Election Commission, voter turnout for the elections in Jammu and
Kashmir was 61.1 percent, compared to 26 percent during the last
election in 2002. Seven civilians were killed in elections in the state
during the year, compared to 26 in 2002.
Political parties could operate without restriction or outside
interference.
In July 2007 Pratibha Patil became the country's first female
President. There were 73 women in the 784-seat national legislature,
two in the 32-member cabinet of ministers, and eight among the 47
ministers of state. There were numerous female representatives in all
major parties in the national and state legislatures. The chief
minister of Uttar Pradesh, the country's largest state with a
population of 183 million, was a woman. The constitution reserves 33
percent of seats for women in elected village councils.
The constitution reserves a proportionate number of seats in the
parliament and state legislatures for STs and SCs. Indigenous persons
actively participated in national and local politics.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, in practice officials
frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Both the Election Commission and the Supreme Court upheld mandatory
disclosures of criminal and financial records for election candidates.
However, election campaigns for the parliament and state legislatures
often were funded with unreported money, and the Government failed to
combat the problem.
In 2006 the Government launched a national antibribery campaign to
raise public awareness of the right to information. The law mandates
stringent penalties for failure to provide information or affecting its
flow and requires agencies to proactively reveal sensitive information.
While the Government took extended periods of time to reply to
information requests, local community members as well as noncitizens
could access the Right to Information Act (RTI) online portal to get
information on personal documentation, city plans, and other public
records. The Government charged 10 rupees (approximately $0.21) as a
fee at the time the request was made. Nine state governments have right
to information laws. The Ministry of Home Affairs' 2007 annual report
stated that 8,311 applications were processed under the RTI in 2006-07.
If a request is denied, the individual can appeal to the Central
Information Commissioner and then to the High Court.
During the year action was taken against 262 Bihar state government
officials for not supplying information to RTI applicants.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating abuses
and publishing their findings on human rights cases; however, in a few
circumstances, groups faced restrictions. Government officials assisted
some NGO inquiries and actions.
In 2006 the Ministry of Home Affairs barred 8,673 organizations
from seeking foreign funds under the Foreign Contribution and
Regulation Act (FCRA) for failing to provide the proper paperwork. NGOs
called the FCRA restrictive and claimed that the Government failed to
notify organizations when the requisite paperwork was needed. Until
December 2007, funds under FCRA were granted to 475 additional
organizations. According to the Home Ministry Annual Report 2007-08,
under FCRA, 475 organizations were granted registration and 255
organizations were granted prior permission to receive foreign funds.
The main domestic human rights organization was the government-
appointed NHRC. While the NHRC generally acted independently, some
human rights groups claimed the NHRC was hampered by institutional and
legal weaknesses. For example, while the NHRC was not required to
notify and receive approval for visits to state-managed prisons, the
NHRC was unable to inquire independently into human rights violations
by the armed forces, initiate proceedings for prosecution, or grant
interim compensation. NGOs also criticized the NHRC's financial
dependence on the Government and the failure to investigate abuses more
than one year old.
In 2007 the NHRC received 76,444 complaints of human rights abuses.
The NHRC closed 101,272 cases, including those brought forward from
previous years. It recommended interim relief in 86 cases amounting to
15,050,000 rupees (approximately $350,000). The NHRC did not have the
statutory power to investigate allegations and could only request that
a state government submit a report, which state governments often
ignored. Human rights groups claimed that the NHRC did not register all
complaints, dismissed cases on frivolous grounds, did not adequately
protect complainants, and failed to investigate cases thoroughly.
In April the Supreme Court directed the NHRC to investigate alleged
human rights violations in Chhattisgarh connected with the government-
sponsored counterinsurgency efforts. On September 20, the Supreme Court
asked the Chhattisgarh government to implement the NHRC's
recommendations concerning allegations of human rights abuses by the
state-sponsored counterinsurgency campaign Salwa Judum, SPOs, other
security forces, and the Naxalites. The NHRC recommended further
investigation into allegations of human rights violations, including
extrajudicial killings.
On October 27, the NHRC initiated an inquiry into the MNS violence
against north Indians in Maharashtra, and the investigation contnued at
year's end.
Human rights monitors in Jammu and Kashmir were able to document
human rights violations, but they were at times restrained or harassed
by security forces, counterinsurgents, and police.
International human rights organizations faced difficulties
obtaining visas to visit the country for investigative purposes, and in
country, occasional harassment and restrictions limited the public
distribution of materials. International humanitarian organizations,
such as the ICRC, had access to most regions, with the exception of the
Northeast and Naxalite-controlled areas.
Despite the recommendation to create state human rights commissions
in the 1993 Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), only 17 of the 28
states had established them by year's end. Human rights groups alleged
that state human rights commissions were limited by local politics and
less likely to offer fair judgments than the NHRC. For example, the
Jammu and Kashmir commission did not have the authority to investigate
alleged human rights violations committed by members of the security
forces. Also, the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC),
after receiving a court order, was forced to disclose that it had
dismissed 27,000 of the 30,000 complaints it received between July 2000
and July 2007 without any action. It heard 39 cases and recommended
action against police or government officials in only eight cases.
In October the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) stated
that most cases taken up by the commission deal with alleged atrocities
committed by the Punjab police. According to the PSHRC, 6,000 of 10,000
complaints registered through September pertained to police atrocities.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex,
religion, place of birth, or social status, and the Government worked
to enforce these provisions with varying degrees of success.
Women.--The law provides for protection from all forms of abuse
against women in the home, including physical, sexual, verbal,
emotional, or economic abuse. Domestic violence includes actual abuse
or the threat of abuse. The law recognizes the right of a woman to
reside in a shared household with her spouse or partner while the
dispute continues, although a woman can be provided with alternative
accommodations, for which the spouse pays. The law also provides women
with the right to police assistance, legal aid, shelter, and access to
medical care. The law bans harassment by way of dowry demands and
empowers magistrates to issue protection orders where needed. The law
criminalizes spousal rape. Punishment ranges from jail terms of up to
one year and/or a fine of approximately 19,800 rupees (approximately
$450).
In practice rape and other violent attacks against women continued
to be a serious problem. There has been a dramatic increase in reported
crimes against women, which credible sources stated was due to a
growing sense of security in reporting such crimes. The 2005-06
National Family Health Survey (NFHS) reported that one-third of women
ages 15 to 49 had experienced physical violence, and approximately one
in 10 had been a victim of sexual violence. The survey also found that
that only one in four abused women had ever sought help, and that 54
percent of women believed it was justified for a husband to beat his
wife. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) reported 20,737 incidents
of rape in 2007, and 19 of 20 victims knew their attackers. NGOs
asserted that rape by police, including custodial rape, was common.
In 2005 the parliament amended the Code of Criminal Procedure to
stipulate mandatory DNA tests in all rape cases. The act also requires
a judicial inquiry into any death or rape of a woman in police custody
and prohibits the arrest of women after sunset and before sunrise
except in ``exceptional circumstances.'' Human rights groups claimed
there was no subsequent decrease in the prevalence of custodial abuse
or killings. The law sets criminal penalties for rape, including
spousal rape, but the Government did not enforce the law effectively.
Only 10 percent of rape cases were adjudicated fully by the courts, and
police often failed to arrest rapists, perpetuating a climate of
impunity.
Domestic violence remained a significant problem, with the highest
prevalence in Delhi, according to a study conducted by the NGO Lawyers
Collective and UNIFEM. A total of 3,534 cases were reported in Delhi,
followed by Kerala with 3,287 cases, and Maharashtra with 2,751 cases,
between 2006 and October. The NFHS also found that 59 percent of
married women in the state of Bihar suffered from domestic violence and
that this rate of domestic violence was positively correlated with
illiteracy.
Upper caste gangs used mass rape to intimidate lower castes, and
gang rape was reportedly used as punishment for alleged adultery or as
a means of coercion or revenge in rural property disputes.
There was no progress in the 2007 case in which three rioters in a
rally stripped an Adivasi woman while others took pictures of her on
their cellular phones.
An investigation continued in the 2006 rape of 25 women in Manipur
by 18 armed insurgents belonging to the United National Liberation
Front and Kanglaipak Communist Party. A judicial commission
investigated the incident and submitted its findings to the state
government in 2007, but there were no further developments by year's
end.
There was no response to an NHRC request of state officials to
investigate a 2006 case in which upper caste men raped seven Dalit
women in the Lakhisarai district of Bihar.
On September 15, the court found eight persons guilty of murder and
acquitted three others in the 2006 case of four Dalit family members
killed by Kunbi caste villagers in Khairlanji village of Maharashtra.
The law forbids the provision or acceptance of a dowry, but
families continued to offer and accept dowries, and dowry disputes
remained a serious problem. The law also provides extensive powers to
magistrates to issue protection orders that deal with dowry-related
harassment and murder. From January 1 through September 30, Andhra
Pradesh police reported 392 dowry deaths, Tamil Nadu police recorded
178, and the Karnataka State Commission for Women recorded 98.
According to the NCRB, 8,093 dowry cases were registered in 2007.
On September 22, the Supreme Court directed Abhinav to pay
4,000,000 rupees (approximately $85,106) to his wife Shilpa and her
family for mentally and physically torturing them for dowry.
Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, and several other states had a chief
dowry prevention officer, although it was unclear how effective these
officers were. Madhya Pradesh required government employees to produce
a sworn affidavit by prospective brides, grooms, and the groom's father
that no dowry was exchanged.
The Government continued to ban and discourage sati, the practice
of burning a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband, and there were
few instances of sati. There were no reports of sati during the year.
Honor killings continued to be a problem, especially in Punjab and
Haryana, where up to 10 percent of all killings in those two states
were honor killings. In July the Association for Advocacy and Legal
Initiative, a women's advocacy group, reported that it identified 73
cases of honor killings from Hindi-speaking states in 2007.
For example, on September 18, Rekha and Sonu, college students in
Noida, Uttar Pradesh, were killed by their family because Rekha
belonged to the Dalit community. On November 6, two cousins, Pinki and
Sonam, were killed by their families after they left home with boys
from different castes. Five persons, including the fathers of both
girls, were arrested and investigations continued at year's end.
There remained no judgments in two high profile honor killings,
despite confessions and supporting police investigations. The July 2007
killing of a Jat woman, Baljeet Kaur, and her Valmiki husband by Kaur's
father Kartar Singh and brothers, and the 2006 killing of Kamlesh Chand
by her father Deep Chand and his three sons both remained unresolved.
While the act of prostitution is not illegal, most activities such
as the selling, procuring, and exploiting of any person for commercial
sex as well as profiting from the prostitution of another individual
are illegal. Unlike in previous years, Section 8 of the Immoral
Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA), which criminalizes the act of
solicitation for prostitution, was infrequently used to arrest and
punish women and girls who were victims of trafficking. The country is
a significant source, transit point, and destination for trafficked
women.
In October the Jammu and Kashmir High Court criticized the CBI's
``lax and deficient'' handling of the 2006 arrest of the former state
minister for tourism in Jammu and Kashmir Pirzada Mohammed Sayeed and
his wife for allegedly trafficking and blackmailing approximately 40
local girls into prostitution. On May 27, the Jammu and Kashmir state
government asked the High Court bench to reconsider the case. The CBI
and the High Court Bar Association disagreed, and the case was still
pending at year's end.
Sexual harassment of women in the workplace included physical and
verbal abuse from male supervisors, restricted use of toilets, and the
denial of lunch breaks. In 2006 the Supreme Court instructed all state
chief secretaries to comply with its mandate that all state departments
and institutions with over 50 employees establish committees to deal
with matters of sexual harassment. According to NCRB, 4,541 cases of
sexual harassment were filed in 2006.
On July 30, Delhi University's enquiry committee found a professor
guilty of, and dismissed him for, charges of sexual harassment.
On November 7, B. N. Ray, ex-vice principal of Ramjas College,
Delhi University, was found guilty of sexual harassment after his
suspension one year earlier, when six cases of sexual harassment were
filed against him.
On October 20, the National Commission for Women reported 153 cases
of sexual harassment cases were registered from 2006-08. Sixty cases
were registered in Delhi, and 77 in Uttar Pradesh; the remaining 16
cases were divided among other states.
On August 11, a cab driver and his accomplice were sentenced to
death for the 2004 rape and killing of Australian national Dawn Emelie
Griggs.
The law prohibits discrimination in the workplace; however, in
practice employers paid women less than men for the same job,
discriminated against them in employment and credit applications, and
promoted women less frequently than men. In 2006 the Government amended
the law to provide flexibility for women to work in factories on the
night shift.
On March 17, the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board released
a new Shariat nikahnama (marriage law), applicable to both Shias and
Sunnis, that makes registration of marriages compulsory and expands the
rights to women. For example, the new marriage law prohibits divorce
via text message, e-mail, or telephone, and the wife can file for
divorce if her husband forces her to have sex.
Many tribal land systems, notably in Bihar, denied tribal women the
right to own land. Shari'a (Muslim traditional law) determines land
inheritance for Muslim women rather than state statutes. Other laws
relating to the ownership of assets and land accorded women little
control over land use, retention, or sale. However, several exceptions
existed, such as in Ladakh, Meghalaya, and Himachal Pradesh, where
women traditionally controlled family property and enjoyed full
inheritance rights.
Children.--The law provides for protection from abuse for children
in a variety of different areas. In 2007 the NHRC developed guidelines
for handling child rape cases and issued recommendations on missing
children. The NHRC recommended that state directors general of police
should issue standing instructions to protect children and require that
every police station have special squads or missing persons desks to
trace missing children. District administrations were charged with
periodically inspecting locations where children often work, in
accordance with the law. NHRC recommended that state police
headquarters create a system of mandatory reporting whereby all
incidents of missing children were reported to the newly constituted
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) within 24
hours of occurrence.
NHRC stated that enforcement agencies, in partnership with NGOs and
social workers, should develop a mechanism for counseling and awareness
on child abduction, and that the National Crime Research Bureau should
establish a National Tracking System in the form of data, including
efforts by grassroots organizations, to help in locating and tracing
missing children.
The Registration of Birth and Death Act 1969 provides for
establishing birth registration procedures for state governments.
According to the National Commission on Population, approximately 55
percent of national births were covered at year's end, and the level of
registration varied substantially across states.
The constitution provides for free, compulsory education for
children between the ages of six and 14 years of age; however, the
Government did not enforce this provision.
A 2006 report commissioned by the MHRD showed that lower caste and
Muslim student attendance rates were much lower than those of children
in high caste families.
Abuse of children in both public and private educational
institutions was a problem. Although corporal punishment is banned,
schoolteachers often used it on their students. There was still no
progress in the 2007 case of Brijesh Prajapati, a sixth grade student
in Farukhabad, Uttar Pradesh, who died after a beating from his
teacher, Kishan Singh. Authorities suspended Singh and the school
principal; the case was pending at year's end.
On March 27, Rinky Kaushik, a 15-year old student at the Dinkar
Model School, died after her teacher beat her. A complaint was
registered against the principal, and the central government revoked
its recognition of the teacher and the school.
In April 2007 the Ministry of Women and Child Development released
its first study of child abuse. The survey found two out of three
children were physically abused, with a higher percentage reported
among children aged five to 12. The states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam,
Bihar, and Delhi consistently reported the highest rates of abuse in
all forms. Sixty-five percent of school children reported facing
corporal punishment. Fifty-three percent of children reported
experiencing one or more forms of sexual abuse, and 22 percent reported
experiencing severe sexual abuse.
The Government sponsored a toll-free 24-hour help line for children
in distress in 72 cities across the country. A network of NGOs staffed
the ``Childline 1098 Service'' number, which could be accessed by
either a child or an adult to request immediate assistance, including
medical care, shelter, restoration, rescue, sponsorship, and
counseling.
In October the NCPCR found that 22 children's homes failed to
provide regular meals, clean sheets, and potable water, and required
children to cook for the staff and themselves. The NCPCR found no
effective system existed to manage and supervise such homes.
The 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act prohibits child marriage. In
2006 the Government tightened its legislation against child marriage
and passed the Prohibition of Child Marriage Bill, declaring that
existing child marriages were null and void.
While the law states the legal age of marriage for women is 18 and
for men 21, in practice this law was not followed. According to a 2005
Health Ministry report, half of all women were married by the age of
15. The report found that 45 percent of women aged 18 to 24, and 32
percent of men aged 18 to 29, married before the legal age. According
to a 2005 report from the Office of the Registrar General of India, 240
girls died every day due to pregnancy-related complications in early
child marriages. The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
concluded that those married under the age of 18 were twice as likely
to be abused by their husbands compared with women married later; they
were also three times more likely to report marital rape. ICRW reported
that child brides often showed signs of child sexual abuse and post-
traumatic stress. Child marriages also limited girls' access to
education and increased their health risks, since they had higher
mortality rates and exposure to HIV/AIDS than girls married after 18.
Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children was a
serious problem. According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), in 2004
the country supplied half of the one million children worldwide who
entered the sex trade.
A study conducted by a group of NGOs revealed that approximately
10,000 children were trafficked into the northeast states every year.
The study reveals that children were also brought in from bordering
countries to the northeast.
On August 26, the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) expressed
concern over incidents of child trafficking in the guise of adoption.
Media reports named a Chennai-based adoption agency that had fabricated
records of children and placed them for adoption in 2000. The CARA
chairperson stated that the agency lost its license in 2002. A criminal
case was filed and the matter was pending in the court at year's end.
Female feticide was an acute problem in Punjab, Haryana, and
Rajasthan. The states of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, parts of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and
Karnataka reported particularly low female/male ratios. Nationally,
there were only 933 girls per 1,000 boys per the 2001 census. In 14
districts of Haryana and Punjab there were fewer than 800 girls per
1,000 boys. The low male/female ratio resulting from female feticide
caused families in Punjab and Haryana to traffic women and girls from
Bihar and other northeastern states.
Sex determination tests are illegal under the 1994 Pre-Natal
Diagnostic Techniques Act (PNDT). However, credible sources stated the
problem was widespread and calculated that feticide was a $116 million
industry. Officials claimed that the practice was prominent among
educated and urban sections of society.
On January 17, media reports revealed a poor conviction rate under
the PNDT. Despite claims made by the Punjab government, police had
obtained only six convictions under the act in the state, and 78 cases
were pending in the courts at year's end. Out of 17 cases involving
clinics carrying out the sex determination tests using ultra sound
machines, three were discharged and 14 cases were pending in the courts
at year's end.
On July 1, two diagnostic clinics and a hospital were shut down in
Rohini, New Delhi, for conducting sex determination tests. On August
14, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the central government on
public interest litigation charging that efforts to block search engine
advertisements promoting sex selection technology had been
insufficient.
On November 2, the ultrasound center in Sriram Memorial Hospital in
Gurgaon, Haryana, was closed for violating the PNDT for purposes of sex
determination.
There were no updates in the 2007 arrest by the Haryana Health
Department of an unlicensed doctor, A.K. Singh, for feticide based on
gender. Haryana registered 35 cases against doctors illegally
conducting sex determination tests in the past two years.
Efforts to combat feticide included a program by the Health and
Family Welfare Ministry to target and apprehend those who carry out or
abet female feticide. The Government also launched a ``Save the Girl
Child'' campaign. The New Delhi municipal government sponsored a
program that provided every girl born in a government hospital with a
gift deposit of 5,000 rupees (approximately $114) that accumulated
interest until cashed at the child's age of 18. In the village of
Lakhanpal in central Punjab, a program to end female feticide resulted
in 1,400 female and 1,000 male births.
Trafficking in Persons.--The ITPA prohibits trafficking in human
beings; however, trafficking in persons remained a significant problem.
The law provides for imprisonment of seven years to life for offenses
committed against a child (under 16), or seven to 14 years for offenses
against minors between 16 and 18. The minimum term of imprisonment for
brothel keeping was one year for the brothel offense and seven years to
life imprisonment for detaining a person, with or without consent, for
prostitution.
The country was a significant source, transit point, and
destination for trafficking victims, primarily for the purposes of
prostitution and forced labor. Women and girls were lured into
commercial sexual exploitation through deception and expectations of
opportunities. Tribal women and those from economically depressed areas
were particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Extreme poverty,
combined with the low social status of women, often resulted in parents
handing over their daughters to strangers for what they believed was
employment or marriage. In some instances, parents received payments or
the promise that their children would send wages home.
To a lesser extent, the country was a point of origin for women and
children trafficked to other countries in Asia, the Middle East, and
other countries for forced domestic servitude or commercial sexual
exploitation. Men were also trafficked to the Arabian Gulf for
involuntary servitude in the construction sector.
Women and girls as young as seven years of age were trafficked from
economically depressed neighborhoods in Nepal, Bangladesh, and rural
areas of the country to the major prostitution centers of Mumbai,
Kolkata, and New Delhi. In West Bengal, organized trafficking of
illegal Bangladeshi immigrants was a principal source of bonded labor.
Kolkata was a transit point for traffickers sending Bangladeshis to New
Delhi, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, and the Middle East. The Government
cooperated with groups in Nepal and Bangladesh to deal with the problem
and began to negotiate bilateral antitrafficking agreements,
particularly through the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation.
Trafficking of children into domestic servitude and sweatshops
remained a problem. States in the northeast region (Assam, Meghalaya,
Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim), and
Bihar served as main source areas for domestic servants in Kolkata,
Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and, to a certain extent, Bangalore. The
increasing number of domestic servant recruitment agents suggested that
large trafficking networks operated in the region. In many cases women
and girls were first brought by agents to Siliguri, West Bengal; they
then traveled to different destinations with the traffickers. Often
traffickers used truck drivers to carry women and girls from the
northeast through National Highway 31, which connects the region to the
central part of the country.
Traffickers usually targeted minors and Dalit women. A study
conducted by credible sources stated that out of the 173 identified
cases of women who had become victims of the sex trade, 85 percent were
minors and half were Dalits.
NGOs knowledgeable about the trafficking situation frequently
identified traffickers and the locations where brothel owners held
girls captive but were reluctant to trust police with this information
due to the likelihood that many trafficking victims would be arrested
and revictimized rather than assisted by such raids. Several NGOs had
significant successes, however, in working with police to target
brothels with children.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC)
latest report, from January 2007 to June, 920 cases of human
trafficking were registered; 371 rescue operations were conducted;
1,606 victims were rescued, including 266 minors; 1,919 were arrested;
801 customers/clients were arrested; 30 traffickers were convicted; 33
places of exploitation were closed; and 863 victims began the process
of rehabilitation.
On October 10, Ram Kishore, station house officer of the Railway
Police, and six others were charged with the alleged sale of a woman
into illegal captivity in Jind, Haryana. Police lodged a First
Information Report, but had not located the accused by year's end.
On October 30, Chander Shekhar, employee of the NGO Prayas Kendra,
was sentenced to two years in jail for child trafficking. Delhi police
arrested Shekhar in 2006 for selling three children residing at the NGO
for 30,000 rupees (approximately $638).
Although arrests and prosecutions for trafficking increased,
convictions remained low, and collection of law enforcement data was
difficult because there was no national system for collecting arrest
information. The law's requirement of an inspector-level officer to
investigate cases made charges unlikely. Many police officials
preferred to use India Penal Code (IPC) provisions rather than
antitrafficking laws to arrest traffickers, both because they claimed
to have more success in getting convictions and because many IPC
provisions were not subject to bail.
The Government significantly increased police training and modestly
improved interstate coordination of antitrafficking efforts, cooperated
with NGOs, supported awareness campaigns, and increased the number of
shelter facilities available to rescued trafficking victims; the
conditions of the shelters, however, were often substandard. They also
stated that persons claiming to be parents would remove girls and
reinsert them into the industry.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development improved coordination
with its state counterparts and NGOs to deliver counseling, legal aid,
medical care, repatriation and restoration services, as well as
awareness programs such as peer education, rallies, posters, booklets,
and street plays. The ministry also completed the Protocol on Inter
State Rescue and Post Rescue Activities relating to trafficked persons.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution does not explicitly
mention disability as a prohibited ground for discrimination. The
Persons with Disabilities Act (PDA) provides equal rights for persons
with disabilities; however, a clause that makes the implementation of
programs dependent on the ``economic capacity'' of the Government was
believed to significantly weaken the law.
Widespread discrimination occurred against persons with physical
and mental disabilities in employment, education, and access to health
care. Accessibility for persons with disabilities to public buildings,
transport, and spaces was not required by law, and provisions for
wheelchair access were limited.
According to the 2001 census, there were 22 million persons with
disabilities in the country, but NGOs estimated the actual number to be
much higher. A World Bank report noted that 4 to 8 percent of the
population consisted of persons with disabilities.
The Government and the PDA improved employment prospects for
persons with disabilities. For example, the PDA required that 3 percent
of public sector jobs be reserved for persons with physical, hearing,
and visual disabilities. While only 0.44 percent of public sector
employees were persons with disabilities, the Government increased
funds to NGO partners to increase this number. Private sector
employment of persons with disabilities remained low despite PDA
benefits to private companies at which persons with disabilities
constitute more than 5 percent of the workforce. On July 17, the
central government approved an incentive program for private sector
employers that covers positions with a monthly wage of 25,000 rupees
(approximately $568).
The PDA created a Central Coordination Committee, which reported
that approximately 100,000 children with special needs attended
approximately 2,500 schools that provided integrated and inclusive
education or nonformal education. The MHRD reported in 2006 that
children with mental disabilities had the lowest rate of school
attendance out of any group at 53 percent, followed by those with
speech disabilities at 57.5 percent, and those with hearing
disabilities at 68 percent.
The law stipulates that 3 percent of all educational spots are
reserved for persons with disabilities; however, statistics showed that
only an estimated 1 percent of students consisted of those with
disabilities. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment offered
500 educational scholarships to persons with disabilities to pursue
higher education. However, university enrollment of students with
disabilities was still very low for reasons including inaccessible
infrastructure, poor availability of resource materials,
nonimplementation of the 3 percent reservation, and harassment.
On July 14, the central government pledged to fund programs to
provide toilets accessible for persons with disabilities, sloped ramps,
lifts with audio systems and Braille buttons, computer rooms usable for
persons with disabilities, and one room in each hostel for persons with
disabilities in the country's universities. On July 15, Delhi
University organized a special orientation program for students with
disabilities and announced plans to start a transportation system to
facilitate their commute.
The disability division of the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment delivered rehabilitation services to the rural population
through 16 district centers. A national rehabilitation plan committed
the Government to provide rehabilitation centers to more than 400
districts, but services were concentrated in urban areas. The impact of
government programs was limited due to the concentration of funding
provided to a few organizations.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides that the
practice of untouchability, which discriminated against Dalits and
others defined as SCs, is a punishable offense; however, such
discrimination remained ubiquitous.
The law gives the President the authority to identify historically
disadvantaged castes, Dalits, and tribal persons (members of indigenous
groups historically outside the caste system) for special quotas and
benefits. These groups were entitled to affirmative action and hiring
quotas in employment, benefits from special development funds, and
special training programs. According to the 2001 census, SCs, including
Dalits, made up 16 percent (168.6 million) of the population, and STs
were 8 percent (84.3 million). In 2006 the parliament passed a bill to
reserve 27 percent of seats at educational institutions for SCs and
members of disadvantaged social classes.
While the law protects Dalits, in practice they faced significant
discrimination in access to services such as health care and education,
attending temples, and marriage. Many Dalits were malnourished and were
the majority of bonded laborers. Dalits who asserted their rights were
often attacked, especially in rural areas. As agricultural laborers for
caste landowners, Dalits often worked without remuneration. Crimes
committed by upper caste Hindus against Dalits often went unpunished,
either because the authorities failed to prosecute such cases or
because the crimes were unreported by victims fearing retaliation.
Reports from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination described systematic abuse of Dalits, including
extrajudicial killings and a considerable rate of sexual violence
against Dalit women. For example, on January 9, a Dalit man was pierced
in the eyes by upper caste attackers because of his relationship with a
relative. Police arrested six persons for the assault and charged them
under the Scheduled Castes (Prevention) Act.
On April 30, the Ministry of Home Affairs reported that there had
been 13,449 persons convicted for crimes against persons belonging to
the SC and ST according to NCRB records.
On June 7, a Dalit girl alleged that she was raped and tortured for
over a year in Jatapar village in Gujarat after her disappearance in
2006. No arrests were made in the case by year's end. On June 12, a
group of upper caste men stripped and beat a Dalit woman and her
daughter in Ajmer, Rajasthan. The police registered a case against the
accused, who were at large at year's end.
There were no updates in the September 2007 case against those who
allegedly killed two members of the Pardhi tribe and destroyed 62
Pardhi houses in Multai, Madhya Pradesh.
In 2006 the Supreme Court ordered the police and government to help
intercaste couples and prevent social ostracism, and the Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment directed state governments to increase
incentives for intercaste marriages to 46,000 rupees (approximately
$1,050). The central government pays 50 percent.
On September 5, six persons were sentenced to death and two to life
imprisonment for lynching four members of a Dalit family in Vidarbha,
Maharasthra, in 2006.
On September 24, four persons were sentenced to death and 11 to
life imprisonment for killing Chhedu, in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, in
1993. Chhedu belonged to the Chamar caste and was killed when he tried
to prevent his attackers from molesting his daughter.
Indigenous People.--The law provides for safeguarding tribal rights
in most of the northeastern states, and the regulations were generally
followed. These regulations prohibit any nontribal person, including
citizens from other states, from crossing an inner boundary without a
valid permit. No rubber, wax, ivory, or other forest products may be
removed from the protected areas without prior authorization. Tribal
authorities must approve the sale of land to nontribal persons.
According to the Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples,
80 percent of the tribal population lived below the poverty level, and
more than 40,000 tribal women, mainly from Orissa and Bihar, were
forced into economic and sexual exploitation.
Businesses and illegal undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants
encroached on tribal lands in almost every eastern state. Numerous
tribal movements demanded the protection of tribal land and property
rights. As a result of complaints, tribal-majority states were created
in 2000 from the Jharkhand area of Bihar and the Chhattisgarh region of
Madhya Pradesh, and authorities provided local autonomy to some tribes
in the northeast.
In May approximately 41 persons were killed in clashes between the
police and members of the Gujjar tribe in the state of Rajasthan. The
Gujjars demanded inclusion in affirmative action quotas and the List of
Scheduled Tribes. In 2007, 26 persons were killed in similar clashes. A
six-member team from the NHRC visited the state to investigate. On July
17, the Rajasthan Assembly passed the Reservation Bill for the Gujjar
tribe. The Gujjars were expected to get 5 percent reservation in the
category of Special Backward Classes.
In November 2007 members of the CPI(M) claimed approximately 1,500
acres of land in Munnar, Kerala, after forcibly removing 200 tribal
families from the area.
Since August 2007, thousands of mainly indigenous groups of
Scheduled Castes and Tribal protesters in Chengara, Kerala, staged a
continuing strike on a private estate demanding land ownership.
Discussions with the state government to resolve the situation
continued at year's end.
In Assam, tensions remained high between indigenous Assamese tribal
members and the Adivasi because of Adivasi demands for ST status. While
police charged several individuals for stripping one Adivasi woman
publicly, the woman refused the Government's offer for a job and
100,000 rupees (approximately $2,066) in compensation and decided to
run for the parliament. No other violence occurred. There was no
progress on other 2007 incidents in which one person was killed.
Civil rights organizations, working with indigenous persons in
Kodagu district of Karnataka, accused the state government of actively
promoting tourism at their expense. The groups alleged that more than
1,600 families had been evicted since 1972. While the 2006 Scheduled
Tribes Act grants indigenous persons certain rights pertaining to lands
from which they were evicted, in practice little has changed. The
Government had not determined by year's end which department should
implement the new rules, with the practical effect that none of the
evicted families were to take up permanent residence in their former
homes.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law punishes acts of
sodomy and bestiality; however, the law was often used to target,
harass, and punish lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.
Gays and lesbians faced discrimination in all areas of society,
including family, work, and education. Activists reported that in most
cases, homosexuals who did not hide their orientation were fired from
their jobs. Homosexuals also faced physical attacks, rape, and
blackmail. Police committed crimes against homosexuals and used the
threat of arrest to coerce victims into not reporting the incidents.
Voices Against 377, a high profile campaign to overturn Section
377, which outlaws homosexuality, continued its efforts during the
year. On August 27, the Law Ministry rejected the demand of the Health
Ministry to legalize homosexuality.
In 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that the Delhi High Court should
not have dismissed an earlier case challenging Section 377 brought by
two NGOs and returned the case to the Delhi High Court, which began
hearings on September 18. The Government opposed the case based upon
the Ministry of Home Affairs' view that homosexuality is morally wrong.
On November 7, the Delhi High Court allowed litigants one week to
present final statements. The case continued at year's end.
On May 21, 40 gay and transgender groups collaborated on a bid for
funding from the International Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and
Malaria (GFATM). The occasion marked the first time the groups had
formed a united front to secure benefits for their cause.
On August 28, the Home Ministry informed the Delhi High Court that
it was not empowered to issue directions to treat transsexuals as a
special class entitled to jobs and other benefits. The Ministry was
responding to the Public Interest Litigation regarding the dismissal of
Sanju Behra from the CRPF on the grounds of gender ambiguity. Notices
were issued to the CISF, Home Ministry, Ministry of Women and Child
Development, and the Health Ministry during the year.
In December the central government submitted a report which
asserted that legalizing homosexuality would lead to more cases of HIV/
AIDS.
In March 2007 the UN Development Program released a report on
``launda dancers,'' young men and boys hired to dance in women's
clothing at various events in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Dancers were
vulnerable to exploitation by being cheated of earnings or being forced
into prostitution. Sexual assault and gang rape were frequent, and
dancers were at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. Some laundas who had
illegal castrations to join the hijra (traditional transvestite)
community suffered from post operation complications due to inadequate
medical care.
According to the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), the
Government agency responsible for monitoring HIV/AIDS, there were
approximately 2.3 million persons living with HIV/AIDS in the country,
and according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 70 percent
of persons suffering from HIV/AIDS faced discrimination. HRW reported
that many doctors refused to treat HIV-positive children and that some
schools expelled or segregated them because they or their parents were
HIV-positive. Many orphanages and other residential institutions
rejected HIV-positive children or denied them housing.
NACO, with support from UNAIDS and the WHO, produced revised AIDS
estimates that showed as of December 2007 approximately 2.31 million
persons were living with the virus and that HIV prevalence among adults
was around 0.36 percent. Estimates for previous years (since 2002) have
also been revised.
On February 14, an AIDS victim's body was denied cremation in
Kendrapara district, Orissa, due to fears the smoke from the funeral
pyre would spread the virus.
On August 13, Kerala became the first state to reserve government
jobs for HIV-positive candidates.
On August 14, an initiative to provide insurance to persons with
HIV/AIDS was launched in Karnataka. The state estimated that 250,000
residents were infected with HIV/AIDS; however, only 22,000 were
registered with the main HIV/AIDS NGO, the Karnataka Network for
Positive People.
In Karnataka, civil society organizations alleged that since the
May elections there was an increased intolerance on the part of police.
On October 20, police in Bangalore arrested five hijras on unclear
charges. When representatives from Sangama, a Bangalore-based NGO that
defends the human rights of sexual minorities, visited the jail, they
alleged that both they and the original arrestees were verbally and
physically abused, and at least one female representative was assaulted
by police officials. The confrontation escalated, and 31 were
eventually arrested. The group included women and men who were detained
in the same cell, in violation of police code. Cases were pending at
year's end, but all those arrested were released within 24 hours on
bail. On November 9, Bangalore police issued notices to a number of
landlords in the Desarahalli neighborhood alleging that hijras were
``indulging in immoral activities on the premises'' and demanding that
the landlords appear at the local police station. The landlords
responded by evicting some 30-40 hijras, many of whom were long-term
residents.
In 2006 authorities denied five HIV-positive children admission to
the Mar Dionysius Lower Primary School in Kottayam district, Kerala,
after pressure from the community. In August 2007 state government
authorities readmitted them.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements, and in practice the Government generally respected this
right. However, while the country's active work force was more than 400
million persons, only 30 million persons were employed in the formal
sector, with the rest as agricultural workers and, to a lesser extent,
urban nonindustrial laborers. While some trade unions represented
agricultural workers and informal sector workers, most of the country's
estimated 13 to 15 million union members were in the formal sector. An
estimated 80 percent of the unionized workers were members of unions
affiliated with one of the five major trade unions.
In practice legal protections of worker rights were effective only
for the organized industrial sector, where authorities generally
prosecuted and punished those persons responsible for intimidation or
suppression of legitimate trade union activities. Unaffiliated unions
were generally not able to secure the protections and rights provided
by the law. The 2001 Trade Union Act prohibits discrimination against
union members and organizers, and employers were penalized if they
discriminated against employees engaged in union activities.
Trade unions have a limited right to strike, and workers exercised
this right. The Essential Services Maintenance Act allows the
Government to ban strikes in government-owned enterprises and requires
arbitration in specified essential industries; however, the act is
subject to varying interpretations from state to state. State and local
authorities occasionally used their power to declare strikes illegal
and force adjudication. The Industrial Disputes Act prohibits
retribution by employers against employees involved in legal strike
actions, and this prohibition was observed in practice.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the
Government protected this right. Collective bargaining is protected by
law, but is limited mostly to the private sector. Public servants have
limited organizing and collective bargaining rights. When parties
cannot agree on equitable wages, the Government may establish boards of
union, management, and government representatives to make a
determination. Specialized labor courts adjudicate labor disputes;
however, there were long delays and a backlog of unresolved cases.
The law provides workers in export processing zones (EPZs) the
right to join trade unions and bargain collectively, although EPZ
workers often did not exercise their full labor rights. The Trade Union
Act designates the EPZs as ``public utilities'' and requires a 45-day
strike notice.
Entry into the EPZs ordinarily was limited to employees, and entry
restrictions applied to union organizers. Unions have not vigorously
pursued efforts to organize private sector employees since EPZs were
established. Most EPZ workers were women. The International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions reported that overtime was
compulsory in the EPZs, that workers often were employed on temporary
contracts with fictitious contractors rather than directly by the
company, and that workers feared that complaints about substandard
working conditions would result in their dismissal.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or bonded labor, including by children; however, such practices
remained widespread. Offenders may be sentenced up to three years in
prison, but successful prosecutions were rare. Enforcement and
compensation for victims were the responsibility of state and local
governments and varied in effectiveness due to inadequate resources and
societal acceptance of bonded or forced labor. When inspectors referred
violations for prosecution, long court backlogs and inadequate funding
for legal counsel frequently resulted in acquittals. NGOs estimated
that there were 20 to 65 million bonded laborers in the country,
including a large number of children. The Institute for Socio-Economic
Development research found that, in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the main
form of bonded labor involved agricultural laborers. According to NGOs,
nonagricultural sectors that had a high incidence of bonded labor were
stone quarries, brick kilns, rice factories, jewelry, beedi making
(hand-rolled cigarettes), and carpet weaving.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE), during
the period April 2007 to March, 716 bonded laborers had been rescued
and rehabilitated from the states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.
Members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes lived and worked under
traditional arrangements of servitude in many areas of the country. In
Arunachal Pradesh, the Nishi tribe traditionally subjugated the Sulungs
or Puroiks as customary slaves. Local customs and landlessness made the
eradication of slavery difficult.
The MOLE partnered with the NHRC and NGOs to investigate
allegations of bonded labor. MOLE statistics showed a large decrease in
the number of bonded labor cases brought before the courts, although
the extent to which this reflected a decrease in bonded labor was
unclear.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits forced and bonded child labor; however, the prohibition
was not effectively enforced, and forced child labor remained a serious
problem. Estimates of the number of child laborers varied widely. The
Government's 2004 national survey estimated the number of working
children in the age group of five to 14 at 16.4 million. However, NGOs
reported the number of child laborers was closer to 60 million.
According to 2001 census figures, 65.3 million (29 percent) of 226
million children between the ages of five and 14 did not receive any
formal education. Most, if not all, of the 87 million children not in
school worked in the informal sector, often in private homes, with the
highest rate (15 percent) in Uttar Pradesh. Child labor continued due
to social acceptance of the practice, ineffective state and Federal
Government enforcement of existing laws, and poverty. Many officials
claimed they were unable to stop this practice because the children
were working with their parents' consent. Working conditions often
amounted to bonded labor.
According to UNICEF, private companies in Andhra Pradesh reportedly
employed 200,000 children in the hybrid seed industry. Most were girls
between the ages of seven and 14 from other parts of the state. The
majority were Dalits and members of economically disadvantaged castes
and tribal groups forced to work in debt- bondage. They were routinely
abused, subjected to dangerous pesticides, and denied access to
education.
Human rights organizations estimated as many as 300,000 children
worked in the carpet industry. Child labor was also used in the
following industries: gemstone polishing, leather goods, sari weaving,
beadwork, sporting goods, brassware, fireworks, footwear, hand-blown
glass bangles, handmade locks, hand-dipped matches, hand-quarried
stones, hand-spun silk thread, hand-loomed silk cloth, handmade bricks,
roadside restaurants, roadside auto repair, mining, sorting trash for
items to resell or recycle, and beedis. A number of these industries
exposed children to hazardous work conditions.
According to UNICEF and others, the number of children involved in
the silk spinning industry dropped due to competition from China and
concerted action by the state government against employers of child
labor. The Government of Karnataka, in partnership with UNICEF,
monitored child labor and developed programs to enable former child
workers to enter the state-sponsored formal education system.
The NHRC declared the implementation of existing child labor laws
inadequate. A child assisting its family is exempt from the provisions
of the act, and employers in cottage industries often exploited this to
claim that children were assisting their families.
There is no overall minimum age for child labor; however, work by
children under 14 is prohibited in factories, mines, domestic work,
roadside eateries, and other hazardous industries. In occupations and
processes in which child labor is permitted, work by children is
permissible only for six hours between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., with one
day's rest weekly. Employers who failed to abide by the law were
subject to penalties specified in the Bonded Labor System (Abolition)
Act and to disciplinary action at the workplace.
A ruling, effective 2006, prohibits children under the age of 14
from labor in the domestic sector and the hospitality industry,
although child labor in some other nonhazardous industries is legally
permissible. In 2006 the Delhi High Court ordered the central and state
governments to develop a plan to eradicate child labor in the capital
area.
The penalty for employers of children in hazardous industries is
set at 20,000 rupees (approximately $430) per child employed, which
establishes a welfare fund for formerly employed children. The
Government is required to find employment for an adult member of the
child's family or pay 5,000 rupees ($108) to the family. NGOs noted
that requiring the Government to pay the family of a child laborer or
finding the adult family member a job could be a disincentive to
investigating crimes.
The country made moderate progress on addressing child labor during
the year. The MOLE raised awareness about child labor and coordinated
efforts with states through videoconferences. The MOLE also drafted a
Protocol on Prevention, Rescue, Repatriation, and Rehabilitation of
Trafficked and Migrant Child Labor to provide practical guidelines
relating to trafficked and migrant child labor. The MOLE, through its
250 National Child Labor Projects, rehabilitated more than 400,000
children from child labor situations. The MOLE also continued to expand
the list of occupations and activities that are banned from employing
children. In September MOLE added nine items including diving,
mechanized fishing, food processing, timber handling, and processes
involving exposure to free silica.
In February a joint operation launched by the Delhi state
government's Labor Department, the Delhi police, and the NGO Bachpan
Bachao Andolan rescued 140 child laborers in two separate raids working
in the zari industry and factories making photo frames, bangles, and
mirror frames.
On October 6, Real Sports India conducted an investigation on child
labor. The investigation revealed children as young as six years old
working in Jalandhar and Meerut sewing soccer balls. The children were
required to work 10 to 15 hours a day and paid two rupees
(approximately $0.04) per hour.
On October 21, Bachpan Bachao Andolan rescued 17 children at
Saharsah railway station from being trafficked for child and bonded
labor. The rescued children were sent home. Three traffickers were
arrested and charged under the IPC; however, two managed to escape.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--State government laws set
minimum wages, hours of work, and safety and health standards. The
Factories Act mandates an eight-hour workday, a 48-hour workweek, and
safe working conditions, which include adequate provisions for rest
rooms, canteens, medical facilities, and proper ventilation. The law
mandates a minimum rest period of 30 minutes after every four hours of
work and premium pay for overtime. These standards generally were
enforced in the modern industrial sector; however, they were generally
not observed in the vast informal economy, which included nearly 93
percent of the work force.
Minimum wages varied according to the state and to the sector of
industry. Such wages were inadequate to provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. Most workers employed in units subject
to the Factories Act received more than the minimum wage, including
mandated bonuses and other benefits. State governments set a separate
minimum wage for agricultural workers but did not enforce it
effectively. Some industries, such as apparel and footwear, generally
did not adhere to a prescribed minimum wage.
The enforcement of safety and health standards was poor, especially
in the informal sector. Industrial accidents occurred frequently.
Chemical industries had the highest number of accidents. Workers from
Scheduled Castes and Tribes often worked as rag pickers, recycling bits
of trash under hazardous and generally deplorable conditions. Workers
from these groups also cleaned sewers and drains of human excrement
without proper equipment and under extremely unsanitary conditions.
The NHRC had not reported by year's end on the working conditions
in West Bengal tea estates and the alleged starvation deaths that may
have occurred in early 2007.
Safety conditions were better in the EPZs than in the manufacturing
sector outside the EPZs. The law does not provide workers with the
right to leave workplaces that endanger health and safety, without
jeopardizing their continued employment. The country's undocumented
foreign workers were not extended basic occupational health and safety
protections.
__________
KAZAKHSTAN
The Republic of Kazakhstan, with a population of approximately 15.6
million, had a parliamentary system dominated by President Nazarbayev's
Nur Otan Party. According to official results, Nur Otan received 88
percent of the vote in the 2007 national elections for the lower house
of parliament, winning every seat in the chamber. Local and
international observers noted some improvements in the electoral
process over past national elections but criticized the elections as
falling short of a number of international standards, particularly with
respect to the legislative framework and the integrity of the vote
counting and tabulation process. The constitution concentrates power in
the presidency, permitting the President to control regional and local
governments and to exercise significant influence over the legislature
and judiciary. Changes or amendments to the constitution require
Presidential consent. The civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
The following human rights problems were reported: severe limits on
citizens' rights to change their government; military hazing that led
to deaths; detainee and prisoner abuse; unhealthy prison conditions;
arbitrary arrest and detention; lack of an independent judiciary;
restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and
association; pervasive corruption, especially in law enforcement and
the judicial system; prohibitive political party registration
requirements; restrictions on the activities of nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs); discrimination and violence against women;
trafficking in persons; and societal discrimination.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
There were no developments in the case of the 2006 killing of
opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbayuly and his two associates, in
which evidence strongly indicated high level government involvement.
Abuse was common in detention facilities and other institutions. On
May 10, police severely beat Valery Issayev while he was in a holding
cell. He died from injuries the next day. Authorities charged the
supervising officer with abuse. In September the officer was sentenced
to seven years in jail.
On August 14, a marine border guard patrol boat opened fire on a
fishing boat on the Caspian Sea, killing two civilians. Border
authorities claimed that the patrol opened fire as a response to
shooting from the boat. The local community and media alleged that
there was no need to open fire. An investigation was under way at
year's end.
Military hazing led to deaths, suicides, and serious injuries. The
Government reported 115 incidents of nonlethal military hazing during
the year, compared to 97 in 2007. Three deaths were linked directly to
the hazing, as opposed to four in 2007. Seven soldiers committed
suicide.
On June 21, Sergeant Yermakhambet Absattarov of the Kapchagai-based
Air-Mobile Troops beat and killed conscript Umid Shaiusupov. On
November 5, the Almaty Military Court found junior sergeant Absattarov
guilty and sentenced him to four years in jail. On August 28, Alexander
Nagayev, a conscript from military unit 5451, died in the hospital
after another soldier brutally beat him. On December 9, the Karaganda
military court sentenced conscript Tleubergenov to seven years in jail.
In February the Pavlodar military court sentenced three soldiers to
terms ranging from 18 months to 7 and half years for their involvement
in the September 2007 death of military conscript Bek Bashirov.
The number of suicides in the army increased from the previous
year. Authorities reported 15 suicides during the first five months of
the year, up from seven in 2007. According to Deputy Minister Bolat
Sembinov, hazing was the primary reason for the increase in suicides.
Authorities suspected that a soldier from unit 78460 killed himself on
August 12 after another soldier beat him. Authorities detained a
suspect and opened a criminal investigation, which was pending at
year's end.
b. Disappearance.--There were no further developments in the case
of the March 2007 disappearance of journalist Oralgaisha Zhabaktai-
kyzy. In September 2007 the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA)
concluded that her disappearance was unrelated to her ongoing reporting
on official corruption, inter-ethnic clashes, and criminal activity in
the Almaty region.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but police and prison
officials at times beat and abused detainees, often to obtain
confessions. The procurator general's office (PGO) and the human rights
ombudsman acknowledged that torture and other illegal methods of
investigation were used by some law enforcement officers. Human rights
and international legal observers noted investigative and prosecutorial
practices that overemphasized a defendant's confession of guilt over
collecting other types of evidence in building a criminal case against
a defendant. Courts generally ignored allegations by defendants that
their confessions were obtained by torture or duress.
The ombudsman's office reported 1,800 citizen complaints during the
first 11 months of the year, 189 of which were allegations of abuse or
misconduct by law enforcement.
On April 13, three police officers beat and subsequently detained
police sergeant Rasul Zhumaliyev, accusing him of extortion. The
beating, allegedly an attempt to extract a confession, was caught on
tape by security cameras. The police have not opened a formal
investigation.
On May 19, Dmitry Chechil was admitted to the hospital with severe
injuries suffered during a three-day detention at a police station.
According to Chechil, the police beat him severely and refused his
requests for medical attention. The investigation against the police
officers was closed for lack of evidence.
On February 1, the investigation into the March 2007 police beating
of Alexander Gerasimov concluded. Authorities fired investigator
Matashev and gave disciplinary warnings to investigators Barakatov and
Almukhambetov but did not pursue criminal cases against the officers.
The PGO reported 115 crimes related to military hazing and abuse of
power during the year, compared to 105 in 2007.
A few army personnel continued to subject conscripts to physical
and verbal abuse. The Government investigated allegations of conscript
hazing and prosecuted soldiers who engaged in this abuse, convicting 75
soldiers during the year. The Ministry of Defense continued ad hoc
inspections and required systematic reports from senior officers
concerning the hazing situation in their units.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--NGOs and international
observers reported that prison and detention center conditions did not
improve during the year. Observers cited poor treatment of inmates and
detainees, and lack of professional training for administrators. In
February the Constitutional Council invalidated April 2007 legislative
changes that criminalized prisoner protests and self-mutilation.
Prison conditions remained harsh and facilities did not meet
international health standards, although the Government renovated three
prisons and two detention facilities during the year as part of a
penitentiary development program. Scarcity of medical care continued to
be a problem. NGOs reported that about half of the inmate population
was in need of professional treatment, especially for HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. Mistreatment occurred in
police cells, pretrial detention facilities, and prisons. The
Government took steps to address systemic patterns that encouraged
prisoner abuse, including continued operation of and increased access
for regional penitentiary oversight commissions, training of prison
officials, and seminars for MIA police. By year's end, authorities had
prosecuted two prison officials for abuses, and they opened 36
investigations for corruption-related offenses, resulting in 24
convictions.
During the first 11 months of the year, the Government reported 48
detainee deaths, including 10 suicides, at pretrial detention
facilities, and 44 suicides in prisons.
Incidents of inmates' self-mutilation as a protest against harsh
prison conditions and abuse continued, with 66 cases involving 109
inmates reported in 11 months of the year. Of the 66 cases, 16 were
group self-mutilation cases.
In January approximately a dozen Karaganda prison inmates went on a
hunger strike to protest harsh prison conditions. In April Arshaly
prison inmate Yevgeny Futko died after allegedly being beaten by prison
guards for his protest against abuse. According to media reports, other
prisoners also were beaten severely and hospitalized after they tried
to protest against brutality by guards. Prison officials denied any
wrongdoing and alleged that Futko died of natural causes.
Civil society activists worked with the Councils for Public
Oversight of the Ministries of Justice and of Internal Affairs, as well
as the human rights ombudsman's counter-torture working group, to
monitor the situation in prisons and detention facilities. However,
many observers criticized the councils for lacking independence or any
clearly defined authority or power.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but problems remained.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MIA supervises the
national police force, which has primary responsibility for internal
security, including the investigation and prevention of crimes and
administrative offenses and the maintenance of public order and
security. The Agency for Combating Economic and Corruption Crimes
(financial police) has administrative and criminal investigative
powers. The Committee for National Security (KNB) plays a law
enforcement role in border security, internal security, antiterrorism
efforts, and the investigation and prevention of illegal or
unregistered groups such as extremist groups, military groups,
political parties, religious groups, and trade unions. The KNB also
oversees the external intelligence service, Barlau. The financial
police and the KNB report directly to the President.
According to a poll released by the PGO's Crime Statistics
Committee, 35 percent of the population did not believe that the
Government can protect them from infringement of their civil rights and
freedoms, specifically infringement by the police and the courts.
Public perception of police effectiveness was low, and corruption among
law enforcement officers was believed to be high. Authorities fired 183
officers for abuse of power and corruption during the year; 69 of them
were fired for corruption. Authorities gave disciplinary penalties to
1,399 police officers.
During the year the Government maintained MIA hot lines and
received over 11,000 complaints about police corruption and abuse.
The procurator general chairs a council for coordination of law
enforcement operations. Staff includes heads of other law enforcement
agencies. Among many things, the council reviews complaints against law
enforcement.
The MIA cooperated with NGOs to provide human rights training
seminars for police at the local level. The Government cooperated with
international organizations to provide limited law enforcement training
aimed at decreasing abuse by emphasizing investigative skill
development.
Arrest and Detention.--On August 30, legislation implementing a May
2007 constitutional amendment went into effect transferring the power
to sanction arrest from the procurators to the judiciary.Procurators
continued to have the power to authorize investigative actions such as
searches and seizures. The law allows police to hold a detainee for 72
hours before bringing charges. Human rights observers criticized this
time period as too lengthy and said that authorities often used this
detention to exert pressure and extract confessions. A bail system
exists but was not widely used, and many individuals remained in
pretrial detention until their trial.
Persons detained, arrested, or accused of committing a crime have
the right to the assistance of a defense lawyer from the moment of
detention, arrest, or accusation; however, police were not required
under the law and in practice did not inform detainees that they had
the right to an attorney. Human rights observers alleged that law
enforcement officials dissuaded detainees from seeing an attorney,
gathered evidence through preliminary questioning before the person's
attorney arrived, and in some cases used corrupt defense attorneys to
gather evidence. The law states that the Government must provide an
attorney for an indigent suspect or defendant when the suspect is a
minor, has physical or mental disabilities, or is facing serious
criminal charges. In practice, public defenders were often poorly
equipped to assist defendants.
Procurators reported on continuing problems with arbitrary arrest
and detention of citizens.During the first nine months of the year,
authorities released 17 persons from illegal pre-trial detention and
675 persons from illegal custody in police offices.
The Government occasionally arrested and detained government
opponents and critics, sometimes for minor infractions such as
unsanctioned assembly. However, there were no allegations of prolonged
detention for political offenses.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law does not provide
adequately for an independent judiciary. The executive branch limited
judicial independence. Procurators enjoyed a quasi-judicial role and
were permitted to suspend court decisions.
Corruption was evident at every stage of the judicial process.
Although judges were among the most highly paid government employees,
lawyers and human rights monitors alleged that judges, procurators, and
other officials solicited bribes in exchange for favorable rulings in
the majority of criminal cases.
There are three levels in the court system: district, oblast
(regional), and the Supreme Court. District courts are the court of
first instance in nearly all criminal cases. Regional courts hear cases
involving more serious crimes, and may handle cases in rural areas with
no local courts. District court decisions may be appealed to the
regional courts, and regional court decisions may be appealed to the
Supreme Court. There are also military courts. Military courts have
jurisdiction over civilian criminal defendants who were alleged to be
connected to military personnel undergoing a criminal trial. Military
courts use the samecriminal code as civilian courts.
The constitutional council rules on election and referendum
challenges, interprets the constitution, and determines the
constitutionality of laws adopted by parliament. Citizens have no right
of direct appeal to the constitutional council.
The Presidentially appointed High Judicial Council recommends
nominees for the Supreme Court to the President, who in turn recommends
them to the senate for approval. The council makes recommendations to
the President for all lower-level judges, but these appointments are
made directly by the President. Judges are appointed for life. The
parliament may remove Supreme Court judges upon recommendation by the
President, and the President may remove lower court judges.
Trial Procedures.--Courts continued conducting jury trials for
aggravated murder cases during the year, pursuant to legislation
enacted in 2006. Observers noted that the juror selection process was
inconsistent, that trial participants lacked knowledge of the new
system, and that judges, who deliberate with the jurors, tended to
dominate the process. In its report on the monitoring of jury trials,
Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) made a number of
recommendations on improvement of the jury trial system, including more
impartial selection of jurors, free and open access to trials, standard
requirements for equipment in courtrooms to record the proceedings, and
development of procedures through which jurors could exclude evidence
obtained through torture or cruel or humiliating treatment. During the
year courts conducted 30 jury trials involving 46 defendants; jurors
convicted 41 defendants and acquitted three.
Trials were public, except in instances that could compromise state
secrets, or to protect the private life or personal family concerns of
a citizen. However, there were several reports of journalists and
observers being denied access to open court hearings. Defendants in
criminal cases have the right to counsel and to a government-provided
attorney if they cannot afford one. Under the criminal procedure code,
defendants must be represented by an attorney when the defendant is a
minor, has mental or physical disabilities, does not speak the language
of the court, or faces 10 or more years of imprisonment. In practice
defense attorneys reportedly participated in only half of all criminal
cases, in part because the Government did not have sufficient funds to
pay them. The law also provides defendants the right to be present at
their trials, to be heard in court, and to call witnesses for the
defense. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, are protected
from self-incrimination, and have the right to appeal a decision to a
higher court. Human rights activists reported that there were numerous
problems in the judicial system, including lack of access to court
proceedings, frequent procedural violations, lack of a presumption of
innocence, poor explanation of rights to defendants, and the failure of
judges to investigate allegations that confessions were extracted
through torture or duress. Lack of due process was a problem,
particularly in politically motivated trials and in cases where
improper political or financial influence was alleged.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners. There were no reports of individuals imprisoned
following politically motivated criminal prosecutions based on
nonpolitical offenses.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil cases are handled by
economic and administrative court judges under a court structure that
largely mirrors the criminal court structure. The law and constitution
provide for the resolution of civil disputes in court. In practice,
observers viewed civil courts as corrupt and unreliable. Observers
noted that litigants experienced great difficulty in enforcing
judgments, particularly if they did not agree to pay a percentage to
the court administrator.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions;
however, the Government at times infringed on these rights.
The law provides procurators with extensive authority to limit
citizens' constitutional rights. The KNB, MIA, financial police, and
other agencies, with the concurrence of the PGO, may infringe on the
secrecy of private communications and financial records, as well as on
the inviolability of the home. Courts may hear an appeal on
procurators' decisions but cannot issue an immediate injunction to
cease the infringement. The criminal procedure code allows wiretapping
and recording of communications, including e-mail and electronic
communications, without a warrant only in urgent cases.
Government opponents and their family members continued to report
that the Government occasionally monitored their movements and
telephone calls.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and the law
provide for freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government
used a variety of means, including laws, harassment, licensing
regulations, Internet restrictions, and criminal and administrative
charges to control the media and limit freedom of expression. Judicial
actions against journalists and media outlets, including civil and
criminal libel suits filed by government officials, contributed to
suspension of media outlets and self-censorship.
The Government limited individuals' ability to criticize the
country's leadership, and regional leaders attempted to limit local
media outlets' criticism of them. The law prohibits insulting the
President and other senior officials. The Government continued to
characterize the distribution of pamphlets by Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), a
banned extremist political organization, as incitement for political
and terrorist purposes and beyond the bounds of constitutionally
protected free speech.
According to government statistics, approximately 21 percent of the
2,810 media outlets were government-owned. Many privately owned
newspapers and television stations received government subsidies. The
overwhelming majority of broadcast media not owned by the Government,
including the larger outlets, were nonetheless owned by holding
companies believed to be controlled by members of the President's
family or loyal associates. The Government controlled nearly all
broadcast transmission facilities. Media observers believed that most
of the seven nationwide television broadcasters were owned wholly or
partly by the Government. Regional governments owned several
frequencies; independent broadcasters arranged to use the majority of
these.
All media were required to register with the Ministry of Culture
and Information, although Web sites were exempt from this requirement.
The licensing system is not transparent.On January 15, the
Government conducted a tender for new licenses, but media watchdogs
charged that the Government predetermined the results of the tender and
awarded all new television frequencies to companies favored by the
Government. On March 21, government-owned Samgau holding bought 49.9
percent of Khabar stock in an auction where neither the names of the
bidders nor the prices were orchestrated. Nevertheless, public
activists and several politicians criticized the deal as unfair and
alleged that the Government orchestrated the process to consolidate its
control of the media.
The law limits the rebroadcast of foreign-produced programming to
20 percent of a station's total airtime. This provision burdened
smaller, less-developed regional television stations that lacked
resources to develop their own programs, although the Government did
not sanction any media outlet under this provision.
Harassment of and violence against journalists remained a problem.
Press advocacy NGO Adil Soz reported 226 incidents of harassment and
violence against journalists during the first 11 months of the year,
compared to 227 such incidents during the first 11 months of 2007.
Journalists covering organized crime and corruption reported harassment
and intimidation by government officials and private actors.
There were no developments in the 2006 beating of Aina Plyus
journalist Kenzhegali Aitbakiyev, an attack allegedly connected to the
paper's reporting on Kazakhgate, a bribery scandal involving possible
illicit payments from foreign companies to senior government officials,
including, allegedly, President Nazarbayev.
On September 17, unknown assailants attacked the driver of Dulat
Abish, director of the media holding company Aigak, and set his car on
fire. Abish told the press that the attack was directly related to his
paper's recent critical coverage of a local akim (governor).
On November 28, the KNB searched the home and office of Ramazan
Yesergepov, Editor in Chief of the newspaper Alma-Ata Info, after his
paper published an article containing ostensibly classified KNB
documents. On December 1, KNB agents attempted to take Yesergepov for
questioning to Taraz, but he refused to go. The courts ordered Alma-Ata
Info to shut down on December 4. The decision was overturned by the
court of higher instance, but at year's end the paper was not
publishing because its computers were confiscated in the search.
Incidents of government pressure on the media continued. In March
the Minister of Culture and Information met with directors of
independent media outlets and purportedly instructed them to abstain
from publishing stories about President Nazarbayev's former son-in-law
Rakhat Aliyev. NGO Adil Soz reported that on March 13, the KNB
inspected the opposition newspaper Respublika's printing house
allegedly to check if there were any articles being published on
Aliyev's case. On May 8, Gulzhan Yergaliyeva, the chief editor of the
opposition newspaper Svodoba Slova, received an e-mail with threats
that she should stop publishing pieces about Aliyev.
In June the director of the Aktobe oblast's department of internal
policy called the editor in chief of the independent newspaper Diapason
and recommended that the newspaper not cover the visit of opposition
activist Peter Svoik. Raushan Akhan, a reporter from Karaganda's
Ortalyk Kazakhstan newspaper, was fired for criticizing the Government.
She successfully sued the newspaper and received material compensation,
but did not get her job back.
There were no reports of forced outlet closures under the
restrictive media law enacted in 2006. Included in the amendment to the
media law were tightened government control, requiring media owners to
re-register upon any change in editor, address, or frequency of
publishing; a ban on those convicted of libel from holding a managing
editor position at another media outlet; prohibition on registering an
outlet under a name similar to one that was shut down by court action;
and imposition of fines against broadcasters for failing to offer the
required 50-50 mix of Kazakh- and Russian-language programming time.
The law enables the Government to restrict media content under
amendments that prohibit undermining state security or advocating
class, social, race, national, or religious superiority, or cruelty and
violence. Owners, editors, distributors, and journalists may be held
civilly and criminally responsible for content, regardless of the
source of information, unless it came from an official source. The
Government used this provision to limit freedom of the press. The law
prohibits publication of any statement that promotes or glorifies
``extremism,'' a term that international legal experts considered vague
and necessary for the Government to define.
The Government subjected media outlets willing to criticize the
President directly to intimidation such as law enforcement actions or
civil suits. While these events continued to cast a chilling effect on
all media outlets, criticism of government policies continued.
The law on state secrets makes it a criminal offense to release
information about the health, finances, or private life of the
President, as well as economic information such as mineral reserves and
government debt owed to foreign creditors. To avoid possible legal
problems, media outlets often practiced self-censorship regarding
information on the President or his family.
Criminal libel suits could be initiated by private parties on
behalf of the Government, and an individual filing such a suit would be
able to file a civil suit as well, based upon the same allegations.
Officials used the law's restrictive libel and defamation provisions to
constrain media outlets from publishing unflattering information. Both
the criminal and civil codes contain articles establishing broad libel
liability. The fact that owners, editors, distributors, publishing
houses, and journalists were held responsible for proving the veracity
of published information, regardless of its source, promoted self-
censorship at each level. At times fines for libel were exorbitant.
In contrast to previous years, watchdog NGOs reported fewer libel
cases, although some government officials still sued journalists for
defamation of character. On September 18, a Petropavlovsk court began
hearings on a libel suit initiated by the deputy director of the
regional police department against Vremya newspaper reporter Victor
Miroshnichenko. In a July 10 article, Miroschnichenko claimed the
police official was accepting bribes. The trial was ongoing at year's
end.
Internet Freedom.--There were no formal government restrictions on
access to the Internet, but observers reported that the Government
monitored e-mail and Internet activity, blocked or slowed access to
opposition Web sites, and planted progovernment propaganda in Internet
chat rooms. The country's only Internet service providers, state-owned
Kaztelecom and privately owned Nursat, were regulated by the state.
Nevertheless, Web sites expressed a wide variety of views, including
viewpoints critical of the Government. According to government
statistics, there are 600,000 regular Internet users in the country (4
percent of the population). Internet users were primarily urban.
The Agency for Information and Communication (AIC) controlled the
registration of .kz domains. The AIC may suspend or revoke registration
for failure to locate servers in the country. Observers criticized the
registration process as unduly restrictive and vulnerable to abuse.
Media watchdog group Adil Soz and two independent Internet
publishers reported that the Government blocking of four opposition-
oriented Web sites continued intermittently throughout the year,
although three of the four sites remained accessible through servers
based outside the country. The blocking began in October 2007 in
connection with the publication of audio recordings and transcripts of
telephone conversations between high-level government officials.
On July 1, the Almaty courts suspended the Web site posit.kz for
three months for allegedly publishing comments that promoted racial,
ethnic, or inter-clan discord. The site resumed operation after three
months.
Opposition Web site kub.info reported two coordinated cyber attacks
against the site on June 30 and July 2. The site's owner, Rashid
Nugmanov, alleged that hundreds of computers from locations outside of
the country were used to block access to the site. He ascribed the
attacks directly to the site's critical reporting concerning the
Government.
On August 19, the Shymkent district court ruled that self-described
writer and political analyst Nurlan Alimbekov was not competent to
stand trial because of a mental illness and ordered the case suspended
until his capacity improved. Alimbekov was arrested in August 2007 for
inciting religious and ethnic hatred and insulting the President. The
charges were based on e-mails sent by Alimbekov. A KNB spokesman had
said the Government did not violate privacy laws in obtaining his e-
mails because Alimbekov sent them to multiple parties, including
foreign diplomatic representatives, and they were eventually forwarded
to the Government.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government generally did
not restrict academic freedom, although academics, like all citizens,
were prohibited from infringing on the dignity and honor of the
President.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for limited freedom of assembly; however,
there were significant restrictions on this right in practice, and
police used force to disrupt peaceful demonstrations. The law defines
unsanctioned gatherings, public meetings, marches, demonstrations,
illegal picketing, and strikes that upset social and political
stability as national security threats.
Under the laws governing public assembly, organizations must apply
to the local authorities for a permit to hold a demonstration or public
meeting at least 10 days in advance, or the activity is considered
illegal. Opposition and human rights monitors complained that
complicated and vague procedures and the 10-day notification period
made it difficult for groups to organize public meetings and
demonstrations and reported that local authorities turned down most
applications for demonstrations. The Government's 2007 Baseline Report
on Human Rights in Kazakhstan acknowledged that the laws governing
public assembly were vague and agreed that they fell short of
international standards. Authorities often detained briefly and fined
organizers of unsanctioned gatherings, including political party
gatherings.
During the year the authorities dispersed several gatherings
organized without preliminary authorization. On March 1, the police
detained eight participants in a rally to protest the construction of a
new shopping mall on Almaty's Independence Square; local authorities
subsequently issued a permit for the rally, but relegated it to the
city's outskirts. In April a group of Almaty residents went on a hunger
strike after the city administration twice denied their application to
hold a rally to protest the seizure of their land plots by the
Government. On September 4, Almaty courts sentenced one activist, Aynur
Kurmanov, to 15 days in jail and fined three others for holding an
unsanctioned political demonstration in Almaty on August 30.
On July 10, an Astana court ruled that the city administration had
the right to deny the request of a group of citizens to hold a rally in
protest against the demolition of their property. The city denied the
request because the proposed location for the protest was allegedly too
close to a construction site and thus unsafe.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for limited freedom of
association; however, there were significant restrictions on this right
in practice. Any public organization set up by citizens, including
religious groups, must be registered with the Ministry of Justice
(MOJ), as well as with MOJ branches in every region in which the
organization conducts activities. The law requires public or religious
associations to specifically define their activities, and associations
that act outside the scope of their charter may be warned, fined,
suspended, or ultimately banned. Participation in unregistered public
organizations may result in administrative or criminal liability, such
as fines, dissolution, probation, or imprisonment.
The prohibition on unregistered organizations often provided a
pretext for authorities to interfere with the activities of
organizations. Membership organizations, including religious groups,
must have 10 members to register at the local level and must have
branches in over half of the regions for national registration.
Political parties and labor unions were considered member organizations
but had additional specific registration requirements. The law requires
political parties to have 50,000 signatures, including 700 in each
region, and prohibits parties established on an ethnic, gender or
religious basis. The law prohibits members of the armed forces,
employees of national security and law enforcement organizations and
judges from participating in trade unions or political parties.
NGOs reported that the registration process was fairly regularized,
although corruption in the registration process was common. NGOs
involved in human rights advocacy and political activities faced
greater administrative delays and obstacles, although there were no
reports that the Government denied registration or shut down
organizations.
The 2005 extremism law criminalizes membership in certain
prohibited organizations. HT was the only one banned under this law.
Although it maintained that it was committed to nonviolence, HT
promoted hate and praised acts of terrorism. The party's virulently
anti-Semitic and anti-Western literature called for the overthrow of
secular governments, including those in Central Asia, to be replaced
with a worldwide Islamic government.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the various religious groups worshiped largely
without government interference; however, local and regional officials
attempted on occasion to limit or control the practice of religion by
several groups, especially religious communities defined as
``nontraditional'' by the Government. The constitution defines the
country as a secular state and provides the right to decline religious
affiliation.
The Government continued to express publicly its support for
religious tolerance and diversity; however, the Government publicly
criticized ``nontraditional'' religious groups and called for new
legislation to increase its control over missionaries and the
dissemination of religious materials. On January 17, President
Nazarbayev criticized foreign missionaries and minority religious
groups in a public speech, saying they pose a ``threat'' to society. On
November 26, parliament passed a package of amendments to the religion
law that would restrict religious freedom. At the year's end, the draft
law was awaiting the President's action, which could entail signing the
legislation, vetoing it, or sending it to the Constitutional Council
for a review of its constitutionality. The Government's enforcement of
current laws led to continuing problems for some unregistered groups,
since the law imposes mandatory registration requirements on
missionaries and religious organizations. While the majority of
religious communities worshipped largely without government
interference, local officials attempted on occasion to limit the
practice of religion by some minority groups.
The generally amicable relationship among religions in society
contributed to religious freedom. The country is multiethnic, with a
long tradition of tolerance and secularism. In particular, Muslim,
Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Jewish leaders reported high
levels of acceptance in society. The population, particularly in rural
areas, is sometimes wary of religions deemed to be ``nontraditional''
by the Government. The number of registered religious groups and places
of worship increased during the year for virtually all religious
groups, except for minority and nontraditional groups.
The religion laws narrow the legal protections for religious
freedom found in the constitution. Under the law, religious groups must
register both with the central government and in the individual regions
in which they have congregations. Missionaries must register annually
and be sponsored by a registered religious organization. All supporting
materials must be provided with the registration applications; use of
materials not vetted during the registration process is illegal. Only
registered organizations may act as a legal entity to buy or rent real
property, hire employees, or engage in other legal transactions.
In practice most religious communities chose to register with the
Government and were successful ultimately in obtaining registration.
Minority religious groups sometimes reported long delays in the
process. Unregistered religious groups reported an increase in court
actions against them and an increase in the level of fines imposed for
non-registration. Some religious groups also criticized the intrusive
nature of the registration process, which required them to provide
information about ethnicity, family status, religious education,
employment, and political affiliation.
Minority religious groups reported increased government pressure
against their communities. During the year, the Baptist Council of
Churches, which has a policy of not seeking registration in former
Soviet countries, continued to report new cases against churchgoers for
participating in the activities of an unregistered group. According to
government statistics, in the first nine months of the year 37 persons
were administratively sanctioned for non-registration and other
violations of the law. In August the Shymkent administrative court
suspended the activities of three chapters of the Jehovah's Witnesses
in the south because the chapters allegedly held religious services at
venues other than their registered addresses. The decision was
overturned by the higher instance court on November 21. The group's
Atyrau chapter remained unregistered, as it has been since 2001.
Protestant groups reported an increase in intrusive inspections from
the financial police.
On December 25, the Almaty district court began hearing the
criminal case against Yelizaveta Drencheva, a Russian citizen and
Unification Church member, for allegedly promoting the superiority of a
group of citizens based on their religion. The case stems from several
religious lectures Drencheva gave in April based on the teachings of
Sun Myung Moon. The trial was ongoing at year's end.
Observers believed that security officials informally monitored
some religious activity, particularly Muslim imams' sermons; however,
there were no reports that any monitoring manifested itself in
interference or harassment.
The Karasai district government near Almaty continued a campaign to
seize title to land used by the Hare Krishna movement. On September 10,
Karasai officials filed suit requesting that a court close down the
Hare Krishna compound. The Hare Krishna community had been engaged with
local authorities on finding appropriate compensation for their land
plot. The Hare Krishnas rejected five land plots offered by local
authorities because the plots were too far from Almaty, lacked basic
utilities, or were unusable for other reasons.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In January government-run
media outlets launched a broad campaign against ``non-traditional''
religious groups, which included biased coverage of Jehovah's
Witnesses, Hare Krishnas, and Scientologists. Progovernment newspaper
Liter reported that the KNB was investigating the Grace Church for
alleged espionage and drug-trafficking. In February the Jehovah's
Witnesses reported that local television in Semey ran a negative piece
depicting the group's followers as extremists. NGO observers ascribed
the campaign to the Government's efforts to build support for stricter
legislation on religion.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts apart from the
distribution of anti-Semitic literature by HT. Leaders of the Jewish
community reported no cases of anti-Semitism either by the Government
or in society.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for these rights,
but there were some regulatory restrictions. The Government required
citizens and foreigners who remained in the country for more than five
days to register with the migration police. Foreigners entering the
country may register at certain border posts. Registration in most of
the country generally was routine; nonetheless, some foreign citizens
reported that local authorities regularly requested bribes before
completing registration. During the first 11 months of the year the MIA
deported 15,795 foreigners for gross violations of the rules of stay;
the vast majority of the foreigners were citizens of the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS).
The Government required persons who were suspects in criminal
investigations to sign statements that they would not leave their place
of residence, and detained individuals routinely for identity checks
without suspicion of a criminal offense.
Although the Government did not require exit visas for temporary
travel of citizens, there were certain instances in which exit from the
country could be denied, including for travelers subject to pending
criminal or civil legal proceedings, unfulfilled prison sentences, or
compulsory military duty. Travelers who presented false documentation
during the exit process could be denied exit, and authorities
controlled travel by active-duty military. The law on national security
requires that persons who had access to state secrets obtain permission
from their employing government agency for temporary exit from the
country.
The law prohibits forced exile and the Government did not employ
it.
The law provides for the right to emigrate and the right to
repatriate, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. An exception is the law on national security, which prohibits
persons who had access to state secrets from taking up permanent
residence abroad for five years after leaving government service. The
Government required a permanent exit visa for emigration; obtaining
this visa required criminal checks, credit checks, and letters from
parents and any dependents expressing no objection to exit visa
issuance.
The authorities required foreigners to obtain prior permission to
travel to certain border areas with China and cities in close proximity
to military installations. The Government continued to declare
particular areas closed to foreigners due to their proximity to
military bases and the space launch center at Baikonur. In practice
foreigners could visit these areas with prior permission from the MIA.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The absence of legislation to implement fully the convention
allowed for the selective treatment of refugees, and left many aspects
of refugee status unclear, such as whether refugees have a right to
work. In practice, the Government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. As in 2007, the Government did not
forcibly return any refugees to Uzbekistan during the year.
In practice, the Government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. On April 23, MIA officers detained Rafik
Rakhmonov, a citizen of Uzbekistan wanted by Uzbekistani law
enforcement for alleged acts of terrorism during the 2005 events in
Andijon. UNHCR maintained regular access to him and was able to
determine his refugee status during his detention. Rakhmonov was
recognized as a refugee under the mandate of UNHCR in June and
subsequently released.
The Government generally registered asylum seekers and determined
their status, in consultation with the UNHCR, with the exceptions of
citizens from the CIS countries or China. Only the President could
grant political asylum, and he did not do so during the year. In some
cases, the Government allowed asylum seekers and refugees to stay in
the country while the UNHCR found third countries that would accept
them. Although the Government did register refugees already present in
the country, it did not accept any refugees for resettlement. The
Government also provided temporary protection to individuals, including
some Afghan refugees who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951
convention and the 1967 protocol.
In practice the Government does not grant refugee or asylum status
to citizens of CIS countries or China. The Government maintained that
citizens of CIS countries cannot by definition need refugee status
because of the freedom of movement provided by the visa-free regime in
the CIS. CIS citizens are processed under migration laws that give them
some renewable temporary status, although not the full protection of
refugee status. Citizens from China are not granted any legal status,
but they are tolerated informally. Activists reported that, in
practice, many refugees from CIS countries and China did not seek
formal status. Those who sought protection from UNHCR generally had
access to such processes, and the Government generally respected UNHCR
refugee certificates.
During the year, UNHCR reported generally good cooperation from the
Government in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The Government
usually allowed the UNHCR access to detained foreigners to determine if
they qualified for refugee status. The Government was generally
tolerant in its treatment of local refugee populations, except for a
few citizens from former Soviet republics. The Government often did not
allow refugees without passports or those who had entered the country
illegally to register, although the UNHCR intervened on behalf of those
judged to be asylum seekers under the UNHCR mandate.
The Committee on Migration in the Ministry of Labor continued to
work with the UNHCR and a local NGO, Kazakhstan Refugee Legal Support,
to review refugee claims. Consistent with the Minsk Convention on
Migration within the CIS, the Government did not recognize Chechens as
refugees. Chechens were eligible for temporary legal resident status
for up to 180 days, like any other CIS citizen. This temporary
registration was renewable, but local migration officials have
discretion over the renewal process. In some cases, they solicited
bribes, exploiting the vulnerability of Chechens arising from their
inability to return safely to Chechnya. The Government had an agreement
with China not to tolerate the presence of ethnic separatists from one
country on the territory of the other. Human rights monitors remained
concerned about the impact of this agreement on Uighurs from China
living in the country, and there were reports of the Government
forcibly returning Uighurs to China during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide for a democratic government with
universal suffrage for those over 18 years of age; in practice the
Government severely limited the right of citizens to change their
government.
Although the 2007 constitutional amendments increased legislative
authority in some spheres, the constitution continues to concentrate
power in the presidency, granting the President considerable control
over the legislature, judiciary, and local government. The President
appoints and dismisses most high-level government officials, including
the prime minister, the cabinet, the procuratorgeneral, the KNB chief,
Supreme Court and lower-level judges, regional governors, and the
chairman and two members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), who
oversee Presidential and parliamentary elections. The lower house of
parliament must confirm the President's choice of prime minister, and
the senate must confirm the President's choice of procurator general,
chairperson of the KNB, Supreme Court judges, and chairperson of the
national bank. The parliament has never failed to confirm a
Presidential nomination. Modifying or amending the constitution
effectively requires the President's consent. The May 2007
constitutional amendments exempted President Nazarbayev from the two-
term limit on Presidential terms.
The Government took steps toward meeting democratic reform
commitments it made at the OSCE Ministerial in November 2007.
Throughout the year NGOs and political parties provided constructive
criticism of draft amendments to laws on political parties,
parliamentary elections, and the media. On November 11, the cabinet
presented a package of the draft laws to parliament. Some civil society
representatives and opposition party members were critical of the
proposed legislation and claimed that the legislative process lacked
transparency. At year's end the parliament was considering the draft
amendments.
Elections and Political Participation.--Elections for the lower
house of parliament, the Mazhilis, were held in August 2007. President
Nazarbayev's Nur Otan party, the country's dominant political force,
received 88 percent of the vote according to official results, winning
every seat in the chamber. No other party received the necessary seven
percent of the vote to obtain parliamentary seats.
An OSCE election assessment noted several areas of improvement over
the conduct of previous national elections, including the participation
of multiple parties, increased transparency on the part of the CEC, and
greater freedom to campaign. However, the assessment criticized a
number of legal provisions related to the election, including excessive
requirements for registration of political parties, limitations on the
right to seek public office such as 10-year residency and party
membership requirements, and a provision allowing the Assembly of
People of Kazakhstan-an unelected body whose members are appointed by
President Nazarbayev-to choose nine of the 107 members of the lower
chamber. In addition, the assessment noted the preferential treatment
local authorities and the state media paid to the Nur Otan party and
the lack of opposition representatives on election commissions. The
assessment also concluded that the vote counting process was not
transparent. Opposition leaders said that the campaign environment was
better than in previous years, although they reported government
interference with their campaigns, including insufficient access to
advertising space and unequal access to media and public meeting
venues. Opposition leaders filed 400 court cases alleging violations,
the overwhelming majority of which were dismissed or denied by the
courts.
All registered parties that sought to compete in the August 2007
elections were permitted to do so, although the system introduced by
the May 2007 constitutional amendments makes no provision for
independent candidates. Political parties must register members'
personal information, including date and place of birth, address, and
place of employment. This requirement discouraged many citizens from
joining political parties. There were credible allegations that persons
entering government service were pressured to join the Nur Otan party.
At year's end there were 10 registered political parties, including
opposition parties Ak Zhol, Azat (formerly ``True Ak Zhol''), the
National Social Democratic Party, and the Communist Party of
Kazakhstan.
In order to register, a political party must hold a founding
congress with minimum attendance of 1,000 delegates from two thirds of
the oblasts and the cities of Astana and Almaty. Additionally, parties
must obtain 50,000 verified signatures with at least 700 from each
oblast and the cities of Astana and Almaty; registration from the CEC;
and registration from each oblast-level election commission. The MOJ
maintained that even if the number of signatures exceeded the required
50,000, a single error would be grounds for rejecting an application.
At year's end registrations were pending for the opposition Alga and
Atameken parties, although both parties submitted their applications in
2006. In response to criticism about the non-registration of Alga and
Atameken, the Government maintained that it was investigating numerous
complaints from citizens about being added to the party lists without
their consent.
The law prohibits parties established on an ethnic, gender, or
religious basis.
On December 1, the MIA announced that it was formally pressing
criminal charges against three opposition figures-Azat's Bulat Abilov,
Shanyrak movement's Asylbek Kazhakhmetov, and Tolen Tokhtasynov-for
allegedly concealing the whereabouts of a suspect in a murder
investigation. The three denied the charges and claimed the allegations
were politically motivated. They further maintained that, if convicted,
they would be unable to stand for election until the conclusion of
their sentences. At year's end, the cases were under consideration by
the PGO.
Azat chairman Abilov remained ineligible to register as an
electoral candidate due to his 2006 conviction by the Temirtau City
Court for attacking a police lieutenant and insulting a government
official during the 2005 Presidential election. Abilov and his
supporters claimed the charges were politically motivated. In a
separate case, authorities charged him with fraud and tax evasion in
connection with earlier business activities. A trial started in 2006,
but was adjourned numerous times, and the judge eventually returned the
case to the procurators for additional investigation. The trial had not
resumed at year's end.
There were two women in the 47-seat senate and 17 women in the 107-
member lower house of parliament. There was one woman in the cabinet
and one chaired a national agency. Traditional attitudes sometimes
hindered women from holding high office or playing active roles in
political life, although there were no legal restrictions on the
participation of women and minorities in politics. There were 10 non-
Kazakhs in the senate, and 27 in the lower house of parliament. There
were two non-Kazakh cabinet members. Under the May 2007 constitutional
amendments the President gained the ability to appoint 15 members of
the senate, with the requirement that the appointments help facilitate
representation of different ethnic and cultural groups.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity. Corruption was widespread, including
in the executive branch,various law enforcement agencies, local
government administrations, the education system, and the judiciary.
The MIA, financial police, KNB, and Disciplinary State Service
Commission are responsible for combating corruption. Opposition leaders
and human rights NGOs accused the Government of rampant corruption.
According to the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators,
corruption in the country was a problem.
The Government continued its campaign to address corruption and
increased its attention to the problem through educational and public
awareness efforts. On January 17, President Nazarbayev publicly
initiated an anticorruption campaign, calling on Nur Otan party
branches to pursue corruption allegations. The financial police and KNB
conduct most corruption investigations under the supervision of the
PGO.
Lower and middle-ranking officials and minor political figures were
penalized on corruption charges. The Government reported that 562
individuals were convicted on corruption charges during the first nine
months of the year; 343 of them were government officials. On September
22, Tax Committee Chairman Nurlan Rakhmetov left his position after the
press reported that several mid-ranking officials in his agency took
bribes.
The law mandates the Government, public associations, officials,
and media outlets provide citizens with information that affects their
rights and interests; in practice, citizens' requests for information
were not fulfilled in a timely manner.
Although parliament published several draft laws, some
parliamentary debates, and occasionally its voting record, many
parliamentary activities remained outside public view. Accredited
journalists and representatives of public associations may observe some
parliamentary sessions via video link from a separate room. Transcripts
of parliamentary sessions are not available to the public. Parliament
closed to the public and the media its discussion of controversial
legislation during the year.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated effectively, with relative freedom to investigate
and publish their findings on human rights cases; however, the
Government restricted certain activities of most domestic and
international human rights NGOs. International human rights groups
reported that the Government continued to monitor the work of NGOs that
worked on sensitive issues and noted harassment, including police
visits and surveillance of NGO offices and personnel.
The Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights (KIBHR), the
Almaty Helsinki Commission, the Republican Network of Independent
Monitors, the Charter for Human Rights, Penal Reform International, and
Adil Soz were among the most active local human rights NGOs and
occasionally faced difficulties in registration and acquiring office
space and technical facilities, confronted audits, and bore various
legal constraints. The Government subjected employees of local human
rights NGOs to harassment and intimidation. In contrast with previous
years, the Government increased its cooperation with human rights NGOs
on some problems and invited their participation in working groups on
draft amendments to the country's media and election laws.
In general the Government did not prevent international NGOs and
multilateral institutions dealing with human rights from visiting the
country and meeting with local human rights groups and government
officials. The Government cooperated with the OSCE and its field
mission. The United Nations, International Organization for Migration,
and International Red Crescent Society also operated freely in the
country.
In August certain NGOs resumed nonpartisan political party training
activities.
National security laws prohibit foreigners, international
organizations, NGOs, and other nonprofit organizations from engaging in
political activities. The law stipulates that a noncommercial
organization must provide information to the tax authorities on its
founders, activities, and foreign sources of funding, as well as
income, property, expenses, and employee records. International
organizations are prohibited from funding unregistered entities.
The Presidential Commission on Human Rights is a consultative and
advisory body that includes members from the public appointed by the
President. The commission reviews and investigates complaints, issues
recommendations, monitors fulfillment of international human rights
conventions, and publishes annual human rights reports. The commission
does not have legal authority to remedy human rights violations or
implement its recommendations. On November 21, the commission released
a Human Rights Report for 2007. The report contains numerous
recommendations for the Government and provided criticism in several
areas, including the provision of social and economic rights, political
rights, access to fair trial, and right to free association.
The Presidentially appointed human rights ombudsman investigated
complaints by citizens of violations of their rights by state agencies,
although the ombudsman was not authorized to investigate complaints
concerning the President, heads of government agencies, parliament, the
cabinet, constitutional council, procuratorgeneral, CEC, or courts. The
ombudsman's office had the authority to appeal to the President,
cabinet, or parliament to resolve citizens' complaints, to cooperate
with international human rights organizations and NGOs, to meet with
government officials concerning human rights violations, to access
certain facilities such as military units and prisons, and to publicize
results of investigations in the media. The ombudsman also publishes an
annual human rights report. During the year the ombudsman occasionally
briefed the press and issued reports discussing complaints
investigated. The ombudsman received 1,800 complaints during the first
11 months of the year but did not report statistics on the number of
cases in which the victims' rights were restored. Many of the
complaints concerned court rulings over which the ombudsman had no
jurisdiction.
Domestic human rights observers noted that while government human
rights investigators did some laudable work, particularly with less
controversial social problems and issues involving lower-level elements
of the bureaucracy, the ombudsman's office and the human rights
commission were limited in their ability to stop human rights abuses or
punish perpetrators. In addition, observers noted that the commission
and the ombudsman avoided addressing underlying structural problems
that led to human rights violations.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status; however, the Government did not enforce
this effectively. Violence against women, trafficking in persons, and
discrimination against persons with disabilities, homosexuals, and non-
ethnic Kazakhs in government were problems.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape; punishment, including for
spousal rape, ranged from three to 15 years imprisonment. The
Government reported 489 convictions in criminal rape cases. Under the
law procurators cannot initiate a rape case, absent aggravating
circumstances such as gang rape, unless the victim files a complaint.
Once a complaint is filed, the criminal investigation cannot be
dismissed if the rape victim recants or refuses to cooperate further
with the investigation. This provision is intended to protect victims
from coercion. There were anecdotal reports of police and judicial
reluctance to act on rape and spousal rape cases.
Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a problem.
There is no specific domestic violence law, but it can be addressed
under assault and battery provisions of the criminal code. The maximum
sentence for spousal assault and battery was 10 years in prison, the
same as for any beating.
The Commission on Gender Issues receives about 30,000 complaints a
year from women suffering from domestic violence. According to NGOs,
domestic violence was growing. Although official statistics were
scarce, activists assessed that every fourth family experienced
domestic violence incidents. The Government reported that 11,000
domestic violence crimes were committed during the year. NGOs reported
that the actual number of domestic abuse crimes far exceeded the number
of cases reported to police and estimated that 40 percent of such
crimes went unreported.
Police intervened in family disputes only when they believed that
the abuse was life threatening. According to estimates offered by NGOs,
the police investigated perhaps 10 percent of such cases.
NGOs reported that women often withdrew their complaints as a
result of economic insecurity. When victims pressed charges for
domestic violence or spousal rape, police sometimes tried to persuade
them not to pursue a case. When domestic violence cases came to trial,
the charge was most often for light battery, for which judges sentenced
domestic abusers to incarceration at a minimum security labor colony
and 120-180 hours of work. Sentences for more serious cases of battery,
including spousal battery, ranged from three months to three years
imprisonment; the maximum sentence for aggravated battery was 10 years'
imprisonment.
According to the Government, there were 25 crisis centers in the
country providing assistance to women and two that provided assistance
to men. All of the crisis centers were funded through grants to NGOs.
In addition, a number of smaller NGOs provided some assistance to
victims. Six of the crisis centers also provided shelter for victims of
violence.
Prostitution is not prohibited by law, although forced
prostitution, prostitution connected to organized crime, and acts
facilitating prostitution, such as operating a brothel or prostitution
ring, are illegal. During the year the Government investigated 257
prostitution-related crimes; 177 investigations were completed; 172
cases were forwarded to courts and were pending further action at
year's end.
Prostitution was a serious problem. NGOs reported that criminal
prostitution rings often included local law enforcement officials.
Trafficking in women remained a problem.
Sexual harassment remained a problem. The law prohibits only some
forms of sexual harassment, and legal and gender experts regarded the
legislation as inadequate to address the problem. There were reports of
incidents of harassment, but in no instance was the victim protected
under the law, nor were there reports of any cases prosecuted.
The constitution and law provide for equal rights and freedoms for
men and women. During the year, however, human rights groups publicly
drew attention to the problem of discrimination against women.
According to observers, women in rural areas faced greater
discrimination than women in urban areas, and suffered from a greater
incidence of domestic violence, limited education and employment
opportunities, limited access to information, and discrimination in
their land and property rights.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights,
although budget constraints and other priorities limited the
Government's effectiveness in dealing with child welfare. In 2006 the
Government established a Committee on Protection of Children's Rights
within the Ministry of Education and Science.
Education is mandatory through age 16, or secondary school;
elementary schooling generally begins at age six. Primary and secondary
education were free and universal. The law provides equal access to
education for boys and girls. The Ministry of Education and Science
estimated 98 percent enrollment of school-aged children. The law
provides for access to public education for refugee and illegal migrant
children. In some cases, these children were denied access to schools
or their parents did not attempt to enroll them out of fear of
discovery and deportation.
The law provides for medical care to be provided for all children
irrespective of gender, and care was provided in practice.
There were reports of child abuse, although there was no societal
pattern. NGOs estimated that more than half of all children under age
14 experienced at least one incident of physical or psychological abuse
by adults. Abuse was more common in rural areas. During the year the
MIA permanently terminated custody rights of 855 abusive parents.
Minors aged 16 and older have the right to file petitions related to
their interests directly with a court.
NGOs reported that a growing number of children in orphanages,
boarding schools, and detention facilities for delinquent children were
victims of violence, and there were increased media reports on abuses
in orphanages and other institutions.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons, but it remained a problem. There were some investigations
and prosecutions of law enforcement officials for complicity in
trafficking, and one official was convicted.
The country was a source, transit, and destination country for
victims of trafficking. Internal trafficking was also a problem. No
reliable statistics were available on the number of victims each year.
Many NGOs reported a continued increase in identification of victims,
which may be attributed to greater awareness of the problem. In the
first eight months of the year, the MIA registered 27 Kazakhstani and
85 foreign victims of trafficking. The International Organization for
Migration (IOM) estimated that for every case that is investigated, up
to four others go unreported. Individuals were trafficked to the United
Arab Emirates, Turkey, Israel, South Korea, Greece, Russia, and Western
Europe for purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Men and
women were trafficked to and through the country and from the Kyrgyz
Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and South Asia for purposes
of forced labor and sexual exploitation.
Traffickers targeted young women in their teens and twenties for
sexual exploitation. According to the MIA, some women were recruited
with promises of good jobs or marriage abroad. Travel, employment, and
modeling agencies often recruited victims through advertisements
promising lucrative jobs abroad. Previously trafficked women reportedly
recruited new victims personally. Some trafficking victims appeared to
be aware or at least suspected that they were going to work as
prostitutes but they did not expect to work in slave-like conditions.
Many trafficked persons were from Uzbekistan and traveled to their
destinations on forged passports obtained abroad.
Adolescents raised in orphanages, regardless of gender, and
residents of rural and economically disadvantaged areas were
particularly vulnerable to being trafficked.
There was an increase in the number of men trafficked into the
country for forced labor from neighboring countries. Officials often
did not distinguish between illegal labor migrants and victims of
trafficking. There were credible reports of organized criminal
trafficking rings bringing construction laborers to Astana and other
cities. Employers and trafficking accomplices usually held trafficked
workers' passports. Victims reported traffickers used debt bondage,
violence, or threats of violence to compel them to work.
NGOs suspected organized crime was involved in all forms of
trafficking.
During the year the Government ratified the 1926 League of Nations'
Slavery Convention, the 1953 Amendments to the Convention, the 1956
Supplementary Convention, as well as the 2000 UN Convention Against
Transnational Crime, including its protocols against human trafficking
and smuggling. In 2006 the Government enacted a comprehensive set of
legislative amendments to strengthen its ability to investigate,
prosecute, and convict traffickers. These amendments also included
provisions to increase the amount of resources devoted to victim
protection and prevention.
The Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Labor
and Social Welfare, Education and Science, Culture, Information and
Sports, the KNB, the National Commission on Family Issues and Gender
Policy, and the procuratorgeneral all have some responsibility for
combating trafficking.
Trafficking is punishable by a maximum seven-year prison term. If a
minor is involved, the maximum penalty increases to 10 years'
imprisonment. The maximum penalty increases to 10 years' imprisonment
if a victim was trafficked abroad and to 12 years' if the victim was a
minor. The maximum penalty is 15 years' imprisonment for cases
involving an organized crime syndicate, the death of a victim, or other
``grave consequences'' incurred by the victim.
During the year the number of successful prosecutions for
trafficking increased to 20, compared with 19 in 2007.
The Government cooperated with authorities in both destination
countries and source countries. Embassies assisted victims of
trafficking. In the first nine months of the year, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs assisted in the repatriation of eightcitizens.
There was no evidence of a pattern of official complicity with
trafficking, although corruption of law enforcement officials,
including migration and border officials, contributed to trafficking.
The law provides trafficking victims with temporary resident status
to ensure their safe repatriation or participation in trafficking
prosecutions. Trafficking victims are not considered illegal immigrants
under the law and generally were not deported or otherwise penalized.
NGOs working with foreign trafficking victims reported government
cooperation in providing administrative support for repatriation of
identified trafficking victims.
The Government provides some victim protection and assistance,
although significant gaps remained in the level of assistance needed by
victims. In the first nine months of the year, the Government provided
financial assistance to 24 trafficking victims who participated in 10
different criminal proceedings. The assistance included security, food,
lodging, and medical services. NGOs ran two crisis support centers that
provided legal and material assistance and counseling, under memoranda
of understanding with the Government. In some cases the Government
provided NGOs with reduced rate leases and other limited support. In
general, NGOs reported good cooperation with government officials in
coordinating assistance for trafficking victims.
IOM, in conjunction with 16 NGOs across the country, continued an
information campaign on the dangers of trafficking and maintained
victim hotlines. The MOJ continued to maintain separate national hot
lines for trafficking victims to report crimes and to receive
information. The Government provided special training for law
enforcement and other government officials to improve their abilities
to recognize, investigate, and prosecute instances of trafficking. The
MIA continued enrolling migration police and criminal police in a
comprehensive antitrafficking training program at the Study Center for
Specialists on Combating Illegal Migration and Human Trafficking.
The MIA conducted spot investigations at hotels, saunas, and
employment agencies for trafficking activities. The PGO enforced
mandatory licensing for tourist agencies and conducted inspections
throughout the year to uncover agencies involved in trafficking.
The Government encouraged media to publish and report on
antitrafficking efforts. The Government continued airing a series of
public service announcements (PSAs) provided by international
organizations in Russian and Kazakh. Public and private media were
required to air these PSAs.
The Ministry of Education and Science reported that curriculum of
all high schools and colleges included trafficking awareness segments.
According to the ministry, most universities had information and
analysis centers that dealt with trafficking awareness issues, among
other topics. As part of the National Action Plan, a chapter on
trafficking in persons was introduced in secondary school curricula.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
healthcare, and in the provision of other state services and requires
companies to set aside three percent of their jobs for persons with
disabilities. International and local observers note some improvement
in the situation regarding the rights of persons with disabilities.
However, there were reports that discrimination was a problem, and
persons with disabilities faced difficulty integrating into society and
finding employment. The law mandates access to buildings for persons
with disabilities, and during the year several persons with
disabilities successfully sued management of government and commercial
buildings for lack of appropriate access. Persons with disabilities had
difficulty accessing public transportation.
Citizens with mental disabilities could be committed to state-run
institutions without their consent or judicial review. In practice,
however, the Government committed persons at a young age with
permission of their families. Institutions were poorly managed and
inadequately funded. NGOs reported orphanages for children with
physical and mental disabilities to be overcrowded and unsanitary, with
insufficient staff to care adequately for children's needs. Despite
significant economic growth and government expenditure on construction
and infrastructure projects, KIBHR observed that the Government
provided almost no care for persons with mental disabilities.
The Government did not restrict the right of persons with
disabilities to vote, and arranged home voting for individuals who
could not travel to polling places as a result of their disability. The
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection was the primary government
agency responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities; the Ministries of Health and Education also assisted in
their protection.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Government continued to
discriminate in favor of ethnic Kazakhs in senior government
employment, although the number of non-Kazakhs in ministerial positions
increased. According to a public poll during the year, 23.7 percent of
self-reported minorities experienced ethnic prejudice and hostility;
14.4 percent encountered incidents of insult, humiliation or other
offenses; and 11.8 percent were discriminated against regarding
employment or job dismissal. There were fewer complaints of
discrimination regarding school enrollment, and fewer concerns about
the activities of nationalist organizations and nationalist propaganda
in the media.
Kazakh is the official state language, although organizations and
bodies of local self-administration may officially use Russian on an
equal basis with Kazakh. The language law is intended to strengthen the
use of Kazakh without infringing on the rights of citizens to use other
languages. By law the ability to speak Kazakh is not required for entry
into the civil service; however, the majority of government agencies
have technically switched to conducting business in Kazakh, which
elicited protests from non-Kazakh speakers about language
discrimination. Among other forms of discrimination, critics mentioned
a scarcity of representatives of non-Kazakh ethnicities in the
Government and a reduction in the number of Russian-language schools.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although there were no
official statistics on discrimination based on sexual orientation,
there were reports of such discrimination. Representatives of
international organizations reported that negative social attitudes
towards marginalized groups, including homosexuals, impeded these
groups' willingness to come forward and, consequently, hindered their
access to HIV/AIDS programs.
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with HIV and AIDS;
however, observers reported that cultural stigmas against drug users
and other at-risk groups continued to affect general access to
information, services, treatment, and care.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to
organize and form unions freely. Following a widely publicized mining
accident in Satpayev and subsequent strike in January, the Government
launched a pro-union campaign intended to empower workers to more
effectively protect their workplace rights. Independent union
organizers saw this as a significant change in policy. However,
organizers reported that the Government continued to restrict the right
to organize and that most workers were not able to join or form trade
unions of their choice. The Government exercised considerable influence
over organized labor and favored state-affiliated unions over
independent unions. The largest trade union association, the Federation
of Trade Unions, successor to formerly state-sponsored Soviet era labor
organizations, remained affiliated with the Government in practice. At
least one-third of the workforce was unionized.
To obtain legal status, a trade union must apply for registration
with the MOJ. The registration procedure is broadly similar to that of
other membership organizations.
The law prohibits the operation of foreign unions and prohibits the
financing of unions by foreign legal entities and citizens, foreign
states, and international organizations.
Workers are protected by law against antiunion discrimination, but
in practice there were violations of this right. Union activists
reported a case of an independent miners' union that was forced to
close based on a legal technicality. Its members were warned not to
regroup on the risk of losing their jobs and extensive social benefits.
According to union activists, the group has since participated in
collective bargaining, and has since formed an NGO that remains
unrecognized by local authorities. Union leaders also reported cases of
large employers creating conditions unfavorable to union formation and
collective bargaining.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
protects the rights of unions to conduct their activities without
interference. The law permits collective bargaining and collective
agreements; unions and associations engaged in collective bargaining in
practice. The Government increased efforts to encourage collective
bargaining, although union leaders still reported government pressure
in labor negotiations. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social
Protection, as of July 31, collective bargaining agreements were
concluded with 83.2 percent of large enterprises, 84.1 percent of
medium-sized enterprises, and 14.3 percent of small enterprises. While
noting the promising trend, activists stressed that political pressure
was driving the rapid conclusion of such agreements.
Union demands unacceptable to management couldbe presented to a
tripartite commission, composed of the Government, employer
associations, and labor union representatives. The tripartite
commission is responsible for developing and signing annual agreements
governing most aspects of labor relations. The labor law provides for
an individual contract between employers and each employee.
The law provides for the right to strike, but exercising this right
is subject to numerous legal limitations; the Government maintained a
list of industries and enterprises providing essential services where
strikes were permitted only under limited conditions. In general,
workers may strike only if a labor dispute has not been resolved
through existing compulsory arbitration procedures. Striking workers
must give a mandatory 15-day advance notice to employers. The law
neither sanctions nor prohibits the firing of employees for
participation in an illegal strike. In practice there were reports of
employers providing arbitrary justifications when firing employees
attempting to organize strikes.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, except at the
sentence of the court or in conditions of a state of emergency or
martial law, but there were reports that such practices occurred.
Increasingly a destination country for migrant workers, there were
reports that some employers abused migrant workers by confiscating
their passports or using debt bondage, violence, or threats of violence
to compel them to work.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace. The minimum
age for employment is 16 years; children between 14 and 16 years can
perform, with parental permission, light work that does not interfere
with their health or education. The law also restricts the length of
the work day for employees under the age of 18. The Government
conducted labor inspections to enforce the minimum age for employment,
but enforcement was uneven.
The Government concluded an agreement with national employer
associations that committed to eradicate the use of forced labor and
the worst forms of child labor, and to develop alternative employment
opportunities for children and their families. The Ministry of
Education's 2007-11 ``Children of Kazakhstan'' program addressed child
labor issues. However, NGOs contended that the Government's efforts
were insufficient to address fully the use of child labor, specifically
in cotton production.
The Government did not maintain statistics on child labor. NGOs and
activists reported child labor occurred routinely in agriculture,
especially during harvest season. Children were involved in cotton
growing and tobacco growing. Labor conditions frequently presented a
physical health risk. Many child workers lacked the proper clothing to
protect them from harmful chemicals used in agriculture and harsh
weather conditions. In urban areas, the country's increasingly
formalized labor market led to a decrease in many forms of child labor.
However, there were reports of children begging, unloading freight,
delivering goods in markets, washing cars, and working at gas stations.
There were also reports of children exploited in prostitution and
pornography. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcement of
child labor laws and for administrative offenses punishable by fines;
the MIA is responsible for investigating criminal offenses. In the
first 10 months of the year the Government reported that there were no
crimes related to illegal child labor. In 2005 the Government began
implementing a three-year International Labor Organization program to
eliminate child labor. As part of the program, the Government worked
actively with NGOs to conduct a 12-day national campaign in June to
raise awareness of child labor and focus attention on preventing it.
The Government also cooperated with trade unions, employers, and NGOs
during the year to raise awareness and promote interagency cooperation
in eliminating child labor.
Trafficking in children was a problem.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national monthly minimum
wage of 10,515 tenge (approximately $87) did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family; however, it was common for
working class families to have more than one wage earner, and most
workers earned above minimum wage in urban areas. Although the minimum
monthly subsistence during the first part of the year was lower than
the monthly minimum wage, the minimum monthly subsistence averaged
11,270 tenge (approximately $93) during the same period.
The law stipulates the normal workweek should not exceed 40 hours
and limits heavy manual labor or hazardous work to no more than 36
hours a week. The law requires that overtime not exceed two hours in a
calendar day or one hour a day for heavy manual labor, and requires
overtime to be paid at a rate of no less than one and a half times
normal wages for hours over the normal workweek. Overtime is prohibited
for work in hazardous conditions. The law provides that labor
agreements may stipulate the length of working time, holidays, and paid
annual leave for each worker.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection enforcedminimum wages,
work hour restrictions, and on overtime established bythe labor law.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection inspectors conducted random
inspections of employers in an effort to enforce the laws and
regulations under their purview. Labor advocates reported that some
employers regularly violated these laws.
The law provides for the right to safe and hygienic working
conditions, but working and safety conditions in the industrial,
agricultural, and construction sectors were often substandard. Workers
in factories usually lacked protective clothing and worked in
conditions of poor visibility and ventilation.
There were reports of management ignoring regulations concerning
occupational health and safety which were not well enforced by the
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. In the first 11 months of the
year, the ministry reported making 13,057inspections and identifying
104,228 violations. Most of the violations were relatively minor,
although the Government imposed fines totaling 118,837,000 tenge
(approximately $987,018). In addition to the inspections by the
Ministry, unions conducted inspections of unionized enterprises and
reported their findings to authorities for investigation. The law
requires employers to suspend work that could endanger the life or
health of workers and to warn workers about any harmful and dangerous
work conditions and about the possibility of any occupational disease.
The law specifically grants workers the right to remove themselves from
situations that endanger their health or safety without losing their
job. In practice some workers, particularly in the construction
industry, were not free to exercise this right without jeopardizing
their employment.
During the first 11 months of the year, the Government reported
2,184 workplace injuries, in comparison with 1,552 during the same
period in the previous year. The Government reported 370 workplace
deaths during the first 11 months of the year, marking an increase over
2007 when a total of 217 deaths were reported. According to officials
at the Federation of Trade Unions, many of these deaths are due to
antiquated equipment, Soviet-era infrastructure, and disregard for
safety regulations in the mining and metallurgy sectors.
__________
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
The Kyrgyz Republic's October 2007 constitution defines the country
as a sovereign, unitary, democratic, social state based on the rule of
law. The country, with a population of approximately 5.3 million, has
an elected President, an appointed prime minister and cabinet, and an
elected parliament. According to independent election observers, the
December 2007 parliamentary election failed to meet many of the
country's international commitments and was marred by significant
obstacles for opposition parties and the use of government resources to
benefit specific political interests. Three parties are represented in
parliament, with the pro-Presidential Ak Jol party holding 71 of the 90
seats. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control over
the security forces, although there were isolated cases of serious
human rights abuses.
The following human rights problems were reported: restrictions on
citizens' right to change their government; torture and abuse by law
enforcement officials; impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary
arrest and detention; lack of judicial independence; pressure on
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and opposition leaders, including
government harassment; pressure on independent media; government
detention of assembly organizers; refoulement of Uzbek refugees;
pervasive corruption; discrimination against women, persons with
disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, and homosexuals; child
abuse; trafficking in persons; and child labor.
Prison conditions improved as authorities promoted the proper
handling of prisoners, and prison tuberculosis (TB) mortality rates
decreased. The Government also took steps to tackle systemic corruption
in the public sectors, including arresting several government officials
on charges of corruption.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
There were no developments in the investigation of the October 2007
shooting death of the ethnic Uzbek Kyrgyz national and independent
journalist, Alisher Saipov, known for writing articles critical of the
Uzbek government. The investigation continued at year's end.
In December 2007 the Supreme Court upheld the Naryn Oblast Court
decision to overturn the acquittal of two police officers in the 2006
death in custody case of Akylbek Sakeyev and to forward the case to the
Naryn Oblast Prosecutor's Office for a new investigation. Due to his
family's refusal to allow Sakeyev's body to be exhumed for examination,
the prosecutor's office closed the case.
On July 3, Almazbek Sagaliyev, a private in the military unit No.
29713, died of injuries that allegedly resulted from beatings by higher
ranking servicemen. The military prosecutor's office opened an
investigation into the case.
There were no developments in the 2006 killing of Imam
Mukhammadrafiq Kamalov by security forces or in the 2006 killing of
Aibek Alimjanov, deputy of the Osh City Council and leader of the Uzbek
Cultural Center in Osh.
On July 16, the Sverdlovski District Court reopened the cases of
Makhmudjan Ruzimetov and Sabyrkul Batyrov and sentenced them to 20
years of imprisonment for the 2005 murder of parliamentarian Bayaman
Erkinbaev.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances. Ruslan Shabatoyev, a member of parliament for the
opposition Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, disappeared during
the night of September 30, and has not been heard from since. There is
an ongoing investigation, and at year's end, no information had emerged
that his disappearance was politically motivated.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, police and
State Committee on National Security (GKNB) forces employed them. At
times police beat detainees and prisoners to extract confessions.
On July 23, the Bishkek newspaper Tribuna reported that officials
fired seven police officers and opened criminal cases against an
additional two officers in the Issyk-Kul Oblast for alleged use of
torture.
No further information was available in the court case against two
Naryn City police officers accused of negligence in the April 2007
death of Bektemir Akunov, a participant in opposition-led
demonstrations in Bishkek. According to the official autopsy report, he
hanged himself in his cell, but independent experts reported finding
signs of torture on Akunov's body. The city courts convicted one of the
two Naryn City police officers, Bakyt Kojomberdiev, of criminal
negligence and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment. The ruling
was later reduced to a one-year suspended sentence.
June 2007 changes to the criminal code abolished the death penalty,
replaced life imprisonment with 30-year prison terms, and provided for
alternate punishments to incarceration.
The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, a nongovernmental organization
(NGO) reported seven registered cases of military hazing during the
year, including physical abuse and extortion by noncommissioned
officers. Military authorities took steps to deal with the problem,
providing psychological support and legal advice to all servicemen and
medical treatment and legal protection to the victims of hazing. The
NGO questioned the quality of the psychological and legal assistance.
There were no further developments in the military prosecutor's
investigation into the July 2007 stabbing of Ministry of Internal
Affairs (MIA) soldier A. Esenaliyev.
In February 2007 the military court in Kadamjay convicted Nachmidin
Mirzayev and Saparaly Karabayev of injuring Gairat Torakeldiyev, a
fellow serviceman of the National Border Service, in a hazing incident
in 2006. In November 2007 after three appeals of the case, the military
prosecutor's office decided to halt the criminal proceedings against
Mirzayev and Karabayev due to a lack of evidence. No further
information was available at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
very poor and included overcrowding, food and medicine shortages, poor
health care, limited disease prevention facilities, and lack of heat
and other necessities. Nevertheless, morbidity and mortality rates
continued to decline, particularly those resulting from tuberculosis
(TB). As of October 1, the prison population was approximately 9,750;
740 persons had TB, down from 1,400 in 2007. In the first nine months
of the year 74 prisoners died; 30 of those from TB.
Male and female prisoners were held separately. Juveniles were
generally held separately from adults but were occasionally held with
adults in overcrowded temporary detention centers. There are no special
prisons for political prisoners because there is no legal definition of
a political prisoner. At times convicted prisoners were held in
pretrial detention centers when their cases were accepted for appeal.
The Government continued to permit domestic and international human
rights observers to visit prisons. The Government allowed the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe's Office of Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), and the NGO Penal Reform International
to visit detainees in Ministry of Justice and GKNB prisons and
temporary detention centers. Although the Government abolished the
death penalty in 2007, the ICRC continued to conduct visits to
prisoners formerly on death row.
According to an August 5 Internet Press Service (IPS) interview,
Ombudsman Tursunbek Akun stated that the country's prison conditions
``do not meet the minimum international prison living standards.''
On March 3, 20 inmates of the Karakol No. 3 prison sewed their
mouths shut and began a hunger strike demanding improvements to food
and medical care, use of cellular telephones, and access to the
penitentiary grounds for walks. After lengthy negotiations with prison
officials, the hunger strikers ended the protest peacefully.
On August 14, prisoners rioted in Belovodskoe No. 16 prison,
resulting in the deaths of two prison officers and two prisoners.
The minister of justice was dismissed on September 10 following
allegations of mismanagement in prisons.
The NGO Citizens Against Corruption monitored prisons Number 1, 3,
14, and 16 during the year and reported poor living conditions,
corruption of prison personnel, drug activity, and excessive use of
force by both prison and investigative officials.
Pretrial and temporary detention facilities were particularly
overcrowded, and conditions and mistreatment generally were worse than
in prisons.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, police at times used false charges to
arrest persons and solicited bribes in exchange for their release.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Law enforcement
responsibilities are divided between the Ministry of Internal Affairs
(MIA) for general crime, the State National Safety Committee (GKNB) for
state-level crime, and the Prosecutor's Office for both types of
crimes. The payment of bribes to avoid investigation or prosecution was
a major problem at all levels of law enforcement. The Government took
steps to address corruption in the police force, including public
commitments to fight corruption and a 50 percent increase in officers'
salaries.
Police impunity remained a problem; however, MIA officials were
dismissed and prosecuted for various offenses, including corruption,
abuse of authority, and police brutality. During the first six months
of the year, the MIA's internal investigations unit received 594
complaints from citizens about law enforcement officers. Internal
investigations were conducted in 378 of those cases; 17 subsequent
criminal cases were opened; and 34 officers were dismissed.
According to the Ombudsman's Office, 58 criminal cases were opened
on employees of the MIA, GKNB and Financial Police Service, and 43 of
them were found guilty.
Arrest and Detention.--On July 14, the parliament passed amendments
to the criminal procedure code, returning many judicial powers to
prosecutors, including authority to issue search and seizure warrants.
The amendments partially reverse a June 2007 law that transferred those
powers to the courts. Prosecutors have the burden of proof in
convincing the judge that a defendant should be detained pending trial.
On September 5, the parliament approved amendments to Article 97 of the
code, which reduced the detention time for murder suspects from 72 to
48 hours before releasing them or charging them with a crime. The 72-
hour limit was generally enforced in practice. The law requires that
investigators notify a detainee's family within 12 hours of detention;
however, this requirement often was not observed in practice. There
were no reports of incommunicado detention of prisoners. The courts
have the discretion to hold suspects in pretrial detention for as long
as one year, after which the courts are required to release the
suspect.
All persons arrested or charged with crimes have the right to
defense counsel at public expense. By law defense counsel can see the
accused immediately, but in practice the first meeting often did not
happen until trial. Human rights groups noted that arrested minors were
usually denied lawyers, often held without parental notification, and
questioned without parents or lawyers present, all despite laws to the
contrary. Children often were intimidated into signing confessions.
The law authorizes house arrest for certain types of suspects.
There were reports that law enforcement officials selectively
incarcerated persons suspected of minor crimes, while other persons
suspected of more serious crimes remained at large. There was a
functioning bail system.
On February 22, the Bishkek Pervomaisky Court judge acquitted
Jyparkul Arykova, a senior staffer of the parliamentary press service
arrested in June 2007 on charges of espionage and high treason but
convicted her of passing secret information to a foreigner and
sentenced her to three years in prison.
The Government continued to express concern about perceived
extremist groups with radical religious or political agendas. Although
the banned extremist political organization Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT)
maintained that it was committed to nonviolence, the party's virulently
anti-Semitic and anti-Western literature called for the overthrow of
secular governments, including in Central Asia, to be replaced with a
worldwide Islamic government. The Prosecutor General's Office reported
that, during the first 10 months of the year, it opened 43 criminal
cases on religious extremism.
Amnesty.--An August 5 one-time amnesty to female and minor
prisoners convicted of minor crimes resulted in the release of 32
prisoners and reduced sentences for 358 prisoners.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the executive branch at times
interfered with the judiciary. Lawyers and citizens commonly believed
that judges were open to bribes or susceptible to outside pressure, and
low salaries remained a contributing factor.
Cases originate in local courts and can move to appeals courts at
the municipal or regional level and finally to the Supreme Court. There
were separate military courts as well as a separate arbitration court
system for economic disputes. Civilians may be tried in a military
court if one of the codefendants is a member of the military. Military
court cases can be appealed to a military appellate court and
ultimately to the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court is limited to
constitutional questions and cannot intervene with other courts except
concerning constitutionality. The court has specific authority to
determine the constitutionality of NGO activities, political parties,
and religious organizations. Traditional elders' courts handle property
and family law matters and low-level crime. Local elders' courts are
under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office but do not receive
close oversight because of their location in remote regions. However,
their decisions can be appealed to the corresponding regional court.
Military courts and elders' courts follow the same rules and procedures
as general courts.
The President nominates and parliament approves justices to the
Constitutional Court; justices to the Supreme Court are nominated by
the National Council for Judicial Affairs (NCJA) and approved by the
President and parliament. The President can propose the dismissal of
Supreme and Constitutional Court justices, subject to a two-thirds vote
by parliament. The NCJA nominates and the President appoints local
judges, who can be relieved of duty by the President at the proposal of
the NCJA.
Trial Procedures.--State prosecutors bring cases before courts, and
judges direct criminal proceedings. A criminal case is conducted by one
judge; appellate cases, by three judges. The defendant may refuse
attorney support and defend himself. If a court renders a case
indeterminable, it is returned to the investigative bodies for further
investigation, and suspects may remain under detention.
The law provides for defendants' rights, including the presumption
of innocence. In practice, however, such rights were not always
respected. The judicial system continued to follow customs and
practices in which there was no presumption of innocence, and the focus
of pretrial investigation was to collect evidence sufficient to show
guilt. The law provides for an unlimited number of visits between an
attorney and a client. Official permission for such visits is required
and usually granted.
The law permits defendants and counsel the right to access all
evidence gathered by the prosecutor, attend all proceedings, question
witnesses, and present evidence. However, these rights were not always
respected in practice. Witnesses generally have to present their
testimony in court; however, under certain circumstances testimony can
be presented at trial via audio or video recording. Indigent defendants
were provided attorneys at public expense.
At year's end, the Government had not implemented the June 2007
changes to the law on trials allowing for juries. Defendants and
prosecutors have the right to appeal the court's decision. The law
provides for transparency of court proceedings. Generally, trials are
open to the public, unless state secrets or the privacy of defendants
are involved; however, even in closed proceedings, the verdict is
announced publicly.
On November 27, the Osh regional court convicted 32 ethnic Uzbek
and Kyrgyz Muslims for their involvement in an October 1 protest in
Nookat following local authorities' decision to ban a public gathering
for the Muslim holiday Orozo Ait (Eid al-Fitr). They received lengthy
sentences ranging from nine to 20 years in prison. Court authorities
denied access to observers and family members of the accused until the
third day of the five-day trial. Human rights activists claimed that
the defendants had inadequate legal counsel and planned to assist the
defendants in appealing their verdicts.
On March 7, the Bishkek Military Court convicted former
parliamentarian and governor of Jalalabad Oblast, Sultan Urmanayev, for
his involvement in the shooting deaths of six protesters in Aksy in
2002. Uramanayev received a suspended sentence of five years and three
years of probation. In 2007 the prosecutor general charged five
government officials in relation to the Aksy event. The military courts
convicted two midlevel officials and acquitted a former deputy minister
of internal affairs. The trial for the fifth suspect, Amanbek
Karypkulov, had not begun by year's end.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Authorities again released
Adilet Aitikeyev of the Kanjar Youth Movement under orders not to leave
Bishkek. In December 2007 prosecutors forwarded to the court
Aitikeyev's case in connection with the April 2007 antigovernment
demonstrations. The courts eventually found Aitikeyev guilty but passed
a suspended sentence and released him. The trials for two other
participants in the April 2007 protests, Bolotbek Suyerkulov and
Bakytbek Saptayakov, were pending at year's end.
Prisoners arrested in connection with political activity received
the same protections as other prisoners.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and law
provide for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters. As
with criminal matters, citizens believed the civil judicial system was
subject to outside influence, including from the Government. Local
courts address civil, criminal, economic, administrative, and other
cases. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the
Government at times violated these prohibitions. The law requires
approval from the prosecutor general for wiretaps, home searches, mail
interception, and similar acts.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, although the Government at times restricted
these rights in practice. During the year reports of lawsuits against
opposition newspapers increased.
On June 3, President Bakiyev signed a law on television and radio
broadcasting that placed significant regulations on broadcast companies
and established new Kyrgyz-language and local content requirements.
Human rights activists asserted that the law is unconstitutional
because it conflicts with constitutional rights. The law also kept
state control over the State Radio and Television Company, rather than
creating a national public interest broadcaster as the President had
previously pledged to do.
There were continued reports of media harassment. The NGO Committee
to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported several incidents of opposition
news media facing harassment by security agents. In contrast to 2007,
there were no reports of cases of violent attacks on journalists or
cameramen.
On October 8, the Kyrgyz National Television and Radio Broadcasting
Corporation (NTRK) ended transmissions for Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty's (RFE/RL) Kyrgyz Service, known as Radio Azattyk. The state-
run broadcasting corporation also cancelled two TV Azattyk news shows.
The NTRK said that the cancellations were due to RFE/RL's failure to
meet its financial obligations, but it also criticized RFE/RL programs
for favoring the political opposition, and it did not restore
transmission after RFE/RL showed that it had paid all outstanding
bills. On December 1, the NTRK also withdrew broadcasting rights for
the BBC's Kyrgyz language service. BBC broadcasts resumed December 10,
but its contract was not officially renewed. At year's end Azattyk's
productions were still off of NTRK channels, but some private FM
channels continued to broadcast Radio Azattyk.
On August 26, Radio Azattyk reported that Osh City Deputy Mayor
Ainura Shayimkulova filed a defamation case against the Jany Zaman
newspaper for insulting her honor and dignity. The following day,
Azattyk reported that Erkin Kojogeldiyev, editor-in-chief of Jany
Zaman, filed a counter-suit against Shayimkulova.
A December 17 RFE/RL article reported that Cholpon Orozobekova,
editor-in-chief of De Fakto newspaper, was seeking asylum in a European
country. On June 14, local media reported that police officers raided
the newspaper's office and confiscated five computers and documents.
The Bishkek Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against the
newspaper and Orozobekova, on charges of deliberately publishing false
statements accusing the head of the Kyrgyz Taxes and Duties Committee
of corruption. Orozobekova suspended publication following a second
office search and the freezing of the newspaper's bank accounts. At the
first hearing of the case on July 28, the district court judge sent it
back to the prosecutors for further investigation.
On September 9, police arrested Alibi editor-in-chief Babyrbek
Djeenbekov on the charge of ``failing to comply with a court ruling''
regarding a lawsuit against Alibi and De Fakto by the President's
nephew. The June 2 ruling by the Pervomaisky District Court ordered
both newspapers to print a retraction and pay 1,000,000 soms ($29,000)
to the plaintiff. Authorities opened a criminal case against Djeenbekov
for failing to obey the June court order, punishable by up to two years
in prison. Djeenbekov claimed the arrest was illegal because he was a
candidate for local office and by law, candidates can be arrested only
with the consent of the Central Election Commission. The authorities
released Djeenbekov on September 11, and on September 18, the Bishkek
City Prosecutor's Office canceled the investigation.
There were 40 to 50 regularly printed newspapers and magazines,
eight of which were state-owned, with varying degrees of independence.
The independent printing press run by the nongovernmental Media Support
Center (MSC) surpassed the state printing house, Uchkun, as the leading
newspaper publisher in the country. Approximately 50 state-owned and
private television and radio stations operated in the country, with two
television stations, both state-owned, broadcasting nationwide.
Foreign media operated freely. The law prohibits foreign ownership
of domestic media; however, there was a small degree of foreign
ownership of media, through local partners. Russian television stations
Channel One and RTR dominated coverage and local ratings. Mir
Interstate Television and Radio Company, a member-funded Commonwealth
of Independent States television network, increased its television and
radio broadcasts throughout the country. A number of Russia-based media
outlets also operated freely in the country, although they were
registered with the Ministry of Justice, and therefore the Government
considered them domestic media. Although several broadcast media
companies have applied for new licenses and frequency assignments, the
Government has not approved any requests for new media outlets since
2006.
The Ministry of Justice requires all media to register and receive
ministry approval to operate. The registration process is nominally one
month, but in practice the process often takes much longer. Part of the
process includes background checks on each media outlet's owner and
source of financing, including international donor organizations. New
licensing/frequency distribution procedures continued to be reviewed by
the Government.
Government newspapers, television, and radio continued to receive
state subsidies, and the Government remained the primary source of
scarce advertising revenue, which allowed the Government to influence
media content.
During the year, pro-governmental media outlets published numerous
negative articles about several parliamentary deputies, NGOs, and their
leaders. Although the law prohibits censorship, a few independent
journalists reportedly faced government pressure over critical press
coverage, were denied access to public meetings, and/or were not given
information freely provided to state-run outlets. Libel remains a
criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, forums, and
Web logs.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. Religious higher
educational institutions must follow strict reporting policies.
Kyrgyzstan's National Security Service demanded to see confidential
documents about students of Bishkek's Protestant United Theological
Seminary in June. The director, a foreign national, refused and was
expelled from the country. Similarly, The Islamic University must
inform the Muftiate, the State Agency for Religious Affairs, and the
district police about its student enrollment.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for limited freedom of assembly, and the
Government generally respected this right in practice, although
authorities placed restrictions on this right.
On March 17, police officers detained 15 participants of a protest
against the outcome of the December 2007 elections. The Pervomaisky
court judge fined nine of the activists between 1,000 soms ($28) and
2,000 soms ($57). On January 29, police detained approximately 20
participants of the student-organized ``I do not believe...'' campaign,
for ``just standing'' at four entrances of parliament.
On April 11, the Internet-based news agency 24.kg reported that
police officers detained 52 participants of a protest against the
Government's agreement to relinquish land and resorts in the Issyk-Kul
Oblast to the Government of Kazakhstan. The Pervomaisky court judge
sentenced two protesters to three and ten days in prison and fined an
additional ten activists 2,000 soms ($57) each.
On April 26, in Tyup City, activists marching in protest of the
Government's transfer of land in the Karkyra Valley to Kazakhstan
clashed with a group of counter-protesters. Ten of the activists,
including ex-parliamentarian Bolotbek Sherniyazov, were injured,
causing them to cancel the march and a related conference.
On June 11, local media reported that Bishkek City Pervomaisky
District police detained 20 women near the parliament building as they
protested the closure of the Elnur market in the Issyk-Kul Oblast by
the local administration. The Pervomaisky Court fined each of the women
1,000 soms ($28) and ordered their release.
On August 6, the President signed into law nationwide restrictions
on public assembly similar to those enacted in November 2007 by the
Bishkek City Council. The new law prohibits protesters from gathering
near government entities, including parliament, Presidential
residences, schools, military establishments, motorways, and gas
pipelines. The law also requires that organizers apply for permits at
least 12 days prior to the event, thus preventing any spontaneous
demonstrations. On July 1, the Constitutional Court overturned the city
ordinance on the grounds that the local council did not have the power
to make restrictions on issues of national importance.
On December 19, local police arrested eight persons from the Ata
Meken political party who were collecting signatures on petitions at a
local outdoor market. They were charged with failure to obey law
enforcement and with holding an unauthorized demonstration. After
spending several hours in police custody, some members of the group
were released with a nominal fine, and the rest were sentenced to three
days in jail and released pending appeal.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the Government generally respected this right,
although the Government at times used law enforcement agencies to
intimidate organizations. NGOs, labor unions, political parties, and
cultural associations must register with the Ministry of Justice. NGOs
are required to have three members to register, and all other
organizations require at least 10 members. The Ministry of Justice did
not deny any domestic NGOs registration during the year. The law
prohibits foreign-funded political parties and NGOs, including their
representative offices and branches, from pursuing political goals.
The Government continued its ban on four organizations it deemed to
be extremist due to alleged ties to international terrorist
organizations: Hizb ut-Tahrir )(HT), the Islamic Party of Turkestan,
the Organization for Freeing Eastern Turkestan, and the Eastern
Turkestan Islamic Party. Arrests and prosecution of persons accused of
possessing and distributing HT literature continued during the year.
Although most arrests of alleged extremists in the past occurred in the
south and involved ethnic Uzbeks, media reports track a marked increase
in ethnic Kyrgyz being detained for HT-related activity in the north.
The majority of those arrested were charged with distribution of
literature inciting ethnic, racial, or religious hatred. Reported cases
of women being detained for distributing HT leaflets and brochures also
increased during the year.
According to news reports and a press release by the Norwegian
Helsinki Committee (NHC), on June 9, MIA officers raided the Bishkek
office of the NHC, ransacked its files, and photographed and filmed
documents. According to a statement from the permanent delegation of
Norway to the OSCE, international and local staff were questioned by
the MIA and agreed to suspend operations until the Ministry of Justice
approved the NHC's registration. The authorities charged the head of
the NHC, a Norwegian citizen, with operating the NHC without proper
registration. On September 5, judges of the Bishkek Sverdlovskiy
District Court acquitted the NHC representative of all charges.
However, the Ministry of Justice had not registered the NHC by year's
end. On October 12, the Kyrgyz border guards denied entrance to the
head of the NHC and forced him to depart on the next available flight
out of the country. Airport authorities also stated that he would not
be allowed to return for 10 years.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion.
The Government generally respected this right in practice, although
there were some restrictions, particularly regarding the activities of
conservative Islamic groups that it considered to be extremist and a
threat to the country. The constitution provided for the separation of
state and religion. Islam is the most widely practiced faith. The
Government did not officially support any religion; however, a 2006
decree recognized Islam and Russian Orthodoxy as ``traditional
religions.'' The Government also recognizes two Muslim holy days
(Kurman Ait, or Eid al-Adha, and Orozo Ait, or Eid al-Fitr) and
Orthodox Christmas as national holidays.
On November 6, the parliament approved a restrictive religion law
that gives the state the responsibility to prevent ``religious
fanaticism and extremism, as well as actions aimed at confrontation and
exacerbation of relationships.'' The law increases the membership
threshold for registration of a religious organization from 10 to 200
individuals, which excludes many smaller faith groups. The law also
bans proselytizing and grants local authorities the power to ban
activities of groups registered in another district. By year's end the
President had not signed the bill into law.
The State Agency for Religious Affairs (SARA) is responsible for
promoting religious tolerance, protecting freedom of conscience, and
overseeing laws on religion. Under the law all religious organizations,
including religious schools, are required to register with SARA, and
each congregation is required to register separately. In 2006 SARA
moved its headquarters to Osh, reportedly to monitor the predominantly
Muslim Ferghana Valley more closely.
Although several groups have had difficulties registering, almost
all were eventually registered. Exceptions included the Hare Krishna,
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Universal
Church, whose registration was suspended in 2003 for noncompliance with
government regulations. Since 1996 SARA has registered 270 religious
groups and nearly 1,200 foreign citizens as religious missionaries.
Each congregation of a religious organization must submit
registration documents to SARA, which can deny registration if a
religious organization does not comply with the law or is a threat to
national security, social stability, interethnic and
interdenominational harmony, public order, health, or morality.
Thereafter, the organization must register with the Ministry of
Justice, which gives the organization legal status and allows it to own
property and conclude contracts. An applicant whose registration is
denied may reapply and may appeal to the courts.
The country's largest Protestant church, with an estimated 11,000
members, complained of government attempts to hamper its activities in
the past.
Missionary groups of various religious organizations operated
freely, although they are required to register with the Government.
The Government forbids the teaching of religion (or atheism) in
public schools, but a 2006 decree allows the teaching of ``the history
of world religions'' and ``religion in general.'' It also acknowledges
the rights of students to wear clothing indicative of their religious
preference. However, there were continued reports of girls in southern
areas, particularly in the Jalalabad Oblast, being banned from school
or dropping out because of restrictions on wearing the headscarf.
Societal Abuse and Discrimination.--The investigation into the 2006
case of vandalism of Baptist Sarygulov's home and the throwing of
Molotov cocktails at the church facilities in Karakulja was closed with
no arrests made. Forum 18 has documented numerous cases of Kyrgyz
Protestants, Baha'is, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Hare Krishna being
denied access to community cemeteries to bury relatives due to tension
with Muslim neighbors. The Muslim Council, the Muftiate, issued a
decree forbidding the burial of non-Muslims in Muslim cemeteries.
Meetings with the State Agency for Religious Affairs failed to achieve
a solution to the discriminatory practice.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. Approximately 1,600
Jews lived in the country.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law on internal migration
provides for freedom of movement. The Government generally respected
the right in practice, and citizens were able to move within the
country with relative ease. However, certain policies continued to
restrict internal migration, resettlement, and travel abroad.
The law requires an official residence registration in order to
work and live in a particular area of the country. Applicants for
residence registration must file a request with the local police and be
able to prove that they have a place to live in the area. Individuals
who do not register, or are registered in their hometown, can be denied
access to subsidized health care or schooling.
The law on migration prohibits travel abroad of citizens who had
access to information classified as state secrets. In 2007 the
International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the support of
foreign governments, opened two additional passport offices and a
training facility for passport officers, producing instructions for
filling out passport forms, and posting official fees associated with
the passport process to stem corruption.
The law does not provide for or prohibit forced exile, and there
were no reports that the Government employed it in practice.
In May 2007 the President signed into effect the Law on
Citizenship, Article 22, which allows for the recognition of dual
citizenship for citizens. The new law also simplifies naturalization
procedures and reduces the amount of time needed to qualify for
residency for select applicants, such as ethnic Kyrgyz and those with
one parent of Kyrgyz citizenship. Article 13 of the law establishes a
five-year residency qualification for the naturalization of recognized
refugees, those married to citizens, prominent scientists, and business
investors.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol. In practice
the Government provided protection for some refugees against expulsion
or forced return to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened. The Government also provided temporary protection to
individuals who may not have qualified as refugees under the 1951
Convention and the 1967 protocol, although the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported no persons received such
protection during the year. While the Government cooperated with the
UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and
asylum seekers, during the year the Government did not grant refugee
status or asylum to any Uzbeks or Uighurs or adequately protect such
individuals.
According to the State Committee for Migration and Employment
(SCME), there were 260 refugees and 439 asylum seekers in the country
as of December 1. Refugees were primarily from Afghanistan (238), along
with 22 from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. Among the asylum
seekers were 144 from Afghanistan, 163 from Uzbekistan, 120 from
Chechnya in Russia, and 12 from other countries.
During a World Refugee Day press conference on July 20, the SCME
chairperson, Aygul Ryskulova, stated that the Government had
naturalized 9,517 Tajik refugees over the past five years.
On May 14, authorities forcibly returned Erkin Holikov, an Uzbek
citizen and asylum seeker, to Uzbekistan. On March 6, a Jalalabad City
court convicted him for concealing a crime and illegally crossing the
border with Uzbekistan and sentenced him to four years in prison. On
April 30, Holikov's lawyer attempted to register him at the SCME, but
the SCME rejected his application. A June report by Moscow-based
Memorial Human Rights Center stated that on May 22, eight days after
his extradition, an Osh District court ruled that the refusal of
Holikov's registration by the SCME was illegal.
On September 19, registered asylum seeker Haiotjon Juraboev
disappeared in Bishkek. Juraboev left Uzbekistan in 2007. Human Rights
Watch cites a witness who said that Juraboev was stopped outside a
mosque by a man in plain clothes who introduced himself as a security
official. According to the witness, he followed the man to a car and
was not heard from again. In August 2006 the Government forcibly
returned four refugees registered with UNHCR and one asylum seeker to
Uzbekistan.
There were no refugee camps for Uzbek citizens in the country. The
media and some NGOs reported that Uzbek refugees continued to hide in
the country for fear of persecution by the Uzbek authorities.
According to the UNHCR, the Kyrgyz government agreed that Uzbeks
already in country could reregister for refugee status. Family members
of Uzbeks in country could also register after joining their families,
but newly arrived Uzbeks could not. As with Uzbek asylum seekers, the
Government continued to deny Chechen refugees official refugee status
but granted them asylum seeker status and provided them with some legal
protection.
According to the UNHCR, Uighurs remained at risk of deportation or
extradition, particularly if they were involved with political and
religious activities in China. Uighurs also risked deportation at the
request of the Chinese government.
According to the UNHCR, there was no authoritative source for the
number of stateless persons. Estimates ranged from 400 to 60,000.
According to the UNHCR, the Department of Passport and Visa Control of
the Ministry of Interior reported there were 21,337 persons holding
obsolete USSR passports as of January, of whom they had processed more
than 60 percent as of August.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, although some restrictions remained. Under the October 2007
constitution, the President can veto any legislative act and dismiss
members of the Government, nominate Constitutional Court judges and
Supreme Court judges proposed by the NCJA, appoint and dismiss regional
governors and the heads of local administrations, control defense and
security bodies, and direct foreign policy. The President has immunity
after leaving office. The parliament can override Presidential vetoes.
On September 17, GKNB officers raided the Naryn regional office of
the opposition party Ata-Meken, confiscated computer equipment and
documents, and sealed the office doors. According to the head of the
Naryn regional police directorate, the discovery of
``anticonstitutional leaflets'' in three public places led the
authorities to the Ata-Meken office, where they seized a further 147
leaflets.
Elections and Political Participation.--On October 5, local
elections were held nationwide. Observers were allowed to be present at
voting precincts on Election Day, but the Central Election Commission
(CEC) rejected applications from international observers on the basis
that they missed the application deadline. Although the human rights
ombudsman declared the elections fair, civil society claimed that the
Government unfairly promoted members of the pro-regime Ak Jol
candidates to win seats.
On September 26, opposition leaders released a video message from
CEC Chair Klara Kabilova in which she claimed she had been pressured by
the President's son over registering an opposition candidate, Ishenbay
Kadyrbekov, for local council elections. Kabilova left the country
prior to the video's release.
During the year, there were cases of government harassment of
members of the political opposition. In January a leader of the Ata
Meken party accused the tax police of harassing the opposition by
initiating tax audits against multiple opposition parties.
According to a CEC report, more than 80 percent of the country's
2.7 million registered voters participated in the October 2007
referendum, and 81.58 percent of voters approved the new constitution
and electoral code. However, local and foreign election monitors
reported ``rampant'' violations, including voter fraud and ballot box
stuffing, and estimated that voter turnout had been significantly lower
than the 50 percent needed to make the vote valid.
Following the constitutional referendum, the President dissolved
the parliament and called for new elections in December 2007. The
elections were marred by numerous and wide-spread irregularities, and
representatives of the OSCE election monitoring mission stated that the
elections ``failed to meet a number of OSCE commitments.''
The CEC certified that three parties passed the thresholds to gain
seats in parliament: Ak Jol party with 71 seats, the Social Democratic
Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) with 11 seats, and the Party of Communists
of Kyrgyzstan with eight seats. Opposition party Ata-Meken, which did
not gain any seats, accused the Government of vote rigging, but the
Supreme Court upheld a December 2007 CEC ruling that Ata-Meken had
failed to pass the regional voting threshold in the city of Osh. After
the December 2007 elections, the President formed a new government
without any opposition party representatives.
Twenty-three women representing three political parties secured
seats in parliament following the December 2007 elections. Women held
several high-level government posts, including minister of finance,
minister of education and science, minister of labor and social
development, chief justice of the Constitutional Court, the chair of
the State Committee on Migration and Employment Issues, and (until
September) chair of the CEC.
There were 17 members of six minorities represented in the new 90-
seat legislature. Russians and Uzbeks, the two largest ethnic minority
groups, remained underrepresented in government positions. Members of
minority groups held senior posts, including an ethnic Russian promoted
from minister of energy, industry, and fuel to prime minister following
the December 2007 elections.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption remained
endemic at all levels of society. The law provides criminal penalties
for official corruption; however, the Government did not implement the
law effectively, and officials engaged in corrupt practices with
impunity. During the year the Government took limited steps to address
the problem, including arrests of government officials on corruption
charges.
According to polls conducted by the International Arbitration Court
at the beginning of the year, 70 percent of businessmen did not trust
the judicial system due to rampant corruption.
During the year the National Anticorruption Agency received
complaints and phone calls regarding corruption among governmental
officials. The complaints were related primarily to unlawful actions of
law enforcement and judiciary bodies.
In October 2007 the NGO Kyrgyz Parliamentarians Against Corruption
analyzed the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy,
adopted in 2005. Noting several positive steps, such as the
ratification of the UN Convention Against Corruption and establishment
of the National Anticorruption Agency and the National Anticorruption
Council, the NGO reported delays in implementation of the strategy,
lack of compliance of the domestic legislation with international
standards, and insufficient involvement in anticorruption activities by
civil society.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, 394 corruption
charges were registered by July. The corruption cases were in relation
to allegations of malfeasance, illegal examinations by state agencies,
mismanagement of government funds and unauthorized procurements,
embezzlement, illegal commercial activity, and bribery.
On December 16, the Prosecutor General's Office announced that it
had arrested a judge of the Naryn oblast court for accepting a 10,000
som ($254) bribe from a defendant.
On November 14, the Commissioner of the National Anticorruption
Agency reported the results of an inspection of universities. It found
violations of admissions processes at Kyrgyz National University and
Jalal-Abad State University. As a result the minister of education
dismissed the rectors, and the Prosecutor General's Office charged
university admission personnel with abuse of power and forgery.
On May 2, Kabar News Agency reported that GKNB officers detained
the judge of the Moscow District Court of the Chui Oblast for extorting
and receiving a bribe for 98,545 soms ($2,500). Officials launched a
criminal case against the judge.
On April 28, the Jalalabad courts convicted former first deputy
governor of Osh Oblast, Kushbak Tezekbayev; former head of the regional
administration's financial and economic department, Seitkasym
Dzheenbekov; and the head of the March People's Revolution public
association, Timur Kamchybekov, for abuse of power. Tekezbayev claimed
the charges stemmed from his criticism of the Bakiyev administration.
The judge sentenced Tezekbayev to five years in prison but delivered
suspended sentences to his codefendants.
The law gives persons the right to request information from the
Government. The Government generally complied with such requests.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The Government generally cooperated with the numerous international
organizations that reported on human rights problems in the country and
with international organizations generally, and permitted visits by UN
representatives and other organizations, including the OSCE, ICRC, and
IOM.
A February 2 decree disbanded the State Commission on Human Rights
and transferred its authority to the Office of the Ombudsman. The
ombudsman's mandate is to act as an independent advocate for human
rights on behalf of private citizens and NGOs, and he has the authority
to recommend cases to courts for review. The Ombudsman's Office
actively advocated for individual rights. Ombudsman's Office
representatives stated that during the first nine months of the year,
they received 1,706 complaints. The Ombudsman's Office stated that in a
number of cases, its advocacy had been effective in reversing court
verdicts against complainants.
Harassment and pressure by law enforcement agencies and unknown
persons on human rights activists remained a problem.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status; however, in practice there was
discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, ethnic
minorities, and homosexuals.
Women.--The law specifically prohibits domestic violence and
spousal abuse; however, violence against women remained a problem. Many
crimes against women were not reported due to psychological pressure,
cultural traditions, and the apathy of law enforcement officials.
Penalties ranged from fines to 15 years' imprisonment (if abuse
resulted in death). There were 300 reported crimes committed against
women in 2007, the latest year for which crime statistics are
available, and the majority of those cases were sent to court.
Several local NGOs provided services for victims of domestic
violence, including legal, medical, and psychological assistance, a
crisis hot line, shelters, and prevention programs. Organizations
involved with battered women also lobbied for new laws on domestic
violence. The Government provided offices for the Sezim Shelter and
paid its bills.
Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal. Activists noted an
upwards trend in rape cases, although this may have been due to
increased reporting of attacks. NGOs claimed that rape cases were
dramatically underreported and were rarely brought to court. Experts
noted that bribery was often used to curtail rape investigations.
Although prohibited by law, the traditional practice of kidnapping
women and girls for forced marriage continued in rural areas. Cultural
traditions discouraged victims from going to the authorities.
On August 5, the President signed a law providing for equal rights
for men and women. According to the Presidential press service, the
``document establishes state guarantees in terms of providing equal
rights and opportunities for persons of various sexes in political,
social, economic, cultural, and other fields.and aims to protect men
and women against discrimination on the basis of sex.'' Women have the
same rights as men, including under family law, property law, and in
the judicial system, although discrimination against women persisted in
practice. Average wages for women were substantially less than for men.
Women made up the majority of pensioners, a group that was particularly
vulnerable to deteriorating economic conditions. In the countryside,
traditional attitudes toward women relegated them to the roles of wife
and mother and curtailed educational opportunities. Data from NGOs
working on women's issues indicated that women were less healthy, more
abused, less able to work outside the home, and less able to dispose of
their earnings independently than men.
Prostitution is not a crime, although the operation of brothels,
pimping, and recruiting persons into prostitution is illegal, with
penalties of up to five years. With no legal measures in place to
regulate the industry, it was an ongoing problem. The NGO Tais-Plus
continued to defend the rights of those in prostitution.
Sexual harassment is prohibited by law; however, according to an
expert at the local NGO Shans, it was rarely reported or prosecuted.
Penalties range from fines to imprisonment.
According to the Operational Response Center of the Interior
Ministry, police respond to almost 10,000 cases of family conflict each
year. Nearly 15 percent of crimes committed during family conflicts
resulted in deaths or serious injuries.
According to a poll conducted by the Women's Development Fund of
the UN, 80 percent of respondents said that there was physical violence
against women in the home.
The National Council on the Issues of Family, Women and Gender
Development, under the President, is responsible for women's issues.
Children.--The Government was generally committed to the rights and
welfare of children, although it lacked resources to address fully
basic needs for shelter, food, and clothing. According to Articles 19
and 20 of the children's code, every child born in the country has the
right to receive a birth certificate, local registration, and
citizenship. In 2006 the Government initiated a program providing each
elementary student with a free glass of milk and a roll every morning.
Rural and urban schools administered the program effectively.
The law provides for compulsory and free education for the first
nine years of schooling, or until age 14; secondary education is free
and universal up to age 17. However, financial constraints prevented
the Government from providing free basic education for all students.
The law penalizes parents who do not send their children to school or
who obstruct their attendance. This law was only sporadically enforced,
particularly in rural areas. Families who kept children in public
schools often had to pay burdensome and illegal administrative fees. In
September 2007 the Government decreed that parents of schoolchildren
should not pay administrative fees to schools.
The Government continued to fund two programs for low-income
children and children with mental or physical disabilities that provide
school supplies and textbooks. Legally, all textbooks should be free,
but the Government was unable to provide them to all students.
The Government provided health care for children, and boys and
girls had equal access. The system of residence registration restricted
access to social services, including health care and education for
certain children, such as refugees, migrants, internally displaced
persons, and noncitizens.
Child abuse, including beatings, child labor, and commercial sexual
exploitation continued to be a problem. According to monitors from the
Department on Child Rights Defense under the State Agency for Physical
Culture and Sports, administrators and school guards at a school in
Chui Oblast physically abused children.
The practice of bride kidnapping remained a concern, with some
underage abductions reported during the year. Children ages 16 and 17
may legally marry with the consent of local authority, although
marriage before age 16 is prohibited under all circumstances.
Trafficking of children for the purposes of commercial sexual
exploitation and labor remained a problem.
Family law prohibits divorce during pregnancy and while a child is
younger than one year.
As in previous years, there were numerous reports of child
abandonment due to parents' lack of resources, leading to larger
numbers of children in institutions, foster care, or on the streets.
Approximately 80 percent of street children were internal migrants.
Police detained street children and sent them home (if an address was
known) or to a rehabilitation center or orphanage.
State orphanages and foster homes also faced a lack of resources
and often were unable to provide proper care. Some older children were
transferred to mental health care facilities, even when they did not
exhibit mental health problems. According to the Social and Gender
Issues Department within the presidency, the number of children in
state shelters continued to grow, with the total number of children in
the 39 state shelters estimated at 5,390 at the end of the year. Of
these children, 20 percent were orphans.
The MIA-maintained Rehabilitation Center for Street Children in
Bishkek continued to lack sufficient food, clothes, and medicine and
remained in poor condition. It sheltered approximately 70 children,
according to UNICEF. IOM, together with foreign government funding and
assistance from the SCME, renovated a second center for minors in Osh,
staffed it with an IOM-trained NGO, and stocked it with necessary food
and supplies.
The League for Protection of Children's Rights stated in September
that children's rights were violated regularly at the Lebedinovka
Gymnasium School #2. They reported instances of physical abuse and
illegal money collection by the school administration, and they also
reported that the number of students at the school had dropped from
1,700 to 700 over the last three years. The Ministry of Education had
not made any public response by year's end.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked
to, from, and within the country. Trafficking remained a persistent
problem, and victims alleged that government officials facilitated, or
were complicit in, trafficking. However, the Government continued to
make significant efforts to address trafficking, including improved
assistance to victims.
The country was a source, transit, and to a lesser degree,
destination, for trafficked persons. Internal trafficking for labor and
sexual exploitation also occurred, generally from poor rural areas to
larger cities such as Bishkek in the north and Osh in the south. The
Government recognized that trafficking in persons was a problem.
With financial and practical assistance from various international
and nongovernmental organizations, the Government supported a
countrywide information campaign and trained law enforcement and
foreign affairs officials on trafficking awareness. The Government took
additional steps to streamline labor migration by adopting a program on
the regulation of migration processes and collaborating with the
Governments of Russia, South Korea, and Kazakhstan to improve the
protection of rights of Kyrgyz labor migrants working abroad.
There were no reliable data on the number of persons trafficked.
International organizations and NGOs reportedly provided assistance to
67 victims of trafficking as of September 1. Most trafficking cases
were reported after the agricultural labor season ended and forced
laborers wished to return home. According to SCME estimates, up to
300,000 Kyrgyz citizens worked in Kazakhstan, 250,000-400,000 were
employed in the Russian Federation, and an estimated 4,000 Kyrgyz
citizens worked in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The number of these
citizens working abroad who were trafficking victims was unknown.
During the year the State Committee for Migration and Employment
(SCME)'s offices provided consultations to more than 7,000 persons
through its hot line and in person. Citizens learned about legal labor
migration and the dangers of trafficking from the ``Stop Trafficking''
hot lines. According to the SCME, governmental agencies assisted in the
repatriation of 134 Kyrgyz victims of trafficking during the year.
According to the IOM's estimates, law enforcement agencies and aid
organizations learned about one out of every six to eight cases of
women victims and one out of 20 cases involving men.
The IOM estimated that, in comparison with victims from the north,
more than twice the number of trafficking victims assisted through its
programs were from the southern provinces of Jalalabad and Osh, where
unemployment rates were higher.
Women, especially from impoverished southern areas, were trafficked
for sexual exploitation to Kazakhstan, Russia, UAE, China, South Korea,
Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, Germany, and Syria.
Traffickers were often persons who previously operated local
prostitution networks. Relatives or close family friends reportedly
also were used to recruit trafficking victims. Traffickers also
included organized crime rings that often used former trafficking
victims as recruiters. In some cases traffickers provided escorts,
usually an older woman, to accompany victims and facilitate border
crossings into countries such as the UAE. Labor trafficking was much
less organized and often involved self-employed recruiters who simply
loaded persons onto buses and transported them to the country for work
on farms or to foreign labor recruitment firms.
The most recent development in trafficking is the use of
``collateral.'' Victims of trafficking are forced by their traffickers
to leave relatives, usually children, as hostages to the traffickers
until a suitable labor replacement has been found, forcing victims to
assist traffickers in recruiting other victims.
Trafficking in persons, including organizing illegal migration and
smuggling, is a criminal offense punishable by up to 20 years in
prison. Other provisions of the criminal code used to prosecute
traffickers included kidnapping, recruiting persons for exploitation,
coercion into prostitution, rape, and deprivation of freedom. The
maximum sentence for those prosecuted under these laws is 15 years.
According to IOM there were increased numbers of Bangladeshi and
other South Asian migrants transiting the country en route to Europe.
The IOM estimated there were 2,000-3,000 Bangladeshi citizens in the
country in transit to western countries. IOM reported that during the
year there was one case of trafficking victims being prosecuted for the
possession of false documents and crossing the border illegally. The
trafficking victims were later acquitted, and at year's end the
trafficker was on trial. In two other reported prosecutions,
traffickers were sentenced to five years in prison and forced to pay
damages to the victims.
The National Antitrafficking Council, chaired by the vice prime
minister, is responsible for coordinating the efforts of government
agencies in fighting trafficking. Together with the OSCE and IOM, the
SCME drafted a national anti-trafficking action plan, to be submitted
for parliamentary ratification.
In the spring the Ninth Department, a separate division of the MIA
that focuses on immigration and registration violations and reports to
the Passport Office began to lead investigations into trafficking
crimes. According to the MIA, 34 trafficking-related crimes were
investigated from March 2007 to March 2008. According to the IOM, there
were three convictions during the year.
Endemic corruption impeded the Government's efforts to curb
trafficking. Victims reported that local police, immigration officers,
and airport security officials often cooperated with highly organized
trafficking operations. Observers believed that some government
authorities facilitated or were otherwise complicit in trafficking
activities.
The 2006 amendments to Article 124 of the criminal code protect
trafficking victims from being prosecuted if they cooperate with an
investigation, and also in some cases grants temporary or permanent
residence status. Some trafficking victims cooperated with
investigations, but many feared possible retaliation from traffickers.
There were no reports that the Government deported foreign victims of
trafficking during the year. The IOM reported a decrease in reports
from returning overseas workers that they had to pay bribes to avoid
imprisonment for false documents. Kyrgyz embassies abroad assisted
victims of trafficking by issuing new authentic travel documents to
replace the false documents the victims used to exit Kyrgyzstan.
Numerous articles in governmental and independent media outlets
publicized the dangers of working abroad, and posters on public
transport raised public awareness of the problem.
The Government actively participated in and helped implement
numerous anti-trafficking programs and cooperated with international
organizations and other countries to combat trafficking. Central and
local governments worked on an information campaign with approximately
36 domestic NGOs that operated within the IOM-operated anti-trafficking
network. The IOM also financed and trained NGOs to maintain
antitrafficking hot lines in each province, using toll-free numbers
provided by the Government, to help potential and actual trafficking
victims. The SCME provided free office space for the IOM-sponsored hot
line staff.
As of August five domestic NGOs in the Osh and Batken oblasts
continued to facilitate an OSCE-supported project on prevention of
trafficking in women and children in the south of the country. The
project opened three hot lines, conducted education and public
awareness campaigns, issued information bulletins, supported
journalists' investigations of trafficking cases, and organized
training for human rights activists.
In the spring, the IOM and the Norwegian government, with support
from the local government, moved the Rehabilitation Center for Children
in Osh to a new, larger location. The center provided shelter to child
victims of trafficking and labor exploitation. With the new facilities,
the IOM increased its capacity for assisting victims of trafficking as
well as providing assistance to victims of domestic violence and other
crimes.
During the year, European Union (EU) supported anti-trafficking
projects in Osh, Jalalabad, and Batken oblasts provided local teachers
with training and increased the capacity of administrative and law
enforcement bodies to combat trafficking.
According to several NGOs, the Government did not directly assist
trafficking victims, including those repatriated, with special services
or care facilities. The Government supported NGOs by providing them
with office space, space for two shelters (one in Bishkek and one in
Osh), and free advertising in government-owned media outlets. Law
enforcement organs increasingly referred trafficking victims to IOM-
sponsored shelters, such as Sezim. By November 13, victim shelters had
provided rehabilitation services to 15 women. After suffering damages
during an earthquake, the Osh shelter opened a new facility on November
1 with building space provided by the Government and refurbishments
paid for with grants from the IOM and the Norwegian government. Many
foreign-funded NGOs conducted workshops for law enforcement officers.
A number of NGOs, including Women's Support Center, TAIS-Plus, New
Chance, Sezim, Podruga, and Golden Goal, provided legal, medical, and
psychological assistance, as well as economic aid to trafficking
victims.
During the year, the IOM provided assistance to 84 trafficking
victims, including repatriation, psychological support, shelter upon
arrival in Bishkek or Osh, vocational training, and monthly stipends.
The IOM, the OSCE, various local organizations, and foreign governments
sponsored a wide range of preventive programs, including
antitrafficking public service announcements, roundtables, and
workshops, to increase awareness among the Government, nonprofit,
tourism, and media sectors.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities, but in practice there was
discrimination in employment, education, access to health care, and the
provision of other state services for persons with disabilities. The
law mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities and
provides for access to public transportation and parking for persons
with disabilities, subsidies to make mass media available to the
hearing or visually impaired, and free plots of land for the
construction of a home. However, the Government generally did not
enforce these provisions of the law. In addition persons with
disabilities often had difficulty finding employment because of
negative societal attitudes and high unemployment among the general
population.
The lack of resources made it difficult for persons with
disabilities to receive adequate education. Although children with
disabilities have the right to an education, Gulbara Nurdavletova of
the Association of Parents of Children with Disabilities stated that
most were denied entry into schools for spurious reasons. Their parents
sometimes established special educational centers for their children,
but they did not receive government assistance.
Serious problems continued within psychiatric hospitals. The
Government was unable to provide basic needs such as food, water,
clothing, heating, and health care, and facilities were often
overcrowded. Inadequate funding played a critical factor. Children with
mental disabilities were put into psychiatric hospitals rather than
socially integrated with other children. Other patients were also often
admitted involuntarily, including children without mental disabilities
who were too old to remain in orphanages.
The Youth Human Rights Group monitored the protection of children's
rights in institutions for children with mental and physical
disabilities. The group noted gross violations by staff at several
institutions, including the deprivation of sufficient nourishment and
physical abuse of the young patients.
The Office of the Prosecutor General is responsible for protecting
the rights of psychiatric patients and persons with disabilities.
According to local NGO lawyers, the members of the Prosecutor's Office
had no training and little knowledge of the protection of these rights
and were ineffective in assisting citizens with disabilities. Most
judges lacked the necessary experience and training to determine
whether persons should be referred to psychiatric hospitals, and the
practice of institutionalizing individuals against their will
continued.
A parliamentary commission reported violations of patients' rights
in a number of mental hospitals. According to the report, the lack of
funding was the main contributing factor. The Prosecutor General's
Office was investigating allegations of embezzlement of grant money at
the Chym-Korgon mental hospital that arose from the commission's work.
The commission planned to present its full report in March 2009.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Minorities alleged
discrimination in hiring, promotion, and housing, but no official
reports were registered with local authorities.
On January 1, two Kyrgyz teenagers were beaten by a group of ethnic
Uzbeks in the Osh City district of Turan. Following the incident local
media reported that ethnic Kyrgyz men were patrolling the area and
physically assaulting ethnic Uzbeks. A criminal investigation resulted
in the capture of two ethnic Uzbeks. No further information was
available at year's end.
The law designates Kyrgyz as the state language and Russian as an
official language, and it provides for preservation and equal and free
development of minority languages. Russian-speaking citizens alleged
that a ceiling precluded promotion beyond a certain level in government
service. They also alleged that some otherwise qualified candidates for
office were disqualified by unfair language examinations. Both Uzbek
and Russian were widely used officially and unofficially. The
Government's initiative to increase official use of Kyrgyz raised
concerns among non-Kyrgyz ethnic groups about possible discrimination.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Persons of
nontraditional sexual orientation, particularly homosexual men, were
among the most oppressed groups, although the country does not outlaw
homosexuality. Those whose nontraditional sexual orientation was
publicly known risked physical and verbal abuse, possible loss of work,
and unwanted attention from police and authorities. Incarcerated gay
men were often openly victimized in prisons by inmates and officials
alike. In October Human Rights Watch reported that lesbians and
transgender men suffered violence in the home and in public. Some
lesbians reported being raped to ``cure'' them of their sexual
orientation. Forced marriages for lesbian and bisexual women also
occurred.
According to news reports, on April 8, MIA officers raided a dinner
hosted by the gay rights group Labrys and demanded identification
documents from the 30 local and international advocates gathered. After
negotiations brokered by human rights lawyers, the police officers left
the location without further disruptions.
A single NGO provides services for lesbian and transgender
individuals.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of all
citizens to form and belong to trade unions, and workers exercised this
right in practice. Approximately 94 percent of workers belonged to a
union. The Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) remained the only umbrella
trade union in the country. The FTU had 1.06 million members, or 56
percent of the country's employed workforce. Unions were not required
to belong to the FTU, and there were several smaller unaffiliated
unions. One of the largest of these was the Union of Entrepreneurs and
Small Business Workers, with a membership of approximately 60,000.
The law grants the right to strike, but the numerous conditions
required to receive formal approval made the procedure difficult and
complicated.
The law on government service prohibits government employees from
striking.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the
Government protected this right in practice most of the time. In
February, a district court suspended Sagyn Bozgunbaev, the
democratically elected President of the Federation of Trade Unions of
Kyrgyzstan, from his office. The International Trade Union
Confederation reported that the decision was influenced by pressure
from state authorities.
The law recognizes the right of unions to organize and bargain
collectively, and trade unions exercised this right on behalf of their
members.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the Free Economic Zones (FEZs) that function as export processing
zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred.
Government licensing rules place strict requirements on companies
recruiting persons to work both domestically and abroad, including
vetting requirements by the SCME for all recruitment companies. The
Government regularly published the list of licensed and vetted firms.
Recruiters are required to monitor employer compliance with
employment terms and the working conditions of labor migrants while a
work contract is in effect. Recruiters are also required to provide
workers with the employment contract prior to their departure.
In 2005 local media reported that a number of Kyrgyz citizens were
being held hostage in China because they had not paid for goods
purchased from Chinese merchants. According to the State Committee on
Migration and Employment, there were two such cases registered at the
beginning of the year, and negotiations between the Kyrgyz and Chinese
governments resulted in the release of one individual during the year.
The Governments continue to negotiate the second case.
There were additional reports by the NGO Mental Health and Society
that patients in psychiatric hospitals were used routinely for
unauthorized labor on hospital grounds and as domestic service for
doctors and local farmers. The patients allegedly did not have a choice
to refuse but were rewarded with extra food for their work.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law provides for the protection of children from economic exploitation
and from work that poses a danger to their health or development;
however, child labor remained a widespread problem. The minimum legal
age for basic employment is 16, except for certain circumstances, such
as selling newspapers. In addition the law bans the employment of
persons under 18 in difficult or dangerous conditions, including the
metal, oil, and gas industries; mining and prospecting; the food
industry; entertainment; and machine building. Between 14 and 15,
children can work up to five hours a day, and between 16 and 18 they
can work up to seven. These laws also apply to children with
disabilities.
In January the Government adopted the State Program of Actions of
Social Partners on the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Kyrgyzstan for
2008-2011. According to UNICEF approximately 4 percent of the country's
children ages five to 14 years were engaged in child labor. A
Kyrgyzstan Television 1 report in October 2007 cited experts stating
that approximately 17 percent of children between the ages of five and
17 worked. Child labor was noted in the following sectors: tobacco,
cotton, rice, cattle breeding, mining, construction, brick making, car
washing, shoe cleaning, and retail sales of tobacco and alcohol.
Children were also involved in family enterprises, particularly in
agriculture and roadside kiosks. According to the Agricultural Workers
Union, the number of children in the south involved in child labor
reached 125,000, while the number of children working in tobacco fields
was approximately 15,000. A draft of a study conducted by the National
Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan estimated that 183,480 children
were engaged in hazardous work, and that 88 percent of working children
labored under conditions that posed risks to their development.
According to reports from various NGOs, child labor continued to be
particularly prevalent in the south. During the fall some schools
cancelled classes and sent children to pick cotton. During the summer
children were involved in tobacco production. Some schools required
children to harvest tobacco planted on school grounds, with the income
going directly to the schools, not to the children. Several 2007 news
reports highlighted the prevalence of child labor in the coal mining
industry.
Internal trafficking of children for the purposes of commercial
sexual exploitation and labor remained a problem. Children were
generally trafficked from poor rural areas to Bishkek and Osh. The
International Labor Organization (ILO) also observed an increase in the
employment of trafficked children to sell and distribute illicit drugs.
The parliamentary committees for health protection, women and
family, and education, science, and cultural affairs oversee the legal
protection of the interests of minors whenever new laws are discussed
in parliament.
Reports from ECPAT International indicated that police forced
street and working children to give up their earnings in exchange for
being released.
The Prosecutor General's Office and the State Labor Inspectorate
are responsible for enforcing employers' compliance with the labor
code. During the year inspectors conducted spot-checks of child labor
law compliance, but these were infrequent and ineffective. During the
first six months of the year, the Prosecutor General's Office conducted
52 checks, resulting in 16 written notifications, 33 demands for
immediate action, 142 warnings, and four disciplinary actions against
five individuals. Since many children worked for their families or were
self-employed, it was difficult for the Government to determine whether
their work complied with the labor code.
The Government was unable to enforce child labor laws adequately
due to a lack of resources. Although employers caught violating the
labor code could be charged with financial or criminal penalties,
punishment was usually minimal.
The Government supported several social programs to prevent the
engagement of children in exploitative child labor. The Ministry of
Education, in collaboration with the ILO, continued a program to enable
teachers to combat the worst forms of child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no minimum wage. A
nominal national minimum monthly wage of 340 soms ($9.78) was used for
administrative purposes; the amount would not provide a decent standard
of living for a worker and family. However, employers generally paid
somewhat higher wages. The FTU and other trade unions are empowered to
enforce all labor laws.
The standard workweek is 40 hours, usually within a five-day week.
For state-owned industries, there is a mandated 24-hour rest period in
the workweek. According to the labor code, overtime work cannot exceed
four hours per day and 20 hours per week, and must be compensated with
leave or premium pay of between 150 and 200 percent of the hourly wage.
These provisions were mainly enforced at large companies and
organizations with strong trade unions. Small, informal firms had no
union representation.
Safety and health conditions in factories were poor. The law
establishes occupational health and safety standards, but the
Government generally did not enforce them. The State Labor Inspectorate
is responsible for protecting workers and carrying out inspections for
all types of labor issues, but its activities were limited, and
business compliance was uneven. Workers of all industries have the
right to remove themselves from dangerous workplaces without
jeopardizing their employment, and workers exercised this right in
practice.
According to World Bank estimates, remittances of labor migrants
amounted to more than 27 percent of Gross Domestic Product. In
September 2007 the prime minister enacted the State Program on
Regulating Migration for 2007-2010, developed by the IOM and SCME. The
goal of the program is to reduce illegal labor migration and associated
trafficking and to provide legal and social support to labor migrants
abroad.
In March 2007 the parliament approved an agreement with Kazakhstan
on mutual protection of each country's labor migrants.
In March 2007 the SCME signed an agreement with the Russian
government to join efforts in legalizing Kyrgyz labor migrants working
in Russia. According to the SCME, during the year there were SCME
representatives in several Russian cities to assist Kyrgyz labor
migrants. The SCME representative also said that in cases of violence
against Kyrgyz citizens, they have agreements with the Russian
government to assist the victims and investigate crimes against them.
In March the SCME, with the support of the IOM and the Swedish
Development Agency, opened an information center for potential labor
migrants in Osh.
The 2005 Law on Foreign Labor Migration provides all foreign
workers with the same rights and conditions as citizens. According to
the SCME, foreign workers must be properly registered before exercising
those rights.
__________
MALDIVES
The Republic of Maldives is a constitutional democracy with a
strong executive and, according to estimates, a population of
approximately 390,000. The President appoints the cabinet and eight
members of the 50-member parliament. The President derives additional
influence from his constitutional role as the ``supreme authority to
propagate the tenets of Islam.'' On August 7, President Maumoon Abdul
Gayoom ratified a new constitution that paved the way for the first
multiparty Presidential election. On October 8, candidates from six
political parties participated in the first round. However, of the two
candidates receiving the highest vote counts, neither President Gayoom,
a member of the dominant Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party, nor Mohamed
Nasheed, a former political prisoner and the leader of the opposition
Maldivian Democratic Party, had sufficient support to secure a win. A
runoff election between President Gayoom and Mohamed Nasheed occurred
on October 29, with Nasheed defeating Gayoom. Election observers from
the British Commonwealth, Colombo-based diplomatic missions, and local
organizations such as Transparency Maldives reported the elections were
relatively free and fair, with minor voting irregularities. The new
constitution establishes a separation of powers and a bill of
rights.Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of
the security forces.
The Government's human rights record continued to improve from the
previous year, although some issues remained. Security forces
occasionally abused detainees. Unequal treatment of women existed, as
did restrictions on workers' rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
On March 17, authorities charged police corporal Ahmed Shah with
assault in connection with the 2007 death of Hussain Salah near the
police base of Atoluvehi. Salah had been arrested on drug charges and
police claimed that he had been released, but the Human Rights
Commission of Maldives (HRCM) concluded there was insufficient evidence
to try Shah, and the case was being treated as a suspected custodial
death. Shah's trial continued at year's end.
In May the HRCM appealed court rulings that dismissed a suit
involving the 2005 custodial death of Muaviath Mahmood on the grounds
that Mahmood's family, not the commission, should have filed the suit.
The HRCM argued that if the 2007 court ruling that dismissed the case
were upheld and taken as a precedent, it would not be able to carry out
its duties under the Human Rights Commission Act.
On September 20, Deputy Home Minister Abdullah Waheed confirmed
that eight former security officers originally sentenced to death for
the 2003 killing of Maafushi prison inmate Evan Naseem had their
sentences reduced to house arrest. The new punishment was not enforced.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibited such practices, although there were
reports of mistreatment of persons by security forces.
In April the Maldivian Detainee Network (MDN) reported that police
beat six prisoners in Dhoonidhoo detention center after their arrest
during a crackdown on gang violence. A subsequent hunger strike by
inmates reportedly led to further police abuse.
In May the mother of one of the Dhoonidhoo detainees filed a
complaint with the HRCM alleging her son was beaten while in custody.
The detainee, Ahmed Simhan, had turned himself into police in Male in
February in connection with an investigation into gang-related violence
that had resulted in the death of a gang member.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards, although officials did not hold
pretrial detainees separately from convicted prisoners.
In 2007 the HRCM issued a report criticizing the lack of medical
provisions in Dhoonidhoo detention center. There was no reported
response to the HRCM's findings.
According to the MDN, in May more than 300 inmates at Maafushi
petitioned the President demanding better ventilation, amelioration of
overcrowded conditions, and the cessation of beatings with batons. An
eight-member government committee later inspected conditions in
Maafushi and submitted recommendations for corrective measures. The
demands followed a June 2007 six-day hunger strike to force a meeting
with government officials to discuss their grievances.
The police continued to refuse independent access to 60 individuals
arrested followingthe September 2007 bombing in Male. Other prisoners
reported that authorities did not give these prisoners access to
lawyers and subjected them to physical abuse.
Citing an overcrowded prison system, President Nasheed transferred
119 prisoners to house arrest in December. Opposition leaders accused
the Government of releasing hardened criminals and violating normal
parole procedures.
The Government generally permitted regular, unannounced prison
visits by the HRCM, and in February the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) visited security detainees in prison and in one case
at the home of one detainee under house arrest. The Government also
allowed unfettered access to prisons by the jail oversight committee of
judges and members of parliament. The oversight committee had a mandate
to visit quarterly and submit a report directly to the President. These
reports were not available to the public.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibited arbitrary
arrest and detention, but the Government had broad authority to arrest
and detain suspects. In practice there were reports that police
arrested and held persons arbitrarily for short periods of time.
In June numerous family members of 31 detainees from Khulhudhufushi
island being held at Dhoonidhoo detention center complained that they
had not been told the reason for their family members' detention.
Shortly after these complaints, authorities released the detainees.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Maldives National
Defense Force (MNDF) collected intelligence, made arrests, and enforced
house arrest. Although the MNDF was responsible for external security,
it also had a role in internal security. The director of the MNDF
reported to the minister of defense. On August 5, the majlis passed a
new Police Act that established legal parameters for the force's role
and placed the police directly under the control of the President.
Police initiated investigations in response to written complaints
from citizens, police officers, and government officials or on
suspicion of criminal activity. Prior to the ratification of the new
constitution in August, police were not legally required to obtain
arrest warrants or inform an arrested person of his rights, but
government officials stated that in practice they urged law enforcement
officials to inform arrested persons of their rights. The Attorney
General (AG) referred cases to the appropriate court based on the
results of police investigations. The authorities generally kept the
details of a case secret until they were confident that the charges
were likely to be upheld.
The Star Force, also referred to as the Special Operations
Department, is an elite unit of the Maldives Police Service. In its
annual report issued during the year, Reporters Without Borders alleged
that in 2007 the Star Force was involved in arrests of journalists and
antigovernment demonstrators. Their tactics reportedly included
physical attacks and threats.
The Police Integrity Commission, established in 2006 to investigate
allegations of police corruption and impunity, was ineffective, holding
no hearings during the year. However, under newly elected President
Nasheed, five new commissioners were named on December 19. The
commission was the primary mechanism available to investigate security
force abuses.
Arrest and Detention.--The constitution provided for an arrestee to
be informed of the reason for arrest within 24 hours and provides for
the right to hire a lawyer. The law requires that a detainee be
informed of the right to a lawyer at the time of arrest. Changes to the
law of arrest required no person be arrested unless the arresting
officer observed the offence, had reasonable evidence, and had an
arrest warrant issued by the court. The court does not appoint legal
counsel. According to the AG, police normally informed the arrestee's
family of the arrest within 24 hours, although the law does not require
that police inform the family of the grounds for the arrest.
Authorities generally permitted detainees to have counsel present
during police questioning. Prisoners had the right to a ruling on bail
within 36 hours; however, there were reports that bail procedures were
not publicized adequately, explained, or implemented consistently.
The law provides for investigative detention. Once a person is
detained, the arresting officer must present evidence to a legal
committee within 24 hours. The committee can recommend detention for up
to seven days pending further investigation. After the seven days
expire, the officer can petition a second committee, which can then
recommend detention for a maximum of 15 additional days. If the
authorities are unable to present sufficient evidence after the 22 days
provided, the prisoner is eligible for release, although judges have
the authority to extend detention past 22 days upon receiving an
arresting officer's petition citing factors such as the detainee's
previous criminal record, the status of the investigation, the type of
offense in question, and whether the detainee might pose a threat if
released.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--On September 18, the Government
established an interim Supreme Court. The five-member court, appointed
by the former President, was independent from the executive. It hears
appeals from the High Court and constitutional matters brought directly
before it. The seven-member Judicial Services Commission (JSC)
appointed, dismissed, and examined the conduct of all judges and
recommended candidates for judgeships to the President; the legislation
setting up the commission permits the body to accept or veto
Presidential appointments to judgeships. Since it was founded on
September 5, the JSC has not publicized deliberations or made public
recommendations on the hiring, dismissal, or discipline of any judges.
There are three lower courts: one for civil matters, one for
criminal cases, and one for family and juvenile cases. The High Court
handles a wide range of cases, including politically sensitive ones.
The President's judicial advisory council, led by the chief justice,
reviews all appealed court rulings.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides that an accused person be
presumed innocent until proven guilty and that an accused person have
the right to defend himself ``in accordance with Shari'a (Islamic
law).'' The judiciary generally enforced these rights. During a trial
the accused may call witnesses and has the right to be represented by a
lawyer, although one is not appointed at public expense. Regulations
rather than laws govern trial procedures. By tradition the prosecution
collects all evidence and presents it to a judge, who has the
discretion to choose what evidence he will share with the defense.
Judges question the concerned parties and attempt to establish the
facts of a case.
Most trials were public and were conducted by judges and
magistrates, some of whom were trained in Islamic, civil, or criminal
law. There were no jury trials.
Civil law was subordinate to Shari'a, which was applied in
situations not covered by civil law, as well as in family matters such
as divorce and adultery. Courts adjudicating matrimonial and criminal
cases generally did not allow legal counsel in court because, according
to a local interpretation of Shari'a, all answers and submissions
should come directly from the parties involved. However, the High Court
allows legal counsel in all cases, including those in which the right
to counsel was denied in a lower court. Those convicted had the right
to appeal. Under the country's Islamic practice, the testimony of two
women equals that of one man in matters involving Shari'a, such as
adultery, finance, and inheritance. In other cases the testimony of men
and women was equivalent.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government maintained that
there were no political prisoners; however, the Maldivian Democratic
Party, (MDP), international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and
some foreign governments asserted that persons were held for political
reasons. On October 28,the UK-based organization Prisoners of
Conscience stated that there were 24 persons under arrest on political
charges. The MDN maintained a list of 200 members of the former
opposition who faced outstanding charges for terrorism, unlawful
assembly, or defamation.
President Nasheed, a former political prisoner, appointed a
Presidential committee that met with prisoners in Maafushi on Nasheed's
first full day in office. On November 26, the President appointed an
eight-member national parole board.
The Government dropped charges against and restored the passport of
MDP member Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, who was arrested in 2006 and charged
with ``inciting enmity against the lawful government.'' President
Nasheed appointed Zaki to serve as the President's spokesman and senior
advisor.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--A civil court addressed
noncriminal cases. However, as with the criminal courts, the judiciary
was subject to executive influence. There were no reported cases of
individuals seeking redress for human rights violations through civil
courts. No administrative remedies were available.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibited security officials from opening or
reading wireless messages, letters, telegrams, or monitoring telephone
conversations, ``except as expressly provided by law.'' In practice the
Government generally respected privacy rights. Security forces may open
the mail of private citizens and monitor telephone conversations if
authorized to do so during a criminal investigation.
Although the law provides that residential premises and dwellings
should be inviolable, there was no legal requirement for search or
arrest warrants. The AG or a commanding officer of the police must
approve the search of private residences.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The new constitution guarantees
freedom of expression and of the press. Prior to its ratification, the
law provided for limited freedom of speech and of the press, which the
Government at times utilized to limit these rights in practice. The law
limits a citizen's right to freedom of expression in order to protect
the ``basic tenets of Islam'' and prohibits inciting citizens against
the Government.
In October 2007 President Gayoom issued a decree banning ``words or
actions likely to encourage extremism'' and promising ``action against
anyone suspected of being a religious extremist'' in response to a
September 2007 bombing in Male.
Police occasionally harassed members of opposition political
parties for criticizing the Government.
There are almost 200 independent newspapers and periodicals;
however, government ministers own several of the daily publications.
During the year a private television and radio station began
operations, and the Government television station transitioned to a
more independent model. The Government did not interfere with the sale
of satellite receivers. The Government radio and television stations
presented reports drawn from foreign newscasts. The Government
committed to permitting the functioning of independent radio stations
in its Reform Roadmap. As a result a number of private radio stations
began operating representing a variety of points of view.
In January 2007 the Government revised its defamation regulations
following a protest by journalists. Journalists, primarily opposition
reporters, stated that they faced harassment during the year. In March
authorities arrested Minivan Daily photographer Ibrahim Jauhuree on a
drug charge that his colleagues alleged was politically motivated. In
November the High Court ordered his release. On May 3, police broke up
a World Press Freedom Day conference. The same day, police arrested
journalist Aishath Aniya for an article that criticized the wearing of
Islamic veils by women. She was released the same day.
Although an amendment to the law decriminalized ``true account(s)''
of government actions by journalists, both journalists and publishers
reported practicing some self-censorship. By year's end both print and
electronic media were able to report largely unfettered by government
censorship or interference.
There were no legal prohibitions on the import of foreign
publications except for those containing pornography or material
otherwise deemed objectionable to Islamic values.
Internet Freedom.--The Government generally did not interfere with
the use of the Internet, which was widely available in the capital and
increasingly present in outlying atolls.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The law prohibited public
statements contrary to government policy or to the Government's
interpretation of Islam. In response to the law, there were credible
reports that academics practiced self-censorship.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however,
in practice the Government imposed limits on this right.
The Government permitted members of political parties, including
those in the opposition, to hold public meetings and rallies with prior
notification to the Government. The police banned night rallies. Some
rallies and demonstrations passed without incident or with minimal
arrests. Members of the opposition stated that their right to peaceful
protest was restricted, while government officials countered that
demonstrators gathered late at night and violated reasonable time,
place, and manner restrictions on assembly. In July authorities
arrested 13 demonstrators in Male during a rally criticizing the
President for delays in the constitutional ratification process.
Authorities released all of them within 24 hours.
Freedom of Association.--The law provided for freedom of
association; however, the Government imposed some limits on freedom of
association in practice. The Government registered clubs and other
private associations only if they did not contravene Islamic or civil
law.
In July 2007 Zaheena Rasheed won her case against the Government
for wrongful dismissal. A civil court judge ordered the atolls ministry
to pay 16,000 rufiyas ($1,270) in compensation for lost earnings.
Rasheed was fired three days after she was seen at an MDP rally in
November 2006.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law did not provide for freedom of
religion and significantly restricted it. The constitution designates
Sunni Islam as the official state religion, and the Government
interpreted the provision as imposing a requirement that citizens be
Muslims. The law prohibits the practice of any religion other than
Islamand generally confers citizenship exclusively on Muslims. The
Government allowed non-Muslim foreign residents to practice their
religion only if they did so privately and did not encourage citizens
to participate. The President, members of the people's majlis, and
cabinet members were required to be Muslim.
There were no places of worship for adherents of other religions.
The Government prohibited the import of icons and religious statues,
but it generally permitted the import of religious literature, such as
Bibles, for personal use. It also prohibited non-Muslim clergy and
missionaries from proselytizing and conducting public worship services.
Conversion of a Muslim to another faith was a violation of the
Government's interpretation of Shari'a and may result in punishment,
including the loss of the convert's citizenship; however, there were no
known cases of such loss of citizenship.
Through the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, the Government
mandated Islamic instruction in schools, funded the salaries of
religious instructors, and certified imams, who were responsible for
presenting government-approved sermons. No one may publicly discuss
Islam unless invited to do so by the Government, and imams could not
prepare sermons.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were some reports of
discrimination against various Islamic subgroups.
In June 2007 police raided a mosque using batons against the
congregation. The police suspected the worshipers to be followers of
Wahhabi Islam.
In October 2007 authorities raided an ``illegal mosque'' on
Himandhoo Island in connection with the investigation of the September
2007 Sultan Park terrorist bombing. Police arrested 63 individuals they
defined as ``religious radicals'' but subsequently released 27 of them.
In December 2007 the Government charged six of the detainees with using
violence in an unlawful assembly in August 2006. These six were part of
a group of 10 whom police previously arrested, charged, and then
released in relation to the August 2006 incident. In April a court
sentenced three of them to six months in jail.
There were no known Jewish citizens, and there were no reports of
anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. Employers often housed foreign workers at their worksites.
The use of banishment to a remote atoll as a punishment was less
common.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees or asylees. The Government has cooperated in the past with the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees; however, asylum issues
did not arise during the year. In practice the Government provided
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Elections and Political Participation.--On August 7, President
Gayoom ratified a new constitution that set in motion multiparty
Presidential elections. On September 5, the Government established an
independent elections commission to oversee voting for the Presidential
election, the first round of which occurred on October 8. The
constitution lowered the voting age from 21 years to 18 years to
encourage greater participation. There were more than 400 polling
stations across the country and in some locations abroad. Six
candidates competed in the first election held October 8. The then
President Gayoom and opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed competed in the
second round of voting, required because no candidate had received 50
percent in the first round. On October 28, Mohamed Nasheed won the
runoff election, receiving 53.65 percent of the vote.
The NGO Transparency Maldives monitored the run-off election and
reported that polling officials were impartial and that election
procedures were followed more closely than in the first round of voting
on October 8. Despite these positive reports, observers reported
registration problems. During the campaign each candidate competed
without government interference. In the first round of elections, the
Election Commission Complaints Bureau received 1,109 complaints, most
of which were related to registration problems. Four of these cases
were submitted to the prosecutor general. The election commission
reported some electoralirregularities including problems with voter
lists, identification cards, and indelible ink.
The newly adopted constitution stipulates that parliamentary and
local elections should be held by February 2009.
By both law and custom, the Office of the President is the most
powerful political institution, and the law designates the President as
the ``supreme authority to propagate the tenets'' of Islam. However,
the new constitution greatly enhances the power of the majlis, or
parliament, relative to the President.
The President's mandate to appoint eight of the 50 members of the
current legislature provided him strong political leverage. The members
of the legislature, who must be Muslims, serve five-year terms.
Individuals or groups were free to approach members of the legislature
with grievances or opinions on proposed legislation, and any member of
the legislature may introduce legislation.
A limited number of women held prominent positions in government.
The attorney general, the minister of health and family, the deputy
minister of education, and six members of parliament are female.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials sometimes engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity. An anticorruption board investigated
allegations of corruption in the Government. The board met regularly
and referred cases, usually concerning monetary fraud, to the AG. The
Prevention of Corruption Act addresses bribery and abuse of power.
According to the Anticorruption Board, during the year 10 corruption
cases were referred to the AG for prosecution,26 cases were filed
against government offices in Male, and 62 were filed in the atolls.
These cases were under investigation at year's end.
There are no laws that provide for access to government
information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were few independent local human rights groups, including
Hama Jamiyya and Transparency Maldives. In 2006 the Foreign Minister
and AG established an NGO called the Open Society Association; during
the year authorities officially registered an NGO called the Maldivian
Detainee Network.
NGOs reported that they exercised self-censorship.
The HRCM was fully functional, with Ahmed Saleem serving as
President.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for the equality of all citizens, but there is no
specific provision to prohibit discrimination based on race, sex,
religion, disability, or social status. Women traditionally were
disadvantaged, particularly in the application of Shari'a in matters
such as divorce, education, inheritance, and testimony in legal
proceedings.
Women.--There are no laws in force regarding domestic violence
against women, nor was there firm data on the extent of violence
against women, although a 2005 HRCM survey indicated that many citizens
believed men should be permitted to hit their wives under some
circumstances. During the year authorities received reports of seven
incidents of physical violence against women and seven incidents of
sexual violence against women.
A 2006 NGO report concerning the UN Convention on the Elimination
of Discrimination Against Women stated that many women reported sexual
harassment in public places and at their places of employment. There
were no specific laws covering sexual harassment or spousal rape.
Police reported that they received few complaints of assaults against
women. The law gives judges the right to detain sex offenders, but
courts did not consistently enforce some elements that protect
children. However, recent changes to the section on conduct of court
proceedings dealing with sex offenses include guidelines for stricter
sentencing of offenders, who will face jail terms rather than
banishment.
The Gender and Family Ministry's 2006 study on women's health and
life experiences noted that one in three women between the ages of 15
and 49 reported some form of physical or sexual violence at least once
in their lives. One in five women between the ages of 15 and 49
reported physical or sexual violence by a partner, and one in nine
reported experiencing severe violence. One in six women in Male and one
in eight countrywide reported experiencing childhood sexual abuse under
the age of 15. Of those women between the ages of 15 and 49 who had
ever been pregnant, 6 percent reported being physically or sexually
abused during pregnancy.
In cases of harassment involving physical assault, violators can be
prosecuted under the laws on ``indecent assault.'' Although women
traditionally played a subordinate role in society, they participated
in public life. Women constituted approximately 40 percent of
government employees. The literacy rate for women was approximately 98
percent. In July 2007 the Government appointed the first female judges.
The minimum age of marriage for women was 18 years, but marriages at an
earlier age were common.
Under Islamic practice husbands may divorce their wives more easily
than vice versa, absent mutual agreement to divorce. Shari'a also
governs estate inheritance, granting male heirs twice the share of
female heirs. Women who worked for wages received pay equal to that of
men in the same positions.
Prostitution was illegal but occurred on a small scale. On
September 2, police arrested numerous persons operating a prostitution
ring in a Male apartment.
Children.--The law sought to protect children from physical and
psychological abuse, including at the hands of teachers or parents. The
Ministry of Gender and Family Ministry has had the authority to enforce
the law and received strong popular support. The ministry reported
child abuse, including sexual abuse. Penalties for the sexual abuse of
children range from as much as three years' imprisonment to banishment
to a remote atoll.
Education is not compulsory, but there was universal access to free
primary education. In many instances, parents curtailed education for
girls after the seventh grade by not allowing them to leave their home
island for another island with a secondary school.
Government policy provides for equal access to educational and
health programs for both male and female children.
In January the High Court increased the sentence of four men who
used an ax to enter a 12-year-old girl's bedroom and rape her in 2007.
They were initially sentenced to eight months' exile from their island,
Kurendhoo, for sex outside marriage; the High Court increased the
banishment to two years and added fifteen lashes for each offender.
However, even the stiffer sentence contradicted a government commitment
in May 2007 that child sex offenders would be imprisoned rather than
banished.
On May 24, authorities in Madaveli arrested two Bangladeshi
nationals for molesting young boys between the ages of eight and 14.
On August 31, police arrested six teenage boys who raped a 14-year-
old girl on Holhudhoo. They released the names of the two accused over
age 18. The victim's family and children's protection advocates
complained that the perpetrators were released on the island and were
harassing and threatening the girl and her family.
In May 2007 on Goidhoo Island, Baa Atoll, five girls accused Imam
Ali Rasheed of molesting them after Koran recitation classes. The
mothers of three of the victims reported the abuse to the police, and
Rasheed was arrested. The Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs banned
Rasheed from preaching at the Goidhoo mosque. Rasheed remained under
investigation following his release. The Gender and Family Ministry
wrote to the AG and the police that anyone accused of such abuse should
be kept in custody pending investigation.
In August 2007 on Villingilli, a commuter island near Male, three
men tied a 15-year-old girl to a tree and sexually assaulted her. A
mobile phone video was later released showing the attack. The police
arrested the three men after receiving the video. The case was under
investigation at year's end.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law did not prohibit trafficking in
persons; however, there were no reports that persons were trafficked
to, from, through, or within the country.
Persons With Disabilities.--No law specifically addresses the
rights of persons with physical or mental disabilities. Government
programs provided services for persons with disabilities, including
special educational programs for persons with hearing and vision
disabilities. The Government also established disability awareness and
empowerment campaigns on some of the more populous islands. The
Government integrated students with physical disabilities into
mainstream educational programs. Families usually cared for persons
with disabilities; when family care was unavailable, persons with
disabilities lived in the Ministry of Gender and Family's Institute for
Needy People, which also assisted elderly persons. When requested the
Government provided free medication for all persons with mental
disabilities on the islands, but follow-up care was infrequent.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law prohibits
homosexuality, and citizens did not generally accept homosexuality. The
punishment for men includes banishment for nine months to one year or
whipping 10 to 30 times. For women the punishment is house arrest for
nine months to one year.
There were no reports of official or societal discrimination
against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution recognizes the right
to form associations, a right also conferred by the Associations Act of
2003. In May the President signed into effect a new Employment Act,
which took effect in August. Parliament amended the law in October to
include employees in the resort sector. The new legislation permits the
formation of labor unions for the first time. At year's end no labor
unions existed, but collective bargaining involving employees'
associations primarily in the tourism sector began within days of the
new law taking effect.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The
constitution recognizes a worker's right to form trade unions and
strike. The constitution and the 2008 Employment Act do not address
workers' rights to bargain collectively.
Traditionally, wages in the private sector were set by contract
between employers and employees and were based on rates for similar
work in the public sector.
Problems arose in some resorts when employees' associations
petitioned for wage increases and improvements in the conditions of
work. When one resort operator refused to meet the demands and fired
the leaders of the employees' association, employees went on strike. In
one instance, police used force to remove the fired workers.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
Employment Act sets 16 as the minimum age for employment, with an
exception for children who voluntarily participate in family
businesses. Guidelines prohibit government employment of children under
18 and employment of children in any hazardous jobs such as
construction, carpentry, welding, and driving.
Child labor was a problem in fishing, small commercial activities,
and family enterprises. The Child Protection Unit of the Ministry of
Health and Family was responsible for monitoring compliance with the
law. The Ministry of Health and Family, the Ministry of Human
Resources, Youth and Sports, and the Family and Child Protection Unit
of Maldives Police Service received complaints of child labor,
conducted inquiries, and initiated legal action when necessary.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Employment Act of 2008
establishes maximum hours of work, overtime, annual and sick leave,
maternity leave, and guidelines for work place safety. The act also
provides a mechanism to establish a minimum wage in the private sector.
The minimum wage in the Government sector was approximately 2,600
rufiya ($206) per month, which was adequate for a decent standard of
living. Because of the tight labor market, private sector employers
generally offered competitive pay and conditions to attract skilled
workers.
The Employment Act establishes a Pay Advisory Board consisting of
representatives from government and industry. The Employment Tribunal
and the Labor Relations Authority stipulated in the new law were not
been formed to adjudicate disputes. The Pay Advisory Board advises the
minister of human resources, youth, and employment on setting minimum
wages in the private sector.
The Employment Act creates a 48-hour/week cap on work with a
compulsory 24-hour break if employees work six days consecutively.
Overtime is possible; for example, employees in tourist resorts may
work an additional two hours per day paid at overtime rates. The public
sector provides a seven-hour day, five-day work week.
Under the Employment Act, workers have the right to refuse work
that is dangerous. Regulatory requirements in certain industries, such
as construction and transport, require employers to provide a safe
working environment and ensure the observance of safety measures. The
Employment Act grants workers the right to compensation if fired
without cause.
Late in the year, the Government established a Labor Relations
Authority to implement the new Employment Law. The Employment Tribunal,
as stipulated in under the new law, had not been formed by year's end.
The new law also requires the Ministry of Human Resources to issue
specific rules for employment of immigrant labor by February 2009. The
act specifically bans discrimination based on race or color but notes
that ``any preference given to Maldivians by an employer in granting
employment shall not be deemed discrimination.''
The Employment Act does not cover emergency workers, air and sea
crews, executive staff of any company, and persons on on-call duty.
__________
NEPAL
Nepal, a country of approximately 29 million, is in the process of
transitioning to a federal democratic republic. On April 10, the
Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M or Maoists) won a plurality of
seats in constituent assembly (CA) elections. Both domestic and
international observers accepted the election results as credible,
although there were reports of political violence, intimidation, and
voting irregularities. The CA fulfills a dual role of drafting a new
constitution and serving as a legislature. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal
Dahal of the CPN-M heads a multiparty coalition government formed
August 31 that succeeded a 16-month-old interim coalition government,
led by the Nepali Congress Party. Soon after being sworn in on May 27,
the CA abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the country a federal
democratic republic. Subsequent amendments to the interim constitution
provided for a President and vice President. On July 23, Ram Baran
Yadav and Pramananda Jha took their oaths of office as President and
vice President, respectively. While civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces, there were
frequent instances in which elements of the security forces acted
independently.
Members of the security forces committed some human rights abuses
during the year, and the Maoists, the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist
League (YCL), and members of other small, often ethnically based armed
groups committed numerous grave human rights abuses. Members of the
Nepal Army (NA) were confined to their barracks in accordance with the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2006. Members of the Nepal
Police (NP) and Armed Police Force (APF) occasionally used excessive
and lethal force in response to continued demonstrations throughout the
country. Maoists frequently employed arbitrary and unlawful use of
lethal force, including torture and abduction. Violence, extortion, and
intimidation continued throughout the year. Numerous armed groups,
largely in the Terai region in the lowland area near the Indian border,
engaged in attacks against various entities, including civilians,
government officials, members of particular ethnic groups, each other,
or Maoists. Impunity for human rights violators, threats against the
media, arbitrary arrest, and lengthy pretrial detention were serious
problems. The Government also compromised the independence of the
judiciary, and society continued to discriminate against persons with
disabilities and lower castes. Violence against women and trafficking
in persons, mainly women and girls, continued.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were numerous
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. At year's end a local nongovernmental organization
(NGO), Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), reported 265 persons
killed. According to INSEC, security forces killed at least 36
individuals, the Maoist party and its affiliate the YCL was believed to
have killed four persons, and more than half of the total number of
persons INSEC reported killed could not be linked to a specific group,
or the families and reporters were afraid to name the group. The NA was
confined to its barracks as a result of the CPA; there were no
allegations of human rights abuses filed against the army during the
year.
During recurrent unrest in the Terai region in January and
especially the last two weeks of February, authorities often used
unwarranted and at times lethal force. According to a report by the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), authorities
killed six persons during protests in Nepalgunj and the districts of
Siraha, Saptari, Nawalparasi, and Sunsari. Five male civilians died as
a result of police fire, and one man died from injuries sustained when
police hit him with heavy clubs called lathis.
On April 27, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the armed wing
of the CPN-M abducted, tortured, and killed businessman Ram Hari
Shrestha in the Shakti Khor barracks in Chitwan District. The CPN-M
wing acknowledged its involvement in the killing, accusing Shrestha of
theft. The Government did not take any action to investigate the case.
On November 21, an attack in Gaur, Rauthat District, killed nine-
year-old Dawal Rai Yadav and seriously injured four others when a
socket bomb exploded near the stage set up for a cultural program. No
group claimed responsibility for the attack, and no further action had
been taken at year's end.
On December 2, activists of Madhesh Rastriya Janatantrik Party
(MRJP), an underground Terai group, burned one person to death and
injured five others when the group set a bus on fire in Saptari
District. A group of approximately a dozen MRJP cadres intercepted the
Kathmandu-bound bus at Birendra Bazaar along the East-West Highway,
claiming that the bus was defying the MRJP's general strike. According
to eyewitnesses and the police, the armed men set the bus on fire
without letting passengers get off and looted 500,000 rupees
(approximately $6,500) in cash and valuables from passengers. One
passenger burned to death, while 39 others managed to escape.
In September families of the 26 individuals killed in March 2007
during simultaneous but competing political rallies of the CPN-M and
the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) in Gaur, Rautahat, began to
receive promised government compensation.
Authorities arrested and later released two individuals for the
June 2007 killings of Binod Pant and Sheshmani Lamichhane.
An independent committee appointed to investigate the September
2007 killing of Moid Khan submitted its report to the Government. The
report was not made public, and no further action had been taken at
year's end.
The Government declared Umesh Chandra Thapa, Rishiram Kumal,
Bhimsen Dahal, Tulasi Chetri, and Bishnu Pandey, killed in 2006, as
martyrs, but no further action was taken.
The NA reported that it formed an army court to investigate the
2005 killing of Devendra Rai. The court found Lieutenant Bhisma Rawal
guilty, imprisoned him for 45 days, and demoted him to second
lieutenant. The commander of the army post was imprisoned for one month
and barred from promotion for five years. The warrant officer was
imprisoned for one month and barred from promotion for four years.
During the year there were reports of five injuries from NA-planted
landmines protecting military installations and infrastructure.
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosive remnants of war
abandoned or stored by the Maoists continued to kill and injure
civilians. In July the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) Mine
Action Unit concluded the destruction of all IEDs near Maoist Army
cantonment sites, in accordance with the CPA. UNMIN destroyed more than
14,000 IEDs across nine different locations and cleared five of the 53
antipersonnel minefields and 25 of the 312 IED fields laid by the NA.
The CPA and the December 2006 agreement on Monitoring of the Management
of Arms and Armies called for all landmines to be identified and
located within 30 days and removed completely within 60 days. All
available minefield records were provided to the UN Mine Action Unit.
At year's end 67 casualties, including 41 children, were reported (63
of which were severely injured and four were killed). IEDs accounted
for 63 casualties, and landmines were the source of four casualties.
b. Disappearance.--The fate of many of those who disappeared during
the 10-year Maoist insurgency was unknown. According to National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) estimates, there were 970 unresolved cases of
disappearances at year's end (671 by the state and 299 by the Maoists).
INSEC reported 933 unresolved cases (828 by the state and 105 by the
Maoists). At year's end the Government had not prosecuted any
government officials or Maoists for their involvement in disappearances
or revealed the whereabouts of the 671 persons identified by the NHRC
in 2008 as disappeared by the state.
The Government did not take steps to respond to the 2006 report by
OHCHR on the status of 49 disappeared persons whom the NA's Bhairabnath
Battalion arrested and detained at the Maharajgunj barracks in
Kathmandu in 2003 on suspicion of being linked to the Maoists. In 2007
an NA Investigation Task Force forwarded information on 12 of the
disappeared to the Ministry of Defense and the Interim Parliament, and
according to the Ministry of Defense, the information was made public.
The NA reported it received no further instructions from the Government
regarding the issue.
On December 17, the NHRC released a report announcing that the
laboratory tests of DNA samples collected in December 2007 from a
suspected mass grave site of victims disappeared by the Bhairabnath
Battalion confirmed the remains of one male human. The investigation to
identify these remains was ongoing at year's end.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although torture is prohibited in the Interim Constitution
of 2007, the law does not clearly criminalize torture. The Torture
Compensation Act (TCA) provides for compensation to victims of torture;
however, the victim must file a complaint and pursue the case through
the courts, while alleged perpetrators are defended by the Attorney
General's Department.
The Center for Victims of Torture, Advocacy Forum-Nepal (AF), and
OHCHR reported that security forces commonly blindfolded detainees and
beat the soles of their feet, as well as kicked and beat detainees with
plastic poles or bamboo sticks. Detainees tortured during the armed
conflict also reported that perpetrators walked on their chest and
abdomen, cut their skin with razor blades, kicked them in the groin,
poured water into their nostrils, whipped and beat them, threatened
that their family members would be raped and killed, slapped them on
the head and face, made them jump up and down repeatedly, required them
to eat food mixed with grains of glass, and forced them to drink human
urine. Of the 3,731 detainees interviewed during the year by AF in 15
districts around the country, 1,228 claimed they were tortured.
Citizens were afraid to bring cases against the police for fear of
reprisals.
According to a November HRW report, there were more than 200 cases
during the year of torture or abuse in police custody of boys and girls
as young as 13 years, mostly during interrogations. HRW reported that
children were allegedly kicked, hit in the body with fists, had metal
nails inserted under their toenails, and were hit on the soles of the
feet, thighs, upper arms, backs of hands, and the back with bamboo
sticks and plastic pipes. A local child rights NGO, Child Workers in
Nepal, registered 37 cases of abuse of children in police custody
during the year.
On September 9, according to Amnesty International, police detained
and allegedly tortured Sumitra Khaws at Belbari Police Station in
Morang District. Police allegedly tortured Khaws for at least two hours
on September 10 and tried to make her sign a confession to the murder
of her husband, a charge she denied. During the interrogation the
officer in charge of the station, along with a female and a male
officer, allegedly beat Khaws repeatedly with the inner tube from a car
tire and punched her. The officer in charge threatened to give her
electric shocks and put poisonous lizards inside her clothes, and
ordered her to strip naked. Police initially allowed AF to visit Khaws
at the police station but refused to allow further visits.
On October 14, police arrested Chandra Kumar Yadav of Siraha
District for the murder of Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist
Leninist (CPN-UML) cadre Utim Lal Mahato. Police claimed that they
brought Yadav to the district hospital for treatment. When Yadav failed
to receive sufficient treatment there, police attempted to bring him to
Janakpur for further treatment, but he died on the way. Yadav's family
members alleged that Yadav died after being severely tortured while in
custody inside the district police office at Siraha. The MPRF and other
organizations staged demonstrations in Siraha to protest the killing.
On October 23, police arrested Sub-Inspector Ram Bahadur Dhakal, Head
Constable Hari Shankar Yadav, and Police Constable Surendra Prasad
Chaudhari. At year's end the case was under investigation.
On January 13, an APF constable allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl
from Nawalparasi District. The accused claimed that he and the victim
had a consensual affair, but the family did not approve of the
relationship; due to the girl's age authorities filed charges. The Home
Ministry approved a compensation payment of approximately 490,000
rupees (approximately $7,000).
The NA appointed two officers to investigate the 2007 rape
allegation by a sixth-grade student in Siraha District against army
personnel at Ranasingh Barracks in Lahan. After visiting the barracks
and meeting with local officials, the officers concluded that no rape
had taken place.
According to the AF, district court authorities investigated the
case against three policemen and one civilian for allegedly raping a
14-year-old girl in Kanchanpur District in 2007. At year's end the
three policemen were in custody, but the civilian was at large. After
receiving medical treatment in Kathmandu, the girl returned home to
Kanchanpur but continued psychological counseling.
The OHCHR presented no cases of alleged torture or other human
rights violations against the NA.
During the year Maoists committed 141 acts of torture, according to
AF. The Government failed to conduct thorough and independent
investigations of reports of security force or Maoist/YCL brutality and
generally did not take significant disciplinary action against those
involved.
In August the OHCHR confirmed that the YCL had operated for several
months so-called rehabilitation centers where YCL cadres detained,
tortured, and forced alleged current and recovering drug users to
donate to the YCL. The YCL abuse, meant to cure victims of their drug
habits, included severe beatings, inserting syringes under fingernails,
binding limbs, hanging victims upside down, and shaming with nudity and
verbal assaults. The OHCHR received no further reports about the
centers.
There were no further developments regarding the January 2007 case
in which authorities arrested Puradi Prasad Pandey, a resident of
Kalikot District, for speaking publicly about being tortured by police
during his previous two arrests in 2006 and receiving numerous official
death threats.
There were no developments regarding the June 2007 case in which a
bus driver detained Saroj Kumar Chaudhary, a 15-year-old student, after
other local children threw stones at the bus. The boy was released the
next day without charge.
There were no developments regarding the 2006 case in which the NA
arrested, abused, and killed six individuals, including Berendra Thapa
and Wakil Shahi, two suspected Maoists.
During the year the NHRC made recommendations to the Government on
73 complaints of human rights abuses, including killings, compared with
147 complaints in 2007. Between September 2007 and April the NHRC
recommended punishment for alleged perpetrators of human rights abuses
in 30 cases and compensation be paid to victims in 32 cases. At year's
end none of these recommendations had been implemented.
During the year AF filed five new cases, covering six individuals,
under the TCA. At year's end AF reported compensation awarded in 11
cases, four were withdrawn, 24 were ongoing, and 25 cases were
dismissed.
According to an OHCHR report, the NP and APF occasionally responded
to provocations and protests with excessive and lethal force. For
example, on February 17, during a violent rally in Nepalgunj, Banke
District, the APF entered side streets, systematically forced their way
into residences, and indiscriminately attacked men, women, and young
children. The OHCHR observed three residents with serious head injuries
and five persons with signs of lathi injuries, including bruises on the
back and hip.
On February 20, in Jaispur, Banke District, following violence at a
rally, a group of approximately 25 APF personnel reportedly fired at
least five rounds of tear gas, as well as live ammunition. According to
the OHCHR, the APF entered houses, damaged household goods, and stole
some items, including money. The APF shot a 60-year-old woman in the
hip after she tried to stop the officers from looting money. Her
husband sustained a head injury, and several other locals reportedly
were injured from being hit with lathis.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
extremely poor and did not meet international standards. According to
the director general of the Department of Prisons, 8,401 prisoners
remained in jail at year's end.
Due to a lack of adequate juvenile detention facilities, children
sometimes were incarcerated with adults or were allowed to remain in
jails with their incarcerated parents due to lack of other available
options.
The Government generally permitted the NHRC and OHCHR to make
unannounced visits to prisons and detainees in army and police custody.
However, in some instances the police tried to hide detainees or kept
NHRC and OHCHR staff waiting for hours before permitting them access.
In September authorities denied the OHCHR and AF access to a woman who
was allegedly beaten severely in police custody in Belbari, Morang
District. The police refused to transfer the woman to the district
police office, where there was a cell for women.
Although the NHRC is authorized to request government action,
including the provision of compensation, the Government often denied
the NHRC the right to intervene.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but arbitrary arrest occurred during the year.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The CPA called on the
NP and the APF to enforce law and order across the country. However,
police stood aside during most incidents of violence, particularly
events involving Maoists and occasionally armed groups in the Terai.
According to police accounts, government officials instructed police
not to intervene in the case of Maoist and Madhesi violence for fear of
endangering the peace process and elections. There were multiple events
during the year in which police detained Maoist and YCL cadres for
illegal acts, only to have them freed by political leadership within
the Home Ministry or after intervention by other political leaders.
Both the police and NA have human rights cells to investigate cases
of abuse; however, corruption and impunity remained problems. Police
generally were unarmed and had the role of preventing and investigating
nonterrorist criminal behavior.
At the district level, police often operated without significant
guidance from superiors, allowing vast discretion in the enforcement of
laws. As in 2007, there were many reports of police abuse and bribery.
On June 21, APF personnel in Banke District and on July 12 NP
personnel, also in Banke District, mutinied over corruption and poor
living conditions. Authorities arrested the leaders of the mutinies.
Arrest and Detention.--The law stipulates that, except in cases
involving suspected security and narcotics violations, the authorities
must obtain a warrant for arrest, arraign or release a suspect within
24 hours of arrest, and file a case in court within seven days of
arrest; however, security forces regularly violated these provisions.
If the court upholds a detention, the law authorizes the police to
hold the suspect for 25 days to complete an investigation, with a
possible extension of seven days. However, security forces occasionally
held prisoners longer. In some cases the Supreme Court ordered the
release of detainees held longer than 24 hours without a court
appearance. Some foreigners, including refugees, reported difficulty in
obtaining bail.
Detainees have the legal right to receive visits by family members,
and they are permitted access to lawyers once authorities file charges.
In practice the police granted access to prisoners on a basis that
varied from prison to prison. There is a system of bail, but bonds were
too expensive for most citizens. Pretrial detention often exceeded the
period to which persons subsequently were sentenced after a trial and
conviction.
Under the Public Security Act (PSA), security forces may detain
persons who allegedly threatened domestic security and tranquility,
amicable relations with other countries, or relations between citizens
of different classes or religions. The Government may detain persons in
preventive detention for up to six months without charging them with a
crime. The detention period can be extended after submitting written
notice to the Home Ministry. The security forces must notify the
district court of the detention within 24 hours. The court may order an
additional six months of detention before the Government must file
official charges.
In June authorities arrested under the PSA three Tibetan community
leaders, two of whom were naturalized citizens. Three weeks later the
Supreme Court ruled that the detention order failed to demonstrate an
``immediate threat'' to sovereignty, territorial integrity, or public
order, as is constitutionally required for the use of preventive
detention. The Supreme Court also found that the detention order cited
the incorrect section of the PSA. This ruling resulted in the Tibetans'
immediate release.
Other laws, including the Public Offenses Act, permit detention
without charge. This act, and its many amendments, covers crimes such
as disturbing the peace, vandalism, rioting, and fighting. Human rights
monitors expressed concern that the act vests too much discretionary
power in the chief district officer (CDO). Police arrested many
citizens involved in public disturbances, rioting, and vandalism and
detained them for short periods without charge.
According to AF, in some cases detainees were brought before
judicial authorities well after the legally mandated 24-hour timeline,
allegedly to allow injuries from abuse to heal.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, but courts remained vulnerable to political
pressure, bribery, and intimidation.
The Supreme Court has the right to review the constitutionality of
legislation passed by parliament. Appellate and district courts were
increasingly independent, although occasionally they remained
susceptible to political pressures.
The judicial system consists of three levels: district courts,
appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Council,
chaired by the prime minister, nominates the chief justice of the
Supreme Court. After an advisory hearing before the Parliamentary
Special Hearing Committee, the President may then appoint the new chief
justice. After advisory hearings the chief justice, on recommendation
of the Judicial Council, appoints other Supreme Court justices. The
council also is responsible for the assignment of judges, disciplinary
action, and other administrative matters. A special court hears cases
related to narcotics trafficking, trafficking in persons (mainly women
and girls), crimes against the state, corruption, and crimes related to
foreign currency.
Delays in the administration of justice were a severe problem. As
of July 15, the Supreme Court reported a backlog of 12,956 cases, the
appellate courts had 9,722, and district courts had 34,317. There was
no indication that this backlog improved during the year.
Trial Procedures.--While the law provides for the right to counsel,
equal protection under the law, protection from double jeopardy,
protection from retroactive application of the law, and public trials,
these rights were not equally applied except in a few security and
customs cases. Judges decide cases; there is no jury system. All lower
court decisions, including acquittals, are subject to appeal. The
Supreme Court is the court of last resort.
The law provides detainees with the right to legal representation
and a court-appointed lawyer, a government lawyer, or access to private
attorneys; however, the Government provided legal counsel only upon
request. Consequently, those persons unaware of their rights may be
deprived of legal representation.
Military courts adjudicate cases concerning military personnel
under the military code, which provides military personnel the same
basic rights as civilians. Military personnel are immune from
prosecution in civilian courts, except in cases of homicide or rape
involving a civilian. Military courts cannot try civilians for crimes,
even crimes involving the military services; these cases are handled in
civilian courts.
The authorities may prosecute terrorism or treason cases under the
Treason Act. Specially constituted tribunals hear these trials in
closed sessions, but no such trials have occurred since 1991.
Although the Maoists announced the dissolution of their parallel
government structures and courts in January 2007, according to police
and NGO reporting, they continued to function in some districts,
particularly in rural areas. Even in areas where they no longer
functioned, the Maoists often expected previous decisions and sentences
to be carried out. These courts had no due process and handled both
criminal and civil cases. According to the OHCHR, the people's courts
did not provide minimum guarantees of due process and fair trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reported
political prisoners or detainees held by the Government. However, in
January INSEC reported that the CPN-M operated labor camps in Pyuthan,
Salyan, and Jajarkot districts, as well as a People's Justice Committee
in Kailali District. The NGO reportedly documented a total of 41
persons in captivity in CPN-M labor camps: 22 in Rukum District, seven
in Pyuthan District, and six each in Salyan and Jajarkot districts. The
CPN-M in Salyan and Pyuthan districts expressed its concern that
releasing the detainees would risk double punishment. The detainees
were reportedly in CPN-M captivity for several years, convicted of
serious crimes including murder, and some were nearing the end of their
sentences. The OHCHR also monitored the ``People's Justice Committee''
in Kailali District.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--During the year there were
no reported government abuses of civil procedures.
Property Restitution.--The Maoists returned some previously seized
property but kept most illegally seized lands and properties in their
possession; they also seized additional properties.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Security forces could enter and search houses without
warrants. Although illegal, the YCL in practice occasionally conducted
forced searches of businesses, civilian homes, and property.
At year's end four suspects remained in custody facing charges of
murder and illegal use of explosives after allegedly conducting three
bombings in September 2007. According to INSEC, the individuals had
been arrested following illegal searches.
Security personnel frequently conducted vehicle and body searches
at roadblocks in many areas of the country.
There were no reports of the Government forcing civilians to
resettle. Some persons who had resettled to escape Maoist extortion,
recruitment, or retaliation could not return home.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
There was significant internal conflict in the Terai. Numerous armed
groups, many ethnically based, clashed with each other and with the
local population. Police were given a limited mandate and were not
actively encouraged to promote law and order throughout the country.
Members of the Maoists, the Maoist-affiliated YCL, and various other
ethnically based splinter groups in the Terai frequently committed acts
of violence, extortion, and intimidation throughout the year.
Killings.--INSEC reported that during the year armed groups killed
265 civilians, whereas the OHCHR received reports of more than 40
killings by state actors during the year.
There were no developments in the October 2007 case in which cadres
of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha-Goit faction (JTMM-G) shot and
killed Ram Babu Sharma Neupane, secretary of Khutawa Parsauni Village
Development Committee. Bara District coordinator of the JTMM-G, Birat
claimed responsibility for the killing.
Child Soldiers.--The CPA forbade the use of children under the age
of 18 as soldiers in the armies of either side; however, the Maoists
continued to recruit large numbers of children after signing this
agreement. At year's end the 2,976 combatants verified by UNMIN to be
under age 18 as of May 2006 had not been released from the cantonments.
Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--Despite being a signatory to the
CPA that ended the decade-long insurgency, Maoists continued to commit
abuses during the year.
Maoists regularly extorted money from businesses, workers, private
citizens, and NGOs. When individuals or companies refused or were
unable to pay, Maoist recrimination frequently was violent or implied
the threat of violence.
On January 27, CPN-M affiliated trade union workers in
Sankhuwasabha began ``taxing'' passenger buses, trucks, and other
vehicles. Maoists reportedly threatened to beat drivers who did not
comply. The Government did not take any corrective action to
investigate.
According to the OHCHR, abuses by the YCL were conducted in a
manner similar to those carried out earlier by other CPN-M cadres. They
included abductions and ill-treatment in captivity, attacks on physical
and mental integrity, and the violent disruption of political
activities. They also included threats and violence against several
government officials and property. Although the media reported that the
YCL continued to commit tax extortion, at year's end the OHCHR had not
received reports of such activities.
On January 1, a group of five persons who identified themselves as
members of the YCL forced their way into the house of journalist
Devendra Gautam and stole cash and valuables worth an estimated 60,000
rupees (approximately $860).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press.
After consultation with the political parties, in the fall of 2007
the Election Commission agreed upon an Election Code of Conduct for
political parties and the media for the CA election. The code, which
applied to both government and private media, was enforced beginning
March 9 and stipulated that all media should report on the election in
a professional manner. A media monitoring program, carried out by the
Press Council Nepal, found that coverage remained largely compliant,
with isolated instances of violation related to bias, prejudice, and
balance.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views. Hundreds of independent vernacular and English-language
newspapers were available, representing various political viewpoints.
The Broadcast Act allows private television and FM radio
broadcasts. The Government owned two television stations, Nepal TV and
Nepal TV Metro, and controlled one radio station that broadcast both
shortwave AM and FM signals. There were more than 150 independent radio
stations that reached more than 90 percent of the population. Radio
remained the primary source of information for a majority of the
population.
Foreign publications were widely available, and none was banned or
censored during the year. Foreign print media operating in and
reporting on the country were allowed to operate freely.
Press offices and journalists were subjected to deliberate and
organized assaults primarily from agitating armed groups in the Terai,
youth wings of political parties, security personnel, and others. The
Government rarely took action to investigate the cases of violence
against journalists. During the year two journalists were killed and
police reportedly arrested nine.
The Maoists opposed freedom of expression, and through intimidation
and job actions by affiliated unions, attempted to restrict print and
broadcast media. For example, in late May local CPN-M cadres attacked
journalist Lucky Chaudhari over his reports about irregularities in a
temple fund. According to the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ),
local Maoists again attacked Chaudhari and another journalist
accompanying him the following day when they tried to lodge a complaint
at the Kailali District Administration Office (DAO) about the first
attack. On May 28, local journalists staged a sit-in in front of the
DAO demanding action against the offenders. During a confrontation with
large numbers of Maoists staging a counter demonstration, the NP killed
three villagers. Authorities imposed a curfew for three days after the
incident, and journalists stopped going to their offices to avoid
further confrontation with local Maoists and their supporters,
resulting in the closing of nearly a dozen newspapers for more than a
week.
On June 13, Maoist cadres attacked a reporter and district chairman
of FNJ in Kalikot District during a scuffle with representatives of
other political parties. The journalist sustained injuries, and his
camera was damaged. Maoist cadres threatened him if he reported the
incident.
On November 28, the remains of Jagat Prasad Joshi were found in a
forest near Kailali District. Joshi, missing since October 8, was a
journalist with the Maoist-affiliated daily Janadisha and President of
the local chapter of the (Maoist) Revolutionary Journalists
Association. At year's end the case was under investigation, but
preliminary results indicated that Joshi was killed as a result of an
internal Maoist-party dispute.
On December 21, a group of 40 to 50 persons, led by the President
of the Maoist affiliated All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union
Ramesh Panta and the vice chairman of the Maoist affiliated All Nepal
Communications, Printing, and Publication Workers' Union Ramesh KC,
attacked the editors and staff of Himalmedia. The group injured at
least 12 editors and employees and damaged their offices. The unions
justified the attacks as part of a labor-management dispute rather than
an attack on press freedom. However, the media community, lawmakers,
civil society, various other professionals, and the international
diplomatic community condemned the incident as an attack on press
freedom.
Subsequently, there was a series of incidents between the
management and workers at other media houses. On December 24, members
of a Maoist trade union staged a sit-in at the regional office of
Kantipur Publications in Biratnagar in an effort to pressure the
publication house to meet their labor-related demands. The sit-in
stopped the printing of the publication's dailies Kantipur and The
Kathmandu Post from its regional press in Biratnagar, and the
newspapers were not delivered in most of the eastern part of the
country until the union ended the protest on December 29. Maoist-
affiliated union members also threatened to shut down Kantipur's
western regional office in Pokhara. Union leaders put up a sign board
and flags, closing the reception area of The Himalayan Times offices in
Kathmandu.
Maoists threatened private FM radio stations to force them to
broadcast Maoist propaganda, and the Maoists themselves operated both
fixed site (in Kathmandu and Pokhara) and small, mobile FM radio
stations.
On May 30, while addressing an election victory celebration in
Kathmandu, CPN-M leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal warned Kantipur Publications
of ``serious consequences'' if it continued to criticize his party. In
his statement Dahal said that the party would ``no longer tolerate
criticism,'' given that it had been elected by the people.
In late August an FM radio station in Bajura District closed down a
news-based program and expelled its anchor due to CPN-M pressure. The
local CPN-M leader reportedly was unhappy over news reported by the
station about Prime Minister Dahal. However, the radio management cited
internal reasons as the cause of the termination of the program and
dismissal of the program host.
The 49 journalists fired by government-owned Gorkhapatra
Corporation in July 2007, reportedly on the basis of their political
views, were not reinstated during the year.
The Maoist-affiliated YCL inhibited freedom of the press through
intimidation. For example, on August 2, a local YCL leader issued a
death threat to Rajesh Jha, a correspondent of state-owned wire service
Rastriya Samachar Samiti (National News Agency) and central member of
Nepal Press Union, in Saptari District (eastern Terai). The threat
followed a news report filed by Jha regarding misbehavior of YCL cadres
that caused the death of Saptari District Education Officer Mohhammed
Hasad Ali. The YCL leader later apologized for the threat.
On August 30, a YCL cadre beat Siddharaj Rai, a journalist and
member of Press Chautari Nepal, in Dhankuta District. Rai's head and
hand were seriously injured.
Members of Youth Force (YF), the youth wing of the CPN-UML, also at
times engaged in attempts to control the media. On December 23, a group
of YF members burned copies of a local daily newspaper (Ankush) in
Birgunj, Parsa District. YF cadres, led by the district-in-charge,
reportedly seized hundreds of copies of the daily from its office and
set them on fire, complaining that a report in the daily falsely linked
them to a fake currency racket.
Members of other small ethnically based groups committed numerous
acts of violence against journalists throughout the year. For example,
on January 12, a man who identified himself as the local representative
of the Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha militia shot and killed Pushkar
Bahadur Shrestha, editor of the local newspaper Highway Weekly,
published in Birgunj. The man claimed that Shrestha was killed because
he was a ``pahade'' journalist, meaning from the hill region and not
the southern plains population.
On August 7, activists of the MPRF (Bhagyanath Gupta faction)
vandalized the office of Prateek daily in Birgunj, in southern Parsa
District, claiming that the newspaper did not cover their activities.
They smashed windows, broke furniture and a motorcycle, and damaged
files and records.
On August 14, Baba Khan of the armed group Tarai National
Liberation Front (TNLF) in Dhanusha District threatened Madesh-based
journalist and central member of the FNJ, Shital Sah, with physical
violence. Sah had been working for the freedom of journalists and media
houses in the Tarai. The TNLF cadres warned journalists to stop
publishing and broadcasting news in the Nepali language. In response to
the repeated threats over the telephone, the FNJ district chapter
decided to boycott any news related to TNLF.
Authorities and media representatives identified the alleged
perpetrators of the October 2007 killing of journalist Birendra Shah,
and the Maoist party admitted their cadres committed the act. However,
the perpetrators were neither arrested by police nor publicly
identified and disciplined by the Maoist party.
At year's end the Government had not taken further corrective
action to investigate the 2007 abductions of Prakash Singh Thakuri or
Pappu Gurung.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
The country's media continued to report instances of abduction,
extortion, and intimidation of school officials by Maoists outside the
Kathmandu valley, although at a much lower level than in 2007.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of peaceful assembly and association; however, the
Government sometimes restricted freedom of assembly.
Freedom of Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and
it was generally respected for citizens and legal residents of the
country. By law CDOs are authorized to impose curfews if there is a
possibility that peace may be disturbed as a result of demonstrations
or riots.
The Tibetan community faced increased restrictions on holding
public celebrations and demonstrations during the year, although the
Government permitted some religious gatherings.
The Government responded to numerous Tibetan political
demonstrations held in locations where such protests were restricted by
police order with mass arrests, specifically in front of Chinese
diplomatic facilities. According to HRW and other NGOs, at near-daily
illegal protests from March through September, the police beat
protesters with lathis and used excessive force against protesters.
According to HRW, police arrested approximately 8,350 Tibetans at
demonstrations between March and July. In August a largely peaceful
Tibetan demonstration in Boudha ended in numerous arrests. Generally,
the protesters were detained for several hours and released without
charge. In mid-September, however, authorities held overnight more than
100 demonstrators whose legal presence in the country the Government
challenged. The detained were later released into the custody of the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
On February 21, approximately 60 persons were injured in six Terai
districts on the ninth day of the indefinite strike called by the
United Democratic Madhesh Front. Authorities arrested more than 100
persons, and 30 buses were vandalized during the strike. Authorities
imposed curfews in several districts throughout the Terai region.
On September 3, local officials imposed a curfew after three days
of clashes between YCL cadres and the YF injured 14 persons in
Dhankuta. The following day the two groups reached an understanding at
a meeting held at the DAO.
On September 15, local officials imposed a curfew along the East-
West highway in Siraha District to stop the clash between the MPRF
cadres and Maoist cadres after then Land Reforms Minister Matrika Yadav
seized a house belonging to Birendra Shah and land belonging to 75
persons in Siraha District. The previous day the police evicted the
Maoists from the property on the direction of Home Minister and Deputy
Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam.
On December 10, the NP detained members of the Maoist Victims
Association who had planned to stage a protest in front of the NHRC to
pressure the Government to facilitate the return of land and assets
seized by the Maoists. Those detained were released the same day.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and it was generally respected. In January, however, the
long-running Bhota Welfare Society case concluded with a Supreme Court
decision that upheld the revocation of the registration of the Bhota
Welfare Society.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The interim constitution declares the
country a secular state, and the law provides for freedom to practice
one's own religion; however, the law prohibits converting others and
proselytizing. A conviction for conversion or proselytizing can result
in fines or imprisonment, or in the case of foreigners, expulsion from
the country, but there were no incidents of arrest for conversion or
proselytizing during the year.
Members of minority religions occasionally complained of police
harassment. Authorities limited the location of and otherwise
restricted many public celebrations by the Tibetan community,
especially those with political overtones.
The Press and Publications Act prohibited the publication of
materials that created animosity among persons of different castes or
religions.
At year's end there were no arrests in the March 29 bombing of a
mosque in Biratnagar, Morang District, in which at least two persons
were killed and two others were injured.
On July 19, a bomb exploded in Jyoti Church, a Protestant church
affiliated with the Assembly of God, in Nepalgunj. The Terai Defense
Army claimed responsibility and alleged the church was in favor of a
secular state. There were no casualties.
On October 4, an explosion injured at least six persons at a mosque
during evening prayers in Hattimuda village in Morang District.
Unidentified assailants threw a bomb into the mosque and fled. Most of
the wounded individuals sustained shrapnel injuries. There were no
immediate claims of responsibility for the attack. However, Muslim
groups claimed the attack was an attempt to disturb communal and
religious harmony. Nazrul Hassan, the President of Muslim Association
of Nepal, stated, ``This is a deliberate attempt to disturb religious
harmony.'' The association also condemned the attack and called on
Muslims to exercise restraint.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although prohibited by law,
citizens practiced caste discrimination in a wide variety of religious,
professional, government, and social environments, and such
discrimination strongly influenced society.
There are no known Jewish adherents in the country, and there were
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement, except for most refugees, whose freedom of movement within
the country is legally limited. However, these constraints were
sometimes not enforced. The Government generally cooperated with the
UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and
assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning
refugees, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The Government eased restrictions on some refugees' right to travel
outside of the country. More than 8,000 Bhutanese refugees from among
approximately 108,000 living in seven camps in the eastern portion of
the country received government exit permits and resettled in third
countries. Tibetan refugees continued to experience barriers to
movement within the country as well as difficulty obtaining
documentation for foreign travel. Those Tibetans registered as refugees
prior to 1990 were able to obtain travel documents with difficulty and
substantial expense. Approximately 5,000 Tibetans who reached the age
of 18 after 1989, however, had not been issued refugee identification
cards and continued to be unable to obtain any form of personal
identity documentation.
Numerous political groups restricted freedom of movement within the
country, including forcing transportation strikes, known locally as
``bandhs,'' to bring attention to political issues. Maoist and YCL
cadres called two bandhs, both prior to the election. Most bandhs were
called by ethnic groups in the Terai.
Bandhs were also called on February 13 by the Federal Democratic
National Forum in the Limbuwan region and by the Federal Republican
National Front, particularly its member organization, United Tharu
National Front, in Bardiya, Dang, and Kailali districts in the western
Terai. The bandhs caused an almost complete paralysis of the Terai
region and the eastern hills, resulting in the burning of vehicles that
were defying the bandh, as well as clashes between protesters and
police.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used during the
year. The Government allowed citizens to emigrate and those abroad to
return and was not known to revoke citizenship for political reasons.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Although the Government and
Maoists agreed to support the safe and dignified return of IDPs to
their homes, the agreement was not implemented. Several UN agencies,
including the UNHCR, OHCHR, and UN Development Program, continued
working with the Government to develop an IDP policy that was
consistent with international principles. The UNHCR estimated a
population of between 50,000 and 70,000 IDPs in the country; however,
Caritas estimated a population of approximately 200,000 IDPs in the
country. The Government allowed several international organizations,
such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, Caritas, and
Action Aid Nepal, to initiate programs to assist IDPs. According to UN
agencies and international NGOs, the main obstacles preventing most
IDPs from returning continued to be fear of Maoist reprisal, refusal by
local Maoist commanders to allow IDPs to return home, and conflict with
those occupying the houses and lands of IDPs.
Protection of Refugees.--The Government is not a signatory to the
1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967
protocol, and the laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or
refugee status. The Government, however, has in place ad hoc
administrative policies that provide some protection for Bhutanese and
Tibetan refugees.
Since 1991 the Government has provided asylum to approximately
108,000 persons who claimed Bhutanese citizenship. Almost all of these
refugees lived in camps in the southeastern part of the country. The
UNHCR administered the camps and monitored the condition of the
refugees, and international organizations and NGOs provided for their
basic needs, including education and healthcare. The Government
continued to accept the refugees' presence on humanitarian grounds.
Lutheran World Federation provided the infrastructure for the camps,
and the World Food Program provided food assistance; the Association of
Medical Doctors of Asia provided medical care, and Caritas provided
education assistance and coordination. The Government officially
restricted the refugees' freedom of movement and work, but those
restrictions were largely unenforced.
Security was a problem in the camps through most of the year, both
due to criminal elements in the camps and residual, although gradually
fading political disputes among the refugees over third-country
resettlement. The security situation improved during the year,
principally as a result of increased government attention to security
in the camps. At year's end more than 8,000 Bhutanese refugees had been
resettled to third countries.
Between 1959 and 1989, the Government accepted approximately 20,000
Tibetan refugees as residents. Since that time most Tibetans arriving
in the country have transited to India. However, some remained or
returned, although the exact number was not known.
Following the March 10 protests and subsequent riots in the Tibet
Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas of China, the People's
Republic of China closed the border with Nepal. From March to July
almost no Tibetans were able to enter the country. By year's end,
however, the situation appeared to ease slightly. Small but gradually
increasing numbers of Tibetans began to arrive from Tibet beginning in
August. There were credible reports by Tibetan refugees and
international observers of increased harassment by Chinese border
guards, and various reports indicated Chinese authorities often
operated on the Nepali side of the border, with the knowledge and
consent of Nepali border officials.
Many of the Tibetans who lived in the country had irregular status.
Those who arrived subsequent to 1990 had neither status nor
documentation. Even those with acknowledged refugee status had no legal
rights beyond the ability to remain in the country. Business ownership,
licenses, and most legal transactions, including documentation of
births, marriages, and deaths, must be accomplished through the
auspices of an intermediary for a price. This made Tibetans especially
vulnerable to those, primarily Maoists and YCL, who extorted money from
business owners. Tibetans also reported abductions for extortion,
violent attacks, and threats of violence.
In practice the Government usually provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. However, there were numerous unconfirmed
reports of Tibetans captured in the border area by Chinese border
authorities and several unconfirmed reports of border officials handing
over Tibetans to Chinese border authorities.
On January 15, authorities arrested 19 Tibetan refugees near
Namche. According to the UNHCR, officials threatened the refugees with
forced repatriation but eventually released them near the Tibetan
border and in close proximity to Chinese border officials. Although the
individuals arrived safely at the Tibetan Refugee Reception Center,
several of the refugees exhibited injuries consistent with being beaten
and reported that the NP told them they would be shot if they made a
subsequent attempt to reach Kathmandu.
In mid-November authorities arrested three Pakistani refugees for
illegal residency. The arrests violated the agreement between the UNHCR
and the Government that no asylum seekers would be arrested or deported
until the UNHCR and the Government had agreed on procedures to restart
refugee determinations. After the UNHCR intervened on the refugees'
behalf, two were released and the third was summarily sentenced to 10
years in prison.
The Government also allowed the UNHCR to provide limited services
for the so-called urban refugees, asylum seekers from countries such as
Somalia, Pakistan and Iraq, but objected to the UNHCR's mandated
practice of making refugee status determinations. In March 2007, at the
request of the Government, the UNHCR suspended refugee status
determinations pending further discussions with the Government; the
UNHCR was not permitted by the Government to resume refugee status
determinations. Urban refugees were denied refugee status
determinations and were assessed heavy fines for illegal residence in
the country. Failure to pay these fines may result in prison sentences
or detentions.
Stateless Persons.--In 1995 the government-established Dhanapati
Commission estimated that 3.4 million individuals in the country were
de facto stateless. While the Government acknowledged that they were
Nepalis, they were not holders of the citizenship certificate (issued
to citizens at the age of 16) without which a considerable number of
rights of citizenship cannot be enjoyed. As a result of the 2006
Citizenship Act, between January and April 2007 the Ministry of Home
Affairs distributed citizenship certificates to 2.6 million persons,
but by the end of 2007 NGOs estimated that approximately 800,000 de
facto stateless persons remained in the country.
The lack of a governmental office on statelessness issues limited
progress in providing citizenship certification to the remaining
population of stateless persons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully.
Elections and Political Participation.--On April 10, citizens
elected members for a CA to serve as both a legislature and
constitution drafting body. Domestic and international observers
accepted the election results as credible, although there were reports
of political violence, intimidation, and voting irregularities. The
most recent local elections, held in 2006, were not considered free and
fair.
The CA consists of 601 members, with 240 elected by a first-past-
the-post system, 335 by proportional representation, quotas for Dalits,
oppressed caste/indigenous ethnic groups, Madhesis, women, and other
underrepresented groups, and 26 nominated by the cabinet. CA members
classified as oppressed or members of minority ethnic groups
constituted 35 percent of the total, and 33 percent were women. The
President and vice President belong to the historically disadvantaged
Madhesi ethnic community.
A domestic NGO, Democracy and Election Alliance Nepal (DEAN),
reported 241 incidents of preelection violence, including the killing
of two candidates during the campaign. According to DEAN, Maoists
committed most, but not all, of the 30 killings and 81 abductions prior
to the April elections. DEAN reported four persons killed, including
one candidate, eight abducted, and 112 injured on election day.
Numerous party cadres were injured in clashes, including seven Maoists
killed and 16 injured in a clash with police in Dang on April 8. Most
political parties also reported that their party workers were not able
to campaign freely in particular districts. Although the Election
Commission decided to conduct repolling at more than 100 polling sites
due to violence, booth capture, and other irregularities conducted
primarily by the Maoists/YCL, domestic and international observer
groups accepted the election results.
There are no specific laws that restrict women, indigenous people,
or minorities from voting or participating in government or in
political parties, but tradition limited the roles of women and some
castes and ethnicities in the political process. Members of certain
castes traditionally held more power than others. Of the 23-member
cabinet, eight members were from ethnic minority communities. There
were four women in the cabinet serving with the rank of minister. Most
of the larger political parties had associated youth wings, trade
unions, and social organizations.
Government Corruption and Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively. The
Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority, mandated to
investigate official acts of corruption, claimed a 75 percent success
rate concerning corruption cases it filed, but some cases involving
politicians were not filed or were defeated in court.
In July 2007 the interim parliament passed the Right to Information
Bill, which mandated that public organizations provide citizens with
information as quickly as possible and that inquiries should be met
within 15 days following the request. If authorities deny individuals
access to information, the officials must provide a valid explanation.
The bill provides five exemptions for withholding information: to
facilitate the investigation and filing of criminal cases, to protect
the economic and commercial interests of the country, to preserve
banking and commercial secrecy, to prevent a disruption of communal
harmony, or to prevent a disruption to personal life or security.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated
without government restriction and were able to investigate and publish
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials were
somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views.
There were approximately 13 independent, domestic human rights
NGOs, including AF, the Human Rights Organization of Nepal, INSEC,
Inhured, the Human Rights and Peace Society, and Him Rights. The Nepal
Law Society also monitored human rights abuses, and a number of other
NGOs focused on specific areas such as torture, child labor, women's
rights, or ethnic minorities.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, there were occasional credible claims that Maoists interfered
with the operations of international NGOs.
The Government welcomed and regularly granted visas to
international NGOs and other human rights monitors, including members
of Amnesty International and HRW. Authorities generally gave
international observers access to barracks and places of detention.
International observers were not granted access to courts martial and
military investigations.
As set out in the 2006 CPA, the OHCHR worked with the Government to
formulate and implement policies and programs for the promotion and
protection of human rights.
During the year the OHCHR issued 54 press releases and eight
reports. The reports dealt with the elections, the February Terai
protests, the September 2007 killings in Kapilvastu, and disappearances
in Bardiya District between 2001 and 2003, among other subjects. The
media covered all reports freely.
After the commissioners of the NHRC were sworn in September 2007,
the NHRC began to investigate past and current allegations of abuses.
Resource constraints and insufficient manpower restricted the number of
cases the commission investigated. Once the NHRC completes an
investigation and makes a recommendation, the Government has three
months to respond. The commission received 674 complaints of human
rights violations during the year. The NHRC also investigated illegal
detention and arrest of acquitted persons. The NHRC reported open
access to government detainees across the country.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law specifies that the Government shall not discriminate
against citizens on grounds of race, sex, caste, or ideology; however,
a rigid caste system continued to operate throughout the country in
many areas of religious, professional, and daily life. Societal
discrimination against lower castes, women, and persons with
disabilities remained common, especially in rural areas.
Women.--Under the civil code, sentencing provisions for rape depend
on the age of the female victim, with the maximum possible jail
sentence of 10 to 15 years if the victim is under the age of 10, and
the minimum possible jail sentence of five to eight years if the victim
is over the age of 20. The victim's compensation is dependent on the
degree of mental and physical torture suffered. Under the Gender
Equality Amendment Act of 2006, the definition of rape includes marital
rape, and the husband can be jailed for three to six months.
Incidents of rape continued to be a problem and went unreported in
most cases. Between July 2007 and June, 309 cases of rape and 73 cases
of attempted rape were filed in the court, according to the women's
police cell. A 2003 survey by the domestic NGO Saathi found that 39
percent of rape victims who reported the crime to police were under the
age of 19. Of those victims who reported the crime to the authorities,
25 percent said the Government arrested and convicted the perpetrator.
According to SAATHI, police and the courts were quick to respond to
rape cases.
Domestic violence against women remained a serious problem that
received limited public attention. There was a general unwillingness
among police, politicians, citizens, and government authorities to
recognize violence against women as a problem. Sensitizing programs by
NGOs for police, politicians, and the general public continued to lead
to a greater awareness of the problem. The women's cell of the police
received 881 reports of domestic violence between July 2007 and June.
However, in the absence of a domestic violence law, police were unable,
or unwilling, to file cases against the accused.
Police had women's cells in 41 of the country's 75 districts. The
female officers in the cells received special training in handling
victims of domestic violence and trafficking. Police also issued
directives instructing all officers to treat domestic violence as a
criminal offense. Police officials reported that this type of directive
was difficult to enforce because of entrenched discriminatory attitudes
among police. Even if police made arrests, often neither the victim nor
the Government pursued prosecution.
On June 6, the husband and mother-in-law of Laxmi Bohara, of
Kanchanpur District, forced her to swallow poison because they were
upset with her activities as a women's and health rights activist.
Authorities initially reported her death as a suicide. A public
campaign demanding an investigation of the killing drew the attention
of the general public, the Government, and CA members. In August, as a
result of the campaign and protests, the Government formed a seven-
member task force, coordinated by the Secretary from the office of the
Prime Minister, to address the issue of violence against women. At
year's end the high-level task force investigative report was submitted
to the Government, but it was not made public.
The dowry tradition was strong in the Terai districts bordering
India, but the killing of brides over dowry disputes was rare. More
often, husbands or in-laws seeking additional dowry physically abused
wives or forced the woman to leave so that the man could remarry.
At year's end the husband and in-laws of Hasrun Idris remained in
custody awaiting the outcome of their trial for allegedly burning
Hasrun in November 2007 because they were dissatisfied with the dowry
her family had paid.
Traditional beliefs about witchcraft generally involved elderly
rural women and widows. Shamans or other local authority figures
sometimes publicly beat and physically abused suspected witches as part
of an exorcism ceremony. The media and NGOs reported numerous cases of
this superstition-related violence during the year. For example,
Makharin Khatun, an elderly woman from Birgunj, was fed human excrement
due to claims that she was a witch. Khatun lodged a report with the
police, but in the absence of a law prohibiting such actions, the
perpetrators were set free on bail. Similar incidents were seen in
other parts of the country. There was no government mechanism to
prevent such abuses or provide compensation to the abused.
Trafficking in persons, mainly women and girls, remained a serious
problem throughout the country, and large numbers of women were forced
into commercial sexual exploitation in other countries and increasingly
within the country. Forced prostitution is illegal, but there are no
laws banning prostitution by choice. Kathmandu police estimated there
were approximately 32,000 female sex workers in the Kathmandu valley
and approximately 150,000 throughout the country. However, on November
30, the media reported 30,000 female sex workers in the country.
Although the law provides protections for women, including equal
pay for equal work, the Government did not take significant action to
implement those provisions, even in many state industries. The Gender
Equality Bill of 2006 contains a provision against sexual harassment.
The bill provides penalties of up to a one-year jail sentence and a
fine of up to 10,000 rupees ($126). However, the bill was not properly
implemented, and government enforcement was weak.
In August the Supreme Court publicized its decision upholding the
right of women to equal wages for work of equal value. In its decision,
the Court referred to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination against Women regarding the right of women to parity in
remuneration, as well as constitutional protections.
Women faced systematic discrimination, particularly in rural areas,
where religious and cultural traditions, lack of education, and
ignorance of the law remained severe impediments to the exercise of
basic rights, such as the right to vote or to hold property in their
own names.
Citizenship may pass through the mother, and the children of female
citizens married to foreign spouses can claim citizenship. Women may
register birth and death information. Women did not need permission
from their husband or parents to get a passport. Unmarried, widowed,
and divorced women were able to inherit parental property. Women did
not need the permission of their husband, son, or parents if they
wished to sell or hand over ownership of property.
Many discriminatory laws remain even after the 2006 Gender Equality
Act amended 56 out of 173 discriminatory provisions in various laws.
For example, the law on property rights favors men in its provisions
for land tenancy and the division of family property. The Foreign
Employment Act requires women to get permission from the Government and
their guardian before seeking work through a foreign employment agency.
The law encourages bigamy by allowing men to remarry without divorcing
their first wife if she becomes incapacitated or infertile.
According to the 2001 census, the most recent statistics available,
the female literacy rate was 43 percent, compared with 65 percent for
men. NGOs focused on integrating women into active civil society and
the economy. Most political parties had women's groups that advocated
for women's rights and brought women's issues before the party
leadership.
Children.--Although the law provides for the welfare and education
of children, its implementation was uneven. Education was not
compulsory. However, government policy provided free primary education
for all children between the ages of six and 12 years. Approximately 70
to 75 percent of boys who worked went to school, compared with only 50
to 60 percent of the girls who worked. Human rights groups reported
that girls attended secondary schools at a rate half that of boys. In
2003 the Department of Education issued a report that one-quarter of
elementary school-age girls were deprived of basic education. The
Government claimed that 86 percent of school-age children were
attending public schools. There were a reported 3,500 madrassas
functioning throughout the country.
The Government provided basic health care free to children and
adults, but government clinics were poorly equipped and few in number,
and serious deficiencies remained. Some health clinics in rural areas
were forced to close due to Maoist intimidation.
Violence against children rarely was prosecuted, and abuse
primarily manifested itself in trafficking of children. Commercial
sexual exploitation of young girls remained a serious problem.
Community Action Center (CAC), an NGO working with female sex workers,
identified 3,648 working in Kathmandu valley since 2006. CAC did not
report underage minors to be engaged in prostitution.
Societal attitudes in parts of the country viewed a female child as
a commodity to be bartered in marriage or as a burden. Some persons
considered marrying a girl before menarche an honorable, sacred act
that increased one's chances of a better afterlife. As a result,
although the law prohibits marriage for girls before the age of 18,
child brides were common. Social, economic, and religious values
promoted the practice of child brides. According to the Ministry of
Health, girls' average age of marriage was 16 years, and boys' average
age was 18. An age difference in marriage often was cited as one cause
of domestic violence.
Internal displacement due to the decade-long Maoist conflict,
including of children, continued to be a problem, with estimates of the
number displaced ranging widely. According to a 2005 Caritas report,
approximately 40,000 children had been displaced. As IDPs children
faced inadequate access to food, shelter, and health care and had
limited access to education.
Reports of missing children increased from 2007. Between July 2007
and June, a total of 800 children (435 boys and 365 girls) were
reported missing. Many of the missing children were presumed to have
been trafficked. Of the 800 missing children, police records indicate
that 14 boys and 63 girls were later found.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, trafficking in women and children remained a
serious problem.
The country was a source country for trafficking. Young women were
the most common targets. Trafficking of boys rarely was reported, but
girls as young as nine years of age were trafficked, primarily to
neighboring countries, including India. While the vast majority of
trafficking was of women and girls for sexual exploitation, men, women,
and children were also trafficked for domestic service, manual or
semiskilled bonded labor, work in circuses, or other purposes. Men were
also trafficked for involuntary servitude in Iraq by labor recruiting
agencies; they generally were promised jobs in other Gulf countries but
were subsequently transferred to Iraq under threat or deception. There
were more reports than in previous years that men were trafficked for
labor exploitation to Gulf countries. Pourakhi, a NGO working with
returnee migrant workers, estimated 3 percent of the more than 5,000
migrant workers per year who departed for destinations other than India
were trafficked. Most women and girls trafficked from the country went
to India, lured by promises of good jobs or marriage.
An estimated 12,000 women and children were trafficked into sexual
exploitation in Indian brothels, and an unspecified number were victims
of internal sex trafficking. Traffickers posing as labor recruiting
agencies sent women to Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the United
Arab Emirates, and other Gulf states for sexual exploitation and
domestic servitude.
Internal trafficking for forced labor and sexual exploitation also
occurred and appeared to have increased during the year. According to
studies conducted by Save the Children and Action Aid, internal
trafficking likely was on the rise due to the lingering effects of the
insurgency, as rural women and children left their homes to seek
employment and security in urban centers. A 2007 NHRC Report estimated
that approximately 40,000 female workers between the age of 12 and 30
years worked in 1,200 cabin and dance restaurants and massage parlors
in the Kathmandu valley. The girls reported having been assured jobs,
primarily in the Middle East or Gulf countries.
Traffickers were usually domestic or from India and had links to
brothels in India, but recruiters who sought girls in villages were
primarily citizens. In many cases parents or relatives sold women and
young girls into sexual slavery. Corruption was also believed to
facilitate trafficking, but there were few reported investigations or
prosecutions of complicit government officials. The Government
initially identified 26 high-priority districts as source areas of
trafficking and established antitrafficking task forces in each of
those districts. Women and youth displaced from homes as a result of
the insurgency were especially vulnerable to being trafficked.
During the year enforcement of antitrafficking statutes improved
but remained sporadic. The law prohibits the selling of persons in the
country or abroad and prescribes imprisonment of up to 20 years for
infractions. However, implementation of the 2007 Trafficking in Persons
and Transportation Control Bill was poor, reportedly due to lack of
knowledge regarding provisions and the weak rule of law situation in
the country.
Police records of trafficking cases and cases registered by NGOs
did not match. Maiti Nepal, the country's largest antitrafficking NGO,
registered 27 cases of trafficking in the Kathmandu district court.
According to the Attorney General's Office, the Government filed 183
trafficking cases in the district attorneys' offices across the country
for one year following July 2007. By July 14, of the 183 cases, 37
resulted in full or partial convictions, 22 in acquittal, and 124
remained under investigation.
On September 6, the district court of Bardiya convicted two women,
Jamuna Pariyar and Khimi Pariyar, to 20 years of imprisonment for
selling two girls to a brothel in India in 2004 for 40,000 rupees
($571).
The Government did not monitor adequately labor recruiting agencies
to ensure that workers going abroad attended premigration orientation
sessions or that labor contracts were honored after worker arrival in
receiving countries. Recruiters in the country who used deception to
trick workers into forced labor in Iraq despite a government ban
remained largely unmonitored and unpunished.
The Government had a national plan to combat trafficking and a
National Rapporteur on Trafficking; however, political instability and
security problems hindered the Government's antitrafficking efforts.
Official corruption related to identity documentation and at ports
of entry continued to facilitate the illicit movement of persons across
the country's borders. The National Task Force at the Ministry of
Women, Children, and Social Welfare (MWCSW) continued to coordinate the
response to trafficking cases. There were programs in place to train
police, and the MWCSW worked closely with local NGOs to rehabilitate
and otherwise assist victims. Police women's cells in 41 districts
worked with NGOs to provide referral services to victims of trafficking
and domestic violence.
The Government provided limited funding to NGOs to give assistance
to victims with rehabilitation, medical care, and legal services. The
MWCSW sponsored job and skill training programs in several poor
districts with high rates of commercial sex workers who were sent to
India. The Government protected the rights of victims and did not
detain, jail, or prosecute them for violations of other laws.
The Government, together with NGOs and international organizations,
implemented local, regional, and national public awareness campaigns on
trafficking in persons; however, the Government failed to provide
adequate police training and resources or prompt adjudication.
Government welfare agencies worked with NGOs to deliver public outreach
programs and assistance to trafficking victims. Maiti Nepal stationed
rehabilitated trafficking victims as guards with government officials
to intercept trafficking victims at border crossings.
Maiti Nepal provided transit homes for girls rescued from
trafficking. Transit homes were located in border towns of eight
districts through which many girls were trafficked into India. During
the year 2,351 children and women stayed at the transit homes after
authorities intercepted them while they were in the process of being
trafficked. At the Maiti Nepal Rehabilitation and Protection Home,
children and women could stay up to six months and learn income-
generating skills. At year's end 341 children and women were residing
in Maiti Nepal's rehabilitation home in Kathmandu. Other NGOs also
provided transit homes.
During the year Maiti Nepal's head office rescued and repatriated
71 children and women from India and the Gulf countries. Many had been
expelled from their brothels after contracting sexually transmitted
diseases or tuberculosis. Most were destitute, and according to
estimates by Maiti Nepal and ABC Nepal, 50 percent were HIV-positive.
Maiti Nepal operated a hospice for HIV-positive trafficking victims and
their children. Another NGO, Shakti Samuha, rehabilitated 38 girls and
women during 2007.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities,
and there was discrimination against persons with disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, and in the provision of
other state services. The law mandates access to buildings,
transportation, employment, education, and other state services, but
these provisions generally were not enforced. The Government did not
implement effectively or enforce laws regarding persons with
disabilities. The MWCSW was responsible for the protection of persons
with disabilities. Some NGOs working with persons with disabilities
received funding from the Government; however, most persons with
physical or mental disabilities relied almost exclusively on family
members for assistance.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides that each
community shall have the right ``to preserve and promote its language,
script, and culture'' and that each community has the right to operate
schools at the primary level in its native language. In practice the
Government generally upheld these provisions.
There were more than 75 ethnic groups that spoke 50 different
languages. In remote areas school lessons and radio broadcasts often
were in the local language. In urban areas education was almost
exclusively offered in Nepali or English.
Discrimination against lower castes and some ethnic groups,
particularly Madhesis and Janajatis, was especially common in the Terai
and in rural areas in the western part of the country, even though the
Government outlawed the public shunning of Dalits and made an effort to
protect the rights of the disadvantaged castes. Economic, social, and
educational advancement tended to be a function of historical patterns,
geographic location, and caste. Better education and higher levels of
prosperity, especially in the Kathmandu valley, were slowly reducing
caste distinctions and increasing opportunities for lower socioeconomic
groups. Better educated, urban-oriented castes continued to dominate
politics and senior administrative and military positions and control a
disproportionate share of natural resources.
Caste-based discrimination, including barring access to temples, is
illegal; however, Dalits were barred occasionally from entering
temples. Progress in reducing discrimination was more successful in
urban areas.
Resistance to inter-caste marriage (upper and lower caste) remained
high. In June, 12 Dalit families residing in Surkhet District were
forced to leave the community when a Dalit man married a non-Dalit
woman. The village divided into Dalit and non-Dalit factions. The non-
Dalit families held the Dalit boy's sisters captive, and villagers
severely beat the bride and the groom.
On July 29, a Dalit Chamar family in Rupandehi District received
death threats from members of an upper-caste family because the Dalit
family's pig had touched the upper-caste family's pots.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The country has no laws
that specifically criminalize homosexuality; however, government
authorities, especially police, sometimes harassed and abused
homosexuals. According to Blue Diamond Society, an indigenous NGO,
harassment of homosexuals continued.
On June 11, police arrested two transgender individuals in
Kathmandu but released them after three hours.
On June 30, the Nepal Army Court upheld the NA's 2007 decision to
fire Bhakti Shat for being a lesbian. On September 26, Shat filed an
appeal at the Supreme Court. The case was pending at year's end.
As a result of the December 2007 Supreme Court decision that sexual
minorities are natural persons, transgender individuals may be issued
third-gender identification cards. On September 17, the first
transgender individual received a citizenship certificate. On November
17, the Court confirmed its summary decision and issued a directive
order to the Government to form a seven-member committee to study other
countries' laws on same-sex marriage and provide a recommendation for a
same-sex marriage bill. The budget, adopted in September, also
reportedly included line items for transgender treatment and homes.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the freedom to
establish and join unions and associations, and these rights were
protected unevenly in practice. The law permits the restriction of
unions only in cases of subversion, sedition, or similar conditions.
However, members of the armed forces and the police are not permitted
to form a union, and members of the management of private or public
enterprises are not permitted to take part in union activities. Trade
unions developed administrative structures to organize workers, bargain
collectively, and conduct worker education programs. The three largest
trade unions were affiliated with political parties.
Only 10 percent of the total workforce was in the formal sector,
the remaining 90 percent worked in the informal sector. Out of the
formal sector workforce, 75 percent participated in unions. The law
contains enabling regulations; however, the Government did not fully
implement these acts. The law defines procedures for establishing trade
unions, associations, and federations. It also protects unions and
officials from lawsuits arising from actions taken in the discharge of
union duties, including collective bargaining, and prohibits employers
from discriminating against trade union members or organizers.
The Government enforced some barriers to the participation in union
federations through minimum required thresholds for the formation of
trade union federations and confederations. The Government did not
restrict unions from joining international labor bodies. Several trade
federations and union organizations maintained a variety of
international affiliations.
The law provides the right to strike except by employees in
essential services, and workers exercised this right in practice. The
Government at times used the legislation to ban strikes in many
sectors, including banking, telecommunications, electricity, water
supply, road, air and sea transport, the print industry, the
Government, press, and hotels and restaurants. The law empowers the
Government to halt a strike or to suspend a union's activities if the
union disturbs the peace or if it adversely affects the nation's
economic interests. Under the law 60 percent of a union's membership
must vote in favor of a strike in a secret ballot for the strike to be
legal, and the union is required to give notice 30 days before a
strike.
The Maoist trade union organized workers and intimidated businesses
extensively after the 2006 cease-fire. Maoist-inspired work stoppages,
enforced through violence and intimidation, caused particular hardship
to workers in many economic sectors.
On January 10, the CPN-M affiliated All Nepal Tailoring Workers
Union allegedly closed a tailoring shop in Kathmandu demanding letters
of appointment for workers in the shop. The shop reportedly remained
closed, and the owner continued to receive calls from the trade union
but no threats.
In early September the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Trade
Union Federation shut down Dabur Nepal, Narayani Rolling Mills, Birgunj
Food Industry, Triveni Impex and Pashupati Industries in Bara District.
After three weeks Dabur Nepal was able to reopen.
In mid-September labor agitations disrupted the operations of the
Coca Cola Company. On September 18, labor union members barred the
factory gate of Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Limited, resulting in a three-
day illegal blockade, and management was unable to enter the premises.
On September 21, an illegal labor agitation shut down Bottlers Nepal
Limited in Kathmandu for three days.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining, but the organizational structures
to implement the act's provisions were not established. The Government
allowed unions to operate freely and without interference. Collective
bargaining agreements covered an estimated 10 percent of wage earners
in the organized sector; however, in general labor remained widely
unable to use collective bargaining effectively due to legal obstacles
to striking and inexperience on the part of labor leaders. According to
the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions, collective bargaining
was not effective in newly established factories and industries, but it
was successful in some of the well established factories and
industries. Many workers also faced threats or dismissal for attempting
to organize a union.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. The Ministry of Labor enforced
laws against forced labor only in the small formal sector.
Enforcement of the Kamaiya Prohibition Act of 2002 by the
Government was uneven, and social integration of the Kamaiyas-former
bonded laborers- was difficult. During the year the Government
rehabilitated an additional 2,658 Kamaiyas, bringing the total
rehabilitated to 14,677 out of a total 18,400, mostly living in Dang,
Banke, and Kanchanpur districts. Most Kamaiyas not rehabilitated lived
in Bardiya and Kailali districts.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law stipulates that children shall not be employed in factories, mines,
or 60 other categories of hazardous work and limits children between
the ages of 14 and 16 years to a 36-hour workweek (six hours a day and
six days a week, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.). The Child Labor Act of
2000 applies only to formal sectors of the economy, such as tourism,
cigarette or carpet factories, and mines.
Child labor was a significant problem, particularly in the large
informal sector, which included such businesses as portering, rag
picking, and rock breaking. Resources devoted to enforcement were
limited, and NGOs estimated that 2.6 million children, most of them
girls, participated in the labor force. Of that number, 1.7 million
children worked full time. The agricultural sector accounted for an
estimated 95 percent of child laborers.
The law establishes a minimum age for employment of minors at 16
years in industry and 14 years in agriculture, and it mandates
acceptable working conditions for children. Employers must maintain
records of all laborers between the ages of 14 and 16. The law also
establishes specific penalties for those who unlawfully employ
children. However, the necessary regulations have not been fully
implemented. An estimated 60 percent of children who worked also
attended school.
The Ministry of Labor, responsible for enforcing child labor laws
and practices, had a mixed enforcement record. According to the
ministry, there were 10 labor inspectors employed during the year. The
Ministry of Labor reported that it carried out 851 labor inspections
across the country during the 12-month period ending in July. The
inspectors found no children working, and no legal action was taken.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Effective September 17, the
minimum wage for unskilled laborers was approximately 4,600 rupees
(approximately $65)-3,050 rupees ($43) as a basic salary, and 1,550
rupees ($22) as an allowance. Wages for semiskilled workers was set at
4,650 rupees ($66), for skilled workers at 4,760 rupees ($67), and for
highly skilled workers at 4,950 rupees ($70). It is possible to
increase this wage through a tripartite mechanism comprised of
representatives of the Government, the employer, and the employee.
Wages in the informal service sector and in agriculture often were as
much as 50 percent lower. The law calls for a 48-hour workweek, with
one day off per week and one half-hour rest per eight hours worked, and
it limits overtime to 20 hours per week with 50 percent overtime pay
per hour. None of these minimum wages were sufficient to provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Labor regulations
also apply to foreign and migrant workers.
The Government sets occupational health and safety standards, and
the law establishes other benefits such as a provident fund and
maternity benefits. Implementation of the law was slow, as the
Government did not create the necessary regulatory or administrative
structures to enforce its provisions. Workers did not have the right to
remove themselves from dangerous work situations without fear of losing
their jobs. Although the law authorizes labor officers to order
employers to rectify unsafe conditions, enforcement of safety standards
remained minimal.
__________
PAKISTAN
Pakistan is a federal republic with a population of approximately
173 million. During the year, civilian democratic rule was restored in
the country. President Asif Ali Zardari, widower of assassinated
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto, became head of
state on September 6, replacing former President Pervez Musharraf, who
resigned on August 18. International observers noted that parliamentary
elections on February 18, while flawed, were competitive and reflected
the will of the people. The election brought to power former opposition
parties, led by the PPP, in a coalition government; the national
parliament elected Yousuf Gilani as prime minister and head of
government on March 24. The PPP and its coalition partners at year's
end controlled the executive and legislative branches of the national
government and three of the four provincial assemblies. Of the 13
Supreme Court justices whom then President and Chief of Army Staff
Musharraf dismissed in November 2007, by year's end the new government
had reinstated five under a fresh oath of office; three retired or
resigned; and five remained off the bench, including former Chief
Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. The newly elected government did not enforce
media restrictions adopted during the 2007 state of emergency. It
lifted curbs on unions imposed during Musharraf's tenure, so at year's
end workers in some industries could organize legally. In an effort to
quell the insurgency in Balochistan, the Government withdrew
politically motivated charges and exit control restrictions against
some Baloch leaders. While the security forces generally accepted
direction from the civilian authorities during the year, there were
some instances in which elements of the security forces acted
independently of civilian authority. The chief of army staff withdrew
3,000 active duty military officers from civil service positions
assigned by former President Musharraf.
Despite some improvements after the state of emergency at the end
of the previous year, the human rights situation remained poor. Major
problems included extrajudicial killings, torture, and disappearances.
There were also instances in which local police acted independently of
government authority. Collective punishment was a problem particularly
in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which falls under
the legal framework of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). Lengthy
trial delays and failures to discipline and prosecute those responsible
for abuses consistently contributed to a culture of impunity. Poor
prison conditions, arbitrary arrest, and lengthy pretrial detention
remained problems, as did a lack of judicial independence. Corruption
was widespread within the Government and police forces, and the
Government made few attempts to combat the problem. Although
implementation of the 2006 Women's Protection Act somewhat improved
women's rights, rape, domestic violence, and abuse against women
remained serious problems. Honor crimes and discriminatory legislation
affected women and religious minorities respectively. Religious freedom
violations and inter-sectarian religious conflict continued. Widespread
trafficking in persons, child labor, and exploitation of indentured and
bonded children were ongoing problems. Child abuse, commercial sexual
exploitation of children, discrimination against persons with
disabilities, and worker rights remained concerns.
Military operations in the FATA and the Northwest Frontier Province
(NWFP) killed approximately 1,150 civilians, and militant attacks in
FATA and NWFP killed 825 more civilians. Sectarian violence in the
country, most notably in Kurram Agency, killed approximately 1,125
individuals. More than 65 suicide bombings throughout the country
killed an estimated 970 individuals. In Balochistan, the low-level
insurgency killed approximately 125 civilians, according to media
reports. Ongoing battles with militants created a fluctuating number of
internally displaced persons (IDPs), but at year's end there were an
estimated 200,000 IDPs in the NWFP and FATA. Flooding in Punjab and
NWFP and an earthquake in Balochistan displaced an additional 300,000
persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Reports of arbitrary
or unlawful killings by government agents and politically motivated
killings continued during the year, as did arbitrary or unlawful
killings of civilians in conflict. (See Section 1.g.)
Some targeted killings of political dissidents and individuals
accused of crimes resulted from staged encounters and excessive
physical abuse while in official custody. Through November the
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Society for Human Rights and
Prisoners' Aid (SHARP) reported 64 civilian deaths after encounters
with police and 101 deaths in jails. The police stated these deaths
occurred when suspects attempted to escape, resisted arrest, or
committed suicide. Human rights observers, family members, and the
media, however, reported security forces staged many of the deaths.
The Government frequently investigated, and sometimes convicted,
police officials for extrajudicial killings. Through August 2008 the
inspector general of the Punjab Police reported its provincial police
force disciplined 973 officials for a variety of crimes. Lengthy trial
delays and failures to discipline and prosecute those responsible for
abuses, however, consistently contributed to a culture of impunity.
On January 24, Allah Bakhsh died after a night in police custody
near Khanewal, Punjab. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
reported Bakhsh allegedly died of torture, although police claimed he
died of cardiac arrest.
On May 4 or 5, policeman Jafar Husain and two others allegedly
tortured Rafique Masih to death in a Lahore police station, according
to the HRCP. A police official told the media the lower part of Masih's
body had torture marks on it. Officially the cause of death was listed
as cardiac arrest, but authorities said that torture could not be ruled
out and that a murder case was registered against three policemen.
On August 18, police allegedly tortured Falak Sher in custody in
Sheikhupura, Punjab; his body was later discovered in a nearby field.
After people in the surrounding areas demonstrated against the death,
the district police officer lodged a case against the officer in charge
of the investigation, Arshad Latif. Sub-Inspector and then Station
House Officer (SHO) Muhamad Khalid was suspended. In November Sher's
family accepted a financial settlement in the case.
On October 15, prison guards shot and killed three inmates during
riots at Karachi's Malir District Jail, and a fourth was killed by a
blunt object, according to the HRCP. Prison guards reportedly were
ordered to open fire due to fears of a jailbreak. On October 16,
authorities lodged cases against 69 inmates involved in the incidents.
Prison authorities sent the 225 ``key culprits'' to other jails and
suspended five jail officials and one police official from active duty.
By year's end, authorities had transferred two police officers
accused of involvement in the 2007 death in custody of Ali Nawaaz in
Karachi. Although a doctor reportedly told Nawaaz's family he died of
kidney failure, the family claimed they saw marks of torture on his
body, including wounds on his head, neck, left kidney, legs, and back.
Police initially refused to act on the matter, but after many citizens
pressured the police to ask the father to lodge a case, the father
registered it.
A trial in the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court was ongoing at
year's end in the May 2007 death of Supreme Court Additional Registrar
Syed Hammad Raza. After an initial investigation, police said the
killing was in connection with a robbery; Raza's family and his
colleagues in the legal community accused security agencies of the
killing because of Raza's alleged relationship with then suspended
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
Initial investigations into the death of Malik Zaheer in September
2007 when he was on trial for the murder of Arif Bhinder indicated
Zaheer died of natural causes. Subsequent investigation revealed
evidence of torture on Zaheer's body, and Zaheer's relatives filed an
appeal of the official findings in the Lahore High Court. The case was
ongoing at year's end.
The inquiry into the death of Arif Bhinder, the Punjab assistant
advocate general who was killed in Lahore in January 2007, was ongoing
at year's end in the Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court.
There were no developments in the 2006 death in custody of Habibur
Rehman in Chitral. Prior to his death, a doctor's report stated that
Rehman was in shock and in critical condition after being beaten.
There were reports of politically motivated killings by political
factions or unknown assailants. Examples of these cases include the
following:
The European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission reported that
more than 100 party supporters were killed during the campaign for the
February parliamentary elections, in addition to the December 2007
assassination of former PPP leader, Benazir Bhutto. Fifty more were
reportedly killed in clashes between supporters.
During the year, tribal leaders and political leaders, including 11
members of the ANP, PPP, PPP-Sherpao, and Pukhtoonkhwa Milli Awami
parties, were killed in FATA and the NWFP. Notable politically
motivated killings included a February 9 bomb blast at an ANP rally in
Charsadda in NWFP that killed more than 27 individuals; a February 11
suicide attack in North Waziristan that killed two local ANP leaders
and six others and injured a candidate for the National Assembly; an
attack in Parachinar in FATA that killed 37 individuals gathered
outside the offices of a parliamentary candidate two days before the
elections; the late August attacks in Swat in NWFP on local ANP leaders
and a former district President of the Pukhtoonkhwa Milli Awami party;
and a December 28 suicide car attack at a polling station in Bunir
district of NWFP during the by-election for a national assembly seat.
During the year, sources in the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)
party, which has the strongest political influence in Karachi, accused
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) activists of killing 19 of its members, including
a Karachi University student, in ongoing violence between the two
parties over political control of the province. Fourteen of these MQM
members died in ethnic violence on November 29 and 30. JI accused MQM
of killing 13 JI activists.
On April 9, rioting between MQM lawyers and other lawyers in
Karachi left nine dead. Authorities found seven bodies in lawyers'
offices, and the mob torched 40 vehicles following attacks on former
Minister Sher Afghan Niazi in Lahore the previous day.
By year's end, a trial in the Sindh High Court was in process for
those arrested in connection with the deaths of more than 40 political
activists from multiple parties during demonstrations planned to
coincide with the May 2007 arrival of then suspended Chief Justice
Chaudhry to Karachi. Many observers blamed the violence on the MQM
party, a member of the ruling coalition that controlled the Sindh
provincial government, since there were multiple reports that the
Government had ordered police not to deploy to demonstration areas. MQM
officials denied responsibility for the violence, claiming 18 of the
deaths were MQM members. Authorities later accused MQM of organizing
demonstrations to disrupt the trial.
At year's end, the case of a suicide bomber who killed 11 police
officers and eight civilians at an Islamabad political rally in July
2007 was under way at an antiterrorism court. Police arrested three
persons in September 2007.
Police did not make any arrests in the case of two suicide bombers
who killed more than 130 civilians and 11 police officers in Karachi
during a procession to welcome former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's
return in October 2007. On October 17, the district court of Karachi
ordered that a case be registered against Pervez Ilahi, former chief
minister of Punjab; Ijaz Shah, former director general of the
Intelligence Bureau; and Hameed Gul, former director general of Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI).
On July 10, the UN agreed in principle to a government request to
initiate an investigation into the December 2007 assassination of
former PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, an attack that also killed at least
30 of her supporters and police. Scotland Yard assisted local officials
in their investigation in January but did not explore who perpetrated
the attack. At year's end, there were no suspects in custody.
By year's end there were no arrests in the case of seven killed in
violence at a political rally held by Nawaz Sharif, leader of the
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), in Karal Chowk the same day as
the Bhutto assassination in December 2007.
By year's end the Supreme Court had not ruled on the legality of
the July 2007 military assault against armed militants inside
Islamabad's Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) that left 106 dead. The Government
did not allow the mosque to reopen an affiliated madrassa (privately
run Islamic school), but allowed another, Jamia Faridia, to renew
operations under government scrutiny.
Attacks on houses of worship, religious gatherings, and religious
leaders linked to sectarian, religious extremist, and terrorist groups
outside FATA resulted in hundreds of deaths during the year. Examples
of these cases include the following:
On April 8, a mob of Muslim workers at a factory in Karachi beat to
death Jagdish Kumar, a young Hindu co-worker they accused of making
derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad. The family, activists,
and politicians disputed the blasphemy allegation. Police arrested
suspects on charges of ``failure to inform the police that blasphemy
was under way,'' according to press reports. At year's end, a case was
registered but authorities did not arrest any suspects in the killing.
On May 4, Adeel Masih, a 19-year-old Christian, was killed in
Hafizabad, Punjab, after he allegedly proposed to a Muslim girl.
Although initially police claimed it was suicide, following an
investigation they arrested two Muslim youths suspected of involvement
in the case. There were no convictions by year's end, as authorities
continued to probe the case.
On June 16, a bombing at a Shia mosque in Dera Ismail Khan, NWFP,
killed four worshippers.
On September 7, the local anchor of a religious affairs program on
Geo Television, Amir Liaquat Hussain, declared that Islamic teachings
necessitated the killing of members of the Ahmadi sect and prompted two
religious scholars who were guests on the program to affirm the
injunction. Amir, a former minister of religious affairs in the
Musharraf government, repeated the statement the next day. Within days,
two local Ahmadi leaders were killed in Sindh. Two gunmen killed Dr
Abdul Mannan Siddiqui, an Ahmadi doctor and local leader known for his
charity work, in a Mirpurkhas hospital on September 8. The gunmen also
shot an Ahmadi guard and two patients. A day later, gunmen killed
another local Ahmadi leader, Seth Muhammad Yousuf, in the bazaar in
Nawab Shah. The Pakistan Medical Association called for official
investigations into the case, but as of year's end, the Government
continued to stall investigation into the deaths. Local media and human
rights organizations condemned the Geo program for inciting sectarian
violence.
There were no developments in the April 2006 suicide bombing at a
Barelvi Sunni birthday celebration for the Prophet Mohammed. The
bombing killed 59 persons and injured more than 100. A suspected member
of Laskar-e-Jhangvi reportedly confessed to the crime, and the Karachi
police arrested a suspect in July 2007. At year's end, the case was
ongoing.
There were no arrests in the September 2006 case of two assailants
in the Muslim Bazaar of Sargodha in Punjab who killed Shia leader and
former district President Syed Bashir Hussain Bukhtari of the outlawed
Shia group, Tehreek-e-Jaferia Pakistan (TJP), according to Taangh
Wasaib Tanzeem, a Sargodha-based NGO.
b. Disappearance.--During the year politically motivated
disappearances declined, but police and security forces continued to
hold prisoners incommunicado and to refuse to disclose their location.
The HRCP estimated that by November approximately 1,100 individuals
were still missing under official detention, down from 1,600 in 2007.
On August 27, the Ministry of Interior acknowledged that many
individuals remain missing in Balochistan. Some disappearances were
related to terrorism and national security, and human rights
organizations reported many Sindhi and Baloch nationalists were among
the missing. According to Amnesty International (AI), children also
disappeared with their relatives.
Then President and Chief of Army Staff Musharraf's decision in
November 2007 to abrogate the constitution and fire the Supreme Court
effectively prevented continued action on the approximately 600
disappearance cases the court was reviewing as part of then Chief
Justice Chaudhry's efforts to have the Government release or regularize
the detention status of prisoners that various security agencies held
incommunicado.
Osama Waheed allegedly disappeared in Karachi on September 14
according to his brother, who filed a petition with the Sindh High
Court. Police denied arresting Waheed, but the division bench of the
high court ordered the Karachi police to investigate further. At year's
end, Waheed was still missing.
Men in plain clothes picked up Zeeshan Jalil on October 18 in
Karachi according to his wife, who filed a petition before the Sindh
High Court to determine his whereabouts. Police denied arresting Jalil,
but the division bench of the high court ordered Karachi police to
investigate further. At year's end, Jalil was still missing.
Waheed Kambarani and Sherdil Khan, who were seized at a restaurant
in Khuzdar, Balochistan, in June 2007 and held in an unknown location
for a month, remained incarcerated and the details of the charges
against them were unavailable. They appeared in a Khuzdar detention
center in December 2007.
In August authorities released Abdul Rauf Sasoli and Saeed Barohi
following their arrest in February 2006. Both were members of the
Baloch nationalist Jamhoori Watan Party, and Sasoli was elected
Secretary General of the Aali Bugti Faction of the Jamhoori Watan
Party.
On May 1, authorities released Dr. Safdar Sarki, who had
disappeared in February 2006 after he was seized by a group of 16 men
presumed to be plain clothes security officers. Sarki, a U.S. citizen
with dual nationality, first reappeared in court in October 2007 in
southern Balochistan. Before releasing him, officials moved Sarki to a
prison in Zhob, a remote area of northern Balochistan.
AI reported that since the state of emergency in 2007, there were
no developments in the well-publicized cases of Atiq-ur Rehman, a
scientist and officer of Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission who
disappeared in 2004, or Syed Nasir Ali Shah, who disappeared in April
2007. AI also reported that an inmate who was later released, Dr. Imran
Munir, said he saw Masood Janjua in detention in 2006, after his
disappearance in 2005.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment; there were reports, however, that security forces,
including intelligence services, tortured and abused individuals in
custody. Under provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act, coerced
confessions are admissible in antiterrorism courts. The NGO SHARP
reported 1,013 cases of torture by police between January and June,
including approximately 500 cases by the Punjab police and nearly 350
cases by the Sindh police. Observers noted that underreporting of
torture is prevalent in the NWFP and Balochistan due to local customs.
Alleged torture occasionally resulted in death or serious injury.
Human rights organizations reported methods including beating with
batons and whips, burning with cigarettes, whipping soles of the feet,
prolonged isolation, electric shock, denial of food or sleep, hanging
upside down, and forced spreading of the legs with bar fetters.
Security force personnel reportedly raped women during
interrogations. The Government rarely took action against those
responsible. Before the 2006 Women's Protection Act, the Hudood
Ordinances allowed Koranic punishments for violations of Shari'a
(Islamic law), including amputation and death by stoning. There were no
reports that authorities imposed such punishments during the year.
On March 14, according to an Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
report, police arrested an unnamed 17-year-old girl in Faisalabad
alleging she murdered her fiance. AHRC alleged she was tortured, held
naked in police detention 16 days without appearing in court, twice
raped by police investigator Shujat Ali Malhi, and threatened with gang
rape. At the end of March, according to the AHRC, authorities also
arrested her elder sister without charge or court mandate and tortured
her.
On August 6, according to local media, police in Hyderabad executed
a warrantless raid on the home of Agha Mahboob Ahmed, who was arrested
on suspicion of involvement in a bank robbery. He was taken to and
allegedly tortured at the Hyderabad Criminal Investigation Agency
center.
In September 2007 an influential member of the local community
mediated a resolution in the January 2007 arrest in Sindh of Hazoor
Buksh Malik for not possessing a national identity card while he was in
a market. During his detention, he alleged that the Station House
Officer (SHO), Mohammad Tunio, tortured him by severing his genitalia.
Five police officers arrested in the February 2007 Lahore gang rape
of a woman at a vehicle checkpoint remained in prison and the case was
ongoing at year's end. After the family pursued the case in the Lahore
Police Administration, all five officers were found guilty and arrested
under the Women's Protection Bill. The Aurat Foundation, a women's
rights NGO, reported that the men remained in custody at year's end.
There were no developments in the case of Mubarik Ali, who was
arrested in July 2007 after he submitted a complaint about the behavior
of a local police official. While he was in custody, police reportedly
beat him with iron rods and clubs, causing loss of eyesight and loss of
his left leg. After the case garnered media attention, police
investigated and suspended three police personnel. The accused
personnel disappeared in August, however, and the family alleged police
allowed them to escape.
No official action was taken against officers involved in the June
2006 sexual assault of Shahnaz Fatima and Javeria Alam in Islamabad, or
against police officers involved in the alleged beating and torture of
Gul Waiz in Adiala Jail in July 2006.
By year's end, no charges had been brought against SHO Sadaat Ali
for his alleged involvement in torturing Arif Ali and Irfan Ali in
Multan in 2006.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
extremely poor and failed to meet international standards. Overcrowding
was widespread, except for cells of wealthy or influential prisoners.
According to SHARP, nearly 90,000 prisoners occupied 87 jails
originally built to hold a maximum of 36,075 persons.
Inadequate food and medical care in prisons led to chronic health
problems and malnutrition for those unable to supplement their diet
with help from family or friends. Foreign prisoners often remained in
prison long after completion of their sentences because they were
unable to pay for deportation to their home countries.
Police reportedly tortured and mistreated those in custody and at
times engaged in extrajudicial killings. Christian and Ahmadi
communities claimed their members were more likely to be abused. Non-
Muslim prisoners generally were afforded poorer facilities than Muslim
inmates and often suffered violence at the hands of fellow inmates.
On February 1, local media reported Irfan Khan, resident of Rawat
near Rawalpindi, died of a serious digestive disorder. He reportedly
suffered from stomach and intestinal ulcers, but jail staff refused to
give him adequate food and medicine. Jail staff allegedly demanded
bribes from his family for bringing him meals.
On February 18, John Masih, a Christian inmate in Adiala prison,
died of pneumonia. According to the Global Foundation (GF), he was
refused adequate medical care and the jail lacked adequate facilities
to treat his condition.
On June 27, Idris Ahmad, an inmate at Sihala jail near Rawalpindi,
died of a heart attack. According to GF, jailers ignored his repeated
complaints and calls for assistance.
Following a complaint of torture by Mirza Sarfaraaz, a death-row
inmate in Adiala prison, the judiciary launched an inquiry into prison
conditions and the prisons department in June. The inquiry revealed
that prisoners who did not pay bribes were brutalized. Participating
judges recommended the inspector general of prisons establish a joint
judicial and departmental commission to examine the matter further. By
year's end, there were no new developments.
There were reports of prison riots, largely due to the poor living
conditions inside prisons. For example, on September 15, inmates rioted
after authorities refused to allow death-row inmate Muhammad Yousaf to
attend his mother's funeral and beat him in front of other prisoners
for making the request. The Sindh prisons inspector suspended both the
jail deputy superintendent and assistant superintendent because of the
riots.
On October 4, prisoners in Hyderabad central jail rioted over a
lack of basic facilities and alleged official corruption. More than
1,000 prisoners broke out of their cells and protested both the
solitary confinement of 40 prisoners and basic conditions of
confinement. Police injured four inmates in the clashes. Prisoners only
ended their siege after they received a written statement from
officials ensuring they would not be tortured. The Sindh attorney
general promised an investigation of allegations of torture.
In October, rioting also erupted in the Karachi, Multan and
Timergara prisons. According to Global Foundation (GF), an NGO working
on prison issues, 20 deaths were reported in Rawalpindi's Adiala Prison
through August due to lack of basic facilities.
Prison officials kept child offenders in the same facilities as
adults but in separate barracks. Police often did not segregate
detainees from convicted criminals. Mentally ill prisoners usually
lacked adequate care and were not segregated from the general prison
population.
In 2005 authorities expanded the number of special women's police
stations with all female staff in response to complaints of custodial
abuse of women, including rape. The Aurat Foundation reported these
stations did not function properly due to lack of resources and lack of
appropriate training for policewomen. Court orders and regulations
prohibit male police from interacting with female suspects, but male
police often detained and interrogated women at regular stations.
Although the law contains provisions for inmate release on
probation, scarcity of resources made this option impossible in most
cases.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had an
agreement with the authorities on independent visits to prisons
throughout the country, but this understanding was only partially
honored, and ICRC visits were not taking place in the provinces of
Punjab and Balochistan at the end of the year. Authorities at the
local, provincial, or national level permitted some human rights groups
and journalists to monitor prison conditions for juveniles and women
inmates, but visits of prison conditions for male inmates, whose
conditions were poorest, took place rarely and on an ad hoc basis.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but authorities did not always comply.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police have primary
internal security responsibilities for most areas of the country. Under
the Police Order (Second Amendment) Ordinance of 2006, control of local
police falls under the Ministry of Interior. The provincial government
has the power to transfer officers from their posts, however, and
district nazims write the district police officer annual performance
evaluation reports, which guides promotions.
Law and order in the FATA is administered under the FCR through the
political agent, who reports to the President through the NWFP
governor. In lieu of police, there are multiple law enforcement
entities that operate in FATA. These include various tribal forces: the
paramilitary Frontier Corps, which reports to the Ministry of Interior
in peacetime and the army in times of conflict; the Frontier
Constabulary, which patrols the area between the FATA and the NWFP;
levies, which operate in some FATA agencies and report to the political
agent; khassadars, which help the political agent maintain order; and
lashkars, tribal militias convoked by the political agent or others to
deal with temporary law and order disturbances.
The Rangers are a paramilitary organization under the authority of
the Ministry of Interior.
The armed forces are responsible for external security; at times
during the year they were also assigned domestic security
responsibilities.
Corruption within the police was rampant. Low salaries and poor
working conditions contributed to corruption, particularly for low-
level officials.
Police were known to charge fees to register genuine complaints and
accepted money for registering false complaints. Bribes to avoid
charges were commonplace. Individuals paid police to humiliate their
opponents and avenge personal grievances. Critics charge that the
appointment of the SHO has become politicized.
Police effectiveness varied greatly by district, ranging from
reasonably good to ineffective. Some members of the police committed
human rights abuses or were responsive to political interests. Frequent
failure to punish abuses created a climate of impunity. Police and
prison officials frequently used the threat of abuse to extort money
from prisoners and their families. The inspectors general, district
police officers, district nazims, provincial interior or chief
ministers, federal interior minister, prime minister, or the courts can
order internal investigations into abuses and order administrative
sanctions. Executive branch and police officials can recommend and the
courts can order criminal prosecution, and these mechanisms were
sometimes used.
The Punjab provincial government initiated regular training and
retraining of police at all levels, both in technical skills and human
rights. The Karachi city government reportedly gave facilities to the
city's human rights officers for training. During the year, at least
three NGOs (Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child,
Sahil, and SHARP) trained police. In the Punjab and NWFP, public safety
commissions were established but functioned poorly due to their vague
mandate, according to SHARP and the GF, and due to their susceptibility
to interference by the provincial executive, according to the
International Crisis Group (ICG). Although district public safety
committees existed in Punjab, Sindh, and a majority of districts in
NWFP and Balochistan, inadequate staffing undermined their
effectiveness. ICG also reported these committees were subject to
political influence.
By August 2007 the Government had converted 25 of Balochistan's 27
districts from ``B areas'' controlled by local levy forces who obeyed
local tribal chiefs to ``A areas'' controlled by police. Nearly 3,000
of the 3,560 levy forces in 2006 were converted to police, and nearly
1,500 local youth were inducted into the newly formed police force.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) noted that individuals who did not support
Kashmir's accession to the country were subject to abuse or harassment
by the intelligence agencies and the military.
Political parties reported that there was less interference from
the Musharraf government in the months prior to the February
parliamentary elections than occurred prior to the 2005 local
government elections. During the campaign, the Government relied
primarily on the police and intelligence agencies to harass political
opponents, according to the ICG. In some districts, police officers
arrested opposition workers on false charges and broke up opposition
rallies.
Police often failed to protect members of religious minorities from
societal attacks, including Christians, Ahmadis, and Shias.
Arrest and Detention.--A First Information Report (FIR) is the
legal basis for any arrest. Police may issue FIRs when complainants
offer reasonable proof a crime was committed. A FIR allows police to
detain a named suspect for 24 hours, after which only a magistrate can
order detention for an additional 14 days, if police show such
detention is material to the investigation. In practice, however,
authorities did not fully observe these limits on detention.
Authorities frequently issued FIRs without supporting evidence to
harass or intimidate, or they did not issue them when adequate evidence
was provided unless the complainant paid a bribe. Police sometimes
detained individuals arbitrarily without charge or on false charges to
extort payment for their release. Police also detained relatives of
wanted criminals to compel suspects to surrender.
Police routinely did not seek magistrate approval for investigative
detention and often held detainees without charge until a court
challenged them. Some women in detention were sexually abused. When
requested, magistrates usually approved investigative detention without
reference to its necessity. In cases of insufficient evidence, police
and magistrates sometimes colluded through issuing new FIRs to continue
detention beyond the 14-day period provided in the law.
Courts appointed attorneys for indigents only in capital cases.
Individuals frequently had to pay bribes to see a prisoner. Foreign
diplomats could meet with prisoners when they appeared in court and
usually could meet with citizens of their countries in prison visits.
The district coordination officer may order preventive detention
for as long as 90 days and may extend the detention for an additional
90 days with court approval. Human rights organizations charged that a
number of individuals alleged to be affiliated with terrorist
organizations were held indefinitely in preventive detention. In
corruption cases, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) may hold
suspects indefinitely provided judicial concurrence is granted every 15
days.
The law stipulates detainees must be brought to trial within 30
days of their arrest. Under both the Hudood and standard criminal
codes, there are bailable and nonbailable offenses. Bail pending trial
is required for bailable offenses and permitted at a court's discretion
for nonbailable offenses with sentences of less than 10 years. In
practice judges denied bail at the request of police, the community, or
on payment of bribes. In many cases trials did not start until six
months after the filing of charges, and in some cases individuals
remained in pretrial detention for periods longer than the maximum
sentence for the crime for which they were charged. Human rights NGOs
estimated that approximately 50 percent of the prison population was
awaiting trial.
Until the parliamentary elections in February, the Government used
preventive detention, mass arrests, and excessive force to quell or
prevent demonstrations, political rallies, or civil unrest. There were
no reports that the Government elected in February engaged in these
practices.
Under the FCR in the FATA, political agents have the legal
authority to impose collective punishment, preventively detain
individuals as long as three years, and require ``bonds'' to prevent
undesired activity. Human rights organizations expressed concern with
the concept of collective responsibility, as authorities used it to
detain members of fugitives' tribes, demolish their homes, confiscate
or destroy their property in the tribal areas and around the country,
or lay siege to a fugitive's village pending his surrender or
punishment by his own tribe in accordance with local tradition.
Assistant political agents, overseen by political agents and
supported by tribal elders of their choosing, are legally responsible
for justice in the FATA. Militant activity and the poor security
situation, however, have undermined their ability to hold court.
Militants in FATA increasingly imposed their version of Shari'a law in
makeshift courts; their punishments included public beheadings,
stonings, lashings, and fines. (See Section 1.g.)
In theory the political agents and their representatives are to
conduct hearings according to Islamic law and tribal custom. The usual
penalties consisted of fines and prison terms of as long as 14 years.
The accused have no right to legal representation or bail.
Political workers, and PPP members in particular, claimed to face
increased police intimidation in the weeks after Benazir Bhutto was
assassinated in December 2007. They alleged that police used the
assassination as an excuse to enter homes without a warrant and file
cases against hundreds of thousands of activists, following unrest that
involved arson and looting.
On March 24, newly elected Prime Minister Gilani released former
Supreme Court Chief Justice Chaudhry from house arrest. He was the last
individual in custody from among the 6,000 individuals whom Musharraf's
government arrested in November 2007 during the state of emergency.
According to the Aurat Foundation, approximately 66 percent of the
female prison population was awaiting trial on adultery-related
offenses under the Hudood Ordinances. With the enactment in 2006 of the
Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, more commonly known
as the Women's Protection Act, women are not supposed to be arrested
for rape under the Hudood Ordinance nor required to produce four
witnesses to prove a charge of rape, as required under the zina laws
(laws regarding extramarital sexual intercourse). The Women's
Protection Act does not enable a woman to file a case for marital rape,
however. After the passage of the Women's Protection Act, authorities
released from prison 300 to 500 women due to the less harsh guidelines
in the bill. In July 2007 the President promulgated the Law Reforms
Ordinance, allowing women held under the Hudood Ordinance to be
eligible for bail.
Special rules apply to cases brought by the NAB or before
antiterrorism courts. Suspects in NAB cases may be detained for 15 days
without charge (renewable with judicial concurrence) and, prior to
being charged, may be deprived of access to counsel. Despite government
claims that NAB cases are pursued independently of an individual's
political affiliation, opposition politicians were more likely to be
prosecuted. The NAB did not prosecute serving members of the military
or judiciary.
Accountability courts may not grant bail; the NAB chairman has sole
power to decide if and when to release detainees.
Antiterrorism courts do not grant bail if the court has reasonable
grounds to believe the accused is guilty. Security forces may, without
needing court approval, restrict the activities of terrorism suspects,
seize their assets, and detain them for as long as one year without
charges.
In October 2007 then President Musharraf promulgated a National
Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that provided a mechanism for amnesty
for public office holders who were charged, but not convicted, in cases
filed for political reasons between 1986 and 1999. The ordinance was
challenged in court, and by year's end the appeal was pending in the
Supreme Court and 23 cases against politicians and bureaucrats had been
withdrawn.
In March the remaining five corruption court cases pending against
Asif Ali Zardari were dropped in the country, and in August, Swiss
court cases against him were also dropped, allegedly at the request of
Pakistani authorities.
On May 13, the new government announced that it had imposed a
moratorium on the death penalty, although the moratorium was not
enforced in practice. HRW reported that the June death row population
of more than 7,000 represented one-quarter of the convicts in the
country. In March the HRCP noted there was ``strong evidence'' that the
death penalty was applied without regard to due process.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; in practice, however, the judiciary was subject
to executive branch influence at all levels. This influence was
exacerbated in the wake of the 2007 state of emergency when the judges
of the Supreme Court and the provincial high courts were dismissed and
only allowed back on the bench if they swore a new oath on a
Provisional Constitutional Order instituted during the state of
emergency.
In June the newly elected government expanded the Supreme Court
bench from 16 to 29 seats. By the end of the year, of the 13 Supreme
Court justices that then President and Chief of Army Staff Musharraf
dismissed in November 2007, the new government reinstated five under a
new oath of office; three retired or resigned; and five remained off
the bench, including former Chief Justice Chaudhry. Judges who remained
off the bench maintained that swearing a new oath would affirm the
legality of Musharraf's dismissal of the Supreme Court and provincial
high courts in November 2007. Abdul Hameed Dogar, who assumed the post
of Chief Justice in November 2007 after Musharraf dismissed then Chief
Justice Chaudhry, retained the leadership position on the Supreme Court
at year's end.
Of the 30 deposed high court justices, 17 were reinstated under a
fresh oath of office, and two were appointed to the Supreme Court.
Three deposed justices retired or resigned by year's end, and eight
remained off the bench. During the 2007 state of emergency, the
Government called for the creation of an Islamabad High Court, which
the Government established in February.
Delays in justice in civil and criminal cases arose due to
antiquated procedural rules, weak case management systems, costly
litigation to keep a case moving in the system, and weak legal
education. These problems undermined the right to effective remedy and
the right to a fair and public hearing.
There are several court systems with overlapping and sometimes
competing jurisdictions: criminal; civil and personal status;
terrorism; commercial; family; military; and Shariat. The Federal
Shariat Court, according to Article 203 of the Constitution, can be
used to examine and decide whether any law is repugnant to the
injunctions of Islam. The passage of the Women's Protection Bill does
not negate the possibility of Federal Shariat Court oversight in
certain cases. The Federal Shariat Court could be used for any issue
involving parts of the Hudood Ordinance not moved to the secular law
provisions, including gambling, liquor possession and drinking, and
fornication in the false promise of marriage.
In November 2007 then President and Chief of Army Staff Musharraf
signed an ordinance amending the Army Act of 1952 so civilians could be
tried in special military courts. In practice the ordinance has not
been applied. HRW noted that according to the law, court proceedings
are to be closed to the public, investigations are to be conducted by
military officers, and trials are to be conducted without the standard
rules of evidence and procedures for criminal trials. The former
government claimed the amendment was designed to apply to terrorists.
Many human rights organizations spoke out against the amendment, saying
civilians would face unusually severe penalties for crimes ranging from
``public mischief'' and libel to murder.
An amendment to the 1973 Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act
during the 2007 state of emergency affected the ability of lawyers to
represent clients without political influence. The act curtails the
independence of the bar associations by granting the Government new
powers to disbar lawyers involved in anti-government activities,
according to HRW.
Lower courts remained corrupt, inefficient, and subject to pressure
from prominent wealthy, religious, and political figures. The
politicized nature of judicial promotions increased the Government's
control over the court system. Unfilled judgeships and inefficient
court procedures resulted in severe backlogs at both trial and
appellate levels.
There were extensive case backlogs in both the lower and superior
courts. As of November, the Sindh District and Sessions Courts had a
backlog of 120,000 cases; as of September the Peshawar High Court had a
backlog of 13,000 cases; and as of October 31, the Supreme Court had a
backlog of 16,596 cases.
Feudal landlords in Sindh and Punjab and tribal leaders in Pashtun
and Baloch areas continued to hold local council meetings (known as
panchayats or jirgas), at times in defiance of the established legal
system. Such councils, particularly prevalent in rural areas, settled
feuds and imposed tribal penalties on perceived wrongdoers, including
fines, imprisonment, or even the death penalty. In Pashtun areas, such
councils were held under the outlines of the Pashtun Tribal Code. Under
the code, a man, his family, and his tribe are obligated to take
revenge for wrongs real or perceived to redeem their honor. Frequently
these disputes arose over women and land and often resulted in
violence.
The traditional settling of family feuds in tribal areas,
particularly over murder cases, could involve giving daughters of the
accused in marriage to the bereaved.
Many tribal councils instituted harsh punishments such as the death
penalty or watta-satta marriages (exchange of brides between clans or
tribes). Over the past few years, there has been a growing number of
reports of militants running their own courts in several tribal
agencies and in Swat, and dispensing quick justice with little due
process or transparency in their deliberations.
The AHRC reported since 2002 more than 4,000 individuals, two-
thirds of whom were women, have died by order of jirga courts in the
country. Although the superior courts have declared these rulings
illegal, AHRC reports that some of those involved in implementing
jirgas sit in parliament.
Trial Procedures.--The civil, criminal, and family court systems
provide for open trial, presumption of innocence, cross-examination by
an attorney, and appeal of sentences. There are no jury trials. Due to
the limited number of judges, heavy backlog of cases, lengthy court
procedures, frequent adjournment, and political pressure, cases
routinely took years, and defendants had to make frequent court
appearances. A case started over when an attorney changes.
The Anti-Terrorism Act allows the Government to use special
streamlined courts to try violent crimes, terrorist activities, acts or
speech designed to foment religious hatred, and crimes against the
state. Cases brought before these courts were to be decided within
seven working days, but judges were free to extend the period as
required. Under normal procedures, the high courts and the Supreme
Court heard appeals from these courts. Human rights activists
criticized this expedited parallel system, charging it was more
vulnerable to political manipulation.
Courts routinely failed to protect the rights of religious
minorities. Judges were pressured to take strong action against any
perceived offense to Sunni orthodoxy. The judiciary rarely heard
discrimination cases dealing with religious minorities.
Laws prohibiting blasphemy continued to be used against Christians,
Ahmadis, and members of other religious groups, including Muslims.
Lower courts often did not require adequate evidence in blasphemy
cases, which led to some accused and convicted persons spending years
in jail before higher courts eventually overturned their convictions or
ordered them freed.
Original trial courts usually denied bail in blasphemy cases,
claiming that since defendants faced the death penalty, they were
likely to flee. Many defendants appealed the denial of bail, but bail
was often not granted in advance of the trial. Lower courts frequently
delayed decisions, were intimidated, and refused bail for fear of
reprisal from extremist elements.
The Federal Shariat Court is the court of first appeal in all
Hudood cases that result in a sentence of more than two years. The
Supreme Court has ruled, however, that in cases in which a provincial
high court decides in error to hear an appeal in a Hudood case, the
Federal Shariat Court lacks authority to review the provincial high
court's decision.
The Shari'a bench of the Supreme Court is the final court of appeal
for Federal Shariat Court cases. A 2005 ruling allows the full Supreme
Court to bypass the Shari'a bench and assume jurisdiction in such
appellate cases in its own right. The Federal Shariat Court may
overturn legislation it judges to be inconsistent with Islamic tenets,
but such cases are appealed to the Shari'a bench of the Supreme Court
and ultimately may be heard by the full Supreme Court.
The separate legal system in the FATA, the FCR, recognizes the
doctrine of collective responsibility.
Tribal leaders were responsible for justice in the FATA. They
conducted hearings according to Islamic law and tribal custom. The
accused have no right to legal representation, bail, or appeal. The
usual penalties consisted of fines. Federal civil servants assigned to
tribal agencies oversaw proceedings and could impose prison terms of as
long as 14 years. Under the FCR, FATA residents may appeal judgments
within the civil bureaucracy. Some observers faulted the procedures for
not allowing cases to be heard on appeal by the judiciary.
Human rights NGOs also expressed concern with the concept of
collective responsibility, as authorities used it to detain members of
fugitives' tribes, demolish their homes, confiscate or destroy their
property, or lay siege to a fugitive's village pending his surrender or
punishment by his own tribe in accordance with local tradition.
Reports of religious extremists and militants forming parallel
administrations, including justice administrations, in FATA increased
during the year. Public executions were the most visible manifestation
of this trend.
The Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) of NWFP, which
include the former princely states of Swat, Dir, and Chitral, fall
under the jurisdiction of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation, 1999, more
commonly known as Shari'a Law. Under its provisions, judges, known as
qazis, are assisted by religious scholars.
Azad Kashmir has a court system independent of the country's
judiciary.
The Northern Areas also have a unique judicial system. ICG noted in
a 2007 report that the judicial institutions of the Northern Areas are
subservient to the will of the federally appointed chief executive
given the special administrative structure of the region. Laws of the
country are extended to the Northern Areas at the discretion of the
Ministry for Kashmir and Northern Areas (KANA). The Northern Areas
Chief Court does not have all the powers of a high court, but a Court
of Appeals was established in 2005 following a 1999 Supreme Court
ruling.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Some political groups claimed
their members were marked for arrest based on their political
affiliation or beliefs.
According to Baloch nationalist political leaders and human rights
organizations, military intelligence and security forces detained 1,000
to 1,500 Baloch political prisoners since the military operation began
in the province in 2004. The exact number of prisoners was unavailable
because many were held incommunicado. The Government acknowledged that
1,100 of the disappeared were in its custody, and it was widely
believed there were hundreds of Sindhi and Baloch nationalist leaders
and activists among them (See Section 1.b.).
On February 2, the AHRC reported that a provincial minister in
Punjab allegedly ordered the assault, arrest, and detention of six
student activists and teachers in Lahore. The activists were organizing
a demonstration to celebrate the release of Aitzaz Ahsan, then
President of the Supreme Court Bar Association. The police reportedly
did not file charges against the minister or his subordinates, and the
mayor allegedly defended the minister's actions.
On May 28, in Karachi, security officials in plain clothes
rearrested Ghulam Mohammed Baloch, leader of the Baloch Nationalist
Front, after he led a demonstration against the country's nuclear
tests. According to press reports, police brought a preliminary case
against him for the speech he gave in Karachi. He had previously
disappeared in May 2006 and was reportedly tortured while in
incommunicado detention. By year's end, authorities released Mohammed.
On February 23, authorities released Munir Mengal, who was detained
for 22 months for his attempt to launch a Baloch satellite television
station. By year's end, he had fled the country. In December he
recounted to Reporters without Borders (RSF) that military intelligence
personnel tortured him while he was held and that he was subjected to
sleep deprivation.
On May 9, a Sindh antiterrorism court ordered the release of Baloch
nationalist leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal. He was arrested in November
2006, days before his scheduled march across Balochistan to protest the
August 2006 killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti by military forces. In
December 2006 a Karachi antiterrorism court charged Mengal for an
alleged April 2006 kidnapping of two military intelligence personnel.
The HRCP complained they were banned from attending Mengal's trial
after they protested his confinement behind iron bars in the courtroom
and his denial of access to his family.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Persons may petition high
courts to seek redress for human rights violations, and courts often
take such actions. Individuals may seek redress in civil courts against
government officials, including on grounds of denial of human rights in
civil courts. Observers reported civil courts seldom if ever issued
official judgments in such cases, however, and most cases were settled
out of court. Although there were no official procedures for
administrative redress, informal reparations were common.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law requires court-issued search warrants for
property but not for persons. Police routinely ignored this requirement
and at times stole items during searches. Police were seldom punished
for illegal entry. In cases pursued under the Anti-Terrorism Act,
security forces were allowed to search and seize property related to
the case without a warrant.
The Government maintained several domestic intelligence services
that monitored politicians, political activists, suspected terrorists,
the media, and suspected foreign intelligence agents. These services
included the ISI, the Intelligence Bureau, the police Special Branch,
and Military Intelligence. Despite a Supreme Court order, credible
reports indicated the authorities routinely used wiretaps and
intercepted and opened mail without the requisite court approval. They
were also suspected of monitoring mobile phones and electronic
correspondence.
In accordance with the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, the Government
banned the activities of and membership in several religious extremist
and terrorist groups. Some of the banned groups changed their names and
remained active, including: Jaish e Muhammad (new name: Tehrikul Furqan
& Al Rehmat Trust); Tehrik e Ja'afria Pakistan (new name: Tehrik e
Islami Pakistan); and Sipah e Sihaba Pakistan (new name: Millat e
Islamia Pakistan). Lashkar e Taiba regrouped under the new name Jamaat
ud-Dawa but was again banned in December in response to its designation
as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under UN Security Council
resolution 1267. On August 25, the Government labeled Tehrik-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) a terrorist organization and ordered the State Bank to
freeze all the organization's accounts. The TTP is a militant umbrella
organization formed in December 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud.
Although the Government generally did not interfere with the right
to marry, local officials on occasion assisted influential families to
prevent marriages the families opposed. The Government also failed to
prosecute vigorously cases in which families punished members
(generally women) for marrying or seeking a divorce against the wishes
of other family members. Upon conversion to Islam, women's marriages
performed under the rites of their previous religion were considered
dissolved, but the marriages of men who converted remained intact.
In some cases authorities detained relatives to force a family
member who was the subject of an arrest warrant to surrender. NGOs
alleged that intelligence personnel often harassed family members of
Baloch nationalists. Collective punishment, which involved detention of
relatives or members of the same tribe, took place in FATA under the
Frontier Crimes Regulation.
On November 24, police in Sindh detained eight women and four
children to force one of their male relatives to surrender, according
to the AHRC. A bench of the Sindh High Court adjourned a constitutional
petition on the case on December 23.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
During the year, security deteriorated throughout the country, as
foreign al-Qaida, Afghan Taliban, TTP, and local extremist groups
attacked civilians and security forces. The Government responded by
launching multiple military operations using aerial bombardment and
ground troops, most notably in Swat in NWFP and Bajaur and Mohmand
agencies in FATA. Independent observers estimated that there were
approximately 1,150 civilian deaths due to military actions in NWFP and
FATA. There were over 200 terrorist attacks, including more than 65
suicide bombings, which killed an estimated 970 civilians and security
personnel.
Due to poor security, intimidation by security forces and
militants, and the control that the Government and security forces
exercised over access by non-residents to FATA, human rights
organizations and journalists found it difficult to report on abuses in
military theaters.
Multiple sources reported that imprecise use of ground artillery
and aerial bombardment by security forces resulted in extensive
civilian casualties and collateral damage, both in FATA and in Swat.
Militants imposed fines and carried out public beheadings, public
displays of dead bodies, stonings, and lashings.
Approximately 700 persons were killed in Sunni-Shia sectarian
violence in Kurram Agency of FATA, mostly between August and the
conclusion of a peace accord on October 16, according to press reports.
The HRCP noted that the bodies of some of those killed were dismembered
and left by the road and that ambulances were targeted in the attack.
A low level insurgency also continued in Balochistan. According to
NGOs and media reports, at least 800 militants, approximately 125
civilians, and 91 members of the security forces died as a result of
the ongoing insurgency between the beginning of the year and late
November. According to the AHRC, more than 100 individuals were killed
in July and August alone and more than 20,000 were displaced. The last
government-released official figures recorded the total number of
deaths at 158 in 2006.
Killings.--On May 29, the HRCP noted that a ``large number of non-
combatants have been targeted and killed by the security forces and so
far, no inquiry or investigation has been carried out.''
On September 23, the security forces fired on a crowd of civilians
in Swat who had gathered to protest the killing of a woman and two
children at the hands of the security forces earlier in the day. At
least five civilians were killed.
Militants staged suicide attacks during the year in the FATA, NWFP,
and the rest of the country. The highest profile attacks included the
March 4 suicide bombing that killed 43 antimilitant tribal elders at a
peace jirga in Darra Adam Khel in FATA; the August 21 bombing of an
ordnance factory in Wah Cantonment in Punjab that left 60 dead; the
September 20 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed 53;
an October 2 suicide attack in Charsadda on ANP President Asfandyar
Wali Khan that killed four individuals but left Khan unharmed; and an
October 10 suicide attack on Ajingin in the tribal agency of Orakzai
that killed more than 100.
Other attacks included a December 5 bomb blast in Peshawar that
killed at least 22 individuals and wounded more than 90; the July 7
bombing in Islamabad that killed 18 policemen on the first anniversary
of the Lal Masjid operation; the March 4 bombing at the Lahore naval
academy, which killed eight; and the bombing of a train in Bahawalpur,
southern Punjab, which killed six.
The security situation in the FATA and parts of NWFP deteriorated
significantly. During the year, the TTP and their courts beheaded
civilians and security officials. On April 28 a policeman was beheaded
in South Waziristan for allegedly spying for security forces; on August
14 a government official was beheaded in Miranshah; on August 20 two
alleged prostitutes taken from Peshawar were killed; and on September 8
two other alleged prostitutes were killed and their bodies were dumped
near Peshawar.
Sectarian killings related to the conflict were most severe in
Kurram Agency in FATA. The most prominent attacks included the June 19
beheading and mutilation of 11 truck drivers abducted while attempting
to deliver relief supplies to Parachinar, which is majority Shia, and
the August 19 TTP attack near the emergency ward of a hospital in Dera
Ismail Khan in NWFP, killing 32 who were mourning the recent killing of
a local Shia leader.
At year's end, the case of the September 2007 assassination of
Maulana Hassan Jan, a prominent and well-respected Deobandi religious
scholar who had declared suicide attacks ``un-Islamic,'' remained open.
Police arrested 13 suspects in September 2007, but there were no
further developments in the case.
At year's end, three members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned Sunni-
Deobandi militant organization, were on trial for a 2006 suicide
bombing attack on a Shia congregation marking the Ashura festival in
Hangu. The bombing killed 29 individuals and injured more than 50.
The security situation in Balochistan remained unstable. Landmines
in Balochistan killed civilians, including children, in Dera Bugti,
Kohlu, Noshki, and Sui, among other areas of the province.
On March 30, security forces reportedly attacked Langu and Sagari
with helicopter gunships and heavy artillery. Four women and 12
children died during the operation, according to press reports.
On April 5, military officers allegedly arrested four people in
Dera Bugti district, according to the AHRC, which claimed the officers
put four people in hot coal tar after failing to get a confession from
the victims. Three reportedly died instantly and the fourth, Jaffer
Khosa, died in custody seven days later.
On June 14, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a van in Quetta,
killing seven soldiers, one police constable, and one passer-by. The
gunmen also shot two policemen on a motorcycle. One later died, and the
other was seriously injured. In September police arrested three persons
in connection with the killing, including two alleged members of the
Balochistan Liberation Army.
On August 25, in Turbat, Balochistan, Frontier Corps personnel
allegedly killed a civilian, Altaf Buledi, when they fired on an
unarmed crowd gathered to demonstrate on the second anniversary of the
death of Nawab Akbar Bugti, according to Baloch Web sites. Among the
injured were four journalists, two from shooting and two from tear gas
burns.
At year's end there were no developments in the case of the
December 2007 killing of Mir Balach Marri, the son of Baloch leader
Nawab Khair Bux Marri. It was unknown whether he was killed in the
country or in Afghanistan.
During the year, authorities did not conduct an official
investigation into the 2006 death of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab
Bugti, who was killed along with 35 followers and five military
personnel. Media reported Bugti and his followers died in an air force
bombing raid.
Abductions.--Criminal groups, some with ties to militant groups,
expanded extortion and kidnapping activities throughout the country.
Diplomats, foreign nationals, religious minorities, and NGO workers
were among those targeted.
The most prominent attacks included the November 13 abduction in
Peshawar of Hashmatullah Attaarzadeh, the Iranian commercial attache
(not released at year's end); the November 11 kidnapping of Khadija
Abdul Qahaar, a Canadian freelance journalist and Web site publisher,
in Bannu district, NWFP (not released at year's end); the September 22
abduction in Peshawar of Abdul Khaliq Farahi, the Afghan ambassador
designate to Pakistan (not released at year's end); the August 29
kidnapping of two Chinese engineers from Lower Dir in NWFP along with
their guard and driver, for which TTP claimed responsibility (the guard
and driver were released on September 15, one engineer escaped on
October 17, and the other remained in captivity at year's end); the
August 1 abduction of five Christians in South Waziristan (still
missing at year's end); the June 21 abduction of 17 Christians in
Peshawar by Lashkar-e-Islam (released on June 22); the February 11
abduction in Khyber Agency of Tariq Azizuddin, Pakistani ambassador to
Afghanistan (released on May 16); and the January 4 abduction of five
Christians in South Waziristan (released three days later).
On June 14, Jundallah, an Islamic militant group, claimed
responsibility for the abduction of 16 Iranian guards at the border in
southern Balochistan. Media reports indicated that the hostages were
held in the country.
Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--After a bombing campaign began in
Bajaur Agency in August, the Government dropped leaflets urging the
civilian population to flee the area. Civilians expressed dismay that
the leaflets were dropped only after several days of aerial
bombardment. Militants subsequently attempted to prevent civilians from
leaving the area so they could be available as human shields, according
to press reports.
Military operations created hardships for the local civilian
population when militants closed key access roads and tunnels and
attacked communications and energy networks, disrupting commerce and
food and water distribution networks. In some areas, including Swat,
security forces imposed curfews. Militants destroyed more than 150
girls' schools, particularly in Swat, and forced the closure of more
than 200 barber shops and stores selling western CDs and videos in FATA
and NWFP.
In response to a suicide bombing and ongoing Sunni-Shia violence in
Dera Ismail Khan, the NWFP government on August 20 cancelled permission
to hold political gatherings and religious ceremonies. These
restrictions remained in place at year's end.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and citizens generally were free to discuss
public issues. The Government often impeded criticism, however, by
monitoring political activity and controlling the media. A government
ordinance to restrict the freedom of television and radio imposed
during the 2007 state of emergency remained in effect, but the new
government did not enforce it. Journalists and their families were
arrested, beaten, and intimidated, leading many to practice self-
censorship.
There were numerous independent English and Urdu daily and weekly
newspapers and magazines. The Ministry of Information controlled and
managed the country's primary wire service, the Associated Press of
Pakistan, the official carrier of government and international news to
the local media. The few small privately owned wire services practiced
self-censorship. The military had its own press wing, Inter Services
Public Relations, as well as two sections to monitor the press. There
were no newspapers published in the FATA. Owners of newspapers and
periodicals had to receive permission from the Kashmir Council and
Ministry of Kashmir Affairs to publish within Azad Kashmir. According
to many observers, these bodies were unlikely to grant permission to
publications sympathetic to an independent Kashmiri cause.
Foreign magazines and newspapers were available, and many
maintained in-country correspondents who operated freely, although some
had difficulty receiving visas allowing them to work as journalists.
The Government directly owned and controlled Pakistan Television
and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, which ran radio stations
throughout the country. Both reflected government views in news
coverage.
The PPP government did not enforce restrictive amendments to the
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Ordinance that
the previous government promulgated. Offenses under the amended PEMRA
ordinance include covering terrorists; propagating opinions that run
counter to the ideology of the state; criticizing the head of state,
members of the armed forces, or other key branches of government; and
live coverage of violence or conflict.
Changes made by the former government that increased executive
control over the print media remained in effect.
Private cable and satellite channels broadcast domestic news
coverage and were critical of the Government, despite some self-
censorship. Independent television stations shut down during the 2007
state of emergency were allowed back on the air after signing a
``voluntary'' code of conduct limiting what they could discuss on air.
Geo TV initially refused to sign the code of conduct, and the
Government responded by blocking cable distribution of the channel
until January 20.
PEMRA authorities banned private television channels from airing
live coverage of the February 18 elections and broadcasting unconfirmed
poll results, except those provided by the presiding officers. The
media aired real-time results despite the ban.
In June PEMRA authorities reportedly restricted a popular program
of Aaj-TV News in many parts of Sindh and Punjab when the program
addressed the Government's policy on the Kalabagh Dam.
Private radio stations existed in major cities, but their licenses
prohibited news programming. Some channels evaded this restriction
through talk shows, although they were careful to avoid most domestic
political discussions. International radio broadcasts, including the
BBC and the Voice of America, were available.
The PEMRA ordinance did not extend to FATA or the PATA of NWFP.
Independent radio stations were not allowed to broadcast in FATA,
although militants and religious figures operated approximately 100
illegal stations.
As of December 23, there were 40 attacks against the media and
journalists as of December 23, according to the NGO Intermedia. At
least 13 journalists were killed and 40 abducted or arrested (only one
arrest was reported after the PPP-led coalition took over the
Government). There were 118 cases of intimidation, and four attacks on
media property. Approximately 89 journalists and media organizations
had ongoing cases in court.
During the year media outlets, journalists, and journalists'
families were the targets of attacks and intimidation by security
forces, political parties, militants, and unidentified groups.
Journalists were also abducted. Newspapers frequently criticized the
Government, political leaders, and military operations. Media outlets
that did not self-censor were at times the targets of retribution.
On February 6, four policemen in Sialkot stopped and searched
journalist Auon Sahi. During the interaction, police physically
assaulted him; he filed an official complaint. District Police Officer
Amin Wains reportedly suspended the four constables involved and
ordered a departmental inquiry.
On February 9, unknown gunmen killed Dr. Abdus Samad, also known by
his pen name, Dr. Chishti Mujahid, a columnist for Akbar-e-Jehan in
Quetta, Balochistan. The Baloch Liberation Army later claimed
responsibility and claimed the killing came in retaliation for Dr.
Samad's sabotage of the Baloch independence movement.
On May 9, the Supreme Court in a suo moto action ordered Geo TV and
Jang, the Urdu-language affiliated newspaper, to cease reporting on the
restoration of the judiciary and ongoing court proceedings, according
to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The Supreme Court later
withdrew the notice and asked the media to confirm their stories with
the courts before making them public.
On May 22, Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, a reporter for privately owned
Express TV and the Urdu newspaper Express, was killed as he returned
from an interview in Bajaur with militant leader Maulvi Omar. Witnesses
said the assailants took Khan's mobile phone, video footage of the
interview, camera, and notes before shooting him.
On September 7, the local anchor of a religious affairs program on
Geo TV, Amir Liaquat Hussain, declared that Islamic teachings
necessitated the killing of members of the Ahmadi sect. Within days,
two local Ahmadi leaders were killed in Sindh (See Section 1.a.).
On November 8, security forces in Swat shot and killed Qari
Muhammad Shoaib, a reporter for local newspaper Khabar Kar. A passenger
in the vehicle Shoaib was driving said the security personnel shot
without warning; the military claimed they fired warning shots.
On November 14, two journalists, one of whom was a Japanese
national, were shot multiple times in Peshawar after returning from an
interview with a Taliban commander in nearby Khyber Agency. Sami
Yousafzai, an international correspondent, and Yatsukura Motoki, the
Islamabad bureau chief for Asahi Shimbun, both survived the attack. At
year's end, the police had not arrested any suspects.
By year's end, no arrests were made in the January 2007 killing of
Makhdoom Hashmi, editor of Sindhi-language newspaper Daily Nijat.
Hashmi was critical of many local feudal landlords and opposed their
political practices. Before his death he claimed that he received
threats and that provincial authorities had denied his requests for
protection.
The political agent of Khyber Agency in the FATA detained 44
tribesmen in the agency under the collective punishment provision of
the FCR for the January 2007 kidnapping of Sohail Qalandar, a Peshawar-
based journalist with Daily Express, and his companion. The two were
released after 50 days in captivity and told human rights observers
they had been mistreated, malnourished, and drugged. The political
agent subsequently released the tribesmen.
There were no developments in the case of Lal Malhi, a journalist
who produced a documentary on disappearances in Balochistan and was
threatened in March 2007 by security services. After local community
members protested, police promised to charge the security officer but
did not take action against the security officials.
In April 2007 militants in South Waziristan killed four family
members of Din Muhammad, a reporter for the Urdu-language newspaper
Inkishaf, and kidnapped three others, according to RSF. During the
year, Muhammad continued to be intimidated, and the Government provided
limited security and nominal financial compensation. Muhammad did not
fully resume his work as a journalist.
By year's end authorities had not made any arrests in the May 2007
case in which two unidentified men assaulted and beat the editor in
chief of the South Asia News Agency, Shakeel Ahmed Turabi, due to his
coverage of the Supreme Court chief justice crisis in Islamabad.
No one was arrested during the year for the attack on the Aaj TV
station and property in Karachi as the station broadcast violent
demonstrations live in May 2007. The President of the Karachi Union of
Journalists blamed the MQM, but MQM officials denied it.
There were no new developments in the case of Daily Mashriq
correspondent Nasarullah Afridi, whose home local militants targeted
with hand grenades in May 2007 for his reporting on militant activities
in Khyber Agency. Local authorities intervened in the case on his
behalf and negotiated a settlement.
By year's end, no arrests were made in the September 2007 case in
which an unidentified man beat Turabi's 14-year-old son, Hassan
Sharjil, in Islamabad. According to the CPJ, the man told Hassan, ``We
warned your father to stop writing lies, but he wouldn't listen. This
will teach him a lesson.''
Despite a Peshawar High Court Justice's call for a further probe,
there were no developments in the investigation of the death of
Hayatullah Khan, who was killed in June 2006 after his abduction in
December 2005, or in the death of his widow, who was killed by a bomb
in her home in November 2007.
Police did not identify a suspect in their investigation of the
September 2006 murder of journalist Maqbool Hussain Siyal in Dera
Ismail Khan. Siyal worked for the Pakistani Online News Network and was
on his way to interview a leader of the PPP.
The Anti-Terrorism Act prohibits the possession or distribution of
material designed to foment sectarian hatred or material obtained from
banned organizations. According to Intermedia, there were seven cases
of crackdowns on radical publications during the year: three in Punjab,
and two each in NWFP and Sindh.
Foreign books must pass government censors before being reprinted,
but in practice there were no reports of book bans during the year.
Books and magazines may be imported freely but are subject to
censorship for objectionable sexual or religious content.
Obscene literature, a category the Government defines broadly, was
subject to seizure. Television and radio stations broadcast dramas and
documentaries on previously taboo subjects, including corruption,
social privilege, narcotics, violence against women, and female
inequality.
Internet Freedom.--Although there were no reports that the
Government limited public access to the Internet, it attempted to
control some extremist and Baloch Web sites based in the country. The
International Telecommunication Union claimed there were more than 17.5
million Internet users in the country as of March, and service existed
in nearly all of the country's urban and semi-urban areas.
Local sources reported that authorities continued to ban two Web
sites that advocated independence for Balochistan: Balochvoice and
Walochwarna.
On February 24, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
ordered Internet service providers to block the Web site YouTube,
allegedly because of blasphemous content. This disabled the site around
the world for a few hours, although the PTA claimed the problem abroad
was due to a malfunction outside the country. Authorities lifted the
block within the country on February 26.
On November 6, President Zardari issued the Prevention of
Electronic Crimes Ordinance, stipulating that cyber terrorism resulting
in a death would be punishable by the death penalty or life
imprisonment.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government generally did
not restrict academic freedom, but the atmosphere of violence and
intolerance fostered by student organizations, typically tied to
political parties, continued to limit academic freedom. On some
university campuses in Karachi, armed groups of students, most commonly
associated with the All Pakistan Mutahidda Students Organization
(affiliated with the MQM) and the Islami Jamiat Talaba (affiliated with
the JI), clashed with and intimidated other students, instructors, and
administrators over issues such as language, syllabus content,
examination policies, grades, doctrines, and dress.
These groups frequently facilitated cheating on examinations,
interfered with the hiring of staff, influenced admissions to the
universities, and sometimes influenced the use of institutional funds.
Such influence generally was achieved through a combination of protest
rallies, control of the campus media, and threats of mass violence. In
response, university authorities banned political activity on many
campuses, but with limited effect.
On March 31, the Rangers assaulted Dr. Riaz Ahmed, Professor of
Applied Chemistry at Karachi University, while they were posted at the
institution following a clash between student groups. According to the
HRCP, the Rangers blocked his departure from the campus and hit him
with batons, leaving him with severe injuries. Authorities did not take
action against the Rangers.
On April 22, the Baloch Liberation Army killed University of
Balochistan Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Safdar Kayani, accusing him of
being ``Punjabi.'' The university and the Bolan Medical College closed
for a day to mourn his death. The atmosphere on campus remained uneasy
during the year, but campus violence did not hinder academic
activities. Seven student organizations at the university created a
code of conduct for students to check political interference in the
educational institutions of the province.
The Ministry of Culture operated the Central Film Censor Board,
which previewed all foreign and domestic films before exhibit in the
country. In practice, however, no movie was banned during the year.
There was no government interference on art exhibitions or other
musical or cultural activities.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and freedom of association, subject to
restrictions imposed by law.
Freedom of Assembly.--Although the constitution provides for this
right, in practice the Government placed selective restrictions on the
right to assemble. By law, district authorities can prevent gatherings
of more than four people without police authorization. Separately,
Ahmadis have been prohibited from holding conferences or gatherings
since 1984.
Unlike in 2006, there were no reports the Government permitted
banned religious extremist organizations to hold rallies during the
year.
Police often used preventive detention and excessive force against
demonstrators, members of civil society, political activists, and
journalists.
On January 13, police used excessive force against peaceful civil
society activists who were protesting the house arrest of retired
Justice Rana Bhagwandas outside his residence in Karachi. According to
the HRCP, male policemen behaved inappropriately with female
demonstrators, charged male protestors with batons, and arrested eight
activists.
On February 21, police used excessive force against a peaceful
demonstration of lawyers outside the city court in Karachi, where they
demanded the restoration of disposed judges, independence of the
judiciary, and rule of law. According to the HRCP, the police and
others in plain clothes fired tear gas on the lawyers, charged them
with batons, and arrested nine, injuring five. There were no reports of
an investigation.
On July 15, the Rangers disrupted a peaceful demonstration of
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) workers outside their
headquarters in Islamabad after PTCL workers locked their facilities
around the country. The Rangers beat, tear-gassed, and charged
demonstrators with batons. There were no reports of serious injuries.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of
association subject to restrictions by law. NGOs are required to
register with the Government. According to Freedom House, fewer than
half of the approximately 100,000 NGOs in the country were registered.
No prominent NGO reported problems with the Government due to
registrations during the year. Some continued to operate without
registering and were not prosecuted.
The NGO community protested a voluntary code of conduct promulgated
in early 2007 by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education,
according to Freedom House. The code gives the Government powers to
regulate NGO activity, change the groups' staff or management, and
freeze the assets of organizations that do not comply. In practice, the
code has not been enforced and has not impeded the work of NGOs.
Security was a problem for NGO workers due to the instability in
FATA and NWFP and threats to organizations that promoted women's
rights. Seven NGO workers had been killed by year's end, seven had been
kidnapped but were later released, and scores more were threatened.
On February 25, gunmen killed four in an attack on the Mansehra,
NWFP, office of Plan International, an NGO based in the United Kingdom.
Authorities arrested three suspects, including a chief of a militant
organization. They were brought before a court in March and kept under
``protective custody.''
In late April a female NGO worker in Swat was murdered and her
corpse was desecrated.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution states that adequate
provisions shall be made for minorities to profess and practice their
religions freely, but the Government limited freedom of religion in
practice. Islam is the state religion, and the constitution requires
that laws be consistent with Islam. According to the constitution,
Shari'a can be applied to a situation deemed to be in contradiction to
the Koran, and therefore citizens who are normally governed by secular
law can be subject to Shari'a. Shari'a also was applied in some tribal
areas. In the PATA of NWFP, religious advisors assisted judges. All
citizens were subject to certain provisions of Shari'a and the
blasphemy laws. Freedom of speech is constitutionally subject to ``any
reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of
Islam.''
Reprisals and threats of reprisals against suspected converts from
Islam occurred. Members of religious minorities were subject to
violence and harassment, and at times police refused to prevent such
actions or charge persons who committed them, leading to an atmosphere
of impunity. The constitution stipulates the President and the prime
minister must be Muslim. The prime minister, federal ministers, and
ministers of state, as well as elected members of the Senate and
National Assembly (including non-Muslims), must take an oath to
``strive to preserve the Islamic ideology,'' the basis for the creation
of the country.
Religious groups must be approved and registered; there were no
reports the Government refused to register any group.
The law declares the Ahmadi community, which considers itself a
Muslim sect, to be a non-Muslim minority. The law prohibits Ahmadis,
who numbered more than two million, from engaging in any Muslim
practices, including use of Muslim greetings, referring to their places
of worship as mosques, reciting Islamic prayers, using specific Islamic
terms, and participating in the Hajj or Ramadan fast. Ahmadis were
prohibited from proselytizing, holding gatherings, or distributing
literature. Government forms, including passport applications and voter
registration documents, require anyone wishing to be listed as a Muslim
to denounce the founder of the Ahmadi faith. The Ahmadi community
claimed that during the year, 31 Ahmadis faced criminal charges under
religious laws or because of their faith. As of November, there had
been four targeted killings of Ahmadis during the year, according to
the AHRC.
The penal code calls for the death sentence or life imprisonment
for anyone who blasphemes the Prophet Muhammad. The law provides for
life imprisonment for desecrating the Koran and as long as 10 years in
prison for insulting another's religious beliefs with the intent to
offend religious feelings. The latter was used only against those who
allegedly insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Groups such as the Khateme
Nabuwwat Movement, which considered anyone who questioned the finality
of Prophet Muhammad to be a heretic, were reported to insult Ahmadi
beliefs, but authorities did not prosecute these cases.
On June 8, police charged all the residents of Rabwah in Punjab
under anti-Ahmadi laws and arrested Muhammad Yunus. The basis for the
police charges against the thousands of Rabwah residents, according to
the FIR, included lighting fireworks and lamps and greeting each other,
which the Government considered to be preaching their faith, a crime by
law. The case was pending at year's end.
In August communities near Multan warned Ahmadis in the area to
close their places of worship. When they refused, the communities
lodged a complaint with local police, alleging the Ahmadis were
attempting to proselytize. Police ordered the ``temporary closure'' of
Ahmadi centers in the area. They remained closed at year's end.
On September 10, the Multan bench of the Lahore High Court ruled
that one of the men who allegedly abducted two Christian girls and
subsequently married one of them be granted custody of her. According
to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), on June 26 in Muzaffargarh
district, Punjab, three men kidnapped 13-year-old Saba Masihto and
Anila, her nine-year-old sister. CSW reported the men admitted to
forcing the girls to convert to Islam before compelling Saba to marry
one of them. The court granted the parents custody of Anila.
On October 9, Gulsher Masih and his daughter, Sandal Gulsher, were
arrested after the father was accused of desecrating the Koran. Both
remained in detention at year's end.
During the year, there were no developments in the January 2007
case in which an Intelligence Bureau district officer ordered the
arrest of five Ahmadis, including two minors ages eight and 11, after a
teacher discovered the minors carrying an Ahmadi children's magazine,
Tashhizul Azhan. The case received wide press coverage, following which
the charges were dropped. The case was re-filed in February 2007
against two adults.
There were no developments in the trial of the March 2007 case of a
retired assistant sub-inspector who shot and killed a recent Ahmadi
convert in a restaurant in Seerah, near Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab. The
retired officer, Riaz Gondal, later surrendered to police and admitted
to the killing, claiming the act was justified under Islamic apostasy
laws. At year's end, he was incarcerated and the case was pending.
There were no developments in the case of Martha Bibi, a Christian
who was arrested for blasphemy in January 2007 and released on bail in
May 2007. She was accused of making derogatory remarks against the
Koran, but she claimed the charges originated from Muslim contractors
who did not want to pay for materials her husband had sold them.
There were no developments in the September 2006 blasphemy case of
Shahid Masih, who was arrested for the theft and burning of a Koran in
Faisalabad and granted bail in January 2007.
Complaints under the blasphemy laws were used in business or
personal disputes to harass religious minorities or other Muslims, but
most complaints were filed against the majority Sunni Muslim community.
Many blasphemy complaints were lodged by Sunnis against fellow Sunnis.
The appellate courts dismissed most blasphemy cases; the accused,
however, often remained in jail for years awaiting the court's
decision. Trial courts were reluctant to release on bail or acquit
blasphemy defendants for fear of violence from extremist religious
groups. In 2005 the President signed a bill into law revising the
complaint process and requiring senior police officials to review such
cases in an effort to eliminate spurious charges. According to human
rights and religious freedom groups, however, this process was not
effective because senior police officers did not have the resources to
review the cases. In 2007 courts convicted two individuals and
acquitted two others under the blasphemy laws; 71 cases were ongoing at
the end of the year.
On November 4, the court acquitted Christian doctor Robin Sardar of
blasphemy charges. Sardar was arrested in May, and after his release
Sardar went into hiding fearing for his life and remained in hiding at
year's end, according to the Commission for Peace and Human
Development.
There were no legal restrictions on Christian or Hindu places of
worship. District nazims had to authorize the construction after they
assessed whether a new church or temple was required. Religious
minority groups experienced bureaucratic delays and requests for bribes
when attempting to build houses of worship or obtain land.
Islamiyyat (Islamic studies) was compulsory for all Muslim students
in state-run schools. Students of other faiths were exempt from such
classes; in practice, however, teachers forced many non-Muslim students
to complete Islamic studies.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Sectarian violence between
Sunni and Shia extremists continued during the year. Shias, Christians,
and Ahmadis were also the targets of religious violence across the
country.
According to the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP),
one church, one Hindu temple, and five Ahmadi mosques were attacked and
damaged in different parts of the country during the year; four of the
seven attacks took place in the province of Punjab.
In the same period, the NCJP reported 53 Ahmadis and 93 Christians
faced trials or were in prison on charges of desecrating the Koran.
Human rights lawyer and chairman of the NGO Legal Aid for Destitute
and Settlement Parvez Aslam Chaudhry was forced to travel with police
security during the year, following an attack on him in January 2006
for his work defending blasphemy cases. Although Punjabi authorities
filed a case against an unknown assailant in 2007, no arrests were made
during the year.
The NCJP noted that abductions and forced conversions of girls were
on the rise. They reported in July that since 2006, nearly 51 Hindu and
27 Christian girls had been abducted and forced to convert to Islam.
The Hindu community continued to face harassment and demands for
bribes from security forces. The All Sindh Hindu Panchayat and the
Pakistan Hindu Panchayat reported that more than 20 Hindu girls were
allegedly taken and forced to convert to Islam during the year. Some of
the girls allegedly feigned conversion to gain their release, and
officials recovered others; seven of the girls remained missing at
year's end. Authorities argued that the law prohibits the girls' return
to non-Muslim families following their conversion to Islam. Although
the families alleged the affidavits and conversions were fraudulent,
the authorities did not return the released girls to their families.
On February 26, Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha, President of the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Lahore, said nearly 500 Christian
families had received or faced threats and that their lives and faith
were challenged by extremist groups in 2007. He claimed the incidence
of kidnapped Christian girls was rising.
There were no arrests in the November 2006 attack on a Jamaat-
Khaana (place of worship) in the Ismaili community in Chitral.
Ahmadi leaders charged that militant Sunni mullahs and their
followers sometimes staged marches through the streets of Rabwah, a
predominantly Ahmadi town and spiritual center in central Punjab. The
Ahmadis claimed that police generally were present during these
marches.
Ahmadi, Christian, Hindu, and Shia Muslim communities reported
significant discrimination in employment and access to education,
including at government institutions.
Shia, Christian, Hindu, and Ahmadi communities faced discrimination
and societal violence. The Government removed religiously sensitive
material from new textbooks on religious differences and on how to
worship. Other religions can opt out of these readings and read the
more generic ``Book of Ethics.''
Although there were few Jewish citizens in the country, anti-
Semitic sentiments appeared to be widespread.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; the Government, however, limited these rights in
practice. The Government required foreigners to have special permits to
enter certain restricted areas, including FATA, Balochistan, and parts
of NWFP, due to security concerns. Foreigners are required to obtain a
No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by the Government to enter Azad
Kashmir.
The law prohibits travel to Israel, although the law was not
enforced in practice. Government employees and students must obtain
NOCs before traveling abroad, although this requirement rarely was
enforced against students.
Persons on the publicly available Exit Control List (ECL) were
prohibited from foreign travel. At year's end, there were approximately
636 names on the Exit Control List (ECL). According to human rights
lawyers, the number of persons on the ECL dropped sharply after the
Lahore High Court took notice of the list in May. While the ECL was
intended to prevent those with pending criminal cases from traveling
abroad, no judicial action was required for the Ministry of Interior to
add a name to the ECL, and it was sometimes used to harass human rights
activists or leaders of opposition and nationalist parties. Those on
the list had the right to appeal to the courts for removal of their
names. On August 28, Rehman Malik, the Advisor on Interior Affairs,
announced that the Government removed Baloch political leaders from the
ECL.
The law prohibits forced exile and no case of forced exile was
reported during the year.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--During the year, the number
of IDPs fluctuated due to military action and sectarian violence in the
NWFP and the FATA and floods in NWFP and Punjab. The UN High Commission
for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that military operations in Bajaur alone
generated approximately 190,000 IDPs and an estimated 90,000 in Swat by
September. At year's end, approximately 200,000 IDPs remained displaced
from FATA and NWFP. Many IDPs from Swat and Bajaur were taken in by
friends and relatives, which complicated the counting efforts. Flooding
in Punjab and NWFP and an earthquake in Balochistan displaced an
additional 300,000 persons.
In the districts surrounding Bajaur, the Government, supported by
UNHCR and other organizations, provided temporary food and shelter for
the IDPs in 11 camps and worked with international organizations and
NGOs to supplement government-provided assistance. IDPs complained of
the poor hygiene in the camps.
Media reports from 2003 estimated that 1.5 million Kashmiris
displaced from Indian-held Kashmir entered the country. The law
entitles Kashmiris to the same rights as full citizens.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but in
practice, the Government in most cases provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The country is a member of UNHCR's
governing Executive Committee and cooperated with UNHCR in protecting,
assisting, and repatriating Afghan refugees.
Since 1979 the Government has provided temporary protection to
millions of refugees from neighboring Afghanistan. According to the
government-run National Database and Registration Authority,
approximately 2.15 million registered Afghan refugees remained in the
country at year's end, and 3.4 million had been repatriated since 2002.
The Government continued to work closely with the UNHCR to provide
support to this population. During the year, approximately 272,000
refugees took advantage of UNHCR assistance to repatriate.
According to UNHCR, there are more than 80 Afghan refugee camps in
the country, including 71 in NWFP, 12 in Balochistan, and one in
Punjab.
In addition to internal displacement that resulted from the
military operation in Bajaur starting in August, more than 20,000
residents fled into neighboring Kunar province in Afghanistan.
In October the Government ordered illegal Afghan refugees resident
in Bajaur to return to Afghanistan and began deporting refugees who did
not return voluntarily and arresting those who returned to Pakistan.
Beginning in October, Pakistani security forces reported that hundreds
of militants were crossing periodically from Afghanistan into the
country to attack.
Police in some cases demanded bribes from Afghan refugees. There
were credible reports that members of the intelligence services
harassed refugees. Some female refugees who accepted jobs with NGOs
reported harassment from Taliban sympathizers in their own community.
Refugees faced societal discrimination and abuse from local
communities, which resented economic competition and blamed refugees
for high crime rates.
Although refugees did not have access to courts, the Government
provided access to basic health and education services, especially for
Afghan refugees. UNHCR recognized 478 non-Afghan refugees in the
country. Every refugee who registered with both the UNHCR and the
government-run Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees was granted
admission to public education facilities after filing the proper
paperwork. Single women, female-led households, and children working on
the streets were particularly vulnerable to abuse, including
trafficking.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides the majority of its citizens with the right to
change their government, and the country held national and provincial
elections during the year that brought opposition parties to power. The
Federally Administered Northern Areas, FATA, and Azad Kashmir were
subject to unique systems. The President retained the power to dissolve
parliament, a power Musharraf arrogated to the presidency and codified
in constitutional article 58(2)b.
The residents of the Federally Administered Northern Areas, which
include Gilgit and Baltistan, did not have representation in the
national parliament. An appointed civil servant administered these
areas, and an elected Northern Areas Legislative Council served in an
advisory capacity without legislative power. The Government administers
the Northern Areas under the Legal Framework Order of 1994. According
to the ICG, this administrative instrument is used to strengthen
federal control over the region while denying its residents basic
political and civil rights.
Residents of the FATA are overrepresented in national parliament
but do not have a voice in federal decision-making over the tribal
areas, an authority that belongs to the President. Tribal residents did
not have the right to change their local government, as unelected civil
bureaucrats nominally run the tribal agencies. The Elected Councils in
FATA, set up in 2007 to provide local representation within the tribal
areas, have not been given an active role in governing the tribal
areas. The Political Parties Act does not apply to the FATA, and no
political party can legally campaign or operate an office there. Some
political parties asserted that this rule was void, since religious-
based parties such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamaat-e-Islami
(JI) openly campaigned in the FATA despite the law.
Azad Kashmir is subject to its own constitution, which allows for a
legislative assembly and a prime minister but prohibits parties and
candidates from contesting elections if they do not support Kashmir's
accession to the country, according to a 2006 HRW report. Despite
nominal representation for Azad Kashmir, the Federal Government in fact
controls significant decision-making in the area, according to HRW's
report. Under the Kashmiri constitution, authority over 52 critical
policy areas is ceded to the Azad Kashmir Council in Islamabad, whose
composition favors the Federal Government numerically. The Federal
Government also can dismiss arbitrarily the elected Kashmiri
legislative assembly.
Elections and Political Participation.--On February 18, the country
held national parliamentary elections that brought former opposition
parties into a coalition government led by the PPP under the leadership
of Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani. The elections were postponed multiple
times, the last of which was due to the assassination of PPP leader
Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. In the September 6 indirect
Presidential election, Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Bhutto, became
President succeeding Pervez Musharraf, who had resigned on August 18.
The PPP and its coalition partners took control of the executive and
legislative branches of the national government and three of the four
provincial assemblies. PML-N took control of the Punjab provincial
assembly. PML-N, originally the PPP's largest partner in the national
government, withdrew from the coalition on August 25 ostensibly due to
PML-N's insistence that judges deposed during the 2007 state of
emergency be reinstated to their original positions.
International and domestic observers found the February
parliamentary election to be competitive and noted that the results
appeared to reflect the will of the voters, despite significant flaws
in the process. The Government permitted all existing political parties
to contest the elections. The largest political parties participated.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), some Baloch parties, and several
parties from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) coalition were among
those that staged a boycott.
The Government required voters to indicate their religion when
registering to vote. The Ahmadi community boycotted the elections,
according to the European Union Election Observation Mission, because
they were required to register on a separate voter roll.
The network of civil society organizations known as the Free and
Fair Election Network (FAFEN) documented intimidation of voters and
political parties by security services and local landowners throughout
the country prior to the election. In particular, their observers noted
that police pressured candidates and political party workers by
threatening to register cases against them. Police often reportedly did
not allow rallies for opposition parties and pressured individuals to
vote for PML-Q. FAFEN also documented cases in which intelligence
services pressured candidates to withdraw.
On election day, some voters were disenfranchised or were subject
to intimidation. Women were barred from voting in four polling stations
in NWFP and FATA and one in Sindh Province and were discouraged in
others. The turnout of women was depressed throughout the country, even
at female polling stations.
The ECP reportedly accredited approximately 25,000 domestic
observers, the majority of whom were from FAFEN. The European Union and
Democracy International were among the organizations that fielded
international observation teams. In September for the first time, the
ECP released the certified results of the elections broken down by
polling station, a step toward greater transparency.
The Ministry of Interior issued restrictions on political rallies
beyond what already existed in the electoral code of conduct, in the
wake of suicide bombings against Benazir Bhutto and other high-profile
leaders.
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) noted
that formal adjudication of challenges related to disputed election
results was weak, and that the high courts did not meet the statutorily
prescribed deadlines for adjudication of challenges in the majority of
cases brought before them.
Petitions filed in the Lahore High Court Election Tribunal
separately challenged the eligibility of PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif to
run for the National Assembly and Shahbaz Sharif to run for the Punjab
Provincial Assembly. The Lahore High Court Election Tribunal ruled that
Shahbaz could serve as chief minister of Punjab province and asked the
Supreme Court to intervene in the challenge against Nawaz, which was
based on his 2000 conviction for corruption and hijacking, charges that
disqualified him from running for parliamentary office. At year's end,
both cases were pending in the Supreme Court.
There were 60 seats in the National Assembly reserved for women,
and an additional 16 women won directly elected seats in the 342-seat
National Assembly. There were five women in the federal cabinet. For
the first time in the country's history, the National Assembly elected
a female speaker, Dr. Fahmida Mirza. There were 128 reserved seats for
women of the 758 seats in provincial assemblies and one-third of the
seats were reserved in local councils. Provincial chief ministers named
women to serve in their cabinets. In some districts social and
religious conservatives prevented women from becoming candidates.
There were 10 religious minority members in reserved seats in the
National Assembly and one served in the cabinet as the Federal Minister
for Minorities. Such seats were apportioned to parties based on the
percentage of seats each wins in the assembly. Under the law,
minorities held 23 reserved seats in the provincial assemblies: eight
in Punjab; nine in Sindh; three in NWFP; and three in Balochistan.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law imposes criminal
penalties for official corruption; the Government did not implement the
law effectively in practice, however, and officials frequently engaged
in corrupt practices with impunity. Public perception of corruption was
widespread.
Special accountability courts try corruption cases brought by the
NAB, including defaults on government loans by wealthy debtors. The NAB
has not targeted genuine business failures or small defaulters.
Accountability courts were expected to try cases within 30 days. In
accountability cases, there was a presumption of guilt.
The Worldwide Governance Indicators of the World Bank reflected
corruption was a severe problem.
On September 19, for the first time, the newly elected government
appointed the leader of the political opposition as Chairman of the
National Accounts Committee, which oversees federal spending.
In October 2007 the Government promulgated the NRO, which provided
a mechanism for withdrawing cases against former public office holders
who had been charged in politically motivated cases, but the ordinance
prohibited those convicted of corruption by the NAB from holding public
office for 10 years. The NRO was challenged both in the Supreme Court
and the Sindh High Court. The Government maintained the NRO was
promulgated to promote national harmony and political reconciliation
among all political parties. According to the ordinance, no legislator
could be arrested by law enforcement organizations, and if charges
against a legislator were brought, a parliamentary committee would
determine the validity of the charges before the case could proceed or
be dismissed. Civil society activists and political observers viewed
this measure as creating another privileged class. At the end of 2007
the Supreme Court had not ruled on challenges to the NRO.
The NAB stopped disproportionately targeting opposition politicians
for prosecution following the return of the Anti-Crime and Economic
Wings of the NAB in April to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA),
which reports to the Ministry of Interior. Musharraf transferred them
from the FIA to the NAB in 2002. The NAB did not prosecute active duty
members of the military.
The Freedom of Information Ordinance restricts the information to
which citizens may have access.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
of the new administration were cooperative but only somewhat responsive
to the groups' views.
The Government sought NGO technical cooperation, especially from
international NGOs, in the fields of humanitarian relief, development,
environment, election operations, and human trafficking. Human rights
groups reported they generally had good access to police stations and
prisons.
The HRCP investigated human rights abuses and sponsored discussions
on human rights issues during the year. In November the HRCP reported
that NGOs were subject to militant threats, particularly in Peshawar.
The Government permitted international non-governmental human
rights observers to visit the country and generally cooperated with
international governmental human rights organizations. The ICRC and
many agencies of the UN had offices in the country, including UNHCR,
UNICEF, and UNDP.
On November 3, the Government created the Ministry of Human Rights.
Once part of the Ministry of Law and Justice, the new ministry became a
distinct federal agency.
The Senate and National Assembly Standing Committees on Law,
Justice, and Human Rights held hearings on a range of issues, including
honor crimes, police abuse of the blasphemy law, and the Hudood
Ordinance. The committees served as useful fora to raise public
awareness of such issues, but their final actions generally adhered to
government policy, and the committees did not have the resources to do
more than perform broad oversight. The Parliamentarians' Commission for
Human Rights, an inter-party caucus of parliamentarians, lobbied
effectively for reform in key areas.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equality for all citizens and broadly
prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, caste, residence, or
place of birth; in practice, however, there was significant
discrimination based on each of these factors.
Women.--Rape, other than by one's spouse, is a criminal offense.
One cannot be prosecuted for marital rape or for rape in a case in
which a marriage between the perpetrator and victim was contracted but
not solemnized. Although rape was frequent, prosecutions were rare.
Estimates were that victims reported fewer than 10 percent of rape
cases to the police due to social norms and the fear of repercussions.
The Ministry of Women's Development, Social Welfare, and Special
Education was charged with handling these issues, with NGO assistance.
The Women's Protection Act of 2006 brought the crime of rape under
the jurisdiction of criminal rather than Islamic courts. Previously,
under the rape provision of the Hudood Ordinance, a woman was compelled
to produce four male witnesses to corroborate her charge. Under the new
law, police are not allowed to arrest or hold a woman overnight at a
police station without civil court judge consent. In an attempt to
bypass difficulties rape victims faced at police stations, a provision
in the act called for a sessions judge to hear all rape cases. Women's
rights NGOs complained, however, that the law introduced barriers to
rape victims who did not have money or access to the courts. Courts
began bringing rape cases under the Women's Protection Act rather than
the Hudood Ordinances. According to women's rights groups, however, the
law was poorly enforced.
The punishment for rape ranges from 10 to 25 years in prison and a
fine at a minimum, or the death penalty at a maximum. The penalty for
gang rape is either death or life imprisonment, but sentences were
often much lower.
There were no reliable national statistics on rape, due to the
serious underreporting of the problem. Local observers noted that rape
was among the most taboo human rights violations in the country.
Police were at times implicated in rape cases. Police often abused
or threatened victims and demanded they drop charges, especially when
the accused had bribed police. Police demanded bribes from some victims
prior to registering rape charges, and investigations were often
superficial. NGOs reported that some police stations stopped recording
rape complaints. Medical personnel did not have sufficient forensics
training, which further complicated prosecutions.
In early March Taslim Solangi, a 17 year-old girl, was allegedly
the victim of an honor killing ordered by a jirga. According to the
AHRC, she was attacked by dogs and then killed by her in-laws. On
December 23, President Zardari appointed an inquiry officer in the
case.
On March 15, according to the NGO War against Rape, five men gang-
raped a newly wed 19-year-old woman at the Mazar-e-Quaid's mausoleum in
Karachi for 36 hours, allegedly after drugging her and holding her at
gunpoint. In April a DNA test on one of the suspects, Syed Khadim
Hussein, was positive. The three suspects in the case were in prison at
year's end and contesting the case. On November 22, a court rejected
their bail plea.
On May 26, two men in Gowalmandi, Lahore, raped a seven-year-old
girl, according to the Inquiry Commission on Human Rights Abuses. A
prosecution case against two men, one of whom was her uncle, was
ongoing at year's end.
On August 24, a group of men kidnapped, raped, and killed a 13-
year-old schoolgirl in Rawalpindi. Authorities began an investigation
but made no arrests by year's end.
On September 10, authorities suspended the chief investigating
officer and ordered a higher level inquiry into the case of Samia, a
woman whom multiple men kidnapped and raped in Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab.
The attackers severely burned her with acid before killing her. The
police did not initiate an official investigation despite the family's
request. After the rapists issued death threats to her family, however,
police provided them protection.
Police made no arrests in the January 2007 case of the 17-year-old
girl whom four men gang raped in Shadara Town, Lahore, in Punjab.
An antiterrorism court in Hyderabad did not render an indictment by
year's end in the January 2007 case of then 16-year-old Nasima Labano.
As punishment for her male cousin being seen with a woman of another
tribe, she was gang-raped by at least eight men and forced to walk
without clothes through Habib Labano, her village in Sindh. She became
pregnant as a result of the rapes. Despite initial resistance, police
arrested six suspects in March 2007 and two more in July 2007. The
family was forced to leave Habib Labano due to security concerns.
During the year, there were no developments in the Supreme Court
case brought against the men involved in the 2002 gang rape of Mukhtar
Mai. In 2005 the Supreme Court ordered that the five whose original
conviction the Lahore High Court overturned be rearrested and held
without bail. During the year, Mai was living in her village in Punjab
with police protection, and the 13 men allegedly involved in the gang
rape were in prison.
There were no developments in the 2005 rape case of Shazia Khalid
at the Sui gas field in Balochistan. Baloch nationalists claimed that
Frontier Corps personnel raped her; the Government claimed DNA evidence
indicated otherwise. A tribal jirga condemned Khalid to death for
dishonoring the tribe. She and her husband left the country in 2005;
human rights organizations alleged they did so under pressure from the
Government.
Domestic violence was a widespread and serious problem. Husbands
reportedly beat, and occasionally killed, their wives. Other forms of
domestic violence included torture and shaving. In-laws abused and
harassed married women. Dowry and family-related disputes often
resulted in death or disfigurement by burning or acid.
There is no specific legislation prohibiting domestic violence, but
sections of the Penal Code can be used to invoke justice for the
victim. The National Commission on the Status of Women, a government
body, advocated the passage of domestic violence legislation.
According to a June HRCP report, 80 percent of wives in rural
Punjab feared violence from their husbands and nearly 50 percent of
wives in most developed urban areas admitted that their husbands beat
them. By November there were 21 reported cases of ``stove deaths,''
incidents in which women are doused in kerosene and set on fire.
According to the Progressive Women's Association, many incidents were
unreported.
Women who try to report abuse face serious challenges. In the
absence of domestic violence law, abusers may be charged with assault,
but the abused rarely filed cases. Police and judges were reluctant to
take action in domestic violence cases, viewing them as family
problems. Police, instead of filing charges, usually responded by
encouraging the parties to reconcile. Abused women usually were
returned to their abusive family members. Women were reluctant to
pursue charges because of the stigma attached to divorce and their
economic and psychological dependence on relatives. Relatives were
hesitant to report abuse for fear of dishonoring the family.
The Government operated the Crisis Center for Women in Distress,
which referred abused women to NGOs for assistance. There were
approximately 70 district-run shelter homes and approximately 250
facilities operating as ad hoc emergency shelters for women in
distress, including female police stations and homes run by the
provincial Social Welfare departments. The district-run centers
provided shelter, access to medical treatment, limited legal
representation, and some vocational training.
In some cases at the government-run shelters, women were abused.
There were five non-governmental shelters, one each in Islamabad,
Lahore, and Multan, and two in Karachi.
There were no developments in the February 2007 case of the man who
set his 21-year-old wife on fire in Rawalpindi with assistance from his
two brothers. In late 2007 police arrested the man near Rawalpindi
along with one brother on charges of murder; the second brother
reportedly fled to Dubai. At year's end the case was pending in
Rawalpindi District Court. According to the Progressive Women's
Association, the family of the victim was socially pressured to
withdraw the charges in exchange for blood money, but they refused.
Honor killings and mutilations occurred throughout the country
during the year. Some men were also subject to honor killings, though
women represent the majority of victims. Statistics on honor crimes
were unreliable due to underreporting, but there were 476 killings of
women reported between January and May.
A 2005 law that established penalties for honor killings. Human
rights groups criticized the legislation because it allows the victim
or the victim's heirs to negotiate physical or monetary restitution
with the perpetrator of the crime in exchange for dropping charges, a
law known as ``qisas'' and ``diyat.'' Since honor crimes generally
occurred within families, perpetrators were able to negotiate nominal
payments and avoid more serious punishment.
In July perpetrators shot two teenage girls and three women in Baba
Kot, Balochistan, and buried them in a ditch. The teenage girls
reportedly wanted to choose their husbands and the adult women were
accused of protecting them. The case prompted media controversy and
condemnation by politicians and human rights groups after a Baloch
parliamentarian, Senator Israrullah Zehri, defended this method of
honor killing as a ``centuries-old tradition'' and the Government two
months later elevated him to Federal Minister of Postal Services.
Police did not file an FIR in the case and were accused of silencing it
due to the influence of a provincial minister, whose brother was
allegedly among the perpetrators, a charge the minister denied. The
Federal Government and the provincial government initiated an
investigation, and police arrested four of the seven suspects. The
alleged mastermind, Aktar Umrani, was arrested on November 30 in
Kandhkot, Sindh. The Balochistan High Court ordered the case
registered, an inquiry was completed by mid October, and authorities
arrested the remaining suspects. The female parliamentarian who raised
attention to the case in the National Assembly received death threats.
There were no developments in the November 2006 killing of Mohammad
Ayub Mahar's three daughters and his daughter-in-law, Safia Mahar, in
Abdoo village in Shikarpur District for allegedly having illicit
affairs with other men.
Despite bans on the handing over women as compensation for crimes
committed by rival tribes (also known as ``vani'' or ``swara''), the
practice continued in Punjab and NWFP.
Parliament outlawed forced marriages in February 2007, but
implementation of the law remained a problem.
The World Bank released a study in February 2007 indicating that
approximately one-third of marriages in rural areas were ``watta
satta,'' exchange marriages in which men marry each other's sisters, a
practice that carries with it a mutual threat of retaliation. The study
indicated that the reciprocal nature of the practice provided some
measure of protection for women. According to the study, ``women in
watta satta marriages have substantially and significantly lower
probabilities of marital estrangement, domestic abuse, and major
depressive episodes.'' Human rights groups such as the HRCP criticized
the practice, however, noting that ``these marriages treat women as a
commodity, and tension within one household also affects the other.''
In rural Sindh, landowning families continued the practice of
``Koranic marriages'' to avoid division of property. Property of women
married to the Koran remains under the legal control of their father or
eldest brother, and such women are prohibited from contact with any
male older than 14. These women were expected to stay in the home and
not maintain contact with anyone outside of their family.
Prostitution is illegal. Most prostitutes were victims of domestic
or international trafficking and were held against their will. Police
generally ignored the activity if they received bribes. Police raided
brothels during the year but many continued to operate underground,
particularly in larger cities.
Sexual harassment was a widespread problem. There was no law to
protect women in the workplace. Press reports indicated harassment was
especially high among domestic workers and nurses. Although the Penal
Code prohibits harassment, prosecution was rare.
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, but in
practice this provision was not enforced. Women faced discrimination in
family law, property law, and the judicial system.
Family law provides protections for women in cases of divorce,
including requirements for maintenance, and lays out clear guidelines
for custody of minor children and their maintenance. Many women were
unaware of these legal protections or unable to obtain legal counsel to
enforce them. Divorced women often were left with no means of support
and their families ostracized them. Although it is prohibited by law,
the practice of buying and selling brides continued in rural areas.
Women are legally free to marry without family consent, but women who
did so were often ostracized or were the victims of honor crimes.
Inheritance law discriminates against women. Female children are
entitled to only one-half the inheritance of male children. Wives
inherit only one-eighth of their husband's estate. In practice, women
often received far less than their legal inheritance entitlement.
Women faced significant discrimination in employment and were
frequently paid less than men for similar work. In many rural areas of
the country, strong societal pressure prevented women from working
outside the home. Some tribes continued the traditional practice of
sequestering women from all contact with males other than relatives.
Numerous women's rights NGOs such as the Progressive Women's
Association, Sehar, Struggle for Change, War against Rape, and Aurat
Foundation were active in urban areas. Their primary concerns included
domestic violence, the Hudood Ordinance, and honor crimes.
Children.--The Government made some progress during the year in
defending children's rights and welfare through its laws and programs,
but problems remained. Juveniles accused of terrorism or narcotics
offenses were not protected under the Juvenile Justice System
Ordinance. The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child
(SPARC) reported children as young as 12 were arrested under the Anti-
Terrorism Act. Children convicted under this act are subject to the
death penalty.
Local laws do not mandate free public education, and schools
generally charge tuition. Although some provincial governments such as
Punjab's passed laws requiring free public education, many public
schools continued to charge tuition and fees for books, supplies, and
uniforms. Public schools, particularly beyond the primary grades, were
not available in many rural areas, leading parents to use madrassas. In
urban areas some parents sent children to private schools due to the
lack of facilities and poor quality of education offered by the public
system.
Although boys and girls had equal access to government facilities,
families were more likely to seek medical assistance for boys.
Child abuse was widespread. According to child rights NGOs, abuse
was most common within families. NGOs that monitored child abuse
reported 1,417 cases by the end of November, down from 2,650 in 2007.
Seventy percent of child abuse cases involved female victims. Press
reports indicated that some madrassas continued to teach religious
extremism and violence; others in isolated parts of NWFP and interior
Sindh confined children illegally, kept them in unhealthy conditions,
and physically or sexually abused them.
The legal age of marriage is 18 for males and 16 for females.
Despite laws barring child marriages, there was evidence it occurred.
In March, the Family Planning Association of Pakistan estimated that
child marriages comprised 32 percent of marriages in the country. At a
2007 human rights seminar in Islamabad, participants noted a 12-year-
old girl could be purchased for 90,000 to 200,000 rupees ($1,143 to
$2,539) in parts of Sindh and NWFP. In rural areas, poor parents sold
children as bonded laborers and sold their daughters into marriage.
On May 30, a jirga in Chach, Sindh, ordered that 15 girls from the
Chakrani tribe, ages three to 10, be given away in ``vanni,'' which
meant they would be married to a rival tribe to settle an old dispute.
As of June the Chakrani tribe had not handed them over and the matter
was resolved.
The Edhi Welfare Trust (EWT) claimed to rescue approximately 30
infants each month from dumpsters in Karachi and elsewhere in the
country and to recover the dead bodies of about four times as many
infants. They reported that since 1970, they have recovered 68,000 dead
infants in garbage dumps. Of the infants abandoned or killed, 98
percent are girls, according to EWT.
There were no known limits on child IDPs' access to government
services, though some civil society organizations demanded improvement
in these services.
Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children were
problems. According to Sahil, an NGO that focuses on child sexual
exploitation, children were generally prostituted through the
involvement of a third party rather than prostituting themselves as a
means of survival.
There were reports in 2007 that religious militants forcibly
recruited child soldiers. The BBC reported that pro-Taliban militants
kidnapped children as young as 11 and 12 in Tank and Dir and trained
them as suicide bombers. In March 2007 police and Taliban militants
clashed in Tank after officials at a boys' high school resisted
militants' efforts to recruit students from the school. According to
press reports, the militants later kidnapped the principal, whom they
suspected of alerting the police, and attacked Tank. The ensuing clash
reportedly left 25 militants and one paramilitary officer dead.
SPARC estimated that more than 100,000 children lived on the
streets in urban areas in 2007. Many were runaways from the interior of
Punjab and Sindh provinces or were Afghan refugees.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits domestic and
international trafficking in persons; there were reports, however that
persons were trafficked to, from, and within the country.
The country was a significant source, transit, and destination
country for trafficked persons, and internal trafficking was a serious
problem reportedly involving thousands of women and children. Men and
women were trafficked from the country to the Middle East to work as
bonded laborers or in domestic servitude. The country was also a
destination for women and children from Bangladesh, India, Burma,
Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Central Asia for commercial sexual
exploitation and forced labor. Women from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
and Burma were trafficked through Pakistan to the Gulf.
Maximum penalties for trafficking ranged from seven to 14 years'
imprisonment plus fines. The Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) anti-
trafficking unit had primary responsibility for combating trafficking.
An inter-ministerial committee on human trafficking and smuggling
coordinated federal efforts. The Government assisted other countries
with international investigations of trafficking.
Authorities registered approximately 1,300 human smuggling cases
during the year. This figure included trafficking cases, because the
FIA did not distinguish between trafficking and human smuggling. By the
end of the year, authorities discovered and detained nearly 5,000
individuals attempting to travel on fraudulent exit permits or
traveling through illegal routes. The FIA's human trafficking cell
estimated that 7,000 to 8,000 people attempted to leave the country via
trafficking rings, on forged or fraudulent documents.
Through November the FIA arrested 183 agents involved in false
attempts to send smuggled individuals abroad. The FIA also issued a
``red book'' including the names and addresses of the smuggling agents
whom the police had not captured. Although journalists and officials
had access to the red book, the general public did not.
The Government, in cooperation with UNICEF and the United Arab
Emirates, worked to repatriate and rehabilitate children used as camel
jockeys. An estimated 700 children were repatriated through these
efforts since 2005. The FIA facilitated payment of compensatory damages
from the UAE.
Women and children from rural areas were trafficked internally to
urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation and labor. Bonded
labor of children in brick kilns, rice mills, and textile factories
remained a serious issue. In some cases families sold the victims into
servitude or believed they were marrying off their children or sending
them for legitimate employment, but in other cases they were kidnapped.
Women were trafficked from East Asian countries and Bangladesh to the
Middle East via the country. Traffickers bribed police and immigration
officials to facilitate passage. In 2007 authorities reportedly
prosecuted government officers and arrested FIA inspectors for
facilitating trafficking.
In 2005 the central government opened one model shelter in
Islamabad specifically for trafficking victims. The Government provided
temporary residence status to foreign trafficking victims.
Foreign victims, particularly Bangladeshis, faced difficulties in
being repatriated to their home countries. Women trafficked abroad and
sexually exploited faced societal discrimination upon their
repatriation.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for equality of the
rights of persons with disabilities. There are employment quotas at
both federal and provincial levels, which require public and private
organizations to reserve at least two percent of their jobs for
qualified persons with disabilities. In practice, however, this right
is only partially protected due to lack of adequate enforcement
mechanisms.
The Government has not enacted legislation or otherwise mandated
access to buildings or government services for persons with
disabilities. Families cared for the majority of individuals with
physical and mental disabilities. In some cases, however, criminals
forced these individuals into begging and took much of the proceeds.
Organizations that refuse to hire persons with disabilities can
choose to pay a fine to a disability assistance fund. This obligation
was rarely enforced. The National Council for the Rehabilitation of the
Disabled provided some job placement and loan facilities as well as
some subsistence funding. The Council also operated the ``Pakistan
Society for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled,'' which provided
rehabilitation, vocational training, and some medical support to
persons with disabilities.
When the King Edward Medical College refused to treat a disabled
person on the grounds that the college did not have facilities for
persons with disabilities, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered
on December 7 that the child be admitted to the college and that the
provincial government cover the treatment costs.
There were no restrictions on the rights of the disabled to vote or
participate in civil affairs.
Systematic discrimination against national, ethnic, and racial
minorities is widely acknowledged privately, but insufficient data
exist for clear and accurate reporting on these forms of
discrimination.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Homosexual intercourse
is a criminal offense; in practice, however, the Government rarely
prosecuted cases. Homosexuals rarely revealed their sexual orientation,
and there were no cases brought during the year of discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation.
According to the Government's National Aids Control Program (NACP),
there was no observed discrimination based on HIV/AIDS status observed
in the Government service. Societal attitudes toward HIV-positive
individuals are changing slowly, but social discrimination lingers.
The NACP reported there were approximately 90,000 HIV-positive
individuals in the country, and approximately 50 percent of those lived
in Sindh Province. The report stated that ``entrenched age-old social
attitudes, practices, and stereotyping, which often lead to violence
against women, coupled with unequal access to economic resources, are
hampering progress toward dealing with the spread of HIV/AIDS.''
In cooperation with donors and the UN, the Government established
the NACP, which managed a campaign to educate its citizens about AIDS.
NACP held rallies and public campaigns, and spoke in mosques about
birth control and AIDS awareness.
Section 6. Worker Rights
On November 19, the parliament repealed the previous labor law, the
Industrial Relations Ordinance of 2002 (IRO), and enacted the
Industrial Relations Act of 2008 (IRA), which allows labor unions.
Labor groups were concerned that workers were not adequately consulted
in the drafting of the legislation.
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution protects the right
of association, and the law selectively allows workers to form and join
independent unions of their choice without prior authorization. In
practice, the law adopted in November was too new to judge enforcement,
and the prior law was unevenly enforced during the year.
Through November the 2002 IRO denied the right of association for
many sectors of the workforce, including civil servants; security and
watch officers in transportation, energy, and shipping; oil and gas
industries, post, press, and telecommunications; firefighting;
education and medical institutions; nonprofit organizations; and all
supervisory and managerial personnel. The Government had wide power to
restrict associational rights of any category of workers,
administratively refuse or cancel a union's registration, and exclude
or disqualify a union office bearer from holding further office.
Since November, the 2008 IRA provides the right of association for
some private and public sector workers, although it does not apply to
many of those previously excluded under the IRO.
The IRA significantly limits the membership of workers in trade
unions of their choice by complex definitions of who qualifies for
membership. This results in a bias toward small, disaggregated worker
organizations. Under the IRA, trade unions have the right to join any
federation or confederation of their choice.
Under the 2002 IRO, sectors excluded from the right to strike
included those not allowed to associate, as well as workers in
electricity generation and transmission, state-owned airlines and
ports. The IRO significantly limited the manner in which workers could
strike, and the Government had arbitrary authority to end any strike.
Authorities could also classify union actions as ``terrorist acts.''
The Government prohibited all strikes by public utility services under
the IRO. The IRO prohibited employers from seeking retribution against
leaders of a legal strike and stipulated fines for offenders. The law
did not protect leaders of illegal strikes. Whether workers could
conduct sympathy strikes or strike on political grounds was legally
ambiguous.
The IRA is similarly expansive in limiting the rights of workers to
strike but is silent on the rights of workers to conduct sympathy
strikes.
The Essential Services (Maintenance) Act of 1952 (ESMA) has been
invoked to limit or ban strikes by public sector workers and to curtail
collective bargaining rights. It applies to government services and
state enterprises, such as energy production, power generation and
transmission, airlines, and ports. The ESMA contains legally required
conciliation proceedings and mandatory cooling-off periods, which
effectively constrain the right to strike, as does the Government's
authority to ban any strike that may cause ``serious hardship to the
community'' or prejudice the national interest. The Government may also
under ESMA ban, without recourse for workers, a strike that has
continued for 30 days.
According to NGOs and trade union experts, the total workforce
during the year was 50.8 million. The Government assessed that 4
percent of the total estimated workforce was unionized, a figure that
workers' groups said underestimated total worker participation. Unions
did not represent the majority of workers in the informal sector, who
accounted for 70 percent of the total labor force.
There were no reported incidents of the Government dissolving a
union without due process.
The 2006 ban by the Sindh Registrar of Trade Unions on the Karachi
Shipyard and Engineering Works remained in place. Union representatives
challenged the ban's legality in the Sindh High Court in August 2007.
The case was abandoned during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining for some sectors is protected by law; in practice, the law
adopted in November was too new to judge enforcement, and the prior law
was unevenly enforced during the year.
Sectors exempt from the 2002 IRO included those denied the right of
association listed above. Sectors exempt from the 2008 IRA include
security forces, Pakistan Security Printing Corporation, fire services,
and oil installations. The IRA prohibits employers from retaliating
against workers for union activity, and any employer found to have
engaged in serious violations was liable for fines but not
imprisonment. The ESMA was often invoked to limit or ban strikes or
curtail collective bargaining rights in certain sectors.
In the rest of the economy, the Government allowed unions to
conduct their activities without interference, except for employees
within the Export Processing Zones (EPZs). The more than 15,000
employees working in the country's 12 EPZs are prohibited from joining
unions, bargaining collectively, or striking under the ESMA. The EPZ
Authority is empowered to draft labor laws within the EPZs, but no such
laws have been drafted.
The 2002 IRO required the Government to determine every six months
whether collective bargaining was to be allowed. In cases in which
collective bargaining was prohibited, special tripartite provincial
wage boards decided wage levels. Unions generally were dissatisfied
with the boards' findings. The National Industrial Relations Commission
(NIRC) adjudicated disputes. Public sector workers were not allowed to
appeal to the NIRC.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) reported that
employers disqualify workers from union membership by promoting them to
nominal managerial status. Management regularly resorts to
intimidation, dismissal, and blacklisting to prevent unionization. For
example, in September, Unilever dismissed all but five of 292 temporary
workers at its Rahim Yar Khan factory in Punjab when the union
announced it would help the workers achieve permanent status.
The ITUC reported in March that brick kiln bonded laborers
attempted to organize in seven districts of Punjab province. The
largest gathering was in Lahore, with nearly 5,000 attending the event.
The Pakistan Bhatta (brick kiln) Workers Union requested a protest
permit, but local authorities banned the demonstration.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
slavery and all forms of forced labor, including bonded and child
labor; in practice, however, the Government did not enforce these
prohibitions effectively and there were numerous instances in which
these practices occurred.
The law outlaws bonded labor, cancels all existing bonded debts,
and forbids lawsuits for the recovery of such debts.
The Ministry of Labor, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis at the
federal level and labor officials in the provinces are responsible for
enforcement of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1992 (BLSA),
which banned bonded labor. The HRCP noted that the implementation of
the act required review. The National Commission on Abolition of Bonded
Labor and Rehabilitation of Freed Bonded Laborers worked in conjunction
with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to implement the
National Policy and Plan of Action for the Abolition of Bonded Labor
and Rehabilitation of Freed Bonded Laborers.
NGOs SPARC and SHARP reported that approximately two million
persons were involved in some form of bonded labor, primarily in Sindh
Province. Bonded labor was most common in the brick, glass, carpet, and
fishing industries. In rural areas, particularly in the Tharparkar
District of Sindh, bonded labor in the agricultural and construction
sectors was fairly widespread.
A Freedom House report from January noted that bonded laborers
sometimes sell their organs, particularly their kidneys, to escape
servitude. According to the UN's Integrated Regional Information
Networks (IRIN), the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation
conducted a survey in Punjab released in July 2007 noting that 93
percent of kidney vendors needed the money to repay debts and 69
percent of vendors were bonded laborers. There were continued reports
of kidney sales after the introduction of the Human Organs and Tissues
Transplant Ordinance, which banned the practice in September 2007.
A large proportion of bonded laborers were low caste Hindus, or
Muslim and Christian descendants of low caste Hindus.
Bonded laborers often were unable to determine when their debts
were fully paid. Those who escaped frequently faced retaliation from
former employers. Some bonded laborers returned to their former status
after being freed, due to a lack of alternative livelihoods. Although
the police arrested violators of the law against bonded labor, many
violators bribed the police to secure their release. Human rights
groups reported that landlords in rural Sindh maintained as many as 50
private jails housing approximately 4,500 bonded laborers. Ties between
such landlords and influential politicians hampered effective
elimination of the problem.
On July 15, police in Dim village, Sanghar district, recovered 58
bonded laborers, including men, women, and children, from the farm of a
Sindhi landlord, Ali Ghulam Marri. Some of the laborers were attempting
to work off three decades of debt. Police registered the cases, but
made no arrests, instead allowing the landlord to negotiate a legally
binding agreement with the leader of the laborers whereby workers would
continue working until they paid off the debt. This followed a week
after police recovered 21 bonded laborers in the same district from
landlord Haji Hussain Keerio.
In January 2007 the Lahore High Court in Rawalpindi freed 21 former
bonded laborers, including women and children. They had been held
captive in a bonded labor camp in Rawalpindi. Police registered the
case against the owner of the brick kiln, Malik Yaqub, but he fled.
There was no evidence of developments in this case during the year.
There was no evidence of developments in the February 2007 case in
which the Lahore High Court in Rawalpindi recovered 40 bonded laborers,
including women, children, and elderly persons, from a brick kiln in
Loi Bhair, near Rawalpindi.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace; enforcement
of child labor laws was lax, however, and child labor remained a
serious problem.
The law makes bonded labor by children punishable by up to five
years in prison and up to 50,000 rupees (approximately $635) in fines.
The law prohibits the employment of children younger than 14 in
factories, mines, railways, rag picking, port areas, fireworks, and
other hazardous occupations, and regulates their work conditions under
the law. The Government has identified four occupations and 34
processes considered illegal for children, including street vending,
surgical instrument manufacturing, deep sea fishing, leather
manufacturing, brick making, production of soccer balls, and carpet
weaving.
The law limits a child's workday to seven hours, including a one-
hour break after three hours of labor, and sets permissible times of
day for work and time off. No child is allowed to work overtime or at
night and should be guaranteed one day off per week. In addition, the
law requires employers to keep a register of children working for them,
for examination by labor inspectors. These prohibitions and regulations
do not apply to family businesses or government schools. The law
protects all children under age 18 from exploitation, and defines
exploitative entertainment as all activities related to human sports or
sexual practices and other abusive practices. Parents who exploit their
children are also liable under the law.
Enforcement was a serious problem. According to HRCP and SPARC,
there were 10 to 11.5 million child laborers, many of them in
agriculture and domestic work. The media reported that approximately 70
percent of non-agricultural child labor took place in small workshops,
complicating efforts to enforce child labor laws as, by law, inspectors
may not inspect facilities employing fewer than 10 persons. The
Ministry of Labor, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis had a small group
of specialized labor inspectors empowered to inspect all facilities
under the child labor law. Authorities say violations are immediately
cited and prosecuted, but tacitly agree enforcement efforts are not
adequate to meet the scale of the problem. Inspectors also have little
training, insufficient resources, and susceptibility to corruption.
Authorities allowed NGOs to perform inspections without interference,
and SPARC noted that government officials usually cooperated with their
visits.
The law allows fines of up to 20,200 rupees ($256) for violations
of child labor laws. Authorities often did not impose penalties on
violators during the year, and when they did the penalties were not a
significant deterrent. Although law enforcement authorities obtained
hundreds of convictions for violations of child labor laws, the fines
the courts levied ranged from an average of 364 rupees ($5) in the NWFP
to an average of 7,344 rupees ($93) in Balochistan.
Children were forced to work in the brick kiln and carpet weaving
industries as well as in agriculture as part of their family's
obligation to their feudal overlord.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In March, the Government raised
the fixed minimum wage per month from 4,000 ($51) to 6,000 rupees
($76). It applied only to industrial and commercial establishments
employing 50 or more workers. The national minimum wage did not provide
a decent standard of living for a worker and family and fell short of
the Pakistan Workers' Federation demand for a minimum wage of 12,000
rupees ($152) per month. Significant parts of the workforce, such as
those in the informal sector, domestics, and migrant workers, were not
covered.
Federal law provides for a maximum workweek of 48 hours (54 hours
for seasonal factories) with rest periods during the workday and paid
annual holidays. These regulations did not apply to agricultural
workers, workers in factories with fewer than 10 employees, domestic
workers, and contractors. Additional benefits required under the
Federal Labor Code include official government holidays, overtime pay,
annual and sick leave, health care, education for workers' children,
social security, old age benefits, and a workers' welfare fund.
The ITUC reported that the Government made unilateral changes to
the law in 2007, increasing hours of work, weakening worker protection,
and creating a classification of ``contract worker'' ineligible for
overtime pay. Criminal law requires police authorization for gatherings
of more than four individuals, including union activities.
Health and safety standards were poor. There was a serious lack of
adherence to mine safety and health protocols. For example, mines had
only one opening for entry, egress, and ventilation. Workers could not
remove themselves from dangerous working conditions without risking
loss of employment.
Provincial governments have primary responsibility for enforcing
all labor regulations. Enforcement was ineffective due to limited
resources, corruption, and inadequate regulatory structures. According
to the ITUC, labor inspectors have exempted certain employers from
inspection in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab. Many workers remained
unaware of their rights.
__________
SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka is a constitutional, multiparty republic with a
population of approximately 21 million. President Mahinda
Rajapaksa,elected in 2005, and the parliament, elected in 2004, both
for six-year terms, share constitutional power. International observers
generally characterized these elections as free and fair. The
Government has been engaged in a twenty-five year armed conflict with
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Effective January 16, the
Government formally abrogated the 2002 Cease-Fire Accord (CFA) with the
LTTE, and the conflict intensified during the year. While civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces, observers linked the Government closely to paramilitary groups
believed responsible for serious human rights violations.
The Government's respect for human rights declined as armed
conflict escalated. The overwhelming majority of victims of human
rights violations, such as killings and disappearances, were young male
Tamils, while Tamils were only 16 percent of the overall population.
Credible reports cited unlawful killings by paramilitaries and others
believed to be working with the awareness of the Government,
assassinations by unknown perpetrators, politically motivated killings,
the continuing use of child soldiers by a paramilitary force associated
with the Government, disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention,
poor prison conditions, denial of fair public trial, government
corruption and lack of transparency, infringement of freedom of
movement, and discrimination against minorities. Progovernment
paramilitary groups were credibly alleged to have participated in armed
attacks against civilians and practiced torture, kidnapping, hostage-
taking, and extortion with impunity. During the year, no military,
police or paramilitary members were convicted of any domestic human
rights abuse. The executive failed to appoint the Constitutional
Council, which is required under the Constitution, thus obstructing the
appointment of independent representatives to important institutions
such as the Human Rights Commission, Bribery Commission, Police
Commission, and Judicial Service Commission.
The LTTE, a terrorist organization banned in the United States,
India, the European Union, and Canada, maintained control of a
shrinking area in the north of the country. The LTTE attacked and
killed a large number of civilians; engaged in torture, arbitrary
arrest, and detention; denied fair, public trials; arbitrarily
interfered with privacy; denied freedoms of speech, press, and assembly
and association; and practiced extensive forced recruitment, including
of children. The LTTE was active in areas, particularly in the south,
that it did not control, attacking military and civilian targets,
including public buses and trains, and conducting political
assassinations.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were numerous
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. Monitoring organizations reported that during the
year, approximately eight hundred of the several thousand deaths
associated with the hostilities between government security forces and
the LTTE were civilian casualties as a result of artillery fire into
populated areas, aerial bombings, land mines, and other military
action. International organizations noted that a significant proportion
of the civilian casualties occurred in individual incidents, such as
extrajudicial killings; however, reliable statistics on such killings
by both sides were difficult to obtain because families feared
reprisals if they filed complaints. The numbers reported by different
organizations vary widely. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
believed that the majority of those reported as disappeared were
actually killed.
NGO employees and other humanitarian assistance workers were killed
by unknown assailants. As of September, of the 11 NGO and humanitarian
workers killed, four were classified as missing or disappeared and 10
had been arrested or detained.
On February 17, two men on a motorcycle killed Neil Sampson
Edirisinghe, pastor of the House Church Foundation in Ampara District.
The police arrested three Home Guards and one businessman, and the
trial was ongoing at year's end. In April a claymore mine explosion
killed the founder and director of the Northeast Secretariat on Human
Rights, Reverend M X Karunaratnam, in an LTTE-controlled area in the
north. LTTE sources blamed army long-range reconnaissance patrols. The
death remained unsolved.
The Government used paramilitary groups to assist its military
forces in fighting the LTTE. The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal
(TMVP), led by breakaway-LTTE eastern commanders Vinayagamurthi
Muralitharan, alias ``Karuna,'' and Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan,
alias ``Pillaiyan,'' operated mostly in the east. Pillaiyan was sworn
in as chief minister of the Eastern Provincial Council in May following
elections; Karuna was appointed a member of parliament on October 7.
The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), led by the Minister of
Social Services and Social Welfare Douglas Devananda, operated in
Jaffna. During the year, there were numerous killings and assaults of
civilians by unknown actors suspected of association with the TMVP or
the EPDP. Other progovernment paramilitaries were increasingly active
in Mannar and Vavuniya.
On November 14, Pillaiyan's private secretary Kumaraswamy
Nandagopan, alias ``Ragu,'' was assassinated near Colombo. While some
observers attributed the killing to supporters of rival TMVP leader
Karuna, opposition politicians linked the incident to groups associated
with the military.
There was little progress in several high-profile killings under
investigation by the Commission of Inquiry (CoI). In 2007 President
Rajapaksa invited an International Independent Group of Eminent Persons
(IIGEP) to assist the CoI and monitor its progress. The CoI interviewed
witnesses in three cases and held public formal hearings, including
testimony by video link from protected witnesses who had fled abroad.
However, according to the IIGEP, the investigations were hampered by
the lack of effective witness protection and the inappropriate role of
the Attorney General's Office in steering the inquiry. The IIGEP
terminated its mission in March, citing an ``absence of political and
institutional will'' to identify the perpetrators and ``uncovering the
systematic failure and obstructions to justice that rendered the
original investigations ineffective.''
Credible evidence placed before the CoI alleged that security
forces were responsible for the 2006 execution-style killing of 17
members of the French NGO ACF (Action Against Hunger). By year's end,
no arrests were made. There was also no outcome of the CoI
investigation into the case of five Tamil students killed in
Trincomalee in 2006 despite testimony that implicated individual
members of the security forces by name. While the commission indicated
on several occasions that it was nearly ready to present its findings,
by year's end, none of the commission's findings had become public.
There was no progress on the 2006 abduction and killings of
Reverend Thiruchchelvan Nihal Jim Brown and Wenceslaus Vinces
Vimalathas of St. Mary's Church at Allaipiddy on Kayts Island. There
was no effective investigation into the 2006 abduction of Eastern
University Vice-Chancellor Raveendranath, who was presumed dead.
In September the UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors
compliance with the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, found the Government responsible for the
1998 death of Sathasivam Sanjeevan. The committee concluded he had been
tortured and killed by security forces. The Government did not respond.
During the year, media reports implicated the LTTE in attacks on
political opponents and civilians. On January 16, the LTTE targeted a
passenger bus in Monaragala District, killing 27 civilians including
three children. On April 8, a suspected LTTE suicide bomber killed
Minister of Highways and Road Development Jeyaraj Fernandopulle in
Weliweriya. The LTTE also conducted a number of attacks on military and
police targets, including the September 9 attack on the air base in
Vavuniya that reportedly killed up to 20 members of the armed forces.
b. Disappearance.--Allegedly because of government pressure, the
Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) ceased providing statistics
on forced disappearances by state security forces, progovernment
paramilitary groups, or the LTTE. According to internationally
respected monitoring organizations, after declining in mid-2007, the
number of disappearances increased over the year to more than 500. On
November 8, the chairman of the Presidential Commission on
Disappearances, retired High Court Judge Mahanama Tilakaratne, stated
that 1,100 persons missing or abducted in the past two years were still
unaccounted for. In March Human Rights Watch (HRW) provided
documentation on several hundred cases compiled by local human rights
groups since mid-2006. The greatest concentration of disappearances
during the year occurred in Vavuniya and the Eastern Province. The HRW
report concluded that a crucial factor was ``the systemic impunity
enjoyed by members of the security forces and progovernment armed
groups for abuses they commit.''
Witnesses and potential victims identified the perpetrators of many
abductions as Tamil-speaking armed men using white vans without license
plates. The Government generally failed to investigate these incidents.
On May 14, during the country's presentation for the Universal
Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council, the then attorney
general C.R. De Silva stated that of 355 alleged disappearances
submitted to the Government, initial investigations revealed 12 persons
had left the country, 17 persons were back living with their families,
and 11 young persons had ``eloped.'' De Silva was unable to account for
the remaining 89 percent of cases on the list. During the year, the
Government did not indict or convict anyone, including security force
or paramilitary members, of involvement in disappearance-related cases.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law makes torture a punishable offense and mandates a
sentence of not less than seven years' imprisonment. However, in the
few publicized torture convictions since 2004, the courts have
generally acquitted the defendants or released them on bail pending
appeal. Human rights groups alleged that some security forces believed
torture to be allowed under specific circumstances. Following an
October 2007 visit, UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on Torture Manfred
Nowak concluded that ``torture is widely practiced in Sri Lanka.''
Methods of torture and abuse reportedly included beatings, often
with sticks, iron bars, or rubber hose; electric shock; suspending
individuals by the wrists or feet in contorted positions; burning with
metal objects and cigarettes; genital abuse; blows to the ears;
asphyxiation with plastic bags containing chili pepper or gasoline; and
near-drowning. Detainees reported broken bones and other serious
injuries as a result of their mistreatment. UNSR Nowak singled out the
Terrorist Investigative Department facility in Boossa for including the
``fullest manifestation'' of torture methods.
In the east and conflict-affected north, military intelligence and
other security personnel, sometimes working with armed paramilitaries,
carried out documented and undocumented detentions of civilians
suspected of LTTE connections. The detentions reportedly were followed
by interrogations that frequently included torture. When the
interrogations failed to produce evidence, detainees were often
released with a warning not to reveal information about their arrests
and threatened with rearrest or death if they divulged information
about their detention. Human rights groups estimated that more than
2,000 LTTE suspects were in regular detention centers, such as prisons,
with approximately 1,200 more in police stations, the Criminal
Investigation Division, the Terrorism Investigation Division, army or
paramilitary camps, or other informal detention facilities. The
military denied holding detainees at its facilities and did not grant
access to national or international monitors to investigate claims of
torture by military forces.
No accurate, publicly available statistics on reported torture
cases were available. However, civil society reported on several cases.
In February police arrested and tortured Dodampe Gamage Asantha
Aravinda and K. J. Thusara Chaminda in the Pittabaddara police station
in Matara District. Police beat both severely and threw acid on
Aravinda's face. On November 12, policemen entered the home of Surangi
Sandamali Padmini Peiris, the wife of Sugath Nishanta Fernando, and
severely beat her and her family. Fernando was killed after filing
bribery and torture charges against police officers in Negombo earlier
in the year. Following Fernando's funeral, Peiris had given a statement
in court naming police officers she suspected were behind her husband's
murder.
On April 2, the Negombo High Court acquitted six police officers
charged with torturing Gerald Perera. A victim of custodial torture,
Perera was killed on a public bus in 2004 a week before he was
scheduled to give evidence in his case in court. The judge ruled that
because there were no longer any direct eyewitnesses to prove the
charges against individual officers, the case could not go forward.
In May the Supreme Court found that Tony Fernando was tortured in
2003 by prison officials and awarded him compensation of 150,000 rupees
($1,330).
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) documented the case of
Sanjaya Sumedha, who was arrested along with his father by the police
in Kurunegala on July 11. The 14-year-old Sanjaya reported being beaten
during his nine days of detention and had to spend five days in the
hospital recovering after his release.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions did not
meet international standards due to acute overcrowding and lack of
sanitary facilities. Prisons designed for 8,200 inmates held as many as
28,000 prisoners, according to the 2007 assessment by UNSR Nowak. In
some cases juveniles were not held separately from adults. Pretrial
detainees were not held separately from those convicted. Nowak observed
prisoners sleeping on the concrete floor and often without natural
light and sufficient ventilation. Female prisoners were held separately
from male prisoners and in generally better conditions. However, some
rights groups alleged that isolated incidents of degrading treatment,
including overcrowding, maltreatment, or abuse of female prisoners
occurred. According to Nowak's assessment, ``the combination of severe
overcrowding and antiquated infrastructure of certain prison facilities
places unbearable strains on services and resources, which for
detainees in certain prisons, such as the Colombo Remand Prison,
amounts to degrading treatment.'' Nowak noted the absence of an
independent institution responsible for monitoring conditions in
detention facilities, holding private interviews, and conducting
medical evaluations of detainees.
The Government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The
ICRC reported receiving unrestricted access to government and LTTE-
controlled prison facilities and detention centers. In 2007 the
Government granted Nowak unrestricted access only to government prisons
and police detention facilities. However, the Government did not
provide access to any detention facilities operated by military
intelligence, stating that none existed. There were credible reports of
secret government facilities where suspected LTTE sympathizers were
taken, tortured, and often killed. The ICRC also was not allowed to
visit suspected illegal detention facilities operated by
paramilitaries.
In Jaffna the Council of NGOs recorded that at least 69 individuals
sought ``humanitarian protection'' in the Jaffna prison. Most of the
individuals held with their consent claimed that they feared for their
lives because of threats from security forces or paramilitaries.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibited arbitrary
arrest and detention; in practice such incidents occurred. Under the
arrest and detention standards imposed by the emergency regulations,
the law did not clearly define what constitutes an arbitrary arrest.
Data concerning arrests made during the year under the emergency
regulations were fragmentary and unreliable. Overall, several thousand
individuals were detained at least temporarily, the majority of whom
were released within 24 hours of their arrest.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Inspector General
of Police (IGP) was responsible for the 65,000 member Sri Lanka Police
Service (SLPS). The SLPS conducts civilian police functions such as
enforcing criminal and traffic laws, enhancing public safety, and
maintaining order. The IGP reports to the Minister of Defense, Public
Security and Law and Order (in a separate chain of command from that of
the armed forces and other military units). The 5,850 member
paramilitary Special Task Force also falls under the Ministry of
Defense. There was no independent authority to investigate complaints.
Senior officials in the police force handled complaints against the
police. Of the police officers serving in Tamil majority areas, few
were Tamil and most did not speak Tamil or English. Through October,
after a public recruitment drive, the police hired 175 Tamil-speaking
policemen to serve in the east. Impunity, particularly for cases of
police torture and disappearances of civilians within High Security
Zones (HSZs), was a serious problem, as was corruption. A 2007 AHRC
assessment cited the Government's tolerance of pervasive corruption as
a major reason for the police force's incapacity to investigate and
prosecute cases effectively.
On October 3, Kandasamy Kugathas and A. Gunaseelan were killed
after being part of a group of 14 Tamils detained by the police in
Batticaloa on suspicion of having links to the LTTE. The following
morning, nine of the remaining 12 were released. Relatives of the
detained refuted police claims that Kugathas and Gunaseelan were
released the morning of October 4, reporting that they had seen both at
the prison that evening. According to eyewitness accounts, the two were
taken from their cells late at night on October 4 by men in civilian
clothing, who asked for the victims by name. Six days later Kugathas'
and Gunaseelan's mutilated bodies were found. The remaining three
detainees were subsequently released.
Arrest and Detention.--Under the law authorities must inform an
arrested person of the reason for arrest and bring that person before a
magistrate within 24 hours, but in practice it often took a few days
until the detained persons appeared before a magistrate. A magistrate
may authorize bail or continued pretrial detention for up to three
months or longer. Police do not need an arrest warrant for certain
offenses, such as murder, theft, robbery, and rape. In the case of
murder, the magistrate must remand the suspect, and only the High Court
may grant bail. In all cases suspects had the right to legal
representation. Counsel was provided for indigent defendants in
criminal cases before the High Court and the Courts of Appeal, but not
in other cases.
Under the emergency regulations, the armed forces had the legal
authority to arrest persons, but they were required to turn suspects
over to the police within 24 hours. Police could detain a person for a
period of not more than one year under detention orders issued by a
deputy inspector general of police or by the secretary of defense.
After the abrogation of the CFA, the defense secretary extended some
detentions beyond one year under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Numerous NGOs and individuals complained that the armed forces and
their paramilitary allies arrested suspected LTTE sympathizers and did
not turn them over to the police, blurring the line between arrests and
abductions. Credible reports alleged that security forces and
paramilitaries often tortured and killed those arrested rather than
follow legal safeguards.
In cases when security force personnel were alleged to have
committed human rights abuses, the Government generally did not seek to
identify those responsible or bring them to justice. Case law generally
failed to uphold the doctrine of command responsibility for human
rights abuses. Human rights organizations noted that some judges
appeared hesitant to convict on cases of torture because of a seven-
year minimum mandatory sentence with no room for issues of severity or
duress.
At year's end, there was no functioning witness protection program.
According to human rights organizations, obtaining medical evidence of
torture was difficult, since there were fewer than 25 forensic
specialists, equipment was lacking, and medical practitioners untrained
in the field of torture assessment examined most torture victims. In
some cases police intimidated doctors responsible for collecting the
evidence.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary at lower levels
remained reliant on the executive. The President appoints judges to the
Supreme Court, the High Court, and the Courts of Appeal. A judicial
service commission, composed of the chief justice and two Supreme Court
judges, appoints and transfers lower court judges. During the year, the
Supreme Court demonstrated significant independence from the Government
in several decisions with regard to detentions and various actions of
the executive that it found to be arbitrary. However, for several years
the Government has failed to appoint the Constitutional Council, whose
function was to ensure the independence of constitutional bodies such
as the judicial service commission. As a result a series of important
checks on executive power was absent. Judges may be removed for
misbehavior or incapacity but only after an investigation followed by
joint action of the President and the parliament.
Trial Procedures.--In criminal cases juries try defendants in
public. Defendants were informed of the charges and evidence against
them, and they had the right to counsel and the right to appeal. The
Government provides counsel for indigent persons tried on criminal
charges in the High Court and the Courts of Appeal but not in cases
before lower courts. Allegations were made that the Legal Aid
Commission, which provides such assistance, extorted money from
beneficiaries. Private legal aid organizations assisted some
defendants. Juries were not used, however, in cases brought under the
Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Defendants in PTA cases had the
right to appeal.
Defendants were presumed innocent. Confessions obtained by coercive
means, including torture, were inadmissible in criminal courts.
Defendants bear the burden of proof, however, to show that their
confessions were obtained by coercion. Subject to judicial review, in
certain cases defendants may spend up to 18 months in prison on
administrative order waiting for their cases to be heard. Once their
cases came to trial, decisions were made relatively quickly.
The law required court proceedings and other legislation to be
available in English, Sinhala, and Tamil. In practice most court
proceedings outside of Jaffna and the northern parts of the country
were conducted in English or Sinhala. A shortage of court-appointed
interpreters restricted the ability of Tamil-speaking defendants to
receive a fair hearing. Trials and hearings in the north were in Tamil
and English. While Tamil-speaking judges were present at the magistrate
level, only four High Court judges, one Appeals Court judge, and one
Supreme Court justice spoke fluent Tamil. Few legal textbooks existed
in Tamil.
The LTTE continued to operate its own ``court system'' composed of
judges with little or no legal training. LTTE courts operated without
codified or defined legal authority and essentially as agents of the
LTTE rather than as an independent judiciary.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees. However, some cases, such as one
brought against journalist J.S. Tissainayagam under the Prevention of
Terrorism Act, appeared to be politically motivated.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law provides for the right to privacy; however,
the Government infringed on these rights, particularly when conducting
cordon and search operations in Tamil neighborhoods. On July 2, army,
police, and Special Task Force units cordoned off and searched Kimbula
Ela, a predominantly Tamil neighborhood of Colombo. Authorities told
local residents to vacate their apartments and gather in a nearby
outdoor playground, where they were called forward and videotaped
individually. On July 18, as part of preparations for a major South
Asian summit, the Government ordered 800 families to move from their
homes in Slave Island, a neighborhood in central Colombo, claiming that
the land belonged to the Defense Ministry. Before the Supreme Court
issued a stay, the Government demolished 45 houses. The Government
moved the affected residents, Muslim, Tamil and Sinhalese, to wooden
huts approximately three miles away.
The LTTE routinely interfered with the privacy of citizens by
maintaining a network of informants.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Government security forces, progovernment paramilitary groups, and the
LTTE used excessive force and committed abuses against civilians. The
Government used army commandos known as Deep Penetration Units to
conduct operations against the LTTE in the LTTE-controlled Vanni.
However, because of targeting errors, some of these attacks claimed
civilian victims.
The LTTE also used special operatives to conduct infiltration
operations against government security forces. LTTE suicide cadres,
also known as ``Black Tigers,'' killed civilians in attacks targeted at
the opposing military force. The LTTE reportedly used chemical agents,
such as tear gas or CS riot control gas, in combat situations.
Killings.--In Jaffna the progovernment paramilitary EPDP used a
network of informants and worked with military intelligence and other
government security forces to identify, abduct, and kill alleged LTTE
sympathizers or operatives. The TMVP used a similar network of
informants in the east to discover and eliminate possible LTTE
operatives or sympathizers.
The TMVP, the EPDP, and other paramilitary organization ran
extortion rings. These groups allegedly killed civilians, in many cases
following abductions. According to credible reports, the Government
provided protection, intelligence, and military training to TMVP and
EPDP cadres who committed extrajudicial killings, abductions,
extortion, and torture.
On October 6, a suicide bomber killed the leader of the opposition
in the North Central Provincial Council; retired Major General Janaka
Perera; an opposition organizer, Raja Johnpulle; and 26 others in
Anuradhapura. The Government and most observers held the LTTE
responsible for the attack, although others accused the TMVP. However,
senior opposition politicians also blamed the Government for not
providing Perera, a known LTTE target, with adequate personal security.
On October 9, an LTTE suicide bomber attacked Minister of
Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Development Mathripala
Sirisena's convoy in Boralegamuwa outside of Colombo. The minister
escaped unharmed, but one civilian was killed and five injured in the
blast.
Abductions.--In the east the TMVP often operated without hindrance
in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps under government control
and restricted humanitarian access. Abductions and forced recruitment
by the TMVP took place in IDP camps in Batticaloa and Trincomalee
districts.
During the year, the LTTE continued to detain civilians, often
requiring individuals, including children, to fight government security
forces against their will. The Tigers enforced a ``one family, one
fighter'' policy, forcing each family to provide at least one recruit
to the LTTE. As the year progressed and the LTTE's military position
deteriorated, monitoring groups reported more aggressive recruitment by
the LTTE, including of older teenagers. The LTTE required individuals
to purchase the right to leave LTTE-controlled territory. The LTTE also
allegedly used civilians as human shields.
Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--On January 28, a claymore
mine attack killed 17 civilians, including nine school children, near
Madhu, an area controlled by the LTTE at the time. A military
spokesperson denied the army was behind the attack.
International demining efforts sought to address the barriers posed
by landmines, booby traps, and unexploded ordnance to resettlement of
IDPs and rebuilding in the east after the Government's expulsion of the
LTTE.
The LTTE and the TMVP continued to interfere with the work of
international NGOs. The LTTE prevented refugees from leaving areas
under its control in the north and sought to influence aid
organizations in areas under its control. In the east credible sources
linked the TMVP to the October 29 abduction of Sankarapillai Shantha
Kumar, a member of the NGO Consortium in Akkaraipattu, Ampara District.
Although a complaint was filed, at year's end he remained missing and
there was no progress on the investigation.
Child Soldiers.--Both the LTTE and the TMVP recruited and used
minors in their armed wings. However, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
figures noted significant reductions in the scale of recruitment
compared to prior years.
The LTTE had not complied with the promise to end the use of all
minors by the end of 2007. As the conflict worsened, credible sources
alleged that the LTTE's ``one family, one fighter'' policy included
forced recruitment of all age groups, including older teenagers.
Through the end of November UNICEF reported that the LTTE forcibly
recruited (or rerecruited) 26 children during the year with an average
age of 17 years. As of November 30, 99 children remained in LTTE
custody, as well as 1,325 who were recruited as children but were over
18 at year's end.
The TMVP released a total of 39 child soldiers on April 7 and April
24. Some children were immediately returned to their parents, while
others went to a government rehabilitation center in Ambepussa. UNICEF
reported that as of November 30, 56 children were still serving in the
TMVP while an additional 71 who had been recruited as children were now
over the age of 18. However, the TMVP continued to recruit and
rerecruit children, albeit at much lower levels than in previous years.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press. Although the Government owned the country's
largest newspaper chain, two major television stations, and a radio
station, private owners operated a variety of independent newspapers,
journals, and radio and television stations. The Government imposed no
political restrictions on the establishment of new media enterprises.
Several foreign media outlets operated in the country.
Media freedom deteriorated in the Colombo area, as well as in the
conflict-affected north and east. Many journalists practiced self-
censorship. In April Freedom House released its 2007 Global Freedom
Report, which categorized the country's press as ``not free.'' Other
national and international media freedom organizations and journalists'
associations expressed concern over media freedom and were sharply
critical of the Defense Ministry's role in harassing and intimidating
journalists.
The Government made several attempts to prevent independent media
houses from criticizing the Government and its policies. Senior
government officials repeatedly accused critical journalists of treason
and often pressured editors and publishers to run stories that
portrayed the Government in a positive light.
Media personnel were subject to threats and harassment during the
year. Statements by government and military officials, including
Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, Army Commander Sarath Fonseka,
and Minister of Labor Mervyn Silva, contributed to an environment in
which journalists who published articles critical of the Government
felt under threat. On August 4, Minister of Labor Mervyn Silva and his
entourage physically assaulted two television journalists. On November
14, Silva and three others were indicted by the attorney general in the
High Court of Colombo on nine counts of unlawful assembly, mischief,
robbery, and assault for this incident. On December 17, the case was
settled when Silva agreed to pay the equivalent of 750,000 rupees
($6,640) in damages and to refrain from attacking journalists in the
future.
On March 7, the Terrorism Investigation Division arrested Sunday
Times columnist J.S. Tissainayagam under the emergency regulations,
along with V. Jasiharan and Valamarthy Vadivel, the owners of a
printing press and Tissainayagam's partners in an internet Web site.
The Government formally indicted Tissainayagam and his colleagues under
the PTA on August 25, the first time media personal had been charged
under the PTA in the 30-year history of the act. The state accused
Tissainayagam, as the editor and publisher of the North Eastern Monthly
magazine, of conspiracy to discredit the Government, intent to aid and
abet a terrorist organization, and the receipt of money from NGOs to
support terrorism through the publishing of his magazine. The
Government found comments against security forces to be aiding and
abetting the LTTE by causing communal disharmony and bringing the state
into disrepute. The case was ongoing at the end of the year. All three
remain in detention. The families of the detained journalists reported
receiving threats from unidentified persons.
On May 22, unidentified men kidnapped and severely beat deputy
editor and defense columnist of the Nation newspaper Keith Noyahr.
After several hours Noyahr was released near his home. General
Secretary of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists' Association Poddala
Jayantha believed that Noyahr's writing and analysis of the civil war
were the reasons for the attack. No individuals were charged with the
assault.
On May 28, television correspondents P. Devakumaran and Mahendran
Varadan were killed while returning home on a motorbike in Navanthurai
in Jaffna.
On July 1, journalist and Project Coordinator at the Sri Lankan
Press Institute Namal Perera and a British High Commission local staff
member were attacked by six persons as they travelled from the Press
Institute's offices. Both were injured, and there were no arrests.
The LTTE tightly restricted the print and broadcast media in areas
under its control. Reporters Without Borders named LTTE leader
Velupillai Prabhakaran as a ``predator of press freedom.'' The LTTE
reportedly intimidated Colombo-based Tamil journalists, and self-
censorship was common for journalists covering LTTE-controlled areas.
Internet Freedom.--In June 2007, the Government ordered the
country's two largest Internet service providers to restrict access to
TamilNet, a pro-LTTE news Web site. At the end of the year, access had
not been restored.
Individuals and groups could generally engage in the expression of
views via the Internet, including via e-mail. A number of Web sites,
some sponsored by opposition parties, were critical of the Government.
The Government took no measures against several Web sites calling for
the killing of ``traitors to the Sinhala nation.''
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the Government
generally respected this right in practice; however, some restrictions
existed. For example, the 2005 emergency regulations give the President
the power to restrict meetings, assemblies, and processions. The law
states that rallies and demonstrations of a political nature cannot be
held when a referendum is scheduled, but the Government generally
granted permits for demonstrations, including those by opposition
parties and minority groups.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice; however, some restrictions existed, such as those under the
emergency regulations. The Government often used informants to target
individuals for arrests and interrogation based on their association.
The LTTE did not allow freedom of association in the areas it
controlled. Both the LTTE and TMVP reportedly forced persons to attend
political rallies.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law accords Buddhism a foremost
position, but it also provides for the right of members of other faiths
to practice their religions freely, and the Government generally
respected this right in practice. There was no state religion, although
the majority of citizens were followers of Buddhism.
Foreign clergy may work in the country, but the Government sought
to limit the number of foreign religious workers given temporary work
permits. Permission usually was restricted to denominations registered
with the Government.
While the courts generally upheld the right of Christian groups to
worship and to construct facilities to house their congregations, local
authorities manipulated rules to prevent registration of new Christian
denominations or construction or expansion of worship facilities. The
Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that although the constitution supports the
right of individuals to practice any religion, it does not support the
right to proselytize.
Societal Abuse and Discrimination.--On July 6, five Buddhist monks
stopped services at the Calvary Church in Thalahena, Malabe. Police
sent the congregation home and failed to stop villagers from ransacking
the church and assaulting the pastor and five workers. Police later
arrested eight suspects, who were released on bail July 7. No further
action had been taken at year's end.
In Trincomalee on September 21, Sivakururaja Kurukkal, chief priest
of the Koneswaram Temple, was killed while travelling in a high-
security area near several government checkpoints. There were no
further developments in the investigation.
Tensions were reported between members of the Muslim and Tamil
communities in the east as a result of the intimidation and harassment
of Muslims by the TMVP. For example, on May 26, 3,000 Muslims in Eravur
closed their shops and demonstrated against recent shootings of Muslims
in the area. On June 2, the Muslim communitiesin Kattankudy and Eravur
conducted a general strike following the funeral of a Muslim killed in
Kallady a day earlier.
There were no reported cases of anti-Semitism.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law grants every citizen
``freedom of movement and of choosing his residence'' and ``freedom to
return to the country.'' However, in practice the Government severely
restricted this right on multiple occasions. The war with the LTTE
prompted the Government to impose additional checks on travelers from
the north and the east and on movement to Colombo. In Colombo police
refused to register Tamils from the north and the east, as required by
Emergency Regulation 23, sometimes forcing them to return to their
homes in areas affected by the conflict. Tamils were subject to onerous
restrictions on fishing in Jaffna and Trincomalee.
The Government required Tamils, especially those living in Jaffna,
to obtain special passes issued by security forces to move around the
country. Unlike other citizens, ethnic Tamil's identification cards
were printed in both Sinhalese and Tamil, allowing security forces
immediately to determine who was an ethnic Tamil. Citizens of Jaffna
were required to obtain permission from the army's Civil Affairs unit,
or in some cases from the EPDP, to leave Jaffna. According to several
sources, the waiting list was more than five months long. Curfews
imposed by the army also restricted the movement of Jaffna's citizens.
Security forces at army checkpoints in Colombo frequently harassed
Tamils. After the Government assumed effective control of the east,
both the Government and the TMVP operated checkpoints that impeded the
free movement of residents, especially Tamils.
The Government maintained its closure of a highway crossing near
Jaffna and restricted the movement of passengers and supplies into the
LTTE-controlled Vanni region through another crossing. The Government
instituted additional checks on movements in all directions a key
junction near Medawachiya. In November 2007 the defense secretary
issued a verbal directive prohibiting civilians from traveling from
LTTE to government-controlled areas at a crossing near Omanthai without
special clearance from the Government agents in the LTTE-held Vanni.
Commercial flights to the Vanni remained suspended, and the LTTE
refused to guarantee the safety of civilian flights and of passenger
and supply ships operated by the ICRC or the Government.
Limited access continued near military bases and the HSZs where
civilians could not enter. The HSZs extended up to an approximately
2.5-mile radius from the fences of most military camps. Some observers
claimed the HSZs were excessive and unfairly affected Tamil
agricultural lands, particularly in Jaffna. In 2007 the President
announced the creation of a large HSZ in Muttur East and Sampur on land
previously inhabited by Tamils before fighting between government
security forces and the LTTE caused the Tamils to flee. The Supreme
Court dismissed lawsuits challenging this HSZ, holding that government
security measures could not be the subject of a private lawsuit.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--In May Walter Kalin, the
representative of the Secretary General on the Human Rights of
Internally Displaced Persons, issued a report that placed the number of
IDPs in the country at the beginning of the year at more than 577,000.
This included those displaced by previous phases of the conflict, as
well as by the 2004 tsunami. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) reported in December that there were 261,453 IDPs in the north
and east that had been displaced since January 2006. Of these,
approximately 230,000 were newly displaced as a result of renewed
hostilities in the north.
Of the 170,000 persons reportedly displaced across the Eastern
Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts between 2006 and 2007, all but
8,300 IDPs in Batticaloa and 4,200 IDPs in Trincomalee returned under
the government- and UNHCR-facilitated returns process began during the
year. Among the long-term displaced were tens of thousands of Muslims
evicted from Jaffna in 1990 by the LTTE, many of whom remained in camps
in Puttalam. The Government had not permitted other recent IDPs,
primarily Tamils, to return home because their places of origins were
declared HSZs.
The UNHCR found sexual abuse to be prevalent in IDP camps and
engaged in a number of initiatives with local and international NGOs to
address the problem. In addition to sexual abuse, credible accounts
noted that the TMVP conducted forced recruitment of children and young
adults in IDP camps.
The LTTE continued to impose a pass system restricting the flow of
persons exiting the Vanni region through the established checkpoints.
The LTTE regularly taxed civilians traveling through areas it
controlled.
Fighting between the LTTE and government forces continued to
threaten the safety of IDPs and humanitarian agents in the north. In
early September military aircraft bombed the town of Kilinochchi in
LTTE-controlled territory, for the third time barely missing the
offices of the UN World Food Program and the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Shortly thereafter, the
Government ordered all international humanitarian organizations except
the ICRC out of the north, citing security concerns. As a result
international humanitarian assistance providers reported difficulty in
transporting supplies to areas of great need, including shelter
materials and medical supplies.
As government troops advanced towards Kilinochchi, the
administrative capital of the LTTE-held territory, tens of thousands of
local residents were forced to flee deeper into the Vanni. At year's
end, there were an estimated 230,000-300,000 IDPs living in LTTE-held
territory that had an estimated overall population of 375,000. Many
families had been forced to move multiple times.
When displaced persons reached government-controlled territory, the
Government generally did not permit them to move on but detained them
in internment camps. More than 800 persons, most originating from
Jaffna and Kilinochchi, were reportedly confined in two IDP camps in
Mannar District. Strictly enforced camp rules required that any person
leaving the barbed wire-encircled camp must obtain permission and leave
one family member behind. Persons without family members were not
permitted to leave the camp until a group of single persons requested
permission and can be escorted by security forces. Humanitarian
conditions, especially sanitation, reportedly fell short of
international standards. This prolonged detention violates
international practices on treatment of IDPs and the constitution.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government did not establish a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government cooperated with the UNHCR
and other humanitarian organizations in assisting IDPs and refugees.
As of October 31, 2,394 Sri Lankan citizens had fled to India.
Children and adults were killed as a result of Sri Lankan Navy attacks
on boats with refugees in the Palk Strait between the country and
India.
Stateless Persons.--The 2003 Grant of Citizenship to Persons of
Indian Origin Act recognized the Sri Lankan nationality of previously
stateless persons, particularly Hill Tamils. The Government took steps
to naturalize and provide citizenship documentation to most stateless
persons. However, at the beginning of the year, documentation efforts
had not reached an estimated 70,000 Hill Tamils, who remained
vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and detention. Government ministers from
political parties representing Hill Tamils stated that efforts were
underway to provide national identity cards and other citizenship
papers to those without adequate documentation.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully.
Elections and Political Participation.--The President, elected in
2005 for a six-year term, holds executive power, while the 225-member
parliament, elected in 2004, exercises legislative power.
The EU Election Observation Mission described the 2005 Presidential
election as generally satisfactory. The LTTE enforced a boycott of the
polls and conducted seven grenade attacks in the north and east. As a
result, less than 1 percent of voters in the north were able to
exercise their right to vote. At year's end there was no resolution of
the parliamentary investigation opened in 2007 into persistent media
allegations of a preelection agreement between the Rajapaksa campaign
and the LTTE to suppress Tamil votes.
On May 10, the Government held elections for a newly created
Eastern Provincial Council (EPC). On June 4, TMVP leader Pillaiyan took
office as chief minister of the EPC. Opposition parties and observer
groups criticized the vote for alleged irregularities, accusing the
TMVP of violence and intimidation.
On August 23, the Government won majorities in provincial council
elections in the North Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces. Observers
indicated that the votes in both provinces were generally free and
fair, despite serious election-related violence in the weeks leading up
to the vote.
There were 14 women in the 225-member parliament, five female
ministers, and two women out of 11 justices on the Supreme Court. There
were 34 Tamils and 24 Muslims in the parliament. There was no provision
for or allocation of a set number or percentage of political party
positions for women or minorities.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity.
The tendering and procurement process for government contracts was
not transparent, leading to allegations of corruption by the losing
bidders. Senior officials served as corporate officers of several
quasi-public corporations, including Lanka Logistics and Technologies,
which the Government established in 2007 and designated as the sole
procurement agency for all military equipment. Critics alleged that
large kickbacks were paid during the awarding of certain defense
contracts. The Government used state pension funds to set up a new
loss-making budget airline, Mihin Air, in 2007 with many of the same
officials serving as corporate officers. On May 1, Mihin Air went
bankrupt, but the 2009 budget allocated several million dollars to
restart operations.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption
received 2,668 complaints, of which 965 were under investigation at
year's end.
There was no law providing for public access to government
information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
continued to investigate and publish their findings on human rights
cases despite increasing government restrictions.
The Government continued to allow the ICRC unrestricted access to
declared detention facilities. The ICRC provided international
humanitarian law training materials and training to the security
forces. During the year, the ICRC also delivered health education
programs in LTTE-controlled areas in the north and east and provided
materials, such as hygiene products, clothes, and recreational items,
to prison detainees.
By statute the SLHRC has wide powers and resources and may not be
called as a witness in any court of law or be sued for matters relating
to its official duties. However, in practice the SLHRC rarely used its
powers. No actions were taken to investigate the more than 200 cases
reported to the Jaffna Branch of the SLHRC since 2006. The SLHRC did
not have enough staff or resources to process its caseload of pending
complaints, and it did not enjoy the full cooperation of the
Government. The SLHRC had a tribunal-like approach to investigations
and declined to undertake preliminary inquires in the manner of a
criminal investigator. In December 2007 the International Coordinating
Committee of National Human Rights Institutions downgraded the SLHRC to
observer status, citing government interference in the work of the
SLHRC.
The SLHRC's torture prevention monitoring unit, established in
2004, ceased effective functioning in 2006 because of inadequate
funding.
In 2004 the LTTE set up the Northeast Secretariat of Human Rights
(NESOHR). Since its inception, NESOHR received hundreds of complaints
ranging from land disputes to child recruitment complaints. Some groups
questioned NESOHR's credibility because of its close ties to the LTTE.
The Government continued to refuse the request by the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights for an expanded mission and an
independent presence in the country. The Ministry of Defense,
government officials, and diplomatic missions abroad regularly accused
human rights NGOs and UN bodies of bias.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for equal rights for all citizens, and the
Government generally respected these rights in practice; however, there
were instances where gender and ethnic-based discrimination occurred.
Women.--The law prohibiting domestic violence was not effectively
enforced. Sexual assault, rape, and spousal abuse were pervasive
problems. The law specifically addresses sexual abuse and exploitation,
and it contains provisions in rape cases for an equitable burden of
proof and stringent punishments. Marital rape is considered an offense
only in cases of spouses living under judicial separation. While the
law may ease some of the problems faced by victims of sexual assault,
many women's organizations believed that greater sensitization of
police and the judiciary was necessary. The Bureau for the Protection
of Children and Women (BPCW) within the police conducted awareness
programs in schools and at the grassroots level, causing women to come
forward and lodge complaints. However, the Government did not increase
recruitment of female police officers to alleviate the problem. The
BPCW received 723 complaints of grave violent crimes and 1,908 minor
crimes against women through October, representing a decrease from 2007
levels.
Civil society activists reported that the resumption of the
conflict had led to an increase in gender-based violence perpetrated by
the security forces. Statistics were unavailable because few, if any,
charges were filed in such incidents. For example, human rights groups
in northern districts alleged that the wives of men who had disappeared
and who suffered economic deprivation as a result often fell prey to
sexual exploitation by paramilitaries and members of the security
forces.
According to the BPCW, 253 reported incidents of rape occurred
through October. Services to assist victims of rape and domestic
violence, such as crisis centers, legal aid, and counseling, were
generally limited.
Prostitution, although illegal, was prevalent. Some members of the
police and security forces reportedly participated in or condoned
prostitution. Trafficking in women for forced labor also occurred.
Sexual harassment was a criminal offense carrying a maximum
sentence of five years in prison; however, the Government did not
enforce the law. Women often experienced sexual harassment.
The law provides for equal employment opportunity in the public
sector. In practice women had no legal protection against
discrimination in the private sector, where they sometimes were paid
less than men for equal work and experienced difficulty in rising to
supervisory positions. Although women constituted approximately half of
the formal workforce, according to the Asian Development Bank, the
quality of employment available to women was less than that available
to men. The demand for female labor was mainly for casual and low-paid,
low-skill jobs. Women's participation in politics was approximately 5
percent in the parliament and the provincial councils.
Women had equal rights under national, civil, and criminal law.
However, adjudication according to the customary law of each ethnic or
religious group of questions related to family law, including divorce,
child custody, and inheritance, resulted in de facto discrimination.
The minimum age of marriage for women was 18 years, except in the case
of Muslims, who may follow their customary marriage practices and marry
at the age of 15. Women were denied equal rights to land in government-
assisted settlements, as the law does not institutionalize the rights
of female heirs.
Children.--The law required children between the ages of five and
14 to attend school. The Government provided extensive systems of
public education and medical care. Education was free through the
university level. Health care, including immunization, was also free.
Under the law the definition of child abuse includes all acts of
sexual violence against, trafficking in, and cruelty to children. The
law also prohibits the use of children in exploitative labor or illegal
activities or in any act contrary to compulsory education regulations.
It also defines child abuse to include the involvement of children in
war.
NGOs attributed the problem of exploitation of children to the lack
of enforcement, rather than to inadequate legislation. The conflict
with the LTTE had priority in the allocation of law enforcement
resources. However, the police's BPCW conducted investigations into
crimes against children and women. The National Child Protection
Authority (NCPA) included representatives from the education, medical,
police, and legal professions and reported directly to the President.
From January to October, the BCPW received 888 complaints of grave
violent crimes and 1,787 of minor crimes against children.
The Government advocated greater international cooperation to bring
those guilty of sexual exploitation of children to justice. Although
the Government did not keep records of particular types of violations,
the law prohibits sexual violations against children, defined as
persons less than 18 years, particularly in regard to child
pornography, child prostitution, and the trafficking of children.
Penalties for violations related to pornography and prostitution range
from two to five years of imprisonment. The penalties for sexual
assault of children range from five to 20 years' imprisonment and an
unspecified fine. Through September the Government opened 1,650 files,
of which 746 resulted in indictments for sexual assault and
exploitation of children, including statutory rape; 174 were dismissed.
The remaining cases were pending at year's end.
Following the 2004 tsunami, the NCPA launched a successful
awareness campaign to protect orphaned or displaced children from
sexual abuse. Commercial sexual exploitation of children remained a
problem in coastal resort areas. Private groups estimated that there
were approximately 6,000 children exploited for commercial sex in the
country. Sri Lankan citizens were responsible for much of the
commercial sexual exploitation of children. However, the International
Labor Organization (ILO) and UNICEF found that foreign tourists
exploited thousands of children, especially boys, for commercial sex,
most of whom were forced into prostitution by traffickers. The
Department of Probation and Child Care Services provided protection to
child victims of abuse and sexual exploitation and worked with local
NGOs that provided shelter. The tourist bureau conducted awareness-
raising programs for at-risk children in resort regions prone to sex
tourism.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibited trafficking in persons.
Legal penalties for trafficking include imprisonment for two to 20
years and a fine. For trafficking in children, the law allowed
imprisonment of three to 20 years and a fine.
The country was both a point of origin and destination for
trafficked persons. Sri Lankan men and women migrated legally to the
Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and South Korea primarily
to work in construction, factories, and as domestics. A small
percentage of those who went abroad found themselves in situations of
involuntary servitude, facing restrictions on movement, threats, and
physical or sexual abuse. Illegal recruitment agencies charged large
predeparture fees that forced some migrants into debt bondage.
The Bureau of Foreign Employment (BFE) has responsibility to
protect and assist workers who go abroad for work. The BFE estimated
that approximately 1.6 million Sri Lankans were working abroad at the
end of 2007. The BFE licensed recruitment agencies and had three
offices to protect migrant workers abroad: a police detachment that
raided and arrested bogus recruitment agencies, an office that mediated
with foreign employers and recruiting agencies to resolve workers'
complaints, and a prosecutorial department that tried cases against
unlicensed recruiting agencies. The BFE conducted a publicity campaign
to warn of the dangers of going abroad illegally and of using
illegitimate recruitment agencies. Lack of effective enforcement
against violators and the infrequency of punishment for abuses provided
little incentive for operators to refrain from illegal but lucrative
practices. In 2007 the BFE received 8,445 complaints. The largest
category of these (38 percent) was for nonpayment of wages.
Women and children were reportedly trafficked internally for
domestic and sexual servitude. No statistics were available on the
extent of this problem. A smaller number of Thai, Chinese, and Russian
women and women from the former Soviet Union were also trafficked into
the country for commercial sexual exploitation.
The NCPA had primary responsibility for prevention of trafficking
in children. It had a Special Police Investigations Unit, with arrest
authority, that focuses on combating the trafficking of children for
commercial and sexual exploitation. The NCPA had several cases pending
against child traffickers, but no trials were completed. As in the case
of other criminal proceedings in the country, it may take up to a
decade to secure a conviction. The NCPA also operated rehabilitation
centers for abused children, including child trafficking victims, in
Negombo and Kalutara. The centers provided shelter, counseling, legal
assistance, and career guidance for victims. A Probation Department
worked to reintegrate children with their families. The Government also
conducted awareness campaigns to educate persons about trafficking.
The Government continued its programs to monitor immigration by
suspected traffickers or sex tourists, including a cyber watch project
to monitor suspicious Internet chatrooms.
The military's Judge Advocate General's Court of Inquiry found 15
soldiers, including two officers, guilty in the 2007 case of the
country's peacekeepers in Haiti sexually exploiting children while they
were stationed there under UN auspices. Some were sentenced to receive
dishonorable discharges; others were to be punished summarily with
penalties including a combination of loss of seniority or rank,
confinement to barracks, loss of pay, and General Officer Letters of
Reprimand.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip
Persons With Disabilities.--The law forbids discrimination against
any person on the grounds of disability; however, in practice
discrimination occurred in employment, education, and provision of
state services. The Department of Social Services operated eight
vocational training schools for persons with physical and mental
disabilities and sponsored a program of job training and placement for
graduates. The Government provided financial support to NGOs that
assisted persons with disabilities including subsidizing prosthetic
devices, making purchases from suppliers with disabilities, and
registering 74 NGO-run schools and training institutions for persons
with disabilities. The Department of Social Services selected job
placement officers to help the estimated 200,000 work-eligible persons
with disabilities find jobs. Despite these efforts, persons with
disabilities faced difficulties due to negative attitudes and societal
discrimination.
There were regulations on accessibility; however, in practice
accommodation for access to buildings for persons with disabilities was
rare. The Department of Social Services provided housing grants, self-
employment grants, and medical assistance to persons with disabilities.
In 2007 the department began offering a monthly allowance of
approximately 3,000 rupees ($27) to families of the disabled. At year's
end, 2,125 families had received this grant.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Both local and Indian origin
Tamils maintained that they suffered longstanding systematic
discrimination in university education, government employment, and in
other matters controlled by the Government. According to the SLHRC,
Tamils also experienced discrimination in housing.
Tamils throughout the country, but especially in the conflict-
affected north and east, reported frequent harassment of young and
middle-aged Tamil men by security forces and paramilitary groups.
Indigenous People.--The country's indigenous people, known as
Veddas, numbered fewer than 1,000. Some preferred to maintain their
traditional way of life and are nominally protected by the law. There
were no legal restrictions on their participation in political or
economic life. However, lack of legal documents was a problem for many.
Vedda communities complained that they were pushed off their lands by
the creation of protected forest areas, which deprived them of
traditional livelihoods.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law criminalizes
homosexual activity, but this was not enforced. Some NGOs working on
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues did not register with
the Government. In recent years human rights organizations reported
that police harassed, extorted money or sexual favors from, and
assaulted gay men in Colombo and other areas.
There was no official discrimination against those who provided HIV
prevention services or against high-risk groups likely to spread HIV/
AIDS, although there was societal discrimination against these groups.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allowed workers to form and
join unions of their choice without previous authorization with the
exception of members of the armed forces and police officers, who are
not entitled to unionize. Seven workers may form a union, adopt a
charter, elect leaders, and publicize their views. Forty percent of an
establishment must belong to the same union to compel the employer to
recognize the union. In practice such rights were resisted by the
management of individual factories and administrative delays by the
Government in registering unions. Approximately 20 percent of the seven
million-person work force nationwide and more than 70 percent of the
plantation work force was unionized. In total there were more than one
million union members. Approximately 15 to 20 percent of the
nonagricultural work force in the private sector was unionized. Unions
represented most workers in large private firms, but workers in small-
scale agriculture and small businesses usually did not belong to
unions. Public sector employees were unionized at very high rates.
Under the law workers in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) have
the same rights to join unions as other workers. Although some unions
were able to organize EPZ workers, forming trade unions was more
difficult in the zones, as some employers tried to undermine the
formation of unions there. As a consequence the unionization rate
within the EPZs was under 10 percent of the workforce. As of September
2007 fewer than 10 trade unions were active in EPZs, partially because
of access restrictions on outsiders to enter the zones. According to
the Board of Investment (BOI), in September 2007, unions were
attempting to operate in 33 out of 264 factories in the EPZs; however,
they were formally recognized in only 12 of these factories.
Most large unions were affiliated with political parties and played
a prominent role in the political process, although some major unions
in the public sector were politically independent. The Ministry of
Labor Relations and Manpower was authorized by law to cancel the
registration of any union that does not submit an annual report, the
only grounds for the cancellation of registration.
By law all workers, other than police, armed forces, prison
service, and those in essential services, have the right to strike, but
the Government did not enforce this law uniformly. Workers may lodge
complaints with the commissioner of labor, a labor tribunal, or the
Supreme Court to protect their rights. Strikes are forbidden in areas
that are determined by the President to be ``any service which is of
public utility or is essential for national security or for the
preservation of public order or to the life of the community and
includes any Department of the Government or branch thereof.'' No
services have been declared essential to date.
The law prohibits retribution against strikers in nonessential
sectors; in practice, however, employees were sometimes fired for
striking. Credible sources reported that in 2007 a company in an Export
Processing Zone terminated two union officers for engaging in union
activity and organizing a strike.
The Supreme Court occasionally intervened to stop public sector
trade union actions when they threatened business or government
operations. In 2006 the Supreme Court issued a restraining order
preventing unions at the Colombo Port from striking at the request of
the industry group Joint Apparel Associations Forum (which later
withdrew its request in December 2007) after the unions ignored a lower
court directive to return to work. The trade unions filed a complaint
with the ILO Committee of Freedom of Association. In November 2007 the
ILO observed that ports do not constitute an essential service and
considered the restriction on the port workers as contrary to ILO
principles. The ILO requested the Government to expedite the judicial
process and take necessary steps to ensure that the committees'
observations regarding the right to strike were conveyed to the Supreme
Court. The Supreme Court held that while proceedings were pending in
the highest court of the country, the unions should not seek redress
from an external body. The court ruled that the ILO complaint defied
the Supreme Court and the law of the country. In June the ILO responded
that its competence to examine allegations were not subject to national
procedures and that due to its mandate, the matters dealt with by the
ILO no longer fall within the exclusive sphere of States. As such the
action taken by the ILO cannot be considered interference in internal
affairs. Despite the ILO's recommendations with regard to the right to
strike in 2007, the Supreme Court acted on one occasion during the year
to end a strike. In September when teachers struck over compensation
issues, the Supreme Court asked the Government to address teacher
grievances and ordered teachers to return to work.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the Government enforced the law unevenly. Public
sector unions are not allowed legally to form federations, but the law
was not generally enforced. The law prohibits workers between 16 and 21
years old from leadership positions in a union. The International Trade
Union Confederation (ITUC) reported that union officials and organizers
were harassed and intimidated with impunity in response to legitimate
union activities, including arrests, libel, and death threats.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to collective bargaining; however, the
Government did not enforce it. All collective agreements must be
registered at the Department of Labor. In 2007 66 collective agreements
were registered.
The Employer's Federation of Ceylon (EFC) employs an estimated 15
percent of the country's three million private sector workforce,
primarily in the tourism, finance, plantations, manufacturing, and
services sectors. The EFC did not have members from the large informal
sector or foreign or government employees. About half of EFC's 520-
company membership had a unionized workforce, and approximately 44
companies in the EFC had collective agreements with workers.
Employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination must reinstate
workers fired for union activities but may transfer them to different
locations. Antiunion discrimination was a punishable offense liable for
a fine of 20,000 rupees ($177). Since 1999 the Government has not
prosecuted any company or union for unfair labor practices under
section 32A of the Industrial Disputes Act; however, some were
prosecuted under various other labor laws, such as the Wages Board Act,
Employees Provident Fund Act, Termination Act, or other sections of the
Industrial Disputes Act, and several employers were under
investigation. In practice employers often delayed recognition of
unions for collective bargaining indefinitely. The ITUC reported that
employers used these delays to identify, victimize, terminate, and
sometimes assault or threaten union activists.
In most EPZ enterprises, worker councils, composed of elected
representatives of employees, engaged in labor and management
negotiations. In accordance with BOI guidelines, they participated in
labor-management negotiations. As of September 2007 worker councils
were active in 110 factories. The ILO approved the right of worker
councils to engage in collective bargaining, provided worker councils
were not used to undermine the position of unions. NGOs and unions
reported that undermining did occur.
There were three operating collective agreements with unions in the
EPZs during 2007, out of 264 enterprises. Labor representatives alleged
that the BOI and the Department of Labor discouraged union activity
within EPZ factories and favored worker councils. Restricted access to
the EPZs for union and NGO organizers made it difficult to organize.
Labor representatives alleged that the labor commissioner, under BOI
pressure, failed to prosecute employers who refused to recognize or
enter into collective bargaining with trade unions. The Government
countered that employees preferred to work within a company to resolve
disputes rather than via large unions spanning many companies. BOI
representatives stated that workers appeared to be reluctant to pursue
collective bargaining agreements due to concerns that negotiated fixed
wages may be cut into by high inflation.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibited
forced or bonded labor; however, there were reports that such practices
occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum age for employment is 14, although the law permits the
employment of younger children by their parents or guardians in limited
family agriculture work or to engage in technical training. Persons
under age 18 may not be employed in any public enterprise in which life
or limb is in danger.
There were no reports that children were employed in the EPZs, the
garment industry, or any other export industry. Children sometimes were
employed during harvest periods in the plantation sectors and in
nonplantation agriculture. Sources indicated that many thousands of
children (between 14 years and 18 years of age) were employed in
domestic service in urban households, although this situation was not
regulated or documented. Some child domestics reportedly were subjected
to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Employment of children
commonly occurred in family enterprises such as family farms, crafts,
small trade establishments, restaurants, and repair shops. There were
cases of under-age children recruited to serve as domestics abroad,
primarily in the Middle East.
The National Child Protection Authority was the central agency for
coordinating and monitoring action on the protection of children. The
Department of Labor, the Department of Probation and Child Care
Services, and the police were responsible for the enforcement of child
labor laws. There were 232 complaints of child employment through
November, a significant increase over 2007 levels. Information on
litigation was not available. Penalties for employing minors were
10,000 rupees ($89) or 12 months' imprisonment.
The Government identified a list of 49 occupations considered to be
hazardous. Of these occupations, 40 were to be unconditionally
prohibited for children under 18 years, with limited exceptions for the
remaining nine occupations. However, the Government did not pass any
implementing legislation by year's end.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--While there was no national
minimum wage, 43 wage boards established by the Ministry of Labor
Relations and Manpower set minimum wages and working conditions by
sector and industry in consultation with unions and employers. The
minimum wage in sectors covered by wages' boards was increased to 5,750
rupees ($51) in July. In addition to the minimum wage, employees
covered by the wages' boards received an allowance of 1,000 rupees per
month ($9) in 2005 that effectively brought the total minimum wage to
6,750 rupees per month ($60). The minimum wages set by some wages'
boards was higher than the Government stipulated minimum wage for
covered. These minimum wages, however, did not always provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. The minimum wage in the
public sector was higher than that governed by the wage boards. Workers
in sectors not covered by wage boards, including informal sector
workers, were not covered by any minimum wage.
The law prohibited most full-time workers from regularly working
more than 45 hours per week (a five-and-a-half-day work week). In
addition the law stipulates a rest period of one hour per day.
Regulations limit the maximum overtime hours to 15 per week. The
overtime pay is 1.5 times the wage. Several laws protect the safety and
health of industrial workers, but the Ministry of Labor's efforts were
inadequate to enforce compliance. Health and safety regulations do not
meet international standards. Workers have the statutory right to
remove themselves from dangerous situations, but many workers were
unaware or indifferent to such rights and feared they would lose their
jobs if they removed themselves from the work situation. The Government
had 682 labor inspectors. The ITUC reported that labor inspection was
inadequate in the EPZs, as labor inspectors cannot make unannounced
visits.
Migrant labor also faced abuse. There were cases when recruitment
agencies promised one type of job to a migrant but changed the job,
employer, or salary after the employee arrived.
__________
TAJIKISTAN
Tajikistan, with a population of approximately seven million, is an
authoritarian state, and political life is dominated by President
Emomali Rahmon and his supporters. While the country's constitution
provides for a multiparty political system, in practice the Government
obstructed political pluralism. The November 2006 Presidential election
lacked genuine competition and did not meet international standards,
although there were some improvements on voting procedures. The
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
The Government's human rights record remained poor, and corruption
continued to hamper democratic and social reform. The following human
rights problems were reported: restricted right of citizens to change
their government; torture and abuse of detainees and other personsby
security forces; threats and abuse by security forces; impunity of
security forces; lengthy pretrial detention; denial of right to fair
trial; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; prohibited
international monitor access to prisons; restricted freedom of speech,
the press and media; restricted freedom of association; restrictions on
freedom of religion, including freedom to worship; harassment of
international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); difficulties with
registration and visas; violence and discrimination against women;
trafficking in persons; and child labor.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
there were cases of deaths in detention facilities. In some cases
families of detainees disputed the official cause of death. In
September Sadullo Rakhimov died after six months in pretrial custody.
The authorities claimed that Rakhimov died of natural causes, but his
family claimed that he died as a result of mistreatment.
During the year the number of victims of landmines decreased, with
four deaths and eight injuries. In 2007 there were 13 victims, seven of
whom died. The Government continued to work with international
organizations to remove landmines throughout the country.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, security
officials reportedly employed them. Officials did not grant sufficient
access to information to allow human rights organizations to
investigate claims of torture.
Security officials, particularly from the Ministry of Interior
(MOI), continued touse beatings or other forms of coercion to extract
confessions during interrogations. Beatings and other mistreatment were
common also in detention facilities. A 2008 study by the Bureau for
Human Rights and Rule of Law, a local NGO, credibly found a bias in the
criminal justice system toward law enforcement officials exacting
confessions from those who are arrested. Articles in the criminal code
do not specifically define torture, and the country's law enforcement
agencies have not developed effective methods to investigate possible
violators.
The Government prosecuted 67 officials for misconduct during the
year, but it is unclear how many of these cases were for torture or
degrading punishment. Prosecutors have generally charged law
enforcement officials under criminal provisions related to abuse of
official powers or extracting testimony under duress.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The Government operates
eight prisons, including one for female convicts, and four pretrial
detention facilities.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) continued to refuse access to prisons
or detention facilities to representatives of the international
community and civil society seeking to investigate claims of harsh
treatment or conditions. Some foreign diplomatic missions and NGOs were
given access to implement assistance programs or carry out consular
functions, but their representatives were limited to administrative or
medical sections, and they were accompanied by ministry of justice
personnel. The Government has not signed an agreement with the
International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to allow free and
unhindered access to prisons and detention centers, and ICRC's
international monitoring staff has not returned to the country since
departing in 2007.
During the year detainees and inmates complained of harsh and life-
threatening conditions, including overcrowding and lack of sanitary
conditions. Disease and hunger were serious problems, but outside
observers were unable to assess accurately the extent of the problems
because of lack of access. Organizations that work on prison issues
reported that infection rates of tuberculosis and HIV was significant,
and that the quality of medical treatment was low.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The Government has not
substantially altered the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) since the
Soviet period, and the criminal justice system failed to protect
individuals from arbitrary arrest or detention. There were few checks
on the power of prosecutors and police to make arrests.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MOI, the Drug
Control Agency (DCA), the Agency on State Financial Control and Fight
Against Corruption (Anti-corruption Agency), the State Committee for
National Security (SCNS), the State Tax Committee, and the Customs
Service shared civilian law enforcement responsibilities. The MOI is
responsible primarily for public order and controls the police force.
The Drug Control Agency, Anti-corruption Agency, and the State Tax
Committee each have mandates to investigate specific crimes, and they
report to the President. The SCNS has responsibility for intelligence,
and controls the Border Service. The Customs Service reports directly
to the President. The Prosecutor General's Office oversees criminal
investigations conducted by these agencies.
The responsibilities of each of these entities overlapped
significantly, and law enforcement agencies deferred to the SCNS. Law
enforcement agencies were not effective at investigating organized
criminal gangs, and corruption remained a serious problem. There were
credible allegations that officers bribed their commanders for
promotion. Traffic police were known to retain for themselves the fines
they issued for traffic violations. While there were some prosecutions
of law enforcement officials, many serious abuses-particularly those
committed by high-ranking officials-went unpunished.
Victims of police abuse may submit a formal complaint in writing to
the officer's superior. However, most victims chose to remain silent
rather than risk retaliation by the authorities. During the year the
Government arrested 67 law enforcement officials for criminal
violations; approximately 29 of these were arrested for corruption. Of
the 109 law enforcement officials arrested in 2007, courts convicted
103 and released or acquitted the remaining six.
Arrest and Detention.--Prosecutors are empowered to issue arrest
warrants, and there is no requirement for judicial approval of an order
for pretrial detention. The law allows police to detain a suspect
without a warrant in certain circumstances, but a prosecutor must be
notified within 24 hours of arrest. Pretrial detention may last up to
15 months in exceptional circumstances. Local prosecutors may order
pretrial detention for up to two months; subsequent detentions must be
ordered by progressively higher level prosecutors. A defendant may
petition for judicial review of a detention order. However, judges
rarely questioned detention decisions, and observers regarded this
review as a formality.
Individuals have the right to an attorney upon arrest, and the
Government must appoint lawyers for those who cannot otherwise afford
one. In practice the Government did not always provide attorneys, and
those it did provide generally served the Government's interest, not
the client's. There is no bail system, although criminal case detainees
may be released conditionally and restricted to their place of
residence pending trial. According to the law, family members are
allowed access to prisoners only after indictment; officials
occasionally denied attorneys and family members access to detainees.
The authorities held many detainees incommunicado for long periods
without formally charging them.
The Government generally provided a basis for arrest, although
there were claims that authorities falsified charges or inflated minor
problems to make politically motivated arrests. Police occasionally
arrested innocent persons, accused them of committing crimes the police
were attempting to solve, and subsequently framed them to report a
false resolution of the case. In some cases law enforcement officials
did not obtain arrest warrants as required and did not bring charges
within the time specified by the law.
Prosecutors oversee the pretrial investigation, and they have the
right to initiate criminal proceedings.
Amnesty.--Unlike the previous year, there was no general amnesty.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an
independent judiciary, in practice the executive branch and criminal
networks exerted pressure on prosecutors and judges. Corruption and
inefficiency were significant problems.
The CPC gives the prosecutor a disproportionate degree of power in
relation to judges and defense advocates. This power includes control
of the formal investigation and oversight of the entire case
proceedings. ``Supervisory powers'' provided by law allow prosecutors
to protest a court decision outside of normal appeal procedures.
Prosecutors effectively can cause court decisions to be annulled and
reexamined by higher courts indefinitely after appeal periods have
expired. These powers are an impediment to establishing an independent
judiciary.
The criminal courts generally have three levels: district, city or
regional, and national courts. Most cases are heard in general criminal
courts. However, in rare instances military courts try civilians, where
they have the same rights as defendants in civilian courts. A military
judge and two officers drawn from the service ranks hear such cases. A
constitutional court adjudicates claims of constitutional violations.
The President is empowered to appoint and dismiss judges and
prosecutors with the consent of parliament. Judges at all levels often
were poorly trained and had extremely limited access to legal reference
materials. Low wages for judges and prosecutors left them vulnerable to
bribery, which remained a common practice. Judges were subject to
political influence.
The Government addressed problems of judicial integrity by holding
some judges and prosecutors accountable for criminal conduct.During the
year the Government arrested four judges and one justice system
employee for corruption. Courts convicted four justice employees who
were arrested in 2007, primarily for corruption. Of these, two were
notaries and two were judges.
Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, except in cases involving
national security. The authorities have denied access to monitoring
organizations to trials without cause. A panel consisting of a
presiding judge and two ``people's assessors'' determines guilt or
innocence. Qualifications of the assessors and how they are determined
is unclear, but their role is passive, and the presiding judge
dominates the proceedings.
According to the law, cases should be brought before a judge within
28 days after indictment; however, most cases were delayed for months.
Under the law, courts appoint attorneys at public expense; however, in
practice authorities often denied arrested persons access to an
attorney.
Those who were indicted were invariably found guilty. Judges often
gave deference to uncorroborated testimony of law enforcement officers,
especially members of the SCNS, and often discounted the absence of
physical evidence.
According to the law both defendants and attorneys have the right
to review all government evidence,confront and question witnesses, and
present evidence and testimony. No groups are barred from testifying,
and, in principle, all testimony receives equal consideration. The law
provides for the right to appeal. The law extends the rights of
defendants in trial procedures to all citizens.
While prosecutors are allowed legally to intervene in cases, there
were no reported incidents of prosecutors exercising this right.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Authorities claimed there were
no political prisoners and that they did not make any politically
motivated arrests; however, opposition parties and local observers
claimed that the Government selectively prosecuted political opponents.
There was no reliable estimate of the number of political detainees.
Muhammadruzi Iskandarov, head of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan
and former chairman of Tojikgaz, the country's state-run gas monopoly,
remained in prison following his unlawful extradition from Moscow and
2005 conviction for corruption. Former Interior Minister Yakub Salimov
remained in prison serving a 15-year sentence for crimes against the
state and high treason following his 2005 closed trial.Rustam Fayziev,
deputy chairman of the unregistered Party of Progress, continued to
serve a five-year sentence in jail for insulting and defaming President
Rahmon in a 2005 letter.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil cases are heard in
general civil courts, economic courts, and military courts. In practice
the jurisdictions of these courts overlap significantly, impeding
fairness and efficiency. For example, the Supreme Court determined that
a military court should hear civil cases related to the Jehovah's
Witnesses because evidence presented by the SCNS involved national
security. An economic court heard a land use dispute between the Grace
Sun Min Church and the City of Dushanbe, despite the lack of a clear
commercial interest.
Although the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, in
practice it was neither independent nor impartial in civil matters. In
the Grace Sun Min Mission Center case, the Dushanbe city government
repeatedly filed suits in the Dushanbe Economic Court to gain control
over property rights that the church had purchased in the late 1990s.
In 2004 the Dushanbe Economic Court issued a decision in the Mission
Center's favor. The city of Dushanbe filed a petition, and the Dushanbe
Economic Court reopened the case, ignoring both the court's previous
decision and that the legal appeal period had expired. In December 2007
the court again ruled in the Mission Center's favor. In August the
Supreme Economic Court ordered that the Dushanbe court again hear the
case. The court ruled against the Mission Center, and the Supreme
Economic Court upheld the ruling. Observers were unable to explain the
new decision, which ignored all prior decisions. Credible sources
alleged that judges involved in the case were under the influence of
the Dushanbe mayor, Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev.
Property Restitution.--Despite changes to the land code,
substantive property law is weighted against private property holders.
Property recording systems are outmoded, leaving government officials
with numerous opportunities to claim that property owners violated
regulations. Government officials relied on lack of procedural
transparency to implement development plans that call for building new
business or residences in city centers at the expense of long-time
residents. Municipal governments that developed these plans did not
share them with the public, and evictees were afforded only a cursory
degree of due process. Officials appeared to decide that government
control of certain parcels was necessary with no public debate and
without elaborating on the justification for government seizure.
Governments then notified residents that they must leave their property
and offered very little compensation. If residents did not comply, city
officials took them to court; court hearings generally resulted in an
eviction order. Property owners who challenged evictions in the courts
generally were unsuccessful and were subject to retribution-some were
charged with criminal violations.
In June officials demolished the country's only synagogue to make
way for a new Presidential palace. In April, despite significant
irregularities in the process, a local court upheld an eviction order
against Dushanbe's Jewish community. City officials and Jewish
community leaders were unable to reach a compromise to relocate the
synagogue or pursue an alternative solution. Observers criticized the
lack of procedural transparency and fairness, as well as the
authorities' unwillingness to compensate adequately the community.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, although police forces
committed violations in practice.
Under the law police cannot enter and search a private home without
the approval of a prosecutor, except in special circumstances in which
a delay would impair national security. If police search a home without
prior approval, they must inform a prosecutor within 24 hours. In
practice police frequently ignored these laws and infringed on
citizens' right to privacy. There is no independent judicial review of
police searches conducted without permission.
The law prohibits the Government from monitoring private
communications; however, it is believed that they did so on occasion.
Leaders of the SDPT, SPT (the Narziev faction) and DPT (the
Iskanderov faction) alleged that government officials coerced or
threatened the members into leaving the parties or denying their party
affiliation.
Police and MOI officials often harassed the families of suspects in
pretrial detention or threatened to do so to elicit confessions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press; however, in practice the Government restricted
these rights.
Authorities subjected individuals who disagreed with government
policies to intimidation and discouraged them from speaking freely or
critically. Under the law a person can be imprisoned for up to five
years for insulting the President.
All newspapers and magazines whose circulations exceed 99 are
subject to registration with the Ministry of Culture. There were 173
registered newspapers, none of which were dailies (major newspapers
came out once per week). There were also 71 registered magazines and
six news agencies. The Government continued to control most printing
presses and the supply of newsprint. During the year at least six new
national newspapers began publishing. Two of these, Asolat and Risolat,
were privately funded, religious-themed newspapers.
Media organizations claimed that the new Law on Access to
Information, which parliament passed in June, did not in fact give
journalists greater access to official information. For example, after
the legislation took effect, several ministries and agencies did not
provide information unless questions were submitted in writing. Release
of the information required the consent of the top ministry and agency
officials. Government agencies had up to a month to provide the
requested information, limiting journalists' ability to obtain
information in a timely manner.
The independent media were active but, as in previous years, the
Government subjected the media to different means of control and
intimidation; media outlets regularly practiced self-censorship out of
fear of government reprisal. Credible media sources observed that
certain topics were considered off limits including derogatory
information about the President or his family members, or questions
about financial impropriety by those close to the President.
Government authorities occasionally subjected individual
journalists to harassment and intimidation. In August Zainiddin Olimov,
head of the Jamoat of Kulob, allegedly assaulted Jurakhon Kabirov in
response to an article in the newspaper Millat. Journalists reported
that government officials limited their access to information or
provided advice on what news should not be covered. There were no
reported instances of violence against journalists by unidentified
persons.
Other common types of harassment included prosecutions to
intimidate journalists, warnings made by telephone and in person at a
prosecutor's office or during visits to editorial offices, and
selective tax inspections. In September the Prosecutor-General's Office
instituted criminal proceedings against Dodojon Atovulloyev, the
editor-in-chief of the Moscow-based opposition newspaper Charogh-i-Ruz
(The Light of Day). Prosecutors cited provisions in the criminal code
that criminalize calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order
and public defamation of the President to institute proceedings and are
allegedly seeking Atovulloyev's extradition from Russia.
In September the National Association of Independent Media Outlets
of Tajikistan (NAIMOT) and the Union of Journalists of Tajikistan (UJT)
expressed concern about the treatment of Tursunali Aliyev, for his
criticism of Sughd authorities in a 2007 article in Tong, a local
newspaper. Local prosecutors rejected charges against Aliyev in 2007
but Sughd regional prosecutors instituted criminal proceedings against
him during the year for slander. Observers viewed the case as intended
to intimidate journalists. At the end of the year, the case remained
underway.
Broadcasting entities must obtain a production license from the
State Committee on Television and Radio and a broadcast license from
the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The Government, however,
restricted issuance of these licenses. The Government continued to
review licensing regulations with public debate and input by
journalists, but the process was lengthy, and there were no significant
changes to the regulations. The Government remained in control of most
broadcasting transmission facilities.
There are four state-run television channels that broadcast
throughout the country and four state-run television stations that
broadcast regionally. There is one national and several regional state-
run radio stations. Several independent television and radio stations
are available in a very small portion of the country.
Independent radio and television stations continued to experience
administrative harassment and bureaucratic delays.Of the private
television stations, only a few were genuinely independent, and not all
of them operated without official interference. The Government granted
no new production or broadcast licenses to independent television or
radio stations. According to the National Association of the
Independent Media of Tajikistan (NANSMIT), more than 20 privately owned
broadcasting organizations were unable to begin working because the
licensing commission had rejected their documents over the last two or
three years.
The Government allowed some international media to operate freely,
including rebroadcasts of Russian television and radio programs.
However, the Government continued to deny BBC a renewal of its license
to broadcast on FM radio. Community radio stations continued to
experience registration and licensing problems that prevented them from
broadcasting.
Opposition politicians had very limited access to state-run
television. The Government allowed opposition leaders limited airtime
during the Presidential election campaign in October and November 2006.
Internet Freedom.--In 2007 the Criminal Code was amended to
criminalize libel and defamation on the Internet, punishable by up to
two years in prison. At year's end the Government had not prosecuted
anyone under these amendments.
Two Internet sites remained blocked as a result of the 2006
government order to block access to Web sites that ``undermined the
state's policies.''
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no reported
government restrictions on academic freedom and cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the
Government at times restricted this right in practice.
A permit from a local executive committee is required to organize
any public assembly or demonstration; only registered organizations may
apply for permits. In general the Government refused to grant permits
for fear that large gatherings would lead to violence and political
upheaval. Groups that staged protests without permission from the
Government were dispersed by police soon after assembling.
In February and March residents of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous
Oblast (GBAO) conducted protests against law enforcement officials and
for political rights in Khorogh, each consisting of a few hundred
persons. Central government officials negotiated an end to the
demonstrations.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution protects freedom of
association; however, in practice the Government restricted this right.
The Law on Observing National Traditions and Rituals continued to
infringe on individuals' abilities to hold private events such as
wedding and funeral ceremonies. The law limits the number of wedding
guests and controls ceremonial gift presentations and other traditional
rituals. The law also regulates the number of guests at funerals and
memorial services. Some citizens reported that government officials
monitored weddings and funerals toensure all parties obeyed the new
law.
The Law on Public Associationscreated a complicated processforall
NGOs to register with the MOJ; the law gives government authorities
numerous bases upon which to delay or deny registration. In 2007, the
Government required all existing NGOs to reregister. In the beginning
of the year, the MOJ announced that slightly more than 1,000 NGOs had
completed the reregistration process; there had been 3,500 registered
NGOs in 2007.
Many observers confirmed government claims that a large number of
the NGOs that were not reregistered were nonfunctional and existed only
on paper. However, some legitimate NGOs encountered difficulties in the
reregistration process, and some accused government officials of using
the process to extort bribes from legitimate NGOs.
Of more than 1,000 NGOs that reregistered, approximately 50 were
international entities. The MOJ refused to register a prominent
democracy-building international NGO and harassed its staff. Other
international NGOs reported difficulties due to unpredictable
application of the law. Representatives of local NGOs involved in human
rights and democracy activities cited government controls-including the
registration process-as reasons why NGOs were generally unable to raise
the profile of grassroots civic issues.
The Government continued to refuse to register political parties
and associations that it considered to be opposition groups. The
Government also intensified its monitoring of the activities of
religious groups and institutions to prevent them from becoming overtly
political.
Legislation defines extremism in broad terms and gives law
enforcement agencies wide latitude to investigate. There were no
reliable estimates of the number of persons arrested or detained for
membership in extremist organizations, such as the IMU and Hizb ut-
Tahrir (HT). Authorities reported that those arrested faced charges of
membership in banned organizations, illegal possession of weapons and
the disruption of the constitutional order.
While prosecutors have secured convictions for many of those
arrested for extremist activities, law enforcement officials used their
authority to monitor, question and detain a broad spectrum of
individuals and groups. For example, according to the Prosecutor
General's Office, criminal cases were initiated against 23 members of
HT in 2007. However, it is believed that authorities questioned or
otherwise detained significantly more individuals based on suspicion of
HT membership or activities.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion; however, in practice the Government continued to impose
restrictions and respect for religious freedom continued to
deteriorate.
The Council of Ulamo, a committee of Islamic clergy, provides
interpretations of religious practice that imams throughout the country
are required to follow. While the council is officially an independent
religious body, in practice it is heavily influenced by the Government.
The Department of Religious Affairs (DRA) at the Ministry of Culture is
responsible for general regulation of all religious organizations. The
DRA, in consultation with local authorities, registers and approves all
religious places of worship. For Muslims, the DRA controls all aspects
of participation in the hajj, including choosing participants.
President Rahmon established a Center for Islamic Studies during the
year to guide religious policy.
The Government continued to impose limitations on personal conduct
and to restrict activities of religious groups that it considered
``threats to national security.'' A ban on women and girls wearing
hijabs in schools and institutions of higher education remained in
effect, although implementation of the ban was uneven. Government
officials visited mosques on a regular basis to monitor activities,
observe those who attended the mosques, and examined audio and video
materials for evidence of extremist and antigovernment material. The
DRA continued to test imams on their religious knowledge and to ensure
they followed official positions on religious issues.
In January the Government put the previously independent Islamic
University, the country's only religious institution of higher
learning, under the administration of the Ministry of Education.
Teachers underwent a vetting process, and the university was downgraded
to an ``Islamic Institute'' (a level below that of university but
equivalent to a college). Private religious schools are permitted, but
they must register with the Ministry of Culture. There were
approximately 19 madrassahs at the secondary school level; the
Government closed none of them during the year. Restrictions on home-
based Islamic education remained in place.
Government concerns about foreign influence resulted in restrictive
measures against minority religious groups. The Government continued
its ban on HT, which it classified as an extremist Islamic political
movement, and authorities introduced restrictive measures against
another Islamic group, the Salafis. The courts upheld the Government's
ban on activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Government printing houses generally did not publish religious
literature; however, they did so in special cases such as the printing
of the Koran in Arabic script. The Government tightly controlled
importation of religious literature. In April the Government refused to
allow a shipment of books by a Baptist organization, arguing that the
size of the shipment was disproportionate to the organization's
membership. The Ministry of Culture banned religious literature from
organizations it considered inappropriate; Jehovah's Witnesses'
literature was included on the list.
In March the Government registered Asolat, an independent religious
newspaper on Islamic law and practice. By September the newspaper's
founder located a publishing house that would agree to print the paper.
Missionaries of registered religious groups were not legally
restricted and the law permits proselytizing, but in practice there was
official interference with proselytizing. Officials, citing public
complaints about Christian missionaries, issued warnings and questioned
groups that proselytized.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--During the year there were no
confirmed public anti-Semitic acts, although some imams and mullahs
reportedly preached anti-Semitic messages in mosques.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for these rights,
although the Government imposed some restrictions.
Foreigners are prohibited from traveling within a 15-mile zone
along the country's borders with China and Afghanistan without
permission from the MFA. The restriction was not always enforced along
the western border with Afghanistan, although a special visa was
required for travelers, including international workers and diplomats,
to Gorno-Badakhshan. Diplomats and international aid workers could
travel to the Afghanistan border without prior authorization.
There are no laws that provide for exile, and there were no reports
of forced exile. Some government opponents remained in self-imposed
exile in Russia.
Persons wishing to emigrate to countries of the former Soviet Union
must notify the MOJ prior to their departure. Persons who wish to
emigrate to other countries must obtain an immigrant visa to receive a
passport.
Most persons who left the country were permitted to return freely.
A few individuals active with the opposition who left during the civil
war experienced administrative difficulty in obtaining new documents
that would permit them to return. The Government provided protection
and modest assistance to resettle any citizens who returned voluntarily
and cooperated with international organizations that helped fund
assistance and resettlement programs.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status to persons in accordance with the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol,
and the Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice there were numerous problems with this system.
According to the State Agency for Social Protection, Employment and
Migration, there were 1,764 refugees and 338 asylum seekers in the
country, most of them Afghans. In addition to general lack of
resources, the Government had to contend with a rise in the number of
those claiming to be refugees; the number of new arrivals claiming
refugee status was nearly twice the 2007 number.
The Government continued to cooperate with UNHCR, and UNHCR
retained its observer status in the Refugee Status Determination
Commission. In April the Government supported a visit by Antonio
Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. During this meeting,
UNHCR and the Government issued a joint communique on integrating
approximately 1,000 Afghan refugees who had been in the country for
many years. While developments were slow, the Government took some
steps forward, including the development of an implementation plan and
the formation of an interministerial working group.
The Government generally succeeded in registering those with a
claim to refugee or asylum status, however, the Government placed
significant restrictions on claimants. A law prohibiting asylum seekers
and refugees from residing in urban areas remained in effect; those
holding refugee status were not entitled to work. Refugees and asylum
seekers were generally left to their own devices to secure food and
shelter.
There were problems with the status determination process,
including lack of transparency. Some decisions to deny refugee status
were made without apparent justification. Although the law stipulates
that refugee status should be granted for up to three years (and can
then be extended), the Government rarely granted refugee status beyond
a one year period. While the law allows refugees to apply for
citizenship after 18 months, few were granted citizenship.
Government actions reflected a particular concern about the
country's population of Afghan refugees. Granting refugee status for
periods shorter than those prescribed by law allowed law enforcement
and security officials to regularly monitor, and in some cases, harass,
refugee populations. Government officials used administrative
violations-such as violating the ban on residing in urban areas-to
revoke refugee status from those who otherwise met the definition of a
refugee.
The Government generally provided protection against the expulsion
or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would
be threatened; however, deportation procedures failed to follow the law
that allows individuals to appeal within one week of receiving a
deportation notice. Prosecutors issued deportation decisions, and these
decisions were not subjected to judicial review. For example, in August
government officials deported a family of six Afghans despite the fact
that the deportation decision had not been delivered to the family
prior to the deportation. UNHCR representatives believed that the
deportees could have been legitimate refugees.
The Government respected protection letters issued by UNHCR and
allowed those holding the letters to remain in the country while UNHCR
considered their claims. Government officials cooperated with UNHCR on
the case of two Iranian asylum seekers who were originally detained in
2006 for illegally crossing the Tajik-Afghan border. The two claimed
they feared extradition and persecution in Iran. The Government
rejected their asylum claims but agreed to allow UNHCR to conduct its
own status determinations.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully; however, in practice the Government restricted this right.
The President and his supporters, primarily from his home region of
Kulob, continued to dominate the Government. The President's political
party, the PDPT, held almost all parliamentary seats and government
positions. The President had broad authority to appoint and dismiss
officials.
Elections and Political Participation.--After the 2006 Presidential
elections, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (ODIHR) determined that Presidential electoral legislation did
not provide a framework for democratic elections, that officials
exercised excessive control during the campaign period, and that the
election was not a true test of democratic principles. Opposition
parties, ODIHR, and NGOs generally agreed on the areas that needed
reform: increasing accountability for election violations; revising the
election law and enacting new legislation; improving electoral
administration; establishing an environment considered fair by all for
campaigning; and assisting political parties to become more
professional
The Government reported eight legally registered political parties,
including the PDPT. Of the seven remaining parties, observers
considered only three to be actual opposition parties. Opposition
political parties remained small, had limited popular support, and
faced close scrutiny by the Government. While they were generally able
to operate, they had difficulty obtaining access to state-run media.
The chairmen of the SDPT and IRPT alleged that government officials
limited their abilities to convene meetings of large numbers of
supporters, particularly in areas outside of Dushanbe. The MOJ refused
to register a ninth party, the Unity Party.
The law prohibits political parties from receiving support from
religious institutions, but religiously affiliated parties, such as the
IRPT, could be registered.
The Democratic Party of Tajikistan remained factionalized.
Supporters of the party's imprisoned chairman, Mahmadruzi Iskandarov,
alleged that the Government assisted in dividing the party, leading to
the November 2006 Presidential election.
All senior members of President Rahmon's government were PDPT
members; virtually all members of the country's 97-seat parliament were
members of the PDPT, or were otherwise considered to be supportive of
the Government. The only other parties represented in parliament were
the IRPT and the Communist Party. There were 16 women in parliament,
and there were five representatives from minorities. Some ministries
had female deputy ministers, and ethnic Uzbeks were represented in the
Government, although not in direct policymaking roles.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, but the Government did not implement
the law effectively. Officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices
with impunity, and corruption and nepotism were pervasive at all levels
of government.
The MOI, the MOJ, the Anti-corruption Agency and the Prosecutor
General's office are responsible for investigating, arresting, and
prosecuting corrupt officials. The Government acknowledged a problem
with corruption and took steps to combat it, including trying officials
for taking bribes. The Prosecutor General investigated some cases of
corruption by government employees, but the bulk of these cases
involved mid- or lower- level officials, and none involved large-scale
abuses. Many observers accused the Government of using the Anti-
corruption Agency to harass or investigate political opponents or
business rivals.
Throughout the year the Government faced scrutiny from the
international community over apparently deliberate misappropriations
involving the International Monetary Fund (IMF). IMF auditors found
that the country had misreported its finances and required the country
to make early repayment of IMF loans. Despite evidence that the actions
were deliberate, no one was prosecuted. Authorities removed one of
those responsible, Murodali Alimardon, the National Bank chief, and
awarded him the position of Deputy Prime Minister.
Public budgets, particularly those involving major state-owned
enterprises, lacked transparency. While the parliament had oversight
over the budget, in practice it passed the most recent budget almost
without comment despite large unexplained and undefined expenses. For
the first time, ministries and state agencies reported to parliament on
implementation of the budget, but neither parliament nor the Government
released information on the report. It was broadly understood, and
privately acknowledged by government officials, that the Government
used proceeds from state-owned enterprises for off-budget prestige
construction projects.
TALCO, the state-owned aluminum smelter that consumed a significant
portion of the country's energy resources and produced the country's
major export, agreed to a financial audit. However, the off-shore
management company, which reportedly was owned by senior politicians
and which received the bulk of the proceeds, did not undergo an audit
of its financial arrangements.
The law requires government officials to provide information to
journalists upon request. In practice the Government did not permit
free access to information, and some officials disregarded the law
concerning journalists, as there was no enforcement.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups continued to face
government pressure. The Government continued to request sensitive
information from NGOs such as employees' personal information,
information about students affiliated with the organizations, their
activities, and their financial status.
A local NGO investigating property violations reported that
government officials refused to provide information about plans to
develop Dushanbe, despite the likelihood that such plans would use
public funds and involve evictions. The NGO also reported that the same
government officials threatened to contact public prosecutors to stop
the NGO's inquiries.
The Government continued to deny ICRC access to prison facilities.
During the year the Government cooperated with the United Nations and
permitted the visit of Yakin Erturk, the UN Special Rapporteur on
Violence Against Women.
The Government's Office for Constitutional Guarantees of Citizens'
Rights continued to investigate and answer citizens' complaints.
Staffing inadequacies and uneven cooperation from other government
institutions hampered the office's effectiveness. The parliamentary
committee on legislation and human rights also monitored human rights
violations, but it lacked full independence. The committee's primary
responsibility was to vet new proposed legislation for compliance with
human rights obligations.
The Government cooperated with international organizations and NGOs
in drafting legislation that would establish a human rights
commissioner, who would function as an ombudsman. The legislation was
passed, but it lacked some basic provisions relating to independence
that had been crucial for civil society representatives. A Human Rights
Commissioner was not named during the year
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for the rights and freedoms of every person
regardless of race, gender, disability, language, or social status;
however, in practice there was discrimination against women, and
trafficking in persons was a problem.
Women.--Violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained a
widespread problem. Women faced societal discrimination based on
alleged traditions, diminished educational opportunities, and increased
poverty. The law provides women equal pay for equal work with men, but
it was not always enforced in practice. NGO representatives claimed
that the Committee for Women's Affairs (within the office of the
President) was not effective in coordinating public policy.
Most cases of domestic abuse went unreported, making the number of
actual cases difficult to estimate. Reported cases were seldom
investigated, and few alleged perpetrators were prosecuted. The
Government had not taken adequate steps to provide for the passage of a
law on domestic violence, to conduct public information campaigns, or
to collect information on domestic violence or the needs of victims.
The media reported that in some rural areas, officials observed an
increase in female suicide. NGO workers suggested that domestic abuse
by in-laws or husbands and labor migration may be contributing causes.
The law prohibits rape (although not specifically spousal rape),
which is punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment. Most observers
believed that the majority of cases were unreported and that the
problem was growing, particularly in urban areas. In addition, family
members and acquaintances often used threats of rape to intimidate
women. There were no official statistics on the number of rapists
charged, prosecuted, or convicted.
Several domestic and international NGOs supported women's resource
centers to assist rape and spousal abuse victims. Government funding
was extremely limited.
Prostitution is illegal, although in practice apprehended
prostitutes were assessed a nominal fine and released. Procurers were
prosecuted.
The law prohibits sexual harassment with penalties of up to two
years' imprisonment. In practice women were often sexually harassed or
had to perform sexual acts in order to get a job or maintain one. Cases
often went unreported because of the social stigma attached to victims.
In 2004 the country's highest Islamic body, the Council of Ulamo,
issued a fatwa that prohibited women from praying in mosques. The
Government supported the fatwa but expressed concern over the
separation of church and state. The IRPT continued to operate two
``Friday praying'' mosques that permitted women.
The law protects women's rights in marriage and family matters;
however, some female minors were pressured to marry men against their
will, and high incidences of polygamy, although illegal, were reported.
Inheritance laws do not discriminate against women, although in
practice some inheritances passed disproportionately to sons.
Children.--While the Government sought to promote children's rights
and welfare, in practice it did not devote adequate financial resources
to maintain the social security network for child welfare. The lack of
resources contributed to a deterioration of the public school system
and the medical infrastructure available to children.
Free and universal public education is compulsory until age 16.
However, the law was not enforced and school attendance was low;
children worked in the home or in informal activities to supplement
family income. Girls were disadvantaged, especially in rural school
systems, where families elected to keep them home to help take care of
siblings or work in the fields. With the decline of the country's
underfunded public schools, a small number of poor male students were
recruited and sent to Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan to
receive a free Islamic education.
There is no formal government body to address issues of violence
against children. In 2007 the Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law, a
local NGO, reported that 2,378 acts of violence had been committed
against children. Advocates were concerned that many acts of violence
were unreported.
Underage marriage was widespread in some rural areas, a practice
influenced by the high level of poverty and unemployment that compelled
many families to marry off their daughters quickly.
Trafficking in Persons.--The country was a source for trafficked
persons. The law prohibits trafficking in persons; however, trafficking
of women and children for sexual exploitation and the trafficking of
men for forced labor was a serious problem. Boys and girls were
trafficked internally for various purposes, including forced labor and
begging.
Women and girls were trafficked through Kyrgyzstan and Russia
primarily to the U.A.E. and Russia for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation. Most female trafficking victims were single and between
the ages of 20 and 26. Men and boys were trafficked to Russia and
Kazakhstan for the purpose of labor exploitation, primarily in the
construction and agricultural industries. Residents from rural,
uneducated, and poor communities were particularly vulnerable.
Authorities and NGOs maintain statistics on trafficking cases, but
such statistics were estimates and could not be considered
comprehensive. The International Organization for Migration (IOM)
reported assisting 46 trafficking victims during the year. Upon return
they were provided with medical assistance, training, and other types
of support. The authorities had no statistics on labor trafficking. NGO
representatives said that a significant percentage, possibly more than
50 percent, of the country's estimated 1 million labor migrants were
subjected to some form of exploitation that would meet the definition
of trafficking.
Recruiters offered victims false promises of employment,
advertising work through social contacts. Traffickers tightly
controlled arrangements for travel and lodging and employed contacts
among tourism agencies. They sometimes used forged documents to evade
entry restrictions in destination countries. Victims commonly were
separated from their travel documents upon arrival in the destination
country. Debt bondage was a common form of control.
The law criminalizes trafficking in persons with penalties of
imprisonment ranging from five to 15 years; however, prosecutors had
not successfully prosecuted anyone under the trafficking statute.
Prosecutors secured convictions pursuant to other criminal provisions,
such as recruitment of persons for exploitation, buying and selling of
minors, and document fraud. Penalties under these provisions range from
a monetary fine to 15 years' imprisonment. Victims of forced
prostitution and labor trafficking cannot be charged for crimes
committed while they were victims.
The MOI is responsible for trafficking investigations and arrests,
the General Prosecutor's Office is responsible for prosecuting and
sentencing convicted traffickers, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA) is responsible for trafficking-related repatriation and
extradition matters. The Interministerial Commission to Combat
Trafficking (ICCT), established within the President's executive
office, coordinates antitrafficking efforts and implements the National
Government Action Plan on Human Trafficking for 2006-10. The Government
generally worked openly and cooperatively with the international
community and the IOM to combat trafficking.
There was no indication of widespread government involvement in
trafficking. However, corruption was endemic, and reports indicated
that mid- and low-level government authorities working in customs,
border control, immigration, police, and tourism accepted bribes from
traffickers. Credible sources alleged that certain government officials
acted as patrons or protectors of individuals who were directly
involved in trafficking. Traffickers used their contacts in government
agencies to obtain false documents.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the MOI, and the
ICCT mission, fewer persons were arrested, prosecuted and convicted
in 2007 than in previous years; 10 of 12 persons arrested for
trafficking related offenses were released under a Presidential amnesty
that year. The commission reported that arrests and prosecutions
increased slightly during the year, although the authorities did not
prosecute any government officials on trafficking-related charges. The
Government took some positive steps, however. Prosecutors opened the
country's first criminal cases against persons suspected of engaging in
labor trafficking. Law enforcement officials have sought to increase
cooperation with governments in destination countries, particularly the
U.A.E. The authorities instituted new monitoring and licensing
requirements for private travel companies.
There were few resources available to trafficking victims. The
Government officially provided security and assistance to trafficking
victims and endorsed efforts by international and domestic NGOs to
prevent trafficking and provide services to victims. The Government
with the help of IOM established two shelters for female trafficking
victims. Victims often did not press charges against traffickers due to
social stigma.
There were approximately 20 NGOs involved in antitrafficking
activities throughout the country. Several provided various services to
trafficking victims and carried out a wide range of information
programs in conjunction with local. NGOs matched victims with social
services, operated crisis centers, and maintained a hot line for
trafficking and domestic abuse victims.
Local NGO programs worked with support from international
organizations to increase awareness of trafficking; NGOs worked with
local officials to conduct training and awareness seminars for the
general public, and the Government cooperated with NGOs to raise public
awareness of trafficking. The Government issued press releases warning
about the dangers of trafficking and produced television programs to
educate the public. It also promoted announcements as well as
informational materials produced and distributed by local and
international organizations. The Government also cooperated with
international organizations on prevention programs by holding joint
seminars, conferences, and distributing antitrafficking brochures. The
Government operated a 24-hour telephone hot line.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The Ministry of Labor and Social
Welfare, the Government's Commission on Fulfillment of International
Human Rights, the Society of Invalids, and appropriate local and
regional governmental structures were charged with protecting the
rights of persons with disabilities.
The law prohibits discrimination in employment, education, access
to health care, and provision of other state services. However, public
and private institutions generally did not have the resources to
provide for legal safeguards. There is no law mandating access to
buildings for persons with disabilities, and the Government did not
require employers to provide such access.
Although the Government maintained group-living and medical
facilities for persons with disabilities, funding was limited and
facilities were in poor condition.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Generally, discrimination was
not a significant problem. There were reports that some law enforcement
officials harassed ethnic Afghans and Uzbeks, but such reports were not
common.
There was a stigma associated with homosexuality that made it
difficult to assess the degree of discrimination to which persons were
subjected. There was generally no public discussion of homosexuality.
There was also a stigma associated with HIV infection. There were
reports that doctors denied some HIV positive patients treatment at
medical facilities.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join unions, and they did so in practice. However, the Government used
informal means to exercise considerable influence over organized labor,
including influencing the selection of labor union leaders. The
umbrella Federation of Trade Unions of Tajikistan did not effectively
represent worker interests. There were reports that the Government
compelled some citizens to join trade unions and impeded formation of
independent unions. According to official figures 1.3 million persons
belonged to unions, approximately 63 percent of the active work force.
The law requires all NGOs, including trade unions, to be registered in
order to operate. The law does not specifically prohibit antiunion
discrimination; however, there were no reported incidents of antiunion
discrimination in practice.
Citizens were reluctant to strike due to fears of government
retaliation.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct activities without interference, except ``in cases
specified by law''; however, the law does not actually specify those
cases. The Law on Meetings, which requires that meetings and other mass
actions have prior official authorization, limited trade unions'
ability to organize meetings or demonstrations. The laws provide for
the right to organize and bargain collectively, and workers exercised
this right in practice. Collective bargaining contracts covered 90
percent of workers. The law does not restrict the right to strike, but
under the Law on Meetings, mass action must have prior approval from
the authorities.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including of children, except in cases
defined in the law; however, there were reports that such practices
occurred.
In 2006 President Rahmon issued a decree against compelling
students to participate in the annual cotton harvest. However, as in
previous years, local government officials mobilized and forced
university students, university employees, and government employees in
Sughd and Khatlon regions to pick cotton during the annual harvest.
There were confirmed reports in at least one region that government-
paid university administrators and professors oversaw the organization
and transportation of students, and professors accompanied the students
to oversee the cotton picking. University faculties in Khatlon and
Sughd regions shut down to accommodate the students' participation.
Work conditions were generally poor. Many school-aged children,
particularly those between 14 and 17, participated in the cotton
harvest in rural areas in Sughd and Khatlon. It was unclear whether
they were forced or pressured into participating, although they were
often supervised by teachers.
Despite evidence to the contrary, the authorities continued to deny
official involvement in forced labor. In order to support such claims,
some officials forced students to sign documents stating that they
willingly participated in the cotton harvest. The government-including
representatives of the Ministry for Labor and Social Welfare-did not
deploy inspectors to investigate the situation or hold those
responsible for illegal labor practices accountable. In December,
however, Khatlon prosecutors announced that they had filed charges
against local officials in Shahritus and Kubodiyon for using school-
aged children in the cotton campaign.
Despite a Presidential ``Freedom to Farm'' pronouncement, which
aimed to reform the country's agricultural sector, local strongmen in
some districts forced farmers to grow and pick cotton. In a district in
Khatlon, a farm manager reportedly refused to recognize farmers' land
use rights; used local police officials to enforce his control over the
farmers; beat those who refused to work in accordance with his orders;
and extorted money from farmers. The victims of this manager felt they
had no legal recourse, as the manager was able to influence local law
enforcement and judicial officials.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
UNICEF reported that the percentage of children working declined from
25 percent in 2000 to 10 percent in 2005. Nevertheless, child labor
remained a widespread problem, and the Government neither effectively
enforced child labor laws nor developed a comprehensive policy to
prevent or eliminate the worst forms of child labor.
The minimum age for children to work is 16, although children may
work at age 15 with local trade union permission. By law children under
the age of 18 may work no more than six hours a day and 36 hours per
week. Children as young as seven years may participate in household
labor and agricultural work, which were separately classified as family
assistance. Many children under age 10 worked in bazaars or sold goods
on the street.
Enforcement of child labor laws is the responsibility of the
Prosecutor's Office, the MOJ, the Ministry of Social Welfare, the MOI,
and appropriate local and regional governmental offices. Additionally,
unions are responsible for reporting any violations in the employment
of minors. Unresolved cases between unions and employers may be brought
before the prosecutor general for investigation. Very few violations
were reported, as most children worked under the family assistance
exception. UNICEF estimated that approximately 200,000 children between
the ages of five and 14 were in the labor force. The highest incidences
of child labor were in the domestic or agricultural sectors. Children
were often found working in bazaars.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Government officials reported
that the unemployment rate during the year was 2.4 percent, although
this did not accurately reflect the employment situation. A significant
percentage of the country's working-age population (as many as one
million citizens) sought seasonal or permanent work abroad, especially
in Russia and Kazakhstan.
The estimated average monthly wage was 267.50 somoni (approximately
$77), but in many sectors, average wages fell far below this average.
In the agricultural sector, for example, the average wage was estimated
at 118 somoni ($34). There was no agreed-upon measure of cost of living
standards, but the World Bank estimated that 53 percent of the
population lived below the poverty line, and that 17 percent lived in
extreme poverty. While statistical measures varied, the poverty line
was estimated to be 139 somoni ($40) per month, based on a 2007 survey
conducted jointly by the Government, the World Bank, and UNICEF. The
extreme poverty line was estimated to be 89 somoni ($25) per month. The
Government acknowledged the problem of low wages and provided certain
subsidies for workers and their families who earned the minimum wage,
which was 60 somoni ($17) per month. Some establishments compensated
their employees with food commodities or with enterprise-produced
products, which employees either sold or bartered in local private
markets.
The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours for adults
over the age of 18. The law mandates overtime payment, with the first
two hours paid at one and half times the normal rate and the remainder
at double the rate. Overtime payment was inconsistent in all sectors of
the labor force. The Ministry of Finance enforces financial aspects of
the labor law, and the Agency of the Financial Control of the
Presidential administration oversees other aspects of the law.
There are laws that establish relatively strict occupational health
and safety standards. In practice the Government did not broadly
provide compliance with these standards, partly because of the degree
of corruption and the low salaries paid to inspectors. The State
Technical Supervision Committee under the Council of Ministers was
responsible for enforcing health and safety standards. The law permits
workers to remove themselves from hazardous conditions without risking
loss of employment. This law was not enforced effectively, and few
workers did so in practice.
Farmers and agricultural workers, accounting for approximately 66
percent of the workforce, continued to work under difficult
circumstances. There was no system to monitor or regulate working
conditions in the agricultural sector. Wages were low, and many workers
were paid in kind. Despite some changes, the Government's failure to
introduce and implement comprehensive property and land usage reforms
continued to limit its ability to protect agricultural workers' rights.
__________
TURKMENISTAN
Although the constitution declares the country to be a secular
democracy and Presidential republic, it is an authoritarian state of
approximately five million that was dominated by President-for-life
Saparmyrat Niyazov until his death in December 2006. The Halk Maslahaty
(People's Council) selected six candidates for the February 2007
Presidential election, all from the Democratic Party, the country's
only political party. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov won in an election that
did not meet international standards. December 14 parliamentary
elections fell short of international standards. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
Although there were modest improvements, the Government continued
to commit serious abuses, and its human rights record remained poor.
Authorities continued to restrict severely political and civil
liberties. Human rights problems included citizens' inability to change
their government; torture and mistreatment of detainees; incommunicado
and prolonged detention; arbitrary arrest and detention; house arrest;
denial of due process and fair trial; arbitrary interference with
privacy, home, and correspondence; restrictions on freedom of speech,
press, assembly, and association; restrictions on religious freedom,
including continued harassment of some religious minority group
members; restrictions on freedom of movement for some citizens;
violence against women; and restrictions on free association of
workers. Documentation of abuses remained very limited.
The Government revised the constitution and the election law. Other
measured improvements in human rights included registration of the
first community-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) in three
years, reinstatement of graduate and postgraduate educational programs,
and continued de-emphasis of former President Niyazov's Ruhnama in the
education system and in society.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reliable reports during the year that the Government or its agents
committed any politically motivated killings. In 2007 there were
several reports of citizens dying under suspicious circumstances during
detention.
In 2007 a family member of an allegedly drunk suspect who died in
police custody in Mary Province claimed there was evidence of physical
abuse on the corpse. In June 2007 a person died in an Ashgabat
detention center while awaiting an appeal decision. Although there was
no evidence of mistreatment, his wife claimed the court knew he had a
serious medical condition but denied him medical treatment.
Human rights observers reported that in 2006, just after the death
of former President Niyazov, prison guards used military force to
suppress a riot and killed 23 prisoners at Ovadan-Depe.
There were no developments in the 2006 suspicious death in custody
of journalist Ogulsapar Myradova. The Government did not carry out a
transparent investigation into the causes of Myradova's death, as the
international community had urged it to do.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
security officials trying to extract confessions from detainees
tortured, routinely beat, and used excessive force against criminal
suspects, prisoners, and individuals critical of the Government. There
were reports of individuals convicted of complicity in the 2002 attack
on the former President's motorcade being tortured, although there was
also one report that this torture ceased following Niyazov's death.
An October decision the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
stated that ``any criminal suspect held in custody ran a serious risk
of being subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.'' The
ECHR also reported that the country lacked an effective system of
torture prevention.
The Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation claimed the Government
tortured Ogulsapar Myradova, Annakurban Amanklichev, and Sapardurdy
Hajiyev during detention in 2006 to extract confessions. All three were
subsequently sentenced to prison. Myradova died in September 2006 in
prison; Amanklichev and Hajiyev remained in prison at year's end.
Authorities continued to detain persons in psychiatric hospitals as
punishment. On June 22, law enforcement officials came to Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent Sazak Durdymuradov's home
in Bakharden, detained him, and later transferred him to a psychiatric
hospital in Lebap. After several weeks and under international
pressure, authorities released him. When Durdymuradov was released in
July, he told Forum18 representatives that a devout Muslim prayer
leader named Nurmamed Agayev, who had been arrested in 2006, was
incarcerated in the same hospital.
In July 2007 police arrested a member of Jehovah's Witnesses for
refusing military service and detained him in a psychiatric hospital.
Authorities released him four weeks later after international
organizations and the diplomatic community expressed interest in his
case.
Although there were no known reports during the year of specific
hazing incidents, according to the Memorial Human Rights Center and the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, hazing of military conscripts
remained a problem and led to desertions from units where conditions
were particularly difficult. According to a 2006 report from the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, corruption within the defense
ministry and draft commissions, tribal- and ethnicity-based rivalries,
and disregard for the rights of soldiers led to an increasing number of
deaths caused by brutal treatment soldiers meted out to fellow
conscripts. Regular military units continued to be used as unpaid
manual labor working in fields, hospitals, factories, and construction.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
poor; prisons were unsanitary, overcrowded, unsafe, and life
threatening. Disease, particularly tuberculosis (TB), was rampant.
There continued to be concerns that the Government did not adequately
test and treat prisoners with TB before they were released into the
general population, although the Government reportedly screened
prisoners for TB, among other diseases, and transferred prisoners
diagnosed with TB to a special Ministry of Interior hospital in Mary
Province for treatment. Nutrition was poor, and prisoners depended on
relatives to supplement inadequate food supplies. There were also
reports that prison officials sometimes confiscated these food parcels.
Although prisoners convicted for treason were unable to receive
supplies from relatives, there was one 2007 report that individuals
convicted of complicity in the 2002 attack were given supplemental food
packages for the first time since they were imprisoned.
In 2007 family members and international NGOs claimed some
prisoners died due to the combination of overcrowding, untreated
illnesses, and lack of adequate protection from summer heat.
Sources familiar with prison conditions at Owadan Depe Prison
reported that former high-level officials continued to be denied proper
medical treatment and suffered beatings and verbal intimidation to
coerce confessions.
On February 21, authorities arrested computer network specialist
Valeri Pal in Turkmenbashy for stealing government property in 2004. On
May 14, after a closed trial at the oil refinery where he worked,
authorities sentenced him to 12 years in prison. His family reported
that he was imprisoned in Mary and had been in the prison hospital
there since July due to serious health problems. On December 5, a
Presidential decree pardoned 400 prisoners, including Pal, in honor of
Neutrality Day.
There are three types of incarceration facilities: educational
labor colonies, correctional labor colonies, and prisons. In the
correctional labor colonies, relatives of prisoners reported excessive
periods of prisoner isolation. There were reports that prisoners were
forced to work under hazardous and unhealthy conditions in a kaolin
mine in Gyzylgaya Prison, near Dashoguz.
Authorities held prisoners connected with the 2002 attack
separately at the Owadan Depe Prison. Government officials refused to
respond to inquiries from family members and diplomats about political
prisoners' location or condition. Government officials also refused to
permit family members, foreign diplomats, or international observers,
including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), access
to detainees or prisoners associated with the 2002 attack. During the
year the ICRC did not conduct any prison visits due to unacceptable
government limitations on visiting certain types of prisons and
prisoners. Family members reported that the Government also held
political prisoners in facilities near Turkmenbashy and in Mary.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, they remained serious problems.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs directs the criminal police, who work closely with the
Ministry of National Security (MNB) on matters of national security.
The MNB controls personnel changes in other ministries and enforces
Presidential decrees. Both the MNB and criminal police operated with
impunity. Corruption existed in the security forces.
In February 2007 President Berdimuhamedov created a Presidential
commission led by the chairman of the Supreme Court to review citizens'
complaints of abuse by law enforcement agencies including unfair
treatment, efforts to extract bribes, and unjustified arrests and
prosecutions. Since the commission's creation, however, there have been
no known cases in which the commission investigated allegations of
abuse and held members of the security forces accountable. In 2007 the
commission reviewed only three cases that led to further review by the
Supreme Court and reductions of sentence. In July 2007 the President
publicly fired and later arrested the chairman of the Supreme Court, in
part for his failure to ensure that cases coming from the commission
were properly reviewed. In October 2007 the President fired the
minister of internal affairs, reportedly because of an alleged doubling
of cases involving ministry corruption and abuse under review by the
commission.
Arrest and Detention.--A warrant was not required for arrest. The
chairman of the cabinet of ministers, a position held by the President,
had sole authority for approving arrest warrants.
There was no bail system. Detainees were entitled to immediate
access to an attorney after a bill of indictment was issued, and they
were able to choose their counsel. However, in practice they did not
have prompt or regular access to legal counsel. In some cases legal
counsel ceased advising their clients after government officials
altered the charges or case details initially provided to defendants.
Authorities denied some prisoners visits by family members during the
year. Families sometimes did not know the whereabouts of imprisoned
relatives. Incommunicado detention was a problem. Authorities could
detain individuals for 72 hours without a formal arrest warrant but
legally had to issue a formal bill of indictment within 10 days of
arrest to hold detainees longer. However, authorities did not adhere to
these provisions in practice.
The law characterizes any opposition to the Government as an act of
treason. Those convicted of treason faced life imprisonment and were
ineligible for amnesty or reduction of sentence. However, there were no
known treason convictions. Rather, the Government arrested those
expressing critical or differing views on economic or criminal charges.
Pretrial detention could legally last no longer than two months but
in exceptional cases could be extended to one year. In practice
pretrial detentions averaged two to three months; authorities often
exceeded legal limits. Chronic corruption and cumbersome bureaucratic
processes contributed to lengthy trial delays.
The Government used house arrest without due process to control
regime opponents. At year's end the status was unknown of individuals
previously placed under house arrest, including NGO leaders, relatives
of those suspected of involvement in the 2002 attack, and some of the
100 individuals prevented from meeting with the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2003.
Amnesty.--On February 19, the Government pardoned 1,269 prisoners
in honor of Flag Day. On May 9, 908 prisoners were pardoned in honor of
Victory Day. On September 27, the President pardoned 1,670 prisoners in
advance of the Night of Omnipotence holiday. On December 5, the
President pardoned 400 prisoners in honor of Neutrality Day. No
prisoners of international concern or associated with the 2002 attack
on the former President's motorcade were released. Former security
service chief Saparmurat Seidov was released from prison on October 26,
having served a six-year term for his alleged role in the 2002 attack.
In August 2007 President Berdimuhamedov pardoned 11 prisoners,
including Muslim cleric and former grand mufti Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah
and former Justice Minister Yusup Khaitiev, who were jailed for their
alleged role in the 2002 attack. After the pardon the Government
appointed Ibadullah an advisor to the country's Council on Religious
Affairs (CRA).
It was unknown whether amnestied prisoners still had to swear an
oath of allegiance to the Ruhnama, former President Niyazov's spiritual
guidebook on the country's culture and heritage. Human Rights Watch
(HRW) reported, ``The August 2007 Presidential pardon of 11 persons was
a welcome step, although their public statements recognizing their
guilt must be assumed to have been a condition for their release.''
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary was
subordinate to the President. There was no legislative review of the
President's judicial appointments and dismissals, except for the
chairman (chief justice) of the Supreme Court, whom parliament
nominally reviewed. The President had sole authority to dismiss all
judges before the completion of their terms. The judiciary was widely
reputed to be both corrupt and inefficient.
The court system consists of a Supreme Court, six provincial courts
(including one for Ashgabat), and 64 district and city courts. Civilian
courts, under the authority of the Office of the Prosecutor General,
tried criminal offenses committed by members of the armed forces.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides due process for defendants,
including a public trial, access to accusatory material, the right to
call witnesses to testify on their behalf, a defense attorney or a
court-appointed lawyer if the defendant cannot afford one, and the
right to represent oneself in court. In practice authorities often
denied these rights. Defendants frequently did not enjoy a presumption
of innocence. There was no jury system. The Government permitted
foreign observers to attend most nonpolitical trials but closed some
trials, especially those it considered politically sensitive. There
were few independent lawyers available to represent defendants. The
courts at times did not allow defendants to confront or question
witnesses against them and denied defendants and their attorneys access
to government evidence. In some cases courts refused to accept
exculpatory evidence provided by defense attorneys, even if that
evidence would have changed the outcome of the trial. Even if the
courts observed due process rights, the authority of the Government
prosecutor far exceeded that of the defense attorney, making it
difficult for the defendant to receive a fair trial. Court transcripts
were frequently flawed or incomplete, especially when defendants'
testimony had to be translated from Russian to Turkmen. Defendants
could appeal lower courts' decisions and petition the President for
clemency. In most cases courts ignored allegations of torture that
defendants raised in trial.
There were regular reports that police arrested individuals and
requested they pay fines for breaking specific laws. However, when
citizens asked to see the law, government officials refused or stated
the laws were secret.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government held at least
one political prisoner, Mukhametkuli Aimuradov, imprisoned since 1995.
On June 24, authorities arrested former civil activist and former
political prisoner Gulgeldy Annaniyazov after he re-entered the
country. Annaniyazov received asylum in Norway in 2002 after serving
five years in a Turkmenbashy prison for his role in a 1995 political
demonstration. In July he was sentenced in a closed court trial to 11
years in prison, but at year's end no further information about his
case was available.
In 2006 authorities charged three journalists Ogulsapar Myradova,
Annakurban Amanklichev, and Sapardurdy Hajiyev with weapons possession
after they received journalism equipment from foreign sources. They
were sentenced in a closed trial to six to seven years' imprisonment.
RFE/RL, the Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation, and several other human
rights organizations claimed they were charged with criminal activities
to block their reporting. There was no further information regarding
the Government's investigation of Amanklichev and Hajiyev on additional
charges of espionage and treason, and they remained in jail. Myradova
died in police custody under suspicious circumstances.
Opposition groups and some international organizations claimed the
Government held many political prisoners and detainees, although the
precise number of these individuals-including those convicted of
involvement in the 2002 attack-remained unknown. There were reports
that the Government held approximately 360 individuals in Owadan Depe
prison for their perceived political opinions and alleged involvement
in the 2002 attack. Human rights observers considered conditions at
Owadan Depe Prison among the worst in the country, and there were
reports that prison officials subjected prisoners to torture and abuse.
In 2007 there were reports that some prisoners accused of economic
crimes, including a number of former senior government ministers, may
have been moved from Owadan Depe Prison to Mary Prison. Government
officials refused to respond to inquiries from family members and
diplomats about many prisoners' location or condition. Government
officials also refused to permit family members, foreign diplomats, or
international observers, including the ICRC, access to detainees or
prisoners associated with the 2002 attack.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The civil judiciary system
was not independent or impartial; the President appointed all judges.
There were instances of police investigations that went to court in
which plaintiffs could sue defendants. In theory the civil court system
functions, but there were reports of bribes to ensure a positive
outcome. In cases in which the state had interests regarding an
individual citizen, it enforced domestic court orders. The most
commonly enforced court orders were eviction notices.
Property Restitution.--The Government failed to enforce the law
consistently with respect to restitution or compensation for
confiscation of private property. In February 2007 President
Berdimuhamedov announced there would be no housing demolition unless
replacement housing was available. However, during the year there were
reports that the Government demolished some private homes as part of an
urban renewal program in and around Ashgabat without adequate
compensation to the owners.
In some 2006 cases, the Government required evicted families to pay
for removal of the rubble of their destroyed homes, gave persons as
little as 48 hours to vacate, and did not provide homeowners with
alternative accommodations or compensation. Others were given two
weeks' notice to vacate and were offered apartments or plots of land in
compensation on undeveloped or nonirrigated plots, resulting in the
loss of livelihood for some.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions;
however, authorities frequently did not respect these prohibitions in
practice. Authorities in some cases forcibly searched the homes of
suspected regime opponents and some minority religious group members
without independent judicial authorization. The law does not regulate
surveillance by the state security apparatus, which regularly monitored
the activities of officials, citizens, opponents and critics of the
Government, and foreigners. Security officials used physical
surveillance, telephone tapping, electronic eavesdropping, and
informers. The Government reportedly intercepted surface mail before
delivery, and letter packets and parcels taken to the post office had
to remain unsealed for inspection.
A noncitizen may marry a citizen only after one year's residency in
the country. There were reports of a small number of such marriages.
Individuals who were harassed, detained, or arrested by authorities
continued to report that their family members were often fired from
their jobs, expelled from schools, or detained and interrogated.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, but the Government did not
respect these rights in practice. There were no specific reports of
persons expressing dissenting views being arrested on false charges of
committing common crimes and in some cases being subjected to abuse,
harassment, and deprivation, including loss of opportunities for
advancement and employment. However, there were reports that law
enforcement officials harassed and detained Turkmen journalists working
for foreign media outlets, most notably several who worked for RFE/RL.
Almost all print media were government financed. Except for the
private but government-sanctioned Turkish newspaper Zaman, which
reflected the views of the state newspapers, the Government imposed
significant restrictions on the importation of foreign newspapers.
The Government controlled radio and local television, but use of
satellite dishes providing access to foreign television programming was
widespread throughout the country. Citizens also received international
radio programs through satellite television access.
During the year government agents reportedly detained, harassed,
and intimidated journalists and their families. Journalists working for
RFE/RL, in particular, reported frequent harassment by government
authorities.
In January authorities interrogated RFE/RL correspondent Soltan
Achilova for two days, accusing her of producing reports critical of
national policy. They released her after she signed an agreement to
stop working for RFE/RL until she had formal press accreditation.
In late April a Molotov cocktail struck the house of RFE/RL
reporter Gurbandurdy Durdykuliyev in Balkanabat. Three of the outer
walls were painted with obscene graffiti, including the word
``traitor,'' paint was poured on his car, and human feces were smeared
on his front door.
In late April security officials sought to disrupt the wedding of a
family member of an RFE/RL reporter by harassing the prospective bride,
pressuring several subsequent restaurant managers to cancel the wedding
reservation, and later turning off the electricity at the final wedding
venue.
In July RFE/RL reporter Osman Halliyev reported that security
authorities pressured administrators at the Azadi Foreign Language
Institute to expel his son because Halliyev refused to stop working for
RFE/RL.
Harassment of RFE/RL reporter Halmyrat Gylychdurdyev continued on
and off throughout the year. Government harassment because of his
reporting had initially eased up and then increased in frequency in
2007. Authorities intermittently monitored his activities, harassed his
family, and periodically disconnected his mobile telephone service. In
2006 authorities routinely harassed him and his family for his earlier
economic articles unfavorable to the Government.
During the year the Government barred four RFE/RL reporters from
travel abroad. The OSCE reported that the Government did not allow a
journalist to travel abroad in 2007.
The former editor in chief of the state newspaper Esger remained in
jail on a 17-year sentence for unspecified crimes.
During the year state journalists still needed to get permission to
cover specific events. They were also required to seek approval to
publish or air the subject matter they had covered.
Domestic journalists and foreign news correspondents engaged in
self-censorship due to fear of government reprisal. The Government
continued to censor newspapers. The Government continued to prohibit
reporting opposing political views or any criticism of the President.
The Government continued to keep Russian government-supported,
Russian-language Radio Mayak transmissions off the air.
To regulate domestic printing and copying activities, the
Government required all publishing houses and printing and photocopying
establishments to obtain registration licenses for their equipment. The
Government required the registration of all photocopiers and mandated
that a single individual be responsible for all photocopying. The
Government owned all publishing companies. Works on topics that were
out of favor with the Government, including fiction, were not
published.
The Government continued its ban on subscription to foreign
periodicals for nongovernment entities, although copies of the Russian
newspaper Argumenti I Fakti and other nonpolitical periodicals appeared
occasionally in the bazaars. In June the Government began permitting
government agencies and institutions to acquire subscriptions to
foreign academic and scientific periodicals.
There was no independent oversight of press accreditation, no
defined criteria for allocating press cards, no guarantee of receiving
accreditation when space was available, and no prohibition on
withdrawing accreditation for political reasons. The Government
required all foreign correspondents to apply for accreditation.
Journalists from outside the country were granted visas only to cover
specific events such as international conferences and summit meetings,
where their activities could be monitored. Authorities denied some
journalists accreditation, although at least five journalists
representing foreign media organizations were accredited. Turkish news
services had eight correspondents in the country, at least two of which
were reportedly accredited. As many as 13 correspondents representing
foreign media services operated without accreditation.
Internet Freedom.--Internet access increased modestly, although
government-owned Turkmen Telecom remained the main provider to the
general population, and administrative requirements for getting
connected, including a signature from the local police station,
continued to impede access. The Government monitored citizens' e-mail
and Internet usage and cut service for accounts used to visit sensitive
Web sites. During the year Turkmen Telecom continued to issue new
Internet accounts to businesses and organizations and, in June,
reportedly began issuing new accounts to private individuals for the
first time in years. Turkmen Telecom rates for dial-up access remained
very expensive for the average citizen. The initial connection cost was
600,000 manats (approximately $42), with a monthly subscription fee of
200,000 manats (approximately $14), in addition to a 12,000 manat
(approximately $.80) per hour usage fee. Private citizens reported in
November that often they could not get on line with their new accounts
because of competition for limited bandwidth. As of November, 2,000
households remained on a waiting list for Internet access via Turkmen
Telecom.
There were approximately 15 state-owned Internet cafes nationwide,
in addition to NGO-sponsored facilities, private businesses, and
business centers that were granted access to the Internet. Although the
Government reduced Internet cafe fees to approximately 30,000 manats
(approximately $2) per hour in April, it remained prohibitively
expensive for the average citizen. Access to specific Web sites
remained inconsistent. In March the Government allowed Russian cellular
telephone provider MTS to begin providing mobile Internet service to
its business customers, including citizens. In June MTS was able to
offer this service to all of its customers, more than 800,000
subscribers by year's end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--On January 15, the
Government formally reinstated graduate and postgraduate study programs
in the country's higher educational institutions for the first time
since 1998. However, only one or two graduate students were admitted to
each higher educational institution, totaling approximately 80
students. No formal classes or courses were offered at the graduate
level. Instead, the main focus was research.
The Government still did not recognize academic degrees received
abroad, and only government-selected students were allowed to
participate in intergovernmentally approved exchange programs. The
Ministry of Education did not recognize degrees from nonstate
institutions of higher education in former Soviet Union countries. It
did, however, recognize degrees obtained abroad through
intergovernmentally approved education programs. Most exchanges at the
university level are prohibited by the Law on Education. The Ministry
of Education took no steps to act on the President's 2007 request that
the ministry facilitate recognition of foreign degrees. Furthermore,
the Government did not introduce its own sponsored scholarship program
for study abroad, despite the President's promises to do so and the
efforts of the international community.
The Government did not tolerate criticism of government policy or
the President in academic circles and curtailed research into areas it
considered politically sensitive, such as comparative law, history,
ethnic relations, or theology. University enrollment totaled
approximately 4,000 students at all higher educational institutions,
compared with 3,615 students in 2007.
Officials from the Ministry of Education and provincial authorities
sought to prevent students who were not ethnically Turkmen from
entering exchange programs.
Niyazov's Ruhnama, Ruhnama II, poetry volumes, The Spring of My
Inspiration, and My Beloved remained part of the school curriculum, and
passing tests on knowledge of the Ruhnama was still necessary for
advancement, graduation, or admission to higher educational
institutions, even to Russian universities. However, teachers reported
having to spend substantially less class time on former President
Niyazov's works than in the past, as the revamped curriculum introduced
new subjects and an expanded and more fact-based study of local history
and culture. At the beginning of the school year, Ruhnama studies as a
separate course was discontinued, and began to be taught instead as a
part of a new discipline, which included Ruhnama; the country's
history, philosophy, sociology, political science, and economic theory;
and President Berdimuhamedov's book Epoch of New Revival.
Most secondary school textbooks were revised during the year to
remove all text devoted to Niyazov and his family. New text devoted to
the ``New Era'' ideology replaced it. The compulsory Ruhnama corner at
pre-schools, schools, and universities was turned into a Berdimuhamedov
corner centered on his ``Era of Great Revival'' writings. After long
requiring traditional dress uniforms for all students, schools
announced more conservative dress codes for female faculty. The new
requirements include wearing one-color national dress with traditional
embroidery and not wearing jewelry or makeup. Enforcement was uneven.
Although restrictions eased somewhat, the Government continued to
control attendance at nonindigenous cultural events and refused to
permit the production of some foreign plays and performances in state
theaters. The Government demonstrated little or no support for non-
Turkmen music, but classical music was taught and performed throughout
the country. The previously banned government-supported symphony
orchestra was reestablished at the National Cultural Center and began
monthly concerts of Turkmen and world classical music. The President
decreed that the circus reopen, and the first opera performance took
place in June.
Traditional local music, which had not been performed for years,
was played in concerts and social events. Pirated copies of
international films were available for sale or rent for home viewing
and were shown on television. Several ministries, including the
Ministry of Culture, hosted a large number of international festivals
of music, theater, and films, exposing national audiences to artistic
work from abroad. Although these events facilitated greater contact of
local specialists with colleagues from abroad, the interaction was
still somewhat censored and limited. The Ministry of Culture censored
and then monitored all public exhibitions-music, art, and cultural.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
but the Government restricted this right in practice. Authorities
neither granted the required permits for any public meetings and
demonstrations during the year, nor did they allow unregistered
organizations, particularly those perceived to have political agendas,
to hold demonstrations.
Freedom of Association.--Although the constitution and law provide
for freedom of association, the Government restricted this right in
practice. The law requires all NGOs to register with the Ministry of
Justice (MOJ) and all foreign assistance to be registered with the
Ministry of Economics and Development and the MOJ, and coordinated
through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Unregistered NGO activity is
punishable by fines, short-term detention, and confiscation of
property. The Government routinely continued to deny registration to
NGOs and other private organizations using subjective criteria.
In July the Government reported it had registered 11 new civic
organizations, including the groups that had been denied registration
in 2007. These were the first civic organizations the Government
formally registered since 2005. Although 10 of the 11 newly registered
groups were reported to be affiliated with the Government, the first
community-based NGO in the country, the Ak Bugday Gardener's
Association, was also registered. The Government deregistered 11 NGOs
during the year as well.
Of the 89 registered NGOs, international organizations considered
seven to be independent. The Government continued to present numerous
administrative obstacles to those that attempted to register. Although
some groups reported good cooperation with the MOJ in the registration
process, other NGOs reported frequent difficulties, such as
applications returned on technical grounds. Some groups found
alternative ways to carry out activities, such as registering as
businesses or subsidiaries of other registered groups. Other groups
awaiting registration temporarily suspended or limited their
activities.
During the year authorities in Lebap Province advised two community
groups against cooperation with an international NGO. Local security
authorities in Dashoguz Province advised a community activist not to
accept grants from international organizations.
Security service officials harassed NGOs and their local partners
throughout 2007. In April and May 2007 authorities closed several
information and resource centers in the central Ahal region that an
international NGO operated; one was later allowed to reopen.
Authorities terminated cooperation between an NGO and local community
groups twice in 2007. Also in April and May 2007 authorities advised
two community groups against cooperation with an NGO, and in one case
terminated training the NGO was providing, advised against cooperation
with the NGO, and questioned its local point of contact.
No independent political groups existed. The only registered
political party was the ruling Democratic Party, the former Communist
Party of Turkmenistan. The Government did not prohibit membership in
political organizations; however, in practice authorities harassed
those who claimed membership in political organizations other than the
Democratic Party.
Government authorities harassed some recipients of foreign grants.
There were no cases in which the Government refused to register a grant
project, but the process for registering grants was delayed for several
months. Following its reinstitution in May, the grant registration
process resumed normal functions.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion; however, the Government restricted this right in
practice. There was no state religion, but the majority of the
population is Sunni Muslim. The Government incorporated some aspects of
Islamic tradition into its efforts to define a national identity, but
in practice the Government closely controlled and monitored all
religious activities and placed some restrictions on Muslims. The
Government required all religious groups as well as individual mosques
and churches to register with the MOJ and continued government
monitoring of financial and material assistance to religious groups
from foreign sources. The Government required groups to file reports of
proceedings at all meetings. Some groups reported confusion over
registration requirements because of conflicting statements by
government officials from different ministries. In 2005 the Government
explained that individual branches of religious groups could be
temporarily registered by requesting representative power of attorney
from the registered branch of their particular group; in many cases
this resolved branches' registration problems. Although religious
groups had persistent problems overcoming administrative hurdles to
registration, the Government registered an evangelical Christian group
in September 2007, the first group to receive registration since 2005.
In October 2007 the Government also registered an unidentified
Islamic organization from Ahal. At least three groups that had applied
for registration continued to be denied legal status. Other
unregistered religious congregations such as Jehovah's Witnesses,
separate groups of Baptists, and evangelical Christian groups existed,
although the Government restricted their activities. The Government
officially prohibited unregistered groups from conducting religious
activities. According to the CRA, Shi'a Muslim groups were allowed to
register collectively as one organization.
The Catholic Church remained unregistered because of a conflict
with local law requiring that the head of the church be a citizen.
However, authorities appeared to have eased their harassment of the
church. Church leaders conducted regular masses and held classes on
Catholicism for interested ethnic Turkmen and non-Turkmen citizens
without government harassment.
The government-appointed CRA reports to the President and
ostensibly acts as an intermediary between the Government bureaucracy
and registered religious organizations. The CRA includes
representatives of the Government, Sunni Islam, and the Russian
Orthodox Church but no other religious groups. In practice the CRA
acted as an arm of the state, exercising direct control over hiring,
promotion, and firing of both Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox clergy,
compensation of Sunni Muslim clergy, and monitoring of all religious
publications and activities.
Both registered and unregistered minority religious communities
experienced difficulty in obtaining facilities where they could
worship. Legal and governmental obstacles hindered or prevented the
ability of religious groups to purchase or rent land or buildings for
worship or meetings. Registered and unregistered groups also
experienced difficulty in using private homes for worship or study.
The Government continued occasionally to harass and threaten both
registered and unregistered minority religious groups. Examples of
harassment included government agents interrupting religious services
and interrogating, detaining, and pressing religious minority group
members to abandon their beliefs. The Government threatened members of
minority religious groups with fines, loss of registration, loss of
employment and housing, and imprisonment because of their beliefs.
There were also reports of raids and the seizure of religious
materials.
Members of Jehovah's Witnesses and other minority religious groups
reportedly experienced police harassment, disruption of meetings,
surveillance, detentions, and administrative fines.
On April 22, local police in Turkmenbashy raided a religious
gathering and detained the church's pastor, Timur Muradov, and two
foreign visitors for holding an unauthorized gathering. The two foreign
visitors were deported and Muradov was interrogated and warned to stop
his religious activity. Authorities threatened to plant evidence on him
to have a reason to arrest him. He was released after agreeing to write
a statement of explanation of his activities and to appear before a
commission that would determine a fine.
On May 6, local security officials in Balkanabat raided the
apartment of a member of Jehovah's Witnesses where four other members
of Jehovah's Witnesses were staying and confiscated a computer and
other personal belongings. The officials beat the individuals with a
belt on the head, abdomen, and legs and tried to force them to say, ``I
am a Muslim.'' The officials then detained the members of Jehovah's
Witnesses overnight at a police station and forced them to sign
confessions and pay fines.
On May 7, Turkmenbashy city officials detained and questioned two
female members of Jehovah's Witnesses from Dashoguz and Kyzyl Arbat,
claiming a decree had been issued outlawing Jehovah's Witnesses. Police
officers pressured them to sign a statement regarding their activities,
seized their passports, and forced the women to return to their towns
of residence.
In June authorities deported a foreign visitor who made an
unplanned visit to a member of a registered Christian church in
Ashgabat. The church was threatened with the loss of its registration,
although church officials had neither invited nor been aware of the
visitor.
On June 15, local officials, including an imam, broke into an
apartment in Turkmenbashy and interrupted a meeting of Jehovah's
Witnesses. They interrogated those present and searched the apartment,
seizing a Bible, several publications, and a songbook.
The Government incorporated some aspects of Islamic tradition in
its effort to redefine a national identity. Despite its embrace of
certain aspects of Islamic culture, the Government was concerned about
foreign Islamic influence and the interpretation of Islam by local
believers. The Government controlled the establishment of Muslim places
of worship and limited access to Islamic education. Two mosques were
reportedly being refurbished or rebuilt.
The Government officially banned only extremist groups that
advocate violence, but it also categorized Islamic groups advocating
stricter interpretations of Islamic religious doctrine as
``extremist.'' The Government did not officially restrict persons from
changing their religious beliefs and affiliation, but ethnic Turkmen
members of unregistered religious groups accused of proselytizing and
disseminating religious material generally received harsher treatment
than nonethnic Turkmen.
Police officers often subjected ethnic Turkmen who converted to
Christianity to harassment and mistreatment such as verbal abuse for
denying their heritage by converting.
Reports of obstructed travel based on religious minority group
affiliation continued. In April Turkmen Evangelical Church Pastor
Ilmyrat Nurliyev was barred from travel to Ukraine for a friend's
wedding. The Government continually denied entry visas to foreign
members of registered and unregistered groups.
During the year the Government permitted the visits of foreign
religious officials. In March a group of regional Catholic officials
were permitted to visit for a retreat. In May a senior official of the
Russian Orthodox Church made an official visit for the first time since
2005, and in September authorities permitted the visit of a Seventh-day
Adventist regional representative for the first time in eight years.
Foreign missionary activity is prohibited, although both Christian and
Muslim missionaries were present. The Government also prohibited
proselytizing by unregistered religious groups.
There was no official religious instruction in public schools.
Although the Ruhnama continued to be taught in all public schools and
institutes of higher learning, teachers reported that such training
decreased substantially. Unregistered religious groups and unregistered
branches of registered religious groups were prohibited from providing
religious education. Extracurricular religious education was allowed
only with CRA and Presidential permission, and there were no reports
that either the CRA or the President approved such programs.
The Government also controlled access to Islamic education. The
theology faculty in the history department at Turkmen State University
in Ashgabat was the only academic faculty that conducted Islamic
education. Although President Berdimuhamedov continued with 2006 plans
to construct a Ruhnama university, the projected university's focus
began to change from ``studying the deep roots of the nation's great
spirit'' to include a more international outlook. Only one institution
of Islamic education remained open, and the Government controlled the
curriculum.
The Ruhnama was no longer seen in mosques, even the large mosque in
former President Niyazov's home village of Gypjak. Phrases from the
Ruhnama were, however, still inscribed on the Gypjak mosque. The
Government did not allow the publication of religious literature,
limiting the availability of Korans, Bibles, and other religious
literature. In practice the CRA must approve imported religious
literature. Government representatives informed religious groups they
could only import religious literature in quantities corresponding to
the number of registered congregants, but even registered groups had
difficulty importing religious literature.
The Government again financially sponsored 188 pilgrims (one
planeload) personally approved by the President out of the country's
quota of 4,600 to travel to Mecca. The Government stated that other
pilgrims were allowed to go on the Hajj at their own expense, and there
were indications that significantly more self-financing pilgrims were
allowed to make the Hajj.
The Government does not offer alternative civilian service for
conscientious objectors, which was provided by law until 1995.
Individuals who refused military service for religious reasons were
offered noncombatant roles within the military but were not provided
with nonmilitary service alternatives. According to Forum18, in
February Turkmenbashy authorities sentenced Jehovah's Witness Vladimir
Golosenko to two years of forced labor for evading compulsory military
service, although his sentence was suspended. The state reportedly took
20 percent of his wages as part of his punishment.
During 2007 authorities charged six members of Jehovah's Witnesses
with evading compulsory military service, but all received suspended
sentences after interventions from the international community. Four of
the individuals received government pardons, and two continued to be
subject to the terms and conditions of their suspended sentences. One
of the individuals still serving a suspended sentence reported in July
that his local military commission had indicated it would reinitiate
charges against him when his suspended sentence ended.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were 2,000 self-
identified Jews and no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Ethnic Turkmen who chose to convert from Islam to other religious
groups were viewed with suspicion and sometimes ostracized.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law do not
provide for full freedom of movement and require internal passports and
residency permits. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern. The President eliminated police checkpoints
on major roads soon after his inauguration in February 2007 and lifted
controls requiring citizens to obtain permits for internal travel to
border regions in July 2007. The border permit requirement remained in
effect for all foreigners.
The Government inconsistently applied its policy on dual passport
holders and occasionally demanded that Russian passport holders procure
Commonwealth of Independent States visas based on their Turkmen
passports. In 2007 the Government permitted at least four previously
restricted citizens to travel overseas. However, the criteria for
preventing travel remained unclear, and the Government still barred
citizens from departing the country.
The Government denied that it maintained a list of persons not
allowed to depart the country. A restrictive 2005 migration law forbids
travel by any citizen who has access to state secrets, has falsified
personal information, has committed a serious crime, is under
surveillance, might become a trafficking victim, has previously
violated the law of the destination country, or whose travel
contradicts the interests of national security.
Citizens were able to inquire about their travel status at the
State Agency for the Registration of Foreign Citizens Immigration.
However, only approximately half of those who inquired received
information on their travel status. During the year none of those
barred from travel was successful in appealing restrictions on travel.
In January authorities prevented the daughter of RFE/RL
correspondent Halmurat Gylychdurdiyev from traveling to Moscow for
medical treatment. After diplomatic intervention the Government
permitted her to travel abroad in September.
In late April and again in early June authorities pulled a junior
RFE/RL reporter from two international flights and told him ``law
enforcement'' officers opposed his departure. On June 5, authorities
denied departure for fellow RFE/RL reporter Soltana Achilova.
In April Immigration Service authorities told Turkmen Evangelical
Church Pastor Ilmyrat Nurliyev he could not travel to Ukraine for a
friend's wedding. Nurliyev had also been escorted off a plane bound for
Ukraine in November 2007. When Nurliyev wrote a letter of complaint in
2007 to the State Agency for the Registration of Foreign Citizens, he
received a reply noting that his claim of being forcibly removed from
an airplane was not confirmed.
On June 15, Ovez Annayev, brother-in-law of exile opposition leader
Khudayberdy Orazov, was removed from a flight to Moscow, where he was
going to obtain medical treatment, although a national security service
official had assured him he would be permitted to travel abroad. In
November 2007 authorities prevented Svetlana Orazova, Annayev's wife
and the sister of exile opposition leader Khudayberdy Orazov, from
boarding a plane to Moscow. Orazova had previously appealed her travel
restriction, and the State Agency for the Registration of Foreign
Citizens told her she would be allowed to leave the country. In
December 2007 she sent a letter of complaint to the State Agency for
the Registration of Foreign Citizens.
On July 4, Andrey Zatoka, an environmental activist who was
pardoned in October 2007, received a letter from the Office of the
Prosecutor General stating he was prohibited from traveling abroad.
In October Gulgeldy Annaniazov's daughter and her family were not
allowed to leave the country.
The Government permitted citizens living in Dashoguz and Lebap
provinces to spend only three days a month visiting relatives in the
Bukhara and Khorezm provinces of neighboring Uzbekistan, although
travel there is visa-free.
The law permits forced internal and external exile, and at year's
end some individuals remained in forced exile. Authorities sent some
prisoners, usually former government officials, into internal exile.
Some former ministers and government officials who had been dismissed
from their positions and sent into internal exile in previous years
remained under house arrest. Almost all political opponents of the
Government lived in other countries for reasons of personal safety.
Protection of Refugees.--The laws provide for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The Government granted refugee status or asylum. In practice
the Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
The Government granted refugee or asylum status to some ethnic Turkmen
from Afghanistan and Tajikistan and to other groups of ethnic Uzbeks
and Russians. There were 125 UNHCR mandate refugees in the country. The
Government also provided temporary protection to individuals who may
not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention or the 1967 protocol.
In 2006 the Government granted citizenship or legal residency to more
than 16,000 ethnic Turkmen individuals who had resettled to
Turkmenistan in the 1990s. Most of those granted citizenship were
ethnic Turkmen who had fled conflict in Tajikistan in the early 1990s,
ethnic Uzbeks, or Russians. The Government cooperated with the UNHCR
and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum-
seekers.
Stateless Persons.--The UN Development Program (UNDP) reported
there were few stateless persons in the country. However, the UNDP also
estimated there may be as many as 9,000 undocumented residents who were
Soviet Union passport holders at the time of the dissolution and who
did not have a state affiliation selected when their Soviet passports
expired in 1999. The Government administratively processed these
residents and issued them residency permits while considerations of
state affiliation continued. The UNDP could not easily quantify these
persons because they had not sought UNDP assistance, nor had they
sought a change in their status. The UNHCR considered these individuals
as de facto stateless or at risk of becoming stateless. The Government
streamlined its residency registration process via a 2005 decree and
then issued citizenship to approximately 13,000 ethnic Turkmen refugees
seeking haven from Tajikistan's civil war.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens could not freely choose and change the laws and officials
that governed them. The constitution declares the country a secular
democracy in the form of a Presidential republic. It calls for the
separation of powers among the branches of government but vests a
disproportionate share of power in the presidency. In practice the
President's power over the state continued to be absolute; he made most
important decisions. Unlike in previous years, citizens swore a
national oath of allegiance to the country rather than to the
President.
According to the OSCE, the election law does not meet OSCE
standards.
Elections and Political Participation.--On September 26, the Halk
Maslahaty (Peoples' Council) adopted a revised national constitution
that gave broader powers to the Mejlis (parliament), increased the
President's powers, and abolished the Halk Maslahaty as a political
body. On October 15, the Government also adopted a revised Mejlis
election law that incorporated some international standards, including
eliminating negative voting, permitting the nomination of candidates by
community groups, and granting the right to vote to detainees not yet
convicted of a crime. On December 14, parliamentary elections were held
for deputies to the Mejlis. For the first time, the Government invited
international observers to monitor the election process. The elections
did not meet OSCE standards for free, fair, transparent, and
competitive elections.
Under the constitution, upon the December 2006 death of former
President Niyazov, then Parliament Chairman Ovezgeldy Atayev should
have become the interim President. However, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov,
the deputy prime minister, was named instead, and authorities initiated
a criminal investigation against Atayev. Atayev reportedly remained in
prison at year's end. On December 26, 2006, the People's Council
selected six Presidential candidates, changing the constitution to
allow the candidacy of Interim President Berdimuhamedov. Residency
requirements precluded the candidacy of some exiles who expressed a
desire to run for President. Nurberdy Nurmamedov, a dissident figure
living in Ashgabat whom some of the exiles hoped would be a candidate,
was detained on December 23, 2006 and released on December 30, 2006.
In February 2007, citizens selected Berdimuhamedov President in an
election that did not meet international standards. The OSCE noted the
following problems: lack of political pluralism, restrictions on the
right of citizens to run for President, lack of provisions regulating
the media coverage of the campaign, prohibition for failed candidates
to contest a repeat election, and negative voting requiring voters to
cross out the names of all candidates except the name of the chosen
candidate. Although the Government did not legally prohibit membership
in political organizations, it banned all political parties other than
the President's Democratic Party. The Government continued to ban
political opposition in the country, leaving the exiled opposition
movements in Europe as the only alternative political voice for the
country.
There were eight women in the 50-member parliament, including the
Mejlis Chairman, elected in 2005. Women served in a few prominent
government positions: Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers for
Culture and Television (a vice premier position), Director of the State
Archives, Director of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights,
head of the Supreme Council on Science and Technology, and head of the
state news agency.
The one member of a minority group in the 50-seat parliament died
in November 2006, and his seat remained vacant. The Government gave
preference for appointed government positions to ethnic Turkmen, but
ethnic minorities occupied several high government positions. Members
of the country's largest tribe, the President's Teke tribe, held the
most prominent roles in cultural and political life.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials reportedly often engaged
in corrupt practices with impunity. Widespread corruption existed in
all social and economic sectors. Factors included the existence of
patronage networks, a lack of transparency and accountability
mechanisms, and fear of government reprisal. According to the World
Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, the country had a severe
corruption problem. Transparency International's 2008 Corruption
Perceptions Index noted that experts perceived rampant corruption among
the country's public officials.
The President dismissed numerous ministers and government officials
from their positions; some were investigated and even arrested for
alleged malfeasance, although a lack of information about their cases
made it difficult to determine whether their arrests were politically
motivated. The Government did not sentence any senior government
officials to jail terms or put them under house arrest during the year,
although several officials were investigated for possible wrongdoing in
their official capacities. Two senior government officials were fired
for grave shortcomings in their work and may have been charged with
crimes-Onjyk Musaev, head of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, and
Customs Chief Muratberdi Annaliyev. Their status was unknown at year's
end.
In 2007 authorities indicated they would charge at least seven
senior government officials with crimes after firing them, including
Akmurat Rejepov, chief of the Presidential guard and close advisor to
former President Niyazov; Payzegeldy Meredov, a former minister of
agriculture accused of corruption; and Ovezgeldy Atayev, former
chairman of the Mejlis. Atayev was sentenced to five years in prison.
Former Minister of Railroads Orazberdy Hudayberdiyev was released in
the October 2007 pardon. The status of the others was unknown at year's
end.
There is no law that allows for public access to government
information, and in practice the Government did not provide access.
Authorities denied requests for specific information on the grounds
that the information was a state secret. Some statistical data were
considered state secrets. There was no public disclosure of demographic
data, and published economic and financial data were manipulated to
justify state policies and expenditures.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were no domestic human rights NGOs. The Government warned its
critics against speaking with visiting journalists or other foreigners
wishing to discuss human rights problems. During the year the
Government continued to monitor the activities of nonpolitical social
and cultural organizations.
There were no international human rights NGOs with a continued
permanent presence in the country; however, the Government permitted
international organizations, including the OSCE and the UNHCR, to have
resident missions. Government restrictions on freedom of speech, press,
and association severely restricted international organizations'
ability to investigate and criticize the Government's human rights
policies. Some officials were more responsive to questions regarding
alleged human rights abuses. The Government appeared to have relaxed
somewhat its past efforts to control citizens' access to international
organizations and missions and to discourage citizens from cooperating
with foreigners. During the year the OSCE reported there had been no
perceptible restrictions on citizens' ability to visit and participate
in OSCE Center activities. In October 2007 the OSCE reported the
Government had stopped impeding ordinary citizens from visiting the
OSCE Center or participating in OSCE-sponsored civil society-themed
seminars and activities. In June 2006 the Council of Ministers accused
diplomats and the mission of the OSCE of fomenting revolution in the
country for passing journalism equipment to citizens.
From September 4 to 10, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
Religion or Belief made her first official visit to the country. She
met with the President; other national, regional and local government
representatives; the Chairman of Parliament; members of the Supreme
Court; and a variety of registered and unregistered religious group
representatives.
In a public statement, the rapporteur encouraged the Government to
revise its Law on Religion to bring it into greater conformity with
international human rights standards and recommended that the CRA be
more inclusive and independent. She recommended that the Government
reduce restrictions on the importation of religious material and on
acquiring facilities for religious activity. She also recommended that
legislation be revised to provide alternative civilian service in place
of compulsory military service for conscientious objectors. HRW
reported that security services had warned representatives of at least
three different religious communities in Ashgabat not to meet with the
rapporteur during her visit.
The government-appointed Institute for Democracy and Human Rights
(IDHR) played an unofficial ombudsman's role to resolve some citizen
human rights-related appeal requests during the year. In 2007 the
Government established the Human Rights Commission, which reports to
the President, to oversee institutional human rights reform. In 2007
the Government also established a committee headed by the Chairman of
the Supreme Court to review citizen complaints about law enforcement
activities. In 2005 the Committee on the Protection of Human Rights and
Liberties was established in parliament to oversee human rights-related
legislation. The IDHR, also subordinate to the President, was
established in 1996 with a mandate to support democratization and
monitor the protection of human rights, and maintained a human rights
library. The IDHR was not an independent body, and its ability to
obtain redress was limited.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, violence against women, and
discrimination against ethnic minorities, discrimination continued to
be a problem.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, with penalties of
three to 25 years based on the level of violence of the incident and
whether the attacker was a repeat offender. A cultural bias against
reporting or acknowledging rape made it difficult to determine the
extent of the problem.
The law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal abuse, but
the law was not effectively enforced. Penalties are based on the extent
of the injury. Anecdotal reports indicated that domestic violence
against women was common; most victims of domestic violence kept
silent, either because they were unaware of their rights or afraid of
increased violence from husbands and relatives. There were a few court
cases and occasional references to domestic violence in the media. One
official women's group in Ashgabat, an independent NGO, and several
informal groups in other regions assisted victims of domestic violence.
Prostitution is illegal but remained a problem throughout the
country. Authorities actively monitored prostitution but did not
attempt to counter it. There is no law specifically prohibiting sexual
harassment, and anecdotal reports suggested that sexual harassment
existed in the workforce.
Women had equal rights under family law and property law, and in
the judicial system. In December 2007 the Mejlis approved a new law on
women's rights after consultation with UNDP and other international
partners. The Mejlis Committee on Human Rights and Liberties was
responsible for drafting human rights and gender legislation,
integrating a new gender program into the education curriculum, and
publishing regular bulletins on national and international gender laws.
By law women are on equal footing with men in all spheres, including
wages, loans, starting businesses, and working in government. However,
women continued to experience discrimination in practice due to
cultural biases. Employers allegedly gave preference to men to avoid
productivity losses due to pregnancy or child care. Women were
underrepresented in the upper levels of government-owned economic
enterprises and were concentrated in health care, education, and
service professions. The Government restricted women from working in
some dangerous and environmentally unsafe jobs.
The Government did not acknowledge or address discrimination
against women.
Children.--The Government took modest steps to address the welfare
of children, including increased cooperation with the UN Children's
Fund (UNICEF) and other international organizations on programs
designed to improve children's health, and reinstatement in 2007 of the
10th year of mandatory schooling.
In 2007 the Government initiated reforms in the higher education
system, including extending university education to five years from two
years under Niyazov and removal of the requirement that university
students work for two years before embarking on a degree program. The
Government eased its restrictions for students wishing to study abroad,
but significant bureaucratic hurdles remained and students had to pass
a Turkmen language exam to obtain approval to study in some countries.
There were isolated reports of child abuse.
According to a 2006 UNICEF report, 9 percent of marriages involved
minors.
Trafficking in Persons.--In December 2007 parliament passed a
comprehensive law prohibiting all forms of trafficking in persons.
There were some reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and
within the country.
Available information is insufficient to substantiate a specific
number of victims in the country. There were reportedly approximately
20 trafficking cases during the year. Approximately 80 percent of the
cases involved young women trafficked for sexual exploitation, and the
other 20 percent involved men trafficked to work as laborers or in
factories. Most of the persons were trafficked to Turkey. During the
year the Government continued to use the 2005 migration law to forbid
suspected female trafficking victims from boarding planes to Turkey and
the United Arab Emirates, considered the primary trafficking
destination countries. Iran was also assumed to be a trafficking
destination. NGOs noted that young women from minority ethnic groups
were most vulnerable to being trafficked.
The International Organization for Migration assisted 20 trafficked
persons with repatriation from Turkey in 2007. Traffickers were subject
to two to eight years' imprisonment and the confiscation of property,
depending upon the law under which they were convicted. During the year
the State Migration Service became responsible for combating
trafficking.
The MOJ worked with foreign embassies and international
organizations to promote public awareness of trafficking. Some social
action groups carried out trafficking awareness programs in the
provinces. However, the Government did not publicly acknowledge
trafficking as a problem and did not monitor the trafficking situation
within its borders, nor did it have a strategy to do so. The Government
did not systematically screen vulnerable population groups to identify
trafficking victims.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and other state services; however, in
practice disabled persons are regularly denied work, education, and
access to health care and other state services because of strong
cultural biases. Persons with disabilities encountered discrimination
in employment, education, access to health care, and provision of other
state services. The Government systematically categorized many persons
with physical disabilities as persons with mental disabilities and
housed them in facilities for the mentally ill. The Government provided
subsidies and pensions for persons with disabilities, although the
assistance was inadequate to maintain a decent standard of living.
Persons with disabilities who received these subsidies were considered
``employed'' and therefore ineligible to compete for jobs in the
Government, the country's largest employer.
Some groups of students with disabilities were unable to obtain
education because there were no teachers. Students with disabilities
did not fit the unofficial university student profile and were not
admitted to universities. Children with disabilities, including those
with mental disabilities, were placed in boarding schools through which
they were to be provided with educational and future employment
opportunities if their condition allowed them to work; in practice
neither was provided. Special schools for the hearing and sight
impaired existed in the larger cities.
Although the law requires that new construction projects include
facilities to allow access by persons with disabilities, compliance was
inconsistent and older buildings were not accessible. The Ministry of
Social Welfare was responsible for protecting the rights of persons
with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides for equal
rights and freedoms for all citizens. Several minority groups tried to
register as NGOs to have legal status to conduct cultural events. No
minority groups succeeded in registering during the year.
The law designates Turkmen as the official language, although it
also provides for the rights of speakers of minority languages. Russian
remained prevalent in commerce and everyday life in the capital, even
as the Government continued its campaign to conduct official business
solely in Turkmen. The Government required ministry employees to pass
tests demonstrating knowledge of the Ruhnama, state symbols, and
professional subjects in Turkmen; employees who failed the exam were
dismissed. The Government systematically replaced teachers and staff at
Turkish schools with ethnic Turkmen. Only in schools did the Government
dedicate resources toward providing Turkmen language instruction for
non-Turkmen speakers.
Non-Turkmen speakers complained that some avenues for promotion and
job advancement were closed to them, and only a handful of non-Turkmen
occupied high-level jobs in government ministries. In some cases
applicants for government jobs had to provide ethnicity information for
three generations. The Government often first targeted non-Turkmen for
dismissal when government layoffs occurred.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Homosexuality between
men is illegal and punishable by up to two years in prison.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for citizens to join
independent unions, but in practice all existing trade and professional
unions were government-controlled. Private citizens are not permitted
to form independent unions.
The Government permitted only the umbrella organization Center for
Professional Unions (CPU). Led by a Presidential appointee, the CPU
included numerous professional unions in most fields, including
medicine, construction, banking, accounting, economics,
entrepreneurship, and lease-holding. All unions were government
appendages and had no independent voice in their activities. There is
no law regulating strikes or retaliation against strikers, and strikes
were rare. In early June Deutsche Welle radio reported an unruly
protest at an oil facility near Balkanabat. The protest, seeking higher
wages to make up for exchange rate changes that devalued the dollar,
was short-lived, and the MNB arrested approximately 60 employees.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does
not protect the right of collective bargaining.
The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination by employers
against union members and organizers. There were no mechanisms for
resolving complaints of discrimination, and there were no reports of
discrimination.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports such practices occurred.
A 2005 Presidential decree bans child labor and states that no
children would participate in the cotton harvest. During the year, the
Government reportedly implemented this policy.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, but they were not effectively enforced. The minimum age
for employment of children is 16 years; in a few heavy industries, it
is 18 years. The law prohibits children between the ages of 16 and 18
years from working more than six hours per day. A 15-year-old may work
four to six hours per day with parental and trade union permission,
although such permission was rarely granted. The MOJ and the Prosecutor
General's Office were responsible for enforcing child labor laws.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The state sector minimum monthly
wage of 1.65 million manat (approximately $116) did not provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family. The Government
increased teachers' salaries by 40 percent at the beginning of the 2007
school year, however, and reduced their weekly hours of work from 35 to
24.
The standard legal work week is 40 hours with two days off. Most
public sector employees also worked at least one-half day on Saturdays.
The law states overtime or holiday pay should be double the regular
payment. Maximum overtime in a year is 120 hours and cannot exceed four
hours in two consecutive days; however, this law was not enforced.
The Government did not set comprehensive standards for occupational
health and safety. Industrial workers in older factories often labored
in unsafe environments and were not provided proper protective
equipment. Some agricultural workers were subjected to environmental
health hazards. Workers did not always have the right to remove
themselves from work situations that endangered their health or safety
without jeopardy to their continued employment.
__________
UZBEKISTAN
Uzbekistan is an authoritarian state with a population of
approximately 28.2 million. The constitution provides for a
Presidential system with separation of powers between the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches. In practice, however, President
Islam Karimov and the centralized executive branch dominated political
life and exercised nearly complete control over the other branches. The
two-chamber Oliy Majlis (parliament) consisted almost entirely of
officials appointed by the President and members of parties that
supported him. In December 2007 the country elected President Karimov
to a third term in office; however, according to the limited observer
mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), the Government deprived voters of a genuine choice. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control over the security
forces.
Citizens did not have the right in practice to change their
government through peaceful and democratic means. Reports continued of
security forces torturing, beating, and otherwise mistreating detainees
under interrogation to obtain confessions or incriminating information.
Human rights activists and journalists who criticized the Government
were subject to harassment, arbitrary arrest, politically motivated
prosecution, forced psychiatric treatment, and physical attack. The
Government generally did not take steps to investigate or punish the
most egregious cases of abuse, although it prosecuted many officials
for corruption and prosecuted at least a few for more serious offenses,
including killings, and undertook legal reforms aimed at preventing
abuses. Despite some improvements, prison conditions remained poor.
Outside monitors regained access to places of detention. In many cases
those arrested were held incommunicado for extended periods without
access to family or attorneys. Criminal defendants were sometimes
deprived of legal counsel. Guilty verdicts were almost universal and
generally based upon defendants' confessions and witnesses' testimony
obtained through coercion. The Government tightly controlled the mass
media and suppressed any criticism. The Government did not observe
citizens' right to free assembly or association. Police regularly
detained citizens to prevent public demonstrations and forestalled
contact with foreign diplomats. Authorities sought to control
nongovernmental organization (NGO) activity. The Government made access
for international observers at trials difficult, although it allowed
foreign diplomats to attend some hearings. The Government restricted
religious activity, treating virtually all religious observance outside
state-sanctioned structures as a crime. The Government's campaign
against unauthorized Islamic groups suspected of extremist sentiments
or activities appeared to have slowed, but some alleged members
continued to be arrested and sentenced to lengthy jail terms. The
Government also harassed several religious minority groups and
imprisoned some of their members. The Government pressured other
countries to return forcibly Uzbek refugees who were under the
protection of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and continued to pressure Afghan refugees to return home. There
was a widespread public perception of corruption. While the Government
took continued steps to combat trafficking in persons, it remained a
problem. The use of child labor in cotton harvesting continued in
several regions of the country.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
confirmed reports of political killings by the Government or its
agents.
The Government continued to refuse to authorize an independent
international investigation of the alleged killing of numerous unarmed
civilians and others during the violent disturbances of May 12 and 13,
2005. Peaceful demonstrators had assembled in front of Andijon's
courthouse in the weeks before in support of 23 local Islamic
businessmen on trial, charged by the Government with involvement in an
extremist group. On the evening of May 12, an unknown number of
individuals attacked a police garrison, seized weapons, broke into a
nearby prison, and released several hundred inmates, including the 23
businessmen. Several witnesses claimed that, on May 13, military
vehicles drove into the main square, where several thousand civilians
had gathered peacefully, and fired repeatedly into the crowd without
warning. The Government claimed, based on its own 2005 investigation,
that armed individuals initiated the violence by firing on government
forces. The estimated number of dead varied between the Government's
total of 187 and eyewitnesses' reports of several hundred. While an
international investigation did not take place, the Government claimed
to have conducted internal investigations into the May 2005 events. It
discussed investigation techniques and results with diplomats and other
international representatives in 2006 and 2007.
Human rights activists claimed the number of deaths in custody was
higher than reported, but this could not be measured accurately due to
the lack of comprehensive independent prison monitoring.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports during the year of
politically motivated disappearances. There were still numerous
unconfirmed reports of disappearances in 2005 of persons who were
present at the violent disturbances in Andijon. The welfare and
whereabouts of several of the refugees who were forcibly returned to
the country during the year remained unknown.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices,
law enforcement and security officers routinely beat and otherwise
mistreated detainees to obtain confessions or incriminating
information. Torture and abuse were common in prisons, pretrial
facilities, and local police and security service precincts. Informants
reported several cases of medical abuse, including forced psychiatric
treatment.
November 2007 reports by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the UN
Committee Against Torture (CAT) concluded that torture and abuse were
systemic throughout the investigative process and had not improved
since a 2003 UN Special Rapporteur on torture report drew the same
conclusions. The CAT report stated that despite an amendment to Article
235 of the criminal code addressing elements of the definition of
torture, punishment for violations was rare and did not reflect the
severity of the crimes.
Authorities occasionally convicted and punished Ministry of
Internal Affairs (MOI) officials for wrongdoing. During the year a
court in Tashkent Province ordered the reinvestigation of a murder case
after dismissing the coerced confessions of five suspects. Charges
against the five original suspects were later dropped, and a court
convicted the deputy chief of police in Angren of suppression of
evidence. In September a court in the Mubarek district of Kashkadarya
province reportedly sentenced an MOI official to 23 years' imprisonment
for murder and robbery. In November a court in Tashkent convicted six
former police officers of kidnapping a local businessman and sentenced
them each to 16 years' imprisonment. On December 12, the Tashkent
provincial Criminal Court sentenced four police officers to between
eight and 17 years' imprisonment for beating to death Angren resident
Muzaffar Tuychiev. Authoritiesfired more than 10 police officers after
the incident, including the heads of theAngren police department and
its investigation unit. The MOI reported on its Web site that 1,622
police officers were disciplined for abuse of power during the year and
185 of them were fired.
Authorities reportedly treated more harshly than ordinary criminals
some individuals suspected of extreme Islamist political sympathies,
notably pretrial detainees who were alleged members of banned extremist
political organization Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT). Local human rights workers
reported that authorities often paid or otherwise induced common
criminals to beat suspected extremists and others who opposed the
Government.
On May 4, prisoner Odil Azizov died in a prison hospital in
Tashkent after being transferred from Jaslyk prison in Karakalpakstan.
His family reported that his body showed signs of torture, including
bruising on his chest and swollen feet. Accounts differed whether
Azizov died of torture or bronchitis due to the harsh winter
conditions. Azizov was serving a 15-year sentence on charges of
religious extremism.
On July 14, a police investigator reportedly poured boiling water
on human rights activist Akzam Turgunov's back while he was in pretrial
detention in an attempt to elicit a confession. Authorities detained
Turgunov, a lawyer who had investigated local rule of law and
corruption cases, on extortion charges on July 11 in the town of Mangit
in Karakalpakstan. Human rights activists suspected that the charges
against him were politically motivated. The judge suspended Turgunov's
trial pending an investigation of the boiling water incident, but later
said the investigation showed that Turgunov had not been tortured. The
court convicted Turgunov on October 23 and sentenced him to 10 years in
prison. On December 11, the Karakalpakstan Supreme Court rejected
Turgunov's appeal of his conviction. Authorities reprimanded and
demoted the police investigator for violating the MOI's instructions
for ``protecting and escorting suspects,'' though they also denied that
any investigator poured boiling water on Turgunov.
There were confirmed instances of politically motivated medical
abuse. Victims could request through legal counsel that their cases be
reviewed by an expert medical board. In practice, however, such bodies
generally supported the decisions of law enforcement authorities.
Jamshid Karimov, a journalist, human rights activist, and nephew of
President Karimov, has remained under forcible detention at Samarkand
Psychiatric Hospital since 2006. The Government released him for five
days this year to attend his mother's funeral. The condition of his
health was unknown, as independent monitors had no access to him.
There were no updates in the cases of Fitrat Salkhiddinov, Takhir
Nurmukhammedov, and two other unnamed prisoners, all of whom were
convicted of membership in HT and reportedly died after being tortured
in prison in November and December 2007.
In September relatives reported that Ezgulik human rights group
member Abdurasul Khudoynazarov, who was sentenced to nine years'
imprisonment in 2005 on politically motivated charges of blackmail and
fraud, reportedly attempted suicide at prison 64/1 in Angren after
enduring frequent harassment at the hands of prison guards. At year's
end his condition was reportedly stable.
Family members of Azam Farmonov reported in September that
authorities charged him with violating internal prison regulations,
making him ineligible for consideration for amnesty. In November
relatives of Alisher Karamatov reported that he was seriously ill with
tuberculosis he had contracted while in prison, and had been
transferred from prison 64/49 in Qarshi to the Sangorod prison hospital
in Tashkent for treatment. On December 25, a court in Syrdarya province
rejected an appeal submitted by his lawyer to release Karamatov on
medical grounds.
On November 3, relatives reported that the health of human rights
activist Norboy Kholjigitov, who was sentenced to ten years'
imprisonment on politically motivated charges in 2005, was
deteriorating at prison 64/49 in Qarshi. Kholjigitov, who is in his
sixties, reportedly suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to prison
officials, the Government held approximately 34,000 inmates at 53
detention facilities. Prison conditions remained poor and in some cases
life threatening. There continued to be reports of severe abuse,
overcrowding, and shortages of food and medicine. Tuberculosis (TB) and
hepatitis were endemic in the prisons, making even short periods of
incarceration potentially life-threatening. Prison officials stated
that approximately 1,000 inmates were infected with TB. This number
could not be confirmed by international health and other organizations.
Family members frequently reported that officials stole food and
medicine that they tried to deliver to prisoners. There were reports of
inmates working in harsh circumstances. Still, several knowledgeable
sources reported that authorities had made some progress in the past
two years in improving prison conditions, notably in combating the
spread of TB.
Sources reported that authorities in some prisons continued to hold
political prisoners and those convicted of membership in banned
religious extremist organizations in specially demarcated sections of
prisons and subjected these prisoners to harsher conditions and
treatment than other prisoners. However, there were reports that
authorities at several prisons across the country reintegrated
religious prisoners with the mainstream population. There were reports
that authorities did not release prisoners, especially those convicted
of religious extremism, at the end of their terms. Instead, prison
authorities frequently contrived to extend inmates' terms by accusing
them of additional crimes or claiming that the prisoners represent a
continuing danger to society. These accusations were not subject to
judicial review.
Following long negotiations with the Government, on March 11, the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) resumed visits to
detention facilities under the responsibility of the GUIN (penitentiary
system under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) for a
six-month trial period. Prison monitoring had been suspended since
December 2004. The trial period ended in September, and the ICRC has
since submitted a report with its conclusions and recommendations to
the Government for its consideration. The Government also permitted
representatives from the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the
Bukhara-based Medical-Legal Center NGO to undertake limited monitoring
visits to prisons this year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. However, these practices
continued to take place.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MOI controls the
police, which are responsible for law enforcement and maintenance of
order. The National Security Service (NSS), headed by a chairman who is
answerable directly to the President, deals with a broad range of
national security questions, including corruption, organized crime, and
narcotics. Corruption among law enforcement personnel remained a
problem. Police routinely and arbitrarily detained citizens to extort
bribes. Impunity was a problem, and the Government rarely punished
officials responsible for abuses. The MOI's main investigations
directorate has procedures to investigate abuse internally and
discipline officers accused of rights violations and has done so in a
few cases. The MOI created a new human rights department that has taken
positive actions in some police brutality cases. The human rights
ombudsman's office, affiliated with the parliament, also has the power
to investigate such cases. However, there was no independent body
charged with investigating such allegations on a systematic basis.
The MOI's main investigations directorate incorporated human rights
training into officers' career development.
In October a contingent of eight mid-level law enforcement officers
from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and NSS participated in a two-
month leadership course at the International Law Enforcement Academy in
Hungary that included human rights training.
Arrest and Detention.--On January 1, habeas corpus-related
amendments to criminal law went into effect. Under the new law all
decisions to arrest accused individuals or suspects must be reviewed by
a judge, and defendants have the right to legal counsel from the time
of arrest. The amendments state that the judge conducting the arrest
hearing is not allowed to sit on the panel of judges during the
individual's trial and that detainees have the right to request a
hearing with a judge to determine whether they should remain
incarcerated or be released. The law requires that within 24 hours of a
person being taken into custody the arresting authority notify a
relative or close friend, and question the detainee, whether he is
considered a suspect or accused. Suspects have the right to remain
silent. Detention without formal charges is limited to 72 hours,
although a prosecutor may extend it for an additional seven days, at
which time the person must either be charged or released. In practice
authorities continued to hold suspects after the allowable period
through various means. There were several cases in which authorities
detained individuals initially as witnesses and later falsely charged
them with a crime. Concerns remained that the 72 hour period begins
only once a suspect is brought to the police station, which could lead
to abuse of the spirit of the law. Senior officials publicly
acknowledged that the law is not perfect and expressed willingness to
work with international organizations and experts to develop
improvements.
Once charges are filed, a suspect may be held in pretrial detention
for up to three months during an investigation, and the law permits
extension of that period at the discretion of the appropriate court
upon a motion by the investigating authority. A prosecutor may release
a prisoner on bond pending trial, although in practice authorities
frequently ignored these legal protections. Those arrested and charged
with a crime may be released without bail until trial on the condition
that they provide assurance that they will appear at trial, and
register each day at a local police station.
A Supreme Court decree provides for a defendant's right to counsel
from the moment of detention. In practice authorities often denied or
delayed access to counsel and denied communication with their families.
Investigators often pressured defendants to sign statements refusing
the services of private attorneys whom family members had hired. In
their place authorities appointed state attorneys who did not provide
effective defense.
On December 5, parliament adopted a new law on defense attorneys,
which codifies defendants' right to remain silent, to call an attorney
or relative after their arrest, and to meet with their lawyer whenever
they wish. For the first time, the law specifies that witnesses in
criminal cases may be represented by legal counsel. The law grants
defense attorneys and attorneys defending witnesses the same procedural
rights as prosecutors. The new law abolishes private defense attorney
organizations, including the independent Association of Advocates of
Uzbekistan and the Tashkent Bar Association, replacing them with a
state-controlled Chamber of Lawyers. The law also requires that all
defense attorneys become licensed members of the chamber. While the
Government claimed that the provisions were aimed at improving the
professionalism of defense attorneys, some critics contend that the
measures were aimed at reducing their independence.
There were reports that police arrested persons on false charges
such as extortion or tax evasion as an intimidation tactic to prevent
them or their family members from exposing corruption or interfering in
local criminal activities.
Authorities continued to arrest persons arbitrarily on charges of
extremist sentiments or activities, or association with banned
religious groups, although the number of such cases appeared to
decline. Local human rights activists reported that police and security
service officers, acting under pressure to break up HT cells,
frequently detained and mistreated family members and close associates
of suspected members. Coerced confessions and testimony in such cases
were commonplace.
Police harassed and sometimes arbitrarily detained members of the
opposition Birlik, Free Farmers, Erk, and Birdamlik parties.
During the year pretrial detention typically ranged from one to
three months. Prison officials estimated that the Government held
approximately 3,400 persons in pretrial detention at any one time.
In general prosecutors exercised discretion over most aspects of
criminal procedure, including pretrial detention. Detainees had no
access to a court to challenge the length or validity of pretrial
detention. Even when no charges were filed, police and prosecutors
sought to evade restrictions on the duration a person could be held
without charges by holding persons as witnesses rather than as
suspects.
In November Supreme Court Chairman Boritosh Mustafoyev reported
that the Government was promoting arbitration and ``out-of-court
settlements'' to resolve criminal cases, especially those involving
minors, women, and the elderly.
Local police regularly employed house arrest to stifle dissent. In
most cases police surrounded the homes of human rights activists and
government critics to prevent them from participating in public
demonstrations or other activities.
Legislation abolishing the death penalty took effect on January 1
and replaced it with prison terms ranging from 20 years to life. The
legislation contains a provision mandating that prisoners sentenced to
life must serve 20 years before petitioning for release and limits
lifetime imprisonment to those convicted of premeditated murder and
terrorism. Between January and April the Supreme Court reviewed more
than 40 death penalty cases, commuting approximately 12 sentences to
life imprisonment and the remainder to 25 years' imprisonment. Human
rights activists criticized the lack of transparency in the Supreme
Court's review of the cases. There were no known executions during the
year. On December 12, President Karimov signed legislation on joining
the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights on Abolishing the Death Penalty.
Amnesty.--On January 2, President Karimov issued a Presidential
amnesty in honor of the 15th anniversary of the constitution. Prison
authorities reportedly released approximately 3,500 individuals under
the amnesty and reduced the sentences of a much larger (but
indeterminate) number of individuals.
On February 2, the Government amnestied and released Ikhtiyor
Hamroyev, the son of well-known human rights defender Bakhtiyor
Hamroyev and a member of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU).
Authorities had sentenced Hamroyev to three years' imprisonment in 2006
on politically-motivated charges of hooliganism. On February 2, the
Government also amnestied and released Andijon-based human rights
activist Saidjahon Zaynabiddinov, who was sentenced to seven years'
imprisonment in 2006 by the Tashkent Province Criminal Court for
extremist activity in connection with the 2005 Andijon events.
On February 4-5, the Government amnestied and released three
political prisoners: Bahodir Mukhtarov, Bobomurod Mavlanov, and Ulugbek
Kattabekov. In February the Government also amnestied and lifted the
three-year suspended sentence of former HRW staffer and journalist
Umida Niyazova and the six-year suspended sentence of Andijon-based
human rights activist and forensic pathologist Gulbahor Turayeva.
In honor of the country's Independence Day on September 1, the
Government announced another general amnesty. According to state-
controlled media, those eligible under this amnesty included women, the
disabled, foreigners, minors, men over the age of 60, and individuals
who ``do not pose a danger to the public order.'' The Government has
not released any official figures yet from the September amnesty, but
it appears from reporting by local papers in the country's provinces
that at least several hundred individuals were released by year's end.
In October the Government amnestied and released two political
prisoners, Dilmurod Mukhiddinov and Mamarajab Nazarov.
As in previous amnesties, authorities reportedly forced prisoners
to sign letters of repentance as a condition of release. There were
allegations that authorities physically mistreated some prisoners who
refused to sign such letters, and there were accounts of authorities
not releasing many inmates, even after they had signed such letters.
Local prison authorities had considerable discretion in determining who
was reviewed for amnesty, despite established conditions allowing
release. As in previous years, there were reports of corruption.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides
for an independent judiciary, the judicial branch took its direction
from the executive branch, particularly the general prosecutor's
office, and exercised little independence in practice.
Under the law the President appoints all judges for five-year
terms. Removal of Supreme Court judges must be confirmed by parliament,
which in practice complies with the President's wishes.
The Karakalpakstan Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the
Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic. Decisions of district and
provincial courts may be appealed to the next level within 10 days of a
ruling. In addition, a constitutional court reviews laws, decrees, and
judicial decisions to ensure compliance with the constitution. Military
courts handle all civil and criminal matters that occur within the
military. The Supreme Court is a court of general jurisdiction that
handles selected cases of national significance.
Trial Procedures.--Most trials are officially open to the public,
although access was sometimes restricted in practice. Trials may be
closed in exceptional cases, such as those involving state secrets, or
to protect victims and witnesses. Courts often demanded that
international observers obtain written permission from the court
chairman or from the Supreme Court. Permission was difficult and time-
consuming to obtain, but international observers, including foreign
diplomats, were granted access to some hearings.
Authorities generally announced trials, including those of alleged
religious extremists, only at the court in which the trial was to take
place and only a day or two before the trial began.
Generally, a panel of one professional judge and two lay assessors,
selected either by committees of worker collectives or neighborhood
committees, presided over trials. The lay judges rarely spoke, and the
professional judge usually deferred to the recommendations of the
prosecutor on legal and other matters. There are no jury trials.
Defendants have the right to attend court proceedings, confront
witnesses, and present evidence. These rights were generally observed,
including in high-profile human rights and political cases. In the vast
majority of criminal cases that prosecutors brought to court, however,
the verdict was guilty. Defendants have the right to hire an attorney,
and the Government provides legal counsel without charge when
necessary. However, state-appointed defense attorneys routinely acted
in the interest of the Government rather than of their clients.
Authorities often violated the right to an attorney during pretrial
detention, and judges in some cases denied defendants the right to an
attorney of choice. There were several reports that investigators
pressured defendants to refuse legal counsel. Defense counsel was often
unqualified and, in some cases, the role of defense counsel was limited
to submitting confessions and pleas for mercy.
During the year the Government reportedly established a system of
24-hour on-call defense attorneys, resulting in some improved access to
qualified defense counsel for the accused. Several private law firms
provided qualified pro bono defense counsel, some financed through
international donors.
Government prosecutors order arrests, direct investigations,
prepare criminal cases, and recommend sentences. Defendants do not
enjoy a presumption of innocence. If a judge's sentence does not
correspond with the prosecutor's recommendation, the prosecutor has a
right to appeal the sentence to a higher court. Verdicts are often
based solely on confessions and witness testimony, which is often
reportedly extracted through torture, threats to family members or
other means of coercion. Legal protections against double jeopardy are
not applied in practice.
On February 7, human rights lawyer Rusluddin Khamilov met with his
client, dissident poet Yusuf Jumaev. Prison officials observed the
entire meeting despite the law's stipulation that defendants have the
right to meet privately with their lawyers, threatened Khamilov, and
confiscated a letter reportedly detailing abuses suffered by Jumaev in
prison. On April 15, a Bukhara court found Jumaev guilty of
discrediting government authorities, resisting arrest, and harming a
police officer. The court sentenced Jumaev to five years in prison.
The law provides a right of appeal to defendants. In political
cases appeals did not result in convictions being reversed, but in some
other cases appeals resulted in reduced or suspended sentences.
Defense attorneys had limited access in some cases to government-
held evidence relevant to their clients' cases. However, in most cases
prosecution was based solely upon defendants' confessions or
incriminating testimony from state witnesses, particularly in cases
involving suspected HT members. Lawyers may, and occasionally did, call
on judges to reject confessions and to investigate claims of torture.
Judges usually ignored such claims or dismissed them as groundless.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government denied that
there were any political prisoners, and it was impossible to determine
the actual number of prisoners or detainees held on political grounds.
Lists of political prisoners maintained by foreign embassies and
international human rights organizations ranged from approximately 11
to 23 individuals. While several political prisoners were released
during the year, other individuals were imprisoned on politically
motivated charges. Most persons convicted of political crimes were
charged with the crime for which they were arrested, such as
unconstitutional activity, involvement in illegal organizations, or
preparation or distribution of material threatening public security.
However, courts convicted several human rights activists and
journalists on politically-motivated charges for crimes such as
extortion and hooliganism. Unlike the previous year, the Government
allowed independent monitoring groups-including the ICRC-to visit
political prisoners or detainees.
On May 8, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an
opinion on the case of Erkin Musaev, a former Ministry of Defense
official who was convicted on politically-motivated charges of
corruption and espionage in three separate trials in 2006 and 2007. The
opinion noted serious irregularities during Musaev's trial and
concluded that his continued detention was arbitrary and contravened
several articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Government
has not yet responded to the Working Group's opinion, despite requests
to do so.
In September authorities granted human rights activist Mutabar
Tojiboyeva an exit visa to receive medical treatment abroad for an
unspecified condition. On June 2, the Government released Tojiboyeva
from prison on health grounds but did not amnesty her; she remained
subject to the terms of a three-year suspended sentence, which included
travel restrictions. In 2006 a court sentenced her to eight years in
prison on politically motivated charges.
Family members of Sanjar Umarov, a cofounder of the opposition
Sunshine Coalition sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in 2006 on
politically motivated charges of tax evasion and illegal commodities
trading, reported that his health deteriorated sharply during the year
and that his body showed signs of mistreatment. The family also
reported difficulties locating Umarov, whom authorities transferred
from a prison in Navoi region to the Tavaksay prison in Tashkent
region. Credible reports indicate that the Government has begun to take
some steps to address Umarov's poor health.
Civil courts operate on the city or district level, as well as the
interdistrict and provincial levels. Criminal courts operate on the
city or district level. There are also supreme civil courts with
jurisdiction over the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic.
Economic courts with jurisdiction over the individual provinces,
the City of Tashkent, and the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic handle
commercial disputes between legal entities. Decisions of these courts
may be appealed to the Supreme Economic Court.
Civil and Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although the
constitution provides for it, the judiciary is not independent or
impartial in civil matters. Citizens may file suit in civil courts, if
appropriate, on cases of alleged human rights violations. There were
reported cases in which courts decided in favor of plaintiffs in such
cases. However, there were also many reports that bribes to judges
influenced decisions in civil court cases.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary
interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence; however, in
practice authorities did not respect these prohibitions. The law
requires a search warrant for electronic surveillance by the
prosecutor, but there is no provision for a judicial review of such
warrants. Citizens generally assumed that security agencies routinely
monitored telephone calls and employed surveillance and wiretaps of
persons involved in opposition political activities.
There were numerous reports during the year of police and other
security forces entering homes of human rights activists and religious
figures without a warrant authorization from a representative of an
independent judiciary. Members of Protestant churches who held worship
services in private homes reported that on numerous occasions armed
security officers raided worship services and detained church members
on suspicion of illegal religious activity. During the year there were
reports of government authorities harassing Andijon refugees' relatives
who remained in Uzbekistan.
The Government continued to use an estimated 12,000 local mahalla
committees as a source of information on potential extremists.
Committees served varied social support functions, but they also
functioned as a link among local society, government, and law
enforcement. Mahalla committees in rural areas tended to be much more
influential than those in cities. Each committee assigned a ``posbon''
(neighborhood guardian) whose job was to ensure public order and
maintain a proper moral climate in the neighborhood. Neighborhood
committees also frequently identified for police those residents who
appeared suspicious and, working with local MOI and NSS
representatives, reportedly paid particular attention to recently
amnestied prisoners and the families of individuals jailed for alleged
extremism. During the year there were also several reports that
neighborhood committees, on orders from the NSS, monitored individual
religious practices and discouraged residents from associating with
unregistered Christian churches.
There were credible reports that police, employers, and
neighborhood committees harassed family members of human rights
activists.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and the press, but the Government generally did
not respect these rights in practice, and freedom of expression was
severely curtailed.
The law limits criticism of the President, and public insult to the
President is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. The law
specifically prohibits articles that incite religious confrontation and
ethnic discord or advocate subverting or overthrowing the
constitutional order.
A January 2007 law holds all foreign and domestic media
organizations accountable for the ``objectivity'' of their reporting,
bans foreign journalists from working in the country without official
accreditation, and requires that foreign media outlets operating in the
country be subject to mass media laws. It also prohibits the promotion
of religious extremism, separatism, and fundamentalism, as well as the
instigation of ethnic and religious hatred. It bars legal entities with
more than 30 percent foreign ownership from establishing media outlets
in the country.
During the year police reportedly arrested some individuals for
possessing literature of the banned religious extremist, anti-Semitic,
and anti-Western group HT.
The Uzbekistan National News Agency (UzA) is charged with
cooperating closely with Presidential staff to prepare and distribute
all officially sanctioned news and information. In November UzA
reported that over 1,100 newspapers, magazines, news agencies,
electronic media outlets, and Web sites have been registered with the
Uzbek Agency for Press and Information, which is responsible for
monitoring all media. The Cabinet of Ministers owns and controls three
of the country's most influential national daily newspapers, Pravda
Vostoka (Russian language), Halq So'zi (Uzbek language), and Narodnoe
Slovo (Russian language). The Government, or government-controlled
political parties or social movements, and the Tashkent municipal
government and regional ``hokimiyats'' (administrations), owns or
controls several other daily and weekly publications. Articles in
state-controlled newspapers reflected the Government's viewpoint. The
main government newspaper published selected international wire
stories.
The Government also published news stories on official Internet
sites including UzA.uz, operated by the National News Agency of
Uzbekistan, and Jahon.mfa.uz, operated by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MFA). A few Web sites, most notably Press-uz.info, Gazeta.uz,
and C-Asia.org, purported to be independent, yet their reporting
reflected the Government's viewpoint. In mid-May Sawda Press, an
independent newspaper in Karakalpakstan, resumed publication after a
government-ordered suspension in March 2007 due to alleged violations
of its own charter.
There are 1,300 printing houses in the country. government-owned
printing houses printed the majority of newspapers. The Government
allowed publication of a few private newspapers with limited
circulation containing advertising, horoscopes, and similar features
and some substantive local news, including stories critical of
government socio-economic policies. Three private national Russian-
language newspapers-Novosti Uzbekistana, Noviy Vek, and Biznes Vestnik
Vostoka-carried news and editorials favorable to the Government, as did
two Uzbek-language newspapers, Hurriyat (owned by the Journalists'
Association) and Mohiyat (owned by Turkiston-Press, a nongovernmental
information agency loyal to the state). Russian newspapers and a
variety of Russian tabloids and lifestyle publications were available,
and a modest selection of foreign periodicals was available in
Tashkent.
The four state-run channels, all fully supporting the Government,
dominated television broadcasting. There were 24 privately owned
regional television stations and 14 privately owned radio stations. The
Government tightly controlled broadcast and print media. Journalists
and senior editorial staff in state media organizations reported that
there were officials whose responsibilities included actual black-pen
censorship. Government officials also have allegedly given verbal
directives not to cover certain events sponsored by foreign embassies.
Nevertheless, there were also reports that regional television media
outlets were able to broadcast some moderately critical stories on
local issues.
In October government officials participated in a Tashkent
conference on media freedom sponsored by the European Union (EU), part
of an annual discussion of human rights issues. Although credible human
rights organizations from abroad participated and strongly criticized
the Government, authorities refused to allow local independent
journalists and human rights activists to participate in the event. The
EU tried to hold a similar event in June, but the Government did not
allow international human rights organizations or domestic independent
journalists to participate.
The Government continued to refuse Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL) and BBC World Service permission to broadcast from within the
country. It also refused to accredit foreign journalists for those or
other Western media. In July the Government denied accreditation to
several longtime local stringers for Western new agencies, forcing them
to seek work outside the country. A stringer for Agence France-Presse
(AFP) remained accredited in Uzbekistan, as did reporters from Russian,
Chinese, and other international news agencies.
In June state television aired an hour-long program that attacked
RFE/RL reporters and denounced them as traitors. The program singled
out nine RFE/RL journalists by name and released personal information
about them and their extended families, including their home addresses
and places of work.
Harassment against journalists continued during the year. Police
and security services subjected print and broadcast journalists to
arrest, harassment, intimidation, and violence, as well as bureaucratic
restrictions on their activity.
On August 5, a group of women in Samarkand allegedly attacked two
journalists of the Ovozi Tojik (Tajik Voice) newspaper, Pardakul
Turakulov and Zokir Hasan-zade, and human rights activist Komil
Ashurov, as the three were investigating complaints about the
reconstruction of the city's Siab market. Despite being the alleged
victims, police launched a criminal case on hooliganism charges against
the three. At year's end, the criminal investigation against them was
ongoing.
On October 10, a court convicted independent journalist Salijon
Abdurahmanov in Nukus, Karakalpakstan, of possessing narcotics with
intent to distribute and sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment. On
November 19, Abdurakhmanov's appeal of his sentence was rejected
without explanation. On June 7, government authorities detained
Abdurahmanov after allegedly discovering drugs during a search of his
vehicle. Abdurahmanov's arrest came soon after an increase in critical
reporting on Karakalpak corruption and human rights abuses on
uznews.net and in Western newspapers. Human rights activists claimed
the drugs were planted and the charges were politically motivated.
During the year there were reports that the Government harassed
journalists from state-run media outlets in retaliation for their
contacts with foreign diplomats. Some journalists lost their jobs after
traveling to Europe on foreign-embassy-sponsored professional exchange
programs, while others reported increased scrutiny after returning from
such international exchange programs. While pressure from the
Government continued, more journalists were able to participate this
year at foreign embassy events in Tashkent.
The National Association of Electronic Mass Media (NAESMI)
reportedly used its directors' close relations with the Government to
persuade local television stations to join the association and
occasionally broadcast prescribed government-produced programming. The
Government subjected stations that resisted joining NAESMI to tax
inspections and, in some cases, forfeiture of broadcast licenses.
Government security services and other offices regularly gave
publishers articles and letters to publish under fictitious bylines, as
well as explicit instructions about the types of stories permitted for
publication. Often there was little distinction between the editorial
content of a government or privately owned newspaper. There was little
independent investigative reporting. The number of critical newspaper
articles remained low and their scope narrow. In contrast to previous
years, however, state-controlled media outlets in the past year ran
numerous programs and articles regarding human trafficking, with
several of them admitting that it was a problem and warning citizens
not to become victims.
Provisions of the criminal and administrative codes impose
significant fines for libel and defamation. The Government used charges
of libel, slander, and defamation to punish journalists, human rights
activists, and others who criticized the President or government.
Internet Freedom.--The Government allowed access to the Internet
and reported in November that the number of Internet users in the
country is rising and has reached more than 2 million. However,
Internet service providers, at the Government's request, routinely
blocked access to Web sites the Government considered objectionable.
The Government blocked several domestic and international news Web
sites and those operated by opposition political parties; some remained
available through proxy servers, while a few remained unblocked.
January 2007 amendments to the media law define Web sites as media
outlets, so they fall under legislation requiring all local and foreign
media to register with the authorities and to inform them of the names
of their founder, chief editor, and staff members. They also must
provide the authorities with copies of each publication. According to
local journalists, since the amended law came into force, Internet
providers started blocking access to blogs that discuss any aspect of
the country.
In 2006 the Cabinet of Ministers passed a decree requiring that all
Web sites seeking a ``.uz'' domain register with the state Agency for
Press and Information. The decree generally affected only government-
owned or government-controlled Web sites. Opposition Web sites and
those operated by international NGOs or media outlets tended to have
domain names registered outside the country.
In January the Government ceased blocking the Web sites of
ZdravPlus, the National Democratic Institute, the Open Dialogue
Project, Bearing Point, and other organizations. In September the
Government ceased blocking the Internet video Web site youtube.com.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government continued to
limit academic freedom, although it appeared more open to interaction
with foreign institutions than in the past. Authorities sometimes
required department head approval for university lectures or lecture
notes, and university professors generally practiced self-censorship.
Numerous university students reported that universities taught
mandatory courses on ``Karimov studies'' devoted to books and speeches
by the President and that missing any of these seminars constituted
grounds for expulsion. Although a decree prohibited cooperation between
higher educational institutions and foreign entities without explicit
prior approval by the Government, foreign institutions were often able
to obtain such approval by working with the MFA, especially for foreign
language projects. Some school and university administrations continued
to pressure teachers and students not to participate in conferences
sponsored by diplomatic missions. There were a few instances of
individuals choosing not to participate in international exchange
programs after being threatened with the loss of their jobs, but there
were no reports of individuals losing their jobs after participating in
such programs. There were fewer reports this year that government
officials pressured local nationals to prevent them from participating
in cultural events sponsored by foreign diplomatic missions.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
but in practice the Government often restricted this right. Authorities
have the right to suspend or prohibit rallies, meetings, and
demonstrations on security grounds. The Government did not routinely
grant the required permits for demonstrations. Citizens are subject to
large fines for facilitating unsanctioned rallies, meetings, or
demonstrations by providing space or other facilities or materials, as
well as for violating procedures concerning the organizing of meetings,
rallies, and demonstrations.
Authorities used a variety of tactics to prevent or stop peaceful
protests. In February authorities in Jizzakh Province initiated a
campaign of threats and pressure against human rights activist Saida
Kurbanova, who staged protests in Jizzakh in January and February
demanding a solution to regional heating and electricity problems.
On March 13, approximately 20 individuals physically assaulted
members of the Human Rights Alliance during the latter's weekly protest
outside the general prosecutor's office in Tashkent. Police reportedly
observed the assault but did not intervene. An unidentified group
assaulted the activists again the following week. Authorities arrested
the protesters when they summoned the police for assistance, and
several reportedly received administrative fines for ``resisting
arrest'' and ``disobeying a law enforcement officer.'' After the
incidents, the Human Rights Alliance abandoned its weekly protest,
which it had been holding since December 2007.
In several other cases, however, human rights activists reported
that local residents protested economic conditions, and human rights
activists themselves occasionally held small protests, unmolested and
apparently without prior permission of the authorities.
Freedom of Association.--While the law provides for freedom of
association, the Government continued to restrict this right in
practice. The Government sought to control NGO activity, often citing
the role played by internationally-funded NGOs in promoting so-called
``color revolutions'' that allegedly toppled governments in other
former Soviet states, as well as concerns about Islamic fundamentalist
groups. The law broadly limits the types of groups that may form and
requires that all organizations be registered formally with the
Government. The law allows for a six-month grace period for new
organizations to operate while awaiting registration, during which time
they are classified officially as ``initiative groups.'' Several NGOs
continued to function as initiative groups for periods longer than six
months. The Government allowed nonpolitical associations and social
organizations to register, but complicated rules and a cumbersome
government bureaucracy made the process difficult and allowed many
opportunities for government obstruction. The Government compelled most
local NGOs to register with a government-controlled NGO association,
the purpose of which was to control all funding and activities.
On December 17, President Karimov signed legislation appropriating
money for a 2.1 billion soum (approximately $1.5 million) government
fund to support NGOs and other civil society institutions. The fund is
to be managed by a parliamentary commission consisting of deputies of
both houses, experts from relevant ministries and departments, and
representatives from NGOs and the media. Some observers argued that the
Government actions are aimed at increasing the dependence of NGOs upon
the state. However, some sources have reported that independent
organizations will be able to apply for funding. In January 2007
President Karimov signed legislation guaranteeing certain rights and
freedoms to NGOs, including the right to conduct ``any type of activity
not prohibited by law and in line with the purposes set by their
charters.'' The legislation also prohibits interfering with the
activities of such organizations, provides for property rights and the
rights of NGOs to ``to seek, receive, research, disseminate, use, and
keep information in accordance with legislation.''
The administrative liability code imposes large fines for
violations of procedures governing NGO activity, as well as for
``involving others'' in illegal NGOs. The law does not specify whether
``illegal NGOs'' are those that were forcibly suspended or closed or
those that were simply unregistered. The administrative code also
imposes penalties against international NGOs for engaging in political
activities, activities inconsistent with their charters, or activities
not approved in advance by the Government. The Government enforced the
2004 banking decree that, although ostensibly designed to combat money
laundering, complicated efforts by registered and unregistered NGOs to
receive outside funding. There were reports that individuals receiving
money from organizations in other countries were required to identify
the source and the reason for the money transfer to the bank.
The law criminalizes membership in organizations the Government
deems extremist, including Tabligh Jamoat and other groups branded with
the general term ``Wahhabi.'' The law also banned the extremist
Islamist political organization Hizb-ut Tahrir (HT) for promoting hate
and praising acts of terrorism. Although HT maintained that it was
committed to nonviolence, the party's virulently anti-Semitic and anti-
Western literature called for the overthrow of secular governments,
including those in Central Asia, to be replaced with a worldwide
Islamic government.
The Government has pressured and prosecuted members of the Islamic
group Akromiya (Akromiylar) since 1997. Independent religious experts
claimed that Akromiya was an informal association promoting business
along Islamic religious principles. The Government claimed that it was
a branch of HT and that it attempted, together with the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan, to overthrow the Government through armed
rebellion in the 2005 Andijon demonstrations.
In February government authorities registered the Friedrich Naumann
Foundation, an NGO affiliated with Germany's Free Democratic Party that
has engaged in human rights work in other countries. It joined two
similar foundations affiliated with German political parties already
registered and operating in the country.
For the first time since the 2005 Andijon events, authorities
registered two U.S.-based international NGOs. On July 4, the MOJ
announced the formal registration of the NGO Institute for New
Democracies (IND), permitting the organization to operate for an
unlimited time. During the year IND held several workshops and
trainings involving high-level government officials and international
experts on religious freedom and on implementation of habeas corpus
legislation. The government-supported Foundation for Regional Policy
and Institute of Civil Society Studies, as well as the Ministry of
Justice and Eastern Kentucky University, co-sponsored some events. IND
also conducted regional trainings on the habeas corpus law in November
in Nukus, Andijon, and Samarkand. IND had previously operated in the
country without formal registration.
On December 29, authorities registered the U.S.-based National
Democratic Institute (NDI). While registration was pending, NDI's
office in Tashkent had conducted trainings for political parties and
others throughout the year.
In July the Government banned the HRW country director, Igor
Vorontsov, from re-entering the country. On May 8, the MOJ rejected his
application for accreditation, forcing the departure of Vorontsov, who
had only arrived on February 6. HRW retained its registration, but its
office had been effectively closed since July 2007 when the Government
refused to renew the accreditation of the last foreign staff member in
the country at the time.
On December 1, the MOJ re-registered the American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee (JDC), which distributes humanitarian aid to
those in need. In April a Ministry official publicly accused the JDC of
violating Uzbek law and threatened to de-register the organization.
None of the 17 or more foreign-funded organizations closed
temporarily or permanently by court decisions in 2006 and 2007 reopened
during the year. A knowledgeable observer reported that the Government
closed more than 300 local NGOs in the last four years. During the year
at least eight local NGOs have closed, although it is unclear whether
they voluntarily disbanded or were forced to close. There are at least
300 independent NGOs remaining in Uzbekistan, as well as approximately
290 government-controlled NGOs (``GONGOs'') and 240 sport and
professional organizations.
The Government followed a policy of auditing all international
NGOs. Generally following an audit, the MOJ sent each audited NGO a
letter outlining the violations discovered during the process, with a
30-day time limit to resolve the violations.
The Government insisted that NGOs coordinate their training
sessions or seminars with government authorities. NGO managers believed
this amounted to a requirement for prior official permission from the
Government for all NGO program activities. NGOs under the auspices of
the government-controlled Institute for the Study of Civil Society
successfully conducted their events.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion and separation of church and state. In practice, however, the
Government and laws restricted religious activity, especially for
unregistered groups.
The Government sought to promote what it considered a moderate
version of Islam through the control and financing of the Muftiate,
which in turn controlled the Islamic hierarchy and the content of
imams' sermons, and published Islamic materials. The Committee for
Religious Affairs (CRA), under the Cabinet of Ministers, oversaw
registered religious activity and approved all religious literature.
The Government allowed a small number of unofficial, independent
mosques to operate under the watch of government-sanctioned imams.
The country's 1998 Religion Law requires all religious groups and
congregations to register and provides strict and burdensome
registration criteria, including that each group present to the MOJ a
list of at least 100 national citizen members and that a congregation
already have a valid legal address. These and numerous other provisions
enabled the Government to cite technical grounds for denying a group's
registration petition, such as grammatical errors in a group's charter.
These provisions mostly affected small, unregistered congregations,
especially those who are viewed as being engaged in missionary
activity, which is illegal. In contrast, registered minority
congregations faced fewer restrictions on their activities.
Numerous small Protestant churches remained unregistered, including
churches in Tashkent, Chirchiq, Samarkand, Nukus, Gulistan, Andijon,
and Gazalkent. Most did not apply because they did not expect local
officials to register them, or because they had too few members to
qualify for registration. Often they were afraid to give the
authorities a list of their members, especially ethnic Uzbeks. Some
Protestant churches attempted to register this past year and either
were denied registration or received no response from authorities. No
Baptist church has registered successfully since 1999. No Protestant
churches are registered in Karakalpakstan. Jehovah's Witnesses applied
for registration at local, regional, and national levels and received
either denials or no official answer. Only one Jehovah's Witnesses
congregation is registered. In contrast, authorities agreed to register
and allow construction of a new Orthodox church in Khorezm province
this year.
Any religious service conducted by an unregistered religious
organization is illegal. Police frequently broke up meetings of
unregistered groups, which were generally held in private homes,
occasionally detaining and beating members of these groups.
Proselytizing is a crime, as is the teaching of religion without
state approval. These provisions resulted in several prosecutions.
Jehovah's Witnesses came under particular scrutiny and faced arbitrary
fines, arrest, and imprisonment on charges of proselytizing or
illegally teaching religion.
Christian congregations that included members of traditionally
Muslim ethnic groups often faced official harassment, legal action, or,
in some cases, mistreatment.
On July 8, a Navoi court fined Jehovah's Witnesses Guldara Artykova
and Tursuna Yuldasheva for allegedly refusing to testify at court. On
May 30, police in Navoi came to Artykova's home and detained her and
Yuldasheva, after seizing religious literature. The women were brought
to a police station, where officers beat Yuldasheva, reportedly causing
numerous bruises and a concussion. Police released the women the
following morning after authorities confiscated their passports.
On July 23, authorities sentenced two Jehovah's Witnesses from
Margilan, Abdubanob Ahmedov and Sergei Ivanov, to four years and three
and one-half years' imprisonment respectively for allegedly teaching
religion illegally. Courts also gave three-year suspended sentences to
three other Margilan-based Jehovah's Witnesses, Raya Litvinenko,
Svetlana Shevchenko and Aziza Usmanova. Two other Jehovah's Witnesses
from Samarkand remained in prison: Irfan Hamidov, sentenced in May 2007
to two years in a labor camp on criminal charges of illegally teaching
religion, and Olim Turayev, sentenced on April 25, to four years'
imprisonment on criminal charges of illegally teaching religion and
organizing an illegal religious group.
On September 26, authorities released Aitmurat Khayburahmanov from
custody after a judge in Karakalpakstan dismissed the religious
extremism charges against him. Authorities also granted him amnesty on
the charge of teaching religion illegally. On June 14, authorities
arrested and beat Khayburahmanov, a Protestant from Nukus.
At year's end Pastor Dmitry Shestakov-leader of a registered Full
Gospel Pentecostal congregation-remained in a Navoi labor camp serving
a four-year sentence for his March 2007 convictions on charges of
organizing an illegal religious group, inciting religious hatred, and
distributing religious extremist literature. The Government refused to
extend the January amnesty to Shestakov on allegations that he violated
internal prison regulations.
Most Muslims arrested on political charges were tried for
anticonstitutional activity and participating in ``religious extremist,
separatist, fundamentalist, or other banned organizations,'' a charge
that encompasses both political and religious extremism. The
overwhelming majority of those arrested on this charge were accused of
HT membership. The Government also arrested members of other groups
that it broadly labeled Wahhabi.
The Government continued to commit serious abuses in its campaign
against extremist organizations such as HT. However, knowledgeable
observers note that the Government may have recognized that the limits
it placed on other avenues of religious fulfillment correlate directly
with the success of extremist organizations in attracting membership.
Even as mosque attendance and open religiosity increased, the number of
known cases of arrest, detention, or conviction based on alleged
membership in religious extremist organizations appeared to decline for
the second consecutive year.
Authorities severely mistreated persons arrested on suspicion of
extremism. While there were several reports of prison conditions
improving for those convicted of religious extremism, abuses continued.
Most defendants received sentences ranging from three to 14 years; some
received sentences of 16-20 years.
Prison authorities reportedly denied many prisoners suspected of
Islamic extremism the right to practice their religion freely and, in
some circumstances, did not allow them to possess a Koran. Authorities
reportedly punished with solitary confinement and beatings inmates who
attempted to fulfill their religious obligations despite prison rules,
or who protested the rules themselves.
In September authorities extended the sentence for religious
extremism of Habibullah Madmarov, son of Margilan-based human rights
activist Akhmadjan Madmarov, by an additional 16+ years after
convicting him of forming an extremist conspiracy while in prison in
Navoi province. Authorities reportedly also convicted 36 other inmates
at the same prison and extended their sentences by between 16 and 20
years each. In April authorities arbitrarily lengthened Habibullah's
sentence by three-and-a-half years on the grounds that he remained a
danger to society. Habibullah completed his original sentence in
February. On June 26, authorities released another of Madmarov's sons
on parole after he completed a seven-year sentence, but one other son
and two nephews of Akhmadjan Madmarov remained in prison; all were
charged with religious extremism.
There were no updates in the numerous cases of individuals
convicted of membership in HT and other extremist organizations in 2007
and 2006.
The law limits religious instruction to officially-sanctioned
religious schools and state-approved instructors and does not permit
private instruction or the teaching of religion to minors without
parental consent. While the country has several functioning
institutions that train clergy, there are very few options for those
wishing to learn about their faith without pursuing a career in a
religious institution.
In December officials held meetings at schools and universities in
several regions on the alleged danger posed to the country by
``missionary and extremist movements.'' The officials reportedly
discussed how it was ``necessary to fully root out missionary
activities, which are rapidly spreading across the world, as well as
warn young people of the negative effects of missionary activities.''
The Government controlled the publication, importation, and
distribution of religious literature, discouraging and occasionally
blocking the production or importation of literature that religious
censors deemed objectionable. The Government required a statement in
every domestic publication indicating the source of its publication
authority. Possession of literature deemed extremist could lead to
arrest and prosecution. Illegal production, storage, importation, or
distribution of religious materials could result in fines of 100 to 200
times the minimum monthly wage or ``corrective labor'' of up to three
years. The Government confiscated and destroyed religious literature
imported illegally. The Government continued to impound thousands of
religious books and brochures that the Uzbekistan Bible Society
attempted to import into the country in May, claiming that the Society
had failed to notify authorities properly about the shipment. Other
criminal and administrative codes punish the production and
distribution of ``literature promoting racial and religious hatred.''
There were no reports of arrests or harassment of Muslim believers
based on outward expressions of their religious belief such as beards,
veils, or mosque attendance. The law prohibits wearing ``cult robes''
(religious clothing) in public except by those serving in religious
organizations. In practice, this provision did not appear to be
enforced. Many sources reported an improved atmosphere in the Muslim
community, with many mosques overflowing for lack of space during
Friday prayer. Observant Muslims appeared to be able to display their
faith in public more freely.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Society is generally tolerant
of religious diversity but not of proselytizing. In particular, Muslim,
Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Jewish leaders reported high
levels of acceptance in society. Other minority religious groups,
especially churches with ethnic Uzbek converts, encountered
difficulties stemming from social prejudices. There were persistent
reports of discrimination against and harassment of ethnic Uzbek
Muslims who converted to Christianity. State-controlled media in some
cases encouraged societal prejudice against certain minority religious
groups. On May 17, Uzbek TV's First Channel broadcast an Uzbek-language
documentary that condemned several churches for their missionary
activity. The program also cited instances in which missionaries
allegedly had used psychotropic drugs and hypnosis to attract recruits
and alleged that missionaries targeted youth and the mentally
handicapped for recruitment. Articles in the state-controlled print
media at the time echoed these attacks.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts or patterns of
discrimination against Jews. There were eight registered Jewish
congregations, and observers estimated the Jewish population to be
approximately 15,000-20,000 persons, concentrated mostly in Tashkent,
Samarkand, and Bukhara. Their numbers were declining due to emigration,
largely for economic reasons. There were no reports during the year of
HT members distributing anti-Semitic fliers.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
free movement within the country and across its borders, although the
Government limited this right in practice. Permission from local
authorities is required to move to a new city. The Government rarely
granted permission to move to Tashkent, and local observers reported
that persons had to pay bribes of up to 100,000 soum (approximately
$72) to obtain registration documents required to move.
The Government required citizens to obtain exit visas for foreign
travel or emigration, and while it generally granted the visas, local
officials often demanded a small bribe. There were reports during the
year of the Government's withholding exit visas from human rights
activists to prevent their travel abroad. The Government also limited
activists' freedom of movement within the country. A government
registration system required citizens to obtain a special stamp from
local authorities in their place of residence to leave the country.
Citizens generally continued to be able to travel to neighboring
states, and the stamp requirement was not uniformly enforced. Land
travel to Afghanistan, however, remained difficult, as the Government
maintained travel restrictions on large parts of Surkhandarya Province
bordering Afghanistan, including the border city of Termez. Citizens
needed permission from the NSS to cross the border, while Afghans did
not need permission, aside from a visa, to enter the country to trade.
Foreigners with valid visas generally could move within the country
without restriction, but visitors required special permission to travel
to Surkhandarya Province. During the year there were reports of
authorities refusing entry to the country to foreigners with valid
visas. On May 19, the Government issued a decree that toughened
regulations for foreigners staying in the country and made it easier
for the Government to deport them.
On August 10, authorities forcibly deported Birlik opposition party
leader and Uzbek citizen Pulat Akhunov to Kyrgyzstan, reportedly
abducting Akhunov, driving him across the border, and dropping him off
outside Bishkek without money or identification. He had traveled to
Andijon from Sweden in March 2007 to apply for a new passport, as
regulations require citizens to renew their passports at 25 and 45
years of age. Authorities refused to renew the passport, rendering
Akhunov unable to return to Sweden. Before his deportation, government
authorities frequently detained Akhunov when he attempted to leave
Andijon Province. He has since returned to Sweden.
The law does not explicitly prohibit forced exile, but the
Government did not employ it. At year's end several opposition
political figures and human rights activists remained in voluntary
exile.
Emigration and repatriation were restricted in that the law does
not provide for dual citizenship. In practice returning citizens had to
prove to authorities that they did not acquire foreign citizenship
while abroad, or face prosecution. In practice citizens often possessed
dual citizenship and traveled without issue.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided some protection against
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. As in the previous year, there were
reported cases of the Government forcibly removing Afghan refugees from
the country. In practice the Government did not cooperate with the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in allowing it to provide
assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.
During the year the UN Development Program(UNDP) continued to
assist with monitoring and resettlement of the approximately 870 Afghan
refugees who remained in the country. UNDP also performed some of
UNHCR's humanitarian functions, as it has done since the Government
forced the UNHCR office to close in 2006. UNHCR assisted Uzbek refugees
who had fled into Kyrgyzstan following the 2005 unrest in Andijon.
During the year the harassment of Afghan refugees continued, with
reports that several of them were forcibly returned to Afghanistan. In
March 2007 the MFA informed UNDP that UNHCR mandate certificates would
not be considered as the basis for extended legal residence, and
persons carrying such certificates must apply for the appropriate visa
or face possible deportation. The Government considered the Afghan and
Tajik refugee populations economic migrants and subjected them to
harassment and bribery. Most Tajik refugees were ethnic Uzbeks; unlike
their Afghan counterparts, Tajik refugees were able to integrate into
and were supported by the local population. Although most Tajik
refugees did not face societal discrimination, many of them were
officially stateless or faced the possibility of becoming officially
stateless, as many carried only old Soviet passports rather than Tajik
or Uzbek passports.
UNHCR reported that Afghan refugees had no access to the legal
labor force and, therefore, had limited means to earn a livelihood.
During the year the Government pressured several other countries to
return forcibly citizens who were under UNHCR protection abroad. On May
14 Kyrgyzstan extradited Uzbek asylum-seeker Erkin Holikov to the
country under pressure from the Government. Holikov was serving a four-
year prison sentence in Kyrgyzstan on charges of illegal border
crossing and failing to report a crime. Holikov faces charges of
anticonstitutional activity and religious extremism.
In March a court in Namangan Province sentenced Abdugani Kamaliev
to 11 years' imprisonment for religious extremism. Russian authorities
had deported Kamaliev from the country in December 2007 despite
objections from the European Court of Human Rights (EHCR) that he might
be subjected to torture.
On November 10, the ordered Russia not to extradite two Uzbek
refugees-Abdullajon Isakov and Abdumutallib Karimov-arguing that they
potentially faced persecution for their religious convictions, torture,
and arbitrarily long prison terms. Russian prosecutors issued
extradition orders for Isakov on August 13 August and Karimov on
September 18. Russian authorities detained Isakov in Tyumen in March
and Karimov in Yoshkar-Ola in June after the Uzbek government issued
warrants for their arrest.
On December 9, a court in Kyiv ruled that Uzbek citizen Abdumalik
Bakayev could not be extradited. The Ukrainian court cited an April 24
decision by the ECHR (Ismoilov and Others vs. Russia) that the
extradition of individuals to Uzbekistan violated Article 3 of the
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms due to the routine occurrence of police brutality. Bakayev
reportedly asked the Ukrainian migration service to grant him refugee
status in November, claiming that he was previously convicted twice for
HT membership and tortured in Uzbekistan.
On December 12, the ECHR ruled that Russian authorities had
violated the rights of an Uzbek citizen, Rustam Mominov, by extraditing
him to Uzbekistan, where he was convicted of HT membership and is now
imprisoned, while his appeal was still pending at the ECHR. Under EHRC
regulations, individuals who have appealed to the Court cannot be
extradited from a country without prior warning.
On December 15 the ECHR ruled in favor of the ``Ivanovo Uzbeks,'' a
group of 13 ethnic Uzbeks who fled from Uzbekistan in 2005 after their
arrest in connection with violent unrest in Andijon in May 2005. The
ECHR ordered authorities to allow the Ivanovo Uzbeks to go to Sweden,
and also ordered the Government to pay each man 15,000 euros in
restitution. The Russiangovernment had not complied at year's end.
There were no developments in the following refoulement cases: the
June 2007 detention and transfer to Russian authorities for deportation
of Uzbek asylum-seeker Mukhamadsolikh Abutov by apparent Uzbek NSS
members outside Moscow; and the August 2007 order of a Moscow district
court for extradition of Yashin Dzhurayev, who claimed that he had been
persecuted for religious reasons in the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government. In practice this was not possible through peaceful
and democratic means. The Government severely restricted freedom of
expression and suppressed political opposition. The Government was
highly centralized and ruled by President Karimov and the executive
branch through sweeping decree powers, primary authority for drafting
legislation, and control of government appointments, most of the
economy, and the security forces.
Elections and Political Participation.--On January 16, President
Karimov swore himself in for a third term as President after being
reelected in December 2007 in a process that fell short of
international democratic norms. The OSCE limited election observation
mission (LEOM) noted that there were more candidates than in previous
elections-four, including a female candidate and a nonpartisan
candidate nominated by an initiative group-but all candidates publicly
endorsed the incumbent's policies. In addition, there was no
competition of political views, administrative hurdles kept other
potential candidates off the ballot, and the Government tightly
controlled the media. The LEOM noted procedural problems and
irregularities in vote tabulation.
The constitution prohibits Presidents from seeking a third term in
office, an apparent contradiction never publicly addressed by the
Government. The OSCE declined to monitor the 2000 election in which
President Karimov was reelected to a second term, determining
preconditions did not exist for it to be free and fair. A 2002
referendum, which multilateral organizations and foreign embassies also
refused to observe, extended Presidential terms from five to seven
years.
In August 2007 President Karimov announced that the next
parliamentary elections would be held in 2009. The OSCE found that the
2004 elections for the lower house of the parliament fell significantly
short of international standards for democratic elections, resulting in
the majority of seats being held by progovernment political parties.
The total number of registered political parties decreased from
five to four in June after the Milliy Tiklanish (``National Rebirth'')
party absorbed the Fidokorlar (``Selfless'') party. The three remaining
registered parties are the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan
(PDPU), the Adolat (``Justice'') Social-Democratic Party, and the
Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan. The Government controlled all
registered political parties and provided funding.
The law allows independent political parties, but it also gives the
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) broad powers to interfere with parties and to
withhold financial and legal support to those opposed to the
Government.
The law makes it extremely difficult for genuinely independent
political parties to organize, nominate candidates, and campaign. To
register a new party requires 20,000 signatures. The procedures to
register a candidate are burdensome. The law allows the MOJ to suspend
parties for up to six months without a court order. The Government also
exercised control over established parties by controlling their
financing.
On December 29, President Karimov signed legislation that abolished
provisions allowing independent initiative groups to nominate
candidates for parliamentary and Presidential elections. Only
registered political parties may now nominate candidates. The law also
expanded the number of deputies in parliament's lower house (the Oliy
Majlis) from 120 to 150, with half of the new seats reserved for
members of the new ``Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan.''
The law prohibits judges, public prosecutors, NSS officials,
servicemen, foreign citizens, and stateless persons from joining
political parties. The law prohibits parties based on religion or
ethnicity; those that oppose the sovereignty, integrity, and security
of the country and the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens;
those that promote war, or social, national, or religious hostility,
and those that seek to overthrow the Government.
The Birlik opposition political party has applied to the MOJ for
registration several times in previous years, but it has never received
a response. Birlik members were among those arrested and detained in
connection with the 2005 Andijon events. The leaders of three of the
five main unregistered opposition political parties-Mohammed Solikh of
Erk (convicted on terrorism charges in absentia in 1999), Abdurakhim
Polat of Birlik, and Babur Malikov of the Free Farmers Party-remained
in voluntary exile. The leader of a fourth opposition party-Bokhodir
Choriyev of Birdamlik-also resides abroad. One of the cofounders of the
fifth unregistered opposition party-Sanjar Umarov of the Sunshine
Coalition-remains in prison.
Before the number of deputies was expanded in late December, there
were 21 women in the 120-member lower chamber of the parliament and 15
women in the 100-member senate. There was one woman in the 28-member
cabinet.
There were nine members of ethnic minorities in the lower house of
parliament and 15 minorities in the senate. The number of members of
ethnic minorities in the cabinet was unknown.
On October 15-16, government officials, including representatives
from the registered political parties, attended a conference on
democratic elections co-hosted by a government-supported NGO, the
Foundation for Regional Policy, and international organizations
promoting democratization.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption. In October, the MOJ reported that 48
government officials were convicted of criminal charges, including
corruption, and 793 officials were convicted of administrative offences
during the first nine months of the year. In addition, disciplinary
charges were reportedly brought against 4,863 officials, and 327
officials were removed from their posts.
Even so, the Government did not always implement anticorruption
legislation effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. It was generally accepted that applicants
could buy admission to prestigious educational institutions with
bribes. Likewise, corruption was a severe problem in the law and
traffic enforcement systems, and there were several reports that bribes
to judges influenced the outcomes of civil suits. However, there were
several reports of authorities removing local administrative or police
officials from office in response to charges of corruption.
On July 7, President Karimov signed a law to ratify the United
Nations Convention Against Corruption.
The law states that all government agencies must provide citizens
with the opportunity to examine documents, decisions, and other
materials affecting their freedoms. In practice the Government seldom
respected these rights. The public generally did not have access to
government information, and information normally considered in the
public domain was seldom reported.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic human rights groups operated in the country,
although they were hampered by a fear of official retaliation. The
Government frequently harassed, arrested, and prosecuted human rights
activists.
Two domestic human rights NGOs-Ezgulik and the Independent Human
Rights Organization of Uzbekistan-were registered with the Government.
Others were unable to register but continued to function at both the
national and local levels. Organizations that attempted to register in
previous years and remain unregistered include the HRSU, Mazlum
(``Oppressed''), and Mothers against the Death Penalty and Torture. The
Government denied registration for a variety of reasons, including
grammatical errors in applications. These organizations did not exist
as legal entities but continued to function, although they had
difficulty renting offices or conducting financial transactions and
could not open bank accounts, making it virtually impossible to receive
funds legally. Operating an unregistered group was technically subject
to government prosecution.
Government officials occasionally met with domestic human rights
defenders, some of whom noted that they were able to resolve some cases
of abuse through direct engagement with authorities. A foreign NGO
continued to provide a forum for domestic human rights defenders to
meet with members of the police, prison directorate, and security
services. The Government increased cooperation with this NGO the year.
On November 28, the independent Ezgulik human rights group held a
conference, attended by approximately 40 activists and a government
official, which evaluated the Government's recent legal reforms and
their implementation. One participant observed this was the first such
conference an independent human rights group had conducted in Tashkent
since the 2005 Andijon events. The National Human Rights Center also
assisted an independent human rights activist to conduct human rights
trainings at several schools in Tashkent province during the fall.
Police and security forces continued to harass domestic human
rights activists and NGOs during the year. Security forces regularly
threatened and intimidated human rights activists to prevent their
activities and dissuade them from meeting with foreign diplomats, and
occasionally police and other government authorities ordered activists
to cease contact with foreigners. Unknown assailants attacked human
rights activists. Authorities regularly detained or arrested human
rights activists and subjected them to house arrest, occasional
involuntary psychiatric treatment, or false criminal charges.
Additionally, government officials publicly accused specific activists
of conspiring with international journalists to discredit the
Government.
On October 2, a MOI officer in Gulistan arbitrarily detained human
rights activist Karim Bozorbaev for over an hour after he met with
foreign diplomats who were monitoring child labor in the cotton fields.
The MOI officer accused Bozorbaev of being a ``traitor'' for meeting
with the foreign diplomats and threatened to fabricate criminal charges
against him. The officer hit Bozorbaev, knocking out one of his teeth.
In November 2007 Bozorboev had received a sentence of three and a half
years' imprisonment on politically-motivated charges of fraud, but he
was released under the January Presidential amnesty.
Since the 2005 Andijon events, the Government severely restricted
the activities of international human rights NGOs and subjected their
employees to frequent harassment and intimidation. Government officials
and the government-controlled press frequently accused international
NGOs of participating in an international ``information war'' against
the country.
The Government continued to restrict the work of international
bodies and foreign diplomatic missions and severely criticized their
human rights monitoring activities and policies. During the year the
Government criticized some diplomats for meeting with human rights
activists and members of unregistered organizations, especially those
outside of Tashkent, and threatened their expulsion from the country.
The Government has not agreed to expand the OSCE office, whose
mission it forced to reorganize in 2006, with a substantially reduced
emphasis on human rights programming. However, OSCE representatives
reported that cooperation has improved this year, with the Government
approving several proposed OSCE projects, including in the Human
Dimension. For the first time in three years, the Government sent a
minister-level delegation to the OSCE ministerial in Helsinki, Finland
in December.
In 2006 and 2007 the EU and the Government held several limited
formal discussions of the Andijon events and other human rights abuses,
including a May 2007 discussion under the auspices of the Joint EU/
Uzbekistan Consultative Council's Subcommittee on Justice, Interior,
and Human Rights. Government officials also have discussed the Andijon
events with other foreign senior officials, to whom they have
characterized the events as a ``tragedy.'' However, the Government
continued to ignore earlier demands by foreign governments, the UN, the
OSCE, the EU, and other international organizations for an independent
international investigation into the 2005 Andijon unrest. A 2005 UNHCR
report on the Andijon violence concluded that ``consistent, credible
eyewitness testimony strongly suggests that grave human rights
violations...were committed by Uzbek military and security forces...It
is not excluded...that the incidents amounted to a mass killing.''
The human rights ombudsman, affiliated with parliament, had the
stated goals of promoting observance and public awareness of
fundamental human rights, assisting in shaping legislation to bring it
into accordance with international human rights norms, and resolving
cases of alleged abuse. The ombudsman's office could mediate disputes
between citizens who contacted it and the Government and could make
recommendations to modify or uphold decisions of government agencies,
but its recommendations were not binding. The ombudsman had offices in
all provinces of the country, as well as in the Karakalpakstan
Autonomous Republic and Tashkent. During the year the office registered
more than 9,000 complaints and handled hundreds of cases, a majority of
which dealt with abuse of power and various labor and social welfare
issues. The ombudsman published reports identifying the most serious
violations of human rights by government officials; the majority of
these involved procedural violations and claims of abuse of power by
police and local officials.
Throughout the year the ombudsman's office hosted meetings and
conferences with law enforcement, judicial representatives, and limited
international NGO participation, to discuss its mediation work and
means of facilitating protection of human rights. In February the
ombudsman visited Jizzakh Province and in April Kashkadarya Province
for discussions with regional leaders on human rights issues. In May
the office held a seminar in Bukhara on legal and judicial reforms,
including this year's habeas corpus amendments. In August the office
and OSCE cosponsored a conference on the new habeas corpus law and how
to increase cooperation among the ombudsman's office and law
enforcement and judicial bodies.
The National Human Rights Center is a government agency responsible
for educating the population and officials on the principles of human
rights and democracy and for ensuring the Government complies with its
international obligations to provide human rights information. During
the year the center prepared a national report to the UN Human Rights
Council for its Universal Periodic Review. International organizations
reported cooperation with the center in raising awareness of recent
legal reforms among government officials, including the adoption of a
new antitrafficking law and International Labor Organization anti-child
labor conventions.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
disability, language, or social status. The constitution prohibits
discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and language, but does not
specifically prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.
Societal discrimination against women and persons with disabilities
existed, and child abuse persisted.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, including rape of a ``close
relative,'' but the Criminal Code does not specifically prohibit
marital rape, and there were no cases known to have been tried in
court. Cultural norms discouraged women and their families from
speaking openly about rape, and instances were almost never reported in
the press.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, which
remained common. While the law punishes physical assault, police often
discouraged women from making complaints against abusive husbands, and
abusers were rarely taken from their homes or jailed. Wife beating was
considered a personal affair rather than a criminal act. Such cases
were usually handled by family members or elders within the
neighborhood committee and rarely came to court. Local authorities
emphasized reconciling husband and wife, rather than addressing the
abuse. NGOs working on domestic violence reported that local government
officials cooperated on education programs, with a number of
initiatives to increase cooperation with neighborhood committees. Some
police and religious leaders participated in NGO training.
As in past years, there were many reported cases in which women
attempted or committed suicide as a result of domestic violence.
Information indicates that most cases went unreported, and there were
no reliable statistics on the problem's extent. Observers cited
conflict with a husband or mother-in-law, who by tradition exercised
complete control over a young bride, as the usual reason for suicide.
NGOs assisting survivors of suicide attempts reported inconsistent
cooperation from officials and neighborhood committees.
The law prohibits prostitution; however, it remained a problem,
particularly among ethnic minorities. Police enforced the laws against
prostitution unevenly; some police officers harassed and threatened
prostitutes with prosecution to extort money.
The law does not prohibit sexual harassment. Social norms and the
lack of legal recourse made it difficult to assess the scope of the
problem.
The law prohibits discrimination against women. In practice,
traditional, cultural, and religious practices limited their role in
society. Although women were underrepresented in high-level positions
and in the industrial sector, in January, Dilorom Toshmuhammedova-
leader of the progovernment Adolat Social-Democratic party and one of
four officially recognized Presidential candidates in the December 2007
election-became the first female Speaker of the Oliy Majlis (lower
house of parliament), the highest government rank ever held by a woman
in the country. The Government charged a deputy prime minister at the
cabinet level with furthering the role of women in society and heading
the National Women's Committee.
UNDP works with the Women's Committee of Uzbekistan on the joint
national project ``Legislative and Institutional Capacity for Women's
Empowerment in Uzbekistan.'' Under this project, on May 14, government
and NGO representatives participated in a workshop on promotion of
gender equality and implementation of the UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The
country presented its latest report to CEDAW in August.
Children.--The Government was generally committed to children's
rights and welfare. In January the Government adopted a wide-ranging
law ``On the Guarantees of the Rights of the Child'' that clarifies
protections for children against forced labor and includes language for
the establishment of an official Ombudsman for Children.
The law provides for children's rights and for free compulsory
education for 12 years through basic and secondary school. In practice
shortages and budget difficulties meant that many families had to pay
education expenses. Teachers earned extremely low salaries and
routinely expected regular payments from students and their parents.
In accordance with a 2007 four-year national action plan on
securing child welfare, the Government continued implementation of a
transition from 9-year to 12-year mandatory free secondary education,
including vocational education. The Government has constructed numerous
new three-year vocational schools, colleges, and lyceums in all regions
of the country. Currently there are approximately 100 lyceums and 900
vocational schools offering courses to about a million students.
Another 300,000 students attend the country's 65 higher education
institutions.
The Government subsidized health care, including for children, and
boys and girls enjoyed equal access. As with education, low wages for
doctors and poor funding of the Soviet era health sector led to a
widespread system of informal payments for services; in some cases this
was a barrier to access for the poor. With some exceptions, those
without an officially registered address, such as street children and
children of migrant workers, did not have access to government health
facilities.
Child abuse was generally considered an internal family matter, and
government officials were reluctant to discuss the issue openly with
international organizations. In 2007 the World Health Organization
(WHO) worked with the Government to develop a national Strategy for
Child and Adolescent Health, which includes ``Child Trauma'' as a
priority area and ``bullying'' and ``family violence'' as subtopics to
be addressed. Elders on neighborhood committees frequently took an
interest at the local level in line with the committees'
responsibilities to maintain harmony and order within the local
community. There were no government-led campaigns against child abuse,
although a government-led campaign against trafficking in persons
included minors as a target audience.
Child marriage was not prevalent, although in some rural areas
girls as young as 15 were sometimes married in religious ceremonies not
officially recognized by the state. The number of women married before
the age of 18 appears to have declined over time. According to a 2006
report endorsed by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Uzbek State
Statistical Committee, 5 percent of women aged 15 to 19 were married.
The same report also found that 12.5 percent of women currently aged 20
to 49 were married before they turned 18.
There were reports that girls were trafficked from the country for
the purpose of sexual exploitation and that girls were engaged in
forced prostitution.
During the cotton harvest, many school children, particularly in
rural areas, were forced to work in the cotton fields.
The Government declared 2008 the ``Year of Youth,'' during which it
increased educational expenditures and job training for young people
and undertook other measures to protect the rights and interests of
youth.
On December 11, President Karimov signed legislation on Uzbekistan
adopting the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child
pornography. On December 12, President Karimov signed legislation on
Uzbekistan adopting the Optional Protocol to the Convention of the
Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons. The Government does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking, but it made considerable
efforts to do so.
On July 8, the Government adopted a national action plan, which
included creation of a national interagency commission of high-level
officials. The commission must meet at least quarterly to address
trafficking issues and oversee implementation of national and regional
activities to raise awareness, protect victims, and modify legislation.
The plan followed President Karimov's April 17 signing of
antitrafficking legislation that strengthened victim protections,
required the Government to provide victims with assistance, and
criminalized severe forms of human trafficking, including trafficking
into forced labor. In June the Government adopted the UN Protocol on
Trafficking in Persons.
In September the Government amended the Criminal Code to strengthen
penalties against convicted traffickers. The amendments created a new
version of Criminal Code Article 135. Officially titled ``Trafficking
in Persons,'' it formally defines and criminalizes all severe forms of
human trafficking. The base punishment for first-time offenders is now
three to five years in prison. The punishment is increased to eight to
12 years in prison for instances of trafficking two or more people,
using force or threat, recidivism, group conspiracy, abuse of official
position, and cases involving the death of trafficking victims. Unlike
under the previous code, amnesty is generally not granted to
individuals who receive prison sentences of 10 years or more.
The country was primarily a source and, to a much lesser extent, a
transit country for the trafficking of women and girls for the purpose
of commercial sexual exploitation and men for labor exploitation. From
2002-07 there were only two documented transit cases in Uzbekistan.
There were no reliable statistics on the extent of the problem,
although NGOs and the Government reported labor trafficking was much
more prevalent than trafficking for sexual exploitation and was likely
rising due to poor economic conditions. While most reported cases of
trafficking over the past five years have involved women, the number of
men trafficked is especially difficult to enumerate.
During the year there were credible reports that women were
trafficked to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, India, Russia,
Kazakhstan, Thailand, Turkey, and Ukraine. There were also reports of
victims transiting Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Azerbaijan for
other destinations. According to a local antitrafficking NGO, most
Uzbek female trafficking victims were sent to UAE and Turkey via
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Labor trafficking victims, mostly male, were
typically trafficked to Kazakhstan and Russia to work in the
construction, agricultural, and service sectors. Some transit of
trafficked persons also may have taken place from neighboring countries
and to or from countries for which the country was a transportation
hub-Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, South Korea, and the UAE.
Women between the ages of 17 and 30 were vulnerable to sexual
exploitation, and men of all ages were targets for labor trafficking. A
local antitrafficking NGO registered a total of 529 cases of human
trafficking during the year involving 343 female victims and 186 male
victims, on par with the 527 registered cases in 2006 and a decrease
from the 874 cases registered in 2005.
Traffickers operating within nightclubs, restaurants, or
prostitution rings solicited women, many of whom engaged in
prostitution. In large cities such as Tashkent and Samarkand,
traffickers used newspaper advertisements for marriage and fraudulent
work opportunities abroad to lure victims. Travel agencies promising
tour packages and work in Turkey, Thailand, and the UAE were also used
to recruit victims. In most cases traffickers confiscated travel
documents once the women reached the destination country. Victims of
labor trafficking were typically recruited in local regions and driven
to Kazakhstan or Russia where they were often sold to ``employers.''
Traffickers held victims in a form of debt bondage, particularly in the
case of those trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Recruiters tended to live in the same neighborhood as the potential
victim and often may have known the victim. These recruiters introduced
future victims to the traffickers, who provided transportation, airline
tickets, visas, and instructions about meeting a contact in the
destination country. There were also reports of former victims being
used to recruit new victims.
All law enforcement agencies are charged with upholding the
antitrafficking provisions of the criminal code. Enforcement appeared
to improve during the year.
The number of trafficking-related convictions continued to rise.
According to a report released by the Ministry of Justice on October
17, during the first nine months of the year authorities opened 436
criminal cases against suspected traffickers, resulting in 339
convictions (293 men and 136 women). The report further noted that a
total of 1,449 citizens were trafficked during the same period, of whom
1,283 (88.5 percent) were men and 166 (11.5 percent) were women. Of the
victims, 28 were reportedly minors. In 2007 authorities investigated
303 suspects on human trafficking charges, resulting in 185 persons
being convicted.
State-controlled media have reported the convictions of several
alleged traffickers under the new criminal code amendments. For
example, a Tashkent court in October convicted an Uzbek man and three
female accomplices of trafficking women from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan
and sentenced each to between 10-14 years' imprisonment.
The MFA, MOI, and local contacts indicated that convicted
traffickers are increasingly serving time in jail. An independent
activist also noted that individuals convicted of human trafficking
were now among those groups of prisoners who were generally not
considered for amnesty.
Government offices with responsibility for fighting trafficking
included the MOI's Office for Combating Trafficking, Crime Prevention
Department, and Department of Entry-Exit and Citizenship; the NSS's
office for Fighting Organized Crime, Terrorism, and Drugs; the Office
of the Prosecutor General; the Ministry of Labor; the Consular
Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the State Women's
Committee. A government Inter-Agency Commission on Combating
Trafficking in Persons meets quarterly and consists of representatives
from the Government entities listed above.
There was at least one reported investigation of a corrupt official
involved in trafficking. In March Matlyuba Burkhanova, a member of the
lower house of parliament, resigned under pressure over allegations of
human trafficking. There were no updates on the outcome of a criminal
investigation into charges that Burkhanova arranged to send women to
work as prostitutes overseas.
There were no reports that the Government prosecuted victims of
trafficking for illegal migration in the course of being trafficked.
Knowledgeable sources reported that authorities turned a blind eye to
immigration violations of returning trafficking victims. Unlike in
previous years, there were no reports of government law enforcement
officials involved in trafficking-related bribery and fraud.
Repatriated victims often faced societal and familial problems upon
return. At year's end internationally supported NGOs operated two
shelters in Tashkent and Bukhara to help victims reintegrate into
society. There were no reports of local police harassing shelter
residents. The NGO implementer has reported a steadily improving
working relationship with authorities, who now often contact the
shelter with new referrals. During the reporting period, NGOs reported
assisting 308 victims (245 female and 53 male) trafficked for sexual
and labor exploitation.
On November 5, President Karimov signed a decree instructing the
Ministry of Labor to open a national rehabilitation center in Tashkent
to assist and protect human trafficking victims.
The Government cooperated with the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) to provide assistance to repatriated trafficking
victims. IOM also reported that police, consular officials, and border
guards referred women returning from abroad who appeared to be
trafficking victims to the organization for services. The Government
routinely allowed IOM to assist groups of returning women at the
airport, help them through entry processing, and participate in the
preliminary statements the victims gave to the MOI.
In several different regions, antitrafficking NGOs, with the
participation of law enforcement and local government officials,
conducted seminars for orphanages, secondary schools, and higher
education institutions; placed antitrafficking notices in local
newspapers; and developed informational brochures and educational
manuals for teachers and students. These NGOs also worked with
Uzbekistan's mahallas to raise awareness about trafficking, especially
in rural areas, and conducted antitrafficking summer camps for youth.
During the year the Government continued to focus on trafficking
prevention. A specialized antitrafficking unit in the MOI continued to
cooperate with NGOs on antitrafficking training for law enforcement and
consular officials. The unit also supported victims who testified
against traffickers and organized public awareness campaigns.
The government-controlled media routinely carried targeted articles
and programs raising awareness about the dangers of trafficking for
both sexual and labor exploitation. There was a large increase in the
total number of such articles compared to previous years. government-
owned television stations worked with local NGOs to broadcast
antitrafficking messages and to publicize the regional NGO hot lines
that counseled actual and potential victims. The Government allowed
NGOs to place posters on trafficking hazards on public buses, in
passport offices, and in consular offices abroad.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in the workplace and in education;
however, the law does not specifically prohibit such discrimination in
housing or in access to state services. There was some societal
discrimination against persons with disabilities. The Government
provided care for persons with mental disabilities in special homes.
In August the Ministry of Labor signed an agreement to participate
in a two-year ACCESS (Accessibility, Civic Consciousness, Employment,
and Society Support for Persons with Disabilities) project with several
international partners, including UNDP, UNICEF, the UN Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the UN Population
Fund (UNFPA). The purpose of the project is to combat societal
discrimination against persons with disabilities and expand social
integration, employment, and inclusive educational opportunities for
them. As part of the project, the Government opened six pilot
``inclusive education kindergartens and schools-which educate children
with and without disabilities-in Navoi, Termez, Qarshi, Jizzakh,
Samarkand, and Kokand. Under the ACCESS project, UNDP in December also
conducted a training course on employing persons with disabilities for
staff of employment centers administered by the Ministry of Labor.
In June the Government amended the 1991 law ``On the Social
Protection of Disabled Persons in the Republic of Uzbekistan'' to
include provisions imposing fines of up to 70 times the monthly minimum
wage against facilities deemed inaccessible to disabled persons,
although there are no reports of facilities being fined. While many
public places lacked access for persons with disabilities, there was
some wheelchair access throughout the country. The law does not provide
effective safeguards against arbitrary or involuntary
institutionalization. During the year, human rights activists reported
that a number of persons with mental or physical disabilities were
being held at psychiatric hospitals despite showing no signs of mental
illness. The Ministry of Health controlled access to health care for
persons with disabilities, and the Ministry of Labor and Social
Protection facilitated employment of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution provides for
the right of all citizens to work and to choose their occupation. The
law prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or
national origin. However, ethnic Russians and other minorities
frequently complained about limited job opportunities. Senior positions
in the Government bureaucracy and business generally were reserved for
ethnic Uzbeks, although there were numerous exceptions.
The law does not require Uzbek language ability to obtain
citizenship, but language remained a sensitive issue. Uzbek is the
state language, and the constitution requires that the President speak
it. The law also provides that Russian is ``the language of interethnic
communication.'' Russian was spoken widely in the main cities, and
Tajik was spoken widely in Samarkand and Bukhara.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was social stigma
against HIV/AIDS patients. Persons living with HIV reported social
isolation by neighbors, public agency workers, health personnel, law
enforcement officers, landlords, and employers after their HIV status
became known. Recruits in the armed services found to be HIV-positive
were summarily expelled. The MOI's Department of Corrections continued
efforts to raise awareness about the realities of HIV/AIDS in its
training for prison staff. The Government's restrictions on local NGOs
left only a handful of functioning NGOs to assist and protect the
rights of persons with HIV/AIDS.
During the year the Government began a large-scale public awareness
campaign under the slogan ``We Will Stop AIDS!'' to raise awareness
regarding how HIV/AIDs is spread, caring for HIV/AIDS sufferers, and
eliminating discrimination against them. As part of the campaign, the
Ministry of Health broadcast television and radio programs and held
charity events to raise funds for HIV-positive children.
Homosexual activity is punishable by up to three years'
imprisonment. Some homosexuals reportedly left the country due to the
restrictive environment.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to
form and join unions of their choice; however, workers were unable to
exercise this right in practice. The law declares unions independent of
governmental administrative and economic bodies, except where provided
for by other laws. In practice unions remained centralized and
dependent on the Government. The state-run Board of the Trade Union
Federation of Uzbekistan was the largest union. All regional and
industrial trade unions at the local level were state-owned. There were
no independent unions. The law prohibits discrimination against union
members and officers, but this prohibition was irrelevant due to the
unions' close relationship with the Government.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Unions and
their leaders were not free to conduct activities without interference
from the Government. The law provides the right to organize and to
bargain collectively; in practice the Government did not respect these
rights. Unions were government-organized institutions that had little
power, although they did have some influence on health and work safety
issues.
The law states that unions may conclude agreements with
enterprises, but because unions were heavily influenced by the state,
collective bargaining in any meaningful sense did not occur. The
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the Ministry of Finance, in
consultation with the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions (CFTU),
set wages for government employees. In the small private sector,
management established wages or negotiated them individually with
persons who contracted for employment. There is no state institution
responsible for labor arbitration.
The law neither provides for nor prohibits the right to strike. The
law gives unions oversight for individual and collective labor
disputes.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children, except
as legal punishment such as for robbery, fraud or tax evasion, or as
specified by law; however, there were reports that such practices
occurred, particularly during the cotton harvest, when authorities
reportedly compelled medical workers, government personnel and others
to pick cotton.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
Government did not effectively implement laws and policies to protect
children from exploitation in the workplace. The national labor code
establishes the minimum working age at 16 and provides that work must
not interfere with the studies of those under 18. The law establishes a
right to a part-time job beginning at age 14, and children with
permission from their parents may work a maximum of 24 hours per week
when school is not in session and 12 hours per week when school is in
session. Children between the ages of 16 and 18 may work 36 hours per
week while school is not in session and 18 hours per week while school
is in session. Children as young as seven or eight worked in family
businesses in cities during school holidays and vacations, and children
also worked in street vending, services, construction, building
materials manufacturing, and transportation.
Uzbekistan adopted legal measures to end child labor during the
annual cotton harvest. In April the Government voted to adopt
International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions 182 (On the Worst
Forms of Child Labor) and 138 (On the Minimum Age of Employment). The
ILO has so far recognized Uzbekistan's adoption of Convention 182, but
not of Convention 138.
In September the Government adopted a national action plan on
implementation of the ILO Conventions, which called for abolishing the
mobilization of children for the annual cotton harvest. The Prime
Minister reportedly warned regional governors not to mobilize children
``under any circumstances,'' and the Ministry of Labor also delivered a
letter to Ministry of Public Education and the Association of Farmers
on the illegality of mobilizing children for the cotton harvest. A 2001
government decree already prohibited those under age 18 from engaging
in manual cotton harvesting and other jobs with unhealthy working
conditions.
During the cotton harvest, the large-scale compulsory mobilization
of students under 18 years of age continued in many rural areas. Such
labor was poorly paid and living conditions were often poor. Unlike in
previous years, authorities initially appeared to have made a concerted
effort to prevent students under the age of 16 at schools from being
mobilized. Field observations by international organizations indicated
that early in the harvesting season there were fewer schoolchildren
picking cotton than in previous years; however, schoolchildren were
ultimately mobilized in several regions of the country. The age of
children picking cotton and conditions varied widely by region. The
vast majority of children were older than 11, but children as young as
nine were observed picking cotton in some areas. College and university
students, including those between the ages of 16 and 18, were also
mobilized for the cotton harvest in most regions of the country.
There are no reliable figures and few dependable sources of
information regarding the true extent of child labor in the country.
The latest available statistics from 2006 on the percentage of children
involved in labor ranged from 2-19 percent. Some children observed
picking cotton were doing so alongside their parents. Most children
picking cotton in southern Kazakhstan were Uzbek children who traveled
there with their parents.
Current legislation does not explicitly provide jurisdiction for
inspectors from the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection to focus on
child labor enforcement. Enforcement of child labor laws is under the
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor, the prosecutor general, and the
MOI and its general criminal investigators. An Interagency Working
Group on Child Labor, launched in 2006 with help from the ILO, serves
as a national forum for addressing child labor issues.
The law provides both criminal and administrative sanctions against
violators, but authorities did not punish violations related to the
cotton harvest, and there were no reports of inspections resulting in
prosecutions or administrative sanctions. Enforcement was lacking due
in part to long-standing societal acceptance of child labor as a method
of cotton harvesting.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor and Social
Protection, in consultation with the CFTU, sets and enforces the
minimum wage. The minimum wage was approximately 25,040 soum
(approximately $18) per month, which did not provide a decent standard
of living for a worker and family.
The law establishes a standard workweek of 40 hours and requires a
24-hour rest period. Overtime pay exists in theory, but it was rarely
paid in practice.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection establishes and
enforces occupational health and safety standards in consultation with
unions. Reports suggested that enforcement was not effective. The press
occasionally published complaints over the failure of unions and the
Government to promote worker safety. While regulations provide for
safeguards, workers in hazardous jobs often lacked protective clothing
and equipment. Workers legally may remove themselves from hazardous
work without jeopardizing their employment, although few workers, if
any, attempted to exercise this right, as it was not effectively
enforced. In July 2007 the country signed bilateral labor migration
agreements with Russia to increase protections on a range of labor
rights for the country's labor migrants. Under the new agreement, Uzbek
citizens can apply through the Agency on External Labor Migration to
receive permits to work legally in Russia. As of September over 1,000
persons have taken advantage of the program to work in Russia's
agriculture and construction sectors. However, this is just a small
fraction of the estimated more than one million Uzbek citizens already
working in Russia, mostly illegally. The Agency also has enabled over
3,000 Uzbek citizens to legally work in South Korea. In addition, the
Tashkent Employment Bureau reportedly has established ties with Poland
enabling Uzbek citizens to travel there legally to work in
construction.
__________
WESTERN HEMISPHERE
----------
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
Antigua and Barbuda is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy with a
population of approximately 100,000. In the 2004 parliamentary
elections, which observers described as generally free and fair, the
United Progressive Party (UPP) defeated the ruling Antigua Labour Party
(ALP), and Baldwin Spencer became prime minister. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
While the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there were problems in a few areas, including excessive use
of force by police, poor prison conditions, violation of press
freedoms, societal discrimination and violence against women, and
sexual abuse of children.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution specifically prohibits such practices,
and the authorities generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Nonetheless, there were occasional reports of police brutality,
corruption, excessive force, discrimination against homosexuals, and
allegations of abuse by prison guards.
In May authorities placed a police officer on administrative leave
for the beating of a 17-year-old. The deputy police commissioner
promised an investigation, and the case was pending at year's end.
A court convicted one of two police officers who shot the husband
in a domestic disturbance in 2006; final sentencing was pending at
year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
very poor. Her Majesty's Prison, the country's only prison, was
overcrowded, did not have toilet facilities, and slop pails were used
in all 122 cells. It held 229 convicted prisoners at year's end.
Prison overcrowding was attributed in part to a law that limited
the ability of magistrates to grant bail to those accused of certain
offenses. This resulted in an increase in the number of persons held on
remand or awaiting trial. Due to space limitations, authorities
sometimes held persons on remand together with convicted prisoners.
Female prisoners were held in a separate section and were not
subject to the same problems encountered in the men's prison.
Juveniles were held with adult inmates.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, although no such visits were known to have occurred.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Security forces consist
of a police force, the small Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, and the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, which coordinates law
enforcement and prosecutorial action to counter narcotics trafficking.
The police force comprised more than 715 officers, 147 of whom were
part of the country's fire brigade, and 568 police officers. The police
force is male dominated, but the number of female officers increased to
120. In October Thomas Bennet replaced Gary Nelson as police
commissioner. Bennet was the last of a group of former Royal Canadian
Mounted Police officers, including Nelson, brought in to help
professionalize the police force and combat corruption.
The police discipline department, which investigates complaints
against the police, is headed by the deputy police commissioner and
decides whether an investigation is conducted. The police fall under
the prime minister's area of responsibility, and he can call for an
independent investigation into an incident as needed. In the wake of a
number of drug-related gang murders that took place in 2007, the prime
minister deployed the Defence Force to assist the police, established a
midnight curfew for minors, extended hours for local police stations,
and instituted random stops of pedestrians and motorists.
Arrest and Detention.--The law permits police to arrest without a
warrant persons suspected of committing a crime. Criminal defendants
have the right to a prompt judicial determination of the legality of
their detention. The police must bring detainees before a court within
48 hours of arrest or detention. Criminal detainees were allowed prompt
access to counsel and family members. The bail system requires those
accused of more serious crimes to appeal to the High Court for bail,
taking this responsibility away from the lower court magistrates.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
The judicial system is part of the Eastern Caribbean legal system
and reflects historical ties to the United Kingdom. The first level is
the magistrate's court, followed by the court of appeals and the High
Court. The constitution designates the Privy Council in the United
Kingdom as the final court of appeal, which is always employed in the
case of death sentences.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides that criminal
defendants should receive a fair, open, and public trial, and an
independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Trials are by
jury. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, have timely access
to counsel, may confront or question witnesses, and have the right to
appeal. In capital cases only, the Government provides legal assistance
at public expense to persons without the means to retain a private
attorney. Courts often reached verdicts quickly, with some cases coming
to conclusion in a matter of days.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--A court of summary
jurisdiction, which sits without a jury, deals with civil cases
involving sums of up to EC$1,500 ($550); three magistrate's courts deal
with summary offenses and civil cases of not more than EC$500 ($185) in
value. Persons may apply to the High Court for redress of alleged
violations of their constitutional rights.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
In June 2007 the Privy Council rejected an appeal by the former
owner of property expropriated by the Government in 2002. (The owner
alleged abuse of power, harassment, and threats by the Government to
acquire the property.) At year's end the Government had not provided
prompt, adequate, and effective compensation to the claimant, as
stipulated under law, and was seeking to sell the property to a third
party, prior to settling with the previous owner.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, but the Government respected these
rights on a somewhat limited basis. Although privately-owned print
media, including daily and weekly newspapers, were active and offered a
range of opinion, there were reports that criticism of the Government
was met with government harassment, and in at least one case by legal
action.
There was no information available about any legal action taken by
the two journalists working for media outlets critical of the
Government, whom the Government deported in June 2007, and who
reportedly intended to pursue the matter with authorities. Reporters
Without Borders and the Association of the Caribbean Media criticized
the Government for expelling them, noting that both were citizens of
Caribbean Community countries that have agreements allowing for the
free movement of media workers.
There was continued tension between the Government and ZDK Radio,
which is owned by the family of Lester Bird, the former prime minister
and leader of the opposition ALP.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that government monitored e-mail or Internet
chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Rastafarians complained of
discrimination, especially in hiring and in schools. There were no
other reports of societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-
Semitic acts. The Jewish community was very small.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it
in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for granting asylum or
refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to
the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but the Government has
not established a system for providing protection to refugees. In
practice the Government provided protection against the expulsion or
return of refugees to a country where their lives or freedom would be
threatened.
The Government did not grant refugee status or asylum during the
year. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers, but normally the Government
immediately deported foreigners who could not provide legal
documentation.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2004 elections, the
opposition UPP won 12 of 17 seats in the House of Representatives and
55 percent of the popular vote. Members of a Commonwealth observer
group reported that the elections were free and fair. UPP leader
Baldwin Spencer replaced Lester Bird, whose ALP had held power
continuously since 1976.
There were three women in the 17-seat House of Representatives and
two women appointed to the 17-seat Senate. The governor general, the
speaker of the House of Representatives, and the president of the
Senate, all appointed positions, were women. There were two women in
the cabinet.
There was one member of a minority in parliament.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of
government corruption during the year. No information was available
about the results of investigations of former ALP officials by a
Special Task Force on Crime and Corruption established after the 2004
elections. Investigation targets included the former prime minister, a
former finance minister, and a former ambassador.
The Integrity in Public Life Act requires public officials to
disclose all income, assets (including those of spouses and children),
and personal gifts while in public office. The law established an
Integrity Commission, appointed by the governor general, to receive and
investigate complaints regarding noncompliance with or contravention of
any provisions of this law or the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The Freedom of Information Act gives citizens the statutory right
to access official documents from public authorities and agencies, and
it created a commissioner to oversee the process. In practice citizens
found it difficult to obtain documents, possibly due to government
funding constraints rather than obstruction.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
There is an ombudsman, an independent authority appointed by the
prime minister, to deal with complaints about the police and other
government officials. However, the office lacks the resources to
provide effective oversight for the entire government.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, sex,
creed, language, or social status, and the Government generally
respected these prohibitions in practice.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal and carries
maximum sentences (rarely imposed) ranging from 10 years' to life
imprisonment. As many as four rapes were reported every month. The
directorate of gender affairs, part of the Ministry of Labor, Public
Administration, and Empowerment, established and publicized a crisis
hotline for victims and witnesses to sexual assault. When rape cases
are reported to the police, a female police officer accompanies the
victim for both questioning and medical examinations. Once the doctor's
report is completed, an investigation commences. If a suspect is
arrested, he is placed in a line-up and must be identified by the
victim face to face, without the use of a one-way mirror. There were 45
rape cases, of which 15 led to prosecution, during the year. In
situations where the victim did not know her assailant, the cases
rarely made it to trial. At year's end the Government was working with
a task force from Canada to target suspected serial rapists.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a problem. The
law prohibits and provides penalties for domestic violence, but many
women were reluctant to testify against their abusers. The directorate
of gender affairs operated a domestic violence program that included
training for police officers, magistrates, and judges. The directorate
also ran a domestic abuse hotline and worked with a nongovernmental
organization (NGO) to provide safe havens for abused women and
children. Services for victims of domestic violence included counseling
and an advocacy case worker who accompanied the victim to the hospital
and police station.
Prostitution is prohibited, but it remained a problem. There were a
number of brothels that catered primarily to the local population.
Sexual harassment is illegal, but it was rarely prosecuted.
According to the Labor Department, there was a high incidence of
sexual harassment incurred by employees in both the private and public
sectors. However, only five cases were formally reported during the
year; the small number was believed to result from concerns about
retaliation.
While the role of women in society is not restricted legally,
economic conditions in rural areas tended to limit women to home and
family, although some women worked as domestics, in agriculture, or in
the large tourism sector. Women were well represented in the public
sector, accounting for 54 percent of the public service and more than
half of the permanent secretaries-the most senior level in each
government department. In addition 41 percent of bar association
members were women. There was no legislation requiring equal pay for
equal work, but women faced no restrictions involving ownership of
property.
The Professional Organization for Women of Antigua is a networking
and resource group for professional women that held seminars for women
entering the workforce.
Children.--While the Government repeatedly expressed its commitment
to children's rights, in practice its efforts to protect those rights
were limited. Schools faced many shortages, and parents typically
provided desks, chairs, and uniforms, and often purchased books.
Child abuse remained a problem. The press reported regularly on the
rape and sexual abuse of children. Adult men having regular sexual
relations with young girls was also a problem. According to one
regional human rights group, the girls were often the daughters of
single mothers with whom the perpetrators also had regular sexual
relations.
Trafficking in Persons.--There are no laws that specifically
address trafficking in persons, and there were occasional reports of
trafficking in women to the country. There were a number of brothels,
which were staffed mostly by women from various Caribbean countries who
traveled to the country as ``entertainers'' or ``dancers.'' In some
cases brothel owners reportedly retained their documents to exert
influence over the victims. However, authorities usually deported the
women immediately, before information on possible trafficking could be
obtained.
There were two known cases during the year in which persons were
trafficked to the country to work in local brothels. Authorities
deported one victim and the other voluntarily returned to her home
country with the support of the Bureau of Gender Affairs. In neither
case were charges brought against the brothel owners.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--There was no reported discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or in the provision of other state services. Although the
constitution contains antidiscrimination provisions, no specific laws
prohibit discrimination against, or mandate accessibility for, persons
with disabilities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation.
There were no reports of violence or discrimination directed toward
persons with HIV/AIDS. The Ministry of Health supported local NGO
efforts to register human rights complaints and seek assistance related
to cases of discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS. The Ministry of
Labor encouraged employers to be more sensitive to employees with HIV/
AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Workers have the right to associate
freely and to form labor unions. Approximately 60 percent of workers in
the formal sector belonged to a union.
The labor code provides for the right to strike, but the Industrial
Relations Court may limit this right in a given dispute. Workers who
provide essential services (including bus, telephone, port, petroleum,
health, and safety workers) must give 21 days' notice of intent to
strike. Once either party to a dispute requests that the court mediate,
strikes are prohibited under penalty of imprisonment. Because of the
delays associated with this process, unions often resolved labor
disputes before a strike was called. In addition an injunction may be
issued against a legal strike when the national interest is threatened
or affected.
After hearings held by the Industrial Relations Court on the 2005
firing of nine pilots and five flight attendants who organized a union
to represent employees of Caribbean Star Airlines, the airline merged
with another airline and its pilots were unionized and able to strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
labor organizations to organize and bargain collectively without
interference, and the Government protected this right. The law
prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers but does not
specifically require reinstatement of workers illegally fired for union
activity, although a court could impose it.
The labor code applied equally to workers in the country's free
trade zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there
were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law stipulates a minimum working age of 16 years, which corresponds
with the provisions of the Education Act. In addition persons under 18
years of age must have a medical clearance to work and may not work
later than 10 p.m. The Ministry of Labor, which is required by law to
conduct periodic inspections of workplaces, effectively enforced this
law. The labor commissioner's office also had an inspectorate that
investigated exploitive child labor matters.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor code provides that the
minister of labor may issue orders, which have the force of law, to
establish a minimum wage. Tripartite consultations were held when the
minimum wage was set. The minimum wage was EC$7.00 ($2.59) an hour for
all categories of labor, which provided a barely adequate standard of
living for a worker and family. In practice the great majority of
workers earned substantially more than the minimum wage.
The law provides that workers are not required to work more than a
48-hour, six-day workweek, but in practice the standard workweek was 40
hours in five days. Laws provide for overtime work in excess of the
standard workweek; excessive or compulsory overtime is not specifically
prohibited.
Although the Government had not developed occupational health and
safety laws or regulations apart from those regarding child labor, the
labor code includes provisions regarding occupational safety and
health. While not specifically provided for by law, in practice workers
could leave a dangerous workplace situation without jeopardy to
continued employment.
__________
ARGENTINA
Argentina is a federal constitutional republic with a population of
approximately 40.1 million. In October 2007 the country held national
presidential and legislative elections, and voters elected President
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in generally free and fair multiparty
elections. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.
While the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, the following human rights problems were reported: killings
and use of excessive force by police or security forces; police and
prison guard abuse and alleged torture of suspects and prisoners;
overcrowded, substandard, and life-threatening prison and jail
conditions; occasional arbitrary arrest and detention; prolonged
pretrial detention; continued weak judicial independence; official
corruption; domestic violence against women; trafficking in persons for
sexual and labor exploitation, primarily within the country; and child
labor.
During the year, the Government convicted several perpetrators of
human rights abuses committed during the 1976 83 military dictatorship
and continued trials that were suspended in 1989 90 when the Government
pardoned such perpetrators.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--While the Government
or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, there
were reports that police committed killings involving unwarranted or
excessive force. Generally, officers accused of wrongdoing were
administratively suspended until completion of an investigation.
Authorities investigated and in some cases detained, prosecuted, and
convicted the officers involved.
The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Coordinator Against Police
Repression (CORREPI) reported that security forces using excessive
force killed more than 200 persons each year.
In January local victim advocacy organization Madres del Dolor
filed a court case accusing two policemen of killing 21-year-old Sergio
Enciso in Buenos Aires Province. The case remained pending at year's
end.
According to Madres del Dolor, a judge detained five police
officers and the police chief of Ramos Mejia in Buenos Aires Province
for the February death of 35-year-old Gaston Duffau after an official
autopsy confirmed that the victim died from multiple blows to the body
and asphyxia. The police officials involved remained in pretrial
detention at year's end.
There were no known developments in the case of Carlos Madrid, an
off duty Buenos Aires police sergeant, who was in pretrial detention
for the November 2007 killing of Daniel Ezequiel Cespedes.
In July a court sentenced police officer Dario Poblete to life
imprisonment for the April 2007 killing of school teacher Carlos
Fuentealba during a teachers' strike in Neuquen.
In September a Jujuy provincial court sentenced one police officer
to life imprisonment and another to four years in prison for the 2006
death of Saul Mendoza. The court acquitted a third officer and
continued to investigate a fourth.
There were no known developments in the trial of two former police
officers and a civilian charged with homicide in the 2006 beating and
shooting death of 15 year old Miguel Eduardo Cardozo.
Human rights groups stated to the press that ex-police officer
Marta Jorgelina Oviedo was serving her life imprisonment sentence for
the 2002 killing of Andrea Viera under house arrest.
In August the Government, as recommended by the Inter American
Court on Human Rights in 2003, reopened an investigation into the 1991
killing by police forces of Walter Bulacio. The trial remained pending
at year's end.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
Judicial proceedings related to killings, disappearances, and
torture committed by the 1976 83 military dictatorship continued.
According to the human rights organization the Center for Legal and
Social Studies (CELS), there were 255 ongoing judicial investigations
and an estimated 508 persons indicted for crimes against humanity
committed during the Dirty War era. Of those indicted, 358 remained in
pretrial detention. At least 14 former state security agents and their
civilian allies were convicted of human rights crimes, including forced
disappearances and kidnappings. A November Noticias Argentinas press
report, compiling information provided by the National Prosecutor
General's Office, stated that 32 individuals had been convicted for
crimes against humanity since 2003, 371 suspects remained in pretrial
detention, and 61 persons remained fugitives from justice. In March a
federal court decided that crimes committed by the Argentine Anti
Communism Alliance before and during the military dictatorship were
crimes against humanity and therefore not subject to the statute of
limitations.
The press, civil society, and legal scholars expressed concern that
the Government's efforts to pursue justice for human rights crimes
committed during the military dictatorship did not include armed
guerrilla groups that also were accused of committing abuses during the
same time period.
In January a court released the wife and two children of former
naval official Hector Febres, who died of cyanide poisoning in prison
while facing charges of torture. They still faced charges on suspicion
that they helped Febres commit suicide. In March a federal court
released two Coast Guard constables who were arrested in connection
with the case.
In March the National Human Rights Secretariat pressed homicide
charges against former economy minister Jose Martinez de Hoz, who
served under the military dictatorship, for the death of economist Juan
Carlos Casariego Del Bel.
In March former navy lieutenant commander Ricardo Cavallo was
extradited from Spain to Argentina to face charges of crimes against
humanity committed during the military dictatorship. Cavallo was
indicted in July and remained in pretrial detention at year's end.
In May federal authorities indicted Ernesto Barreiro for his role
in committing human rights abuses during the military dictatorship,
when he served as an army officer and chief interrogator at the La
Perla clandestine torture center. He remained in pretrial detention at
year's end.
In April former police officers Fernando Esvedes and Carlos
Vercellone were arrested for their alleged role in political
kidnappings and torture in the clandestine detention center Pozo de
Arana during the military dictatorship, and their trial remained
pending at year's end.
In July former army chief Luciano Benjamin Menendez and former army
officials Oreste Valentin Padovan, Ricardo Alberto Ramon Lardone,
Carlos Alberto Diaz, and Luis Alberto Manzanelli were sentenced to life
imprisonment for human rights violations committed during the military
dictatorship. Former army officials Hermes Oscar Rodriguez, Jorge
Exequiel Acosta, and Carlos Alberto Vega received sentences ranging
from 18 to 22 years' imprisonment.
In August former army lieutenant colonel Julio Rafael Barreiro was
sentenced to life imprisonment, while former captain Juan Carlos de
Marchi and former colonel Horacio Losito were sentenced to 25 years'
imprisonment for their role in human rights violations during the
military dictatorship. Former gendarmerie commander Raul Alfredo
Reynoso was sentenced to 18 years.
In August a human rights trial against former brigadier general
Enrique Braulio Olea, former colonels Oscar Lorenzo Reinhold and Mario
Alberto Gomez Arenas, former major Luis Alberto Farias Barrera, former
military officers Jorge Eduardo Molina Ezcurra and Sergio Adolfo San
Martin, and doctor Hilarion de la Paz Sosa began in Neuquen Province.
The former military officials were accused of 17 counts of crimes
against humanity committed during the military dictatorship.
In September a federal judge resumed an investigation into the 1973
killing of General Labor Confederation leader Jose Ignacio Rucci, in
which the armed guerrilla group, the Montoneros, was believed to have
been involved.
In October federal authorities indicted former National University
Concentration chief Eduardo Cincotta, former member Nicolas Cafarello,
three former air force officials, and former army colonel Roberto
Atilio Bocalandro for human rights crimes committed in the clandestine
detention center La Cueva in Mar del Plata. They remained in pretrial
detention at year's end.
In October former army officials Alberto Barda, Hipolito Mariani,
and Cesar Comes received sentences ranging from 25 years' to life
imprisonment for human rights violations committed in the clandestine
detention centers of Mansion Sere and La Cueva.
In December the Court of Criminal Appeals ordered that 21 military
officials accused of human rights violations during the military
dictatorship be freed on bail, including two of the most notorious
suspects, ex-naval captains Alfredo Astiz and Jorge Acosta. The three-
judge panel noted that the men had spent more than five years in
detention without a trial, far in excess of the two-year legal limit
for pretrial detention. The prosecutors, CELS, and the Grandmothers of
the Plaza de Mayo subsequently appealed the decision, and the officers
remained in detention pending a Supreme Court decision. The Government
sought to impeach the judges who ordered the release.
There were no developments in the 2006 missing persons case of
Jorge Julio Lopez, a key witness in the case against Miguel
Etchecolatz, former commissioner general of the Buenos Aires Province
police.
Judicial authorities continued to investigate cases of kidnapping
and illegal adoption by members of the former military dictatorship of
children born to detained dissidents. At year's end, 96 of an estimated
500 persons born to detained and disappeared dissidents and illegally
adopted had been identified and made aware of their true backgrounds.
In April a court sentenced a military official to 10 years in
prison for his role in facilitating the illegal adoption of Maria
Eugenia Sampallo Barragan, the daughter of political dissidents killed
during the military dictatorship. This was the first case of its kind,
and Sampallo's adoptive parents were sentenced to seven and eight
years' imprisonment.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices and provides
penalties for torture similar to those for homicide, there were reports
that some police and prison guards continued to employ torture and
brutality. CELS reported police brutality and occasional alleged
torture of suspects, particularly during prison transfers. While the
Government investigated such reports, there were few convictions.
According to CELS, a prison detainee in the Olmos, Buenos Aires,
provincial prison asserted he had received knife injuries from a senior
prison official in the presence of another prison official. A detainee
in the Sierra Chica Prison in Buenos Aires Province filed a complaint
for being subjected to solitary confinement for 45 days with no clothes
or food. A 17-year-old minor also filed a complaint alleging that
police agents in a police station in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires Province,
subjected him to electrical shocks.
Two lower ranking navy officials and a civilian remained in
pretrial detention for the 2006 kidnapping, beating, torture, and
killing of 15 year old Lucas Ivarrola, who was accused of stealing a
television set. A trial date had not been set by year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions often
were poor and life threatening. Inmates in many facilities suffered
from extreme overcrowding, poor nutrition, inadequate medical and
psychological treatment, inadequate sanitation, limited family visits,
and frequent inhuman and degrading treatment, according to various
reports by human rights organizations and research centers. The
research center Unidos por la Justicia estimated prison overcrowding at
20 percent nationwide, while credible press reports estimated prison
overcrowding in Buenos Aires Province exceeded 25 percent.
The Buenos Aires Provincial Memory Commission's Committee Against
Torture reported that, during the first 11 months of the year in Buenos
Aires provincial prisons, there were 86 prisoner deaths and 5,169
violent incidents, resulting in injuries to 4,800 prisoners. According
to an earlier report from the committee covering the first half of the
year, authorities repressed violent incidents with rubber bullets and
sticks on 564 occasions. The committee attributed the violence to
inmate attacks on fellow prisoners and on prison officials. The
committee also criticized the provincial prison health-care system.
In April federal criminal prosecutor Francisco Mugnolo filed a case
with the Supreme Court arguing that inadequate federal control over
federal prisons resulted in human rights violations and torture of some
prisoners. He also released a report claiming that 63 percent of
federal prisoners in the second half of 2007 had experienced physical
aggression.
Also in April, Alfredo Emiliano Fleitas, a prisoner in Villa Devoto
Prison, petitioned the courts for a writ of habeas corpus after having
been beaten by prison guards in February during a transfer to Ezeiza
Prison. Fleitas was hospitalized as a result of his injuries and
underwent surgery to restore his vision. In August the Buenos Aires
Provincial Supreme Court ordered the Provincial Criminal Court of
Appeals to decide a collective habeas corpus case filed by CELS on
behalf of provincial prisoners who were subject to mistreatment and
violence during prison transfers.
While women were held separately from men, the law permits children
to stay in prison with their mothers until age four. Press reports
estimated that 86 children under the age of four lived with their
mothers in federal prisons, with an additional 75 in Buenos Aires
provincial prisons. In general men's prisons were more violent,
dangerous, and crowded than the women's prisons.
Overcrowding in juvenile facilities often resulted in minors being
held in police station facilities, although separate from adult
detainees. According to a 2007 UN Children's Fund and National
Secretariat for Human Rights report, these institutions held
approximately 20,000 children, 20 percent of whom were under age 16.
The overwhelming majority had not committed a crime; rather, they were
abandoned by their families or considered ``at risk'' for other
reasons.
Pretrial detainees often were held with convicted prisoners. CELS
estimated that 53 percent of those in federal prison were awaiting
trial.
In November the Buenos Aires Provincial Court initiated trial
proceedings in the case against Buenos Aires Magdalena Provincial
Prison Director Carlos Tejeda and 15 prison guards and officials
accused of abandoning prisoners in a 2005 fire that killed 33
prisoners.
The Government permitted prison visits by local and international
human rights observers, and such visits took place during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions; however, police reportedly arrested and detained citizens
arbitrarily on occasion.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Federal Police have
jurisdiction for maintaining law and order in the federal capital and
for federal crimes in the provinces. Other federal police authorities
include the Airport Security Police, the Gendarmerie, the Coast Guard,
and the Bureau of Prisons. Additionally, each province has its own
police force that responds to a provincial security ministry or
secretariat. Individual forces varied considerably in their
effectiveness and respect for human rights. Corruption was widespread
in some forces, and internal controls to counter police abuses were
weak.
The most frequent abuses included extortion of, and protection for,
those involved in drug trafficking, prostitution, and trafficking in
persons.
The federal security forces have the authority to conduct internal
investigations into alleged abuses and to fire individuals who have
allegedly committed a human rights violation. The Federal Government
can also file complaints with the federal courts; provincial
governments may do the same for provincial security forces. Members of
security forces convicted of a crime were subject to stiff penalties.
During the year, authorities in Buenos Aires Province removed more
than 700 police officers for corruption and other offenses.
Arrest and Detention.--Police may detain suspects for up to 10
hours without an arrest warrant if the authorities have a well founded
belief that the suspects have committed, or are about to commit, a
crime or are unable to determine the suspected person's identity. Human
rights groups reported that the police often detained suspects longer
than 10 hours.
The law provides a person in detention with the right to a prompt
determination of the legality of the detention, which entails
appearance before a criminal lower court judge, who determines whether
to proceed with an investigation. There were frequent delays in this
process and in informing detainees of the charges against them.
The law provides for the right to bail, except in cases involving
narcotics, violent crimes, and firearms violations. Although the bail
system was used, civil rights groups claimed that judges were more
likely to order the holding of indicted suspects in preventive or
pretrial detention than to allow suspects to remain free pending their
trial.
In November the highest penal court broadly ruled that pretrial
detention should be the exception to the rule, except in cases where a
suspect represents a flight risk or may act to obstruct justice.
Detainees were allowed prompt access to counsel, and public
defenders were provided for detainees unable to afford counsel,
although such access sometimes was delayed due to an overburdened
system. Strong demand and a lack of resources for the Public Defender's
Office resulted in an excessive caseload for public defense attorneys.
Although there were no official statistics on the percentage of
detainees requesting public defense attorneys, human rights
organizations estimated that 80 percent requested public defense
attorneys. Detainees also were allowed access to family members,
although not always promptly.
The law provides for investigative detention of up to two years for
indicted persons awaiting or undergoing trial; the period may be
extended for one year in limited situations. The slow pace of the
justice system often resulted in lengthy detentions beyond the period
stipulated by law. CELS reported that prisoners waited an average of
three years to be tried, with some cases taking as long as six years to
go to trial. A convicted prisoner usually received credit for time
already served.
In Buenos Aires Province, provisional statistics from CELS
indicated that nearly 75 percent of detainees were in pretrial
detention, while the Buenos Aires Provincial Memory Commission
Committee Against Torture reported that 78 percent of the approximately
26,000 detainees in provincial prisons were awaiting trial. According
to several human rights organizations, 30 percent of pretrial detainees
were eventually acquitted.
According to the Memory Commission's committee, there were
approximately 6,500 complaints of human rights violations against
juvenile detainees in provincial prisons and juvenile detention
facilities, the majority of which were pending investigation.
In July the Buenos Aires Provincial Supreme Court inaugurated an ad
hoc juvenile justice system, which operated in eight out of 18
provincial districts. It provides minors age 16 to 18 the same
procedural rights as adults and limits sentences to 180 days in prison.
In August the minister of justice announced that he had instructed
police forces to conform standard operating procedures for arresting
minors to international standards; however, by year's end, there was no
information on application of procedures.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for the right to
a fair trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right. However,
there were complaints that some lower court federal judges, provincial
judges, and judicial personnel were inefficient and at times subject to
political manipulation. Justice organizations were particularly
critical of the lack of independence of lower court judges with federal
jurisdiction in many provinces.
The judicial system was hampered by inordinate delays, procedural
logjams, changes of judges, inadequate administrative support, and
general inefficiency caused by remnants of the inquisitorial criminal
justice system used in federal and many provincial courts. Judges have
broad discretion as to whether and how to pursue investigations,
contributing to a public perception that many decisions were arbitrary.
Allegations of corruption in provincial courts as well as federal
courts located in the provinces were more frequent than federal courts
with jurisdiction over the city and province of Buenos Aires,
reflecting strong connections between the executive and judicial
branches at the provincial level.
In May the Congress passed a law establishing a process to appoint
temporary judges in response to a 2007 Supreme Court order. However,
legal scholars expressed concern that the law encourages delays in the
selection of permanent judges and increases the executive branch's
authority to appoint temporary judges without public vetting. At year's
end, there were 160 vacant judgeships nationwide. There were some
criticisms in the press that interim judges were subject to political
manipulation due to the temporary nature of their position.
The judicial system is divided into federal and provincial courts,
both headed by a supreme court with appellate courts and district
courts below it. The federal courts are divided between the criminal
and civil courts.
In August the Congress voted to abolish the military justice
system, thus making members of the military subject to civil
proceedings for crimes committed during peacetime and to a new military
disciplinary code for infractions of military rules.
Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and defendants have the right
to legal counsel and to call defense witnesses in the federal and some
provincial courts that have an accusatory system of criminal justice.
If needed, a public defender is provided at public expense when
defendants face serious criminal charges. During the investigative
stage, defendants can submit questions in writing to the investigating
judge. A panel of judges decides guilt or innocence. Federal and
provincial courts continued the transition to trials with oral
arguments in criminal cases, replacing the old system of written
submissions. Although the 1994 constitution provides for trial by jury,
implementing legislation had not been passed by year's end. In Cordoba
Province, however, defendants accused of certain serious crimes have
the right to a trial by jury. Lengthy delays in trials were a
nationwide problem, with many cases taking five or more years to
resolve. Defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to appeal,
as do prosecutors. Minors under age 16 cannot be criminally prosecuted.
By law defendants and attorneys have access to government held
evidence, but they may experience significant obstacles or delays in
obtaining such evidence.
The human rights organization Fundacion Sur noted that the country
lacked a separate juvenile justice system that affords adolescents due
process protections and the right to a legal defense in criminal cases
and expressed concern that the broad discretion judges have in such
cases increased the possibility of arbitrary rulings. The age of legal
liability is 16, and Fundacion Sur asserted that 16- and 17-year-old
offenders frequently were transferred to adult criminal courts or held
in juvenile detention centers for longer periods than warranted by
their offenses. A December Supreme Court decision found that the
country's juvenile justice system did not comply with international
conventions and highlighted the need for the legislative branch to
remedy the situation.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and anyone may bring lawsuits
seeking damages or the protection of rights provided by the
constitution.
Government agencies, professional bar associations, universities,
and NGOs provide free legal counseling and may represent indigent
persons before civil courts as well as assist them in alternative
dispute resolution proceedings.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
Individuals can criticize the Government publicly or privately, but
there are criminal penalties, including prison sentences, for libel and
slander, and government officials have sought to use these against the
political opposition and other critics. The Government pressed criminal
libel and slander charges against Elisa Carrio, head of the opposition
Civic Coalition party, for accusing officials in 2004 of corruption. In
September Carrio won a civil case brought by the son of a deceased
Peronist leader whom she accused of being involved in official
corruption, murder, and drug trafficking; it was the second such case
she had won.
In December security forces arrested 26 ``neo-Nazis,'' including
four minors, on discrimination charges for conducting a ceremony to
commemorate the death of World War II German naval captain Hans
Langsdorff. All individuals subsequently were released but still faced
discrimination charges.
The independent media were numerous and active and expressed a wide
variety of views without restriction.
Numerous FM radio stations continued to broadcast with temporary
licenses pending conclusion of a licensing normalization process.
In August AM radio signal Radio Continental, which had been
critical of the Government, filed a complaint before the Federal
Broadcasting Committee (COMFER) for its decision to suspend its FM
broadcast. Although the complaint was not resolved by year's end,
COMFER did not enforce its decision, and the station continued to
broadcast on the FM frequency.
In August the Association for Civil Rights and the Open Society
Justice Initiative published a report alleging that the Government's
allocation of state advertising funds affected press freedom. The
report claimed that the Government abused the distribution of state
advertising to benefit or punish the press according to the tone of
their coverage of the administration. This assessment coincided with
press reports and comments made in private by media organization
leaders.
According to the Association for Civil Rights, the Neuquen
provincial government had not complied by year's end with a 2007
Supreme Court order to present an official advertising distribution
plan that would not indirectly curtail freedom of speech. The 2006
lawsuit lodged by the country's second largest media company, Grupo
Editorial Perfil, against the Federal Government's use of government
advertising as a means of indirect censorship remained pending at
year's end.
Journalist Sergio Poma died in January while awaiting appeal of a
September 2007 Salta provincial court decision that sentenced him to a
one year suspended prison term and barred him from practicing
journalism for one year for slandering the former governor of Salta.
In November labor activists from the teamsters union, led by Hugo
Moyano, vice president of the ruling Peronist Party and leader of the
General Labor Confederation (CGT), blocked a newspaper distribution
center jointly run by the country's two leading newspapers, Clarin and
La Nacion. The union maintained that the protest was technically for
better wage and working conditions for the teamsters that drive
newspaper distribution trucks. However, media organizations and the
opposition criticized the Government failure to break up the blockade
and called it a direct attack on press freedom; the two newspapers
filed criminal charges against the perpetrators.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.
According to the Government's National Statistics and Census Institute,
there were more than three million residential Internet users.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice. The constitution also states that the Federal Government
``sustains the apostolic Roman Catholic faith,'' and the Government
provided the Catholic Church with a variety of subsidies not available
to other religious groups. Other religious faiths were practiced
freely.
In order to hold public worship services, obtain visas for foreign
missionaries, and obtain tax exempt status, religious organizations
must register with the Secretariat of Worship in the Ministry of
Foreign Relations, International Trade, and Worship and report
periodically to maintain their status.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Acts of discrimination and
vandalism against religious minorities, particularly the 300,000 member
Jewish community, continued. During the year, the Delegation of Israeli
Argentine Associations (DAIA) received approximately 202 complaints of
anti Semitic acts. The most commonly reported incidents were
desecration of Jewish cemeteries, anti Semitic graffiti, verbal slurs,
and other forms of harassment.
In August Raul Arenas Vega was sentenced to nine months'
imprisonment for the 2006 beating of an Orthodox Jewish teenager in
Buenos Aires.
The investigation continued into the 1994 bombing of the Argentine
Jewish Mutual Aid Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires that
killed 85 persons. In May a federal prosecutor called for the
indictment of former President Carlos Menem, former federal judge Juan
Galeano, and others for their alleged role in covering up and
protecting those involved in the attack. Subsequently, the presiding
federal judge, following recommendations from the AMIA Special
Prosecutor, issued an international request for the seizure of assets
belonging to eight Iranians and Hezbollah to cover damages being
claimed by the civil suit brought against the perpetrators. In December
the judge ordered the seizure of six commercial properties allegedly
belonging to a former Iranian cultural attache who was among those
accused of aiding in the attack.
There were no developments in DAIA's case against activists from
the left wing group Quebracho that prevented Jewish community groups
from demonstrating in front of the Iranian Embassy in 2006.
The Government continued to support a public dialogue to highlight
past discrimination and to encourage improved religious tolerance.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not exile
anyone.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The Government granted refugee status or asylum.
The law allows the Government to provide temporary protection for
humanitarian reasons, including family reunification, to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention and the 1967
protocol.
According to the Government's Refugee Eligibility Committee, in the
first 11 months of the year, 745 persons sought asylum, and the
Government granted refugee status to 89 persons. The Government
continued to cooperate with the UNHCR to resettle at risk Colombian
refugees. According to the UNHCR, the country also resettled 39
Colombians in the first six months of the year.
In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government granted refugee status and
temporary protection for humanitarian reasons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--National presidential and
legislative elections took place in October 2007. At the national
level, one half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and one third
of those in the Senate were contested. The media, the Ministry of
Justice, and various NGOs observed the elections and judged them free
and fair, although several opposition parties filed a complaint
alleging that ballots listing opposition candidates were not available
at voting stations in some provinces.
Provincial elections in Santiago del Estero Province took place in
orderly fashion in November.
Political parties generally operated without restriction.
Decrees provide that one third of the members of both houses of
congress must be women, a goal achieved through balanced election
slates. There were 28 women in the 72 seat Senate and 103 women in the
256 seat Chamber of Deputies. The president, two of the seven Supreme
Court justices, and four cabinet ministers were women. Women
constituted approximately 17 percent of top executive-branch positions
at the federal level.
One indigenous person served in the Chamber of Deputies. There were
no other known ethnic or racial minorities in the national legislature.
There were no known indigenous, ethnic, or racial minorities in the
cabinet or on the Supreme Court.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, there were frequent press
reports that executive officials engaged in corrupt practices,
suggesting a failure to implement the law effectively.
According to the World Bank's worldwide governance indicators,
government corruption was a serious problem. Historically weak
institutions and an often ineffective and politicized judicial system
made rooting out corruption in any systemic fashion difficult.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws, and the
Ministry of Justice's Anti Corruption Office (ACO) is responsible for
analyzing and investigating federal executive branch officials based on
their financial disclosure forms. The ACO also is responsible for
investigating corruption within the federal executive branch or in
matters involving federal funds, except for funds transferred to the
provinces. Although nominally a part of the judicial branch, the ACO
does not have authority to prosecute cases independently, but it can
refer cases to other agencies or serve as the plaintiff and request a
judge to initiate a case. Individual judges investigated most high
profile corruption cases, but prosecutions were not expected in a
number of such cases that began in 2007.
The minister of defense dismissed 31 senior officers and officials
in August and another 13 in September following investigations into
corrupt practices, and in September the army chief of staff resigned
following his indictment over the illegal diversion of public funds in
2002 in another command. Judicial authorities were pursuing the
investigations with the ministry's support.
According to press reports, the minister of health continued to
push for greater transparency in the procurement of pharmaceuticals by
the agency responsible for providing medicines to senior citizens
following allegations of price fixing and overcharging by suppliers,
many of whom were also reportedly prominent campaign contributors in
2007. In November the agency head resigned at the Government's request.
In December a foreign plea agreement by the German corporation
Siemens identified by their initials and titles several high level
officials in former governments as having accepted multimillion dollar
bribes in the controversial procurement of a national identification
card system.
Investigations conducted by the NGO Poder Ciudadano in June and the
National Electoral Court in September cited irregularities in the
campaign finance reports of the 2007 presidential candidates. Their
findings concluded that some candidates underreported their official
campaign expenses, particularly regarding advertising costs; others
overreported their expenses; and some received anonymous donations,
which is prohibited by law. Poder Ciudadano's report also alleged that
public resources were used to promote President Cristina Fernandez de
Kirchner's campaign.
An executive decree provides for public access to government
information from executive agencies, which are required to answer
requests for public information within 10 working days, with a possible
10 day extension. The capacity to comply with this requirement,
however, varied across executive agencies. Poder Ciudadano estimated
that executive branch agencies answered such requests within the
required timeframe approximately 70 percent of the time. The NGO noted
that politically sensitive requests, such as the operational costs of
the presidency, often were delayed or went unanswered.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
usually were cooperative and generally responsive to their views.
While the Government cooperated with some international and local
NGOs, the local chapter of a well-known international organization
expressed concern that, despite repeated requests, the Government did
not provide information under a freedom of information decree.
The Government has a Human Rights Secretariat and a National
Ombudsman's Office.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the Government generally enforced these
prohibitions in practice.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime, but the need for
proof, either in the form of clear physical injury or the testimony of
a witness, often presented difficulties in prosecuting such crimes. The
penalties for rape ranged up to 20 years' imprisonment. There were no
reports of police or judicial reluctance to act on rape cases; however,
women's rights advocates claimed that police, hospital, and court
attitudes toward sexual violence victims often revictimized the
individual.
A Rape Victims Association report estimated that during the year,
there were approximately 1,500 rapes in the city of Buenos Aires and
its suburbs, only one-third of which were reported. According to the
National Prosecutor General's Office, 90 percent of rape or sexual
assault cases did not result in convictions.
The law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal abuse,
although the law defines violence against women as a misdemeanor, and
complaints are addressed in civil rather than criminal courts. Family
court judges have the right to bar a perpetrator from a victim's home
or workplace. The law, however, prescribes penalties for domestic
violence only when it involves crimes against sexual integrity, in
which case the penalty can be as much as 20 years' imprisonment.
However, lack of vigilance on the part of the police and the judicial
system often led to a lack of protection for victims.
According to a report by the Ministry of Justice National Crime
Policy Office, more than 1,000 cases of sexual abuse were reported in
the first four months of the year. The office estimated that only one-
third of such crimes were reported, with only 10 percent of the cases
resulting in convictions. The report indicated that 60 percent of the
victims were minors and 40 percent young adult women.
In September the Supreme Court inaugurated its Office of Domestic
Violence, a pilot project to improve access to justice and provide
protection for victims in the city of Buenos Aires. The office was open
24 hours a day, seven days a week, and employed 72 professionals,
including lawyers, judicial employees, and medical and psychological
specialists. It collected written testimony from victims and educated
court officials on how to use such testimony in lieu of oral testimony
to avoid revictimization. In the first two months of operations, the
office assisted 1,075 domestic violence victims, referring 660 cases to
civil courts and 419 to penal courts for further legal action. The
office also referred 246 cases to existing free legal assistance
services and 210 cases to medical assistance programs.
Domestic violence against women was a serious problem. In August
Amnesty International reported that a woman died every two days as a
result of domestic violence. According to press reports quoting the
Buenos Aires Provincial Ministry of Security statistics, 52,351
complaints of domestic abuse were filed at the Women's Police Stations
in Buenos Aires Province in the first 10 months of the year.
The Ministry of Justice continued to operate mobile units to assist
victims of sexual and domestic violence in the city of Buenos Aires. A
free hot line servicing the city of Buenos Aires offered consultations
and received complaints.
Following enactment of enabling legislation in September, the
Buenos Aires provincial government began implementing a register of
individuals convicted of sex crimes.
Family and civil courts in Buenos Aires Province, in compliance
with a provincial Supreme Court order, created hot lines to receive
complaints of domestic violence and assist victims after normal hours.
Criminal courts worked with police stations, police offices for women's
issues, and prosecutors' offices to enable victims to file domestic
violence complaints 24 hours a day.
Public and private institutions offered prevention programs and
provided support and treatment for abused women. The Buenos Aires
municipal government operated a small shelter for battered women;
however, few other shelters existed.
Individual prostitution is legal, but the promotion, facilitation,
or exploitation of persons into prostitution is illegal. NGOs
considered sex tourism a problem but had no estimates of its extent.
Trafficking of women to and within the country for prostitution was a
problem.
Sexual harassment in the public sector is prohibited under laws
that impose disciplinary or corrective measures. In some jurisdictions,
such as the city of Buenos Aires, sexual harassment may lead to the
abuser's dismissal, whereas in others, such as Santa Fe Province, the
maximum penalty is five days in prison. There was no information on the
extent of the problem.
Although women enjoyed equality under the law, including property
rights, they encountered economic discrimination and held a
disproportionately high number of lower paying jobs. According to a
2007 study by the Foundation for Latin American Economic Research, men
earned 5 percent more than women for equivalent full time work in the
Greater Buenos Aires area and earned 21 percent more than women for
equivalent part time work, an imbalance explicitly prohibited by law.
The National Council of Women carried out programs to promote equal
social, political, and economic opportunities for women. The council
worked with the special representative for international women's
issues, the Ministry of Labor, and union and business organizations to
form the Tripartite Committee on Equal Opportunity for Men and Women in
the Workplace, which sought to foster equal treatment and opportunities
for men and women in the job market.
Children.--Although the Government voiced strong commitment to
children's rights and welfare, many programs remained underfunded.
In September the Congress passed a law that maintained the 40-day
timeframe in which parents can register the birth of their children but
reduced from six years to 20 days the time thereafter for the state to
register the births if parents failed to do so. For a birth occurring
without medical assistance or outside a medical center, the Government
may authorize late registration up until one year after the birth;
thereafter, only judges may order birth registrations.
While the law provides for free and compulsory education for 13
years, beginning at age five, it was not enforced effectively. The
governor of Buenos Aires estimated that there were approximately
400,000 children who neither worked nor attended school in Buenos Aires
Province alone.
Child abuse continued to occur and was not uncommon; for example, a
University of Buenos Aires study released in August noted that 56
kindergartens and primary schools in Buenos Aires Province had detected
1,590 cases of family violence in the previous year. The Government
took measures to combat child abuse.
The National Council for Children, Adolescents, and the Family
continued to conduct public awareness campaigns and operated a national
hot line, which children used to call for advice, make complaints, and
report instances of abuse or other rights violations. Prosecutors and
police pursued cases of Internet child pornography. In June the
Congress passed a law criminalizing child pornography; however, the law
does not penalize possession by individuals for personal use. The press
and local NGOs reported that children were involved in sexual
exploitation, sex tourism, and drug trafficking. Drawing on police
statistics, the press estimated that approximately 5,000 children were
recruited every year for pornography activities and sex tourism.
According to credible local press reports, dozens of child victims
of violence from poor families were lodged in juvenile detention
centers under judicial protection orders. City government observers
were barred from visiting the centers. Local NGO Fundacion Sur
expressed concern that the children may be subject to inhumane
conditions and submitted a writ of habeas corpus asking the courts to
release the children and investigate the 2007 cases of two adolescents
who allegedly committed suicide in separate incidents after having been
raped while in detention. In December the Supreme Court rejected the
petition but acknowledged the need to pass legislation to bring the
juvenile justice system into compliance with international norms.
In December the newspaper La Nacion reported that a local NGO
estimated that 3,000 children under five years of age died from
malnourishment, down one-third since 2003.
Trafficking in Persons.--In April the Congress passed a law
criminalizing trafficking in persons. The country was a source, transit
point, and destination for trafficked persons.
Trafficking in persons primarily involved citizens trafficked
within the country for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation.
They were trafficked mostly from the northern provinces to the central
provinces and Buenos Aires and from Buenos Aires to several southern
provinces. To a lesser degree, the country was a destination for
victims, principally women and minors from Paraguay, the Dominican
Republic, Bolivia, and Brazil.
While there were no official reports on the activities of
traffickers, the media reported that traffickers often presented
themselves as employment agencies or as individual recruiters. Credible
sources also identified large organized crime networks, which sometimes
consisted of extended families plus their business associates,
including recruiters and brothel managers. Traffickers confiscated
travel documents to prevent victims from appealing to authorities for
protection. Victims, particularly women and girls in prostitution, at
times were denied contact with the outside world. Victims often were
threatened or beaten.
Traffickers can be prosecuted under the new federal law, which
provides penalties for trafficking ranging from three to 15 years in
prison, depending on the nature of the violation and the age of the
victim. Traffickers have been prosecuted on charges of prostitution
through fraud, intimidation, and coercion or, in the case of minors,
alien smuggling, indentured servitude, and similar abuses.
Trafficking investigations and arrests increased during the year.
According to Ministry of Justice statistics, internal security agencies
conducted 118 raids, arrested 120 persons suspected of human
trafficking, and rescued 133 victims in the six-month period after the
law took effect in late April. However, only 33 of those arrested
remained in detention as of November. Official statistics on the number
of prosecutions and convictions for trafficking during the year were
unavailable. The Ministry of Justice was the lead agency for
coordinating antitrafficking efforts with internal security agencies.
There were no allegations of Federal Government official
involvement in trafficking. However, there were reports of widespread
corruption and collusion with traffickers at provincial and local
levels, which impeded prosecution. There were some efforts to
investigate and prosecute local police and officials suspected of
involvement in human trafficking.
There were no developments in the investigation of local police and
official involvement in a 2006 case where women were forced into
prostitution in Chubut Province. Press reports indicated that the two
former police officers, who were charged in 2006, were reassigned
without facing disciplinary actions. In March 14 women were rescued
from forced prostitution in brothels that continued to operate in the
area.
In December a federal judge summoned the police commissioner, his
deputy, and three other police officials for deposition as part of an
investigation into alleged police protection of a ring of brothels
suspected of human trafficking in the Mataderos neighborhood of Buenos
Aies. In the same case, a woman running the brothel was indicted as an
accessory to human trafficking, and her sister was also under
investigation at year's end.
Trafficking victims normally were not detained, jailed, or
deported. The Ministry of Justice's training seminars for internal
security forces included a component emphasizing that they not blame
trafficking victims for illegal activities they may have become
involved in as a consequence of their exploitation.
Limited victims' assistance is provided by the Ministry of
Justice's First Responder Office for the Rescue and Immediate
Assistance of Trafficking Victims. It refers minor and adult victims
rescued in the city or province of Buenos Aires to the Ministry of
Social Development's Secretariat for Children, Adolescents, and the
Family, which then may direct victims to existing social and medical
assistance programs. Victims in other provinces usually were assisted
by the relevant human rights secretariat. The Prosecutor General's
Office of Victim's Assistance continued to provide assistance on an as-
needed basis.
Although it did not operate victim shelters dedicated to
trafficking, the Government funded one NGO to operate a victim's
shelter. Some victims qualified for Federal Government assistance, but
most provincial officials were not trained to identify or help victims
of trafficking specifically. The International Organization for
Migration assisted with repatriation and reintegration of foreign
victims of trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and laws prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other
state services, but the Government did not effectively enforce these
laws. A specific law also mandates access to buildings for persons with
disabilities; however, the Government did not effectively enforce it.
Laws mandating greater access to buses and trains for persons with
disabilities also were not enforced fully. In March a federal court
ordered the Buenos Aires subway operator Metrovias to make subway
stations handicapped accessible. According to the Association for Civil
Rights, only 12 of 73 subway stations were handicapped accessible.
According to the National Institute Against Discrimination,
Xenophobia, and Racism (INADI), an estimated 20,000 children with
disabilities were unable to attend school in Buenos Aires City because
the buildings were not handicapped accessible.
In March the Buenos Aires City Ombudsman pressed charges against
eight long distance bus companies for failing to provide free bus
tickets to persons with disabilities, as required by decree.
Thereafter, INADI established a permanent office at the main bus
terminal in Buenos Aires City and maintained a presence at many train
and bus stations throughout the city on a rotational basis.
A 2007 study by CELS and international NGO Mental Disability Rights
International reported that 25,000 persons were detained in psychiatric
institutions, more than 80 percent for more than a year. The report
documented egregious cases of abuse and neglect in psychiatric
institutions, including patients burned to death in isolation cells,
the use of sensory deprivation in long-term isolation, and physical and
sexual violence. The report also detailed dangerous and unhygienic
conditions, including the lack of running water, nonfunctioning sewer
systems, and fire and safety hazards.
The National Advisory Committee for the Integration of People with
Disabilities, under the National Council for Coordination of Social
Policies, has formal responsibility for actions to accommodate persons
with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to DAIA's 2007 Anti-
Semitism Report, which included information on other minorities in the
country, many Afro-Argentines experienced employment, education, and
housing discrimination; endured racial slurs while using public
transportation; and were barred entry from nightclubs. The DAIA report
also noted that Chinese, Koreans, Muslims, Gypsies, and Latin American
immigrants also faced discrimination.
INADI conducted a number of national public awareness campaigns
throughout the year to discourage racial discrimination, including one
entitled ``Words Discriminate.''
Indigenous People.--The constitution recognizes the ethnic and
cultural identities of indigenous people and states that the Congress
shall protect their right to bilingual education, recognize their
communities and the communal ownership of their ancestral lands, and
allow for their participation in the management of their natural
resources. In practice indigenous people did not fully participate in
the management of their lands or natural resources, in part because
responsibility for implementing the law is delegated to the 23
provinces, only 11 of which have constitutions recognizing indigenous
rights.
Although there is no formal process to recognize indigenous tribes
or determine who is an indigenous person, indigenous communities can
register with the provincial or Federal Government as a civic
association.
Estimates of the indigenous population ranged from 700,000 to 1.5
million. Poverty rates were higher than average in areas with large
indigenous populations. Indigenous people had greater than average
rates of illiteracy, chronic disease, and unemployment. The lack of
trained teachers hampered government efforts to offer bilingual
education opportunities to indigenous people.
According to indigenous rights experts, 75 percent of disputed
territory in Jujuy, which had been the subject of court orders in 2006
and 2007, was either returned to indigenous communities or in the
titling process by year's end.
In October the Supreme Court overruled a Salta provincial court
decision to turn down an appeal by the Eben Ezer indigenous community,
which asked the provincial court to issue an injunction preventing the
sale of provincial land previously considered a natural reserve. The
Supreme Court indicated that the provincial court's decision violated
the constitution and instructed the provincial court to take into
consideration the rights of indigenous people to use the resources
found on ancestral lands.
In December, in response to a lawsuit filed by 18 indigenous
communities, the Supreme Court ordered Salta Province to suspend plans
to cut approximately two million acres of forest, pending the outcome
of a further hearing.
According to a Minority Rights Group International report, many
provinces evicted indigenous communities from ancestral lands to sell
the land to multinational companies, particularly for petroleum,
mining, soy industries, and tourism development.
In December, after protesters from the Mapuche community staged a
roadblock, the Chubut Provincial Supreme Court suspended a lower court
order evicting a Mapuche family from land they had occupied since 1940.
The protesters expressed concern that Chubut Province would evict more
indigenous families to provide concessions to mining companies.
The land dispute between the Mbya Guarani community and La Plata
National University over claims to territory in Misiones Province
continued without resolution.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) continued to
evaluate a petition presented by the Lhaka Honhat indigenous
association regarding the national government's failure to implement a
titling policy that would return their traditional land. The Lhaka
Honhat association sent a letter to the IACHR in September asking for
greater involvement and a timely resolution to the case.
In October three Mapuche families occupied land in the National
Park of Nahuel Huapi in Neuquen Province in an attempt to obtain
123,000 acres for other Mapuche communities. Park officials indicated
that they already coexisted with five Mapuche communities in the area.
Also in October the first indigenous radio station, the Indigenous
Voice, began broadcasting programs aimed at indigenous communities in
Salta Province.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--During the year, INADI
received 82 complaints of discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity, 38 of which were resolved rapidly.
In July authorities arrested Sergio Alfredo Nunez, Silvio Elias
Soria, and Cesar Javier Ulivarri in connection with the 2006 killing of
transgender activist Pelusa Liendro, who was found stabbed in her car
10 days after the broadcast of an undercover videotape she and other
activists made of police harassment and abuse of transgender persons in
Salta Province. Nunez and Soria remained in pretrial detention at
year's end. The court stayed legal proceedings against Rodolfo
Aguilares and two other individuals.
In August the National Social Security Administration granted
widowed homosexual partners the rights to inherit their partner's
pension. Eligible partners must demonstrate that they lived with their
partner for at least five years.
INADI received 62 discrimination complaints on the basis of HIV
positive status, 34 of which were resolved rapidly. The law prohibits
termination of employment of HIV positive employees.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides all workers, with
the exception of military personnel, the right to form and join ``free
and democratic labor unions, recognized by simple inscription in a
special register,'' and workers exercised this right. An estimated 35
to 40 percent of the workforce was organized.
The Argentine Workers Central (CTA) and other labor groups not
affiliated with the CGT contended that the Trade Unions Law provision
for the legal recognition of only one union per sector conflicts with
the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Convention 87 and prevents
the CTA from obtaining full legal standing. In November the Supreme
Court declared Article 41 of the Trade Unions Law unconstitutional and
upheld the right of a workers' union lacking official legal recognition
to elect its own delegates. In addition the ruling asserted that the
Ministry of Labor's discretion in awarding official union recognition
violates international treaties. The IACHR continued to review the
CTA's 2004 petition at year's end.
Unions have the right to strike, although those representing civil
servants and workers in essential services are subject to the condition
that undefined ``minimum services'' are rendered. In some cases
``minimum services'' have already been incorporated in union bargaining
agreements, but since the law does not define ``minimum services,''
civil servants and workers in essential services have the right to
strike only after a compulsory 15 day conciliation process. Once that
term expires, civil servants and workers in essential services must
give five days' notice to the administrative authority and the public
agency that they intend to strike. All parties then negotiate which
minimum services will continue to be provided and a schedule for their
provision. The public agency, in turn, must provide two days' notice to
users about the intended strike. Other workers exercised the right to
strike by conducting legal strikes.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides unions with the right to negotiate collective bargaining
agreements and to have recourse to conciliation and arbitration. The
Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security ratifies collective
bargaining agreements, which covered roughly 75 percent of the formally
employed workforce. According to the ILO, the ratification process
impeded free collective bargaining because the ministry considered not
only whether a collective labor agreement contained clauses violating
public order standards but also whether the agreement complied with
productivity, investment, technology, and vocational training criteria.
However, there were no known cases during the year of government
refusal to approve any collective agreements under these criteria.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the three functioning export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the law
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, there were
isolated reports that such practices occurred.
In April police rescued 30 Bolivians, including children, who were
working under exploitative conditions at a poultry farm in Capilla del
Senor, Buenos Aires Province. In August the press reported that
children and other workers were working in exploitative conditions at
other farms owned by the same company. The provincial ministry of labor
fined the company 364,000 pesos ($117,400) and was reviewing additional
forced labor complaints, including two deaths, lodged against the
company. Press reports indicated the company had not paid the fine by
year's end.
In September an appeals court reversed a lower court decision
dismissing a case of forced labor against the owners of a prestigious
garment company that employed Bolivians working in sweatshops under
exploitative conditions. The lower court had dismissed the case on the
basis that the Bolivians were culturally predisposed to working under
such conditions. The case remained under investigation at year's end.
In September a federal judge indicted the owner and the manager of
a garment sweatshop that employed 50 Bolivians, including 20 minors.
The judge froze 900,000 pesos ($290,000) in assets belonging to the
owner and seized and transferred sewing machines to a social
organization of the employees' choosing so they could continue working.
The case remained pending at year's end.
A Buenos Aires city court released four individuals on probation in
a 2006 case of forced labor. According to a local antislavery NGO, the
individuals were charged for their role in operating clothing
sweatshops in the Flores Sur neighborhood that left six Bolivian
citizens dead and affected potentially hundreds more.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace. In 2004 the
National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor (CONAETI)
estimated that up to 1.5 million children, or 22 percent of children
under the age of 15, worked in some capacity, an estimate still
considered valid.
In June the Congress passed a law raising the minimum age for
employment from 14 to 15, which will increase to 16; in rare cases the
Ministry of Education may authorize a younger child to work as part of
a family unit. Children between the ages of 15 and 18 may work in a
limited number of job categories and for limited hours if they have
completed compulsory schooling, which normally ends at age 18. Legal
penalties for employing underage workers ranged from 1,000 to 5,000
pesos ($303 to $1,515) for each child employed. Provincial governments
and the city government of Buenos Aires are responsible for labor law
enforcement.
Most illegal child labor took place in the informal sector, where
inspectors had limited ability to enforce the law. Child labor included
such work as small scale garment production, trash recycling, street
sales, domestic service, and food preparation and agricultural
production.
CONAETI conducted seminars with the 19 provincial commissions for
the eradication of child labor to train provincial authorities
responsible for enforcing labor laws and raising awareness regarding
exploitive child labor. It also provided technical assistance to NGOs
addressing child labor in the tobacco and trash-picking sectors,
including workshops with tobacco producers to encourage corporate
social responsibility on child labor issues. The Government worked with
several NGOs to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children
in the triborder area with Brazil and Paraguay, disseminating
information on prevention and available assistance for victims. A
trinational network involving local government and civil society was
established to help coordinate the antitrafficking efforts.
The Government participated in the MERCOSUR ``Nino Sur''
(``Southern Child'') initiative to defend the rights of children and
adolescents in the region. The initiative included unified public
campaigns against commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking and child
labor, mutual technical assistance, and the exchange of best practices
related to victims protection and assistance.
The Ministry of Education also provided scholarships to reintegrate
school dropouts and supported children who work and attend school. The
program also provided parents with job search assistance and job
training.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government raised the
monthly national minimum wage to 1,240 pesos ($354), which took effect
in December. This was 8 percent less than the estimated amount of 1,350
pesos ($386) needed by a family of four to maintain a ``decent''
standard of living. Most workers in the formal sector earned
significantly more than the minimum wage. The Ministry of Labor, which
is responsible for enforcing legislation related to working conditions,
increased inspections to get companies to register their informal
workers. In November the Ministry of Labor reported informal urban
unemployment at 40 percent. According to a 2007 ILO study, 60 percent
of employed citizens ages 15 to 24 were engaged in informal labor.
Federal labor law sets standards in the areas of health, safety,
and hours. The maximum workday is eight hours, and the maximum workweek
is 48 hours. Overtime pay is required for hours worked in excess of
these limits. The law sets minimums for periods of rest, requiring a
minimum of 12 hours of rest to start a new workday. Sundays are
holidays, and those required to work on Sundays are paid double.
However, laws governing acceptable conditions of work were not enforced
universally, particularly for workers in the informal sector.
The law requires employers to ensure their employees against
accidents at the workplace and when traveling to and from work. Workers
have the right to remove themselves from dangerous or unhealthy work
situations without jeopardy to continued employment. However, workers
who leave the workplace before it has been proven unsafe risk being
fired; in such cases the worker has the right to judicial appeal, but
the process can be very lengthy.
__________
BAHAMAS, THE
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is a constitutional, parliamentary
democracy with a population of approximately 360,000, including an
estimated 30,000 undocumented Haitians. Prime Minister Hubert
Ingraham's Free National Movement (FNM) regained control of the
Government in May 2007 elections that observers found to be generally
free and fair. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control over security forces.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens. There were problems in some areas, including complaints of
abuse by police and prison and detention center guards; poor detention
conditions; poor functioning of the judicial system, leading to delays
in trials and lengthy pretrial detention; violence against women and
children; and discrimination against persons of Haitian descent.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
there were killings by police. Police investigated such incidents and
referred them to a coroner's court when necessary for further
evaluation.
On March 5, police shot a Nassau man in disputed circumstances. The
victim later died, and the case was under investigation at year's end.
The September 2007 case in which a police officer shot and killed a
resident of Andros Island was pending at year's end, although news
reports raised questions about the disposition of the case, and there
was no coroner's inquest as had been anticipated.
Two police shootings in November 2007, one at a Nassau crime scene
and the other involving a psychiatric patient killed on hospital
grounds, remained under investigation at year's end.
On January 8, the police officer who shot and killed a man on
Bimini Island during a December 2007 altercation was charged with
manslaughter, without a coroner's inquest, and released on bail pending
trial.
There were no new developments since a coroner's court recommended
murder charges against prison guard Sandy Mackey, who allegedly killed
an inmate in 2006 in retribution for the death of a fellow officer
during a prison escape.
The coroner's court reportedly faced a backlog of more than 150
cases, including six police shootings. In a typical example, the
results of a coroner's inquest into a 2004 fatal police shooting were
reported on December 3, after a jury ruled the incident an accident.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, but human
rights monitors and members of the public expressed concern over
continued instances of police abuse of criminal suspects. Police
officials, while denying systematic or chronic abuses, acknowledged
that police on occasion abused their authority.
Authorities brought charges against two officers in connection with
the June 2007 beating of a suspect, Desmond Key, who died in a hospital
on January 19. The officers were released on bail, and trial procedures
continued at year's end.
No information was available about the outcome of charges placed in
February 2007 against seven defense force members for beating a man on
the island of Inagua in 2006.
The Privy Council in the United Kingdom upheld the Government's use
of flogging as a punishment, which human rights observers considered
inhuman and degrading punishment.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions at Fox Hill
Prison, the country's only prison, remained harsh for many prisoners.
Overcrowding was a major problem in the men's maximum-security block.
Originally built in 1953 to hold 450 inmates, it held approximately 700
of the country's 1,400 prisoners. The remaining prisoners were held in
medium- and minimum-security units that were at intended capacity. The
prison remand area, built to hold 300 prisoners awaiting trial, was
insufficient to hold the approximately 600 prisoners awaiting trial,
leaving many pretrial detainees confined in cells with convicted
prisoners in the maximum-security unit. Male prisoners in the maximum-
security unit were crowded into poorly ventilated cells that generally
lacked regular running water. Prisoners lacked beds, slept on concrete
floors, and if not participating in work programs were locked in small
cells 23 hours per day, often with human waste. Maximum-security
inmates were allowed outside for exercise four days a week for one hour
per day. Inmates complained of inadequate potable water, lack of
medical care, and poor treatment.
There continued to be allegations of abuse by prison guards. Local
attorneys and human rights observers asserted that the prison's
internal affairs unit lacked the independence needed to investigate
impartially allegations of abuse and misconduct; it conducted no
investigations during the year. In 2006 the unit recommended that one
officer be prosecuted for abuse of an inmate, which was pending at
year's end.
The Government continued funding improvements in prison facilities
and prisoner rehabilitation programs. Prison officials continued to
offer technical and vocational programs to eligible prisoners.
Conditions for women prisoners were less severe than for men;
however, women did not have access to the same work-release programs
available to male prisoners.
The prison has a separate section for juvenile offenders between
the ages of 16 and 18. There was occasional mixing of juveniles with
adult inmates depending on the severity of their crimes. Offenders
younger than 16, along with children made wards of the court by their
parents because of ``uncontrollable behavior,'' were held at the
Simpson Penn Center for Boys and the Williamae Pratt Center for Girls.
The Carmichael Road Immigrant Detention Center held up to 500
detainees (with tent space for an additional 500), and women and men
were held separately. Haitians and Jamaicans were the most commonly
interdicted migrants. The highest occupancy during the year was
approximately 600. Observers complained of continuing abuse by guards,
although immigration officials claimed that no such complaints were
filed during the year. Human rights groups expressed concern that
complaint investigations were handled internally without independent
review and oversight. Children under the age of 14 were held in the
women's dormitory. Many children arriving with both parents were not
allowed contact with the father except during weekly visitation.
Despite the possibility of being held for months, children did not have
access to education.
Neither domestic nor international human rights groups made any
requests to visit the detention center or prison during the year.
However, organizations providing aid, counseling services, and
religious instruction had regular access to inmates.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed
these prohibitions, although police occasionally were accused of
arresting and detaining persons arbitrarily.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Bahamas
Police Force (RBPF) maintains internal security, and the small Royal
Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) is responsible for external security,
security at the Carmichael Road Detention Center, and some minor
domestic security functions such as guarding foreign embassies and
ambassadors. The Ministry of National Security oversees the RBPF and
the RBDF.
A police officer involved in shooting or killing a suspect is
automatically placed under investigation. The Police Complaints and
Corruption Branch, which reports directly to the deputy commissioner
without any independent oversight, was responsible for investigating
allegations of police brutality. This unit determines if enough
evidence of abuse or misconduct exists in a particular case to warrant
disciplinary action within the police system or, in some cases,
criminal prosecution by the attorney general. Local attorneys and human
rights observers expressed concern that the Police Complaints and
Corruption Branch lacked the independence needed to investigate
impartially allegations of abuse and misconduct and that the perceived
lack of impartiality discouraged full reporting of complaints.
There were 300 complaints against police through December 19,
compared with 249 in 2007. Of these 300 cases, authorities resolved
139, 60 awaited judicial determination of a complainant's pending case,
and 101 were under investigation. Of the 139 completed matters, 17 were
referred to a police tribunal, 11 were resolved informally, warnings
were requested in four cases, officers were discharged in three cases,
and the rest were withdrawn (20), unsubstantiated (33), unfounded (8),
had insufficient evidence (39), or did not require further action (4).
Information on the nature of the complaints was unavailable, but in the
past included assault, unethical conduct, unlawful arrest, and
stealing. The number of criminal charges filed, if any, was not
reported.
Arrest and Detention.--In general the authorities conducted arrests
openly and, when required, obtained judicially issued warrants. Serious
cases, including those of suspected narcotics or firearms offenses, do
not require warrants where probable cause exists. The law provides that
a suspect must be charged within 48 hours of arrest. Arrested persons
appear before a magistrate within 48 hours (or by the next business day
for cases arising on weekends and holidays) to hear the charges against
them. Police can apply for a 48-hour extension upon simple request to
the court and for longer extensions with sufficient showing of need.
Some persons on remand claimed they were not brought before a
magistrate within the 48-hour time frame. The Government generally
respected the right to a judicial determination of the legality of
arrests.
There is a functioning bail system. Judges sometimes authorized
cash bail for foreigners arrested on minor charges; however, in
practice foreign suspects generally preferred to plead guilty and pay a
fine rather than pursue their right to defend themselves, given
possible delays in court cases and harsh conditions in the prison. Many
foreign suspects paid bail and fled the country to avoid extended
detention and prosecution.
Attorneys and other prisoner advocates continued to complain of
excessive pretrial detention due to the failure of the criminal justice
system to try even the most serious cases in a timely manner. The
constitution provides that suspects can be held for a ``reasonable
period of time'' before trial. Government officials stated that
approximately 600 of the 1,400 prisoners at Fox Hill Prison were
awaiting trial. Available government statistics suggested that
approximately 100 prisoners had been held on remand without trial for
more than two years. In September the minister of national security
reported that 13 persons had been on remand for five years or more.
This was recognized as a major problem in the justice system, as
criminals accused of serious crimes made bail, often to commit more
crimes, while many others were held indefinitely without trial. The
minister also stated that more than one-third of those charged with
murder during the previous 30 months were free on bail for a previous
murder indictment.
The authorities detained illegal immigrants, primarily Haitians,
until arrangements could be made for them to leave the country or they
obtained legal status. The average length of detention varied
significantly by nationality, willingness of governments to accept
their nationals back in a timely manner, and availability of funds to
pay for repatriation. Haitians usually were repatriated within one
week, while Cubans were held for much longer periods. Illegal
immigrants convicted of crimes other than immigration violations were
held at Fox Hill Prison, where they often remained for weeks or months
after serving their sentences, pending deportation.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Magistrate's courts are the lowest level courts and only handle
crimes with a maximum sentence of five years. Trial by jury is
available only in the Supreme Court, which handles most major cases.
Magistrate's court decisions may be appealed to the Court of Appeal;
the Privy Council in the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence until proven guilty and are
permitted to question witnesses at trial and view government evidence.
Defendants have a right to appeal. There is a functioning system of
bail, but individuals who could not post bail were held on remand
indefinitely.
The judicial system had a large and steadily expanding backlog of
cases, numbering as high as 8,700, which included hundreds of cases of
the most serious types of violent crime. In July the newly appointed
attorney general ordered an audit to determine the actual scope of the
problem. Delays reportedly lasted five years or more. Local legal
professionals attributed delays to a variety of longstanding systemic
problems, such as slow police investigation, inefficient prosecution
strategies, lack of judicial capacity, lengthy legal procedures, staff
shortages, and judicial inefficiency compounded by financial and space
constraints. In November the Government passed a bill to expand the
possibilities for plea bargaining in order to speed trials and begin to
address the backlog in the judicial system.
Defendants may hire an attorney of their choice, but the Government
provided legal representation only to destitute suspects charged with
capital crimes, leaving large numbers of defendants without adequate
legal representation. Lack of representation contributed to excessive
pretrial detention, as some accused lacked the means to pursue the case
toward trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and there is access to a
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human
rights violation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
While the law usually requires a court order for entry into or
search of a private residence, a police inspector or more senior police
official may authorize a search without a court order where probable
cause to suspect a weapons violation or drug possession exists.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press. The independent media were
active and expressed a wide variety of views without significant
restriction.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. However, the Plays
and Films Control Board rates and censors entertainment.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice. The constitution explicitly calls for respect for Christian
values.
The practice of Obeah, a version of voodoo, is illegal, and those
convicted of practicing it were liable to three months' imprisonment.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal violence or discrimination and no reports of anti-Semitic
acts. The local Jewish community numbered approximately 200 persons.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.
Protection of Refugees.--Although the country is a signatory to
both the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its
1967 protocol, the Government has not established a consistent system
for providing protection to all refugees and asylum seekers. In
practice the Government provided some protection against the expulsion
or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would
be threatened. Applications for political asylum were adjudicated on a
case-by-case basis at the cabinet level. The authorities did not grant
asylum during the year.
The Government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The UNHCR reviewed the
interview records of cases provided to it and offered recommendations
on certain cases.
Local and international human rights observers criticized the
Government for failing to screen potential asylum applicants
adequately. Those requesting asylum screening often lacked access to
legal counsel. Human rights observers claimed that the Government
detained Cuban migrants for excessive periods. The Government asserted
that all migrants who claimed asylum were interviewed and screened
adequately by trained immigration officials.
Stateless Persons.--The Government has not effectively implemented
laws and policies to provide certain habitual residents the opportunity
to gain nationality in a timely manner and on a nondiscriminatory
basis. Children born to non-Bahamian parents or to a Bahamian mother
and a non-Bahamian father do not automatically acquire citizenship.
Bahamian-born persons of foreign heritage must apply for citizenship
during the year after their 18th birthday, sometimes waiting many years
for a government response. Human rights activists claimed that the
narrow window for application, difficult documentary requirements, and
long waiting times created generations of de facto stateless persons,
i.e., those without citizenship in any country. Following rule changes
instituted with government assent, individuals born in the country to
Haitian parents were no longer required to pay the college tuition rate
for foreign students while waiting for their request for citizenship to
be processed. There were no reliable estimates of the number of
stateless persons.
On November 19, the Immigration Department announced the initial
results of an audit of approximately 2,000 outstanding residence and
citizenship claims conducted in August 2007. The audit found that 86
persons, including 47 Haitians, were approved and 22 applications were
denied, and more than 700 cases remained pending. However, the
remaining claims, more than half the total, remained in different
procedural categories or were regarded as incomplete.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The two principal political
parties are the governing FNM and the opposition Progressive Liberal
Party (PLP). In May 2007 national elections generally considered free
and fair, the FNM won 23 of 41 seats in the House of Assembly and
formed the new government under Hubert Ingraham. The election campaign
under the incumbent PLP, however, was marred by instances of violence,
the influential state-owned electronic media's alleged favoritism
toward government candidates, and allegations of vote-buying.
The PLP lost the elections and unsuccessfully pursued court cases
challenging the election results in three constituencies. On January
21, a court ruled in the new government's favor in the first of three
challenges after a recount confirmed the disputed candidate's victory.
On December 11, a court-ordered recount in the second case confirmed
the victory of the Government candidate. The third case reportedly was
abandoned.
The House of Assembly had five elected female members; there were
nine appointed female senators, including its president, in the 16-seat
Senate. There was one woman in the new 19-member cabinet after two
women, one also a senator, were appointed to other positions following
cabinet changes in July.
Information on racial background was not collected, but there were
several members of minorities in prominent positions in parliament and
the cabinet.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of
government corruption during the year. Both hiring and procurement
practices under the then incumbent PLP government came under intense
scrutiny in the media and in parliament in 2007, with official
corruption alleged.
An Organization of American States (OAS) expert committee released
a report on government implementation of the Inter-American Convention
against Corruption in December 2007. The exhaustive report noted the
absence of whistleblower protections and insufficient transparency in
government hiring of public servants and said that public contracting
provisions ``are inadequate in ensuring transparency.''
Senior public officials, for example senators and members of
parliament, were subject to financial disclosure under the Public
Disclosure Act. Antibribery legislation designates the attorney general
responsible for combating government corruption.
The RBPF operated a complaints and corruption branch, but no data
were available regarding the number of corruption complaints received
or investigations undertaken during the year. The OAS report found the
RBPF mechanism to be inadequate in light of the Government's
obligations under the convention.
Media representatives criticized the lack of laws providing for
public access to government information. Members of the local press
also complained that the Government failed to provide regular, open
access to information, including information regarding alleged human
rights violations. Specifically, press and local human rights groups
complained that the Government was not forthcoming about alleged human
rights abuses by police and prison and detention center guards, citing
a lack of transparency in investigations and publication of
investigative reports.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
usually were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
place of origin, political opinion, or creed, and the Government
generally enforced these provisions. However, the constitution and the
law contain provisions that discriminate against women.
Women.--Rape is illegal, but the law does not address spousal rape.
The maximum penalty for a first-time offender is seven years'
imprisonment, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, the
penalty is 14 years' imprisonment. On November 26, parliament passed
legislation increasing the maximum penalty to life imprisonment.
According to the RBPF, there were 114 rapes reported during the year, a
decrease from 136 in 2007. Prosecutions and convictions on rape charges
were common.
Violence against women continued to be a serious, widespread
problem. The law prohibits domestic violence, and the Government
generally enforced the law. However, domestic violence laws do not
provide penalties separate from other crimes of assault and battery and
do not effectively criminalize sexual violence within a marriage. On
December 1, the Domestic Violence Act of 2007 came into force, but it
was too early to assess its impact. The police reported that six of 54
killings recorded through September 23 were related to domestic
violence. Women's rights groups cited a general reluctance on the part
of law enforcement authorities to intervene in domestic disputes. The
police recognized domestic violence as a high priority, provided
specialized training for all incoming officers, and offered continuing
training in domestic violence.
The Government operated a toll-free hot line in New Providence and
Grand Bahama, with trained volunteers to respond to emergency calls 24
hours a day. Government and private women's organizations continued
public awareness campaigns highlighting the problems of abuse and
domestic violence. The Ministry of Labour and Social Development's
Department of Social Services, in partnership with a private
organization, operated a safe house to assist battered women.
Prostitution is illegal and was not a widespread problem. There are
no laws specifically addressing sex tourism. Police officials
acknowledged that sex entertainment was a developing industry but did
not consider sex tourism a problem.
The law prohibits criminal ``quid pro quo'' sexual harassment and
authorizes penalties of up to B$5,000 ($5,000) and a maximum of two
years' imprisonment. Civil rights advocates complained that criminal
prohibitions were not enforced effectively and that civil remedies,
including a prohibition on ``hostile environment'' sexual harassment,
were needed.
The law does not provide women with the same right as men to
transmit citizenship to their foreign-born spouses. The law also makes
it easier for men with foreign spouses than for women with foreign
spouses to confer citizenship on their children. The law does not
include gender as a basis for protection from discrimination. Women
were generally free of economic discrimination, and the law provides
for equal pay for equal work.
Children.--The Government claimed child welfare and education were
priorities but did not allocate sufficient funding to maintain and
improve standards. Some public schools lacked basic educational
materials and were overcrowded.
Both the Government and civic organizations conducted public
education programs aimed at child abuse and appropriate parenting
behavior; however, child abuse and neglect remained serious problems.
The RBPF operated a hot line regarding missing or exploited children.
The Department of Social Services reported that cases of child
abuse increased during the year, and in some categories surpassed
previous year's totals. Child neglect cases, for example, numbered 226
by August, which already exceeded the total for 2007. The ministry
believed that only a minority of cases were reported.
The law requires all persons having contact with a child they
believe to have been physically or sexually abused to report their
suspicions to the police. Sexual exploitation of children through
incestuous relationships occurred, and observers generally acknowledged
that a small number of children were involved in illicit or unlawful
activities. The ministry may remove children from abusive situations if
the court deems it necessary. The ministry provided services to abused
and neglected children through a public-private center for children,
through the public hospital family violence program, and through a
nonprofit crisis center.
The Department of Social Services is responsible for abandoned
children up to 18 years of age but had very limited resources at its
disposal. The Government found foster homes for some children, and the
Government hospital housed abandoned children with physical
disabilities when foster homes could not be found.
Trafficking in Persons.--On November 26, parliament passed
legislation specifically addressing trafficking in persons for the
first time. The law also prohibits prostitution and the procurement of
persons for purposes of prostitution either in or outside the country
by force, threats, intimidation, or the administering of drugs. The
maximum penalty for trafficking in persons is life imprisonment.
There were reports that persons were trafficked within, to, or from
the country, but the full nature and extent of the problem were
undetermined. The previous lack of a legal prohibition rendered it
difficult to measure accurately the extent of trafficking within the
vulnerable illegal migrant communities. It was too early to assess the
impact of the new legislation and how it will be implemented and
enforced in order to prosecute perpetrators, protect and assist
victims, or prevent trafficking.
According to limited reports, men, women, and children may be
trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation. Local sources
indicated that labor exploitation of undocumented Haitians could be
widespread, and some immigrants may be subjected to conditions of
involuntary servitude. Employers could coerce migrants to work long
hours for no pay or below the minimum wage by withholding documents or
threatening arrest and deportation. Migrant workers usually do not have
access to labor protections under local law.
A 2005 International Organization for Migration report on human
trafficking suggested a link between irregular migration and forced
labor for domestic servitude, agriculture, and construction. Some
commercial sexual exploitation of women and minors has been identified.
Local observers previously complained that the law does not protect
trafficking victims, who might be fearful of pressing complaints due to
emphasis on immigration enforcement. The new legislation details
provisions for assistance and protection for victims, including witness
protection and special immigration procedures for nonresidents to
facilitate investigation and prosecution.
Persons With Disabilities.--There is no specific law protecting
persons with physical or mental disabilities from discrimination in
employment, education, access to health care, or in the provision of
other state services. Although the law mandates access for persons with
physical disabilities in new public buildings, the authorities rarely
enforced this requirement, and very few buildings and public facilities
were accessible to persons with disabilities. Advocates for persons
with disabilities complained of widespread job discrimination and
general apathy on the part of private employers and political leaders
toward the need for training and equal opportunity.
The social development ministry's Disability Affairs Unit worked
with the Bahamas National Council for Disability, an umbrella
organization of nongovernmental organizations that offered services for
persons with disabilities, to provide a coordinated public and private
sector approach to the needs of such persons. A mix of government and
private residential and nonresidential institutions provided education,
training, counseling, and job placement services for adults and
children with both physical and mental disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's racial and ethnic
groups generally coexisted in a climate of peace and mutual respect
without overt racial or other tensions. However, anti-Haitian prejudice
and resentment regarding continued Haitian immigration was common.
According to unofficial estimates, between 10 and 25 percent of the
population were Haitians or persons of Haitian descent, making them the
largest ethnic minority. Many persons of Haitian origin lived in
shantytowns with limited sewage and garbage services, law enforcement,
or other infrastructure. Haitian children generally were granted access
to education and social services, but interethnic tensions and
inequities persisted.
Lawyers for an illegal Haitian resident in Nassau, whom an RBDF
officer shot and injured in May 2007, continued their civil suit
seeking damages against the officer, the commander of the RBDF, and the
attorney general for false arrest, false imprisonment, assault and
battery, and malicious prosecution, even though the man was
subsequently deported.
Members of the Haitian community complained of discrimination in
the job market, specifically that identity and work permit documents
were controlled by employers seeking leverage by threat of deportation.
Some also complained of tactics used by immigration officials in raids
of Haitian or suspected Haitian communities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal discrimination
against homosexuals occurred, with some persons reporting job and
housing discrimination based upon sexual orientation. Although
homosexual relations between consenting adults are legal, there was no
legislation to address the human rights concerns of homosexuals,
lesbians, bisexuals, or transgendered persons. In 2006 the
Constitutional Review Commission found that sexual orientation did not
deserve protection against discrimination.
Three killings of reportedly gay individuals during the year,
following sensationalistic media reporting of gay links in two high-
profile murders in Nassau in November 2007, added to the atmosphere of
societal intolerance. These killings were still under police
investigation at year's end.
Stigma and discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS was high.
Violence against persons with HIV/AIDS was not reported, although the
May victim in one of the unsolved gay killings was the most prominent
HIV/AIDS activist in the country. His death drew much media attention
and caused the HIV/AIDS center to close for three months because press
attention deterred those seeking information and treatment. Children
living with HIV/AIDS also faced discrimination, and teachers often were
not told that a child was HIV positive for fear of verbal abuse from
both educators and peers. The Government maintained a home for orphaned
children infected with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join unions without previous authorization or excessive requirements,
and those laws were applied in practice. Almost one-quarter of the
workforce (and 80 percent of the workers in the important hotel
industry) belonged to unions. Members of the police force, defense
force, fire brigade, and prison guards may not organize or join unions.
The law provides for the right to strike, and while workers
exercised this right in practice, the Government has the right to
intervene in the national interest to assure delivery of essential
services. The law requires that before a strike begins, a simple
majority of a union's membership must vote in favor of a motion to
strike. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development must approve a
strike ballot. Surprise labor actions by employees of the
telecommunications monopoly August 11-12 disrupted downtown Nassau and
Freeport. Employers and government officials viewed the demonstrations
as unsanctioned and illegal strikes, and disciplinary action was taken
against workers involved, according to media reports.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers freely
exercised their right to organize and participate in collective
bargaining, which the law protects. Unions and employers negotiated
wage rates without government interference.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and employers can be
compelled to reinstate workers illegally fired for union activity. This
law was generally enforced. Under the law, labor disputes first are
filed with the labor ministry and then, if not resolved, are
transferred to an industrial tribunal. The tribunal's decision is final
and can be appealed in court only on a strict question of law. Some
employers complained that the industrial tribunal was biased unfairly
in favor of employees. Employees at a salt plant went on strike August
8, citing, among other reasons, dissatisfaction with the referral of
their grievances to the tribunal.
Freeport is a specially designated free trade zone. Labor law and
practice in this zone do not differ from those in the rest of the
country. There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, there were
reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although the law prohibits the employment of children under the age of
14 for industrial work or work during school hours, some children
worked part-time in light industry and service jobs. Children under the
age of 16 may not work at night. There was no legal minimum age for
employment in other sectors. The labor ministry is responsible for
enforcing these laws and did so adequately.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government sets minimum
wages in a transparent and tripartite manner. The minimum wage for
government employees, set in 2000, was B$4.45 ($4.45) per hour. A
minimum wage for the private sector was established in 2002 at B$4.00
($4.00) per hour. The labor ministry was responsible for enforcing the
minimum wage but did not do so effectively. Undocumented migrant
workers often earned less than the minimum wage. The minimum wage did
not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek, a 24-hour rest period, and
time-and-a-half payment for hours worked beyond the standard workweek.
These standards were enforced effectively.
The labor ministry is responsible for enforcing labor laws and had
a team of inspectors that conducted on-site visits to enforce
occupational health and safety standards and investigate employee
concerns and complaints, although inspections occurred infrequently.
The ministry normally announced inspection visits in advance, and
employers generally cooperated with inspectors to implement safety
standards. It was uncertain whether these inspections effectively
enforced health and safety standards, although the ministry actively
sought international assistance during the year to improve performance.
The law does not provide a right for workers to remove themselves from
dangerous work situations without jeopardy to continued employment.
__________
BARBADOS
Barbados is a parliamentary democracy with a population of
approximately 278,000. In January 15 general elections, the Democratic
Labour Party (DLP), which had been in opposition since 1994, defeated
the Barbados Labour Party, and DLP leader David Thompson became prime
minister. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.
Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, problems included excessive use of force by police, poor
prison conditions, and societal violence against women and children.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
No information was available about the outcome of investigations
into three police killings that occurred in 2006.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the constitution specifically prohibits torture and
inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment, there were reports
that police sometimes used excessive force. The majority of complaints
against the police alleged unprofessional conduct and beating or
assault. Police were occasionally accused of beating suspects to obtain
confessions, and suspects often recanted their confessions during their
trial. There were many cases where the only evidence against the
accused was a confession. Suspects and their family members continued
to allege coercion by police, but there was no evidence of systematic
police abuse.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions improved
since November 2007, when 1,084 prisoners were transferred to H.M.P.
Dodds, a new permanent prison in St. Philip, designed to meet modern
international standards with a capacity of approximately 1,250
prisoners. In December it held 664 long-term prisoners (those serving
90 days or more), plus a varying number of short-term and pretrial
detainees. The temporary facility at Harrison Point was closed, and
regular visiting rights were restored for family members and attorneys.
In October, during weeks of heavy rains, washouts and flooding in St.
Philip led to a brief water crisis in the prison, due to a poorly
functioning water storage system, and the prison was closed to visitors
for approximately 10 days. Although prisoners occasionally complained
about the quality of the food, Dodds has a new canteen program where
family members can make cash deposits into inmate accounts, and inmates
may purchase popular food, snacks, toiletries, and dry goods. The
general reaction to the new prison was positive.
Despite opening the new prison, the Government was reviewing
proposals by private sector firms to revamp the prison system,
including proposals to address potential long-term prison overcrowding.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
monitors.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and the Government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Barbados
Police Force (RBPF) numbered 1,429-including 958 special constables-and
is responsible for internal law enforcement. While still a male-
dominated profession, the number of female recruits increased to 210.
The small Barbados Defence Force (BDF) protects national security and
may be called upon to maintain public order in times of crisis,
emergency, or other specific need. The RBPF reports to the minister of
home affairs, and the BDF reports to the minister of defense and
security. Although the police largely were unarmed, special RBPF foot
patrols in high-crime areas carried firearms. An armed special rapid
response unit continued to operate. The law provides that the police
can request the BDF to assist them as needed with special joint
patrols.
The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), headed by a
superintendent, handled complaints of inappropriate police conduct. The
office does not answer to independent civil authority and was
frequently the subject of complaints of inaction concerning accusations
of police abuse. The authorities did not report the number of cases the
OPR handled, and there were no convictions of police for unlawful
conduct or abuse of authority.
Arrest and Detention.--Police are authorized to arrest persons
suspected of criminal activity; a warrant is typically required. The
constitution permits detainees to be held without charge for up to five
days; however, once charged, detainees must be brought before a court
without unnecessary delay. There is a functioning bail system. Criminal
detainees were given prompt access to counsel and were advised of that
right immediately after arrest. Access to family members generally was
permitted.
Police procedures provide that, except when expressly permitted by
a senior divisional officer to do otherwise, the police may question
suspects, and other persons they hold, only at a police station. An
officer must visit detainees at least once every three hours to inquire
about the detainees' condition. After 24 hours the detaining authority
must submit a written report to the deputy commissioner. The
authorities must approve and record all movements of detainees between
stations.
There were between 50 and 100 persons in pretrial detention at
various times during the year. While length of pretrial detention can
vary from one case to another, there were no reports of extended
periods of pretrial detention or abuse of the practice.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this
provision in practice.
The judiciary includes the courts of first instance, or
magistrate's courts, and the Supreme Court of Judicature, which
consists of the High Court and the Court of Appeals. The Caribbean
Court of Justice is the final court of appeal.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides that persons charged
with criminal offenses be given a fair public hearing without
unnecessary delay by an independent, impartial court and a trial by
jury. The Government generally respected these rights in practice.
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney
in a timely manner. The Government provided free legal aid to the
indigent in family matters, child support, serious criminal cases such
as rape or murder, and all cases involving minors. Defendants are
allowed to confront and question witnesses and present evidence on
their own behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their case. Defendants are
presumed innocent until proven guilty and have the right of appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Magistrate's courts have
both civil and criminal jurisdiction, but the civil judicial system
experienced heavy backlogs. Citizens can seek redress for human rights
or other abuses through the civil system.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
There were occasional incidents involving police altercations with
the press. On December 19, police arrested two journalists who were
attempting to cover the arraignment of a police officer charged with
drug possession and trafficking charges.
The Government restricted the receipt and importation of foreign
publications deemed to be pornographic.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. The
Jewish community was very small.
For more detailed information, see the 2008 International Religious
Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration,
and repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights
in practice.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.
Protection of Refugees.--The laws do not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
The Government did not grant refugee status or asylum during the
year. Although no known cases occurred, the Government was prepared to
cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and
other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum
seekers.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In general elections held
on January 15, the DLP, which had been in opposition since 1994,
defeated the Barbados Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Owen Arthur.
The DLP took 20 of the 30 seats available in the parliament's House of
Assembly, and DLP leader David Thompson was sworn in as prime minister
on January 16.
There were no restrictions on the political opposition. Individuals
and parties were free to declare their candidacy and stand for
election.
Two cabinet members were female; there were three women in the
House of Assembly. There were four women and three minorities in the
21-member appointed Senate.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. There was one report of alleged
corruption involving a government-funded housing development program
overseen by a junior minister under the previous government. Although
the DLP uncovered the alleged corruption and called for an independent
investigation, the opposition party did not officially dispute the
incident and also called for an investigation. The DLP continued to
allege corruption surrounding the building of the national highway
system, begun under the opposition party. However, no official
investigations were undertaken into either set of charges.
There is no law that subjects public officials to financial
disclosure. Parliament's Public Accounts Committee and the auditor
general conduct investigations of all government public accounts, which
include ministries, departments, and statutory bodies.
There is no law providing citizens access to information held by
the Government. While access to information was provided on government
Web sites, responses to requests for specific government information by
citizens and other interested parties often were slow.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic human rights groups generally operated without
government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on
human rights cases. Government officials were cooperative and
responsive to their views.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equal treatment regardless of race,
origin, political opinion, color, creed, or sex, and the Government
effectively enforced these provisions.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape, and the
maximum penalty for it is life imprisonment. There were legal
protections against spousal rape for women holding a court-issued
divorce decree, separation order, or nonmolestation order. At year's
end the RBPF reported 54 rapes, four assaults with intent to rape, and
25 cases of sex with a minor.
Violence and abuse against women continued to be significant social
problems. The law prohibits domestic violence, provides protection to
all members of the family, including men and children, and applies
equally to marriages and to common-law relationships. Penalties depend
on the severity of the charges and range from a fine for first-time
offenders (unless the injury is serious) up to the death penalty for a
killing. Victims may request restraining orders, which the courts often
issued. The courts can sentence an offender to jail for breaching such
an order. The police have a victim support unit, made up of civilian
volunteers, which offered assistance primarily to female victims of
violent crimes.
There were public and private counseling services for victims of
domestic violence, rape, and child abuse. The Business and Professional
Women's Club operated a crisis center staffed by trained counselors and
provided legal and medical referral services. The Government funded one
shelter for battered women, operated by nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), which accommodated up to 20 women and children. The shelter
offered the services of trained psychological counselors to victims of
domestic violence.
The Bureau of Gender Affairs cited a lack of specific information
and an appropriate mechanism for collecting and evaluating data on
incidents of domestic violence as the major impediments to tackling
gender-based violence.
Prostitution is illegal, but it remained a problem, fueled by
poverty and tourism. A number of brothels with women from Guyana, the
Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean islands operated in the
country. The police and immigration officers periodically raided
brothels and deported women found working illegally. There is no
statute specifically prohibiting sexual tourism and no statistics on
it, but anecdotal evidence suggested that it occurred.
The law does not deal with sexual harassment, and sexual harassment
in the workplace was a problem, but no statistics were available. Media
reports often indicated that women were afraid to report sexual
harassment because they feared retribution in the workplace. An NGO
advocacy group called the Coalition on Sexual Harassment, together with
the Department of Labor, among others, called for legislation to
address this problem.
The Office of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Social
Transformation worked to ensure the rights of women. Women have equal
property rights, including in a divorce settlement. Women actively
participated in all aspects of national life and were well represented
at all levels of the public and private sectors. A Poverty Eradication
Fund focused on encouraging entrepreneurial activities to increase
employment for women and youth.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's human rights
and welfare, although violence and abuse against children remained
serious problems.
The Child Care Board has a mandate for the care and protection of
children, which involved investigating day care centers and cases of
child abuse or child labor and providing counseling services,
residential placement, and foster care. The Welfare Department offered
counseling on a broad range of family related issues, and the Child
Care Board conducted counseling for child abuse victims.
Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution and laws do not
specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, although laws against
slavery, forced labor, or other crimes could be applied. A law
prohibiting the procurement of persons for sex, which carries a 15-year
sentence, could be used to prosecute that type of trafficking cases.
There were limited reports that persons were trafficked to the country,
both to work as prostitutes and as domestic workers or in the
construction and garment industries.
The Government has no dedicated facilities to assist victims and
does not provide funding to antitrafficking NGOs. During the year the
Immigration Department deported a total of 258 persons for unspecified
immigration violations, the majority of whom were from Guyana (129),
followed by Jamaica (67), and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (24).
Trafficking victims were often treated as criminals and deported after
being held only temporarily for questioning.
The Office of Gender Affairs organized public forums to raise
awareness of trafficking in persons.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--There are no laws that specifically
prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in
employment, education, or the provision of other state services, other
than constitutional provisions asserting equality for all. In practice
persons with disabilities faced some discrimination. The Ministry of
Social Transformation operated a Disabilities Unit to address the
concerns of persons with disabilities, but parents complained of added
fees and transport difficulties for children with disabilities at
public schools.
While no legislation mandates provision of accessibility to public
thoroughfares or public or private buildings, the Town and Country
Planning Department set provisions for all public buildings to include
accessibility to persons with disabilities. As a result, the majority
of new buildings had ramps, reserved parking, and special sanitary
facilities for such persons.
The Government's National Disabilities Unit continued numerous
programs for persons with disabilities, including Call-a-Ride and Dial-
a-Ride public transportation programs, sensitization workshops for
public transportation operators, inspections of public transportation
vehicles, sign language education programs, integrated summer camps,
and accessibility programs.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law criminalizes
consensual homosexual relations, and there are no laws that prohibit
discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual orientation in
employment, housing, education, or health care. Although no statistics
were available, anecdotal evidence suggested that societal
discrimination against homosexuals occurred. An NGO reported an
instance in which a gay person who sought police protection from an
abusive partner was denied and later killed by that partner.
The Government funded a large country-wide media campaign to
discourage discrimination against HIV/AIDS-infected persons and others
living with them.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Workers freely exercised their right
to form and belong to trade unions. Approximately 25 to 30 percent of
the 120,000-person workforce was unionized; unionized workers were
concentrated in key sectors such as transportation, government, and
agriculture. There were two major unions, one in the public sector and
the other focused on the private sector; with no competition between
them, the unions wielded significant influence.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice. All private and public sector employees are
permitted to strike, but essential workers may strike only under
certain circumstances and after following prescribed procedures.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers
exercised the legal right to organize and bargain collectively. Since
1993 a series of negotiated protocols contained provisions for
increases in basic wages and increases based on productivity.
Government, private sector, and labor representatives signed a fifth
such protocol in 2005.
Although employers were under no legal obligation to recognize
unions under the law, most did so when a significant percentage of
their employees expressed a desire to be represented by a registered
union. While there is no specific law that prohibits discrimination
against union activity, the courts provide a method of redress for
employees who allege wrongful dismissal. The courts commonly awarded
monetary compensation but rarely ordered reemployment.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there
were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law provides for a minimum working age of 16, and this provision
generally was observed in practice. Compulsory primary and secondary
education policies reinforced minimum age requirements. The Labor
Department had a small cadre of labor inspectors who conducted spot
investigations of enterprises and checked records to verify compliance
with the law. These inspectors may take legal action against an
employer who is found to have underage workers.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law provides for and the
authorities established minimum wage rates for specified categories of
workers. The process is transparent and involves tripartite
participation by government, labor, and the private sector. The
categories of workers with a formally regulated minimum wage are
household domestics and shop assistants. The minimum wage for these
employees was BDS$5 (approximately $2.50) per hour, which was only
marginally sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security
recommended that companies use this as the de facto minimum wage, and
most employees earned more than the minimum wage. The Labor Department
within that ministry was charged with enforcing the minimum wage. There
were occasional press reports alleging that migrant workers received
less than the minimum wage.
The standard legal workweek is 40 hours in five days, and the law
requires overtime payment for hours worked in excess. The law
prescribes that all overtime must be voluntary.
The 2005 Occupational Safety and Health at Work Act was never
promulgated into law. The Labor Department enforced other health and
safety standards, such as those in the 1986 Factories (Amendment) Act,
and in most cases followed up to ensure that management corrected
problems cited. The law requires that in certain sectors firms
employing more than 50 workers create a safety committee that could
challenge the decisions of management concerning the occupational
safety and health environment. Civic organizations such as the Barbados
Employer's Confederation worked closely with the Government to ensure
that worker safety is protected despite the nonimplementation of the
2005 law. Trade union monitors identified safety problems for
government factory inspectors to ensure the enforcement of safety and
health regulations and effective correction by management. The Labor
Department's Inspections Unit conducted several routine annual
inspections of government-operated corporations and manufacturing
plants. Workers had the right to remove themselves from dangerous or
hazardous job situations without jeopardizing their continued
employment.
__________
BELIZE
Belize is a constitutional parliamentary democracy with an
estimated population of 314,300. Prime Minister Dean Barrow's United
Democratic Party (UDP) won 25 of the 31 seats in the House of
Representatives following generally free and fair multiparty elections
held on February 7. While civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces, there were instances in which
elements of the security forces acted independently.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens. Human rights problems included brutality and the use of
excessive force by security forces, which the Government in some cases
took steps to prosecute administratively. Lengthy pretrial detention
remained a problem. Domestic violence, discrimination against women,
sexual abuse of children, trafficking in persons for sexual and labor
exploitation, and child labor were also problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--In August a police
constable was charged with murder for fatally shooting a man in the
back of the head. The court date originally set for October was
postponed twice and remained to be rescheduled.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the constitution prohibits torture or other inhuman
punishment, there were numerous reports that police used excessive
force.
The politically appointed position of ombudsman that previously
received complaints of alleged misconduct and abuse by police remained
vacant from February through year's end. Several cases of alleged abuse
featured in the press were never reported to the Office of the
Ombudsman or to the Police Department's Office of Internal Affairs
(OIA) for investigation. The Government occasionally ignored reports of
abuses, withheld action until the case had faded from the public's
attention, and then failed to take punitive action or transferred
accused officers to other districts.
Through year's end the OIA recorded 82 allegations of police
violence and 48 complaints of police abuse. The ombudsman received 229
complaints of alleged police abuse in 2007 but suspended taking
complaints from February to year's end while the office was vacant.
In February a San Ignacio police corporal was arrested on charges
of extortion and unlawful carnal knowledge (sexual relations with a
child between 14 and 16 years old) of a 14-year-old girl. The case was
heard and adjourned in October.
In March an Orange Walk woman was hospitalized with cuts and
bruises to her neck and hands. She stated that two police officers
grabbed her outside her home, claiming that she was drunk and
disturbing the peace, and then beat her. Only one police officer was
investigated and found guilty. He was transferred and was required to
pay a fine.
In May a police officer beat a Dangriga hospital patient with a
shotgun. At a disciplinary hearing, the court found the supervising
officer guilty of one count of prejudice to good order and discipline
and one count of neglect of duty. He was demoted and fined. The court
criminally charged the second officer with ``harm, wounding, and
aggravated assault.'' His trial began on October 22, was adjourned
twice, and was scheduled to resume in 2009.
In September 2007 a man claimed that a police corporal used
excessive force against him while he was in police custody. On May 13,
a court dismissed the case against the corporal for lack of sufficient
evidence.
In September 2007 a Dangriga police constable was suspended from
duty on charges of raping a 14-year-old girl. The officer's case was
postponed and scheduled for trial in the Supreme Court in February
2009.
In October 2007 police shot and killed a San Pedro man, claiming
afterward that he had pointed a gun at them. Although ordered by the
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP),a coroner's inquest had not been
rescheduled, and the case remained under investigation at year's end.
In December 2007 another San Pedro man claimed that police
apprehended him after they planted marijuana in his home. He claimed he
was held in a cell, handcuffed, beaten with batons and rubber hoses,
and sprayed with pepper spray. A police tribunal investigated five
officers, convicted two of using unwarranted personal violence on a
person in custody, and fined and severely reprimanded them. The other
officers were acquitted and transferred. The victim did not request any
court action.
On January 15, a police tribunal dismissed for lack of sufficient
evidence a 2006 case in which police allegedly used batons to beat
three brothers in their home.
The solicitor general reached a partial settlement with two men
from Stann Creek who claimed that Dangriga police tortured them in 2005
with electric shocks and beating. The Government paid monetary
compensation; there were no reports of disciplinary action. One of the
police officers involved was promoted following the filing of the case
and was subsequently involved in another instance of misconduct.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
poor and did not meet international standards. The country's only
prison, Hattieville Central Prison, which was designed for 1,200
inmates, held 1,351 inmates, including 30 women and 59 juveniles.
Although the prison budget provided $12 BLZ ($6.00) per prisoner per
day to cover all operating costs, a local nonprofit organization, the
Kolbe Foundation, which administered Hattieville, reported that actual
costs were $15 BLZ ($7.50) per inmate per day. Prison officials
reported overcrowding in the two buildings that served as the remand
section of the prison.
The Kolbe Foundation, which investigated formal complaints
regarding prison conditions, reported no cases of abuse or excessive
force by prison officials. Isolation in a small, unlit, unventilated
punishment cell called ``supermax'' was used to discipline inmates.
There were daily reports of inmate-on-inmate abuse, although no
killings were reported during the year. Prisoners convicted or accused
of certain serious crimes such as child molestation were often held in
the remand section of the Hattieville prison for their protection.
The Government's Women's Department provided counseling and
educational services for female inmates. The prison included a separate
facility for women, located 200 yards outside the main compound.
Conditions in the women's facility were significantly better than those
in the men's compound. The Government does not incarcerate female
juveniles charged or convicted of crimes but places them in the care of
the Government social services authorities. During the year there were
no female juveniles in the custody of the social services authorities.
Juvenile males, on remand and convicted, lived in a separate facility
outside the main perimeter fence.
The Government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers, although none took place during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution and
law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, there were occasional
accusations of arbitrary arrest and detention.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--National and local
police under the Office of the Commissioner of Police maintain internal
security. The Ministry of National Security supervises the Department
of Police and the Department of Immigration. The Customs Department
reports to the Ministry of Finance. The Belize Defense Force (BDF),
under the Ministry of National Security, handles external security and
also has some responsibilities for domestic security under the Office
of the Commissioner of Police to complement mobile and foot patrols.
BDF soldiers carry out preventive patrols along with the police,
primarily in Belize City. The 1,240-member national police force
responded to complaints. A lack of government resources, low pay for
officers, and corruption remained problems. During the year there were
no reported cases of impunity for security authorities.
The OIA received and investigated 30 complaints of police
corruption. Twenty-one police officers were disciplined for corruption,
violence, or abuse, resulting in 10 monetary fines, five reprimands,
two severe reprimands, and four dismissals. Thirty-seven cases related
to corruption, violence, or abuse remained under investigation.
In March three police officers faced disciplinary charges for
planting cocaine in the home of a Taiwanese man and then demanding
$2,000 BLZ ($1,000) from the man to avoid arrest. None of the officers
were criminally charged. Internal police disciplinary action resulted
in one fine, one dismissal from the police force, and one case
dismissal.
Arrest and Detention.--Police must obtain search or arrest warrants
issued by a magistrate, except in cases of hot pursuit, when there is
probable cause, or when the presence of a firearm is suspected. Customs
officers may search a premise with a writ of assistance issued by the
Office of the Comptroller of Customs. The law requires police to inform
a detainee (in writing) of the cause of detention within 48 hours of
arrest and to bring the person before a magistrate to be charged within
a reasonable time (normally 24 hours). In practice arresting police
informed detainees immediately of the charges against them.
The law requires police to follow the ``Judges' Rules,'' a code of
conduct governing police interaction with arrested persons. Although
cases sometimes were dismissed when the Judges' Rules were violated,
more commonly a confession obtained through violation of these rules
was deemed invalid. Detainees usually were granted timely access to
family members and lawyers, although there were occasional complaints
that inmates were denied access or a telephone call after arrest. Bail
was available for all cases except killings and generally was granted.
In cases involving narcotics, the law does not permit police to grant
bail, but a magistrate's court may do so after a full hearing.
Detainees sometimes could not afford bail, and backlogs in the
docket often caused considerable delays and postponement of hearings;
the result was prison overcrowding and occasionally prolonged pretrial
detention. Approximately 217 persons or 16 percent of the prison
population was in pretrial detention.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial
independence. The constitution is the supreme law of the land and
persons have the right to bring legal actions for alleged violations of
rights protected under the constitution, regardless of whether there is
also implementing legislation.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The law
extends the following rights to persons accused of civil or criminal
offenses: presumption of innocence, protection against self-
incrimination, defense by counsel only in capital cases, a public
trial, and appeal. Defendants have the right to be present at their
trial unless the court determines that the opposing party has a
substantiated fear for safety, and in those cases, the court can grant
interim provisions that both parties be addressed individually during a
five-day period.
The Government provided legal counsel for indigent defendants only
in capital murder cases. Most defendants could not afford an attorney,
and there was a higher rate of conviction of defendants without legal
representation. Many defendants remained unrepresented. A severe lack
of trained personnel constrained the judicial system, and very junior
counsels or police officers often acted as prosecutors in the
magistrates' courts.
Lengthy trial backlogs remained during the year. The DPP cited
staffing constraints as the main reason for the backlog. Routine cases
without a defense attorney were decided within three months, but cases
involving a serious crime or in which a defense attorney was present
took more than one year. The DPP has dismissed a large number of
Supreme Court cases citing uncooperative witnesses and a lack of
evidence. Judges were often slow to issue rulings, which in some
instances took a year or longer.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Most civil suits are heard
in the Supreme Court; however, the magistrates' courts have
jurisdiction over civil cases involving sums of less than $5,000 BLZ
($2,500). In addition to civil cases, the Supreme Court has
jurisdiction over cases involving human rights issues. The backlog of
civil cases in the Supreme Court increased during the year due to an
increase in the number of cases.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and
government authorities generally respected these prohibitions in
practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice. The constitution, however, permits authorities to
forbid any citizen to question the validity of financial disclosure
statements submitted by public officials. Anyone who questions these
statements orally or in writing outside a rigidly prescribed procedure
is subject to a fine of up to $5,000 BLZ ($2,500), imprisonment of up
to three years, or both. There were no reports that this prohibition
was used during the year.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
viewpoints without restriction. All newspapers were subject to libel
laws that were enforced during the year.
The Belize Broadcasting Authority regulated broadcasting and had
the right to preview certain broadcasts, such as those with political
content, and to delete any defamatory or libelous material from
political broadcasts. This right was not exercised during the year.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Lack of infrastructure and high costs limited public access to the
Internet. The International Telecommunication Union reported that in
2007 there were 11 Internet users per 100 inhabitants.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. There
were fewer than 10 members of the Jewish community.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf.rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The constitution prohibits forced internal or external exile of
citizens, and there were no reports that the Government used it.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Help For Progress, the
UNHCR's implementing partner in the country, assisted with refugee and
asylum cases. Individual cases were handled through the Immigration and
Nationality Department.
In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. Three incidents involving 38 shipwrecked
Cubans were reported by the media and confirmed by the Government. The
Cubans were reportedly en route to the U.S. and received assistance
from the Belize National Coast Guard, the Belize National Police, the
BDF, and the Immigration and Nationality Department. Their boats were
repaired and they continued on their journey.
In August one family from Honduras and in September one family from
Guatemala were granted employment and residence permits after stating
they were fleeing their home countries after being threatened and
targeted by gangs.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held by secret ballot and on
the basis of universal suffrage for all citizens age 18 and older.
Elections and Political Participation.--On February 7, the UDP
obtained a parliamentary majority in generally free and fair elections.
There were no women in the 31-seat House of Representatives. There
were five women, among them the president, in the 12-member appointed
Senate. Mestizo, Creole, Maya, Garifuna, Mennonite, and other minority
and immigrant groups were represented in the National Assembly and at
the highest levels of government.
Governmental Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides
criminal penalties for official corruption; however, there have been no
successful prosecutions for official corruption. The World Bank's
worldwide governance indicators reflected that corruption was a
problem.
There were public indications of government corruption under the
previous administration during the year. On December 4, the Government
charged former prime minister Said Musa with a single count of theft in
connection with the alleged misappropriation in 2007 of a $10 million
grant from Venezuela earmarked for housing. Musa allegedly directed the
funds be paid to satisfy a government-guaranteed private hospital debt,
allegedly without authorization. Musa was granted bail and his trial
was scheduled to begin January 2009.
The Prevention of Corruption in Public Life Act requires public
officials to submit annual financial statements, which are to be
reviewed by the Integrity Commission.
The law provides for public access to documents of a ministry or
prescribed authority upon written request, although it protects a
number of categories, such as documents from the courts or those
related to national security, defense, or foreign relations. The
Government must supply to the Office of the Ombudsman a written reason
for any denial of access, the name of the person making the decision,
and information on the right to appeal.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their
findings on human rights cases. Government officials often were
cooperative and responsive to their views.
The ombudsman, although appointed by the Government, acts as an
independent check on governmental abuses. The position remained vacant
through year's end.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the Government effectively
enforced these prohibitions.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape. The
criminal code states that persons convicted of rape or marital rape
shall be sentenced to not less than eight years' and up to life
imprisonment. In practice, however, sentences were often much lighter.
In a number of instances, the DPP dropped the charges if the accusing
party did not testify at trial. Police and courts enforced statutory
rape laws; however, in relation to the number of accusations,
convictions were infrequent as the prosecution discontinued cases when
complainants were unwilling to proceed or requested no further court
action. Through year's end police reported 38 cases of rape and 23
arrests. Through year's end the Supreme Court recorded 12 cases of
rape, resulting in no convictions, three acquittals, and nine nolle
prosequi decisions.
The law prohibits domestic violence and contains penalties,
including imprisonment for violations, depending on the crime. The law
empowers the family court to issue protection orders against accused
offenders. Domestic violence against women remained a significant
problem. Through September the Ministry of Health reported 1,070 cases
of domestic violence recorded by police and health authorities.
Domestic violence was most prevalent in the Belize District, which
includes Belize City. There were two women's shelters in the country
with a total of 18 beds to offer short-term housing.
The law does not explicitly address adult prostitution, and the
Government did not use law enforcement resources to combat
prostitution. Loitering for the purposes of prostitution, operating a
brothel, and soliciting sex are illegal.
The magistrates' courts deal with sexual harassment complaints.
There are no criminal penalties for sexual harassment, and no sexual
harassment cases were brought during the year.
Despite legal provisions for gender equality, the media continued
to report that women faced social and economic discrimination. There
were no legal impediments to women owning or managing land or other
real property. Women participated in all spheres of national life but
held relatively few top managerial positions. Although the law mandates
equal pay for equal work, women tended to earn less than men. The
median monthly income for a working woman was $710 BLZ ($355), compared
with $751 BLZ ($374.50) for a man, based on the 2007 Belize Labor Force
Survey.
The Women's Department under the Ministry of Human Development,
Women and Children, and Civil Society is responsible for developing
programs to improve the status of women. A number of officially
registered women's groups also worked closely with various government
ministries to promote social awareness programs.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
children's welfare.
Education is compulsory for children between the ages of five and
14. After finishing primary education, children may enter a secondary
school, a government-run apprenticeship program, or a vocational
institution. Most students reached fifth grade.
Through September the Epidemiology Unit at the Ministry of Health
recorded 37 cases of domestic violence and 19 cases of sexual abuse
against children under 15. The police reported 98 cases of unlawful
carnal knowledge through year's end. In many cases the Government was
unable to prosecute individuals for unlawful carnal knowledge and
unlawful carnal knowledge because the victims or their families were
reluctant to press charges.
The law allows authorities to remove a child from an abusive home
environment and requires parents to maintain and support children until
the age of 18. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) expressed concern about
the criminal justice system's response to cases, as many of the
perpetrators were not prosecuted and many cases were withdrawn due to
lack of evidence and poor-quality investigations.
The Family Services Division in the Ministry of Human Development,
Women and Children, and Civil Society was the Government office devoted
to children's issues. The division coordinated programs for children
who were victims of domestic violence, advocated remedies in specific
cases before the family court, conducted public education campaigns,
investigated cases of trafficking in children, and worked with local
and international NGOs and UNICEF to promote children's welfare.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons,
which is punishable by fines of up to $10,000 BLZ ($5,000) and
imprisonment of up to five years. There were reports that persons were
trafficked within, to, and through the country, mainly from neighboring
countries, for purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual
exploitation.
There were no reliable estimates of the extent of trafficking.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working with the Ministry of
Human Development, indicated 70 victims of trafficking in persons were
identified through year's end. Sixty-five of the victims comprised one
trafficking case. There were reports that women were trafficked to the
country from neighboring countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El
Salvador, primarily for prostitution and nude dancing. NGOs reported
that persons in the commercial sex trade appeared to be in the country
(and in their current occupation) by choice, usually at the suggestion
of a friend or family member who was also engaged in commercial sex
work. Victims generally lived in squalid conditions in the bars where
they worked. Some bar owners reportedly confiscated victims' passports.
The Government's National Committee for Families and Children and
UNICEF reported that underage girls from economically disadvantaged
backgrounds often provided sexual favors to older men, ``sugar
daddies,'' in exchange for clothing, jewelry, school fees, or books, at
the urging of their families.
There was evidence of persons trafficked for labor purposes. Two
cases reported in the media involved Indian nationals mistreating shop
employees and withholding passports of five employees. In August
authorities charged a Chinese company contracted to build a hydrodam
with five counts of withholding travel documents. The Immigration and
Nationality Department provided temporary residence permits to allow
several of the victims, who had been trafficked from Nepal, to stay in
the country. The judge dismissed the court case based on procedural
issues including presentation of evidence and sequencing of witnesses.
The director of public prosecutions appealed the decision in October,
and the appeal awaited further trial in the Supreme Court.
On January 11, a court dismissed on grounds of insufficient
evidence all charges of trafficking against an Indian businessman
arrested in 2006 on charges of withholding his employees' travel
documents. Witnesses for the prosecution were uncooperative and failed
to testify.
There were no successful prosecutions against traffickers during
the year. Two 2007 cases involving trafficking or related offenses
appeared before the magistrates' courts during the year. A police raid
on a brothel in 2007 resulted in one charge of human trafficking for a
Corozal bar owner after a 16-year-old Central American woman was found
working as a prostitute. The case was dismissed in October when
Department of Human Services staff interviewed the victim and found the
woman worked willingly for the bar owner.
In February 2007 two police officers were charged with human
trafficking after eight illegal immigrants were found in a van driven
by one of the officers. A police disciplinary panel dismissed the
officers in 2007, and a court dismissed their criminal case in June
after the DPP determined the charges were incorrect; subsequent
prosecution for alien smuggling was barred by expiration of the statute
of limitations.
The law provides for limited victims' assistance, although in
practice government resources were insufficient to provide meaningful
aid to victims. Noncitizen victims willing to assist in prosecuting
traffickers are legally eligible for residency status.
The Government's Anti-Trafficking in Persons Committee, led by the
Ministry of Human Development and including representatives of various
other ministries, departments, and NGOs, is the lead entity in
combating trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/t/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law does not expressly
prohibit discrimination against persons with physical and mental
disabilities, the constitution provides for the protection of all
citizens from any type of discrimination. The law does not provide for
accessibility for persons with disabilities. There were two schools-the
Cayo Deaf Institute in Central Farm and the Stella Maris School for
disabled children in Belize City-and four special education centers
(located in Corozal, Punta Gorda, Orange Walk, and Dangriga) for
children with disabilities.
Informal government-organized committees for persons with
disabilities were tasked with public education and enforcing
protection. Private companies and NGOs, such as the Parents Association
for Children with Special Needs and the Belize Council for the Visually
Impaired, provided services to persons with disabilities. The Ministry
of Education maintained an educational unit offering limited special
education programs within the regular school system.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic tension, particularly
resentment of recently arrived Central American and Asian immigrants,
continued to be a problem, resulting in discrimination characterized
largely by verbal mistreatment.
Indigenous People.--The country's pluralistic society comprised
several ethnic minorities and indigenous Mayan groups. Among the
country's indigenous population, the Mopan and Kekchi historically were
characterized under the general term Maya, although self-proclaimed
leaders more recently asserted that they should be identified as the
Masenal (``common people''). The Maya Leaders' Alliance, which
comprised the Toledo Maya Cultural Council, the Kekchi Council of
Belize, the Toledo Alcaldes Association, and the Toledo Maya Women's
Council, monitored development in the Toledo District with the goal of
protecting Mayan land and culture. While there were legal disputes
concerning land development, there were no reports of governmental
violations of civil or political rights.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were incidents of
discrimination based on sexual orientation, but determination of its
extent was difficult to ascertain.
There was some societal discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS, and the Government worked to combat it through the public
education efforts of the National AIDS Commission under the Ministry of
Human Development and through the Pan-American Social Marketing
Organization.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--By law and in practice, workers
generally were free to establish and join trade unions. Eleven
independent unions, whose members constituted approximately 7 percent
of the labor force, represented a cross-section of workers, including
most civil service employees. The Ministry of Labor recognizes a union
after it has registered. The union must be certified by a tripartite
body comprising three members each from an established trade union, the
business community, and government, in order to represent workers. Both
law and precedent effectively protect unions against dissolution or
suspension by administrative authority.
The law permits unions to strike and does not generally require
notice before a strike. However, this right is not extended to public
sector workers in areas designated as ``essential services,'' which are
broadly defined and include postal, sanitary, health, and other
services, as well as services in which petroleum products are sold, and
which must provide 21 days' notice to strike. The law also empowers the
Government to refer a dispute to compulsory arbitration in order to
prevent or terminate a strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining, and unions practiced it freely.
Although employers and unions can set wages in free negotiations, more
commonly employers simply established them. The labor commissioner or
his representative has the authority to act as a mediator in deadlocked
collective bargaining negotiations between labor and management,
offering nonbinding counsel to both sides. If either union or
management chooses not to accept the commissioner's decision, both may
request a legal hearing.
Unions may organize freely, but the law does not require employers
to recognize a union as a bargaining agent if no union within that
sector covers more than 50 percent of the workers.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination but does not require
reinstatement of employees fired for union organizing activities. In
practice there was antiunion discrimination on the banana plantations
and in the export processing zones (EPZs), where employer collectives
and associations have not agreed to recognize unions. While an
aggrieved employee can seek redress from the courts, effective redress
for workers dismissed for union organizing was extremely difficult to
obtain. Although workers are able to file complaints with the Labor
Department, it was difficult for workers filing complaints to prove
that a termination was due to union activity, and fines imposed on
employers in cases of antiunion discrimination were too low to
discourage employers from such practices.
There are no special laws or exemptions from the regular labor laws
in the country's 63 EPZs. There were no unions in the EPZs.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred (See Section 5).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the employment of children under age 12 and the
employment of children between the ages of 12 and 14 before the end of
school hours on official school days. While the law does not expressly
provide for a maximum number of weekly hours of work that can be
performed by persons under 18 years of age, it generally limits work
hours for all persons to 45 hours per week. The law expressly prohibits
children from working overtime. The law permits children to work on
family farms and in family-run businesses. The minimum age for
employment involving hazardous machinery is 17 years. There were
ambiguities in the legal definition of child labor in relation to light
work, hazardous work, and artistic performance; the Ministry of Labor
in consultation with UNICEF and other stakeholders worked to add more
specificity to the regulations. Inspectors from the Departments of
Labor and Education are responsible for enforcing these regulations,
but there were no updated reports on whether child labor laws were well
enforced during the year.
Child labor was a problem in family-related commercial activities.
Children in rural areas worked on family plots and businesses after
school, on weekends, and during vacations, and were involved in the
citrus and banana industries as field workers. Children in urban areas
shined shoes; sold food, crafts, and other small items; and worked in
markets. Adolescent girls, some of whom were trafficked within the
country and to and from neighboring countries, worked as domestic
servants and in commercial sexual activities. Children were frequently
observed selling fruit and baked goods along the country's northern and
southern highways. Children also were observed crossing into the
country from Guatemala on a daily basis to work as street vendors in
the urban centers of the Cayo district. A 2003 International Labor
Organization study estimated that 6 percent of children between the
ages of five and 17 were working, with 69 percent engaged in hazardous
work. There were no government-sponsored child labor prevention
programs.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage varies
according to the type of work in which the employee is engaged. The
minimum wages for various sectors were established based on a survey of
various domestic businesses, resulting in an average that was reviewed
and approved by the cabinet. The survey was conducted in 2006 by the
wages council which consists of representatives of government,
employers, and unions. For those in agriculture and agroindustry, the
hourly minimum wage was $2.50 BLZ ($1.25); for manual and domestic
workers, it was $3.00 BLZ ($1.50). The minimum wage law did not cover
workers paid on a piecework basis. The national minimum wage did not
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The
Ministry of Labor was charged with enforcing the minimum wage, which
generally was respected in practice.
The law sets the workweek at no more than six days or 45 hours and
requires premium payment for overtime work. The exploitation of
undocumented Central American workers, particularly young service
workers and agricultural workers, continued to be a problem.
Several different health and safety regulations covered numerous
industries, and the Ministry of Labor enforced these regulations to
varying degrees due to limited resources. The Government committed its
limited inspection and investigative resources principally to urban and
more accessible rural areas where labor, health, and safety complaints
were registered. Workers have the legal right to leave a dangerous
workplace situation without jeopardy to continued employment and did so
in practice.
__________
BOLIVIA
Bolivia is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with a population
of approximately 9.25 million. In 2005 in a free and fair process,
citizens elected Evo Morales Ayma, leader of the Movement Towards
Socialism (MAS) party, as president. Government efforts to bring a
controversial new constitution to a national referendum, opposition
demands for greater regional autonomy, and contesting demands for
government funds led to a series of violent confrontations and large-
scale road blockades. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
While the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there were problems in some areas. The most significant human
rights problems were abuses by security forces; harsh prison
conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; attacks on the judiciary by
the executive branch; threats to civil liberties, including legal
rights and press freedom; use of excessive force and other abuses in
internal conflicts; corruption and a lack of transparency in
government; discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, and sexual
orientation; trafficking in persons; child labor; forced or coerced
labor; and brutal working conditions in the mining sector.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, but an
estimated 17 deaths occurred during politically related conflicts. An
opposition sympathizer died of riot control gas inhalation during the
May 4 autonomy referendum in Santa Cruz Department (state). On August
5, two miners died in a confrontation with police during a protest in
the town of Caihuasi in Oruro Department. A violent confrontation
involving progovernment campesinos (peasant farmers) and backers of the
opposition-aligned Prefect (governor) Leopoldo Fernandez resulted in
the deaths of 13 persons in Pando Department on September 11 and
September 12, according to the prosecutor's office. On December 15, in
breaking up a protest by several thousand people in the city of
Patacamaya regarding government restrictions on importing used cars in
a free-trade zone, police shot and killed one person. Approximately ten
people were injured, including several police.
On August 5, police attempting to clear a week-long blockade on the
road between Cochabamba and La Paz became involved in a conflict with
up to 4,000 striking miners. The Government and labor union leaders
each blamed the other for the deaths of two miners who were shot and
killed. An investigation into the exact cause of the deaths was ongoing
at year's end.
Deaths by lynching remained a problem. While there were no official
statistics for lynching deaths, the Government's Special Force Against
Crime (FELCC) registered 31 reported cases through September: seven
cases in El Alto, five in La Paz, two in Potosi, nine in Cochabamba,
one in Sucre, and seven in Santa Cruz. Local press reports in
Cochabamba reported 15 lynchings. The Cochabamba ombudsman's office
estimated at least 45 lynchings across the country.
In locations where lynching was common, some residents attempted to
justify the practice by asserting that it was part of their tradition
of ``communitarian justice'' and a pragmatic response to a lack of
access to justice through the legal system, which was a problem. The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in a June 2007 report
noted that only 180 of the 327 municipalities had a judge, only 76 had
a prosecutor, and only 11 had a public defender. According to a Freedom
House 2008 report released during the year, a ``lack of clarity'' in
codifying indigenous customary law ``resulted in dozens of acts of
'communal justice,' including lynching, in violation of international
human rights norms.''
In a high profile case on November 17, a large crowd of Achacachi
residents stoned and burned eleven suspected thieves, killing two and
badly injuring the rest. According to local media, which published
graphic pictures of the victims, police rescued the survivors after
several hours of torture in a local soccer stadium. Residents refused
to cooperate with an official investigation. In another case on
December 4, a youth in Riberalta was beaten to death for stealing
toilet paper.
In December the Supreme Court requested that Congress authorize an
impeachment trial to remove immunities enjoyed by members of the
Ministry of Government implicated in the November 2007 alleged killings
of Gonzalo Duran Carazani, Juan Carlos Serrudo, and Jose Luis Cardozo
by security forces. The killings took place during protests about
Sucre's status as the country's capital. Removal of immunity is
necessary before the Supreme Court may proceed with prosecution.
Congress had not yet made a decision in this matter by year's end.
There were no new developments in the military or civil
investigations into the September 2007 death of Osmar Flores Torres in
Arani, in which police denied using lethal weapons in responding to a
demonstration. Military and civilian authorities conducted separate
investigations. Prosecutors strongly asserted that the military was not
fully cooperating in this case, while the Defense Ministry alleged the
prosecutor's office did not follow procedure in requesting information.
The case remained in an 18-month investigatory phase, with the trial
not slated to begin until March or April 2009.
According to the prosecutor in the case, there were no developments
in the April 2007 shooting of Herman Ruiz. Ruiz was part of a group of
protesters who attempted to take over a natural gas plant.
There were no developments in the 2006 case in which security force
members in Carrasco National Park killed coca growers Ramber Guzman
Zambrana and Celestino Ricaldis. The case remained in the preliminary
investigative phase, primarily due to a lack of prosecutorial action,
although there were also criticisms of the military's cooperation.
There were no developments in the 2006 shooting death of off-duty
police officer Santiago Orocondo Arevillca. Civilian authorities within
the Ministry of Defense did not respond to the prosecutor's request for
information.
Authorities closed the investigation into the 2006 death of naval
officer Wilder Rene Blanco Mendoza without bringing charges, despite
allegations of corruption in the investigation and undocumented threats
to the prosecutor and Blanco's family.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
confirmed reports that government officials employed them. There were a
number of allegations of vigilante violence that resulted in
extrajudicial abuses against persons, including specific reports of
beatings and abuse by members of security forces.
The ombudsman reported that of all government institutions police
were the most frequent human rights violators. The ombudsman's office
received 1,183 complaints regarding the police. According to the
ombudsman, although the number of complaints rose, the overall number
was still ``relatively low'' given the ``constant turmoil'' in the
country.
On February 26, supporters of the ruling MAS party attacked Juan
Choque Apaza, an indigenous activist protesting against the Government.
When a large crowd of MAS supporters surrounded Congress, Choque
attempted to collect signatures for a petition against President
Morales. In response, the crowd beat him until he was unconscious. On
March 4, according to an interview with Choque, Minister of the
Government Alfredo Rada told him to stop a hunger strike or be beaten
again by government supporters. Choque alleged that he continued his
strike and soon thereafter, more MAS supporters found and beat him. MAS
supporters beat him for conducting an antigovernment hunger strike.
Choque further alleged he was attacked by government supporters in
other incidents in eight of the country's nine departments, including
an attack on June 13 in Santa Cruz by uniformed police officers who
stole his book of petition signatures. He said complaints to the local
ombudsman's office were ignored. Ombudsman representatives said they
attempted to investigate Choque's claims but found them incoherent and
lacking in evidence. A representative said they wrote a letter to the
Ministry of Government supporting his right to go on a hunger strike.
On December 29, immediately after meeting with President Morales in
La Paz, members of the militant progovernment social group Ponchos
Rojos verbally assaulted Choque, took his cell phone and petition book,
and threatened to attack him before police escorted Choque away. The
next day municipal police forced Choque to stop collecting signatures,
stating he did not have a permit to establish a petition center.
During his detention Roberto Lenin Sandoval Lopez complained that
government security forces beat and threatened him while he was in
detention (See Section 1.d).
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
harsh. Prisons were overcrowded and in poor condition. There were 7,778
inmates (6,831 men and 947 women) in facilities designed to hold 4,700
prisoners. Government authorities effectively controlled only the outer
security perimeter of each prison. Inside prison walls prisoners
usually maintained control, and gangs directed criminal activity from
their cells.
Violence among prisoners, and in some cases the involvement of
prison officials in violence against prisoners, were problems.
Regarding the November 2007 prison escape in Sucre, in which more
than 100 prisoners escaped, approximately 30 percent returned to
prison. The Chuquisaca prosecutor and police continued to investigate
the remaining cases and try to find the remaining escapees, but
progress was slow.
Corruption was a problem among low-ranking and poorly paid guards
and prison wardens. The number of persons held in detention centers
remained a problem, due to a general increase in crime. A prisoner's
wealth often determined cell size, visiting privileges, day-pass
eligibility, and place or length of confinement. Inmates reportedly
paid fees to prior cell occupants or to prisoners who controlled
cellblocks. Although the law permits children up to six years old to
live with an incarcerated parent, children as old as 12 lived with
their parents in prisons. Approximately 1,400 children lived with a
parent in prison, as an alternative to being left homeless. During
school vacations the number of children in prison with parents could
double. According to the municipal government, approximately 300
children and 100 women lived in La Paz's San Pedro Prison as dependents
of male prisoners.
The standard prison diet was insufficient, and prisoners who could
afford to do so supplemented rations by buying food.
The law provides that prisoners have access to medical care, but
care was inadequate, and it was difficult for prisoners to get
permission for outside medical treatment. Nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) and prisoners reported cases of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in the
jails. However, affluent prisoners could obtain transfers to preferred
prisons or even to outside private institutional care for ``medical''
reasons. Inmates who could pay had access to drugs and alcohol, and
sometimes they used children to traffic drugs inside the prisons.
There were separate prisons for women, except for Morros Blancos
Prison in Tarija, where men and women shared facilities. Conditions for
female inmates were similar to those for men; however, overcrowding at
the San Sebastian women's prison in Cochabamba was worse than in most
prisons for men.
According to Ministry of Government officials, 710 convicted
juveniles (16 to 21 years old) were not segregated from adult prisoners
in jails, and adult inmates sometimes abused them. Rehabilitation
programs for juveniles or other prisoners were scarce to nonexistent.
Pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners.
The Government generally permitted prison visits by independent
human rights observers, judges, and media representatives, and such
visits took place during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, there were several cases of security
forces seizing and holding individuals under legally dubious
circumstances.
According to press reports, on June 2, six members of a police team
forced Chuquisaca opposition youth leader Roberto Lenin Sandoval Lopez
into a car and took him to a prison facility in El Alto, near La Paz.
Sandoval, his wife, and his daughter were injured during Sandoval's
arrest. According to the human rights ombudsman, the arrest violated
the constitution and was done without a court order. While the minister
of government justified the action by stating Sandoval was to be
charged for terrorism, sedition, and attempted murder, opposition
members claimed the arrest was meant to intimidate them against running
a candidate for governor of Chuquisaca Department. Police interrogated
Sandoval, reportedly threatened his life, and reportedly forced him
into a false confession before a judge released him on June 3 for lack
of evidence.
In a separate case, between mid-September and December, government
security forces confined Pando Prefect Fernandez and 36 others for
their alleged roles in violence in and around the town of Porvenir in
Pando Department on September 11, and for violating the subsequent
state of siege. The ombudsman reported that in making arrests the
police violated the constitutional rights of at least 14 people by
failing to show a court order authorizing the arrests, by arriving at
extraordinary hours not permitted by law, by failing to allow access to
a judge within 48 hours, by forbidding outside contact during their
confinement, by using in some cases cruel treatment or torture during
and after their arrests, and by using excessive force against the
families of those being arrested.
Two other Pando prefect employees were arrested on corruption
charges and similarly flown to La Paz for incarceration pending trial,
in violation of legal procedure and, according to some in the
opposition, as part of a larger post-September 11 roundup of
Fernandez's allies.
The prosecutor's office reported that nine Morales supporters,
largely peasant farmers, were killed while marching that day to Pando's
capital, Cobija. President Morales stated that Fernandez was
responsible for an ambush of the marchers and their deaths and would be
confined indefinitely in La Paz pending trial.
The Government transported all 39 Pando detainees to La Paz to
await formal charges. The Supreme Court ruled that the Government's
arrest of Fernandez was illegal on both jurisdictional and procedural
grounds, and it set two deadlines for his transfer from the La Paz jail
to a different jurisdiction. The Government ignored both court orders,
and on November 5 initiated a congressional investigation of two
Supreme Court justices and Attorney General Mario Uribe for aiding a
fugitive.
The Government lifted the state of siege on November 23. On
November 28, a local judge accepted the Government's case, including
charges of murder and terrorism against Fernandez and 20 others. The
court also accepted the corruption charges against the two other Pando
employees. The court released 16 detainees.
The Union of South American Nations and the human rights ombudsman
released reports regarding the Pando events that generally supported
the Government's characterization of a ``massacre'' perpetrated by
opposition-aligned prefect and civic committee officials. The
ombudsman's report urged more investigation into the context and
background of the events and criticized the Government for violating
legal procedures in its arrests and detentions of suspects. The
ombudsman criticized the Government for keeping suspects in prolonged
detention without access to their families or lawyers, or his own
offices. The UN was investigating the Pando events at year's end.
In a separate case, government authorities also detained and sent
Porvenir's ranking police official, Mirtha Sosa Chalar, to La Paz for
questioning regarding the events in Pando. Sosa stated in interviews
that she was beaten and threatened with sexual assault by security
forces but not charged with any crime, and then was released.
On October 13, members of the police and navy forcibly arrested
Riberalta media personality Jorge Melgar Quete for disseminating an
August 7 speech of Presidency Minister Juan Quintana calling for the
``political'' burial of Pando Prefect Fernandez. The Government
maintained it was a lawful arrest, but Melgar's son stated in
interviews that at no time was any legal document presented or
discussed. The Government took Melgar to La Paz, where he was detained.
In a court hearing the judge ruled the case should be tried in
Riberalta, not La Paz, and placed Melgar back in a La Paz jail until he
could be transported to Riberalta, where he remained at year's end.
Melgar's attorney claimed the Government did not have the court's
permission to arrest Melgar outside of daylight hours, which requires a
specific type of warrant, and that the arrest happened without the
presence of the prosecutor's office, which also is required.
On September 10, the Government arrested Tarija Prefecture Civic
Committee leader Reynaldo Bayard for allegedly participating in
destruction of gas lines. The opposition rejected the Government's
charges as an attempt to silence opponents without proof of the
charges. Bayard remained under arrest.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
have primary responsibility for internal security, but military forces
may be called upon for help in critical situations, which occurred
during the year. The national police disciplined officers by issuing
1,446 administrative sanctions through December 1. Prosecutors were
sometimes reluctant to prosecute security officials for alleged
offenses committed while on duty, in part because they relied on the
Judicial Technical Police to investigate its own officers.
Arrest and Detention.--Arrests generally were carried out openly,
but there were credible reports of arbitrary arrests and detentions.
Some family members of suspects arrested during Pando's state of siege
complained that police and prefect authorities denied arrests were
made, leading families to suspect extralegal measures had been taken
until days later, when the Government announced the arrests.
The law requires an arrest warrant, and the police must inform the
prosecutor of an arrest within eight hours. The law requires that a
detainee see a judge within 24 hours (except under a declared state of
siege, in which a detainee may be held for 48 hours), during which time
the judge must determine the appropriateness of continued pretrial
detention or release on bail and must order the detainee's release if
the prosecutor fails to show sufficient grounds for arrest. Credible
reports indicated that in some cases detainees were held for more than
24 hours without court approval.
More than 70 percent of detainees awaited sentencing, but the
courts provided release on bail for some detainees. Judges have the
authority to order preventive detention for suspects deemed a flight
risk. If a suspect is not detained, a judge may order significant
restrictions on the suspect's movements.
Detainees generally had prompt access to their families and were
allowed access to lawyers, but approximately 70 percent could not
afford legal counsel, and public defenders were scarce and
overburdened.
During the year the Government provided 170 police officers in-
depth human rights training, and provided 850 cadets and other police
officials instruction in legal procedure that featured human rights
instruction as well.
Denial of justice through prolonged detention remained a problem.
Although the law establishes that a case's investigatory phase cannot
exceed a maximum of 18 months and that the trial phase cannot exceed
three years, some suspects were held in preventive detention longer
than the legal limits. If the investigatory process is not completed in
18 months, the detainee may request release by a judge; however,
judicial corruption, a shortage of public defenders, inadequate case-
tracking mechanisms, and complex criminal justice procedures kept some
persons jailed for more than 18 months before trial.
Children from 11 to 16 years of age may be detained indefinitely in
children's centers for known or suspected offenses, or for their
protection, on the orders of a social worker. There is no judicial
review of such orders.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, but the judiciary was widely considered corrupt
and weakened by government interference. The courts have not recovered
from government attempts since 2007 to pressure the judiciary, remove
several of its members, and undermine its independence. A 2007
Transparency International survey reported that more than 80 percent of
those surveyed considered the judicial system corrupt.
There are three levels of courts within the judicial system: trial
courts, superior courts, and the Supreme Court. Superior court review
is restricted to a review of the application of the law. The Supreme
Court may hear appeals in general, but review is restricted to cases
involving exceptional circumstances.
The Constitutional Tribunal is an independent institution and has
original and appellate jurisdiction on constitutional matters. The
tribunal is the country's highest authority on constitutional matters
and is separate from the Supreme Court, which is the highest authority
on all other legal matters.
The Constitutional Tribunal normally functions with five regular
members and five alternates, but violent protests by government
supporters in 2007, a 50 percent pay cut, a 2007 attempt by the
legislature to impeach four members, and health concerns left the
tribunal with only one member. Unable to raise a quorum of three, the
tribunal functioned only sporadically, had a three-year backlog of
cases, and was unable to issue effective rulings on either the series
of autonomy referenda held by four prefectures in May and June or the
national recall referendum held on August 10. On July 21, the tribunal
attempted to suspend the national recall referendum on constitutional
grounds, but ultimately the National Electoral Court (CNE) ignored this
challenge. Opposition groups suggested that the executive branch failed
to nominate new tribunal members to avoid critical rulings on its
potentially illegal or extralegal actions.
The CNE is the final authority on all matters relating to elections
and has faced challenges. It operated with only three members or fewer
out of five and was attacked for being partial to the Government and
for having purged professional staff. However, the court issued a
number of opinions that signaled its independence, including its
rejection of a planned December national referendum on the proposed
constitution. On December 16, after the third CNE member's term
expired, leaving the CNE without a quorum, the Government proposed to
extend his term instead of going through the required legislative
process to appoint a new CNE member. The opposition-controlled Senate
narrowly defeated this effort, and on December 20 the full Congress
appointed a new CNE member.
In a July 29 speech in Cochabamba, President Morales noted he had
taken illegal steps to apply his reforms and only later asked his
lawyers to legalize such actions.
On December 3, representatives of the judiciary publicly criticized
the Morales administration for attempting to destroy the Government's
judicial branch. The representatives denounced the Government's illegal
detention of former Pando prefect Fernandez and called the proposed
draft constitution authoritarian and antidemocratic. A formal statement
was signed by Supreme Court justices, the chairman of the Judicial
Council, the president and members of the National Agrarian Court, the
chairmen and members of the district courts, and the president and
members of the Association of Magistrates of Bolivia. The Morales
administration responded that the judicial branch was corrupt, and the
deputy minister of justice recommended that all signatories resign
immediately if the proposed constitution were approved.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial
for all citizens, but fair trials did not always occur. Defendants have
constitutional rights to a presumption of innocence, to a speedy and
public trial by jury, to remain silent, to have an attorney, to
confront witnesses, to present evidence on their own behalf, to due
process, to an appeal, and to confront legal charges with government
prosecutors before a formal court process is initiated. In practice the
rights to an attorney and to a speedy trial were not protected
systematically, although the Criminal Procedures Code facilitated more
efficient investigations, transparent oral trials, and credible
verdicts. In 2007 Freedom House reported there were only 56 public
defenders, or 0.8 defenders for each 100,000 citizens, available in
only 11 of 327 municipalities.
The law provides for a system of transparent oral trials in
criminal cases, requires that no pretrial detention exceed 18 months
without charges, provides for a maximum period of detention of 24
months in cases in which a sentence is being appealed, and mandates a
three-year maximum duration for a trial. The law provides that the
prosecutor is in charge of the investigative stage of a case and must
give suspects an opportunity to confront charges before a trial
formally begins.
The prosecutor instructs police regarding witness statements and
evidence necessary to prosecute. The prosecutor pursues misdemeanor
cases (with possible sentences of less than four years) before a judge
of instruction and felony cases (with possible sentences of more than
four years) before sentencing courts, both of which feature a five-
member panel that includes three citizens and two judges.
The law also recognizes the conflict resolution (community justice)
traditions of indigenous communities, provided that the resolution does
not conflict with the rights and provisions established under the
constitution.
The military justice system generally was susceptible to senior-
level influence and tended to avoid rulings that would embarrass the
military. When a military member is accused of a crime related to his
military service, the commander of the affected unit assigns an officer
to conduct an inquiry and prepare a report. The results are forwarded
to a judicial advisor, usually at the division level, who then
recommends a finding of innocence or guilt. For major infractions the
case is forwarded to a military court, except that military personnel
are supposed to be tried in civilian courts for human rights
violations.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were allegations of
political prisoners or detainees, including detentions resulting from
the September 11 conflict in Pando Department (See Section 1.d.).
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary for civil matters. The law provides for
criminal remedies for human rights violations, and at the conclusion of
a criminal trial, the complainant can initiate a civil trial to seek
damages. Administratively, the ombudsman for human rights can issue
resolutions on specific human rights cases, which the Government may
enforce.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government
generally respected these prohibitions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press. Although the Government generally respected
these rights, it maintained an antagonistic relationship with the
press. Several NGOs charged President Morales and government officials
with making disparaging statements regarding the press, condoning
violence against journalists and media outlets, politicizing state-
produced media content, and promulgating laws designed to restrict
independent media. The media claimed the Government also illegally
restricted journalists' access to the detained persons from Pando and
their relatives following the September 11 conflict.
The number of media outlets, including printed press, television,
and radio, was extensive, and airing of various viewpoints, many
expressing opposition to the Government, continued. Radio and
television stations generally operated freely. However, there were many
reports that journalists attempting to film or report events,
particularly those involving social movements, were threatened or
injured by private individuals or nongovernmental groups. Progovernment
groups generally attacked private media outlets and their reporters,
while antigovernment groups focused their attacks on government-
controlled media. The National Press Association registered 245 cases
of aggression against reporters and other media workers during the
twelve months preceding October.
In a March 30 report, the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA)
asserted that freedoms of press and expression were ``severely
threatened.'' IAPA noted that President Morales called the press his
``main enemy'' and accused media outlets of lying, conspiring with
national oligarchies, and ``being sold'' to hostile foreign
governments. The IAPA report cited a letter from the Superintendent of
Telecommunications, which warned of fines or bans from broadcasting for
any media outlet caught transmitting propaganda or information that
``although true, may harm or frighten the population.'' The report
charged that the Government had warned independent community radio
stations that their licenses would be renewed only if they transmitted
the news channel of the state, Radio Patria Nueva.
Several NGOs expressed concern about the transformation of the
state media channel into a ``proselytizing force'' for the Morales
administration. In its Press Freedom Index, the NGO Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) reported a 'dramatic' deterioration in press freedom in
the country, specifically citing the continued politicization of the
media. On July 23, RSF released a letter noting its strong concern
regarding the Government's appointment of five ministers to head the
National Corporation for Bolivian Television for its potential to
transform state media into a solely pro-government medium. On October
7, the IAPA criticized the Government for increasingly frequent verbal
attacks against independent media and cited government efforts to
transform state-run media into a proselytizing force.
Critics of the Government claimed that the Morales administration
used its large advertising budget to control private media outlets and
impose self-censorship on media content. They also asserted that the
Government arbitrarily conducted financial audits of journalists and
media owners.
Immediately after the September 11 conflict in Pando, members of
the private media complained that the Government flew a group of
journalists to Pando the night of September 13, but only reporters from
the Government's news service and a sympathetic private radio reporter
were allowed to stay. The Government allegedly returned the others to
La Paz the same night on grounds that the Government could not
guarantee their security.
At a rally in Cochabamba on August 23, President Morales called the
press ``dirty,'' accused them of selling their services to corrupt
opposition officials, and in a speech four days later, referred to
media owners as ``liars.''
Violence against journalists continued. Several NGOs not formally
sponsored by government or opposition groups charged the Government
with condoning or encouraging attacks and intimidation of opposition
media. RSF documented at least 21 journalists who were beaten severely,
kidnapped, or in one case, almost lynched. The group also recorded
eight instances in which television or radio stations were bombed, set
on fire, or otherwise attacked. One journalist, Carlos Quispe Quispe,
was killed in an attack by government supporters in La Paz Department
on March 29. Most attacks on journalists were politically motivated;
they were carried out by both government and opposition supporters. In
one case, Army Lieutenant Jorge Nava was arrested in connection with
the June 21 bombing of the Unitel television station in Tarija. The
opposition charged the Government with involvement in the bombing,
contending that the lieutenant was assigned to the presidential palace
and was using cash, explosives, and weapons provided by the Government.
The opposition also alleged Venezuelan influence, citing a car-rental
contract arranged by the Venezuelan Embassy for the vehicle used in the
attack. On November 7, Nava was released on bail pending further
investigation.
The Government issued an arrest warrant in June for Adolfo Cerrudo
for attacks on private media journalists generally, a specific threat
of rape against a journalist from leading daily La Razon, and a death
threat toward another journalist. Several private media outlets had
complained to authorities that Cerrudo had been attacking journalists
as early as January. Authorities placed Cerrudo under house arrest and
ordered him to stay away from reporters and media outlets and to check
in periodically with police. In violation of the order restricting him
from contact with the media, Cerrudo attacked journalists on October 29
outside of San Pedro prison, and the police did not intervene. The
Government did order house arrest for Cerrudo again in mid-November;
however, police appeared unable to locate him. The opposition
characterized Cerrudo as receiving favorable treatment from authorities
due to ties with the ruling MAS party and senior government officials.
The MAS denied links with Cerrudo, although he was linked with the
radical pro-Morales Popular Civic Committee of La Paz.
On December 1, a bomb exploded at the door of newspaper El Potosi,
twisting the metal door off its hinges. No one claimed responsibility
for the attack, and the Government began an investigation that was
pending at year's end.
At a public event on December 10, President Morales asked a
journalist to approach the podium, produce proof for a recently written
story implicating Morales in a contraband case, called the journalist a
liar, and told him to leave. A cross-section of mainstream media
condemned the president's actions as intimidating, an abuse of power,
and an attack on freedom of the press. The next day President Morales
stated that 90 percent of journalists ``had no dignity'' and said he
``did not need the media to report'' about his administration. He
subsequently restricted some press conferences to government media and
foreign press only.
On December 18, unknown actors exploded dynamite at a radio station
owned by MAS dissident Senator Guido Guardia. Guardia accused the
ministers of the presidency and of government of arranging the attack.
A similar explosion occurred at Guardia's apartment in La Paz in
October 2007. Police were investigating both cases, although according
to Guardia they waited two months to take his testimony regarding the
first attack. Government officials did not comment on the attack or on
accusations by MAS Congressman Gustavo Torrico, who accused Guardia of
orchestrating the attacks himself for political benefit.
At year's end the Government was investigating 10 cases of attacks
on the media, with one suspect in custody.
The law provides that persons found guilty of insulting, defaming,
or slandering public officials for carrying out their duties may be
jailed from one month to two years. Insults directed against the
president, vice president, or a minister increase the sentence by half.
Journalists accused of violating the constitution or citizens' rights
are referred to the 40-person Press Tribunal, an independent body
authorized to evaluate journalists' practices, although cases rarely
came before the tribunal.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2007 there were
198,000 Internet subscribers and 2 Internet users per 100 inhabitants.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the authorities generally
respected this right in practice. While the law requires a permit for
most demonstrations, security forces rarely enforced the law, and most
protesters demonstrated without obtaining permits, frequently
blockading major thoroughfares and highways. Enforcement of permit
requirements at times appeared politically motivated. For example,
police permitted progovernment protesters to surround and blockade
Congress in late February, and did not intervene when the crowd
assaulted opposition legislators and at least one counter-protester,
but in March police used tear gas to force a small, peaceful animal
rights group, Animales SOS, that had been protesting in the same plaza,
to disband. Animales SOS had been protesting the actions of militant
progovernment social group Ponchos Rojos, which publicly decapitated
two dogs as a warning to opposition leaders.
While most demonstrations were peaceful, occasionally demonstrators
carried weapons, including clubs, machetes, firearms, and dynamite.
Security forces frequently (police and on occasion the military) were
called upon to break up protest groups carrying weapons or threatening
government and private facilities (mainly natural gas supply lines and
federal offices).
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice. Roman Catholicism was predominant, and the constitution
recognizes it as the official religion. However, some government
officials criticized the Catholic Church as being too political and
threatened to revoke part or all of its tax-exempt status. In early
November President Morales called the Catholic Church an ``instrument
of domination that brings injustice and inequality.''
On November 30, church leader Cardinal Terrazas publicly discussed
his concern that under new government policies the country could be
overrun by narcotraffickers. On December 4, in what many news reports
labeled a direct response, the Government proposed that the Catholic
Church begin paying taxes for its ``lucrative'' activities. The
Government also repeated demands that the cardinal and the Catholic
Church should cease making political statements.
On October 23, in its annual report to the Vatican, NGO Helping the
Church in Need stated the country was one of 60 countries where
religious persecution occurred.
Non-Catholic religious organizations, including missionary groups,
must register with the Office of the Director of Religion in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to receive authorization for legal
religious representation. There were hundreds of recognized religious
groups on the registry. The ministry is not allowed to deny
registration based on an organization's articles of faith, but the
process can be time-consuming and expensive, leading some groups to
forgo registration and operate informally without certain tax and
customs benefits.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuse or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. There
was a small Jewish community.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. However, throughout the year both progovernment and
opposition protesters prevented movement within the country by
blockading major highways, as did trade and industry groups.
In July and August, opposition leaders several times barred
President Morales from entering cities they controlled in the eastern
part of the country, known as the media luna (half-moon). According to
press reports, in August and September, as many as 35 politically
motivated blockades occurred in the media luna, including the cordoning
off of the borders with Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. In response,
on September 8, CONALCAM (National Coordination for Change), a group
politically aligned with President Morales, declared its intention to
close all roads into and out of Santa Cruz. Nearly 20,000 rural
workers, many armed, effectively blocked vehicular transportation for
seven days, causing significant economic losses and shortages of water,
gas, and basic foodstuffs.
Several hundred thousand citizens lacked basic identity documents,
which prevented them from obtaining international travel documents and
accessing other government services. The Government cooperated with the
Pastoral de Movilidad Humana, which is the local representative of the
UNHCR, and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and
asylum seekers.
The law prohibits the forced exile of citizens, and the Government
did not employ the practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided some protection against
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. However, a June 2007 IACHR report noted
three problems in the refugee and asylum system: lack of due process;
difficulties in obtaining identification documents; and inadequate
protection against the return of refugees to countries where there was
reason to believe they feared persecution. In February the Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the number
of persons requesting asylum increased by 200 percent in 2007.
In January the Government established a refugee department to
record and process all cases. Although cases were being processed,
there were several complaints that the length of time needed to receive
recognition of refugee status, in some cases up to six or seven months,
exceeded the one-month period stipulated in the law.
The UNHCR reported that the recognized refugee population in the
country was more than 600 persons and steadily increasing. The
Government completed processing and agreed to provide refugee
protection in 30 pending cases, with 35 older cases still under review.
There were 24 new applications during the year.
On October 17, the attorney general's office formally indicted
former president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and former defense minister
Sanchez Berzain on criminal charges in connection with the deaths of up
to 60 persons in October 2003. In November the Government submitted a
request for Sanchez de Lozada's extradition from the country to which
he fled.
In May the Supreme Court voted to refuse Peru's extradition request
regarding the case of Walter Chavez, wanted in Peru on charges of being
a terrorist leader in the 1980s with the Movimiento Revolucionario
Tupac Amaru.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through periodic, free,
and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. However,
many citizens of voting age lacked the identity documents necessary to
vote, although the electoral court reported 377,000 new voters since
2006. The Government also pursued a controversial identification card
effort, with Venezuelan assistance, with the stated goal of improving
citizens' access to identification documents. Opposition groups charged
the registration process was partisan and designed to increase voter
rolls primarily for MAS party supporters. Before the August 10 recall
referendum, CNE President Jose Luis Exeni stated he believed the voter
rolls were ``98 percent trustworthy.'' After the referendum district
electoral courts, press articles, and opposition leaders called for an
audit of the voter rolls to investigate allegations of irregularities.
The Organization of American States voiced concerns about voter fraud,
stating it had observed voting irregularities at 5 percent of the sites
and the absence of secret balloting at 9 percent of the sites, but
confirmed the results of the referendum.
A broad spectrum of political parties and citizens' groups
functioned openly. Elections for national offices and municipal
governments are scheduled every five years.
Elections and Political Participation.--In May and June, Santa
Cruz, Pando, Beni, and Tarija Departments held autonomy referenda,
which the Federal Government refused to recognize and the international
community declined to monitor. All four referenda passed easily but
were marked by high abstention rates. In an August 10 nationwide recall
referendum encompassing the offices of the president, vice president,
and eight of nine prefects, President Morales and four of six
opposition-aligned prefects retained their positions, most with large
majorities of the vote.
In late February MAS party supporters surrounded the Congress to
prevent entry by the opposition and dissident MAS congressmen seeking
to vote on contentious legislation. The action disenfranchised more
than a third of the congressional representatives and the citizens they
represented. On October 20, President Morales led tens of thousands of
progovernment supporters in a march to surround the legislative
building. The marchers threatened to trap members of Congress inside
the building indefinitely until they approved significant changes to
the proposed new constitution. Members of Congress avoided the blockade
and threats to expel opposition members from the building by reaching
an agreement to make more than 100 changes to the draft text. While
some opposition leaders publicly praised the changes as an improvement,
others called the process illegal and stated the changes were made
under duress. Many leaders from across the political spectrum stated
the only legal way to make amendments was through the Constituent
Assembly process.
Women held only 24 percent of public offices despite a law that
requires every third candidate appearing on a political party's slate
to be female. Female politicians reported that political parties
frequently adhered to the quota in submitting their candidate lists but
subsequently pressured women to withdraw their candidacy prior to the
election.
Every second candidate on municipal election ballots must be a
woman, a requirement that increased female representation to
approximately 30 percent of municipal council positions. There were 23
women among Congress's 157 deputies and senators and three female
ministers in the 18-member cabinet. The number of indigenous members of
Congress was estimated at 17 percent. President Morales considered
himself indigenous. One of the nine departmental prefects, Sabina
Cuellar, was an indigenous woman.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials often engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. According to the World Bank's worldwide
governance indicators, government corruption was a serious problem. The
government-prepared National Corruption Index reported in 2007 that 13
of every 100 public service transactions involved the payment of a
bribe, costing the country approximately 905 million bolivianos ($130
million) annually. The index noted that corruption disproportionately
affected lower-income persons and it rated the national police,
customs, and justice system the most corrupt government institutions.
According to Transparency International's International Corruption
Perceptions Index released during the year, the country received a
score of three on a scale of one to ten, indicating ``rampant
corruption.''
On December 4, former chief of customs Cesar Lopez accused
Presidency Minister Quintana and Pando interim Prefect Rafael Bandeira
of illegally permitting 33 trucks containing contraband merchandise to
cross the border into Brazil. Quintana first denied his involvement,
then admitted to meeting with the owners of the merchandise, but only
to seek a solution to problems related to customs controls at the
border. Quintana also announced charges would be brought against Lopez
for his statements and for alleged corruption. A congressional
investigation was ongoing at year's end.
Cases involving allegations of corruption against public officials
require congressional approval before prosecutors can initiate legal
proceedings.
A patchwork of laws requires public officials to report potential
personal and financial conflicts of interest.
There was no information available on laws providing access to
government information or on whether the Government provided such
access in practice.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views; however, NGOs
and the human rights ombudsman complained that government security
forces and ministries occasionally refused to cooperate with their
investigations.
The human rights ombudsman is a position with a five-year term
established in the constitution. Congress chooses the ombudsman via a
required two-thirds majority vote. The ombudsman is charged with
providing oversight of the defense and promotion of human rights,
specifically to defend citizens against government abuses. The
ombudsman operated without party influence and with adequate resources
from the Government and foreign NGOs. On December 18, the ombudsman
ended his term. A new ombudsman was expected to assume office in 2009.
The ombudsman issues annual reports, and the Government usually accepts
his recommendations. After the conflict in Pando in September, the
Government limited access to detainees, which the ombudsman denounced.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
language, sexual orientation, or social status, there was significant
discrimination against women, indigenous people, and the small black
minority. Persons with HIV/AIDS, indigenous people, peasant farmers,
and homosexuals, in this order, experienced the most discrimination.
Women.--Rape was a serious and underreported problem. The law
defines two types of criminal cases. In private criminal matters, the
victim brings the case against the defendant; in public criminal
matters, a state prosecutor files criminal charges. The Code of
Criminal Procedures makes rape a public crime. The law criminalizes
statutory rape, with prison terms of 15 to 20 years for the rape of a
child under the age of 14. In cases involving consensual sex with an
adolescent 14 to 18 years of age, the penalty is two to six years'
imprisonment. Forcible rape of an adult is punishable by sentences
ranging from four to 10 years' imprisonment. Sexual crimes against
minors automatically are considered public crimes. Spousal rape is not
a crime.
Violence against women was also a pervasive and underreported
problem. According to the NGO Center for the Information and
Development of Women (CIDEM), 70 percent of women suffered some form of
abuse. CIDEM noted that the statistics ``did not reflect the full
magnitude of the problem of violence against women'' and that ``a great
number of women'' did not report the aggression they faced on a daily
basis.
Family laws prohibiting mental, physical, and sexual violence
provide for fines or up to four days in jail, unless the case becomes a
public crime subject to the penal code; however, these laws were
enforced irregularly. The Government took few meaningful or concrete
steps to combat domestic violence. From January through November, the
police Family Protection Brigade handled 3,592 cases, compared with
approximately 8,954 in 2006. However, the police brigade lacked
financial support, structural support, and personnel to follow up and
pursue all reported cases. Most cases of domestic violence went
unreported.
Prostitution is legal for adults age 18 and older, and there were
reports of trafficking in women for the purposes of prostitution and
forced labor.
The law considers sexual harassment a civil crime. There were no
statistics on the incidence of sexual harassment, but it generally was
acknowledged to be widespread.
Legal services offices devoted to family and women's rights
operated throughout the country. The Maternal and Infant Health
Insurance Program provided health services to women of reproductive age
and to children under age five.
Women were entitled to the same legal rights as men; however, many
women were unaware of their legal rights. Women generally did not enjoy
a social status equal to that of men. Traditional prejudices and social
conditions remained obstacles to advancement. In rural areas
traditional practices restricting land inheritance for women remained a
problem. The minimum wage law treats men and women equally; however,
women generally earned less than men for equal work. Women sometimes
complained that employers were reluctant to hire them because of the
additional costs (mainly maternal) in a woman's benefits package. The
gender gap in hiring appeared widest in the higher education brackets.
Most women in urban areas worked in the informal economy and the
services and trade sectors, including domestic service and
microbusiness, whereas in rural areas the majority of economically
active women worked in agriculture. Young girls often left school early
to work at home or in the informal economy.
Leading women's rights groups included the Campesinas de Bolivia
Bartolina Sisa, CIDEM, and Coordinadora de Mujer, a national NGO
network. International groups with presence in the country included Red
Latinoamericana de Mujeres Transformando la Economia, Red Mujeres y
Econom!a Bolivia, AMUPEI, and CLADEM. Relevant institutional groups
included Union de Mujeres Parlamentarias, Asociacion de Concejalas de
Bolivia, and the Foro Politico de Mujeres. Unions included the
Asociacion de Mujeres Periodistas, Asociacion de Juezas, and
Magistradas de Bolivia.
Children.--The Government's commitment to children's rights and
welfare was insufficient to improve conditions appreciably.
Corporal punishment and verbal abuse were common in schools.
Children from 11 to 16 years of age may be detained indefinitely in
children's centers for suspected offenses or for their own protection
on the orders of a social worker. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
estimated that approximately 9,200 children lived in institutions where
their basic rights were not respected. There also were many children
living on the streets of major cities. UNICEF estimated that more than
3,700 children and adolescents lived on the streets in the cities of La
Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Tarija, and Sucre.
Child prostitution was a problem, particularly in urban areas and
in the Chapare region. There were reports of children trafficked for
forced labor to neighboring countries. According to Pastoral de
Movilidad Humana, the local representative of the UNHCR, each month
between nine and 11 children in the southern part of the country
disappeared and were presumed victims of trafficking. Several NGOs had
active programs to combat child prostitution.
There were 260 Defender of Children and Adolescents offices to
protect children's rights and interests nationwide. The Government's
plan to combat child labor included a public information campaign
against child prostitution and raids on brothels.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
and specifically criminalizes trafficking in persons for the purpose of
prostitution. However, there were credible reports that persons were
trafficked to, from, or within the country.
The country was a source for men, women, and children trafficked
for forced labor and sexual exploitation to Argentina, Chile, Brazil,
Spain, and the United States. Faced with extreme poverty, many citizens
became economic migrants, and some were victimized by traffickers as
they moved from rural areas to cities and then abroad. Women and
children, particularly from indigenous ethnic groups in the Altiplano
region, were at greater risk of being trafficked. Children were
trafficked within the country to work in prostitution, mines, domestic
servitude, and agriculture, particularly on sugarcane and Brazil nut
plantations. Weak controls along its extensive borders made the country
an easy transit point for illegal migrants, some of whom may have been
trafficked. Commercial sexual exploitation of children also remained a
problem.
While there were reports that some adolescents were sold into
forced labor, it appeared that most victims initially were willing
economic migrants who later were trafficked by being duped or coerced
into conditions of forced labor. The Bolivian Embassy in Buenos Aires
stated that it received at least one claim per day of a Bolivian
citizen, including children, being exploited in Argentina.
The law criminalizes trafficking and provides for a prison term of
four years, which may be increased to 12 years when the victim is less
than 14 years of age. The Government investigated approximately 192
cases of trafficking in persons; while there were some arrests, only a
handful of cases received formal sentences and the majority of people
arrested remained in detention.
The Ministry of Justice, via an interinstitutional committee, has
responsibility for combating trafficking. The Ministry of Government,
including the National Police and the Immigration Service, the
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labor, and Sustainable Development, as
well as prefectures and municipalities, has secondary responsibility.
The human rights ombudsman nonetheless noted that the Government had
little presence at the borders to control trafficking, and that
unauthorized entities and agents issued permission documents for minors
to travel abroad.
Some government officials reportedly took bribes to facilitate
smuggling and the illegal movement of persons; however, the Government
did not condone or facilitate trafficking. In 2006 the Government
opened an investigation of 18 public employees, including four members
of Congress, suspected of involvement in human trafficking. However,
the Government discouraged the investigation from reaching a conclusion
and the case was moribund.
The municipal Defender of Children and Adolescents offices,
sometimes in cooperation with NGOs, managed scattered assistance
programs for victims. La Paz Department and the La Paz city government
each operated a shelter for abused and exploited children.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the NGOs
Save the Children and Pro-Adolescente conducted public awareness
campaigns on trafficking of children.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities and identifies the rights and
benefits afforded them. There was no official discrimination against
persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, or the provision of other state services. However, societal
discrimination kept many persons with disabilities at home from an
early age, limiting their integration into society. The Law on
Disabilities requires wheelchair access to all public and private
buildings, duty-free import of orthopedic devices, a 50 percent
reduction in public transportation fares, and expanded teaching of sign
language and Braille.
On July 25, Santa Cruz police used tear gas and physical force to
disperse a group of persons with disabilities protesting at the
entrance to the Palmasola oil refinery. Four protesters were
hospitalized and a deaf-mute pregnant woman was sent into early labor.
Some tried to escape the tear gas in wheelchairs, while police dragged
others out of the gassed area. A government vice minister claimed
police intervened after protesters used firecrackers in an
``irresponsible manner in a dangerous area.''
The National Committee for Handicapped Persons was responsible for
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The human rights ombudsman has
reported that approximately 70 percent of the population considered
racism a problem. There was societal and systemic discrimination
against the small black minority, which generally remained at the low
end of the socioeconomic scale and faced severe disadvantages in
health, life expectancy, education, income, literacy, and employment.
The majority of the estimated 35,000 Afro-Bolivians lived in the Yungas
region of La Paz Department.
Indigenous People.--In the 2001 census, approximately 62 percent of
the population over 15 years of age identified themselves as
indigenous, primarily from the Quechua and Aymara groups. The IACHR
reported that 70 percent of these indigenous people lived in poverty or
extreme poverty, with little access to education or to minimal services
to support human health, such as clean drinking water and sanitation
systems.
Indigenous lands are not demarcated fully, and land reform remained
a central political issue. Historically, a majority of indigenous
people shared lands collectively under the ``ayllu'' system, a system
that was not legally recognized during the transition to private
property laws. Despite laws mandating reallocation and titling of
lands, recognition and demarcation of indigenous lands have not been
resolved. Indigenous people protested the Government's failure to
provide them with title to all of their claimed territories; they also
objected to outside exploitation of their resources. Indigenous
peasants illegally occupied several private properties, often with the
backing of the Landless Movement.
Indigenous groups used the Popular Participation Law to form
municipalities that offered them greater opportunities for self-
determination. Several political parties, citizens' groups, and NGOs
actively promoted the rights of indigenous people, although progress
was minimal. Indigenous people continued to be underrepresented in
government and politics, and indigenous groups bore a disproportionate
share of poverty and unemployment. Government educational and health
services remained unavailable to many indigenous groups living in
remote areas. The Government tried to improve the situation with the
delivery of pensions to the elderly and funding for youth to attend
school.
Discrimination against indigenous groups was extensive. On May 24,
large opposition gangs, encouraged by local civic leaders from Sucre,
captured and humiliated a progovernment group of approximately two
dozen indigenous workers and leaders, who journeyed to Sucre to ensure
President Morales could enter the city. A mob took the group prisoner,
beat several of them, and forced many of the men to take off their
shirts and march several miles to the central plaza, where they were
forced to kneel and shout antigovernment slogans.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to a study by
the Employment Bureau of La Paz Department, at least five people in the
cities of La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz were killed in 2007 due to
their sexual orientation. According to the ombudsman's office the
situation did not change significantly during the year. The study
showed approximately 80 percent of homosexuals were discriminated
against in the workforce, 70 percent in the educational system, and 60
percent in health centers.
The human rights ombudsman reported that persons with HIV/AIDS
faced the most discrimination in the country.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--While the law allows workers to form
and join trade unions, in practice this right was limited due to
inefficient labor courts and inadequate government regulation.
Approximately 25 percent of workers in the formal economy, which
employed an estimated 30 percent of all workers, belonged to unions.
Workers may form a union in any private company of 20 or more
employees; however, the minimum requirement of 20 workers proved a
heavy restriction, as an estimated 70 percent of enterprises had fewer
than 20 employees.
Public-sector workers also have the right to form unions. The law
requires prior government authorization to establish a union and
confirm its elected leadership, permits only one union per enterprise,
and allows the Government to dissolve unions by administrative fiat.
The central government had close ties with certain umbrella labor
organizations such as the Central Workers Union of Bolivia (COB) and
the Confederation of Farm Workers (CSUTCB). The Government exerted
pressure on some of these organizations' national leadership and local
chapters and funded parallel chapters in areas where the Government had
less influence. As one example, after having disagreements with the
leadership of the CSUTCB, the MAS funded a parallel organization in
many departments. Although the COB officially recognized the first
CSUTCB leadership, the MAS heavily funded the alternative group, and
many media outlets ceased to refer to the first CSUTCB group or its
leadership. The MAS-sponsored organization also took over CSUTCB office
space in some cases, leading to clashes with the ``original'' CSUTCB.
The law provides most workers with the right to strike but requires
unions to seek prior government mediation; the law requires the same of
employers before they initiate a lockout.
Public service employees, including those in banks and public
markets, are prohibited from striking; despite this, workers in the
public sector (including teachers, transportation workers, and health
care workers) frequently went on strike and were not penalized for such
strike activities. Solidarity strikes are illegal, but the Government
neither prosecuted nor imposed penalties in such cases.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides workers the right to organize and bargain collectively;
however, collective bargaining, or voluntary direct negotiations
between employers and workers without the participation of the
Government, was limited. Most collective bargaining agreements were
restricted to wages.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and requires
reinstatement of employees illegally fired for engaging in union
activity. The National Labor Court handles complaints of antiunion
discrimination, but it can take a year or more to rule due to a
significant backlog of cases. The court ruled in favor of discharged
workers in some cases and successfully required their reinstatement.
However, union leaders stated that problems often were moot by the time
the court ruled.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the seven special duty-free zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, the
practices of child apprenticeship and agricultural servitude by
indigenous workers continued, as did some alleged individual cases of
household workers effectively held captive by their employers.
In June the IACHR reported that the indigenous Guarani continued to
live ``in a state of bondage analogous to slavery'' in the Chaco region
and that the problem had worsened since the commission's last visit in
2006. In many cases Guarani families worked land owned by landlords in
exchange for housing and food but were not paid the minimum wage. As a
result they incurred large debts to their landlords and were not
permitted to leave the property without satisfying their debt. Many of
these families lived in very poor conditions, without water,
electricity, medical care, or schools. The IACHR recognized that
involuntary servitude had ended at some large estates, but in some
cases freedom from servitude meant expulsion without compensation. In
some cases in the Alto Parapeti region, the Government bought land to
give to Guarani who had been expelled from haciendas.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated in 2005 that
more than 7,000 Guarani lived in this situation. The IACHR reported the
Guarani workers were subject to ``punishments such as being lashed with
whips or having their crops burned and their animals killed.''
However, the abusive treatment of the Chaco Guarani was not
uniform, and the political opposition charged the Government with using
abuses against some Guarani as a pretext to break up private ranches
where no abuses were occurring. The issue divided the Guarani
community, where some laborers sided with their employers against
government action.
There were victims of forced labor, mostly indigenous, harvesting
Brazil nuts in Beni Department. The work was seasonal, lasting
approximately three months per year. During that time landlords sold
basic foodstuffs to workers at inflated prices; workers subsequently
incurred large debts and were not permitted to leave the property until
the debts were satisfied. Similar conditions existed in the sugar
industry in Santa Cruz Department.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor remained a serious problem. The law prohibits all paid work
by children under the age of 14; however, in practice the Ministry of
Labor generally did not enforce child labor laws, including those
pertaining to the minimum age and maximum hours for child workers,
school completion requirements, and health and safety conditions for
children in the workplace. The law prohibits a range of dangerous,
immoral, and unhealthy work for minors under the age of 18. Labor law
permits apprenticeship for 12- to 14-year-olds under various formal but
poorly enforced restrictions, which have been criticized by the ILO and
were considered by some to be tantamount to bondage.
The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor
provisions but did not enforce them throughout the country. According
to UNICEF, 118,000 children between the ages of seven and 13 (or eight
percent of that population) and 206,000 children between the ages of 14
and 17 (or 28 percent of that population) worked. Although the law
prohibits persons under 18 years of age from work in the sugarcane
fields, approximately 10,000 rural migrant children (7,000 of whom were
under the age of 14) worked in this activity. There was also evidence
of exploitation of indigenous children in the regions of the Chaco,
Beni, and Santa Cruz, and in cities across the country wherever people
were migrating in from the countryside. Urban children sold goods,
shined shoes, and assisted transport operators. Rural children often
worked with parents from an early age, generally in subsistence
agriculture. Children generally were not employed in factories or
formal businesses but, when employed, often worked the same hours as
adults. Children also worked in mines and other dangerous occupations
in the informal sector. Narcotics traffickers used children to
transport drugs. Child prostitution remained a problem. According to an
April report by the human rights ombudsman, 3,000 children lived in the
streets, many of whom were exploited sexually. The report stated that
more than 100,000 children worked eight to 12 hours a day. The IOM
estimated that 2,000 girls worked, or were forced to work, as
prostitutes.
The traditional practice of ``criadito'' service persisted in some
parts of the country. Criaditos are indigenous children of both sexes,
usually 10- to 12-year-olds, whom their parents indenture to middle-
and upper-class families to perform household work in exchange for
education, clothing, room, and board. Such work is illegal, and there
were no controls over the benefits to, or treatment of, such children.
The Government devoted minimal resources to investigating child
labor cases, but NGOs and international organizations such as UNICEF
supplemented the Government's efforts.
The Government continued its efforts to eliminate child labor in
its worst forms, working with NGOs to discourage the use of child labor
in the mining and sugar sectors by participating in internationally
funded programs to provide educational alternatives to children who
otherwise would work in mines or sugarcane fields. Nonetheless, in
2007, according to the human rights ombudsman, 3,800 children worked in
mining.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--During the year the Government
raised the minimum monthly wage to 577 bolivianos ($82) for the public
and private sectors, from 525 bolivianos ($75) in 2007. The minimum
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and
family. Most private-sector workers earned more than the minimum wage.
While the minimum wage fell below prevailing wages in most jobs,
certain benefit calculations were pegged to it. Many independent
workers were part of the informal economy, and did not receive the
minimum wage.
Labor laws establish a maximum workweek of 48 hours, limit women to
a workday one hour shorter than that of men, prohibit women from
working at night, mandate rest periods, and require premium pay for
work above a standard workweek. In practice the Government did not
effectively enforce these laws.
The Ministry of Labor's Bureau of Occupational Safety has
responsibility for protection of workers' health and safety, but
relevant standards were enforced poorly. There were fewer than 30
inspectors throughout the entire country. While the Government did not
maintain official statistics, there were reports that workers died due
to unsafe conditions, particularly in the mining and construction
sectors. A national tripartite committee of business, labor, and
government representatives was responsible for monitoring and improving
occupational safety and health standards. The Ministry of Labor
maintained an office for worker inquiries, complaints, and reports of
unfair labor practices and unsafe working conditions.
Working conditions in cooperative-operated mines remained poor.
Miners continued to work with no scheduled rest for long periods in
dangerous, unhealthy conditions and earned relatively little for their
efforts; some earned less than 21 bolivianos ($3) per 12-hour day.
Conditions have changed little in the past decades, as independent
miners' cooperatives lacked the financial and technical resources
needed to improve mine infrastructure. The law provides workers the
right to remove themselves from dangerous situations without fear of
losing their jobs.
__________
BRAZIL
Brazil is a constitutional federal republic with a population of
approximately 190 million. In 2006 voters reelected President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party to a second four-year term
in a generally free and fair election. While civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the federal security forces,
state-level security forces committed numerous human rights abuses.
The Federal Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens; however, there continued to be numerous, serious abuses, and
the records of several state governments were poor. The following human
rights problems were reported: unlawful killings, excessive force,
beatings, abuse, and torture of detainees and inmates by police and
prison security forces; inability to protect witnesses involved in
criminal cases; harsh prison conditions; prolonged pretrial detention
and inordinate delays of trials; reluctance to prosecute as well as
inefficiency in prosecuting government officials for corruption;
violence and discrimination against women; violence against children,
including sexual abuse; trafficking in persons; discrimination against
indigenous persons and minorities; failure to enforce labor laws;
widespread forced labor; and child labor in the informal sector. Human
rights violators often enjoyed impunity.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Federal
Government or its agents did not commit politically motivated killings,
but unlawful killings by state police (military and civil) were
widespread.
In many cases police officers employed indiscriminate lethal force
during apprehensions. In some cases civilian deaths followed severe
harassment or torture by law enforcement officials. Killings by police
occurred for various reasons. Confrontations with heavily armed
criminals resulted in shoot-outs. Some police accused of killing
suspects lacked the training and professionalism to manage deadly
force. On other occasions the police behaved as criminals.
Death squads with links to law enforcement officials carried out
many killings, in some cases with police participation. Credible, local
human rights groups reported the existence in several states of
organized death squads linked to police forces that targeted suspected
criminals and persons considered problematic or undesirable by land
owners.
The Catholic Church's Pastoral Land Commission reported
preliminarily that during the year there were 18 confirmed killings
related to disputes over land, water, and labor compared with a total
of 25 such killings in 2007. Amnesty International (AI) and other
credible sources stated that such killings often occurred with the
participation, knowledge, or acquiescence of state law enforcement
officials.
Numerous credible reports indicated the continuing involvement of
state police officials in revenge killings and the intimidation and
killing of witnesses involved in testifying against police officials.
In Rio de Janeiro, the most acute human rights problems involved
indiscriminate use of force, by both on- and off-duty police, primarily
in the city's poorer northern section. Residents of the city's more
than 800 favelas (shantytowns), where an estimated one-third of the
population (i.e., more than two million persons) lived, were at
increased risk given the frequency of police actions. According to the
Rio de Janeiro-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) Global Justice
(GJ), impunity and nonaccountability for police actions were serious
problems in the metropolis. AI claimed that Rio de Janeiro law
enforcement continued to be characterized by large-scale operations in
which heavily armed police units ``invaded'' favelas. AI added that few
killings were effectively or independently investigated and that
perpetrators were seldomly prosecuted successfully.
Reports of killings by Rio de Janeiro police decreased during the
year under a new state security strategy. Statistics released by the
Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat for Public Security showed 911 persons
killed as a result of police confrontations from January through
September, a 12 percent decrease over the same period in 2007. The Rio
de Janeiro Institute for Public Security reported that police killed an
average of four persons per day during 2007. According to a UN report
released in September, police clashes resulted in 1,260 civilian deaths
in Rio de Janeiro State in 2007. Most of these killings occurred during
``acts of resistance,'' the UN report commented.
The Sao Paulo State Secretariat for Public Security reported that
Sao Paulo state police (civil and military) killed 340 civilians in the
state from January to September, compared with 315 during the same
period in 2007. Cases involving extrajudicial executions were either
under police investigation or before the state courts; observers
believed that it could take years to resolve such cases.
In January in Rio de Janeiro, 17-year-old Andreu Luis da Silva
Carvalho was beaten to death at the Padre Severino Youth Detention
Facility after being taken into custody for petty theft. Authorities
investigated the death, reportedly from brain trauma and hemorrhaging,
and suspended the guards for 30 days. At year's end no further action
had been taken.
In January in Sao Paulo, Colonel Jose Herminio Rodrigues, who was
investigating the participation of police officers in extrajudicial
killings, was shot and killed on the street. A police investigation
identified three officers involved in the crime; at year's end they
remained in prison, but no trial date had been set.
In June in Rio de Janeiro, three teenagers were reportedly killed
by a rival drug trafficking gang. According to reports, federal
military troops were involved in abducting the boys and selling them to
the rival gang in Morro da Providencia favela. In response the
Government withdrew the federal troops (who had been deployed to
provide security for a mayoral candidate's social project). Following
intense media attention, the Rio de Janeiro State legislature opened an
inquiry into the role of militias that uncovered extensive links among
corrupt police officers, militia members, and state and municipal
legislators. As a result several militia leaders, including a state
deputy, were imprisoned.
On August 5, a body that had been buried in a cemetery for
indigents was identified using DNA as that of 19-year-old Andre Lima de
Araujo. He had been detained by police in May 2007 during a raid on the
outskirts of Guarulhos. At year's end the case remained under
investigation.
During the year there were reports of multiple killings (called
chacinas) in Sao Paulo State, often drug-related and suspected to
involve the police. Several such cases from February, May, and
September 2007 remained under investigation at year's end.
Four military police officers and a businessman were arrested in
May for the killing of investigative journalist Luiz Carlos Barbon
Filho in May 2007 in Porto Ferreira, Sao Paulo; at year's end they
remained in custody awaiting trial. Barbon had investigated numerous
cases involving corruption by state officials, including police
involvement in gangs stealing freight from trucks on the highway. In
November his widow reported that she and her children were being
followed and harassed by persons linked to her husband's alleged
killers.
There were no known developments, and none were expected, in the
investigations of the June 2007 joint operations in Rio de Janeiro's
favelas (Complexo do Alemao and Vila Cruzeiro) by state police and
national military forces that resulted in numerous deaths and injuries,
including many civilians and bystanders. According to state officials,
all the deaths occurred in police confrontations. However, the
president of the Rio de Janeiro State Bar Association's Human Rights
and Juridical Assistance Committee, along with 16 NGOs in the state,
reported to the Organization of American States that summary executions
may have occurred during the operations.
The investigation of the August 2007 killings of Aurina Rodrigues
Santana, Rodson da Silva Rodrigues, and their 19-year-old son in their
Salvador home remained open. Despite allegations from the family that
military police had tortured some of the victims three weeks prior to
the killings, the ongoing civil police investigation was hindered by
the reluctance of witnesses to testify. Authorities did not charge the
suspected police officers but reportedly reassigned them to
administrative duties.
In December the Military Police Command expelled five of six police
officers accused of torturing and killing a 15-year-old the preceding
December in Bauru, Sao Paulo State. The five were freed pending trial;
the sixth accused remained under investigation and relieved of duty.
The state government paid compensation to the victim's family.
There were no known developments, and none were expected, in the
2006 cases of the four police officers arrested for participating in
death squad operations in Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro; the
killing of Sergio Bezerra do Nascimento in Favela Acari in Rio de
Janeiro; or the killing of five persons by military police in Niteroi,
Rio de Janeiro.
At year's end there were no developments concerning Sao Paulo law
enforcement officials allegedly killing persons related to 2006 riots.
There were also no known developments in the case of 13 Pernambuco
State military police officers charged in 2006 with torturing 14
adolescents, two of whom died, and the officers remained free awaiting
trial.
On May 6 after a required retrial, Vitalmiro ``Bida'' Bastos Moura,
convicted in 2007 of the 2005 murder of Catholic nun Dorothy Mae Stang,
was found not guilty. On June 9, the president signed into law a bill
that eliminated automatic retrial for defendants, like Bastos,
sentenced to more than 20 years. After the confession by another
defendant, Rayfran das Neves Sales, a Para State court found him guilty
of the 2005 murder and sentenced him on May 6 to 28 years in prison. On
December 26, according to a police report, authorities detained
Regivaldo Galvao, also accused in the murder case, as part of an
investigation into whether he forged titles to land where the nun was
killed.
After a jury trial in March, a Rio de Janeiro State court set free
Leonardo Marques, the confessed killer in 2005 of environmentalist
Dionisio Julio Ribeiro Junior, due to lack of evidence.
Former military police lieutenant colonel Waldir Coppetti Neves,
charged with five other military police officers for creating a
paramilitary group to kill landless rural workers in Parana State,
remained free while awaiting trial.
There continued to be no information, and none was expected,
regarding the case of eight military police arrested in 2005 on
suspicion of participating in a death squad involved in at least 26
killings in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, over a three-year period.
Lynching by mobs or vigilante groups was common in some regions,
especially against those accused of rape or other crimes that went
unpunished in favelas due to the absence of state or local security
agents.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances. However, the Center of Studies of Security and
Citizenship estimated that in 2006 approximately 1,940 persons
``disappeared"; the center believed many were killed by police. There
were also reports of abduction by federal troops (See Section 1.a.).
There were no developments in the disappearance cases that occurred
during the 1964-85 military dictatorship, and 400 cases remained for
the Amnesty Commission to analyze. There were also no developments
regarding the 2007 Chamber of Deputies' Human Rights Committee request
that the Government seize documents to determine the circumstances of
military regime political prisoner deaths and the locations of their
remains.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the constitution prohibits torture and provides
severe legal penalties for its use, torture by police and prison guards
remained a serious and widespread problem. In February the Government's
National Human Rights Secretariat (SEDH) acknowledged that torture
existed in the country and related the problem to societal tolerance
and the fear of retaliation. Federal, state, and military police often
enjoyed impunity in cases of torture, as in other cases of abuse.
During the year an additional state (for a total of 13 of 26)
adopted the National Plan for the Prevention and Control of Torture,
which includes the installation of cameras in prisons and
penitentiaries, taping of interrogations, and reversal of the
presumption of innocence for those accused of torture.
During the first half of the year, the Sao Paulo State Ombudsman's
Office received five complaints of torture by police, compared with
seven during the same period of 2007.
Police continued to abuse transvestite prostitutes in Rio de
Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Salvador, according to the NGO Bahia Gay
Rights Group. Police routinely investigated such allegations, which
rarely resulted in punishment (see Section 5. Other Societal Abuses and
Discrimination).
In Rio de Janeiro, militia members reportedly continued to use
physical abuse, degrading treatment, and torture to spread fear and
establish control over favela residents. While militia members, many of
them off-duty and former law enforcement officers, often began by
taking community policing into their own hands, many intimidated
residents and conducted other illegal activity.
In May militia members reportedly kidnapped, tortured, and released
two O Dia newspaper investigative journalists in Rio de Janeiro's Batan
favela, when they were discovered living there undercover to
investigate militias.
The Rio de Janeiro military police officer, who publicly defended
the use of torture in 2007 and was subsequently transferred, was
assigned command of the 38th Military Police Battalion in Tres Rios.
The nine police officers, including the police chief of Osasco, Sao
Paulo-charged in 2007 with theft, torture, extortion, beating, and
threatening to rape to extort money-remained free and continued to
await a trial that at year's end was not scheduled.
In October 2007 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR) adopted several findings in a case originated in 1998-that
authorities had violated the rights of Antonio Ferreira Braga by
illegally arresting and torturing him in 1993 in Ceara State, and that
the Government had failed to prevent and punish said acts-and also made
four recommendations. After various exchanges the IACHR announced on
July 18 that the Government had fulfilled one recommendation (training
police on humane treatment), but not two others (investigation and
punishment of those responsible, compensation of the victim), and that
one remained pending (investigation of possible negligence of
authorities).
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
throughout the country often ranged from poor to extremely harsh and
life threatening. Abuse by prison guards, poor medical care, and severe
overcrowding occurred at many facilities.
Prison officials often resorted to brutal treatment of prisoners,
including torture. Harsh or dangerous working conditions, official
negligence, poor sanitary conditions, abuse and mistreatment by guards,
and a lack of medical care led to a number of deaths in prisons. Poor
working conditions and low pay for prison guards encouraged widespread
corruption. Prisoners who committed petty crimes were held with
murderers. According to the National Penitentiary Department, in June
there were 392,279 prisoners incarcerated, 40 percent more than the
system's design capacity, and the number increased approximately 3,000
per month.
During the year 135 prisoners were involved in riots from January
to June in federal prisons. There were several official complaints of
overcrowding in Goias, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Minas Gerais
states.
In Rio de Janeiro, pretrial detainees were often held together with
convicted prisoners due to overcrowding. In August the state Court of
Justice released a plan, which authorities began implementing, to
improve conditions for its 23,000 prisoners. Sentences are to be
comprehensively reevaluated based on prison space availability, with a
pilot project in the Placido Sa Carvalho and Carlos Tinoco da Fonseca
prisons. The state also began implementing its plan to remove military
police officers from prison duty and replace them with 240 civilians.
The Catholic Church's Ministry for the Incarcerated in Sao Paulo
State reported that authorities used police stations in the state
capital as prisons, increasing the risk of mistreatment and torture.
The ministry also reported that penitentiary construction continued but
did not alleviate overcrowding. The state's criminal justice system as
a whole continued to sentence more defendants to prison or detention
each month than it released. Many inmates were also held beyond their
sentences. In January prisons in Sao Paulo State held nearly 152,000
adults, approximately 30 percent above design capacity.
In January eight prisoners died in a prison fire in Minas Gerais
State when a guard left his post and no one else had keys to the
facility.
In February prisoners in Minas Gerais complained of rats and
scabies in the jail. Thirty inmates occupied a 320-square-foot space
without exposure to sunlight and suffered from untreated injuries.
Also in February prisoners in Aguas Lindas, Goias State, complained
of overcrowding (120 inmates in a jail with capacity for 37), spoiled
food, and trial delays for lack of public defenders.
A congressional investigative report presented in June described
conditions in the Contagem prison in Minas Gerais where 70 prisoners,
confined to cells built for 12 persons, were obliged to alternate
sleeping schedules. Overcrowding made bathroom facilities unusable. The
report also revealed that prison overpopulation in Bahia led to the use
of 20 temporary containers to hold more than 150 prisoners at the Mata
Escura facility in Salvador. After an investigation determined that the
containers were infested with rats and cockroaches and not properly
ventilated, authorities prohibited their use.
In the August 2007 gang dispute and resultant fire in an
overcrowded jail in Ponte Nova, Minas Gerais, which killed 25 inmates,
the state civil police investigation resulted in indictments of 23
individuals for allowing weapons into the facility and failing to
respond adequately to the incident.
The Women's Penitentiary of Santana in Sao Paulo, a former men's
facility remodeled to accommodate female prisoners, remained in
precarious condition, although health care improved in response to
human rights organization requests.
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo states and the Federal District
provided separate prison facilities for women; elsewhere, women were
held with men in some facilities. Male officers who served in women's
prisons often abused and extorted the prisoners for sexual favors.
In the Federal District, one juvenile detention center did not meet
the requirements and recommendations established by the National Socio-
Educational System and the Statute of the Child and Adolescent. TV
Globo reported that one adolescent was killed and several injured in
riots.
Media reported that throughout the country adolescents were jailed
with adults in prison units without bathrooms and in inhumane
conditions. Insufficient capacity in juvenile detention centers was
widespread. However, the Sao Paulo State's Office for the Defense of
Children and Youth reported that there were no longer any juvenile
criminals incarcerated with adults within the state. Under court order
the state's Foundation House (formerly FEBEM) provided new facilities
for them. NGOs confirmed improvements in the Sao Paulo State juvenile
detention system during the year, including construction of more modern
facilities, replacement of large complexes with smaller units, a
decreased number of incarcerated juvenile criminals, and increased
focus on guard and staff training and performance.
While authorities attempted to hold pretrial detainees separately
from convicted prisoners, overcrowding often required holding convicted
criminals in pretrial detention facilities. In addition abuses
continued in municipal jails and detention centers throughout the
country.
The investigation into September 2007 reports of prisoners being
forced to be sex slaves and have their actions recorded on camera in a
prison in Santa Rita de Caldas, Minas Gerais, led to indictments in
November 2007 and the transfer of many of the prisoners to the
penitentiary in Andrades, Minas Gerais.
The investigation into the November 2007 incident in Abaetetuba,
Para, in which a 15-year-old girl was held for a month in a police cell
with at least 20 men who repeatedly abused her sexually, concluded in
March with indictments of 12 persons, including 10 police officers.
It is government policy to permit prison visits by independent
human rights observers; however, in practice this policy often was not
followed. GJ representatives reported that they are commonly denied
access to detention facilities and that their level of access to
prisons varied. In the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, GJ found
access difficult, particularly in the Ary Franco prison in Agua Santa,
Rio de Janeiro.
Having obtained judicial authorization to enter juvenile detention
facilities in Sao Paulo, human rights advocates reported an improvement
in their general conditions. Foundation House continued slowly
dismantling the large out-of-date Frano da Rocha detention center that
was the scene of inmate violence.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and it limits arrests to those caught in the act
of committing a crime or arrested by order of a judicial authority;
however, police continued at times to arrest and detain persons
arbitrarily.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Federal Police,
operating under Ministry of Justice oversight, is small, primarily
investigative, and plays a minor role in routine law enforcement. Most
police forces fall under the control of the states, where they are
divided into two distinct units: The civil police are plainclothes
officers with an investigative role, while the military police are
uniformed officers charged with maintaining order and preventing crime.
Although the individual state governments control their respective
military police forces, the constitution provides for calling them into
active military service in the event of an emergency, and they maintain
some military characteristics and privileges, including a separate
judicial system.
To reduce the number of deaths resulting from police
confrontations, the Rio de Janeiro State Public Secretary announced a
state budget item of approximately 1.25 million reais (approximately
$500,000) to purchase less lethal weapons for the police arsenal and a
state initiative to provide more officer training on procedures during
confrontations.
In the favelas, militia groups often start as off-duty and former
law enforcement officers taking community policing into their own
hands. However, many militia groups come to resemble drug trafficker
groups in intimidating residents and conducting illegal activity such
as extorting protection money, imposing tribute fees, and providing
pirated utility services. The number of militias with police
participation continued to increase in Rio de Janeiro. Punishing police
involved in militia activity was difficult due to solidarity and fear
of reprisals. Police often did not conduct operations in communities
dominated by militias. State authorities estimated that militias have
taken over nearly 100 favelas from drug trafficker control, mostly in
the city's west.
In August a militia group called the ``Justice League'' was
believed to have killed seven residents in Rio de Janeiro's Barbante
favela. According to the State Secretariat for Public Security, 17
militia members entered the community and shot individuals at random in
an attack reportedly orchestrated by former military police officer
Luciano Guinancio, the son of a Rio de Janeiro city council member who
was jailed in 2007 for organizing illegal militia activity in the same
area. Three other active-duty military police officers were suspected
of involvement. However, due to a lack of evidence, no charges were
brought.
There were two convictions of Rio de Janeiro military police
officers during the year for killings in the so-called ``Baixada
Massacre'' of 2005.
Arrest and Detention.--With the exception of arrests of suspects
caught in the act of committing a crime, arrests must be made with a
warrant. The use of force during an arrest is prohibited unless the
suspect attempts to escape or resists arrest. Suspects must be advised
of their rights at the time of arrest or before being taken into
custody for interrogation.
Authorities generally respected the constitutional right to a
prompt judicial determination of the legality of detention. Detainees
generally were informed promptly of the charges against them. The law
permits provisional detention for up to five days under specified
conditions during a police investigation, but a judge may extend this
period. A judge may also order temporary detention for an additional
five days for paperwork processing. Preventive detention for an initial
period of 15 days is permitted if police have indications that a
suspect may leave the area. This can be renewed under specific
circumstances. Occasionally detainees-typically poor and uneducated-
were held longer than the provisional period.
Defendants arrested in the act of committing a crime must be
charged within 30 days of arrest. Other defendants must be charged
within 45 days, although this period may be extended. In practice the
backlog in the courts almost always resulted in extending the period
for charging defendants. Bail was available for most crimes, and
defendants facing charges on all but the most serious crimes had the
right to a bail hearing. In general prison authorities allowed
detainees prompt access to a lawyer; indigent detainees had the right
to a lawyer provided by the state. Detainees were also allowed prompt
access to family members.
Human rights observers stated that civil and uniformed police
regularly detained persons illegally to extort money or favors. Between
January and September, the Sao Paulo State Ombudsman's Office received
one complaint of extortion, equal to the number for the same period in
2007.
The law does not provide for a maximum period for pretrial
detention, which is defined on a case-by-case basis. Time in detention
before trial is subtracted from the sentence.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial
independence in practice; however, the judiciary was underfunded,
inefficient, and often subject to intimidation and to political and
economic influences, particularly at the state level, a situation that
resulted in vigilante action. A number of senior judges remained under
investigation nationwide on a variety of charges.
Although the law requires that trials be held within a set period
of time, which is defined according to individual circumstances, the
nationwide backlog in state and federal cases frequently led courts to
dismiss old cases unheard.
The judicial system ranges from courts of first instance and
appeals, through courts of second instance and the Superior Court of
Justice, to the Federal Supreme Court. States organize their own
judicial systems within the federal system and must adhere to basic
constitutional principles. There are specialized courts for police,
military, labor, election, juvenile, and family matters.
Trial Procedures.--The right to a fair public trial as provided by
law generally was respected in practice, although in some regions-
particularly in rural areas-the judiciary was less professionally
capable and more subject to external influences. Similarly, when cases
involved gunmen hired by landowners to kill land activists or rural
union activists, local police often were less diligent in
investigating, prosecutors were reluctant to initiate proceedings, and
judges found reasons to delay.
After an arrest a judge reviews the case, determines whether it
should proceed, and, if so, assigns it to a state prosecutor who
decides whether to issue an indictment. The law recognizes the
competence of a jury to hear cases involving capital crimes. Judges try
those accused of lesser crimes.
Defendants have the right to confront and question witnesses, enjoy
a presumption of innocence, and have a right to appeal. At the
appellate level, a large case backlog hindered the courts' ability to
ensure fair and expeditious trials.
While the law provides for the right to counsel, the Ministry of
Justice estimated that 85 percent of prisoners could not afford an
attorney. In such cases the court must furnish a public defender or
private attorney at public expense. The Rio de Janeiro State's 35
public defenders, however, provide assistance only to prisoners who
have already been convicted. The Public Ministry continued hiring
public defenders, but a deficit remained in all states.
The law mandates that special police courts exercise jurisdiction
over state military police except those charged with ``willful crimes
against life,'' primarily homicide. In all but the most egregious
cases, police tribunals decided whether or not the killing was willful.
As a result civilian courts, which have jurisdiction over killings by
police, received very few case referrals involving police killings. In
addition the requirement that the initial investigation be carried out
by police internal affairs officers increased the potential for long-
languishing investigations. The police themselves were often
responsible for investigating charges of torture carried out by fellow
police officers. Long delays in the special military police courts
allowed many cases of alleged torture and lesser charges to expire due
to statutes of limitations.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
On September 23, the Ministry of Justice Amnesty Commission ruled
that 41 activists imprisoned for labor activities during the military
dictatorship (1964-85) were entitled to indemnization. The ruling
awarded 27 persons settlements of approximately 390,000 reais
(approximately $156,000) plus monthly payments of 3,000 reais ($1,200),
while another 12 activists were awarded a single payment averaging
approximately 117,500 reais ($47,000).
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While the justice system
provides for an independent civil judiciary, courts were overburdened
with significant backlogs and sometimes were subject to corruption,
political influence, and intimidation. Citizens have access to bring
lawsuits before the courts for human rights violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but there were reports
that police conducted searches without a warrant. Human rights groups,
other NGOs, and media reported frequent incidents of violent police
invasions in shantytowns and poor neighborhoods. During these
operations police stopped and questioned persons and searched cars,
residences, and business establishments without warrants. Victims
reported searches without warrants and abusive and violent searches of
women. Wiretaps authorized by judicial authority were permitted. The
inviolability of private correspondence generally was respected.
In August Veja magazine revealed that unknown persons had tapped a
telephone call between Senator Demostenes Torres and Supreme Court
President Gilmar Mendes. The senator accused the Brazilian Intelligence
Agency (ABIN) and, after a Federal Police investigation, the president
placed ABIN Director Paulo Lacerda on administrative leave.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the authorities generally respected these
rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction.
Criminal as well as other elements, such as political party
activists, subjected journalists to violence, sometimes specifically
because of their professional activities. In February the NGO,
Reporters without Borders, stated that violence and threats against
reporters were constant. It noted that two journalists were killed in
2007, and at least one of those cases appeared linked to the victim's
profession. The organization also accused the Government of exerting
undue media control in Mato Grosso do Sul, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo,
and Bahia states.
In February the Supreme Court suspended all legal actions brought
against journalists and media companies that were based on a press law
dating from the last military dictatorship, which had allowed lawsuits
against journalists for allegedly causing moral damage.
In July the National Press Association protested against the
intimidation of three journalists who covered municipal elections in
Rio de Janeiro. The journalists, who had photographed a mayoral
candidate shaking hands with criminals in a well-known shantytown, were
forced by the criminals at gunpoint to delete their photos. No
investigation or prosecution followed.
The National Federation of Journalists continued to report cases of
violence against, and failure to respect freedom of, the press during
the year, but no statistics were available by year's end.
In April the Inter American Press Association called on the public
to urge the country's president to solve the 2004 killing of radio
commentator Jorge Lourenco dos Santos in Santana do Ipanema, Alagoas;
and to recall that other suspected killers of journalists remained
unapprehended and seven other such killings remained unsolved.
In December authorities granted early release for good behavior to
two gang-member prisoners, Claudio Orlando do Nascimento and Claudinho
dos Santos, who had received multiyear sentences in 2005 for the 2002
murder of TV Globo reporter Tim Lopes. Lopes was investigating the
sexual exploitation of minors by drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro's
Vila del Cruzeiro favela when he was killed.
At year's end journalist and newspaper editor Fausto Brites
remained free pending appeal to the Federal Court of Justice in Mato
Grosso do Sul State of his 10-month prison sentence in 2006 for
defamation.
Internet Freedom.--There were generally no government restrictions
on access to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 27
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2007.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--It is illegal to write, edit,
publish, or sell books that promote anti-Semitism or racism. The law
enables courts to fine or imprison anyone who displays, distributes, or
broadcasts anti-Semitic or racist materials and mandates a two- to
five-year prison term. The Government officially equates anti-Semitism
to racism.
According to the country's Jewish Confederation, there were
approximately 120,000 Jewish residents, of whom approximately 60,000
were in Sao Paulo State and 40,000 in Rio de Janeiro State.
There were reports of violence against Jewish persons. Jewish
community leaders expressed concern over the continued appearance on
Web sites of anti-Semitic material compiled by neo-Nazi and
``skinhead'' groups. The Jewish Federation of Sao Paulo reported cases
of anti-Semitic graffiti, harassment, vandalism, and threats via
telephone and e-mail.
Police and Jewish Federation of Sao Paulo representatives stated
that anti-Semitic Web sites and blogs grew rapidly during the year.
Occasional anti-Semitic graffiti and anti-Semitic epithets directed at
Orthodox Jews were also visible in some of Sao Paulo's traditional
Jewish neighborhoods.
At year's end the 2nd Court of Justice of Porto Alegre continued to
take testimony but had not set a trial date in the 2005 case of 14
persons charged with attempted murder, gang formation, and racism for
attacking three Jewish students in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice, although there were restrictions on entry into protected
indigenous areas.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not practiced.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government provided temporary
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the
1951 convention and the 1967 protocol. The Government cooperated with
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other
humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
The UNHCR estimated that approximately 600 persons fled to the
country from the September conflict in Pando, Bolivia, and 70 requested
asylum.
According to the National Committee for Refugees, at the end of the
year there were 3,918 recognized refugees in the country. During the
year authorities granted refugee status to 226 individuals. Those who
maintain their status, which is reviewed every two years, may receive
identity and travel documents and work and study in the country.
From 1998 to 2008, 4,515 persons sought asylum, according to news
reports. There were, in addition to officially recognized refugees,
approximately 17,500 de facto Colombian refugees in the country's
Amazon region, according to the 2008 World Refugee Survey. Many asylum
seekers did not have government support because of the poor
infrastructure in the region. Relations with local communities were
increasingly difficult because of pressures on the educational and
health systems.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage. Military conscripts may not vote.
Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2006 national
election generally considered free and fair, Workers' Party candidate
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a second four-year term as president.
Militias were suspected of intimidating residents of Rio de
Janeiro's favelas to vote for particular candidates in October
municipal elections. The defense minister deployed army troops to 24
communities, identified by the Regional Electoral Court as at-risk for
voter intimidation by militias and other criminal organizations, to
supplement local security forces in protecting the election process. In
the event no major incidents of voter intimidation were reported.
Political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference.
Women have full political rights. The law requires that 30 percent
of candidates in each political party must be registered by women.
There were 10 women in the 81-member Senate and 45 women in the 513-
member Chamber of Deputies. There were two women in the cabinet, two on
the Federal Supreme Court, and one on the Military Superior Court.
Women occupied 11.2 percent of elected seats at the state level and
12.6 percent at the municipal level.
There were 17 self-identified Afro-Brazilians in Congress,
according to the Black Parliamentary Center. There were three self-
identified Afro-Brazilians in the cabinet and one on the Federal
Supreme Court.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity. The World Bank's worldwide governance
indicators reflected that corruption was a serious problem.
In June Federal Police uncovered an alleged scheme involving
fraudulent public works contracts valued at an estimated l.05 billion
reais (approximately $420 million). Police operation ``Joao de Barro''
claimed that four members of the Chamber of Deputies conspired to
defraud the Government through contracts for projects in 119 cities.
Despite the allegations the Government authorized some of the
investigated contracts to be paid in August, under the scrutiny of the
Comptroller General's Office; the Federal Police head in Minas Gerais
State announced the investigations were concluded; and by year's end no
formal charges had been laid.
On July 8, Federal Police broke up an alleged financial crimes
scheme, in operation since 2004, that included money laundering, tax
evasion, conspiracy, and other crimes involving public funds. At year's
end the investigation was ongoing; several senior officials were
suspected of involvement, but none had been charged. On December 2, in
a related case, a federal judge sentenced the Opportunity Bank owner to
10 years in prison for corruption.
On September 16, Federal Police temporarily detained Romero
Menezes, the executive director of the Federal Police and its second-
ranking official, under suspicion of leaking information to his brother
about an investigation into a fraud scheme involving a railroad
concession in Amapa. Authorities placed Menezes on administrative
leave, and the Federal Police head replaced the officers in charge of
the investigation, which was continuing at year's end.
On May 13, following Federal Police accusations in 2007 of
conspiracy to defraud the Government through overpriced public works
contracts, the Public Ministry formally charged 61 persons, including a
former minister of mines and energy, two state governors, and two
former state governors.
Although in 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that prosecution should
proceed, during the year there were no significant developments in the
cases pending against 40 persons accused of illegal payments to
legislators in exchange for support of government legislation.
Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws. Federal
government entities such as the Federal Audit Court, the Federal
Controller General, the Public Ministry, the Federal Police, the
judiciary, the Department of Revenue and Control of Financial
Activities, and the Federal Treasury existed to fight corruption. The
agencies identified campaign financing and public spending as sources
of financial corruption; however, they had limited powers to function
effectively.
The law provides for public access to unclassified government
information upon application to the Commission for Public Ethics;
however, the bureaucratic process often slowed release of such
information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Federal officials
often were cooperative and responsive to their views. Although federal
and state officials in many cases sought the aid and cooperation of
domestic and international NGOs in addressing human rights problems,
human rights monitors occasionally were threatened and harassed for
their efforts to identify and take action against human rights abusers,
particularly by members of the state police.
While most states had police ombudsmen, some NGOs and human rights
observers questioned their independence and effectiveness. The
ombudsmen's accomplishments varied considerably, depending on such
factors as funding and outside political pressure.
The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate each have human rights
commissions that operated without interference and participated in
several activities nationwide in coordination with domestic and
international human rights organizations.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the law prohibits and penalizes discrimination on the
basis of race, gender, disability, or social status, discrimination
against women, Afro-Brazilians, homosexuals, and indigenous persons
continued.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime punishable by
eight to 10 years' imprisonment; however, men who killed, sexually
assaulted, or committed other crimes against women were unlikely to be
brought to trial. The Federal Government continued to operate a toll-
free 24-hour hot line nationwide. It received 269,977 calls during the
year, a 32 percent increase compared with 2007, including reports of
13,785 cases of physical violence, an additional 6,499 cases of threats
of violence, 298 rapes, and 261 attempted killings. According to data
from January to June, approximately 60 percent of the callers reported
being beaten daily and 18 percent, weekly; 64 percent of the callers
reported being beaten by domestic partners, who in the majority of
cases were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. From January to
September, the Sao Paulo State Secretariat for Public Safety registered
2,562 rape cases, compared with 4,045 during the same period in 2007.
There was no information available on the numbers of prosecutions or
convictions for rape.
Domestic violence remained both widespread and underreported.
During the year there were 24,523 cases of domestic violence registered
nationwide, compared with 20,050 cases in 2007. For such cases the law
increases the penalty from one to three years in prison and creates
special courts. The Federal Government stimulated the creation of these
courts and promoted capacity-building courses for judges. There were at
the end of the year a total of 61 such courts established, along with
15 public defender positions to provide free legal assistance to
domestic violence victims. At least 17 of the 26 states plus the
Federal District had such courts. There was no information available on
the numbers of prosecutions or convictions for domestic violence.
Each state secretariat for public security operated ``delegacias da
mulher'' (DEAMs), police stations dedicated exclusively to addressing
crimes against women, for a total of 415 countrywide. The quality of
services varied widely, and availability was particularly limited in
isolated areas. For example, the North and Northeast regions, which
contained approximately 35 percent of the country's population,
possessed only 24 percent of the country's DEAMs. The stations provided
psychological counseling, temporary shelter, and hospital treatment for
victims of domestic violence and rape (including treatment for HIV and
other sexually transmitted diseases) as well as criminal prosecution
assistance by investigating and forwarding evidence to courts. There
were also 123 reference centers and 66 women's shelters.
In Rio de Janeiro, the city's Rio Women Program provided assistance
to female victims of domestic violence who received death threats. When
necessary, victims were sent to specific shelters, which also provided
psychological and legal aid. In addition to the Women Program, victims
of domestic violence could obtain assistance at the Center for Women's
Support, an initiative of the Rio de Janeiro state government that
offered a complaint hot line, shelters, and psychological and legal
aid.
The law requires health facilities to contact the police regarding
cases in which a woman was harmed physically, sexually, or
psychologically in order to collect evidence and statements should the
victim decide to prosecute.
Prostitution is legal, but exploiting it through associated
activities, such as operating a brothel, is illegal. While no specific
laws address sex tourism, it is punishable under other criminal
offenses, and there was a government-released ``code of conduct to
combat sex tourism and sexual exploitation'' and government-conducted
campaigns in the most affected areas. The Federal District and the
states of Pernambuco, Espirito Santo, Amazonas, and Parana enacted laws
requiring certain businesses to display signs listing the penalties for
having sexual intercourse with a minor. Rio de Janeiro and Bahia states
had similar legislation. Women's groups reported that prostitutes
encountered discrimination when seeking free medical care. Trafficking
of women for the purpose of prostitution was a serious problem.
Sexual harassment is a criminal offense, punishable by up to two
years in prison. The law encompasses sexual advances in the workplace
or in educational institutions and between service providers or
clients. In the workplace it applies only in hierarchical situations,
where the harasser is of higher rank or position than the victim.
Although the law was enforced, accusations were rare, and the extent of
the problem was not documented.
Women have the same legal rights as men. A cabinet-level office,
the Secretariat for Women's Policy, oversees a special entity charged
with ensuring the legal rights of women. Although the law prohibits
discrimination based on gender in employment and wages, there were
significant wage disparities between men and women. According to the
Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE), women were often paid less than
men in the same functions.
The law provides 120 days of paid maternity leave to women and
seven days of paternity leave to men. The law also prohibits employers
from requiring applicants or employees to take pregnancy tests or
present sterilization certificates, but some employers sought
sterilization certificates from female job applicants or tried to avoid
hiring women of childbearing age. Violations of the law are punishable
by jail terms of up to two years for employers, while the company may
be fined 10 times the salary of its highest-paid employee.
Children.--The Government continued its commitment to children's
rights and welfare, but millions of children suffered from the poverty
afflicting their families, worked to survive, and failed to get an
education.
The percentage of births registered in 2007 was 89 percent
according to the Brazilian Institute of Georgraphy and Statistics
(IBGE). There were wide discrepancies between the more affluent states
of the south and southeast and the poorer states of the north and
northeast regions of the country, with the states of Bahia, Ceara,
Maranhao, and Sergipe each registering fewer than 80 percent of births
and the states of Alagoas, Piaui, Amapa, and Roraima, fewer than 70
percent.
While the law prohibits subjecting any child or adolescent to any
negligence or abuse, such abuse was a major problem. The SEDH-operated
National Hot Line of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation against Children and
Adolescents registered 32,588 reports of abuse, compared with 23,368 in
2007, a 40 percent increase. According to SEDH the increase does not
necessarily represent an increase in cases of abuse, but rather an
increase in denunciations to the hot line as public campaigns raise
awareness.
Physical and psychological aggression was a major problem, with
more than 10,900 complaints (or approximately one third of the total)
recorded by the national hot line, a decrease compared to the more than
19,000 complaints in 2007 in this category. Allegations of abuse of
minors and prosecution of crimes against children were not pursued
adequately or aggressively.
Child prostitution was a problem, with extreme poverty the primary
contributor. A study released in 2006 by the University of Brasilia,
SEDH, and the UN Children's Fund found commercial sex involving
children and adolescents in 927 of 5,561 municipalities. The largest
percentage of these cases occurred in the Northeast, but all areas of
the country had reported incidents.
According to the NGO Reference Center on Children and Adolescents
(CECRIA), patterns of sexual exploitation of children corresponded to
the distinct economic and social profiles of the country's regions. In
the Amazon, region sexual exploitation of children took place in
brothels that catered to mining settlements. In large urban centers,
girls who left home to escape abuse or sexual exploitation often
prostituted themselves on the streets to survive. In the cities along
the northeast coast, sexual tourism exploiting children was prevalent
and involved networks of travel agents, hotel workers, taxi drivers,
and others who actively recruited children and also trafficked them
outside the country. Child prostitution also developed in the areas
served by the country's navigable rivers, particularly in ports and at
international borders.
The Federal Police estimated that upward of 250,000 children were
involved in prostitution. The national hot line reported that there
were 10,125 cases of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents
during the year. The 2006 University of Brasilia study found that 398
of the 1,514 tourist destinations frequented by citizens had an active
sexual commercial market for children and adolescents. Trafficking in
children for the purpose of prostitution was a serious problem. The
national hot line received 78 reports of such trafficking both
domestically and internationally, compared to 93 in 2007.
At midyear Federal Police in Manaus began investigating allegations
that a foreign-owned travel company arranged fishing expeditions to the
Amazon region that were in reality sex tours for U.S. and European
pedophiles. At year's end the investigation was continuing in
coordination with foreign law enforcement officials.
There were no developments in the child prostitution network case
involving two aldermen in Para State, Roberto Alan de Souza Costa and
Adson de Azevedo Mesquita. The Human Rights Committee of the Chamber of
Deputies opened an investigation in 2007, but the committee's
investigator was killed in a car crash in Para. The circumstances of
his death were unclear, and his investigation papers were missing when
police arrived at the scene.
All four persons (two citizens, two foreigners) arrested in
Taquara, Rio Grande do Sul, in December 2007 on suspicion of pedophilia
and trafficking of children were freed at year's end pending trial.
The primary federal program to assist child victims of commercial
sexual exploitation was the Sentinel Program, which established local
reference centers to provide victims with psychological, social, and
legal services and raised awareness through information campaigns,
workshops, and partnerships. The Ministry of Tourism continued to
promote the code of conduct it developed to prevent the commercial
sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry, distributed
public awareness campaign materials for display within tourism-related
establishments, and continued to distribute awards to entities
responsible for combating sexual exploitation of children within the
industry. The Federal Highway Police and the International Labor
Organization (ILO) published data on places such as gas stations, bars,
restaurants, motels, and night clubs along highways considered to be
areas for sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.
In Rio de Janeiro city, the Secretariat for Social Assistance
coordinated aid to street children and minors who were victims of
sexual abuse and exploitation. During the year the city increased from
two to 10 the number of centers that provided social services,
counseling, and shelters. The city also continued its telephone hot
line for reporting cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation. The
Sao Paulo city government continued to operate several programs for
street children, including one that used rehabilitation and social
reinsertion into other geographic areas to save the lives of
adolescents condemned to death by drug traffickers.
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law criminalizes all forms of
trafficking, persons were trafficked from, within, and, to a lesser
extent, to the country. Government statistics on the problem were
unavailable, but authorities continued to estimate that thousands of
women and adolescents were trafficked annually, both domestically and
internationally, for commercial sexual exploitation.
Women were trafficked from all parts of the country. The Government
reported that trafficking routes existed in all states and the Federal
District. The National Research on Trafficking in Women, Children, and
Adolescents for Sexual Exploitation Purposes identified 241
international and national trafficking routes.
Internal trafficking of rural workers into forced labor schemes was
a serious problem, while trafficking from rural to urban areas occurred
to a lesser extent. Union leaders claimed that nearly all persons
working as forced laborers had been trafficked by labor recruiters.
Labor inspectors found a small number of persons from other countries
trafficked to work in urban sweatshops, primarily in the city and state
of Sao Paulo. Labor recruiters generally recruited laborers from small
municipalities in the North and Northeast and transported them to
ranches and plantations in remote areas in the central western part of
the country. Most internally trafficked slave laborers originated from
the states of Maranhao and Piaui, while Para and Mato Grosso received
the highest number of internally trafficked slave laborers.
Internal trafficking supplied forced labor, primarily from urban to
rural areas, for agricultural work and commercial sexual exploitation.
This typically occurred when employers recruited laborers from poor
rural towns and transported them to remote areas where escape was
difficult. Workers then were obliged to toil in brutal conditions until
they were able to repay inflated debts.
Sex tourism existed throughout the country but was most apparent in
coastal resort towns in the Northeast, South, and Southeast and in such
major tourist destinations as Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza, Ceara, as
well as in the wildlife tourist areas of the Pantanal and Amazon.
CECRIA found that typical sex trafficking victims were darker-
skinned women between 15 and 27 years of age, but researchers also
noted the presence of adolescent boys as victims, some of whom worked
as transvestites. Persons exploited in trafficking schemes typically
came from low-income families and usually had not finished high school.
Traffickers often lured victims with promises of lucrative work as
dancers or models in Europe; beauty contest winners were cited as
common targets. Girls were recruited at clubs and modeling agencies or
through the Internet, want ads, mail-order bride schemes, or maid and
au pair services. Most women who were trafficked internationally were
older than 18, but younger victims were also trafficked with
counterfeit documents.
Police officials believed that some women recruited by trafficking
organizations understood they were to work as prostitutes but did not
know about working conditions and their prospective earnings. In other
cases women were told that they would work as nannies or domestics.
Upon arrival the victims' passports often were confiscated, and they
were forced to prostitute themselves and live in virtual confinement.
In addition to threatening physical violence, traffickers often used
debt and isolation to control victims. Trafficking in persons was
linked to international networks of crime, including drugs, arms
trafficking, and money laundering. Traffickers were predominantly
citizens and were usually associated with such activities as brothels,
escort agencies, nightclubs, and tourist agencies.
The law establishes a penalty of up to eight years' imprisonment
and a fine for internal or external trafficking in persons for the
purposes of prostitution; sentences may be increased up to 12 years
when violence, threats, or deception are involved. The law requires the
permission or presence of both parents for children to leave the
country; it also prohibits children from leaving the country with a
foreigner unless authorities grant prior approval.
Laws on trafficking for sexual exploitation were difficult to
enforce, particularly in relation to domestic trafficking. Violators of
antitrafficking laws rarely received criminal penalties because of
statutes of limitation. Police officers reported difficulty in
arresting traffickers because of the need to apprehend them in the act
of traveling with the victims. According to police, some women who left
the country with traffickers did so willingly. Fear of reprisals and
lack of awareness of legal recourse also kept victims from seeking
police intervention or testifying against traffickers. In addition,
because trafficking in persons laws were relatively new in the country
and not fully understood by many judicial officials, courts often
misclassified such cases. As a result, numbers of criminal convictions
for trafficking offenses were low.
Fifteen government ministries and cabinet-level secretariats were
involved in implementing the national antitrafficking in persons plan
released in January. Included were various agencies of the Ministry of
Justice (including the Federal Police), SEDH, MTE, Ministry of Tourism,
and Ministry of Social Development. The Federal Highway Police was
responsible for checking documents and monitoring traffic along
highways and roads; occasionally they were involved in apprehending
suspected traffickers. Federal and state police monitored the Internet
to detect recruitment by sex traffickers. Operating under the National
Justice Secretariat, antitrafficking offices in the states of Sao
Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Ceara, and Goias monitored domestic and
international trafficking.
According to the UN Office for Drugs and Crime, there were four
convictions for international sex trafficking during the year, three
from Goias State and one from Santa Catarina State. In one of those
cases, the Federal Court in Goias State on March 13 convicted four
persons for international trafficking of women and sentenced them to
thirteen years in prison. The victims had been trafficked primarily to
Spain for sexual exploitation.
According to the Federal Police, there were 35 investigations
conducted into cases involving trafficking of persons from January
until June. Authorities arrested 14 individuals during the year for
internal and international trafficking in persons in the following
states: two from Sao Paulo, four from Ceara, six from Mato Grosso, and
two from Goias. In one of those operations (``Operation Madrid''), the
Federal Police arrested six persons from the states of Matto Grosso do
Sul and Goias who were involved in an international organization and
charged them with recruiting and trafficking women from the country
into prostitution in Spain. The Public Ministry charged all six with
the crimes of international trafficking and conspiracy for illegal
purposes. At year's end the case was before the Mato Grosso Federal
Court.
Trafficking victims were not treated as criminals, and police
usually referred victims to centers for treatment and counseling.
However, access to such services was limited due to a lack of
government support, and efforts often were inconsistent and
underfunded. The Government cooperated with a number of shelters or
health care facilities specifically dedicated to trafficking victims,
and workers at more than 600 victim assistance centers were trained to
assist trafficking victims. The Secretariat of Social Assistance of the
Ministry of Social Development and Combating Hunger operated more than
400 centers to assist victims of sexual abuse and exploitation and
domestic violence. NGOs provided victims assistance in job training,
counseling, and other community reintegration assistance. Locally based
NGOs assisted trafficking victims with retraining and counseling
activities. SEDH maintained a national witness protection system into
which 17 states were integrated. The Federal Government invested 12
million reais (approximately $5 million) into the witness program in
2007 and brought 630 individuals under its protection during the year.
SEDH conducted antitrafficking information campaigns. The National
Secretary for Justice continued to lead a government public awareness
campaign to deter international traffickers and sensitize their
potential victims to the dangers. Sao Paulo and Pernambuco states and
others carried out similar, statewide campaigns.
Labor organizations and NGOs continued to conduct prevention
campaigns, including one case of pamphlet distribution to rural workers
in areas that historically served as targets for traffickers, to
supplement Federal Police and state civil police efforts.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, and access to health care, and the Federal Government
effectively enforced these provisions. However, state governments
failed to meet legally mandated targets for educational opportunities
and work placement. While federal and state laws have provisions
ensuring access to buildings for persons with disabilities, states did
not have programs to enforce them effectively. For instance, while the
Sao Paulo State labor code requires that meeting places for more than
100 persons or other facilities for 600 persons or more provide
modified entrances and other accommodations for persons with
disabilities, such persons had continued difficulty in securing
necessary accommodations.
The National Council for the Rights of Handicapped Persons and the
National Council for the Rights of the Elderly, both within SEDH, have
primary responsibility for promoting the rights of persons with
disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although the law prohibits
racial discrimination, darker-skinned citizens, particularly Afro-
Brazilians, frequently encountered discrimination.
The law specifically prohibits denial of public or private
facilities, employment, or housing to anyone based on race. The law
also prohibits, and provides jail terms for, the incitement of racial
discrimination or prejudice and the dissemination of racially offensive
symbols and epithets.
Afro-Brazilians, representing almost half the population, were
significantly underrepresented in the Government, professional
positions, and the middle and upper classes. They experienced a higher
rate of unemployment and earned average wages approximately half those
of a white person. There was also a sizeable racial education gap.
In February in a government report to the UN, SEDH acknowledged the
existence of racism in the country but stated that the Government took
and was taking affirmative actions to reduce it, including university
admission quotas for Afro-descendants.
Major public universities in the Federal District and the states of
Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Parana, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Espirito
Santo, and Bahia maintained affirmative action programs; for instance,
the University of Brasilia set aside 25 percent of its first-year 2007
vacancies for self-declared students of color. According to a study
from Rio de Janeiro Federal University released in January,
approximately half of the public federal and state universities had a
quota system or an exam bonus.
Indigenous People.--The law grants the indigenous population broad
rights, including the protection of their cultural patrimony and the
exclusive use of their traditional lands. Although many problems
existed, the Government made limited progress in securing these rights.
The National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI) estimated that there
were 460,000 indigenous persons in 225 societies on indigenous lands
and an additional 100,000 to 190,000 indigenous persons living outside
these areas, including in urban environments.
The Government estimated that more than half of the country's
indigenous persons lived in poverty in communities whose traditional
ways of life were threatened on a variety of fronts, including land
development, agricultural expansion, and mining. FUNAI reported that
indigenous persons also faced other problems, including disease, poor
health care, and loss of native culture.
While the 1988 constitution charged the Federal Government with
demarcating indigenous areas within five years, the four phases of the
process (identification, declaration, approval, and registration) were
not completed. According to the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI),
some presidential efforts to demarcate indigenous areas were blocked.
For example, legal actions resulted in the seizure of three of the 20
areas in Santa Catarina State that the president considered indigenous
in 2007. According to CIMI the governors of Santa Catarina and Mato
Grosso states and the former governor of Mato Grosso do Sul State were
the primary opponents of demarcation.
The law provides indigenous persons with exclusive beneficial use
of the soil, waters, and minerals on indigenous lands, but Congress
must approve each case. The Government administers the lands but must
consider the views of affected communities regarding their development
or use, and communities have the right to ``participate'' in the
benefits gained from such use. However, indigenous leaders and
activists complained that indigenous persons had only limited
participation in decisions taken by the Government affecting their
land, cultures, traditions, and allocation of national resources. They
also criticized the Government for devoting insufficient resources to
health care, other basic services, and protection of indigenous
reserves from outsiders.
Nonindigenous persons who illegally exploited indigenous lands for
mining, logging, and agriculture often destroyed the environment and
wildlife, spread disease, and provoked violent confrontations. FUNAI,
which acknowledged insufficient resources to protect indigenous lands
from encroachment, depended on the understaffed and poorly equipped
Federal Police for law enforcement on indigenous lands.
Disputes between indigenous and nonindigenous persons occasionally
erupted into violence. Most conflicts concerned land ownership or
resource exploitation rights.
According to CIMI 53 indigenous persons were killed during the
year, a 42 percent reduction from 2007. Of those killed, 40 were
members of the Guarani-Kaiowa tribe in Mato Grosso do Sul State.
Maranhao State had two deaths during the year, attributed to conflict
between indigenous persons and illegal wood-extracting companies,
compared with 10 in 2007.
During the year 34 members of the Guarani-Kaiowa tribe committed
suicide. The Mato Grosso do Sul civil police investigation into the
suicides was continuing at year's end.
A confrontation occurred in March in Roraima State when indigenous
persons from the Raposa Serra do Sol reservation opposed Federal Police
officers carrying out a court order to remove rice growers from the
reservation. Police arrested the head of the rice producers and charged
him with obstruction of justice and disobedience.
In May armed guards protecting a farmer's rice field reportedly
shot and wounded 10 indigenous persons who were building their homes on
the Raposa Serra do Sol reservation. The Government sent federal agents
to the reservation to prevent further violence.
In October Federal Police officers, inspecting eviction-order
areas, allegedly used excessive force in attempting to detain
indigenous chief Rosival Ferreira da Silva of the Tupinamba community
in Serra do Padeiro, Bahia State. They also reportedly detained and
beat his brother.
At year's end there were no known developments in the police
investigation of the July 2007 killing of indigenous leader Ortiz Lopes
in Mato Grosso do Sul State.
In August members of the Xacriaba tribe in Miravania, Minas Gerais,
met with representatives from the Federal Prosecutor's Office, the
Federal Police, Minas Gerais Civil Police, and FUNAI to pursue their
complaint concerning the September 2007 beating to death by two
teenagers and an adult of a tribe member resulting from an argument
after a party. The meeting followed a highway-blocking protest and two
additional killings. The Minas Gerais State Court sentenced the
teenagers to 45 days' home detention; trial of the adult, who was
charged with murder by the state Public Ministry, was pending at year's
end.
During the year civil society, the Government, and NGOs discussed
infanticide in indigenous tribes. The number of such deaths was
unknown, although a former FUNAI president estimated that 10 children
were killed during the year in different tribes.
The precarious health situation of indigenous groups continued in
many states. The Marsal de Souza Center of Human Rights continued to
believe that the Guarani-Kaiowa group in Mato Grosso do Sul was at risk
because they lived in very poor conditions in roadside tents. In
Rondonia, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Maranhao states, indigenous persons
complained of poor transportation for bringing doctors to communities
and taking patients to hospitals.
In the 2007 case of the contested demarcation of the Raposa do Sol
indigenous reserve in Roraima State, the Supreme Court initiated final
judgment, but it was suspended when one judge requested more time. A
final decision was pending at year's end, although eight of the 11
judges voted to uphold the Government's broad interpretation of
indigenous land rights.
There were no known developments concerning the FUNAI proposal to
transfer, and grant compensation by 2010 to, 2,000 families who refused
to leave an area inside the indigenous reserve in Sao Felix de Xingu,
in the southern part of Para State. There have been conflicts between
the families and the Paracana tribe in that area.
In December 2007 the Tupiniguim and Guarani tribes, after invading
the Portocel port in Aracruz, Espirito Santo, settled a dispute with
the Aracruz Celulose Company concerning approximately 27,000 acres of
land claimed as tribal. The settlement accord, mediated by FUNAI and
the Ministry of Justice, allowed 600 families to remain on 11,000 acres
of land. There was no updated information on the Tembe tribe's claim
that ranchers, loggers, and other invaders had devastated more than 80
percent of their land.
In the late 2007 incident allegedly involving illegal miners
extracting diamonds from the Roosevelt indigenous reserve in Rondonia
State, authorities peacefully removed the miners without confrontation.
In September the Para State Federal Court reinstituted monthly
payments of 650,000 reais (approximately $260,000) that the Vale do Rio
Doce Company (CVRD) must pay to Xikrin tribal groups, although a CVRD
appeal was pending at year's end. FUNAI and the Public Ministry brought
the civil case alleging that CVRD had not fulfilled an agreement
regarding compensation for mining in areas close to the tribe's
habitat.
The National Commission on Indigenous Policies was created in April
and met at least three times during the year. Composed of
representatives from indigenous tribes, civil society groups, and
government entities such as the Office of the Presidency, FUNAI, and
the Ministries of Mines and Energy, Agriculture, Environment, Justice,
Education, Defense, and Planning, the commission began examining ways
to improve government policies, improve the provision of health
services to indigenous persons, and incorporate indigenous concerns
into the Federal Government's anticrime plan (the National Program for
Public Security with Citizenship).
According to the Ministry of Education, 20 state and federal
universities continued to reserve entrance slots for indigenous
persons. The number of indigenous university students, almost 5,000 or
approximately 1 percent of total university students, remained
unchanged.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--State and federal laws
prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the federal
and state governments generally enforced these laws.
Between January and September, the NGO Bahia Gay Group received 186
reports of killings in the country based on sexual orientation (122
male homosexuals, 58 transvestites, and six lesbians), an increase from
the 116 such reports in all of 2007. The Northeast continued to be the
most violent area against homosexuals, with Pernambuco State accounting
for 14 percent of the cases reported.
The Federal Government's national program, ``Brazil without
Homophobia,'' was replicated at the local level in Rio de Janeiro.
``Rio without Homophobia'' was launched in October, providing
assistance to the homosexual community through hot lines, professional
counseling services, medical assistance, rights defense, and a witness
protection program.
There were no reported cases of societal violence or discrimination
based on persons with HIV/AIDS during the year.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for union
representation of all workers (except members of the military, the
uniformed police, and firefighters) but imposes a hierarchical, unitary
system funded by a mandatory union tax on workers and employers. New
unions must register with the MTE, which accepts the registration
unless objections are filed by other unions. Unions that represent
workers in the same geographical area and professional category may
contest registration, in which case the MTE Secretariat for Labor
Relations has 15 days to consider the validity of the objection. If the
objection is found to be valid, the MTE does not register the union.
Union organizers may challenge this decision in the labor courts.
The law stipulates certain restrictions, such as ``unicidade'' (one
per city), which limits freedom of association by prohibiting multiple,
competing unions of the same professional category in a given
geographical area. Most elements of the labor movement and the
International Trade Union Confederation criticized unicidade. While a
number of competing unions existed, the MTE and the courts enforced
unicidade in decisions regarding the registration of new unions.
In March the Government signed into law an act that extends legal
recognition to trade union centrals that meet certain requirements
regarding membership and regional representation. Such recognition
allows qualifying centrals legally to represent workers in courts,
public councils, and other bodies.
The Single Central Organization of Workers (CUT) estimated that 20
to 25 percent of workers were unionized. Most informal sector workers,
including self-employed workers and those not formally registered with
the MTE, fell outside the official union structure; they therefore did
not enjoy union representation and usually were unable to exercise
their labor rights fully. According to government statistics, the
informal sector accounted for approximately 38 percent of the labor
force. In the agricultural sector, 70 percent of workers were
unregistered.
Intimidation and killings of rural labor union organizers and their
agents continued to be a problem. The Catholic Church's Pastoral Land
Commission reported that violence in rural areas victimized labor
leaders, with most perpetrators enjoying impunity (See Section 1.a.).
On August 23, Transport Workers' Union leader Joinville Frota
suffered an attempt on his life when his house in Amapa State was set
afire, reportedly during a dispute between the union and two transport
companies. In a previous attack on the union, its headquarters was also
set on fire in April. At year's end no arrests had been made.
The law provides the right to strike to all workers except the
armed forces, military police, and firefighters, and workers exercised
this right in practice. While the civil police were allowed to form
unions and conduct strikes, the military police were prohibited from
organizing.
The law stipulates that a strike may be ruled ``abusive'' by labor
courts and be punishable if a number of conditions are not met, such as
maintaining essential services during a strike, notifying employers at
least 48 hours before the beginning of a walkout, and ending a strike
after a labor court decision. Employers may not hire substitute workers
during a legal strike or fire workers for strike-related activity,
provided that the strike is not ruled abusive. In practice employers
fired strike organizers for reasons ostensibly unrelated to strikes,
and legal recourse related to retaliatory discharge was often a
protracted process.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining was widespread in the formal sector. The law obliges unions
to negotiate on behalf of all registered workers in the professional
category and geographical area they represent, regardless of whether an
employee pays voluntary membership dues to the union.
The law permits the Government to reject clauses of collective
bargaining agreements that conflict with the orientation of government
policy. The ILO Committee of Experts has called for this provision's
repeal. Collective bargaining is effectively prohibited in the public
sector; the constitution allows it, but only after implementing
legislation that has never been passed by Congress. By year's end
government-submitted legislation to implement collective bargaining as
part of a labor reform package was awaiting congressional
consideration.
The law prohibits the dismissal of employees who are candidates for
or holders of union leadership positions and requires employers to
reinstate workers fired for union activity; however, authorities at
times did not effectively enforce laws protecting union members from
discrimination. Labor courts charged with resolving these and other
disputes involving unfair dismissal, working conditions, salary
disputes, and other grievances were slow and cumbersome, averaging six
years for resolution. Parties generally agreed that when ultimately
resolved, cases were decided fairly and on their merits. There was a
trend for courts to rule against employees, claiming that union
membership was not a factor. Most complaints were resolved in the first
hearing; however, the appeals process introduced many delays, and some
cases remained unresolved for up to 10 years.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the country's free trade zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, forced
labor and trafficking of workers occurred in many states, most commonly
in activities such as forest clearing to provide cattle pastureland,
logging, charcoal production, raising livestock, and agriculture,
particularly harvesting sugarcane, coffee, and cotton. Forced labor
typically involved young men drawn from the impoverished Northeast
states-Maranhao, Piaui, Tocantins, Para, Goias, and Ceara-to work in
the northern and central-western regions of the country. Women and
children, the latter typically working with their parents, also were
involved in forced labor activities such as the production of charcoal.
The ILO estimated that there were approximately 25,000 forced labor
workers at any given time during the year, with some NGOs estimating
the number as high as 100,000 without supporting empirical data.
According to the Federal Police, there were 306 investigations into
forced labor from January until June.
Labor intermediaries trafficked most forced laborers to remote
estates, where victims were forced to work in harsh conditions until
they repaid inflated debts related to the costs of travel, tools,
clothing, or food. Armed guards sometimes were used to retain laborers,
but the remoteness of the location, confiscation of documents, and
threats of legal action or physical harm usually were sufficient to
prevent laborers from fleeing.
The law provides that violators of forced or compulsory labor may
be sentenced up to eight years in prison. The law also provides
penalties for various crimes related to forced labor, such as
recruiting or transporting workers or obliging them to incur debt as
part of a forced labor scheme. The abolition of forced labor was
hindered by failure to impose effective penalties, the impunity of
those responsible, delays in judicial procedure, and the absence of
coordination between the various government bodies. There were few
criminal prosecutions relating to forced labor because of the lack of a
clear legal definition; local political pressure; weak coordination
among the police, the judiciary, and prosecutors; the remoteness of
areas in which forced labor was practiced; witnesses' fear of
retaliation; and police failure to conduct criminal investigations when
accompanying labor inspectors on raids.
Violators of forced labor laws enjoyed virtual impunity from
criminal prosecution, and no landowner has ever been convicted and
imprisoned for using slave labor. The MTE punished those who used slave
labor by imposing fines, requiring that indemnities be paid to the
workers, and placing the names of violators on a ``dirty list,'' which
was published every six months on the Internet. The Ministry of
National Integration vetoed financing to violators, the Bank of Brazil
denied credit to landowners using forced labor, and some sectors of the
economy refused to buy products from producers on the list. The Federal
Labor Prosecutor's Office participated in inspections by receiving
complaints and establishing fines that violators had to pay to receive
financing and credit, sell products, have their accounts unfrozen, or
obtain access to governmental loans.
In May the MTE released its ``dirty list'' of 207 employers in 14
states who used their workforce in conditions analogous to slave labor.
Some challenged the list's constitutionality, since there is no way to
clear oneself before a name is added, but at year's end no decision had
been made. The Senate's Human Rights Committee approved a law that
prohibits granting credit to persons or companies on the ``dirty
list.''
During the year the MTE's Mobile Inspection Unit freed 5,244 forced
laborers in 154 operations on 290 properties. Payments of indemnities
to the workers totaled approximately 9 million reais ($3.6 million).
On September 17, federal labor inspectors, assisted by federal
police, highway police, and prosecutors, freed 150 workers, including
more than 30 children, found working under forced labor and degrading
conditions at a cacao plantation in Placas, Para. The workers had been
unable to leave because of debts owed to the employer for food, other
basic necessities, and tools required for work. Workers also reported
that they were threatened with death if they tried to leave. MTE
inspectors estimated that the employer owed workers approximately 1.4
million reais ($560,000) in back wages. At year's end a federal labor
court was determining civil penalties and fines.
At year's end the MTE was deciding penalties to apply in a December
2006 case in which landowners in Goias State were arrested on suspicion
of labor abuse and environmental crimes in making charcoal from
illegally felled timber from protected areas.
The National Commission to Eradicate Slave Labor coordinated the
Government's efforts to eliminate forced labor. The MTE's enforcement
arm, the Special Group for Mobile Inspection, had responsibility for
locating and freeing victims of forced labor. The mobile unit worked in
conjunction with federal police officers, who accompanied labor
inspectors on raids to provide protection. Mobile teams levied fines on
estate owners using forced labor and required employers to provide back
pay and benefits to workers before returning the workers to their
municipalities of origin. Although mobile units enjoyed some success in
freeing those working in slave-like conditions, inspectors sometimes
faced resistance.
The National Pact for the Eradication of Slave Labor included more
than 100 companies and NGOs with a public commitment to restrict
economic relations with anyone who uses slave labor. The NGOs Social
Observatory Institute, ETHOS Institute, and Reporter Brasil monitored
the actions to combat forced labor implemented by those who signed the
pact.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although child labor is prohibited, it continued to be a widespread
problem, particularly in homes and the informal sector. The executive
secretary of the National Forum for the Eradication and Prevention of
Child Labor (FNPETI) stated in March that the fight against child labor
in the country was stagnant.
The minimum working age is 16 years, and apprenticeships may begin
at age 14. The law bars all minors under age 18 from work that
constitutes a physical strain or that occurs in nocturnal, unhealthy,
dangerous, or morally harmful conditions; however, authorities rarely
enforced additional legal restrictions intended to protect working
minors under age 18. The law requires parental permission for minors to
work as apprentices, and apprentices must attend school through the
primary grades. Inspectors may punish violators of child labor laws by
drawing up infringement assessments and issuing fines.
Data from the Government's Economic Research Institute showed that
in 2007 there were 2.5 million children between the ages of five and 15
working in the country's economy, compared with 2.7 million in 2006.
Approximately half of child laborers received no income, and 90
percent worked in the unregistered informal sector. Slightly more than
half of child laborers worked in rural areas, and two-thirds were boys.
The ILO estimated that approximately 20 percent of 10- to 14-year-old
girls worked as household domestics. Most of these workers received
less than half the minimum wage and worked in excess of 40 hours a
week.
The hidden and informal nature of child labor made children
especially vulnerable to workplace accidents. For instance, children
who produced charcoal, sisal, sugarcane, and footwear suffered from
dismemberments, gastrointestinal disease, lacerations, blindness, and
burns caused by applying chemical products with inadequate protection.
According to an IBGE study, there were 273,000 labor accidents reported
involving child labor in 2006.
The MTE was responsible for inspecting worksites to enforce child
labor laws; its regional offices had special groups to enforce child
labor laws, principally by gathering data and developing plans for
child labor inspection. Nonetheless, most inspections of children in
the workplace were driven by complaints brought by workers, teachers,
unions, NGOs, and the media. Labor inspectors continued to prioritize
inspections in the informal sector, but they remained unable to enter
private homes and farms, where much of the nation's child labor was
found. The MTE reported that from January to November, inspectors found
5,139 children under 16 working illegally, an approximately 35 percent
decrease when compared with 2007. In most cases inspectors reportedly
attempted to reach agreements and convince employers to desist from
labor law violations before levying fines of 402 reais (approximately
$150) per violation up to a maximum fine of 2,013 reais ($800); for a
second or third violation, the fine doubles or triples respectively. In
practice few employers were fined for employing children.
The Government implemented programs to prevent child labor,
including the Program to Eradicate Child Labor (PETI), coordinated by
the Ministry of Social Development and Combating Hunger with state and
local authorities. Through PETI, families with children seven to 15
years of age working in selected hazardous activities receive monthly
cash stipends to keep their children in school, and the children may
participate in after-school programs that provide nutritional snacks,
sports, art, and cultural activities. The Government, through the
Social Development Ministry, expanded the Bolsa Familia program (to
provide a monthly stipend to low-income families who keep their
children in school and meet certain health requirements) by raising the
upper age limit for eligibility from 15 to 17 years.
NGOs supported the Government's child labor elimination programs.
The Centers for the Defense of Children and Adolescents were active in
many parts of the country and reported violations of children's rights
to the guardianship councils, the social assistance network, and the
organizations that defended children and family rights.
Civil society also took actions to prevent and abolish child labor.
The nongovernmental FNPETI, which includes governmental and civil
society representatives, mobilized institutional agents involved in
developing policies and programs to eliminate child labor. The toy
industry's Foundation for Children's Rights operated a labeling program
that identified companies with child-friendly policies and a commitment
to eliminate child labor. All major labor organizations had programs to
educate union members about the hazards of child labor and encouraged
members to report instances of child labor to authorities.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government adjusts the
minimum wage annually and in April raised it to 415 reais
(approximately $248) per month. IBGE estimated that approximately 25.6
percent of workers earned the minimum wage or less. The national
minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker
and family.
The law limits the workweek to 44 hours and specifies a weekly rest
period of 24 consecutive hours, preferably on Sundays. The law also
prohibits excessive compulsory overtime and stipulates that hours
worked above the weekly limit must be compensated at time-and-a-half
pay; these provisions generally were enforced in the formal sector.
The MTE sets occupational, health, and safety standards that are
consistent with internationally recognized norms. MTE labor inspectors
worked closely with prosecutors from the Federal Labor Prosecutor's
Office, an independent agency responsible for prosecuting labor
infractions. However, the Government devoted insufficient resources for
adequate inspection and enforcement of standards.
Unsafe working conditions were prevalent throughout the country.
There were no figures available on workplace accidents during the year.
According to data from the Ministry of Social Security, the Government
granted benefits to 11,538 persons for work-related accidents during
the year. Employees or their unions may file claims related to worker
safety with regional labor courts, although this was frequently a
protracted process.
The law requires employers to establish internal committees for
accident prevention in workplaces. It also protects employee members of
these committees from being fired for their committee activities.
However, such firings occurred, and legal recourse usually required
years for a resolution. The Federal Prosecutor's Labor Office reported
that numerous firms used computerized records to compile ``black
lists'' identifying workers who had filed claims in labor courts.
Individual workers did not have the legal right to remove themselves
from the workplace when faced with hazardous working conditions, but
workers could express such concerns to a company committee for an
immediate investigation.
__________
CANADA
Canada, with a population of 33.1 million, is a constitutional
monarchy with a federal parliamentary form of government. In a free and
fair multiparty federal election held on October 14, the Conservative
Party, led by Stephen Harper, won a plurality of seats and formed a
second successive minority government. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, and the law and judiciary provided effective means of
addressing individual instances of abuse. Human rights problems
included harassment of religious minorities, violence against women,
and trafficking in persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed any politically
motivated killings, but a few law enforcement-related deaths during the
year remained under investigation.
On three reported occasions, police employed taser weapons with
lethal effect. On June 23, Jeffrey Mark Marreel died at Turkey Point in
Ontario after provincial police used a taser to subdue him. On July 22,
Michael Langan died in Winnipeg, Manitoba, after police stunned him
with a taser weapon. On September 17, Sean Reilly of Brampton, Ontario,
died after he was tasered during a struggle with Peel regional police
officers. In each case, authorities launched an investigation into the
incident that was ongoing at year's end.
Also at year's end, authorities were investigating the shooting and
killing by Peel Regional Police of Gregg Moynagh, a reportedly mentally
ill man from Mississauga, Ontario, during an altercation in December.
On December 12, after concluding there was no substantial
likelihood of conviction, the British Columbia government declined to
lay criminal charges against four police officers in the October 2007
taser death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport.
The first phase of a public inquiry, whose interim report was pending
at year's end, studied taser weapon use; a second phase, inquiring into
the death, was expected to begin in January 2009.
Police completed an internal review of the 2006 death of Jason Doan
of Red Deer, Alberta, after he was stunned by police with a taser, but
they did not release the results. In December provincial authorities
held a public inquiry into the death; a report was expected in 2009.
On June 18, the Commission of Public Complaints against the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) released its final report on taser use.
Its recommendations included reclassifying tasers as ``impact weapons''
for use only with suspects who are combative or pose a risk of causing
death or grievous bodily harm, issuing tasers only to experienced
officers, and improving accountability of their use. An RCMP review of
the recommendations was ongoing at year's end.
In December Vancouver police announced the withdrawal of older-
model tasers from service following reports that some pre-2005 devices
exceeded manufacturer's voltage specifications. Police in Quebec, New
Brunswick, Alberta, and British Columbia also announced plans to test
and phase out older tasers.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
Government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the RCMP and provincial and municipal
police forces, and the Government has effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of
impunity involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest and Detention.--Authorities generally apprehended persons
openly with warrants. A judge may issue a warrant after being satisfied
that a criminal offense may have been committed. A person arrested for
a criminal offense has the right to a prompt, independent, judicial
determination of the legality of the detention; and authorities
respected this right in practice. Authorities provided detainees with
timely information as to the reason for the arrest; ensured prompt
access to a lawyer of the detainees' choice and, if indigent, to one
provided by the state; and granted prompt access to family members.
Bail generally was available.
On February 12, Parliament passed amended immigration security
certificate legislation giving noncitizens subject to detention and
deportation on national security grounds greater access to evidence
against them and extending to them the same detention review rights as
permanent residents. As in the original law, the Government issues
certificates on the basis of confidential evidence presented to two
cabinet ministers by intelligence or police agencies and reviewed by a
Federal Court judge. The evidence is not shown to the detainee. If the
judge approves the ministers' recommendation, the individual may be
imprisoned pending deportation proceedings.
However, under the revised law that entered into force on February
23, individuals subject to a security certificate also have access to
court-appointed, security-cleared lawyers (``special advocates'') who
have access to sensitive national security evidence and can challenge
the relevance, reliability, and weight of such information. The
legislation also establishes stricter rules on disclosure and the use
of secret evidence, prohibits the use of evidence if there are
reasonable grounds to believe authorities obtained it as a result of
torture, and provides new avenues for review and appeal. The law
addressed a February 2007 Supreme Court ruling that defendants have the
right to know the evidence against them and that indefinite detention
without review is arbitrary.
The legislation required the Government to resubmit applications
for all security certificates to the Federal Court. The Government re-
submitted five applications and dropped one. At year's end all five
applications remained pending, with one individual incarcerated and
four conditionally released pending deportation.
On August 15, the Quebec Superior Court upheld an appeal arguing
that a judge illegally issued warrants to Montreal police to raid media
outlets in pursuit of pictures and video footage of an April 21 riot
after a National Hockey League game. The Superior Court ruled that
neither the police nor the authorizing judge had taken into account the
tension between media freedom and the administration of justice, and
ordered the Montreal police to return to the media all materials that
remained sealed.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this
provision in practice. The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Trial Procedures.--The judicial system is based on English common
law at the federal level as well as in most provinces. In Quebec, civil
law is derived from the Napoleonic Code; however, criminal law is the
same nationwide. The Government appoints the judges. Trials are public,
and defendants have a right to have their case heard before a judge
alone or, for more serious cases, before a judge and jury. Defendants
have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney in a
timely manner. The Government provides an attorney at public expense if
needed when defendants face serious criminal charges, and defendants
can confront or question witnesses against them and present witnesses
and evidence on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys generally
have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases.
Defendants also enjoy a presumption of innocence and have a right of
appeal.
On April 3, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a
December 2007 Federal Court of Appeal ruling that withholding sensitive
national security information from defendants in national security
cases did not necessarily infringe on the right to a fair trial. The
judgment occurred in the context of charges against Momim Khawaja, the
first person to be convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Remedies can be monetary,
declaratory, or injunctive. There were few problems enforcing domestic
court orders. Although alleged human rights violations may also be
heard by provincial or federal human rights commissions, these bodies
follow their own differing standards and procedures.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press. Individuals could criticize the Government
publicly or privately without reprisal, and the Government did not
attempt to impede criticism. The independent media were active and
expressed a wide variety of views.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Government may limit free
speech in the name of goals such as ending discrimination, ensuring
social harmony, or promoting gender equality. It also has ruled that
the benefits of limiting hate speech and promoting equality are
sufficient to outweigh the freedom of speech clause in the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, the country's constitutional bill of rights.
Provincial-level film censorship, broadcast licensing procedures,
broadcasters' voluntary codes curbing graphic violence, and laws
against hate literature and pornography also impose some restrictions
on the media.
Inciting hatred (in certain cases) or genocide is a criminal
offense, but the Supreme Court has set a high threshold for such cases,
specifying that these acts must be proven to be willful and public.
Laws prohibit speech or programming containing any abusive comment that
would expose individuals or groups to hatred or contempt and empower
the federal Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and the federal
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to enforce the law in areas of federal
jurisdiction. In addition, each province has its own human rights code.
Advocates of freedom of speech and press called for limits on
federal and provincial human rights commission powers, notably by
reforming or eliminating part of the federal Human Rights Act. Some
observers criticized the requirement that commissions process all
complaints received as well as the procedures that permit commissions
to investigate and also adjudicate complaints. Some also were critical
of the filing of identical complaints with several provincial
commissions, each of which may adjudicate without attention to others.
In 2007 for example, the Canadian Islamic Congress filed complaints
against Maclean's magazine with the Ontario and British Columbia human
rights commissions and the CHRC, claiming that some of the magazine's
articles, especially an excerpt from America Alone by Mark Steyn, were
anti-Islamic. During the year all three commissions dismissed the
complaints.
On May 30, the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission
ordered Rev. Stephen Boissoin and the Concerned Christian Coalition to
cease making disparaging comments about homosexuals, pay a Cdn$7000
(approximately $6,570) fine, and publish an apology. At year's end
Boissoin's appeal to the Alberta provincial court was pending.
In July and December respectively, the CHRC dismissed complaints
against Catholic Insight magazine for allegedly promoting hatred of
homosexuals and against Muslim cleric Abou Hammaad Sulaiman Dameus al-
Hayiti for his book attacking homosexuals, Jews, and Christians.
On August 1, the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission
dismissed a complaint by the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities
against journalist Ezra Levant for republishing Danish cartoons
depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
On January 14, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal upheld a 2006
provincial court ruling that ordered a re-trial of a former leader of
the Assembly of First Nations, who was convicted in 2005 of willfully
promoting hatred against Jews under the hate propaganda provisions of
the law. The re-trial began November 24, and a verdict was expected in
February 2009.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet and no reports of government monitoring e-mail.
Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views
via the Internet, including by e-mail. Internet access was readily
available and widely used. The International Telecommunication Union
reported that there were 76 Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2007.
The CHRC investigates complaints about hate messages on Web sites
and may forward cases to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for action.
On June 17, the CHRC launched a policy review concerning hate
messages on the Internet and commissioned an independent, nonbinding
report. The November 24 report recommended repeal of the federal Human
Rights Act section dealing with hate speech; proposed the prosecution
of hate complaints exclusively by courts under the criminal code; and
proposed restriction of the federal definition of hate speech to
extreme expression that advocates, threatens, or justifies violence.
The report also recommended that, if the CHRC retains jurisdiction over
hate speech, its authority should be limited to the most extreme
instances of discriminatory expression. At year's end the CHRC expected
to provide its findings and public consultation results to Parliament
by mid-2009.
Concerns arose from allegations that the CHRC monitored Internet
chat rooms and improperly posted comments therein. While the CHRC held
hearings that continued at year's end on a complaint that accused Marc
Lemire, former president of a white supremacist organization, of
disseminating hate speech on his Web site, Lemire filed complaints with
the Ottawa police and the RCMP alleging illegal CHRC staff
investigative techniques including hacking into a private citizen's
Internet account. The RCMP and the Privacy Commissioner investigated
these complaints; the RCMP ended its investigation on November 27
without filing criminal charges.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
On May 20, the Supreme Court heard the case of a teenage member of
the Jehovah's Witnesses whom Manitoba child-protection officials
ordered in 2006 to submit to a medically necessary blood transfusion.
The complainant argued that the transfusion violated her constitutional
rights to security of the person and religious freedom; she asked the
court to strike down the provincial child-protection law. The court's
ruling was pending at year's end.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were a number of reports
of harassment of religious minorities, which the Government
investigated and punished under laws and regulations that seek to
protect religious freedom and counter hate and bias activity. In June
the Government statistical agency reported that 27 percent of the 892
reports of hate-motivated crime the police received in 2006 had
religious motivations.
Approximately 1.1 percent of the population was Jewish. The B'nai
Brith Canada League for Human Rights received 1,042 reports of anti-
Semitic incidents in 2007, an 11.4 percent increase from 2006. The
greatest number of reports came from Ontario Province (582 incidents,
427 of which took place in the Greater Toronto area), followed by
Quebec Province (291 incidents, 249 of which took place in Montreal)-
the two provinces where approximately 80 percent of the country's
Jewish population resided. The 1,042 reports included 699 cases of
harassment, 315 cases of vandalism, and 28 cases of violence; 169 cases
involved attacks on synagogues, Jewish homes, community centers, or
cemeteries. Jewish students reported 78 cases of anti-Semitic incidents
that occurred on university campuses in 2007, compared with 36 in 2006;
another 82 involved primary and secondary school settings, compared
with 54 in 2006. B'nai Brith also received 310 reports of Web-based
hate activity.
In February police charged two men for painting anti-Semitic and
racist graffiti on property throughout a neighborhood in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan. There were no further developments in the case at year's
end.
In late March and early April in the Toronto area, vandals drew
swastikas and/or spray painted anti-Semitic messages on apartment
building stairway walls, a library, and the house exteriors in two home
developments. In June in Kelowna, British Columbia, vandals similarly
defaced a Jewish community center and elementary school.
On July 31, vandals scrawled an anti-Semitic message and eight
swastikas on a Canadian Museum for Human Rights billboard. Winnipeg
police investigated the incident as a hate crime, and there were no
further developments at year's end.
In November Quebec police arrested four individuals in connection
with the August 16 assault of a Hassidic Jew walking to a synagogue in
St. Agathe, Quebec, and the vandalism of vehicles.
In November authorities sentenced an individual, who had pled
guilty to four counts of damaging and threatening to damage property by
firebombing a Jewish boys' school and other targets in Montreal in
2006, to four years in prison with three subsequent years of probation.
The trial of a second individual in the same case had not begun by
year's end.
On September 18, a Quebec court found a woman guilty of being an
accessory after the fact in the 2004 firebombing of a Montreal Jewish
school and later sentenced her to 12 months probation.
Approximately 1.9 percent of the population was Muslim. On March
17, a transportation company suspended a Toronto area bus driver for a
week without pay after he refused to remove his kufi, a Muslim
religious head cap, while on the job. The company alleged that the
headgear violated the employee dress code but subsequently reversed its
decision, allowing the man to return to work and offering him
compensation for lost wages.
There were no known developments in the investigations of the 2006
incidents of an imam physically threatened outside a Montreal mosque,
property damage to an Ontario mosque, and an attack on an Islamic
school in Ottawa.
In March two Sikh men filed a complaint with the British Columbia
Human Rights Tribunal against their employer, alleging that the
forestry company failed to consider their religious obligation to wear
a turban when it required them to wear hard hats and suspended them for
not doing so in 2007. At year's end the tribunal decision was pending.
The CHRC is responsible for information programs to foster public
understanding of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Provincial human rights
commissions and tribunals perform similar functions for activities not
under federal regulation. Four provinces (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick) officially recognize Holocaust
Remembrance Day, and every province conducts a remembrance ceremony.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol. The
Government has a system for providing protection to refugees and
granted refugee status or asylum as appropriate.
In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government offered alternatives to
refugee claimants whose cases were refused by the Immigration and
Refugee Board. The option for judicial review through the Federal Court
exists. Two other remedies of last resort are available through the
Department of Citizenship and Immigration, including a ``pre-removal
risk assessment'' as well as an appeal to the minister of citizenship
and immigration for a waiver based on humanitarian and compassionate
grounds.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In the free and fair
multiparty federal general election on October 14, the Conservative
Party won the largest number of seats in Parliament and formed its
second successive minority government. On December 4, at the prime
minister's request in order to avoid a vote of confidence that the
Government would likely have lost, the governor-general prorogued
(suspended) parliament until January 26, 2009. Political parties
operated without restriction or outside interference.
There were 68 women and five indigenous people in the 308-member
House of Commons after the October election. There were 35 women and
seven indigenous people in the 105-seat Senate (whose members are
appointed by the Government). Women held five seats in the 27-member
cabinet before the October election, and 11 in the new 38-member
cabinet. The governor-general and four of the nine members of the
Supreme Court, including the chief justice, were women.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
enforced these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of
government corruption during the year. The Federal Accountability Act
provides for transparency and accountability in government and created
the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner to report
annually on allegations of corruption. In May the commissioner reported
no incidents of wrongdoing in her first annual report.
A conflict of interest and ethics commissioner administers the
conflict of interest code for members of the House of Commons, as well
as the Conflict of Interest Act in relation to public office holders.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws for
personal assets.
The law permits public access to government information, and the
Government in practice granted access for citizens and noncitizens,
including foreign media. The Government released quarterly information
on the public expenditures of senior government officials and also
published expense information on individual ministerial Web sites and
on a centralized Web site.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
In October the Government released a report of the judicial review
findings on the role, if any, that officials may have played in
relation to the detention and alleged torture in Syria and/or Egypt of
three Muslim dual-national Canadians suspected of links to terrorism.
The report found that the detentions of two of the individuals resulted
indirectly from specific information-sharing actions by government
officials. The report also found that the three ``suffered mistreatment
amounting to torture'' which likely resulted indirectly from the
information-sharing actions of government officials. However, it
declined to assign blame, stating that officials had
``conscientiously'' carried out their duties.
On May 23, in the case of Omar Khadr (a citizen detained at
Guantanamo), the Supreme Court determined (a) that government officials
acted improperly in sharing information, obtained from interviews of
him in 2003 and 2004, with foreign officials and (b) that the sharing
process violated the country's international obligations. The Court
ordered as a remedy that Khadr's defense team be given access to all
records of interviews conducted, after review by the Federal Court.
Proceedings continued against Desire Munyaneza, a Rwandan national
who entered the country in 1997 claiming refugee status, for war crimes
allegedly committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The outcome of
the trial, the first under the country's Crimes against Humanity and
War Crimes Act, remained pending at year's end.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for equal benefits and protection of the law
regardless of race, gender, national or ethnic origin, age, language,
social status, or disability; the Government effectively enforced these
provisions.
Women.--Although prohibited by law, rape and violence against
women, including spousal rape and abuse, remained a problem. The
Government's statistical office reported there were 65 sexual assaults
per 100,000 persons in 2007, down from 68 in 2006.
The law prohibits domestic violence. Although the criminal code
does not define specific domestic violence offenses, an abuser can be
charged with an applicable offense, such as assault, intimidation,
mischief, or sexual assault. Persons convicted of assault may be
penalized with up to five years in prison. Assaults involving weapons,
threats, injuries, or endangerment of life carry prison sentences up to
14 years. Sexual abuse may be penalized with up to 10 years in prison.
Sexual assaults involving weapons, threats, injuries, or endangerment
of life carry sentences up to life imprisonment.
Indigenous (aboriginal) people were more than three times more
likely to be victims of spousal violence than nonindigenous people.
The federal statistical agency reported there were 553 shelters for
abused women; the shelters provided both emergency care and long-term
assistance. The Government's family violence initiative involved 12
departments and a cabinet ministry-Status of Women Canada. These
entities worked to eliminate systemic violence against women and
advance women's human rights.
The Amnesty International 2008 Report noted continuing high levels
of discrimination and violence against indigenous women and criticized
officials for failing to advance a national strategy. Amnesty's October
1 submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women drew attention to human rights violations allegedly
experienced by indigenous and refugee/migrant women as well as women in
federal prisons.
Adult prostitution is not illegal, but the law prohibits pimping
(benefiting from the earnings of prostitution of another); operating,
being found in, or working in a brothel; and communicating in a public
place for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.
The law does not contain a specific offense of ``sexual
harassment'' but criminalizes harassment (stalking), punishable by up
to 10 years' imprisonment, and sexual assault, with penalties ranging
from 10 years for nonaggravated sexual assault to life imprisonment for
aggravated sexual assault. The Government generally enforced these
prohibitions. Most harassment cases were settled out of court.
Women were well-represented in the labor force, including business
and the professions, and did not experience economic discrimination.
According to Statistics Canada, 59 percent of women age 15 and older
were employed in the workforce in 2007. Employment equity laws and
regulations cover federal employees in all but the security and defense
services. Women have marriage and property rights, as well as rights in
the judicial system, equal to those of men.
Children.--The Government demonstrated its commitment to children's
rights and welfare through well-funded systems of public education and
medical care. Federal and provincial regulations protect children from
abuse, overwork, and discrimination and penalize perpetrators of such
offenses.
In February Quebec police arrested two citizens on charges of
abusing children in an orphanage in Haiti in 2006-2007. Both pled
guilty to sexual assault and were convicted in November.
Police data in 2006 showed that children and youth were most likely
to be physically or sexually assaulted by someone they know. A family
violence study by the federal statistical agency reported that, for
every 100,000 young persons included in the study in 2006, 334 were
victims of physical or sexual violence by a friend or acquaintance, 187
suffered violence by a family member, and 101 were victimized by a
stranger. The rate of physical assault by a parent was more than three
times higher than the rate of sexual assault (83 compared with 24
victims per 100,000 children and youth). Sixty percent of homicides
against children were committed by family members. Approximately 40
percent of child and youth victims of family violence sustained a
physical injury, although the majority of injuries required no
professional medical treatment.
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits all forms of
trafficking in persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked
to, through, and, occasionally, within the country.
The country is a source, transit point, and destination for men,
women, and children trafficked for the purposes of labor and sexual
exploitation. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) estimated that 2,000
persons were trafficked into the country annually, while the RCMP
estimated only 600 to 800 persons, with an additional 1,500 to 2,200
persons trafficked through the country into the United States. Many
victims were Asians and Eastern Europeans, but a significant number
also came from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Women and
children were trafficked for sexual exploitation; on a lesser scale,
men, women, and children were trafficked for forced labor. Some girls
and women, most of whom were aboriginal, were trafficked internally for
commercial sexual exploitation.
Vancouver and Toronto served as hubs for organized crime groups
trafficking in persons, including for prostitution. East Asian crime
groups targeted the country, Vancouver in particular, to exploit
immigration laws, benefits available to immigrants, and the proximity
to the U.S. border.
The law criminalizes trafficking in persons and prohibits global
and internal trafficking in persons, benefiting economically from
trafficking in persons, and withholding or destroying documents to
facilitate trafficking in persons. The Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act establishes criminal penalties of up to life in prison
and fines of up to one million Canadian dollars (approximately
$938,000) for convicted cross-border traffickers. The Government
prosecutes all forms of human trafficking, including forced labor, in
addition to trafficking related acts such as kidnapping, forcible
confinement, uttering threats, sexual assault, prostitution-related
crimes, and extortion. The law also permits domestic prosecution of
citizens and residents who engage in illegal sexual activity with
children overseas.
During the year the country marked its first convictions under
criminal code amendments enacted in 2005 to provide explicit
trafficking in persons offenses. In June the Ontario Court of Justice
sentenced a man to five years in prison for trafficking and for living
on the avails of prostitution of a minor. In December the Ontario court
sentenced a second man to three years for trafficking offenses. In
addition, according to the Department of Justice, a Quebec court
convicted an individual of trafficking offenses.
The Government has an interdepartmental working group consisting of
17 departments and agencies and co-chaired by senior officials from the
Departments of Justice and Public Safety to combat trafficking in
persons.
Through agencies such as Interpol, the Government assisted other
countries with criminal investigations of trafficking cases and
cooperated with law enforcement authorities in neighboring and source
countries.
Officials may grant a temporary residence permit of 180 days (or
longer, in special meritorious cases) to provide a reflection period
for the victim and an investigative window for law enforcement to
determine whether there is enough evidence to pursue a trafficking
case. During this 180-day period, immigration officials determine
whether a longer residency period of up to three years may be
warranted. Nonetheless, NGOs reported anecdotal evidence that some
victims of trafficking were arrested and deported. The RCMP conducted a
law enforcement training program to sensitize officers to trafficking
realities, help identify potential trafficking victims, and provide
information about implementing the new guidelines.
In addition to legal status under a temporary residence permit,
trafficking victims have access to federally funded emergency medical
services and programs such as legal assistance; they may also apply for
assistance from victim assistance funds maintained by provincial
governments.
In January the Government dedicated six million Canadian dollars
(approximately $5.6 million) to preventing the sexual exploitation and
trafficking of children. The initiative included a national awareness
campaign and a 24-hour hot line. The Government also provided two
million Canadian dollars (approximately $1.9 million) to a national
charitable organization to pursue public leads about suspected child
predators on the Internet.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state
services, and the Government effectively enforced these prohibitions.
The Government effectively implemented laws mandating access to
buildings for persons with disabilities.
The federal, provincial, and territorial governments share
responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
The Office for Disability Issues, the Federal Government's focal point,
funded a range of programs, including programs to enable participation
of persons with disabilities in the workforce.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Charter of Rights and
Freedoms protects the linguistic and cultural rights of minorities and
establishes English and French as the country's two official languages.
Despite the federal policy of bilingualism, native English speakers in
Quebec (5.7 percent of the province's population in 2006) and French
speakers in other parts of the country generally lived and worked in
the language of the majority. Provinces may grant French or English the
status of an official language, but only New Brunswick has granted the
two languages equal status.
The Charter of the French Language in Quebec makes French the
official language of the province; requires the use of French in
commerce, the workplace, education, and government; and protects
minority language rights. The Charter also restricts access to publicly
funded English-language education to children who have received or are
receiving elementary or secondary instruction in English and whose
parents are Canadian citizens, and to students who are temporary
residents in the province or have serious learning disabilities and who
have obtained a waiver.
In January the police of York Region confirmed they had brought
charges in five of six alleged racially motivated assaults on Asian
recreational fishermen that took place in the Lake Simcoe area in 2007.
The trials had not concluded by year's end. In May a separate Ontario
Human Rights Commission investigation concluded that these assaults
were racially motivated but not hate crimes.
In January the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Commission ruled that
three teenagers were victims of racial profiling when police ticketed
them for sitting in front of a low-cost housing complex. Also in
January the commission ruled that a Tunisian girl was a victim of
racial profiling when police ticketed and handcuffed her for refusing
to stop sitting behind the housing project where she lived. Police
ticketed the girl's mother as well. In each case the commission made a
nonbinding recommendation that the city of Montreal pay damages; the
mayor indicated that the city did not intend to do so.
In July the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Commission ruled that two
police officers pulled their weapons on, and made racially motivated
comments toward, three black persons, mistakenly assuming they were
stealing boxes from a garage when in fact one of them owned the house.
The Commission made nonbinding recommendations that the city of
Montreal and the police officers pay damages, which the city declined
to do.
In August riots broke out in Montreal after a policeman shot and
killed a teenage immigrant from Honduras. The rioters alleged that
police targeted minorities and employed racial profiling. An official
investigation determined on December 1 that no criminal charges would
be brought against the policeman, and Quebec authorities ordered a
public inquiry into the shooting to begin in February 2009.
Indigenous People.--The law recognizes three different groups of
indigenous (also known as aboriginal) people: Indians (generally called
First Nations), Inuit (formerly called Eskimos), and Metis (persons of
mixed Indian-European ancestry). According to the 2006 census,
indigenous people constituted approximately 4 percent of the national
population and higher percentages in the country's three territories:
Yukon, 25 percent; Northwest Territories, 50 percent; and Nunavut, 85
percent. Disputes over land claims, self-government, treaty rights,
taxation, duty-free imports, fishing and hunting rights, and alleged
harassment by police continued to be sources of tension. Indigenous
people remained underrepresented in the workforce, overrepresented on
welfare rolls and in prison populations, and more susceptible to
suicide and poverty than other groups.
The law recognizes and specifically protects indigenous rights,
including those established by historical land claims settlements.
Treaties with indigenous groups form the basis for the Government's
policies in the eastern part of the country, but there were legal
challenges to the Government's interpretation of treaty rights.
Indigenous groups in the west that never signed treaties continued to
claim land and resources, and many continued to seek legal resolution
of outstanding issues. As a result, the evolution of the Government's
policy toward indigenous rights, particularly land claims, frequently
depended on legal challenges, including 45 Supreme Court decisions.
In February the Government passed legislation implementing the
Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act. The law, which resolved the
last major Inuit land claim in the country, provides for the
establishment of an Inuit-controlled regional government, accountable
to Quebec's National Assembly, to administer the region of Quebec above
the 55th parallel. The Quebec Inuit and federal and Quebec governments
signed an agreement in principle (AIP) to create the Nunavik Regional
Government or Nunavimmiut Aquvvinga in December 2007. The AIP must be
ratified by the Nunavik population and the federal and Quebec
governments and remained pending at year's end.
In June the Federal Government passed legislation establishing a
new independent Specific Claims Tribunal to bring greater fairness to
the handling of aboriginal land claims and to accelerate their
resolution. The tribunal is to make binding decisions on cases that are
rejected for negotiations, or where negotiations fail, on claims up to
Cdn$150 million (approximately $140 million). Composed of six
provincial superior court judges whom the Federal Government selected
in consultation with the aboriginal Assembly of First Nations, the
tribunal began work in October.
In June the Federal Government passed legislation implementing the
Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement. The Agreement granted
jurisdiction over approximately 1,790 acres of coastal British Columbia
to the Tsawwassen First Nation, including control over tax policy, land
management, fisheries, wildlife, migratory birds, parks, culture and
heritage, and governance.
Also in June the Government passed legislation extending legal
protection from discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act to
aboriginal people. They were previously prohibited from filing human
rights complaints against authorities subject to the Indian Act. Full
protection under the Human Rights Act is to be phased in over a three-
year transitional period.
On June 11, the Prime Minister formally apologized to former
students of Indian residential schools for abuse suffered and for the
negative consequences of the residential system on native communities.
The apology followed a two billion Canadian dollar (approximately $1.8
billion) settlement in 2006 between the Federal Government and former
students. As pledged, the Government also created the Indian
Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which had not
begun work at year's end.
In March the Mi'kmaq of Newfoundland and Labrador ratified a 2007
AIP with the Federal Government that extended to them formal aboriginal
status and access to federal programs and services for status Indians.
On August 13, the Federal Government and Mi'kmaq signed a final
agreement to conclude the settlement.
On September 8, the Haudenosaunee/Six Nations rejected a Cdn$26
million (approximately $24 million) federal offer to settle one of four
claims included in a 2007 Cdn$125 million (approximately $117 million)
land settlement package. The dispute site has been occupied since 2006,
and the status of the 2007 offer remained uncertain at year's end.
The 2006-07 report of the federal corrections ombudsman charged
that a disproportionate number of aboriginal prisoners were in maximum-
security penitentiaries and segregation and spent longer in jail than
nonnative prisoners. Aboriginal people accounted for 18.5 percent of
the total federal prison population. Aboriginal women accounted for 32
percent of the female federal penitentiary population. The ombudsman
attributed a higher rate of recidivism in part to the Correctional
Service's failure to manage aboriginal inmates in a culturally
responsive and nondiscriminatory manner and to lack of access to
reintegration programs following release. The report recommended that
the Correctional Service appoint a deputy commissioner for aboriginal
offenders and re-establish a national aboriginal advisory committee,
neither of which was accomplished by year's end.
The Government continued the process of claim settlements and self-
government negotiations with more than 350 First Nations communities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were rare reports
of societal violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation. The
law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the
criminal code provides penalties for crimes motivated by bias,
prejudice, or hate based on personal characteristics, including sexual
orientation. The law extends equal access to civil marriage to same-sex
couples.
On November 25, a Saskatchewan marriage commissioner filed suit
against the provincial government over a requirement to perform same-
sex marriages. In May the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal had ruled
that the marriage commissioner had discriminated against a gay couple
when he declined to perform their same-sex ceremony on the ground that
it conflicted with his religious beliefs. The tribunal had fined the
commissioner. In his suit, the commissioner argued the law violated his
Charter right to freedom of religion.
In August police in Peel, Ontario, created a telephone hot line for
hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.
There were no known reports of societal violence or discrimination
against persons with HIV/AIDS. The criminal code provides penalties for
violence against individuals. Courts generally interpreted prohibitions
against discrimination on the basis of disability in federal and
provincial human rights statutes to include discrimination against
persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers in both the
public (except armed forces and police) and the private sectors to form
and join unions of their choice without previous authorization, and
workers did so in practice.
All workers, except for those in the public sector who provide
essential services, have the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice. Workers in essential services had recourse to
binding arbitration if labor negotiations failed. The law prohibits
employer retribution against strikers and union leaders, and the
Government generally enforced this provision in practice.
Following a two-day strike in April by Toronto Transit Commission
(TTC) workers, the Ontario legislature passed a law that obliged
strikers to return to work and accept binding arbitration. In October
the Toronto City Council narrowly defeated a motion to have the
province declare the TTC an essential service, which would have
permanently curtailed the workers' right to strike.
Trade unions are independent of the Government. Approximately 30
percent of the civilian labor force held union membership.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
protects collective bargaining, and collective agreements covered
approximately 30 percent of the civilian labor force.
In November the Ontario Court of Appeal struck down a provincial
law provision that prohibited an estimated 32,000 agricultural workers
(including foreign migrants) from bargaining collectively, ruling that
the provision violated the Charter right to freedom of association. The
province has 12 months to revise the provision.
In August the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by the United
Food and Commercial Workers Union alleging that a store in Jonquiere,
Quebec, had dismissed employees because of their union activities. The
company had closed the store in 2005, six months after receiving union
certification and days before a provincially-appointed labor arbitrator
was to present the parties with a mandatory contract settlement.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that labor trafficking occurred. Labor trafficking victims
reportedly often entered the country legally but were unlawfully
exploited in agriculture or domestic servitude.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor legislation varies by province. The Federal Government
employs youths under age 17 only while school is not in session and in
work unlikely to endanger health or safety. Most provinces prohibit
children under age 15 or 16 from working without parental consent, at
night, or in any hazardous employment.
Inspections by federal and provincial labor ministries effectively
enforced child labor laws and policies.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Each province and territory sets
minimum wage rates, which ranged from Cdn$7.75 to Cdn$10.00
(approximately $7.30 to $9.40) per hour. Ontario and British Columbia
have a minimum wage rate for youths lower than their respective
minimums for adult workers. The minimum wage did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. The federal statistical
agency calculates annual averages, or Low Income Cut-Offs (LICO), by
family and community size, below which a family is likely to spend
significantly more on food, shelter, and clothing than the average.
During the year the national LICO for a family of four with a before-
tax income of less than Cdn$39,399 (approximately $36,960) qualified as
low income.
Standard work hours vary by province, but in each the limit is 40
or 48 hours per week, with at least 24 hours of rest. The law requires
payment of a premium for work above the standard workweek. Authorities
effectively enforced these standards. There is no specific prohibition
on excessive compulsory overtime, which is regulated by means of the
required rest periods in the labor code that differ by industry.
Federal law provides safety and health standards for employees
under federal jurisdiction, while provincial and territorial
legislation provides for all other employees. Federal and provincial
labor departments monitored and enforced these standards. Federal,
provincial, and territorial laws protect the right of workers with
``reasonable cause'' to refuse dangerous work and remove themselves
from hazardous work conditions, and authorities effectively enforced
this right.
__________
CHILE
Chile is a multiparty democracy with a population of approximately
16 million. In 2006 voters elected President Michelle Bachelet in a
free and fair runoff election. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens. There were isolated reports of excessive use of force and
mistreatment by police forces, physical abuse in jails and prisons, and
generally substandard prison conditions. The Government generally took
steps to investigate and punish abusers. Domestic violence against
women and children was widespread. There were incidents of trafficking
in persons. Some indigenous people suffered discrimination. Many
children were employed in the informal economy.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings. However,
on January 3 in Vilcun, police shot and killed Matias Catrileo, who had
joined an occupation by indigenous persons of private land. A military
court indicted a police corporal for the shooting, but he remained free
and the case was pending at year's end (See Section 5, Indigenous
People).
In October 2007 the Rancagua Appeals Court indicted two former
members of the uniformed national police (Carabineros) for the 1988
killings of Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR) activists Raul
Pellegrini and Cecilia Magni. The case remained pending at year's end.
In the ``Albania Case'' concerning the 1987 killings of 12 FPMR
activists, former Carabinero Ivan Quiroz Ruiz was captured on January
24 after four months as a fugitive and began serving a 10-year
sentence.
On February 1, the family of dual Chilean-Spanish citizen Carmelo
Soria, who was killed by National Intelligence Directorate (DINA)
agents in 1976, received a 780-million-peso (approximately $1.5
million) payment as approved by the Senate. Action on an associated
criminal case was pending at year's end.
On June 30, Judge Alejandro Solis convicted and sentenced nine
former DINA agents, including former DINA director Manuel Contreras and
two civilians, for the 1974 car bomb assassination of former army
commander Carlos Prats and his wife in Buenos Aires. Contreras received
two life sentences and 20 years for illicit association. At year's end
all those indicted in the Prats case were free on bail except for
Contreras, Pedro Espinoza, and Raul Iturriaga. Appeals regarding the
sentences of the six other convicted individuals remained pending at
year's end.
On October 15, the Supreme Court confirmed the conviction of former
general Sergio Arellano and sentenced him to six years in prison.
However, on November 18, the presiding judge relieved Arellano of
serving time due to his Alzheimer's disease, and his family paid
500,000 pesos (approximately $960) bail. This first ruling by the
Supreme Court in the 1973 ``Caravan of Death'' case involved homicide
convictions for four of the 72 killings perpetrated by a group of army
officers and infantrymen who traveled around the country following the
1973 coup to order and perform prisoner executions. In addition,
authorities convicted and sentenced four former military officers, one
to six years in prison and three others to four years on parole.
Judge Jorge Zepeda's investigations of retired security officer
Rafael Gonzales, charged in connection with the 1973 killings of U.S.
citizens Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, remained pending at year's
end.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
Courts prosecuted a number of historical cases based on plaintiffs'
arguments that the abduction of political prisoners constituted a
continuing crime, not covered by amnesty, unless the subsequent
execution of the prisoner could be established concretely by
identification of remains. The Supreme Court upheld a number of
convictions based on indefinite or permanent kidnapping. The Supreme
Court also revoked amnesty in several cases, allowing investigations of
historical cases of politically motivated disappearances to be
reopened. In other cases the courts upheld the statute of limitations
or lessened sentences, allowing the convicted persons to serve time
outside of prison.
There were no developments in the 1985 disappearance case of U.S.
citizen Boris Weisfeiler near Colonia Dignidad.
On May 26, Judge Victor Montiglio issued 98 indictments of former
members of the army, air force, Carabineros, and Investigations Police
(PDI) for the 1975 disappearance case called ``Operation Colombo.'' The
98 indictees, 13 of whom were serving sentences for other human rights
violations, were all charged with ``permanent kidnapping'' of 41
victims. ``Operation Colombo'' covered up DINA detentions of 119
Chileans by placing false media reports in Argentina and Brazil stating
that the disappeared individuals had died in Argentina or Brazil.
A criminal court investigation of the 1974 disappearance of Gloria
Lagos Nilsson remained pending at year's end. This case had been under
military court purview until January 2007 when, for the first time in
the investigation of a Pinochet-era disappearance case, a military
court recused itself.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the constitution prohibits such practices,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) received reports of abuse and
mistreatment by the Carabineros, the PDI, and prison guards. Few
reports of abuse or mistreatment led to convictions.
The Gendarmeria opened administrative investigations into 107
allegations of abuse before the end of the year, compared with 26 such
cases in 2007. Of the new cases, six resulted in officials receiving
sanctions, nine were closed or the accused officials were not found
responsible, and 92 were pending at year's end.
On July 11, the Santiago Appellate Court confirmed a three-year
prison sentence for Colonia Dignidad settlement founder Paul Schaefer
for the abuse and torture of eight members of the community between
1970 and 1980. Schaefer was already serving time for rape and sexual
molestation.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally were poor. Prisons often were overcrowded and antiquated,
with substandard sanitary conditions. As of December there were
approximately 50,000 prisoners in prisons designed to hold 33,000
inmates. Prisons in the Santiago Metropolitan Region were at nearly
double their design capacity. The 2008 Diego Portales University Law
School Annual Report on Human Rights reiterated that overcrowded
prisons with substandard sanitary, food, and medical services were a
problem and also described cases of prisoner abuse and use of excessive
force.
In isolated instances prisoners died due to lack of clear prison
procedures and insufficient medical resources. Prison officials
reported that there were 63 deaths from preventable causes during the
year, compared with 48 in 2007. As of December 48 inmates had been
killed by other prisoners, and 15 inmates had committed suicide.
Prisoners with HIV/AIDS and mental disabilities allegedly failed to
receive adequate medical attention.
In March the UN Children's Fund issued a report on the new, more
rehabilitative juvenile justice system established under a 2007 reform
law. The principal shortcomings noted included deficient implementation
of schooling and training programs, a lack of appropriate medical
attention and administration of medicines, the use of solitary
confinement despite its prohibition in the law, and the absence of
segregation of youths by age and gender. As of December approximately
1,600 minors were incarcerated in the new system, of whom nearly 80
percent were held provisionally during their trial. A special
prosecutor's investigation into a 2007 fire, which started during a
riot in the Tiempo de Crecer juvenile detention center in Puerto Montt
and killed 10 adolescents, was pending at year's end.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, and such visits took place to both government-run and
privately operated facilities. An Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IACHR) delegation that visited and evaluated the country's
prison system in late August found some good practices, but it also
noted excessive use of force, systematic physical mistreatment
including the use of isolation measures in inhuman conditions,
overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, deficient infrastructure, and a
lack of appropriate inmate separation and specialized medical
attention. Prisoner rights and human rights groups continued to
investigate alleged use of abuse or excessive force against detainees.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the uniformed Carabineros national
police force, overseen by the Ministry of Defense, and the plainclothes
PDI, overseen by the Ministry of the Interior. The Government has
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during
the year.
Arrest and Detention.--Only public officials expressly authorized
by law can arrest or detain citizens. Authorities must immediately
inform a prosecutor of an arrest and generally did so in practice.
The prosecutor must open an investigation, receive a statement from
the detainee, and ensure that the detainee is held at a local police
station until the detention control hearing. Detention control hearings
are held twice daily, allowing for a judicial determination of the
legality of the detention within 24 hours of arrest. Detainees must be
informed of their rights, including the right to an attorney and the
right to remain silent until an attorney is present. Public defenders
are provided to detainees in the event that they do not select a lawyer
of choice. Authorities must expedite notification of the detention to
family members. If authorities do not inform the detainees of their
rights upon detention, the process can be declared unlawful by the
judge during the detention control hearing.
The law allows judges to set bail, grant provisional liberty, or
order continued detention as necessary to the investigation or for the
protection of the prisoner or the public.
The law affords detainees 30 minutes of immediate and subsequent
daily access to a lawyer (in the presence of a prison guard) and to a
doctor to verify their physical condition. Regular visits by family
members are allowed.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. National
and regional prosecutors investigate crimes, formulate charges, and
prosecute cases. Three-judge panels form the court of first instance;
the process is oral and adversarial, trials are public, and judges rule
on guilt and dictate sentences. Court records, rulings, and findings
were generally accessible to the public.
The law provides for the right to legal counsel, and public
defender's offices in all 15 regions and the Santiago Metropolitan
Region provide professional legal counsel to anyone seeking such
assistance. When requested by other human rights organizations or
family members, the NGO Corporation for the Promotion and Defense of
the Rights of the People and other lawyers working pro bono assisted
detainees during interrogation and trial. Defendants enjoy a
presumption of innocence and have a right of appeal.
For crimes committed prior to the implementation of the 2005
judicial reforms, criminal proceedings are inquisitorial rather than
adversarial. The statute of limitations to press charges is 10 years.
At year's end authorities closed four of the six remaining
inquisitorial criminal courts in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, and
all prereform cases faced extensive waits for trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees, although a number of inmates
convicted of terrorist acts following the return to democracy in 1990
claimed to be political prisoners.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While there is an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, which permits
access for lawsuits regarding human rights violations, modernization of
the judiciary has not affected the civil justice system, which was
characterized by antiquated and inefficient procedures. The average
civil trial lasted approximately five years, and civil suits could
continue for decades.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice, subject to significant legal
restrictions.
Human rights groups and press associations criticized the existence
and application of laws that prohibit insulting state institutions,
including the presidency, the legislature, and judicial bodies, and
those that allow government officials to bring charges against
journalists who insult or criticize them. Military courts may charge
and try civilians for defamation of military personnel and for
sedition, but their rulings can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Two major media groups, which were largely independent of the
Government, controlled most of the print media. The Government was the
majority owner of La Nacion newspaper but did not directly control its
editorial content. International print media operated freely.
The broadcast media generally were independent of direct government
influence. The Television Nacional network was state owned but not
under direct government control. It was self-financed through
commercial advertising, editorially independent, and governed by a
board of directors appointed by the president and approved by the
Senate.
The government-funded National Television Council (CNT) is
responsible for ensuring that television programming respects ``the
moral and cultural values of the nation.'' The CNT's principal role is
to regulate violence and sexual explicitness in both broadcast and
cable television programming. Films and other programs judged by the
CNT to be excessively violent, have obscene language, or depict
sexually explicit scenes may be shown only after 10:00 p.m., when
``family viewing hours'' end. The CNT occasionally levied fines.
On May 7, authorities arrested documentary filmmaker Elena Varela
Lopez, charged her with ``illegal association with intent to commit an
offense,'' and confiscated her equipment and research documents
regarding the conflict between lumber companies and the Mapuche
indigenous people. She was released from custody on August 13 but
placed under house arrest at night; at year's end she remained charged
with crimes dating from bank raids in 2004-05.
On September 26, the State Defense Council agreed to pay 30 million
pesos (approximately $55,000) to journalist Alejandra Matus for
censoring her book, El Libro Negro de la Justicia Chilena. The book
criticized the country's justice system for actions during the Pinochet
era. The decision complied with an IACHR recommendation that determined
the censorship had violated the author's rights.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. While the
PDI maintained a cybercrime unit that monitored Web sites for financial
crimes and child pornography, there were no reports that the Government
monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms for other purposes. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 31
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2007.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
On October 7, the Government approved October 31 as a national
holiday recognizing evangelical churches.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports of anti-
Semitic incidents, including spray-painted graffiti and swastikas
directed at Jewish individuals and institutions in Concepcion.
Government investigations identified two suspects in these acts. There
were approximately 15,000 members of the Jewish community.
Neo-Nazi and skinhead groups engaged in gang-type criminal
activities and violence against immigrants, homosexuals, punk rockers,
and anarchists. While these groups shared the anti-Semitic rhetoric of
neo-Nazi groups, there were no reports of neo-Nazi attacks targeting
the Jewish community. Police arrested persons involved in neo-Nazi
attacks, and neo-Nazis have been dismissed from the armed forces and
Carabineros.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of persons to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. Between January and October, 248 residents
were given recognized refugee status for a total in October of 1,385
residents with that status. During the year the Government also
provided temporary protection to three individuals who may not qualify
as refugees under the 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol. The
Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting
refugees and asylum seekers.
Between April and May, 30 families (116 refugees) of Palestinian
origin were resettled from the Al-Tanf camp on the Syrian-Iraqi border
into communities in the Santiago Metropolitan and Valparaiso regions,
with implementation assistance and local integration facilitated by the
Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago and the UNHCR. Refugees may be
naturalized after five years of permanent residency if they demonstrate
financial independence and have no criminal record.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In January 2006 voters
elected Michelle Bachelet of the center-left Concertacion coalition as
president in a free and fair runoff election. In 2005 voters elected 20
of the 38 senators and all members of the Chamber of Deputies in
elections generally considered free and fair. Political parties can
operate without restriction or outside interference.
There were 16 women in the 120-seat Chamber of Deputies, two women
in the Senate, and nine women in the 22-member cabinet. After President
Michelle Bachelet instituted her policy of ``gender parity,'' women
filled nearly 50 percent of governmental appointments. However, women
continued to be underrepresented among elected officials, constituting
only 12.5 percent of mayors, for instance.
Indigenous people have the legal right to participate freely in the
political process, but relatively few were active. No member of the
legislature was known to be of indigenous descent.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of
government corruption during the year.
On September 18, member of the Chamber of Deputies Amelia Herrera
was convicted of extorting companies when she was mayor of Quilpue to
obtain funds for her congressional campaign. A judge commuted her 61-
day sentence and imposed a three-year prohibition against serving in
public positions.
On October 28, the former manager of administration of the State
Railroad Company, Claudio Carreno, was convicted of repeated acts of
fraud and two counts of bribery in 2005-06, acts that generated a loss
of 371 million pesos (approximately $713,000) in public funds. A judge
sentenced him to five years in prison and a fine of 31.7 million pesos
($61,000) but allowed him to serve his sentence on parole because he
cooperated with the investigation.
Investigations continued into Chiledeportes, which promotes amateur
and professional sports. On May 23, the former Valparaiso Chiledeportes
director was convicted of fiscal fraud and sentenced to prison but
released on parole. Investigation of the indicted former Santiago
Metropolitan Region Chiledeportes director continued at year's end. On
October 6, five persons were convicted in the related Publicam case, in
which Publicam sold false invoices to companies seeking to evade taxes.
Some of these invoices were discovered during the Chiledeportes
investigation.
The law makes public officials subject to financial disclosure and
assigns responsibility to the comptroller for conducting audits of
government agencies and to the Public Ministry for initiating criminal
investigations of official corruption.
The constitution requires the Government and its agencies to make
all unclassified information about their activities available to the
public. All ministries and most public agencies had Web sites.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups and
international governmental organizations generally operated without
government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on
human rights cases. Government officials often were cooperative and
responsive to their views.
On November 12, the Chamber of Deputies rejected a bill to create
the People's Defense Office (ombudsman). This constitutional reform
measure, originally introduced in 2003, received a majority of votes
but not the required three-fifths of deputies.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, age,
nationality, national origin, disability, or social status, and the
Government enforced this prohibition; however, such discrimination
continued to occur.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense.
Penalties for rape range from five to 15 years' imprisonment, and the
Government generally enforced the law. Statutory rape applies to
victims 14 years of age and under. The law protects the privacy and
safety of the victim making the charge. During the year the Public
Ministry investigated 2,946 cases of rape, compared with 2,782 cases in
2007, and the courts handed down 303 convictions for rape. Experts
believed that most rape cases went unreported.
The Ministry of Justice and the PDI had several offices
specifically to provide counseling and assistance in rape cases. A
number of NGOs, such as La Morada Corporation for Women, provided
counseling for rape victims.
Domestic violence against women remained a serious problem. From
January to September, the Public Ministry initiated investigations into
53,380 cases of family violence, compared with 46,354 cases for all of
2007. During the year 59 women were killed as a result of domestic or
sexual violence, compared with 61 in 2007.
Government actions to confront the problem included a national
domestic violence awareness campaign beginning in October; operation of
58 assistance centers and 25 shelters for women; and partnerships with
NGOs to provide training on the legal, medical, and psychological
aspects of domestic violence for police officers and judicial and
municipal authorities. In April the women's rights NGO DOMUS and
private sponsors published a manual for the prevention of domestic
violence. In November a national campaign, sponsored by the UN
Development Fund for Women and private entities, began providing
information on resources available to domestic violence victims.
Although adult prostitution is legal, bordellos are not. Several
hundred women registered as prostitutes with the National Health
Service. Police often detained prostitutes (usually as a result of
complaints by neighborhood residents) on charges of ``offenses against
morality,'' which could lead to a fine of 50,000 pesos (approximately
$95) or five days in prison. Procurement or pandering is illegal and
punishable under law.
Sexual harassment generally was recognized as a problem. The law
provides protection and financial compensation to victims of sexual
harassment and penalizes harassment by employers or coworkers. The
Labor Directorate received 344 complaints of sexual harassment in 2007,
of which 27 percent involved harassment by an employer.
On March 11, the Government and Marcela Valdes signed an agreement
to end the 1999 IACHR case she filed after she was fired from the
Carabineros. Her firing occurred after she reported domestic abuse by
her husband, who also worked for the Carabineros; however, authorities
punished but did not dismiss him. Under the agreement the Government
acknowledged violating her rights, paid her $50,000, committed to
revise domestic violence policies in the Carabineros, and promised to
strengthen efforts to prevent violence against women in the
organization.
Women enjoy most of the same legal rights as men, including rights
under family law and property law. Despite the 1994 introduction of a
``community property'' marital arrangement, in which each spouse
maintains separate control of the assets brought into the marriage, the
default and most common marital arrangement is ``conjugal society,''
which gives a husband the right to administer joint property, including
his wife's property. Under a 2007 agreement with the IACHR, the
Government committed to modify the law to give women and men equal
rights and responsibilities in marriage; implementing legislation
remained pending at year's end.
The commercial code provides that unless a woman is married under
the separate estate regime, she may not enter into a commercial
partnership agreement without permission from her husband.
The quadrennial 2004 National Socio-Economic Survey estimated that
the overall gender income gap remained at 33 percent, which widened to
38 percent in managerial and professional positions. The labor code
provides specific benefits for pregnant workers and recent mothers,
including a prohibition against dismissal; employers may not ask women
to take pregnancy tests prior to hiring them, although the NGO La
Morada received reports that the practice continued in some companies.
The National Women's Service is charged with protecting women's legal
rights.
Children.--The Government is committed to children's rights and
welfare.
Violence against children was a significant problem. The First
National Survey of Victimization of Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes,
conducted by the Government in 2006-08, found that 72 percent of
children had suffered some form of violence including psychological
abuse.
The law prohibits sexual abuse of minors and suspends the statute
of limitations in such cases. During the year the Public Ministry
investigated 347 cases of commercial juvenile sexual exploitation,
compared with 289 in 2007; and the National Children's Service (SENAME)
assisted 1,216 victims of commercial juvenile sexual exploitation,
compared with 1,062 in 2007. SENAME ran 14 programs specifically for
victims of commercial sexual exploitation and 47 additional programs
for children and youth in high-risk situations, including commercial
sexual exploitation. SENAME, the Carabineros, and the PDI cooperated
with schools and NGOs to identify children in abusive situations,
provide counseling and other social services to abused children, and
keep families intact.
Child prostitution was a problem. Children engaged in prostitution
for survival with and without third-party involvement.
Child labor in the informal economy was a problem.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit all
forms of trafficking in persons, and there were reports that persons
were trafficked to, from, through, and within the country for the
purposes of sexual and labor exploitation and involuntary domestic
servitude.
Most reported victims were women and minors trafficked internally
for sexual exploitation. Victims were also trafficked from the country
to Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, the United States, Europe, and Asia for
sexual and labor exploitation. Anecdotal reports suggested that young
women were the primary targets for trafficking abroad. Foreign victims
were brought to the country for commercial sexual exploitation or
involuntary domestic servitude or labor, particularly in agriculture,
from Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay, and China, although
it was difficult to distinguish some trafficking victims from economic
migrants. The Chinese appeared to be transiting en route to Mexico,
Brazil, and possibly the United States.
Principal traffickers were small-scale criminals, although reports
of trafficking by organized criminal rings increased. Traffickers
reportedly used newspaper advertisements for models to lure girls and
targeted economically disadvantaged families when looking for children.
The majority of transnational trafficking victims reportedly held valid
travel documents.
The law criminalizes cross-border trafficking for sexual
exploitation, with a minimum penalty of three years in prison and fines
beginning at 430,000 pesos (approximately $825). Sanctions are
increased to a maximum of 20 years in a number of circumstances,
including cases in which the victim is a minor, violence or
intimidation is used, deception or abuse of authority is involved, the
victim is related to or under the tutelage of the perpetrator, or
advantage is taken of a victim's circumstances or disability. The law
criminalizes the promotion of child prostitution, corruption of minors,
and solicitation of sexual services from a minor in exchange for money
or other considerations. Trafficking victims may remain in the country
during legal proceedings against their traffickers. Victims may also
bring legal action against traffickers and seek restitution. The law
does not criminalize transnational trafficking for the purpose of labor
exploitation and lacks specific prohibitions against some forms of
internal trafficking.
An antitrafficking coordinator in the Ministry of the Interior
worked with the PDI, the Ministry of Justice, other government
agencies, and NGOs to coordinate antitrafficking efforts. During the
year the Public Ministry opened 126 new cases, including 15 cases of
cross-border trafficking, and convicted five persons of cross-border
trafficking. Nine investigations of cross-border trafficking were
active at year's end. Most trafficking-related cases dealt with
commercial sexual exploitation of minors. The Government cooperated
with Interpol on law enforcement activities.
The Government made substantial efforts to assist trafficking
victims. SENAME worked with local offices, international organizations,
and NGOs to provide child victims counseling, psychological and health
care, and educational opportunities. SENAME also worked to ensure that
child victims would not return to abusive or high-risk situations.
The Government also worked with Bolivian and Argentine authorities
to coordinate the safe repatriation of foreign victims. The Government
had no residence visa program for foreign trafficking victims.
Government programs to prevent trafficking included a PDI public
awareness campaign, with a cinema workshop at the PDI police academy;
ongoing training of police and prosecutors in collaboration with the
International Organization for Migration; and participation in the
regional training of officials from immigrant services, the National
Prosecutor's Office, and the PDI.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities, but such persons
suffered forms of de facto discrimination. In October the ``New Faces''
Foundation, an NGO that provides attention to impoverished adults with
mental or psychological disabilities, reported an estimated 60,000
persons suffered from moderate or severe mental disability and nearly
half received no mental health attention. Approximately 100,000 persons
under the age of 27 with disabilities did not receive any special care
or education.
A majority of public buildings did not comply with legal
accessibility mandates. An improved transportation system in Santiago
provided additional, but still limited, accessibility for persons with
disabilities. Public transportation outside of the capital remained
problematic.
The National Fund for Persons with Disabilities (FONADIS), under
the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Planning, has responsibility for
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and for creating
programs to promote their better integration into society. FONADIS
supported a number of programs through its annual national projects
contest.
Indigenous People.--The law gives indigenous people (approximately
5 percent of the total population) the right to participate in
decisions affecting their lands, cultures, and traditions and provides
for bilingual education in schools with indigenous populations.
Approximately one-half of the self-identified indigenous population
remained separated from the rest of society, largely due to historical,
cultural, educational, and geographical factors. Both internal factors
and governmental policies limited the participation of indigenous
people in governmental decisions affecting their lands, cultures,
traditions, and the allocation of natural resources. Indigenous people
also experienced some societal discrimination and reported incidents in
which they were attacked and harassed. According to the 2006
Socioeconomic Characteristics Survey, the indigenous population's
poverty rate dropped 10 percent since 2003, and the gap between
indigenous and nonindigenous poverty narrowed more than 5 percent.
The National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI), which
included directly elected indigenous representatives, advised and
directed government programs to assist the economic development of
indigenous people. According to CONADI, in 2007 approximately 40,000
acres were transferred and registered as indigenous lands, benefiting
approximately 1,000 Mapuche families. During the year the Ministry of
Education and CONADI provided scholarships to nearly 44,000 indigenous
elementary, high school, and college students, compared with
approximately 42,000 in 2007. Indigenous groups noted, however, that
the scholarships were actually small stipends to cover living expenses
and did not cover tuition costs.
There were isolated instances of violent confrontations between
indigenous Mapuche groups and landowners, logging companies, and local
government authorities in the southern part of the country. The actions
normally took the form of protests. Instances of rock throwing, land
occupations, and burning crops, buildings, or vehicles occurred
occasionally. The Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM), an indigenous
group that has been accused of domestic terrorist acts, reportedly
initiated many of these actions.
There were reports of police abuse against Mapuche individuals and
communities and harassment of NGOs associated with the promotion of
indigenous rights. On January 3, police shot and killed 22-year-old
Matias Catrileo while he and approximately 30 other Mapuche individuals
occupied private land and destroyed crops in Vilcun. A military court
indicted Corporal Walter Ramirez for the shooting, but he remained free
and on active duty with the case pending at year's end.
The Observatory of Indigenous People's Rights (OIPR) reported
incidents of police searches of indigenous homes without a warrant,
arrest and release of indigenous individuals without a detention
control hearing, and police use of intimidation and discriminatory
statements against indigenous individuals including minors. The OIPR
also reported that individuals and organizations that defend indigenous
rights were subject to threats.
On November 3, a court absolved alleged CAM member Avelino Menaco
of involvement in an October 2007 arson fire. The Prosecutor's Office
filed an appeal that was pending at year's end. Also pending at year's
end were investigations regarding the 2007 arrests of two other Mapuche
CAM members under charges of arms possession or arson.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to the Sixth
Annual Report on the Human Rights of Sexual Minorities of the Movement
for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (MOVILH), there were 57 cases
of discrimination (including four killings) due to sexual orientation
in 2007. MOVILH cited a decrease in reports of police brutality but an
increase in labor discrimination against gays, lesbians, transvestites,
and transgendered individuals.
There were no confirmed cases of societal violence or
discrimination based on persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Workers have the right to form and
join unions without prior authorization, and approximately 13 percent
of the total workforce (estimated at 7.2 million) was unionized in more
than 20,000 registered unions. The law allows unions to conduct their
activities without interference, and the Government protected this
right in practice. Police and military personnel may not organize
collectively.
Public employees do not enjoy the right to strike, although a four-
day strike in November that included government teachers, municipal and
health workers, and other government employees halted the work of 70
percent of public-sector employees. The strike ended with the
negotiation of a salary increase.
While employees in the private sector have the right to strike, the
Government regulated this right, and there were some restrictions.
Employers must show cause and pay severance benefits if they dismiss
striking workers. The law proscribes employees of 32 private sector
companies, largely providers of services such as water and electricity,
from striking. It stipulates compulsory arbitration to resolve disputes
in these companies. Strikes by agricultural workers during the harvest
season are prohibited.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining is protected by law, but the right of entertainers and
temporary agricultural, construction, and port workers to bargain
collectively is limited. Intercompany unions were permitted to bargain
collectively only if the individual employers agreed to negotiate under
such terms. Collective bargaining in the agricultural sector remained
dependent on employers agreeing to negotiate.
A 2007 International Trade Union Confederation report identified
continuing antiunion practices, such as barring of union leaders'
access to companies, replacement of striking workers, and threatening
dismissal to prevent formation of trade unions.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, such practices occurred, primarily
for domestic servitude and forced prostitution. The labor code does not
specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor by children, and child
prostitution remained a problem.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Despite laws restricting child labor, the employment of children was a
problem in the informal economy and in agriculture.
The law provides that children between the ages of 15 and 18 may
work with the express permission of their parents or guardians, but
they must attend school. They may perform only light work that does not
require hard physical labor or constitute a threat to health and
childhood development. When attending school children may not work more
than 30 hours a week and in no case more than eight hours a day. Their
work contracts must be registered by their employers at the local
Ministry of Labor inspector's office.
During the year there were 268 detected cases of children and
adolescents involved in the worst forms of child labor. The majority of
reported child and adolescent labor cases since 2003 involved boys,
children over the age of 15, and children not enrolled in school.
Examples included hazardous work in mines, commercial sexual
exploitation, and illegal activities.
Ministry of Labor inspectors enforced regulations, and while
compliance was good in the formal economy, many children were employed
in the informal economy. During the year the Ministry of Labor imposed
some form of sanction in 111 cases involving violations of child labor
laws, compared with 98 cases in 2007.
The Government devoted considerable resources and oversight to
child labor policies. SENAME, in coordination with labor inspectors,
identified and assisted children in abusive or dangerous situations.
SENAME also implemented public education programs to raise awareness
and worked with the International Labor Organization to operate
rehabilitation programs. The Ministry of Labor convened regular
meetings of a business-labor-government group to monitor progress in
eradicating child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage is set by law
and is subject to adjustment annually. A committee composed of
government, employer, and labor representatives normally suggests a
minimum wage based on projected inflation and increases in
productivity. On July 1, the minimum wage increased 10.4 percent to
159,000 pesos (approximately $305) a month. This wage was designed to
serve as the starting wage for an unskilled single adult worker
entering the labor force and did not provide a worker and family with a
decent standard of living. The minimum wage for domestic servants was
75 percent of that for other occupations. The minimum wage for workers
over age 65 and under 18 was 118,690 pesos (approximately $230) a
month. The Labor Directorate, under the Ministry of Labor, was
responsible for enforcing minimum wage and other labor laws and
regulations and did so effectively.
The law sets the legal workweek at six days or 45 hours. The
maximum workday length is 10 hours (including two hours of overtime
pay), but positions such as caretakers and domestic servants are
exempt. The law mandates at least one 24-hour rest period during the
workweek, except for workers at high altitudes, who may exchange a
work-free day each week for several consecutive work-free days every
two weeks. The law establishes fines for employers who compel workers
to work in excess of 10 hours a day or do not provide adequate rest
days. The Government effectively enforced these standards.
The law establishes occupational safety and health standards, which
were administered by the ministries of health and labor and effectively
enforced. Insurance mutual funds provide workers' compensation and
occupational safety training for the private and public sectors. The
law protects employment of workers who remove themselves from dangerous
situations if labor inspectors from the Labor Directorate and
occupational safety and health inspectors from the country's Safety
Association determine conditions that endanger their health or safety
exist. Authorities effectively enforced the standards and frequently
imposed fines for workplace violations.
__________
COLOMBIA
Colombia is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with a
population of approximately 45 million. In May 2006 independent
presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe was reelected in elections that
were considered generally free and fair. The 44-year internal armed
conflict continued between the Government and terrorist organizations,
particularly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the
National Liberation Army (ELN). While civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces, there were
instances in which elements of the security forces acted in violation
of state policy.
Although problems remained, the Government's respect for human
rights continued to improve, which was particularly evidenced by
progress in implementing the Justice and Peace Law (JPL). The following
societal problems and governmental human rights abuses were reported
during the year: unlawful and extrajudicial killings; forced
disappearances; insubordinate military collaboration with new illegal
groups and paramilitaries who refused to demobilize; torture and
mistreatment of detainees; overcrowded and insecure prisons; arbitrary
arrest; a high number of pretrial detainees, some of whom were held
with convicted prisoners; impunity; an inefficient judiciary subject to
intimidation; harassment and intimidation of journalists; unhygienic
conditions at settlements for displaced persons, with limited access to
health care, education, or employment; corruption; harassment of human
rights groups; violence against women, including rape; child abuse and
child prostitution; trafficking in women and children for the purpose
of sexual exploitation; societal discrimination against women,
indigenous persons, and minorities; and illegal child labor.
The FARC and ELN committed the following human rights abuses:
political killings; killings of off-duty members of the public security
forces and local officials; kidnappings and forced disappearances;
massive forced displacements; subornation and intimidation of judges,
prosecutors, and witnesses; infringement on citizens' privacy rights;
restrictions on freedom of movement; widespread recruitment of child
soldiers; attacks against human rights activists; and harassment,
intimidation, and killings of teachers and trade unionists.
New illegal groups also committed numerous human rights abuses. The
last United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) block demobilized in
2006, but AUC members who refused to demobilize, AUC members who
demobilized but later abandoned the peace process, and other new
illegal groups remained targets of security force action. (The new
illegal groups consisted of demobilized paramilitaries who returned to
violence, individual paramilitaries who never demobilized, common
criminals, and narcotics traffickers primarily involved in criminal
activity. These new groups lacked the organization, reach, and military
capacity of the former AUC and focused primarily on narcotics
trafficking and extortion rather than fighting the FARC or ELN. In
these circumstances, it was often difficult to determine responsibility
for abuses committed.)
The AUC demobilization led to a reduction in killings and other
human rights abuses, but paramilitaries who refused to demobilize and
new illegal groups continued to commit numerous unlawful acts and
related abuses, including: political killings and kidnappings; physical
violence; forced displacement; subornation and intimidation of judges,
prosecutors, and witnesses; infringement on citizens' privacy rights;
restrictions on freedom of movement; recruitment and use of child
soldiers; and harassment, intimidation, and killings of human rights
workers, journalists, teachers, and trade unionists.
Government statistics indicated that during the year killings
decreased 6.2 percent and kidnappings decreased 14.3 percent compared
with the same period in 2007. Through December the JPL process helped
clarify over 20,000 crimes and led to the exhumation of 1,788 remains
in 1,441 common graves, while the Supreme Court and prosecutor
general's investigations of links between politicians and paramilitary
groups implicated 70 representatives, 15 governors, and 31 mayors, many
of whom were in jail at year's end.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Political and
unlawful killings remained an extremely serious problem, and there were
periodic reports that members of the security forces committed
extrajudicial killings during the internal armed conflict (See Section
1.g.). There were credible reports of military officials paying illegal
groups to forcibly recruit young men, transport them to another town,
and turn them over to local brigades who then killed them and presented
them as guerillas killed in combat.
Guerrillas, notably the FARC and ELN, committed unlawful killings
(See Section 1.g.).
Paramilitary members who refused to demobilize and new illegal
group members committed numerous political and unlawful killings,
primarily in areas under dispute with guerrillas or without a strong
government presence (See Section 1.g.).
The Jesuit-founded Center for Popular Research and Education
(CINEP), a local human rights nongovernmental organization (NGO),
claimed there were at least 220 political and unlawful killings,
committed by all actors, during the first six months of the year, 18
more than reported in the same period in 2007. Some NGOs, such as
CINEP, considered the new illegal groups to be a continuation of the
paramilitary groups and attributed reports of human rights violations
committed by these groups directly to the Government. They also
included killings by these groups in their definition of ``unlawful
killings.''
The Ministry of Defense reported that 169 persons died in 37
massacres (defined by the Government as killings of four or more
persons), a 32 percent increase from 2007 (See Section 1.g.).
Some members of government security forces, including enlisted
personnel, noncommissioned officers, and senior officials, in violation
of orders from the president and the military high command,
collaborated with or tolerated the activities of new illegal groups or
paramilitary members who refused to demobilize. Such collaboration
often facilitated unlawful killings and may have involved direct
participation in paramilitary atrocities.
Some reports suggested that in certain regions, such as eastern
Antioquia, Choco, Meta, and Narino departments, there were corrupt
dealings between local military officers and new illegal groups or
paramilitaries who refused to demobilize. Although impunity for these
military personnel remained a problem, the Ministry of Defense carried
out investigations and handed over culpable parties to civilian
authorities in several high-profile cases during the year.
In conformity with the law, military or civilian authorities
investigated killings committed by security forces. Civilian courts
tried a number of military personnel accused of human rights
violations. Investigations of past killings proceeded, albeit slowly.
There were significant convictions in high-profile cases against
military personnel in large part due to testimony in the Justice and
Peace process; these included convictions in the cases of killings of
counternarcotics police by the military in Jamundi and the 2005 San
Jose de Apartado massacre of eight persons.
Both governmental and nongovernmental actors used landmines.
Preliminary reports indicated that landmines, used primarily by the
FARC and ELN, caused 147 deaths and 564 injuries during the year (see
Section 1.g.). The Government completed clearing 12 landmine areas and
continued efforts to demine 15 others.
b. Disappearance.--Forced disappearances, many of them politically
motivated, continued to occur. CINEP reported 27 victims of forced
disappearance during the first six months of the year, compared with 31
victims in the same period in 2007. According to the Presidential
Program and the Disappeared Persons registry (SIRDEC), coordinated by
the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science, 133
persons were reported as forcibly disappeared in the first nine months
of the year. The Government allocated 658 million pesos (approximately
$267,000) to develop and run the SIRDEC registry and to implement an
interinstitutional national plan to combat forced disappearances. The
plan has four components: an information system, search capacity,
identification of remains, and assistance to victims' families.
Although kidnapping, both for ransom and for political reasons,
continued to diminish, it remained a serious problem. The Government's
National Fund for the Defense of Personal Liberty (Fondolibertad)
reported 197 kidnappings for extortion during the year, a decrease of
14 percent from 2007.
GAULA (Unified Action Groups for Personal Liberty, a military and
police entity formed to combat kidnapping and extortion) and other
elements of the security forces freed 222 hostages during the year;
Fondolibertad reported that at least 14 kidnapping victims died in
captivity during the year, compared with 22 during 2007.
The FARC and ELN as well as the new illegal groups continued the
practice of kidnapping. Guerrillas frequently killed kidnapping victims
(See Section 1.g.).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, there were
reports that the police, military, and prison guards sometimes
mistreated and tortured detainees. Members of the military and police
accused of torture were tried in civilian rather than military courts.
CINEP asserted that, during the first six months of the year,
government security forces were involved in 74 incidents of torture, a
46 percent increase compared with the first six months of 2007. CINEP
also reported that, during the first six months of the year, there were
66 victims of torture by the armed forces.
CINEP reported that:
On February 15, in the municipality of Armenia, Quindio, units of
the National Police tortured two suspected consumers of psychoactive
substances and executed Geovanny Londono Castrillon.
On March 15, in the municipality of Puerto Asis, Putumayo, troops
assigned to the Battalion Domingo Rico stopped and tortured Manuel
Antonio Jimenez, affiliated with the local branch of one of the
country's largest agricultural unions.
On April 3, in the municipality of Montanita, Caqueta, troops
assigned to the army's 12th Brigade and the Sixth Mobile Brigade
tortured Brayan Esteban Carvajal. There were no known developments in
either case at year's end.
CINEP reported that demobilized paramilitaries were responsible for
at least 19 cases of torture as of June.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--With the exception of new
facilities, prison conditions were poor, particularly for prisoners
without significant outside support. The National Prison Institute
(INPEC) runs the country's 139 national prisons and is responsible for
inspecting municipal jails.
Overcrowding, lack of security, corruption, and an insufficient
budget remained serious problems in the prison system. As of year's
end, more than 69,000 prisoners were held in facilities designed to
hold fewer than 50,000; overcrowding rates exceeded 27 percent in 139
installations. Many of INPEC's 13,000 prison guards and administrative
staff were poorly trained. The NGO Committee in Solidarity with
Political Prisoners noted that improved training, increased
supervision, and more accountability for prison guards has helped, but
expressed fear that greater privatization of the prisons system may
lead to further corruption.
Constrained budgets adversely affected prison conditions. INPEC
spent 4,941 pesos ($2.00) per day on each inmate for food. Private
sources continued to supplement food rations of many prisoners.
INPEC reported that during the year there were 40 violent deaths
among inmates related to fighting and riots. From January to September
30, there were 14 riots at various penal institutions. The Prosecutor
General's Office continued to investigate allegations that some prison
guards routinely used excessive force and treated inmates brutally.
According to the Superior Judicial Council (CSJ), there were four
judgments for excessive force made against prison guards during the
year.
Pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners. Minors were
not held with adults; however, minor children of female prisoners were
able to stay with their mothers in some cases.
The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights groups, and such
monitoring occurred during the year. The FARC and ELN continued to deny
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to police
and military hostages.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the law prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, there were some allegations that
authorities detained citizens arbitrarily.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police are
responsible for internal law enforcement and are under the jurisdiction
of the Ministry of Defense. Law enforcement duties are shared with the
Department of Administrative Security and the Prosecutor General's
Corps of Technical Investigators. The army also shared limited
responsibility for law enforcement and maintenance of order within the
country. For example, military units sometimes provided logistical
support and security for criminal investigators to collect evidence in
high-conflict or hard-to-reach areas. During the year the Human Rights
Unit of the Prosecutor General's Office issued preventive detention
orders for at least 225 members of the armed forces for human rights
violations or extrajudicial killings. However, claims of impunity
continued to be widespread, due in some cases to obstruction of
justice, a lack of resources for investigations and protection for
witnesses and investigators, and inadequate coordination among
government entities. During the year the Ministry of Defense relieved
from duty 80 officers and 213 noncommissioned officers and soldiers of
the armed forces for inefficiency, unethical conduct, corruption, and
suspected involvement in human rights violations.
Arrest and Detention.--Police apprehended suspects with warrants
issued by prosecutors based on probable cause. However, a warrant is
not required to arrest criminals caught in the act or fleeing the scene
of a crime. Members of the armed forces detained members of illegal
armed groups captured in combat but were not authorized to execute
arrest warrants; however, members of the Technical Investigative Unit
from the Prosecutor General's Office, who accompanied military units,
could issue such warrants.
After a four-year transition, a new criminal procedure code,
employing an accusatorial system, took effect nationwide in all
departments on January 1. Under this new code, persons detained must be
brought before a judge within 36 hours to determine the validity of the
detention. Formal charges must then be brought within 30 days, and a
trial must start within 90 days of the initial detention. Crimes
committed before implementation of the new code must be tried under the
previous system.
The previous system required law enforcement authorities to inform
suspects promptly of the reasons for an arrest and bring suspects
before a senior prosecutor within 36 hours of detention. Prosecutors
had to rule on the legality of detentions within 72 hours. Under both
the new and previous systems, in most felony cases, detention prior to
the filing of formal charges cannot exceed 180 days, after which a
suspect must be released. Under the old system, in cases of crimes
deemed particularly serious, such as homicide, terrorism, or rebellion,
authorities were allowed up to 360 days to file formal charges before a
suspect must be released. Habeas corpus is available to address cases
of alleged arbitrary detention.
Bail is not available for lesser offenses or serious crimes such as
murder, rebellion, or narcotics trafficking. Detainees have the right
to prompt access to counsel of their choice, and nearly 1,600 public
defenders from the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman assisted
indigent defendants.
Prominent human rights NGOs complained that the Government
arbitrarily detained hundreds of persons, particularly social leaders,
labor activists, and human rights defenders. CINEP reported that
security forces arbitrarily detained 224 persons during the first six
months of the year, compared with 187 in the same period of 2007. Many
of these detentions took place in high-conflict areas (notably in the
departments of Arauca, Cesar, Meta, and Putumayo), where the military
was involved in active hostilities against insurgents. For example,
CINEP reported the following:
On March 27, in Miranda, Cauca, troops assigned to the 57th Anti-
guerrilla Battalion stopped and detained farmers Jose Libardo
(president of a local rural organization), Jose William Prado, Duvan
Casamachin, and Raul Grisales Dagua.
On April 11, in Cartagena de Chaira, Caqueta, troops assigned to
the 22nd Mobile Brigade and members of the public prosecutor's 251st
Specialized Anti-terrorism Unit, stopped and detained 24 persons in
Caguan, Monserrate, and Puerto Camellias in Caqueta Department.
The Government and prominent local NGOs frequently disagreed on
what constituted ``arbitrary detention.'' While the Government
characterized detentions based on compliance with legal formalities,
NGOs applied other criteria in defining ``arbitrary detention,'' such
as arrests based on tips from informants about persons linked to
guerrilla activities, detentions by members of the security forces
without a judicial order, detentions based on administrative authority,
detentions during military operations, large-scale detentions, and
detentions of persons while they were ``exercising their fundamental
rights.''
According to INPEC, unlike in previous years, there were no
pretrial detainees or convicted prisoners held in police jails, due to
restrictions under the new accusatory system. Failure on the part of
many local military commanders and jail supervisors to keep mandatory
detention records or follow notification procedures made accounting for
all detainees difficult. Trial delays were caused by large numbers of
detainees, financial constraints, and staff shortages.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the law provides for an
independent judiciary, much of the judicial system was overburdened,
inefficient, and hindered by subornation and intimidation of judges,
prosecutors, and witnesses. In these circumstances, impunity remained a
serious problem, although the Government took action to address these
issues. The CSJ reported that the civilian judicial system suffered
from a significant backlog of cases, which led to large numbers of
pretrial detainees. Implementation of the new criminal accusatory
system reduced the time for resolving new criminal cases by over 75
percent, with conviction rates of approximately 60 percent under the
new system, compared with 3 percent under the old system. However, a
large backlog of old-system cases remained.
Judicial authorities were subjected to threats and acts of
violence. According to the National Association of Judicial Branch
Employees and the Corporate Fund of Solidarity with Colombian Judges,
91 judicial employees solicited varying forms of protection from the
Office of Protection in the Prosecutor General's Office for reasons
including threats during the year. Although the Prosecutor General's
Office ran a witness protection program for witnesses in criminal
cases, witnesses who did not enter the program remained vulnerable to
intimidation, and many refused to testify.
The civilian justice system is composed of four functional
jurisdictions: ordinary, administrative, constitutional, and special.
The ordinary jurisdiction is the largest and handles all criminal,
civil, labor, agrarian, and domestic cases involving nonmilitary
personnel. The Supreme Court is the highest court within the civil
jurisdiction and serves as its final court of appeal.
The Constitutional Court is the sole judicial authority on the
constitutionality of laws, presidential decrees, and constitutional
reforms. The court also may issue advisory opinions on the
constitutionality of bills not yet signed into law and acts within its
discretion to review the decisions of lower courts on ``tutelas,'' or
writs of protection of fundamental rights, which can be filed before
any judge of any court at any stage of the judicial process, by any
citizen.
The special jurisdiction of the civilian justice system consists of
the justices of the peace program and the indigenous jurisdiction. The
CSJ is responsible for the administration and discipline of the
civilian justice system.
The Supreme Court, the Council of State, the Constitutional Court,
and the CSJ are co-equal supreme judicial bodies that sometimes issued
conflicting rulings and frequently disagreed about jurisdictional
responsibilities.
The military justice system consists of 44 military courts and the
Supreme Military Tribunal, which serves as the court of appeals for all
cases tried in military courts. The Supreme Court serves as a second
court of appeal for cases with prison sentences of six or more years.
The military justice system may investigate and prosecute active
duty military and police personnel for crimes ``related to acts of
military service.'' The military penal code specifically defines
torture, genocide, massacre, and forced disappearance as crimes
unrelated to military service. All human rights violations are
considered unrelated to military service and are handled by the
civilian justice system. The military penal code specifically excludes
civilians from military jurisdiction, and civilian courts must try
retired military and police personnel, although military courts are
responsible for service-related acts committed prior to their
retirement. The military penal code denies commanders the power to
impose military justice discipline on their subordinates and extends
legal protection to service members who refuse to obey orders to commit
human rights abuses.
The Prosecutor General's Office is responsible for investigations
and prosecutions of criminal offenses. Its Human Rights Unit, which
included 13 satellite offices, specialized in investigating human
rights crimes. As of December the unit's 101 specialized prosecutors
were handling a total of 4,510 cases.
The Inspector General's Office investigates allegations of
misconduct by public employees, including members of the state security
forces. The Inspector General's Office referred all cases of human
rights violations it received to the Prosecutor General's Human Rights
Unit.
Through September the Office of the Inspector General opened
disciplinary processes against 1,173 members of the armed forces for
human rights offenses, all of which were referred to the prosecutor
general for criminal investigation. In addition the Prosecutor
General's Office brought charges against 357 members of the armed
forces; complete information was unavailable on those convicted during
the year.
Trial Procedures.--During the year the country completed its
transition to the oral accusatorial-style criminal procedure code,
which replaced the written inquisitorial system in which a person was
detained pending an investigation that involved the formal acceptance
of evidence without an actual trial.
Under the new code the prosecutor presents an accusation and
evidence before an impartial judge at an oral, public trial. The
defendant is presumed innocent and has the right to confront the
evidence against him at trial and to present his own evidence. No
juries are involved.
In the military justice system, military judges preside over
courts-martial without juries. Counsel may represent the accused and
call witnesses, but the majority of fact-finding takes place during the
investigative stage. Military trial judges issue rulings within eight
days of a court-martial hearing. Representatives of the civilian
Inspector General's Office are required to be present at courts-
martial.
Criminal procedure within the military justice system includes
elements of the inquisitorial and accusatorial systems. Defendants are
considered innocent until proven guilty and have the right to timely
consultation with counsel. A Constitutional Court ruling forbids
military attorneys from undertaking defense counsel duties. Defendants
must retain counsel at their own expense or rely on defenders paid by a
special military officers' fund.
Military justice system reforms begun in 2005 continued through the
year; the reforms aimed to establish a forensic investigative corps and
a military defense corps. The Ministry of Defense continued to examine
how to finance a transition to the oral accusatory system used by the
civilian judiciary. While reform has been slow, the military justice
system has greatly increased its cooperation with civilian justice
counterparts and has worked to expedite the transfer of over 600 human
rights cases from military justice to civilian systems.
Civilian courts convicted military members for past human rights
violations, for instance:
On April 2, the Second Penal Circuit Court of Antioquia sentenced
five soldiers to 34 years in prison for the homicide and torture of
Juan de Jesus Rendon Alzate in 2004.
On April 21, a court sentenced army Lieutenant Carlos Andres Lora
Cabrales and Third Corporal Cesar Augusto Mosquera Guerrero to 30
years' imprisonment for the murder of indigenous Kankuamo tribal member
Juan Enemias Daza Carillo in 2004. Seven other soldiers convicted for
involvement in the crime received varying sentences.
On May 7, in the case of the murder of 10 policemen and a civilian
in Jamundi, the Fourth Circuit Penal Judge in Cali sentenced Colonel
Bayron Carvajal to 54 years in prison, Lieutenant Harrison Eladio
Castro to 52 years, and 13 other soldiers under their command to 50
years each.
On August 29, a court sentenced retired soldiers Roberto Camacho
Riano, Jorge Alberto Navarro Devia, and Evert Ospina Martinez to 18
years' imprisonment for the murder of Paez indigenous member German
Zapata Escue, killed more than 20 years ago on the Jambalo Reservation
in Cauca.
On September 5, the Specialized Circuit Penal Judge of Manizales
sentenced a noncommissioned army officer, a paramilitary member, and a
former mayoral candidate in Riosucio, Caldas, to 40 years' imprisonment
for the murder of four indigenous leaders, including Fabio Hernan
Tapasco, in a 2003 case under investigation by the Inter-American Court
on Human Rights.
In December the Government began a publicly televised system of
reporting complaints against military members, hosted by the
Presidency, with participation by the Prosecutor General's Office, the
Inspector General's Office, and the human rights ombudsman.
Political Prisoners.--The Government stated that it did not hold
political prisoners. Some human rights advocacy groups characterized as
political detainees some detainees held on charges of rebellion or
terrorism in what the groups claimed were harassment tactics by the
Government against human rights advocates. During the year there were
3,336 prisoners accused of rebellion or aiding and abetting insurgence,
2,263 of whom were accused of supporting the FARC. The Government
provided the ICRC access to these prisoners.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens can sue a state
agent or body in the Administrative Court of Litigation for damages for
a human rights violation. Although critics complained of delays in the
process, the court generally was considered impartial and effective.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; while the Government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice, there were
exceptions. The law requires government authorities to obtain a warrant
signed by a senior prosecutor to enter a private home without the
owner's consent unless the suspect has been caught in hot pursuit, and
government authorities generally adhered to these regulations.
Government authorities generally need a judicial order to intercept
mail or monitor telephone conversations, even in prisons. However,
government intelligence agencies investigating terrorist organizations
sometimes monitored telephone conversations without judicial
authorization, although evidence obtained in such a manner could not be
used in court.
The Government continued to use a network of voluntary civilian
informants to report terrorist activities and identify terrorists. Some
national and international human rights groups criticized the network
as subject to abuse and a threat to privacy and other civil liberties.
New illegal groups, paramilitaries who refused to demobilize, and
FARC and ELN guerrillas routinely interfered with the right to privacy.
These groups forcibly entered private homes, monitored private
communications, engaged in forced displacement and conscription, and
abused family members. The standing orders of the FARC, which had large
numbers of female combatants, prohibited pregnancies among its troops,
and there were credible reports of forced abortions to enforce the
order.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
The country's 44-year-long internal armed conflict, involving
government forces, two terrorist groups (FARC and ELN), and new illegal
groups, continued. The conflict and narcotics trafficking, which both
fueled and prospered from the conflict, were the central causes of
multiple violations of human rights.
After the last AUC block demobilized in 2006, the Government
confronted militarily any groups that did not demobilize as well as new
illegal groups. There were no further paramilitary demobilizations
beyond approximately 34,000 that collectively demobilized after the
process began in 2003. The Organization of American States (OAS)
continued to verify all stages of demobilization and reincorporation of
former combatants into society. The OAS estimated that there were
approximately 23 new illegal groups operating in the country.
Killings.--Security forces were allegedly responsible for unlawful
killings. CINEP reported that there were 76 such killings during the
first six months of the year, compared with 128 in the same period of
2007. The Prosecutor General's Office reported 788 active
investigations of extrajudicial killings that occurred between January
2001 and September 30, 2008. Five of these investigations concluded
during the year, resulting in 23 convictions. The majority of the
killings under investigation occurred in the departments of Antioquia
(65), Meta (66), and Narino (22). A large number of the reported cases
allegedly involved the army and included investigations of four
colonels, seven majors, and 32 captains. The investigations concerned
1,183 victims (1,092 males and 91 females), 52 of whom were minors.
Statistics on the annual number of cases varied among NGOs,
international organizations (such as the UN or OAS), and the Government
in part because of differences in reporting formats, such as in
categorizing cases by victims, incidents, or complaints.
A July 2007 Ministry of Defense directive focusing on extrajudicial
killings created a senior-level committee, which continued to review
cases with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and
permitted the UNHCHR to visit all seven army divisions to review cases
with the commanders of the units. Through its efforts, over 600 human
rights cases were transferred during the year from the military to the
civilian justice system. The committee's work also led to orders in
2007 instructing military commanders to emphasize demobilization over
captures and capture over kills, to ensure the development and
implementation of revised rules of engagement for military personnel,
and to provide logistical assistance and support for civilian
investigators.
Reports of extrajudicial killings during the year included:
On September 23, the Medical Examiner's Office reported it had
identified 19 cadavers in Ocana, Norte de Santander, and Cimitarra,
Santander. Investigations found that the bodies were reported as
enemies killed in combat but later discovered to be extrajudicial
killings; they matched the reports of missing persons from Soacha,
Cundinamarca. In response to these killings, the Ministry of Defense
dismissed 27 officers, including three generals (two of them division
commanders) for command negligence. The ministry also dismissed nearly
50 officers for command negligence or omission in an attempt to
implement recent directives on command responsibility.
Between June and September, the Prosecutor General's Office
identified the remains of 11 youths in Toluviejo, Sucre, whom the army
allegedly reported as killed in combat.
According to CINEP, extrajudicial killings attributed to the
Government were a combination of false reports of guerrillas killed in
combat and ``social cleansing'' (including vagrants, homosexuals, and
other ``undesirables''). Examples of extrajudicial executions by
security forces reported by CINEP and the UNHCHR included:
On January 20, troops of the 13th Mobile Brigade allegedly executed
Hugo Armando Torres and Heynar Alexander Guerrero in Nueva Union in
Teteye de Puerto Asis, Putumayo, presenting them as aliases ``Turbino''
and ``Celeno", guerrillas killed in combat, which community members
denied.
On February 8, troops of the Operations Command Five of the Ninth
Brigade allegedly executed Saul Dimas Pastrana, Eder Olmost Escobar,
Yamith Castano Duenas, and Carlos Olmes Sanchez in Bajo Piravante de
Campoalegre, Huila, presenting them as guerrillas killed in combat from
the Teofilo Forero mobile column of the FARC, which their relatives
denied.
On March 28, troops of Operations Command Three of the 93rd Anti-
guerrilla Battalion of the Eighth Brigade in Aguabonita de Manzanares,
Caldas, allegedly executed Juan Esteban Lopez Ramirez, Julian Alberto
Jimenez, Oscar Alexander Ramirez Otalvaro, and Cesar Augusto Cardona,
four youths who were camping in Manzanares, presenting them as members
of a delinquent group in the service of the drug traffickers. Five
others with them reportedly escaped.
There were developments in some continuing cases and little change
in others. Cases involving killings in 2006 included:
On January 21, authorities placed into preventive detention four
soldiers from the Fourth Engineering Battalion, ``General Pedro Nel
Ospina,'' on charges of homicide for the death of Diego Silver Garcia
Suaza in Santa Barbara (Antioquia).
On February 12, the Prosecutor General's Office filed charges
against Captain Hector Martin Pita Vasquez for his role in the 2002
Ville de Rosario massacre in Carmen de Bolivar.
On June 18, the Prosecutor General's Human Rights Unit filed
charges against retired sergeant Luis Eduardo Mahecha Hernandez for his
participation in the murder of Jose Orlando Giraldo Becerra in
Golondrinas, Tolima.
In July the Inspector General's Office charged two sergeants major
and five soldiers for their involvement in the killing of Edilberto
Vasquez Cardona. Disciplinary investigations continued at year's end.
Actions in killings that took place before 2006 included:
In the 2005 case of eight civilians killed in San Jose de Apartado,
Antioquia: On June 17, Lieutenant Colonel Orlando Espinosa Beltran and
Major Jose Fernando Castano Lopez were arrested. On June 20, Albeiro
Manuel Gomez Martinez, a former paramilitary, was also linked to the
massacre and detained. Captain Guillermo Armando Gordillo Sanchez,
detained in November 2007 on charges of homicide in the case, pled
guilty to his participation and cooperated with prosecutors to identify
others involved. On September 23, former paramilitary Uber Dario Yanes
was arrested in connection with the massacre.
The second specialized judge in Buga sentenced four of nine
paramilitaries to 40 years in prison in the 2005 killing of 12 minors
in Buenaventura, Valle de Cauca.
Trial proceedings continued at year's end against four ex-
paramilitaries, including Victor Manuel Mejia Munera, for their role in
the 2004 massacre of 11 peasant farmers in Tame, Arauca.
On May 9, the Prosecutor General's Office issued preventive
detention measures against Captain Juan Carlos Rodriguez Agudelo,
Corporal Francisco Blanco Esteban, and Albeiro Perez Duque on charges
of aggravated homicide, aggravated forced disappearance, and aggravated
torture for involvement with paramilitary forces in the killings of
Jhon Jairo Iglesias Salazar, Araceli Londono Varona, Ananias Mojica,
and Jesus Antonio Cespedes Salgado (alias Jose Cespedes) in 2003 in
Cajamarca, Tolima. On August 15, the Prosecutor General's Office issued
arrest warrants for three more soldiers. On September 9, authorities
charged Rodrigo Molina and Julio Gomez Naranjo in the murders. Jair
Nunez Reina, convicted earlier in the case, filed an appeal Trials for
all defendants continued at year's end.
On September 2, judicial police units of the Prosecutor General's
Office in Valledupar, Cesar, arrested Lieutenant Colonel Jaime Artuto
Remolina Fontalvo, commander of the 10th Brigade's Energy and
Infrastructure Protection Battalion Three, for the murder of Luis
Alfonso Hernandez Moreno, who disappeared in 1998.
On April 18, the Prosecutor General's Office indicted nine
additional suspects, including five members of the armed forces, for
their role in the 2000 killing of 40 persons in Cienaga, Magdalena; the
case continued at year's end.
Paramilitary members who refused to demobilize and new illegal
groups killed journalists, local politicians, human rights activists,
indigenous leaders, labor leaders, and others who threatened to
interfere with their criminal activities, showed leftist sympathies, or
were suspected of collaboration with the FARC. They also reportedly
committed massacres and ``social cleansing'' killings of prostitutes,
homosexuals, drug users, vagrants, and gang members in city
neighborhoods they controlled. New illegal groups, according to CINEP,
were responsible for the deaths of 148 civilians from January through
June, a 13.5 percent increase from 128 deaths reported during the same
period in 2007.
On January 23, the Prosecutor General's Office confirmed the arrest
warrant of Sor Teresa Gomez as the primary intellectual author in the
January 2007 killing of human rights activist Yolanda Izquierdo in
Monteria, Cordoba.
On January 17, the second penal circuit judge in Antioquia
convicted Hermen Jose Munoz Gonzalez (sentencing him to 28 years and
nine months in prison) and began trial proceedings against Julio Cesar
Silve Borja, Edwin Harvey Arroyo Cuervo, and Pablo Jose Montalvo
Cuitiva for their role in the murder of Afro-Colombian leader Orlando
Valencia in 2005. On September 10, Fredy Rendon Herrera and Elkin Jorge
Castaneda Naranjo were placed in preventive detention for their
participation in the killing. On October 3, authorities also charged
Horacio Restrepo Urrego with participating in the murder. On October
14, unknown assailants killed Uco Alberto Hoyos Rivas, a witness in the
case who was under the Ministry of Interior and Justice's protection
program.
On February 29, the Prosecutor General's Office arrested and held
without bail Major Oscar Alberto Acuna Arroyo, Captain Alvaro Camargo
Camargo, and soldiers Fabio Arturo Medina Torreglosa, Luis Alfredo
Colume Salgado, Angel Manuel Jimenez Oviedo, and Federman Cura
Jaramillo. They were arrested for the execution in 2006 of Daladier
Herrera Osorio and Omar Alfredo Osorio Almanza, who had been reported
guerrillas killed in combat. The trial had not begun at year's end.
Guerrilla group force levels continued to decline. During the year,
3,461 members of guerrilla groups demobilized, compared with an
estimated 3,192 demobilized in 2007.
FARC and ELN guerrillas killed journalists, religious leaders,
candidates for public office, local elected officials and politicians,
alleged paramilitary collaborators, and members of government security
forces. In many areas of the country, the 8,000- to 9,000-member FARC
and the 2,000-member ELN worked together to attack government forces or
demobilized paramilitary members; in other areas, especially in Arauca,
Valle, Cauca, and Narino departments, they fought each other. Various
courts indicted members of the FARC secretariat in absentia on charges
ranging from kidnapping and terrorism to aggravated homicide, in cases
such as the murder of Antioquia ex-governor Guillermo Gaviria Correo
and the murder of ex-minister Gilberto Echverry Mejia.
The Presidential Program for Human Rights reported that during the
first nine months of the year, the FARC killed at least 250 persons,
while another 84 persons were killed in massacres in which the
perpetrators remained unidentified. The Presidential Program for Human
Rights reported that between January and September, the FARC killed 286
members of the public security forces and the ELN killed 44.
Representative incidents included:
On February 13, in Puerto Asis, Putumayo, three soldiers were
killed and two wounded after the 48th Front of the FARC attacked the
soldiers with dynamite and pipe bombs.
On April 25, in Santa Cruz, Narino, two soldiers were killed and
two others wounded by an explosive planted by the FARC.
On June 4, in Genova, Quindio, members of the 50th Front of the
FARC detonated explosives as a police transport of 25 police passed,
killing three of the police.
On August 4, in Melgar, Tolima, members of the FARC detonated an
explosive device against a Public Forces Helicopter School helicopter,
killing three army soldiers.
On September 1, in Cali, Valle de Cauca, members of the FARC
detonated a car bomb in front of a courthouse, killing four civilians
and injuring 26 others.
The FARC also killed persons it suspected of collaborating with
government authorities or paramilitary groups. According to the
Government's tracking system, the FARC killed 297 demobilized
paramilitaries during the year.
Abductions.--New illegal groups, paramilitaries who refused to
demobilize, and FARC and ELN terrorists continued to take hostages for
ransom. The FARC and ELN also kidnapped politicians, prominent
citizens, and members of the security forces to use as pawns in a
prisoner exchange.
New illegal groups often abducted persons suspected of
collaboration with guerrillas, almost all of whom were presumed dead.
The National Foundation for the Defense of Personal Liberty
(Fondolibertad) reported that new illegal group members continued to be
responsible for kidnappings, but those numbers were not differentiated
from kidnappings due to common crime, since the Government statistics
considered new illegal groups as criminals. Common crime accounted for
221 kidnappings during the year.
The FARC and ELN continued to commit numerous kidnappings.
Fondolibertad reported that during the year, guerrillas kidnapped 156
persons (38 percent of those in which a perpetrator was identified),
the FARC 117 persons, and the ELN 39 persons.
Kidnapping for ransom remained a major source of revenue for both
the FARC and ELN. The FARC continued to hold political and foreign-born
hostages taken in previous years.
On July 2, the armed forces rescued three U.S. contractors and 12
Colombians held by the FARC. The FARC continued to hold 25 political
hostages, as well as an estimated 700 economic hostages. The military
liberated 222 hostages during the year.
Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--According to preliminary
reporting from the Presidential Program of Integrated Action Against
Anti-personnel Mines, 410 landmine explosions killed 146 persons and
injured 565 others during the year, compared with 187 killed and 687
injured in 2007; 506 of the victims were military personnel, while 205
were civilians. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines stated that
the FARC continued to be the largest individual user of landmines and
that the ELN also continued to use landmines.
Child Soldiers.--Guerrillas and illegal armed groups used children
as soldiers. The Ministry of Defense continued to believe that more
than 4,600 FARC members and more than 1,300 ELN members were minors and
that most guerrilla fighters had joined the guerrilla ranks as
children. Human Rights Watch reported that in 2003 there were
approximately 11,000 child soldiers and that the FARC, ELN, and the new
armed groups have continued recruitment since then.
Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--Guerrillas failed to respect
injured and medical personnel. Both the FARC and the ELN frequently
executed injured prisoners, threatened and harassed doctors and nurses,
and killed enemy combatants receiving medical care.
On April 16, members of the FARC in Yarumal, Antioquia, attacked a
military ambulance and killed the two injured soldiers inside.
On July 18, in Tibu, Norte de Santander, FARC members intercepted
an ambulance with an injured civilian and killed the driver; the
civilian died of his original injury due to lack of medical assistance.
On December 7, in San Vicente de Caguan, Caqueta, FARC members
attacked a medical mission, killing eight, including two civilian
medical workers from the Colombian Family Welfare Institute.
New illegal groups also prevented or limited the delivery of food
and medicines to towns and regions considered sympathetic to
guerrillas, straining local economies and increasing forced
displacement.
Guerrillas forcibly displaced peasants to clear key drug and
weapons transit routes and remove potential government or new illegal
group collaborators from strategic zones. Guerrillas also imposed de
facto blockades of communities in regions where they had significant
influence. For example, the National Indigenous Organization of
Colombia (ONIC) reported many incidents in which illegal armed groups
forcibly recruited indigenous people or obligated them to collaborate,
restricted their freedom of movement, and blockaded their communities
in Choco, Norte de Santander, Narino, and other departments.
Paramilitary members who refused to demobilize and new illegal
groups continued to displace civilians residing along key drug and
weapons transit corridors.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction. A number of independent newspapers and
magazines published freely, and all print media were owned privately.
Privately owned radio and television stations broadcast freely.
Government security forces and corrupt officials occasionally
subjected journalists to harassment, intimidation, or violence.
Members of illegal armed groups intimidated, threatened, kidnapped,
and killed journalists. National and international NGOs reported that
local media representatives regularly practiced self-censorship because
of threats of violence. One journalist went into voluntary exile during
the year; at year's end 146 were receiving protection from the Ministry
of the Interior and Justice's protection program, and the Government
was investigating the threats.
According to the NGO Foundation for Press Freedom, there were 72
death threats against journalists during the year, compared with 85 in
2007 (See Section 1.g.). Two of those threatened left the country due
to the threats. There were no journalists killed due to their
profession during the year.
The Ministry of the Interior and Justice operated a program funded
at 112.5 billion pesos (approximately $45.7 million) that provided
protection to 10,716 persons, including 154 media representatives. The
ministry also supported an alert network organized for journalists by
providing a small number of radios and an emergency telephone hotline.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2007 there were
26 users of the Internet per 100 inhabitants.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. However,
guerrillas maintained a presence on many university campuses to
generate political support for their respective causes and undermine
support for their enemies through both violent and nonviolent means.
New illegal groups and FARC and ELN guerrillas threatened, displaced,
and killed educators and their families for political and financial
reasons. According to the Vice President's Office, various assailants
killed 30 educators during the year. Threats and harassment caused many
educators and students to adopt lower profiles and avoid discussing
controversial topics.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice. Freedom of association was limited
in practice by threats and acts of violence committed by illegal armed
groups against NGOs, indigenous groups, and labor unions (See Section
1.g.).
Although the Government does not prohibit membership in most
political organizations, membership in organizations that espoused or
carried out acts of violence, such as the AUC, FARC, and ELN, was
illegal.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
The Roman Catholic Church retained a de facto privileged status.
Accession to a 1997 public law agreement with the state is required for
non-Catholic religions to minister to their adherents in public
institutions and to perform marriages recognized by the state. When
deciding whether to grant accession, the Government considers a
religion's total membership, its degree of popular acceptance within
society, and other relevant factors.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--New illegal groups and FARC
and ELN guerrillas harassed, threatened, and sometimes killed religious
leaders and activists, although often for their role as community
leaders rather than for religious reasons (See Section 1.g.). Four non-
Catholic pastors disappeared in the second half of the year. The
Presidential Program for Human Rights reported that illegal armed
groups, especially the FARC, made numerous threats against priests and
other religious workers.
The Jewish community had an estimated 4,000 members. Increased
reports of anti-Semitism continued, including graffiti painted on the
exterior walls of synagogues and anti-Semitic statements in pamphlets
published by small anti-Semitic organizations.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and while the Government generally respected these rights
in practice, there were exceptions. Military operations and occupation
of certain rural areas restricted freedom of movement in conflict
areas.
New illegal groups, paramilitaries that refused to demobilize, and
FARC and ELN guerrillas continued to establish illegal checkpoints on
rural highways, but an enhanced government security presence along
major highways reduced the number of kidnappings.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not employ
it. However, many persons went into self-imposed exile because of
threats from new illegal groups and FARC and ELN guerrillas.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The internal armed conflict,
especially in remote areas, was the major cause of internal
displacement. International organizations and civil society identified
various factors driving continuing displacement including
confrontations between security forces, terrorists, and new illegal
groups, greater competition among illegal armed groups for resources,
and threats and violence from new illegal groups. Most IDPs were rural
peasants displaced to cities. Estimates of the numbers of IDPs varied.
Accion Social, the Government's internal welfare and foreign
coordination agency, registered 325,162 newly displaced persons at
year's end, a number expected to rise as regional reporting was
incorporated into its database. (By the end of 2008, Accion Social's
revised 2007 registration count was 353,657.) The department of Narino
registered the highest number of IDPs (22,531), followed by Magdalena
(18,823), Antioquia (18,015) and Tolima (15,902). The NGO Consultancy
for Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES) estimated that 270,675
persons were displaced during the first six months of the year, a 41
percent increase compared with CODHES' estimate for the same period in
2007.
The Government has registered a total of 2.8 million IDPs since
1995, while CODHES estimated that as many as 4.3 million persons have
been displaced since 1985. The Government registered new IDPs whose
applications for recognition had been accepted, while CODHES estimated
new displacements based on information from the media, civil society,
and field work. CODHES also included as IDPs an undetermined number of
coca and opium poppy producers who migrated in response to government
drug eradication efforts, as well as those who migrated due to poor
economic conditions resulting from the armed conflict. During the year
the ICRC provided assistance to 73,258 newly displaced persons, 14,514
persons from massive displacements (groups of 50 or more persons or 10
or more families) and 58,744 persons in individual displacements.
New illegal groups and FARC and ELN guerrillas continued to use
forced displacement to gain control over strategic or economically
valuable territory, weaken their opponents' base of support, and
undermine government control and authority. Illegal armed groups also
used landmines and roadblocks to confine entire villages in order to
protect illicit crops and to prevent pursuit by state security forces.
The FARC and ELN continued to use force, intimidation, and
disinformation to discourage IDPs from registering with the Government;
guerrilla agents often infiltrated IDP receptor communities.
During the year the Government registered 8,736 new IDPs who
identified themselves as indigenous and 28,995 new IDPs who identified
themselves as Afro-Colombian. ONIC estimated the number of displaced
indigenous people to be much higher, since many indigenous people did
not have adequate access to registration locations due to geographic
remoteness, language barriers, or unfamiliarity with the national
registration system. CODHES estimated that 21 percent of the displaced
population was Afro-Colombian. According to UNHCR, indigenous and Afro-
Colombian groups were disproportionately affected by displacement.
The Government, international humanitarian assistance
organizations, and NGOs observed that the rate of mass displacements
remained approximately the same during the year. According to Accion
Social, the departments with the highest numbers of IDPs from massive
displacements were Narino with 4,831, Arauca with 2,541, Cauca with
2,438, and Choco with 2,128. The assistance organizations pointed out,
however, that the emergency response to mass displacements was becoming
more difficult and costly to mount as the increased security in cities
and towns meant displacements were now taking place in more remote
locations. Additionally, the continuing high volume of displacement
claims received by the Government frequently delayed by several weeks
or months assistance to persons displaced individually or in smaller
groups. Intense fighting in conflict zones, including areas in the
departments of Antioquia, Arauca, Cauca, Narino, Putumayo, and Norte de
Santander, often prevented national and international aid organizations
from accessing newly displaced populations.
According to Accion Social's national IDP registry, Narino and
Cauca, home to many Afro-Colombian and indigenous people, were among
the departments most gravely affected by forced displacements during
the year. In August, for example, the UN Office of the Commissioner for
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that confrontations between the
new illegal group, Organizacion Nueva Generacion, and the armed forces
displaced more than 1,000 persons from the Policarpa area in Narino.
OCHA also reported in August that FARC and ELN incursions and
confrontations with the armed forces displaced approximately 1,300
persons from villages around the town of Lopez de Micay, Cauca.
OCHA, the ICRC, and the UNHCR reported on several other mass
displacements in other departments throughout the year. On August 14,
OCHA reported that nearly 300 Embera indigenous people in the rural
area of Alto Baudo in the department of Choco fled their homes to
escape abuses and threats from members of a new illegal group known as
Los Rastrojos. OCHA reported that FARC threats and pressure against
manual coca eradication efforts in the area displaced nearly 4,000
persons in February, approximately 800 persons in April, and more than
2,000 persons in July from rural villages near the Antioquia towns of
Ituango, Taraza, and Valdivia. In January threats in the department of
Arauca by both FARC and ELN guerrillas and new illegal groups displaced
more than 2,000 persons, many of them from the Gauibos and the Siriri-
Catleya indigenous communities, to the municipalities of Tame and
Saravena near the Venezuelan border, according to the ICRC and the
UNHCR.
CODHES also reported in November that at least seven IDP community
leaders were killed in the first six months of the year. On June 29,
for instance, unknown assailants shot and killed Martha Cecilia Obando,
an active IDP leader in the locally displaced and Afro-Colombian
communities in Buenaventura, Valle de Cauca, who had recently voiced
concerns about perceived corruption by local authorities and had openly
criticized attacks on the community by local criminal groups. On
November 28, Carlos Rodolfo Cabrera Huertas, the leader of an IDP
association and a member of an IDP municipal committee in the Arauca
department, was murdered. On December 1, Alfredo Jaraba and his wife
Luz Mary Lopez, both members of an IDP organization, and two of their
children were killed in Cartagena.
The Government budgeted approximately 1.25 trillion pesos
(approximately $508 million) to provide assistance to IDPs during the
year. Assistance was delivered through Accion Social, the Colombian
Family Welfare Institute (ICBF), the Ministry of Social Protection
(MSP), and other governmental ministries and agencies.
Despite several government initiatives to enhance IDP access to
services and knowledge of their rights and notable improvements in
meeting the social and economic needs of IDPs, many IDPs continued to
live in unhygienic conditions with limited access to health care,
education, or employment. Several international organizations and
domestic nonprofit groups, such as the International Organization for
Migration (IOM), the ICRC, and the Colombian Red Cross worked with the
Government to provide emergency relief and long-term assistance to
displaced populations.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing assistance to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government cooperated with the UNHCR
and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum
seekers. The Government reserved the right to determine eligibility for
asylum, based upon its own assessment of the nature of an applicant's
claim. According to the Government, as of September 145 recognized
refugees resided in the country, and two refugee cases were approved
and 11 rejected during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, generally free and fair elections held on the basis of nearly
universal suffrage. Active duty members of the armed forces and police
may not vote or participate in the political process. Civilian public
employees, although eligible to vote, may participate in partisan
politics only during the four months immediately preceding a national
election.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 independent
candidate Alvaro Uribe won a second term as president in elections that
were considered generally free and fair, despite a concerted campaign
by the FARC and AUC to disrupt or manipulate the outcome. The OAS
electoral observation mission stated that the elections took place ``in
an atmosphere of freedom, transparency, and normalcy.''
In October 2007 there were local elections for governors, mayors,
and department and town councils; according to the OAS electoral
mission chief, the elections proceeded smoothly. Although 25 candidates
were killed in the preelection period, this number was significantly
lower than in previous years.
Political parties could operate without restrictions or outside
interference. The Liberal and Conservative parties previously dominated
politics. The reelection of President Uribe as an independent in 2006
and the second-place showing of the Polo Democratico presidential
candidate, Carlos Gaviria, reflected a widening of the political arena.
More than 20 political parties from across the political spectrum were
represented in Congress. In 2007 Polo Democratico candidate Samuel
Moreno was elected mayor of Bogota.
New illegal groups, paramilitaries that refused to demobilize, and
the FARC threatened and killed government officials (See Section 1.g.).
According to the Presidential Program on Human Rights, three municipal
council members were killed during the year, compared with 16 in 2007.
Some local officials throughout the country resigned because of
threats from the FARC. A Ministry of Interior and Justice program
provided protection to 295 mayors, 60 former mayors, and 2,370 council
members during the first nine months of the year.
The law requires that women be placed in at least 30 percent of
appointed government posts and that the Government report to Congress
each year the percentage of women in high-level government positions.
There were 19 women in the 102-member Senate and 17 in the 166-member
House of Representatives. There were three women in the 13-member
cabinet and four on the 23-member Supreme Court. Additionally, there
were 11 women on the higher courts: one on the Constitutional Court,
eight on the State Council, and two on the CSJ.
Two indigenous senators and one indigenous member of the House of
Representatives occupied seats reserved for indigenous persons. There
were no indigenous cabinet members and no indigenous persons on any of
the nation's high courts.
There were three Afro-Colombian senators, one of them a woman, and
seven Afro-Colombian members of the House of Representatives, two of
whom occupied seats reserved for Afro-Colombians. There was one Afro-
Colombian cabinet minister; there were no Afro-Colombians on any high
court.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government actively
prosecuted cases of governmental corruption; however, officials
sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The World Bank's
worldwide governance indicators reflected that government corruption
was a problem. Drug trafficking revenues exacerbated corruption.
In December the criminal chamber of the Supreme Court sentenced
Miguel Angel Bermudez, ex-governor of Boyaca, to 11 years in prison for
irregularities in school and library contracts throughout the
department.
The JPL process continued to expose corruption and paramilitary
ties within the Government and security forces, and President Uribe
urged the Supreme Court to punish public officials found guilty. The
president continued funding for the Supreme Court's investigative unit,
which investigated members of Congress and senior government officials.
On September 8, CNP General Antonio Gomez Mendez was dismissed as a
result of alleged ties to narcotics traffickers and former paramilitary
leaders.
Investigations by the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General's
Office of links between politicians and paramilitary groups implicated
70 congressmen, 15 governors, and 31 mayors. By the end of December, 33
congressmen, 22 mayors, and eight governors were in jail.
Representative Alfonso Antonio Campo Escobar of Magdalena, who
resigned in June 2007, was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in
prison and fined 1.72 million pesos ($700) for collaboration with
paramilitary groups. Campo accepted a five-year sentence in exchange
for a guilty plea to election crimes and aggravated delinquency.
By law, public officials must file annual financial disclosure
forms.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the Government generally provided such access in practice. While there
are no prohibitive fees to access government information, there were
reports that some low-level officials insisted on bribes to expedite
access to information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Although government
officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their views,
NGOs claimed that criticism from high-level officials, including
President Uribe, put them at risk for retaliation by new illegal
groups. Many domestic NGOs also contended that the Government
arbitrarily arrested and detained human rights activists, particularly
in high-conflict areas.
While the Uribe administration maintained an open dialogue with
NGOs and met with them regularly during the year, NGOs complained that
they had difficulty arranging meetings with government officials or
receiving prompt replies to their correspondence. NGOs also complained
about what they described as intolerant and hostile statements from the
Government regarding the work of human rights defenders.
Several thousand human rights and civil society NGOs were
registered in the country, although most existed only on paper. Local
human rights NGOs had far-reaching influence. By sharing information
and disseminating it to international human rights organizations and
the media, they raised the country's human rights profile and
contributed to significant levels of international attention.
The Government and prominent local human rights groups differed in
their evaluations and analyses of the human rights situation, which led
to mutual suspicion. The Government asserted that some human rights
activists engaged in activities that supported terrorism (See Section
1.e.).
According to the NGO Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ), 11
human rights activists were killed during the year. The CCJ attributed
two of the killings to paramilitaries but did not know whether the
perpetrators were part of the Justice and Peace process or had refused
to demobilize. Three of the killings were attributed to government
security forces, and the other six were attributed to unidentified
armed groups. According to an unconfirmed NGO submission to the UNHCHR,
human rights defenders and labor unionists were killed after a peaceful
rally against paramilitary violence on March 6. At year's end the
Prosecutor General's Office had found no information supporting the NGO
claim but continued investigating the cases linked to the protest.
After these demonstrations, several NGOs reported receiving e-mail
threats from newly formed illegal groups. The UNHCHR expressed concern
over the threats, the Government condemned them, and investigations by
the Prosecutor General's Office continued at year's end.
A Ministry of Interior and Justice program provided protection to
more than 966 human rights activists during the year (See Section
2.a.). The Government enhanced this security at 129 NGO offices during
the year.
The Government cooperated with international organizations. The
UNHCR, the IOM, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the UNHCHR,
and the ICRC had an active presence in the country and carried out
their work without government interference.
The Government continued to meet with the UNHCHR, local NGOs, and
members of the diplomatic corps to discuss steps it has taken to comply
with UNHCHR recommendations on improving human rights practices. While
acknowledging progress on several recommendations, the UNHCHR and local
NGOs reported that the Government had not fully implemented most of
them by year's end. In September 2007 the Government extended the
UNHCHR's mandate for three years.
The national human rights ombudsman is independent, reports to the
inspector general, and has responsibility for ensuring the promotion
and exercise of human rights. During the year Congress reelected Human
Rights Ombudsman Volmer Perez. The Government generally cooperated with
the ombudsman, whose Bogota office was the headquarters of a national
early warning system designed to alert public security forces of
impending human rights violations, particularly large-scale massacres.
The office was underfunded and understaffed, which limited its ability
to monitor human rights violations effectively. Regional human rights
ombudsmen were under constant threat from illegal armed groups.
The Presidential Program for Human Rights, which operated under the
authority of the vice president, coordinates national human rights
policy and actions taken by government entities to promote or protect
human rights. It is the Government's primary interlocutor with domestic
and international NGOs and with foreign governments on human rights
issues. The program publishes the Human Rights Observer magazine, which
provides analyses of major human rights issues and the human rights
situation in various regions of the country.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives have human rights
committees. The committees serve as forums for discussion of human
rights issues but have no authority to draft legislation.
Implementation of the 2005 JPL continued. The Justice and Peace
Unit in the Prosecutor General's Office is responsible for the required
investigation and prosecution of demobilized persons under the law, and
an interinstitutional commission on Justice and Peace was created to
coordinate its implementation. Approximately 3,667 persons had been
presented as eligible for the JPL, most participating in the formal
demobilization process and others ``demobilizing'' afterward; 3,577 of
these were in paramilitary organizations, including 25 of the
``comandantes'' and 90 from guerilla organizations. More than 1,600
proffers or ``version libres'' have been taken, in which almost 20,000
crimes have been identified by the Prosecutor General's Office, over
18,000 of them homicides. There were 27,104 victims involved in the
20,000 identified crimes; defendants confessed to, and accepted, 6,000
of these crimes, involving 8,468 victims. Over 3,800 of these confessed
crimes were murders. A total of 179,000 victims had registered with the
Prosecutor General's Office, and 1,441 graves had been exhumed
involving 1,788 persons; remains of 547 victims were identified, and
283 were returned to their families. Testimony from the voluntary
confessions also triggered investigations of politicians, military
members, major agricultural producers, and government officials' ties
to paramilitary forces.
During the year the Government began the Program of Administrative
Reparations to give reparations to victims of illegal armed groups. The
Victim Protection Program under the Ministry of Interior and Justice
protected 104 persons involved in the Justice and Peace process, and
during the year the Government spent 1.71 billion pesos (approximately
$695,000) on the program. The National Commission of Reconciliation and
Reparation maintained offices in nine cities, including Sincelejo,
Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, and Medellin. The centers contained one-stop
informational centers for victims and assisted victims with enrollment,
and receipt of legal and psychological support.
In spite of the advances in the implementation of the Justice and
Peace process, the OAS reported continuing shortfalls in victims'
support and participation in the process. The OAS also reported that
victims received wrong or little information about the process, that
they were highly susceptible to killings, threats, and intimidation,
and that government effort was uncoordinated.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the law specifically prohibits discrimination based on
race, gender, disability, language, or social status, many of these
prohibitions were not enforced in practice.
Women.--Although prohibited by law, rape, including spousal rape,
remained a serious problem. On July 28, the president ratified a new
law that increased the legal penalties for sex crimes. The law provides
for sentences ranging from eight to 15 years' imprisonment for violent
sexual assault. For acts of spousal sexual violence, the law mandates
sentences of six months to two years and denies probation or bail to
offenders who disobey restraining orders. The National Institute for
Legal Medicine and Forensic Science, which reported 8,836 cases of
suspected sex crimes, including rape, in the first eight months of the
year, indicated that many cases went unreported. New illegal group
members and guerrillas raped, sexually abused, and sometimes sexually
mutilated women and children for fraternizing with the enemy, working
as prostitutes, having sexual relations outside of marriage, or
violating imposed codes of conduct or restrictions on dress. The ICBF
provided psychosocial, medical, and legal support to victims of sexual
violence.
Although prohibited by law, domestic violence, including spousal
abuse, remained a serious problem. Judicial authorities may remove an
abuser from the household and require therapy or reeducation. The law
provides prison time if the abuser causes grave harm or the abuse is
recurrent; however, provisions for fines were not applied. The National
Institute for Legal Medicine and Forensic Science reported
approximately 5,803 cases of domestic violence against women during the
first eight months of the year but noted that only a small percentage
of cases were brought to its attention for investigation and follow-up.
The law stipulates that the Government must provide victims of domestic
violence with immediate protection from physical or psychological
abuse. The ICBF provided safe houses and counseling for victims, but
its services could not meet the magnitude of the problem. In addition
to fulfilling traditional family counseling functions, ICBF family
ombudsmen handled domestic violence cases. The Human Rights Ombudsman's
Office conducted regional training workshops to promote the application
of domestic violence statutes.
Adult prostitution is legal in designated ``tolerance zones,'' but
enforcement of, and restriction to, the zones remained difficult.
Prostitution was widespread and exacerbated by poverty and internal
displacement. Sex tourism existed to a limited extent, particularly in
coastal cities such as Cartagena and Barranquilla, where marriage and
dating services were often fronts for sexual tourism. The law prohibits
organizing or facilitating sexual tourism and provides penalties of
three to eight years' imprisonment. Trafficking in women for sexual
exploitation continued to be a problem.
The law provides measures to discourage and punish harassment at
the workplace, such as sexual harassment, verbal abuse or derision,
aggression, and discrimination. Nonetheless, sexual harassment remained
a pervasive problem. Since the law was enacted, the Ministry of Social
Protection had received 375 complaints that it investigated.
Although women enjoy the same legal rights as men, discrimination
against women persisted. Women faced hiring discrimination, were
disproportionately affected by unemployment, and had salaries that
generally were incompatible with their education and experience. Female
workers in rural areas were affected most by wage discrimination and
unemployment.
The President's advisor for equality of women has primary
responsibility for combating discrimination against women. The advisor
ran a program to help women who were microbusiness entrepreneurs and
heads of families to get favorable lines of credit for their companies.
During the year the Government provided to women 6,217 microcredit
loans, in the amount of 6.2 billion pesos (approximately $2.5 million).
In the first 10 months of the year, the Government held 17 seminars
attended by 11,258 women on establishing microbusinesses. NGOs such as
the Popular Women's Organization in Barrancabermeja, Santander, and the
Women's Path to Peace in Medellin, Antioquia, promoted women's
involvement and equality, particularly through peace initiatives.
Children.--The Government generally was committed to children's
rights and welfare. The ICBF monitored all government child protection
and welfare programs and also funded nongovernmental programs that
benefited children.
Child abuse was a serious problem. The National Institute for Legal
Medicine and Forensic Sciences reported approximately 7,628 cases of
child abuse in the first nine months of the year. The institute also
estimated that approximately 40 percent of the 9,959 reported sex
crimes involved sexual abuse of children, most of whom were under age
14.
According to the Inspector General's Office, 3,588 minors were
reported as sexual workers, although many other cases went unreported.
Children were trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Guerrillas forcibly recruited and used children as soldiers. The
Ministry of Defense reported an increase in the number of minors who
deserted illegal armed groups. At least 318 children (244 of them
former members of the FARC) surrendered to state security forces during
the year and were transferred to the ICBF, which operated a
reintegration program for former child soldiers.
According to government registrations, 75 percent of IDPs were
women and children. Displaced children particularly were vulnerable to
physical abuse, sexual exploitation, and recruitment by criminals.
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in
persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked from, through,
and within the country.
The country was a major source for trafficking in persons,
primarily for sexual and labor purposes. During the year the national
trafficking prevention hotline received 10,115 calls, 6.7 percent
directly related to trafficking. Most calls were preventative in
nature, with callers asking for information on a potential trafficking
scheme. The vast majority of trafficking victims were young women,
although children and young men were also at risk. Destinations and
routes included Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica,
Panama, El Salvador, Mexico, Aruba, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago,
Curacao, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Spain, Japan, Singapore,
Portugal, Hong Kong, and the United States. Internal trafficking of
women and children from rural to urban areas for sexual exploitation
and forced labor remained a serious problem. Victims also transited the
country from other South American countries on their way to Europe and
the United States.
Many traffickers disclosed the sexual nature of the work they
offered but concealed information about working conditions, clientele,
freedom of movement, and compensation. Others disguised their intent by
portraying themselves as modeling agents, offering marriage brokerage
services, providing study programs, or operating lottery or bingo scams
with free trips as prizes. Recruiters reportedly loitered outside high
schools, shopping malls, and parks to lure adolescents into accepting
nonexistent jobs abroad. The IOM and domestic NGOs estimated that
international organized crime networks were responsible for most
transnational trafficking. Domestically, organized crime networks, some
related to illegal armed groups, were also responsible for trafficking
for sexual exploitation or organized begging, and the armed conflict
made a large number of internal trafficking victims vulnerable.
The law provides for prison sentences between 13 and 23 years and
fines up to 1,000 times the monthly minimum wage for trafficking
offenses. These penalties may be increased by up to one-third if there
are aggravating circumstances, such as trafficking of children younger
than 14. Additional charges of illegal detention, violation of the
right to work in dignified conditions, and violation of personal
freedom also may be brought against traffickers. While limited
resources hindered prosecutions, the Prosecutor General's Office
continued to open new investigations and continued progress on current
trials.
With the support of the IOM, the National Committee against
Trafficking (composed of 14 agencies) prepared information campaigns
and promoted information exchange among government agencies and began
use of a database to monitor trafficking cases. The Prosecutor
General's Anti-Trafficking Unit, in coordination with the Ministry of
Interior and Justice, has the lead on combating trafficking. The
Government cooperated with foreign counterparts on investigations.
The country's diplomatic missions worked with the IOM to repatriate
victims. The IOM strengthened government institutions involved in
antitrafficking efforts and assisted trafficking victims; during the
year IOM and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime trained officials on
specific trafficking issues and provided awareness-raising training to
NGO groups. The IOM also provided victims with job training and
employment opportunities, temporary emergency shelter, necessary
medical and psychological care, and opportunities for social
reintegration. The Hope Foundation, an antitrafficking NGO, provided
educational information, social support, and counseling to trafficking
victims. The Rebirth Foundation (another antitrafficking NGO) provided
housing, psychosocial therapy, medical care, and legal assistance to
child victims of sexual exploitation.
The IOM and the Government advertised a national hotline to prevent
trafficking and report violators. The IOM worked with the Government to
continue its antitrafficking public awareness campaign that included
placing posters in airports, bus stations, consulates, and travel
agencies, and running public service announcements on radio and
television.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state
services, and the Government sought to enforce these prohibitions. No
law mandates access to public buildings for persons with disabilities,
thus limiting the power of the Government to penalize those schools or
offices without access, but both national and local governments tried
to address this with programs aimed at improving access. The law
provides persons with physical disabilities access to voting stations.
The Presidential Program for Human Rights is responsible for protecting
the rights of persons with disabilities.
The Colombian Association for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
reported that only approximately 15 percent of persons with
disabilities received medical attention adequate to prevent
complications arising from their disabilities. According to press
reports, only 7,000 of Bogota's 100,000 persons with disabilities had
access to public education.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to the national
census, approximately 4.3 million persons, or 10 percent of the
population, were of African origin. However, some human rights groups
and Afro-Colombian organizations estimated that there were as many as
10 million Afro-Colombians. While Afro-Colombians are entitled to all
constitutional rights and protections, they faced significant economic
and social discrimination. An estimated 76 percent of Afro-Colombians
lived in poverty; their infant mortality rate was four times that of
the general population, and the number without any education was three
times higher than the national average. Choco, the department with the
highest percentage of Afro-Colombian residents, had the lowest per
capita level of social investment and ranked last in terms of
education, health, and infrastructure. It also continued to experience
some of the country's worst political violence, as new illegal groups
and FARC and ELN guerrillas struggled for control of the department's
drug- and weapons-smuggling corridor (See Section 1.g.).
On May 21, the Government launched the Commission for Advancement
of Afro-Colombians, whose objective is to evaluate the socioeconomic
conditions of Afro-Colombians and provide recommendations to the
Government. The vice president led nine regional workshops to collect
information and input from civil society. The commission also supported
two university studies on Afro-Colombian issues, the first by the
Universidad de los Andes was released on November 6.
Indigenous People.--The constitution and laws give special
recognition to the fundamental rights of indigenous people, who
comprised approximately 3.4 percent of the population, and require that
the Government consult beforehand with indigenous groups regarding
governmental actions that could affect them.
The law accords indigenous groups perpetual rights to their
ancestral lands. Traditional indigenous authorities operated
approximately 710 reservations-accounting for 30 percent of the
country's territory-as municipal entities, with officials selected
according to indigenous traditions. However, many indigenous
communities had no legal title to lands they claimed, and illegal armed
groups often violently contested indigenous land ownership.
The law provides for special criminal and civil jurisdictions
within indigenous territories based on traditional community laws.
Proceedings in these jurisdictions were subject to manipulation and
often rendered punishments that were more lenient than those imposed by
regular civilian courts. The law permits indigenous communities to
educate their children in traditional dialects and in the observance of
cultural and religious customs. Indigenous people are not subject to
the national military draft.
Indigenous leaders complained about the occasional presence of
government security forces on indigenous reservations and asked that
the Government consult with indigenous authorities prior to taking
military action against illegal armed groups and guerrillas operating
in or around such areas. The Government stated that for security
reasons it could not provide advance notice of most military operations
and that it consulted with indigenous leaders when possible before
accessing land held by the communities. The law permits the presence of
government security forces on lands of indigenous communities; however,
Ministry of Defense directives instructed security forces to respect
the integrity of indigenous communities, particularly during military
and police operations. The Ministry of Defense's Integrated Policy on
Human Rights stresses the importance of protecting indigenous
communities.
The Ministry of Interior and Justice, through its Office of
Indigenous Affairs, is responsible for protecting the territorial,
cultural, and traditional rights of indigenous people. Ministry
representatives, together with inspector general and human rights
ombudsman representatives, worked with other governmental human rights
organizations and NGOs to promote indigenous interests and investigate
violations of indigenous rights. The ministry is also responsible for
buying land to add to indigenous reserves.
Despite special legal protections and government assistance
programs, indigenous people continued to suffer discrimination and
often lived on the margins of society. The indigenous were the
country's poorest population and had the highest age-specific mortality
rates and rates of intestinal diseases, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and
malaria.
Parties in the internal armed conflict continued to victimize
members of indigenous communities. In March UNHCHR reported that ethnic
groups, particularly indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations, were
increasingly vulnerable as a result of the internal armed conflict.
The NGO National Organization of Indigenous of Colombia claimed
that government security forces were responsible for 20 extrajudicial
killings of indigenous people during the year. Although complete data
were not available for the year, the Presidential Program on Human
Rights reported that, from 2002 to 2007, homicides of indigenous people
declined 45 percent, kidnappings declined 87 percent, and displacement
declined 15 percent.
On October 14, about 7,000 indigenous persons from Northern Cauca
demonstrated for the return of ancestral lands and an end to
accusations of indigenous-FARC links. The two-day protest led to
violent clashes between security forces trying to open the blocked Pan-
American Highway and protesters, leaving at least 150 injured (both
protesters and police) and one dead according to the Government. The
Government reported that forensic evidence proved a homemade explosive
device-not the policeman filmed shooting a gun during the protests-
killed the individual.
On October 20, ONIC convoked over 12,000 indigenous protesters to
participate in an eight-day march to Cali. President Uribe met with
indigenous groups but failed to reach an agreement, and the protesters
marched to Bogota on November 21 to meet with the president again.
There were no known developments in the investigations of the 2006
beating of Wayuu indigenous community members Roberto Solano Uriana and
Lorenzo Rafael Solano and the trials of seven military and civilian
suspects for the 2006 killing of five members of the Awa indigenous
community.
The UNHCHR continued to criticize threats and violence against
indigenous communities, characterized government investigations of
human rights violations against indigenous groups as inadequate, and
appealed to the Government to do more to protect indigenous people.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Colombia Diversa, an NGO
focused on violence and discrimination due to sexual orientation,
reported at least 41 killings during the year due to prejudice
regarding sexual orientation. The Constitutional Court recognized the
right of same-sex couples to pension benefits and gave greater economic
rights to same-sex couples. In spite of the court rulings, Colombia
Diversa reported at least three cases of pension benefits being
withheld from same-sex partners. Colombia Diversa also reported cases
of police abuse against persons due to their sexual orientation, with
the majority of complaints coming from transgender individuals. The
group also claimed that violence in prisons against persons due to
their sexual orientation remained a problem.
There were no confirmed reports of discrimination towards persons
with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to
organize unions, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice. The law does not cover members of the armed forces or police.
The number of unions and union members continued to decline.
Approximately 742,000 workers (4 percent of the workforce of 18.2
million) were union members. Almost 60 percent of the workforce was
employed in the informal sector.
The labor code provides for automatic recognition of unions that
obtain 25 signatures from potential members and comply with a
registration process. Unions claimed that this process was slow and was
used to block union registration. Some union leaders claimed that
forming a union was a lengthy, bureaucratic process, and that union
organizers were often fired before the union was officially
established. In May 2007 the MSP issued a resolution reducing wait
times and implemented procedures to discipline officials for failure to
comply with the regulations. Pursuant to a Constitutional Court ruling
during the year, the MSP began a thorough review of union registration
procedures to further simplify union registration.
Violence and discrimination against union members discouraged some
workers from joining and engaging in union activities. The MSP reported
that 38 trade unionists were killed during the year, compared with 26
in 2007, while the National Labor College (ENS), a labor rights NGO,
reported that 46 trade unionists were killed, compared with 39 in 2007.
ENS and government figures differed because of different methodological
conceptions of trade union membership.
The ENS claimed that ``most of the violations of the human rights
of trade unionists'' were associated with industrial disputes, even
though they took place in the context of war and were committed, in
most cases, by one of the belligerent parties.''
Teachers made up the largest percentage of union members who were
victims of violence by illegal armed groups, both because they
constituted 34 percent of all registered unionists and because of their
presence in rural, conflict-ridden parts of the country. The MSP
reported that 55 percent of all unionists killed during the year were
teachers.
The Government provided protection to 10,716 at-risk individuals of
whom 1,980 were union members (others protected included journalists,
local leaders, and human rights advocates); the protection program
received annual funding of 112.5 billion pesos (approximately $45.7
million).
Since 2001 the Prosecutor General's Office had prosecuted 126
cases, leading to the conviction of 247 perpetrators of violent acts
against trade unionists. A special labor subunit, launched by the
Government in 2006 to prosecute those who commit such acts and staffed
with 19 prosecutors and 96 investigators, resolved 80 of the cases,
convicting 154 individuals.
Union leaders recognized important advances made by the new labor
subunit of the Prosecutor General's Office but said more needed to be
done to end impunity for perpetrators of violence against workers.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice; however, members of the armed forces, police,
and persons performing ``essential public services'' were not permitted
to strike. The Government declared illegal four of the 12 work
stoppages requested before Law 1210 moved the power to declare strikes
illegal from the executive branch to the judicial branch during the
year.
Before conducting a strike, public sector unions must follow
prescribed legal procedures and give advance notice to their employers
and local authorities. The law prohibits the use of strikebreakers. The
law prohibiting public employees from striking was often ignored. Due
to new legislation, employees no longer need to accept binding
arbitration if they cannot reach an agreement.
There were reports that employers increasingly used temporary
contracts and cooperatives-both of which are legal-to reduce nonwage
costs and avoid unionization. In a work stoppage related to this issue,
more than 18,000 sugarcane cutters in the department of Valle del Cauca
walked off their jobs on September 15; while demands for a formal work
contract with worker and union rights was not met because subcontracted
workers are not covered by the labor code, the workers did negotiate an
agreement with some benefit and pay increases.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides workers the right to organize and bargain collectively, and
the Government respected this right in the private sector; however,
collective bargaining was not implemented fully in the public sector.
Labor unions assessed that high unemployment, a large informal economic
sector, antiunion attitudes, and violence against trade union leaders
made organizing difficult, which limited workers' bargaining power in
all sectors.
In 2007 the president agreed with a 2006 ILO request and a 2005
Constitutional Court ruling that public sector unions should be able to
bargain collectively. A November 2007 ILO mission reported formation of
a tripartite subcommittee to discuss public sector bargaining. The ILO
and the Ministry of Social Protection continued working with unionists
to reach agreement on implementing the collective bargaining
arrangement.
Collective pacts between individual workers and their employers
were not subject to collective bargaining. Collective pacts give
employers the right to negotiate accords on pay and labor conditions at
any time with groups of workers when no union is present or when a
union represents less than one-third of the employees. Labor groups
complained that employers used collective pacts, permitted by law, to
discourage labor organization. There were reports that when a union
presented a collective bargaining proposal, employers offered some
workers better conditions and pay in exchange for their leaving the
union and joining the pact, which undermined organized labor's ability
to bargain collectively.
The continued growth and prevalence of workers' cooperatives
further diminished collective bargaining because these workers were not
covered by the labor code. Due to a law related to cooperatives passed
in June, workers' cooperatives were required to register with the MSP.
There were an estimated 3,939 such cooperatives with 88,137 associated
workers. Workers' cooperatives were obligated to provide compensation
at least equivalent to the minimum wage and the same health and
retirement benefits normally offered by employers to directly hired
employees.
While the law prohibits antiunion discrimination, some longstanding
ILO criticisms of the labor code remained, including the practice of
firing labor union workers who participate in legal strikes or work
stoppages, the prohibition of strikes in a wide range of public
services that are not necessarily essential, and the Government's power
to intervene in disputes through compulsory arbitration to end a
strike. In response to these concerns, the Congress passed bills in
June that brought laws closer to ILO standards. The new laws transfer
authority for declaring whether a strike is legal from the executive to
independent labor judges; make binding arbitration mandatory only if
both parties request it; require workers' cooperatives to pay into the
social security system and benefits programs; and levy heftier fines on
cooperatives that do not comply with current laws. The MSP reported
numerous investigations into cooperative abuses and in November alone
investigated more than 100 cooperatives at the port of Buenaventura.
While a government decree prohibits the use of workers'
cooperatives as labor subcontractors, most cooperatives engaged in
subcontracting, and in some cases, private sector employers forced
workers to form cooperatives and were themselves managing the
cooperatives' daily operations. The Government has the authority to
fine labor rights violators but not to shut down repeat offenders. In
practice nominal fines assessed by the Government did little to
dissuade violators.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones. Labor law applies in the country's 15 free
trade zones where its standards were enforced.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but there were some
reports that such practices occurred (See Section 6.d.).
New illegal groups and both FARC and ELN guerrillas practiced
forced conscription. There were some reports that FARC and ELN
guerrillas and new illegal groups used forced labor, including child
labor, in areas outside government control (See Section 1.g.). There
were also reports of forced commercial sexual exploitation.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
While there are laws to protect children from exploitation in the
workplace, child labor remained a significant problem, particularly in
the informal sector. The ICBF reported that at least 2.5 million
children worked, of whom an estimated 80 percent were working
illegally. By September the ICBF reported 164 complaints of labor
exploitation and 280 child victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
During the first semester of the year, ICBF assisted 1,958 children
victimized through commercial sexual exploitation throughout the
country.
The minimum age for employment is 15. Minors between 15 and 17
years of age must obtain authorization from the local inspection units
of the MSP. Such minors may work only six hours per day and 30 hours
per week, with no work hours past 6 p.m. Minors between 17 and 18 years
of age may only work eight hours per day, 40 hours per week with no
work hours past 8 p.m. Minors under age 15 may receive authorization
from the local inspection unit to engage in remunerated activities in
art, culture, recreation, or sport. However, the authorization
establishes the maximum number of hours and specific labor conditions.
For example, a minor younger than 15 may not engage in remunerated
activities more than 14 hours per week. According to the National
Department of Statistics, there were 11.9 million children between the
ages of five and 17, of whom approximately 1.1 million worked, nearly
90 percent more than 15 hours a week in their home.
The legal minimum age for work was consistent with completing basic
education; 19.9 percent of working children did not attend school. All
child workers were prohibited from working at night or performing work
where there is a risk of bodily harm or exposure to excessive heat,
cold, or noise. Although children were prohibited from working in a
number of specific occupations, including mining and construction, in
practice these prohibitions largely were ignored.
Estimates of the number of children who worked in illegal mining
operations varied from 10,000 to 200,000. According to the National
Statistical Institute, children also worked as coca pickers or in other
aspects of the illegal drug trade.
Several thousand children were forced to serve as FARC or ELN
guerrilla combatants or members of new illegal groups (See Section
1.g.), prostitutes, or coca pickers. The minor's code provides for
fines of up to 40 times the minimum monthly wage for violations of
child labor laws. A violation deemed to endanger a child's life or
threaten moral values may be punished by temporary or permanent closure
of the responsible establishment.
The MSP's 276 labor inspectors nationwide were responsible for
enforcing child labor laws in the formal sector (which covered
approximately 20 percent of the child labor force) through periodic
inspections. Resources were inadequate for effective enforcement. With
assistance from the ILO, the Government worked to improve cooperation
among national, regional, and municipal governments through its
national plan to eradicate child labor and protect working youth. The
ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor operated
a program to prevent children from engaging in commercial sexual
exploitation, while private groups and foreign governments conducted
programs to remove children from the worst forms of child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government establishes a
uniform minimum wage every January that serves as a benchmark for wage
bargaining. The monthly minimum wage, which is negotiated by a
committee of representatives of business, organized labor, and the
Government, was approximately 433,700 pesos ($176), a 6.3 percent
increase from the previous year. If the negotiation process fails to
reach agreement, as occurred during the year for the fifth time in the
last eight years, the president can set the minimum wage unilaterally.
The national minimum wage did not provide sufficient income to purchase
the basic market basket of goods for a family of four. Furthermore, it
was difficult to enforce the minimum wage in the informal sector.
The labor code provides for a regular workweek of 48 hours and a
minimum rest period of eight hours within the week. The code stipulates
that workers are entitled to receive premium compensation for
additional hours worked over the regular workweek of 48 hours and for
work performed on Sundays. Compulsory overtime is permitted only in
exceptional cases where the work is considered essential for the
company's functioning.
The law provides comprehensive protection for workers' occupational
safety and health, which the MSP enforced through periodic inspections.
However, a scarcity of government inspectors, poor public safety
awareness, and inadequate attention by unions resulted in a high level
of industrial accidents and unhealthy working conditions. Workers in
the informal sector sometimes suffered physical or sexual abuse. The
law provides workers with the right to remove themselves from a
hazardous work situation without jeopardizing continued employment, and
the Government enforced this right. Nonunion workers, particularly
those in the agricultural and in some parts of the flower sector,
reportedly worked under hazardous conditions because they feared losing
their jobs if they criticized abuses. However, the flower growers'
association implemented voluntary principles on environmental and
worker safety and reduced the use of pesticides by more than 60
percent.
__________
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica, a constitutional democracy with a population of
approximately 4.4 million, is governed by a president and the
unicameral Legislative Assembly directly elected in free multiparty
elections every four years. In 2006 Oscar Arias Sanchez of the National
Liberation Party (PLN) won the presidency in elections that generally
were considered free and fair. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
While the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, the following human rights problems were reported:
substantial judicial process delays, particularly in pretrial detention
and civil and labor cases; excessive penalties for violations of libel
laws; domestic violence against women and children; child prostitution;
trafficking in persons; and child labor.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings. However,
on June 14, three officers from the security forces allegedly assisted
in killing two persons. Authorities released one of the officers after
two surviving victims could not identify him. The other two suspects
remained under investigation for aggravated homicide. Authorities
administratively suspended them from their jobs without pay for six
months and held them in preventive detention that continued at year's
end.
In September, based on a finding of excessive use of force, the
Ministry of Public Security dismissed from duty the officer involved in
the April 2007 death of a robbery suspect following a confrontation
with security guards and then with police. The judicial investigation
into the case and an administrative appeal continued at year's end.
The Criminal Tribunal of the Second Circuit declared innocent and
released two former police officers who were arrested in 2006 for
assisting in the 2005 revenge killings of three persons. An appeal was
pending at year's end. The Ministry of Public Security dismissed the
officers for unrelated reasons.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the constitution prohibits such practices and the
Government generally respected this prohibition, some members of the
security forces committed abuses. Any statement obtained through
violence is invalid, and the Government investigated, prosecuted, and
punished agents responsible for confirmed cases of abuse.
On August 6, a San Jose municipal police officer beat a woman
during a raid on illegal street vendors. A municipal police
administrative investigation resulted in a written warning to the
officer that conditioned renewal of his contract on future behavior.
On June 11, the Ministry of Public Security exonerated two police
officers who had been charged in June 2007 with abuse of authority and
robbery because the man who raised the complaint against them failed to
appear at the hearing.
In November 2007 the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court acquitted
four police officers who had been found guilty by a lower court in 2005
of abuse of authority for beating a suspect who resisted arrest.
As of December the Ombudsman's Office received 31 complaints of
police abuse (21 from prisons, seven from citizens, and three from
migrants). Ten cases were closed by year's end, all from prisons. In
the prison-related cases, the Ombudsman's Office recommended that
prison authorities take action to protect and respect prisoner rights.
The ombudsman conducts investigations as a preliminary step, with any
recommendation for action forwarded to the respective agency for
investigation or follow-up.
On September 11, a trial court acquitted two public security
officers accused in the 2005 incident in which two guard dogs attacked
a Nicaraguan; the security officers allegedly witnessed the incident
but did not intervene.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Although the Government
continued to improve prison conditions during the year, isolated cases
of overcrowding, as well as poor sanitation, lack of health services,
and violence among prisoners remained problems in some prison
facilities. The Ombudsman's Office investigated all complaints and
referred serious cases of abuse to the public prosecutor. Illegal
narcotics were readily available in the prisons, and drug abuse was
common.
By year's end, expansion at several prison facilities reduced the
countrywide prison population to 2 percent below the system's total
capacity. As of December 31, the San Sebastian, Pococi, San Carlos,
Cartago, and Gerardo Rodriguez (San Rafael) prisons remained
overcrowded, with the main problem among the population in pretrial
detention. San Sebastian, where most prisoners in pretrial detention
were held, housed 701 prisoners in an unsanitary facility with a
capacity of 588. To alleviate these conditions, some pretrial detainees
were held with convicted prisoners in long-term detention facilities
throughout the country.
Medical care at most facilities generally was adequate for routine
illnesses and injuries. However, prisoners were referred to the social
service system for complex medical issues, such as HIV/AIDS, with
consequent treatment delays.
Prisoners generally were separated by gender and level of security
(minimum, medium, and maximum), but overcrowding sometimes prevented
proper security-level separation.
The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by international and local human rights observers, including
representatives from the Ombudsman's Office. Human rights observers
were allowed to speak to prisoners and prison employees in confidence
and without the presence of prison staff or other third parties.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The country has no
military. The Ministry of Public Security was responsible for the
general police force, the drug control police, the border police, and
the coast guard. The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation
operated the traffic police. The Government had mechanisms in place to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. However, court backlogs
and an antiquated legal system greatly slowed such action. There were
no reports of impunity involving the security forces during the year,
but the police forces' effectiveness was hampered by inadequate
funding, equipment, and training and by lack of police professionalism.
Although 13 agencies have a security force, including the Judicial
Investigative Police (OIJ) and the traffic police, the main ``public
force'' is within the Ministry of Public Security. Citizens may report
abuse of authority or police corruption through various accessible
mechanisms. Officers are entitled to a disciplinary investigation, an
oral hearing, and a board review in administrative cases. For criminal
charges, cases go to the judicial branch.
In August the Ministry of Public Security announced that it had
1,500 open disciplinary cases against police officers for charges
ranging from unauthorized absence to drug use and corruption. During
the first seven months of the year, the ministry fired nine police
officers for corruption.
Arrest and Detention.--The law requires issuance of judicial
warrants before making arrests, except where probable cause is evident
to the arresting officer. The law entitles a detainee to a judicial
determination of the legality of detention during arraignment before a
judge within 24 hours of arrest. The law provides for the right to bail
and prompt access to an attorney and to family members, and the
authorities generally observed these rights in practice. Indigents are
provided a public attorney at government expense; in practice even
those with sufficient personal funds were able to use the services of a
public defender. With judicial authorization, the authorities may hold
suspects incommunicado for 48 hours after arrest or, under special
circumstances, for up to 10 days.
A criminal court may hold suspects in pretrial detention for
periods of up to one year, and the Court of Appeals may extend this
period to two years in especially complex cases. The law requires that
cases of suspects in pretrial detention be reviewed every three months
by the court to determine the appropriateness of continued detention.
According to the Ministry of Justice, at year's end there were 2,099
persons in pretrial detention, representing approximately 15 percent of
the prison population.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial
independence in practice. The legal system faced many challenges,
including significant delays in the adjudication of civil disputes and
a growing workload.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
All trials, except those that include juvenile defendants, are
public. There are no jury trials. A trial is presided over by a single
judge or by a three-judge panel, depending on the potential penalties
arising from the charges. Trials that involve victims or witnesses who
are minors are closed during that portion of the trial where the minor
is called to testify. Accused persons can select attorneys to represent
them, and the law provides for access to counsel at state expense for
the indigent. The law provides for detainee and attorney access to
government-held evidence, and defendants can question witnesses against
them and present witnesses on their behalf. Defendants enjoy a
presumption of innocence and, if convicted, have the right of appeal.
The law extends these rights to all citizens.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters where lawsuits, including
human rights violations, are brought. Administrative and judicial
remedies for alleged wrongs are available. On January 1, the
Contentious Administrative Procedural Code, which provides for
expedited court proceedings as well as oral procedures in civil cases
between citizens and the Government, entered into force.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. The law
requires judicial warrants to search private homes. Judges may approve
the use of wiretaps in investigations of certain crimes, but legal
guidelines are so restrictive that the use of wiretaps was rare.
The law grants considerable rights to squatters who invade
uncultivated land, regardless of who may hold title to the property.
Property rights were irregularly enforced, and duplicate registrations
occurred.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press. There were seven major privately
owned newspapers and several periodicals, two privately owned
television networks, and more than 100 privately owned radio stations,
all of which pursued independent editorial policies. There was also a
public radio and television system and a public university weekly
newspaper.
Journalists and media company owners continued to criticize
legislation that imposes criminal penalties, including lengthy jail
sentences instead of civil fines, for common press infractions and
argued that such legislation promoted self-censorship.
The law does not require reporters to reveal the identity of a
source in any civil or criminal trial if the source has requested
confidentiality. Reporters may defend themselves against libel charges
by claiming that they were merely repeating a story published by
foreign media. Libel convictions are punishable with fines or jail
time.
The law provides persons criticized in the media with an
opportunity to reply with equal attention and at equal length. Media
managers considered that it was difficult to comply with provisions of
this law. The provisions outline a series of ``insult laws'' that
establish criminal penalties of up to three years in prison for those
convicted of insulting the honor or decorum of a public official. The
law also identifies defamation, libel, slander, and calumny as offenses
against a person's honor that can carry criminal penalties.
In December 2007 the Criminal High Court of Appeals upheld a lower
court ruling that acquitted two journalists of defamation in reporting
about a police officer who was under investigation for extortion.
However, the judges ruled that the police officer's reputation was
harmed as a result of inaccurate reports and ordered the accused
journalists to pay civil compensation to the officer.
On August 19, a court of appeals upheld the December 2007
conviction and sentence of two of the defendants in the 2001 killing of
radio host Parmenio Medina. In December a tribunal decreased the
sentence for a third defendant from 15 to eight years.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 33
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2007.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom.
The Commission on Control and Rating of Public Performances rates
films and has the authority to restrict or prohibit the showing of
films deemed pornographic or violent in nature or likely to incite
crime or vice. The commission has similar powers over television and
radio programs and stage plays. In addition the commission regulates
the sale and distribution of written material deemed pornographic,
enforcing specific packaging and display regulations. A tribunal
reviews appeals of the commission's actions.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice. The constitution establishes Roman Catholicism as the state
religion and requires that the state contribute to its maintenance.
Besides notaries public, only officials of the Catholic Church may
perform marriages that are automatically recognized by the state. Other
religious groups can perform wedding ceremonies, but the marriage must
be legalized by a civil union, or couples may choose a civil union
only.
Immigration law contains procedures for missionaries and religious
workers to seek temporary residency permits. A subsequent accord
exempts Catholics. In June 2007 the Government agreed with the
Evangelical Alliance Federation to facilitate the temporary residency
application process for non-Catholics. Non-Catholic leaders asserted,
however, that substantial processing delays were common and some cases
were never resolved.
Religious organizations must submit applications to the local
municipality to establish a place of worship and must comply with
safety and noise regulations established by law. The Evangelical
Alliance Federation reported that the Government continued to close
some non-Catholic churches for noise and other code violations.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were a few minor reports
of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation,
belief, or practice, including two reported instances of anti-Semitic
graffiti during the year. In one instance where authorities were
notified, the Government authorized immediate removal. There were an
estimated 2,800 Jews in the country.
Although an executive order specifically allows non-Catholic clergy
to enter government-controlled spaces (such as public hospitals and
prisons) as Catholic clergy are permitted to do, non-Catholic leaders
reported that some security guards denied entry to non-Catholic clergy,
thereby preventing their ministering to followers.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The law requires that adults carry national identification cards at
all times. Persons who fail to produce such documents at security
checkpoints may be detained until their identity and immigration status
are verified.
The constitution prohibits forced internal or external exile, and
it was not used in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The law and a series of executive decrees
provide for the granting of asylum in accordance with the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol,
and the Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice, the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government granted refugee status or
asylum and cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern.
On August 25, the Government signed an accord with the UNHCR to
reestablish the Refugee Office (closed since 2005, scheduled to reopen
in 2009) within the General Directorate of Immigration. The General
Directorate is in charge of refugee status determination. The law
requires claims to be adjudicated within three months of receipt. In
practice, however, decisions took up to a year.
According to the UNHCR, there were approximately 11,800 recognized
refugees in the country at year's end, the majority from Colombia, as
well as 300 asylum seekers. The Migration Ministry reported 8,266
refugees at year's end. (The difference can be attributed to the fact
that once refugees obtain permanent residency in the country, the
ministry no longer counts them as refugees.) There were also 5,500
``persons of concern'' in need of international protection.
The Migration Ministry reported that 387 of 940 asylum requests, or
41 percent, were approved during the year. This represented an increase
over 2007 when the ministry approved 20 percent of the cases. Observers
suggested the increased approval rate-which remained under half the
requests-could be due to a changing profile of persons requesting
asylum. Observers remained concerned about restrictive asylum
procedures and inadequate training for adjudication staff.
The UNHCR worked to counter the incorrect perception of Colombian
refugees as narcotics traffickers, criminals, and members of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia by placing opinion columns in
the local press and meeting with appropriate government officials. A
Colombian women's refugee group also launched a public awareness
campaign.
Stateless Persons.--There were occasional problems of statelessness
in the border areas with Panama and Nicaragua. Members of the Ngobe-
Bugle indigenous group from Panama came to work on Costa Rican
plantations, and sometimes their children were born in fields. In these
cases the children were not registered as Costa Rican citizens because
the families did not think it necessary to register the births, but
when the families returned to Panama, the children were not registered
there either. A similar problem occurred with Nicaraguan families that
migrated to work on Costa Rican coffee plantations. The Government
attempted to advise the migrant population to register at birth
children born in the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage
and by secret ballot every four years. The independent Supreme
Electoral Tribunal ensured the integrity of elections, and the
authorities and citizens respected election results. Presidents may
seek reelection after sitting out two subsequent four-year terms, and
assembly members may seek reelection after at least one term out of
office. Political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference.
Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2006 national
elections, Oscar Arias of the PLN won the presidency in elections that
generally were considered free and fair. In October 2007 the country
held a national referendum on joining the U.S.-Central America-
Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, which was considered to be
generally free and fair. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal reviewed a few
complaints of fraud and determined they were unfounded.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal requires that a minimum of 40
percent of candidates for elective office be female and that women's
names be placed accordingly on the ballots by party slate. The first
vice president (who was also the minister of justice) and the ministers
of government, police and public security, science and technology,
health, culture, housing, and public works and transportation were
women, although the first vice president resigned in October to run for
president. There were 20 women in the 57-seat Legislative Assembly,
including nine legislative committee chairwomen and the head of one of
the four major party caucuses.
Indigenous persons did not play significant roles in politics or
government except on issues directly affecting their welfare, largely
because of their relatively small numbers and physical isolation. There
were no indigenous members in the Legislative Assembly or the cabinet.
There was one black member in the assembly but none in the cabinet.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. However, the World Bank's worldwide
governance indicators reflected that government corruption was a
problem, and there were isolated reports of such corruption during the
year.
Public officials are subject to a law against corruption and
illicit enrichment in the public service. This law requires senior
officials to submit sworn declarations of income, assets, and
liabilities. The public ethics prosecutor, the comptroller general, the
attorney general, and the ombudsman are all responsible for combating
government corruption. The main function of the public ethics
prosecutor is to take the administrative steps necessary to prevent,
detect, and eradicate corruption and to raise ethical and transparency
standards in the public service.
The Government continued to pursue allegations of corruption
against the executive branch. In August the housing minister resigned
following controversy over using a foreign donation, designated to
build housing for the poor, to pay fees to various government
consultants and to purchase equipment. In September the Comptroller's
Office filed a legal complaint with the Prosecutor's Office against the
minister and others allegedly responsible for improperly administering
the donation.
Previous investigations of two former presidents, Rafael Angel
Calderon and Miguel Angel Rodriguez, resulted in indictments for
separate and unrelated earlier cases of corruption. In the Calderon
case, the trial began on November 3. In the Rodriguez case, a trial
date was pending.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the Government generally respected this right. Government institutions
published reports that detailed the year's activities. The Ombudsman's
Office operated a Web page dedicated to enhancing transparency by
improving citizens' access to public information. On September 5, the
Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court required the Government to
give journalists information concerning negotiations for the purchase
of Costa Rican bonds by China.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The Ombudsman's Office has six regional offices and more than 150
staff to oversee government action or inaction that affects citizens'
rights and interests. The ombudsman is accountable to the Legislative
Assembly, which appoints him or her to a four-year term and funds
office operations. The ombudsman participates in the drafting and
approval of legislation, promotes good administration and transparency,
and reports annually to the assembly with nonbinding recommendations.
The position carried a strong moral and symbolic weight in the country.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the Government generally
enforced these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape and provides penalties from 10 to
18 years in prison for rape and two to 10 years in prison for statutory
rape. The length of the sentence depends on a victim's age and other
factors, such as an assailant's use of violence or position of
influence over the victim. The judiciary effectively enforced the rape
law and provided due process for both victim and defendant. According
to the autonomous National Institute for Women (INAMU), the rape law
applies to spousal rape, although spousal rape cases in practice were
much more difficult to prove.
Authorities acknowledged that many known rape cases were not
investigated due to reluctance by the victim or family of the victim to
press charges against the perpetrator. According to the judicial
branch's statistics office, 413 cases were tried during 2007, with 180
persons sentenced for rape or attempted rape.
The Government continued to identify domestic violence against
women and children as a serious and growing societal problem. The law
prohibits domestic violence and provides measures for the protection of
domestic violence victims. Criminal penalties range from 10 to 100 days
in prison for aggravated threats and up to 35 years in prison for
aggravated homicide, including a sentence of 20 to 35 years for men who
kill their partners. If the offender has no violent criminal record and
the sentence received is less than three years' imprisonment, the law
also provides for alternative sanctions, such as weekend detentions,
and assistance, such as referrals for social services. In October the
Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional
two articles of this law that punished physical and emotional violence
against women, citing vagueness in their wording. Protection from minor
injuries continues under the criminal code.
INAMU reported that 37 women and girls were killed in incidents of
domestic violence during the year, compared with 16 victims in 2007 and
35 victims in 2006. INAMU maintained a domestic abuse hotline connected
to the 911 emergency system and provided counseling to 6,263 women.
According to the judicial branch's statistics office, in 2007
authorities opened 5,145 cases of domestic violence throughout the
country.
The public prosecutor, police, and ombudsman had offices dedicated
to domestic violence problems.
Prostitution is legal for persons age 18 and above and was
practiced openly throughout the country, particularly in areas with
heavy concentrations of foreign tourists. The penal code prohibits
individuals from promoting or facilitating the prostitution of persons
of either sex, regardless of the person's age, and the penalty is
increased if the victim is less than 18 years old. There are no
specific laws against sex tourism, which was growing; however, law
enforcement agencies initiated investigations under existing
legislation. The Government and several advocacy groups also continued
awareness campaigns publicizing the dangers of sex tourism and its
association with child sexual exploitation.
The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and
educational institutions, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security
generally enforced this prohibition. The law imposes penalties ranging
from a letter of reprimand to dismissal, with more serious incidents
subject to criminal prosecution. The Ombudsman's Office received 108
complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace during the year.
The law prohibits discrimination against women and obligates the
Government to promote political, economic, social, and cultural
equality. The Government maintained offices for gender issues in most
ministries and parastatal organizations. The Labor Ministry was
responsible for investigating allegations of gender discrimination.
INAMU implemented programs that promoted gender equality and publicized
the rights of women.
In August the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled
that pregnant women who are required to pay alimony must comply;
however, pregnant women and women in the first 12 months after giving
birth cannot be arrested for not complying with an alimony order.
In July the Census Institute reported that women represented 39.1
percent of the labor force. Approximately 4.2 percent worked in
agriculture, 13.1 percent in manufacturing, and 82.7 percent in the
service sector. According to a 2007-08 UN Development Program (UNDP)
report, women occupied 40 percent of professional and technical
positions and 25 percent of high-level legislative, senior official,
and managerial positions. The law requires that women and men receive
equal pay for equal work; however, the UNDP report estimated that
earned income for women was approximately 53 percent of earned income
for men. This proportion reflected the fact that most women's jobs were
in traditionally lower-paid sectors (domestic and clerical rather than
professional or industrial).
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
welfare through systems of public education and medical care.
Abuse of children remained a problem. For 2007 the judicial
branch's statistics office reported 742 cases of sexual abuse of
minors, with 335 perpetrators convicted. Of these, 29 cases involved
sex with minors, six involved cases of sex with minors with payment
involved, and five involved the sexual corruption of minors. From
January 1 to June 30, the autonomous National Institute for Children
(PANI) assisted 1,488 children and adolescents, including 951 cases of
physical abuse and 537 cases of sexual abuse. Traditional attitudes and
the inclination to treat sexual and psychological abuse as misdemeanors
occasionally hampered legal proceedings against those who committed
crimes against children.
The Government, security officials, and child advocacy
organizations acknowledged that commercial sexual exploitation of
children remained a serious problem. PANI estimated that a significant
number of children suffered from commercial sexual exploitation. Street
children in the urban areas of San Jose, Limon, and Puntarenas were
particularly at risk. During the first six months of the year, PANI
reported that it provided assistance to minors in 62 separate cases of
commercial sexual exploitation. The law against commercial sexual
exploitation includes sanctions for possession of child pornography,
greater protection of children less than 14 years old, and an extended
statute of limitations for child abuse. In addition PANI continued
programs of integral care for children and adolescents at risk and in
vulnerable situations, combined with a program to help adolescent
mothers return to school. The Government identified child sexual
tourism as a serious problem.
There were occasional problems encountered in the registration at
birth of children born of migrant parents (see Section 2.d.).
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits transnational
human trafficking for purposes of prostitution or forced labor,
including of minors, it does not adequately address internal
trafficking of adults. Lack of a comprehensive antitrafficking law
inhibited the Government's ability to prosecute and convict
traffickers, and prosecutors were left to rely on several criminal
statutes to bring traffickers to justice. There were reports that
persons, particularly women and minors, were trafficked to, from, and
within the country, most often for commercial sexual exploitation.
Victims were trafficked to the country from Nicaragua, the
Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Guatemala. While evidence suggested
that most trafficked persons apparently remained in the country,
according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at
least one individual transited to Mexico, and a historical pattern
existed for victims to transit the country en route to the U.S.,
Canada, Europe, and occasionally other countries. Women and children
were trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation; men, women,
and children also were trafficked within the country for forced labor
as domestic servants, agricultural workers, and workers in the fishing
industry. Traffickers often lured victims, generally from impoverished
backgrounds, with a promise of secure employment and good pay.
The law explicitly criminalizes the transnational trafficking of
persons for the purpose of prostitution or forced labor with a three-
to six-year prison sentence, which can increase to four to ten years
under aggravated circumstances. Prosecution of domestic trafficking
cases was limited to crimes-usually sex offenses-that are addressed in
specific statutes, such as having sex with minors or pimping. The law
provides sentences of between two and 10 years' imprisonment for anyone
who engages in sex with a minor and between four and 10 years'
imprisonment for managing or promoting child prostitution.
As of November there were six active investigations of potential
trafficking opened in the OIJ Trafficking Unit. In 2007 the OIJ opened
seven new investigations into trafficking in persons and 14 cases of
alien smuggling, but there was no new information available about the
status of those investigations. According to the judicial branch's
statistics office, in 2007 nine trafficking cases were opened and
tried, two persons were sentenced, and seven persons were acquitted. In
the 2007 case of trafficked Chinese nationals, authorities released the
traffickers from custody after one year of preventive detention due to
a lack of movement in the case.
While there were limited formal mechanisms specifically designed to
aid trafficking victims, PANI provided temporary shelter services to
minors that included integrated wellness and education programs.
Through INAMU the Government provided emergency medical care, shelter,
and legal and psychological assistance to adult victims. In one case
the Government acted quickly to intercept a victim en route to
Nicaragua and provided her with assistance.
Government agencies responsible for combating trafficking and child
sexual exploitation include the special prosecutor on domestic violence
and sex crimes, PANI, the Foreign Ministry, the Labor and Social
Security Ministry, the Public Security Ministry, the Tourism Ministry,
the General Directorate of Immigration, and the OIJ, which in June
established a trafficking unit with staff and office space.
The Government acknowledged the serious nature of the problem of
human trafficking, especially the sexual exploitation of minors.
Campaigns against child sex tourism continued, as did television and
radio spots and billboard notices designed to warn young women of the
dangers of commercial sexual exploitation. The Government had a
national hotline for potential victims to receive information about
trafficking and referred cases to PANI or to INAMU. In March INAMU and
the IOM launched an antitrafficking campaign geared toward adult women,
which resulted in reporting of cases and government protection of
victims. In October the Government's National Coalition against
Trafficking launched an antitrafficking media campaign with the UN
Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The Government's 2008-10 National Plan of Action against Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Minors, which incorporates some of the
recommendations by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,
remained in effect.
The National Coalition against Trafficking, headed by the vice
minister of public security and composed of governmental institutions
and NGO observers, developed a formal victim referral and assistance
mechanism; provided antitrafficking training to police, border guards,
consuls, and personnel from other institutions; and drafted language to
reform the penal code to make internal trafficking a crime. With help
from UNICEF, the police academy incorporated antitrafficking training
into its curriculum.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in
employment, education, health care access, or provision of other state
services, and there were no reports of such practices in education or
in the provision of other state services. However, the Ombudsman's
Office reported that, due to poor facility access and entrenched
business practices, employment discrimination occurred.
Although a 1996 law mandates access to buildings for persons with
disabilities and established a 10-year deadline to make necessary
installations and upgrades, the Government did not enforce this
provision in practice, and many buildings remained inaccessible to
persons with disabilities. Public transportation services improved
access slightly for persons using wheelchairs. The Ministry of Public
Transportation completed an accessibility manual during the year. As of
September the Ombudsman's Office received and investigated 33
complaints about violations of the law that protects equal
opportunities for persons with disabilities.
The Ministry of Education continued to operate a program for
persons with disabilities, including a national resource center that
provided parents, students, and teachers with advanced counseling,
training, and information services. There were 25 special education
centers exclusively to assist special education students and students
with disabilities, two more inside state hospitals, and an additional
institute for the blind. In addition, 1,987 schools had programs to
provide some support to students with disabilities, and the ministry
provided special education to 14,236 students who registered in March.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to the 2000 census,
the country's population included 72,784 blacks, who mostly resided in
the province of Limon and who enjoyed full rights of citizenship,
including the protection of laws against racial discrimination. During
the year there were two reports to the Ombudsman's Office of racial
discrimination against blacks. Approximately 6 percent of the resident
black population was foreign born.
There were sporadic reports of discrimination, usually directed
against Nicaraguans, but there were no government-endorsed patterns of
discrimination.
Undocumented immigrants received medical care, including prenatal
and maternity care, at public health centers. However, they sometimes
were denied discretionary or long-term medical care because they were
not participants in the national health care insurance program.
Indigenous People.--The 2000 census recorded 63,876 indigenous
persons from eight ethnic groups, accounting for 1.68 percent of the
population. While indigenous persons were not subject to official
discrimination, social and health network gaps diminished their quality
of life. The Ombudsman's Office attributed this to a lack of social
development policies.
Seventy-three percent of the indigenous population lived in
traditional communities on 24 reserves, which because of their remote
locations often lacked access to schools, health care, electricity, and
potable water. The Housing Ministry estimated that only 27 percent of
the indigenous population lived in homes considered to be in good
condition, mainly due to reluctance to move from huts into more modern
housing. Few government health care facilities were established in
indigenous reserves. The law nominally protects reserve land as the
collective, nontransferable property of the indigenous communities.
Some indigenous landowners, however, illegally sold their land to
nonindigenous persons to pay off debts. The Ombudsman's Office unit
dedicated to investigating violations of the rights of indigenous
persons sought to return reserve land to indigenous groups. As of
December the Ombudsman's Office received 13 complaints of
discrimination against indigenous rights, including problems related to
documentation; community development; and the right to be consulted
about national legislation that might affect indigenous life,
territories, or culture.
At year's end nonindigenous property owners continued to hold title
to land on approximately 40 percent of the reserves legally set aside
for indigenous occupation. The law requires that the Government
purchase all preexisting land titles within the reserves in order to
secure exclusive use and ownership rights for indigenous populations.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There are no laws
prohibiting discrimination against persons based on sexual orientation.
As of December the Ombudsman's Office reported receiving one complaint
of discrimination based on sexual orientation; the Ombudsman's Office
ruled in favor of the institution involved. At year's end a law
recognizing same-sex marriage was under discussion in the legislature.
Discrimination based on HIV/AIDS is prohibited by law and by
presidential decree in health care, employment, and education. The
Ombudsman's Office received one complaint of a breach of patient
confidentiality during the year; the claim was dismissed because it
could not be substantiated.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law specifies the right of
workers to join unions of their choosing without prior authorization,
and workers exercised this right in practice. The law also provides for
the right not to join a union or to leave a union and prohibits
infringement of that right. In July 2007 the Ministry of Labor and
Social Security reported that approximately 16 percent of workers were
unionized in 862 active and inactive unions, 244 of which the
International Labor Organization (ILO) labeled as active.
Due to complex filing procedures and the lack of oral hearing
procedures, labor grievances continued to move extremely slowly in the
courts. The ILO and unions reported that antiunion activity cases took
several years to reach judgment. For example, the FERTICA fertilizer
workers' union case involving illegal terminations of union leaders and
members has not been resolved in almost 10 years. In May the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights heard this case, including
government commitments to resolve it, but there has been no visible
progress.
Government conciliation centers, designed to resolve conflicts
without having to hire a lawyer and to remove some cases from
overcrowded court dockets, covered some areas including labor disputes.
The Labor Ministry's Center for Alternative Resolution of Conflicts
handled 1,144 cases during the first six months of the year, 45.7
percent of which resulted in an agreement between the parties. During
2007 the Labor Ministry's Labor Affairs Directorate provided individual
conciliation assistance and handled 1,460 hearings, which resulted in
588 mediation agreements. On March 12, the Supreme Court approved the
creation of a conciliation center in the judicial branch to promote
dispute resolution. Trade unionists reported, however, that workers
were disadvantaged in conciliation forums, because they did not have
legal counsel and lacked power vis-a-vis employers. Unions asserted
that in these proceedings, employer positions essentially were imposed
on workers.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice; however, unions complained of burdensome
administrative requirements for a strike to be legal. The law requires
that at least 60 percent of the workers in an enterprise support strike
action; this requirement is considered excessive by ILO standards
according to the International Trade Union Confederation's annual
report released during the year. Restrictions on the right to strike
apply only to essential services that concern the national economy or
public health. Unions argued, however, that the Government's broad
definition of ``essential services'' denied many workers the right to
strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers
exercised the constitutional right to organize and the right to
voluntary collective bargaining. However, unions were concerned by a
perceived pattern of firing employees who wanted to unionize. Foreign
nationals are expressly prohibited from exercising direction or
authority in unions.
Trade union leaders contended that the existence of worker
``solidarity associations'' in many enterprises displaced unions and
discouraged collective bargaining. The law prohibits these non-dues-
collecting associations, which often were organized by employers, from
representing workers in collective bargaining negotiations or in any
other way that assumes the functions or inhibits the formation of trade
unions. As of September solidarity associations had approximately
352,000 members, the majority in the private sector. The Labor Ministry
reported in August 2007 that 8.3 percent of the workforce was covered
by collective bargaining agreements.
The ILO stated that solidarity associations in the country were
unique and presented an ongoing area of concern for its Committee of
Experts. According to the ILO, such associations, to the extent that
they displace trade unions and discourage collective bargaining,
contravened the ILO convention that establishes the total independence
of workers' organizations from employers in exercising their union
activities. The ILO noted that these associations were dependent on a
financial contribution from the relevant employer and were financed by
both workers and employers.
Labor unions accused solidarity associations of receiving direct
financial assistance from employers, of permitting employers to be
involved in internal association processes, and of conducting
negotiations, and accused employers of requiring membership in a
solidarity association as a condition for employment in a number of
enterprises in the country.
The law requires employers to initiate the bargaining process with
a trade union if at least 34 percent of the workforce requests
collective bargaining; the Government enforced this law in practice.
Although private sector unions have the legal right to engage in
collective bargaining with employers, ``direct bargaining
arrangements'' between employers and unorganized workers occurred more
commonly. During the year, at the request of the Committee of Experts,
the ILO studied the apparent disproportion between the numbers of
direct bargaining arrangements (``arreglos directos'') and of
collective agreements in the private sector and concluded that the
former did not result from balanced negotiations of two independent,
adequately equipped parties. According to the ILO, the direct
arrangements could not be qualified as bargaining and therefore
contradicted Convention No. 98.
A 2008 Observation by the ILO Committee of Experts found the 2006
action by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, repealing
sections of collective bargaining agreements between public sector
unions and government agencies, to have contravened Convention No. 98.
The court had stated that some fringe benefits received by certain
public employees were disproportionate and unreasonable.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones (EPZs). Labor unions alleged, however, that
virtually every effort of EPZ workers to organize was met by illegal
terminations of activists, threats, intimidation, and ultimately
severances of workers under conditions of desperation and duress.
Unions also claimed that employers in the zones maintained blacklists
of workers identified as activists. Unions reported systemic violations
of labor rights and provisions concerning working conditions, overtime,
and wages in the EPZs. The ILO, confirming it found no trade unions
operating in the country's EPZs, identified them as a hostile
environment for organizing.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no
confirmed reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law provides special occupational protection for minors and establishes
a minimum working age of 15 years. Adolescents between the ages of 15
and 18 may work for a maximum of six hours daily and 36 hours weekly
with special permission from PANI. The law prohibits night work and
overtime for minors. Activities considered to be unhealthy or hazardous
typically require a minimum age of 18. In addition working minors are
entitled to attend educational establishments through school
arrangements and timetables adapted to their interests and employment
conditions and to participate in apprenticeship training programs.
According to the ILO, however, working minors ages 15 to 18 sometimes
received less than the minimum wage, which was corroborated by the
chief of the Labor Ministry's Office for the Eradication of Child Labor
(OATIA).
The Labor Ministry, in cooperation with PANI, generally enforced
these regulations effectively through inspections in the formal sector;
the regulations were not enforced effectively in the informal labor
sector as a result of inadequate resource allocations by the
Government.
Child labor was a problem mainly in the informal agricultural,
fishing, construction, and service sectors of the economy, including
among the indigenous population. For example, 80 percent of the Ngobe-
Bugle group migrated from Panama for seasonal work; since all members
of families traveled together, some of their children worked with the
rest of the family, even though the Government offered schooling to
children of migrants. Child labor also was used in domestic work and
family-run enterprises. Child prostitution and other types of child
sexual exploitation remained serious problems.
The OATIA, responsible for coordinating government efforts targeted
at child labor, developed vocational training programs for teenagers
who previously worked in dangerous jobs in the Caribbean and northern
regions of the country. The OATIA continued conducting seven projects
in coordination with public and private institutions. These projects
were geared toward improving life and work conditions of indigenous and
migrant groups, eradicating child labor, and protecting at-risk
children and adolescents. The ILO's International Program on the
Elimination of Child Labor continued operating as part of a seven-year
regional effort to combat commercial sexual exploitation of children.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law provides for a minimum
wage set by the National Wage Council and updated annually. Monthly
minimum wages for the private sector ranged from 107,883 colones ($192)
for domestic employees to 397,665 colones ($709) for university
graduates. The Labor Ministry effectively enforced minimum wages in the
San Jose area but generally was not effective in enforcing the wage
laws in rural areas, particularly those where large numbers of migrants
were employed. The national minimum wage did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family.
The constitution sets workday hours, overtime remuneration, days of
rest, and annual vacation rights. Workers generally may work a maximum
of 48 hours weekly. While there is no statutory prohibition against
compulsory overtime, the labor code stipulates that the workday may not
exceed 12 hours. Nonagricultural workers receive an overtime premium of
50 percent of regular wages for work in excess of the daily shift.
However, agricultural workers did not receive overtime pay if they
worked voluntarily beyond their normal hours. Hourly work regulations
were enforced generally in the formal labor market in San Jose but
poorly in rural areas and in the informal sector.
Labor unions reported overtime pay violations and mandatory
overtime as common in the private sector and particularly in EPZ
industries. Unions alleged that overtime was required to preserve
employment and that mandatory overtime was a form of forced labor,
especially when combined with violations of premium payment
requirements for overtime work. Unions claimed that in some cases
workers received no payment for some of their required overtime work.
While the labor and health ministries shared responsibility for
drafting and enforcing occupational health and safety standards, they
did not enforce these standards effectively. The law requires
industrial, agricultural, and commercial firms with 10 or more workers
to establish a joint management-labor committee on workplace conditions
and allows the Government to inspect workplaces and fine employers for
violations. Most firms established such committees but did not use them
effectively.
Although resource constraints continued to hinder the Labor
Ministry Inspection Directorate's ability to carry out its inspection
mandate, there were 3,006 inspections conducted in the first half of
the year compared with 4,528 inspections in all of 2007. Workers who
consider a work condition to be unhealthy or unsafe must make a written
request for protection from the labor or health ministries in order to
remove themselves from the condition without jeopardizing their
employment.
Although labor unions acknowledged that the relevant ministries
required additional resources and capacity to enforce labor rights and
laws, they attributed noncompliance with labor standards, failures to
inspect, and nonenforcement of laws more to a lack of political will
and to the involvement of employers directly in solidarity associations
and less to a shortage of resources or capacity.
__________
CUBA
Cuba, with a population of approximately 11.2 million, is a
totalitarian state formally led by President Raul Castro. In 2006
General Castro was granted provisional control of the Government by his
brother, Fidel Castro, who officially resigned as president on February
19. On February 24, the National Assembly unanimously elected Raul
Castro to succeed his brother as chief of state, president, and
commander in chief of the Armed Forces. Fidel Castro remains officially
the first secretary of the Communist Party (CP). In the January 20
elections for the National Assembly, which were neither free nor fair,
the CP won as much as 98 percent of the vote and 606 of the 614 seats
in the National Assembly. The Ministry of the Interior exercises
control over police, the internal security forces, and the prison
system.
The Government continued to deny its citizens their basic human
rights and committed numerous, serious abuses. The Government denied
citizens the right to change their government. At year's end there were
at least 205 political prisoners and detainees. As many as 5,000
citizens served sentences for ``dangerousness,'' without being charged
with any specific crime. The following human rights problems were
reported: beatings and abuse of detainees and prisoners, including
human rights activists, carried out with impunity; harsh and life-
threatening prison conditions, including denial of medical care;
harassment, beatings, and threats against political opponents by
government-recruited mobs, police, and State Security officials;
arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights advocates and members of
independent professional organizations; denial of fair trial; and
interference with privacy, including pervasive monitoring of private
communications. There were also severe limitations on freedom of speech
and press; denial of peaceful assembly and association; restrictions on
freedom of movement, including selective denial of exit permits to
citizens and the forcible removal of persons from Havana to their
hometowns; restrictions on freedom of religion; and refusal to
recognize domestic human rights groups or permit them to function
legally. Discrimination against persons of African descent, domestic
violence, underage prostitution, trafficking in persons, and severe
restrictions on worker rights, including the right to form independent
unions, were also problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents were not known to have committed any politically motivated
killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits abusive treatment of detainees and
prisoners; however, members of the security forces sometimes beat and
otherwise abused human rights and pro-democracy advocates, detainees,
and prisoners, and did so with impunity.
Although physical torture was rare, authorities beat, harassed, and
made death threats against dissidents, both inside and outside of
prison. Many were detained repeatedly, interrogated, and threatened
with physical harm to themselves and their families. Some detainees and
prisoners endured physical abuse, sometimes by other inmates with the
acquiescence of guards, or long periods in isolation or punishment
cells. Political prisoners and detainees who refused to wear the prison
uniform or take part in ``reeducation'' activities were targeted for
mistreatment.
Political prisoner Tomas Ramos Rodriguez, released on June 16 after
18 years' imprisonment, stated that in the Combinado de Este prison in
Havana Province, prison authorities beat prisoners with truncheons on a
near-daily basis with impunity. Families of prisoners continued to
report that prison staff sometimes goaded inmates with promises of
rewards to beat a political prisoner.
The Government continued to subject persons who disagreed with it
to ``acts of repudiation,'' although these incidents, especially those
that occurred in front of the homes of dissidents, continued to show a
marked decline. The Government targeted dissenters by directing
militants from the CP, the Union of Communist Youth (UJC), Committees
for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs), the Federation of Cuban
Women, the Association of Veterans of the Cuban Revolution, and other
groups and individuals to stage public protests against the dissidents,
usually in front of their homes. Participants shouted insults and
obscenities. Mobs sometimes damaged the victim's home or property and
occasionally assaulted the victim or his relatives. Leading dissidents,
such as Martha Beatriz Roque, continued to receive death threats.
Although the Government characterized acts of repudiation as
spontaneous, undercover police and State Security agents were often
present and clearly directed the activities, for example by threatening
neighbors with job loss if they did not participate. The Government did
not detain any participants in acts of repudiation, even those who
physically attacked the victim, nor did police respond to victims'
complaints.
In February Rodolfo Martinez Vigoa, a physician, complained to the
Ministry of Public Health about the condition of the local health
clinic in Artemisa as well as the salaries of its employees. On March
7, approximately 300 persons arrived at Martinez's house and shouted
insults, calling him a traitor and a counterrevolutionary. The
Government later stripped Martinez of his medical license.
In some cases local authorities put psychological pressure on
dissidents. On July 4, prodemocracy activist Antonio Chelanes Cruz was
taken in handcuffs from his home, although he offered no resistance.
The local police chief reportedly stated that Chelanes Cruz would be
prosecuted for ``dangerousness'' unless he ceased his activities for
the opposition group New Republic. On July 11, the local police chief
brought Chelanes Cruz before a group of neighbors and stated that
Chelanes Cruz was opposed to society, lazy, and a counterrevolutionary
and warned that he could be imprisoned at any time.
Children of dissidents were routinely refused entry into
universities and reported that teacher and school administrators
insulted them and labeled them as counterrevolutionaries in front of
classmates.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
continued to be harsh and life threatening. Conditions at approximately
200 detention facilities and jails were even worse, with cells that
were routinely vermin infested and lacked water, sanitation facilities,
adequate ventilation, and lighting. Many prisoners spent months in
isolation in narrow, dark punishment cells. The Cuban Commission for
Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) stated that inmates
reported widespread overcrowding, especially in maximum security
prisons. Many cells were damp and subject to temperature extremes,
provoking serious respiratory problems and arthritis. Authorities also
often denied medical treatment, family visitation, adequate nutrition,
exposure to natural light, pay for prisoners' work, and the right to
petition the prison director.
Health conditions and hygiene at prisons were very poor. Many
prisoners, such as Tomas Ramos Rodriguez, released in June after
serving 17 years, said that cell floors had standing pools of water
contaminated with sewage. There were several reports that toilets were
essentially wooden platforms above an open sewer, with no process for
treating the waste. Family members reported widespread serious disease
and illnesses among political prisoners, for which the prison staff
sometimes withheld treatment. Digestive disorders, dengue fever, and
outbreaks of skin diseases caused by contaminated water were frequent.
The family of political prisoner Ariel Sigler Amaya stated that a
doctor diagnosed him as suffering from a variety of serious medical
conditions due to malnutrition. According to the local NGO Council of
Rapporteurs of Human Rights in Cuba (CRDHC), in March and April several
inmates in Quivican prison died in a tuberculosis outbreak. A former
female political prisoner stated that in the Provincial Women's Prison
in Havana, tuberculosis outbreaks were common and that prisoners with
tuberculosis were put in the same infirmary as pregnant inmates. The
CRDHC maintained that the prison authorities did little to prevent or
treat the disease. The CRDHC documented during the year several cases
of prisoners who died of heart attacks and acute asthma attacks after
pleading unsuccessfully for assistance for several hours. Frequently
prisoners, including Tomas Ramos Rodriguez, extracted their own teeth
because authorities refused to arrange dental visits.
The CRDHC reported several suicides of prisoners every month in
prisons and detention centers, but the Government did not reveal
information on this subject.
The Government placed some mentally healthy prisoners in cells with
mentally disturbed inmates.
Some inmates resorted to self-mutilation, often to seek a transfer
to a prison closer to family or to protest prison conditions. On July
18, Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, one of the journalists arrested in 2003
and held in Holguin Provincial Prison, began a protest hunger strike by
sewing his mouth shut. On July 31, prison authorities subdued him and
removed the stitches.
Prison food often was inedible, and food from outside was essential
to meet nutritional needs. Prisoners' typical diet consisted of
undercooked rice that was often infested with worms or a mash made of
soybeans and a very small amount of meat. Prisoners' relatives
ostensibly were allowed to bring them 30 to 40 pounds of food at two to
three-month intervals, but families reported that prison guards often
prevented food deliveries. Typically, water for drinking, bathing, and
flushing the hole in the cell floor that served as the common toilet
was contaminated, for example, with visible parasites.
Overcrowding was common. Typically, 40 inmates shared quarters
meant for 30, so that many inmates had to sleep on bare concrete
floors. Ana Rosa Ledea Rios, imprisoned in 2003 and released in 2007,
stated in September that for more than 18 months she was confined with
two other inmates to a cell approximately six feet in length and four
feet wide, in which they ate all of their meals.
Sexual assault occurred at prisons. Reports suggested that there
was a higher rate of incidence of sexual assault at female prisons.
Former political prisoners speculated that the disparity in the rate of
sexual assaults was due to assaults by other female prisoners as well
as male guards, and because the prison community typically did not
tolerate forced participation in male homosexual activity. When such
assaults occurred in either male or female prison facilities, guards
frequently looked the other way and failed to punish perpetrators.
The Government did not release information on the treatment of
minors at either youth or adult prisons or detention centers.
Families of prisoners stated that other than some novels, they were
unable to deliver reading material to the inmates. Prison officials
regularly denied prisoners other rights, such as the right to
correspondence.
The Government sometimes denied political detainees and prisoners
pastoral visits. However, detainees stated that authorities
increasingly honored written requests to see a Catholic priest.
Many political prisoners were serving sentences in prisons located
long distances from their home provinces, increasing their and their
families' sense of isolation. However, during the year the Government
transferred seven of the political prisoners arrested in 2003 to
facilities in their home provinces. In July prison authorities granted
Luis Milan Fernandez, one of the 75 dissidents arrested in 2003, a
weekend pass to visit his family. In September authorities allowed
Oscar Biscet, another of the dissidents incarcerated in 2003, a four-
hour escorted bereavement visit.
The Government did not permit independent monitoring of prison
conditions by international or national human rights groups. The
Government did not permit access to political detainees by
international humanitarian organizations. The Government has not
granted prison visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross,
Amnesty International, or Human Rights Watch since 1988.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although prohibited by law, the
Government effectively and frequently used arbitrary arrest and
detention to harass opponents.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the
Interior exercises control over police, the internal security forces,
and the prison system. The National Revolutionary Police (PNR) is the
primary law enforcement organization and generally was effective in
investigating common crimes. Specialized units of the Ministry of the
Interior's State Security service are responsible for monitoring,
infiltrating, and suppressing opposition political groups. The PNR
played a supporting role by carrying out house searches and provided
interrogation facilities for State Security agents.
Members of the security forces acted with impunity in committing
numerous, serious human rights abuses. While the PNR ethics code and
Ministry of the Interior regulations ban police brutality, the
Government did not announce any investigations into police misconduct
during the year. Corruption was a problem. Human rights groups stated
that because so much economic activity was illegal, and so many
citizens worked in the informal economy to survive, policemen
frequently used the threat of arrest to coerce bribes and kickbacks.
Former political prisoner and prodemocracy activist Francisco Chaviano
documented several cases in which the police assisted a prostitute in
renting a room in a private home and then evicted the residents and
confiscated the property, accusing the residents of being involved in
``trafficking of persons.''
CP officials and leaders of neighborhood CDR branches lack formal
law enforcement powers but wielded considerable authority and often
used it to mobilize action against anyone criticizing the Government or
its leaders.
Arrest and Detention.--The law places few formal limits on police
discretion to stop or interrogate citizens. Police street surveillance
was heavy, and police frequently and randomly stopped cars and
pedestrians for questioning. There are no formal protections under the
law to protect citizens from these investigative stops, and there were
many reports that such stops increased during the year.
Police have broad detention powers, which they may exercise without
a warrant. Under the law, police can detain without a warrant not only
persons caught in the act but also someone merely accused of a crime
against state security. Police by law cannot conduct a search without a
warrant, but both the CCDHRN and human rights lawyer Rene Gomez Manzano
reported that police always had available a supply of signed and
stamped blank warrants that they merely filled out on the spot.
The criminal process begins with the filing of a criminal complaint
by either a citizen or a police officer. By law, after an arrest police
have 24 hours to present the complaint to a police official called an
instructor. The instructor then has 72 hours to investigate and prepare
a report for the prosecutor. The prosecutor then has an additional 72
hours to decide whether to proceed with criminal charges. By law, after
this 14.--hour period, the person under arrest either should be charged
or released, but in practice officials often delayed the process by
repeatedly calling for further investigation, a practice that is
permitted under the law. After criminal charges are filed, a defense
attorney has the right to review the charges against the accused. The
law provides for access to a lawyer within seven days, and sources
stated that this normally was honored in practice. However, a
prosecutor can demand a summary trial, in which case an attorney often
meets the client minutes before the hearing starts.
Bail was available, although typically not in cases involving
alleged antigovernment activity. Time in detention before trial counted
toward time served if convicted. The law provides for detainees' prompt
access to a lawyer; a public defender is appointed five days after the
notification of a trial date to the defendant by the court if the
defendant fails to name one. However, other provisions of the law
permit delays in access to a lawyer while a case remains under
investigation. The Government denied prisoners and detainees prompt
access to family members.
The authorities routinely engaged in arbitrary arrest and detention
of human rights advocates. In most cases, dissidents were held for
several hours and then released without charges. The CCDHRN confirmed
1,500 such detentions during the year but suspected there were many
more. There were 325 similar detentions in 2007. On January 30, the
government-banned Assembly to Promote Civil Society reported that seven
dissidents, including Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (Antunez) and his wife
Iris Perez, were beaten and arrested in Santa Clara while trying to pay
homage to the hero of Cuban independence, Jose Marti, as a form of
protest against the Government. On April 21, 10 members of the Damas de
Blanco (``Ladies in White'') gathered in a central Havana square to
protest the continued imprisonment of family members who were among a
large group arrested in 2003. They were met by a caravan of police
officials, apprehended by force, placed onto buses, and removed from
the area. On July 29, the political police and rapid response brigade
prevented 20 dissidents from participating in a peaceful march in
Holguin designed to be an act of solidarity with political prisoners of
conscience. Angel Luis Tellez Aguilera, the vice president of the
United Commission on Human Rights, was arrested, detained for several
hours, and released without charges. On July 12, State Security
detained dissident Francisco Chaviano and at least five other activists
in Havana who were planning to attend a public demonstration.
The law sets six months as the maximum period that a defendant can
remain in prison before the case is brought to trial; however, if the
prosecutor decides after charges are filed that the care requires more
investigation, the case can be returned to the instructor. While the
law outlines guidelines, it does not prescribe a time frame for the
instructor to return the case to the prosecutor, and persons have been
held without trial for several years after their cases had been
returned to the instructor. At year's end dissident Vladimir Alejo
Miranda had been in jail since February 2007 without charges being
filed, and Ihosvani Suris de la Torre and Maximo Pradera Valdez had
both been imprisoned without charges since 2001.
Dissident Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (Antunez) was under virtual house
arrest in his hometown of Placetas. Antunez was confined to his home at
least once a month for several hours at a time, and detained in Havana
and forcibly returned to Placentas throughout the year. After each
detention, he was released without charges.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides
for independent courts, it explicitly subordinates them to the National
Assembly of People's Power (ANPP) and the Council of State. The ANPP
and its lower-level counterparts choose all judges. Thus, in practice
the CP controlled the courts.
Civilian courts existed at the municipal, provincial, and appellate
levels. Panels composed of professionally certified and lay judges
presided over them. Military tribunals, which were governed by a
special law, assumed jurisdiction for certain ``counterrevolutionary''
cases. The military tribunals tried civilians if a member of the
military, police, or any uniformed member of the Government was
involved with civilians in a crime. In these tribunals there was a
right to appeal and access to counsel, and the charges were made known
to the defendant.
Trial Procedures.--The courts restricted the right to a defense and
often failed to observe due process rights nominally available to
defendants. While most trials ostensibly were public, trials were
closed when there were alleged violations of state security. Almost all
cases were tried in less than one day; the law does not provide for
jury trials. The law provides the accused with the right to an attorney
and, except in cases involving state security, the right to consult an
attorney in a timely manner. However, in (now relatively rare) cases
where the prosecutor asked for a summary judgment, many defendants
either had no defense attorney or met an attorney only minutes before
the start of their trial. This was particularly true in cases involving
charges of ``dangerousness.'' In November, in the wake of shortages
after two devastating hurricanes, authorities arrested hundreds of
individuals for activities such as unauthorized street vending and
possession of construction materials. The judiciary sentenced several
defendants to jail terms of one to four years in summary trials, many
of which were held in police stations and not in courts of law. The
Government's control over members of the lawyers' collectives
compromised their ability to represent clients, especially those
accused of state security crimes.
Criteria for presenting evidence were arbitrary and discriminatory.
A defendant's right to present witnesses was observed arbitrarily.
Defense attorneys were given access to the police dossier and the
prosecutor's written accusation-sometimes at, or minutes before-the
trial. The law provides that all legally recognized civil liberties may
be denied to anyone who ``actively opposes the decision of the people
to build socialism.'' Government officials routinely invoked this
authority to deny due process to persons detained on purported state
security grounds. In cases involving ``state security,'' defense
attorneys were not allowed access to the police files and the
investigation by the prosecutor's office. Because of these constraints
and because most trials last less than eight hours, defense attorneys
often did not have time to arrange for testimony by defense experts.
The penal code includes the concept of ``potential dangerousness,''
defined as the ``special proclivity of a person to commit crimes,
demonstrated by his conduct in manifest contradiction of socialist
norms.'' No proof is required for a conviction for this offense. The
CCDHRN estimated that as many as 5,000 citizens, including 1,000 women,
were in jail for this offense. The CCDHRN listed six new cases of
political prisoners convicted of ``potential dangerousness'' during the
year. However, authorities applied this law most frequently to young
persons without political connections who refused to report to work
centers because of the low salaries, to young women who engaged in
prostitution, and to persons who repeatedly returned to Havana after
being sent back to their home provinces.
On August 25, Gorki Aguila Corrasco, a musician known for
ridiculing the communist system and especially the Castro brothers, was
arrested. On August 29, after a two-hour trial, he was convicted of
public disorder, fined 600 pesos ($28), and released. The more serious
charge of ``dangerousness'' against him was dismissed, but he was
ordered to pay his fine in 300 weekly installments of 2 pesos (less
than 10 cents), effectively placing him in parole status for more than
five years.
Prosecutors may introduce testimony from a CDR member about the
revolutionary background of a defendant, which may contribute to a
longer or shorter sentence. The law presumes defendants innocent until
proven guilty, but authorities often ignored this presumption in
practice. The law recognizes the right of appeal in municipal courts
but limits it in provincial courts to cases involving lengthy prison
terms or the death penalty. Appeals in capital cases are automatic. The
Council of State must affirm capital punishment. On April 29, General
Raul Castro commuted an unspecified number of death penalty cases to
life imprisonment. The CCDHRN stated that this decision affected 30
prisoners.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The CCDHRN stated that the
Government held at least 205 political prisoners and detainees at
year's end, compared with 240 at the end of 2007. The convictions were
for such offenses as disrespect of the head of state, disrespect and
scorn of patriotic symbols, public disorder, and attempting to leave
the country illegally. Other inmates were convicted of disseminating
enemy propaganda, illicit association, clandestine printing, or the
broad charge of rebellion, which sometimes has been brought against
advocates of peaceful democratic change. For example, on February 2,
police beat and detained human rights activist Mijail Capote Aranda for
expressing antigovernment sentiments in the city of Manzanillo, Granma
Province. A court sentenced him to three years in prison for
``disrespect to the head of state'' and ``attack on police officers.''
Authorities continued to use short-term detention at a greatly
increased rate, instead of bringing charges for offenses that carry
long prison terms. Dissidents frequently were threatened during the
reporting period with prosecutions for ``dangerousness,'' although few
were actually charged and sentenced. The number of convictions for
``dangerousness'' still remained high during the reporting period, but
most of those convicted were not politically affiliated.
At year's end 55 of the 75 peaceful activists, journalists, union
organizers, and opposition figures arrested and convicted in 2003,
mostly on charges of violating national security and aiding a foreign
power, remained in prison. On February 18, President Raul Castro
released into exile four of the original 75 to Spanish authorities for
humanitarian reasons.
Mistreatment of political prisoners and detainees was widespread.
Beatings were not uncommon. On May 20, guards at the Guantanamo
Provincial Prison attacked Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia as he attempted to
telephone human rights activist Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva.
Many political inmates were denied privileges given to ordinary
prisoners, such as access to an exercise yard or sunshine. The
Government continued to deny human rights organizations and the
International Committee of the Red Cross access to political prisoners
and detainees. Authorities denied visits to families of political
prisoners and detainees. Prisoners in punishment cells had no access to
lawyers.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is a judiciary for
civil matters; however, these courts are utilized almost exclusively
for family issues, such as divorce and child custody. Most torts
provisions typically associated with civil courts are remedied in
criminal court. The only way a citizen can seek redress for a human
rights violation is to convince a prosecutor to file a criminal charge.
The CCDHRN was not aware of any successful human rights-related
prosecution during the year or of any damages ordered by any court in
connection with a human rights case. In cases of police brutality or
cases involving a member of the military, charges must be presented
before a military tribunal. The CCDHRN stated that CP and government
control of the prosecutors' offices and the court discouraged citizens
from seeking legal redress.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--While the constitution provides for the inviolability
of a citizen's home and correspondence, official surveillance of
private and family affairs by government-controlled organizations, such
as the CDRs, remained pervasive. The Government employed physical and
electronic surveillance against nonviolent political opponents and
interfered in the lives of citizens. The authorities employed a wide
range of social controls to discover and discourage nonconformity.
State Security routinely read correspondence coming from abroad.
Most letters from overseas were delivered with the envelope obviously
torn and resealed; many were placed in a different envelope. State
Security monitored domestic and overseas telephone calls,
correspondence, and conversations with foreigners. During the year a
defector publicly stated that the Government has permanent taps on
thousands of telephone lines and alleged that the Government monitored
the telephone lines of foreign diplomats, foreign press, foreign
businessmen, and local dissidents.
State Security agents subjected journalists and foreign diplomats
to harassment and surveillance, including electronic surveillance and
surreptitious entry into their homes. Authorities also applied
psychological pressure to former prisoners, one of whom reported that
the Government painted ``Viva la Revolucion'' on his living room wall
and was told that he would be arrested if he painted over it.
Civil society organizations reported intensified government
monitoring of dissidents. On August 25, three prominent dissidents,
Martha Beatriz Roque, Vladimiro Roca, and Jorge Luis Perez Garcia
(Antunez), filed a formal complaint before the attorney general,
charging that their e-mails, telephone calls, personal videos,
photographs, and other documents had been made public in both the
written press and on television without their consent and in violation
of the country's privacy laws. After 60 days elapsed, the three
dissidents filed another complaint that the responsible official had
broken the law by failing to respond within the time frame mandated by
law. A judge determined that the case should be reviewed because of the
severity of the accusation and sent the second complaint to the same
office for action. By year's end no official action had been taken.
There were numerous credible reports of forced evictions of
squatters and residents who lacked official permission to reside in
Havana and other major cities. An official government publication,
Juventud Rebelde, stated on August 3 that since 2006 authorities had
evicted more than 20,000 persons living in the vicinity of Havana in
improvised squatter villages and sent them back to their home
provinces.
The Ministry of Interior employed a system of informants and CDR
block committees to monitor and control public opinion. Several sources
stated that in September, surveillance increased after hurricanes
Gustav and Ike and State Security agents were positioned around
farmers' markets to eavesdrop on any implied criticisms of the
Government respecting food shortages. It was widely believed that State
Security would attempt to identify such critics for possible future
punishment. CDRs continued to report on suspicious activity, including
conspicuous consumption; unauthorized meetings, including those with
foreigners; and what it considered defiant attitudes toward the
Government and the revolution.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press insofar as they ``conform to the
aims of socialist society,'' a clause effectively barring free speech,
and in practice the Government did not allow criticism of the
revolution or its leaders. Laws against antigovernment propaganda,
graffiti, and disrespect of officials impose penalties of between three
months and one year in prison; criticism of the president or members of
the ANPP or Council of State is punishable by three years in prison.
Disseminating ``enemy propaganda,'' which includes expressing opinions
at odds with those of the Government, is punishable by up to 14 years'
imprisonment. The Government considered international reports of human
rights violations and mainstream foreign newspapers and magazines to be
enemy propaganda. Local CDRs inhibited freedom of speech by monitoring
and reporting dissent or criticism.
Catholic priests and other clergy were able to deliver sermons
without prior government approval. Catholic Church officials were
allowed to broadcast 15-minute radio programs on special occasions such
as Christmas, as long as they did not have any political content.
The Government considered print and electronic media to be state
property. The Government owned and the CP controlled all media except
for a number of underground newsletters. The Government operated four
national television stations, six national radio stations, one
international radio station, one national magazine, and three national
newspapers. Additionally, it operated many local radio stations,
television stations, magazines, and newspapers. All were official CP
organs. Content was nearly uniform across all of these media; none
enjoyed editorial independence. The regime vigorously prosecuted
attempts to distribute unauthorized written, filmed, or photographed
material. The law bars ``clandestine printing.'' The Government was the
sole book publisher in the country, and with the exception of some
Catholic Church publications, state censors required pre-publication
approval.
The Government subjected independent journalists to travel bans,
detentions, harassment of family and friends, equipment seizures,
imprisonment, and threats of imprisonment. State Security agents posed
as independent journalists to gather information on activists and
spread misinformation and mistrust within independent journalist
circles. At least 25 journalists were in prison during the year.
The law prohibits distribution of printed material from foreign
sources. Citizens did not have the right to receive or possess
publications from abroad, although newsstands at some hotels for
foreigners and certain hard-currency stores sold limited numbers of
foreign newspapers and magazines. In March demonstrators distributing
copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were attacked by a
government-orchestrated mob and later detained. The Government
continued to jam the transmissions of Radio Marti and Television Marti.
The Government frequently barred independent libraries from
receiving materials from abroad and seized materials donated by foreign
diplomats.
Internet Freedom.--The Government controlled nearly all Internet
access. Authorities reviewed and censored e-mail. Authorities employed
Internet search filters and also blocked access to Web sites they
considered objectionable. Citizens could access the Internet only
through government-approved institutions, except at Internet facilities
provided by a few diplomatic offices. Despite the Government's March 21
decision to permit citizens to purchase personal computers, access to
the Internet was strictly controlled and given only to those deemed
ideologically trustworthy. The only citizens granted direct Internet
access were some government officials and certain government-approved
doctors, professors, and journalists. The Government restricted
Internet use in government offices, confining most officials to Web
pages related to their work. In March and April authorities tightened
Internet restrictions to block citizens' access to certain independent
Web sites. Both foreigners and citizens were allowed to buy Internet
access cards from the national telecommunications provider and to use
hotel business centers, where Internet access can be purchased only in
convertible pesos. Access usually costs between 128 and 288 convertible
pesos ($5.76 to $12.51) an hour, a rate beyond the means of most
citizens. The Government stated that less than 12 percent of the
population used Internet services in 2007, a figure that included
citizens who had access to the Government intranet only at work.
The law requires all public Internet centers to register with the
Government and permits the Ministry for Information Technology and
Communications to control and supervise all such centers without prior
warning.
While the law does not provide for any specific punishments for
Internet use, it is illegal to own a satellite dish that would provide
uncensored Internet access. In December the Government instructed
providers of public Internet access to block access to sites ``whose
contents are contrary to social and moral interests and community
standards'' or that ``affect the integrity or the security of the
State.'' The same decree ordered Internet providers to prevent the use
of encryption software and the transfer of material to encrypted files.
On December 3, State Security agents warned blogger Yoani Sanchez
against holding a planned conference of Cuban bloggers; despite hosting
the conference, Sanchez had not suffered any consequences by year's
end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted
academic freedom and continued to emphasize the importance of
reinforcing revolutionary ideology and discipline. Students are
required to swear to follow the principles of the CP and to model their
lives after Ernesto ``Che'' Guevara. Academics were prohibited from
meeting with some diplomats without prior government approval, and
those permitted to travel abroad were aware that their actions, if
deemed politically unfavorable, could negatively impact their relatives
back home.
Dismissals of teachers and professors for political reasons
occurred during the year. For example, on June 30, public school
authorities dismissed physical education teacher Raul Velazquez Valdes
for talking disrespectfully ``about the institutions of the republic
and the heroes and martyrs of the country.'' However, independent
academic Roberto de Miranda stated that the number of such dismissals
during the reporting period was significantly lower than in previous
years.
Expulsions of university students for political reasons also
declined during the year, but did occur. In March Nestor Perez Gonzalez
was expelled from the law school of the University of Pinar del Rio for
coauthoring an article on the transition to democracy in Spain for the
online periodical Convivencia.
Government-controlled public libraries required a government letter
of permission for access to books or information.
University admission was normally contingent upon whether a student
participated in government-encouraged secondary school activities.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Although the
constitution grants limited rights of assembly and association, these
rights are subject to the requirement that they may not be ``exercised
against the existence and objectives of the Socialist State.''
Freedom of Assembly.--The law punishes any unauthorized assembly of
more than three persons, including those for private religious services
in private homes, by up to three months in prison and a fine. Civil
society organizations reported intensified suppression of the right to
assemble. The authorities have never approved a public meeting by a
human rights group and detained activists for short periods at an
increased rate compared with previous years to prevent activists from
attending meetings, demonstrations, or ceremonies. The CCDHRN reported
that temporary detentions increased from 325 in 2007 to more than 1,500
during the year. The detentions appeared to coincide with planned
meetings and demonstrations, including events at foreign diplomatic
establishments.
Freedom of Association.--The law specifically prohibits
unrecognized groups, and the Government denied citizens freedom of
association. Authorities have never approved the existence of a human
rights group; however, a number of professional associations operated
as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) without legal recognition. The
constitution proscribes any political organization other than the CP.
Recognized churches, the Roman Catholic humanitarian organization
Caritas, the Freemason movement, and a number of fraternal or
professional organizations were the only associations permitted to
function outside the formal structure, but not the influence, of the
state, the CP, and their mass organizations. The authorities continued
to ignore applications from new groups for legal recognition, including
several new religious groups as well as homosexual-rights
organizations, thereby subjecting members to potential charges of
illegal association.
c. Freedom of Religion.--Although the constitution recognizes the
right of citizens to practice any religious belief within the framework
of respect for the law, the Government continued to restrict freedom of
religion. The Government required churches and other religious groups
to enroll with the provincial registry of associations within the
Ministry of Justice to obtain official recognition.
Although it did not favor any particular religion or church, the
Government appeared most tolerant of churches that maintained close
relations to the state through the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC). The
CCC includes 25 religious organizations as full members, nine associate
members, and three with observer status. It does not include the Cuban
Catholic Church. In January three Protestant ministers and a babalow
(Santeria priest) were elected to the National Assembly.
There were numerous reports of official discrimination against
Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses in employment and
education. The discrimination was due to these groups' refusal to work
or participate in mandatory school activities on Saturdays, and for
Jehovah's Witnesses' refusal to comply with compulsory military
training.
The Government rarely permitted the construction of new churches;
however, it increasingly permitted the restoration and expansion of
existing churches.
A government directive requires house-church operators to register
their house churches with the Government. To register, an operator must
meet a number of requirements, such as limiting weekly meetings to a
number specified by the local official. The vast majority of house
churches were unregistered and thus technically illegal.
Education was secular, and no religious educational institutions
were allowed. However, the Catholic Church, Protestant churches, and
Jewish synagogues were permitted to offer religious education classes
to their members and adult education classes to the general public.
Religious literature and materials may be imported only through a
registered religious group and distributed only to officially
recognized religious groups.
The Government permitted each Catholic diocese to request broadcast
time for a 15-minute broadcast on Christmas, Easter, and the feast day
of the Virgin of Charity, the country's patron saint.
Religious groups were required to submit a request to local CP
officials before holding processions or events outside of religious
buildings.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of
religious groups. There were between 1,000 and 1,500 members of the
Jewish community. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law qualifies freedom of movement
within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and
in practice the Government severely restricted these rights. The
Government tightly restricted foreign and domestic travel by dissidents
and limited internal migration from rural areas to Havana. Authorities
frequently picked up dissidents visiting Havana and promptly escorted
them back to their home provinces.
Although the constitution allows all citizens to travel anywhere
within the country, residence is heavily restricted, thus impeding free
movement. The local housing commission and provincial government
authorities considered requests for change of residence largely on the
basis of housing space. During the wait for permission, which routinely
lasted six months or more, the applicant could not obtain food rations
or a local identification card in the new location. Anyone living in a
location illegally may be fined and sent home. While the regulation was
in effect nationwide, it was applied most frequently in Havana. Human
rights organizations asserted that the expulsion from Havana of young
persons and individuals from the eastern provinces increased to more
than 100 persons a week. Police threatened to prosecute for
``dangerousness'' anyone who returned to Havana after having been
expelled.
The Government restricted both emigration and temporary foreign
travel, mainly by requiring an exit permit. Although the Government
allowed the majority of persons who qualified for immigrant or refugee
status in other countries to depart, at least 247 citizens or their
dependents who had received foreign travel documents were denied exit
permits during the year. This figure represented only persons who
reported their difficulties to a foreign diplomatic establishment.
Persons routinely denied exit permits included medical personnel, men
of military age, dissidents, and citizens with certain political or
religious beliefs. An unpublished government policy denies exit permits
to medical professionals until they have performed, on average, six to
eight years of service in their profession after requesting permission
to travel abroad; nurses and medical technicians waited an average of
two to three years to receive exit permission.
The Government denied exit permits for several years to relatives
of individuals who migrated illegally (for example, merchant seamen and
sports figures who defected while out of the country). The Government
frequently withheld exit visas to control dissidents. Dissident
physician Hilda Molina continued to wait for exit permission, as she
had for 15 years, although her elderly mother was allowed to join
relatives in Argentina in June.
The Government denied exit permission to human rights activists who
held valid foreign travel documents. In April authorities refused
permission to blogger Yoani Sanchez to travel to Spain to receive a
prestigious prize for journalism. Noted dissidents Francisco Chaviano
and Jorge Luis Perez Garcia (Antunez) were both refused permission to
travel abroad for treatment of serious medical conditions that
developed during their long prison terms.
The Government used both internal and external exile. The law
permits authorities to bar an individual from a certain area, or to
restrict an individual to a certain area, for a period of one to 10
years. Under this provision, authorities may exile any person whose
presence in a given location is considered ``socially dangerous.'' The
authorities routinely warned emigrating dissidents and their family
members that speaking out against the Government abroad could result in
repercussions for relatives remaining in Cuba, such as loss of
employment or denial of permission to leave the country.
Those seeking to emigrate legally alleged they also faced fines,
reprisals, harassment, and intimidation by the Government; involuntary
job transfers; threatened arrest; and dismissal from employment.
Fees for medical exams, exit permissions, passport costs, and
airport taxes are payable only in convertible pesos, and amounted to
approximately 630 convertible pesos ($680.40) for an adult, or nearly
three years' salary. These fees represented a significant hardship,
particularly for migrants who had been fired from their jobs for being
``politically unreliable'' and had no income. At year's end some would-
be migrants were unable to leave the country because of inability to
pay exit fees. Authorities routinely dispossessed migrants and their
families of their homes and most of their belongings before permitting
them to leave the country. The Government also demanded payment of
hefty fines for past attempts to leave the country illegally.
The law provides for imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of
300 to 1,000 pesos ($11 to $38) for unauthorized departures by boat or
raft. The Government also sometimes applied a law on trafficking in
persons to would-be migrants. The law provides for imprisonment from
two to five years for those who organize, promote, or incite illegal
exit from national territory. The CCDHRN estimated that at year's end
approximately 300 citizens were serving sentences or awaiting trial on
this charge, which ordinarily carries a term of 15 to 20 years'
imprisonment. Under the terms of the 1994 U.S.-Cuba Migration Accord,
the Government agreed not to prosecute or retaliate against migrants
returned from international or U.S. waters, or from the U.S. Naval
Station at Guantanamo, after attempting to emigrate illegally if they
had not committed a separate criminal offense. However, in practice
many would-be migrants experienced harassment and discrimination such
as fines, expulsion from school, job loss, and detention in prison.
The Government generally refused to accept nationals returned from
U.S. territory beyond the maritime limits of the Migration Accord. On
December 4, under a new migration accord with Mexico, the country
accepted the repatriation of 41 Cubans from Mexico.
Protection of Refugees.--Although the country is not a party to the
1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967
protocol, the constitution provides for the granting of asylum to
individuals persecuted for their ideals or actions involving a number
of specified political grounds. Although the Government has no formal
mechanism to process asylum for foreign nationals, in practice it
provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened, including
to some fugitives from justice, whom the Government defined as refugees
for political reasons.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in assisting the small number of refugees and asylum seekers in the
country. The Government allowed a small number of asylum seekers
identified by the UNHCR to remain in the country while third-country
settlement was being sought. In addition the Government allowed foreign
medical students who feared persecution in their home countries to
remain in the country after the end of their studies so that an
investigation of their concerns could be conducted.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
While the constitution provides for direct election of provincial,
municipal, and ANPP members, citizens do not have the right to change
their government, and the Government retaliated against those who
sought peaceful political change.
On February 19, Fidel Castro officially resigned as president,
ending nearly 50 years of rule. On February 24, the National Assembly
unanimously elected Raul Castro to succeed his brother as chief of
state, president, and commander in chief of the armed forces. Without
citizen participation, existing undemocratic institutions, including
the armed forces, the CP, and the ANPP, endorsed the transfer of power.
In the elections for the National Assembly held during the year,
voters were strongly encouraged simply to indicate approval or
disapproval of a unified CP-approved slate of candidates. The
Government promoted this ``voto unido'' or unified slate; all of the
candidates who had been preapproved by the candidacy commissions were
elected, with the result that the CP won 98 percent of the vote and 606
of 614 seats in the National Assembly. The Government reported that
more than 1.4 million voters, or 17 percent of the electorate, defaced
ballots or otherwise abstained from the election.
Elections and Political Participation.--Candidates for provincial
and national office must be approved in advance by mass organizations,
such as the women's and youth party organizations controlled by the
Government. A small group of leaders, under the direction of the
president, selected the members of the highest policy-making bodies of
the CP, the Politburo, and the Central Committee. Although not a formal
requirement, in practice CP membership was a prerequisite for high-
level official positions and professional advancement.
The Government maintained a dossier on every child from
kindergarten through high school, which included a record of the
child's participation in political activities, such as mandatory
marches. Full participation in political activities, such as membership
in the Union of Pioneers of Cuba, a regimented youth organization used
by the Government for political indoctrination, was essential to
advance in the school system.
There were two women in the 24-member Politburo and 15 in the 118-
member Central Committee. Women held six seats in the 31-member Council
of State and 265 seats in the 614-seat National Assembly.
Persons of African descent held five seats in the Politburo.
Following the selection of the ANPP in February, the Government
reported its composition as 64 percent white, 19 percent black, and 16
percent mixed race.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity.
The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected that
government corruption was a problem. Independent and official press
reported incidents of government corruption. Several reliable sources
confirmed that early in the year a court sentenced Carlos Garcia,
director of the state-run firm Guama, and Miguel Quintana, director of
the state-owned import firm MATCO, to 20 years' imprisonment for
illegal transactions and corruption. The Supreme Court upheld the
verdicts in July.
Government officials are not subject to any special financial
disclosure laws. The law provides for three to eight years'
imprisonment for ``illegal enrichment'' by authorities or government
employees. All government agencies, especially the Ministry of Auditing
and Control and the Ministry of the Interior, are tasked with combating
corruption and unlawfulness, including through prosecution of
government officials.
The law provides for public access to government information, but
in practice requests for information routinely were rejected, often on
the grounds that access is not a right.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
In violation of its own statutes, the Government did not recognize
any domestic human rights groups or permit them to function legally.
Several human rights organizations continued to function outside the
law, including the CCDHRN, the Christian Liberation Movement, the
Assembly to Promote Civil Society, and the Lawton Foundation for Human
Rights. The Government subjected domestic human rights advocates to
violence, intense intimidation, and harassment, including threats of
death and disappearance.
The Government occasionally staged acts of repudiation, in which it
mobilized Communist militants and others to hold public rallies aimed
at intimidating and ostracizing members of dissident organizations.
The Government also took steps to prevent the movement of
activists; on many occasions, State Security, police, and mobs
prevented ``Ladies in White'' members and members of other dissident
groups from traveling to Havana, or elsewhere within the country, to
take part in peaceful assembly.
The Government rejected international human rights monitoring. No
UN Special Rapporteurs visited the country. The Government continued to
deny human rights organizations and the International Committee of the
Red Cross access to political prisoners and detainees.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, or social status; however, racial discrimination occurred
frequently.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and the
Government enforced the law. The Government did not release statistics
during the year on arrests, prosecutions, or convictions for rape. The
Havana office of the NGO Women's News Service for Latin America and the
Caribbean (SEMlac), which advocates for women's issues, did not
estimate the incidence of rape to be very high.
The law does not recognize domestic violence as a distinct category
of violence but prohibits threats and inflicting injuries, including
those associated with domestic violence. Penalties for domestic
violence are covered by the laws against assault and range from fines
to prison sentences of varying lengths, depending on the severity of
the offense.
Human rights advocates reported that violence against women was a
problem, and police often did not act on cases of domestic violence.
The press rarely reported on violent crime, and the Government did not
release data on the extent of domestic violence. However, the CCDHRN
and the Cuban Chapter of the Latin American Federation of Rural Women
reported that domestic violence was a serious problem and that there
was a lack of programs to protect victims.
To raise awareness about domestic violence, the Government
continued to carry out media campaigns during the year. The CCDHRN
believed that many women did not report acts of domestic violence
because they feared doing so could trigger another attack.
Prostitution is legal for persons over age 17, but pandering and
economic activities facilitating prostitution, including room rentals,
are illegal. Large numbers of foreign tourists visiting the country
patronized prostitutes. Some police officers were suspected of
providing protection to individuals engaged in prostitution.
The law provides penalties for sexual harassment, with potential
sentences of three months' to five years' imprisonment. The law was
applied most frequently to male supervisors ``abusing their power''
over female subordinates, according to the CCDHRN. The Government did
not release any statistics during the year on arrests, prosecutions, or
convictions for offenses related to sexual harassment. Based on
anecdotal evidence, SEMlac claimed that sexual harassment was
widespread.
The law provides that women and men have equal rights and
responsibilities regarding marriage, divorce, raising children,
maintaining the home, and pursuing a career. The law grants working
mothers preferential access to goods and services. The law provides for
equal pay for equal work, and women generally received pay comparable
to men for similar work.
Children.--The Government generally was committed to children's
rights and welfare; the law provides that all children have equal
rights and that parents have a duty to ensure their protection.
There was no societal pattern of child abuse.
Child prostitution was a problem, with young girls engaging in
prostitution to help support themselves and their families. While
underage prostitution was apparent, there were no reliable statistics
available regarding its extent.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits most forms of
trafficking in persons; however, there were reports that women were
trafficked from the country to Mexico, the Bahamas, and Europe and that
children were trafficked within the country for purposes of sexual
exploitation.
The nature and extent of trafficking were difficult to gauge due to
the closed nature of the Government and the lack of NGO reporting;
however, some citizens who had successfully emigrated on ``go-fast''
vessels were forced to work as deckhands on subsequent smuggling trips
to pay off smuggling debts.
The law provides penalties for anyone who ``induces, cooperates
with, promotes, or gets a benefit from the exercise of prostitution.''
If the offense involves the victim's entry or exit from the country,
the penalty ranges from 20 to 30 years' imprisonment. The law provides
for penalties of seven to 15 years' imprisonment for trafficking for
forced labor, prostitution, and trade in organs, both domestically and
internationally. The law provides for penalties of four to 10 years'
imprisonment for ``inducing, in any way, or promoting another person to
engage in prostitution or bodily commerce.'' The sentence increases to
10 to 20 years for anyone who threatens or forces another to engage in
prostitution. The law also provides sentences of 20 to 30 years for
anyone convicted of pimping after a previous conviction or anyone
accused of habitually promoting prostitution.
A criminal court can levy damages, called ``responsibilities,'' and
can assess damages to be paid through the court to the victim. The
CCHRN stated that in cases of internal trafficking, rather than bring a
trafficking charge, the Government might charge the individual with
pimping.
There were no reliable statistics on the number of traffickers
prosecuted or convicted during the year. The CCDHRN stated that
although it could not make reliable estimates, a large number of
persons were serving sentences for pimping, but it was unclear whether
these individuals actually trafficked in persons or merely facilitated
work by willing individuals. All those prosecuted or convicted had come
to the country from the United States, Mexico, or other countries such
as the Bahamas.
The Ministries of Justice and Education, the PNR, and local
governments were tasked with different facets of combating trafficking
in persons and the problem of underage prostitution; no single entity
had complete autonomy dealing with these problems. Police were
responsible for investigating and arresting traffickers, the Ministry
of Justice with prosecuting and incarcerating traffickers, and the
Ministry of Education with rehabilitating prostitutes. No information
was available concerning government assistance with international
investigations of trafficking or the extradition of traffickers.
There were no known investigations or prosecution of public
officials for complicity in trafficking during the year, although some
police officers reportedly accepted bribes in connection with the
country's sex trade.
Although prostitution is not a crime per se, individuals who
engaged in prostitution, including possible trafficking victims and
children, often were treated as criminals, detained, and taken to
rehabilitation centers that were not staffed with personnel who were
adequately trained or equipped to care for trafficking victims.
The Government, in cooperation with the British government and a
British NGO, ran a center in Havana for the treatment of child sexual
abuse victims, including victims of trafficking. The center employed
the most modern treatment techniques, including the preparation of
children to be witnesses in criminal prosecutions. There were no known
government programs to prevent trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--There was no known law prohibiting
official discrimination against persons with disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, or in the provision of
other state services. However, a Ministry of Labor and Social Security
resolution gives persons with disabilities the right to equal
employment opportunities and to equal pay for equal work. There was no
official discrimination against persons with disabilities. There are no
laws mandating accessibility to buildings for persons with
disabilities, and in practice buildings and transportation rarely were
accessible to persons with disabilities.
The Special Education Division of the Ministry of Education was
responsible for the education and training of children with
disabilities. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security was in charge
of the Job Program for the Handicapped.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Afro-Cubans often suffered
racial discrimination, including frequent and disproportionate stops
for identity checks and searches of backpacks and personal items,
insults, and racial epithets. A black foreign diplomat was frequently
stopped by police and questioned as to whether she was a citizen and
what she was doing in certain areas. Afro-Cubans were
disproportionately represented in neighborhoods with the worst housing
conditions and were economically disadvantaged in part because of
employment discrimination, notably in the tourist industry. The
Government made no efforts to address racial discrimination because it
denied that any such discrimination existed.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal discrimination
against homosexuals persisted, as police occasionally conducted sweeps
in areas where homosexuals congregated, particularly along sections of
Havana's waterfront. Homosexual rights organizations also reported
cases of individuals discharged from their jobs due to their sexual
orientation.
Some persons with HIV/AIDS suffered job discrimination or were
rejected by their families. The Government operated four prisons
exclusively for HIV/AIDS sufferers; some inmates were serving sentences
for ``propagating an epidemic.''
Mariela Castro, the president's daughter, headed the national
Center for Sexual Education and was outspoken in promoting homosexual
rights. In May she organized a week of programs to mark International
Anti-Homophobia Day. Television programs promoted tolerance for
homosexuals. On June 6, the Government announced the availability of
free gender-reassignment surgery. However, nongovernment homosexual
rights organizations, such as the Movement of Homosexual Liberation,
asserted that the Government had done nothing to stop frequent cases of
police brutality and harassment of homosexuals, and that Mariela Castro
did not respond to their requests to meet with her. On June 25, State
Security forces prevented a coalition of homosexual rights groups from
holding a ``Gay Pride'' march in Havana by detaining the organizers and
intimidating would-be participants by maintaining a heavy police
presence at the parade's starting point.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law does not allow workers to
form and join unions of their choice. Rather, the state established
official unions and did not permit competing independent unions.
Official labor unions had a mobilization function and did not act as
trade unions, promote worker rights, or protect the right to strike.
Such organizations were under the control of the state and the CP,
which also managed the enterprises for which the laborers worked.
Because all legal unions were government entities, antiunion
discrimination by definition did not exist.
The only legal labor confederation was the Confederation of Cuban
Workers (CTC), whose leaders were chosen by the CP. The CTC's principal
responsibility was to ensure that government production goals were met.
Virtually all workers were required to belong to the CTC, and
promotions frequently were limited to CP members who took part in
mandatory marches, public humiliations of dissidents, and other state-
organized activities.
Workers often lost their jobs because of their political beliefs,
including their refusal to join the official union. On July 20, the
National Bureau of Taxation removed Luis Gomez Perez's license to
practice as a barber because he was a member of the independent trade
union, the Central Christian Union (CSC).
Several small independent labor organizations operated without
legal recognition, most notably the Union of Bicycle Taxi Drivers, the
CSC, and the National Independent Workers' Confederation of Cuba. These
organizations also were subject to police harassment and infiltration
by government agents and were unable to represent workers effectively
or work on their behalf.
The Government continued to incarcerate independent labor
activists. Five of the seven independent labor leaders jailed in 2003
remained in prison, serving sentences of between 12 and 25 years. Pedro
Pablo Alvarez Pedroso, president of the Unitary Workers Council, was
released on February 15 after serving 17 years of a 30-year sentence;
he and three other political prisoners were released to Spain.
The law does not provide for strikes, and none were known to have
occurred during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Although
provided for in the law, collective bargaining did not exist in
practice. In February the Government issued a resolution aimed at
linking pay to worker performance, but it had not been implemented by
year's end.
The law denies all workers, except those with special government
permission, the right to contract directly with foreign companies
investing in the country. Although a few firms negotiated exceptions,
the Government required foreign investors and diplomatic missions to
contract workers through state employment agencies. The foreign firms
and diplomatic missions paid the agencies in hard currency, but the
agencies paid the workers only a fraction of that income. Workers
subcontracted by state employment agencies must meet certain political
qualifications. The state employment agencies consulted with the CP,
the CTC, and the UJC to ensure that the workers chosen ``deserved'' to
work in a joint enterprise.
The last export processing zone was closed in 2006.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not
prohibit forced or compulsory labor by adults; prisoners convicted of
crimes such as ``dangerousness'' were forced to work on farms or in
construction, agricultural, or metal work. The authorities also often
imprisoned persons sent to work sites who refused to work.
Compulsory, unpaid labor, called ``voluntary work,'' was regularly
organized by official trade unions, either to accomplish ordinary
production or to complete other tasks such as repairs, cleaning,
painting, decorating, or to mobilize a large agricultural labor force.
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor by children, but the
Government required children to work in various situations (See Section
6.d.).
On August 8, a judge in a foreign court ruled in favor of three
Cuban men who in 2006 sued the Curacao Drydock Corporation, alleging
that it, in collusion with the Cuban government, forced them to work
without compensation to repay a Cuban government debt to the company.
On October 20, the foreign court awarded the men an $80 million
judgment.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits forced and compulsory labor by children, and the Ministry
of Labor and Social Security was responsible for enforcement.
Nonetheless, the Government required children to work in various
situations.
Students at rural boarding schools were expected to participate in
several hours of manual labor per day. Secondary school students were
expected to devote up to 15 days of their summer vacation completing a
variety of tasks ranging from farm labor to urban cleanup projects, and
were paid a small wage for this labor. Students in postsecondary
institutions (technical schools, university preparatory schools, and
agricultural institutes) were expected to devote 30 to 45 days per year
to primarily agricultural work. Refusal to do agricultural work or some
substitute could result in expulsion from school, although such
expulsions rarely occurred.
The legal minimum working age is 17, although the labor code
permits the employment of 15-and 16-year-old children to obtain
training or to fill labor shortages. However, in practice it was rare
that children under 17 worked. The labor code does not permit teenagers
to work more than seven hours per day or 40 hours per week, or on
holidays. Children ages 13 to 18 cannot work in specified hazardous
occupations, such as mining, or at night.
There were no known government programs to prevent child labor or
remove children from such labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage, which is
enforced by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, varies by
occupation. On average, the minimum monthly wage was approximately 225
pesos ($9). The Government supplemented the minimum wage with free
education, subsidized medical care (daily pay is reduced by 40 percent
after the third day of a hospital stay), housing, and some subsidized
food. Even with subsidies, the Government acknowledged that the minimum
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and
family.
The standard workweek is 44 hours, with shorter workweeks in
hazardous occupations, such as mining. The law provides workers with a
weekly 24-hour rest period. These standards were effectively enforced.
The law does not provide for premium pay for overtime or prohibit
obligatory overtime but places a cap on the number of overtime hours
that may be worked per week or per year. Compensation for overtime is
paid either in cash at the regular hourly rate or in additional rest
time, particularly for workers directly linked to production or
services, and does not apply to management. Workers frequently
complained that overtime compensation was either not paid or not paid
in a timely manner. The law provides little grounds for a worker to
refuse to work overtime. Refusal to work overtime could result in a
notation in the employee's official work history that could imperil
subsequent requests for vacation time.
Laws providing for workplace environmental and safety controls were
inadequate, and the Government lacked effective enforcement mechanisms.
The law provides that a worker who considers his life in danger because
of hazardous conditions has the right to refuse to work in a position
or not to engage in specific activities until such risks are
eliminated; the worker remains obligated to work temporarily in
whatever other position may be assigned at a salary provided for under
the law.
A former president of the Confederation of Independent Workers of
Cuba stated on October 19 that there were numerous violations of health
and safety laws at worksites throughout the country, and that
conditions were particularly dangerous in the construction industry.
Welders and persons who work with pesticides, he alleged, were rarely
provided with protective equipment. Truck drivers for state firms
frequently had to drive vehicles in poor repair. He stated that the CTC
seldom informed workers of their rights and did not respond to or
assist workers who complained about hazardous workplace conditions. For
example, on July 20, 12 workers from the Work Center Minimax de la Lisa
officially complained to the chief for trade for the La Lisa district
about unsanitary conditions, broken and clogged toilets, and a roof in
imminent danger of collapse but never received a reply.
__________
DOMINICA
Dominica is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy with a population
of approximately 72,500. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's Dominica
Labour Party (DLP) prevailed over the opposition United Workers Party
(UWP) in 2005 elections, the results of which were certified despite
challenges filed by the opposition in a few constituencies. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens; however, there were problems in a few areas, primarily poor
prison conditions, violence against women and children, and adverse
conditions experienced by indigenous Kalinago (Carib).
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
The case of two police officers charged with murder for shooting
and killing a man in December 2007 was pending prosecution at year's
end.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the constitution prohibits such practices, there
were reports that police used excessive force while making arrests,
including documented cases in which the police shot the victim.
Cases in which police shot and injured persons in 2007 were pending
prosecution at year's end. There was no information available about the
February 2006 beating by police that went before a civil court, nor
about a pending case from 2005.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
poor. The opening of a new wing at the country's single prison, Stock
Farm, helped matters, but conditions remained unsanitary as many of the
buildings were in disrepair. The prison held 235 prisoners at year's
end, less than its designed capacity.
Juvenile detainees were held with adults, and pretrial detainees
were held with convicted prisoners.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, although no such visits were known to have occurred during
the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The prime minister's
office oversees the Dominica Police, the country's only security force.
The 411-officer force effectively carried out its responsibilities to
maintain public order. The police have a formal complaint procedure to
handle allegations of excessive force or abuse by police officers.
Corruption was not a problem within the police force.
The police Internal Affairs Department investigates public
complaints against the police and provides officers with counseling.
Several cases of alleged misconduct were filed, but authorities did not
suspend or otherwise discipline any officers during the year.
Arrest and Detention.--The police apprehend persons openly with
warrants issued by a judicial authority. The law requires that the
authorities inform persons of the reasons for arrest within 24 hours
after arrest and bring the detainee to court within 72 hours. This
requirement generally was honored in practice. If the authorities are
unable to bring a detainee to court within the requisite period, the
detainee may be released and rearrested at a later time. There is a
functioning system of bail. Criminal detainees were provided prompt
access to counsel and family members.
Lengthy detention before trial was a problem due to judicial
inefficiency and staff shortages. On average prisoners remained in
remand status for over three months.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
The judicial system is composed of the High Court with two judges,
and four magistrates based in the capital city of Roseau who
periodically travel around the country. Appeals can be made first to
the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and then to the Privy Council in
the United Kingdom.
Inadequate police staffing for investigations, together with a lack
of judges, resulted in severe backlogs and other problems in the
judicial system.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
There are trials by jury, and defendants may confront or question
witnesses. Criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty, are allowed legal counsel, and have the right to appeal. Courts
provide free legal counsel to juveniles unable to obtain their own
counsel, regardless of the crime committed, and to the indigent, but
only in cases involving serious crimes.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent,
impartial judiciary in civil matters where one can bring lawsuits
seeking damages for a human rights violation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice. Generally individuals could
criticize the Government publicly or privately without reprisal. The
independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views
without restriction.
Libel suits filed by Prime Minister Skerrit in September 2006
against the Times newspaper were pending in civil court at year's end.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
Internet was largely available in homes, offices, and Internet cafes in
urban areas, but infrastructure limitations restricted Internet access
in villages.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
The Government requires all religious organizations to register. On
February 21, the Government formally recognized the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had been seeking full authorization
since 2004.
In 2007 Rastafarians sought repeal of a 1974 measure that outlaws
their religion, and the Kalinago called for the legalization of
polygamy, stating it was part of their culture.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Rastafarians complained that
the use of marijuana, an aspect of their religious rituals, was illegal
and that their members were victims of societal discrimination,
especially in hiring. There is a small Muslim community and no
organized Jewish community; there were no reports of discrimination
against either community or of any anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration,
and repatriation and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not
use it.
Protection of Refugees.--Although the country signed the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol,
the Government has not established a legal or procedural system for
providing protection to refugees. The Government did not grant refugee
status or asylum during the year.
In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
Although no known cases occurred, the Government was prepared to
cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and
asylum seekers. UNHCR has an honorary liaison located in the country
with whom the Government can consult regarding asylum claims and other
protection concerns.
To deal with a large increase in Haitian immigration, in 2006 the
Government instituted an agricultural labor program, which gave the
Haitians legal status. Many Haitians used the country as a transit
point and attempted to depart illegally for the neighboring French
territories of Martinique or Guadeloupe. As an incentive to enter and
exit the country legally, the Government began charging Haitians
EC$1,000 (approximately $400) when entering the country and promised to
return the funds upon legal exit from the country. The refundable
entrance fee had little effect on the numbers of Haitians departing
illegally.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2005 the ruling DLP won
12 seats in parliamentary elections, defeating the UWP, which won eight
seats. An independent candidate affiliated with the DLP also won a
seat. After the election the independent candidate and an opposition
member joined the ruling party. Election results were certified, but
there were no impartial observers present to verify them. In 2007 the
Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal dismissed UWP challenges to the
results in five constituencies.
In October the two opposition parties released a white paper
calling upon the Government to remedy alleged defects in the 2005
election process by screening the electoral rolls to ensure that only
citizens living in the country or who have visited during the last five
years are listed, in accordance with the law.
Political parties could operate without restrictions. However,
opposition parties claimed that the state-owned Dominica Broadcasting
Corporation coverage of the 2005 election campaign was unfair and did
not provide access to opposition candidates. They also complained that
businesses owned by known opposition leaders faced discrimination in
securing government contracts or bids.
There were six women in the 31-seat legislature: four elected to
the House of Assembly and two appointed senators, three of whom served
as cabinet ministers. A woman also served as attorney general, a
cabinet position. The speaker of the house was a woman.
The parliamentary representative for the constituency that includes
the Carib Territory was a Carib, who served concurrently as minister
for Carib affairs.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively. The World Bank's worldwide governance
indicators reflected that government corruption was a problem. There
were reports in the press and by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
of corruption in the Government, including accusations that some
government officials, including the prime minister, engaged in property
speculation. There were also widespread accusations that a number of
government ministers received unreported money from Venezuelan sources.
In September the Government established a commission to implement
the Integrity in Public Service Act of 2004, which requires financial
disclosure by elected officials and senior civil servants. The
opposition noted that the commission did not making its reports public.
The Financial Intelligence Unit is the chief government agency
responsible for identifying and combating government corruption. In
addition the police force and customs service have internal watchdog
offices.
The law does not provide for public access to government
information, and the Government did not provide routine access in
practice. The Government maintained a Web page, where it increasingly
posted limited information such as directories of officials and a
summary of laws and press releases.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were no government restrictions on the formation of local
human rights organizations, although no such groups existed. Several
advocacy groups, such as the Association of Disabled People, the
Dominica National Council of Women (DNCW), and a women's and children's
self-help organization, operated freely and without government
interference.
There were no requests for investigations of human rights abuses
from international or regional human rights groups. There is no
ombudsman, but a parliamentary commissioner has the responsibility to
investigate complaints against the Government.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law specifically prohibits discrimination based on race,
gender, place of origin, color, and creed, and the authorities
generally respected this prohibition in practice.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, which can include spousal rape.
Whenever possible, female police officers handled rape cases. Although
the maximum sentence for sexual molestation (rape or incest) is 25
years' imprisonment, the normal sentence given was five to seven years,
except in the case of murder. The Gender Bureau of the Ministry of
Community Development and Gender Affairs assisted victims of abuse by
finding temporary shelter, providing counseling to both parties, or
recommending police action. The Gender Bureau also coordinated
interagency efforts to collect data, advocate policy changes, and
provide programs for the empowerment of women.
Domestic violence cases were common. Although no specific laws
criminalize spousal abuse, spouses could bring charges against their
partners for battery. The law allows abused persons to appear before a
magistrate without an attorney and request a protective order. The
court also may order the alleged perpetrator to be removed from the
home in order to allow the victims, usually women and children, to
remain in the home while the matter is investigated. However,
enforcement of these restraining orders was difficult because of a lack
of police resources. Police officers continued to receive training in
dealing with domestic abuse cases.
The Gender Bureau reported that both men and women sought
assistance in dealing with domestic violence; it dealt with
approximately 100 cases during the year. Despite the range of programs
offered, there were insufficient support systems to deal with the
problem. In addition to counseling services offered by the DNCW and the
Gender Bureau, there was a legal aid clinic, and the Government's legal
department offered assistance as well.
The DNCW provided preventive education about domestic violence and
maintained a shelter where counseling and mediation services were
available daily. It assisted approximately 100 persons during the year.
Due to a shortage of funding, the organization could permit persons to
stay at the shelter only for several days at a time; however, if
needed, further housing was provided in private homes for up to three
weeks. Because of the country's small size, abusive spouses commonly
found and visited the victims at the shelter, making private homes a
safer option in many cases. The Catholic Church continued to be active
in educating the public about domestic violence.
Prostitution is illegal but was a problem. There were anecdotal
reports of trafficking in persons for commercial sexual exploitation.
The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, and it remained a
problem.
While there was little open discrimination against women, cultural
instances of discrimination existed. Also, property ownership continued
to be deeded to heads of households, who were usually male. When the
male head of household dies without a will, the wife may not inherit or
sell the property, although she may live in it and pass it to her
children. The law establishes pay rates for civil service jobs
regardless of gender, but there was a 53 percent unemployment rate for
women. The Labor Department reported that many rural women found it
difficult to meet basic economic needs, which resulted partly from the
continuing decline of the banana export industry. Although there were
some women in managerial or high-level positions, most women worked as
shopkeepers, nurses, or in education.
The Gender Bureau is charged with promoting and ensuring the legal
rights of women. The bureau provides lobbying, research, support,
counseling, training, and education services. The Gender Bureau worked
with the DNCW and other organizations to help the Government, NGO, and
police sectors work more closely together on women's issues,
particularly in data collection and information sharing.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
welfare.
Child abuse continued to be a pervasive problem, both at home and
at school. The Welfare Department of the Ministry of Community
Development and Gender Affairs received approximately 100 reports of
child abuse; 80 percent of the victims were female. The Welfare
Department also assisted victims of abuse by finding temporary shelter,
providing counseling to both parties, or recommending police action.
The Welfare Department reported all severe cases of abuse to the
police. Lack of staff and resources continued to hamper enforcement of
children's rights laws.
The age of consent for sexual relations is 16 years. No specific
laws prohibit commercial sexual exploitation of children, but such
activity could be prosecuted under laws against prostitution or
trafficking.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons,
specifically involving forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation,
and smuggling illegal migrants. There were no confirmed reports that
persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.
However, there were anecdotal reports that women from the Dominican
Republic, Haiti, South America, Eastern Europe and Asia entered the
country irregularly to work in underground strip clubs that
proliferated in the outskirts of Canfield or Portsmouth, as well as
some that opened in Roseau. These women faced cultural and language
barriers that made finding assistance difficult. The Ministry of
National Security did not believe that there was widespread trafficking
in persons but acknowledged there might be a few isolated incidents.
The DNCW and other activists believed that there may be some
trafficking of women for prostitution, but acknowledged it was hard to
prove as most of the women in the sex trade were afraid to come
forward, fearing deportation. An NGO that interviewed commercial sex
workers as part of an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign found that most
appeared to have entered the country for economic reasons and began
working in prostitution thereafter.
Persons convicted of trafficking are subject to a fine of
EC$100,000 (approximately $37,500) and up to seven years in prison, but
there were no known prosecutions for trafficking in recent years.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law does not specifically
prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities, there was no
reported formal discrimination against them in employment, education,
access to health care, or the provision of other state services.
However, many employers refused to hire persons with disabilities, and
unemployment among them was very high.
There is no legal requirement mandating access to buildings for
persons with disabilities. A new cricket stadium, opened in 2007, was
the first large building to have wheelchair access ramps. However, the
ramps do not extend to the seats.
There are no programs in school for children with learning or other
disabilities, most of whom did not complete educational programs due to
the difficulty involved in simply getting to and from school and in
keeping up with the curriculum. Mentally challenged children had
difficulty finding appropriate foster homes when faced with neglect
from their birth parents. However, in 2007 several students with
disabilities were admitted to secondary school, and one graduated from
the community college.
Indigenous People.--There was a Kalinago, or Carib, population,
estimated at 4,000 persons, most of whom lived in the 3,782-acre Carib
Territory. There were four preschools and two primary schools in the
Carib Territory and two secondary schools in nearby communities
attended by Kalinago children. The Ministry of Education covered
tuition for Kalinago students at the Dominica State College and awarded
scholarships to Kalinago students for study throughout the Caribbean.
The Carib Act states that any child of a Kalinago is also Kalinago.
Non-Kalinagos may become Kalinagos if they are invited to live in the
Carib Territory and do so continuously for 12 years. Although the law
permits Kalinago men and women married to non-Kalinagos to continue
living in the territory, in practice Kalinago women married to non-
Kalinagos had to move out of the territory.
Every five years Kalinagos over the age of 18 who reside in the
territory may vote for the chief and six members of the Council of
Advisors. They also are eligible to vote in national elections. A
Kalinago headed the Ministry of Carib Affairs.
The Kalinago people continued to suffer from low levels of
unofficial and societal discrimination. Unemployment in the territory
generally was higher than in the rest of the country, and mean income
was below the national mean.
The law establishing the Carib Territory does not delineate clearly
its territorial boundaries. Kalinagos continued to report difficulties
obtaining bank financing, particularly since reservation land was
communal and therefore unavailable for use as collateral for loans.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There are no laws that
prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, education, or health
care against a person on the basis of sexual orientation. Although no
statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested that societal
discrimination against homosexuals was quite common, as homophobic
attitudes were widespread in the socially conservative society. There
were very few openly gay men or lesbians.
The Government and the Dominica Planned Parenthood Association
initiated programs designed to discourage discrimination against HIV/
AIDS-infected persons and others living with them.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Workers exercised the legal right to
organize and choose their representatives. Unions represented
approximately 10 percent of the total work force; approximately half of
government workers were unionized.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice. However, emergency, port, electricity,
telecommunications, and prison services, as well as banana, coconut,
and citrus fruit cultivation industries, were deemed essential, which
effectively prohibited workers in these sectors from going on strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Unions have
legally defined rights to organize workers and to bargain with
employers. Workers exercised this right, particularly in the
nonagricultural sectors of the economy, including in government
service. Government mediation and arbitration were also available.
The law provides that employers must reinstate workers fired for
union activities, and employers generally did so in practice.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no
reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although two laws prohibit employment of children, one law defines a
``child'' as under age 12 and the other as under age 14. The Government
defined 15 years as the minimum age for employment and enforced this
standard in principle. Children between the ages of 12 and 14 were
allowed to work only in certain family enterprises such as farming.
Safety standards limit the type of work, conditions, and hours of work
for children over the age of 14. The Government effectively enforced
these standards.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In mid-year a new minimum wage
law, prepared after tripartite consultations, established a base wage
of EC$5.00 (approximately $1.87) per hour for all public and private
workers. The minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living
for a worker and family. However, most workers (including domestic
employees) earned more than the legislated minimum wage. Enforcement
was the responsibility of the labor commissioner.
Labor laws provide that the labor commissioner may authorize the
employment of a person with disabilities at a wage lower than the
minimum rate to enable that person to be employed gainfully.
The standard legal workweek is 40 hours in five days. The law
provides overtime pay for work above the standard workweek; however,
excessive overtime is not prohibited. The Government effectively
enforced these standards.
The Employment Safety Act provides occupational health and safety
regulations that are consistent with international standards.
Inspectors from the Environmental Health Department of the Ministry of
Health conducted health and safety surveys. The Department of Labor
conducted inspections that prescribe specific compliance measures,
impose fines, and can result in prosecution of offenders. Workers have
the right to remove themselves from unsafe work environments without
jeopardy to continued employment, and the authorities effectively
enforced this right.
__________
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The Dominican Republic is a representative constitutional democracy
with a population of approximately 9.5 million, including hundreds of
thousands of undocumented Haitians. On May 16, voters elected President
Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) for a third
term, and in 2006 elections the PLD won majorities in both chambers of
Congress. Impartial outside observers assessed both elections as
generally free and fair. While civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces, there were
instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently.
Although the Government's human rights record improved somewhat,
serious problems remained: unlawful killings; beatings and other abuse
of suspects, detainees, and prisoners; poor to harsh prison conditions;
arbitrary arrest and detention of suspects; a large number of
functionally stateless persons; widespread corruption; harassment of
certain human rights groups; violence and discrimination against women;
child prostitution and other abuse of children; trafficking in persons;
severe discrimination against Haitian migrants and their descendants;
and disregard of fundamental labor rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
there were numerous reports that security forces were involved in many
killings that were unlawful, unwarranted, or involved excessive use of
force.
According to the Attorney General's Office, police killed 455
persons in the course of duty during the year, approximately 19 percent
of all violent deaths and an increase of 32 percent over 2007. The
police chief, who took office in August 2007, attributed the
statistical increase in part to his standing order that all police
killings be reported to the attorney general. Some media reports also
noted a tendency of criminals to open fire on police.
On May 2, in two separate incidents, police killed seven civilians.
In Santo Domingo three minors who were suspected in a store robbery
were seen on film alive when the police took them into custody, and
their bodies were found later. The second incident, in Boca Chica,
resulted in the deaths of four civilians and one police officer,
allegedly in an exchange of gunfire when police attempted to recover
stolen money from a residence. Following investigations into both
cases, authorities brought charges against the officers involved, who
were awaiting trial at year's end.
On September 23, during a demonstration against the police killing
of a student in Santo Domingo, a minor was shot and killed. Police
blamed the death on an unidentified shooter, but other demonstrators
attributed the death to the police. On November 5, according to press
reports, a police bullet killed a 17-year-old playing basketball near a
demonstration. Security forces routinely dispersed protesters with tear
gas and water cannons, as well as with live fire.
Despite previous reports that the inspector general had named a
commission to investigate the 2007 police killing of Rafael Concepcion
while in police custody, and that the police officers involved in the
shooting had been detained, there was no information that anyone indeed
was assigned to investigate and or that any charges were filed.
Human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) asserted that, as
in previous years, the police continued to employ unwarranted deadly
force against criminal suspects.
There were no developments in the 2006 cases of two police
sergeants charged with homicide in the Luis Manuel Ventura killing or
of two police officers charged with the murder of Elvin Amable
Rodriguez.
On October 28, a mob in Neiba killed two and injured 12 Haitians,
following the alleged killing of a Dominican national by a Haitian.
On a number of occasions reported in the media, citizens attacked
alleged criminals in vigilante-style reprisals for theft, robbery, or
burglary. These incidents were attributed to an increase in crime and
the inability of security forces to stem or combat these crimes.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
Despite the Public Ministry's May 2007 announcement that it would
reopen the investigation, there were no developments in the case of
journalist Narciso Gonzalez, who disappeared in 1994 after allegedly
criticizing the Government.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits torture, beating, and physical
abuse of detainees and prisoners, members of the security forces,
primarily police, continued such practices. The Attorney General's
Office reported that the police were involved in incidents that
resulted in maiming or severely injuring unarmed civilians. However,
improvements in oversight, awareness, and accountability led to a
perception that the police were indeed making efforts to reduce
incidents of physical abuse of detainees. Nonetheless, human rights
organizations stated that uniformed vigilantism persisted on a
nonlethal level.
The law provides penalties for torture and physical abuse,
including sentences from 10-15 years in prison. Civilian prosecutors
sometimes filed charges against police and military officials alleging
torture, physical abuse, and related crimes. Authorities sent new abuse
and torture cases to civilian criminal courts rather than police
tribunals.
Senior police officials treated the prohibition on torture and
physical abuse seriously, but lack of supervision and training
throughout the law enforcement and corrections systems undercut efforts
to contain the problem. Although observers agreed that conditions
improved somewhat due to an increase in professionally trained
corrections officers, human rights groups and prisoners reported
physical abuse of detainees, most commonly beatings. Some observers
believed that the civilian corrections officers lacked the discipline
and cohesion of the military personnel they replaced and were more
prone to insubordination and abuse of inmates.
In May prison guards beat a missionary when she refused to remove
her clothing for examination after arriving at the Najayo prison to
visit inmates. Subsequently authorities removed the top officials of
the prison for unrelated corrupt acts.
There were no developments in the July 2007 complaint by the
National Commission on Human Rights, an NGO, against the police with
regard to the case of Javier Vicente Reyes Segura, shot in the leg
during a traffic stop.
There were reports of use of excessive force against demonstrators
and protesters by members of the security forces.
Lawyers from the National District prosecutor's office monitored
the investigative process to ensure that detainees' rights were
respected in high-volume police stations and in several National Drug
Control Directorate (DNCD) offices. Assistant prosecutors at times
reportedly acquiesced in improper police practices rather than
insisting they be changed to conform to constitutional standards.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--While prison conditions
generally ranged from poor to extremely harsh, the Government made
advances with newer ``model prisons'' where prisoners experienced
better conditions. Overall, reports of mistreatment and inmate violence
in prisons were common, as were reports of guard abuse of prison
visitors. The prisons were seriously overcrowded, health and sanitary
conditions were poor, and some prisons were out of the control of
authorities and effectively run by criminal gangs of armed inmates. A
common sentiment among prison wardens was that, while they may control
the perimeter, inside the prison the inmates often made their own rules
and had their own system of justice.
Budget allocations for necessities such as food, medicine, and
transportation were insufficient. Most inmates begged for or purchased
food from persons in the vicinity of the prison or obtained it from
family members. Prisoners were often not taken to their trials unless
they paid bribes to the guards, and visitors often had to bribe prison
guards in order to visit prisoners. Similarly, detainees had to pay
bribes to be allowed to attend vocational training offered at some
facilities. Prison officials accepted money in exchange for a
recommendation that a prisoner be furloughed or released for health
reasons. There were credible allegations that prisoners could obtain
early release on parole for a bribe. Prisons often did not provide
adequate medical care to inmates. Prisoners immobilized with HIV/AIDS
or who had terminal illnesses were not transferred to hospitals.
According to the Office of the Attorney General, approximately
18,000 prisoners and detainees were held in 35 prisons with an intended
capacity of approximately 9,000. Virtually all prisons experienced
extreme overcrowding. La Victoria prison, the largest in the country,
held more than 3,500 prisoners in a facility designed for 1,300. This
severe overcrowding led to an informal market wherein prisoners paid as
much as 40,000 pesos (approximately $1,200) to acquire a bed. The cell
blocks consisted of makeshift bed cubicles, stacked three high, in a
densely packed warren of cells. Air circulation was a problem, and the
danger of a fire outbreak was high.
Although a warden who reports to the attorney general was
technically responsible for running each prison, in practice police or
military officers (generally appointed for a period of only three to
six months and responsible for providing security) were usually in
charge of most prisons. Approximately 80 percent of prison guards were
military or police officers rather than civilian correctional officers.
There were continued allegations of drug and arms trafficking,
prostitution, and sexual abuse within the prisons. Drugs, weapons, and
prostitutes were available in the prison system. There continued to be
special sections within prisons where police officers convicted of
criminal activity, including a few known human rights abusers, were
interned.
Female inmates generally were separated from male inmates. Half of
the total female population was held in a prison only for women.
Conditions in the prison wings for women generally were better than
those in prison wings for men. Female inmates, unlike their male
counterparts, were prohibited from receiving conjugal visits. Those who
gave birth while incarcerated were permitted to keep their babies with
them for a year.
Juveniles were processed using specialized juvenile courts and,
with increasingly rare exceptions, were held in juvenile facilities.
Because of serious overcrowding, authorities at many smaller
facilities, such as Higuey prison, did not attempt to segregate
prisoners according to the severity of criminal offense.
Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners. The
Directorate of Prisons estimated that two-thirds of the prisoners were
in preventive custody, awaiting trial. This figure was difficult to
verify, as many prisoners were considered to be in preventive custody
after an initial conviction because they were awaiting an appeal. The
law states that the pretrial waiting period should not exceed three
months, but it can be extended up to a year in certain cases.
There were also insufficient efforts to segregate and provide
services to the mentally ill, especially at traditional prisons.
Prison authorities continued to revamp certain prisons to create
``model'' facilities; they improved the aging physical plant of
existing facilities, replaced the police and military administration
with professionally trained corrections officers under the authority of
the Public Ministry, and focused on rehabilitation of and vocational
training for inmates. In 2007 authorities began converting Salcedo
prison into a model prison facility, one of 10 prisons which have
either been converted or were in the process of conversion to a model
facility. The attorney general reported that the incidence of
corruption within these prisons remained minimal. However, this
improvement for some prisoners came at the expense of others in the
system, because when a facility was converted to a model prison, excess
inmates were transferred to other locations, principally La Victoria,
increasing the strain on that already-overcrowded facility.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers and the press, and such visits took place during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the Criminal Procedures
Code (CPC) prohibits detention without a warrant unless a suspect is
apprehended in the act or in other limited circumstances, arbitrary
arrest and detention continued to be problems. By law authorities may
detain a person without charges for up to 24 hours. There were numerous
reports of individuals held and later released with little or no
explanation for the detention.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police,
the National Department of Intelligence (DNI), the DNCD, the Airport
Security Authority (CESA), the Port Security Authority (CESEP), the
Border Authority (CESFRONT), and the armed forces (army, air force, and
navy) form the security forces. The Ministry of the Interior and Police
is responsible for making policy decisions affecting the police force.
The military, CESA, CESEP, and CESFRONT are under the secretary of the
armed forces; the DNI and the DNCD, which have personnel both from the
police and military, report directly to the president.
The military is only responsible for domestic policing when so
decreed by the president, and the armed forces continued to provide
troops to support the National Police in its nightly patrols of Santo
Domingo, Santiago, and other areas of the country.
The police chief appointed in August 2007 announced a zero
tolerance policy for abuses and violations of rights. Police officers
were fired or prosecuted through the criminal justice system when found
to have acted outside of established police procedures.
Under new management, the Internal Affairs Unit effectively
investigated charges of gross misconduct by members of the National
Police. These cases involved physical or verbal aggression, death
threats, improper use of a firearm, muggings, and theft. By November
Internal Affairs had conducted 1,820 investigations that resulted in
312 dismissals and 563 sanctions.
On many occasions police officials attempted to solicit bribes from
individuals facing arrest or imposition of fines. Local human rights
observers reported on a few occasions that immigration authorities
rounded up undocumented construction workers and other manual laborers
of Haitian origin or descent in an attempt to extort money from them.
NGOs alleged corruption among the military and migration officials
stationed at border posts and noted that these officials sometimes were
complicit in the illegal transit of Haitian workers into the country.
The Institute of Human Dignity, a branch of the National Police,
conducted training courses for police officers. In the revised police
curriculum, both new and existing officers received human and civil
rights training as well as increased technical training. In addition,
the Police Academy curriculum included a policy regarding use of force,
wherein some police officers were trained in engaging suspects with
less lethal force.
Training for military and DNCD enlisted personnel and officers
included instruction on human rights. The Military Institute of Human
Rights offered diploma courses in human rights and regularly sent
representatives to border units to conduct mandatory human rights
training. The Secretariat of the Armed Forces provided human rights
training or orientation to 807 officers of various ranks and 199
civilians during the year.
Arrest and Detention.--The constitution provides that an accused
person may be detained for up to 48 hours before being presented to
judicial authorities. It also provides for recourse to habeas corpus
proceedings to request the release of those unlawfully held. Any
prisoner detained for more than 48 hours without being formally charged
is entitled to file a motion of habeas corpus. The presiding judge at
the habeas corpus hearing is empowered to order the prisoner's release
when the prisoner has been detained for more than 48 hours without
being formally charged or when there is insufficient proof of a crime
to warrant further detention. The judge's decision to release a
prisoner is subject to appeal by the district attorney.
The CPC establishes a more restrictive 24-hour time limit in which
to make formal charges, which was generally observed.
Despite the foregoing provisions, at times the police detained
suspects for investigation or interrogation beyond the constitutionally
prescribed 48-hour. Police often detained all suspects and witnesses in
a crime and used the investigative process to determine the individuals
who were innocent and merited release, and those whom they should
continue to hold. Even so, successful habeas corpus hearings reduced
these abuses significantly.
Given the inefficiency of and corruption within the judicial
system, a significant number of defendants granted bail failed to
appear in court for a trial. Although previously granted only to a few
defendants, bail became more common under the new CPC, which requires
judicial review of detentions at an earlier point in a criminal case,
but the system proved inadequate to prevent defendants from
disappearing.
The law requires provision of counsel to indigent defendants, but
most detainees and prisoners unable to afford defense services did not
have prompt access to a lawyer. The National Office of Public Defense,
with foreign donor support, provided legal advice and representation to
indigent persons, but resource constraints resulted in inadequate
levels of staffing. Nationwide there were 16 public defense offices,
with 140 public defenders, 72 part-time defense lawyers and five
investigators. The Government continued its program to train public
defenders on relevant changes caused by implementation of the CPC and
expanded training for prosecutors. As mandated by law, the Attorney
General's Office emphasized assistance to crime victims by conducting
civil cases for victims who did not have the means to hire a private
lawyer. To represent these victims, the Attorney General's Office
operated a Legal Representation Victim's Office with 10 trained
lawyers.
Police continued the practice, albeit less frequently, of making
sporadic sweeps or roundups in low-income, high-crime communities,
during which they arrested and detained individuals without warrants,
allegedly to fight delinquency. During these sweeps police arrested
large numbers of residents and seized personal property allegedly used
in criminal activity.
Many suspects endured long pretrial detention. Under the CPC the
judge has authority to order a detainee to remain in police custody
between three months and one year. According to the Directorate of
Prisons, average pretrial detention decreased but typically was between
three and six months. Time served in pretrial detention counted toward
completing a sentence. The Public Ministry continued implementing an
automated case-tracking system that permitted prosecutors to adhere
more effectively to pretrial detention regulations and thereby reduce
the number of occasions when the CPC time limits were exceeded. This
system covered 14 of 32 district attorney offices.
Juveniles at the Department for Minors at the Villa Juana police
station commonly were held well beyond the 12-hour limit for sending
the case to the district attorney's office. The law prohibits
interrogation of juveniles by the police or in the presence of police.
Prosecutors and judges handle juvenile interrogations.
The failure of prison authorities to produce the accused for court
hearings caused a significant percentage of trial postponements.
Inmates often had their court dates postponed because they were not
taken from prison to court or because their lawyer, codefendants, or
witnesses did not appear. The Government lacked the funding to
transport all defendants between prison and court. Despite additional
protections for defendants in the CPC, in some cases the authorities
continued to hold inmates beyond the mandated deadlines even though
there were no formal charges against them.
In addition to the judicial service offices established in La Vega
and Moca in 2006-07, another was installed in Puerta Plata. These
offices allowed urgent matters in need of a judge (such as obtaining an
arrest or search warrant and conducting arraignments) to be attended to
24 hours a day. The latest such office was inaugurated in the district
of Santo Domingo in September. These judicial service offices are part
of an effort to increase efficiency and reorganize the courts so they
operate in conformance with the CPC. This reorganization proceeded at a
steady, if not rapid, pace.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, despite increasing independence in the
judiciary, instances of political influence in decision making were
still evident. Interference by public entities, when it occurred,
tended toward public pronouncements regarding active cases and
selective prosecution, as opposed to direct intervention in existing
cases. On occasion, however, it appeared that judges in superior courts
attempted to improperly influence lower court decisions. In addition
corruption continued to be a serious problem.
The judiciary consists of a 16-member Supreme Court, various
appeals courts, courts of first instance, and justices of the peace.
There are specialized courts that handle tax, labor, land, and juvenile
matters. A Magistrate's Council selects Supreme Court justices based on
factors such as general reputation and time in service, although the
political composition of the council leaves open the possibility for
patronage appointments. Lower court judges are appointed following
passage of rigorous entrance examinations, completion of a training
program, and successful completion of an examination.
Overall, the professionalism of the judiciary continued to improve,
largely as the result of an intensive government reform program
initiated in 1996, including a training program for judges upon entry
and continuing legal education.
The professionalism of attorneys remained spotty, with no formal
minimum standards for general attorneys and almost automatic approval
to practice law following general law classes. The Dominican Bar
Association consistently argued against a bar examination. Public
defenders and public prosecutors, however, were typically well
qualified; their particular organizations required passage of objective
examinations for employment.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for a presumption of innocence,
the right of appeal, and the right to confront or question witnesses.
The law establishes a citizen's right not to be deprived of liberty
without trial or legal formalities or for reasons other than those
provided by law, the right against self-incrimination, and the right to
a defense in an impartial and public trial. Defendants have the right
to remain silent. There were credible allegations that authorities
violated these rights in some cases, but there was improved adherence
to due process as authorities became increasingly familiar with the
modifications to the CPC.
Military and police tribunals no longer exercise exclusive
jurisdiction over cases involving members of the security forces.
Civilian criminal courts handle cases of killings allegedly committed
by members of the security forces during the year.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There are separate court
systems for claims under criminal law, commercial and civil law, and
labor law. Commercial and civil courts reportedly suffered lengthy
delays in adjudicating cases, although their decisions were generally
enforced. As in criminal courts, undue political or economic influence
in civil court decisions remained a problem.
Citizens had recourse to the remedy of ``amparo,'' an action to
seek redress of any violation of a constitutional right, including
violations by judicial officials. Although this remedy was rarely used
except by those with sophisticated legal counsel, civil society and
journalists were beginning to seek amparo in major cases.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary entry into a private
residence, except when police are in hot pursuit of a suspect or when a
suspect is caught in the act of committing a crime. The law provides
that all other entries into a private residence require an arrest
warrant or search warrant issued by a judge. In practice, however, the
police conducted illegal searches and seizures, including raids without
warrants on private residences in many poor Santo Domingo
neighborhoods.
Although the Government denied using unauthorized wiretapping or
other surreptitious methods to interfere with the private lives of
individuals and families, human rights groups alleged such interference
continued.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice. Individuals or groups generally were able to
criticize the Government publicly and privately without reprisal,
although a local journalists' association reported threats and
aggression against the free exercise of the press.
Newspapers and magazines presented a variety of opinions and
criticisms. There were eight daily newspapers, a number of weekly
newspapers, and numerous online news outlets. Editors at times
practiced self-censorship, particularly when coverage could adversely
affect the economic or political interests of media owners. Owners at
times used the media to attack their critics. Coverage of the major
bank fraud trials was often influenced by the fact that two of the
major newspapers were owned by defendants in the trials.
In Bani in June, the district attorney, Victor Cordero Jimenez,
allegedly attacked journalist Manuel Guillermo Mejia when Mejia asked
about the district attorney's performance in a drug-related case, which
ultimately led to his dismissal. The judge in Bani banned Cordero from
leaving the country while the case against him was heard and required
him to appear in court once every 30 days.
In September a local judge authorized a police search to obtain
video and documents from the offices of two investigative journalists,
Huchi Lora and Nuria Piera; however, they appealed and the search was
not conducted. The journalists had released a story about nutritional
deficiencies in milk the Government was serving to school children.
LADOM, the firm that supplied the milk, sued the journalists for
slander and requested the police search; it later withdrew the suit in
the face of strong media criticism. The Government initiated a
corruption investigation after it was reported that the daughter of the
minister of education was a LADOM employee.
There were many privately owned radio and television stations,
broadcasting a wide spectrum of political views. The Government
controlled one television station. International media operated freely.
On August 7, cameraman Normando Garcia was killed in Santiago. An
investigation examining the possibility that his death was related to
his work as a journalist remained pending at year's end. The National
Journalists' Union reported that civil, police, and military
authorities; criminals; and other persons assaulted or threatened more
than 53 journalists between March and September. As of October the NGO
Reporters Without Borders reported more than 32 threats of violence
against journalists or physical attacks on news organizations in which
those responsible were often security forces. The Government did little
to investigate the threats of violence or physical attacks on
journalists, but according to NGOs, journalists were frequently
summoned when their reporting was critical of the Government.
The police were protecting Carlos Corporan, a journalist from San
Cristobal, following the revelation of a plot by unknown assailants to
kill him for the reporting he completed linking local judges to drug
trafficking.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Internet access was widely available, including Wi-Fi hotspots. Blog
functions were also available on several local press sites that allowed
strongly stated views against the Government and other powerful
sectors.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, but outdoor public
marches and meetings require permits, which the Government usually
granted. On several occasions, police officers used force to break up
spontaneous demonstrations and injured demonstrators or bystanders.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice. The law prohibits discrimination on religious grounds, and
many religious denominations were active.
The Catholic Church enjoyed special privileges not extended to
other religions, under the terms of a concordat. For example, the
cardinal has the rank of a military general officer and the Government
only recognizes civil and Catholic marriages.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses or discrimination against members of religious groups.
The Jewish community was very small, and there were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice; however, there were some exceptions. Local and international
human rights groups reported that hundreds of thousands of persons
without proper documentation, including Haitian migrants and other
persons of Haitian descent, faced obstacles in traveling both within
and outside of the country.
Although the Government claimed it no longer practiced mass
deportation, such practices were still reported. The new border control
authority reported that from January to October, it had repatriated
6,184 Haitians. NGOs reported that in the majority of these cases, the
Government's agents did not follow due process or internal basic human
rights guidelines, despite the terms of a bilateral agreement with
Haiti regarding repatriation of undocumented Haitians and express
instructions from the director of migration to follow the guidelines.
The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of its
use.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government established a system for providing protection to refugees
but has not implemented it effectively.
An applicant for refugee status must be referred by the National
Office of Refugees in the Migration Directorate to the Technical
Subcommittee of the National Commission for Refugees, which is chaired
by the Foreign Ministry. The subcommittee has the responsibility of
making a recommendation to the commission, consisting of members from
the Foreign Ministry, the DNI, and the Migration Directorate. The full
commission has the responsibility for the final decision on the
application but met only once during the past 14 years. The commission
includes the three members of the subcommittee, the legal advisor to
the president, and members from the National Police, the Ministry of
Labor, and the Attorney General's Office.
As of October the Migration Directorate reported between 300 and
400 asylum applications, nearly all made by Haitians. Some of these
cases had been awaiting decision since 2000, with only six new cases
filed during the year. According to NGOs, hundreds of other asylum
seekers submitted claims that had not been processed, leaving those
individuals in a state of legal limbo for years. Most of these
individuals lacked documentation sufficient to obtain permission to
work legally and to exercise other rights, such as obtaining
documentation for their children.
Although the Government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of persons to countries where their lives or
freedom might be threatened, there was still a risk of deportation.
Protection generally applied to individuals who gained access to the
refugee process and had been issued proof that they were refugees or
had applications pending. The documents provided do not bestow
significant legal rights, including residency, and due to lack of
training, may not be recognized by all officials who might apprehend
such a person. Authorities took no affirmative action to prevent
deportation of registered asylum seekers.
The 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees provides
that children born to refugees also be entitled to refugee status.
There were reports that children born to Haitian refugees-even those
born to holders of migration documents-were routinely denied birth
certificates as well as education, health, and security documentation.
In this respect they received the same treatment as any undocumented
Haitian migrant.
Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides that anyone born in
the country is a Dominican national, except children born to diplomats
or those ``in transit.'' However, the Government regularly used the in
transit exception to deny registration as nationals to children born in
the country of parents of Haitian descent, even when their parents and
grandparents had resided in the country for long periods of time. In
2005 the Supreme Court ruled that transit status applied to children of
undocumented migrants.
Haitian consulates reported that they were legally authorized to
register only those births that were declared within a year. Parents
declaring a birth were required to submit valid forms of identification
in order to file a claim. These requirements could not be met by a
significant number of persons of Haitian descent in the country, and
thus their children remained undocumented. Consequently, thousands of
Dominican-born persons of Haitian descent were functionally stateless;
one estimate placed the number at between 600,000 and one million
persons.
The Dominicans and Dominican-born persons of Haitian descent who
lacked citizenship or identity documents faced obstacles in traveling
both within and outside of the country. In addition persons who are
undocumented cannot obtain the national identification card (cedula) or
a voting card. Persons without a cedula have limited access to formal
sector jobs, public higher education, marriage and birth registration,
formal economy services such as banks and loans, access to courts and
judicial procedures, and owning land or property.
Government officials often took strong measures related to
citizenship for persons of Haitian descent. In March 2007 the Central
Elections Board (JCE) issued an administrative instruction ordering
officials to refrain from issuing, signing, and providing official
copies of birth documents for individuals whose parents were foreigners
and had not legally proven their residency. This resulted in cases of
retroactive cancellation of birth and identity documents, many
pertaining to persons of Haitian descent. The Government stated that
such cancellations were based on evidence that the documentation had
been obtained fraudulently, that the cases numbered in the hundreds,
and that only a small fraction involved parents of Haitian descent.
However, advocacy groups alleged that the revocations targeted persons
whose parents were Haitian or whose names sounded Haitian and that the
number of revocations was in the thousands. In September the JCE
completed an internal memo directed at revoking the birth certificates
and cedulas of 126 children born to Haitian migrants and their
children. Some of the births had been recorded decades ago, with
several from the early 1970s. The JCE was unable to locate similar
memos directed at other nationalities by year's end. In July, the JCE
reported discovering 2,416 cedulas ``irregularly issued'' to foreigners
between 1994 and 1997. Of these, 82, or 3 percent, were issued to
Haitian migrants or persons of Haitian descent.
In May, although the courts initially decided to issue a birth
certificate to Nuny Angra Luis, whose parents were not Dominican, the
JCE appealed and won based on an argument that the original birth
certificate was ``issued in an irregular manner.''
The Government has taken no action in the case of Norberto Selvi,
who was denied a copy of his birth certificate in 2007.
Also in March 2007, the JCE created a registration system that
allowed children born in the country of parents who were not legal
residents to receive a special birth certificate. This involved a
registration book for foreigners. Regulations stipulated that children
born of parents who were not legal residents of the country and have
documentation from their home country may register their child in the
book, after which the parents would be given an official report of
birth, which does not confer citizenship. Only children born in
hospitals are eligible for registration in the book. Children of
undocumented mothers are given provisional birth certificates until the
mother obtains her documents. An undocumented mother may make a late
declaration in the civil registry by presenting her parents' birth
certificates. However, most undocumented mothers could not comply with
this requirement as their parents also did not have documents.
Local and international NGOs reported that since implementation of
the foreigner's book, hospitals and civil registries did not register
numerous children of Haitian migrants and their descendents. As of
November the JCE reported that approximately 200 of some 300 children
registered in the foreigner's book were of Haitian descent. Based on
average birth rates and the estimated population of Haitians in the
country, between 10,000 and 20,000 children are born to Haitian
migrants and their descendants each year. NGOs reported that some
Haitian parents who were in the country legally, and whose children are
Dominican nationals under Dominican law, were required to register
their children's births in the foreigner's book.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of nearly
universal suffrage. Active-duty police and military personnel may not
vote or participate in partisan political activity.
Elections and Political Participation.--On May 16, PLD candidate
Leonel Fernandez won the presidency in an election described as
generally free and fair by the Organization of American States,
independent observers, and the Government electoral board. Observers
also described the 2006 congressional and municipal elections as
generally free and fair.
By law parties must reserve for women 33 percent of positions on
their lists of candidates for the House of Representatives and city
councils; in practice the parties often placed women low on the lists.
There were two women in the 32-member Senate, 33 women in the 178-
member House of Representatives, two women in the cabinet, and five
women on the 16-seat Supreme Court.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials who engaged in corrupt
practices did so with impunity. The World Bank's worldwide governance
indicators reflected that government corruption was a serious problem.
Government officials brought a number of private and public sector
corruption cases to trial, although there appeared to be a reluctance
to investigate seriously and prepare for trial cases involving senior
government officials of either the current or former government. In
those cases that went to trial, the prosecution had little success in
obtaining either convictions or prison sentences. An exception was a
case involving Plan RENOVE, a public transportation program. In
February 2007 the Supreme Court issued a final verdict of conviction
and sentenced the defendants to six months of house arrest or minimum
security prison. The use of nonjudicial sanctions, such as dismissal or
transfer, against armed forces members, police officers, and other
minor government officials engaged in bribe taking and other corrupt
behavior accelerated but ultimately provided insufficient incentive to
check pervasive petty corruption. Society's widespread attitude of
tolerance toward at least some forms of corruption complicated the
problem.
The Commission for Ethics and the Fight Against Corruption,
appointed by the president, continued to operate, although with little
or no impact as it lacked well-defined authorities and decision-making
structures.
The Attorney General's Office removed three prosecutors in Bani for
their alleged involvement in a case related to the killing of seven
supposed drug traffickers, and arrested several naval officers and a
former police officer. Authorities also removed two other district
attorneys for ``professional misconduct.''
Judicial proceedings related to the fraud-based 2003 collapse of
Banco Intercontinental (Baninter) concluded in July when the Supreme
Court ratified the conviction of three defendants and found the fourth
defendant guilty on appeal. In addition to fines, the court sentenced
three defendants to 10 years in prison and the fourth one to five
years. Civil society commentators considered the trial to be a major
challenge to impunity; two of the principal defendants, Baninter former
president Ramon Baez Figueroa and economist Luis Alvarez Renta,
reportedly had strong ties within local political circles.
On December 22, however, President Fernandez pardoned a convicted
former Baninter vice president as well as four persons convicted in the
RENOVE case. Most members of the Pardons Commission resigned in protest
against the pardons.
Judicial rulings were often not enforced. In a case involving a
foreign firm the Government refused to enforce a court ruling to halt
an illegal blockade of a refining plant by disgruntled ex-contractors.
In July, following allegations of corruption within the Court of
Accounts, Congress investigated and voted to remove all members of the
institution.
The law requires that the president and vice president, members of
congress, some agency heads, and other officials such as mayors and
council members, as well as income tax and customs duty collectors,
make declarations of their inventory of personal and real property
within a month of being hired and when they ``end their
responsibilities.'' However, compliance was spotty, verification
inadequate, and the information required was not particularly useful.
The Department of Prosecution of Corruption, an office within the
Public Ministry, is in charge of reviewing these declarations.
The law provides for public access to government information, with
limits on the availability of public information only under specified
circumstances (such as to protect national security), and penalties of
up to six months to two years in prison and a five-year ban from
positions of public trust for government officials who obstruct access
to public information. A court may review the decision of an agency to
deny access to information. Since its first use in 2007 involving
documents related to a costly underground public works project, which
required Supreme Court intervention to force the documents' production,
there were no subsequent recourses to the courts to enforce requests.
While often timely, responses were also often incomplete, and the
Government dismissed subsequent requests.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. While government
officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their views,
human rights groups who advocated for the rights of Haitians and
persons of Haitian descent were an important exception and faced
occasional government harassment.
In August police entered the house of Manuel Maria Mercedes, the
human rights pastor for the Evangelical Church, without authorization.
In March 2007 the JCE prepared an internal memo recommending that
Dominican-Haitian activist Sonia Pierre be stripped of her citizenship,
an action seen by many as retaliation for her advocacy. The JCE's
president subsequently disavowed the leaked internal investigation
report, stating that the inquiry had been carried out at the request of
a single congressman.
Also in 2007, government officials protested overseas showings of
documentary films such as Sugar Babies and The Price of Sugar, produced
by activist groups that advocate improved labor and human rights
conditions in the sugar industry.
Principal local groups included the Dominican Human Rights
Committee, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Santo Domingo
Institute of Human Rights. There were also several smaller secular and
religious organizations that addressed women's rights, labor issues,
and the rights of Haitians and their descendants in the country.
By year's end the Government had still not implemented a 2001 law
mandating the creation of a human rights ombudsman's office.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the law prohibits discrimination based on race and gender,
such discrimination existed, and the Government seldom acknowledged its
existence or made efforts to combat it.
Women.--Rape was a serious and widely underreported problem. The
penalties for rape are 10 to 15 years in prison (or 10 to 20 years in
case of rape of a vulnerable person or under other egregious
circumstances) and a fine of 115,000 to 230,000 pesos (approximately
$3,300 to $6,600). The state may prosecute a suspect for rape even if
the victim does not file charges, and rape victims may press charges
against a spouse. Victims often did not report cases of rape because of
fear of social stigma, as well as the perception that the police and
the judiciary would fail to provide redress. Police were reluctant to
handle rape cases and often encouraged victims to seek assistance from
NGOs.
Domestic violence continued to be a serious problem. Under the Law
against Domestic Violence, the state can prosecute rape, incest, sexual
aggression, and other forms of domestic violence. Penalties for these
crimes range from one to 30 years in prison and fines from 700 to
245,000 pesos (approximately $20 to $7,000). A local NGO estimated that
20 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 had been victims of
physical abuse at some point in their lives. In 2007, 177 women were
killed as a result of violence against women.
According to the district attorney, in the National District, which
includes a large section of Santo Domingo with approximately 10 percent
of the country's population, more than 6,000 women had experienced
gender violence. Of those claims, 31 percent involved physical violence
and 32 percent included psychological abuse and verbal threats. The
district attorney of Santo Domingo had a specialized Violence
Prevention and Attention Unit. With 14 satellite offices around the
city, victims of violence could file criminal complaints, obtain free
legal counsel, and receive psychological and medical attention. Police
were instructed to forward all domestic violence and sexual assault
cases to these offices. Each office had professional psychologists on
staff to counsel victims of violence and to assess the threat of
impending danger associated with a complaint. These offices had the
authority to issue temporary restraining orders immediately after
receiving complaints and to serve as messengers for the victims, which
prevented contact between the victim and the abuser.
Although the number of complaints received by the Violence
Prevention and Attention Unit increased, which may have reflected the
growing awareness of the resources available to victims, few cases went
to trial. As of September the unit received 7,478 cases of violence
against women. Of the total cases, 2,210 were in the process of
investigation, 1,027 were sent to trial, and 300 were dismissed.
The National Directorate for Assistance to Victims coordinates
efforts of official and nongovernmental institutions that offer
services to victims of violence. It has three offices in Santo Domingo
and another three around the country. These offices not only accepted
criminal complaints from victims of violence throughout the country but
also provided counseling and protection services and, when necessary,
referrals to medical or psychological specialists. The Attorney
General's Office, the Secretariat of Women, and various NGOs conducted
outreach and training programs on domestic violence and legal rights.
Additionally, the Attorney General's Office established a public
information campaign against sexual and labor exploitation and launched
a national hot line for prevention and victim assistance.
The Secretariat of Women also operated two refugee shelters for
victims of domestic violence in undisclosed locations, where abuse
victims could make a report to the police and receive counseling.
Prostitution is legal, although there are some prohibitions against
sex with minors, and it is illegal for a third party to derive
financial gain from prostitution. However, the Government usually did
not enforce prostitution laws. Sex tourism remained a serious problem,
particularly in Las Terrenas, Cabarete, Sosua, and Boca Chica. Human
rights groups reported continuing prostitution in sugarcane work camps
and areas outside the capital. NGOs conducted programs about
prostitution and child sexual exploitation for hotel and industrial
zone workers, male and female prostitutes, and other high-risk groups.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a misdemeanor and carries a
possible penalty of one year in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 pesos
(approximately $286); however, union leaders reported that the law was
not enforced, and sexual harassment was a problem.
Although the law provides that women have the same legal status as
men, in practice women experienced discrimination. Women did not enjoy
social and economic status or opportunity equal to those of men, and
men held most leadership positions in all sectors. In many instances
women received less pay than men in jobs of equal content and requiring
equal skills. Some employers reportedly gave pregnancy tests to women
before hiring them, as part of a required medical examination. Although
it is illegal to discriminate based on such tests, NGO leaders reported
that pregnant women often were not hired and that female employees who
became pregnant sometimes were fired. There were no effective
government programs to combat economic discrimination against women.
Children.--The Government declared its commitment to children's
rights and welfare and tried to increase protection for children, with
emphasis on eliminating child labor. However, the Government did not
meet the law's stipulation that the noncabinet National Council for
Children and Adolescents (CONANI) receive at least 2 percent of the
national budget and that a minimum of 5 percent of municipal government
budgets be devoted to projects to benefit children.
In October the NGO Profamilia and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
reported that 13 percent of children were not registered at birth. A
child not registered at birth is undocumented until a late declaration
is made, and there were limitations on late declarations. Undocumented
children, particularly those of Haitian descent, faced challenges in
accessing primary public education (See Section 2.d.).
Although education is free, universal, and compulsory for all
minors through the eighth grade, legal mechanisms provide only for
primary schooling, which was interpreted as extending through the
fourth grade.
Abuse of children, including physical, sexual, and psychological
abuse, was a serious problem. Through June, in orphanages alone, CONANI
reported 20 cases of sexual abuse, 46 cases of physical abuse, and 47
cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children under the age of
18. Few such cases reached the courts, due to fear of family
embarrassment, lack of economic resources, or lack of knowledge
regarding available legal assistance. The Santo Domingo district
attorney's office reported that in most abuse cases, the accused was a
person close to the child, such as a family member or close family
friend. The law provides for removal of a mistreated child to a
protective environment.
Local monitors believed that instances of child abuse were
underreported because of the social norm that such problems should be
dealt with inside the family. The law contains provisions concerning
child abuse, including physical and emotional mistreatment, sexual
exploitation, and child labor. The law provides penalties of between
two and five years' incarceration and a fine of three to five times the
monthly minimum wage for persons found guilty of abuse of a minor. The
penalty is doubled if the abuse is related to trafficking.
The Government's National Directorate for Assistance to Victims
coordinated efforts of official and nongovernmental organizations to
assist children who were victims of violence and abuse.
Trafficking and sexual exploitation of children within the country
were problems, particularly in major urban areas and popular tourist
destinations. Child prostitution often was based on economic need, and
the Government initiated several programs to combat the sexual
exploitation of minors, including notices in airports and targeted
programs in popular tourist locations.
Child labor was a serious problem in the informal sector of the
economy.
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in
persons, there were reports that men, women, and children were
trafficked to, from, and within the country.
The NGO Center for Integral Orientation and Investigation (COIN)
estimated that from 17,000 to 33,000 Dominican women abroad were
victims of trafficking. Principal destination countries were in Western
Europe, Argentina, Brazil, and Central American and the Caribbean.
Women 18 to 25 years of age were at the greatest risk of being
trafficked. Many victims were single mothers with low levels of
education seeking to improve the living conditions of their children.
Internally trafficked victims were typically women or adolescents
trafficked for sexual exploitation to urban or tourist areas.
NGOs estimated that there were hundreds of alien smuggling and
trafficking rings operating within the country operated by Dominicans
and foreigners. According to COIN and the International Organization
for Migration (IOM), trafficking organizations were typically small
groups. Individuals in the country recruited the persons to be
trafficked and obtained identification and travel documents.
Traffickers frequently met women through friends and family; they
promised some form of employment, obtained false or legitimate
documents for the women, and often retained their passports after
arrival in the destination country. Trafficking organizations
reportedly received 175,000-280,000 pesos (approximately $5,000-$8,000)
for trafficking a woman for purposes of sexual exploitation.
The law includes penalties for traffickers of 15-20 years'
imprisonment and a fine of up to 175 times the monthly minimum wage.
The Code for Minors provides penalties for sexual abuse of children of
20-30 years' imprisonment and fines from 100-150 times the minimum
wage.
In October 2007 the Government established the National Commission
against Trafficking in Persons, charged with developing a national
strategy to combat trafficking and improve victim protection, but at
year's end it was unclear whether the Government would approve and fund
it. As of year's end, the Attorney General's Office had four open
investigations into trafficking in persons. The Government completed
investigation of a case involving two Dominican women trafficked to
Turkey, a court issued arrest warrants for two trafficking suspects,
and authorities were engaged in a manhunt for them. In May the
Department of Alien Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons rescued 16
women who were trafficking victims in Santo Domingo. The IOM provided
shelter for 15 of them for 15 days, after which they returned to their
country. Only one of the women agreed to cooperate with the
prosecutor's office and stayed several more days to testify in open
court against the traffickers.
The attorney general's antitrafficking unit coordinated the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases. Units at the
National Police, the Migration Directorate, and the Attorney General's
Office targeted trafficking in persons, as did the interagency
Committee for the Protection of Migrant Women. The Migration
Directorate's antitrafficking department coordinated with the Attorney
General's Office and the National Police to find and prosecute persons
dedicated to trafficking women for prostitution and commercial sexual
exploitation.
The Government made efforts to investigate public officials who
facilitated, condoned, or were complicit in trafficking activities or
migrant smuggling, but lack of resources and access to closed ethnic
communities hampered efforts to bring cases to trial.
The Government provided some assistance to trafficking victims both
overseas and in the country, but it relied on NGOs and international
organizations to provide the bulk of protection services. The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs developed a worldwide network of consular officers
trained to recognize and assist victims of trafficking. There were
several church-run shelters that provided refuge to children who
escaped prostitution. Public shelters for victims of domestic violence
were generally not accessible to trafficking victims. The Government
began an awareness-raising campaign by radio, television, and print
media to discourage illegal emigration and combat human trafficking.
The Prevention Unit of the Department of Alien Smuggling and
Trafficking in Persons, in coordination with the Ministries of Labor
and Education, continued outreach training at schools around the
country. The courses warned children of the dangers of alien smuggling,
commercial sexual exploitation, and trafficking. The Government and
various organizations continued efforts to address the problem of sex
tourism in high volume tourism areas. NGOs also conducted programs for
hotel and industrial zone workers about prostitution and child sexual
exploitation issues.
COIN and the IOM counseled women planning to accept job offers in
Europe and the eastern Caribbean about immigration, health, and other
problems, including the dangers of trafficking, forced prostitution,
and forced domestic servitude. COIN administered the Center for Health
and Migration Information for Migrant Women, which carried out
community education campaigns in high-risk areas on these issues, as
well as citizenship documentation and legal work requirements. With IOM
support, COIN also provided a minimal level of clinical services and
adult education classes for returned women.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law prohibits
discrimination against persons with disabilities, these individuals
encountered discrimination in employment and in obtaining other
services. The law provides for physical access for persons with
disabilities to all new public and private buildings, but the
authorities did not enforce this provision. The Dominican Association
for Rehabilitation, which had 17 branches around the country, received
a subsidy from the Ministry of Public Health to provide rehabilitation
assistance to persons with disabilities.
Discrimination against persons with mental illness was common
across all public and private sectors, and there were few resources
dedicated to the mentally ill.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There was significant evidence
of racial prejudice against persons of dark complexion, but the
Government denied that such prejudice exists and therefore did little
to address the problem. Acts of discrimination were common. In
particular there were strong prejudices against Haitians, which
disadvantaged many Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, as well
as other foreigners of dark complexion. Few government officials
acknowledged the existence of this discrimination; others regularly and
publicly denied that it existed.
Local NGOs reported incidents where darker-skinned persons were
denied access or services in banks, enrollment in private schools, and
birth registration in hospitals. In a November 2007 report, the UN
Special Rapporteurs for Racism and the Rights of Minorities urged
authorities to recognize the existence of racism and discrimination
against minorities, adopt a national action plan to address the
problem, revise a JCE rule that resulted in revocation of identity
documents for Haitians, and cease mass repatriations of Haitians.
Government officials responded to the report with a denial that racism
existed in the country, referencing comments that the country was a
mulatto community. They asserted that the JCE rule focused on fraud and
that Haitians in the country could receive their identity documents in
Haiti. The Government also claimed there were no grounds to state that
black Dominicans were being repatriated to Haiti and noted that
authorities suspended repatriations on Fridays to prevent employers
from using this as a tool to avoid paying laborers for the week's work.
Haitians continued to immigrate to the country in search of
economic opportunity, and the Government repatriated many of them.
Migration authorities and security forces conducted periodic sweeps
throughout the year to locate and repatriate undocumented persons of
Haitian descent. Some of those removed from the country reported that
they were denied the opportunity to demonstrate that they were legal
residents, to make arrangements for their families or property, or to
express a credible fear of persecution or torture if returned to Haiti.
NGOs reported that migration officials and security forces sometimes
confiscated and destroyed expellees' residency documents and passports
despite standing government orders to respect the human rights of the
expellees. In some cases expellees with appropriate legal documents
received permission to return.
Some Haitian immigrants lived in shantytowns or sugarcane work
camps known as ``bateyes.'' As in many poor areas in other parts of the
country, these were harsh environments with limited or no electricity,
usually no running water, and no adequate schooling. In many bateyes,
medical assistance either was rudimentary or not readily available and
clean water was rarely available. Many batey residents, lacking
documentation, felt they had little choice but to remain in their
communities, where they felt relatively safe from the risks of
deportation and harassment that existed elsewhere in the country.
Although human rights NGOs and activists described living
conditions in the bateyes as modern-day slavery, private sector
enterprises in the sugar sector continued to make improvements at their
facilities that began in 2007, including new schools and both new and
renovated housing. In Nuevo Cayacoa the construction of a fully modern
housing and community development was well underway.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
violence against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation.
Persons with HIV/AIDS, particularly women, faced discrimination in
the workplace and elsewhere. According to the UN agency UNAIDS, an
estimated 60,000-65,000 persons in the country were infected with the
disease. According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International,
workers in many industries faced obligatory HIV testing in the
workplace or when seeking medical care or medical insurance. Workers or
patients found to have the disease could be fired from their jobs or
denied adequate health care. Although the law prohibits the use of HIV
testing to screen employees or for medical services unrelated to the
disease, there were no known instances where this law was enforced,
despite reports that official complaints had been filed.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the freedom to
organize labor unions, and all workers, except the military and the
police, were free to form and join unions of their choice. Organized
labor represented an estimated 8 percent of the work force. The law
calls for automatic recognition of a union if the Government has not
acted on its application within 30 days.
A few labor unions represented a small number of Haitian workers,
who are covered by the Labor Code regardless of legal status. Various
NGOs reported that the majority of Haitian laborers in the agricultural
and construction industries did not exercise their rights, fearing
firing or deportation. In November, however, 500 undocumented Haitian
employees of a private sugar producer sued their employer and won the
right to benefits and a written contract. The ruling was on appeal at
year's end.
The law provides for the right of most workers to strike (and for
private sector employers to lock out workers), but formal strikes were
not common. Formal requirements for a strike include the support of an
absolute majority of all company workers whether unionized or not, a
prior attempt to resolve the conflict through mediation, written
notification to the Ministry of Labor, and a 10-day waiting period
following notification before proceeding with the strike.
Government workers and essential public service personnel are not
allowed to strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining is legal and must be used in firms in which a union has
gained the support of an absolute majority of the workers. Few
companies had collective bargaining pacts, and the International Labor
Organization (ILO) considered the requirements for such pacts to be
excessive and an impediment to collective bargaining.
The law establishes a system of labor courts for dealing with
disputes. While cases made their way through the labor courts, the
process was often long and cases remained pending for several years.
The most recent study by the Foundation for Institutionalism and
Justice, a local NGO, showed that the average case resolution time was
15.3 months in courts of first instance and 16.4 months in appeals
court.
Many participants reported that nonbinding mediation facilitated by
the Ministry of Labor was the most effective method for resolving
worker-company disputes.
The law forbidding companies from firing union organizers or
members was enforced inconsistently, and penalties were insufficient to
deter employers from violating worker rights. There were reports of
harassment and intimidation by employers in an effort to prevent union
activity, especially in the free trade zones (FTZs). The Dominican
Federation of Free Trade Zone Workers (FEDOTRAZONAS) reported continued
incidents of antiunion activity at the TOS Dominicana plant in Bonao.
The Ministry of Labor facilitated talks between the plant owners and
employees, and in August the parties signed a three-year collective
bargaining agreement following nearly one year of negotiation.
Local NGOs reported that companies routinely attempted to create
``yellow'' or company-backed unions in an effort to dilute the worker
union's power.
The International Trade Union Congress reported an agricultural
export company in the north of the country still refused to recognize a
union following a protracted fight ultimately requiring the workers to
seek and receive legal recognition of the union. According to
FEDOTRAZONAS, the company continued its antiunion campaign and
discriminated openly against union members, who were forced to work
overtime and were refused water and transport in and outside the
fields. FEDOTRAZONAS also reported that Haitian workers at the company
were being paid below the minimum wage and that all employees were
required to take a blood test allegedly related to HIV. The Ministry of
Labor was investigating these claims at year's end.
The Labor Code applies in the 57 established FTZs, which employed
approximately 155,000 workers. According to the National Council of
Labor Unions, unions were active in only eight companies in the FTZs,
and only four unions had established collective bargaining rights.
Workplace regulations and their enforcement in the FTZs did not differ
from those in the country at large, although working conditions were
sometimes better and the pay was occasionally higher. Mandatory
overtime was a common practice.
There were reports of widespread covert intimidation by employers
in the FTZs to prevent union activity. Unions in the FTZs reported that
their members hesitated to discuss union activity at work, even during
break time, for fear of losing their jobs. Unions accused some FTZ
companies of discharging workers who attempted to organize unions. The
majority of the unions in the FTZs were affiliated with the National
Federation of Free Trade Zone Workers or with FEDOTRAZONAS.
FEDOTRAZONAS estimated that fewer than 10 percent of the workers in the
FTZs were unionized. Many of the major manufacturers in the FTZs had
voluntary codes of conduct that included worker rights protection
clauses generally consistent with the ILO Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work. However, workers were not always aware
of such codes or of the principles they contained.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but there were
reports of trafficking in children within the country. Mandatory
overtime, a common practice, was sometimes enforced through locked
doors or loss of pay or employment for those who refused.
Private sugar producers asserted that they have ceased transporting
new, undocumented workers from Haiti, for a variety of reasons;
however, the producers acknowledged hiring some new Haitian workers
already residing in the country. NGOs reported that the practice of
bringing in new, undocumented migrant labor from Haiti continued.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
While the law prohibits employment of children younger than 14 years of
age and places restrictions on the employment of children under the age
of 16, child labor remained a serious problem, although there was
evidence it lessened during the year. In October the NGO Profamilia and
UNICEF reported that 9.7 percent of minors between 10 and 17 years of
age worked illegally, compared with a 2000 survey that estimated this
proportion at 18 percent. Regulations limited working hours of those
between the ages of 14 and 16 to six hours per day, prohibited
employment of those under the age of 18 in hazardous occupations or in
establishments serving alcohol, and limited night work. Fines and legal
sanctions may be applied to firms employing underage children. While
the Government effectively enforced these regulations in the formal
sector, child labor was a problem in the informal sector largely beyond
regulatory reach.
Child labor took place primarily in the informal economy, small
businesses, private households, and agriculture. Children often
accompanied their parents to work in agricultural fields, in part
because parents had nowhere else to leave their children, since schools
in the countryside were usually in session only for a few hours a day.
The commercial sexual exploitation of children remained a problem,
especially in popular tourist destinations.
There continued to be inconclusive evidence that poor Haitian
families arranged for Dominican families to ``adopt'' and employ their
children, in hopes of assuring a more promising future for them. The
adoptive parents commonly considered the child as their own and
sometimes provided the birth parents a monetary payment or a supply of
clothes and food. In some cases adoptive parents reportedly did not
treat the adopted children as full family members, expecting them to
work in the households or family businesses rather than to attend
school, which resulted in a kind of indentured servitude for children
and adolescents.
The Ministry of Labor and other government institutions, as well as
organizations from civil society, continued to work with the ILO's
Program for the Elimination of Child Labor that aims to withdraw 2,900
children from and prevent 2,200 children from entering exploitive
labor, as well as other programs aimed at combating child labor. These
included programs to eliminate the employment of children in hazardous
agriculture in rice-growing regions. The effort also included a program
to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of minors in popular
tourist destinations such as Boca Chica, Sosua, and Las Terrenas. These
programs provided psychological support and medical assistance,
returned children to classrooms, and reunited children with their
families and communities whenever possible. The programs also provided
legal assistance to child victims to arrest and convict exploiters.
The Ministry of Labor confirmed through site inspections that the
sugar consortium's bateyes no longer used child labor on their
property. NGO sources, however, stated that child labor could still be
found in these facilities. The Ministry of Labor employed 203 labor
inspectors, all of whom received special training to locate and
eliminate illegal child labor.
The National Steering Committee against Child Labor's plan to
eliminate the worst forms of child labor set objectives, identified
priorities, and assigned responsibilities so that exploitive labor
could be efficiently tackled and the number of child laborers
significantly reduced. In January the Ministry of Labor launched a
program to support public-private partnerships aimed at preventing
hazardous child labor with a goal of withdrawing or preventing 8,500
children from exploitive labor.
The Ministries of Labor and Education continued to support the
Combating Child Labor through Education program, which established
several camps that hosted large numbers of children and adolescents.
The Government also created a program in the provinces of Barahona,
Baharuco, and Independencia to eliminate the worst forms of child labor
in the sugar plantation-linked bateyes.
There were no confirmed reports of forced child labor in the formal
sector.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The executive branch sets
minimum wage levels for public workers, and the tripartite National
Salary Committee sets levels for the private sector, with the exception
of workers in the FTZs and the sugar, construction, hotel, and shoe
manufacturing industries. The minimum monthly salary was 4,900 pesos
(approximately $140) in the FTZs and between 4,485 and 7,360 pesos
($128 and $210), depending upon the size of the company, outside the
FTZs. The minimum wage for the public sector was 2,600 pesos ($81) per
month. The daily minimum wage for farm workers covered by minimum wage
regulations was 150 pesos ($4.70), based on a 10-hour day. Cane workers
were subject to a special, lower minimum wage for the sugar industry,
95 pesos ($2.71) per day. The national minimum wage did not provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family.
The law establishes a standard work period of 44 hours per week and
stipulates that all workers are entitled to 36 hours of uninterrupted
rest each week. The law provides for premium pay for overtime, which
was mandatory at some firms in the FTZs.
On sugar plantations cane cutters usually were paid by the weight
of cane cut rather than the hours worked. Cane cutters suspected fraud
by weighing station operators and noted that employers sometimes did
not provide trucks or carts to transport the newly cut cane at the end
of the workday, causing workers to receive lower compensation because
the cane dried out overnight and weighed less. Company officials denied
that there were delays in transporting cane, noting that any delay
would be detrimental to their business operation. The amount of cane a
worker could cut varied, but most young able-bodied workers were able
to cut two to three tons of cane in a workday, yielding a daily wage of
160-240 pesos (approximately $5.00-$7.50). However, older, less able-
bodied workers were only paid for the amount of the cane they actually
cut, even if the amount was less than the minimum wage. In addition
during the six-month off-season, workers in some sugar plantations who
opted to remain in their communities were offered small jobs such as
clearing land, which were generally insufficient to earn the legally
mandated minimum wage.
Conditions for agricultural workers were poor. Workers in the
sugarcane industry who lived in bateyes had inadequate schools, medical
facilities, running water, and sewage systems. Employers in the sugar
cane industry allegedly withheld a portion of wages to ensure that
workers returned for the next harvest. Sugarcane workers often did not
receive medical services or pensions due them even though deductions
were taken from their pay.
The Dominican Social Security Institute (IDSS) sets workplace
safety and health conditions. Both the IDSS and the Ministry of Labor
had a small corps of inspectors charged with enforcing standards. The
Secretariat of Labor had 203 active inspectors. Workers complained that
inspectors were not trained and did not respond to health and safety
complaints. While the law requires that employers provide a safe
working environment, in practice workers could not remove themselves
from hazardous working situations without losing their jobs.
__________
ECUADOR
Ecuador is a constitutional republic with a population of
approximately 13.8 million. In 2006 Rafael Correa won the presidency in
runoff elections that were considered generally free and fair. Correa
took office in January 2007. On September 28, voters approved a
referendum on a new constitution, which became effective on October 20.
Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
While the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there continued to be problems in the following areas:
isolated unlawful killings and use of excessive force by security
forces, sometimes with impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary
arrest and detention; corruption and other abuses by security forces; a
high number of pretrial detainees; and corruption and denial of due
process within the judicial system. Societal problems continued,
including violence against women; discrimination against women,
indigenous persons, Afro-Ecuadorians, and homosexuals; trafficking in
persons and sexual exploitation of minors; and child labor.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Although the
Government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated
killings, there continued to be credible reports that security forces
used excessive force and committed isolated unlawful killings.
In May 2007 the president set up a commission to investigate human
rights violations committed under the Government of Leon Febres Cordero
(1984-88) and in other periods. The commission investigated 307 cases
of alleged human rights violations and investigations continued at
year's end.
On January 15, police allegedly shot and killed two men, one a
fellow officer, without asking questions of the suspects, after a
citizen reported that she had been threatened. Police claimed the two
men were carrying weapons; the officers shot first, killing the two
men. An investigation continued at year's end.
On May 15, police in Esmeraldas arrested Klever Arce Toro, an off-
duty military conscript, who was found dead three days later. An
autopsy determined the cause of death was a gunshot fired at close
distance.
Police officers Reynaldo Enrique Mendoza Roldan and Carlos Rene
Guanotaxi Suntaxi, charged in the April 2007 killing of Juan Carlos
Vera Faguizon in Manta, paid $800(the U.S. dollar is the official
currency) for bail; charges against them were dropped, and they resumed
their functions as police officers.
Police officer Miguel Angel Chiran was convicted and sentenced to
12 years' imprisonment for the 2006 off-duty killing of a taxi driver.
The Ecumenical Human Rights Commission (CEDHU) reported that mob
violence against suspected criminals continued at the level of the
preceding year. Such violence occurred particularly in indigenous
communities and poor neighborhoods of major cities, where there was
little police presence.
On April 7, a mob lynched and burned alive two Colombians after
they allegedly killed a local resident in an attempted robbery in San
Vicente, Manabi Province. The prosecutor investigated the case and
requested that it be dismissed due to lack of merit.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
Criminal kidnapping for profit continued to be a problem in
selected regions of the country. There also were reports of extortion
and threats of kidnapping of ranchers, farmers, and businessmen along
the Colombian border. As of August police registered 354 kidnapping
cases and 143 ``express kidnappings'' (in which a person is driven
around and forced to make automatic withdrawals of personal funds) and
made 86 related arrests, compared with 357 kidnappings and 155
``express kidnappings'' in all of 2007.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the previous and new constitutions and laws prohibit
torture and similar forms of intimidation and punishment, some police
officers reportedly tortured and abused suspects and prisoners, often
with impunity.
At year's end the Government had not acted on a 2005 finding by the
UN Committee Against Torture that the country's laws on torture do not
meet standards set by the UN Convention Against Torture, notably
because the definition of torture in the criminal code criminalizes
``corporal torment'' but not psychological torture, and it does not
correspond to the definition outlined in the convention. Torturers
often were fined rather than imprisoned.
Through December CEDHU registered 67 cases of alleged ``torture''
or ``unwarranted physical aggression'' by police forces. On January 18,
police officer Fernando Santiago Moreno Charro, accompanied by other
officers, entered the Salesian University reportedly with the purpose
of physically abusing student Nadia Cristina Traslavina Bossano because
of her personal disagreements with Moreno's daughter. The police
attacked two students who tried to defend Bossano. Bossano sustained
injuries that caused physical incapacity. An investigation continued at
year's end.
Three men in Quito claimed that on March 25-27, police arrested
them for attempted robbery and then detained them on charges of illegal
possession of arms. The men alleged that police handcuffed, beat, and
tortured them to force confessions that they had taken part in the
robbery. A medical examination found that one of the detainees was
beaten on his arms, buttocks, and legs; no such examination was legally
authorized for the two other detainees. The police allegedly called in
a lawyer who, without conferring with his clients, signed the
confession of the three men, who remained in detention. At the request
of the Ministry of Government's Directorate for Human Rights, the
police chief allegedly involved in the case was being investigated at
year's end.
There were no known developments in the May 2007 police beating of
16-year-old Victor Javier Tipan Caiza. An internal police investigation
in 2007 determined that two officers were guilty of committing a crime;
no action was taken. However, a criminal investigation continued at the
end of the year.
On March 14, the Constituent Assembly passed an amnesty to benefit
individuals who were detained due to violations of military curfew in
November 2007, when President Correa sent in the army to restore order
in Dayuma, Orellana Province. All detainees were released except
Prefect Guadalupe Llori. Llori, who was originally detained in relation
to this case and then imprisoned on charges of embezzlement, was
released on September 23.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in prisons and
detention centers generally were poor and tended to be worse in the
tropical coastal areas than in the temperate highlands.
Overcrowding was a chronic problem in most prison facilities,
although the Ministry of Justice reported that it had remodeled seven
detention centers throughout the country. As of June the National
Agency for Social Rehabilitation (DNRS) reported that 17,201 prisoners
were being held in facilities designed to hold less than half that
number.
A number of prisons experienced serious outbreaks of disease, and
medical care often was inadequate. The daily allocation for prison
rations was $1 per inmate; prisoners often supplemented these rations
by buying their own food.
Information on the number of prisoners who died during the year was
not available. In April 2007 prisoners Juan Carlos Alava Chavez and
Israel Mariscal Vasquez were found dead at Coastal Penitentiary Center
in Guayaquil. A police report suggested that the prisoners died
suspiciously, but a judge dismissed the case for lack of merit.
In May 2007 marines responding to a domestic violence call arrested
Juan Lorenzo Delgado Zambrano and transferred him to the local precinct
of the National Police. The following afternoon, at the suggestion of
authorities, family members went to a hospital in Portoviejo where they
were informed that Delgado had fallen while fighting with another
detainee. Delgado died later that day. An investigation of two police
officers who were responsible for Delgado continued at year's end.
Conditions were notably better in the Quito women's prison than in
men's facilities. Vice President Moreno reported that as of December
there were no adolescents and children over three years old living with
their incarcerated mothers; for children younger than three-who cannot
be separated from their mothers-appropriate day care facilities within
detention centers were provided. Pretrial detainees were held with
convicted prisoners. According to CEDHU, male guards were responsible
for guarding female inmates, and female inmates reported being beaten
by male guards who accused them of trying to escape.
Although in most instances the Government permitted prison visits
by independent human rights observers, authorities occasionally did not
permit human rights observers to visit prisoners who had been placed in
isolation cells after they allegedly had been beaten.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--While both the previous and the
new constitution prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, in 2006 the
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted that provisions in the
Criminal Procedure Code, the Penal Code, and some regulations adopted
by central or provincial authorities ``undermine the guarantees and
protection offered.'' The working group cited two laws of particular
concern: one imposes an obligation on judges to order detention for
persons awaiting trial, i.e., ``preventive detention,'' which in
practice created a situation in which thousands of persons were
detained for longer periods than the constitution allowed, often years
longer, thus violating their right to be tried within a reasonable
time. The second measure abolishes sentence reductions, which led to a
large number of persons serving lengthy sentences for minor offenses.
In 2006 the Constitutional Court ruled the preventive detention
provision unconstitutional, holding that no person can remain in prison
unsentenced for more than one year for penal crimes and six months for
lesser crimes. The clock for inmates already incarcerated and all
future incarcerated individuals started in October 2007. However, in
October 2007 Congress passed an interpretative law determining that
detainees who purposely delayed the judicial process were not subject
to the ruling of the Constitutional Court.
The law stipulates that pregnant women cannot be jailed in prison
facilities, yet many were jailed rather than being confined to their
homes.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police are
under the authority of the Ministry of Government. National Police
effectiveness was impaired by corruption, poor hiring procedures, and
insufficient training, supervision, and resources. President Correa's
declaration of a state of emergency in several areas in October 2007
continued to result in a higher level of resources for the National
Police, totaling over $300 million.
Some municipalities, such as Quito and Guayaquil, have their own
metropolitan police forces in addition to the National Police. A police
internal affairs office investigates complaints against police officers
and can refer cases to the police courts. Nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) claimed that members of the Quito and Guayaquil metropolitan
police occasionally used excessive force. Police corruption was
sometimes a problem.
The National Police contracted with NGOs to provide human rights
training.
Arrest and Detention.--The law requires authorities to issue
specific written arrest orders within 24 hours of detention, and
authorities must charge a suspect with a specific criminal offense
within 24 hours of arrest. Within 24 hours of arrest, detained persons
could challenge the legality of their detention through a habeas corpus
petition to the senior elected official in the locality where detention
took place, usually the mayor; however, in practice few such petitions
were presented. Under the new constitution, which went into effect in
October, an individual must present a habeas corpus petition to a court
rather than the senior elected official.
Prior to adoption of the 2008 constitution, mayors could release a
person illegally detained, based solely on procedural issues under the
habeas corpus mechanism. The new constitution provides that a prisoner
may be released only by court order.
There was no known investigation into the July 2007 arrest of
Manuel Xavier Cornejo Delgado who claimed that, after he had filed a
lawsuit against two police officers, police detained him incommunicado
for two weeks and searched his home without a warrant or probable
cause.
Bail is allowed only in the case of less serious crimes, those
punishable with ``correctional imprisonment,'' and is prohibited for
more serious crimes involving narcotics and other major offenses
requiring long-term incarceration (offenses that ``affect or put at
risk'' the public, punishable by three to 35 years' imprisonment).
Although the law entitles detainees to prompt access to lawyers and
family members, there were delays depending on the circumstances and
officials' willingness to enforce the law; alleged narcotics
traffickers commonly waited 24 to 48 hours for these visits. Detainees
with sufficient resources have bribed prison officials to facilitate
access. CEDHU reported that an unknown number of prisoners were held in
facilities that did not accommodate visits by family or counsel.
Although the law prohibits incommunicado detention, human rights
organizations continued to report occasional violations. Authorities
charged with determining the validity of detention often allowed
frivolous charges to be brought, either because they were overworked or
because the accuser bribed them. The system frequently was used as a
means of harassment in civil cases in which one party sought to have
the other arrested on criminal charges.
Investigative detention up to and including trial is legal if a
judge determines that it is necessary, and if evidence that a crime has
been committed is presented. The law limits immediate detention to 24
hours for in flagrante crimes or to allow for investigative detention
to begin. In most jurisdictions, the immediate detention is often
considerably longer. If the investigation report is detrimental, the
judge may order preventive detention, which is limited to six months
for minor offenses and 12 months for major offenses.
The law permits prisoners to be held for an indefinite period after
indictments have been issued but before they have been convicted or
sentenced. The majority of the accused remained in prison during the
investigation phase. According to government data, as of June
approximately 61 percent of detainees had not been sentenced.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides
for an independent judiciary, in practice the judiciary was at times
susceptible to outside pressure and corruption. The media reported
extensively on the susceptibility of the judiciary to bribes for
favorable decisions and resolution of legal cases and on judges
parceling out cases to outside lawyers who wrote judicial sentences on
cases before the court and sent them back to the presiding judge for
signature. CEDHU further asserted that judges occasionally reached
decisions based on media influence or political and economic pressures.
The judiciary consisted of the Supreme Court, superior circuit
courts, other courts, tribunals that hear cases in accordance with the
constitution and other laws, and the Judicial Council, which is charged
with administering the court system and disciplining judges. There also
were military and police tribunals that had the same status as circuit
courts, as well as criminal, provincial, and cantonal (county) courts.
The Supreme Court supervised the open and competitive selection of all
appellate judges. The 2008 constitution changes the judicial structure
and procedures. Among other changes the Supreme Court was renamed the
National Court of Justice, citizens are allowed to file cases directly
with the Constitutional Court, and most military and police cases must
be decided in civilian courts.
In February 2007 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
ruled that the 2005 appeal by 27 justices of the Supreme Court, who had
been replaced by Congress in 2004, was admissible. The case remained
pending at year's end.
Trial Procedures.--Despite efforts to modernize the court system,
the judiciary continued to operate slowly and inconsistently. There
were lengthy delays before most cases came to trial. Judges reportedly
rendered decisions more quickly or more slowly as a result of political
pressure or, in some cases, the payment of bribes. The failures of the
justice system contributed to cases in which communities took the law
into their own hands, such as mob violence against suspected criminals.
There are no juries in the justice system. Defendants are presumed
innocent until proven guilty and have the right to a public trial,
defense attorneys, and appeal. They may present evidence, refuse to
testify against themselves, and confront and cross-examine witnesses.
The law extends these rights to all citizens. Although a public
defender system exists, in practice only 180 attorneys were available
to defend the large number of impoverished defendants throughout the
country.
Civil society groups, lawyers' associations, universities, and
foreign donors sought to support vulnerable groups that did not have
access to legal defense.
The regular court system tries most nonmilitary defendants,
although some indigenous groups try members independently for
violations of tribal rules. The law permits police or military courts
to try police officers and military defendants in closed sessions in
accordance with the respective military and police court martial
manuals. Only the Supreme Court may try cases involving flag-rank
officers. Despite a constitutional provision that civilian courts have
jurisdiction over police or military officers charged with criminal
offenses, these officers were often tried in police or military courts.
However, the 2008 constitution mandates the elimination of military
courts by declaring jurisdictional unity and orders military courts to
hand over their cases to the National Court of Justice. An interim
National Court of Justice established on December 17 had not tried
members of the military or police at year's end.
Although the law and the previous and new constitutions recognize
indigenous communities' right to exercise their own systems of justice
based on their traditions and customs, they do not specify how this
right would be implemented. This parallel system raised questions of
both jurisdiction and conformity to the right to a fair trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civilian courts and the
Administrative Conflicts Tribunal, generally considered independent and
impartial, handle lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human
rights violations. However, civilian lawsuits seeking damages for
alleged wrongs by the state were rarely filed since such suits were
time-consuming and difficult to prosecute, with judges taking up to a
decade to rule on the merits.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the law prohibit such actions,
and the Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Although wiretapping by the National Police to investigate crimes
is legal with a court order, there is no specific procedural guidance
for obtaining such approval.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The previous and new constitutions
provide for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government,
while critical of the media, generally respected these rights in
practice. An independent press and a largely democratic political
system combined to promote freedom of speech and of the press. The
independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views,
although the Government did scrutinize those views and intervened in
two television stations.
In January, the Government's television and radio regulatory
agency, the Consejo National de Radiodifusion y Television (CONARTEL),
issued an order in January to two radio stations to ``correct'' reports
critical of President Correa. In August the Deposits Guarantee Agency
took administrative control of two national television stations,
Gamavision and TC Television, to prepare them for sale to recoup debts
caused by the 1998 Filanbanco bank failure of their alleged majority
stock owners, William and Roberto Isaias. Three programs on those
television channels were taken off the air after their seizure.
President Correa often used his weekly radio address and other
public comments to criticize the media and accuse it of bias,
frequently naming specific reporters and outlets. On January 10, El
Comercio newspaper on January 10 quoted President Correa as stating,
``The press in Ecuador is a political actor, and there are media
outlets that are openly against the Government.'' The Ecuadorian
delegation to the 64th General Assembly of the Inter- American Press
Association asserted that the aggressive attitude of President Correa's
government toward the press was a strategy to convert media outlets
into a political opposition.
On June 17, the courts dismissed a May 2007 lawsuit President
Correa filed against the president of La Hora newspaper's board of
directors; the president had invoked the country's ``insult laws'' over
an editorial in La Hora.
On September 25, Freddy Aponte Aponte, a reporter for a local radio
station in the city of Loja, was sentenced to six months imprisonment
for defamation. Former Loja mayor Jose Bolivar Castillo Vivanco pressed
charges against Aponte because Aponte reportedly called him a thief
during a June 2007 radio program. After a series of appeals, the
Supreme Court upheld the sentence. Aponte, jailed on October 29, denied
the charges and claimed that the trial was plagued with irregularities.
On November 25, the former mayor filed a second lawsuit against Aponte
seeking one million dollars in damages.
On December 17-19, the Government transmitted short spots during
the broadcast of the Direct Contact program on the Ecuavisa network in
which it criticized the program's host, Carlos Vera. Media analysts
stated that this maneuver was illegal because the Radio and Television
Broadcasting Law only gives the Government the right to broadcast spots
on two or more channels at a time, not on a single channel, and that
the information should be about government activities.
On a number of occasions during the year, the police questioned
individuals for having allegedly insulted President Correa at rallies
or public gatherings.
In late 2007 the Controller General issued a report citing
irregularities in 370 concessions of television and radio stations
between 2003 and 2005, and in February CONARTEL decided to take back 42
of those concessions. On November 20, in compliance with the 2008
constitution, President Correa created the Commission for Auditing
Radio and Television Concessions. The seven-member commission's
responsibility was to determine whether frequency concessions since
1985 comply with constitutional provisions. The 2008 constitution
prohibits oligopolies or monopolies in the ownership of means of
communications and in the use of frequencies. It also precludes
financial groups, their legal representatives, stockholders, and board
members from participating in the control of the ``social means of
communication'' in terms of capital, investment, and patrimony.
In June 2007 a former government advisor, Quinto Pazmino, filed a
$10 million lawsuit against President Correa for libel. Authorities
subsequently detained Pazmino for insulting the president. In September
2007 the Supreme Court ruled that Pazmino, as a Constituent Assembly
candidate, enjoyed special privileges, and he was freed after the
payment of a fine. A criminal proceeding against the president requires
Congressional authorization, which Congress did not provide before
November 2007, when the Constituent Assembly declared the Congress in
recess. In June the Supreme Court determined that the statute of
limitations had expired in the lawsuit against President Correa. An
investigation by the Prosecutor General's Office of the lawsuit filed
by President Correa against Pazmino continued at year's end.
Business- and private-interest pressures, both from media owners
and businesses outside the media groups, sometimes influenced the
content of news reporting.
The 2008 constitution contains a number of provisions relating to
``social communication,'' the rights of citizens to receive information
from the media, the Government's control over the electromagnetic
spectrum (i.e., television and radio frequencies), and how media
ownership will be treated.
The constitution declares the frequency spectrum a nonrenewable
resource owned by the state and mandates that the state receive no less
benefit than the company involved in the exploitation of that resource.
The constitution also states that the social communication system will
assure the exercise of the rights of communication, information, and
freedom of expression.
The Correa administration enforced a provision in the Radio and
Television Broadcasting Law that requires all stations to broadcast at
no charge government programs on education and health issues for up to
an hour per day (Mondays through Saturdays). It also mandates the
broadcast of messages and reports by the president and his cabinet free
of charge.
The 2008 constitution maintained the previous constitutional
provision stating the right of all persons to receive information that
is true, verified, timely, contextualized, plural, and without prior
censorship. It also included a provision stating that the law will
regulate the informational, educational, and cultural content of the
programming of communication outlets.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Internet access was widely available in larger cities, but access in
remote locations was poor. The International Telecommunication Union
reported that there were 13 users per 100 inhabitants in 2007.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the Government generally
respected this right in practice. Security forces used force and tear
gas to quell some violent demonstrations, resulting in several
injuries. Public rallies require prior government permits, which
generally were granted, although exceptions occurred.
On May 30, several employees of the Superintendency of Companies
protested in Quito to demand the resignation of Superintendent
Francisco Arellano because of alleged corruption and mistreatment. The
police removed the protesters by using tear gas, and two persons were
treated subsequently by firefighters.
On August 16, there were altercations between the police and
university students during and after President Correa's radio address
broadcast from the Catholic University of Guayaquil. The students
stated that the police employed excessive force by using tear gas and
physical violence and that they had been persecuted because they
supported the ``no'' vote in the referendum. University authorities
presented a lawsuit before the Guayas authorities in defense of the
students, stating that at least five of them were injured during the
incidents and arguing that the university's autonomy had been violated.
On September 27, the police imposed nine days of detention on two
policemen who were involved in the altercations. Investigations
continued at year's end.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
The Government requires religious groups to be licensed or
registered if they engage in proselytizing activity.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Muslim leaders reported that
members of their community occasionally experienced random
discrimination when applying for work or housing. There were no reports
of anti-Semitic acts or other societal abuses or discrimination based
on religious affiliation, belief, or practice.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. Protesters blocked roads, but less frequently than in
previous years.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations,
such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.
Protection of Refugees.--The laws provide for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The Government granted refugee status or asylum. In practice,
the Government provided protection against the expulsion and return of
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom were threatened. The
Government also provided temporary protection to individuals who might
not qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention or the 1967 protocol.
This included providing services to the continuing flows of Colombians
crossing the northern border throughout the year.
The Government reported that through the first nine months of the
year, it received 7,767 applications for refugee status. Several
thousand additional cases from this and preceding years remained
pending. Rejected applicants have a legal right to appeal; after
appeals are exhausted, they have 30 days to leave the country. While
the UNHCR and the Government reported difficulty dealing with the
number of applicants and appeals, both the UNHCR and the IOM supported
the Government refugee office's efforts to streamline its decision-
making and appeals processes and reduce its case backlog.
There were nearly 20,000 recognized refugees in the country. The
UNHCR estimated that approximately 133,000 persons were in need of
international protection, of whom approximately 72,000 were registered
as asylum seekers with the Government and 61,000 were not registered.
Colombians accounted for 92 percent of asylum seekers, and the rest
originated from a wide variety of countries, including Cuba, Peru,
Haiti, Iraq, Somalia, and Sri Lanka. The law provides persons granted
refugee status the right to work; however, this right is not extended
to asylum seekers. The law guarantees recognized refugees and asylum
seekers the same access to public health services as Ecuadorians,
including psychosocial support, emergency dental services, and free
basic maternity assistance. Ministerial Agreement No. 337, issued on
September 26, removed the requirement for documentary proof of
immigration status by foreign students who apply to public educational
establishments. Under the new order, the presentation of any identity
document is sufficient to ensure access to public educational
institutions.
In December the Government started an enhanced registration program
that improves the refugee registration process so that those in need of
international protection can be interviewed, assessed, and issued
documentation on the same day. Previously, the refugee registration
process could take one to two years to complete. The nationwide program
was expected to target up to 50,000 Colombian refugees for registration
and documentation over a 12-month period.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Rafael Correa was elected
in 2006 and inaugurated in January 2007. Independent observers,
including the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral mission,
described the elections as generally free and fair.
As of year's end there were 10 women in the 27-member cabinet and
two female secretaries of state with the rank of minister. There was
one Asian-Ecuadorian but no Afro-Ecuadorians or indigenous persons in
the cabinet.
A referendum on a new constitution took place on September 28; 63.9
percent of the voters favored adopting the constitution, written by the
Constituent Assembly elected in September 2007. OAS, European Union,
and Carter Center observers concluded that the elections were free and
fair, with minor irregularities.
The 2008 constitution grants suffrage to members of the armed
forces and the police, and lowers the minimum voting age from 18 to 16.
It creates the Transparency and Social Control Branch of the state to
promote citizen participation and prevent corruption. The constitution
provides for state-promoted, gender-balanced representation in the
public sector, including in decision-making positions, and mandates
government adoption of affirmative action policies to promote the
participation of affected groups.
Along with the 2008 constitution, voters approved a ``transition
regime,'' which regulates the transition to the new institutional
order. The transition regime mandates elections scheduled for April and
June, 2009 for elected offices at all levels of government. On October
25, in accordance with the transition regime, the Constituent Assembly
appointed from among its members an interim Legislative and Oversight
Commission, composed of 76 members. On October 21, the Constitutional
Tribunal proclaimed itself the Constitutional Court, with the powers
granted by the 2008 constitution. An interim National Court of Justice,
which replaced the Supreme Court, was established on December 17.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively. The World Bank's worldwide governance
indicators reflected that government corruption was a serious problem.
On July 8, Prosecutor Alfredo Alvear requested a criminal
investigation of Ombudsman Claudio Mueckay for employing public funds,
which were destined to assist the families of deceased citizens abroad,
to appoint officers abroad. On July 23, at the request of the Supreme
Court, the Constituent Assembly lifted Mueckay's privileges and
permanently removed him from his office the following day. The
prosecutor's investigation continued at year's end.
On August 27, Comptroller General Carlos Polit submitted to the
Prosecutor General's Office a report on Constituent Assembly advisors'
and administrative personnel's contracts. The report showed
irregularities involving several assembly members' staffs, suggesting
time and attendance fraud.
On December 3, Minister of Sports Raul Carrion, resigned after
three of his advisors were placed under preventive detention during an
investigation of their alleged illicit enrichment and asset laundering,
among other charges. A court order prohibited former minister Carrion
from leaving the country. These investigations continued at year's end.
The Constituent Assembly required all its members to present their
2006 tax returns, authorize access to their local and overseas bank
accounts, and file an assets affidavit by January 11. Assembly member
Alvaro Noboa failed to submit his tax return and lost his seat in the
Assembly.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
cooperated with the groups but often did not act on their views.
An Ombudsman's Office focused on human rights problems; however,
some observers criticized its lack of independence in practice. The
office had adequate resources but was not considered effective on human
rights issues.
The Constituent Assembly's Fundamental Rights and Constitutional
Guarantees Commission held hearings on human rights before writing the
constitution. The Constituent Assembly granted 13 amnesties and five
pardons to individuals and groups allegedly involved in a variety of
crimes.
The Commission for Truth, created in 2007 to investigate alleged
human rights violations (particularly during the 1984-88 period),
investigated 307 cases of human rights violations, and continued its
work at year's end.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The previous and new constitutions prohibit discrimination based on
race, gender, disability, language, or social status; however, women,
persons with disabilities, indigenous persons, Afro-Ecuadorians,
homosexuals, and transgendered persons continued to face
discrimination.
Women.--Although the law prohibits violence against women,
including within marriage, abuses were widespread.
The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and provides a
penalty of up to 25 years in prison. In cases of statutory rape
involving ``amorous'' sex with a minor, the rapist may marry the
victim, cancelling the charges unless the marriage subsequently is
annulled. The penalty for rape where death occurred is 35 years'
imprisonment. As of August there were 3,159 reported rapes, 527 cases
where charges were filed, and 156 cases prosecuted successfully. Many
rapes were not reported due to the victim's reluctance to confront the
perpetrator.
The law provides penalties for domestic violence of up to a fine of
$28 or seven days in prison and gives family courts the power to remove
an abusive spouse from the home if continued cohabitation creates a
risk to the victim of abuse. The courts also may issue restraining
orders prohibiting the abusive spouse from approaching the victim or
her place of employment or study; prohibiting the abusive spouse from
persecuting or intimidating the victim or any member of her family;
reinserting the victim into the family home, if shared, while
simultaneously removing the abusive spouse from the premises; and
ordering any treatment deemed beneficial to the affected family.
The Ministry of Government's Office of Gender, based on partial
reports it had received, reported 39,979 cases of sexual,
psychological, or physical mistreatment of women and 6,065 cases
involving male victims. Thirty-one special Police Stations for Women
and Families handled such issues as domestic violence. The Government's
National Commission on Women (CONAMU) may accept complaints about abuse
of women but must refer cases to the Prosecutor's Office for action.
CONAMU had projects in all provinces, focusing primarily on equal
opportunities, public policy programs toward women, and lines of credit
for women's businesses. In some police stations, social workers
employed by city governments or NGOs assisted victims. A variety of
NGOs offered legal and psychological assistance to victims of domestic
violence.
Prostitution is legal for persons over the age of 18 so long as the
businesses are registered with the Government and follow health
regulations. Trafficking in persons for prostitution was a problem.
Despite the legal prohibition of sexual harassment, women's rights
organizations described harassment in the workplace as common. CONAMU
is charged with designing public policies to promote women's human
rights and equality in cases of sexual harassment.
Despite legal protection of women's rights in politics, the home,
and employment, societal discrimination against women was pervasive,
particularly with respect to educational and economic opportunities for
older women and for those in the lower economic strata. Although women
enjoy the same legal status as men, women often did not receive equal
rights in practice. According to the Government, women received
approximately 65 percent of the pay received by men for equal work.
Women's advocates alleged that culture and tradition inhibited
achievement of full equality for women. There were fewer women than men
employed in professional work and skilled trades.
The Ecuadorian Women's Permanent National Forum included more than
320 women's organizations and promoted social, economic, and cultural
change, including increased political participation by women. CONAMU
provided support for approximately 500 women's organizations, many of
which promoted social consciousness and greater participation by women
in the political process. The NGO Women's Political Coordinator, which
operated in 22 provinces, also promoted women's rights, with emphasis
on political participation and human rights.
The 2008 constitution affords women an array of benefits in the
economic, political, and social areas. For example, it provides for
gender balance in decision-making government institutions and in the
lists of political parties' candidates for the National Assembly and
other representative institutions. While women's organizations
applauded these provisions, they noted that there were many legal and
financial requirements necessary in order to implement the reforms.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
welfare and increased funding for child health and education; however,
those steps were not fully effective.
The 2008 constitution raised the minimum 10-year requirement of
schooling to 15 years; however, due to shortages of schools, inadequate
school funding, and the comparatively high cost of books and uniforms,
the Government rarely enforced either the old or new minimum
requirement.
There was no societal pattern of abuse against children.
Commercial sexual exploitation of minors remained a problem.
More than 20 NGOs promoted child welfare. The UN Children's Fund
and several private organizations were active in programs to assist
street children.
Trafficking in Persons.--While criminal laws prohibit trafficking
in persons, there were reports that women and children were trafficked
within, to, from, and through the country.
According to the 2007 survey of the National Council for Children
and Adolescents, the Child Welfare Police reported 81 cases of
trafficking in persons for various purposes, such as begging and sexual
exploitation.
Traffickers were organized criminal gangs specializing in movement
of persons, proprietors of small businesses such as bars or brothels,
or illicit employment brokers. Accounts indicated that traffickers'
recruitment modalities varied depending on the type of exploitation. In
the case of sexual exploitation, victims were lured romantically or
with promises of legitimate employment and then forced into
prostitution. Recruiters for forced labor and begging included business
owners in and outside the country. These traffickers offered parents
education and work opportunities for their young children and then
forced victims into trafficking situations, including prostitution
domestically and in Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.
Foreign victims were transported across the border in public buses
and in vehicles owned by traffickers. Victims from Colombia reportedly
crossed the border in trucks. Falsified civil registry documents
facilitated trafficking by disguising the nationalities of trafficking
victims and the ages of juveniles.
The law criminalizes trafficking in persons and provides for prison
terms of six to 35 years. The law also provides for penalties of six to
12 years in prison for promoting sexual tourism and child sex tourism.
Numerous provinces, such as Pichincha, El Oro, Sucumbios, and Azuay,
created networks joining local and national government institutions,
NGOs, and civil society groups to combat trafficking in persons. These
networks developed antitrafficking action plans and prevention
campaigns, and in some cases worked together on adoption of ordinances.
The Public Ministry reported 98 cases of trafficking for sexual
exploitation from January to July and nine convictions, seven for
sexual exploitation, one for child pornography, and one for forced
begging.
The 2008 constitution requires the state to adopt measures to
prevent and eradicate trafficking in persons and to assist victims,
provide them with social reintegration, and protect them against
revictimization (particularly during the judicial process) and from any
type of threat or other forms of intimidation.
Under this new legal framework, trafficking victims of sexual
exploitation may sue their spouse, partner, or relatives. The
Government must also undertake all necessary measures to protect
foreign victims' rights even though they may have an irregular
immigration status.
A 2007 presidential decree affords protection to victims,
witnesses, and others involved in the judicial process to encourage
victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking
cases. The program provides immediate protection, psychological and
medical attention, economic assistance, and employment assistance.
Since the economic resources of this program were limited, the
Government made agreements with several foundations and organizations
that help provide the required services.
During the year the national government, in conjunction with NGOs
and local governments, provided shelter to 76 trafficking victims while
assisting them to reintegrate in their communities. On November 18, the
Ministry for Social and Economic Inclusion opened the first government-
run shelter for trafficking victims in El Oro Province.
From January to October, the Ministries of Government and Foreign
Affairs and the National Child and Family Welfare Institute coordinated
the repatriation of 21 victims of labor exploitation: 19 in the
Dominican Republic, one in Colombia, and one in Chile. The ministries
and the institute also assisted the return of two Colombian trafficking
victims to their communities of origin.
The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights trained 4,000 police
officers on trafficking in persons during the year.
The Ministry for Social and Economic Inclusion expanded its
National Program for Special Protection that includes trafficking
prevention activity in the provinces of Chimborazo, Tungurahua, Canar,
and Guayas. The National Council of Children and Adolescents launched
trafficking prevention campaigns in multiple provinces, specifically
trafficking with the purpose of begging, with a strong focus on the
central highlands.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of
other state services. The interagency National Council on Disabilities
oversees government policies regarding persons with disabilities.
Although the law mandates access to buildings for persons with
disabilities, the Government did not enforce it.
For the September referendum, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE)
did not print ballots in braille but allowed blind individuals to have
assistance from a relative while voting. The TSE provided sign language
translators and made efforts to ensure that voting precincts were fully
accessible to persons with disabilities.
The law requires the hiring of persons with disabilities in all
public and private enterprises with more than 25 employees; however,
there was no information on its implementation. An initiative,
``Ecuador without Barriers,'' led by Vice President Lenin Moreno,
helped create approximately 2,800 jobs for persons with disabilities by
December 17.
The 2008 constitution extends benefits to persons with
disabilities, particularly in the areas of education, employment, and
access to social security.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The estimated 758,000 Afro-
Ecuadorian citizens suffered pervasive discrimination, particularly
with regard to educational and economic opportunity.
The Afro-Ecuadorian Cultural Center estimated that 70 percent of
Afro-Ecuadorians lived in poverty. Afro-Ecuadorian organizations noted
that, despite the absence of official discrimination, societal
discrimination, including stereotyping, continued to affect them. For
example, they continued to assert that the police stopped Afro-
Ecuadorians for document checks more frequently than they stopped other
citizens and that employers often would not interview persons whose job
applications carried Afro-Ecuadorian photos. There were no special
government efforts to address these problems.
The 2008 constitution declares the state to be plurinational,
affirms the principle of nondiscrimination by recognizing the right of
indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, and Montubio communities to restitution
for acts of discrimination, and mandates affirmative action policies to
ensure the representation of minorities.
Indigenous People.--Estimates of those who maintained their
indigenous cultural identity and lived in indigenous communities varied
between 7 and 20 percent of the population. The vast majority of
indigenous citizens resided in rural areas, including the highlands and
the Amazonian provinces. Despite their political influence and the
advocacy efforts of grassroots community groups, indigenous people
continued to suffer discrimination at many levels of society and, with
few exceptions, were at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale.
Arable land was scarce in the more heavily populated highland
areas, where high infant mortality, malnutrition, and epidemic disease
were common among the indigenous population. Electricity and potable
water often were unavailable. Although the rural education system was
seriously deficient, many indigenous groups participated with the
Ministry of Education in the development of the bilingual education
program used in rural public schools.
The 2008 constitution strengthens rights of indigenous peoples; it
declares the state plurinational, recognizing Kichwa and Shuar as
``official languages of intercultural relations,'' and specifically
recognizes indigenous justice. Existing law also recognizes the rights
of indigenous communities to hold property communally, to administer
traditional community justice in certain cases, and to be consulted
before natural resources are exploited in community territories.
Indigenous people also have the same civil and political rights as
other citizens.
The former and new constitutions grant indigenous peoples the right
to participate in decisions about the exploitation of non-renewable
resources that are located in their lands and that could affect their
culture or environment. They allow indigenous people to participate in
the benefits the projects may bring and to receive compensation for the
damage that could result. The 2008 constitution mandates, in the case
of environmental damage, immediate corrective government action and
full restitution from the responsible company. However, some indigenous
organizations asserted a lack of consultation and remedial action.
Indigenous groups lobbied the Government, enlisted the help of
foreign and domestic NGOs, and mounted protests in attempts to win a
greater share of oil revenues and a greater voice in natural resource
and development decisions. Colonists, drug traffickers, and loggers
illegally encroached into indigenous territory. Corrupt local
officials, a lack of political will, and divisions among and within
indigenous communities undermined indigenous efforts to stop the flow
of illegally harvested timber. Widespread environmental damage, in part
due to deforestation and petroleum production, constituted another
serious problem.
The ombudsman's office had representatives in indigenous
communities throughout the country. These had responsibility for
promoting human and indigenous rights among indigenous communities and
providing specific advisory services to these groups.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although the law
prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, homosexuals,
transsexuals, and transvestites continued to suffer discrimination from
both public and private bodies.
The 2008 constitution includes the principle of nondiscrimination,
and establishes choice of sexual orientation as a right.
According to the NGO Kimirina, police subjected homosexuals,
transsexuals, and transvestites to cruel, inhuman, and degrading
treatment. The NGO accused the police of specifically targeting them
and inflicting physical and psychological abuse, threats, extortion,
and robbery. Police routinely arrested homosexuals and transvestites in
public areas.
On April 29, a policeman pushed and punched a member of a sexual
minority group. Two other policemen then forced the individual into a
police car and accused him of being a criminal, while insulting him.
They drove with him in the car and then pulled one of his friends into
the car. The officers later released them.
The 2008 constitution specifically prohibits discrimination
directed at persons with HIV/AIDS. There was no societal violence
against persons with HIV/AIDS; however, persons with HIV/AIDS often
preferred to conceal their health condition in order to avoid social
discrimination.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--While the law provides most workers
with the rights to form and join trade unions of their choice, legal
protections of these rights were inadequate, sometimes failing to deter
employers from retaliating against workers for organizing. Members of
the police, the military, and most public sector employees (those who
fall under the civil service law) were not free to form trade unions.
Approximately 1 percent of the workforce was organized.
While employees of state-owned organizations enjoyed rights similar
to those in the private sector, the law prohibits the majority of
public sector employees from joining unions or exercising collective
bargaining rights. Most public employees maintained membership in a
labor sector association; such associations are not allowed to strike
or bargain collectively.
The 2008 constitution, whose worker rights provisions require the
adoption of implementing laws, terms workers' rights ``irrevocable";
provides for the right to unionize and to strike (except in instances
which might cause ``paralysis'' in public services such as health,
education, public safety, and utilities); and commits state support for
democratic unions.
The labor code and the 2008 constitution require workers in state
enterprises to be represented by a single labor union. The law does not
require reinstatement of workers fired for union activity but does
require compensation and fines. The 2008 constitution prohibits the use
of outsourcing and of discriminatory criteria in hiring.
There are few restrictions on the right of private-sector workers
to strike, although a 10-day period is required before a strike can be
declared. The law allows solidarity strikes or boycotts of three days
if the Ministry of Labor approves them. In some industries, during a
legal strike, workers may take possession of the factory or workplace
(thus ending production at the site) and receive police protection
during the takeover. However, in other industries, such as agriculture,
the law requires a 20-day waiting period from the day the strike is
called. During this time, workers and employers must agree on how many
workers are needed to ensure a minimum level of service, and at least
20 percent of the workforce must continue to work in order to provide
essential services. The law provides that ``the employer may contract
substitute personnel'' only when striking workers refuse to send the
number of workers required to provide the minimum necessary services,
although in practice this law was not enforced. The law protects
strikers and their leaders from retaliation.
The law does not provide the majority of public workers with the
right to strike. It includes a provision that striking public- sector
workers are liable to between two and five years in prison. A temporary
law passed by the Constituent Assembly on April 30 provided a 180-day
deadline for the revision of all public sector collective bargaining
agreements to exclude excessive benefits for workers.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
requires all private employers with 30 or more workers belonging to a
union to negotiate collectively when the union so requests. Collective
bargaining agreements covered 25 percent of the organized workforce.
Most of the economically active population was employed in the
agricultural sector or the urban informal sector; the vast majority of
these workers were not organized. The law allows businesses to hire
workers on individual contracts.
There is special legislation regulating labor in export processing
zones. Most workers in export processing zones are hired on temporary
contracts, and as such do not appear to be protected by key elements of
the labor code.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that children were trafficked for labor (See Section 5,
Trafficking).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits exploitation of children in the workplace and forced or
compulsory labor; however, the Government did not effectively enforce
the law, and child labor remained a problem.
The labor code, the child and adolescent code, and the 2008
constitution set the minimum working age for minors at 15 for all types
of labor and the maximum hours a minor may work at six hours per day,
five days per week. The law lists 15 jobs that are not suitable for
children and prohibits minors from working in hazardous conditions,
including in mines or in jobs requiring exposure to toxic or dangerous
substances. The law requires employers to pay minors at least 80
percent of the wages received by adults for the same type of
employment. Penalties for violations of the child labor laws include
fines of $50 to $300 for parents or guardians, fines of $200 to $1,000
for employers hiring adolescents between ages 15 and 17, and a fine of
$1,000 for any employer found to have hired children under the age of
15. In cases of repeated infractions, the employer's business can be
closed.
The Ministries of Labor and of Economic and Social Inclusion and
the Minors' Tribunal were charged with enforcing child labor laws, but
enforcement, while improving, was not fully effective. The 2006
National Institute of Statistics and Census's Child Labor National
Survey found that 367,000 children between ages five and 14 were
engaged in labor not permitted by law, primarily working in rural areas
in the informal sector, compared with 550,000 in 2001.
The Government's 28 child labor inspectors inspected workplace
locations that specifically employed child labor; these inspectors had
the authority to cite violations and sanction companies and employers
found to have illegally hired child labor. From January to September,
the inspectors conducted approximately 2,397 workplace inspections and
found approximately 1,305 minors working in violation of labor laws.
The Ministry of Labor's five-officer Division for Child Labor meets
monthly with other divisions in the ministry and the National Committee
for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labor, which includes
government agencies, businesses, and labor organizations.
While the Ministry of Labor's Social Service Directorate monitored
child labor in businesses such as factories, enforcement in most
sectors of the economy remained limited. In urban areas many children
under age 15 worked in family-owned businesses in the informal sector,
shining shoes, collecting and recycling garbage, or as street peddlers.
Other children were employed in commerce, messenger services, domestic
services, and begging. Children as young as five or six often sold
newspapers or candy on the street to support themselves or to augment
family income.
The Government supported the Program for the Schooling and
Protection of Child Workers, which implemented a workshop program in 40
cities to work with families and schools on the problem of child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The 2008 constitution mandates
an annual revision of the minimum wage to match progressively the cost
of a family's basic needs. The minimum wage plus mandated bonuses
provided a gross monthly compensation of $233. The statutory minimum
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and
family. Most organized workers in state industries and formal-sector
private enterprises earned substantially more than the minimum wage and
also received other significant benefits through collective bargaining
agreements. However, most workers worked in the large informal and
rural sectors without obtaining the minimum wage or legally mandated
benefits.
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek and two consecutive days of
rest per week. If required to work beyond the standard workweek,
workers must be paid overtime. A higher overtime rate is set for
working at night. The maximum number of hours of overtime was 12 hours
per week, which generally was respected, except in subcontracting
companies, where workers sometimes were required to work up to 28 hours
of overtime per week, and in the case of some domestic employees. The
Ministry of Labor did not deploy sufficient resources to enforce labor
laws.
The Social Security Institute is responsible for enforcing health
and safety standards and regulations. In the formal sector,
occupational health and safety was not a significant problem. However,
there were no specific regulations governing health and safety
standards in the agricultural sector, and in practice there was no
enforcement of safety rules in the small mines that made up the vast
majority of enterprises in the mining sector.
The 2008 constitution provides that workers have the right to a
healthy and safe work environment. A worker may request that an
inspector from the Ministry of Labor confirm a workplace hazard; that
inspector then may close down the workplace. Response time for
inspectors ranged from three days in major cities to much longer in the
countryside.
The 2008 constitution protects self-employed workers who work in
public areas and prohibits the confiscation of their products or work
tools, a provision intended to benefit informal sector workers, such as
street vendors.
__________
EL SALVADOR
El Salvador is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with a
population of approximately 5.8 million. In 2004 voters elected Elias
Antonio Saca of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) as
president for a five-year term in generally free and fair elections.
Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control over the
security forces.
Although the Government generally respected the rights of its
citizens, protection of human rights was undermined by widespread
violent crime, including gang-related violence, high levels of impunity
from prosecution, and judicial corruption. Other significant human
rights problems included harsh, violent, and overcrowded prison
conditions; lengthy pretrial detention; violence and discrimination
against women; abuses against children, child labor, and forced child
prostitution; trafficking in persons; and inadequate enforcement of
labor rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed any politically
motivated killings; however, there were reports that security forces
were involved in unlawful killings.
During the year the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights (PDDH)
stated that the National Civilian Police (PNC) was responsible for 559
cases of abuse of human integrity, which included unlawful killings,
attempted unlawful killings, assaults, and other offenses causing
bodily harm. During the year the PDDH received 11 complaints of alleged
unlawful killings. As of August the Office of the PNC Inspector General
reported that security forces killed 10 persons, compared with 24 in
2007.
On July 2, six individuals dressed as police officers in San
Bartolo, Ilopango, fatally shot Walter Alexander Ayala Rivas and Jolman
Ernesto Ayala Rivas. Authorities apprehended six suspects and
determined that the killings were gang-related. The Office of the
Attorney General reported that the accused were sentenced each to 35
years' imprisonment.
On July 24, an unknown individual fatally shot Rafaela Hernandez
Delgado, the wife of a Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion
Nacional (FMLN) San Salvador municipal council member, while she was
riding a public bus. At year's end the case remained under
investigation.
On January 14, Nelson Antonio Arriaza Delgado, a PNC sergeant and
former chief of its regional criminal investigation unit, and Carlos
Geovanny Chevez Hidalgo each were sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment
for the July 2007 murder-for-hire killing of Amado Garcia Amaya, an
alleged gang member in Nueva Esparta. On March 20, authorities also
sentenced Arriaza Delgado to 40 years' imprisonment for the 2007
killings in Jocoro, Morazan, of Pedro Antonio Sosa Flores, Oscar Rene
Bonilla Machado, and Mario Humberto Diaz Bonilla, and the attempted
killing of Jose Rigoberto Diaz Benitez. By year's end authorities had
dismissed charges against police officer Shefick Cruz Vasque, who was
also charged with the killing of Garcia Amaya. As of December the
Office of the Attorney General was appealing the decision to dismiss
charges against Cruz Vasquez. There was no information available
regarding the status of police officer Edilberto Paiz Morales, who was
also charged with the killing of Garcia Amaya.
On July 25, PNC officer Jose Vidal Reyes Escobar was sentenced to
30 years' imprisonment for the August 2007 beating and killing of Jose
Napoleon Aviles, while in custody in Mejicanos. At year's end the
whereabouts of PNC officer Luis Alfonso Rubi Canales, also allegedly
involved in the August 2007 killing, were unknown.
On January 15, a judge ordered a stay of proceedings for PNC
officers Edilberto Alexander Cruz Chavez and Angel Antonio Garcia
Hernandez, who testified that in 2006, PNC officer Leonidas Beltran
Diaz killed Cesar Anaya Vanegas. The whereabouts of PNC officer Elmer
Vladimir Lovato Ramos, also implicated in the killing of Anaya Vengas,
were unknown, and the case remained pending at year's end.
On July 22, a tribunal cleared Edwin Rene Sanchez Canjura of two
counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in relation to the
2006 killings of two police officers. By year's end the Office of the
Attorney General had appealed the tribunal's decision to the Supreme
Court.
On March 14, the Government filed a petition with the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights to reverse the court's November 2007
ruling against the Government for violations of judicial guarantees and
rights in the 1994 killing of Mauricio Garcia Prieto. In June the Human
Rights Institute of the University of Central America (IDHUCA)
submitted a complaint to the Office of the Attorney General, asking the
Government to observe the November 2007 ruling. On November 24, the
court dismissed the Government's petition and upheld its previous
ruling that the Government compensate Prieto family members for legal
costs and provide them with medical treatment. The Government was given
six months from November 24 to comply with the ruling.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
The Government Interinstitutional Committee for the Search for
Missing Children Resulting from the Armed Conflict in El Salvador
reported that it has resolved 56 of 165 cases under investigation. The
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Association for the Search for
Missing Children (Pro-Busqueda) continued to investigate 818 cases of
children who disappeared during the 1980-92 civil war. The Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) accepted Pro-Busqueda's
complaints against the Government, which alleged the forced
disappearances of Santos Ernesto Salinas and Emelinda Lorena Hernandez
in 1981 and of Manuel Antonio Bonilla and Ricardo Ayala Abarca in 1982.
By year's end Pro-Busqueda had resolved six other cases.
On January 22, a court cleared of all charges and dismissed the
case against Juan Antonio Lopez, the western regional chief of the
Office of the Public Defender, relating to his alleged participation in
the January 2007 kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy. By year's end the
Office of the Attorney General had appealed the decision to the Supreme
Court.
At year's end the IACHR had not published any findings regarding
the Jose Adrian Hernandez Rochac 1980 disappearance case.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, during
the year the PDDH received 652 complaints, most against PNC officers,
alleging the use of excessive force or mistreatment of detainees,
compared with 839 such complaints in 2007. The PDDH received 59
complaints against PNC officers for excessive use of force. During the
year the PDDH received 19 complaints of alleged torture and eight
complaints of alleged extrajudicial killings.
The PDDH and Office of the Inspector General reported that on
February 15, students blocked the police from entering the Romero
Albergue School in San Jacinto during the arrest of a student's father.
The police reportedly then used excessive force against the students.
The Office of the Inspector General concluded that officers Jose Matias
Salazar and Carlos Alberto Flores Portal used excessive force during
the incident and submitted the case to a disciplinary tribunal, which
on December 3 dismissed all charges against the officers.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
harsh and dangerous. Overcrowding constituted a serious threat to
prisoners' health and lives, and the prison population continued to
increase during the year.
At year's end there were 19,814 prisoners held in 22 correctional
facilities and two secure hospital wards, with a combined designed
capacity for 8,227; of these inmates, 12,702 had been convicted, 7,112
were in pretrial detention, and 6,801 were current or former gang
members. There were 561 inmates in four prisons for juvenile offenders
with a capacity of 763 inmates.
On April 14, a judge sentenced police officer Saul Humberto Zacapa
Carias to six years' imprisonment for sexually abusing a woman in
police custody in June 2007.
There were no developments regarding an investigation by the Office
of the Attorney General of the February 2007 death of a 15-year-old
inmate and injuries to two others at the Juvenile Offenders Prison in
Ilobasco. By December authorities had not identified a suspect in the
killing.
Prison authorities reported that 57 prisoners died during the year,
20 by homicide, one by suicide, and 36 from natural causes. Nine
inmates were convicted of homicide and a stay of proceedings was
declared for the other 10 inmates charged in connection with the
January 2007 gang-on-gang confrontation in Apanteos Prison, in which 21
inmates were killed.
Gang activities in prisons and juvenile-holding facilities remained
a serious problem. Gang members were routinely separated from the
regular prison population when possible. Gangs continued to exercise
influence within the prisons and the judicial system. Prisoners
reportedly conducted criminal activities from their cells, at times
with the complicity of prison guards. Smuggling of weapons, drugs, and
contraband such as cellular telephones and cellular telephone chips,
was a major problem in the prisons. During the year prison authorities
convicted one prison guard, dismissed charges of wrongdoing against
three others, and continued criminal investigations against an
additional two guards.
Due to a lack of holding cells, pretrial detainees were often held
in regular prisons together with violent criminals.
The Government permitted prison monitoring visits by independent
human rights observers, NGOs, and the media, and such visits occurred
during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, there were complaints that
the PNC arbitrarily arrested and detained persons. The PDDH reported
receiving 193 complaints of arbitrary arrest or detention during the
year; it also received complaints of 121 illegal detentions.
On August 1, the Office of the Inspector General opened an
investigation of four PNC officers for allegedly beating Abraham Kattan
during a vehicle inspection in Sonsonate. The case remained pending at
year's end.
On February 19, the justice of the peace in Suchitoto dismissed
public disorder charges against 14 protesters originally accused of
terrorism in connection with a July 2007 antigovernment protest.
The PDDH reported that on May 3, unknown assailants used a sharp
instrument to kill Hector Ventura, one of the protestors arrested in
Suchitoto. Based on a PDDH petition, the Office of the Attorney General
granted special protection to two witnesses to the killing: Oscar David
Casco Rivera, who was injured in the attack, and Mariana Estefany Casco
Rivera. However, the witnesses fled before entering the protection
program. At year's end their whereabouts were unknown. Authorities
identified Julio Adalberto Bernal, a member of the MS-13 street gang,
as one of the alleged killers of Ventura. A police investigation found
no relationship between Venutra's killing and the 2007 protests at
Suchitoto.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PNC is responsible
for maintaining public security and the Ministry of Defense maintains
national security. The military provided support for some PNC patrols
in rural areas and gave support to law enforcement agencies for
specific activities, including antinarcotics efforts. The Ministry of
Public Security headed the antigang task force. Approximately 2,150
military personnel were deployed to join the police on antigang and
other task forces. Military personnel, however, do not have arrest
authority.
During the year the PNC Inspector General received 1,717 complaints
of alleged police misconduct (involving 2,363 officers), referred 200
cases of these to special investigation units, and sanctioned 1,320
officers in response to complaints filed during the year and prior
years. These sanctions included 162 officers dismissed for misconduct
and 736 suspended without pay for minor infractions.
The Attorney General's Office prosecuted 10 police officers as a
result of investigations begun in 2007 and 2008. Inadequate training,
insufficient government funding, lack of a uniform code of evidence,
and isolated instances of corruption and outright criminality
interfered with the PNC's effectiveness.
On May 19, authorities arrested two police officers and four
members of the armed forces for the shooting death of 18-year-old Rene
Gil Santos Diaz. On November 12, a magistrate sent two of the accused
to trial and ordered stays of proceedings for the others. On December
5, Vidal Antonio Chavez Garay of the armed forces was sentenced to 10
years' imprisonment. Charges were dropped against the other defendant.
The PNC Inspector General reported that most PNC officers and
police academy cadets received human rights awareness training during
the year, including training by the Salvadoran Institute for the
Development of Women (ISDEMU) concerning rape prevention, child abuse,
and related offenses. As of August the PNC Human Rights Unit had
trained 17,914 police officers regarding the rights of women and 484
officers on torture topics. The PNC Office of the Inspector General
trained 352 police officers on the human rights of vulnerable groups.
The International Law Enforcement Academy's training of 77 police
officers, 30 prosecutors, 63 judges, and 46 technical advisors,
including workers in the immigration, customs, and airport authorities,
included human rights awareness components.
Arrest and Detention.--The constitution requires a written warrant
for arrest, except in cases where an individual is arrested in the
commission of a crime. In practice authorities apprehended persons
openly and with warrants based on sufficient evidence and issued by a
duly authorized official and brought them before appropriate judicial
officials. The constitution provides that a detainee has the right to a
prompt judicial determination of the legality of the detention, and
authorities generally respected this right in practice. In general
detainees were promptly informed of charges against them.
The law permits release on bail for detainees who are unlikely to
flee or whose release would not impede the investigation of the case.
Because it may take several years for a case to come to trial, some
prisoners were incarcerated longer than the maximum legal sentences for
their crimes. In such circumstances, detainees could request a Supreme
Court review of their continued detention.
The courts generally enforced a ruling that interrogation without
the presence of counsel is considered coercion and that any evidence
obtained in such a manner is inadmissible. As a result, PNC authorities
generally delayed questioning until a public defender or an attorney
arrived. Family members were allowed prompt access to detainees.
Detainees generally had prompt access to counsel of their choosing or
to an attorney provided by the state.
The constitution permits the PNC to hold a person for 72 hours
before delivering the suspect to court, after which the judge may order
detention for an additional 72 hours to determine if an investigation
is warranted. The law allows up to six months for investigation of
serious crimes before requiring either a trial or dismissal of the
case. In exceptionally complicated cases, the prosecutor may ask an
appeals court to extend the deadline for three or six months, depending
on the seriousness of the crime. Many cases were not completed within
the legally prescribed time frame. At year's end there were 7,112
inmates in pretrial detention or in detention awaiting final judgment.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides
for an independent judiciary, the judiciary suffered from inefficiency,
corruption, and insufficient resources. Substantial corruption in the
judicial system contributed to a high level of impunity, undermining
the rule of law and the public's respect for the judiciary. Inadequate
government funding of the PNC, combined with intimidation and killing
of victims and witnesses, made it difficult to identify, arrest, and
prosecute perpetrators of human rights abuses and other crimes, thus
diminishing public confidence in the justice system.
During the year the Government Program for the Protection of
Victims and Witnesses received 2,347 requests for protection. At year's
end 3,110 persons were in some type of police witness or victim
protection program. However, street gang intimidation and violence
against witnesses contributed to a climate of impunity from criminal
prosecution.
On March 1, several assailants fatally shot Alicia Belmira
Gonzalez, a witness identified as ``Afrodita,'' who was in a government
protection program. In 2006 Gonzalez agreed to cooperate with police in
investigating a series of killings perpetrated by the M-18 street gang.
Following Gonzalez's killing, the criminal court in San Salvador
dismissed charges against 11 gang members due to insufficient evidence.
At year's end nine of the 11 gang members remained in detention, facing
criminal charges in relation to other cases.
During the year the PDDH received complaints that the Attorney
General's Office had prevented access to justice in 115 cases, violated
due process in five cases, and violated administrative process in 59
cases.
On June 18, the Supreme Court began investigating two judges and
one justice of the peace for rendering controversial decisions during
the prosecution of the Los Perrones narcotrafficking organization.
During the year the Office of the Attorney General investigated 73
judges and nine magistrates for corruption. The Supreme Court received
169 complaints from private citizens against judges for alleged
irregularities and sanctioned three judges for improper conduct.
NGOs, such as the Foundation for Studies in Legal Application, the
Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES),
and IDHUCA continued to allege that the Supreme Court did not
adequately address judicial delays, inefficiency, and unqualified and
corrupt judges. FUSADES reported that the public had no faith in the
judicial system due to a lack of access to justice and accountability,
a judicial backlog, and corruption.
During the year the Office of the Attorney General received 203
complaints against prosecutors for misconduct, compared with 222
complaints during 2007, resulting in the dismissal of one prosecutor
and the suspensions of 13 others for corruption and other serious
infractions.
The court system has three levels. The first level includes
justices of the peace, judges of instruction, and judges of sentence.
The other two levels include appellate courts and the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court oversees the budget and administration of the court
system and selects justices of the peace, trial judges, and appellate
judges from a list of nominees proposed by the National Judiciary
Council, an independent body that nominates, trains, and evaluates
justices. There are separate court systems for family matters and
juvenile offenders. The law requires that minors from 12-17 years of
age be tried in juvenile courts.
Trial Procedures.--In general the law provides for trial by jury
only in select cases. Although juries were used for specific charges,
including environmental pollution and certain misdemeanors, judges
decided most cases. By law juries hear only cases that the law does not
assign to sentencing courts. After the jury's determination of
innocence or guilt a tribunal decides the sentence.
Defendants have the right to be present in court, question
witnesses, and present witnesses and evidence. Although the
constitution further provides for the presumption of innocence,
protection from self-incrimination, the right to legal counsel, freedom
from coercion, and government-provided legal counsel for the indigent,
these legal rights and protections were not always respected in
practice. Although a jury's verdict is final, a judge's verdict can be
appealed. Trials are public.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although the law provides
for access to the courts, enabling litigants to bring civil-matter
lawsuits, including seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights
violations, the judiciary was not independent or impartial. Judges were
subject to outside influence. Some persons sought to bring their cases
before international bodies, such as the IACHR and the Inter-American
Court, because they believed that these organizations would adjudicate
their claims with greater fairness and impartiality. The law provides
administrative remedies for alleged wrongs through the PDDH, the
Solicitor's Office, the Government Ethics Tribunal, and the Center for
Consumer Protection, as well as administrative offices within the
various ministries. There were problems in enforcing domestic court
orders.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice. Independent media were active and
expressed a variety of views without restriction.
Following a Reporters Without Borders request that the Government
investigate the September 2007 killing of radio journalist Salvador
Sanchez Roque, on May 12, a court sentenced three gang members to 35
years' imprisonment each for homicide.
Although international NGOs generally commented positively on the
status of press freedom in the country, newspaper editors and radio
directors occasionally discouraged journalists from reporting on topics
that the owners or publishers might not view favorably.
The law permits the executive branch to use the emergency
broadcasting service to take over temporarily all broadcast and cable
networks to televise political programming.
On September 19, while journalists Roberto Guzman Miguel and Allan
Antonio Martell Pereira were filming a documentary on problems with
potable water in Huizucar, La Libertad, municipal advisor Jose Arias
damaged their camera and threatened to kill them with a machete. On
November 6, a judge issued a restraining order against Arias and
ordered that he pay for camera repairs.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Internet service was primarily available in the major cities. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2007, there were
approximately 11 Internet users per 100 inhabitants nationwide.
Academic and Cultural Freedom.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the
Government generally respected this right in practice. On February 19,
the Government dismissed charges against several persons who were
arrested and charged under the counterterrorism law during July 2007
demonstrations in Suchitoto against President Saca.
Freedom of Association.--Although the constitution provides for
freedom of association, there were concerns regarding registration
delays of certain types of civil society groups. NGOs asserted that the
Ministry of Governance delayed approval of, or denied legal status for,
NGOs with particular human rights or political agendas. The Government
continued to deny the legal registration application of the homosexual
rights NGO Entre Amigos.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice. The Ministry of Governance has responsibility for
registering, regulating, and overseeing the finances of nonprofit
organizations, non-Catholic churches, and other religious groups. The
constitution exempts the Roman Catholic Church from this registration
requirement. Although non-Catholic churches are not required to
register, they must do so if they wish to incorporate formally.
Noncitizens in the country primarily for the purpose of proselytizing
must obtain a special residence visa for religious activities. In
practice the Government did not enforce this requirement.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. The
Jewish community totaled approximately 150 persons.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government
observed this prohibition in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting refugee
status or asylum in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to
the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the Government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The
Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection
and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern. During the
year the Government received six refugee petitions and granted one
person refugee protection; two petitions were dismissed, and the
remaining three petitions were pending at year's end.
In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of persons to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
The Government received no requests for temporary protection for
individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 UN
Convention and its 1967 protocol.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
In 2004 ARENA party candidate Elias Antonio Saca won the
presidential election, which the Organization of American States and
other international observers reported was generally free and fair with
few irregularities.
Political parties could operate without restrictions or outside
interference. In March 2006 elections, described as free and fair by
international observers, the ARENA party won a plurality of 34 deputy
seats in the 84-seat unicameral Legislative Assembly and later
negotiated with the 10 deputies of the National Conciliation Party and
the five deputies of the Christian Democratic Party to maintain a
simple working majority. The opposition FMLN Party won 32 seats.
The country's vice president was a woman, and there were 13 women
in the Legislative Assembly and five women on the 15-member Supreme
Court. No persons in the Supreme Court, legislature, or other
government entities identified themselves as members of an ethnic
minority or indigenous community, and there were no political party
positions or parliamentary seats designated for ethnic minorities.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials, particularly in the
judicial system, reportedly engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Court of Accounts, the Anticorruption Unit of the Office of the
Attorney General, and the Government Ethics Tribunal (TEG) are the
three agencies that combat corruption. During the year the Office of
the Attorney General brought eight judicial corruption cases before the
Supreme Court. Through December there was no information on the status
of these cases.
The Legislative Assembly has not audited the Court of Accounts, the
Government agency charged with auditing the National Treasury and the
Federal Budget, since 1995, despite a law mandating an annual audit.
The attorney general criticized the administration of the Court of
Accounts on various occasions, alleging corruption and mismanagement.
In July the Court of Accounts rejected a budget and procedure audit on
legal technicalities. FUSADES criticized the court's decision as
lacking in transparency and accountability.
In contrast with its practices in previous years, the Legislative
Assembly restricted public access to its monthly committee reports and
required that a Board of Directors member approve such requests. The
TEG opened investigations against 186 public officials and resolved 112
of these cases. To combat public sector corruption, the TEG operated
tribunals within government entities.
On November 12, the TEG rejected a motion, based on a petition
filed by a private citizen, to sanction President Saca for attending a
fundraising lunch for the ARENA party while on an official visit to Los
Angeles. The TEG stated that the president was not representing the
Government at the lunch.
Although the law provides for public access to government
information, in practice inconsistent legislation impeded such access.
There is no freedom of information law. Citizens could access some
information via the Internet regarding the national budget and certain
cases before the Supreme Court. The Government usually did not give
reasons for denying public access to information. There are no
mechanisms to appeal denials.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Although government
officials generally were cooperative and responsive to these groups,
officials at times were reluctant to discuss worker rights issues with
NGOs and the PDDH. Domestic and international NGOs were required to
register with the Government, and some reported difficulties. The
Government continued to deny legal registration to the gay rights NGO
Entre Amigos.
The principal human rights investigative and monitoring body is the
autonomous PDDH, whose head is elected by the Legislative Assembly to a
three-year term. The PDDH regularly issued reports, including an
analysis of use of the counterterrorism law during the July 2007
Suchitoto demonstration, and press releases.
The PDDH maintained a constructive dialogue with the president's
office. The Government publicly acknowledged receipt of the PDDH's
reports, although in some cases it did not take action on PDDH
recommendations, which are not legally binding. The public generally
trusted the PDDH.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the constitution and the legal code establish that all
persons are equal before the law and prohibit discrimination regardless
of race, gender, disability, language, or social status, in practice
the Government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions. There
was discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, gay and
lesbian persons, and indigenous people.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape. While not specifically addressed
in the law, spousal rape may be considered a crime if the actions meet
the criminal code definition of rape. The Office of the Attorney
General may prosecute rape cases with or without a complaint from the
victim, and the law does not permit the victim's pardon to nullify the
criminal charge. The penalty for rape is six to 10 years' imprisonment,
but the law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years for rape of
certain classes of victims, including children and persons with
disabilities. Incidents of rape continued to be underreported for a
number of reasons, including societal and cultural pressures against
victims, fears of reprisal, ineffective and unsupportive responses by
the authorities toward victims, fear of publicity, and a perception
among victims that cases were unlikely to be prosecuted. Laws against
rape were not effectively enforced.
Rape and other sexual crimes against women were widespread. The
attorney general opened the investigations of 1,002 cases of rape of
adults, which resulted in 189 trials and 71 convictions. The Office of
the Attorney General investigated 444 cases of rape of minors and
persons with disabilities, resulting in 100 trials and 33 convictions.
Through December the PNC received reports of 364 cases of rape against
adults. By year's end the Office of the Attorney General was
investigating 1,657 cases of sexual crimes (including the
aforementioned rape cases), resulting in 266 trials and 109
convictions.
ISDEMU provided health and psychological assistance to 943 women
who suffered sexual abuse. It also provided assistance to 5,901 girls
who suffered physical abuse during the year.
The law prohibits domestic violence and provides for sentences
ranging from one to three years in prison. The law also permits
obtaining restraining orders against offenders. Domestic violence was
considered socially acceptable by a large portion of the population,
and, as with rape, its incidence was underreported.
Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a
widespread and serious problem. Laws against domestic violence were not
well enforced, and cases were not effectively prosecuted. During the
year ISDEMU received 6,051 reports of domestic violence, compared with
5,906 complaints in 2007. The Office of the Attorney General
investigated 1,201 cases, which resulted in 12 trials and four
convictions.
ISDEMU coordinated with the judicial and executive branches and
civil society groups to conduct public awareness campaigns against
domestic violence and sexual abuse. The PDDH, the Attorney General's
Office, the Supreme Court, the Public Defender's Office, and the PNC
collaborated with NGOs and other organizations to combat violence
against women through education, increased enforcement of the law, and
NGO support programs for victims. The National Secretariat for the
Family, through ISDEMU, defined policies, programs, and projects on
domestic violence and continued to maintain a telephone hot line and a
shelter for victims of domestic abuse and child victims of commercial
sexual exploitation.
Although prostitution is legal, the law prohibits inducing,
facilitating, promoting, giving incentives to a person to work as a
prostitute, or paying anyone under the age of 18 for sexual services.
Prostitution remained common, and there were credible reports that some
women and girls were forced into prostitution.
Trafficking in women and girls for purposes of sexual exploitation
was a problem. The attorney general reported that it had investigated
approximately 80 cases of sexual exploitation.
The law prohibits discrimination based on gender; however, it does
not specifically prohibit sexual harassment. The law broadly defines
sexual harassment as any unwanted verbal or physical sexual conduct and
stipulates penalties of three to five years in prison (or four to eight
years in cases where the victim is under the age of 15 at the time of
the offense). Fines are added to the prison term in cases where the
perpetrator is in a position of authority or trust over the victim.
The Government did not enforce sexual harassment laws effectively.
Since underreporting by victims of sexual harassment appeared to be
widespread, it was difficult to estimate the extent of the problem;
however, ISDEMU estimated that 40 percent of incidents of sexual abuse
and rape were preceded by sexual harassment.
The constitution grants women and men the same legal rights under
family and property law, but women did not receive equal treatment in
practice. The law establishes sentences of one to three years in prison
for public officials who deny a person's civil rights based on gender,
and six months to two years for employers who discriminate against
women in the workplace; however, it was difficult for employees to
report such violations because they feared reprisals.
Pregnancy testing as a condition for employment is illegal. There
were allegations that some businesses, including apparel assembly
factories, required female job applicants to present pregnancy test
results and fired pregnant workers.
Women suffered from cultural and societal discrimination and had
reduced economic opportunities. Men often received priority in job
placement and promotions, and women were not accorded equal respect or
stature in traditional male-dominated sectors, such as agriculture and
business. Training for women generally was confined to low-wage
occupational areas where women already held most positions, in fields
such as teaching, nursing, home industries, and small businesses.
Gender-based wage disparity remained a problem. Data from the 2007
Household Survey indicated that, on average, women's monthly wages were
$265.81 (the U.S. dollar is the national currency), and men's were
$308.73. In the apparel assembly sector, where women made up the
majority of the labor force, men held most positions in management and
in departments where employees received higher wages.
ISDEMU provided awareness training on public policies relating to
gender and, along with the Foundation for Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises and the Salvadoran Institute for Professional Training,
also provided technical and financial assistance to female heads of
household throughout the country.
Children.--The Government was committed to improving children's
rights and welfare. However, it allocated insufficient resources and
suffered from poor interagency coordination in its child welfare
activities. The Salvadoran Institute for Children and Adolescents
(ISNA), an autonomous entity, has primary responsibility for child
welfare issues.
There were reports that not all births were registered, but there
were no current statistics to confirm the extent of the problem.
Child abuse was a serious and widespread problem. Through June ISNA
reported 1,114 cases of child abuse, including 357 cases of negligence,
227 cases of mistreatment, 138 cases of children living on the streets,
192 cases of sexual abuse, 122 cases of abandonment, 34 cases of
children employed as beggars, and 44 cases of commercial sexual
exploitation.
On April 29, Pablo Urias Torres, a schoolteacher in San Vicente,
was sentenced to 34 years' imprisonment for the rape of three minor
students. On May 21, Juan Fernando Elias, a schoolteacher from San
Salvador, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for the rape of a
minor student.
There was no information available regarding the status of the
Office of the Attorney General's investigation of the alleged beating
by police officers in 2007 of a minor prisoner in Tonacatepeque
juvenile prison.
The law prohibits participating in, facilitating, or purchasing
materials containing child pornography and provides for prison
sentences of up to 16 years' imprisonment; however, this law was not
enforced effectively.
On August 20, infant Erick Amaya died of pneumonia and malnutrition
while in the care of ISNA. At year's end the Office of the Attorney
General was investigating whether ISNA employees should be charged with
negligence regarding the child's death. Media reports throughout the
year focused on ISNA's poor management, and the need for the Government
to pass new legislation to protect children's welfare.
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in
persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and
within the country.
The country was a source, transit, and destination country for
women and children trafficked primarily for the purpose of sexual
exploitation. There were reports of internal trafficking and evidence
that persons were trafficked for agricultural work. There was also
evidence that the country was a transit point for girls trafficked to
Mexico, the United States, neighboring Central American countries, and
elsewhere.
Most international trafficking victims came from Nicaragua,
Honduras, and South America. Some children were trafficked internally
to cities, particularly to Acajutla and San Miguel, and to border
regions. Sex trafficking of minors occurred within the country's
borders, as did sex trafficking induced by force, fraud, or coercion.
According to the International Labor Organization's (ILO) International
Program to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, girls were
sexually exploited commercially in San Salvador and San Miguel.
Trafficking remained a significant problem, but due to the
country's porous borders, there were no firm estimates on its full
extent. Groups at special risk for trafficking were girls and young
women from 12-18 years of age, persons from rural and poor areas,
single mothers in poor areas, adolescents without formal schooling,
adolescent mothers, unemployed young men, and young foreign girls.
According to immigration authorities, the principal traffickers in
the country were the owners of topless bars, brothels, and employment
agencies that offered inducements for work in beauty salons, as models,
in gyms, as maids, or in factories.
The PNC reported that the most common methods of obtaining victims
were kidnapping, lucrative job offers, and inducement into prostitution
by family, friends, and smugglers. While some traffickers transported
victims, some foreign victims entered the country on their own from
Nicaragua, Honduras, and other neighboring countries in response to job
offers to work as domestic servants but were forced into prostitution
on arrival.
Trafficking in persons and forced prostitution are felonies,
penalized by four to eight years' imprisonment. If the trafficking
victim is under 18, has physical or mental disabilities, suffers
violations of freedom of transit in a foreign country, dies as a
consequence of negligence or imprudence, or if the perpetrator is a law
enforcement agent or public officer, the maximum sentence increases by
one-third.
By year's end the PNC had arrested 408 persons on trafficking
charges. The Office of the Attorney General investigated 81 new cases
of trafficking and obtained seven convictions. In its 2008
observations, the ILO Committee of Experts requested that the
Government provide information on court cases under way, copies of
judicial rulings made, and penalties imposed to combat trafficking in
persons.
During the year the Government, in cooperation with Interpol and
foreign authorities, detained 372 persons for trafficking. In February
a court sentenced a former PNC official to seven years' imprisonment,
and two other persons to eight and six years' imprisonment
respectively, for trafficking a 16-year-old girl and a woman for the
purpose of sexual exploitation.
The Government detained illegal migrants, including those who might
have been trafficking victims. Persons under age 18 were repatriated
through ISNA cooperation with its counterpart organizations. The PNC
encouraged trafficking victims to press charges against traffickers.
Victims could apply for temporary residence or refugee status if they
were likely to face persecution in their country of origin. Adult
illegal immigrant victims of trafficking who did not request assistance
or express fear for their lives were deported under immigration law.
The Government provided legal, medical, and psychological services
upon request. Victims of trafficking were not treated as criminals
unless they were undocumented workers of legal age. Although the
Government provided assistance to its repatriated citizens who were
victims of trafficking, victims faced societal discrimination due to
having engaged in prostitution or other commercial sexual activities.
The Salvadoran Network Against Trafficking, made up of the ILO,
Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children, the Anglican Church of El
Salvador, CARECEN International, Caritas, and the Salvadoran National
Women's Commission, provided legal counseling and human rights
awareness to victims of trafficking. The Government's shelter for
victims of trafficking provided protection to 42 persons during the
year.
The ISDEMU human rights program assisted 9,211 at-risk persons. The
National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons, a task force made
up of the Government agencies responsible for addressing trafficking in
persons, collected data on trafficking, and its member agencies
conducted extensive antitrafficking training, information programs, and
assistance to victims.
During the year the Government, Catholic Relief Services, and Save
the Children conducted a pilot program to provide financial assistance
to trafficking victims to foster their reintegration into society. The
program also developed an interagency manual to train police, lawyers,
and judges on combating trafficking. The Government also reported that
the UN Children's Fund and an international NGO trained 38 government
and NGO officials to combat trafficking. The Government stated that by
year's end, it had trained 5,231 public officials involved with
combating trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state
services. The Government, however, did not allocate sufficient
resources to enforce effectively these prohibitions, particularly in
education and employment, nor did it effectively enforce legal
requirements for access to buildings for persons with disabilities.
Several public and private organizations promoted the rights of
persons with disabilities. The National Council for Disabled Persons
(CONAIPD) is the Government agency responsible for protecting those
rights.
Throughout the year CONAIPD conducted awareness campaigns, provided
sensitivity training to 1,240 persons from the public and private
sectors, and promoted the hiring of persons with disabilities. The
Government Fund for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities gave
financial support to people who were wounded or had a disability as a
result of the civil war. The Rehabilitation Foundation, in cooperation
with the Salvadoran Institute for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled,
continued to operate a treatment center for persons with disabilities.
The Government provided minimal funding for these programs.
Indigenous People.--While the constitution states that native
languages are part of the national heritage and should be preserved and
respected, the law does not recognize indigenous communities and
accords no special rights to indigenous people. There were reports that
indigenous persons comprise approximately 0.21 percent of the national
population and form three principal groups: Nahua-Pipiles in western
and central areas of the country, and Lencas and Cacaoperas in the
eastern region. Although few individuals publicly identified themselves
as indigenous, there were a few small indigenous communities whose
members continued to maintain traditional customs without repression or
interference by the Government or nonindigenous groups. Government
estimates in 2004, the most recent available, indicated that
approximately 99 percent of indigenous persons lived below the poverty
level.
There was no information available regarding the status of a
complaint that 11 self-identified indigenous persons filed in 2007 with
the Supreme Court Constitutional Chamber, regarding discrimination
arising out of government housing and population censuses.
Access to land was a problem for indigenous persons. Because few
possessed title to land, opportunities for bank loans and other forms
of credit were extremely limited.
There were no government programs dedicated to combating
discrimination against indigenous persons.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports that
sexual abuse of males was substantially underreported to authorities.
During the year ISDEMU provided health and psychological assistance to
three men and 64 boys who were victims of physical or sexual abuse.
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of HIV status and
sexual orientation, although in practice discrimination was widespread.
The homosexual rights group Entre Amigos reported that public and
private actors engaged in violence and discrimination against sexual
minorities and persons with HIV/AIDS, including the Government's
continued denial of Entre Amigos' application for legal registration.
Entre Amigos also reported that throughout the year, persons vandalized
and robbed the group's offices, necessitating that the organization
move locations regularly.
Lack of public information remained a problem in confronting
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS or in assisting persons
suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--While the constitution provides for
the right of workers, except military personnel, national police, and
government workers, to form unions without previous authorization,
there were problems in the exercise of this right.
Union leaders asserted that the Government and judges continued to
use excessive formalities as a justification to deny applications for
legal standing to unions and federations. Among the requirements to
obtain legal standing, unions must have a minimum of 35 members in the
workplace, hold a convention, and elect officers. According to Ministry
of Labor statistics, there were 386 registered unions.
There was no new information available regarding the September 2007
request by SITCOM communications union members that the Office of the
Attorney General prosecute the minister of labor for not complying with
a July 2007 order by the Supreme Court that SITCOM be granted legal
status.
With the exception of public workers who provide vital community
services, the constitution recognizes the right to strike, and workers
exercised this right in practice.
A legal strike must be supported by 51 percent of workers in an
enterprise, including workers not represented by the union. Unions may
strike only after the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement
or to protect professional rights. Unions must seek to resolve
differences through direct negotiation, mediation, and arbitration
before striking. A strike must aim to obtain or modify a collective
bargaining agreement and to defend the professional interests of
workers. Union members must approve a decision to strike through secret
ballot, and the union must name a strike committee to serve as a
negotiator and send the list of names to the Ministry of Labor, which
notifies the employer. The union must wait four days from the time the
Ministry of Labor notifies the employer before striking. The law
prohibits workers from appealing a government decision declaring a
strike illegal.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining by employees in the private sector
and by certain categories of workers in autonomous government agencies,
such as utilities and the port authority. The Ministry of Labor
reported 290 collective bargaining agreements covering 60,226 workers.
Labor leaders asserted that the Government had an unfair advantage in
arbitration of public sector labor disputes because the Government
holds two of three seats on arbitration panels.
While the law prohibits antiunion discrimination, these provisions
were rarely enforced, and there was discrimination against labor union
organizers.
There were 120 apparel assembly plants, including those located in
free trade zones (FTZs). There are no special laws or exemptions from
regular labor laws inside the FTZs. There were credible reports that
some factories in the FTZs dismissed union organizers. There were no
collective bargaining agreements among the 67,000 workers in the
apparel assembly sector. Apparel assembly workers reported verbal and
physical abuse, as well as sexual harassment by supervisors. The
Ministries of Labor and the Economy concurred that during the year
approximately 10,000 workers in the apparel assembly sector were not
receiving social security and other payment benefits to which they were
legally entitled. The Attorney General's Office reported receiving 308
complaints and prosecuting 125 cases of nonpayment.
The Government did not allocate sufficient resources for adequate
inspection and oversight to ensure respect for association and
collective bargaining rights in FTZs. There continued to be allegations
of corruption among labor inspectors in the apparel assembly industry.
During the year the Government conducted 28,314 labor inspections and
imposed fines for labor violations in 1,004 cases.
The law does not require employers to reinstate illegally dismissed
workers. Employers have dismissed workers who tried to form unions, and
in most cases the Government did not prevent their dismissal or seek
their reinstatement.
The law specifies 18 reasons for which an employer can legally
suspend workers, and employers can invoke 11 of these reasons without
prior administrative or judicial authorization. Workers reported
instances where employers used illegal means to undermine union
organizing, including dismissal of labor activists and blacklisting
workers who were union members.
There was no further information available regarding the failure of
the Calvo Tuna Company to rehire dismissed workers who had formed a
union, despite a July 2007 Ministry of Labor order granting the union
legal status.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, except in
the case of natural catastrophe and other instances specified by law.
Although the Government generally enforced this prohibition, there were
reports of trafficking of persons for forced commercial sexual
exploitation and apparel assembly labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14, but child
labor remained a serious and widespread problem.
Children from the age of 12 are allowed to engage in light work so
long as it does not harm their health or interfere with their
education. Children under 16 years of age are prohibited from working
more than seven hours per day and 34 hours per week; those under age 18
are prohibited from working at night or in occupations considered
hazardous. The Ministry of Labor was responsible for enforcing child
labor laws. In practice labor inspectors focused almost exclusively on
the formal sector, where child labor was rare.
The Government did not devote adequate resources to enforce
effectively child labor laws in agricultural activities, especially
coffee and sugarcane production, or in the large informal sector.
Orphans and children from poor families frequently worked for survival
as street vendors and general laborers in small businesses. Officials
of the Ministry of Labor reported that the ministry received few
complaints of violations of child labor laws, primarily because many
citizens perceived child labor as an essential component of family
income rather than a human rights abuse.
There were credible reports of trafficking in children and child
prostitution. Child labor in its worst forms was a serious problem in
coffee and sugar cane cultivation, fishing, mollusk extraction, and
fireworks production.
The Ministry of Labor reported that it had 159 labor inspectors
distributed nationwide; however, none specifically worked on child
labor issues. The Ministry of Labor reported conducting 338 inspections
of coffee plantations, 265 inspections of sugar cane plantations, three
inspections of fireworks factories, and two inspections in the fishing
and mollusk sectors.
The Government operated child labor awareness programs to encourage
school attendance. The Ministry of Labor reported that when inspectors
encountered child labor, the Government removed the victims and placed
them in educational programs. The ILO's International Program on the
Elimination of Child Labor continued operating programs to combat
commercial sexual exploitation of children.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage is set by
executive decree, based on recommendations from a tripartite committee
comprising representatives from labor, government, and business. The
minimum monthly wage was $192.10 for retail employees, $187.73 for
industrial laborers, and $166.82 for apparel assembly workers. The
agricultural minimum wage was $89.86. The national minimum wage did not
provide a sufficient standard of living for a worker and family.
There was no new information available regarding the 2006
outstanding fine of $144,724 imposed by the Third Sentencing Court
against Joaquin Salvador Montalvo Machado for retaining illegally
worker social security and pension payments at the Hermosa
Manufacturing apparel assembly plant. There also was no new information
available regarding an October 2007 Ministry of Labor order that
Hermosa Manufacturing pay a $2,400 fine for outstanding wages and
related benefits owed to company workers.
In general the Ministry of Labor did not enforce effectively
minimum wage laws. It reported conducting 7,938 inspections and
sanctioning 81 employers in the industrial, commercial, and service
sectors due to nonpayment of minimum wages. The average fine was
$134.97.
The law sets a maximum normal workweek of 44 hours, limited to no
more than six days, and requires bonus pay for overtime. The law
mandates that full-time employees be paid for an eight-hour day of rest
in addition to the 44-hour normal workweek. The law prohibits
compulsory overtime. These standards were not enforced effectively, and
many workers were not paid overtime.
Sources reported that some apparel assembly plants underpaid
workers and failed to compensate for mandatory overtime. Corruption
among labor inspectors and in the labor courts remained barriers to
enforcing the minimum wage laws.
The Ministry of Labor is responsible for setting workplace safety
standards, and the law on occupational health and safety standards
establishes a tripartite committee to review the standards. The law
requires all employers to take steps to ensure that employees are not
placed at risk to their health and safety in the workplace. This
includes prohibitions on the employment of persons under age 18 in
occupations considered hazardous or morally dangerous. Health and
safety regulations are outdated, and enforcement was inadequate. The
law does not clearly recognize the right of workers to remove
themselves from hazardous situations without jeopardy to their
continued employment. During the year the Ministry of Labor reported
inspecting 3,774 workplaces for working conditions.
__________
GRENADA
Grenada is a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature.
Grenada and two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, have
a population of approximately 105,000. In generally free and fair
elections on July 8, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won 11 of
15 seats in Parliament, defeating the incumbent New National Party
(NNP) and Tillman Thomas was sworn in as prime minister. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens; however, problems included allegations of corruption,
violence against women, and instances of child abuse.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no confirmed reports that government officials employed
them. However, there were occasional allegations that police beat
detainees. Flogging, a legal form of punishment, was occasionally used
as punishment for sex crimes.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards, with the exception of
overcrowding, and the Government permitted visits by independent human
rights observers. Overcrowding was a significant problem, as 386
prisoners, of which nine were women, were held in space designed for 98
persons.
Women were held in a separate section of the prison from men. There
was no separate facility for juveniles, so they were held with the
general prison population.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The country does not
have a military. The 937 person Royal Grenadian Police, together with
242 rural constables, has a hierarchical structure and generally was
effective in responding to complaints. The police commissioner
continued a community policing program.
The police report to the minister for national security, who is
also the prime minister. The police commissioner can discipline
officers (up to the rank of sergeant) in cases of brutality with
penalties that include dismissal. Only the Public Service Commission
can discipline officers with the rank of inspector or above.
The police officer who stole drugs and ammunition from the evidence
room in 2005 and two other officers accused of fraud in 2006 were
dismissed from the service. Authorities dropped the cases pending
against them.
Arrest and Detention.--The constitution and law permit police to
detain persons on suspicion without a warrant, but they must bring
formal charges within 48 hours, and this limit generally was respected.
In practice detainees were provided access to a lawyer and family
members within 24 hours. The law provides for a judicial determination
of the legality of detention within 15 days after arrest on a criminal
charge. The police must formally arraign or release a detained person
within 60 days, and the authorities generally followed these
procedures. There is a functioning system of bail, although persons
charged with capital offenses are not eligible. Persons charged with
treason may be accorded bail only upon the recommendation of the
governor general. The court appoints a lawyer for the indigent in cases
of murder and other capital crimes.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
The judiciary is a part of the Eastern Caribbean legal system,
which consists of three resident judges who hear cases in the High
Court twice a year and a Court of Appeals staffed by a chief justice
who travels between the Eastern Caribbean islands to hear appeals of
local cases. Final appeal may be made to the Privy Council in the
United Kingdom.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right.
There is a presumption of innocence, and the law protects persons
against self incrimination and requires the police to explain a
person's rights upon arrest. The accused has the right to remain silent
and to seek the advice of legal counsel. The law allows for a defense
lawyer to be present during interrogation and to advise the accused how
to respond or not to respond to questions. The accused has the right to
confront his accuser and has the right of appeal. There are jury trials
in the High Court only; trials are open to the public unless the
charges are sexual in nature or a minor is involved.
The court appoints attorneys for indigents only in cases of murder
or other capital crimes. In other criminal cases that reach the
appellate stage, the court appoints a lawyer to represent the accused
if the defendant was not represented previously or reappoints earlier
counsel if the appellant can no longer afford that lawyer's services.
With the exception of foreign born drug suspects or persons charged
with murder, the courts granted most defendants bail while awaiting
trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary for civil matters. The civil court system
encompasses a number of seats around the country at which magistrates
preside over cases.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
In February authorities detained a Jamaican journalist and
threatened her with deportation for not presenting the required
documentation to work in the country. The prime minister's office
stepped in to resolve the case, and the journalist was allowed to
continue to work.
In April two local journalists reported that they were the targets
of harassment when leaflets with negative depictions of the two
appeared in downtown St. George's. Reporters without Borders published
on its Web site a letter of protest addressed to the prime minister.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
Government respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right
in practice.
There is no state religion; however, all religious organizations
must register with the Government, which entitles them to some customs
and import tax exemptions.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. The
Jewish community was very small.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--1The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and
the Government generally respected these rights in practice.
Although no known cases occurred, the Government was prepared to
cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and
other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum
seekers.
The law does not address forced exile, but the Government did not
use it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not party to the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
The Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees or asylum seekers. In practice the Government provided
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--On July 8, the National
Democratic Congress won 11 of 15 seats in the House of Representatives,
defeating incumbent Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and his NNP
administration, which retained four seats. The Organization of American
States led a 25-member election observer mission, which deemed the
elections free and fair.
There were two women in the House of Representatives and four women
among the 13 appointed senators. The Senate president is female, and
there were three female ministers of government.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, but the Government did not fully
implement such laws, and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt
practices. The World Bank's governance indicators reflected that
corruption was a problem.
In 2007 Parliament passed the country's first anticorruption laws,
but the Integrity Commission created by one of the two laws was not in
operation by the end of the year, because the newly elected government
raised questions about the commission's composition.
The new anticorruption laws require all public servants to report
their income and assets, but implementation was delayed by lack of the
new commission.
There are no laws mandating transparent reporting of political
donations or limiting the amount of political donations from outside
the country.
Although there is no law providing for public access to government
information, citizens may request access to any information that is not
deemed classified. There is no national archive system, but the public
library attempted to archive those official documents to which it had
access.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views. Most local
NGOs were connected to the main political parties.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
place of origin, political opinion, color, creed, or gender, and the
Government generally upheld these prohibitions.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and
stipulates a sentence of flogging or up to 15 years' imprisonment for a
conviction of any nonconsensual form of sex. Authorities brought 17
cases involving rape or related charges to the court. Of these, 15
resulted in convictions, with the remaining two cases still pending at
year's end.
Women's rights monitors noted that violence against women remained
a serious problem. The law prohibits domestic violence and provides for
penalties at the discretion of the presiding judge based on the
severity of the offense. Police and judicial authorities usually acted
promptly in cases of domestic violence. Sentences for assault against a
spouse vary according to the severity of the incident. A shelter
accommodating approximately 20 battered and abused women and their
children operated in the northern part of the country, staffed by
medical and psychological counseling personnel. The Government
established and publicized an anonymous hot line for victims to get
help and for persons to report cases of abuse. The hot line received an
average of two calls per week, while an office line in the ministry
received approximately 12 calls per week that met hot line criteria.
Lack of familiarity with what a hot line is may explain why persons
called the office line.
Prostitution is illegal but existed.
The law prohibits sexual harassment, but there are no criminal
penalties for it. It is the responsibility of the complainant to bring
a civil suit against an alleged harasser.
Women generally enjoyed the same rights as men, and there was no
evidence of official discrimination in health care, employment, or
education; however, women frequently earned less than men performing
the same work. Television and radio public service announcements
continued to combat spousal abuse and raise women's awareness of their
rights.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
welfare. The Social Welfare Division within the Ministry of Housing,
Social Services, and Cooperatives provided probationary and
rehabilitative services to youths, day-care services and social work
programs to families, assistance to families wishing to adopt or
provide foster care to children, and financial assistance to the six
children's homes run by private organizations.
The new government put into effect a free school book program for
all primary school children as well as free mathematics, English
language, science, and information technology books for secondary
school students. A number of local NGOs and the Government provided
scholarships to needy families to pay for books, uniforms, and
transport.
Government social service agencies reported 16 physical abuse and
29 sexual abuse cases during the year, substantially higher than in
2007. Abused children were placed either in a government run home or in
private foster homes. The law stipulates penalties ranging from five to
15 years' imprisonment for those convicted of child abuse and disallows
the victim's alleged ``consent'' as a defense in cases of incest. The
Government used television and radio spots to raise awareness within
the population about child abuse and incest.
Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution and law do not prohibit
trafficking in persons; however, there were no reports that persons
were trafficked to, from, or within the country. In theory trafficking
cases could be prosecuted under other laws, such as those prohibiting
forced prostitution, pimping, sexual abuse, and abuse of a minor.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law do not protect
job seekers with disabilities from discrimination in employment. The
law does not mandate access to public buildings or services. The
Government provided for special education in its school system;
however, most parents chose to send their children to three special
education schools operating in the country. Persons with disabilities
had full access to the health care system and other public services.
The Government and NGOs continued to provide training and work
opportunities for such persons. The Ministry of Social Services
includes an office responsible for looking after persons with
disabilities, as well as the Council for the Disabled, which reviews
disability-related issues.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The ancestors of many citizens
came to the country from India as indentured servants, many of whom
found themselves in slave-like conditions. Descendants of this
population make up approximately 8 percent of the population, but their
history is not taught in the schools. Some complained about
discrimination based on their origins, although most have intermarried
with persons of European or African descent.
Other Social Abuses and Discrimination
The law criminalizes consensual homosexual relations, providing
penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment. Society generally was
intolerant of homosexuality, and many churches condemned it.
There was no perceptible discrimination against those with HIV/
AIDS, in part because the disease was widespread in the general
population, including women infected by partners engaging in sex with
men and boys, and partly because of societal pressures to keep one's
status quiet. The Government encouraged citizens to be tested and to
get treatment. An NGO, GRENCHAP, provided counseling to those affected
by HIV/AIDS. A local business organization urged local companies to
educate themselves and their workers about HIV/AIDS in the workplace
and not to discriminate against employees with the disease.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution and law allow
workers to form and join independent labor unions. Labor ministry
officials estimated that 56 percent of the work force was unionized.
All major unions belong to one umbrella labor federation, the Grenada
Trades Union Council, which was subsidized by the Government.
The law does not oblige employers to recognize a union formed by
their employees if the majority of the work force does not belong to
the union; however, they generally did so in practice.
The law provides workers with the right to strike, and workers
exercised this right in practice. The Technical and Allied Workers
Union at different times during the year brought a number of the groups
it represented out on brief strikes. All the cases were resolved.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers
exercised the legal right to organize and to participate in collective
bargaining. The law requires employers to recognize a union that
represents the majority of workers in a particular business.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and employers can be
forced to rehire employees if a court finds they were discharged
illegally.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Government
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there
were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although child labor is illegal, children sometimes worked in the
agricultural sector on family farms. The statutory minimum age for
employment of children is 18 years. Inspectors from the Ministry of
Labor enforced this provision in the formal sector through periodic
checks, but enforcement in the informal sector remained a problem.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor last
updated minimum wages in 2002, but late in the year a tripartite
committee reviewed wage levels and was expected to set a new minimum
wage early in 2009. The process was transparent and involved site
visits to examine 14 categories of employees. Minimum wages were in
effect since 2002 for various categories of workers; for example,
agricultural workers were classified into male and female workers.
Rates for men were EC$5.00 ($1.85) per hour, and for women EC$4.75
($1.75) per hour; however, if a female worker performed the same task
as a man, her rate of pay was the same. The minimum wage for domestic
workers was set at EC$400 ($148) monthly. The national minimum wage did
not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. During
the year approximately 30 percent of the population earned less than
the official poverty line, which was drawn at EC$599 ($222) per month.
The Government effectively enforced minimum wages.
The law provides for a 40 hour maximum workweek. The law does not
stipulate rest periods, although no one can be asked to work for longer
than five hours consecutively without a one-hour meal break. In
addition, domestic employees may not, by law, be asked to work longer
than a 10-hour period without at least two hours of breaks for meals
and rest periods. Union-negotiated contracts often mandated rest
breaks. The law requires a premium for work above the standard workweek
and prohibits excessive or compulsory overtime.
The Government sets health and safety standards, but the
authorities enforced them inconsistently. Workers have the right to
remove themselves from dangerous workplace situations without jeopardy
to continued employment.
__________
GUATEMALA
Guatemala is a democratic, multiparty republic with a population of
approximately 13.7 million. In November 2007 national elections,
generally considered by international observers to be free and fair,
Alvaro Colom of the National Unity of Hope (UNE) party won a four-year
presidential term, which began on January 14. While civilian
authorities generally maintained control of the security forces, there
were instances in which members of the security forces committed
illegal acts, including human rights abuses.
Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, serious problems remained. Human rights and societal problems
included the Government's failure to investigate and punish unlawful
killings committed by members of the security forces; widespread
societal violence, including numerous killings; corruption and
substantial inadequacies in the police and judicial sectors; police
involvement in kidnappings; impunity for criminal activity; harsh and
dangerous prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; failure of
the judicial system to ensure full and timely investigations and fair
trials; failure to protect judicial sector officials, witnesses, and
civil society representatives from intimidation; threats and
intimidation against and killings of journalists and trade unionists;
discrimination and violence against women; trafficking in persons;
discrimination against indigenous communities; discrimination and
violence against gay, lesbian, transvestite, and transgender persons;
and ineffective enforcement of labor laws and child labor provisions.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Although there were
no reports that the Government or its agents committed any politically
motivated killings, members of the police force committed unlawful
killings. Corruption, intimidation, and ineffectiveness within the
police and other institutions prevented adequate investigation of many
such killings, as well as the arrest and successful prosecution of
perpetrators.
At year's end the National Civilian Police (PNC) and its Office of
Professional Responsibility (ORP) reported that they had investigated
32 accusations of killings involving PNC personnel and had investigated
a total of 185 agents. The investigations determined that PNC personnel
were responsible for the deaths in 18 of the 32 cases, and 14 cases
remained under investigation.
On September 30, the Fourth Sentencing Court sentenced police agent
Jose Corado to 25 years in prison for the February 7 extrajudicial
killing of bus assistant Jose Angel Hernandez, who was participating in
a demonstration to protest violence against bus drivers. On February
11, the PNC arrested and charged two other police agents for their
involvement in the crime; at year's end they remained in custody.
On April 7, unidentified gunmen in Guatemala City killed Victor
Rivera, former advisor to the minister of government and former head of
the PNC antikidnapping unit, who was reportedly involved in
investigating a number of high-profile cases. A Public Ministry
investigation was pending at year's end.
On July 21, the PNC arrested and charged Criminal Investigation
Division (DINC) detectives Victor Manuel Alvarado, Nicolas Camaja Bach,
and Carlos Leonel Costop Gonzalez with the June 29 extrajudicial
killings of the adult son and former husband of Edilma Navarijo, mayor
of Ocos, San Marcos. Two other DINC agents were identified as suspects
in the case but had not been arrested by year's end.
At year's end the nine PNC officers arrested as suspects in the
alleged January 2007 extrajudicial killing of Antonio de Leon Lopez in
Huehuetenango during an antinarcotics operation remained in custody,
while a tenth officer remained at large.
On January 3, police arrested Carlos Alberto Gutierrez (``Montana
3''), assistant to former Jutiapa mayor Manuel Castillo, for his
alleged involvement as one of the masterminds of the February 2007
killings of three Salvadoran Central American Parliament (PARLACEN)
representatives and their driver. Gutierrez remained in custody at
year's end. On August 29, the PNC arrested Manuel Castillo, a fugitive
for more than seven months, for his alleged involvement in the PARLACEN
killings. At year's end Castillo remained in custody and faced seven
charges, including murder.
At year's end the director and deputy director of El Boqueron
Prison, as well as several police officers with alleged ties to
narcotics trafficking in Jutiapa, remained in custody in connection
with the killing of four PNC suspects in the PARLACEN case.
On November 19, the First Sentencing Court sentenced PNC chief
Dionisio Balam and PNC officers Wilson Tobar Valenzuela and Sabino
Ramos Ramirez to 30 years each in prison for the September 2007
extrajudicial killings of five alleged gang members in Guatemala City.
There were no new developments regarding investigation of the 2006
shootings, one fatal, of five transvestites in Guatemala City.
On May 28, a court convicted and sentenced five former Civil
Defense Patrol (PAC) members to 780 years each in prison for the 1982
killings of 177 civilians in Rio Negro, Baja Verapaz. The court ordered
the defendants to pay 100,000 quetzales ($12,937) to the families of
the 26 identified victims. It also ordered the capture of former army
captain Jose Antonio Solares Gonzalez, who remained at large despite a
1999 court order for his arrest, and former PAC members Ambrosio Perez
Laju and Domingo Chen. At year's end all three remained at large.
Societal violence was rampant. Nonstate actors, with links to
organized crime, narcotics trafficking, gangs, private security
companies, and alleged ``clandestine'' or ``social cleansing'' groups,
committed hundreds of killings during the year.
Killings and extortion of public bus drivers, assistants, and
owners continued unabated, forcing some to move out of their homes or
even to flee the country. As of December, according to the Guatemalan
Association of Urban Bus Companies, 63 bus drivers had been killed in
Guatemala City, and as of mid-October 255 bus drivers and assistants
nationwide reportedly had been killed.
The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Defenders
Protection Unit (UPDDDH) reported that at year's end there were 221
threats and other acts of intimidation against human rights defenders,
including 12 killings. Reports also suggested that former or current
members of the police were involved in some of the attacks and other
abuses. Killings of all types, including those with evidence of sexual
assault, torture, and mutilation of women, continued to occur. The NGO
Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres reported that from January to December,
722 women were killed. At year's end the PNC reported a total of 6,292
killings, including 687 killings of women, compared with 5,781 total
killings, including 559 women, in 2007.
The Mutual Support Group (GAM) reported that at year's end there
were 105 killings of children nationwide.
GAM also reported that at year's end 138 lynchings had taken place,
19 of which resulted in death. Many observers attributed the lynchings
to continued public frustration with the failure of police and judicial
authorities to guarantee security. Among the victims were municipal
government employees and police officials who had taken unpopular
actions in either enforcing or failing to enforce the law. There were
also reports of community lynchings of individuals suspected of rape,
kidnapping, or attempting to kidnap children to sell for adoption.
On January 20, a vigilante group in San Juan Sacatepequez shot and
killed a 17-year-old whom they suspected of being a gang member. The
group also killed the minor's brother and father who attempted to
intercede.
On September 16, community members of San Pedro Yepocapa in
Chimaltenango lynched a 22-year-old man accused of assaulting and
robbing passengers on a public bus and raping four women. At year's end
there was no investigation into the lynching and no suspects had been
identified.
On June 7, the Chiquimula Sentencing Court sentenced Ingrid
Martinez and Jesus Recinos to 50 years each in prison for kidnapping
and killing nine-year-old Alba Mishel Espana Diaz in June 2007. Shortly
after the disappearance of Espana Diaz, mobs lynched a woman suspected
of kidnapping the girl. In 2007 a mob had lynched another woman whom
they had suspected of kidnapping another child.
b. Disappearance.--Although there were no reports of politically
motivated disappearances, there were reports of police involvement in
kidnappings for ransom. The ORP reported that at year's end there were
nine complaints of kidnapping by PNC personnel.
There were no developments in the January 2007 disappearance of
security guard Marcos de Jesus Garcia Sarmiento from the alleged hiding
place of former fugitive Gustavo Herrera.
There were no known developments in the Public Ministry's
investigation of the February 2007 kidnapping of Marco Tulio Moreno
Ramirez, who was reportedly kidnapped by four armed men wearing PNC-
type uniforms.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the constitution and the law prohibit such
practices, there were credible reports of torture, abuse, and other
mistreatment by PNC members. Complaints typically related to the use of
excessive force during police operations.
On November 28, the Tenth Penal Court opened a trial against PNC
chief Elias Lemus Guerra, deputy inspector Jose Lopez Hernandez, and
agents Jorge Garcia Ortiz and Dennis Gueiry Godinez for the April 9
illegal detention of Eleazar Rodas. The PNC officials allegedly
threatened Rodas with false drug charges if he did not give the
officials 10,000 quetzales ($1,294) that he had in his possession at
the time of his detention. The officials were also charged with theft
and abuse of authority and remained in custody at year's end.
According to press accounts, in an attempt to gather information
about a protest, police detained and beat two bus assistants who had
participated in a February 7 demonstration on violence against bus
drivers and assistants.
At year's end there were no known developments in the Public
Ministry's investigation of the alleged beatings in 2006 of three
homeless children by soldiers assigned to the Military Police Brigade.
On April 16, a court in Quiche sentenced PNC officer Antonio
Rutilio Matias Lopez to 20 years in prison for the 2005 aggravated rape
of Juana Mendez, who was in police custody.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
harsh and dangerous. The prison system continued to suffer from a
severe lack of resources, particularly in the areas of prison security
and medical services and facilities. Prisoners complained of inadequate
food and medical care. Corruption, especially related to illegal drug
sales and use, was widespread. Prison officials reported frequent
escape attempts, gang fights, and other manifestations of prisoner
unrest. Prisoners frequently used cellular telephones to demand
extortion payments and to direct other criminal activity both inside
and outside the prison. Several prisons installed equipment to block
such calls, but by year's end the final installation for equipment
activation had not been completed.
Prison overcrowding continued to be a problem. The prison system
registry reported that at year's end 8,242 persons were held in 19
prisons and jails designed to hold 6,974 persons. Approximately 45
percent of the national penitentiary system population was in pretrial
detention.
Inadequate security measures undermined the penitentiary system's
ability to effectively control prisoners. According to prison
officials, there were 1,200 prison guards nationwide. Prisoners with
access to cellular telephones reportedly coordinated a significant
number of the country's kidnappings and some of the killings of bus
drivers and assistants. Sixteen percent of prisoners reportedly
belonged to gangs, which were active in prisons and occasionally
attacked prison guards. Prison work and educational programs were
inadequate to rehabilitate prisoners and decrease the 90 percent
recidivism rate.
The media and NGOs reported that physical and sexual abuse of women
and juvenile inmates was a serious problem. Many of the abused juvenile
inmates were suspected gang members.
On May 1, gang-member inmates killed Jorge Augusto Mendoza, deputy
director of the Preventive Detention Center in Chimaltenango. Prisoners
reportedly rioted after prison officials detained two women who
attempted to bring marijuana into the prison for members of the M-18
Gang.
On June 13, gang-member inmates killed two fellow inmates and
injured four others during a fight at the Quetzaltenango Preventive
Detention Center for men. During the three-hour confrontation, gang-
member inmates held 28 non-gang-member inmates hostage and threatened
them with guns and grenades.
On November 22, armed non-gang-member inmates at Pavoncito
Preventive Detention Center killed and then decapitated and burned the
bodies of five gang-member inmates to protest the transfer of the gang
members from El Boqueron prison. Two additional inmates died during the
confrontation. An estimated 100 PNC antiriot agents reportedly took
four hours to retake control of the prison and remove the bodies.
There were no known developments in the investigation of the March
2007 killing of prisoner Jose de la Cruz Lara Diaz and injuring of
prisoner Carlos Arturo Escaray by inmates at Pavoncito Prison.
At year's end the Public Ministry continued investigating the
October 2007 case of prison guard Irma Barrientos, who allegedly
prostituted female prisoners in the jail for women in Jalapa and
extorted a 30 percent commission on money sent to prisoners by their
relatives.
At year's end prison authorities had taken no action against prison
guards allegedly involved in the 2006 killing of four juvenile inmates
and injuring of five other rival gang-member inmates during a riot at
San Jose Pinula Juvenile Detention Center.
On rare occasions male and female detainees in immigration
facilities were held together. Pretrial detainees sometimes were held
in the same prison blocks with the general prison population.
The Government permitted prison monitoring visits by local and
international human rights groups, the Organization of American States,
public defenders, religious groups, and family members, and such visits
took place throughout the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, but there were credible
reports of arrests without judicial warrants, illegal detentions, and
failure to adhere to prescribed time limits in legal proceedings. In
practice arresting officers sometimes failed to bring suspects before
magistrates within the legally mandated six-hour timeframe, and
magistrates sometimes failed to hold a hearing within the legally
mandated 24-hour timeframe.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The 19,671 member PNC,
headed by a director appointed by the minister of government, remained
understaffed, inadequately trained, and insufficiently funded. At
year's end the PNC reported 78 deaths of PNC personnel, 22 in the line
of duty.
While no active members of the military served in the police
command structure, the Government continued to employ the military to
support police units in response to rising crime. Joint police and
military operations under operational control of the PNC continued in
high-crime areas of Guatemala City, as well as in other regions of the
country.
Police corruption remained a serious problem, and there were
credible allegations of involvement by individual police officers and
some police units in criminal activity, including rapes, killings, and
kidnappings. Police and immigration officials reportedly extorted and
mistreated persons attempting to enter the country illegally.
Police impunity remained a serious problem. The PNC routinely
transferred officers suspected of wrongdoing rather than investigating
and punishing them.
There were credible reports that PNC officers or persons disguised
as police officers stopped cars and buses to demand bribes or steal
private property. In some cases the supposed police officers assaulted
and raped victims.
On June 9, the PNC arrested one senior police officer and three
patrol officers for their alleged involvement in a criminal gang known
as the ``Crazy Mariachi'' that had engaged in robberies and other
crimes, including the April 9 illegal detention of Eleazar Rodas, in
Guatemala City. On November 28, the Tenth Penal Court opened a trial
against these PNC officials for their alleged involvement in the
illegal detention. The officials remained in custody at year's end.
On September 18, the ORP arrested two PNC deputy commissioners for
their alleged involvement in a criminal group operating in an affluent
sector of Guatemala City. At year's end 12 other police officers were
under investigation by the Public Ministry for possible involvement
with this group.
Police threatened persons engaged in prostitution and other
commercial sexual activities with false drug charges to extort money or
sexual favors and harassed homosexuals and transvestites with similar
threats of false charges. Critics accused the police of indiscriminate
and illegal detentions when conducting antigang operations in some
high-crime neighborhoods. Security officials allegedly arrested and
imprisoned without charges, or sometimes using false drug charges,
suspected gang members.
The ORP conducted internal investigations of misconduct by police
officers. At year's end the ORP reported receiving 1,510 complaints,
which included 12 complaints of killings, seven forced disappearances,
nine kidnappings, eight illegal detentions, 119 thefts, seven rapes,
150 threats, and 183 cases of abuse of authority.
Although the ORP forwarded to the Public Ministry for further
investigation and prosecution cases with sufficient evidence of
criminal activity, few such cases went to trial. At year's end the ORP
had investigated 185 police officers. The PNC did not provide
statistics on the resolution of these cases, some of which were
ongoing.
The PNC trained 2,810 cadets in human rights and professional
ethics, compared with 2,635 in 2007. The army required civil affairs
officers at each command to plan and document human rights training
provided to soldiers. At year's end 1,035 military officers and
soldiers had received human rights training.
Approximately two-thirds of police districts remained understaffed.
Indigenous rights advocates asserted that security authorities'
continuing lack of sensitivity to indigenous cultural norms and
practices engendered misunderstandings and that few indigenous police
officers worked in their own ethnic or linguistic communities.
Arrest and Detention.--The constitution and the law require that a
court-issued arrest warrant be presented to a suspect prior to arrest
unless the suspect is caught in the act of committing a crime. Police
may not detain a suspect for more than six hours without bringing the
case before a judge. Detainees often were not promptly informed of the
charges filed against them. Once a suspect has been arraigned, the
prosecutor generally has three months to complete the investigation and
file the case in court or seek a formal extension of the detention
period. The law provides for access to lawyers and bail for most
crimes. The Government provided legal representation for indigent
detainees, and detainees had access to family members.
At year's end the ORP had received eight accusations of illegal
detention. There were no reliable data on the number of arbitrary
detentions, although most accounts indicated that police forces
routinely ignored writs of habeas corpus in cases of illegal detention,
particularly during neighborhood antigang operations.
In high-crime areas of Guatemala City, Mixco, and Villa Nueva, the
Government operated three 24-hour court pilot projects that
significantly reduced the number of cases dismissed for lack of merit
or on technical grounds and increased the prosecution rate in the
Guatemala City metropolitan area. These projects enhanced the
Government's ability to comply with legal requirements to bring
suspects before a judge within six hours of initial detention.
Although the law establishes a three-month limit for pretrial
detention, prisoners often were detained past their legal trial or
release dates. Some prisoners were not released in a timely fashion
after completing their full sentences due to the failure of judges to
issue the necessary court order or due to other bureaucratic problems.
A judge has the discretion to determine whether bail is necessary or
permissible for pretrial detainees depending on the circumstances of
the charges.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution and the law
provide for an independent judiciary, the judicial system often failed
to provide fair or timely trials due to inefficiency, corruption,
insufficient personnel and funds, and intimidation of judges,
prosecutors, and witnesses. Most serious crimes were not investigated
or punished. According to credible estimates, less than 3 percent of
reported crimes were prosecuted, and fewer resulted in convictions. The
UN-led International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG)
estimated that perpetrators of homicides were convicted in only 7
percent of cases. Many high-profile criminal cases remained pending in
the courts for long periods as defense attorneys employed successive
appeals and motions.
There were numerous reports of corruption, ineffectiveness, and
manipulation of the judiciary. Judges, prosecutors, plaintiffs, and
witnesses also continued to report threats, intimidation, and
surveillance. The special prosecutor for crimes against judicial
workers received 129 cases of threats or aggression against workers in
the judicial branch, compared with 125 in 2007.
As of October the Ministry of Government had assigned 30 police
officers to CICIG to augment security, and the Public Ministry created
a new CICIG-vetted unit of prosecutors working under the direct
supervision of a senior CICIG prosecutor. At year's end CICIG continued
its investigation of 15 high-profile cases, two prosecutions, and
various cases involving killing of women, killings of bus drivers and
assistants, trafficking in persons, and attacks against and killings of
unionists and human rights defenders.
Judge Eduardo Cojulum of the Eleventh Court of First Instance
reportedly received death threats throughout the year for his
assistance in the Spanish national court case brought by Rigoberta
Menchu, in collaboration with NGOs, against five retired military
officers and two civilians for alleged human rights violations
committed during the internal conflict.
On March 11, unknown assailants shot and killed Ingrid Judith
Borrayo, a clerk in the Homicide Division of the Public Ministry, on a
street near her office in Guatemala City. Hugo Rolando Toj, a PNC
officer assigned to the Human Rights Division of the Ministry of
Government, was also shot while walking with Borrayo and died days
later in a hospital.
On May 8, two unidentified gunmen shot and killed Judge Jose Vidal
Barillas Monzon, president of the Appeals Court of Retalhuleu, as he
was driving near his residence. Judge Barillas had presided over cases
involving organized crime, drug trafficking, and land disputes.
On July 14, unknown assailants shot and killed assistant homicide
prosecutor Juan Carlos Martinez. Martinez was the chief prosecutor in
the PARLACEN and Victor Rivera homicide cases.
There were credible reports of killings of witnesses. There were no
known developments in the February 2007 killing of Dalia Evangelina
Garcia Illescas, a witness in the murder trial of PNC officer Jorge
Macario Mazariegos.
The Supreme Court of Justice continued to seek the suspension of
judges and to conduct criminal investigations for improprieties or
irregularities in cases under its jurisdiction. The Judicial
Disciplinary Unit investigated 914 complaints of wrongdoing and held
hearings for 398 complaints through October. The Supreme Court did not
provide statistics on the resolution of these cases.
Prosecutors remained susceptible to intimidation and corruption and
were often ineffective.
The judiciary consisted of the Supreme Court of Justice, appellate
courts, trial courts, and probable-cause judges (with a function
similar to that of a grand jury), as well as courts of special
jurisdiction, including labor courts and family courts. There were 379
justices of the peace located throughout the country. Some of the
justices specialized in administering traditional and indigenous law in
community courts, which were under the jurisdiction of the Supreme
Court of Justice. The Constitutional Court, which reviews legislation
and court decisions for compatibility with the constitution, is
independent of the rest of the judiciary.
At year's end the Public Ministry had 249 persons in its witness
protection program. There were no new developments in the 2006 case in
which a witness under police protection was killed at her home in
Palencia.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair public trial, the presumption of innocence, the right to be
present at trial, and the right to counsel. The law provides for plea
bargaining, the possibility of release on bail, and the right to an
appeal. Three-judge panels render verdicts. The law provides for oral
trials and mandates language interpretation for those needing it, in
particular the large number of indigenous persons who are not fluent in
Spanish. Inadequate government funding limited the effective
application of this legal requirement. The Public Ministry utilized 18
interpreters nationwide, including in former conflict areas of the
country, and the Office of the Public Defender employed 15 bilingual
public defenders in locations where they could serve as translators in
addition to defending clients.
The Public Ministry, semi-independent of the executive branch, may
initiate criminal proceedings on its own or in response to a complaint.
Private parties may participate in the prosecution of criminal cases as
plaintiffs. Lengthy investigations and frequent procedural motions used
by both defense and prosecution often led to excessively long pretrial
detention, frequently delaying trials for months or years.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law does not provide
for jury trials in civil matters. The law provides for administrative
and judicial remedies for alleged wrongs, including the enforcement of
domestic court orders, but there were problems in enforcing such
orders; some killings resulted from PNC failure to promptly enforce
restraining orders.
Property Restitution.--On November 20, the president signed an
agreement with leaders of the group of families that lost relatives
during the Rio Negro massacres in the early 1980s, known as the
Coordinator of the Communities Affected by the Construction of the
Chixoy Dam. In the agreement the Government acknowledged ``damages and
violations'' and accepted responsibility to provide reparations to
families of the victims.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the law prohibit such actions,
and the Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
On September 4, former chief of presidential security Carlos
Quintanilla and former head of the Secretariat of Strategic Analysis
(SAE) Gustavo Solano resigned from their posts following the alleged
discovery of listening devices in the offices of the president and
first lady. Two days later both men were indicted on charges of
espionage and became fugitives. Quintanilla voluntarily surrendered to
court officials on December 22 and at year's end was under preventive
house arrest awaiting trial.
On November 18, unknown individuals broke into the home of Ruth del
Valle, the presidential human rights commissioner. Del Valle denounced
this invasion as a targeted attack in response to her human rights
work. At year's end there were no new developments in the case.
At year's end there were no developments in the February 2007
break-in of the offices of the NGOs Human Rights Defenders Protection
Unit, National Movement for Human Rights, and Association of
Communication for Art and Peace.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and the law
provide for freedom of speech and press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
Although the independent media, including international media,
operated freely, were active and expressed a wide variety of views
without government restriction, there were reports that unknown actors
frequently threatened and intimidated members of the media. At year's
end the Special Prosecutor's Unit for Crimes Against Journalists and
Unionists had received 35 complaints of attacks and other acts of
intimidation against journalists, particularly in the provinces and
including aggression by the PNC and the Transit Police. The Public
Ministry reported 10 incidents of intimidation of journalists, compared
with 11 during 2007. A September 10 report by the UN Development
Program categorized the country as a ``country of risk'' for
journalists, based on violence against the media and violations of
freedom of expression.
In September Congress passed a law providing for a 66 percent
reduction on import taxes on materials used by public television
networks, a measure that reportedly exclusively benefitted businessman
Angel Gonzalez, a Mexican national who has lived abroad for numerous
years and who owns four frequencies to broadcast in the national open
access television network. Congress subsequently passed a second
measure, the Law of Televised Frequencies, which prohibits the two
national open access frequencies not owned by Gonzalez from selling
publicity to cover its expenses. Journalist Gustavo Berganza denounced
both measures in opinion columns and claimed that Congress passed the
measures in return for favorable coverage on Gonzalez's open access
networks for the members of congress and political parties that
supported the measures. Television channels owned by Gonzalez began
broadcasting negative news reports on Berganza in what some civil
society members called a slander campaign.
On May 10, an unknown assailant shot and killed Prensa Libre
correspondent Jorge Merida Perez in his home in Coatepeque,
Quetzaltenango. Merida had reported on corruption in the municipality
of Coatepeque and the mayor's alleged connection to drug trafficking.
On July 18, Prensa Libre news correspondent Danilo Lopez reportedly
received a death threat from the former governor of Suchitepequez,
Leonor Toledo. Lopez had reported on corruption in the governor's
office.
On July 27, unknown assailants fired shots into the home of Edin
Rodelmiro Maaz Bol, news correspondent for Radio Punto in Coban.
There were no known developments, and none were expected, in the
February 2007 case of the attempted killing of Nuestro Diario
correspondent Wilder Jordan or in the investigation of the March 2007
anonymous death threats against the staff of Guatevision and their
family members for Guatevision's coverage of the PARLACEN killings.
The Public Ministry reported that it had no further information
regarding the 2006 wounding by gunshot of radio journalist Vinicio
Aguilar.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups engaged in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2007
approximately 10 percent of the population accessed the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--Although the constitution and the law provide for freedom of
assembly, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice, there were some allegations of unnecessary use of force or of
inaction by the police during violent demonstrations. During the year,
on three different occasions, the Government declared a state of
prevention, which suspended freedom of assembly, the right to protest,
and the right to bear arms in limited areas of the country: in May to
restore order after truck drivers blocked highways in protest over
restrictions on the hours when heavy trucks can enter Guatemala City;
in June to end violent protests against the construction of a new
cement factory in San Juan Sacatepequez; and in October to restore
order when street vendors in Coatepeque violently protested police
attempts to evict them from their informal market.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of association, and the Government generally respected this
right in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
On August 1, the Immigration Service again denied entry to Puerto
Rican Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, who claimed to be the Antichrist and
planned to participate in a conference. Miranda's church was registered
and recognized by the Government and continued operating in Guatemala
City.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses or discrimination against persons for their religious
beliefs or practices, and no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The Jewish
population numbered approximately 2,000 persons.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration,
and repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights
in practice.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use
exile in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The constitution and the law provide for
the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol,
and the Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
During the year the Government received 20 requests for refugee
status but did not accord temporary protection, asylum, or refugee
status to anyone.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and the law provide citizens the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis
of nearly universal suffrage for those 18 years of age and older.
Members of the armed forces and police are not permitted to vote.
Elections and Political Participation.--In November 2007 Alvaro
Colom of the UNE party won a four-year term as president with
approximately 53 percent of the vote. The Organization of American
States' international observation mission characterized the elections
as generally free and fair. Amnesty International reported an estimated
26 killings of political activists in the context of the election.
There were 20 women in the 158-seat Congress, two women on the
Supreme Court of Justice, one woman on the Constitutional Court, and
197 women serving as judges. There was one woman in the 12-member
cabinet. Six of the country's 332 mayors were women.
There was one indigenous cabinet member, one indigenous supreme
court judge, 113 indigenous mayors, and approximately 20 indigenous
members in Congress. On August 18, a prominent indigenous leader became
head of the new Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--Government corruption was
widely perceived to be a serious problem, with public surveys noting a
lack of confidence in almost all government institutions, including
those in the legislative and judicial branches. The World Bank's
Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that government corruption
was a very serious problem. The Public Ministry continued to
investigate corruption charges against former president Alfonso
Portillo, former vice president Reyes Lopez, and other senior members
of previous governments.
On August 6, President of Congress Eduardo Meyer of the governing
UNE party resigned from office after acknowledging on June 9 that his
private secretary, Byron Sanchez, had illegally transferred 82.8
million quetzales ($11 million) of public funds to a private investment
house, Mercado de Futuros (MDF). The Supreme Court stripped Meyer of
his congressional immunity on October 22. Raul Giron, MDF's general
manager and legal representative, fled after failing to meet a July 31
deadline to return the money. Giron voluntarily surrendered to court
officials on August 22, and at year's end remained in a preventive
detention center awaiting trial on charges of money laundering and
fraud. The Public Ministry issued arrest warrants for Sanchez and
former congressional chief financial officer Jose Conde, both of whom
remained at large at year's end. Congressman and former president of
congress Ruben Dario Morales allegedly received a 300,000-quetzal
($39,000) commission from MDF in 2007 for investing congressional funds
there. At year's end Meyer, under a court order, was restricted in his
movements to Guatemala City. Meyer faced charges of embezzlement,
mismanagement of public funds, and fraud and awaited a court date for
trial.
On September 17, police found and arrested former congressman
Hector Loaiza Gramajo, who had been in hiding since January 15 when he
was stripped of his parliamentary immunity at the end of his term in
office. Loaiza faced five charges, including money laundering, fraud,
and tax evasion, for his alleged involvement in the theft of gasoline
trucks in 2006.
On October 7, after more than four years of evading justice,
Mexican authorities extradited former president Portillo (2000-04) to
Guatemala to face corruption charges. Portillo had fled to Mexico in
2004 after being charged in several cases of official corruption.
Within a few hours of his return to Guatemala, Portillo was released on
bail of one million quetzales ($129,366) on condition that he report to
the court once a month and not leave the country.
Public officials who earn more than 8,000 quetzales ($1,035) per
month or who manage public funds are subject to financial disclosure
laws. The Controller General's Office is responsible for oversight and
enforcement of these laws. Lack of political will and rampant impunity
facilitated government corruption.
The constitution provides for the right of citizens to access
public information. On September 23, Congress passed the Free Access to
Public Information Law, which regulates the provision of and
facilitates access to information held by public institutions. The law
covers all branches of government and requires all public and private
entities that receive public funds to respond to public requests for
information on their operations and administration of resources. The
law also establishes sanctions for officials who obstruct public access
to information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and open to their views.
On March 5, the Constitutional Court unanimously rejected the
appeal of former president General Efrain Rios Montt and affirmed the
decision of an appeals court to declassify four military plans executed
during the early 1980s at the height of the country's 36-year internal
conflict. At year's end the Ministry of Defense was seeking a
constitutional opinion on how to implement this decision.
In a November 26 decision, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
(IACHR) held the Government accountable for the 1990 forced
disappearances of Maria Tiu Tojin and her daughter. The IACHR
recognized that the Government had complied with some of its
recommendations, including providing a letter of apology to the
victims' family, the payment of 2,000,000 quetzales ($259,000) to
family members, and the construction of a monument in the victims'
memory. The IACHR found, however, that the Government had not done
enough to establish the identities of those responsible or to locate
the victims' remains.
Many NGOs and human rights workers, as well as a number of trade
unionists, reported threats or intimidation by unidentified persons,
many with reputed links to organized crime, private security companies,
and ``social cleansing'' groups, and complained that the Government did
little to investigate these reports or to prevent further incidents.
In a preliminary report following her February visit, the UN
special representative on human rights defenders expressed concern over
the level of impunity and institutional weakness the country while
acknowledging positive measures that provide greater protection to
human rights defenders, such as the creation of a new analytical unit
in the Ministry of Government to focus on attacks against human rights
defenders.
UPDDDH highlighted the four cases below, among others, as examples
of violence and intimidation against human rights defenders and urged
the Government to take action to protect those who work to promote
human rights. Investigations by the Public Ministry were pending at
year's end.
On March 31, an unidentified gunman accosted a member of Bishop
Alvaro Ramazzini's diocese and conveyed a death threat to the bishop
through the diocese member. Bishop Ramazzini has supported rural
communities in conflicts over land use.
On August 1, unidentified masked gunmen threatened to kill
indigenous leader Amilcar Pop, president of the Guatemalan Association
of Mayan Lawyers.
On August 7, unidentified assailants in Colotenango, Huehuetenango,
shot and killed indigenous community leader Antonio Morales Lopez.
Morales, a member of the Committee of Peasant Unity, was an activist
for indigenous rights, in particular defending natural resources and
opposing mining projects in Huehuetenango. He had received death
threats from local criminal groups.
On October 19, a family member of Norma Cruz, director of the
Survivors Foundation, was abducted in Guatemala City by masked men in a
vehicle, who drove him around and threatened him with death. They
released him shortly after near the home of Cruz. An investigation by
the Public Ministry was pending at year's end.
On April 24, the Government replaced Secretariat of Security and
Administrative Affairs (SAAS) security details for private citizens,
including human rights defenders, with PNC agents from the Division of
Personal Protection. Human rights defenders receiving such protection
included representatives of the Myrna Mack Foundation and the
Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG). During the year
FAFG staff members and their family members continued to receive death
threats. FAFG believed these threats were linked to the group's
forensic exhumation work to identify victims of massacres of the
internal armed conflict.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights opened
several new cases involving anonymous telephone or written threats,
physical assaults, and surveillance of workplaces, residences, and
vehicular movements. The majority of such cases remained pending for
lengthy periods without investigation or languished in the court system
as defense attorneys filed successive motions and appeals to delay
trials.
On June 2, a three-judge panel of the Court of First Instance
sentenced Erwin Gudiel Arias to 20 years in prison for the August 2007
killing of Jose Emanuel Mendez Dardon, son of former congressman and
human rights leader Amilcar Mendez. On October 1, an appeals court
overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial based on deficiencies
in the Public Ministry's investigation. At year's end Arias remained in
custody pending the start of a new trial.
The resident Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
assisted the Government in investigating various matters, including
threats and other acts of intimidation against human rights advocates,
land conflicts, and discrimination against indigenous persons. The
Government cooperated with the office and other international
organizations, including CICIG, and in September extended the office's
mandate for another three-year term.
The human rights ombudsman (PDH), Sergio Morales, whom Congress
reelected in 2007 to a second five-year term, reports to the Congress
and monitors the human rights guaranteed by the constitution. The
ombudsman's rulings do not have the force of law. The PDH operated
without government or party interference, had adequate resources to
undertake its duties, and had the Government's cooperation.
The ombudsman issued reports and recommendations that were made
public, including its annual report to the Congress on the fulfillment
of its mandate.
The President's Commission on Human Rights (COPREDEH), led by Ruth
del Valle, is charged with formulating and promoting the Government's
human rights policy, representing the Government on past human rights
abuse cases before the IACHR, and negotiating amicable settlements in
cases before the court. COPREDEH took a leading role in coordinating
police protection for various human rights and labor activists
throughout the year.
The Congressional Committee on Human Rights drafts and provides
advice on legislation regarding human rights matters. By law all
political parties represented in the Congress are required to have a
representative on the committee. NGOs reported that they considered the
committee to be an effective public forum for promoting and protecting
human rights.
On August 18, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs created a new office
to coordinate the country's human rights agenda with national
institutions, multilateral organizations, and embassies; indigenous
leader Francisco Cali Tzay headed the office.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and the law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status. In practice the
Government frequently did not enforce these provisions due to
inadequate resources, corruption, and a dysfunctional judicial system.
Women.--Sexual offenses remained a serious problem. The law
criminalizes rape, including spousal rape and aggravated rape, and
establishes penalties between six and 50 years in prison. On April 9,
Congress passed the Law Against Femicide and Other Forms of Violence
Against Women, which establishes penalties for physical, economic, and
psychological violence committed against women because of their gender.
Prosecutors from the Special Unit for Crimes against Women noted that
reports of rapes had decreased by 10.8 percent over the previous year.
At year's end 37 cases of economic violence and 220 cases of sexual
abuse and other forms of physical violence were reportedly under
investigation since passage of the new law.
Police had minimal training or capacity for investigating sexual
crimes or assisting victims of sexual crimes. The Government maintained
the PNC Special Unit for Sex Crimes, the Office of Attention to
Victims, the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Women,
and a special unit for trafficking in persons and illegal adoptions
within the Special Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime. Rape
victims sometimes did not report the crime for lack of confidence in
the justice system and fear of reprisals.
By year's end the prosecutor reported receiving 5,985 complaints of
sexual crimes. The Government reported 237 convictions of sexual
offenders. The Public Ministry did not provide data on average
sentences and years of imprisonment.
Violence against women, including domestic violence, remained a
common and serious problem. The law prohibits domestic abuse. On May
23, the Public Ministry inaugurated the ``Comprehensive Model of
Attention'' project to coordinate legal, psychological, and medical
assistance to victims of domestic violence and sexual crimes.
The law provides for the issuance of restraining orders against
alleged aggressors and police protection for victims, and it requires
the PNC to intervene in violent situations in the home. In practice,
however, the PNC often failed to respond to requests for assistance
related to domestic violence. Women's groups commented that few
officers were trained to deal with domestic violence or to assist
victims.
The Institute of Public Criminal Defense continued to provide free
legal, medical, and psychological assistance to victims of domestic
violence. By year's end the project had attended to 10,506 cases of
domestic violence.
According to press reports, the Program for Prevention and
Eradication of Intrafamily Violence, a government program under the
First Lady's Secretariat of Social Work, received 250 daily calls from
battered women and children via its three emergency hotlines. At year's
end the Public Ministry reported that it received more than 12,269
complaints of violence against women and children, including domestic
violence, economic violence, and sexual crimes, and prosecuted 352
cases, with convictions reached in 283 cases.
Justices of the peace issued an unspecified number of restraining
orders against domestic violence aggressors and ordered police
protection for victims. Full investigation and prosecution of domestic
violence and rape cases usually took an average of one year. Although
the law affords protection, including shelter, to victims of domestic
violence, in practice there were insufficient facilities for this
purpose.
The Office of the Ombudsman for Indigenous Women within COPREDEH
provided social services for victims of domestic or social violence, as
well as mediation, conflict resolution, and legal services for
indigenous women. The office also coordinated and promoted action by
government institutions and NGOs to prevent violence and discrimination
against indigenous women but lacked human resources and logistical
capacity to perform its functions on a national level. There were no
firm statistics available on the number of cases the office handled.
There were 18 prosecutions of killings of women in Guatemala City
in 2007. Few prosecutions resulted in convictions. At year's end there
were no updated figures available for 2008.
The Ministry of Government continued to operate eight shelters for
victims of abuse in departments with the greatest incidence of domestic
violence. The centers provided legal and psychological support and
temporary accommodation. On November 25, the Guatemalan Institute of
Public Criminal Defense inaugurated a hotline to assist female victims
of physical violence.
Although prostitution is legal, procuring and inducing a person
into prostitution are crimes that can result in fines or imprisonment,
with heavier penalties if minors are involved. Trafficking in women and
minors, primarily for the purpose of prostitution, is illegal and was a
widely recognized problem.
The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, and there were no
accurate estimates of its incidence. Human rights organizations
reported, however, that sexual harassment was widespread, especially in
industries in which the workforce was primarily female, such as the
textile and apparel sectors; it was also a problem in the police force.
On September 21, a woman was named to head the PNC for the first time
in the organization's history. While the law establishes the principle
of gender equality, in practice women faced job discrimination and were
less likely to hold management positions.
Women were employed primarily in low-wage jobs in agriculture,
retail businesses, the service sector, the textile and apparel
industries, and the Government and were more likely than men to be
employed in the informal sector, where pay and benefits generally were
lower. Women may legally own, manage, and inherit property on an equal
basis with men, including in situations involving divorce.
The Government's Secretariat for Women's Affairs advised President
Colom on interagency coordination of policies affecting women and their
development. The secretariat's activities included seminars, outreach,
and providing information on discrimination against women.
A women's shelter, inaugurated in 2007 in Guatemala City for
victims of violence, continued to operate during the year and had the
capacity to house 20 victims and their families for six months at a
time.
Children.--The Government devoted insufficient resources to ensure
adequate educational and health services for children.
The UNHCR reported that there were problems in registering births,
especially in indigenous communities, due to inadequate government
registration and documentation systems. Cultural factors, such as the
need to travel to unfamiliar urban areas and interact with
nonindigenous male government officials, at times inhibited indigenous
women from registering themselves and their children. Lack of
registration sometimes restricted children's access to public services.
Although the constitution and the law provide for free, compulsory
education for all children up to the ninth grade, less than half the
population over the age of 13 had completed primary education. The
Ministry of Education reported that in 2007, 42 percent of children who
entered first grade completed sixth grade, and 45 percent of those
entering seventh grade completed the ninth grade. Completion rates were
lower in rural and indigenous areas. While the average nonindigenous
child from seven to 17 years of age had received 4.4 years of
schooling, indigenous children of the same age range had received an
average of 3.7 years, according to the National Statistics Institute's
(INE) 2006 National Survey of Life Conditions (ENCOVI) report.
Child abuse remained a serious problem. The Special Prosecutor's
Office for Women, Unit of Adolescent and Child Victims, investigated
cases of child abuse. It achieved 45 convictions in the 57 child abuse
cases it opened between January and December. The Social Secretariat
for the Welfare of Children, with oversight for children's treatment,
training, special education, and welfare programs, provided shelter and
assistance to children who were victims of abuse but sometimes placed
children under its care in shelters with juveniles who had criminal
records. Due to an overwhelmed and underfunded public welfare system,
as of the end of September the Government had referred 245 minors to
the NGO Casa Alianza, out of a total of 430 cases that the organization
handled. Casa Alianza provided vocational training, social and
psychological support, and temporary shelter for street children and
child victims of abuse.
Authorities investigated and prosecuted numerous cases of abduction
or purchase of children for purposes of offering them for adoption. For
example, on October 1, Karen Evelyn Velasquez Garcia and Gloria
Elizabeth Giron were arrested during police raids in Mixco and
Guatemala City for their alleged involvement in the sale and purchase
of minors. Authorities charged that Velasquez was involved in the sale
of at least three children for adoption through the Internet, including
a child whom she delivered to Panama.
Child prostitution remained a problem.
In collaboration with Casa Alianza, the Government conducted 15
rescue operations through the end of September, resulting in the rescue
of 24 sexually exploited minors under age 18. The authorities referred
the rescued minors for protection and attention to Casa Alianza. The
Government referred 245 additional cases to Casa Alianza. Through the
end of September, Casa Alianza had handled 24 cases of sexually
exploited minors and continued attending to 64 cases from previous
years. The Secretariat of Social Welfare handled 504 child protection
cases, including cases of sexually exploited minors. Of the 88 cases
referred to Casa Alianza, government authorities detained seven alleged
perpetrators, six of whom were later released pending trial.
Casa Alianza estimated that there were more than 3,000 street
children in Guatemala City. Most street children had left home after
being abused. Casa Alianza reported that increased gang recruitment
decreased the number of street children in the capital because after
joining gangs, street children often lived with fellow gang members.
GAM reported that 105 minors suffered violent deaths nationwide during
the year. Criminals often recruited street children for purposes of
stealing, transporting contraband, prostitution, and illegal drug
activities. Credible estimates put the number of children who were
members of street gangs at 3,000 nationwide. NGOs dealing with gangs
and other youth reported concerns that street youth detained by police
were subject to abusive treatment, including physical assaults.
The Government operated a shelter for girls in Antigua and a
shelter for boys in San Jose Pinula. Two other shelters in
Quetzaltenango and Zacapa served both boys and girls. The Government
devoted insufficient funds to its shelters, and governmental
authorities often preferred to send juveniles to youth shelters
operated by Casa Alianza and other NGOs. The Government provided no
funding assistance for shelter costs to these NGOs. Security
authorities incarcerated juvenile offenders at separate youth detention
facilities.
Trafficking in Persons.--While the law prohibits trafficking in
persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from,
through, and within the country. The law criminalizes all forms of
trafficking, defines the categories of persons responsible for
trafficking offenses, and establishes prison terms of six to 12 years
for persons found guilty of trafficking. The Government reported that
trafficking was a significant problem.
The country was a source, transit, and destination country for
citizens and other Central Americans trafficked for purposes of
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Women and children were trafficked within the country for sexual
exploitation; children were also trafficked for labor exploitation,
including for begging rings in Guatemala City, but there were no
reliable estimates on the extent of the problem. The NGO End Child
Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual
Purposes (ECPAT) reported that children between the ages of eight and
14 were sold for 750 to 1,500 quetzals ($97 to $194) to work in various
economic activities, but primarily for sexual exploitation. According
to ECPAT, the incidents of trafficking in persons and the sale of
children for sexual exploitation likely increased due to higher
unemployment rates and increasing numbers of individuals living in
extreme poverty.
Trafficking was particularly a problem in towns along the country's
borders. Child migrants who did not cross the border into Mexico often
remained in the country and resorted to or were forced into
prostitution. Many women and children also were brought into the
country from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras by organized rings
that forced them into prostitution. The primary target groups for
sexual exploitation were girls and young women from poor families.
Trafficking organizations ranged from family businesses to highly
organized international networks. Brothel owners often were responsible
for transporting and employing victims of trafficking. Traffickers
frequently had links to other organized crime, including drug
trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Traffickers often approached individuals with promises of economic
rewards, jobs in cafeterias or beauty parlors, or employment in other
countries. They used flyers, newspaper advertisements, and verbal or
personal recommendations.
The Public Ministry operated a special unit within the Prosecutor's
Office of Organized Crime to investigate and prosecute trafficking. A
task force, which included the Public Ministry, immigration
authorities, PNC, and Casa Alianza, conducted an unspecified number of
raids on bars and other commercial establishments.
The PNC and Public Ministry units responsible for combating
trafficking were severely understaffed and underfunded. At year's end
the Public Ministry's Special Unit Against Trafficking in Persons
received and investigated 136 trafficking cases, compared with 51
during the first seven months of 2007. During the year the Public
Ministry prosecuted and the courts sentenced one person for trafficking
offenses.
There were credible reports that some police and immigration
service agents were complicit in trafficking of persons. ECPAT reported
that some minor victims of trafficking claimed immigration officials
took bribes from traffickers, gave the victims falsified identification
papers, and allowed them to cross borders. There were credible reports
that brothel owners allowed police and immigration officials to have
sex with minor victims without charge. Casa Alianza reported that
business owners of massage clubs and other establishments that sexually
exploited adolescents had good relations with some government
authorities who warned these businesses of upcoming police raids.
The Government's Secretariat for Social Welfare operated shelters
in Antigua, San Jose Pinula, Quetzaltenango, and Zacapa that housed
victims of trafficking and offered social services, job training, and
counseling. During the year the NGO shelter Casa del Migrante assisted
49 victims of trafficking in persons, including four cases involving
minors.
Immigration officials generally deported foreign adult trafficking
victims and did not treat them as criminals. Immigration officials
deported an unspecified number of women found during bar raids back to
Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Victims were not prosecuted and
were not required to testify against traffickers.
The Interagency Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons and
Related Crimes, headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and including
representatives of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches,
as well as NGOs and international organizations, coordinated
initiatives to combat trafficking.
The Government gave increased attention to rescuing minors from
commercial sexual exploitation in bars, brothels, and other
establishments. The minors were referred to Casa Alianza, which
provided shelter, medical treatment, psychological counseling, and job
training. Other NGOs provided similar services and, along with Casa
Alianza, lobbied for legislation, protection of victims, and prevention
of trafficking.
The country cooperated with Mexico to assist victims. This
cooperation included ensuring that the repatriation of trafficking
victims was handled separately from deportations. The country had
repatriation agreements for minor victims of trafficking with El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama.
The Public Ministry worked with ECPAT to train government officials
on crimes of sexual and commercial exploitation with an emphasis on
trafficking of children. ECPAT provided numerous courses to more than
320 government officials nationwide, including to all employees of the
National Tourism Institute.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution contains no specific
prohibitions against discrimination based on physical disability in
employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other
state services. The law, however, mandates equal access to public
facilities and provides some other legal protections. In many cases
persons with physical and mental disabilities did not enjoy these
rights, and the Government devoted few resources to combat this
problem.
There were minimal educational resources for those with special
needs, and the majority of universities were not made accessible to
persons with disabilities. The National Hospital for Mental Health, the
principal health-care provider for persons with mental illness, lacked
basic supplies, equipment, hygienic living conditions, and adequate
professional staffing. The National Council for the Disabled, composed
of representatives of relevant government ministries and agencies, met
regularly to discuss initiatives, had a budget of 5.5 million quetzales
($712,000), and estimated that there were 1.2 million persons with
disabilities in the country.
Indigenous People.--Indigenous persons from 22 ethnic groups
constituted an estimated 43 percent of the population. In addition to
the many Mayan communities, there were also the Garifuna, descendents
of Africans brought to the Caribbean region as slaves who intermarried
with Amerindians, and the indigenous Xinca community. The law provides
for equal rights for indigenous persons and obliges the Government to
recognize, respect, and promote their lifestyles, customs, traditions,
social organization, and manner of dress.
Although some indigenous persons attained high positions as judges
and government officials, they generally were underrepresented in
politics and remained largely outside the country's political,
economic, social, and cultural mainstream due to limited educational
opportunities, poverty, lack of awareness of their rights, and
pervasive discrimination. While the indigenous population increased its
political participation, some civil society representatives questioned
whether such participation had resulted in greater influence in the
national political party structure.
The NGO Human Rights First noted a tendency to criminalize social
movements, especially community mobilizations against large-scale
industrial projects that would negatively impact the livelihood of
their community. Several indigenous community members of San Juan
Sacatepequez have been arrested over the past few years because of
their opposition to the construction of a cement factory. In July
authorities issued arrest warrants for eight individuals as a result of
a dispute between a landowner and a mining company, the second time in
18 months that residents opposed to the mine were targeted for arrest.
At year's end there were no new developments in the case.
According to INE's 2006 ENCOVI report, 51 percent of the population
lived in poverty. Of those living in poverty, 56 percent were
indigenous.
Rural indigenous persons had limited educational opportunities and
fewer employment opportunities. Many of the indigenous were illiterate,
and approximately 29 percent did not speak Spanish, according to INE's
2006 ENCOVI report. More than 50 percent of indigenous women over the
age of 15 were illiterate, and a disproportionate number of indigenous
girls did not attend school. According to the Ministry of Education,
76,232 preschool- and kindergarten-age indigenous children were
enrolled in Spanish-indigenous language bilingual education programs.
The Department of Indigenous People in the Ministry of Labor,
tasked with investigating cases of discrimination and representing
indigenous rights, counseled indigenous persons on their rights. This
department had a budget of 40,000 quetzales ($5,175), only four
employees, and insufficient resources to investigate discrimination
claims.
Legally mandated court interpreters for criminal proceedings were
rarely available, placing indigenous persons arrested for crimes at a
disadvantage due to their sometimes limited comprehension of Spanish.
There was one indigenous supreme court judge, and there were 114 judges
who spoke Mayan languages among the 561 tribunals in the country. There
were 84 court interpreters, including 44 bilingual Mayan speakers, and
the Supreme Court of Justice reported that the judicial system had 907
employees who spoke indigenous languages. However, in many instances
bilingual judicial personnel continued to be assigned to areas where
their second language was not spoken.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law does not
criminalize homosexuality or expressly include sexual orientation among
the categories prohibited from discrimination. There was social
discrimination against gay, lesbian, and transgender persons.
Homosexual rights support groups alleged that members of the police
regularly waited outside clubs and bars frequented by sexual minorities
and demanded that patrons and persons engaged in commercial sexual
activities provide protection money. Due to a lack of trust in the
judicial system and out of fear of further persecution or social
recrimination, victims were unwilling to file complaints.
The law does not expressly include HIV status among the categories
prohibited from discrimination, and there was social discrimination
against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--While the law provides for freedom of
association and the right to form and join trade unions, in practice
enforcement remained weak and ineffective. Workers continued to live
under threat from their employers, and labor unions were weakened by
lack of enforcement of labor and employment laws and violence against
unionists and worker activists. Local and international unions and
labor rights advocacy groups reported a significant increase in the
number of killings of trade union activists and their family members
compared with previous years, and they criticized the Government's
application of antiterrorism regulations against unions and trade
unionists.
UPDDDH reported that at year's end 47 trade unionists had been
attacked and three killed by unknown assailants. It was generally
difficult to identify motives for killings, since most killings,
including killings of labor leaders, were not well investigated and
went unprosecuted. Local unions urged investigation of the killings of
these unionists and called for increased security for union leaders and
members. A petition filed under under the Central American Free Trade
Agreement involving six local unions alleged that the Government failed
to effectively enforce its labor laws with regard to freedom of
association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, and
acceptable conditions of work in five cases. A review of the petition
found that despite several recent efforts by the Government to improve
enforcement of labor laws, significant weaknesses in the Government's
ability to enforce its labor laws remained.
On March 2, armed assailants killed Miguel Angel Ramirez Enriquez
after forcibly entering his home. Ramirez was one of the founders of
the SITRABANSUR (Union of Banana Workers of the South). Four months
after its founding, the union was formally recognized in November 2007.
According to SITRABANSUR, company management received a list of names
of all the workers who had participated in the formation of the union
and, through its private security, reportedly threatened the members at
work and at home. At the end of November, they were fired. Ramirez was
among the workers pressured to sign a letter of resignation. An
investigation by the Public Ministry was pending at year's end.
On April 29, Carlos Enrique Cruz Hernandez, an active member of
SITRABI (Union of Banana Workers of Izabal), was killed at his
workplace. Two unidentified persons reportedly entered the area where
he was having lunch and fired shots. The killing occurred just one week
after the union's April 23 meeting with the Ministry of Government to
complain that armed, masked assailants had intimidated and threatened
another SITRABI member, Danilo Mendez. An investigation by the Public
Ministry was pending at year's end.
On June 8, an unknown assailant shot and seriously injured Freddy
Morales Villagran, a member of the Consultative Council of the Peten
Distributor Employees Union. Villagran died from his injuries a few
weeks later. The attack occurred amid the union's attempts to be
recognized by the Castillo Brothers Company, to obtain reinstatement of
allegedly illegally dismissed union leaders and members, and to
challenge the company's efforts to dissolve the company.
On August 7, two unidentified assailants in Puerto Barrios, Izabal,
shot and killed Edvin Portillo, treasurer of the Pension Administration
Board and member of the port workers union of the National Santo Tomas
Port Company. Portillo had reportedly been collecting signatures for a
petition, which workers were to present on the day of the killing,
opposing the new assistant to the deputy director of maritime
operations. A Public Ministry investigation was pending at year's end.
With the exception of members of the security forces, all workers have
the right to form or join unions, but only 8 percent of the formal
sector workforce was unionized.
Labor leaders reported receiving death threats and being targets of
other acts of intimidation. A three-prosecutor Special Prosecutor's
Unit for Crimes Against Journalists and Unionists within the Office of
the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights accepted several new union-
related cases during the year. There was one conviction for a crime
against a trade unionist. Organized labor viewed the restructuring of
the Special Prosecutor's Unit for Crimes Against Journalists and
Unionists as reflecting a reduced commitment to prosecuting crimes
against unionists. On November 6, the Ministry of Labor reactivated the
Interagency Commission on Labor Relations, which was created in 2003 to
investigate cases of violence against unionists.
There were no known developments in the following cases from 2007:
the killing in January of Pedro Zamora, Secretary General of the Dock
Workers Union of Puerto Quetzal; the killings in February of street
vendors Walter Anibal Ixcaquic Mendoza and Norma Sente de Ixcaquic,
members of the Sixth Avenue Union of the National Front of Vendors of
Guatemala; and the killing in September of Marco Tulio Ramirez Portela,
a SITRABI leader and brother of SITRABI Secretary General Noe Ramirez.
As of early December, the Ministry of Labor granted legal status to
53 new labor unions, compared with 36 in 2007. Most of the new unions
were small unions in the provinces, primarily in the agricultural or
municipal sector. Although there were 1,882 legally registered labor
unions, 597 appeared to be active at year's end based on administrative
registration records.
At year's end an active ``Solidarismo'' (solidarity association
movement) claimed to have 83 associations with approximately 30,000
members, and 90 independent associations with approximately 50,000
members. Unions may operate legally in workplaces that have solidarity
associations, and workers have the right to choose between them or to
belong to both. Although the law stipulates that trade unions have an
exclusive right to negotiate work conditions on behalf of workers,
unions asserted that management promoted solidarity associations to
discourage the formation of trade unions or to compete with existing
labor unions.
Workers have the right to strike, but due to the low level of
unionization and procedural hurdles, there were only two legal strikes,
according to the judicial branch's statistical department. However,
teachers, health-care workers, farm workers, and other labor groups
organized and participated in various protests, marches, and
demonstrations throughout the year.
The law empowers the president and his cabinet to suspend any
strike deemed ``gravely prejudicial to the country's essential
activities and public services.'' Workers in the essential services and
public services sectors can address grievances by means of mediation
and arbitration through the Ministry of Labor's General Inspectorate of
Labor and also directly through the labor courts. Employers may suspend
or fire workers for absence without leave if authorities have not
recognized a strike as legal. The law calls for binding arbitration if
no agreement is reached after 30 days of negotiation. The law prohibits
employer retaliation against strikers engaged in legal strikes.
Organized labor protested the use of national security interests and
emergency situation arguments by the Government to enjoin what they
considered ``legal'' strikes, such as the truck drivers' protest in the
spring and demonstrations by teachers and health-care workers. It
criticized arrests, incarcerations, and fines imposed against
protesters and regarded such actions as violations of the International
Labor Organization (ILO) conventions on the right to strike.
The 2008 International Trade Union Confederation's (ITUC) annual
survey found insufficient labor inspections, a weak judicial system,
and impunity. The survey reported that, according to workers, the
inspectors were more likely to persuade them to renounce their rights
than seek to protect them and often gave employers advance warning of
their visits. The labor courts had a backlog of applications for the
reinstatement of workers, and cases can last more than ten years.
Employers tended to ignore court rulings, and courts did not take
action to ensure that their decisions were respected. An ILO technical
assistance mission in April concluded that the Ministry of Labor was
very weak and was made even more so since a 2004 ruling by the
Constitutional Court that it cannot impose sanctions on employers for
violations of labor laws.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference. The Government
sought to protect this right in practice but had limited means to do
so. The law requires that union members approve a collective bargaining
agreement by simple majority. Although workers have the right to
organize and bargain collectively, the small number of unionized
workers limited the practice of organizing and bargaining.
Most workers, including those organized in trade unions, did not
have collective contracts documenting their wages and working
conditions, nor did they have individual contracts as required by law.
This was largely due to the combination of employer-supported unions,
illegal terminations or layoffs of union members, refusal to honor
court reinstatement orders or rulings requiring the employer to
negotiate with recognized unions, and threats and manipulations of
subcontracted workers (i.e., threats not to renew a contract or offer
permanent employment if the worker joins a union or refuses to
disaffiliate).
The Ministry of Labor reported that there were 27 new collective
bargaining agreements, including agreements reached with the teachers
and health-care workers unions during the year. These agreements were
reached after years of negotiations and after numerous teachers'
demonstrations throughout the country.
The ILO's Committee of Experts' (COE) observations identified
violations of collective bargaining agreements, acts of employer
interference, acts of antiunion discrimination, and a very low number
of government sanctions issued for labor violations.
Legal recognition of a new industry-wide union requires that the
membership constitute 50 percent-plus-one of the workers in an
industry. The COE stated that this requirement restricts the free
formation of unions. Labor rights activists considered this number to
be a nearly insurmountable barrier to the formation of new industry-
wide unions, effectively eliminating the possibility for workers to
exercise the right to negotiate and formally engage employers at an
industry level.
Enforcement of legal prohibitions on retribution for forming unions
and for participating in trade union activities was weak. Many
employers routinely sought to circumvent legal provisions for union
organizing by resisting union formation attempts or by ignoring
judicial orders to enforce them. Inadequate penalties for violations
and an ineffective legal system to enforce sanctions continued to
undermine the right to form unions and participate in trade union
activities.
Increased violence and insecurity further undermined the ability of
workers to freely exercise their labor rights. Local unions reported
increased incidences of fraudulent bankruptcies, ownership
substitution, and reregistration of companies by employers seeking to
circumvent their legal obligation to recognize newly formed or
established unions. Government institutions continued to tolerate these
practices. The delay in processing legal complaints, from submission to
final resolution, resulted in immunity for employers.
There were credible reports of retaliation by employers against
workers who tried to exercise internationally recognized labor rights.
Common practices included termination and harassment of workers who
attempted to form workplace unions, creation of illegal company-
supported unions to counter legally established unions, blacklisting of
union organizers, threats of factory closures, refusal to permit labor
inspectors to enter facilities to investigate worker complaints, and
refusal to honor decisions made by labor tribunals in favor of workers,
including reinstatement of wrongfully dismissed union organizers.
The law requires employers to reinstate workers dismissed illegally
for union organizing activities. In practice employers often failed to
comply with reinstatement orders. During the year workers who suffered
illegal dismissal won 571 court injunctions ordering reinstatement.
Appeals by employers, along with legal recourse such as reincorporation
as a different entity, often prolonged reinstatement proceedings. The
labor courts rarely dismissed frivolous cases or appeals, did not
operate in a timely manner, and did not ensure enforcement of their
decisions. According to labor ministry officials, authorities rarely
sanctioned employers for ignoring legally binding court orders.
Employers often failed to pay the full amount of legally required
severances to workers.
Local unions increasingly highlighted and protested the violations
of employers who failed to pay the employer and employee contributions
to the national social security system despite employee contribution
deductions from workers' paychecks. These violations, particularly
common in the private sector and export industries, resulted in
limiting or denying employees access to the public health-care system
and reductions to or underpayment of workers' pension benefits during
their years of retirement.
There were no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the 16 active export processing zones (EPZs) and within the garment
factories that operated under an EPZ-like regime. Due to inadequate
enforcement of labor laws and often illegal measures taken by employers
to prevent the formation of new unions or undermine existing unions,
there were few successes in organizing workers in EPZs and in the
garment sector. Some factories closed and then reopened under a new
name and with a new tax exemption status. Of the 216 companies
operating in the EPZs, only two had recognized trade unions, and none
had a collective bargaining agreement. SitraCima and SitraChoi, two
garment sector trade unions, were essentially eliminated through
allegedly illegal employer actions and government inaction in enforcing
labor, employment, and bankruptcy laws. The Government did not
regularly conduct labor inspections in the EPZs, and there were
systemic violations of wage and hour laws, mandatory overtime at
nonpremium pay, terminations of workers who tried to form unions,
withholding of social security payments, and illegal pregnancy testing.
The COE observations identified as a problem the requirement of
pregnancy tests in some workplaces as a condition to obtain and retain
employment.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the
constitution and the law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including
by children, women and increasingly minors were trafficked for the
purpose of sexual exploitation. Organized labor equated mandatory
overtime practices, which were commonplace in the private sector,
particularly in the export sectors, to forced or compulsory labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although the law bars employment of minors under the age of 14 without
written permission from parents or the Ministry of Labor, child labor
was a widespread problem. The law prohibits persons under the age of 18
from work in establishments where alcoholic beverages are served, from
work in unhealthy or dangerous conditions, and from night work and
overtime work. The legal workday for persons younger than 14 is six
hours, and for persons 14 to 17 years of age, seven hours. Despite
these protections, child laborers worked on average in excess of 45
hours per week.
The majority of child labor takes place in rural indigenous areas
where economic necessity forced children to supplement family income.
According to INE's 2006 ENCOVI report, the latest available, an
estimated 528,000 children had to work to survive. Child labor was
common in export industries. The informal and agricultural sectors
regularly employed children below 14 years of age, usually in small
family enterprises. There were credible reports that child labor was
used in food processing, fresh produce, and flower production
companies, as well as the gravel and pyrotechnic industries. The
Ministry of Labor estimated that approximately 3,700 children were
illegally employed in fireworks production.
The Government did not effectively enforce laws governing the
employment of minors. The situation was exacerbated by the weakness of
the labor inspection and labor court systems. While in exceptional
cases, the Labor Inspectorate may authorize children under the age of
14 to work, the Ministry of Labor has made a commitment, in accordance
with ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, not to
provide such authorizations. In keeping with this commitment, the Labor
Inspectorate reported that it had not made any such authorizations by
year's end.
The COE observations expressed deep concern about the situation of
children under 14 years compelled to work in the country, noted that it
appeared very difficult to apply in practice the national legislation
on child labor, and encouraged the Government to step up efforts to
improve the situation of child laborers under age 14.
The ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor
continued operating programs to combat commercial sexual exploitation
of children by assisting the Government and local organizations to
strengthen legislation, policies, and programs.
The Child Worker Protection Unit within the Ministry of Labor is
charged with enforcing restrictions on child labor and educating
minors, their parents, and employers on the rights of minors in the
labor market. The Government devoted insufficient resources to
prevention programs, but Guatemala City's municipal administration
managed several small programs that offered scholarships and free meals
to encourage families to send to school children who had formerly
worked in the broccoli, coffee, gravel, and fireworks industries.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law sets national minimum
wages for agricultural and nonagricultural work and work in garment
factories. The daily minimum wage was 52 quetzales ($6.73) per day for
agricultural and nonagricultural work and 47.75 quetzales ($6.18) per
day for work in garment factories.
The minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. The National Statistics Institute estimated that the
minimum food budget for a family of five was 1,976.05 quetzales ($256)
per month, 18.85 percent higher than in 2007. Labor representatives
noted that even where both parents worked, the minimum wage did not
allow the family to meet its basic needs.
Noncompliance with minimum wage provisions in the informal sector
was widespread. The Ministry of Labor conducted inspections to monitor
compliance with minimum wage provisions, but the Government allocated
inadequate resources to enable inspectors to enforce the minimum wage
law adequately, especially in the very large informal sector. Advocacy
groups focused on rural sector matters estimated that more than half of
workers in rural areas who engaged in day-long employment did not
receive the wages, benefits, and social security allocations required
by law. According to credible estimates, between 65 and 75 percent of
the workforce continued to work in the informal sector and outside
basic protections afforded by the law.
The legal workweek is 48 hours with at least one paid 24-hour rest
period, although in certain economic sectors workers continued to
operate under a tradition of longer work hours. Daily and weekly
maximum hour limits did not apply to domestic workers. Time-and-a-half
pay was required for overtime work. Although the law prohibits
excessive compulsory overtime, trade union leaders and human rights
groups charged that employers forced workers to work overtime without
legally mandated premium pay. Management often manipulated employer-
provided transportation to force employees to work overtime, especially
in EPZs located in isolated areas with limited transportation
alternatives. Labor inspectors reported uncovering numerous instances
of overtime abuses, but effective enforcement was undermined due to
inadequate fines, inefficiencies in the labor court system, and
employers' refusals to permit labor inspectors into their facilities or
provide access to payroll records and other documentation.
Labor courts have responsibility for sanctioning employers found
violating labor laws. Labor inspectors are not empowered to adopt
administrative measures or to impose fines for labor violations. The
labor courts received 1,619 cases from the Labor Inspectorate and ruled
in favor of reinstatement of the worker in 571 cases. Court decisions
favorable to workers, however, were rarely enforced due to frequent
refusals by employers to honor these decisions. Management or persons
hired by management reportedly continued to harass and make death
threats against workers who did not accept employer dismissals or
refused to forfeit their right to reinstatement.
The Government sets occupational health and safety standards, which
were inadequate and poorly enforced. When serious or fatal industrial
accidents occurred, the authorities often failed to investigate fully
or assign responsibility for negligence. Employers rarely were
sanctioned for failing to provide a safe workplace. Legislation
requiring companies with more than 50 employees to provide onsite
medical facilities for their workers was not enforced. Workers have the
legal right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without
reprisal. Few workers, however, were willing to jeopardize their jobs
by complaining about unsafe working conditions.
__________
GUYANA
The Co-operative Republic of Guyana is a multiparty democracy with
a population of approximately 760,000. President Bharrat Jagdeo was
reelected to a second full term in 2006 elections considered generally
free and fair by international observers. President Jagdeo's People's
Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has been the majority party in
Parliament since 1992. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
While the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there were problems in some areas. The most significant
reported abuses included potentially unlawful killings by police,
mistreatment of suspects and detainees by the security forces, poor
prison and jail conditions, lengthy pretrial detention, government
corruption, and sexual and domestic violence against women and
children.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed any politically
motivated killings. The constitution broadly defines justifiable use of
lethal force; however, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Guyana
Human Rights Association (GHRA) and the media asserted that both the
Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Prison Service committed
unlawful killings. The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) received eight
complaints of unlawful killings compared with nine the previous year.
In most cases the police reportedly shot the victims while attempting
to make an arrest or while a crime was being committed.
On July 3, prison officials allegedly beat and tortured inmate
Edwin Niles, who later died from his injuries. On September 19,
authorities charged senior prison officials Kurt Corbin and Gladwin
Samuels with manslaughter in Niles's death, and the case was pending at
year's end.
On July 26, prison inmate Nolan Noble died from blunt force trauma
to the head in circumstances that remained unclear; a police
investigation continued at year's end.
On October 20, police detainee James Nelson died after being
beaten. On December 4, the PCA stated that the available evidence did
not clarify the circumstances of his death, and called for an inquest
to be conducted.
On September 22, the preliminary inquiry into the alleged February
2007 killing of Clifton Garraway by police officer Clement Bailey
concluded; the depositions were forwarded to the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) for a recommendation on criminal charges.
In the September 2007 shooting death of Donna Herod, a coroner's
inquest began on November 10 and continued at year's end.
On August 28, police shot and killed two of the suspects in the
2006 murder of Minister of Agriculture Satyadeow Sawh. Four other
suspects remained at large at year's end.
There were two incidents of extreme violence involving at least one
criminal gang. On January 26, 15 to 20 heavily armed individuals
attacked several houses in the Lusignan neighborhood, killing 11
persons, including five children. On February 17, a similar number of
heavily armed criminals raided the town of Bartica on the Essequibo
River, killing 12 persons, including three police officers. In June
police confronted and killed three of the suspected gang members. On
August 28, police killed the gang's leader, Rondell Rawlins, who was
also the suspected mastermind of both attacks. Three other persons were
charged with murder for the Bartica killings, and three persons
(including a 14-year-old boy) were charged with murder for the Lusignan
killings.
Rondell Rawlins's gang was also implicated in the June 21 killing
of eight miners in a remote mining camp along the Berbice River,
although the camp owner and some media reports suggested that
government security personnel had been responsible.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture, although there was one
confirmed report of its use by prison officials. Numerous allegations
circulated that more prison inmates were tortured. There were also
allegations of police abuse of suspects and detainees.
In April the Guyana Defense Force (GDF) concluded its investigation
and submitted a report to the Defense Board concerning the December
2007 physical abuse of two soldiers during an interrogation. In
November the GDF Commander asserted that the GDF members involved in
the incident had been disciplined, but did not identify the individuals
or the penalties imposed. Despite promises to do so, the Government
refused to release the report's contents to the public. However, a
local media outlet claimed it obtained a leaked copy of the report and
quoted sections that implied the infliction of severe pain or suffering
on the accused. The Government did not investigate separate allegations
made by three civilians in 2007 that they also were victims of torture
carried out by GDF officers.
During the year the PCA received 29 complaints of unlawful arrest
and 15 complaints of unnecessary use of violence.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and jail conditions
were poor and deteriorating, particularly in police holding cells.
Capacity and resource constraints were a problem. The Prison Authority
reported that there were 2,100 prisoners in five facilities, more than
half of whom were in Georgetown's Camp Street Prison, which was
designed to hold 610 inmates but held 1,100. Overcrowding at the Camp
Street Prison was in large part due to backlogs of pretrial detainees,
which constituted approximately 60 percent of its total population.
Conditions in the country's four smaller prisons also reportedly
deteriorated. Some prison officers received basic medical training, but
no doctor regularly visited the prisons.
All newly hired prison guards received limited human rights
training from the GHRA, but the Government made no provision for
reinforcement training beyond this initial stage.
Although sanitary and medical conditions in police holding
facilities varied, overall these conditions were worse than those in
the prisons. Some jails were bare, overcrowded, and damp. Few had beds,
washbasins, furniture, or utensils. Meals normally were inadequate;
friends and relatives routinely had to bring detainees food and water.
Although precinct jails were intended to serve only as pretrial holding
areas, some suspects were detained there as long as two years, awaiting
judicial action on their cases.
Juvenile offenders ages 16 and older were held with the adult
prison population. Juvenile offenders ages 15 and younger were held in
the New Opportunity Corp (NOC), a juvenile correctional center that
offered primary education, vocational training, and basic medical care.
Problems at the NOC included lax security and understaffing. There were
complaints that juvenile runaways, or those out of their guardians'
care, were placed with juveniles who had committed crimes, with the
result that some petty offenders became involved in more serious
criminal activity.
Since there were no facilities in Georgetown to hold female
offenders ages 16 and over, women awaiting trial were held in the same
facilities as men. The Prison Authority reported that there were 94
female inmates in the women's prison located in New Amsterdam. Due to
inadequate facilities, juvenile female pretrial detainees were
sometimes held with adult female pretrial detainees.
The Prison Authority offered rehabilitation programs focused on
vocational training and education; however, such programs did not
adequately address the needs of prisoners with substance abuse
problems.
The Government did not permit monitoring of prison conditions by
either independent bodies or by members of Parliament, and turned down
requests for monitoring visits from the Parliamentary opposition and
from a diplomatic mission. The Government did not provide a reason for
the refusals, other than to clarify they were not due to security
concerns.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The GPF, which is
headed by the commissioner of police and overseen by the Ministry of
Home Affairs, employed approximately 2,700 officers and is responsible
for maintaining internal security. The GDF is responsible for defending
the country's territorial integrity, assisting civil authorities to
maintain law and order, and contributing to economic development. The
GDF, headed by the chief of staff, consisted of approximately 1,000
troops; it falls under the purview of the Defense Board, which the
president chairs.
Poor training, poor equipment, and acute budgetary constraints
severely limited the effectiveness of the GPF. Public confidence in and
cooperation with the police remained low. There were reports of
corruption in the force. Most cases involving charges against police
officers were heard by lower magistrates' courts, where specially
trained police officers served as the prosecutors.
Substantial staff shortages (only four of eight full time positions
were filled) and the lack of its own investigative unit obstructed the
PCA's effort to conduct impartial and transparent assessments of
accusations it received. By law the police commissioner must comply
with the PCA's recommendations on complaints, but the PCA relied on the
GPF to conduct investigations into complaints against its own officers.
Long delays in getting reports from the commissioner also thwarted the
complaints process.
During the year the PCA received 167 written complaints, of which
eight involved police killings. The remaining complaints were mostly
for police neglecting their duties or misbehaving in public places,
unlawful arrest, wrongful seizure of firearms or motor vehicles,
corrupt transactions, and unnecessary use of force. Investigation into
the complaints led to no recommendations of criminal charges, but did
lead to 40 recommendations of disciplinary action against police
officers.
The GHRA provided a mandatory one-week human rights course for
police recruits.
Arrest and Detention.--An arrest requires a warrant issued by a
court official, unless an officer who witnesses a crime believes there
is good cause to suspect that a crime or a breach of the peace has been
or will be committed. The law requires that a person arrested and held
for more than 72 hours be brought before a court to be charged;
authorities generally observed this requirement in practice. Bail was
generally available except in capital offenses and narcotics
trafficking cases.
Although the law provides criminal detainees prompt access to a
lawyer of their choice and to family members, in practice these rights
were not fully respected. Police routinely required permission from the
senior investigating officer, who was seldom on the premises, before
permitting counsel access to a client. There were reports that senior
officers refused to grant prompt access to prisoners.
Lengthy pretrial detention, due primarily to judicial inefficiency,
staff shortages, and cumbersome legal procedures, remained a problem.
Pretrial detainees constituted approximately one third of the prison
population, and the average length of pretrial detention was four
months for those awaiting trial at magistrates' courts and 13 months
for those awaiting trial at the High Court.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this
provision in practice.
Delays and inefficiencies undermined judicial due process. Delays
in judicial proceedings were caused by shortages of trained court
personnel and magistrates, inadequate resources, postponements at the
request of the defense or prosecution, occasional allegations of
bribery, poor tracking of cases, and the slowness of police in
preparing cases for trial.
The court system is composed of several magistrates' courts, the
High Court, and the Court of Appeal. There is also the right of final
appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice. The magistrates' courts deal
with both criminal and civil matters. Specially trained police officers
serve as prosecutors in lower magistrates' courts. The DPP is
statutorily independent, may file legal charges against offenders, and
handles all criminal cases.
The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has the authority to appoint
judges, determine tenure, and appoint the DPP director and deputy
director. The president, on the advice of the JSC, may temporarily
appoint judges to sit on magistrates' courts and on the High Court.
There were nine sitting High Court justices, with three vacancies. In
April the JSC made recommendations to the president for filling the
vacant seats, but by year's end the president had not taken action. All
four seats on the Court of Appeal remained vacant; however, the chief
justice and the chancellor of the judiciary were serving in acting
capacities.
Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and defendants enjoy a
presumption of innocence. Cases in magistrates' courts are tried
without jury; more serious cases are tried by jury in the High Court.
Defendants can confront witnesses against them and have access to
relevant government held evidence. Defendants have the right to appeal.
Trial postponements were granted routinely to both the defense and the
prosecution. The law extends these rights to all citizens.
The law recognizes the right to legal counsel; however, except in
cases involving capital crimes, it was limited to those who could
afford to pay. Although there is no public defender system, a defendant
in a murder case that reaches the High Court receives a court appointed
attorney. The Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic, with government and private
support, provided advice to persons who could not afford a lawyer,
particularly victims of domestic violence and violence against women.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government generally did
not detain persons on political grounds. However, there was widespread
reporting that the Government's imprisonment on March 5 of former GDF
officer Oliver Hinckson, and his subsequent indictment for sedition,
was politically motivated. On October 9, Hinckson was granted bail, and
his trial was pending at year's end.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and the
Government generally respected this provision in practice. The
magistrates' courts deal with both criminal and civil matters. Delays,
inefficiencies, and corruption in the magistrate court system affected
the ability of citizens to seek timely remedy in civil matters, and
there was a large backlog of civil cases.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--While the law prohibits such actions, and law
enforcement officials generally respected these prohibitions, there
were reports that police officers searched homes without warrants,
particularly in the village of Buxton, a criminal enclave, and in
neighborhoods where narcotics trafficking was suspected.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice; however, the Government demonstrated diminishing
tolerance for publicly expressed views or opinions different from its
own.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction. International media operated freely. The
partially government owned daily newspaper, the Guyana Chronicle, which
typically displayed a progovernment slant, covered a broad spectrum of
political and nongovernmental groups. The independent daily newspapers
Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, and Guyana Times freely reported and
editorialized on the Government's policies and actions.
On April 11, the Government suspended the broadcast license of
independent television station Channel 6 for four months as punishment
for airing a vague threat made by a caller against President Jagdeo
during a live call in show, despite the host's immediate condemnation
of the caller's remarks. The Government asserted that the station had
violated the terms of its license by inciting violence.
In July the Government banned a well known local television
journalist, Gordon Moseley, from the Office of the President and the
presidential residence for allegedly making ``disparaging and
disrespectful'' remarks towards the president in a letter published in
two local newspapers. The letter objected to the president's public
repudiation of a report Moseley had aired; neither the report nor the
letter was reported to contain anything offensive.
In January the Stabroek News halted its public campaign against the
September 2007 government decision to cease placement of government
advertising in Stabroek News. In March the Government resumed
advertising.
Continued government limits on licensing of new radio stations
constrained the broadcast media. The Government owned and operated two
radio stations, broadcasting with multiple frequencies, which were the
only media capable of reaching the entire country. In December the High
Court chief justice ruled that the Government had acted
unconstitutionally by refusing to respond to multiple television
station license applications for Region 10, affirming that this
``infringed on the applicants' constitutional right to freedom of
expression.'' Private interests and the political opposition continued
to criticize the Government for its failure to approve similarly
longstanding requests for private radio frequency authorizations.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 11
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2007.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti Semitic acts. The
Jewish community was very small, perhaps fewer than 10 members.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The Amerindian Act requires that the local village council grant
permission for travel to Amerindian areas. In practice most persons
traveled throughout these areas without a permit.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government did not receive any
petitions to grant refugee status or asylum.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair national elections based on universal
suffrage. However, local government elections, which the law provides
should be held every three years, have not been carried out since 1994
due to a stalled local government reform process. Political parties
operated without restrictions or outside interference.
Elections and Political Participation.--The most recent elections
took place in 2006, when citizens voted in a generally free election to
keep the PPP/C government in office. Incumbent President Bharrat Jagdeo
was reelected to a five-year term. International observers, including
teams from the Organization of American States, the Caribbean
Community, the Carter Center, and the Commonwealth, noted isolated
irregularities not sufficient to change the outcome and declared the
election to be substantially free and fair, while noting that ruling
party use of government resources during the campaign disadvantaged
opposition parties.
The Elections Commission and the ruling PPP/C party continued to
challenge in court the minority Alliance for Change (AFC) party's 2006
claim that incorrect vote counting in Region 10 in the 2006 national
elections had wrongly awarded a seat to the PPP/C that should have gone
to the AFC. A High Court resolution to the case remained pending at
year's end; meanwhile, a PPP/C member occupied the disputed seat.
The constitution requires that one third of each party list of
candidates be female but does not require the parties to select women
for seats. There were 21 women in the 65 seat National Assembly; six of
21 cabinet ministers were women.
While supporters of the two major parties (the PPP/C and the
People's National Congress/Reform) were drawn largely from the Indo
Guyanese and Afro Guyanese communities, respectively, political party
leadership was more diverse. The ethnically diverse National Assembly
included four indigenous members. The cabinet was also ethnically
diverse, mirroring the ethnic makeup of the general population. More
than one quarter of the 22 cabinet ministers were Afro Guyanese,
including the prime minister and the head of the presidential
secretariat; there were also three indigenous cabinet ministers.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides for
criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did
not implement the law effectively. The World Bank's worldwide
governance indicators reflected that government corruption was a
serious problem. There was a widespread public perception of serious
corruption in the Government, including law enforcement and the
judicial system. Low wage public servants were easy targets for
bribery.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws and are
required to submit information about personal assets to the Integrity
Commission, but compliance was uneven and the commission had no
resources for enforcement or investigations.
The law does not provide for public access to government
information. Government officials were generally reluctant to provide
public information without approval from senior administration
officials.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A few domestic human rights groups generally operated without
government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on
human rights cases. Government officials were often uncooperative and
unresponsive to their views; when they did respond, it was generally to
criticize. In responding to accusations that its officers may have
engaged in torture, a GDF press release criticized those ``willfully
seeking to vilify the officers of the GDF.and to destabilize and
demoralize the GDF.''
The constitution allows for a governmental human rights commission,
but it remained nonfunctioning, and there was no human rights ombudsman
within the Government.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
While the constitution provides fundamental rights for all persons
regardless of race, gender, religion, or national origin, the
Government did not always enforce these provisions.
Women.--Rape and incest are illegal but were neither frequently
reported nor prosecuted; spousal rape is not illegal, which contributed
to an atmosphere where victims were often reluctant to report
incidents. If a case does come to trial, a judge has discretion to
issue a sentence of any length in a rape conviction, depending upon the
circumstances and severity of the act committed. The established trend
appeared to be a sentence of five to 10 years in prison. During the
year there were 17 criminal prosecutions of individuals charged with
rape.
Violence against women, including domestic violence, was widespread
and crossed racial and socioeconomic lines. The law prohibits domestic
violence, gives women the right to seek prompt protection, and allows
victims to seek protection, occupation, or tenancy orders from a
magistrate. Penalties for violation of protection orders include fines
up to G$10,000 ($54) and 12 months' imprisonment; however, this
legislation frequently was not enforced.
According to the NGO Help and Shelter, unlike in previous years,
government enforcement of laws against domestic violence was poor. Help
and Shelter asserted that magistrates and magistrate court staff lacked
sensitivity to the problem of domestic violence and to their roles in
ensuring implementation of the law. In addition not all police officers
fully understood provisions of the law; some officers reportedly could
not recognize the paper form on which a protection order is written.
NGOs reported a perception that some police officers and
magistrates could be bribed to make cases of domestic violence ``go
away.'' The Government did not prosecute cases in which the alleged
victim or victim's family agreed to drop the case in exchange for a
monetary payment out of court. NGOs asserted the need for a specialized
family court.
During the year Help and Shelter handled 468 abuse cases, including
child, spousal, nonspousal, and other domestic abuse; 306 of the cases
involved spousal abuse directed against women. Help and Shelter, which
received funding from both private donors and the Government, ran a
free shelter for victims of domestic violence and operated a hotline to
counsel victims.
Prostitution is illegal but present. It continued to receive
greater public attention due to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS among
prostitutes.
Sexual harassment is prohibited under the Prevention of
Discrimination Act, which provides for monetary penalties and award of
damages to victims. Any act of sexual harassment involving physical
assault can also be prosecuted under relevant criminal statutes.
Although reports of sexual harassment were common, there were no
prosecutions for sexual harassment under the Prevention of
Discrimination Act, and charges of sexual harassment were often settled
out of court.
The law prohibits discrimination based on gender, but there was no
legal protection against such discrimination in the workplace. Although
women constituted a significant proportion of the workforce, there were
credible reports that they were not equally treated and faced
disadvantages in promotion. Job vacancy notices routinely specified
that the employer sought only male or only female applicants. The
Women's Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Labor monitored the legal
rights of women, but its role was limited to employment related
services. The bureau also held seminars on leadership and gender equity
issues for women throughout the country. The constitution provides for
a Women and Gender Equality Commission, but implementing legislation
had not been passed.
The law protects women's property rights in common law marriages.
It entitles a woman who separates or divorces to one half of the
couple's property if she had regular employment during the marriage and
one third of the property if she had not been employed.
Children.--The Government generally was committed to children's
rights and welfare. The constitution provides for a commission on the
rights of the child, but implementing legislation had not been passed.
Reports of physical and sexual abuse of children were common.
During the year Help and Shelter handled 55 cases of child abuse and an
additional 14 cases of rape in which the victim was 17 years of age or
younger. It was unclear how many deaths from child abuse took place;
law enforcement officials and NGOs believed that the vast majority of
child rape and criminal child abuse cases were not reported. As with
cases of domestic abuse, NGOs noted reports that some police officers
and magistrates could be bribed to make cases of child abuse ``go
away.''
The age of sexual consent is 16. Under the law anyone who has
carnal knowledge of a girl under 16 can be found guilty of a felony and
imprisoned for life. There were unconfirmed reports of child
prostitution, although there were no indications that the country is a
destination for child sex tourism.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons, and, unlike in previous years, there were few reports that
persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.
Government and NGOs reported only a small number of cases involving
trafficking in persons. There were some unconfirmed reports of girls
from the interior (where there was little government oversight and law
enforcement was lacking) being trafficked for commercial sex to
countries in South America and the Caribbean. Most traffickers were
believed to be individual business persons.
The trafficking case against two women charged in 2006 with forcing
a 12 year old girl into sexual slavery was dismissed in October for
lack of evidence.
Penalties for trafficking include three years' to life
imprisonment, forfeiture of property, and full restitution to the
victims. There were no convictions under the Trafficking in Persons Act
during the year. In January the Government dropped charges in six
trafficking cases due to lack of evidence and the amount of time
elapsed since the incidents. Prosecution of human traffickers was more
difficult in the interior, where infrequent court sessions delayed
prosecution of cases. There is a National Plan of Action to combat
human trafficking as well as a National Task Force for Combating
Trafficking in Persons, which consisted of multiple government
agencies, that meets to address antitrafficking issues. The Ministry of
Home Affairs chaired the task force and monitored enforcement.
There was no evidence that government officials or institutions
participated in or condoned human trafficking.
There were no reports of societal discrimination against
trafficking victims. The Government also worked closely with, and
provided some financial support for, the NGOs Help and Shelter and Red
Thread, although neither reported any trafficking victims during the
year.
In January the Government facilitated the return from Trinidad of a
trafficking victim who had escaped her captors; this individual
received vocational training and a stipend from the Government to
assist in her reintegration.
In February the Human Services and Social Security Ministry
completed a countrywide antitrafficking educational and self-awareness
campaign, which reached more than 5,000 individuals. The National Task
Force also conducted sensitization and awareness sessions that reached
more than 1,000 persons across the country.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution mandates the state to
``take legislative and other measures designed to protect disadvantaged
persons and persons with disabilities"; however, there is no law
allowing such persons to contest discriminatory acts. There is also no
law mandating provision of access for persons with disabilities, and
the lack of appropriate infrastructure to provide access to both public
and private facilities made it very difficult for persons with
disabilities to be employed outside their homes. The National
Commission on Disabilities, comprising 15 cabinet-appointed members,
was charged with advising the Government and acting as a coordinating
body on issues affecting persons with disabilities. The Open Door
Center offered assistance and training to persons with disabilities
throughout the year.
Indigenous People.--According to the 2002 census, the indigenous
population constituted 9 percent of the population. There were nine
tribal groups, and 90 percent of indigenous communities were located in
the remote interior. Their standard of living was lower than that of
most citizens, and they had limited ability to participate in decisions
affecting their lands, cultures, traditions, and allocation of natural
resources. Indigenous communities had limited access to education and
health care; there was no information on the effectiveness of
government efforts to improve these services. All indigenous
communities had primary schools, and there were 10 secondary schools in
remote regions. The secondary schools had dormitories that housed
approximately 1,400 students at government expense. The Government
established programs to train health workers and established
rudimentary health facilities in most communities.
The law provides that persons wishing to enter indigenous lands
must obtain prior permission from the local village council, but most
visitors traveled in these areas without a permit. Rules enacted by the
village council require approval from the minister of Amerindian
affairs before entering into force.
Land rights were a major issue for the indigenous population.
Indigenous people complained that the Government allocated land (to
mining and logging interests as well as for environmentally protected
reserves) without proper consultations with them. The indigenous
communities often viewed these allocations as illegitimate seizure of
indigenous lands and alleged that consultations on development in the
interior did not provide adequate time for feedback. However, the
Government also continued its program of granting full title to
indigenous communities around the country for land the communities
already occupied.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Violence and
discrimination based on sexual orientation or against persons with HIV/
AIDS were not widely reported.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution provides for the
right of association and specifically enumerates workers' rights to
form or belong to trade unions, and workers exercised this right in
practice. However, the constitution also specifically bars GPF members
from unionizing or associating with any established union.
Approximately 20 percent of the work force was unionized.
The law provides workers with the right to strike, and workers
exercised this right in practice. Strikes may be declared illegal if
the union leadership did not approve them or if they did not meet the
requirements specified in collective bargaining agreements. Public
employees providing essential services may strike if they provide the
proper notice to the Ministry of Labor and leave a skeleton staff in
place, but they are required to engage in compulsory arbitration to
bring an end to a strike. There is no law prohibiting retaliation
against strikers, but this principle always was included in the terms
of resumption of work after a strike. The law defines and places limits
on the retaliatory actions employers may take against strikers.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Public and
private sector employees possessed and exercised the right to organize
and to bargain collectively. The Ministry of Labor certified all
collective bargaining agreements, and there were no reports that it
refused to do so. Individual unions directly negotiate collective
bargaining status. The chief labor officer and the staff of the
Ministry of Labor provided consultation, enforcement, and conciliation
services.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers; however,
some unions alleged antiunion discrimination by the Government.
There were no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, there were
unconfirmed reports that such practices occurred. Unlike in previous
years, there were no reports that Amerindian men were forced into labor
in timber camps.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although the law sets minimum age requirements for employment of
children, child labor in the informal sector was a problem. The law
prohibits the employment of children younger than 15, with some
exceptions. No person under 16 may be employed at night, except under
regulated circumstances. The law permits children under 14 to be
employed only in enterprises in which members of the same family are
employed.
Child labor was most prevalent in family-based businesses,
especially farming, bars and restaurants, and street vending. Small
numbers of children performed hazardous work in the construction,
logging, farming, fishing, and manufacturing industries. However,
according to an NGO study during the year, the country does not have a
significant problem with the worst forms of child labor.
The Ministry of Labor collaborated with the Ministry of Education
and GPF to enforce child labor laws. The Ministry of Labor employed 20
labor inspectors who were charged with investigating child and
exploitative labor activities; however, these were not sufficient to
effectively enforce existing laws.
In 2006, with international donor assistance, the Ministry of
Labor, Human Services, and Social Security, in conjunction with the
Ministry of Education, launched a three-year project to reduce the
incidence of the worst forms of child labor and withdraw or prevent
3,044 children from exploitative or hazardous labor conditions.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum public sector wage
was G$34,055 ($166) per month. There were minimum wages for certain
categories of private sector workers, including retail cashiers and
clerks, printers, drivers, and conductors, starting with a minimum of
G$4,000 ($20) per week. Although enforcement mechanisms exist, it was
difficult to put them into practice, and unorganized workers,
particularly women and children in the informal sector, often were paid
less than what was required legally in the service sector. Laborers and
untrained teachers at public schools also were paid less than the
minimum wage. The legal minimum wage did not provide a decent standard
of living for a worker and family.
The law sets hours of employment, which vary by industry and
sector. In general, work in excess of a 44 hour workweek required an
overtime payment rate. The law does not require a minimum weekly rest
period but does state that a person cannot be compelled to work
overtime.
The law also establishes workplace safety and health standards. The
Occupational Health and Safety Division of the Ministry of Labor is
charged with conducting factory inspections and investigating
complaints of substandard workplace conditions. Inadequate resources
prevented the ministry from effectively carrying out this function.
Workers could not remove themselves from dangerous work situations
without jeopardizing continued employment.
__________
HAITI
Haiti is a constitutional republic with a population of
approximately 9.3 million. International observers assessed the 2006
presidential and parliamentary elections as generally free and fair,
after which President Rene Preval and the new parliament took office in
May 2006. Parliament confirmed Michele Pierre-Louis as the new prime
minister in September, filling a vacancy that had existed since the
April removal of former prime minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis.
Elections for one-third of the Senate's members, originally scheduled
for late 2007 and rescheduled to May, did not occur, leaving the Senate
at two-thirds membership for most of the year. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces, but in
some instances elements of the Haitian National Police (HNP) acted
independently. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
(MINUSTAH) was made up of approximately 9,000 military and police
officers and civilians who assisted and advised government and security
authorities.
The following human rights problems were reported: failure to hold
timely parliamentary elections; alleged unlawful killings by HNP
officers; ineffective measures to address killings by members of gangs
and other armed groups; HNP participation in kidnappings; overcrowding
and poor sanitation in prisons; arbitrary threats and arrests;
prolonged pretrial detention; an inefficient judiciary subject to
significant influence by the executive and legislative branches; severe
corruption in all branches of government; violence and societal
discrimination against women; child abuse, internal trafficking of
children, and child domestic labor; and ineffective enforcement of
worker rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any known politically motivated killings.
However, HNP officers killed several persons, who were usually armed
and resisting arrest; there were also allegations of HNP involvement in
unlawful killings. The Government and the HNP often lacked sufficient
expertise and resources and often did not conduct thorough and reliable
investigations.
On July 11, Renece Cheron, arrested in the case of the kidnapping
of a three-year-old, died after suffering physical abuse while in HNP
custody. At year's end the case remained under investigation by the
Office of the HNP Inspector General with no further developments.
On December 16, the prosecutor for Port-au-Prince ordered the
detention of three HNP officers for murder and attempted murder of
residents in Martissant, a Port-au-Prince neighborhood. One resident
died during the officers' attempt to rescue another resident from being
lynched by a local mob for suspected murder. The prosecutor released
the rescued man, whom the prosecutor had previously released from
detention for another crime. The HNP officers remained in custody at
year's end.
Organized criminal gangs mainly were responsible for the arbitrary
or unlawful deprivation of life. In some areas of Port-au-Prince
formerly known as ``No Law'' areas, notably Martissant, criminals and
gangs operated with near impunity.
During the year police arrested three suspects, including a 15-
year-old minor, for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 20-year-old
Farah Natacha Kerby Dessources. One adult suspect died in July as a
result of gunshot wounds sustained during his arrest. The other two
suspects remained in detention at year's end pending completion of the
investigative phase.
On May 20, despite payment of ransom, unknown actors kidnapped,
tortured, and killed a 16-year-old student who was returning home from
school.
In response to continuing violence perpetrated by suspected
criminals, residents in some neighborhoods resorted to vigilante
justice. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also reported vigilante
incidents including shootings, beatings, and lynchings in rural areas,
an area where effective judicial and law enforcement institutions
largely were absent. Police statistics documented 70 lynchings during
the year.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances by government agents.
Current and former HNP officers were accused of participation in
kidnappings. Since some HNP officers were involved in narcotics
trafficking, credible observers assumed HNP officers' complicity in
narcotics trafficking-based disappearances.
On July 3, the HNP arrested three Cap Haitien police officers for
allegedly heading a gang responsible for multiple kidnappings. An
investigating judge dismissed the case against the first officer. At
year's end the second suspect remained in prison awaiting trial, and
the third suspect was a fugitive.
On December 4, Gonaives Police Commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille
Bouquet was arrested and charged with the November 29 kidnapping and
murder of Monica Pierre, a convicted drug trafficker and alleged
personal associate. Other police officers also were linked to the case,
but there were no further arrests as of year's end.
Armed and organized criminal elements continued kidnapping during
the year. While payment of ransom resolved most cases, some victims
were tortured, raped, and killed while in their kidnappers' custody.
There were 263 reported kidnapping victims during the year, compared
with 237 in 2007. Many kidnappings were never reported officially.
The August 2007 disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, a
supporter of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and a potential
senatorial candidate, was unresolved. Pierre-Antoine remained missing
at year's end.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and with the exception
of a few HNP officers, there were no reports that government officials
employed them. Criminal gangs, however, frequently employed these
practices.
On February 5, an HNP officer assigned to the Canape-Vert precinct
in Port-au-Prince beat a local resident. At year's end the HNP Internal
Affairs unit was investigating the case.
On September 12, members of the HNP's crowd control unit reportedly
beat three local residents in their home as the unit reacted to a
dispute between the family and a girlfriend of one of the implicated
officers. The case was referred to the corrections court on September
24, and there were no further developments at year's end.
On September 25, HNP officers beat Natacha Jeune Saintil after she
objected to their arrest of her brother without a warrant. She
underwent emergency surgery for a perforated intestine and broken
pelvis. The four officers involved were on administrative leave pending
results of the investigation.
MINUSTAH's Office of Internal Oversight Services investigated cases
of alleged sexual exploitation and abuse of minors by MINUSTAH security
forces during the year and submitted completed investigations to UN
headquarters for final disposition. The Government did not receive
expected reports from UN headquarters or the Government of Sri Lanka
concerning the accusations against Sri Lankan peacekeepers of
``transactional'' sexual exploitation or sexual involvement with minors
in 2007.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons and detention
centers throughout the country remained overcrowded, poorly maintained,
and often unsanitary. The destruction of three prisons in 2004 and the
large number of pretrial detainees in custody resulted in severe
overcrowding. There were credible reports that in some prisons,
detainees slept and stood in shifts due to lack of space. Some prisons
had no beds for detainees. Many prison facilities lacked basic services
such as adequate kitchens, medical services, electricity, and medical
isolation units for contagious patients. Most prisons also periodically
lacked water.
Many prisoners and detainees suffered from a lack of basic hygiene,
malnutrition, poor quality health care, and the presence of rodents.
The incidence of preventable diseases such as AIDS, malaria, and
tuberculosis remained a serious problem.
The overburdened prison system had insufficient holding facilities,
especially as new arrests mounted during the year. The National
Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince held prisoners in its intake room.
Overcrowding prevented the constitutionally mandated separation of
violent from nonviolent prisoners and convicts from detainees.
Provincial authorities, in particular, incarcerated many convicted
prisoners for long terms in temporary holding cells. Successful escapes
occurred and sometimes included persons charged with serious crimes.
Police stations served as prisons in the cities of Gonaives and Petit
Goave, whose prisons were destroyed in 2004. They were severely
overcrowded. Gonaives, for example, housed 214 long-term prisoners in
its local police station. In February several facilities released
prisoners in an effort to reduce overcrowding.
Prisons also suffered from guard abuse, corruption, and
indifference. Prisoners reported physical abuse by correctional
officers; officers reported limiting their exposure to cell blocks due
to insufficient staffing and security.
At year's end the total prison population, including both pretrial
detainees and sentenced prisoners in the country's 17 prisons, was
8,204; international standards supported a maximum population capacity
of 2,448 persons. The National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince, built in
1915, continued to be severely overcrowded. Enlarged to a total
capacity of 1,200, it held 3,908 inmates in December.
At year's end approximately 88 percent of the country's 316
incarcerated minors were in prolonged pretrial detention, several since
2005.
Port-au-Prince maintained separate penitentiaries for adult men and
women. Both penitentiaries suffered from overcrowding, poor
maintenance, and unsanitary conditions, but the problems at the men's
penitentiary were more severe. In the 15 other detention centers
throughout the country, space permitting, male and female prisoners
were held in separate cells. Children 16 and older were confined with
adults. Minors and adults sometimes occupied the same cells due to lack
of available space. Pretrial detainees were held together with
convicted prisoners.
Most boys were held in a separate facility in Port-au-Prince. By
law, that facility may hold only boys ages 13 to 15, although a few
children claimed to be as young as eight and others as old as 17 years
of age. Female minors at the Petionville Women's Penitentiary were
segregated from adult prisoners in a separate but overcrowded cell.
As of December 1,764 of the 8,204 prisoners in custody had been
tried and sentenced, while 6,440 still awaited trial.
Prison population statistics did not include the large number of
persons held in police stations around the country in ``preventive
detention'' (without a hearing or filed charges) for longer than the
constitutionally mandated 48-hour maximum detention period. Inadequate
record keeping and data entry at the police stations made it difficult
to estimate the number of persons held in preventive detention (See
Section 1.d.).
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), MINUSTAH, the
local NGO National Human Rights Network for Haiti, and the Government's
Office of Citizen Protection (OPC) monitored prison conditions in
cooperation with the Department of Prison Administration.
Authorities freely permitted the ICRC, the Haitian Red Cross, and
human rights groups to enter prisons and police stations, monitor
conditions, and assist prisoners and detainees with medical care, food,
and legal aid. Primary concerns for most groups monitoring the
conditions in the prisons related to adequate water, food, and
sanitation. Although some programs, such as efforts to improve
sanitation at the National Penitentiary, reported success, the
Government did not implement all changes recommended by NGOs and donor
governments.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the constitution stipulates that a person may
be arrested only if apprehended during the commission of a crime or on
the basis of a warrant by a legally competent official such as a
justice of the peace or magistrate. The authorities must bring the
detainee before a judge within 48 hours of arrest. Officials frequently
did not comply with these provisions in practice.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--MINUSTAH, deploying
6,854 soldiers, 1,858 police officers, and 494 civilian UN officials,
trained and supported the national police force, provided disaster
recovery assistance, and assisted the Government in suppressing gang-
related violence.
The 8,546 member HNP has sole responsibility for law enforcement
and maintenance of order; there are no military forces. The UN
estimated that the country needs a force of at least 14,000 police. The
HNP is an officially autonomous civilian institution under the
authority of a director general and includes police, corrections, and
coast guard functions in separate units. The Ministry of Justice,
through its minister and the secretary of state for public security,
provides oversight.
There were reports of corruption in the HNP, which the HNP has
mechanisms to investigate. For instance, affluent prisoners sometimes
obtained favorable conditions of detention. A businessman arrested for
fraud visited a local hospital for emergency medical services but he
resided there many months after his recovery. The HNP conducted
investigations of police malfeasance, leading to the arrest or
termination of employment of some officers. The Inspector General's
(IG) Office of the HNP accepts and investigates allegations from any
complainant of police wrongdoing, including human rights violations,
complicity in criminal acts, and other violations. The IG established
two toll-free hot lines to accept citizen complaints-one directly to
the HNP and one to MINUSTAH. Upon completion of investigations, the IG
forwarded its findings to the director general of the HNP and high-
level Ministry of Justice officials for appropriate action. IG
investigations revealing criminal activity were referred to the
regional prosecutor.
Reform and professionalization of the HNP continued as
international programs provided human rights and other training and
equipment for new recruits and for existing officers; police station
upgrades; security and humanitarian improvements to prisons; vehicles,
computers, and communications equipment; and other technical
assistance. During the year more than 2,000 police officers were vetted
for human rights abuses, complicity in criminal acts, and other
violations. Nevertheless, reform efforts remained incomplete, and HNP
officers occasionally were implicated in corruption, kidnapping, and
narcotics trafficking. The Corrections Department of the HNP did not
perform the same vetting and background procedures on new employees and
guards as its HNP law enforcement counterparts; the director general
dismissed 19 corrections cadets prior to graduation due to improper,
biased recruiting. With the assistance of the National Network for the
Defense of Human Rights and the international community, the HNP
participated in human rights training.
A MINUSTAH poll reported that 58 percent of the population
perceived improvement in the HNP during the year. In another poll 66
percent of respondents listed the HNP as the most trusted government
institution.
Although the HNP's efforts resulted in significantly increased
levels of physical security and policing effectiveness, in many cases
the HNP could not prevent or respond to gang-related and other societal
violence due to an insufficient number of officers and inadequate
equipment or training. In April MINUSTAH provided assistance when
violent protests in Les Cayes and Port-au-Prince overwhelmed HNP
responders.
Arrest and Detention.--Police sometimes apprehended persons without
warrants or with warrants not issued by a duly authorized official. The
authorities occasionally detained individuals on unspecified charges or
pending investigation.
In areas with little or no HNP presence, justices of the peace
frequently and illegally sent members of locally elected councils to
execute arrest warrants.
Police frequently did not observe the legal requirement to present
detainees before a judge within 48 hours, and prolonged preventive
detention remained a serious problem. For example, judges sometimes
failed to report for work or the police lacked vehicles to transport
the accused to courthouses. Consequently, many detainees were held for
extended periods in preventive detention without being informed of
charges against them.
Investigative judges granted bail at their discretion. Bail
hearings were not routine, and judges usually granted bail only for
minor cases and based on compelling humanitarian grounds, such as a
need for medical attention. Detainees generally were allowed access to
family members and a lawyer of their own choosing. Many detainees could
not afford the services of an attorney, and the Government routinely
did not provide free counsel. In contrast to past years, persons who
were found not guilty were released quickly.
The Government detained repatriated citizens upon their return for
approximately two weeks if the citizen had a criminal record or if the
crime committed abroad was considered minor. The authorities used the
deportee's time in detention to assess whether the citizen planned to
participate in criminal activities and to locate local family members.
Because of lack of available space in prisons and detention centers,
the Government made efforts to release the deportees quickly.
Deportees, many of whom spent most of their lives abroad, alleged
widespread discrimination and social abuse after returning home.
The Detention Commission, established in June 2007, studied
outstanding cases dating from 2004 and released 892 prisoners between
June 2007 and March 2008. Days after issuing its final report in March,
the commission disbanded. Media and credible groups reported that the
commission permitted numerous dangerous persons to reenter local
communities.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an
independent judiciary, in practice the executive and legislative
branches exerted significant influence on the judicial branch. Judges
assigned to politically sensitive cases complained about interference
from the executive branch. Credible reports of judicial corruption were
commonplace.
On June 23, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security fired two
judges in Les Cayes for freeing drug traffickers in exchange for money.
Pervasive and long-standing problems-including a shortage of
funding and adequately trained and qualified justices of the peace,
judges, and prosecutors-created a large backlog of criminal cases, and
many detainees waited months for a court date.
Another problem in the judicial system created a barrier for crime
victims requesting investigation of their cases. After a citizen
reported being the victim of a crime, some justices of the peace
charged varying ``fees'' to initiate criminal prosecutions. Amnesty
International reported that some judges extorted money from rape
suspects to avoid investigation and prosecution and sometimes brokered
marriages between rape victims and their attackers instead of pursuing
criminal investigations.
In mid-April justices of the peace began charging private citizens
fees of up to 20,000 gourdes ($500) for a legal document to certify
damage to citizens' personal property during rioting that occurred that
month. On April 24, the Chief Prosecutor's Office of Port-au-Prince
demanded that all justices of the peace return these fees.
Access to the judicial system was limited also by long distances
and limited transportation between citizens' places of residence and
the courts. In most regions judges lacked basic resources and
professional training. However, the School for Magistrates, closed
since 2004, resumed in-service training of justices of the peace.
During the year 76 justices from Port-au-Prince completed the intensive
six-week training program. An internationally funded program provided
training for judges, prosecutors, and other court personnel, furnished
technical assistance in drafting rules and procedures, and assisted in
curriculum planning for the school. The National Center for State
Courts provided assistance with training and curricula for judges and
court personnel.
Trial Procedures.--The judicial apparatus follows a civil law
system based on the Napoleonic Code. In practice authorities widely
ignored the constitutionally provided right to a fair public trial. The
constitution also expressly denies police and judicial authorities the
right to interrogate suspects unless legal counsel or a representative
of the suspect's choice is present or they waive this right. Most
accused persons could not afford legal counsel for interrogation or
trial, and the law does not require that the Government provide legal
representation. However, some defendants had access to counsel during
trials. While the constitution provides defendants with a presumption
of innocence, the right to be present at trial, the right to confront
witnesses against them, and the right to present witnesses and evidence
on their own behalf, judges frequently denied defendants these rights.
Recruitment and advancement of judges remained poorly regulated pending
full implementation of a 2007 law governing qualifications and
requirements for all magistrates and judicial personnel.
There was no action taken on judicial reform laws passed in 2007
that require the formation of a supreme judicial council which would
include members of the judiciary and civil society and prescribe the
re-opening of an academy for judges.
At the lowest level of the justice system, justices of the peace
issue warrants, adjudicate minor infractions, mediate cases, take
depositions, and refer cases to prosecutors or higher judicial
officials. Investigating magistrates and public prosecutors cooperate
in the development of more serious cases, which are tried by the judges
of the first instance courts. Thirty appeals court judges hear cases
referred from the first instance courts, and the 11-member Court of
Cassation, the country's highest court, addresses questions of
procedure and constitutionality.
The Code of Criminal Procedure does not assign clear responsibility
for criminal investigations and divides authority among police,
justices of the peace, prosecutors, and investigative magistrates.
Authorities often failed to question witnesses or complete
investigations, and examining magistrates often received incomplete
files. Authorities rarely conducted autopsies and seldom issued
reports.
The law provides for at least two criminal court sessions (assises)
per year in each of the 15 first-instance jurisdictions for all major
crimes requiring a jury trial, with each session generally lasting two
weeks. However, this did not occur in practice, which was a significant
reason for lengthy delays for prisoners awaiting trial. Many courts
lacked adequate funding for staff salaries, transportation for court
staff and defendants, or funds for meals and incidentals during long
trials.
Traditionally, each annual assise processes approximately 10 jury
trials. With international donor assistance, some jurisdictions, such
as St. Marc and Port-au-Prince, processed significantly more. During
the year the court in Port-au-Prince held a second jury session for the
first time in many years and conducted trials for an additional 19
cases. With the support of the national government and the local legal
community, international groups provided funds to indigent defendants
for professional legal representation at these hearings. The Ministry
of Justice underwrote special summer felony hearings in Port-au-Prince
to reduce pretrial detention backlogs, and the courts adjudicated an
additional 115 cases at these special sessions. Still, since most of
the 3,908 detainees awaiting trial in the National Penitentiary were
held for serious crimes that warranted a jury trial, they were
effectively denied the right to a prompt trial. Approximately 10
percent of detainees in the National Penitentiary were convicted; the
rest awaited trial or release.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government generally did
not hold political prisoners; however, since most prison detainees were
awaiting trial, it was possible that some of them were being held for
political reasons.
On May 16, 97 victims of the 1994 ``Raboteau Massacre'' received
more than 16 million gourdes ($430,000) in court-awarded damages from
former colonel Carl Dorelien, a member of the military dictatorship who
fled the country after Aristide resumed the presidency.
In June the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR)ruled that
political persecution by the Government violated the human rights of
Yvon Neptune, prime minister under the 2004 Aristide government, who
was imprisoned from 2004 to 2006. The IACHR detailed 11 violations of
Neptune's rights and awarded damages.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home or
Correspondence
The law prohibits such actions, and the Government generally
respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government and elected officials
generally respected these rights in practice. However, there were a few
incidents of government officers and elected officials harassing
journalists and numerous reports of gang members killing or harassing
journalists.
On July 1, the deputy mayor of Cap Haitien and his bodyguards
attacked news correspondent Joachim Marcel and destroyed his equipment
in radio station Signal FM's Cap Haitien office, allegedly in
retaliation for Marcel's investigation of voting corruption. The public
prosecutor's office had not developed the case as of year's end.
Internet Freedom.--The Government did not restrict access to the
Internet or monitor e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and
groups freely engaged in communication via the Internet, including by
e-mail. The International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2007
there were 75,000 Internet subscribers and 10 Internet users per 100
inhabitants.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice. Citizens must apply for a permit in
order to hold legal demonstrations; the HNP regularly issued permits.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuse or discrimination against members of religious groups,
including anti-Semitic acts. The Jewish community was very small.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
Since there were no known refugees in the country, there was no
opportunity for the Government to coordinate with the Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees.
The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of its
being applied. However, according to anecdotal reports, former
government officials imposed internal and external exile upon
themselves and their families for fear of retaliation or prosecution.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The Government reported
displacement of approximately 150,000 persons from their homes due to
two hurricanes and two tropical storms that ravaged much of the country
during a three-week period in August and September. Large-scale
international and NGO humanitarian assistance efforts were actively
solicited and accommodated by the national government to provide
emergency aid to displaced persons and storm victims. Emergency
legislation enabled the national government to redirect nearly $180
million of accrued oil revenues toward emergency aid efforts.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
refugee status or asylum in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their lives or
freedom would be threatened, but it did not routinely grant refugee
status or asylum.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully through free and fair elections based on universal suffrage,
but the Government did not provide citizens the full opportunity to
exercise this right during the year.
Elections and Political Participation.--Multiparty presidential and
parliamentary elections in February and March 2006 were relatively
stable and peaceful. Rene Preval won the presidency with 51 percent of
the vote. Additional rounds of parliamentary and municipal elections
were held in December 2006 and April 2007. Citizens and international
observers considered the election process acceptable, the results
credible, and noted few incidents of violence or fraud.
The constitution requires that, following local and municipal
elections, local officials hold a series of indirect elections to staff
departmental organs of self government and an interdepartmental council
to advise the national government, as well as to nominate candidates
for the Permanent Electoral Council. The three branches of the national
government were to select from among these nominees the council's nine
members.
Since these indirect elections did not take place, the country
continued to operate with a Provisional Electoral Council (CEP).
Lacking necessary presidential instructions to do so, the CEP,
installed in December 2007, did not hold elections to replace one-third
of the Senate, whose terms expired in May, and two other open Senate
seats. As a result the Senate operated with 18 members instead of 30.
The Government rescheduled these elections for April 2009.
The CEP cited the lack of a comprehensive electoral law and a
budget shortfall as impediments to elections. In June parliament passed
a new electoral law that included a provision to increase the number of
polling places. Many persons, including the president, declared the
constitutionally mandated calendar of frequent elections either too
impractical or too expensive.
The electoral legislation mandated that political parties
presenting at least 30 percent female candidates and succeeding in
electing 20 percent of them receive twice as much public financing for
those same positions in the next election. The monetary deposit
required of female candidates for political office (if sponsored by a
recognized party) was one-half that required of male candidates. Eight
women served in the 129-seat National Assembly, and four women sat in
the 18-member cabinet, including the prime minister.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials often engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. According to the World Bank's worldwide
governance indicators, government corruption was a severe problem.
Corruption remained widespread in all branches and at all levels of
government. The constitution mandates that high-level officials and
parliament members accused of official corruption be prosecuted before
the Senate, not within the judicial system. However, the Senate brought
no such cases of corruption. Poverty, lack of economic opportunity, and
weak governmental institutions (especially relating to law enforcement
and the judiciary) contributed to widespread corruption.
The HNP, with the assistance of UN Civilian Police, continued
efforts to eliminate corruption within its ranks, and the Government
continued to investigate individuals in the business sector and in
government entities for corruption but brought no charges. The Center
for Pleas and Legal Assistance (CEPAJ) began offering judicial
assistance to victims and witnesses of government corruption and widely
disseminated phone and e-mail contact information. At year's end the
CEPAJ had taken five complaints since its inception in May.
Authorities arrested or detained a few low-level public servants,
mainly customs officials, on corruption or corruption-related charges.
The Government's Financial Intelligence Unit within the Ministry of
Justice conducted an investigation into misuse of funds within the
social security system. After parliamentary and public criticism of
efforts by the chief prosecutor for Port-au-Prince to arrest the
agency's director, judicial authorities questioned the director but did
not arrest or charge him. The president relieved the director of his
duties in November. There were no known developments in the
investigation begun in 2007 concerning alleged mismanagement of funds
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2004-06.
In January the president signed into law a financial disclosure
bill that requires the president, the prime minister, cabinet
ministers, and other high-level public officials to declare assets. The
Financial Control and Information Office has responsibility for
combating financial crimes. The chief prosecutor for Port-au-Prince
arrested or attempted to arrest several government officials for
corruption, including HNP officers and the director of the national
airport authority. After the business community, the HNP, and NGOs
publicly questioned his commitment to applying the laws objectively,
the chief prosecutor resigned his post on August 12.
No law requires public access to government information, but there
were no reports that the Government prevented public access to
government information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. The Government
cooperated with the various human rights observation missions and
generally acknowledged their views but lacked the capacity to implement
their recommendations. The Government permitted special missions and
the continued presence of UN bodies and other international
organizations such as the ICRC.
At national and international levels, human rights organizations
actively and effectively monitored human rights issues, meeting
frequently with government officials. Human rights organizations made
media appearances and published reports.
The OPC exists to protect individuals against any form of abuse by
the Government. The OPC offered free legal assistance to any citizen
who appeared before a court regarding a filed complaint. The OPC had a
reputation for ineffectiveness and primarily operated within Port-au-
Prince. The Government rarely acted on OPC recommendations.
The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate each had a human rights
committee; however, neither committee published any reports or
introduced any legislation during the year.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law does not specifically prohibit discrimination on the
grounds of race, gender, disability, language, or social status. It
does provide for equal working conditions regardless of gender,
beliefs, or marital status. However, no effective governmental
mechanism administered or enforced these provisions.
Women.--The law prohibits and provides penalties for rape but does
not recognize spousal rape as a crime. The penalty for rape is a
minimum of 10 years of forced labor, increasing to a mandatory 15 years
if the victim was less than 16 years old. In the case of gang rape, the
maximum penalty is forced labor for life. Sentences were often less
rigorous. The criminal code excuses a husband who kills his wife or her
partner found engaging in an act of adultery in his home, but a wife
who kills her husband under similar circumstances is subject to
prosecution. Anecdotal evidence suggested that some younger women were
detained after violently resisting sexual attackers, sometimes family
members. Amnesty International confirmed that rape remained commonplace
and underreported. Kidnappers often raped their female abductees. In
July MINUSTAH's Child Protection Unit reported numerous incidents of
gang rape and sexual violence against women and children in the ``No
Law'' areas.
National police statistics showed that 282 rapes were reported
during the year, an increase of 89 percent over the 2007 figure of 149;
90 rape victims were adult women, 189 were female minors, two were
adult men, and one was a male minor.
Rape was often treated in practice as a relatively minor infraction
or a family or community issue instead of a prosecutable offense.
MINUSTAH cited difficulty in persuading judges and the HNP to give
adequate attention to rape cases. Cases were often relegated to a
justice of the peace, who acted as a mediator, with an emphasis on
finding family or community solutions as opposed to punishing the
perpetrator.
Rape was especially common in urban slum areas with minimal police
presence. Many credible NGOs and government sources believed that urban
gangs used rape as a systematic instrument of intimidation. Women's
shelters and organizations reported that armed gangs frequently raped
and harassed girls and women. At least one kidnapping gang kidnapped
women in Port-au-Prince primarily for purposes of rape, making ransom
demands considerably lower than in other kidnapping cases.
In 2007 doctors and hospitals began issuing free medical
certificates to victims of sexual aggression, including rape, for use
when pressing charges against attackers. The certificate was often the
only evidence presented by the victim, and despite notices from the
Ministry of Justice to the contrary, judges dismissed cases in the
absence of such a certificate.
Substantial disincentives discouraged victims from reporting rapes:
victims' desire to protect themselves from the social or physical
consequences of bringing accusations against the perpetrators, who
often lived in the community; tacit cultural acceptance of sexual
assault; the lack of facilities or services at police stations to aid
rape victims; required payment of a nominal fee for medical services
necessary to obtain the free certificate; the long distances between
homes and a qualified tribunals; and finally, the corrupt judicial
system that fostered a perception of impunity.
The law prohibits and provides penalties for domestic violence, but
women's rights groups and human rights organizations reported that
domestic violence against women remained commonplace and underreported.
Government figures reported 31 incidents of domestic violence (down 19
percent from 37 in 2007); the 25 female victims were all adults. Police
rarely arrested the perpetrators or investigated the incidents, and the
victims sometimes suffered further harassment and reprisals from
perpetrators. Corrupt judges often released suspects arrested for
domestic violence and rape.
On January 26, 27-year-old Martine Lindor of Petit-Goave was
allegedly beaten by her former spouse and lost sight in her left eye.
Police conducted a swift investigation and arrested the suspect, but an
investigative judge intervened the same day to procure his release
without notifying the prosecutor or speaking with the victim. When the
victim pursued further legal action, a higher court returned the case
to the same judge.
The Government, with the support of international donors, sponsored
a program for victims of violence that provided medical and legal
assistance for victims, as well as a campaign denouncing violence
against women. Haitian Women in Solidarity estimated that the number of
women reporting instances of violence against them increased 58 percent
in the first half of 2008, primarily cases of spousal rape.
Although prostitution is illegal, it remained a widespread
practice, particularly among women and girls. Local NGOs reported that
police generally ignored prostitution.
The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although
the labor code states that men and women have the same rights and
obligations. Data concerning sexual harassment in the workplace were
not available, although observers suggested that sexual harassment
occurred. Such incidents went unreported because of high unemployment
and because citizens had little confidence in the ability of the
judicial system to protect them.
Women did not enjoy the same social and economic status as men. In
some social strata, tradition limited women's roles. The majority of
women in rural areas remained in the traditional occupations of
farming, marketing, and domestic labor. Very poor female heads of
household in urban areas also often faced limited employment
opportunities, such as domestic labor and sales. Laws governing child
support recognize the widespread practice of multiple father families
but rarely were enforced. Government and private sectors seldom
promoted women to supervisory positions. Excepting the HNP, which
continued efforts to recruit and increase the percentage of women in
its ranks, there were no government efforts to combat economic
discrimination.
Many domestic women's rights groups worked through a national
network, the Coordination for Advocacy on Women's Rights.
Children.--Governmental agencies and programs promoted children's
rights and welfare, but the Government lacked the capacity and the
resources to support or enforce existing mechanisms adequately.
While the constitution provides for free and compulsory public
primary education, in practice many children did not have access due to
the insufficient number of public schools and lack of necessary
documentation. According to the Government, 40 percent of children
never attended school. Of those who did, less than 15 percent graduated
from secondary school. Religious institutions, community organizations,
and NGOs managed nearly 90 percent of the country's approximately
15,000 schools. Poorer families sometimes rationed education money and
sent only some of their children to school.
Credible sources reported that large numbers of domestically
trafficked children were forced to work as indentured household
servants. Port-au-Prince's large population of street children included
many who were dismissed from or fled employers' homes. The Ministry of
Social Affairs provided minimal assistance, such as food and temporary
shelter, to street children.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit
trafficking in persons, although labor legislation and other laws,
including those prohibiting and penalizing slavery, kidnapping, and
violence against women, could be used to combat human trafficking.
There were reports that persons were trafficked from, to, through, and
within the country.
The country was a source for persons trafficked to the Dominican
Republic, the Bahamas, the U.S., Europe, and Canada. Trafficked
citizens reported conditions of bonded servitude, slavery, and forced
labor. Extreme poverty and lack of employment were among key risk
factors supporting human trafficking. Women from the Dominican Republic
were trafficked into the country for sexual exploitation. Traffickers
also used the country as a transit point for third-country nationals.
Several NGOs reported a sharp increase during the year of child
trafficking for sexual and labor purposes, especially to the Dominican
Republic and the Bahamas.
Internal trafficking of children for domestic labor remained a
significant problem. Rural families sent young children, most often
girls, to city families as restaveks (``live with'' in Haitian creole)
in exchange for that child's room and board and, sometimes, school
fees. While some restaveks received adequate care, many receiving
families compelled the children to work long hours, provided them with
little nourishment, and abused them. Most restaveks worked in low-
income homes where conditions, food, and education for nonbiological
children were not priorities. While difficult to quantify, reports
estimated that the number of restaveks ranged from 170,000 to 200,000.
The Government acknowledged the problem of internal trafficking,
including that of children. The Brigade for the Protection of Minors
(BPM), a branch of the HNP, investigated cases of child trafficking and
monitored movement of children across the border with the Dominican
Republic but faced many barriers to its operational effectiveness. NGOs
were at the forefront of combating international trafficking of
children carried out under the guise of international adoptions.
In general the Government did not provide protection, shelter, or
assistance to victims and witnesses, but referred victims to NGOs for
services. Child victims of domestic trafficking living as street
children in Port-au-Prince streets were so numerous that the BPM did
not as a matter of routine try to help them. Intergovernmental
organizations, including the International Organization for Migration,
were primary providers of services to victims of trafficking. In July
national authorities, with the support of international aid, returned
47 trafficked children (between the ages of two and eight) to their
families in Jeremie, at the southern tip of the country.
The Government did not sponsor antitrafficking information and
education campaigns.
Persons With Disabilities.--There were no reports of discrimination
by the Government against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state
services. However, because of widespread and chronic poverty, a
shortage of public services, and limited educational opportunities,
persons with disabilities were severely disadvantaged. The Office of
Secretary of State for the Integration of Handicapped Persons estimated
that there were 800,000 persons with disabilities in the country and
that only 3.5 percent of children with disabilities attended school.
The secretary of state distributed wheelchairs and implemented an
awareness campaign. Access for persons with disabilities was limited.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no confirmed
reports of discrimination against homosexuals.
Societal discrimination occurred against persons with HIV/AIDS,
particularly women, but educational programs sponsored by foreign
donors and efforts by HIV/AIDS activists attempted to change that
stigma.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers, except
public-sector employees, to form and join unions of their choice. The
law also requires that a union must have a minimum of 10 members and
register with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs within 60 days
of its formation. The law prohibits employers, management, and anyone
who represents the interests of employers from joining a union. In
theory unions were independent of the Government and political parties,
but in practice most unions were extensions of political parties. There
were nine principal labor federations representing approximately 5
percent of the labor force.
The labor code provides for the right to strike, except for
managers, administrators, other heads of establishments, and public
utility service workers, and workers exercised this right in practice.
The labor code defines public utility service employees as essential
workers who ``cannot suspend their activities without causing serious
harm to public health and security.''
Despite the prohibition there were a few public sector strikes,
usually related to the Government's failure to pay staff on time.
Doctors and staff struck for weeks in several public hospitals,
including the central public hospital in Port-au-Prince, demanding back
pay and better working conditions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--While the law
protects trade union organizing activities and stipulates fines for
those who interfere with this right, in practice the Government made
little effort to enforce the law.
High unemployment rates and antiunion sentiment among some factory
workers and most employers limited the success of union organizing
efforts.
Collective bargaining was nonexistent, and employers set wages
unilaterally. The labor code does not distinguish between industries
producing for the local market and those producing for export.
Employees in the export-oriented assembly sector enjoyed better than
average wages and benefits.
Although workers had access to labor courts established to resolve
common labor-management disputes, the courts' judgments were not
enforced. The courts function under the supervision of the Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs and adjudicate minor conflicts, but unions
stated that the process was ineffective. Seven labor courts operated in
Port-au-Prince, and in the provinces plaintiffs utilized municipal
courts.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers, who are
liable to pay a monetary fine for each individual violation. The law
does not specify that employers must reinstate workers illegally fired
for union activity. Illegally fired workers have the right to recoup
any compensation to which they are entitled. The Labor Court
adjudicates all labor disputes, but it was considered weak and
ineffectual.
There is one export processing zone (EPZ) in Ouanaminthe, a town on
the Dominican border. Legislation governing free trade zones provides
that the labor code apply in the EPZs.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including of children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum employment age in all sectors is 15 years, but the minimum age
for apprenticeships is 14. The law prohibits minors from working under
dangerous conditions and prohibits night work in industrial enterprises
for minors under 18. Fierce adult competition for jobs ensured that
child labor was not a factor in the industrial sector. However,
children under the age of 15 commonly worked at informal sector jobs to
supplement family income. Children also commonly worked with parents on
small family farms, although the high unemployment rate among adults
kept children from employment on commercial farms in significant
numbers. There was no legal penalty for families that employed children
in domestic labor as restaveks, the primary form of child employment.
Children also worked on the street as vendors or beggars, and
sometimes, in prostitution.
Although the Government charged the Institute for Social Well-Being
and Research with implementation and enforcement of child labor laws
and regulations, this body lacked funding to investigate exploitive
child labor cases effectively.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Tripartite Commission of
Salaried Workers established the legal minimum daily wage,
approximately 70 gourdes ($1.75). The president appoints the
commission's six members: two representatives each from labor,
employers, and government. This wage did not provide a decent standard
of living for a worker and family. Some workers earned more than the
minimum wage by working on a piece-rate basis. The majority of citizens
worked in the informal sector and subsistence agriculture, where
minimum wage legislation does not apply and daily wages of 15 gourdes
($0.37) were common. Many women worked as domestic employees, an area
of work that is also exempted from minimum wage legislation.
The law sets the standard workday for industrial, commercial, and
agricultural establishments at eight hours and the workweek at 48
hours, with 24 hours of rest. It also provides for the payment of
overtime and prohibits excessive compulsory overtime. However, the law
grants exemptions to health care, lodging, food and beverage, and
entertainment establishments; managerial positions; and family
establishments that employ only family members. The Labor Directorate
also may grant exemptions for other employers not specifically exempted
by the law. These laws were not effectively enforced. In addition the
law is silent concerning public sector employees. Due to staff
shortages and special events, salaried HNP officers sometimes worked
12-hour shifts six days per week and received no overtime, although
they received standardized bonuses at year's end. In severely
understaffed regions, officers sometimes worked longer hours to serve
the needs of their communities.
The law also establishes minimum health and safety regulations. The
industrial and assembly sectors largely observed these guidelines, but
the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs did not enforce them
effectively. No group collects formal data, but unions alleged that
job-related injuries occurred frequently in the construction industry
and public works sectors. Although they have the legal right to do so,
in practice workers could not exercise the right to remove themselves
from dangerous work situations without jeopardizing their continued
employment.
__________
HONDURAS
Honduras is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with a
population of approximately 7.7 million. In 2005 Liberal Party
candidate Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales won the presidency in elections
that were considered generally free and fair by international and
domestic observers. The Liberal and National parties continued to
dominate the politics of the country. While civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there
were instances in which elements of the security forces acted
independently of government authority.
The following human rights problems were reported: unlawful
killings by members of the police and government agents; arbitrary and
summary killings committed by vigilantes and former members of the
security forces; violence against detainees by security forces; harsh
prison conditions; corruption and impunity within the security forces;
failure to provide due process of law; lengthy pretrial detention;
politicization of the judiciary, judicial corruption, and institutional
weakness; erosion of press freedom; corruption in the legislative and
executive branches; government restrictions on recognition of some
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); violence and discrimination
against women; child prostitution and abuse; trafficking in persons;
discrimination against indigenous communities; violence and
discrimination against persons based on sexual orientation; ineffective
enforcement of labor laws; and child labor.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful
killings, particularly of youths and children by vigilante groups that
may have included members of the security forces. Casa Alianza reported
that at least eight such cases involved security forces. The
Prosecutor's Office pressed charges in some cases, but there were no
known convictions during the year, and Casa Alianza had no data
regarding sentences issued in the case of child and youth murders. The
Government has a Special Unit of Investigation of Child Murders, but
the investigative process seldom identified the perpetrators.
Through August the NGO Casa Alianza reported the killings of 86
minors under age 18 and 273 youths ages 19-22. Casa Alianza reported
that more than 78 percent of the killings were committed by unknown
assailants, 9 percent by acquaintances, 5 percent by private security
forces, 2 percent by government forces; 8 percent were attributed to
gang violence.
Several groups and families of juvenile victims claimed to have
provided public prosecutors with evidence of collusion between police
elements and business leaders in perpetrating killings. The Ministry of
Public Security stated that it investigated individual police officers
for participation in killings of street youth; however, there was no
information available on the outcome of the investigations.
In midyear a Tegucigalpa court dismissed all charges against
retired colonel Alexander Hernandez Santos, a member of the disbanded
Intelligence Battalion 3-16, for human rights violations, forced
disappearances, and assassinations in the 1980s of 184 persons.
While observers linked some killings of high-profile targets, such
as environmentalists, labor leaders, attorneys, and politicians, to
organized crime and narcotics traffickers, other cases were apparently
politically motivated.
On July 11, two unknown assailants killed attorney Marco Antonio in
front of witnesses; he was the 17th legal professional killed up to
that date.
In July unknown assailants outside the town of Juticalpa ambushed
and killed Shamir Guifarro Ramirez, Henry Arturo Chacon, and Nelda
Ochoa-the son, father-in-law, and mother-in-law, respectively, of
environmentalist Mario Guifarro, who was himself killed in September
2007. Guifarro Ramirez was the only witness to his father's killing.
There were no suspects in either of the Guifarro killing cases. Public
Ministry investigations identified Yuny Alexander Sanchez, Jorge Tejada
Pacheco, and Jose Angel Rosa Pacheco as the principal suspects in Mario
Guifarro's killing and indicated that Mario Guifarro may have had
illicit business dealings with Rosa Pacheco.
In the run-up to the November 30 primary elections, there were
several politically motivated killings, which analysts interpreted as a
``message'' from organized crime for the Liberal Party and President
Zelaya in particular to stop maneuvering to remain in power. On
November 12, vice mayoral candidate Danilo Edgardo Castro Hernandez was
killed in La Lima. On November 14, Julio Cesar Padilla, Liberal Party
candidate for mayor of Morazan, Yoro Department, was killed. On
November 22, masked gunmen killed Mario Fernando Hernandez Bonilla, a
Liberal Party congressional deputy and one of four congressional vice
presidents.
There were developments in several high-profile killings in earlier
years. On October 14, authorities in Chiapas, Mexico, arrested Rodolfo
``Fofo'' Humberto Salinas Castejon, a principal suspect in the 2007
killing of army Captain Alejandro Humberto Zavala, a bodyguard of
President Zelaya. Salinas Castejon remained in pretrial detention at
year's end. Investigations also identified as suspects Juan Ramon
Castejon Mendozo (who died in June 2007) and Darwin Alexander Villalta,
who remained at large.
The Public Ministry ordered the arrest of David Portillo in
connection with the June 2007 killing of Garifuna leader Felix Ordonez
Suazo in Punta Piedras, Colon Department. Portillo remained at large at
year's end.
Authorities identified Carlos Alberto Navas Gonzalez as the
principal suspect in the November 2007 killing of Regional Red Cross
President Jose Raul Carranza Soto in Puerto Cortes. There were no known
developments in the prosecution of the case, but Navas Gonzales
remained in prison on illegal arms charges. The only witness for the
case was killed two days after testifying to the police.
On July 1, a court convicted four policemen of the 2006 killings of
Heraldo Zuniga and Roger Murillo, two environmentalists working to
protect the forest in Olancho Province. The policemen, Linton Omar
Caceres Rodriguez, Rolando Antonio Tejeda Padilla, Juan Jose Talavera
Zavala, and Jose Arcadio Gonzales, faced sentences of 20 to 30 years'
imprisonment. However, between July 21 and 24, Caceres, Talavera, and
Gonzales escaped from prison, and their whereabouts remained unknown at
year's end.
On April 29, authorities arrested Italo Ivan Lemus Santos (who had
just been deported to the country) for the killing of environmentalist
Carlos Luna in 1998. Other suspects including Jorge Adolfo Chavez and
the alleged intellectual author, Jose Angel Rosa, remained free, and
there were no known developments in the prosecution of the case.
Violent crime continued to fuel the growth of private unlicensed
security guard services and vigilante groups that allegedly patrolled
neighborhoods and municipalities to deter crime. Human rights
organizations asserted that some citizen security councils
(neighborhood protection groups), as well as private security
companies, with ties to former and current military or police
officials, acted with the complicity of police as vigilantes or death
squads to use lethal force against supposed habitual criminals.
On June 11, Irene Ramirez, a member of the Aguan Campesino Movement
(MCA), was killed in Trujillo. She had previously received a number of
threats from local land owners and large-scale ranchers in the region.
There were no known developments in the case.
On August 5, 11 persons were killed in a massacre stemming from a
land dispute between the family of police official Henry Osortos and
the MCA in Silin, Colon Department. After the killings, the Government
reportedly negotiated a payment to the ranchers of over 75 million
lempira (approximately $3.9 million) to allow the peasants to stay on
the land, receive legal titles, and obtain permission to construct 400
new homes. On October 17, authorities arrested Jose Isabel Morales
Lopez on charges of planning the Silin massacre. According to the
public prosecutor, 31 other peasants, all members of the MCA, were also
charged with aggravated arson and the murder of the 11 victims.
On October 2, 9, and 14, unknown assailants killed three land-
rights activists and community leaders, Fredis Osorto, Elias Murcia,
and Ubence Aguilar, in the Cofradia sector of Cortes Department.
b. Disappearance.--Through May 22, authorities reported receiving
227 cases of disappearances of minors: Some disappearances were thought
to be criminally-motivated abductions killings, and others were
attributed to voluntary acts of persons leaving the country for
employment elsewhere.
On October 6, Jose Alfredo Guevera, Carlos Lazo and Hector Herrera
disappeared reportedly after being detained by police officers.
There was no information, and none was expected, in the 2007
disappearance of Milton Elias Cardona from his house in Siquatepeque,
Comayagua.
There was no information, and none was expected, regarding the
disappearances in 2006 of Panamanian nationals Jose Camilo Miranda,
David Rodrigo Villalobos Valladares, and Jorge Luis Villalobos
Valladares (all last seen in the custody of Roatan police) or of Jorge
Ruiz Rosales, former advisor of the National Association of Farmers of
Honduras, and Elvis Zepeda Barrientos, both of whom government
authorities had detained.
On December 5, the Government published a decree that created the
National Reparations Program, which was to consider specific cases of
deaths and disappearances for reparations; the program directors not
been named by year's end.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices,
there were instances in which government officials employed them,
including police beatings and other abuse of detainees.
On July 23, policemen fatally beat Carlos Enrique Mayorga of Copan.
Officer Wilson Rubio arrested Mayorga and took him to the local police
station where five other policemen beat Mayorga on the head, stomach,
and genitalia before releasing him. Mayorga died hours later at the
hospital; Rubio was suspended from duty.
Both Marvin Javier Martinez Bermudez and Jose Santiago Lopez
Villalobo remained in prison pending trial on charges of killing Judge
Alba Leticia Bueso. Allegations that security authorities tortured them
in August 2007 to compel a confession were not confirmed. Two other
suspects, Ruben Antonio Pineda Hernandez and Olvin Alexander Lopez
Moreno, involved in the killing of Judge Leticia Bueso remained at
large.
In December 2007 the Public Ministry charged five police officers
for the torture and illegal detention of several members of the NGO
Lesbian-Gay Rainbow Association of Comayaguela. There were no known
developments in the case.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
harsh, and prison security was poor. Human rights groups reported that
prisoners suffered from severe overcrowding, malnutrition, and lack of
adequate sanitation. On July 11, the Special Prosecutor for Human
Rights announced an investigation of a basement cell possibly used as
an inhumane holding cell in the remote village of Villa Vieja; however,
a Public Ministry investigation determined there was no conclusive
evidence of torture or human rights violations.
Prisoners were subject to other abuses, including rape by other
inmates. Adequate food or other basic necessities were not provided.
Prison escapes through bribery or other means continued to occur. On
October 23, the NGO Center for Torture Prevention and Rehabilitation
reported that seven of 10 inmates were tortured or otherwise abused in,
or on their way to, prisons and jails. Their report also found that
municipal and preventative police routinely rounded up vulnerable or
``delinquent'' youth (for example, gay, lesbian, transsexual, sex
workers, and drug addicts) without cause or explanation of their
rights.
Several prison officials, including Wilfredo Maradiaga Oseguera and
Aldo Rodolfo Oliva Rodriguez, were under investigation for abusing
their authority and permitting prisoners illegal furlough privileges.
Prison disturbances, caused primarily by harsh conditions and
intergang violence, occurred in the larger facilities of San Pedro
Sula, Tegucigalpa, and Choluteca. Through October 27, the Ministry of
Public Security reported that 39 prisoners had been killed while
incarcerated, in most cases due to rival gang violence.
Prison authorities attempted to hold prisoners from opposing gangs
in different facilities or in different areas of the same prison to
reduce intergang tensions and violence. On April 26, nine prisoners
died in the San Pedro Sula penitentiary in a riot between common
criminals and gang members.
Persons with mental illnesses, as well as those with tuberculosis
and other infectious diseases, were held among the general prison
population. Human rights organizations charged that prison officials
used excessive force against prisoners, including beatings, as well as
isolation and threats. There were credible reports that security
officials condoned rapes and other physical assaults on detainees who
were homosexuals.
Female prisoners generally were held in separate facilities under
conditions similar to those of male prisoners but, unlike their male
counterparts, did not have conjugal visit privileges. At certain lower-
security prisons, women were held with the general population. Children
up to age two were permitted to stay with their mothers in prison.
Pretrial detainees generally were held together with convicted
prisoners.
While the Government operated four juvenile detention centers,
minors were sometimes detained with adults.
Overcrowding remained a problem, as judges tended to place minors
in detention centers in the absence of other educational or reform
programs.
The Government generally permitted prison visits by independent
local and international human rights observers, and such visits
occurred during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, but the authorities at times
failed to enforce these prohibitions effectively.
The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH)
alleged that an undetermined number of security officials had arrested
arbitrarily, and sometimes tortured, more than two dozen persons, under
the Government's Operation National program. The program consists of
sets of different police operatives ordered by the Government to
monitor the population in different sectors of the major cities.
Police arrested persons based on such factors as forms of dress and
types of tattoos.
On September 29, policemen wearing ski masks allegedly arrested
Mario Alvarez, Nelson Alvarez, Heliodoro Amador, and Alonso Andino,
peasant land-rights activists with the Union and Strength Campesino
Association, in the town of Suntule, Francisco Morazan Department. The
following day, according to credible media reports, another police
squad came to the house of the group's Secretary General and forced his
wife at gunpoint to sign documents that handed over the group's lands
in 60 days. There was no known investigation.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of Public
Security oversees police operations, including those of the Preventive
Police, Criminal Investigation Division (DGIC), Transit Police,
Frontier Police, Tourist Police, and Prison Police. Corruption and
impunity were serious problems within the security forces. The new
Police Law approved in October restructured the Ministry of Security,
resulting in creation of an Office of Internal Affairs (IA) answering
directly to the minister.
The IA investigates allegations of illegal activities committed by
members of the police force. The Preventive Police and the DGIC each
have an office of professional responsibility that conducts internal
reviews of police misconduct.
According to the Public Ministry, during the year 312 reports were
filed against the police with the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights,
of which 163 cases were investigated and 43 were discovered to have
merit. The majority of these reports involved excessive use of force,
unlawful detention, and extortion.
On April 17, during the march for striking prosecutors, an armed
man threatened and unsuccessfully attempted to force educational leader
Sergio Rivera into a vehicle. Witnesses said that the vehicle was full
of government elite Special Forces agents.
On June 6, a court found guilty and sentenced 21 of the 43 members
of the Government implicated in the 2003 ``El Porvenir Jail Massacre";
those sentenced included the chief of police of La Ceiba and the police
commissioner.
On September 10, after infiltrating an Autonomous National
University of Honduras (UNAH) union meeting, two plainclothes National
Police officers were identified and found to be carrying a list of more
than 130 recognized leaders from various sectors of civil society named
as ``dangerous'' on the list. The list included the crossed-out name of
slain labor leader Altagracia Fuentes with the written words ``dead''
next to her name.
The Ministry of Security reported that during the year authorities
prosecuted 268 police officers for offenses ranging from abuse of
authority to drug trafficking, rape, and homicide.
Gang violence and intimidation, notably on public transport,
remained serious problems and led the Government to station security
officers on many public buses. In some instances police lethally
targeted youth and minors, often with impunity.
Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that police may arrest a
person only with a court order, unless the arrest is by order of a
prosecutor, made during the commission of a crime, made when there is
strong suspicion that a person has committed a crime and may try to
evade criminal prosecution, or made when the person is caught with
evidence related to a crime. Police must clearly inform the person of
the grounds for the arrest and bring a detainee before a competent
authority within 24 hours. The prosecutor has 24 hours to decide if
there is probable cause for an indictment, and a judge then has 24
hours to decide whether to issue a temporary detention order that can
last up to six days, by which time the judge must hold a pretrial
hearing to examine probable cause and make a decision on whether
pretrial detention should continue. The law provides for bail for
persons charged with felonies and the right of prisoners to prompt
access to family members. Although the law also provides that prisoners
have the right of prompt access to a lawyer of their choice and, if
indigent, to state-provided counsel, these requirements were not always
followed in practice.
Lengthy pretrial detention was a serious problem. During the year
approximately 53 percent of the prison population awaited trial. The
law mandates the release from prison of any detainee whose case has not
come to trial and whose time in detention exceeds the maximum prison
sentence for the crime of which he is accused. Judicial inefficiency
and corruption and lack of sufficient resources delayed proceedings in
the criminal justice system. According to the Supreme Court of Justice,
of 271,000 cases filed with the DGIC in 2007, only 6,000 reached trial.
Of the 6,000 cases, however, 80 percent resulted in sentences.
As a result of trial delays, many pretrial detainees already had
served time in prison equivalent to the maximum allowable for the crime
for which they were accused. Many prisoners remained in jail after
being acquitted or having completed their sentences due to the failure
of officials to process their releases.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and the
law provide for an independent judiciary, the judicial system was
poorly funded and staffed, inadequately equipped, often ineffective,
and subject to patronage, corruption, and political influence.
Low wages and lack of internal controls rendered judicial officials
susceptible to bribery, and powerful special interests exercised
influence in the outcomes of court proceedings.
There are 12 appeals courts, 77 courts of first instance with
general jurisdiction, and 330 justice of the peace courts with limited
jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Justice names all lower court
judges. The media and various civil society groups continued to express
concern that the eight-to-seven split between the National and Liberal
parties in the Supreme Court of Justice resulted in politicized rulings
and contributed to corruption in public and private institutions.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair public
trial. Although the law provides that the accused is presumed innocent
and has the right to an initial hearing by a judge, to bail, to consult
with legal counsel in a timely manner, to have a lawyer provided by the
state if necessary, and a right to appeal, these rights frequently were
not observed.
Although the law prohibits cases from proceeding where a suspect
lacks legal representation, the Government allocated minimal resources
to the prosecutors. As a result the public defender was not able to
meet the demand for legal assistance to those unable to afford
representation.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access to a court
to seek damages for a cessation of a human rights violation. There were
no such cases reported during the year.
CODEH and the NGO Committee on Detained and Missing Relatives were
the only organizations that brought charges against human rights
violators by seeking monetary damages. A litigant can bring such
charges when the criminal court determines that damages may be sought.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Although the constitution and law generally prohibit
such actions, a legal exception allows entry at any time in the event
of an emergency or to prevent the commission of a crime. There
continued to be credible charges that police personnel occasionally
failed to obtain the required authorization before entering a private
home.
Garifuna and other indigenous rights leaders continued to complain
that the Government failed to redress previous actions by private and
public security forces that dislodged farmers and indigenous groups who
claimed ownership of lands based on land reform laws or ancestral
titles to property (See Section 5).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.-- The constitution and the law
generally provide for freedom of speech and of the press, and there was
substantial press freedom in the country. However, there were reports
of government intimidation of journalists, government takeovers of
television transmission frequencies, and journalistic self-censorship.
The law prohibits demonstrators from making statements that could
incite persons to riot.
Some journalists acknowledged practicing self-censorship when their
reporting could challenge the political or economic interests of media
owners. There were no reports that international media were prohibited
from operating freely.
A small number of powerful business magnates with intersecting
commercial, political, and family ties owned most of the country's news
media. The Government influenced media coverage of its activities
through the granting or denial of access to government officials,
creating a situation in which the media was so closely interrelated and
linked to the political system that the powerful magnates strongly
influenced the news agenda and thereby elections and political
decisions.
In August the National Commission of Telecommunications (Conatel),
disregarding a judge's ruling, transferred the rights to broadcast on
Channel Eight from a private enterprise, Teleunsa, to the Office of the
President. Earlier in the year, Conatel refused to release the
broadcast rights of Channel 12 to their owner, the Eldi business firm.
On November 20, a court ruling ordered Conatel to turn over the
broadcasting rights to Eldi; however, Conatel had not complied by
year's end.
On September 11, NGOs published two reports describing threats to
media freedom by the practice of ``official publicity.'' The reports
detailed how the Government guided press coverage through greater
access and advertising revenue for those producing favorable reporting
while denying access or making legal threats against those who did not.
The reports noted that ``official publicity'' had increased and was
worsened by concentration of media ownership.
On November 17, President Zelaya announced that he would seek to
regulate the media through legislative means to counter a ``culture of
death'' propagated by the media with support of National Congress
President Roberto Micheletti.
NGOs reported that the Government also gave substantial sums of
money to selected members of the media who covered their stories in the
manner they requested. The Government exerted considerable influence on
the print media through granting or withholding publicly funded
official advertisements.
The news media continued to suffer from venality, politicization,
and outside influences. According to NGOs, government ministers and
other high-ranking officials obtained press silence through hiring
journalists as public affairs assistants at high salaries and paid
journalists to investigate or suppress news stories.
Some media members claimed that, when they attempted to report in
depth on national politicians or official corruption, they were
occasionally denied access to government information. Access to the
presidential palace and to the president, especially on international
visits, was limited to the ``friendly'' press and was arbitrarily
awarded and withdrawn by presidential palace staff.
Thelma Mejia, a member of the National Anti-Corruption Council and
former director of the NGO C-Libre, reported that at least three dozen
journalists, many of them in rural areas, were subjected to threats and
intimidation during the year.
On January 1, two unidentified men shot and killed Jose Fernando
Gonzales, the owner of Radio Mega in Trinidad, Santa Barbara
Department. The local press reported that local police had identified
but had not apprehended the perpetrators.
In April in Santa Rosa de Copan, Copan Department, reporter Carlos
Roberto Chinchilla of Channel 12 news and his cameraman, Marlon Dubon,
received several death threats from two armed men wearing masks,
warning them that they had five days to get out of town before being
killed.
In May the Director of Radio Globo Sandra Maribel Sanchez announced
that she and her family had received threats and had been repeatedly
followed by unmarked vehicles due to her support for the prosecutors'
hunger strike that began on April 7 (See Section 3).
On October 27, authorities arrested German David Almendarez as a
suspect in the October 2007 killing of Radio Cadena Voces journalist
Carlos Salgado. At year's end Almendarez remained in custody at the
Tamara National Penitentiary awaiting trial.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to the May National Institute of Statistics Household Survey,
10 percent of the population had access to the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and the Government generally respected this right.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law generally
provide for freedom of association, and the Government generally
respected this right in practice. The criminal association law,
however, prohibits illicit association and prescribes prison terms of
three to 12 years. Human rights organizations criticized the law and
its implementation as an undue restriction on the right to associate
freely, while gay rights advocacy groups expressed concerns that the
law could be used to criminalize social activities and organizations of
the gay community. During the year authorities applied the law
prohibiting illicit associations to arrest individuals for being
members of Mara Salvatrucha and other gangs. The Government used
criminal code reforms outlawing illicit association to arrest and take
land away from suspected gang members, farmers, and persons from
indigenous communities.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right
in practice. The Government requires foreign missionaries to obtain
entry and residence permits.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
discrimination or violence against religious groups, including anti-
Semitic acts. There was a very small Jewish population.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.-- The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The law does not explicitly prohibit forced internal or external
exile, but the Government did not employ this practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened and granted refugee status or asylum.
Through November 19, the Office of Migration reviewed no applications
for refugee status. The Government cooperated with the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration
(IOM), and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and
asylum seekers.
On November 4, authorities detained eight South Africans with false
passports at the Guatemala border. The individuals subsequently filed
for asylum. As of November 20, they remained in jail but were being
assisted by CODEH while awaiting a decision on their applications.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis
of nearly universal suffrage. Active members of the clergy and of the
military and civilian security forces are not permitted to vote.
Elections and Political Participation.--In November 2005 Liberal
Party presidential candidate Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales won in
elections, which international observers considered generally free and
fair. Observers noted irregularities at approximately 1,100 ballot
boxes but no systemic patterns of fraud. Political parties could
operate without restriction or outside interference.
Women participated actively in politics. There were 31 women in the
128-seat National Congress, and 16 women presided over congressional
committees. Eight of the 15 members of the Supreme Court of Justice,
including its president, were women. There were three female
secretaries of state, six female vice ministers, one female general
police commissioner, and five female ambassadors.
There were two Garifuna and one Lenca members of the National
Congress.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for corruption; however, the Government did not implement the
law effectively, and officials engaged in corrupt practices with
impunity. The executive and legislative branches were subject to
corruption and political influence. There was a widespread perception
that the country's anticorruption institutions had not taken the steps
necessary to combat corruption and were unwilling or lacked the
professional capacity to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those
involved in high-level corruption. The World Bank's worldwide
governance indicators reflected that corruption was a serious problem.
Many observers argued that the considerable institutional control
exercised by the country's elite created the potential for abuse of the
country's institutions and democratic governance.
In April a network trafficking Cuban immigrants through the country
to the United States was identified. At least 15 Cubans allegedly
received fraudulent work or residency visas from the Honduran consul in
Havana. In July five of the parties implicated in the scandal resigned,
including the minister of migration and immigration law, the Secretary
General of migration, the Secretary General of the Chancellery, and the
consul in Havana. Investigations by the prosecutor against organized
crime remained pending at year's end.
On April 7, four public prosecutors set up tents on the ground
floor of the congressional building and started a hunger strike to
protest alleged corruption within the Government. The protest quickly
gained strength with 40 participants by the end of April; the
protesters called for an independent audit of the Public Ministry and
the removal of Attorney General Leonidas Rosa Bautista and Adjunct
Prosecutor Omar Cerna. Public prosecutors ended their 38-day strike on
May 14 shortly after the National Congress passed two measures meeting
many of the strikers' demands.
On August 11, a court ordered the detention of Guillermo Seamman,
the former head of the Civil Aeronautical Authority, pending trial for
39 charges of abuse of authority. Seamman allegedly approved more than
39 certifications for airline employees, nationals of Peru and
Venezuela, who had not completed requirements for receiving licenses
and had entered the country to file the paperwork, as required by law.
At year's end Seamann had been released pending trial.
There was no information available on the Supreme Accounting
Tribunal's investigation into charges made in 2007 that 13 mayors
misused poverty reduction funds provided by donor countries.
In August a court found the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, Oscar
Acosta, guilty of fraud for buying land at an overvalued price without
a public bid and in September sentenced him to four years in prison,
but permitted him to pay 14,600 lempiras (approximately $800) to cancel
the sentence.
There were no known developments in the anticorruption prosecutor's
investigation, which began in 2007, of the National Registry of Persons
for illegally collecting money from persons for birth certificates and
national identity cards.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
operated in the country, investigating and publishing their findings on
human rights cases. Government officials generally cooperated with NGOs
and, with certain notable exceptions, were usually responsive to NGO
views. In practice government bureaucracy delayed the registration for
some civil society organizations, including gay and lesbian advocacy
groups.
On April 2, an unidentified gunman shot and killed Luis Gustavo
Galeano Romero, an educator and promoter for the Tocoa, Colon,
departmental delegation for the National Human Rights Commission
(CONADEH). Human Rights Commissioner Ramon Custodio petitioned the
Inter-American Human Rights Commission for help protecting Romero's
colleagues, and the Ibero-American Ombudsman Organization called for an
investigation into Romero's killing.
Throughout the year the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ)
continued to receive threats. On January 31, authorities arrested Cesar
Amador, an investigative police agent and former SETECH security
company employee, and Ramon Solis, a SETECH employee, on charges of
killing ASJ attorney Dionisio Diaz Garcia in 2006. At year's end the
two were in custody awaiting trial.
The Government cooperated with international organizations such as
the International Committee of the Red Cross, whose representatives
visited the country several times during the year.
The National Human Rights Commission, an autonomous government
institution, was headed by Human Rights Commissioner Ramon Custodio
Lopez. The commission's director had open access to all civilian and
military institutions and detention centers and functioned with
complete immunity and without government or political party
interference. The Government generally cooperated with, but allocated
inadequate financial or other resources to, the commission. In March
Custodio delivered the commission's annual human rights report, which
criticized the high level of violence in the country. On June 22,
Custodio warned that the country was becoming a ``narcostate'' and
stated that there was proof that at least three drug cartels had
already infiltrated the national police. The legislature was responsive
to the report's findings. The public placed substantial trust in the
pronouncements of the commission but was dissatisfied that the
Government provided the commission with inadequate resources to perform
its duties effectively.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status; however, in practice it was not effectively
enforced. Political, military, and social elites generally enjoyed
impunity under the legal system; women experienced social and economic
discrimination.
Women.--The law criminalizes all forms of rape, including spousal
rape. With the exception of spousal rape, which is evaluated on a case-
by-case basis, rape is considered a public crime. A rapist can be
prosecuted even if the victim does not press charges. The penalties for
rape range from three to nine years' imprisonment, and the courts
enforced these penalties in practice.
Violence against women, including systematic killing (femicides),
became increasingly widespread. The law criminalizes domestic violence
with two to four years' imprisonment. The only legal sanctions for
lesser forms of domestic abuse are community service and 24-hour
preventive detention if the violator is caught in the act. The law
provides a maximum sentence of three years' imprisonment for disobeying
a restraining order connected with the crime of intrafamilial violence.
The Government did not enforce the law effectively with regard to
domestic abuse. The Public Ministry stated that domestic violence
accounted for most of the complaints it received and estimated that
complaints during the year would exceed the more than 8,000 recorded in
2007. On June 4, the Public Ministry announced it was dedicating 27
prosecutors to cover the growing trend of femicides.
While announcing their campaign to bring an end to ``femicides,''
the Center of Women's Rights and the Center for Women's Studies
reported that 171 women had been killed through November 18 and that 90
percent of the deaths went unpunished.
The Government worked with CARE and other NGOs to provide
specialized training to police officials on enforcing the law relating
to domestic violence. Two facilities, both operated by NGOs, provided
shelter for battered women. The shelter in Tegucigalpa could
accommodate 20 women and their families. Additionally, six other
private centers for battered women offered legal, medical, and
psychological assistance. There were 61 civil society NGOs grouped
under the Women's Collective against Violence involved in combating
violence against women.
Although adult prostitution is legal and relatively widespread, the
law prohibits promoting or facilitating for purposes of prostitution.
Women were trafficked for sexual exploitation and debt bondage.
The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and provides
penalties of one to three years' imprisonment. Sexual harassment
continued to be a problem, but the Government did not effectively
enforce the law.
Although the law accords women and men equal rights under the law,
including property rights in divorce cases, in practice women did not
enjoy such rights.
Most employed women worked in lower-status and lower-paid informal
occupations, such as domestic service, without legal protections or
regulations. Women were represented in small numbers in most
professions, and cultural attitudes limited their career opportunities.
By law women have equal access with men to educational opportunities.
The law requires employers to pay women equal wages for equivalent
work, but employers often classified women's jobs as less demanding
than those of men to justify women's lower salaries. According to the
National Institute of Statistics 2008 Household Survey, women's
salaries were 87 percent of those for men. Despite legal protections
against such practices, workers in the textile export industries
continued to report that they were required to take pregnancy tests as
a condition for employment.
The National Women's Institute develops women's and gender policy.
Several NGOs actively addressed women's issues, including the Center
for the Study of Women-Honduras, which dealt with trafficking in
persons, commercial sexual exploitation, garment factory employees, and
domestic workers.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
welfare.
The law provides for free, universal, and compulsory education
through age 15; however, a 2008 National Institute of Statistics study
estimated that 59 percent of children ages five to 18 attended some
type of school or learning center, while 90 percent of those five to 12
attended school.
Child abuse was a serious problem. The law establishes prison
sentences of up to three years for persons convicted of child abuse.
There was no information available regarding the number of reported
cases of child abuse.
Abuse of youth and children in poor neighborhoods and by gangs
remained a serious problem. Police and members of the general
population engaged in violence against poor youth and children. Casa
Alianza reported that 66 percent of street children had been assaulted
by police. Human rights groups alleged credibly that individual members
of the security forces and civilians used unwarranted lethal force
against supposed habitual criminals or suspected gang members, as well
as against other youths not known to be involved in criminal activity
(See Section 1.a.).
Trafficking in children for commercial sexual exploitation and
child prostitution was a problem. Child labor was a problem,
particularly in coffee and melon cultivation, fishing, lobster diving,
and limestone and lime production.
On August 26, Raul Edgardo Aragon was charged with aggravated
sexual assault against children. Aragon was the former administrator of
the New Hope Center that takes care of at-risk youth.
In August the Education Commission of the National Congress
announced an official inquiry into the sexual abuse of students by
professors. There were 10 documented testimonies of these cases in the
Public Ministry. On December 3, authorities arrested Professor Rene
Arturo Valderramos for sexually abusing his students.
On October 31, the Government distributed to the media the names of
approximately 100 suspects of sexual crimes against children who
remained at large.
The law outlaws ``illicit associations,'' including gang and
organized crime membership, for which it prescribes prison terms
ranging from three to 12 years. Year-end statistics indicated that
there were approximately 36,000 gang members, many of them minors. The
NGO Washington Office on Latin America estimated that gangs were
responsible for 15 percent of violent crime in the country. Gang
membership was primarily confined to the Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula
areas.
The Government and children's rights organizations estimated that
there were 20,000 street children, only half of whom had shelter. An
Inter-American Development Bank study reported that 88 percent of
street children used illegal substances, including glue inhalants and
marijuana. Many street children were sexually molested or exploited.
According to the UN Children's Fund, more than 2,700 children emigrated
unaccompanied during the year.
The municipal administration of Tegucigalpa operated 12 temporary
shelters with a capacity for 240 children. Casa Alianza operated three
shelters (with a capacity for 175 children) for victims of commercial
sexual exploitation, street children, and children with substance abuse
problems. The NGO Feed the Children operated a shelter for 40 boys in
La Ceiba. Casa Alianza estimated that on average 85 to 100 formerly
trafficked girls (ages 12-17) stayed at their shelters and participated
in recovery programs. Casa Alianza provided assistance to approximately
2,500 children yearly, attempting to reintegrate as many as possible
with their families. Other private organizations and centers of the
Institute of Children and the Family also housed street children and
cared for approximately 2,500 children.
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law criminalizes trafficking
in persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked from,
through, and within the country.
The country was principally a source and transit country for women
and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation. Women and children were trafficked to Belize, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and also internally, most often from rural
to urban settings. Most foreign victims trafficked into Honduras came
from neighboring countries. During the year the Government returned
dozens of trafficking victims from Mexico and Guatemala. In the
Tegucigalpa metropolitan area, an estimated several hundred children
were victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
Gangs, organized crime, and human smugglers were reportedly among
the principal traffickers for purposes of commercial sexual
exploitation. There were reports that families sold their daughters for
purposes of trafficking. On February 9, Emilio Fiallos Pina and his
wife Dora Rutilia Sauceda Fiallos were arrested for allegedly selling
their nine-year-old daughter to attorney Conrado Zelava Castellon for
sexual exploitation.
International trafficking was undertaken by land; the Government
maintained control of the country's land borders only at specific
crossings. Trafficking was conducted using valid and forged documents.
The law sets penalties and defines offenses related to trafficking,
including incest, lechery, abuse, prostitution, pornography, and
knowingly infecting someone with HIV/AIDS. Punishments include fines
ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 lempiras (approximately $5,300 to
$26,500) and imprisonment for four to 20 years. The law was not
enforced effectively. Inadequate government funding to combat
trafficking, corruption, and routine dismissal of government employees
limited the Government's ability to address trafficking.
A reorganization in the Special Prosecutor's Office for Children in
Tegucigalpa assigns antitrafficking responsibilities to one district
attorney, two lawyers, three Public Ministry investigators, and two
DGIC agents. In San Pedro Sula, two district attorneys cover
trafficking issues, while one attorney does so in Choluteca.
The Division Against Abuse, Trafficking, and Commercial Sexual
Exploitation, a unit of the criminal investigative police, conducted
detection operations throughout the country including highways,
airports, ports, and hotels.
During the year, 10 sexual exploitation cases were tried in
Tegucigalpa, and 48 cases remained open. There were 32 formal
complaints and investigations outside of Tegucigalpa through September.
On August 26, authorities charged Juventina Alicia Cruz Barahona
for trafficking an unknown number of women to Guatemala. She was
convicted and sentenced to a 10-year prison term.
On November 10, Blanca Azucena Merio Amador and her daughter Gloria
Floriscelda Varela Amador were arrested for selling minor girls to men
for sexual exploitation. They were allegedly linked to a much larger
trafficking operation. While arresting the traffickers, the authorities
were able to liberate one minor girl who was being sexually exploited.
The Government referred at least seven child trafficking victims to
the IOM for repatriation and referred dozens of victims each month to
both government- and NGO-run shelters for assistance. One child was
repatriated from Guatemala and six from Mexico; one for commercial
sexual exploitation and the rest for labor trafficking. In the year
ending in September, Casa Alianza cared for 245 young girls rescued
from sexual exploitation.
Since 2006 the Government has conducted antitrafficking training
for approximately 7,000 police, prosecutors, and judges and 10,000
students. The Government also coordinated with NGOs and the IOM to
place victims in shelters and provide them with reintegration
assistance. The Intra-Institutional Task Force on Trafficking developed
a protocol for Assistance to the Victims of Commercial Sexual
Exploitation, while the Government's Institute for the Family focused
on reintegrating child victims back into their families and society.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state
services, but the Government did not adequately enforce these
provisions. The illiteracy rate for persons with disabilities was
estimated at 51 percent, compared with 19 percent among the general
population.
Statutory provisions make it illegal for an employer to
discriminate against a worker based on disability. During the year
there were no reports of discrimination against persons with
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other state services. The law requires access to buildings
for persons with disabilities. In practice few buildings were
accessible.
Although the law requires the Ministry of Governance and Justice to
maintain an office for persons with disabilities, the Government did
not provide funds or staff to operate the office. There is a
commissioner for persons with disabilities in the presidential palace,
and the Human Rights Commission of the National Congress also focused
on matters of importance to persons with disabilities.
On October 10, the Honduran Association of Deaf persons marched on
the Autonomous National University of Honduras to demonstrate against
their exclusion from the education system, citizen participation,
dignified work, and the media. The group estimated that approximately
85 percent of an estimated 75,000 local deaf persons were denied these
rights.
Congresswoman Dayana Burke, a Garifuna blinded at the age of 15,
was the first woman with disabilities to become a member of Congress.
She advocated reform efforts for the rights of persons with
disabilities.
Indigenous People.--Approximately 621,000 persons, constituting 8
percent of the general population, were members of indigenous and other
ethnic groups. These groups, including the Miskitos, Tawahkas, Pech,
Tolupans, Lencas, Chortis, Nahual, Islanders, and Garifunas, lived in
362 communities and generally had little or no political power to make
decisions affecting their lands, cultures, traditions, and the
allocation of natural resources.
Most indigenous lands were owned communally, providing land use
rights to individual members of the ethnic community. Indigenous land
titles often were defined poorly in documents dating back to the mid-
19th century. Lack of clear title fostered encroachment and
expropriation conflicts among landless nonindigenous settlers, powerful
business elites, and government entities interested in exploiting
coastlines, forests, and other lands traditionally occupied or utilized
by indigenous and other ethnic communities. Indigenous and
nonindigenous communities criticized the Government's alleged
complicity in the exploitation of timber and other natural resources on
these lands. Amnesty International (AI) reported the use of politically
motivated criminal charges to detain indigenous persons. AI stated that
these detentions often were intended to ``obstruct the efforts of
indigenous leaders to secure recognition of their communities' claim to
communal land titles.''
There were several protests by Garifuna and other indigenous groups
regarding land rights disputes and perceived government discrimination.
Garifuna leaders continued to petition the Government regarding their
concerns about large-scale commercial development undertaken on coastal
lands traditionally occupied and utilized by their communities. The
Government permitted tourism development by private local and foreign
business interests on the disputed lands, using 100-year leases
designed to revert to the Garifuna after the expiration of that period
of time. Garifuna leaders continued to report to the Government and
NGOs harassment, threats, and assaults.
In March unknown actors killed two Tolupan youths, Jose Mastul and
Geovanny Banegas Sevilla, who purportedly belonged to a group dedicated
to reclaiming the Tolupan tribe's ancestral land. No arrests were made
in the case.
On June 5, Garifuna activist Santos Feliciano Aguilar Alvares was
abducted, beaten, and threatened by 10 private security guards employed
by a real estate company in San Juan Tela, Atlantida Department.
Immediately prior to the beating, Santos had participated in a
community assembly meant to facilitate dialogue between the community
and the company.
On June 23, almost 3,000 Maya-Chorti armed with stones and spears
closed the Copan Ruins to protest the Government's violation of the
terms of their 1997 land-rights agreement, which, they claimed,
provided them with only 35 percent of the land they were promised.
On September 24, armed forces personnel patrolling the Cuero y
Salado wildlife preserve allegedly shot at eight Garifuna fishermen
with M-16 assault rifles, killing Guillermo Morales Herrera. The
Garifuna asserted that the incident illustrated a pattern of
discriminatory harassment on the part of local officials acting in
conjunction with business interests aimed at driving the group from
their traditional lands to permit construction of industrial and hotel
ventures. Authorities apprehended three of the four soldiers implicated
in the killing, while the fourth fled the area. Garifuna leaders held
meetings in October with military leaders who agreed to respect
traditional Garifuna rights.
The Government undertook minimal efforts to work with indigenous
persons to address concerns regarding ownership and use of traditional
lands. The courts commonly denied legal recourse to indigenous persons
and often favored nonindigenous parties of means and influence. Failure
to obtain legal redress frequently led indigenous persons to attempt to
regain land through invasions of private property, which led the
authorities to retaliate forcefully.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There are no
discriminatory laws based on sexual orientation, but in practice social
discrimination against persons based on sexual orientation was
widespread. Many NGOs indicated that hate crimes increased,
particularly during political campaign season when minorities became
political targets. Representatives of NGOs focusing on sexual diversity
rights asserted that security forces killed and abused their members.
In cases where lesbians, gays, and transgender persons were found dead,
the prosecutor often encountered serious difficulties because the
victims had either concealed their identity or sexual orientation or,
in many cases, were hiding from their families.
Criminal investigations did not recognize a ``transgender''
category. Sexual diversity rights groups asserted that security forces,
government agencies, and private employers engaged in antigay
discriminatory hiring practices. These groups also reported that
intimidation, fear of reprisal, and police corruption made gay and
lesbian victims of abuse reluctant to file charges or proceed with
prosecutions.
The Government stopped requiring that, as a condition for legal
registration, sexual diversity rights organizations remove any
reference in their bylaws to promoting respect for the rights of gay,
lesbian, or transgender persons.
In October transvestite and gay rights groups filed a complaint
with the Committee on Human Rights asking that authorities remove the
ban on having national identity card photographs taken with make-up and
feminine accessories.
There were multiple killings or attacks on persons presumably
because of their sexual orientation. The sexual diversity rights
organization, Lesbian-Gay Rainbow Association of Comayaguela, asserted
that between January and March, unknown actors killed seven homosexuals
because of their sexuality and that a number of gay persons had fled
the country out of fear of social and security-force persecution. On
October 30, an attacker killed Yasmin, a transgender sex worker in
Camayaguela, and the following day an attacker shot Bibi, another
transgender sex worker, in the center of Comayaguela. On December 18, a
transgender sex worker, Cynthia Nicole, was attacked by three men with
pipes and clubs after hailing a cab in Comayaguela.
In March 2007 police beat and detained Donny Reyes, the treasurer
of the Lesbian-Gay Rainbow Association of Comayaguela. Police then
reportedly jailed Reyes in a cell with 57 gang members who raped and
beat him. The only witness to Reyes's initial arrest was killed in
October 2007. Reyes filed a formal complaint, which at the urging of
the Supreme Court, Internal Affairs investigated. The investigation
concluded that, while Reyes had many of the symptoms of being raped, it
could not definitively determine it took place during his detention.
During the course of the investigation, the offices of the Lesbian-Gay
Rainbow Association offices were burglarized, and all archives and
computers were stolen. Internal Affairs cited five policemen, Nelson
Daniel Gaitan Sosa, Hill Lainez Nunez, Walker Josue Reyes, Denis Esau
Cruz Varela, and Walter Cruz Espina, for dereliction of duty.
There was no reported societal violence or discrimination against
person with HIV/AIDS.
On October 17, unknown assailants killed two youths associated with
the punk subculture ``Emo.''
Job-related age discrimination remained a serious problem.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of
workers to form and join unions of their choice, but in practice
workers exercised this right with difficulty. The law prohibits members
of the armed forces and the police force from forming labor unions and
also prohibits public service employees from presenting union
organizing petitions or participating in collective bargaining.
According to MOL statistics, there were 519 unions representing
approximately 8 percent of the work force, excluding the agriculture
sector, and as of July approximately 13 percent of the 133,000 apparel
assembly workforce was unionized.
The law prohibits coexistence of more than two trade unions at a
single enterprise, requires 30 or more workers to constitute a trade
union, prohibits foreign nationals from holding union offices, requires
that union officials be employed in the economic activity of the
business the union represents, and restricts unions in agricultural
enterprises with fewer than 10 employees.
Union leaders were occasionally subjected to violence and threats.
On May 23, Julio Paz killed Israel Garcia, leader of the National
Association of Honduran Farmworkers (ANACH) labor group. The killing
was motivated by a National Agrarian Institute land-use ruling
favorable to ANACH.
On April 23, unknown masked assailants shot to death Altagracia
Fuentes, Secretary General for the Honduran Workers' Federation, and
two companions, labor leader Yolanda Sanchez, and their driver, Juan
Bautista Aceituno. On May 17, Maynor Celin Hernandez Matute, a suspect
in the shooting, was arrested on an unrelated robbery charge. In April
the homicide prosecutor's office issued a warrant for the arrest of 11
car-theft gang members for the killing of Altagracia Fuentes and her
companions. Gang members were arrested and charged with the killing and
attempted robbery. Despite these arrests circumstantial evidence
suggested that organized crime or nefarious elements within the labor
movement committed the killing.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice. The law prohibits strikes in a wide range of
economic activities deemed essential services and any others that in
the Government's opinion affect individual rights to security, health,
education, economic, or social life.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) criticized the law's
denial of the right to strike to workers in the petroleum sector and to
government workers, other than employees of state-owned enterprises.
Although civil servants occasionally engaged in illegal work stoppages
without experiencing reprisals, the MOL has the power to declare the
protest illegal and dismiss the protesting workers. The legal
restrictions on strikes include a prohibition on labor federations and
confederations from calling strikes and a requirement that a two-thirds
majority of the votes of the total membership of the trade union call a
strike.
In September a teachers strike over back wages paralyzed the school
system and accounted for a loss of more than 40 school days ending
early October.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to organize and to bargain collectively, but the
Government did not protect this right in practice. Although the law
requires that an employer begin collective bargaining once workers
establish a union, employers often refused to engage in bargaining.
Although the law prohibits employer retribution for engaging in
trade union activity, it was a common practice with employers
threatening to close unionized companies and harassing or dismissing
workers seeking to unionize. Some foreign companies closed operations
when notified that workers sought union representation.
The MOL can reach administrative decisions and fine companies for
unfair dismissal, but only a court can order reinstatement of workers.
Employers often failed to comply with court orders requiring them to
reinstate workers fired for engaging in union activity; failure to
reinstate workers was a serious problem.
Although the law prohibits blacklisting, there was credible
evidence that apparel assembly factory employers blacklisted employees
seeking to form unions. There were reports of apparel assembly workers
allegedly fired for union activity who were hired for one or two weeks
and then dismissed with no explanation. Apparel assembly company
employees reported seeing computer records that included previous union
membership in personnel records. Some employers informed previously
unionized workers that they were unemployable because of their previous
union activity.
The Government did not allocate adequate resources to the Ministry
of Labor (MOL) for labor inspectors to perform their duties. The
country's labor inspectorate offices did not have financial resources
to cover travel for inspections and requested that the Government
provide transport facilities and other necessities to enable inspectors
to carry out their duties.
In March the original members of the SitraFHIA union were fired
without reason and then reinstated by Honduran Foundation for
Agricultural Investment (FHIA). In the following months, 13 more
unionists were similarly dismissed without cause while the SitraFHIA
awaited official registration with the MOL. In July SitraFHIA received
official registration. In October SitraFHIA was broken by FHIA
management with nine of the last affiliates remaining on October 1,
leaving only the president and two members. FHIA allegedly paid the
affiliates to renounce union membership and return under new nonunion
contracts.
On February 8,60 unionists of the Alcoa Factory were unlawfully
dismissed. The workers were eventually reinstated and given their back
pay. In July Alcoa Inc. announced it would cease operations at maquila
plants in El Progreso and Choloma, and on August 22, Alcoa closed those
plants and dismissed all 1,800 workers. On September 12, the Alcoa
plant union leader, Lorna Jackson, received death threats in the form
of text messages and was shot at by two unidentified men. At year's end
Jackson remained in hiding, and a Public Ministry investigation
continued.
On May 12, Honduran Women's Collective filed a report citing the
Productos San Jose textile factory in San Pedro Sula for human rights
and labor law violations; it outlined a systematic covering up of work-
related health and injury reports.
In October Jerzees Choloma, a local subsidiary of Fruit of the
Loom, closed its plant four months after the plant's union received its
official registry from the MOL in July. Earlier in the year, workers
were fired from Jerzees Choloma without reason. In October
SITRAJERZEES, the newly registered union at the SitraJerzees Plant in
Choloma, was in the midst of its first collective bargaining
negotiations when management broke off negotiations and declared that
the plant would close within six months. Workers alleged that
management had made more than 100 threats to union members, indicating
the plant would close if the union was formed.
The law provides additional restrictions on strikes in the 102
registered export processing zones (EPZs) and 19 industrial parks
operating as EPZs. An additional 26 companies that provided services
for industrial parks had their own free zones, outside the industrial
parks. In the absence of unions and collective bargaining, several
companies in the EPZs instituted solidarity associations that, to some
extent, functioned as company unions for the purposes of setting wages
and negotiating working conditions. Other EPZ companies used the
minimum wage to set starting salaries and adjusted wage scales by
negotiating with common groups of plant workers and other employees
based on seniority, skills, categories of work, and other criteria.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law generally
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however,
there were reports of trafficking in children for commercial sexual
exploitation and of child prostitution. Human rights organizations
frequently reported that, in the private security and household
sectors, workers were typically obliged to work more than 60 hours a
week and only earn the legal limit of 44 hours.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law regulates child labor and provides that minors between the ages of
14 to 18 cannot work unless authorities determine that the work is
indispensable for the family's income and will not conflict with
schooling. The constitution and the law establish the maximum work
hours for children under age 18 as six hours daily and 30 hours weekly.
Parents or a legal guardian can request special permission from the MOL
to allow children between the ages of 14 and 15 to work, so long as the
ministry performs a home study to ensure that the child demonstrates
economic necessity to work, and that the child will not work outside of
the country or in hazardous conditions, including offshore fishing.
Through September the MOL had authorized 36 child workers and conducted
28 home visits.
The law prohibits night work and overtime for minors under age 16
and requires that employers in areas with more than 20 school-age
children working at their business facility provide a location for a
school. In practice the vast majority of children worked without
ministry permits.
The Government did not devote adequate resources or inspectors at
the institutions to follow up, prevent, or monitor compliance of labor
laws.
The MOL did not effectively enforce child labor laws outside the
apparel assembly sector, and there were frequent violations of the
child labor laws. The ILO expressed concern about the Government's
decision to appoint child labor inspectors only to offices in
Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula and requested that it comply with the
legislative requirement to conduct child labor inspections, even by
using nonspecialized labor inspectors.
Census results issued in May by the National Statistics Institute
reported that 13 percent of children ages five to 17 worked, of whom 76
percent were boys; 74 percent of child labor occurred in rural areas.
The average monthly wage of a child worker in an urban zone was 2,199
lempira (approximately $115), compared with 1,471 lempira ($78) in
rural areas.
Most working children were employed in agriculture (56 percent);
others engaged in commercial activities (18 percent), manufacturing (9
percent), and services (8 percent). Children often worked harvesting
melons, coffee, and sugarcane or rummaging at garbage dumps; working in
the forestry, hunting, and fishing sectors; and working as deckhands
and divers in the lobster industry. Children also peddled goods such as
fruit, begged, washed cars, and hauled loads. Some were employed in
limestone and lime production. Children, predominantly girls, also
worked as domestic servants, where they were sometimes subject to
maltreatment by third-party employers. Many children worked out of
economic necessity alongside other family members.
An international NGO collaborated with several local civil society
groups in executing a program to strengthen the capacity of the
Government and civil society to withdraw and prevent children from
engaging in hazardous labor through the provision of educational
services.
The Government conducted social and educational programs to reach
at-risk children, including a school grant program to provide money for
school supplies for very poor families, and an alternative schooling
program using radio and long-distance learning for children in distant
rural areas with few schools. Government measures had minimal impact on
diminishing child labor in light of extreme poverty, famine conditions
in rural areas, and a lack of jobs for school graduates.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On December 26, the Government
announced an 11 percent general increase in the minimum wage to 5,500
lempira (approximately $290) per month to be effective January 1, 2009.
The increase put the private sector minimum wage (not including
agriculture) on par with the public sector minimum wage. In the
agricultural sector, employers often did not pay the minimum wage.
The daily minimum wage scale is divided into 10 sectors based on
the size of the worker's place of employment. The scale ranged between
55 lempiras (approximately $2.88) for unskilled labor and 135 lempiras
($7.13) for workers in financial and insurance companies.
The law prescribes a maximum 40-hour workweek and at least one 24-
hour rest period for every six days of work. The law requires overtime
payment for hours in excess of the standard, and there are prohibitions
on excessive compulsory overtime. Employers frequently ignored these
regulations due to the high level of unemployment and underemployment
and the lack of effective enforcement by the MOL. There were credible
allegations of compulsory overtime at apparel assembly factories
(particularly for women, who comprised approximately 65 percent of that
sector's workforce), in the private security sector, and among
household workers. Foreign workers enjoyed equal protection under the
law.
The MOL is responsible for enforcing national occupational health
and safety laws but did not do so consistently or effectively. Worker
safety standards were enforced poorly, particularly in the construction
industry, in garment assembly sector, and in agriculture production
activities. There were complaints that foreign factory managers in EPZs
and other private industrial facilities failed to comply with
occupational health and safety regulations. Workers in pineapple
production and other commercial agriculture enterprises alleged
blacklisting by employers if they complained to the authorities about
working conditions. The NGO Honduran Women's Collective reported that
large numbers of apparel assembly workers had back, neck, and carpal
tunnel syndrome as well as respiratory (including tuberculosis),
digestive, and skin diseases. These health problems were attributed to
air contaminated by fine dust and fabric fuzz, noise, lack of
ventilation, lack of protective equipment, and extreme temperatures.
The law does not provide workers with the right to leave a
dangerous work situation without jeopardy to continued employment.
__________
JAMAICA
Jamaica is a constitutional parliamentary democracy with a
population of approximately 2.8 million. In generally free and fair
elections in September 2007, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won 32 of
the 60 seats in the House of Representatives, and JLP leader Bruce
Golding was sworn in as prime minister. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
While the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there were serious problems in some areas, including unlawful
killings committed by members of the security forces, abuse of
detainees and prisoners by police and prison guards, poor prison and
jail conditions, impunity for police who committed crimes, an
overburdened judicial system and frequent lengthy delays in trials,
violence and discrimination against women, trafficking in persons, and
violence against suspected or known homosexuals.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--While the Government
or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, there
were reliable accounts that security forces committed unlawful or
unwarranted killings during the year.
The police employed lethal force in apprehending criminal suspects
on many occasions, which resulted in 224 deaths during the year, a drop
from the 272 fatal police shootings of civilians in 2007. Many police
officials attributed the decline in fatalities to the December 2007
appointment of a new commissioner of police, whom his officers
perceived as a disciplinarian who would not tolerate police misconduct.
While complaints of ``police murder'' remained frequent, the
validity of some allegations was suspect. Well-armed gangs that
trafficked in narcotics and guns controlled many inner-city
communities. The gangs often were better equipped than the police force
and conducted coordinated ambushes of joint security patrols.
In five killings by security forces during the year, police alleged
that the victims were carrying firearms and opened fire on them. In
each of the five cases, eyewitness testimony contradicted the police
accounts. These cases included the deaths of Fabian Wray, age 24,
killed October 21; Jehvanie Robinson, age 13, killed September 22;
Carlton Grant, age 17, killed August 23; Randeen Hall, age 16, killed
July 29; and Randall Richards, age 18, killed June 24. In all five
cases, the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) continued
investigating at year's end.
In the Carlton Grant case, a bystander went to the office of a
local nongovernmental organization (NGO) to report the incident and
speak to BSI officials. Three unidentified gunmen carrying high-powered
weapons entered the premises and kidnapped a person they believed to be
the witness. The NGO reported the incident to the police commissioner,
and police recovered the kidnapping victim, who was physically
unharmed, the same day. The investigation of this incident remained
pending at year's end.
The BSI completed its inquiry into the September 2007 shooting
death of Andre Thomas by police. Authorities charged four police
officers with murder; the trial was scheduled for January 2009.
The BSI also investigated the September 2007 police shooting deaths
of Dexter Hyatt and Tian Wolfe in St. Thomas. Police stated that Hyatt
fired at them and Wolfe was part of a crowd protesting police treatment
of Hyatt. Witnesses claimed that police shot unprovoked. The BSI
submitted its findings to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in
November 2007. At year's end the DPP was awaiting further forensic
evidence before making a determination.
The BSI reported that the investigation remained open in the police
killings of four men in Alexandria and one detainee in custody in 2006.
The case in coroner's court continued against the police accused of
killing Jeff Smellie in 2005. Witnesses gave evidence at hearings
through December, but the case was not completed at year's end.
Police involved in the 2005 killing of Nicholas Weir and Donald
Allen faced charges in the coroner's court; their trials were in
progress at year's end.
As with most criminal cases, it can take many years to bring police
officers to trial for unlawful killings. The trial of three police
officers charged in the 2001 killing of Richard Williams continued in
the circuit court after repeated delays. A new trial date had not been
set for the three police officers charged in 2003 with the 1999 killing
of Noel Barnes in a shoot-out with police, after the first trial ended
with a hung jury.
Appeals also can take years to process. In October 2007 the Court
of Appeals granted final leave for attorneys representing the mother of
Janice Allen, killed by police in 2001, to take her case to the Privy
Council, but the council had not ruled by year's end. The family had
appealed the dismissal of the case against the responsible police
officer.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, reports of
physical abuse of prisoners by guards continued, despite efforts by the
Government to remove abusive guards and improve procedures.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
poor, primarily due to overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions.
Medical care also was poor, primarily a result of having only three
full-time doctors, one full-time nurse, and one psychiatrist to cover
13 facilities with 4,790 inmates across the island.
Men and women were incarcerated in separate facilities under
similar conditions, except that women's prisons were generally not
overcrowded.
Although the law prohibits the incarceration of children in adult
prisons, some juveniles were held in adult jails because there were no
juvenile facilities with adequate security. Adults and juveniles were
segregated in the prison system. The social services agency deals with
nonviolent youth offenders, who are sent to unsecured halfway houses if
they are removed from their homes.
The majority of pretrial detainees were held in police custody
either in police stations or in remand centers, generally separate from
convicted prisoners.
When prisoners raise allegations of abuse by correctional officers,
the charges are first reviewed by corrections officials, then by an
inspector from the Ministry of National Security, and finally by the
police. Authorities file charges against correctional officers for
abuse if evidence is found to support the allegations.
In general the Government allowed private groups, voluntary and
religious organizations, local and international human rights
organizations, and the media to visit prisons and monitor prison
conditions, and such visits took place during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law permits the arrest of
persons ``reasonably suspected'' of having committed a crime. While the
law prohibits arbitrary arrest, security forces performed ``cordon and
search'' operations, during which they detained persons and took them
into custody for processing.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Jamaica
Constabulary Force (JCF) has primary responsibility for internal
security and is assisted by the Island Special Constabulary Force. The
Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is charged with national defense, maritime
narcotics interdiction, and JCF support. The JDF has no mandate to
maintain law and order and no powers of arrest (with the exception of
the JDF coast guard in the maritime domain) unless so ordered by the
prime minister. The Jamaica Regiment (JDF infantry forces) was detached
as part of a joint internal security operation to assist the JCF in
patrolling certain communities. The prime minister occasionally
authorized the JDF to cordon and search with the JCF. The Ministry of
National Security oversees the JCF and the JDF.
The JCF is headed by a commissioner who delegates authority through
the ranks to its constables. The force maintains divisions focusing on
community policing, special response, intelligence gathering, and
internal affairs. The Anti-Corruption Branch, created in late 2007, has
responsibility for tackling corruption in the force. The JCF was not
fully effective in combating crime, and the perception of corruption
and impunity within the force remained despite a notable increase in
the number of arrests of officers for corruption. Authorities arrested
55 rank-and-file officers on corruption-related charges and one senior
officer for corruption. Trial dates were set for the majority of the
cases, but none had commenced at year's end. Human rights groups
identified systematically poor investigative procedures and weak
oversight mechanisms as factors contributing to corruption.
The JCF conducted administrative and criminal investigations into
all incidents involving fatal shootings by police. The JCF's BSI, which
employed 21 investigators, specifically addressed police shootings. In
an estimated 672 exchanges of fire between police and civilians in the
Kingston metropolitan area during the year, more than 500 persons were
injured. In rural areas, there were 444 such exchanges of fire, with
more than 160 civilians injured. However, no officer was found
criminally liable during the year. BSI supplements the civilian Police
Public Complaints Authority, which oversees investigations by the other
two bodies and may initiate its own investigations.
The JCF continued a community policing initiative to address the
long-standing antipathy between the security forces and many poor
inner-city neighborhoods. Through a newly established Community Safety
and Security Branch, the JCF conducted targeted training of 200
officers in 38 communities, trained community safety officers, and
assigned JCF officers to targeted schools as resource officers to stem
school violence. These officers also served as liaisons between the
students, faculty, parents, and police. With NGO assistance the police
developed a community policing manual that the police academy used in
training police officers on citizens' rights and human rights. The
Government bolstered these efforts through public education.
Arrest and Detention.--Arrests normally require warrants signed by
a police officer of the rank of station sergeant or higher; however,
arrests may be made without warrants. The law requires detained
suspects to be charged or released within 24 hours of arrest, unless a
justice of the peace or a resident magistrate grants special
permission.
The law also requires police to contact duty counsel (a private
attorney who volunteers to represent detainees at police stations and
until cases go to trial), if requested by the detainee upon detention;
however, authorities continued to wait until after detainees had been
identified in an identification lineup before contacting duty counsel
for them. There was a functioning bail system. The state provides
indigent detainees access to counsel through the legal aid program, and
detainees were provided with prompt access to family members.
Although the law requires police to present a detainee in court
within a reasonable time period, in practice authorities continued to
detain suspects for lengthy periods (often up to two or three years),
which the Government attributed to an overburdened court system.
Magistrates were required to inquire at least once a week into the
welfare of each person listed by the JCF as detained, but few did so in
practice.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this
provision in practice. However, the judicial system was overburdened
and operated with inadequate resources.
The judiciary's lack of sufficient staff and resources hindered due
process, and the BSI also had a backlog of approximately 960 cases.
With only 21 investigating officers to cover upward of 30 allegations
of excessive force per month, the BSI was unable to keep up with the
caseload. Trials in many cases were delayed for years, and other cases
were dismissed because files could not be located or had been
destroyed. A night court continued to operate in an effort to reduce
the backlog of resident magistrate cases. The Supreme Court used
mediation through the Dispute Resolution Foundation as an alternative
to traditional trials, which alleviated some of the civil case backlog
in that court. The resident magistrate's courts also used alternative
dispute resolution in limited cases.
Some criminal trials were dismissed because witnesses failed to
come forward as a result of threats, intimidation, or murder. Some of
those who came forward qualified for the witness protection program,
but many either refused protection or violated the conditions of the
program. According to the JCF, no participant in the witness protection
program who abided by the rules of the program was ever killed.
The court system includes justices of the peace, resident
magistrate's courts, and the Supreme Court, which has unlimited
jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters. Defendants have the right
to appeal a conviction in any of the three trial courts to the Court of
Appeal, the highest court in the country. The Privy Council in the
United Kingdom is the final court of appeal.
Trial Procedures.--Most trials are public and use juries. There was
a persistent problem seating enough jurors for cases, which contributed
to the extensive judicial backlog. Defendants are presumed innocent,
have the right to counsel, and have the right to confront witnesses
against them. Legal Aid attorneys were available to defend the
indigent, except those charged with certain offenses under the Money
Laundering Act or Dangerous Drugs Act. The public defender may bring
cases for persons who have had their constitutional rights violated.
Although the Public Defender's Office contracted private attorneys to
represent clients, funds were insufficient to meet the demand, and such
attorneys sometimes requested payment from clients.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial civil judiciary process. Complainants may bring human
rights abuse cases for civil remediation to the courts, but awards can
be difficult to collect. The civil authority did not always have enough
money to award each case, resulting in a backlog of awards. There is a
process to undertake pretrial negotiations between the complainant and
the state in order to avoid trial.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Although the constitution prohibits such actions, the
Constabulary Force Act gives security personnel broad powers of search
and seizure. This act allows search without a warrant of a person on
board or disembarking from a vehicle, ship, or boat, if a police
officer has good reason to be suspicious. In practice the police
conducted searches without warrants.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction. However, some local media professionals
expressed concern that the country's libel laws limited their freedom
of expression. Specifically, news outlets reported the need to self-
censor investigative reports because of the potential for courts to
award high damages in cases of defamation. Some journalists also stated
that they censored their political coverage based on fear of violent
reprisals. The Press Association of Jamaica and the Media Association
of Jamaica continued to advocate changes in the libel laws, which they
stated had a ``chilling effect'' on the media's ability to report
effectively, especially on political issues.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Members of the Rastafarian
community complained that law enforcement officials unfairly targeted
them. However, it was not clear whether such complaints reflected
discrimination on the basis of religious belief or were due to the
group's illegal use of marijuana as part of Rastafarian religious
practice.
There was a small practicing Jewish congregation in the country.
There were no reports of societal abuses or discrimination, including
anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports that it
occurred.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened, and it handled refugee or asylum cases
administratively.
The Government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--All citizens age 18 and
over have the right to vote by secret ballot. However, in recent
elections voters living in ``garrison communities,'' inner-city areas
dominated by one of the two major political parties, often faced
substantial influence and pressure from politically connected gangs and
young men hired by political parties. These factors impeded the free
exercise of their right to vote. During the 2007 national election
campaign, police placed a moratorium on political gatherings due to
politically motivated violence. On November 16, at the opposition
party's annual conference held at the National Stadium in Kingston, an
altercation between party members turned violent, resulting in the
shooting death of one person and the wounding of two others.
In the September 2007 elections, after a legal challenge in one
district, authorities determined that the JLP won 32 out of 60 seats in
the House of Representatives. People's National Party (PNP) challengers
filed four cases against elected parliamentarians who held dual
nationalities, citing the constitution, which bars from office those
who have ``sworn allegiance to a foreign power.'' Three of the
candidates renounced their foreign citizenship. A court ruled that
regardless of a candidate's current citizenship status, if the
candidate had retained dual citizenship at the time of running for
office, the seat could not be retained. In one of the four cases, in
the West Portland district, a PNP challenger to the elected JLP dual
national candidate sought to be directly appointed to the parliamentary
seat, but the court called for a by-election. The JLP candidate, who
renounced his foreign citizenship after the election in the wake of the
court ruling, said he would run for office again if necessary. The PNP
candidate filed an appeal against the by-election requirement; a
determination remained pending at year's end. All four challenged
members of parliament continued to hold their seats pending final
determinations on their respective cases. The other three contested
cases were unlikely to proceed until the Appeals Court rules in the
West Portland case.
There were eight women elected to the 60-seat House of
Representatives and three women appointed to the 21-seat Senate. Two of
the 18 cabinet ministers were women.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, but the Government did not implement
the law effectively, and officials engaged in corrupt practices with
impunity. The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected
that government corruption was a serious problem. A 2007 media poll and
a survey by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute found that the
public believed more than half of the JCF was corrupt and considered
nearly 50 percent of all government employees corrupt. After the JCF,
parish council members and customs officers were seen as the most
corrupt.
The Government appointed a new commissioner of customs, with a
reputation as a reformer, in mid-year. He immediately began to
reorganize the customs office and move or dismiss personnel suspected
of corruption. Within his first month in office, customs' revenue
increased by 25 percent.
In February authorities arrested the former junior minister of
energy, mining, and telecommunications and two others and charged them
with fraud, corruption, and money laundering in connection with a light
bulb scandal. The JLP government alleged that the previous
administration, through the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, paid more
than J$114 million ($1.7 million) to two corporations not registered as
government contractors to distribute and install the four million bulbs
donated by Cuba. Both firms were incorporated just before the
distribution program began and never submitted invoices for services
rendered. The trial, initially set for May, was delayed and expected to
resume in 2009.
Although an investigation was undertaken into reports that the PNP
returned approximately J$31 million ($465,000) allegedly deposited by
Trafigura, a Dutch company, in 2006 to an account used to pay for the
PNP's annual conference that year, no results were made public by
year's end.
The Corruption Prevention Act requires many government officials to
file financial declarations; however, reports indicated that more than
5,000 civil servants failed to file or filed late or incomplete
financial declarations required under the act. The DPP's office has the
authority to identify noncompliant officials and send their cases to
the magistrate's office, but the Government did not levy any fines on
officials during the year. The Ministry of Justice and the Attorney
General's Office have overall responsibility to combat official
corruption, but the various ministries are responsible for their own
investigations.
The Access to Information Act provides public access to information
held by government ministries and agencies. Many agencies reportedly
delayed providing information and gave incomplete responses, although
when NGOs pressed on behalf of citizens, the Government did respond to
such requests.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups and
other international bodies generally operated without government
restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human
rights cases. Government officials often were cooperative and
responsive to their views.
The Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights was the country's
only formal organization concerned with all aspects of human rights.
The NGO Jamaicans for Justice focused on the issues of police impunity,
extrajudicial killings, and excessive use of force by the police and
wrote a weekly newspaper column. Many news editorials criticized the
group, fuelling a public misperception that the organization advocated
only on behalf of accused criminals.
The Public Defender's Office brings cases on behalf of those who
charged that their constitutional rights were violated. The office
contracted private attorneys to bring suits against the Government on
behalf of private citizens.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, place of
origin, political opinions, color, or creed. The Government generally
enforced these prohibitions in practice, although there continued to be
widespread discrimination on the basis of political opinion in the
distribution of scarce governmental benefits, including employment,
particularly in the garrison communities.
Women.--Rape was illegal and carried a penalty of up to 25 years'
imprisonment with hard labor. Spousal rape is not recognized as a
crime. During the year 774 rapes were reported. NGOs believed the
actual numbers were much higher, but they could not provide any
detailed statistics. The JCF rape investigative and juvenile unit,
which was headed by a female deputy superintendent, handled sex crimes.
No information was available as to the number of prosecutions and
convictions obtained.
Social and cultural traditions perpetuated violence against women,
including spousal abuse. Violence against women was widespread, but
many women were reluctant to acknowledge or report abusive behavior,
leading to wide variations in estimates of its extent. The law
prohibits domestic violence and provides remedies including restraining
orders and other noncustodial sentencing. Breaching a restraining order
is punishable by a fine of up to J$10,000 (approximately $117) and six
months' imprisonment. There was a general reluctance by the police to
become involved in domestic issues, which led to cases not being
pursued vigorously when reported. The Bureau of Women's Affairs
operated crisis hot lines and shelters and managed a public education
campaign to raise the profile of domestic violence.
Although the law prohibits prostitution, it was widespread,
particularly in tourist areas. Trafficking in women for prostitution
continued to be a problem.
There is no legislation that addresses sexual harassment, and it
was a problem. There were reports of sexual harassment of women by the
police, but some observers believed that women often did not report
such incidents because there was no legal remedy.
Although the law accords women full legal equality, including equal
pay for equal work, in practice women suffered from discrimination in
the workplace and often earned less than their male counterparts. The
Bureau of Women's Affairs, reporting to the minister of development,
oversaw programs to protect the legal rights of women. These programs
had limited effect but raised awareness of problems affecting women.
Women sought jobs and served in almost every occupation in both the
public and private sectors.
There was an active community of women's rights groups, including
Women's Media Watch, the Women's Political Caucus, the St. Peter Claver
Women's Housing Cooperative, the Women's Construction Collective, the
Sistren Theatre Collective, Woman Inc., and the Centre for Gender and
Development Studies at the University of the West Indies. Among the
major concerns of these groups were the protection of victims of sexual
abuse, participation of women in the political process, and legislative
reforms affecting women.
Children.--The Government was committed to improving children's
welfare. The Ministry of Education, Youth, and Culture is responsible
for implementation of the Government's programs for children. In 2007
the Government established an Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA).
The office has broad responsibilities for reviewing laws, policies,
practices, and government services affecting children; providing legal
services and investigating complaints against the Government; and
publishing reports and issuing best practice guidelines concerning the
rights or best interests of children. On October 6, the education
minister announced that his ministry distributed safety and security
guidelines to schools to help ensure greater protection of children. He
also said that officials from the Ministries of Education and National
Security had begun meeting to identify and implement ``school safe
zones.'' The minister added that he would confer with police, the Child
Development Agency (CDA), the OCA, and church and community
organizations.
On November 5, the OCA reported it had received 333 complaints
during the year, conducting some preliminary investigations while
referring other cases to appropriate government institutions. The OCA
intervened to have 15 students reinstated in schools, assigned lawyers
to represent children in 54 court cases, and successfully sought bail
for 22 minors accused of committing crimes. OCA officials twice met
with the commissioner of corrections to discuss the treatment of
children in penal institutions. As a result of the OCA's advocacy, the
Correctional Services Division began providing psychological
assessments, medical examinations, and individual and group counseling
to minors.
There was no societal pattern of abuse of children; however, there
were numerous reports of rape and incest, particularly in inner cities.
NGOs reported that inner-city gang leaders and sometimes even fathers
initiated sex with young girls as a ``right.'' During the year there
were 462 cases of carnal abuse reported, a decrease of 9 percent from
2007. The Government expressed concern about child abuse and
acknowledged that incidents were underreported. The CDA held training
sessions to familiarize police officers with the rights of children and
to prepare them to enforce the Child Care and Protection Act.
Child prostitution and trafficking for the purpose of sexual
exploitation were problems.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of
trafficking; however, persons were trafficked to, from, through, and
within the country. Most victims were poor women and girls, but also
increasingly boys, who were trafficked from rural to urban and tourist
areas for commercial exploitation. Women were reportedly trafficked
from the Dominican Republic, Russia, and Eastern Europe, while some
women and girls were trafficked to Canada, the United States, the
Bahamas, and other Caribbean destinations. Children trafficked within
the country may also be subjected to domestic servitude and forced
labor.
In 2006 the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that
several hundred minors were involved in the country's sex trade.
Victims were lured by the promise of jobs and education. Some victims
were trafficked by family members, while others voluntarily answered
employment advertisements without knowing what the job actually
entailed.
The Child Care and Protection Act specifically prohibits the sale
or trafficking of minors and provides that violators receive the
maximum penalty under the law. This law subjects convicted traffickers
to a fine or imprisonment with hard labor for a term not exceeding 10
years, or both. The Trafficking in Persons Act provides penalties of up
to 10 years' imprisonment for permitting or facilitating trafficking.
It also allows for restitution to the victim. Three major crime hot
lines were available to receive reports of trafficking 24 hours per
day.
During the year the DPP convicted two persons for conspiracy to
traffic in persons. Four additional trafficking cases were pending in
the courts at year's end.
The Government's National Task Force against Trafficking in
Persons, led by the Ministry of Justice, has the lead on all
trafficking issues. A specialized police antitrafficking unit within
the Organized Crime Division of the JCF compiles data on trafficking
investigations and related legal proceedings.
Law enforcement training taught ways to identify trafficking
victims and directed police not to charge the victims with crimes such
as solicitation or pandering. In January the International Organization
for Migration (IOM) helped repatriate a foreign victim of trafficking
who had been doing uncompensated domestic work in the home of another
national from her country. The police trafficking unit, the DPP, and
the IOM cooperated to assist the victim, who was placed in a women's
shelter before she was able to return to her country.
The CDA managed facilities for at-risk children, and the Government
provided funding to NGOs that worked to reintegrate child laborers who
were victims of trafficking.
The Bureau of Women's Affairs integrated trafficking topics into
its public education program. The IOM worked closely with government
officials in conducting training and in 2007 published a manual on
prevention and suppression of trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--There were no laws prohibiting
discrimination against persons with disabilities or mandating
accessibility for persons with disabilities, and such persons
encountered discrimination in employment and denial of access to
schools. Health care and other state services were reported to be
universally available. Several government agencies and NGOs provided
services and employment to various groups of persons with disabilities,
but there was no government agency specifically charged with assisting
persons with disabilities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law prohibits ``acts
of gross indecency'' (generally interpreted as any kind of physical
intimacy) between men, in public or in private, which are punishable by
10 years in prison.
The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG)
continued to report human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention,
mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual patients by hospital
and prison staff, and targeted shootings of homosexuals. Police often
did not investigate such incidents.
J-FLAG members also suffered attacks on their property, home
intrusions as people demanded to know the number of persons and beds in
a home, and in one instance, a fire bombing at the home of two men that
left one of them with burns on more than 60 percent of his body. In
addition homosexuals faced death and arson threats, with some of these
directed at the J-FLAG offices. J-FLAG did not publicize its location
due to such threats, and its officials reported feeling unsafe having
meetings with clients at the organization's office.
In February a mob broke into the home of four presumed homosexual
men, killing three of them. The fourth was missing and presumed dead.
The men had reported being harassed for their perceived sexual
orientation prior to the fatal attack. Police made some inquiries in
the case but did not conduct a full investigation or make any arrests
by year's end.
The trial of six suspects arrested for the 2005 robbery and murder
of Lenford ``Steve'' Harvey, initially begun and then postponed in
2007, was scheduled to recommence in January 2009.
Male inmates deemed by prison wardens to be homosexual were held in
a separate facility for their protection. The method used for
determining their sexual orientation was subjective and not regulated
by the prison system, although inmates were said to confirm their
homosexuality for their own safety. There were numerous reports of
violence against homosexual inmates, perpetrated by the wardens and by
other inmates, but few inmates sought recourse through the prison
system.
Homosexual men were hesitant to report incidents against them
because of fear for their physical well-being. Lesbian women were
subject to sexual assault as well as other physical attacks. Human
rights NGOs and government entities agreed that brutality against
homosexuals, primarily by private citizens, was widespread in the
community.
No laws protect persons living with HIV/AIDS from discrimination.
Human rights NGOs reported severe stigma and discrimination against
this group. The ILO worked with the Ministry of Labor on a program to
reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS in the workplace and to assist employers
in designing policies for workers with HIV/AIDS. Although health care
facilities were prepared to handle patients with HIV/AIDS, health care
workers often neglected such patients.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to
form or join a trade union, and unions functioned freely and
independently of the Government. Approximately 20 percent of the work
force of 1.2 million was unionized. Some union workers charged that
private sector employers laid them off and then rehired them as
contractors with reduced pay and benefits, a practice that was legal as
long as workers received severance pay.
The law neither authorizes nor prohibits the right to strike, and
strikes occurred. Striking workers could interrupt work without
criminal liability but could not be assured of keeping their jobs,
although there were no reports of any workers losing their jobs due to
strike action during the year. Workers in 10 broad categories of
``essential services'' are prohibited from striking, a provision the
ILO repeatedly criticized as overly broad.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law permits
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the
Government protected this right in practice. An independent Industrial
Disputes Tribunal (IDT) hears cases when management and labor fail to
reach agreement. Any cases not resolved by the IDT pass to the civil
courts. The IDT generally handled 35 to 40 cases each year. Most were
decided within 90 days, but some took longer to resolve due to the
complexity of the dispute or delays requested by the parties.
Collective bargaining is denied to a bargaining unit if no single
union represents at least 40 percent of the workers in the unit in
question or when the union seeking recognition for collective
bargaining purposes does not obtain 50 percent of the votes of the
total number of workers (whether or not they are affiliated with the
union).
The law allows for union activity and prohibits antiunion
discrimination. The law prohibits firing an employee for union
activity, and employers respected the law in practice. Union organizers
and members are entitled to full legal protections that were
effectively enforced.
Domestic labor laws applied equally to the ``free zones'' (export
processing zones), but there were no unionized companies in any of the
three publicly owned zones. Organizers attributed this circumstance to
resistance to organizing efforts by foreign owners in the zones,
asserting that there was an unwritten agreement among them to prevent
free zone workers from participating in trade unions. According to the
International Trade Union Confederation, unions reported that many
employers continued to prevent workers from seeking union
representation. Employer-controlled ``workers' councils'' handled
grievance resolution in most of these companies but did not negotiate
wages and conditions, which were set by management.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not
specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by
children, and there were reports of child prostitution and of children
trafficked into domestic servitude and forced labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
Child Care and Protection Act provides that children under the age of
12 shall not be employed except by parents or guardians and that such
employment may be only in domestic, agricultural, or horticultural
work. It also prohibits children under the age of 15 from industrial
employment. The police are mandated to conduct child labor inspections,
and the CDA is charged with finding places of safety for children.
However, according to CDA officials, resources to investigate
exploitive child labor were insufficient. Children under the age of 12
peddled goods and services or begged on city streets. There were also
reports that underage children were employed illegally in fishing
communities, prostitution, and domestic servitude.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government sets the minimum
wage in a transparent process after receiving recommendations from the
tripartite National Minimum Wage Advisory Commission. The minimum wage
was J$3,700 (approximately $51) per week for all workers except private
security guards, whose minimum was J$5,500 (approximately $76) per
week. The minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for
a worker and family, but most workers were paid more than the legal
minimum. The Ministry of Labor administered and enforced the minimum
wage.
The law provides for a standard 40-hour workweek and mandates at
least one day of rest per week. Work in excess of 40 hours per week or
eight hours per day must be compensated at overtime rates, a provision
that was generally respected, except by some security guard companies.
The law does not prohibit excessive compulsory overtime, and some
employees, including security guards, regularly were required to work
12-hour shifts without overtime compensation. There were differing
practices among security guard companies, but workers were generally
not paid for overtime unless they worked more than 12 hours.
Historically the JCF was exempt from the 40-hour workweek; however, in
August the Ministry of National Security signed a new work contract
that included a mandatory 40-hour week, with retroactive lump sum
payments for overtime worked since April.
The Ministry of Labor's Industrial Safety Division sets and
enforces industrial health and safety standards, mainly through factory
inspections. Insufficient staffing in the Ministries of Labor, Finance,
National Security, and Public Service contributed to the difficulties
in enforcing workplace regulations. The Industrial Safety Division
conducted inspections, investigated accidents, warned violators, and
gave them a time period in which to correct the violation. If the
violation was not corrected within that time, the violator was taken to
court.
The law provides workers with the right to remove themselves from
dangerous work situations without jeopardy to their continued
employment if they are trade union members or covered by the Factories
Act. The law does not specifically protect other categories of workers
in those circumstances.
__________
MEXICO
Mexico, with a population of 110 million, is a federal republic
composed of 31 states and a federal district, with an elected president
and bicameral legislature. President Felipe Calderon of the National
Action Party (PAN) was elected in 2006 to a six-year term in generally
free and fair multiparty elections. The country continued its fight
against organized crime, which involved frequent clashes between
security forces and drug traffickers. While civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there
were instances in which elements of these forces, acted independently
of government authority.
The Government generally respected and promoted human rights at the
national level by investigating, prosecuting, and sentencing public
officials and members of the security forces. However, the following
human rights problems were reported: unlawful killings by security
forces; kidnappings; physical abuse; poor and overcrowded prison
conditions; arbitrary arrests and detention; corruption, inefficiency,
and lack of transparency in the judicial system; confessions coerced
through torture; criminal intimidation of journalists leading to self-
censorship; impunity and corruption at all levels of government;
domestic violence against women, often perpetrated with impunity;
violence, including killings, against women; trafficking in persons,
sometimes allegedly with official involvement; social and economic
discrimination against some members of the indigenous population; and
child labor.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
there were reports that security forces, acting both within and outside
the line of duty, killed several persons during the year. A significant
number of these incidents occurred at checkpoints associated with the
Government's efforts to combat organized crime and often reflected poor
training.
On July 11, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) issued
eight recommendations concerning allegations of human rights violations
committed by armed forces during counternarcotics operations. Three of
the recommendations dealt with unlawful or arbitrary deprivation of
life by armed forces members. The military accepted all eight of these
recommendations and affirmed its commitment to collaborating with the
CNDH on outstanding investigations. These recommendations related to
the following cases:
On January 11, soldiers from the 12th infantry battalion in
Michoacan allegedly opened fire on a pick-up truck, killing a minor and
injuring an adult passenger. According to the Human Rights Commission
in Michoacan, the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) awarded civil
damages to the family of the deceased victim; the criminal case against
the soldier involved remained under investigation.
On February 16, soldiers at the gate of a military installation in
Reynosa, Tamaulipas, opened fire on a vehicle that failed to stop at a
checkpoint, killing the driver and injuring a passenger. SEDENA assumed
responsibility for investigating the case; no further information was
available at year's end.
On March 26, soldiers at a checkpoint in Badiraguato, Sinaloa,
allegedly opened fire on a group of civilians, killing four and
injuring another. On April 11, SEDENA announced the arrest of five army
officials in connection with the case. No further information was
available on this case at year's end.
Separately, the CNDH announced an investigation into an incident
that occurred on June 8, when military officials in Chihuahua opened
fire against a vehicle. Allegedly, the vehicle had failed to stop at a
military checkpoint and ran over a soldier when its brakes failed. As a
result of this incident, four persons died, including two occupants of
the vehicle, one soldier, and another civilian who was near the area.
SEDENA maintained that it had found weapons inside the vehicle and was
investigating the case at year's end.
On July 22, soldiers in the state of Aguascalientes shot and killed
17-year-old Guillermo Soto Garcia as he was traveling in a vehicle with
three other teenagers. The Aguascalientes Attorney General's Office was
investigating the case at year's end.
The military had not completed an investigation of the June 2007
incident in which army soldiers allegedly shot and killed a civilian
family of five at a checkpoint in Sinaloa. At year's end 19 soldiers
remained in custody and were being held pending trial in a military
court.
The state and federal investigations into allegations of official
abuses or killings related to the 2006 political conflict in the state
of Oaxaca, which directly or indirectly caused an estimated 26 civilian
deaths, continued at year's end.
Four municipal police officers remained in custody on charges
related to the 2006 death of Jose Gabriel Velazquez Perez in Chiapa de
Corzo, Chiapas.
President Calderon remained committed to dismantling the country's
narcotics trafficking cartels. The Government mobilized more than
27,000 army troops and federal policemen in joint operations against
drug traffickers in 10 states. According to the Attorney General's
Office, rival drug cartels killed approximately 6,262 persons. SEDENA
estimated that at least 522 civilian law enforcement and military
personnel were killed in the context of fighting organized crime.
b. Disappearance.--There were no confirmed reports of politically
motivated disappearances. In several cases of reported disappearances,
police had detained the missing persons incommunicado for several days.
As in previous years, there were credible reports of police involvement
in kidnappings for ransom, primarily at the state and local level. On
April 1 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights announced its
decision to forward to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for
consideration the case of Rosendo Radilla Pacheco, a man who was a
community leader of the Atoyac community in the state of Guerrero when
he was allegedly detained by the military in 1974 and disappeared.
On April 24, members of the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR)
requested a dialogue with the Government to discuss its investigation
into the disappearance of two EPR members in 2007. Authorities created
a commission consisting of academic and nongovernmental organization
(NGO) representatives identified in the EPR communique. In August this
commission urged the Government to deepen its investigation into the
disappearances.
Kidnapping remained a serious problem for persons of all
socioeconomic levels. The Federal Attorney General's Office (PGR)
registered 326 kidnappings committed throughout the country during the
first five months of the year. Many cases continued, however, to go
unreported, as families negotiated directly with kidnappers. The number
of reported cases to authorities was believed to be far less than the
actual number of kidnappings.
In June individuals kidnapped and killed Fernando Marti, the 14-
year-old son of a prominent businessmen and his bodyguard when they
were stopped by armed men dressed as federal police officers. On August
1, Fernando Marti's body was found in the trunk of a car. On September
8, authorities arrested three individuals in connection with the crime,
two of whom were current or former members of federal police units.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment and stipulates that confessions obtained through
illicit means such as torture are not admissible as evidence in court;
similarly inadmissible is any confession made directly to police. To be
admissible a confession must be formally recorded before a prosecutor
with the acknowledgement that it is being made voluntarily and after
examination by a doctor confirming that the person has not been
subjected to physical abuse. On June 17, President Calderon signed
legislation containing a number of constitutional amendments to pave
the way for far-reaching justice system reform. The reform legislation
requires that confessions need to be made before a judge, thus
providing for a substantially more transparent judicial process with a
diminished reliance on confessions.
The Government took steps to implement preventive measures against
the practice of torture, including applying, at the federal level, the
Istanbul Protocol, which contains guidance on investigating and
documenting torture and other abuses. The National Mechanism to Prevent
Torture, created in 2007, has authority to visit detention centers
nationwide. From September 2007 to February 2008, representatives of
this office visited more than 100 law enforcement facilities, including
prisons and detention centers. Officials in 29 federal entities were
trained by the PGR in the use of a medical and psychological
certification process; as of 2007 SEDENA had provided training to 702
individuals through 20 courses on specialist medical examination of
victims of torture and abuse.
Nonetheless, cruel treatment and physical abuse in particular
continued to be a serious problem, particularly among state and local
law enforcement elements. During the year the CNDH received 588
complaints of cruel and/or degrading treatment and 21 torture
complaints, compared with 395 complaints of cruel and/or degrading
treatment and four torture complaints in 2007. While law enforcement
officials were punished for lesser offenses, human rights groups, who
linked physical abuse to the pervasiveness of arbitrary detention,
maintained that no official had ever been convicted of torture, giving
rise to concern about impunity. Despite the law's provisions to the
contrary, police and prosecutors often attempted to justify an arrest
by forcibly securing a confession to a crime. The CNDH and NGOs also
expressed concern about alleged human rights abuses committed by some
military units deployed in counternarcotics operations and cited
several incidents implicating military units in killings, illegal
searches, rapes, and arbitrary detentions of individuals.
On March 31, army soldiers in Ciudad Juarez detained local police
officers and took them to a local army base without providing any
explanation. The police alleged that nine female officers were
blindfolded and undressed in front of members of the military at the
base. In July the Chihuahua state attorney general filed a complaint
with SEDENA and the PGR on behalf of the alleged victims. No further
information was available at year's end.
Five of the eight recommendations the CNDH issued on July 11 and a
separate recommendation issued on November 28 involved six previously
unreported 2007 allegations of arbitrary detention and physical abuse
committed by soldiers in the states of Michoacan and Sinaloa.
The CNDH was also investigating allegations that three individuals
detained by federal authorities in connection with the September 15
grenade attack in Morelia, which killed eight civilians, had been
mistreated while in custody.
Although SEDENA accepted the CNDH's recommendation and agreed to
investigate, there were no developments in a May 2007 case involving
arbitrary detention and alleged torture of seven adults and one child
by military officials at a military base in Michoacan.
There were no developments in the investigation by a National
Supreme Court (SCJN) commission into the use of force by federal and
state police forces during the 2006 confrontation in Oaxaca. According
to one NGO, three individuals remained under detention dating back to
the first series of Oaxacan disturbances between May 2006 and July
2007.
With respect to the 2006 San Salvador Atenco confrontation between
local vendors and state and federal police agents in Mexico State
during which two individuals were killed and upwards of 47 women were
taken into custody with many allegedly raped by police officials, the
Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Women initially reported the
indictment of 21 policemen, of whom 15 were expelled from the police
force and six remained under investigation. On September 23, a superior
court called for the dismissal of a 16th policeman, Doroteo Blas
Marcelo, and ordered him to pay damages to one of the victims. The
other five policemen were charged with abuse of authority and faced
criminal proceedings.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
poor. During the year the CNDH and other NGOs reported that corruption,
overcrowding, alcoholism, and drug addiction were prevalent in most
facilities. Health and sanitary conditions were poor, and most prisons
did not offer psychiatric care. Poorly trained, underpaid, and corrupt
guards staffed most prisons. Authorities occasionally placed prisoners
in solitary confinement for indefinite periods; prisoners often had to
bribe guards to acquire food, medicine, and other necessities. Prison
overcrowding continued to be a common problem. In August the Senate's
Commission of Public Security estimated 218,000 prisoners occupied the
country's 441 penal facilities, approximately 30 percent above
capacity.
Inmates in many prisons exercised significant authority, displacing
prison officials and creating general insecurity, leading to inmate
deaths, often at the hands of other prisoners. During the year at least
five killings and a suicide occurred nationwide among the federal
prison population. In September two prison riots in Tijuana, the first
provoked by reports that guards had allegedly beaten to death one of
the detainees, resulted in the death of 20 prisoners. Three officials
in charge of the penitentiary system in the state, including the head
of the Tijuana Prison, were removed.
Pretrial detainees were routinely held together with convicted
criminals. The CNDH noted that conditions for women prisoners were
inferior to those for men, particularly for women who lived with their
children in prison. There were anecdotal reports of sexual abuse of
women while in detention, although there were no authoritative studies
on the scope of the problem.
The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by human rights organizations. The International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC), the CNDH, and state human rights commissions
visited detainees during the year. The CNDH reported making 240 prison
visits during the year: 97 in response to complaints, 43 in response to
requests from local human rights organizations, and 100 in conjunction
with the National Mechanism to Prevent Torture. Separately, the CNDH
opened 357 complaint cases based on concerns about human rights
violations against prisoners, ultimately confirming 126 of the
complaints.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention as well as sponsoring or covering up an illegal
detention; however, security forces often ignored these provisions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal, state, and
municipal police forces included approximately 500,000 agents. At the
state and local level, police are generally divided into ``preventive''
and ``judicial'' police. Preventive police maintain order and public
security and generally do not investigate crimes. Judicial police serve
as the investigative force under the authority and direction of the
public ministries (prosecutors' offices).
Similarly, at the federal level, uniformed officers, such as those
who patrol the federal highways, have been under the command of the
Secretary of Public Security (SSP), while investigating agents have
been part of the PGR. The justice sector reform legislation passed in
June called for a unified, centralized command structure of all federal
police agencies under the SSP, but the legislation had not been
implemented at year's end. The military is responsible for external
security but also has significant domestic security responsibilities,
particularly in combating drug trafficking and responding to natural
disasters.
Corruption continued to be a problem, as many police, particularly
at the state and local level, were involved in kidnapping, extortion,
or providing protection for, or acting directly on behalf of, organized
crime and drug traffickers. Impunity was pervasive and contributed to
the continued reluctance of many victims to file complaints.
Responsibility for investigating federal police abuse falls under the
purview of the PGR and the Secretariat of Public Administration,
depending on the type of offense.
The Congress enacted legislation establishing a four-year deadline
to vet all of the country's 2,500 police forces. By year's end the
Government's anticorruption effort, Operation Cleanup, resulted in the
arrest of Rodolfo de la Guardia Garcia, a former top official from the
Federal Investigative Agency (AFI); Ricardo Gutierrez Vargas, AFI's
director for international police affairs and head of Interpol in the
country; and Noe Ramirez Mandujano, the former head of the PGR's
Organized Crime Office (SIEDO).
The constitution provides for military jurisdiction for crimes and
offenses against military discipline. In cases in which a member of the
military is arrested by civil authorities, the military may request the
immediate transfer of the case to military jurisdiction. Many NGOs
maintained that human rights abuse cases involving military personnel
were not handled transparently by the military justice system, giving
rise to concerns about impunity in these cases.
The CNDH also can receive complaints, but its recommendations are
nonbinding and carry no legal weight unless a government entity
formally accepts the recommendation, in which case it is legally bound
to take appropriate action. A similar mechanism exists with respect to
the state human rights commissions, which maintain autonomy from the
CNDH.
The CNDH provided human rights training for security and military
forces, and the Government continued professional training of its law
enforcement officials. In 2007 SEDENA held 15 courses to train 1,066
personnel on human rights and international humanitarian rights and
engaged an additional 59,880 personnel in 284 conferences on the same
topics. Additionally, SEDENA routinely included in its operations
directives to promote respect for human rights during operations.
In the first six months of the year, SEDENA recruited 723 women-
four times the number recruited during the same period in 2007. In
January SEDENA created the Directorate General for Human Rights to
promote greater respect for human rights and address complaints by
public entities and international organizations; its responsibilities
include responding to requests from the CNDH regarding procedures and
providing status reports on SEDENA's implementation of the CNDH
recommendations. Human rights NGOs, however, complained about a lack of
access to the new directorate and maintained it had done little to
improve SEDENA's transparency on cases of human rights abuse.
During the year the SSP worked closely with the ICRC to train and
certify federal officials on international standards of human rights.
Additionally, SSP officials also conducted human rights training and
workshops in conjunction with the International Organization for
Migration, the CNDH, and experts from the International Criminal Court.
In April the SSP began implementing Plataforma Mexico in coordination
with the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Plataforma Mexico
enhanced law enforcement information exchanges among police and
provided distance learning training in the area of human rights to
federal police officers throughout the country. PGR officials estimated
10,000 federal police officers had been trained through this
initiative. The CNDH also provided human rights training to 6,757
military personnel.
On August 21, President Calderon met with the mayor of Mexico City,
31 state governors, senior legislators, judicial officials, and civil
society leaders to reach agreement on a 75-point package of security
measures to fight crime. In the following months, the Government took
steps to purge the security forces of senior-level corrupt officials,
secure a significant increase in the security budget, and win approval
of penal code reform legislation.
Arrest and Detention.--Judicial reform legislation enacted on June
17 provides that defendants are innocent until proven guilty. In most
cases persons must be presented to a judge, along with sufficient
evidence to justify their continued detention, within 48 hours of their
arrest. In organized crime cases (involving three or more persons who
organize themselves for the purpose of committing certain crimes),
suspects may be held for up to 96 hours before being presented to a
judge. However, recognizing the complex nature of organized crime, the
legislation stipulates that certain suspects may be held under house
arrest for up to 80 days, with the approval of a judge, prior to the
filing of formal charges. Human rights NGOs maintained that this form
of pretrial detention violates due process, facilitates torture, and
could potentially be applied to social movements.
The law provides time limits within which an accused person must be
tried. However, due to caseloads which far exceeded the capacity of the
current system, such time limits were often disregarded. In addition
pretrial release on bond is only available in cases in which the
charges are not considered a serious crime. As a result lengthy
pretrial detention remained a problem, with the media reporting that
accused persons were sometimes held several years without a trial.
While detainees were usually allowed prompt access to family
members and to counsel, there were complaints that, in some cases,
police held persons incommunicado for several days made arrests
arbitrarily and without a warrant. The CNDH received 864 complaints of
arbitrary detention during the year.
In December the Guerrero State Human Rights Commission traced the
abductions of three union organizers to the Attorney General's Office
in Acapulco.
Also in December Amnesty International issued an alert conveying
concern about the safety of Javier Torres Cruz, a member of a
grassroots environmental NGO in Guerrero, who had allegedly been
abducted and released earlier in the month by military personnel.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the judiciary is
independent, weaknesses in the system make court decisions susceptible
to improper influence by both private and public entities, particularly
at the state and local level. Corruption, inefficiency, and lack of
transparency continued to be major problems in the justice system.
Criminal elements also attacked members of the judicial system. The
federal court system consists of the Supreme Court, 91 circuit courts
of appeal, 49 courts of appeal, and 185 district courts. State judicial
systems consist of trial-level courts and appeals courts with
jurisdiction over family, criminal, civil, and administrative matters.
The investigation into the 2006 slaying of federal Judge Rene
Hilario Nieto Contreras in Toluca continued at year's end. Judge Nieto
had handled cases involving the Gulf and Juarez cartels.
Trial Procedures.--The legal system is a hybrid system. While it
incorporates some aspects of common law and accusatory-style systems,
it draws primarily from traditional European code-based, inquisitorial
systems. A typical trial consists of a series of fact-gathering
hearings during which the court receives documentary evidence or
testimony. A judge in chambers reviews the case file and then issues a
final, written ruling. The record of the proceeding is not available to
the general public; only the parties involved have access to the
official file, but only by special motion.
The law provides for the right of the accused to attend the
hearings and challenge the evidence or testimony presented, and the
Government generally respected these rights in practice. In most cases
court hearings were open to the public.
While the law provides defendants with the right to an attorney at
all stages of criminal proceedings, in practice this only meant that
authorities had to appoint a ``person of confidence,'' who was not
required to meet any particular legal qualifications, to represent a
defendant. The public defender system was not adequate to meet demand,
especially at the state level. Public defender services were placed
either in the judicial or executive branch; there were no autonomous
public defender services. According to Amnesty International, most
criminal suspects did not receive representation until after they were
placed under judicial authority, thus making individuals vulnerable to
coercion to sign false statements before being presented to a judge.
Although the law provides for translation services from Spanish to
indigenous languages to be available at all stages of the criminal
process, this generally was not done. Indigenous defendants who did not
speak Spanish sometimes were unaware of the status of their cases, and
some suspects were convicted without fully understanding the documents
they were required to sign.
Despite enactment of judicial reform legislation on June 17, judges
reportedly continued to allow statements coerced through torture to be
used as evidence against the accused, a practice particularly subject
to abuse because confessions were often the primary evidence in
criminal convictions (See Section 1.c.). NGOs asserted that judges
often gave greater evidentiary value to the first declaration of a
defendant, often given in the absence of legal representation. This
provided prosecutors an incentive to obtain an incriminating first
confession and made it difficult for defendants to disavow such
declarations. For their part law enforcement officials complained that
defendants frequently made baseless claims of coerced confessions as a
way to win acquittal.
The justice reform that the president signed into law in June also
facilitates transition to an oral trial system, establishes strict
guidelines on the use of confessions, allows consensual monitoring of
telephone calls, and gives police more responsibility for conducting
investigations. The reform stipulates that all hearings and trials must
be conducted by a judge and under the principles of public access,
immediacy, confrontation, and cross-examination, promoting greater
transparency and allowing defendants to challenge their accusers.
Constitutional reforms associated with the new justice system were
ratified by the congresses of 24 states. All state and federal
jurisdictions must conform to the new judicial system and implement
oral trial procedures within eight years. Criminal procedural codes in
the states of Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Zacatecas, Northern Baja California,
and Morelos already permit oral trials for all crimes.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access to a court
to seek damages for a human rights violation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Although the law prohibits such practices and requires
search warrants, authorities occasionally disregarded these provisions.
The CNDH received 952 complaints of illegal searches through December
15.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice. The majority of newspapers and television and radio
stations were privately owned, and the Government had minimal presence
in the ownership of news media.
While federal legislation eliminated criminal defamation, libel,
and slander, journalists remained vulnerable to threats of imprisonment
at the state level because most states have criminal libel laws that
are not superseded by federal law.
Despite Federal Government support for freedom of the press, many
journalists worked in a dangerous environment. Reporters covering the
various organized criminal organizations and associated corrupt public
officials acknowledged practicing self-censorship, recognizing the
danger investigative journalism posed to them and to their families.
According to local NGOs, only 30 percent of attacks against
journalists were reported to authorities, of which only 13 percent
resulted in a trial. The PGR's Office of the Special Prosecutor for
Crimes Against Journalists (FEADP) accepted jurisdiction over 248 cases
since its creation in 2006. FEADP estimated that of the complaints it
received from journalist or media outlets, 63 percent involved threats
from private citizens, 21 percent from organized crime elements, and 16
percent from public officials. During the year six journalists were
killed and three disappeared. NGOs called on the Government to
strengthen FEADP and provide it greater resources.
Prominent cases involving journalists included the following:
On April 7, Felicitas Martinez and Teresa Bautista, reporters and
commentators on a community radio station in rural Oaxaca, were shot
and killed. Residents of their community blamed members of the local
political party Popular United Party for the killing. An investigation
into the case by FEADP continued at year's end.
On June 19, police officers in the Benito Juarez Municipality of
Nuevo Leon allegedly attacked six print and broadcast reporters
covering a demonstration against the local government. Two police
officers and one civilian were detained in connection with this case.
An investigation into the case continued at year's end.
On September 15, Federal Preventive Police (PFP) opened fire on
journalist Carlos Solis Reina and his companion, Luis Alberto Salas, as
they were driving in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. The gunfire hit and killed
a young girl in the vicinity. The two were arrested for the girl's
death; they alleged that they were tortured on the way to SIEDO
offices. Solis had recently published an article critical of the
federal police.
On November 13, Armando Rodriguez, a veteran police reporter with
the newspaper El Diario, in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, was shot
to death outside his home. One of the last stories Rodriguez covered
was the prior week's discovery of a decapitated body hung from a bridge
in Juarez.
An investigation continued at year's end into the April 2007 death
of Amado Ramirez, an Acapulco-based correspondent for Televisa and
Radiorama. A suspect detained in 2007 remained imprisoned at year's
end.
In September the CNDH issued a report criticizing the federal and
Oaxacan state investigations into the 2006 killing of journalist
Bradley Will, who was covering the Oaxaca disturbances when an unknown
assailant shot and killed him. The CNDH's report implicated Oaxacan
state police officials. Meanwhile, on October 16, the Government
arrested three individuals for Will's killing, charging Juan Manuel
Martinez as the gunman and Octavio Perez and Hugo Jarid Colmenares
Levya with helping to cover up the crime. Perez and Colmenares Leyva
were released on bail on October 18. A judge ruled separately there was
sufficient evidence to detain Martinez pending trial.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2007 there were
21 Internet users per 100 inhabitants.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice. Groups that wish to meet in public
areas must inform local police authorities in advance. Organized,
peaceful demonstrations occurred frequently throughout the country.
Several times during the year demonstrators clashed violently with
police, and subsequent arrests led to complaints of arbitrary
detention, use of excessive force, physical abuse, rape, and sometimes
killings.
An October 3 confrontation between protesters and federal and state
police in the state of Chiapas allegedly resulted in the deaths of six
individuals and injury to 17 others. Protesters had taken control of
Lagos de Monte Bello National Park in Chiapas and held 36 police
hostage. As a result of the investigation by the Chiapas Ministry of
Justice, the police officials involved were charged with criminal
offenses ranging from abuse of authority to aggravated homicide.
In June the Government signed an agreement with the ICRC on
training and certification of Interior Ministry personnel in such areas
as the legitimate use of force, the use of firearms, and arrest and
detention.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the Government generally respected this right in practice. Although
social, cultural, and economic disputes sometimes took on religious
overtones, particularly in the south, there were no reports of
religious-based conflicts within or among communities during the year.
However, poor enforcement mechanisms, local land disputes, and family
traditions contributed to discrimination against some religious groups,
especially in the south.
The constitution bars members of the clergy from holding public
office, advocating partisan political views, supporting political
candidates, or opposing the laws or institutions of the state.
Religious associations must register with the Government to apply
for official building permits, receive tax exemptions, and hold
religious meetings outside their places of worship. Although the
Government may reject applications because of incomplete documentation,
the registration process was routine.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In the central and southern
regions, some leaders of predominantly Catholic indigenous communities
regarded evangelical groups as unwelcome outside influences and as
economic and political threats. These leaders sometimes ordered or
acquiesced in the harassment or expulsion of individuals belonging
chiefly to Protestant evangelical groups. Whether a group was displaced
forcibly or left voluntarily to avoid harassment, it often found itself
living on the outskirts of another local community in circumstances
even worse than the extremely poor conditions common to the region.
If parties present a religious dispute to the General Directorate
of Religious Associations (GDAR) in the Secretariat of the Interior,
the GDAR attempts to mediate a solution. If mediation fails, the
parties may submit the issue to the GDAR for binding arbitration.
During the year the GDAR translated the Religious Association Law into
16 indigenous languages.
The Jewish community numbered approximately 50,000 persons.
Although the GDAR received no reports of anti-Semitic incidents during
the year, there were several unconfirmed incidents reported through
local press sources
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government respected these rights in practice.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing
protection and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.
The law does not permit forced exile, and it was not practiced.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government received no request for
asylum or refugee status during the year.
Although in many instances the National Migration Institute (INM)
eventually released Cuban migrants, in some cases they were
involuntarily returned to Cuba. In October the country signed a
migration agreement with Cuba to facilitate the repatriation of illegal
Cubans being detained, and in December, consistent with the agreement,
the country repatriated approximately 41 Cubans.
The Government provided temporary protection to individuals who may
not have qualified as refugees under the 1951 Convention and its 1967
protocol.
On August 12, two Salvadoran nationals were granted humanitarian
visas after being assaulted by members of the AFI in Tapachula.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The closely contested
presidential and congressional elections of July 2006 were determined
to be generally free and fair by the majority of neutral observers,
including European Union representatives and local and international
civil society organizations.
The September 2007 electoral reform bill prohibits all public and
private funding of political advertisements on television or radio
outside of time slots established by a respective state, requires
placement of all political campaign advertisements through the Federal
Elections Institute (IFE), and stipulates allocation of airtime among
registered political parties based on their share of the vote in the
most recent election. The law also prohibits negative campaign messages
and establishes public spending limits for presidential elections.
Recognition as a national political party by IFE is based on having won
at least 2 percent of the vote in the last national election.
There were 24 women in the 128-seat Senate and 116 women in the
500-seat lower house. For the second session of Congress, a woman held
the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies. Two female justices sat on
the 11-member Supreme Court. There were seven women in the 21-member
cabinet, compared with one in the previous administration. Many state
electoral codes provide that no more than 70 to 80 percent of
candidates can be of the same gender. All political parties continued
their efforts to increase the number of women running for elected
office. Some utilized quotas requiring that a certain percentage of
candidates on a party list be female.
There were no established quotas for increased participation of
indigenous groups in the legislative body. There were no statistics
available regarding minority participation in government. The law
provides for the right of indigenous people to elect representatives to
local office according to ``usages and customs'' law, rather than
federal and state electoral law. Traditional customs varied by village.
In some villages women did not have the right to vote or hold office;
in others they could vote but not hold office. In November 2007 the
outgoing president of a municipal assembly in Oaxaca invoked ``cultural
customs'' to throw out Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza's election as a woman to
the municipal assembly. In the face of alleged death threats, Cruz took
her case to the Federal Electoral Tribunal and Congress, where it
remained under review at year's end.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the World Bank's Worldwide
Governance Indicators and other indices reflected that corruption
remained a problem at all levels of government, as some public
officials continued to perpetrate bureaucratic abuses and some criminal
acts with impunity. Corruption at the most basic level involved paying
bribes for routine services or in lieu of fines to administrative
officials and security forces, but more sophisticated and less apparent
forms of corruption included overpaying for goods and services to
provide payment to elected officials and political parties.
The INM reported that 196 migration officials had been involved in
corruption networks and extortion of migrants since 2007. During the
year seven INM officials were indicted on charges stemming from
extortion of Cuban nationals in the state of Quintana Roo. On July 28,
the CNDH issued a recommendation against INM officials in Nogales,
Sonora, for allegedly extorting $4,000 from two undocumented Honduran
nationals.
Two officials from the Secretariat of Agricultural Reform were also
forced to resign from their positions after an organization created by
their spouses received monetary resources from the office that were
budgeted for youth training programs and the creation of rural
businesses.
Despite significant institutional and regulatory changes increasing
government transparency, access to information continued to be
difficult in some states. The Federal Institute of Access to Public
Information (IFAI) has received over 356,591 requests for information
since its creation in 2003. All states have passed laws to comply with
the July 2007 constitutional reforms regarding access to information.
However, only eight of the 31 states have signed a formal agreement
with IFAI to make the information system on government operations,
Infomex, available for petitions for state government information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. The Government made
periodic attempts to engage civil society, particularly on security
issues but also on human rights issues, by creating and reinvigorating
a variety of mechanisms that encourage civil society's participation in
policy debates and allow individuals to register complaints.
Nevertheless, some NGOs complained that the Government did not take
their concerns sufficiently into account and that they were unable to
engage in constructive human rights discussions with military
officials. They also maintained that some state and municipal
authorities harassed human rights defenders during the year.
UN agencies and other international bodies freely operated in the
country and publicly criticized the Government without restriction or
sanction. The Office of the UN High Commission on Human Rights has an
office in the country and in February signed an agreement with the
Government to extend the office's mandate until 2012.
The semiautonomous CNDH, which received full and generous funding
from the Federal Government, has the authority to investigate
allegations of human rights violations and did so in practice. The CNDH
operated without government or party interference. During the year the
CNDH issued 67 recommendations in connection with human rights
violations. The CNDH's recommendations are nonbinding and without legal
weight unless formally accepted by a government entity. While some
recommendations were accepted and implemented, others were rejected.
Some NGOs praised the CNDH for bringing to light noteworthy human
rights abuses but criticized it for not pressuring the Government
sufficiently to comply with its recommendations.
The Organization of Indigenous Me'phaa People (OPIM), an NGO in the
state of Guerrero, represents the interests of indigenous communities
in the region. In March an OPIM member and four policemen were killed
during a robbery. In April local authorities filed arrest warrants
against 15 OPIM members and ultimately detained five on charges of
premeditated homicide in connection with the killings. After its own
inquiry, Amnesty International concluded the evidence against the five
was fabricated and adopted them as prisoners of conscience.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status. While the Government continued to make
progress enforcing these provisions, significant problems, particularly
violence against women, persisted.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, imposing
penalties of up to 20 years' imprisonment. However, rape victims rarely
filed complaints with police, in part because of ineffective and
unsupportive responses by the authorities toward victims, fear of
publicity, and a perception that cases were unlikely to be prosecuted.
Domestic violence was pervasive and mostly unexposed.
A 2006 National Survey on Household Relationships suggested that 67
percent of women over age 15 had suffered some abusive treatment.
According to the NGO National Citizen Femicide Observatory, more than
1,014 girls, teenagers, and women were killed in the 19 months ending
July 31; 43 percent were between the ages of 21 and 40.
A total of 432 killings and disappearances of women were recorded
in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, between 1993 and May 2008; an estimated 45
percent of them were resolved by courts, 17 percent were pending trial,
and 33 percent remained under investigation. Gender-based violence
continued in Ciudad Juarez, but at lower levels. There were at least 30
killings of women during the year; 14 of the cases remained under
investigation, four suspects were awaiting trial, and four additional
suspects were in prison awaiting indictments at year's end.
The law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal abuse, and
stipulates fines equal to 30 to 180 days' pay and detention for up to
36 hours; however, actual sentences were normally lenient. A law (known
as the General Law on Women's Access for Life Free of Violence) enacted
in 2007 that obligates federal and local authorities to prevent,
punish, and eradicate violence against women has been implemented in 23
of the country's 31 states.
During the year the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Violence
Against Women broadened its mandate to include cases related to
trafficking in persons, changing the name of the institution to the
Office of the Special Prosecutor for Violence Against Women and
Trafficking in Persons (FEVIMTRA). FEVIMTRA was staffed by 19 legal,
administrative, and technical support professionals. No information was
available regarding the number of domestic violence cases prosecuted
during the year.
On the state level, laws sanctioning domestic violence, if in
existence, are weak. Seven states do not criminalize domestic violence,
and 15 states punish family violence only when it is a repeated
offense. Victims generally did not report abuses for a variety of
reasons, including fear of reprisal by their spouses, fear of becoming
economically destitute if their spouses are imprisoned, and the general
disinterest of authorities in prosecuting such offenses.
The Government's cabinet-level National Institute of Women
(INMUJERES) reported that its national hot line established under the
National Plan for a Life without Violence received more than 22,000
calls during the year. Although there were some government-funded
shelters, civil society organizations and women rights groups
maintained the vast majority of available shelters.
Prostitution is legal for adults and continued to be practiced
widely. While pimping and prostitution of minors under age 18 are
illegal, these offenses also were practiced widely, often with the
collaboration or knowledge of police. The country was a destination for
sex tourists and pedophiles, particularly from the United States. There
are no specific laws against sex tourism, although federal law
criminalizes corruption of minors, which is punishable by five to 10
years' imprisonment. Trafficking in women and minors for prostitution
remained a problem.
Federal law prohibits sexual harassment and provides for fines of
up to 40 days' minimum salary, but victims must press charges. Sexual
harassment is criminalized in 26 of the country's 31 states and the
Federal District, but in only 22 of these is a punishment contemplated
when the perpetrator has a position of power. Reports of sexual
harassment in the workplace were widespread, but victims were reluctant
to come forward, and cases were difficult to prove.
The law provides that women shall have the same rights and
obligations as men and that ``equal pay shall be given for equal work
performed in equal jobs, hours of work, and conditions of efficiency.''
According to INMUJERES, women earned 8.8 percent less than men,
compared with 12.6 percent less in 2004; however, in some occupations
the disparity reached 30 percent.
The law provides labor protection for pregnant women, which some
employers reportedly sought to avoid by requiring pregnancy tests in
preemployment physicals and by continuing to make inquiries into a
woman's reproductive status.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
maintained programs to support maternal and infant health, provide
stipends for educating poor children, subsidize food, and provide
social workers. Nevertheless, problems in children's health and
education remained pervasive.
Child marriage remained a problem. Although there were no precise
statistics, 12 percent of men and 27 percent of women married between
the ages of 15 and 19, according to a 2003 report of the National
Institute of Statistics and Geography.
The Government estimated that more than 22,000 children were
sexually exploited each year. Sex tourism and sexual exploitation of
minors were significant problems in the northern border area and in
resort areas. While a 2007 criminal code amendment increases the
penalty for commercial sexual exploitation of children, the UN Special
Rapporteur on the Sale of Children and Young People indicated that the
country did not have an effective system to protect and provide
assistance to children and young people who were victims of sexual
exploitation or any form of trafficking.
Trafficking in Persons.--While the law prohibits aspects of
trafficking in persons, the country was a point of origin, transit, and
destination for persons trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor.
The vast majority of non-Mexican trafficking victims came from
Central America; lesser numbers came from Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, China,
Taiwan, South Korea, India, Argentina, and Eastern European countries.
Victims were trafficked to the United States as well as to various
destinations in the country. Women and children (both boys and girls),
undocumented migrants from Central America, the poor, and indigenous
groups were most at risk for trafficking.
Often poor and uneducated, trafficking victims were promised
employment, but once isolated from family and home, they were forced
into prostitution or to work in a factory or the agriculture sector.
Other young female migrants recounted being robbed, beaten, and raped
by members of criminal gangs and then forced to work in table dance
bars or as prostitutes under threat of further harm to them or their
families. Many illegal immigrants became victims of traffickers along
the Guatemalan border, where the growing presence of gangs such as Mara
Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 made the area especially dangerous for
undocumented and unaccompanied women and children migrating north.
A 2007 law makes trafficking in persons a federal crime punishable
by up to 12 years' imprisonment; the executive branch and Congress
continued to discuss implementation procedures for the law.
There is no law related to interstate crimes of trafficking in
persons, and the Federal Government does not automatically assume
jurisdiction in cases of interstate trafficking. Twenty-one of 31
states criminalize certain aspects of trafficking. In addition to the
provisions in the new federal antitrafficking legislation, the law
criminalizes corruption of minors, exploitation of children for
commercial sex, and child pornography; anyone convicted of a crime
related to a minor under the age of 18 can be sentenced to five to 10
years' imprisonment. If the illicit activity involves a minor under age
16, the sentence is increased by one-third; if it involves a minor
under 12 years of age, the sentence is increased by half. Persons who
direct or facilitate such illicit activity for purposes of financial
gain may be imprisoned for six to 10 years. When physical or
psychological violence is used for sexual abuse or to profit from
exploitation of a minor, the penalties are increased by up to one-half.
The law also forbids forced or compulsory labor.
Securing convictions remained a challenge for the Government.
During the year the Government pursued 14 trafficking cases, which
involved a total of six minors. Although the Jalisco state attorney
general dropped charges against Thomas White related to corruption of
minors, he remained in state custody at year's end pending Mexican
federal charges and a U.S. extradition request.
FEVIMTRA and the PFP are the lead operational and coordinating
agencies for antitrafficking efforts. The INM, the PGR, the Center for
Research on National Security, the CNDH, the Foreign Ministry, and the
Integral Development of the Family (DIF) also played key roles in
combating trafficking, protecting victims, and prosecuting traffickers.
There were credible reports that individual local, state, and
federal police, immigration, and customs officials were involved in
facilitating trafficking. There were no developments in the 2007 case
of two INM officials who were arrested and accused by the PGR of
leading an organized criminal group that trafficked persons, including
undocumented workers.
While a partial framework existed to protect and provide social
services to the victims of trafficking, undocumented migrants usually
were deported before they could be identified and removed from the
detention system. The Government increased cooperation with NGOs and
international organizations, such as the International Organization for
Migration, to build a network of trafficking victims' services and to
identify potential trafficking victims. Although not specifically
related to trafficking in persons, the SSP permitted trafficking
victims to make anonymous reports through two newly created hot lines.
Victims could also make anonymous reports through an SSP-sponsored e-
mail address. The Government supported general trafficking prevention
campaigns for children and women and administered special assistance
programs for children repatriated to the country. The CNDH initiated an
antitrafficking campaign through print media and radio.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law prohibits
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of
other services, the Government did not effectively enforce all these
stipulations. Most public buildings and facilities in Mexico City did
not comply with the law requiring access for persons with disabilities.
The Federal Government stated that entrances, exits, and hallways in
all of its offices had been made accessible to persons with
disabilities. The education system fell short of providing special
education for children with disabilities, serving approximately 400,000
students of an estimated two million with disabilities in 2004; only 42
percent of municipalities in the country provided special education.
Although the Government made progress in treating persons with mental
health illnesses, government resources devoted to the problem remained
inadequate.
The secretary of health collaborated with the secretaries of social
development, labor, and public education, as well as with DIF and the
Office for the Promotion and Social Integration of the Disabled, to
protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The Government
established offices and programs for the social integration of persons
with disabilities, including a program to enhance job opportunities and
launch an online portal to disseminate information and assistance.
Indigenous People.--The indigenous population has long been
marginalized and subject to discrimination, particularly in the central
and southern regions where indigenous people sometimes represent more
than one-third of the total state populations. Indigenous communities
remained largely outside the political and economic mainstream, due to
longstanding patterns of social and economic marginalization. In many
cases their ability to participate in decisions affecting their lands,
cultural traditions, and allocation of natural resources was
negligible. More than 130 NGOs were dedicated to the promotion and
protection of indigenous rights.
Indigenous people did not live on autonomous reservations, although
some indigenous communities exercised considerable local control over
economic, political, and social matters. In the state of Oaxaca, for
example, 70 percent of the 570 municipalities were governed according
to the indigenous regime of ``usages and customs'' law, which did not
follow democratic norms such as the secret ballot, universal suffrage,
and political affiliation. These communities applied traditional
practices to resolve disputes and choose local officials. While such
practices allowed communities to elect officials according to their
traditions, ``usages and customs'' laws tended to exclude women from
the political process and often infringed on other rights of women.
The Government generally showed respect for the desire of
indigenous people to retain elements of their traditional culture. The
law provides protections for indigenous people, and the Government
provided support for indigenous communities through social and economic
assistance programs, legal provisions, and social welfare programs.
Budget constraints, however, prevented these measures from meeting the
needs of most indigenous communities, as severe shortages in basic
infrastructure as well as health and education services persisted.
The law provides that educational instruction shall be conducted in
the national language, Spanish, without prejudice to the protection and
promotion of indigenous languages. However, many indigenous children
spoke only their native languages, and the Government did not provide a
sufficient number of native language or bilingual teachers.
Some groups claimed that the security forces used the war on drugs
as a pretext to occasionally harass indigenous groups. During the year
the CNDH received 161 complaints about human rights violations of the
indigenous population. By year's end it had concluded an investigation
into 119 of these complaints; 42 remained under investigation.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law prohibits
several types of discrimination, including bias based on sexuality, and
requires federal agencies to promote tolerance.
While homosexuals experienced a growing social acceptance, the
National Center to Prevent and Control HIV/AIDS stated that
discrimination persisted. Homophobic beliefs and practices were common,
reflected principally in entertainment media programs and everyday
attitudes. Reports of attacks against homosexuals and transsexuals were
frequent.
On September 11 and September 23, the CNDH issued recommendations
against the navy, the Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR), and SEDENA for
discrimination against military members with HIV; SEMAR and SEDENA
accepted the recommendations.
There were credible reports that police, immigration, and customs
officials frequently violated the rights of undocumented migrants,
including committing rape. Undocumented migrants rarely filed charges
in such cases because the authorities generally deported such persons
who came to their attention. The INM has 48 detention centers with a
total capacity of 3,958 specifically for undocumented migrants. The
CNDH has an office in each of these facilities to ensure that human
rights abuses are not committed against detainees. The CNDH received
227 complaints of violations of rights of migrants. Following his visit
during the year, the Special Rapporteur on Migrants noted reports of
corruption, violence against women, and trafficking in children.
There were no updates available in the January 2007 case of Jose
Alejandro Solalinde, a priest, and 18 Central American migrants who
were beaten and detained for seven hours by eight police officers in
Ixtepec, Oaxaca.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Federal law provides workers the
right to form and join trade unions of their choice, and workers
exercised this right in practice. According to National Census
Institute, during the year there were 43.9 million workers in the
workforce, with 15.7 million in the formal sector-those paying taxes to
the Mexican Institute for Social Security (IMSS).
Approximately 25 percent of the formal sector was unionized. By law
20 workers can form an independent union with a formal registration.
However, administrative procedures for registration are complex and
burdensome, and government labor boards frequently rejected independent
unions' registration applications on technicalities. A new union also
must challenge the government-sanctioned union, if one exists, for
control of the collective bargaining contract. Credible reports
continued to note the use of officially sanctioned protection
contracts, which consist of an informal agreement whereby the company
pays a monthly sum to the union-which often exists only on paper-in
exchange for industrial peace. Workers never democratically chose such
unions, and exclusion clauses in these protection contracts gave
promanagement unions the right to demand the dismissal of a worker
expelled from the union.
Representation elections are traditionally open; management and
officials from the existing union are present with the presiding labor
board official when workers openly and individually declare their
votes. However, on September 10, SCJN ruled that secret ballots are
required when two or more unions compete for recognition as the legal
bargaining representative.
The law provides for the right to strike in both the public and
private sector, and workers exercised this right. However, only
officially recognized unions can call for a strike; before a strike can
be considered legal, a union must receive approval of a strike notice
from the appropriate labor authorities. These lengthy procedural
requirements resulted in a large backlog of strike notice requests at
the state level. Although few formal strikes actually occurred,
informal stoppages of work by both union and nonunionized groups were
fairly common.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the
Government protected this right in practice. Collective bargaining
contracts covered approximately 7 percent of workers. There are no
special laws or exemptions from labor laws in export processing zones.
Management in the maquila (in bond export) sector and elsewhere
sometimes used protection contracts to discourage workers from forming
authentic unions at a company, in contravention of freedom of
association principles. Such contracts were collective bargaining
agreements negotiated by management and a representative of a so-called
labor organization without the knowledge of the workforce, sometimes
even prior to hiring a single worker in a new factory. Human Rights
Watch attributed the problem to the lack of legally recognized
independent unions that could negotiate strong and fair collective
bargaining agreements.
One of the two remaining suspects at large in the April 2007
killing of migrant farm worker organizer Rafael Santiago Cruz of the
Labor Organizing Committee office in Nuevo Leon was detained briefly by
Mexican authorities in May after attempting to enter the United States
but was later released.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, such
practices commonly persisted in both the rural and industrial sectors.
Migrants and children were the most vulnerable. There were numerous
anecdotal reports of mistreatment and exploitation of Guatemalan and
other migrant workers.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, including a
prohibition of forced or compulsory labor; however, the Government did
not effectively enforce such prohibitions. The law prohibits children
under the age of 14 from working, and those between the ages of 14 and
16 may work only limited hours with parental permission, with no night
or hazardous work. According to the UN Children's Fund's most recent
statistics, 16 percent of children between the ages of five and 14 were
involved in child labor activities. Child labor was most prominent in
the areas of sexual exploitation and agriculture.
The Secretariat of Labor (STPS), which is charged with protecting
worker rights, stated that its mandate does not extend to the area of
child labor. The Secretariat for Social Development, the Attorney
General's Office, and the Family Development Institute each have
responsibility for enforcement of child labor laws or intervening in
cases where such laws are violated. Government enforcement was
reasonably effective at large and medium-sized companies, especially in
the maquila sector and other industries under federal jurisdiction.
Enforcement was inadequate at many small companies and in the
agriculture and construction sectors, and it was nearly absent in the
informal sector in which most children worked.
During the year the Secretariat for Social Development and DIF
carried out programs to prevent child labor abuses and promote child
labor rights, including specific efforts to combat the commercial
sexual exploitation of children. Nevertheless, it was not uncommon to
find girls under the age of 15 working in prostitution. Trafficking in
children for sexual exploitation was also a problem.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law provides for a daily
minimum wage, which is set each December for the coming year. For the
year the minimum daily wages, determined by zone, were: 52.3 pesos
(approximately $5.15) in Zone A (Baja California, Federal District,
State of Mexico, and large cities); 50.96 pesos (approximately $5) in
Zone B (Sonora, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Jalisco); and
49.50 pesos (approximately $4.80) in Zone C (all other states). The
minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker
and family, and only a small fraction of the workers in the formal
workforce received the minimum wage. The STPS is charged with
protecting worker rights, including minimum wage provisions in the law.
The law sets six eight-hour days and 48 hours per week as the legal
workweek. Any work over eight hours in a day is considered overtime,
for which a worker receives double the hourly wage. After accumulating
nine hours of overtime, a worker earns triple the hourly wage, and the
law prohibits compulsory overtime. However, there were labor rights
disputes filed with labor boards and international labor organizations
during the year with complaints that workers did not receive overtime
pay they were owed.
The law requires employers to observe occupational safety and
health regulations, issued jointly by the STPS and the IMSS. Legally
mandated joint management and labor committees set standards and were
responsible for overseeing workplace standards in plants and offices.
Individual employees or unions may complain directly to inspectors or
safety and health officials. Workers may remove themselves from
hazardous situations without jeopardizing their employment. Plaintiffs
may bring complaints before the federal labor board at no cost to
themselves.
While STPS and IMSS officials reported that compliance was
reasonably good at most large companies, there were not enough federal
inspectors to enforce health and safety standards at smaller firms.
__________
NICARAGUA
Nicaragua is a constitutional democracy with a population of
approximately 5.7 million. In January 2007 Daniel Ortega of the
Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was sworn in as president,
following the 2006 elections that international observers characterized
as generally free and fair. While civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces, there were
instances in which elements of these forces acted independently.
The most significant human rights abuses during the year included:
unlawful killings by security forces; harsh and overcrowded prison
conditions; police abuse; lengthy pretrial detention; lack of respect
for the rule of law and widespread corruption and politicization of the
judiciary, the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), and other government
organs; erosion of freedom of speech and press, including government
intimidation and harassment of journalists; widespread irregularities,
fraud and abuses during the November municipal elections and
substantial government interference with the operation of political
parties; substantial government harassment and intimidation of
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); violence against women;
discrimination against ethnic minorities and indigenous communities;
and violation of trade union rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings. However,
there were reports that members of the security forces committed
unlawful killings. In two of these cases, the courts found officers
guilty. The Office of the Inspector General, which makes determinations
independently of court rulings, conducted parallel investigations and
administered punishments, including demotion and dismissal of officers.
On January 11, security forces from the Nicaragua National Police
(NNP) in Managua shot and killed Moises Elias Castillo, a soldier on
home leave. On September 19, a court sentenced officer Marvin Jose
Morales to 14 years' imprisonment for the unlawful death of Castillo.
On May 21, an armed altercation between police and army forces and
civilians at El Encanto ranch in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region
(RAAS) resulted in the death of three workers and injuries to a
soldier. On July 3, authorities charged two police officers, Jose
Romero and Feliciano Rodriquez; volunteer police officer Jose Martinez;
and soldier Wilfredo Reyes for the unlawful killings of Wilfredo
Salazar, Santos Reyes, and Marvin Leiva Reyes. On November 5, a
Bluefields court declared the three suspects not guilty. Human rights
organizations complained that the court decision did not accord with
due process.
On September 14, three police officers in La Paz Centro shot and
killed Luis Angel Vargas Salgado after he reportedly knocked over a
police security cone with his bicycle and fled the scene. On September
15, community members rioted and burned down the La Paz Centro police
station to protest the alleged failure of authorities to take action
against the officers who reportedly committed the killing. On September
16, NNP Commissioner Aminta Granera visited La Paz Centro, apologized
publicly to the victim's family, and announced that she would prosecute
the officers involved. Following Granera's visit, police and community
members cooperated in rebuilding the police station. By the end of
December, six NNP officers awaited trial for their reported involvement
in the killing.
On January 30, a jury declared two persons innocent and ordered
them freed and found, Casimiro Candry guilty in the March 2007 killings
of Villanueva Delgadillo and her husband Gilberto Artola Delgadillo.
The judge sentenced Candray to 30 years in prison. At year's end there
was no information available regarding the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights' August 2007 granting of precautionary measures in favor
of the Delgadillo-Artola family in relation to the killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances.
c. Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
Although the law prohibits such practices, human rights and other
NGOs received complaints that police used excessive force or engaged in
degrading treatment that caused injuries to criminal suspects during
arrests.
The government-sponsored Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman
(PDDH) reported that on March 8, police used cruel and degrading
treatment against 13 youths after unknown assailants in the youths'
neighborhood attacked presidential bodyguard Daniel Mendoza. The 13
youths reported to the PDDH that police punched some of them in the
stomach and threatened them with guns to force them to admit guilt
regarding the attack on Mendoza. By year's end there was no information
available regarding any investigation or charges against the officers
involved.
The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) reported that on
May 5, after responding to a family quarrel complaint, police in
Managua kicked, beat, punched, and threw onto the floor a suspect
wearing only underwear during transport to the police station. A police
officer reportedly warned the suspect not to discuss the maltreatment
when police took the suspect to the hospital for treatment of his
wounds. At year's end there was no information regarding any
investigation of the incident.
The NGO Center for the Prevention of Violence (CEPREV) reported
that police used excessive force in the arrest of adolescent boys
suspected of criminal activity, including gang violence and drug
trafficking. The Nicaraguan Permanent Commission on Human Rights (CPDH)
reported that on July 31, approximately 20 Managua police officers
forcibly entered a house, beat, and detained a person they believed was
a gang member; the victim also suffered burns to his right forearm. At
year's end there was no information regarding any investigation of the
incident.
Between July and December, there were several instances of alleged
government-orchestrated mob violence or vigilante justice, including
violent attacks against members of opposition political parties and
civil society. Human rights groups reported that government authorities
ordered the NNP not to interfere with vigilante acts, with the result
that police failed to provide adequate protection to demonstrators and
did not arrest or detain persons who engaged in progovernment mob
violence.
On July 30, a progovernment mob attacked a van driven by Alberto
Boschi, a Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) mayoral candidate, who
was driving a group of MRS youth to an antigovernment protest.
Authorities later arrested and tried Boschi for inciting a riot and
injuring a journalist. Civil society groups alleged that Boschi's
arrest and trial were politically motivated. While his case was on
appeal, reports indicated that Boschi went into hiding. His whereabouts
were unknown at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
continued to deteriorate due to an antiquated infrastructure and
increasing inmate population. The Ministry of Government reported that
during the year, the country's eight prisons, which were designed for
fewer than 5,000 inmates, held approximately 6,500 prisoners. Prisoners
suffered from overcrowding, parasites, and inadequate medical
attention. Inmates complained about frequent food shortages,
contaminated water, and inadequate sanitation in their cells. Family
members, churches, and charitable organizations provided some prisoners
with food and medical attention to mitigate harsh prison conditions.
Conditions in jails were also harsh. Most jails and police holding
cell facilities were old, infested with vermin, physically
deteriorating, lacked potable water and had inadequate ventilation,
electric, and sewage systems. The Government constructed 24 new holding
cells throughout the prison system; however, conditions overall
remained poor. Some detainees died due to dangerous holding cell
conditions, including mistreatment from other prisoners and police
officials. On September 29, Abel Antonio Ramirez Castellon died while
in police custody in Sebaco, following his September 27 arrest. Police
alleged that Ramirez Castello died from asphyxiation when he tried to
squeeze his body between the iron bars of his cell. An investigation by
the Office of the Inspector General was pending at year's end.
Between May and June, the UN Development Program (UNDP) conducted a
study of the penitentiary system of the North Atlantic Autonomous
Region (RAAN) and the RAAS. The study concluded that overcrowded living
conditions, lack of medical attention, and the Government's prolonged
delays in processing cases violated prisoners' human rights.
Pretrial detainees often shared cells with convicted prisoners.
Juvenile prisoners also shared cells with adults. Suspects were
regularly left in police holding cells during their trials because the
Government did not allocate funds to transport them to the courtroom.
Although conditions for female inmates were generally better than those
for males, prisons for women were overcrowded, unhygienic, and lacked
sufficient beds. Managua's La Esperanza women's prison held more than
200 inmates, nearly twice its designed capacity, with some prisoners
forced to sleep in bathrooms. Between May and June, prison authorities
evacuated La Esperanza after a health official determined that the
facility's water supply was contaminated. During the evacuation prison
authorities held female inmates temporarily at the Tipitapa men's
prison.
Although the Government generally permitted prison visits by local
and international human rights observers, in certain instances it
restricted prisoners' access to visitors, attorneys, physicians, and
human rights officials. Civil society groups and members of opposition
political parties stated that authorities denied them access to
prisons, prevented them from interviewing detainees, and were
unresponsive to their requests for information regarding prisoners and
access to prisons. At times government officials did not grant access
to foreign government representatives to meet with their imprisoned
nationals and did not grant attorneys access to imprisoned clients.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government observed these prohibitions,
with some exceptions discussed below.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The president is the
commander in chief of the NNP, which is administered by the Ministry of
Government. The NNP forms a single, unified force responsible for
enforcing the law throughout the country. The NNP maintain internal
security. The army is responsible for external security but also has
some domestic security responsibilities, including combating drug
trafficking. There were approximately 10,022 NNP employees, of whom
9,132 were police officers, 890 civilian personnel, and roughly 1,500
voluntary police who filled staffing gaps. Authorities estimated that
police provided consistent protection to only 75 percent of the
country. In some areas lacking adequate police protection, citizens
engaged in vigilante justice.
The Government's failure to allocate adequate funding hampered NNP
efforts to improve police performance and resulted in a continuing
shortage of officers. Low salaries created conditions where police
officers were susceptible to bribes, corruption, and drug trafficking.
Many volunteer police officers lacked training and professionalism to
enforce the law effectively. The Office of the Inspector General
investigated and remanded corruption cases of lower-level officers to
the court system and punished some officers through internal
administrative measures. The slow pace of the justice system fostered a
public perception of impunity within the police force.
The NNP Office of Internal Affairs is responsible for investigating
security force abuses. During the year, the NNP Office of Internal
Affairs investigated 2,027 cases of alleged police misconduct,
including 1,384 complaints of excessive force, searches without
warrants, and unlawful use of firearms. Of these cases, 565 officers
were punished, including 40 dishonorable discharges. The NNP Office of
Internal Affairs determined that of 2,027 complaints filed against
police, 67 percent pertained to human rights violations, 17 percent to
acts of corruption, and the remaining 16 percent to common offenses or
minor infractions.
NNP regulations require that to graduate from the police academy
and become officers, police trainees receive human rights instruction
and that police officers receive annual recertification in human rights
awareness. The NNP reported that during the year, the police academy
trained 1,383 officers and trainees in human rights principles.
Authorities also taught specialized human rights courses to 547 other
officers. Additionally, more than 400 police officers attended two-day
violence prevention workshops sponsored by CEPREV. The army included
human rights training in its curriculum.
Human rights groups complained that President Ortega used his
position as commander-in-chief to politicize NNP affairs. These groups
alleged that President Ortega ordered police to use excessive force,
including firing rubber bullets and tear gas, against protesters who
were not threatening the police, and in other situations ordered police
not to interfere with progovernment mob intimidation of peaceful
protests. During a September 20 march in Leon, the president ordered
police not to stop progovernment vigilantes from using machetes, clubs,
and mortars to intimidate democratic opposition demonstrators.
Afterwards, President Ortega publicly reprimanded riot police who used
tear gas to protect the demonstrators from the vigilantes. The
president subsequently fired nine key senior police officials and
replaced them with FSLN loyalists.
Arrest and Detention.--Persons are apprehended openly. The law
requires police to obtain a warrant from a judicial authority prior to
detaining a suspect and to notify family members of the detainee's
whereabouts within 24 hours. The law mandates that a prosecutor
accompany police making an arrest. Detainees have the right to an
attorney immediately following their arrest. Police may hold a suspect
legally for 48 hours before arraignment, when they must bring the
person before a judge to decide if charges should be brought. The judge
then must order the suspect released or transferred to jail for
pretrial detention. In practice, few prisoners were held beyond the 48-
hour deadline. After the initial 48 hours, the suspect has access to
bail, visits from family members, and legal representation.
On July 8, police arrested and detained CPDH Director Marcos
Carmona without presenting an arrest warrant or explaining the charges
against him. That same day, authorities released Carmona and on August
18, dismissed the charges against him (See Section 4).
CENIDH reported that on September 27, police forcibly entered
without a warrant the home of a Managua resident, beat the victim on
the head, and slammed his body against a patrol car. The police
officers involved in the incident allegedly blamed the victim's son for
stealing one of their cell phones. At year's end there was no
information about any investigation by authorities regarding the case.
Arbitrary lengthy pretrial detention after arraignment was a
problem. The UNDP reported that detainees in the RAAN and RAAS waited
an average of seven months for their cases to be presented formally
before a judge.
Amnesty.--During the year the National Assembly granted amnesty to
135 citizens.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an
independent judiciary, the judicial system remained susceptible to
corruption and politicization, and did not function independently. The
Judicial Career Law requires that new judicial appointments be vetted
by the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ); however, judicial appointments
were often based on nepotism, influence, or political affiliation. Once
appointed, many judges were subject to political and economic pressures
that affected their judicial independence.
The judicial system contains both civil and military courts. The
16-member CSJ is the system's highest court, administers the judicial
system, and nominates all appellate and lower court judges. The CSJ is
divided into specialized chambers for administrative, criminal,
constitutional, and civil matters. The law requires that the Office of
the Attorney General investigate crimes committed by and against
juveniles. The Office of the Prosecutor under the Public Ministry has
authority to investigate criminal and civil matters.
The law does not permit military tribunals to try civilians and the
military code requires that the civilian court system try members of
the military charged with common crimes. Human rights and lawyers'
groups complained about the delay of justice caused by judicial
inaction and impunity, especially regarding family violence and sexual
abuse.
On August 22, a court reopened a 2005 case and convicted former
minister of culture Father Ernesto Cardenal of slander against Immanuel
Zergen, a German citizen living in the country. The court rendered the
conviction after Father Cardenal publicly criticized the Ortega
government on August 15, during the inauguration of the new Paraguayan
president. Although the court exempted the 83-year-old Catholic priest
from a jail sentence, it froze his bank accounts to pay a fine
established by the verdict.
Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and the law provides that
defendants can choose whether to have a jury trial. Defendants have the
right to legal counsel and are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The law provides public defenders to represent indigent defendants.
Defendants can confront and question witnesses who testify against them
and also have the right to appeal a conviction. The law extends these
rights to all citizens regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, or
other status. The courts continued to use the Napoleonic legal process
for some old cases.
The country continued to lack an effective civil law system, with
the result that private litigants often filed their cases as criminal
complaints to force one party to concede rather than face the prospect
of detention in jail. This civil-based criminal caseload continued to
divert resources from the overburdened Office of the Prosecutor.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides that
persons can file lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations
before civil courts and also provides for litigants to use mediation to
resolve civil claims. In practice many members of the judiciary did not
render impartial judgments in civil matters and were not independent of
political or other influence. Due to bureaucratic inefficiencies,
litigants unable to resolve claims through mediation often had to wait
months or years for the courts to process their claims, including the
enforcement of domestic court orders.
Property Restitution.--Community leaders in the RAAN and RAAS
asserted that President Ortega ordered chiefs of police in these
regions to ignore court orders to evict migrants from the Pacific coast
who illegally invaded and occupied indigenous lands.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions. Independent media,
human rights groups, and opposition political parties alleged, however,
that the Ortega administration sought to blur distinctions between
party and government through the use of FSLN-directed Citizen Power
Councils (CPCs). The Government administered subsidized food and other
government benefits through CPCs. By giving CPCs this function, the
Government reportedly coerced citizens into FSLN membership. Persons
seeking to obtain or retain employment in the public sector were
required to obtain a letter of recommendation from CPC block captains.
There were reports that government agencies mandated that persons
seeking to obtain voter registration and national identity documents
needed a letter of recommendation from the CPCs.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press. However, the Government used
administrative, judicial, and financial means to limit the exercise of
these rights. Although the law provides that the right to information
cannot be subject to censorship, it also establishes retroactive
liability, implying the potential for penalties for libel and slander
against individuals and the press. Individuals could not always
criticize the Government freely without reprisal, and at times the
Government attempted to impede criticism.
On August 27, the CSE brought charges against a foreign NGO and
several local civil society groups, alleging that these organizations
improperly sought to influence municipal elections by hosting former
president of Mexico Vicente Fox. The Government interpreted Fox's
August 12 speech in Managua about democracy in Latin America as
criticizing the Ortega administration. The prosecutor subpoenaed and
seized financial documents of the foreign NGO. The prosecutor also
subpoenaed local cosponsors of the Fox visit. At the end of the year
the case remained before the Supreme Court.
The independent media were active and expressed a variety of views.
The Government, however, sought to restrict media freedom through
harassment, censorship, arbitrary application of libel laws, and use of
national security justifications to suppress reporting.
Throughout the year President Ortega criticized independent media
outlets, including referring to them as ``traitors'' and ``murderers.''
Government and private actors harassed media outlets for reporting
critical of the Government. The Government continued to give
preferential treatment to media organizations loyal to the FSLN party,
intimidate independent media outlets and journalists into self-
censorship, and otherwise hamper the activities of the independent
media. El Nuevo Diario reported that during the year, the Government
spent approximately 40 million cordobas ($10 million) on publicity in
various media, 80 percent of which went to government-friendly
operators.
On April 9 and 29, the Ministry of Health prohibited an El Nuevo
Diario reporter from entering ministry facilities, allegedly because of
his unfavorable reporting about the Government.
On April 17, a court ruled in favor of five CPC members and found
the president and editor in chief of La Prensa guilty of libel for
publishing a December 2007 article criticizing CPC violence, but which
did not publish the name of any CPC members. El Nuevo Diario and media
organizations asserted that the court's decision was political and
against freedom of expression. The court fined the editor in chief
18,000 cordobas (approximately $900) and the president 9,000 cordobas
(approximately $450). At year's end the case was on appeal.
In July President Ortega asked the attorney general to explore the
possibility of treason charges against La Prensa for publishing
articles regarding the Government's hosting members of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) terrorist organization
during a July 19 FSLN anniversary celebration. On July 29 the attorney
general responded that the media should act responsibly but did not
file charges against La Prensa.
On April 4, television Channel 10 cancelled the popular talk show
of political commentator Jaime Arellano. Media analysts alleged that
the Channel 10 decision was based on a quid pro quo for the Government
to issue the television station a radio license. On April 7, Arellano
moved his talk show to Channel 2. On August 25, that station cancelled
the program, reportedly after the Government threatened not to renew
its broadcast license. The cancellation of the show followed days of
CPC-member public protests against Arellano. Throughout the year CPCs
also protested in front of the facilities of other media organization
that criticized the Government.
Progovernment and other radio stations reported incidents of
vandalism and sabotage, including thefts of copper wiring and damage to
transmission equipment. On April 6 and June 5, unknown actors damaged
the facilities of opposition station Radio 15 de Septiembre, rendering
the station unable to transmit for several days.
Harassment and intimidation of the media increased substantially
following the November municipal elections and the resulting civil
unrest. Beginning on November 12, Radio 15 de Septiembre and
independent station Radio Corporacion were unable to transmit for three
weeks. The managers of the stations asserted that the Government jammed
their signals.
On November 16, FSLN mobs blocked roads to Leon and prohibited
local and international journalists from covering a scheduled
opposition march.
On November 18, government supporters destroyed the offices and
equipment of the independent station Radio Dario in Leon, reportedly in
retaliation for the political opposition's nonviolent march that same
day. Also on November 18, FSLN mobs burned a Channel 2 news vehicle
that had carried reporters covering the civil unrest in Managua.
At year's end there were no reports of any investigation of the
December 2007 anonymous death threats against political cartoonist
Manuel Guillen.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Internet access was widely available only in urban areas. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2007 there were
only 2.7 users per 100 inhabitants. Frequent power outages and
infrastructure problems hampered citizens' access to Internet and e-
mail services.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on cultural events. However, the Government reportedly
sought to restrict academic freedom by pressuring universities to
cancel events.
On June 26 the Autonomous University of Nicaragua canceled a
planned meeting between two political candidates after students
associated with the FSLN protested the presence of the opposition
candidate at the university.
On October 22, the Central American University (UCA) released the
results of a poll revealing that the central government was falling in
popularity and that the FSLN would lose in several key municipal
elections. That same day First Lady Rosario Murillo called an emergency
press conference to denounce the UCA poll and the faculty. On October
28, FSLN sympathizers attempted to take control of the UCA campus and
threatened to use their influence to cancel the university's 6 percent
national budget entitlement because of the release of the October 22
poll results.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law recognizes the right to public assembly,
demonstration, and mobilization but mandates that demonstrators obtain
permission for a rally or march by registering with the police its
planned size and location. During election campaign periods, the CSE
must authorize political party marches. Prior to and following the
November 9 municipal elections, the Government limited these rights by
restricting public spaces where groups could assemble, countering group
demonstrations, and failing to protect opposition demonstrators.
After civil society prodemocracy marches in June and July, groups
reportedly paid by the CPCs continually occupied without legal
authorization Managua traffic rotundas, in a campaign entitled ``prayer
against hatred-love is stronger than hate.'' These occupations limited
the places for public assembly during the municipal elections campaign
and until the end of the year.
On July 25, a mob of 30 CPC and FSLN party members in Managua, some
wielding machetes, beat and injured city council candidate and Vamos
con Eduardo political movement leader Jaime Chavarria and three members
of his family, as he attempted to verify his eligibility to vote in the
November municipal elections. The police did not protect Chavarria from
the mob, and authorities did not detain or charge anyone in relation to
the attack.
On September 20, progovernment mobs set up unauthorized road blocks
on the main roads from Managua and Chinandega into Leon and stopped a
previously registered civil society democracy march. The mobs, which
included the Leon FSLN mayoral candidate, attacked buses, threatened
democracy marchers and police, injured several marchers with machetes,
broke car windows, and set fire to an opposition leader's vehicle. At
year's end there were no detentions or charges filed against anyone in
relation to the violence.
Progovernment mobs increasingly limited the right to assembly for
several days following the November 9 municipal elections. The mobs,
unrestrained by police, used homemade mortars, machetes, sticks, and
other improvised weapons to intimidate opposition protestors, and
prohibited access to public space by establishing unauthorized road
blocks using buses, trucks, and burning tires. On November 16, the mobs
blocked access to Leon to prevent persons from participating in
opposition marches in that city. On November 17, mobs blocked access to
a Managua church where an opposition leader was holding a press
conference about election abuses. On November 18, government supporters
limited traffic throughout Managua by controlling the city's major
roads.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for this right, including
the right to organize or affiliate with political parties; however, in
March the Government stripped two parties of their legal registration
and in February removed the presidents of two additional parties. The
Government also used administrative and judicial means to harass other
civil society organizations (See Section 4).
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports of societal
abuses. In the days following the November elections, unknown actors
desecrated and vandalized statues of the Virgin Mary that the
Government had installed in public places during its ``prayer against
hatred'' campaign. Civil society groups alleged that these statues were
damaged due to the Catholic Church Episcopal Conference's criticism of
the Government's handling of the elections.
There were no reports of discrimination, including anti-Semitic
acts. The Jewish community had fewer than 50 members.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country and freedom to travel and emigrate, and the
Government generally respected these rights in practice. The Government
cooperated with the Office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
through humanitarian organizations, such as the International
Organization for Migration, in providing protection and assistance to
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile and there were no reports that the
Government used forced exile in practice.
The right of citizens to return to the country is not established
in the constitution, but the Government did not restrict its citizens'
return in practice. There were no reports of political violence against
citizens returning from civil-war-era self-imposed exile.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. On July 9, the Government implemented a new refugee law that
establishes a formal refugee commission and provides the legal basis to
grant refugee status. During the year the Government granted asylum to
Colombian citizens and FARC members Martha Perez, Doris Torrez, and
Nubia Calderon. The Government also granted ``safe haven'' status to
Mexican citizen and FARC member Lucia Morett, who by year's end had
returned to Mexico.
In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The new refugee law establishes provisions
for regularizing the legal status of approximately 6,000 Salvadorans
who had lived in the country since the civil wars of the 1980s. The new
law also waives fines imposed on persons who have been in the country
illegally and offers them a year from July 9, 2008 to regularize their
status.
The Council of Protestant Churches in Nicaragua, UNHCR's
implementing NGO partner in the country, reported that between January
and August, 97 persons, mainly from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia,
formally requested and received refugee status.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the
territory (jus soli) or through a formal naturalization process. The
local civil registries normally register births within 12 months, upon
the presentation of a medical or baptismal certificate; however, many
persons, especially in rural areas, lacked registration or birth
certificates. The NGO Child Rights Information Network estimated that
250,000 children and adolescents lacked legal documentation.
Persons without citizenship documents were unable to obtain a
cedula, the national identity card, and therefore had difficulties
participating in the legal economy, conducting bank transactions, or
voting. Persons who lacked a cedula also were subject to other
restrictions in employment, access to courts, and land ownership. Women
and children lacking citizenship documents were reportedly more
vulnerable to sexual exploitation by traffickers. The Government did
not effectively implement laws and policies to provide persons the
opportunity to obtain nationality documents on a nondiscriminatory
basis. The NGO campaign ``The Right to a Name and Identity'' worked
primarily in the RAAN and RAAS to register birth certificates and
distribute cedulas. The Government did not effectively implement laws
and policies to provide citizens living outside of the country access
to citizenship documents on a nondiscriminatory basis. Media reported
that the Government illegally granted cedulas for political purposes to
persons who were not citizens of the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully; however, the Government restricted the exercise of this
right in practice.
Elections and Political Participation.--Domestic and international
civil society organizations, the Catholic Church, and media reported
widespread fraud, government interference, abuses, and irregularities
including violence, intimidation, premature closing of voting stations,
destruction of ballots, and delayed accreditation of opposition party
poll watchers during the November 9 municipal elections. The Government
also excluded opposition party poll watchers from the tabulation of the
final results. The Government did not permit credible international
observer groups to monitor the elections. International and domestic
organizations requested that the Government address the irregularities,
including through recounting the votes. However, by year's end the
Government had not conducted a recount or otherwise addressed the other
reported irregularities.
There were widespread reports of government manipulation of the
electoral system in the weeks preceding the elections. The manipulation
included favoring FSLN supporters in delivering voter identification
cards and, contrary to election laws, permitting FSLN supporters to
administer the voter identification application process. Electoral
authorities delayed the accreditation of opposition party poll watchers
to prohibit them from monitoring the delivery of electoral material.
Based on its assessment of damage caused by Hurricane Felix in
September 2007, the Government stated that it would not hold November 9
municipal elections in the RAAN. On April 4, the CSE voted to delay
elections until April 2009 in the RAAN municipalities of Puerto
Cabezas, Prinzipolka, and Waspam. After violence related to the
announced postponement erupted in the RAAN on April 4, the National
Assembly voted on June 11, to schedule elections for January 18, 2009,
in the RAAN municipalities of Puerto Cabezas, Prinzipolka, Waspam,
Rosita, Bonanza, Siuna, and Mulukuku.
There continued to be widespread concerns that the two main
political parties, the FSLN and PLC, controlled and manipulated the
political system. Minority political parties could not operate without
restrictions or outside interference. On February 20, the CSE removed
the presidents of the Liberal Nicaraguan Alliance and the Resistance
Party of Nicaragua, on the grounds that the elections of these officers
were based on erroneous decisions by their respective parties'
executive committees.
On June 11, the CSE stripped the Sandinista Renovation Movement
(MRS) and the Conservative Party (PC) of their legal registrations,
barring them from participating in elections for the next four years,
including the November 9 municipal elections. The CSE claimed that the
MRS failed to properly establish, document, and register its party
branches. The CSE argued that the PC failed to register the required
number of candidates for the November municipal elections. On December
21, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights began investigating the
Government's stripping of the legal registrations of the MRS and PC.
There were credible reports that FSLN membership conferred economic
advantages upon individuals and their families, including required
letters of recommendation from CPCs to obtain government employment,
and that government employees were obliged to participate in CPC
activities. Opposition parties also complained that the Government
allowed the FSLN to manipulate the voter identification card
application process, and that the Government intentionally withheld
voter cards from opposition party supporters.
There were 17 women in the 92-seat National Assembly, four women in
the 16-member Supreme Court of Justice, and five women in the 13
cabinet-level posts. Five persons from indigenous and other ethnic
groups in the RAAN and the RAAS were deputies in the National Assembly.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption. However, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials often engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. There was widespread public perception of
corruption in many government institutions, particularly in the
judiciary, the National Assembly, the CSE, the comptroller general, the
human rights ombudsman, and the national prosecutor. On February 7,
authorities closed the 2006 investigation of Human Rights Ombudsman
Omar Cabezas for using government funds for personal benefit but did
not release a public report on the investigation's findings. On October
13, Lino Hernandez, an official in the Office of the Comptroller
General, announced that his office would issue criminal sanctions
against Cabezas. On October 17, Cabezas challenged the comptroller's
decision. At year's end there were no further developments in the case.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws, and the
Office of the Comptroller is responsible for combating government
corruption. However, on September 23, Comptroller General Luis Angel
Montenegro stated that not one official had been punished for
corruption during President Ortega's administration because it was ``a
government without corruption.''
By year's end the Government had not established a coordinating
office for the Access to Public Information Law. Journalists reported
substantial difficulties in obtaining requested information from state
institutions under this law; this included information related to the
November 9 elections.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
operated in the country. Civil society organizations that focused on
humanitarian activities generally operated without government
restriction. However, government officials harassed and intimidated
domestic and international NGOs that criticized the Government, the
CPCs, or the FSLN. During the year the Government continued financial
audits and other investigations of NGOs. Civil society organizations
reported growing government confrontation with NGOs due to their
independence and autonomy from government institutions and governmental
efforts to create adversarial conditions and a ``culture of fear'' to
suppress NGOs critical of the Government.
On September 24, the Ministry of Government began investigating 17
prominent civil society organizations that the Government accused of
laundering money from international donors. As a result of the
investigation, the Government froze assets, performed tax audits, and
disbanded these NGOs during the judicial proceedings against them. The
Government publication El 19 featured stories alleging that these NGOs
tried to subvert the Government. The publication provided the names,
addresses, and phone numbers of the directors of these groups.
Other domestic human rights organizations reported increased
problems when filing petitions with the courts and believed that the
comptroller and tax authorities audited their accounts as a means of
intimidation. Some human rights organizations reported increased
problems in scheduling meetings and obtaining information from the
Government and the ombudsman.
Several women's rights groups and other NGOs reported that
government officials threatened them and sought to discredit and
disband their organizations. On July 8, police without a warrant
arrested Marcos Carmona, the president of CPDH, at his home and
detained him for several hours for his alleged aggression in 2007
against two police officers. Carmona did not see the arrest warrant
until police displayed it during a press conference later that day. On
August 6, authorities tried Carmona but cleared him of all charges on
August 18. Media reported Carmona's arrest and trial as part of the
Government's intimidation campaign against civil society and opposition
groups.
On September 27, CENIDH director Vilma Nunez reported to the press
that on September 26 alleged Ortega sympathizers vandalized her Leon
home and sent death threats. Throughout the year CPDH and CENIDH
employees and their families reported anonymous death threats,
including text messages accusing them of being CIA agents. Both
organizations reported that government media outlets Channel 4, Radio
Ya, and the newspaper El 19 conducted a smear campaign against them.
NGOs complained that the Government continued to sideline civil
society organizations not affiliated with the FSLN from participating
in government social programs, such as Zero Hunger and Zero Usury.
On September 17, Sofia Montenegro, president of the Women's
Autonomous Movement (MAM), reported that unknown actors made verbal
death threats against her and sent her text messages with her photo
containing the caption ``agent of the CIA.'' On September 20, while she
was attending a peace demonstration in Leon that Ortega supporters
violently disrupted, unknown actors threatened Montenegro's life in
full view of police officers, who did not offer her assistance. At
year's end there was no information available regarding any
investigation of the threats against Montenegro.
The Public Ministry continued its November 2007 investigation
against nine prominent women's rights advocates who provided social and
legal services to sexual abuse victims. NGOs complained that the
ministry launched the investigation to intimidate defenders of women's
rights and members of the MRS.
The Government generally cooperated with international
organizations and permitted visits by the UN Development Program and
other UN representatives.
Human rights NGOs and former ombudsman officials asserted that the
ombudsman was politicized, influenced by partisan interests, and lacked
independence to comply with its mandate. On September 23, Human Rights
Ombudsman Omar Cabezas publicly called Human Rights Watch Director Jose
Vivanco a criminal and a fascist due to Vivanco's critical reporting on
Venezuela. By year's end the PDDH had not issued its annual report to
the National Assembly, but made recommendations regarding persons with
disabilities and prison conditions. There was minimal government
response to the PDDH's recommendations.
The National Assembly operated a human rights committee that
focused primarily on amnesties and pardons. Civil society viewed the
committee as controlled by partisan forces and not credible.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
disability, language, or social status. In practice the Government
often did not enforce these legal protections, and aggrieved persons
filed few discrimination suits or formal complaints. There were reports
of societal abuses and discrimination against persons of Afro-Caribbean
descent, indigenous communities, homosexuals, and persons with HIV/
AIDS.
Women.--The law criminalizes all forms of rape, regardless of the
relationship between the victim and the accused, and the Government
generally enforced the law. Women may apply the law against their
spouses. However, many women were reluctant to report abuse or file
charges due to the social stigma attached to rape, fear of retribution,
and loss of economic security. Through December the NNP Women's Police
Commissariats reported 3,482 cases of sexual crimes, including 1,289
cases of rape, 47 cases of aggravated rape, 92 cases of attempted rape,
and 704 cases of statutory rape. There were no reliable statistics
available regarding the number of rape prosecutions or convictions.
Women's rights NGOs reported that at least 12 sexual assault
perpetrators were absolved of all charges, even though the prosecutor's
office presented ample evidence and witnesses of their crimes.
On September 26, the Office of the Attorney General released a
letter from Zoilamerica Narvaez, in which Narvaez announced that out of
concern for the welfare of her family and the use of her case for
political purposes during the elections, she had withdrawn her 2003
petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that alleged
her stepfather, President Daniel Ortega, had raped her in the 1980s.
The law criminalizes domestic violence and provides up to six
years' imprisonment for those found guilty. The law also provides for
the issuance of restraining orders to protect women who fear for their
safety. NGOs asserted that the law was selectively enforced. Spousal
abuse was widespread and underreported. The Supreme Court of Justice
Institute of Forensic Medicine reported there were at least 11,184
cases of domestic violence, of which 52 percent were between domestic
partners and approximately 4 percent involved domestic violence against
children. The PDDH Special Prosecutor for Women reported that more
women were killed violently during the first six months of the year
than in the same period in 2007. Police reported a 25 percent increase
in the filing of gender-based and domestic violence complaints during
the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2007.
Police Commissioner Aminta Granera required police officers to
complete training sponsored by CEPREV and other NGOs to improve the
police's capacity to deal with domestic violence. The NNP continued a
campaign to raise public awareness regarding domestic violence and help
victims of domestic abuse. Reports of violence against women continued
to increase, a rise likely attributable to a greater public willingness
to come forward to authorities. Primarily due to cultural attitudes,
impunity regarding violence against women remained a problem. The law
requires female victims of sexual crimes to undergo medical testing by
Supreme Court of Justice forensic specialists before proceeding with
legal action against perpetrators. A lack of female forensic doctors
deterred women from taking legal action against sexual offenders.
Sexual abuse and rape of adolescent girls continued, including cases
involving incest.
There were no government-operated shelters dedicated to female
victims of violence and other forms of abuse. The Network of Women
Against Violence operated the only three shelters in the country
designated solely to assist women.
There were 32 NNP women's commissariats operating throughout the
country. The commissariats provided social and legal help to women,
mediated spousal conflicts, investigated and helped prosecute criminal
complaints, and referred victims to other governmental and
nongovernmental assistance agencies. Although they intensified public
awareness campaigns to encourage women to report spousal abuse and
other violence, commissariats lacked equipment and funding to
adequately discharge their responsibilities. In December 2007 the
Government initiated a campaign to involve all family members in
combating domestic violence, and in the ensuing six months, the number
of such cases reported increased by 96 percent compared to the same
period in 2007.
Prostitution, which is legal for persons 14 years of age and older,
was common, although the law prohibits its promotion, including
procurement. In Managua most prostitutes worked on the streets, in
nightclubs and bars, or in massage parlors. The law imposes a penalty
of five to seven years' imprisonment for convicted sex tourism
offenders. The NNP reported no cases of sex tourism during the year.
The law prohibits sexual harassment, and those convicted face
between one and three years' imprisonment, or between three and five
years' imprisonment if the victim is under 18 years old. The NNP
women's police commissariats reported 375 cases of sexual harassment
during the year. The Network of Women against Violence reported that
the law was rarely enforced and that police statistics on sexual
harassment did not fully reflect the extent of the problem.
The law provides that women enjoy the same rights as men, including
family and property rights. The NNP Office of the Superintendent of
Women is responsible for enforcing the law to protect women. In
practice authorities often discriminated in property matters against
poor women who lacked birth certificates or national identity cards.
The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman Special Prosecutor for Women
and the Nicaraguan Women's Institute are the principal government
entities responsible for protecting the legal rights of women. However,
they had limited effectiveness.
Children.--Although the Government publicly expressed its
commitment to children's human rights and welfare, it did not develop
national policies or coordinate effectively with national and
international NGOs to address children's matters.
The Government did not register all births immediately, with the
result that many children and adolescents lacked birth certificates,
were not listed in the national civil registry, lacked legal identity,
were denied public services, and had to work or beg in the streets (See
Section 2.d.).
Violence against children remained a significant problem. CEPREV
reported that, as in the previous year, one of three girls and one of
five boys were victims of sexual abuse. An Esteli Forensic Clinic study
found that 87 percent of rape, sexual crimes, and abuse victims were
children. NGOs reported continuing cases of forced child marriage
between young girls and older men. There was no information available
on government efforts to combat the problem.
Child prostitution remained a problem. The law permits juveniles 14
years of age or older to engage in prostitution. The country was a
destination for child sex tourism, primarily in Granada and Managua;
however, there were no reported cases during the year.
On September 21, First Lady Rosario Murillo unveiled the Government
Amor program to remove 25,000 children from the streets and Managua
child protection centers. The program created Child Development Centers
(CDI) to enable parents to provide for their families and improve their
economic circumstances, while also encouraging foster homes for
orphaned children.
Media reported that personnel sexually, physically, and emotionally
abused children living in Ministry of Family child protection centers.
By year's end the Ministry of Family had not conducted a formal
investigation based on the PDDH's 2007 report characterizing living
conditions of children in government protection centers as ``jail-
like.''
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for purposes of forced sexual exploitation but does not identify forced
labor exploitation as trafficking. There were reports that persons were
trafficked from, through, and within the country.
The Government reported that the country was primarily a source and
transit point for trafficking in persons. The Judicial Auxiliary Police
reported 13 trafficking cases involving 24 victims during the year. Of
these cases, 10 resulted in prosecutions, two were under investigation,
and one was closed for lack of evidence.
NGOs reported that trafficking in persons was a serious and
increasing problem in the country. The country was a source for women
and children trafficked for sexual exploitation primarily to tourist
areas within El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica. Victims
were also trafficked internally, primarily from poorer areas to
Managua. Trafficking for labor exploitation also occurred.
Poverty, illiteracy, lack of economic opportunity, porous borders,
and vast areas of sparsely populated territory in the RAAN and RAAS
contributed to making the country a major source of trafficking victims
in the Central America region.
Persons trafficked from the country to foreign destinations usually
were young women and girls from rural areas, poor neighborhoods in
urban centers, or border towns. The main groups at risk were young and
uneducated women and children from poor, rural areas; victims of
domestic abuse and sexual violence; and persons lacking legal
identification documents required for persons more than 16 years old.
Young women from poor areas of Managua and border towns were at the
greatest risk of internal and external trafficking. Traffickers
recruited undocumented Nicaraguan boys to work as unpaid labor on farms
in Costa Rica.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor for Children and Adolescents,
other government agencies, and NGOs reported that traffickers included
organized crime, taxi driver networks, family operations, persons
running brothels, and former victims of prostitution. Traffickers used
night clubs, massage parlors, hotels, brothels, and restaurants to
recruit and deceive victims. Traffickers lured persons lacking cedulas
(national identity cards) with the promise of proper travel
documentation.
Many trafficked victims used legal migration procedures.
Traffickers sometimes exploited the minimal documentation requirements
within El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras to transport
trafficking victims through official ports of entry. Traffickers also
took advantage of the low price of falsified immigration documents to
move victims through the country. The NGO Casa Alianza reported that
traffickers did not need to use clandestine methods to transport
victims because traffickers were able to operate freely within the
country using regular public and private transportation services.
Trafficking for sexual exploitation carries a sentence of between
four and 10 years in prison. The maximum penalty is applied against
perpetrators in cases where the victim is married, less than 14 years
of age, or living as a concubine with the perpetrator. There are no
penalties for attempted trafficking. Labor trafficking is not
criminalized, and laws against commercial sexual exploitation of minors
do not protect all adolescents under 18 years old. The failure of the
Government to allocate adequate resources, the slow pace of law reform,
judicial corruption, lack of border and immigration controls, and
inadequate government coordination efforts impeded government efforts
to combat trafficking.
There was no information available regarding any developments in
the investigation of two trafficking suspects apprehended in December
2007 at Managua airport while they were allegedly trying to put
unaccompanied children on an airplane to Atlanta, Georgia.
On March 31, police stopped a bus illegally transporting 80
children from Sandy Bay in the RAAN to a location in Managua. On April
1, the special prosecutor for children's rights accused Delayda Wilson,
a RAAN Ministry of Family official, RAAN Regional Governor Reynaldo
Francis, Puerto Cabezas Police Commissioner Bayardo Rosales, and
Elizabeth Enriquez, the mayor of Puerto Cabezas, with kidnapping and
violating the human rights of the children. The minister of the family
stated that she had not authorized the transfer. The authorities
returned the children to Sandy Bay on April 1, but did not bring
charges against the RAAN government officials.
The Public Ministry is charged with prosecuting trafficking cases.
The Ministry of Government has primary responsibility for combating
trafficking through the National Coalition Against Trafficking in
Persons, which coordinates efforts with 16 ministries and autonomous
government agencies, and with national and international organizations.
The Government worked with the IOM, Casa Alianza Nicaragua, and Save
the Children to investigate trafficking cases and protect victims. The
judicial police handle trafficking complaints.
NGOs reported that the Government did not cooperate with or assist
international investigations against trafficking. The law does not
permit the Government to extradite Nicaraguan citizens to other
countries, regardless of the crime.
The Government did not allocate sufficient resources to identify
victims and failed to provide effective access to judicial remedies for
victims. Judges often treated victims as complicit parties in
trafficking cases. A lengthy hearing process deterred some victims from
submitting cases. NGOs undertook most efforts to reintegrate victims
into society. Casa Alianza operated the only two shelters in Managua
for victims of trafficking.
The Ministries of the Family and Government continued collaborating
with civil society organizations to promote an antitrafficking public
awareness campaign. Social workers, lawyers, and healthcare workers
staffed an emergency 24-hour hot line to encourage reporting of
trafficking incidents; however, inadequate coordination with police
reportedly undermined the hot line's effectiveness. The Ministry of
Government reported that the NNP continued its efforts to combat and
prevent trafficking in persons by disrupting operations, increasing
police presence, and targeting massage parlors, nightclubs, and other
suspected centers of trafficking activity. The Ministry of Government,
the Department of Immigration, and the National Coalition Against
Trafficking in Persons made public service announcements at immigration
check points to warn people traveling outside the country about the
risk of human trafficking and provided instruction on prevention,
protection, and reporting of trafficking crimes.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities, but in practice
such discrimination was widespread in employment, education, access to
health care, and the provision of state services. The Government did
not effectively enforce the law with regard to protection of persons
with disabilities and did not mandate accessibility to buildings for
persons with disabilities. On September 16, the NGO Women with
Disabilities convened a forum to increase awareness about
discrimination its members experienced in employment, access to credit,
and education. On September 30, the PDDH special prosecutor for persons
with disabilities released a study reporting that 80 percent of public
health buildings lacked signs in braille, interpreters for the deaf, or
access ramps or bathrooms to accommodate persons in wheelchairs.
The Nicaraguan Institute of Statistics and Census reported in a
2003 study, the most recent available, that approximately 10 percent of
the population had some type of disability, few of whom received
adequate medical treatment. Government clinics and hospitals provided
care for war veterans and other persons with disabilities, but the
quality of care was generally poor. The Government continued a public
relations campaign focusing on greater integration into society of
persons with disabilities. The Ministry of the Family is responsible
for the protection and advancement of rights for persons with
disabilities.
On April 24, a court sentenced an Esteli teacher to 18 years'
imprisonment in one of four August 2007 cases of abuse of children with
disabilities. At year's end there was no information available
regarding the status of the other three cases.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Various indigenous and other
ethnic groups from the RAAN and RAAS attributed the Government's lack
of resources devoted to the Atlantic Coast to discriminatory attitudes
toward ethnic, racial, and religious minorities in those regions. In
contrast with the rest of the country, the racial makeup of the RAAN
and the RAAS was predominantly black and Amerindian.
Exclusionary treatment based on race, skin color, and ethnicity was
common, especially in higher-income urban areas. Darker-skinned persons
of African descent from the RAAN and RAAS and foreigners assumed to be
from those areas experienced social discrimination in the interior and
Pacific areas and were denied access to private clubs and restaurants
in Managua. Persons with darker skin claimed that authorities at
Managua airport targeted them for extra security measures and that
police stopped them to conduct illegal searches. There was no
information available on government efforts to address discrimination
based on skin color, race, or ethnicity.
Indigenous People.--Indigenous people constituted approximately 5
percent of the country's population and lived primarily in the RAAN and
RAAS. The five major identifiable indigenous groups were the Miskito,
the Sumo, the Garifuna of Afro-Amerindian origin, the Mayangna, and the
Rama. These groups alleged government discrimination through
underrepresentation in the legislative branch. For instance, the RAAN
and RAAS had the same population sizes as the departments of Leon and
Masaya but had only five representatives in the National Assembly
compared with 10 for Leon and Masaya.
Most indigenous people in rural areas lacked access to modern
health care, and deteriorating roads made medicine and health care
almost unobtainable for many communities. The rates of unemployment,
illiteracy, and absenteeism of school-age children were among the
highest in the country. In its 2008 report, the UN Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) noted the persistence of
racial stereotypes in the country and the lack of access to health
services in the RAAN. The CERD requested that the Government develop a
national strategy to combat racism and forge a new relationship with
indigenous and ethnic minority communities.
Human rights organizations and indigenous rights groups claimed
that the Government failed to protect indigenous communities' civil and
political rights, including rights to land, natural resources, and
local autonomy. On December 7, Rama community leaders filed a lawsuit
against the Government for illegally delaying for more than one year
land titling in the RAAS. On December 18, the Government office charged
with settling title claims issued titles to a Mayangna community in
Awas Tingni. Miskito, Rama, and Mayangna leaders claimed that the
Government discriminated against them by not providing interpreters for
court cases or native language translations of government documents.
There were no new developments, and none were expected, regarding
the 2006 lawsuit CPDH filed with the Supreme Court of Justice on behalf
of the Miskito community in relation to the Red Christmas operation and
other human rights abuses committed in the 1980s by then president
Daniel Ortega and other ranking Sandinista officials.
On September 25, Attorney General Hernan Estrada presented a check
for 2,227,500 cordobas (approximately $111,425) to Brooklyn Rivera, the
Yatama leader, in response to the IACHR 2006 request that the
Government indemnify the Yatama indigenous organization for excluding
Yatama from participation in 2004 municipal elections.
Although the law requires that the Government consult indigenous
persons regarding the exploitation of their areas' resources, some
indigenous communities continued to complain that government
authorities excluded RAAN and RAAS indigenous people from meaningful
participation in decisions affecting their lands, cultures, traditions,
and the allocation of natural resources. Representatives of autonomous
regions and indigenous communities regularly complained to the
Government, media, and NGOs that the Government failed to invest in
infrastructure in those regions.
Civil society groups representing RAAN indigenous communities
continued requesting that the National Assembly and the Office of the
President establish a government commission to investigate alleged
human rights violations relating to the Government's response to the
September 2007 Hurricane Felix.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although sexual
orientation is not mentioned specifically, the constitution states that
all persons are equal before the law and have the right to equal
protection. The new penal code, implemented in July, repealed criminal
penalties relating to same-sex relations. However, homosexual persons
continued to face widespread discrimination and human rights abuses
based on their sexual orientation. Gay rights activists reported that
the Public Ministry received at least 10 complaints during the year
alleging that education and health institutions discriminated against
persons because of their sexual orientation.
The law provides specific protections for persons with HIV/AIDS
against employment and health services discrimination. However, persons
with HIV/AIDS continued to suffer societal discrimination based on
their alleged HIV/AIDS or sexual orientation status. Several NGOs
worked to educate communities regarding HIV/AIDS discrimination.
Communities often stigmatized persons with HIV/AIDS, and there was a
general lack of awareness and education among the public and health
care professionals regarding prevention, treatment, and transmission of
HIV/AIDS.
On June 30, the Public Ministry announced that it was bringing
charges against health care professionals Martha Zuniga Trujillo,
Amelia Membreno, and Meyling Castro Ubeda for allegedly misdiagnosing
Maria Josefa Rivera Castro as having AIDS in 2001 and publicizing that
mistaken diagnosis. At year's end a judge was reviewing the case.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The law provides for the right of all public and private sector
workers, with the exception of those in the military and police, to
form and join independent unions of their choice. Workers exercised
this right in practice. Workers are not required to notify their
employer or the Ministry of Labor (MITRAB) of their intention to
organize a union. The unionized workforce represented approximately 4.5
percent of the total workforce between 15 and 60 years old. In general
labor unions were allied with political parties.
On November 15, in the Jose Ruiz Health Center in El Viejo,
Chinandega, the government-sponsored Federal Healthcare Trade Union
(FETSALUD) and MITRAB impeded health care workers from forming a union.
The workers were already members of FETSALUD but decided to form an
independent union. The workers alleged that when they filed their new
union registration petition, the labor inspector shared this
information with his father, a FEDASALUD leader and health ministry
official, who told the workers to stay with FETSALUD or risk being
fired.
The constitution recognizes the right to strike, and the law allows
unions to conduct their activities without government interference.
However, burdensome and lengthy labor code conciliation procedures
impeded workers' ability to call strikes. During a strike employers
cannot hire replacement workers. If a strike continues for 30 days
without resolution, MITRAB has authority to suspend the strike and
submit the matter for arbitration. MITRAB often declared strikes
illegal, even when workers followed legal strike procedures.
Government security forces violently interfered with the national
transportation strike. On May 5, professional drivers of trucks, buses,
and taxis demanded that the Government freeze rising fuel prices,
parked their vehicles along major highways, and blocked traffic. Union
leaders alleged that on May 6, under express instructions from
President Ortega to end the strike, police in Leon destroyed the
windows of 40 vehicles and towed them away. On May 13, police in Las
Maderas shot rubber bullets and injured strikers in an attempt to quash
the strike. In June the strike ended peacefully only after President
Ortega publicly promised the strikers a fuel subsidy, which he
subsequently delivered.
On July 24, workers at Panzyma Laboratories in El Crucero formed a
new union. On July 31, company management fired Marlon Dona, a leader
of the union. On August 4, the MITRAB accorded legal status to the
union. On August 7, union leaders presented management with a list of
the union's board of directors, and on August 13, they presented MITRAB
with a letter regarding their intention to bargain collectively. On
that same day management notified union members of the immediate
cancellation of their employment contracts. On August 14, workers began
to strike due to the illegal firings. On August 15, management called
police to forcibly remove the strikers. Workers filed a labor rights
complaint with MITRAB and a police abuse complaint with the NNP and the
Legal Medicine Institute. Although the local labor inspector issued
resolutions revoking the firings, management refused to comply with the
order and appealed the decision to the Inspector General's Office. On
August 29, the Inspector General's Office ruled against the strikers
and ordered them to return to their jobs within 72 hours. In October
workers abandoned their efforts to form a new labor union.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to collective bargaining. A collective
bargaining agreement cannot exceed two years and is automatically
renewed if neither party requests its revision. The Government
protected these rights and often sought to foster resolution of labor
conflicts through informal negotiations rather than formal
administrative or judicial processes. Companies in disputes with their
employees must negotiate with the employees' union, if one exists. By
law several unions may coexist at any one enterprise. The law permits
management to sign collective bargaining agreements with each union
operating at the enterprise.
The new penal code, which entered into force in July, establishes
sanctions against employers who violate labor rights, such as
interfering with the formation of unions or strikebreaking. In practice
many employers in the formal sector continued to violate worker rights
by blacklisting or firing union members. Employers also avoided legal
penalties by organizing for their employees ``white unions'' (employer-
led unions), which lacked independence. Union leaders asserted that
employers that who supported the Ortega administration often pressured
workers affiliated with independent unions to resign and register with
FSLN unions.
Although employers must reinstate workers fired for union activity,
MITRAB cannot legally order employers to rehire fired workers. Formal
reinstatement requires a judge's order. The law allows employers to
obtain permission from MITRAB to dismiss any employee, including union
organizers, provided the employer agrees to pay double the usual
severance pay. In practice employers often did not reinstate workers
due to weak enforcement of the law.
On September 18, an opposition member and union leader from the
Federation of Democratic Workers of the Public Sector complained that
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI) officials harassed
and fired him illegally for defending 20 other illegally dismissed
union members from the MTI and also for allegedly disrespecting the
FSLN Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Labor leaders complained that employers routinely violated
collective bargaining agreements and labor laws. During the year MITRAB
carried out 6,138 inspections and issued fines to 18 companies,
including some that operated in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs).
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the 41 EPZs. Less than 10 percent of the estimated 65,500 EPZ workers
were union members. Because a high proportion of EPZ unions had fewer
than 50 members, many lacked effective collective bargaining power.
The NGO International Solidarity Center reported allegations of
violations of the right to organize and bargain collectively,
especially in the EPZs, where employers stalled negotiations and
allegedly fired or harassed employees trying to form unions. Labor
leaders complained of labor violations involving the closings of EPZ
factories KB Manufacturing, Everly, and Mil Colores. Other unionized
clothing manufacturers in the EPZs closed, or threatened to close, to
avoid paying claims for back wages and severance.
On June 6, the Nien Hsing Garment factory closed its operations,
dismissing 9,600 of its 14,839 employees. The Mexican company C&C,
owned by three of the former Nien Hsing factory owners, hired the 5,289
remaining Nien Hsing employees.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. The law does not prohibit the
trafficking of persons for forced labor. The Government did not
effectively enforce the law or implement programs to combat forced
labor. There were instances of forced domestic servitude, primarily of
female minors, and of forced prostitution of minors who were trafficked
to urban centers from other countries or from rural areas within the
country (See Section 5, Trafficking).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although the law provides for the protection of children's rights and
prohibits any type of economic or social exploitation of children,
child labor was a widespread problem. The Government did not
effectively enforce the law to protect children from workplace
exploitation. The 2005 National Survey of Adolescent and Child Labor,
the most recent available, estimated that there were approximately
239,000 working children between five and 17 years old, of whom 36
percent were less than 14 years old. NGOs estimated that there was a
decline in the number of children working between the ages of five and
nine years old, because the Government eliminated fees to attend public
school. However, these NGOs noted a substantial increase in the number
of children between ages 14 and 17, especially those who were
illiterate, working in the most dangerous forms of child labor.
The law establishes the minimum age for employment at 14 years and
limits the workday to six hours. Children between 14 and 16 years of
age must have parental approval to work. The law prohibits teenage
domestic workers from sleeping in the house of their employers. MITRAB
is responsible for caring for those teenage domestic workers unable to
return each evening to their families.
During the year the Social Security Office (INSS) decreed that all
employees more than 14 years old must be enrolled in the INSS social
security system. The law also provides for eight-year prison terms and
substantial fines for persons employing children in dangerous work and
permits inspectors to close facilities employing child labor. The
Government did not provide adequate resources for MITRAB to effectively
enforce the law except in the small formal sector.
Most child labor occurred in the large informal sector, including
on coffee plantations and subsistence farms, and in forestry, fishing,
and hunting. According to the International Labor Organization's
International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor, children
engaged in the worst forms of child labor in plantation agriculture,
shellfish harvesting, pumice and limestone quarrying, gold mining,
industrial manufacturing, construction, commercial/retail, hospitality,
and as domestic servants. Employers also used child laborers to cross
major land borders with drugs and other contraband.
Children working in agriculture suffered from exposure to the sun,
extreme temperatures, humidity, and dangerous pesticides and other
chemicals. Hundreds of children working with their families faced
exposure to sun, extreme temperatures, water pollution, and powerful
ocean tides in harvesting black clams for ceviche.
The Government updated its national plan to eradicate the worst
forms of child labor but did not coordinate its efforts with NGOs. On
July 9, the Government appointed First Lady Rosario Murillo as the
president's representative for the National Council on Childhood and
Adolescence Integral Protection, which coordinates government efforts
on children's rights and activities with civil society groups. The
Government continued activities to incorporate working adolescents into
the formal workforce by transferring children from the worst forms of
child labor into nondangerous activities. NGOs offered vocational
training to help adolescents develop job skills for EPZ factory
employment. Through its inspections network, which included two child
labor inspectors, MITRAB removed 394 child workers from coffee
plantations.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage law
establishes a statutory minimum wage for nine different economic
sectors and is set through tripartite negotiations involving business,
government, and labor. The National Assembly must approve any wage
increases.
During the year the Government increased the minimum wage by an
average of 33 percent. The monthly minimum wage ranged from 1,392
cordobas (approximately $71) in the agricultural sector to 3,232
cordobas ($166) in the financial sector. A Central Bank review of the
minimum wage adjustment reported that the minimum wage remained
significantly below the Government's estimated basic cost of goods for
an urban family of 8,670 cordobas ($455). In general the minimum wage
was enforced only in the formal sector.
The standard legal workweek is a maximum of 48 hours, with one day
of rest; however, this provision was often ignored by employers who
claimed that workers readily volunteered for extra hours for additional
pay. While the law mandates premium pay for overtime and prohibits
excessive compulsory overtime, these requirements were not always
effectively enforced.
The law establishes occupational health and safety standards, but
the Government did not allocate adequate staff or resources to enable
the Office of Hygiene and Occupational Safety to enforce these
provisions. The new labor hygiene and security law mandates the
creation of regional offices for the National Council of Labor Hygiene
and Safety. The council is responsible for worker safety legislation,
collaboration with other government agencies and civil society
organizations in developing assistance programs, and promoting training
and prevention activities. The Government did not enforce the new law
effectively. By year's end the Ministry of Labor had conducted 1,337
hygiene and occupational safety inspections of companies.
The law provides workers with the right to remove themselves from
dangerous workplace situations without jeopardizing continued
employment, but many workers were unaware of this right.
Employers did not provide appropriate occupational health and
safety training and adequate diving equipment for lobster divers in the
RAAN, who had access to only one decompression chamber. On June 15, two
Miskito community lobster divers suffered from decompression sickness
after working at a depth of 120 feet, under conditions that lacked
minimum required safety measures and equipment.
__________
PANAMA
Panama, a constitutional democracy with an elected executive
composed of a president and two vice presidents, has a population of
approximately 3.3 million. In 2004 Democratic Revolutionary Party
candidate Martin Torrijos won the presidency in national elections
considered to be generally free and fair by international and domestic
observers. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.
Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, serious problems remained. These included harsh prison
conditions and abuse by prison guards; prolonged pretrial detention;
corruption, ineffectiveness, and political manipulation of the judicial
system; political pressure on the media; discrimination and violence
against women; trafficking in persons; discrimination against
indigenous communities; and child labor.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
The Truth Commission, which operated from 2000 to 2004, documented
70 cases of murder and 40 disappearances during the 1968-89 military
dictatorship. In October the attorney general announced that
investigations had been either opened or reopened in 47 of these 110
cases in the past three years because of new evidence brought forward
by the Special Instruction Agency of the Public Ministry. Sets of
remains have been found in 15 of these 47 cases.
In July the attorney general opened an investigation into the
alleged killings of more than 20 persons who reportedly were thrown
from helicopters in the Darien region in the period 1982-83.
In December the attorney general charged the former minister of
government and justice with homicide for a killing in 1971. The charge
followed a series of investigative reports in the daily newspaper La
Prensa about alleged crimes committed by the sitting minister during
the military dictatorship.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
The Supreme Court of Justice has ruled that the statute of
limitations bars further prosecution of seven of the 40 cases of
persons who disappeared during the 1968-89 military dictatorship.
The Public Ministry sent four sets of remains to DNA laboratories
abroad for a determination of identity. Collateral evidence suggested
that one set of remains pertained to priest Hector Gallego, who
disappeared in 1971.
In September the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
ordered the Government to pay $206,000 (the U.S. dollar is the official
paper currency but is officially referred to as the Balboa) to the
family of Heliodoro Portugal, who disappeared in 1970 during the
military dictatorship, and to investigate, prosecute, and punish those
responsible for his disappearance.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits treatment or punishment that
harms the physical, mental, or moral integrity of persons.
Prison guards sometimes physically abused inmates. Through October
the Panamanian National Police (PNP) Directorate of Professional
Responsibility (DRP) opened 35 cases of prison guard abuse against
inmates. The ombudsman received 169 complaints about prisons and prison
guards, including complaints about abuse, general prison conditions,
permission to work and study, and other complaints.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
harsh and, in some cases, life threatening. Many problems within the
prisons stemmed from overcrowding, lack of separation of inmates
according to the type or severity of the crime committed, and the use
of police stations as detention facilities. As of September the prison
system, which had an official capacity of 7,115 persons, held 10,570
prisoners.
Abuse by prison guards, mainly PNP custodians, was a problem.
Generally, authorities forwarded cases involving criminal offenses to
the Public Ministry for prosecution. As of September the Public
Ministry had opened cases against 35 officers for corruption, abuse of
authority, violence, and other offenses.
Prison authorities provided inadequate medical care. HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and other communicable diseases were common
among the prison population. Through early September, 25 prisoners died
of such causes as AIDS, stabbing, and cardiac arrest. During the year
only 15 physicians served the prison system; they provided medical
attention during limited morning hours. In February a 60-bed clinic
opened at La Joyita.
By year's end two persons allegedly involved in the January 2007
killing of one inmate and the wounding of another in the Basilio Lakas
detention facility were in custody awaiting trial. In the first four
months of the year, four civilian corrections officers were dismissed
for various offenses, and 10 former civilian correction officers were
imprisoned for drug-related crimes.
The General Penitentiary Inspection Directorate (DGSP) depended on
732 PNP officers to supply both internal and perimeter security at all
prisons. There were 707 civilian custodians for the entire prison
system. The DGSP continued to use regular PNP officers, who sometimes
lacked training for prison duty, to fill staffing gaps. In prisons
controlled by the PNP, prisoners complained of human rights violations,
such as limited time outside of cells and limited access to family
visits. Civilian custodians are responsible for inmates within Nueva
Esperanza, Tinajitas, El Renacer, and the central women's prisons in
Panama and Chiriqui provinces.
Small jails attached to local police stations around the country
sometimes held prisoners for the entire length of their sentences, but
police officers who guarded them lacked the necessary custodial
training to prevent abuses, and typically the detention facilities were
not suitable for long-term detention.
Although conditions at women's prisons and at juvenile detention
centers were noticeably better than at adult male prisons, female
prisoners, especially in primary detention areas, reportedly suffered
from overcrowding, poor medical care, and lack of basic supplies for
personal hygiene. There were no reports of sexual or other violence in
women's prisons. These prisons were administered by female directors,
custodians, and secretaries. Unlike prisons for men, women's prisons
did not maintain conjugal visit programs.
With the exception of one modern facility near Panama City,
juvenile pretrial and custodial detention centers throughout the
country suffered from inadequate resources to provide for education or
supervision. Pretrial detainees often shared cells with convicted
prisoners, and first offenders were held with recidivists due to space
constraints.
The Office of the Ombudsman had an established prison visit
program, and the Government generally allowed ombudsman staff to speak
with prisoners without monitoring. The office accepted complaints from
prisoners or their families; however, prisoners expressed fear of
retaliation if they complained. The nongovernmental organization (NGO)
Justicia y Paz of the Catholic Bishops Conference brought prison abuses
to the attention of the authorities, including the presentation in
March of a report to the IACHR regarding abuses and other dangerous
conditions in prisons.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions. The law permits exceptions when an officer apprehends a
person during the commission of a crime or when an individual
interferes with an officer's actions. The law provides that suspects be
brought promptly before a judge; however, lack of prompt arraignment
continued to be a problem. The law requires arresting officers to
inform detainees immediately of the reasons for arrest or detention and
of the right to immediate legal counsel. There is a functioning bail
system and detainees were allowed prompt access to family members.
During the year the police arrested and detained 2,699 children for
minor infractions during neighborhood sweeps.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Judicial Technical
Police was absorbed into the PNP at the beginning of the year and
replaced by a new judicial investigation unit, the Directorate of
Judicial Investigation. Although its primary mission is law
enforcement, the PNP was also detailed for prison security. At the
beginning of the year, a National Frontier Directorate was created
within the PNP, and in August it became an independent force, the
National Frontier Service (SENAFRONT). The country has no army,
although civilians, the media, and political opponents of the
Government claimed that SENAFRONT would become a ``mini-army.'' The PNP
and SENAFRONT are under the civilian authority of the Ministry of
Government and Justice. There were 14,682 police officers in PNP and
SENAFRONT altogether. The law includes specific guidelines for the use
of force, including deadly force; requires that police officers respect
human rights; and prohibits instigation or tolerance of torture,
cruelty, or other inhuman or degrading behavior.
Corruption among police officers remained a problem. Police
officers frequently were involved in cases of narcotics smuggling and
other crimes. The Government regularly investigated and prosecuted
officials involved in criminal activity. In October the PNP director
announced that five police officers would be removed from their posts
and turned over to authorities for alleged links to a drug theft.
During the year prisoners at La Joya prison paid prison guards on
two separate occasions to help them escape; several officers were later
arrested and faced criminal charges. Problems of corruption at the
higher levels of the PNP remained and generally were not pursued as
vigorously as were cases against lower-level officers. In October,
however, the DRP referred to the Public Ministry a case against a high-
level officer for misappropriation of public funds after an internal
investigation found him guilty.
The DRP has a staff of independent investigators to hold officers
accountable for their actions, administrative authority to open
internal investigations, and a defined legal process. The staff
received training in polygraph usage and conducting internal
investigations.
The PNP's deputy director and Secretary General addressed human
rights problems that arose in the police force. A new Directorate of
Human Rights, created in September, is responsible for levying
sanctions on officers for human rights violations. Through October the
human rights ombudsman received 24 complaints against police officials
for abuse of authority. PNP officers regularly underwent human rights
training.
As of September the DRP had opened 751 disciplinary proceedings
against police, including 123 for domestic violence, 86 for corruption,
and 99 for inappropriate conduct. Through September the PNP dismissed
18 officers, including nine for corruption.
Arrest and Detention.--The law prohibits police from detaining
suspects for more than 48 hours without judicial authorization but
permits detention of minors for 72 hours. The preliminary investigation
phase may last from eight days to two months and the follow-up
investigation phase another two to four months, depending on the number
of suspects.
Extended pretrial detention continued to be a serious problem in
part because of the use of a written inquisitorial system. According to
government statistics, approximately 57 percent of prisoners were
pretrial detainees. There was often prolonged pretrial detention, which
at times exceeded the maximum sentence for the alleged crime. While the
law provides for bail, in practice judges often declined to grant it.
Detainees were allowed prompt access to legal counsel and family
members, and the Government provided indigent defendants with a lawyer.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an
independent judiciary, the judicial system was susceptible to
corruption and outside influence, including manipulation by other
branches of government. The president appoints nine Supreme Court of
Justice magistrates to 10-year terms subject to National Assembly
ratification. The Supreme Court of Justice magistrates, in turn,
appoint appellate Superior Tribunal judges, who appoint circuit and
municipal court judges in their respective jurisdictions. Although the
law provides for these judicial appointments to be made under a merit-
based system, certain civil society groups maintained that political
influence and undue interference by higher-level judges undermined the
system.
At the local level, mayors appoint ``corregidores'' (administrative
judges), who exercise jurisdiction over minor civil cases and power
over the arrest and imposition of fines or jail sentences of up to one
year. Outside of Panama City, this system had serious shortcomings.
Defendants lacked adequate procedural safeguards. Corregidores usually
were not attorneys. In practice appeal procedures were generally
nonexistent. Affluent defendants often paid fines while poorer
defendants went to jail, contributing to prison overcrowding.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides that all citizens charged with
crimes have the right to counsel, to be presumed innocent until proven
guilty, to refrain from incriminating themselves or close relatives,
and to be tried only once for a given offense. If not under pretrial
detention, the accused may be present with counsel during the
investigative phase of the proceeding. On June 17, the National
Assembly approved a new Code of Criminal Procedures (new Code), through
which the country will transition over six years from an inquisitorial
to an accusatory system of justice. The new Code also incorporates
anticorruption elements, such as regulations to penalize conflicts of
interest, protect witnesses and whistleblowers, and allow the use of
plea bargaining.
Trials are open to the public. The law provides for trial by jury
at the defendant's election but only in cases where at least one of the
charges is murder. Judges may order the presence of pretrial detainees
for rendering or amplification of statements or for confronting
witnesses. Trials are conducted on the basis of evidence presented by
the public prosecutor. Defendants have the right to be present at trial
and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner. Defendants can
confront or question witnesses against them and present witnesses and
evidence on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants have a
right of appeal. The law extends these rights to all citizens.
The law obliges the Government to provide public defenders for the
indigent. Many public defenders, however, were appointed late in an
investigation, after the prosecutor already had evaluated the bulk of
the evidence and decided to recommend trial. Public defenders'
caseloads remained extremely high, averaging 265 cases per attorney per
year.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and the
judicial code establish an independent judiciary in civil matters.
Political manipulation of the judicial system remained a problem, and
bureaucratic delays hindered access to judicial and administrative
remedies for human rights violations. There were problems in enforcing
domestic court orders.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions and the Government
generally respected these prohibitions; however, there were complaints
that in some cases law enforcement authorities failed to follow legal
requirements and conducted unauthorized searches.
In an effort to prevent unauthorized searches, the Public Ministry
maintained one representative to approve searches in each PNP division.
The representative approved several searches during the year.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press. In practice individuals generally enjoyed
freedom of expression, although there were some attempts to impede it.
The independent media were active and expressed a variety of views
without restriction. The Government owned one educational television
station and one radio station. The law prohibits newspapers from
holding radio and television concessions and vice versa. International
media operated freely in the country.
Journalists and press freedom advocacy organizations reported that
the Government engaged in substantial manipulation of the free flow of
information. Journalists alleged that the Government purchased
advertising space to reward news organizations for publishing favorable
stories and withdrew advertising funding from news organizations
engaged in unfavorable coverage. Legal actions were pending against
many journalists. The IACHR, the Inter-American Press Association,
Reporters Without Borders, and other groups criticized these measures
as efforts to censor the press.
In May the new Code came into effect with mixed results for freedom
of the press. The new Code abolished Article 175, which sanctioned
criminal and civil libel cases against journalists. Two new articles
allow prosecution of journalists for vague and undefined charges
against exposing private information and documents, even those deemed
of public interest. The new Code also permits the prosecution of
journalists for publishing information and documents restricted or
classified by the Government on national security grounds. NGOs
asserted that these articles threatened freedom of speech and press.
In July the Supreme Court overturned as unconstitutional 183
pardons issued by former president Moscoso, including those of several
journalists who had been convicted of libel under laws no longer in
force. Journalists welcomed the ruling as a correcting executive power
abuse; however, the actual impact on journalists involved remained
uncertain at years' end because the court's decision requires the cases
to be returned to their ``original state,'' which was yet to be
clarified by the Government.
In September a judge ordered the seizure of the local newspaper El
Periodico's assets for publishing the tax returns of a prominent
businessman. After the judgment the newspaper published two additional
issues before going out of business. The case remained under appeal.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet and no reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that 22 percent of the
nation's populace used the Internet in 2007.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
At year's end one Odebrecht worker and a PNP officer remained in
custody awaiting trial for killing two SUNTRACS union members in August
2007.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
provided that ``Christian morality and public order'' are respected,
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses, discrimination, or anti-Semitic acts. There was a
Jewish population of approximately 10,000 persons.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights. The
Government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, persons under temporary humanitarian
protection (THP), asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons
of concern.
The Government generally permitted freedom of movement for
documented refugees and asylum seekers in the large urban centers;
however, it restricted the freedom of movement of Colombian nationals
living in the border region with Colombia under the THP regime, who
could only leave these locations with special permits issued by the
National Office for the Protection of Refugees (ONPAR).
The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of its
use.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
In practice the Government provided limited protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened, but there was no accurate data available
on the number of such cases. ONPAR supervised borders with Colombia and
Costa Rica. At times border officials and authorities in large urban
centers did not have a clear understanding of their responsibilities
when dealing with persons seeking asylum or refugee status, which
resulted in arbitrary detention and risk of refoulement.
Asylum seekers and refugees were not provided with documentation in
a timely fashion, and these documents were not always recognized as
valid by public officials, including police, health service providers,
schools, and banking institutions. Work permits were issued after a
lengthy bureaucratic process.
At year's end migration authorities maintained in custody a group
of 19 persons from Somalia, Eritrea, and Ethiopia who manifested a need
for international protection; some of them had been detained for more
three months. Despite UNHCR referrals of the cases to ONPAR, these
individuals were neither interviewed nor granted access to asylum
procedures. The status of two additional groups of African nationals
who arrived during the year remained pending at year's end.
Approximately 200 to 300 persons approached the Government seeking
refugee status, according to ONPAR. The law requires that the
Government's National Commission for the Protection of Refugees meet at
least once every three months to determine the status of persons
seeking refugee status. During the year the commission held two
sessions in which seven cases (36 persons) were granted refugee status.
There were approximately 1,000 refugees in the country, including
the 47 persons from the indigenous Wounaan community in Colombia who
obtained refugee status in 2006.
On May 9, the Government passed Law 25 creating an exceptional
legal mechanism that allowed refugees to apply for permanent residency
status. This mechanism applies only to persons who have been recognized
as refugees for more than 10 years and requires that the applications
be submitted within two years. Regulations and implementation
procedures for this law, which took effect in November, had not been
released by year's end. A 1998 decree grants protection to all persons
entering the country due to ``state persecution based on race, gender,
religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion.'' The decree
grants two months' temporary humanitarian protection to ``displaced
persons'' in the case of a large influx. In practice the Government did
not enforce the two-month time limit.
The Government also provided temporary protection to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention and the 1967
protocol. This included the continued temporary humanitarian protection
of approximately 542 displaced Afro-Colombians and approximately 359 of
their dependents, some of whom were Panamanian citizens. Among these
dependents were children born in the country as a result of marriages
between displaced Colombians and Panamanian citizens. The Government
did not permit displaced Colombians to move or work outside of their
assigned villages. Many displaced Colombians informed the Government
and UNHCR that they did not want to return to Colombia due to family
and cultural ties with the local communities in Panama.
The UNHCR classified as ``persons of concern'' an estimated 15,000
persons living in the country who were believed to need international
protection. These included persons for whom the Government had denied
refugee status and persons in the country who did not apply for refugee
status due to lack of knowledge or fear of deportation. Among these
persons were 62 Embera indigenous community members who left Colombia
in 2005. Their cases were heard and rejected by the National Commission
for the Protection of Refugees in October, but international
humanitarian organizations noted irregularities in due process. The
UNHCR had a permanent office in the country and was generally granted
access to refugees and project sites where it could provide services to
refugees, internally displaced persons, and persons under temporary
humanitarian protection.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the
country's territory, and the law provides for universal birth
registration. The Government made a sustained and successful effort to
provide birth certificates to the Panamanian-born children of the 542
displaced Colombians. In remote areas some parents for economic or
other reasons did not register their children at birth with the Office
of Civil Registry of the Electoral Tribunal, the Government agency
responsible for birth registrations. These children occasionally
experienced difficulties when later seeking to obtain a birth
certificate. Persons without a birth registration certificate often had
problems voting or accessing government services beyond basic education
and healthcare.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage. The law
provides for direct popular election every five years of the president,
the vice president, legislators, and local representatives. Naturalized
citizens may not hold certain categories of elective office.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2004 Democratic
Revolutionary Party candidate Martin Torrijos won the presidency in
national elections considered to be generally free and fair by domestic
and international observers.
The law requires new political parties to meet strict membership
and organizational standards to gain official recognition and
participate in national campaigns. The law also requires political
parties to be structured democratically, permits independents to
campaign for the National Assembly, provides for the autonomy of the
Electoral Tribunal, and limits the immunity of representatives in the
National Assembly by permitting the Supreme Court of Justice to
prosecute criminal cases against representatives.
Women held 12 of 78 seats in the legislature. There were four women
in the 17-member cabinet and one female judge on the Supreme Court of
Justice. The attorney general was a woman.
Five seats in the legislature were designated to represent the
country's recognized indigenous regions. In general deputies in the
legislature, cabinet members, or members of the Supreme Court of
Justice did not identify themselves as members of ethnic or racial
minorities.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The new Criminal Procedure
Law criminalizes corruption and provides anticorruption mechanisms and
norms, such as asset forfeiture and recovery mechanisms, whistleblower
and witness protection, plea bargaining, and conflict of interest
rules.
While the country made progress in control of corruption and
regulatory quality, there were continued instances of government
corruption. Weak administration and accountability among the branches
of government and in rural areas facilitated corruption.
At year's end six employees of the Ministry of Education were in
custody, charged with embezzling $1.5 million from the Fund for
Fairness and Quality in Education, funds intended to improve
impoverished public schools. This prosecution resulted from training
undertaken by the Anticorruption Investigation Unit in the Attorney
General's Office, a part of the Government's Good Governance Program.
To increase transparency and reduce corruption, the Government
transferred certain functions to computer-based processes. For example,
the Government's Internet-based procurement system (PanamaCompra)
requires publication of all proposed government purchases on the
Internet, the evaluation of proposals and monitoring of the procurement
process, and advance public notice of intended procurement, including
technical specifications and tender documents. An administrative court,
whose rulings are subject to Supreme Court review, handles all public
contracting disputes.
Additionally, commercial or industrial licenses may be obtained
through the country's online business registration service
(PanamaEmprende). This innovation, in which a prospective business
owner may register his or her business in 15 minutes, reduced
opportunities for corruption from the former process, which took 60
days and involved numerous interactions with local officials.
In September the Citizens Alliance for Justice reported that 87
percent of the goals set forth in the 2005 ``State Pact for Justice''
(a reform agenda for the years 2005-09 to curtail corruption) remained
to be achieved.
Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws, but
this information, reported to the Government, was not available to the
public.
The transparency law provides public access to information from and
about public entities with the exception of cabinet meeting minutes.
When requests were denied, the reasons for the denial were given.
Requesters can appeal access decisions to the Supreme Court of Justice.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, elected by the National
Assembly, has moral but no legal authority. Between January and
November, the Office of the Ombudsman received 343 complaints and
provided 3,889 legal orientations to citizen groups to familiarize them
with their rights. The ombudsman enjoyed the Government's cooperation
and operated without government or party interference. The office had
adequate resources, was considered to be effective, enjoyed public
confidence, and issued reports with recommendations on environmental
contamination and prison conditions on which the Government took
action.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuse, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, but there were allegations that
these prohibitions were not always effectively enforced.
Women.--The new Code, which went into effect in May, criminalizes
rape and spousal rape with prison terms of five to 10 years and eight
to 10 years with aggravating circumstances. The new Code removes the
provision that a perpetrator can marry a victim who is at least age 14
and reduce the charge. It also mandates charging the perpetrator if the
victim is between 14 and 18 years of age, unless there is proof of a
longstanding relationship and the difference in age is less than five
years. The majority of sexual crimes investigated by the PNP were cases
of rape; however, statistics on prosecutions and convictions were not
available. The PNP reported that it investigated every case relating to
rape and domestic violence it received during the year.
The law criminalizes domestic abuse and family violence, for which
it provides prison terms of two to four years. Domestic violence
against women continued to be a serious problem. There were few
convictions for domestic violence, except that abusers were commonly
convicted of unintentional killing in cases of abuse leading to spousal
death. Between January and August, the PNP registered 1,212 cases of
domestic violence and 436 cases of rape. Between January and December,
32 women died in domestic violence incidents. From January until
October, the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) received 901
complaints of domestic violence. In May the law was amended to make
domestic violence an ``aggravating circumstance'' in homicide cases.
MIDES' National Directorate of Women, the Government agency
responsible for promoting the rights of women, oversaw a national media
campaign, ``You are Not Alone,'' which encouraged citizens to report
incidents of domestic violence. MIDES also produced a directory of
resources for female victims of domestic violence.
The Government operated one shelter in Panama City for victims of
domestic abuse and their children; the facility also occasionally
sheltered trafficking victims. The shelter offered social,
psychological, medical, and legal services. Between January and August,
it provided accommodation and social services to approximately 54 women
and 81 children.
Although prostitution is legal and regulated, with prostitutes
required to register and carry identification cards, the majority of
prostitutes were not registered. Although 2,650 sex workers were
registered with the Government, there was no accurate information
regarding the number of persons practicing prostitution in the country.
Trafficking in women was a problem.
The law prohibits sexual harassment in cases of established
employer/employee relations in the private sector and in teacher/
student relations; violators can receive one- to three-year prison
sentences. The extent of the problem was difficult to determine because
convictions for sexual harassment were rare, and preemployment sexual
harassment was not actionable. The effectiveness of law enforcement
could not be determined due to the small number of cases brought before
the courts.
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, and women
officially enjoyed the same rights as men, including rights under
family law, property law, and the judicial penal system. Although the
law recognizes joint or common property in marriages, the Government
did not allocate sufficient resources to enforce the law effectively.
Although the law prohibits pregnancy discrimination, the International
Labor Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts requested that the
Government take further measures to ensure that women on temporary
contracts are not vulnerable to pregnancy discrimination.
The law mandates equal pay for men and women in equivalent jobs,
but in practice women on average received wages that were 30 to 40
percent lower than those received by men. Data was not available
regarding executive positions held by women in the private sector, but
41 percent of government managers were women.
MIDES, through the National Directorate of Women, promoted equality
of women in the workplace and equal pay for equal work, attempted to
reduce sexual harassment, and advocated legal reforms.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
welfare.
Although the law provides that citizenship is derived by birth
within the country's territory, there were reports that children in
remote areas had difficulty in obtaining birth registration
certificates (See Section 2.d.).
Education is compulsory through the ninth grade and the law
establishes free public education through high school, but children did
not always attend school due to traditional attitudes, financial and
economic constraints, lack of transportation, and scarcity of secondary
schools.
During the year the Public Ministry counted 617 criminal cases of
sexual exploitation of minors, including 237 incidences of rape. Lack
of reporting remained a problem, often because of parental involvement
or complicity. Sexual abuse of children was reported in both urban and
rural areas, as well as within indigenous communities.
MIDES received complaints regarding physical abuse of children. The
ministry maintained a free phone line attended by psychologists, a
lawyer, and social workers for children and adults to report abuses,
and continued a television and newspaper campaign encouraging
individuals to use the line. Between January and September, the line
received 757 complaints of child mistreatment. Victims were directed to
police authorities, hospitals, and protection centers.
Child labor was a problem, and trafficking in children occurred.
MIDES provided funding to 43 children's shelters operated by NGOs
in seven provinces. Between January and August, these shelters housed
1,927 children. MIDES continued a program that used pamphlets in
schools to sensitize teachers, children, and parents about maltreatment
and sexual abuse of children.
The incidence of youth gang violence continued to rise, especially
in poorer neighborhoods of Colon, David, and Panama City. Young adult
gang leaders and some organized crime elements continued recruiting
minors, with recruiters focusing on procuring youth to transport
narcotics and other contraband, and perform killings for hire. Police
continued to arrest and detain youths for minor infractions during
neighborhood sweeps.
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in
persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation, persons were trafficked
to, from, and within the country. The PNP Sex Crimes Unit reported that
most victims trafficked into the country came from Colombia, the
Dominican Republic, and Central America. The primary destinations for
victims trafficked from the country were Jamaica and Europe. Most
victims trafficked within the country were women and children
trafficked into the sex trade. The PNP Sex Crimes Unit reported that
the vast majority of trafficking victims were women older than 18
years.
The principal traffickers in the country were owners of houses of
prostitution, and most transnational trafficking occurred using valid
travel documents and was conducted through official ports of entry.
The Ministry of Government and Justice is responsible for
developing policies to reduce trafficking in persons. MIDES is charged
with protecting victims through shelters and related services. The PNP
Sex Crimes Unit has responsibility for investigating and arresting
persons involved in trafficking. The unit worked closely with the PNP
Special Section on Crimes of Sexual Exploitation and the Division of
Crimes relating to Shame, Integrity, and Sexual Liberty.
The law criminalizes trafficking and pornography and proscribes the
promotion of sex tourism and use of the Internet for soliciting for
sexual exploitation. Persons who engage in human trafficking for sexual
activity can receive five to eight years in prison or, in cases
involving a minor, eight to 10 years. The law permits undercover
operations and the monitoring of suspects' computers in sex crime
cases. As of October the foreign national convicted and sentenced in
2007 to five years' imprisonment for trafficking in persons remained
free on bail pending appeal.
In the 13 months preceding June, the PNP Sex Crimes Unit
investigated 34 cases of child prostitution, 24 cases of child
pornography, and 16 cases of sexual trafficking; the prosecutor's
office initiated its own investigations. There was no information
available on the outcome of the investigations.
The immigration law that took effect in August under Executive
Decree 320 eliminates the ``alternadora'' visa, a visa permitting
foreign women to work in entertainment establishments in the country
and commonly used to facilitate prostitution. Under the new law,
nightclub workers and adult entertainers fall under the general visa
class for all types of entertainers who wish to enter the country for
temporary work. The law also creates a new registry for businesses
dedicated to entertainment in the country, which is intended in part to
limit requests for visas in the adult entertainment industry, permit
monitoring of businesses that apply, and ensure that the businesses
operate legally. In addition to numerous documentation requirements,
the new law requires that all entertainment visa holders attend an
antitrafficking education seminar at the Immigration Directorate.
Individual visa applicants must provide comprehensive personal
information, make a $1,000 deposit with the Immigration Directorate,
and provide proof of a return ticket to their home countries. No
entertainment visas have been granted to employees of bars or
nightclubs under the new law.
The new immigration law, which emphasizes cases involving minors,
also creates a special trafficking victims' unit within the Immigration
Directorate; a full-time employee was hired to manage the unit. The
unit must provide physical and identity protection to victims in
addition to returning them to their countries of origin and mandates
several measures to combat trafficking. The new unit assisted at least
one Colombian woman and her family who were working in the country
illegally.
In December 2007 the attorney general issued an internal decree
(Resolution 35) mandating that every province have a prosecutor trained
to prosecute trafficking cases. Additionally, a prosecutor, based in
Panama City, was dedicated solely to prosecuting trafficking cases.
The law does not hold trafficking victims criminally responsible
for prostitution or immigration crimes. The law provides for
indemnification of victims of trafficking, even if they return to their
home country, and for costs of medical and psychological treatment,
temporary housing, legal fees, and emotional suffering.
The country's consular officers provided assistance to trafficking
victims. MIDES continued providing shelter and other services to
victims of commercial sexual exploitation, using substitute families,
its own shelter, and the shelter of the NGO Hogar Malambo, which it
subsidized. The Government shelter, which was located in a former
prison, did not have adequate infrastructure to house trafficking
victims.
The Government worked with the ILO's International Program on the
Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) on trafficking initiatives, including
through producing pamphlets on sexual exploitation and trafficking for
distribution to public school educators. The Commission on Justice and
Peace, a Catholic NGO, counseled victims about their rights and modes
of assistance, and the Center of Legal Assistance provided legal
assistance for victims. The Center of Family Studies and Training
researched trafficking and educated women about trafficking and gender-
based crime. In an effort to detect trafficking of minors, the new
immigration law requires the creation of a registry of minors traveling
internationally without parents or other legal guardians.
The National Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Crime
(CONAPREDES) allocated additional funding for combating trafficking and
for victims' assistance via member institutions. The law requires that,
to raise revenue for the activities of CONAPREDES, customs authorities
collect one dollar from each tourist leaving the country; however, at
year's end the Government had not implemented a mechanism to collect
these funds. The Government cooperated through information sharing with
international investigations of persons accused of trafficking. In June
CONAPREDES rolled out the Government's National Plan for the Prevention
and Elimination of Sexual and Commercial Exploitation of Children and
Adolescents, 2008-2010, and in November opened a three-person technical
office to implement the plan.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination based
on physical or mental disability; however, the constitution permits the
state to deny naturalization to persons with mental or physical
disabilities. Persons with disabilities continued to experience
substantial discrimination in employment, education, access to health
care, and other state services. Although some public schools admitted
children with mental and physical disabilities, most did not have
adequate facilities for children with special needs. The Government
took some remedial steps, including installing ramps in schools and
mainstreaming some children with disabilities. The law mandates access
to new or remodeled public buildings for persons with disabilities and
requires that schools integrate children with special needs.
Although private schools built ramps to comply with the law
mandating access, few admitted children with special needs. In May the
Government established a consultative committee, Let's Live without
Barriers, to follow up on enforcement of laws for inclusion and access
for persons with disabilities. The committee produced accessibility
guidelines for public areas and held awareness workshops with engineers
and architects to brief them on the guidelines for ramps, entrances,
and parking spaces.
By September the ombudsman had received five complaints of
violations of the rights of persons with disabilities.
The National Secretariat for the Social Integration of Persons with
Disabilities is the Government agency responsible for protecting the
rights of persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Education and
MIDES share responsibilities for educating and training minors with
disabilities.
The Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (MITRADEL) was
responsible for placing workers with disabilities in suitable jobs.
Placement remained difficult due to employer reluctance to hire workers
with disabilities, despite a legal requirement that at least 2 percent
of personnel be persons with disabilities.
The Government continued operating the Family Businesses Project,
which assisted 296 low-income families with members with disabilities
to open microbusinesses. The Government disbursed $50 monthly to low-
income persons with disabilities and also continued donating
rehabilitation equipment, including crutches, wheelchairs, and cerebral
palsy chairs.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Minority groups generally have
been integrated into mainstream society, but problems continued with
negative societal attitudes toward blacks, indigenous groups, and other
ethnic communities. Generalized public prejudice, including ethnic
slurs, against the country's newer immigrants at times was overt.
Cultural differences, illegal immigration status, and language
difficulties hindered a number of immigrant and first-generation
Chinese from fully integrating into mainstream society.
At times Middle Eastern and Indian residents also were the subject
of negative societal attitudes by the general public because of
reluctance by some members of these communities to integrate into
mainstream society. These groups often owned major businesses or worked
in the country's retail trade. A constitutional provision reserving
retail trade for citizens of the country generally was not enforced.
At least 14 percent of the population identified themselves as
black. The black community was underrepresented in the highest
positions of political and economic power. Many blacks remained
clustered in economically depressed areas of Colon and Panama City.
Societal prejudices toward blacks generally were subtle. Although the
law specifically prohibits discrimination involving entry to public or
commercial establishments, such as restaurants, and sets fines from
$250 to $1,000 for violations, there were reports that some commercial
establishments continued openly to operate a ``right of admission''
policy, discriminating against darker-skinned individuals or those of
lower social status. Cases of discrimination were difficult to prove,
imposing complicated, time-consuming, and costly requirements to obtain
legal remedies. In December the daily La Prensa reported that a bar
refused entry to a black person, but no official complaint was filed.
There were reports of racial discrimination against various ethnic
groups in the workplace. In general lighter-skinned persons were
represented disproportionately in management positions and jobs that
required dealing with the public, such as bank tellers and
receptionists. Some of the country's lighter-skinned elite
discriminated against citizens with darker skin through preferential
hiring practices in the private sector and manipulation of government
resources in the public sector. Employers often required job applicants
to submit photographs with their resume, which they used to
discriminate against persons based on appearance.
Indigenous People.--The law affords indigenous people the same
political and legal rights as other citizens, protects their ethnic
identity and native languages, and requires the Government to provide
bilingual literacy programs in indigenous communities. Indigenous
people, comprising approximately 10 percent of the population, have the
legal right to take part in decisions affecting their lands, cultures,
traditions, and the allocation of natural resources. There were legally
designated comarcas (provincial-level indigenous regions) governed by
traditional community leaders for five of the country's seven
indigenous groups, including the Embera-Wounaan, Ngobe-Bugle, and Kuna.
The Government did not recognize comarcas for the Bri-Bri and Naso
communities.
The Ministry of Government and Justice maintained an Office of
Indigenous Policy. Although federal law is the ultimate authority on
indigenous reserves, local groups maintained considerable autonomy. The
Government recognized traditional Kuna marriage rites as the equivalent
of a civil ceremony. Indigenous workers had greater health problems and
mortality rates, suffered from lack of educational and health services,
had lower life expectancy, and experienced higher levels of
malnutrition compared to nonindigenous workers. The International Fund
for Agricultural Development estimated the poverty rate among the
indigenous population at 95 percent. Although indigenous people
represented only 10 percent of the population, they accounted for 19
percent of those considered poor and 34 percent of those in extreme
poverty.
Many indigenous people misunderstood their rights and failed to
employ legal channels when threatened because they did not have an
adequate command of Spanish. The Government did not provide legal
tribunals in indigenous areas and failed to address specific indigenous
property and resource use rights problems. Outside settler encroachment
threatened the comarca of the Ngobe-Bugle, while the Embera-Wounaan
struggled to protect their intellectual property rights concerning
medicinal plants.
Social and employment discrimination against indigenous people was
widespread. The ILO reported that employers paid indigenous workers 32
percent less than nonindigenous workers. Employers frequently did not
afford indigenous workers basic rights provided by the labor laws such
as a minimum wage, social security benefits, termination pay, and job
security. Indigenous laborers in the country's sugar, coffee, and
banana plantations continued to work under worse conditions than their
nonindigenous counterparts. Employers were less likely to provide
quality housing or food to indigenous migrant laborers, and the
children of these workers were much more likely to work long hours of
heavy farm labor than nonindigenous children. A 2006 ILO report, the
most recent available, estimated that 14 percent of indigenous children
ages 5 to 17 performed some type of child labor.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--An August 1 executive
decree decriminalized sodomy. There was societal discrimination against
homosexuals, who often were denied employment opportunities. The
internal regulations of the PNP describe homosexuality as a ``grave
fault.'' There were reports that the PNP fired police officers because
of the officers' sexual preferences and that officers hid their sexual
orientation due to fear of job termination. The DRP director defended
the regulations on the basis that both physical and mental health were
required of police officers.
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS in
employment and education, but discrimination continued to be common due
to ignorance of the law and a lack of mechanisms for ensuring
compliance. The Ministry of Health and Social Security provided
treatment for HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law recognizes the right of
private-sector workers to form and join unions of their choice, a
choice that is subject to the union's registration with the Government.
The law requires a minimum of 40 persons to form a private-sector union
and permits only one union per business establishment; the ILO
Committee of Experts criticized both provisions as violations of
workers' rights to organize. The law permits workers to organize under
a skill set or trade unions, as long as these have 40 members. These
unions may operate alongside employer-specific unions in the same
business.
The law prohibits public servants from forming unions but allows
them to form associations, which can bargain collectively on behalf of
members. Union leaders for both public- and private-sector unions must
be citizens.
The law provides that if the Government does not respond to a
registration application within 15 days, the union automatically gains
legal recognition; however, unionists asserted that such automatic
registration did not occur in practice. MITRADEL reported that
inadequate personnel resources, case backlogs, and incomplete or
inaccurate information in applications delayed the processing of new
registrations within the required time frame.
The National Federation of Public Servants (FENASEP), an umbrella
organization of 21 public-sector worker associations representing
primarily administrative staff of government agencies, is not permitted
to call strikes or negotiate collective bargaining agreements, as
individual associations negotiate on behalf of their members. Other
public workers, such as doctors, nurses, and firefighters, have
separate associations that negotiate on their behalf. The law grants
public employees a limited right to strike, except for those in areas
vital to public welfare and security, including police and health
workers. At least 25 percent of the workforce must continue to provide
minimum services in the case of administrative workers, and 50 percent
of workers providing ``essential public services,'' such as
transportation, firefighting, telecommunications, and mail, must
continue to provide those services.
The ILO Committee of Experts expressed continued concerns that the
Government had not amended the law to permit strikes by federations
such as FENASEP. The ILO also requested that the Government remove
transport workers from strike restrictions in essential services.
The law governing the autonomous Panama Canal Authority prohibits
the right to strike for its 9,497 employees but does allow unions to
organize and to bargain collectively on such issues as hours and safety
and provides for arbitration to resolve disputes. There were no
developments respecting the claim the National Confederation of United
Unions filed with the IACHR filed on behalf of Panama Canal employees,
which protested the Supreme Court's failure to rule on its 2001
complaint against articles of the law that prohibit its members' right
to strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides all private-sector and most public-sector workers the right to
organize and bargain collectively, and private worker unions exercised
this right widely. The law establishes a conciliation section in
MITRADEL to resolve private labor complaints and provides a procedure
for mediation.
These conciliation tribunals include representatives from the
Government, labor, and the private sector, and address cases in which
the claim in dispute is no more than $1,500. While labor leaders
favored these tribunals, some civil society groups criticized the
tribunals as routes for circumventing the role of the judiciary and
leaving interpretation of labor laws to the discretion of persons who
might lack expertise. A Board of Appeal and Conciliation in the
Ministry of the Presidency hears and resolves complaints for public-
sector workers. If not resolved by the board, complaints are referred
to an Arbitrage Tribunal, which consists of representatives from the
employer, the employee association, and a third member chosen by the
first two. Decisions of the Arbitrage Board are final.
Employers in the retail industry frequently hired temporary workers
to circumvent labor code requirements for permanent workers. In lower-
skilled service jobs, employers often hired employees under three-month
contracts for several years, sometimes sending such employees home for
a month and later rehiring them. Employers also circumvented the law
requiring a two-week notice for discharges by dismissing some workers
one week before a holiday. Due to labor laws that make it difficult to
fire employees who have worked two years or more, employers frequently
hired workers for one year and 11 months and subsequently laid them
off.
MITRADEL's Manual of Labor Rights and Obligations provides that
unorganized workers can petition MITRADEL regarding labor rights
violations and exercise the right to strike but that only unions can
negotiate collective bargaining agreements. However, Supreme Court
decisions have recognized that collective agreements negotiated between
employers and unorganized workers have legal status equivalent to
collective bargaining agreements.
The labor code prohibits employer antiunion discrimination and
protects workers engaged in union activities from loss of employment or
discriminatory transfers.
The Government reduced the minimum number of public servants
required to form a worker association from 50 to 40, a number the ILO
Committee of Experts still considered too high. According to the
National Council of Organized Workers, only 8 to 10 percent of workers
were unionized. The leaders of the four public-service worker
associations enjoy legal immunity from dismissal and other employer
retaliatory behavior in relation to worker representation and
organizing activities.
In 2007 the Government offered $21.9 million as final compensation
for 270 dismissed public-sector electricity and telecommunications
workers in an effort to comply with a 2001 Inter-American Court of
Human Rights ruling. In August, 187 of the workers, more than two-
thirds as required by the IACHR ruling, agreed to accept this offer as
final compensation.
Unions and collective bargaining are permitted in export processing
zones (EPZs) and call centers. A strike is considered legal after 36
work days of conciliation; otherwise, striking workers could be fined
or fired. These procedures are somewhat more prescriptive than those
that generally apply.
There were approximately 1,142 employees in the country's 15 EPZs
and 6,124 employees in the country's 58 call centers, which operated
under the law applicable to EPZs.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor by adults and children, and there were no
reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law contains provisions to prevent exploitation of children in the
workplace. MITRADEL, which has responsibility for enforcement, was
reasonably effective in enforcing the law in the formal sector. During
the year the ministry performed 440 inspections to ensure compliance
with child labor regulations.
The labor code prohibits the employment of children under age 14,
although exceptions can be made for children 12 and over to perform
light farm work for up to six hours per day that does not interfere
with their school hours. The law prohibits the employment of minors age
15 and older if the minor has not completed primary school.
Nonetheless, child labor in agriculture and in the informal sector of
the economy remained a problem, and the ombudsman reported that 55,919
children were working instead of attending school.
The law provides that children under age 18 cannot work more than
six hours per day and cannot work at night. The law prohibits the
employment of minors under the age of 18 in hazardous labor. MITRADEL
enforced these provisions in response to complaints and has authority
to order the termination of unauthorized employment. The Government
acknowledged that it was unable to enforce some child labor provisions
in rural parts of the country; due to insufficient staff, MITRADEL
conducted only limited inspections in those areas.
Child labor violations occurred most frequently in rural areas, in
subsistence and commercial agriculture, especially during the harvest
of sugar cane, coffee, palm, melons, and tomatoes. Farm owners often
paid according to the amount harvested, leading many laborers to bring
their young children to the fields to help with the work. The problem
of child labor in agricultural areas fell most heavily on indigenous
families, who often migrated out of their isolated communities in
search of paid work. These frequent migrations interrupted schooling.
Child domestic labor was a problem. According to the 2000 census,
the most recent available, more than 6,000 children between the ages of
10 and 17 worked as domestic servants, although the law prohibits such
employment under age 14. Government enforcement of domestic labor
violations was traditionally weak because the place of work was a
private residence.
Many children continued laboring in the informal sector as street
vendors, shoe shiners, car window washers, baggers in supermarkets,
trash pickers, or beggars. A 2005 ILO survey, the most recent
available, estimated that 52,000 children between the ages of five and
17 worked in the informal sector. There were no firm statistics
available regarding the number of child laborers or the number of
working children who did not attend school.
The Government provided awareness raising and training on combating
child labor for its officials and civil society. The Department of
Children, within MIDES, searched the main streets of Panama City twice
monthly looking for children engaged in work; it also managed a hot
line to receive reports of child labor. MIDES also operated programs in
three districts of Panama City, which offered comprehensive services to
children at risk and their families, including home visits, tutoring,
counseling for parents, and school visits.
The Committee for the Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of
Working Adolescents, established in March, provided 2,500 scholarships
to children ages 5 to 14 who were working in the metropolitan areas of
Panama City and Colon.
IPEC, with government support, continued carrying out programs in
the comarca of the Ngobe-Bugle, in Santiago de Veraguas, and in
Chorrera to provide scholarships to working children to allow them to
begin or return to primary school and to provide their parents job
training and literacy programs. During the year 369 students received
individual scholarships of $420 through this program.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law establishes minimum wage
rates for specific regions and for most categories of labor. In 2007
new regional and sector specific minimum wages were established as part
of a transparent process that included representatives from labor,
business, and government. The minimum wage ranged from $1.01 to $1.87
per hour. The agricultural and construction sectors received the lowest
and highest minimum wage, respectively. This wage did not provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Most workers
formally employed in urban areas earned the minimum wage or more.
Approximately 40 percent of the population worked in the large informal
sector and earned far below the minimum wage. This was particularly the
case in most rural areas, where unskilled laborers earned from three to
three to six dollars per day without benefits. The Government did not
enforce labor laws in most rural areas.
The law establishes a standard workweek of 48 hours, provides for
at least one 24-hour rest period weekly, limits the number of hours
worked per week, provides for premium pay for overtime, and prohibits
excessive or compulsory overtime. MITRADEL generally enforced these
standards in the formal sector.
MITRADEL is responsible for setting and enforcing health and safety
standards and generally did so. Information on the number of workplace
inspections during the year was unavailable.
Inspectors from MITRADEL and the occupational health section of the
Social Security Administration conducted periodic inspections of
hazardous employment sites and responded to complaints. The Government
failed to adequately enforce health and safety standards. Construction
workers and their employers were lax about conforming to basic safety
measures.
The labor code requires employers to provide a safe workplace
environment, including the provision of protective clothing and
equipment for workers, but does not specifically recognize the right of
a worker to leave a dangerous work situation without jeopardy to
continued employment. In practice workers removed themselves from
situations that presented an immediate health or safety hazard without
jeopardizing their employment.
__________
PARAGUAY
Paraguay is a multiparty, constitutional republic with a population
of approximately 6.7 million. Voters elected Fernando Lugo of the
Patriotic Alliance for Change as president in generally free and fair
April 20 elections that ended 61 years of Colorado Party rule. The
civilian authorities generally maintained control of the security
forces.
Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there were serious abuses in some areas. There were reports
of killings by police, which the Government investigated but rarely
prosecuted. Some prisoners were reportedly subject to torture and abuse
by government agents. Prisons were routinely overcrowded. Political
interference, corruption, and inefficiency in the judiciary were
common, as was lengthy pretrial detention. Journalists were harassed
and intimidated. Government corruption was a serious problem. Violence
and discrimination against women, indigenous persons, and persons with
disabilities continued, as did trafficking in persons. Exploitative
child labor and violations of workers' rights were serious problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
there were reports that security forces using unwarranted or excessive
force killed several persons, including persons in their custody.
A January 23 confrontation in Ciudad del Este between police and
gang members who kidnapped a 17-year-old boy resulted in the deaths of
gang members Valdecir Pinheiro dos Santos, Juan Anibal Gonzalez, Jorge
Ruben Acosta, Sebastian Gonzalez Gonzalez, and Cesar Martinez.
On August 22, police officers shot 20-year-old Leticia Veronica
Lugo in Villa Elisa, after she failed to stop her vehicle for
inspection and led them on a brief chase. Prosecutors were
investigating 12 police officers, including local police commissioner
Federico Noguera, for attempted homicide and failure to assist the
victim. On August 25, then police commissioner Federico Acuna
acknowledged police negligence in the case.
On December 30, police officer Gustavo Arnaldo Duarte was arrested
for killing security guard Salinas Vicente Gonzalez while Duarte
attempted to rob a local business.
On March 24, an unknown assailant killed Geraldino Rotela, a
prominent political activist, in Caazapa Department.
On April 9, unknown assailants seriously injured radio talk show
host and political activist Alfredo Avalos and killed his wife Silvana
Rodriguez in Curuguaty.
There were no developments in the May 2007 killings of Nancy
Martinez, Cesar Gonzalez, Christian Delfino Morales, Rildo Ramirez,
Alfonso Leguizamon, and Mario Leguizamon during a police raid in Minga
Guazu.
On April 19, a three-person tribunal in Villarrica, Guaira
Department, acquitted police inspector Alberto Magno Ferreira of
torturing farmer Miguel Angel Benitez in 2006. However, an appeals
court reopened the case on October 31, and Ferreira remained under
indictment.
There were no developments in the 2006 killings of Agustin
Cristaldo and Alberto Escobar Silvero or in the 2006 killings of Josais
Adan Valiente Ovelar and Luis Martinez by members of the civilian
militia known as the National Commission for Citizen Security
(CONASEG). On December 11, President Lugo disbanded CONASEG.
On October 16, a judge absolved former Colorado senator Victor
Galeano Perrone of involvement in the 1999 assassination of then-vice
president Luis Maria Argana and subsequent killing of seven student
protesters by government agents. Galeano turned himself in on September
10 after spending nine years as a fugitive in Uruguay and Paraguay. On
December 22, the Supreme Court cleared retired army commanding general
(and 2008 presidential candidate) Lino Oviedo of involvement in
Argana's assassination.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances; however, there were updates in earlier cases.
On September 24, a tribunal sentenced former police officer Carmelo
Ortiz Salinas to 30 years in prison for masterminding the 2005
kidnapping of Evelyn Kuo.
On December 2, Free Fatherland Party (PPL) members Aristides Vera
Silguero, Roque Rodriguez Torales, Simeon Bordon Salinas, Basiliano
Cardozo Jimenez, Agustin Acosta Gonzalez, and Gustavo Lezcano Espinola
were extradited from Argentina to Paraguay to face changes for the
kidnapping and killing of Cecilia Cubas. Their case remained pending at
year's end.
On September 12, following the ransom payment of 1.2 billion
guaranies (approximately $237,000), kidnappers calling themselves the
Paraguayan People's Army (EPP) released rancher Luis Alberto Lindstron
after holding him for 44 days. Lindstron's brother, who paid the
ransom, publicly alleged that EPP leader and former PPL member Manuel
Cristaldo Mieres received the payment. On December 31, Mieres and two
other EPP members reportedly attacked a military outpost in Tacuati
(San Pedro), briefly took the military guard hostage, and burned down
the outpost.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such treatment, and the Government
generally respected these provisions in practice. However, there were
reports that some government agents employed such treatment. The
Paraguayan Human Rights Coordinator (CODEHUPY), comprising 37
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civic organizations, and the
local NGO Committee of Churches for Emergency Aid (CIPAE) reported
several cases of police torture and other abuses designed to extract
confessions or intimidate detainees.
On July 1, police in Horqueta, who reportedly entered the home of
Domingo Lezcano during a raid on his property, beat and tortured him,
his family, and several landless farmers (campesinos).
There were no new developments, and none were expected, in the
April 2007 beatings of four marijuana growers and Blas Argana.
There were no new developments in the September 2007 alleged police
torture of Juan Dolores Colman Espinola or the November 2007 beatings
of brothers Ramon and Isidro Benitez.
During the year the Government made partial reparations to victims
and their families in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights torture
and abuse cases of Juvenile Reeducation Institute (Panchito Lopez)
(2004), Agustin Goiburu and 26 others (2005), and Gerardo Vargas Areco
(2006). On December 15, the Government publicly apologized to Vargas
Areco's family, partially fulfilling its obligations.
On March 6, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights allowed
Cristina Aguayo Ortiz, et al. to submit their case to the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights for consideration after concurring with
the petitioners' claim that the Government committed human rights
abuses when it rounded up and detained hundreds of Asuncion street
children without due process in 2000 and 2001.
In November 2007 the Senate rescinded an indemnity the ombudsman
had awarded to pro-Nazi activist Ramon Dardo Castelluccio, and on April
23, the Senate Committee on Human Rights opened an investigation into
his alleged role in violence committed against Sonia Aquino, director
of the NGO Coordinator for Victims of the Dictatorship. Aquino claimed
that Dardo verbally threatened her and placed a hand grenade under her
vehicle in December 2007.
On July 31, following several incidences of rape, sexual abuse,
castration, and suspicious deaths at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital in
Asuncion, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights ruled that the
Government must implement controls to monitor and prevent abuse. The
Government had not implemented these controls by year's end.
On March 20, National Military Academy cadets Guillermo Benitez
Adorno, Cesar Candia Britos, Francisco Sotelo Blanco, Leonardo Martinez
Rotela, and Carlos Caniza allegedly raped a female cadet. Another
female cadet, Leticia Atenas Quintana, videotaped the rape and posted
it on the Internet. On October 23, a judge ordered the five male cadets
incarcerated. On December 11, Quintana filed a complaint against
Colonel Agustin Duarte Perez, alleging psychological torture after she
was expelled from the Military Academy.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally did not meet international standards. In
August the Senate Human Rights Committee reiterated the Senate's
Special Committee on Penal Reform and Penitentiaries' 2006 finding that
prisons remained in ``deplorable'' condition. The most serious problems
included violence, mistreatment, overcrowding, inadequate staffing,
deteriorating infrastructure, unsanitary living conditions, poor food
safety standards, and inadequate medical and psychological care. The 20
penitentiaries and correctional centers held more than 6,000 inmates,
60 percent more than their capacity of 3,800. Tacumbu Prison in
Asuncion, designed to hold approximately 900 inmates, held an average
of 3,000 prisoners; the penitentiary in Ciudad del Este, designed to
hold about 300 inmates, held more than 650.
Prisons lacked adequate security controls. Inmates frequently
carried weapons and committed acts of violence, particularly against
other inmates. Inmate escapes were frequent, while others conducted
illicit activities by bribing prison guards and officials and using
cell phones to commit crimes. In August the administration banned
inmates from carrying electronic devices and conducted two crackdowns
before the year's end.
Living conditions at Tacumbu Prison and the Ciudad del Este
Regional Penitentiary, both men's prisons, remained poor. Regional
penitentiaries in the departments of Paraguari, Canindeyu, Concepcion,
Itapua, Caaguazu, and Misiones held both men and women but in separate
wings. The Senate's Special Committee on Penal Reform and
Penitentiaries cited the Ministry of Justice and Labor (MJT) for
failing to house prisoners by gender in separate facilities.
Although the ministry assigned minors convicted of juvenile crimes
in Asuncion, Concepcion, and Encarnacion to youth detention centers,
juvenile offenders elsewhere served their sentences in adult prisons.
Living conditions in juvenile facilities were generally better than in
adult prisons.
Prison officials frequently separated prisoners based on their
ability to pay for better living conditions. Inmates could upgrade
their accommodations to ``private'' rooms for a monthly fee of 20,000
to 150,000 guaranies ($4 to $30).
On June 22, inmates at La Esperanza Penitentiary in Asuncion seized
prison officials and demanded nighttime conjugal visits and an end to
mistreatment by guards. Prison officials agreed to investigate abuse
claims and stop strip-searching visitors. On October 8, the MJT resumed
authority over the penitentiary after two years of administration by a
private firm.
On October 14, 30 inmates at Buen Pastor Women's Prison in Asuncion
denounced guards for sexual assault and rioted. Officials agreed to
replace male guards with female guards. After a second disturbance
October 16, prison officials transferred 12 inmates to other
penitentiaries.
There were no new developments in the investigation of the December
2007 alleged rape of female inmates by prison guards at San Juan
Bautista Regional Center.
The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions and granted the media, human rights groups, and diplomatic
representatives limited access to prisons with prior authorization from
the MJT. On October 22, the MJT signed an agreement with the
International Committee of the Red Cross authorizing Red Cross
specialists to assess prison conditions and provide training to prison
staff.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arrest and
detention without an arrest warrant signed by a judge. The law also
stipulates that persons detained must appear before a judge within 24
hours to make a statement. The police may arrest without warrant
persons apprehended in the act of committing a crime, and persons may
be detained up to six hours by the Public Ministry. There were reports
of arbitrary arrest and detention of persons without a warrant.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police,
under the authority of the Interior Ministry, preserves public order;
protects the rights and safety of persons and entities and their
property; prevents and investigates crimes; and implements orders given
by the judiciary and public officials. The military, under the
president's authority, guards the country's territorial integrity and
defends lawfully constituted authorities. The Defense Ministry, also
under the president's authority but excluded from the military's chain
of command, handled some defense matters. The law authorizes the Anti-
Narcotics Secretariat (SENAD) and the Anti-Terrorism Secretariat
(SEPRINTE), both under the president's authority, to enforce the law
and maintain order in matters related to narcotics trafficking and
terrorism.
Civilian authorities generally maintained control over the security
forces. The security forces did not effectively coordinate law
enforcement efforts. Although the Government has mechanisms to
investigate and punish security force abuses and corruption, there were
reports that such cases often went unpunished.
The 22,500-member National Police force was poorly trained,
inadequately funded, generally corrupt, and shielded by impunity. On
November 24, Interior Minister Rafael Filizzola dismissed newly
appointed Police Commissioner Federico Acuna and Deputy Commissioner
Nestor Baez for insufficient progress in reducing corruption in the
National Police. Minister Filizzola also authorized prosecutor raids on
various police headquarters to prosecute endemic police corruption.
The new government, aware of the security forces' poor reputation,
took steps beginning in August to control and punish human rights
violations committed by police officers; in several instances, overt
use of excessive force by police officers against civilians was rapidly
condemned by the new government and met with quick action (See Section
1.a.). However, police officers often continued to act with impunity.
Although the National Police trained officers in human rights, there
were incidents of police involvement in homicide, arms and narcotics
trafficking, car theft, robbery, extortion, and kidnapping.
On January 23, six individuals wearing police uniforms hijacked a
public bus and robbed its passengers of 640 million guaranies
(approximately $127,000). On October 7, authorities arrested five
police officers from the National Police Economic Crimes Investigations
Department for stealing 15 million guaranies (approximately $2,970)
from Manuela Raquel Santacruz; department chief Wenceslao Recalde was
also dismissed. However, the five officers were released on October 9
after police determined that Santacruz had outstanding arrest warrants
for fraud. On December 3, police arrested police officer Nery Rupert
Britos for leading a gang of youthful robbers.
There were continuing cases of corruption in the 12,000-member
military. On January 17, prosecutors opened an investigation into
allegations that the army illegally transferred construction materials
to former defense minister Roberto Gonzalez Segovia for personal use
and issued false documents to conceal the action.
Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that, after making an
arrest, police have up to six hours to notify the prosecutor's office,
at which point the prosecutor's office has up to 24 hours to notify a
judge that it intends to prosecute the case.
The law provides detainees with the right to a prompt judicial
determination regarding the legality of the detention, and authorities
appeared to respect this right and to inform detainees promptly of the
charges against them. The law permits detention without trial until the
accused completes the minimum sentence for the alleged crime, which
often occurred in practice. The law stipulates that pretrial detention
may range from six months to five years based on the nature of the
crime; in reality, detention was arbitrarily lengthy, and some
detainees were held beyond their maximum allowable detention.
On October 9, prison officials released Dionisio Escobar after 11
years of detention on charges of attempting to rob a furniture store.
Although the old Procedural Code does not specify a maximum length of
detainment, Escobar's time in detention nearly equaled the maximum
sentence of 12 years he would have served if he had been convicted.
The law allows judges to utilize ``substitute measures,'' such as
house arrest and bail for felony cases but prohibits their use in
criminal cases. In nonfelony cases, judges frequently set relatively
high bail, and many poor defendants were unable to post bond and thus
waited in prison for trial. At the same time, minimal bonds, if any,
were routinely and blatantly provided to those with political or
economic connections.
The law grants accused criminals the right to counsel, and the
Government provides representation to poor defendants. The Government
permitted defendants to hire attorneys at their own expense. Detainees
were allowed access to family members.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; in practice, however, political interference
routinely and seriously compromised that independence. The judicial
system provides for separate military, criminal, civil, and commercial
courts. Courts remained inefficient and routinely subject to
corruption. Politicians and interested parties routinely attempted to
influence investigations and pressured judges and prosecutors. Although
the judiciary was not formally allied with any political group,
approximately 62 percent of judges were members of the Colorado Party.
The nine-member Supreme Court appoints lower-court judges and
magistrates based on slates of three candidates submitted by the eight-
member Magistrate's Council; the Council also nominates for Senate
approval a slate of three candidates for Supreme Court vacancies. Both
selection processes were highly politicized.
There are five types of appellate tribunals: civil and commercial,
criminal, labor, administrative, and juvenile. Lower courts and
justices of the peace handle civil and commercial, criminal, labor, and
juvenile cases. In many rural communities, one justice of the peace
handles all judicial matters. The military has its own judicial system,
and the Supreme Court of Military Justice oversees military cases. The
Superior Electoral Court (TSJE) oversees the electoral process and
settles election disputes. The Supreme Court has final appellate
jurisdiction over all courts and constitutional questions.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, which the judiciary nominally enforced through a lengthy
trial process. On June 4, the Center for Judicial Studies released a
study indicating that only 41.7 percent of cases initiated in 2007 were
resolved within one year. Wealthy or well-connected defendants received
impunity by filing often-specious motions that slowed legal progress
until their cases reached the statute of limitations.
The law provides for the use of three-judge tribunals in lieu of
juries to rule on procedure, determine guilt or innocence, and decide
sentences. A majority opinion is required to convict. One judge
presides over misdemeanor cases when the maximum punishment does not
exceed two years in prison and in civil cases.
All trials are open to the public. The law requires prosecutors to
indict accused persons within 180 days of arrest. The 343 prosecutors
and 98 public defenders on staff at the Public Ministry lacked the
resources to perform their jobs adequately. Defendants enjoy a
presumption of innocence and a right of appeal, and defendants and
prosecutors may present witnesses' written testimony and other
evidence. Defendants and their attorneys have the right of access to
state evidence relevant to their cases.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens have access to
the courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of,
human rights violations. There are administrative and judicial remedies
for alleged wrongs, although these were rarely granted to citizens. The
Government experienced problems enforcing court orders.
Property Restitution.--The Government generally enforced court
orders with respect to seizure, restitution, or compensation for taking
private property. However, systemic failures occurred. During the year
the Government partially complied with the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights' 2005 ruling in favor of the Yakye Axa indigenous
community with full monetary restitution; however, the Government did
not deed land to the community and at year's end was considering a
proposal to obtain land for them. The Government also partially
complied with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' 2006 ruling in
favor of the Sawhoyamaxa indigenous community by providing monetary
restitution but did not award the community land.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits police entry into private homes
except to prevent a crime in progress or when the police possess a
judicial warrant. While the Government and its security forces
generally did not interfere in the private lives of citizens, human
rights activists reported that officials abused their authority by
entering homes and businesses without warrants. There were credible
allegations that some government officials occasionally spied on
individuals and monitored communications for partisan or personal
reasons.
An investigation of Colonel Heriberto Galeano, former commander of
the Presidential Escort Regiment, for illegally wiretapping telephones
from his home remained open at year's end. Separately, on December 5, a
three-judge tribunal ignored substantial evidence and absolved Galeano,
of illicit enrichment, a decision that prosecutors appealed on December
30.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice. Individuals criticized the Government publicly and
privately, generally without reprisal or impediment. During political
speeches throughout the year then-president Duarte and senior members
of the Colorado Party repeatedly criticized the press, accusing the
media of partisanship and inaccurate reporting.
On December 19, the Government launched an official newspaper,
Paraguay for All, with an initial run of 15,000 copies touting the Lugo
administration's accomplishments. The Government stated that it would
not use the newspaper as a propaganda tool but only as a source of
public information.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views with few legal restrictions. The media frequently criticized the
Government and freely discussed opposition viewpoints without
censorship. Many media outlets reflected personal business or political
interests, and ethical and professional standards were low.
Political officials often retaliated against media criticism by
invoking criminal libel laws and suing the media to intimidate
journalists and suppress further investigations. On April 30, a judge
absolved ABC Color managing director Aldo Zuccolillo and reporter
Carlos Davalos Caceres of defamation in a suit filed by former
controller general auditors Atilio Perazza and Juan Antonio Cristaldo.
The suit concerned a 1999 ABC Color article accusing public works and
communications ministry officials of embezzlement. On February 8, a
tribunal acquitted Zuccolillo of defamation charges brought by former
deputy Benjamin Marecos Dure. At year's end Zuccolillo faced at least
20 additional criminal charges.
Government agents harassed and intimidated journalists. On several
occasions, politicians and prosecutors publicly threatened journalists
who revealed embarrassing information about them, typically related to
corruption. Political figures used police or private security agents to
threaten or intimidate journalists.
On April 11, the National Communications Commission (CONATEL) shut
down the Community Progress FM radio station in Curuguaty, Canindeyu
Department, for operating without a radio license. The station's
president, Brigido Gonzalez, claimed that, in the period leading to the
national election, CONATEL shut down his station after its broadcasts
criticized then Colorado deputy Julio Colman but did not shut down two
other unlicensed radio stations in Curuguaty that supported Colman and
his political allies.
On June 23, police reportedly beat two La Nacion newspaper
journalists with batons during a protest in front of the Social Action
Secretariat in Asuncion. In June FM del Sur de Encarnacion
correspondent Miguel Angel Masi was assaulted four times by unknown
assailants and received death threats by phone. Journalists from Ultima
Hora, Radio 1000, and Mega FM radio station received death threats
during the year.
On August 16, the Government's security forces declined to
intervene when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' security agents
physically assaulted Radio Nanduti and ABC Color journalists during
Chavez' visit to San Pedro Department.
On January 22, prosecutors charged civilians Nelson Gustavo and
Fabio Vera Sanabria with the August 2007 killing of Chilean radio
journalist Alberto Tito Palma. There were no new developments in the
March 2007 attack by log traffickers and the September 2007 threat by a
local councilman against journalist Alberto Nunez in Capiibary, San
Pedro Department. There were no developments in the 2006 killing of
Colorado mayoral candidate and journalist Julio Benitez Ruiz Diaz.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on basic
access to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail
or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were nine
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2007.
There were reports that the Government censored Web sites. On April
12, the Beloved Fatherland Party accused the government-owned Paraguay
Communications Company (COPACO) of blocking several political Web sites
prior to the April 20 national election. Additionally, COPACO used its
monopoly status to block access to Voice over Internet Protocol.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly and association,
and the Government generally respected these rights in practice. The
Government generally protected demonstrators from indiscriminate
violence. The law restricts demonstrations to certain times and places
and specifically prohibits meetings or demonstrations in front of
specified government buildings. Although the law prohibits closing
roads as a form of protest, demonstrators did so on many occasions
during the year. Police sometimes forcibly removed protesters.
On January 18, hundreds of former vice president Luis Castiglioni's
supporters blocked a major highway after transportation officials
selectively stopped their buses and conducted impromptu road safety and
security checks. The supporters had been traveling to Asuncion to
protest disputed Colorado Party primary results.
During the year campesino movements frequently protested in the
streets of Asuncion, blocked major highways, and occupied private
ranches to advocate for land reform. These protests occasionally turned
violent. The major umbrella organizations comprising many campesino
movements included Sin Techos (Without Roofs), Sin Tierras (Without
Land), the National Coordinating Board of Campesino Organizations
(MCNOC), and the National Federation of Campesinos (FNC) representing
35 regional campesino movements.
In some cases police used excessive force to disrupt campesino
protests. On April 14, police clashed with 2,000 Sin Techos protesters
in Asuncion, and 15 protesters were injured. On October 3, campesino
leader Bienvenido Melgarejo was killed and several campesinos were
injured during a clash with police in Colonia, Alto Parana Department;
campesino leader Jorge Arevalos claimed that police killed Melgarejo.
On November 5, police injured 48 members of MCNOC and the Social and
Popular Front (FSP) during a protest outside the Public Ministry in
Asuncion. On November 25, police reportedly injured six members of the
country's public workers union during a protest. On December 5, police
clashed with Sin Techos protesters in Coronel Oviedo; two Sin Techos
protesters were injured, and a bystander was killed.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of
citizens to free association, and the Government generally respected it
in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected religious freedom in
practice. However, it occasionally failed to enforce religious freedom
laws when abuses occurred.
On July 30, the Vatican issued a decree announcing that Pope
Benedict XVI had granted then-president-elect Lugo a special waiver
dispensing him from his clerical duties.
Jehovah's Witnesses who refused to give permission for blood
transfusions in 2007 reported that authorities challenged what the
group considered a ``right to bodily self-determination.'' No new
developments were reported in the September 2007 case of Jose Ortega
and Asuncion Ortega Gaona, arrested for refusing to allow doctors to
give their minor daughter blood transfusions.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were occasional reports
of violence, harassment, and discrimination against members of
religious groups.
During the year's election campaign, then-president Duarte made
several critical remarks about the Catholic clergy in an attempt to
discredit his handpicked successor's opponent, Fernando Lugo, a former
Catholic bishop.
The Jewish community numbered approximately 1,000. Anti-Semitic and
pro-Nazi messages and symbols, including graffiti, appeared
sporadically. The Government investigated but did not identify
suspects.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. The Government's National Commission of Refugees cooperated
with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern. CIPAE acted
as the UN's local legal representative. Authorities frequently
prohibited those accused of crimes from leaving the country and, on
occasion, barred those convicted of crimes from traveling abroad after
completing their sentences. The law expressly prohibits forced exile,
and the Government did not use it.
On May 21, three police officers entered the Venezuelan Embassy in
Asuncion without permission and arrested Paraguayan police officer
Anibal Insauralde, who had sought political asylum in Venezuela.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice, the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. The Government also provided temporary
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the
1951 convention or the 1967 protocol and provided it to approximately
15 persons during the year, including four Cubans. The Government
permitted those refused asylum or refugee status to obtain legal
permanent residency.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In the April 20 multiparty
general elections, Fernando Lugo of the Patriotic Alliance for Change
won the presidency and ended 61 years of uninterrupted Colorado Party
rule. Observers from the Organization of American States and NGO
International Foundation for Electoral Systems characterized the
elections as generally free and fair. There were no reports of
systematic nationwide irregularities; however, there were reports of
minor irregularities at several polling stations.
Although political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference, the Government must approve their participation in
elections. The Government prohibits unregistered parties, including
those with military wings, and independent candidates from
participating in national and departmental elections; however,
independent candidates may participate in municipal elections.
Although the Government prohibits civil servants from engaging in
political campaigns and using public resources to benefit political
parties, many did so during the year's election campaign. Public
employees were often pressured by their supervisors to campaign on
behalf of the Colorado Party, which routinely used public resources on
behalf of the party and its candidates.
On January 8, Colorado senator Juan Carlos Galaverna acknowledged
that he committed fraud during the 1992 Colorado Party primary to help
Carlos Wasmosy win the primary. Congress censured Galaverna and
suspended him for 60 days; Galaverna returned to the Senate on July 21.
Prosecutors opened an investigation into the case, which remained
pending at year's end.
On June 23, then-president and senator-elect Duarte tendered his
resignation from the presidency to join the Senate on July 1. The
Senate refused his resignation, and Duarte remained president until the
end of his term on August 15. On August 26, Senate President Enrique
Gonzalez Quintana swore Duarte in as a full senator; on the same day,
the Senate met and overturned Gonzalez's decision, named Colorado Jorge
Cespedes senator in Duarte's place, and appointed Duarte as a nonvoting
senator emeritus, in keeping with the 1992 constitution.
On August 31, army general Maximo Diaz claimed that then-president
Duarte, retired general Lino Oviedo, Senate President Gonzalez,
attorney general Ruben Candia Amarilla, and TSJE president Juan Manuel
Morales met to discuss a coup d'etat. Prosecutors opened an
investigation, which remained pending at year's end.
There were no legal impediments to women's participation in
government and politics. There were 16 women in Congress (six of 45
senators and 10 of 80 national deputies). One woman served on the
Supreme Court, one as a departmental governor, and three served as
members of the Mercosur Parliament. One woman headed a cabinet-level
ministry, and five women held ministerial rank. Colorado candidate
Blanca Ovelar was the first female presidential candidate of a major
political party. The Electoral Code requires that at least 20 percent
of each party's candidates in their internal primaries be women.
Although there were no legal impediments to participation by
minorities or indigenous groups in government and politics, no
indigenous persons were elected to government during the year. On
August 15, President Lugo named Ache indigenous chief Margarita
Mbywangy director of the National Institute of the Indigenous (INDI)
but dismissed her on December 18 over accusations that she favored the
Ache over other groups. Members of some indigenous communities
protested limits on their political and human rights.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity. The World Bank's Worldwide Governance
Indicators reflected that corruption was a severe problem.
The Public Ministry, under the authority of the attorney general,
commissioned several units of attorneys to combat corruption. The
Public Ministry worked with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce's
Money Laundering Secretariat to investigate and prosecute corruption
cases.
Elected officials are required to disclose their finances prior to
running for office; however, most did not, engaging in corrupt
practices with impunity and using political immunity to avoid
prosecution.
On April 10, a tribunal sentenced Nicolas Donato Dagogliano, former
director general of the National Service of Professional Promotion
(SNPP), and former SNPP economic head Elias Fernandez Defelice to six
years' and five years' imprisonment, respectively, for embezzling 2.4
billion guaranies (approximately $475,000) from the agency from 2001 to
2003.
On June 4, a tribunal sentenced former municipal personnel
retirement and pension finance administrator Edgar Gomez Zaputovich and
five subofficials to three and a half years in prison for embezzling
600 million guaranies (approximately $118,000).
On July 31, police apprehended former labor and justice minister
Silvio Ferreira, who had been a fugitive since 2003. Prosecutors
indicted Ferreira, who served under then-president Luis Gonzalez Macchi
during 2000 to 2002, on multiple counts of embezzlement, including six
billion guaranies (approximately $1.2 million) in funds from the
Republic of China (Taiwan) and 480 million guaranies (approximately
$95,000) in ministry funds earmarked for prison food and materials. The
case remained pending at year's end.
On September 4, police detained 13 officials from the National
Administration of Navigation and Ports for alleged embezzlement of
approximately five billion guaranies (one million dollars). The case
remained pending at year's end.
On October 3, prosecutors announced they had opened an
investigation into allegations of illicit enrichment by former
president Nicanor Duarte Frutos and his wife, Gloria Penayo de Duarte.
Prosecutors based their investigation on findings released October 1 by
the Controller General that indicated the Duartes possessed known cash
reserves seven times higher than their income. The Children and
Adolescent's Secretariat (SNNA) demanded September 15 that the
Paraguayan Network for Human Development (REPADEH), an NGO controlled
by Penayo de Duarte, transfer to the Government property purchased by
REPADEH with funds provided by the Government of the Republic of China
(Taiwan).
On December 11, prosecutors indicted Colorado senator Victor Bernal
Garay for misusing 340 million guaranies ($67,000) in Itaipu Dam funds
while serving as director of the Itaipu Binational Entity. Bernal was
also under investigation for misusing Itaipu Dam funds designated for
the NGO Fundacion Tesai, diverting funds to Sistema Siete, an
advertising agency controlled by then-president Duarte that worked on
the Colorado Party's election campaign, and enriching himself and his
family. Bernal continued to enjoy political immunity while in office.
There were no new developments in the May 2007 case of videotaped
extortion by former foreign minister Ruben Melgarejo Lanzoni and
prosecutor Juan Claudio Gaona; the June 2007 case of misuse of public
funds by deputy Victor Bogado, who continued to enjoy political
immunity while in office; the 2007 bribery case of environment ministry
official Jorge Colonel; or former president Gonzalez Macchi's appeal of
his 2006 conviction and six-year prison sentence for embezzlement.
These and a number of similar cases involving high-level corruption
were paralyzed by political interference in the judicial system.
Although the law provides for public access to government
information, citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media, had
limited access to government information. Insufficient infrastructure
and efforts to hide corruption hindered access to information; however,
the Government improved transparency by publishing information publicly
via the Internet.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Over 50 domestic and international human rights groups, including
the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International
Labor Organization (ILO), and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), operated
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their
findings on human rights cases. Major local NGO umbrella organizations
representing many local human rights NGOs operated independently. These
included the NGO Association of Paraguay (Pojoaju), CODEHUPY, the
Coordinator for the Self-Determination of Indigenous People (CAPI), the
Human Rights Coordinator for Infants and Adolescents (CDIA), and the
Coordinator for Paraguayan Women (CMP).
Government officials cooperated with domestic NGOs and met with
domestic NGO monitors but often did not take action in response to
their reports or recommendations. The Government generally did not
restrict domestic NGO operations or use tactics to suppress criticism
by domestic NGOs. The Government generally cooperated with
international human rights groups, humanitarian NGOs, and international
governmental organizations and permitted visits by representatives of
these organizations.
Ombudsman Manuel Paez Monges was the country's primary human rights
advocate. The ombudsman employed approximately 160 lawyers and support
personnel, including 70 who worked in municipal offices outside
Asuncion. The ombudsman's offices generally operated without government
interference; however, budgetary constraints hindered their operations.
Congressional interference limited the ombudsman's ability to handle
cases involving government officials.
The Ministry of Justice and Labor's director general of human
rights chaired the National Commission on Human Rights. The office
forwarded information concerning human rights abuses to the Public
Ministry for action. The Foreign Ministry's Human Rights Section
organized an interministerial roundtable on human rights that met
periodically and served as a forum for human rights officials from the
Government and NGOs.
The law mandates that the Truth and Justice Commission (CVJ),
established by Congress and appointed by the president, document human
rights abuses that occurred during the 1954-89 Stroessner regime. The
ombudsman's office worked closely with the CVJ to process abuse cases.
On August 28, the CVJ published its 1,000-page final report. The CVJ
concluded that as many as 128,077 persons, almost 1 percent of the
total population, were potential victims of Stroessner-era abuses,
including 20,090 directly affected by human rights abuses, 19,682
political prisoners, 18,772 torture victims, 3,470 exiles, 377
disappearances, and 59 extrajudicial executions. The CVJ urged the
Government to investigate an estimated 2,800 individuals who allegedly
committed abuses while serving as officials under Stroessner. The CVJ
based its report on 9,923 testimonies from 2,059 victims of Stroessner-
era abuses and their relatives and on documents found in the ``Terror
Archive.''
The law requires that the ombudsman investigate and work with the
prosecutor general, who reports directly to the president, to seek
monetary compensation in these cases. Since his appointment in 2001,
the ombudsman ruled that more than 1,200 victims who filed petitions
were entitled to reparations; and since 2004, 1,886 victims or their
family members received payments totaling 147.2 billion guaranies
($29.1 million).
On October 30, Misiones Department governor Victor Pereira and
human rights activist Martin Almada announced they had uncovered in the
basement of a former interior ministry building identification cards,
photos, and personal information from political prisoners held captive
and tortured during the Stroessner regime.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
While the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, certain groups, such as
indigenous persons, faced discrimination in practice.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and
provides penalties of up to 10 years in prison for rape or forcible
sexual assault. If the victim is a minor under the age of 18, the
sentences range from three to 15 years. According to the Public
Ministry, rape was a significant problem. The Government generally
prosecuted rape allegations and often obtained convictions; however,
many rapes went unreported, and the police were generally reluctant to
act on rape reports.
Although the law criminalizes domestic violence, including spousal
abuse, and stipulates a penalty of two years in prison or a fine for
those who are convicted, it requires that the abuse be habitual before
it is considered criminal. Those convicted were typically fined.
Despite increased reports of domestic violence, complaints were often
withdrawn soon after filing due to spousal reconciliation or family
pressure. In some cases the courts mediated in domestic violence cases.
Domestic violence was very common, and thousands of women were treated
annually for injuries sustained in domestic altercations. Through
September the Secretariat of Women's Affairs (SMPR) registered 3,871
domestic violence complaints by women who contacted the SMPR (1,387),
National Police (628), Center for Medical Emergencies (38), and NGO
Kuna Aty (1,818). Also through April, the Public Ministry investigated
cases of domestic violence filed by 88 women and 15 men.
The SMPR operated a shelter for women who are victims of
trafficking or domestic violence in Asuncion. The SMPR coordinated
victim assistance efforts with the National Police, health care units,
the Public Ministry, and women's NGOs. NGOs provided health and
psychological assistance, including shelter, to victims. The SMPR also
provided victims assistance courses for police, health care workers,
and prosecutors. The SMPR and NGOs Kuna Aty and Women's November 25th
Collective offered services to abused women in Asuncion. Kuna Roga
offered services to abused women in Encarnacion.
The law prohibits the sexual exploitation of women, but the
authorities did not enforce the prohibition effectively. Prostitution
is legal for persons over the age of 18, and exploitation and
trafficking of women, particularly underage prostitutes, remained
serious problems.
The law prohibits sexual harassment and stipulates a penalty of two
years in prison or a fine for those who are convicted; however, sexual
harassment remained a problem for many women. Prosecutors found sexual
harassment and abuse claims difficult to prove, and most complaints
were settled privately without involving prosecutors.
Although women generally enjoyed the same legal status and rights
as men, gender-related economic discrimination was widespread. Women
often were paid significantly less than men for the same work and
experienced more difficulties finding work. According to the General
Directorate of Statistics, Surveys, and Censuses, the November 2007
unemployment rate for women in the formal sector was 7.5 percent,
compared with 5.6 percent for men. Women generally were employed as
domestic workers, secretaries, and customer service representatives.
The SMPR sponsored programs intended to give women equal access to
employment, social security, housing, ownership of land, and business
opportunities.
Children.--The law protects certain children's rights and
stipulates that parents and the state should care for, feed, educate,
and support children.
The failure to register births resulted in some discrimination,
including the denial of public services. The SNNA estimated that more
than 600,000 children remained unregistered.
Child abuse and neglect were serious problems. The National
Commission to Prevent and Eradicate the Exploitation of Children
(CONAETI) assisted abused and neglected children and educated the
public on preventing abuse. The SNNA and children's NGOs also organized
programs to combat child abuse. The Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare operated three homes for abused children and orphans in
Asuncion and placed some abused children in foster homes.
On December 29, the SNNA opened a shelter for street children in
Asuncion. The NGO Children's and Adolescents' Care and Assistance
Center (CEAPRA) managed a shelter in Ciudad del Este partially
supported by the SNNA, and local Catholic charities operated several
children's homes and orphanages in several locations, including
Asuncion and Encarnacion. The NGO Integral Adolescent Attention Service
(SAIA) assisted abused children in Villarrica, Guaira Department. In
many cities the Municipal Council for Children's Rights (CODENI)
assisted abused and neglected children.
Sexual exploitation of children, principally in prostitution, was a
serious problem. According to the SNNA, many underage children were
forced to work as prostitutes or domestic servants for survival and
were sexually abused.
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits most forms of
trafficking in persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked
to, from, through and within the country.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that each year several thousand women,
children, adolescents (mostly girls), and transgendered prostitutes
were trafficked domestically and internationally from the country. An
estimated 80 percent of the victims were young women and adolescents.
CEAPRA, which operated a children's shelter in Ciudad del Este,
estimated in February that up to 20 victims were trafficked each day to
Brazil and Argentina via the Tri-Border Area (TBA). Most victims were
trafficked to Argentina (52 percent) and Spain (25 percent); smaller
numbers of victims went to Brazil, Italy, and Bolivia. Domestically,
most victims were trafficked to Asuncion, Ciudad del Este, and
Encarnacion.
Most trafficking exploited victims for the purposes of
prostitution, domestic servitude, and manual labor. Most victims lived
in the rural eastern departments of Alto Parana, Canindeyu, Caaguazu,
and Itapua. Studies showed that many victims were working as street
vendors when traffickers targeted them and that 70 percent of victims
had drug addictions.
The principal traffickers worked in organized criminal syndicates
based in Argentina and Brazil with local contacts operating nationwide.
Women, who were paid to find victims, made initial contact on behalf of
traffickers and offered false promises of employment. Victims who
accepted their offers were referred to handlers who facilitated travel
and lodging and issued false travel documents. Traffickers then
transported victims domestically or internationally through illegal or
unmonitored border crossing points.
On July 16, the Government adopted a new trafficking in persons
statute. The statute aligns the law with several ILO antitrafficking
conventions and punishes convicted international traffickers with up to
12 years in prison. It strengthens penalties for those who traffic
minors and use excessive violence against their victims. The new
trafficking in persons statute does not specifically address domestic
human trafficking, although other laws, including the Children and
Adolescents Law, the Domestic Violence Law, and a pandering statute,
can be used to prosecute domestic traffickers.
The Public Ministry, with SMPR assistance, opened 11 trafficking
cases this year on behalf of 19 women, including six minors. During the
year, prosecutors indicted nine suspected traffickers, and four
traffickers were convicted and sentenced to up to six years in prison.
The Government also assisted with international investigations and
extradited citizens who were accused of trafficking in other countries.
In March a 15-year-old trafficking victim who escaped from a
brothel in Buenos Aires fled to Ciudad del Este, where she filed a
complaint with the SNNA. Based on her complaint, Argentine and
Paraguayan authorities rescued 25 girls from the brothel. Charges
remained pending. During the year prosecutors opened an investigation
into a syndicate that trafficked dozens of adolescent girls to Chile.
There were no developments in the 2006 trafficking cases of Antonio
Cortes Villena, Ramiro Noquer Garcia, Juana Rocio Adorno Silguero, and
Jorge Kraufer Gimenez, or Spaniards Claudia Lorena Martinez and Andres
Eligio Ponce for trafficking children to Spain.
The Public Ministry investigates and prosecutes traffickers. On
October 14, the ministry established an antitrafficking unit with three
prosecutors dedicated to fighting human trafficking. The ministry
worked with the National Police, Foreign Ministry, SMPR, SNNA, and
Secretariat of Development for the Repatriated and Conational Refugees
(SEDERREC). The Interior Ministry, which oversees the National Police,
has an antitrafficking unit that assists with investigations and
arrests. The Government coordinated antitrafficking efforts through the
Inter-Institutional Roundtable for the Prevention and Combat of
Trafficking in Persons. The roundtable includes representatives from
many government agencies, IOM, ILO, NGOs, and foreign missions. The TBA
Anti-Trafficking in Persons Network assisted national antitrafficking
agencies and NGOs to coordinate efforts in the TBA with their
counterparts in Argentina and Brazil.
There were reports that public officials, including political
figures, border guards, police, prosecutors, judges, and others,
participated in, facilitated, or condoned human trafficking. Officials
reportedly accepted bribes directly or indirectly to facilitate
trafficking in persons. However, prosecutors and the police did not
investigate or prosecute public officials allegedly involved in
trafficking, nor did they remove them, because they lacked the
resources and political will. Inadequate financial and technical
resources constrained the Government's ability to combat trafficking.
The SEDERREC repatriated trafficking victims to Paraguay and
provided them with limited legal, medical, and psychological
assistance. The SEDERREC had 60 pending cases of individuals awaiting
repatriation. The SEDERREC, SMPR, and SNNA help victims return to their
families; the SNNA placed some child and adolescent victims in foster
homes and referred others to shelters or foster homes and women to the
new women's shelter for trafficking victims. The Government did not
follow up with victims once they were repatriated.
The Government encouraged victims to file complaints against
traffickers and assist in the investigation and prosecution of
traffickers. However, many victims avoided the legal process for fear
of potential retaliation by traffickers or social stigma.
The Government's antitrafficking Interinstitutional Roundtable
frequently conducted antitrafficking meetings and seminars in Greater
Asuncion, Caacupe, and Ciudad del Este. The Government also worked with
international organizations such as the IOM, ILO, and UNICEF to publish
reports on trafficking and labor abuses.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state
services. The law does not mandate accessibility for persons with
disabilities, and most of the country's buildings were inaccessible.
Many persons with disabilities faced significant discrimination in
employment; others were unable to seek employment because of a lack of
accessible public transportation. The Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare noted that half of all children with disabilities did not
attend school because public buses could not accommodate them.
Hygienic conditions for the more than 250 residents at the
Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Asuncion, the country's only health care
center for persons with disabilities, improved since 2005, when the
Government agreed to restructure the country's mental health system.
However, the hospital needed to enhance its security and accountability
systems (See Section 1.c.).
Indigenous People.--The law provides indigenous people with the
right to participate in the economic, social, political, and cultural
life of the country. However, the law protecting the property interests
of indigenous people was not respected in practice, and indigenous
persons faced systemic discrimination.
A June census reported an indigenous population of approximately
108,000. The census estimated that 39 percent of indigenous people over
age 15 were illiterate, approximately 48 percent were unemployed, and
88 percent lacked health insurance.
The Government did not effectively protect indigenous civil and
political rights. Discrimination and lack of access to education,
health care, shelter, and sufficient land hindered indigenous groups'
ability to progress economically and maintain their cultural identity.
The INDI, the Public Ministry, and the ombudsman's office are
responsible for protecting and promoting indigenous rights. However,
INDI frequently lacked funding to purchase land on behalf of the
indigenous and required indigenous persons to register for land at its
office in Asuncion. Indigenous workers engaged as laborers on ranches
earned low wages, worked long hours, were paid infrequently or not at
all, and lacked benefits. The Public Ministry and ombudsman rarely
investigated or prosecuted discrimination against indigenous people.
Human rights NGOs, such as CAPI and the Center for International
Law and Justice, filed one case on behalf of indigenous groups with the
Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. On July 24, the Inter-
American Commission of Human Rights referred the case submitted by the
Kelyenmagategma indigenous community to the court (See Section 1.e.).
The law authorizes indigenous people to determine how to use their
land, leading many of them to transfer or rent their land to the
nonindigenous persons. Some nonindigenous persons illegally harvested
fish or deforested indigenous lands through cultivation. There were
insufficient police and judicial protections from encroachments on
indigenous lands. On May 21, leaders of the Ava Guarani indigenous
group filed a complaint with prosecutors after nonindigenous farmers
occupied their land near Itakyry, Alto Parana Department.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was societal
discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Public Ministry is
responsible for investigating discrimination cases; however, government
agents condoned such discrimination. On January 14, a judge jailed
Jesus Alejandro Martinez and Blanca Estigarribia after their wedding on
January 13 when an unknown individual claimed the couple entered into a
same-sex marriage. On January 16, the judge released the couple after a
doctor determined that Martinez was a hermaphrodite.
There were reports of killings of transgendered persons. On July 1,
an unknown assailant killed 17-year-old ``Lupita'' and attacked
``Laura,'' who witnessed the killing. On July 3, unknown individuals
shot ``Gaby.'' These cases remained pending at year's end.
CODEHUPY noted that individuals with HIV/AIDS faced discrimination
in health care, education, and employment, as well as social
intimidation.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows both private and
public sector workers (with the exception of the armed forces and the
police) to form and join unions. The law allows unions to conduct
legitimate activities without government interference and contains
provisions that protect fundamental worker rights. Although the
Government did not always enforce these provisions, workers exercised
these rights in practice. Approximately 160,000 (10 percent) of workers
were members of over 350 labor unions affiliated with five major labor
umbrella organizations. Most workers, including farmers, ranchers, and
informal sector employees, could not join a labor union. Many of these
workers were members of campesino movements.
There are no restrictions on the right to form or dissolve a union.
All unions must register with the MJT. Although the official
registration process can take more than a year, the MJT typically
issued provisional registrations within weeks of application to allow
new labor unions to operate.
The law provides for the right to strike, bans binding arbitration,
and prohibits retribution against union organizers and strikers.
However, the Government failed to prevent retaliation by employers who
took action against strikers and union leaders. The courts provided due
process through mechanisms such as voluntary arbitration.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
collective bargaining, and this provision generally was respected in
practice. The Government did not place restrictions on collective
bargaining and did not require approval for collective agreements to be
valid. According to the MJT, there were approximately 30 collective
bargaining agreements in place, covering approximately 10 percent of
private sector employees and 60 percent of public sector employees.
Although the law prohibits antiunion discrimination, discrimination
occurred in practice. Some union organizers experienced harassment and
were fired for union activities. Some workers allegedly chose not to
protest due to fear of reprisal or anticipation of government inaction.
There are no export processing zones. Factories (maquiladoras) that
assemble imported parts for reexport to Mercosur are subject to all
labor laws.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred (See Section 5, Trafficking).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, but the
Government did not effectively enforce these laws. Child labor was a
problem, particularly in the domestic service, brick and lime
manufacturing, and agricultural sectors (including cotton, sugar cane,
corn, soy, sesame, wheat, mandioca, and stevia production).
The law prohibits work by children under age 12. Children 12 to 14
years of age may work with parental authorization up to four hours per
day in nonindustrial, nonhazardous working conditions. The law permits
minors between 15 and 18 years of age to work with parental
authorization up to six hours per day in nonhazardous working
conditions. An August 2007 ILO study reported that 970,000 (53 percent)
of children between the ages of five and 17 worked more than one hour
per day, and 862,000 worked at least 14 hours per week, primarily in
domestic servitude, factories, or in agriculture. The same study
estimated that 60,300 children worked as unpaid domestic servants
(criadas). More girls than boys were involved in exploitative child
labor until the age of 12; after age 12, more boys were involved.
In addition to prostitution and domestic servitude, the worst forms
of child labor occurred where malnourished, abused, or neglected
children worked in unhealthy conditions selling goods or services on
the street, working in factories, or harvesting crops. Slavery and
similar practices occurred, particularly in prostitution and domestic
servitude. Parents and guardians reportedly sold their children for the
purpose of forced labor, and children were used, procured, and offered
to third parties for illicit activities. Many children also performed
hazardous work.
The MJT is responsible for enforcing child labor laws, and the
Public Ministry prosecuted violators. Several government agencies
worked to eliminate exploitative child labor by increasing awareness,
improving legal protections and public policy, and implementing
monitoring systems; however, resource constraints limited the
effectiveness of these efforts.
The Secretariat for Social Action (SAS) administered the programs
Programa Abrazo (Hug Program) and Tekopora (Healthy Life) that paid
parents of street children and parents in some rural areas a monthly
stipend to send their children to school. On June 30, the Ministry of
Education and Culture (MEC) launched Vision 2020, a program designed to
improve children's access to education. The MEC also adopted the ILO's
``Scream'' child labor intervention campaign to train and assist
educators in identifying child laborers and protecting them from
exploitation. The Government also participated in several regional
projects to eliminate exploitative child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The mandatory national minimum
wage, established by the MJT, was approximately 1.34 million guaranties
($265) per month, sufficient to maintain a minimally adequate standard
of living for a worker and family. The minimum salary is adjusted by
presidential decree whenever annual inflation exceeds 10 percent; the
increase is determined in an opaque manner. However, the ministry did
not enforce the minimum wage and estimated that 50 percent of
government workers and 48 percent of private-sector workers earned less
than the minimum wage.
The law provides for a standard legal workweek of 48 hours (42
hours for night work), with one day of rest. The law also allows an
annual bonus of one month's salary and a minimum of 12 and a maximum of
30 vacation days per year, depending on years of service. The law
requires overtime payment for hours in excess of the standard; however,
many employers violated these provisions. There are no prohibitions or
exceptions on excessive compulsory overtime.
The law sets occupational health and safety standards stipulating
conditions of safety, hygiene, and comfort. The Government did not
allocate sufficient resources to enable the MJT and the Ministry of
Health to enforce these provisions effectively. Workers have the right
to remove themselves from situations that endanger their health or
safety without jeopardy to their employment, but authorities did not
effectively enforce this right.
__________
PERU
Peru is a multiparty republic with a population estimated at 28.2
million. In 2006 Alan Garcia of the Popular Revolutionary Party
Alliance (APRA) won the presidency in elections that were generally
free and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of the security forces.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens. The following human rights problems were reported: alleged
unlawful killings by government forces and disappearance of persons in
an area under military control; abuse of detainees and inmates by
police and prison security forces; harsh prison conditions; lengthy
pretrial detention and inordinate trial delays; attacks on the media by
local authorities; corruption; harassment of some civil society groups;
violence and discrimination against women; violence against children,
including sexual abuse; trafficking in persons; discrimination against
indigenous communities, ethnic minorities, and gay and lesbian persons;
failure to apply or enforce labor laws; and child labor in the informal
sector.
The terrorist organization the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso),
linked to narcotics trafficking, was responsible for killings and other
human rights abuses.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings. However,
on September 14, during an antiterrorist operation in the Valle de
Apurimac y Ene region (VRAE) (special emergency zone), according to
credible sources, security forces reportedly killed Jesus Felix
Canchanya Limache, Maximiliano Pichardo, Fernandez Alejandro Pichardo
Fernandez, and Rosa Chavez Sihuincha. On October 3, officials from the
Public Ministry, ombudsman, police, and armed forces found the bodies
of Canchanya Limache, Maximiliano and Alejandro Pichardo Fernandez, and
Chavez Sihuincha. By year's end the whereabouts of minors Moises
Pichardo Pariona and Rosa Linda Pichardo Chavez, who also disappeared
during the Government operation, remained unknown. The Government
stated that it had not committed any human rights violations in the
VRAE and that the military was operating there to eradicate
narcoterrorism. On October 22, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman
requested that a congressional commission investigate military actions
in the VRAE. The First Penal Prosecutor of Ayacucho began a preliminary
investigation that continued at year's end.
On April 10, Hugo Martinez Mamani of the Office of the Huamanga
Provincial Prosecutor filed a criminal complaint alleging homicide
against police officer Carlos Alberto Rodriguez Huamani. During the
investigation, Rodriguez Huamani acknowledged firing at Emiliano Garcia
Mendoza and Ruben Pariona Camposano, who participated in a February 19
agrarian strike in Ayacucho. The investigation continued at year's end.
On April 16, a court sentenced Juan Hurtado Vasquez to 27 years'
imprisonment and Nazario Coronel Ramirez to 19 years' imprisonment for
their roles in the March 2007 killing of journalist Miguel Perez Julca.
The court also ordered Hurtado Vasquez and Coronel Ramirez to pay
35,000 soles ($12,500) in restitution to the victims' families.
There were no developments, and none were expected, regarding the
September 2007 Public Ministry investigation of 10 police officers for
the death of one inmate and the beating of another at a police station
in Jesus Maria, the 2006 security force killings of Alberto Saravia and
Peter Vasquez Chavez, and the January 2007 penal court proceedings
against four military officers in relation to the 2004 torture and
death of Corporal Edgar Ledesma Lopez.
The Third Special Penal Superior Court continued oral proceedings
against former intelligence service director Vladimiro Montesinos,
former armed services chief General Nicolas Hermoza, Colonel Roberto
Huaman, and Colonel Jesus Zamudio Montesinos for extrajudicial killings
in the 1997 rescue of 74 hostages at the Japanese ambassador's
residence.
On April 8, the First Anticorruption Court sentenced Julio Salazar
Monroe, former head of the National Intelligence Service, to 35 years'
imprisonment, and former members of the Grupo Colina detachment Jose
Gonzales Alarcon, Fernando Lecca Esquen, and Orlando Vera Navarrete
each to 15 years' imprisonment for aggravated homicide, aggravated
kidnapping, and forced disappearance in 1992 of nine students and a
professor at La Cantuta University.
By year's end former president Alberto Fujimori remained in
detention pursuant to a December 2007 sentence to six years'
imprisonment for ordering an illegal search. Fujimori also remained on
trial on charges that carried prison terms of up to 10 years for
corruption and 30 years for human rights violations. The most serious
charges concerned Fujimori's involvement in the 1991 Barrios Altos and
1992 La Cantuta killings.
On August 15, the Second Supranational Court requested that charges
of aggravated homicide of Juan Bardales and the deaths of 33 other
persons during a prison clash in 1992 be included in the previous
extradition request of former president Fujimori from Chile.
On September 8, the First Criminal Superior National Court began
investigating whether there was enough evidence to charge Ollanta
Humala with participating in disappearances, torture, and murders in
1992 at the Madre Mia military base. At year's end there was no further
information regarding developments in this case.
On December 15, the Constitutional Tribunal (CT) upheld a lower
court decision that the statute of limitations had expired regarding
the investigation of the 1986 El Fronton prison massacre. The lower
court did not include as a subject of the investigation President Alan
Garcia, who was president in 1986. Civil society groups asserted that
the CT's decision did not respect international norms that human rights
violations have no statute of limitations.
On August 15, Juan Manuel Rivera-Rondon, implicated in the 1985
massacre of 69 villagers during a military raid in the village of
Accomarca, was deported to Peru on charges of aggravated homicide.
Rivera-Rondon remained in custody awaiting trial in the Third
Supraprovincial Court. However, Telmo Ricardo Hurtado Hurtado, also
implicated in the massacre, remained in a foreign country pending the
outcome of extradition proceedings. In October the nongovernmental
organization (NGO) Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF)
identified the remains of six victims of the killings at Accomarca.
Between May and July EPAF exhumed the remains of more than 100 men,
women, and children reportedly massacred in 1984 by the military and
buried in a clandestine mass grave in the village of Putis in the
department of Ayacucho. Through October EPAF and family members of the
victims identified clothing belonging to 19 of the victims.
At year's end the Public Ministry continued investigating a mass
grave of unknown date, discovered in 2006 in Cusco. The grave contained
the remains of 80 bodies. The Institute of Legal Medicine, a government
agency, identified 10 of the exhumed bodies.
During the year narcotics traffickers and members of the Shining
Path terrorist organization killed 10 police officers, 17 soldiers, and
four civilians. Between January and December the Shining Path conducted
64 terrorist acts in remote coca-growing areas.
Societal violence outside Lima remained a serious problem, often
due to a lack of police presence.
b. Disappearance.--In September government forces operating in the
VRAE state of emergency zone were responsible for the disappearances of
several persons (See Section 1.a.).
There were no developments, and none were expected,
regarding the Office of the Public Defender's continued
investigations into approximately 1,000 disappearance cases from 1980
to 2000, some of which were considered politically motivated.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices. Although there were no
allegations of systematic torture, there were reports that security
officials used excessive force. The authorities seldom punished those
who committed abuses.
Allegations of abuse most often arose immediately following an
arrest, when families were prohibited from visiting suspects and when
attorneys had limited access to detainees. In some cases police and
security forces allegedly threatened or harassed victims, their
relatives, and witnesses to prevent them from filing charges of human
rights violations. According to the NGO Human Rights Commission
(COMISEDH), some victims were reluctant to pursue judicial proceedings
for fear that abusers would be released without being charged. COMISEDH
reported 17 cases of aggravated torture by security forces.
On February 25, three police officers reportedly raped 26-year-old
Luis Alberto Rojas Marin in the police station at Casa Grande,
allegedly because they thought he was a homosexual. On April 11, a
judge ordered that the three officers be detained in police custody.
NGOs asserted that this was the first time the Government had arrested
persons based on hate crimes and human rights abuses related to sexual
orientation. However, due to protest marches organized by family
members, magistrates of the La Libertad Regional Judicial Court freed
the three officers. Due to what it determined to be insufficient
evidence during the preliminary investigation, the Public Ministry
closed the case. Rojas' lawyer appealed the decision, and the outcome
was pending at year's end.
There were no further developments, and none were expected,
regarding the Supraprovincial Court of Lima's review in 2007 of the
alleged police beating in 2005 of Wilmer Cubas Carranza.
There was no further information, and none was expected, regarding
the Public Defender's Office investigation into allegations that guards
beat prisoners after a 2006 riot at La Asuncion Prison in Junin.
By year's end the Fifth Prosecutor's Office of Callao continued its
investigation of the alleged beating in 2006 of inmate Samuel David
Flores Valdivia by Sarita Colonia Prison Director Manuel Vazquez.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
harsh. The National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) operated 56 of the
country's 85 prisons, and the National Police (PNP) has jurisdiction
over the rest. Prisoners with money had access to cellular telephones,
illicit drugs, and meals prepared outside the prison. Conditions were
poor to extremely harsh in facilities for prisoners who lacked funds.
Overcrowding, poor sanitation, and inadequate nutrition and health care
were serious problems. Inmates had intermittent access to running
water, bathing facilities were inadequate, kitchen facilities were
unhygienic, and prisoners slept in hallways and common areas for lack
of cell space. Prisoners had access to illegal drugs, and tuberculosis
and HIV/AIDS were reportedly at near-epidemic levels. Authorities at
the San Juan de Lurigancho men's prison held 10,230 prisoners in a
facility designed for 1,500. On December 10, INPE opened a new women's
prison, Tarapaca, which reduced substantially overcrowding at the Santa
Monica prison in Chorrillos.
Conditions were especially harsh in maximum-security facilities
located at high altitudes. The high-security prison in the jungle area
of Iquitos was in poor condition with the physical infrastructure of
the building near collapse. The prison facility in Maynas was in such
disrepair that rubble prevented guards from reaching some watchtowers.
Prison guards and fellow inmates abused prisoners. There were
deaths of inmates in prisons, most attributed to fellow inmates, but
some were due to negligence by guards. Guards received little or no
training or supervision. Corruption was a serious problem, and some
guards cooperated with criminal bosses who oversaw the smuggling of
guns and drugs into prisons.
There were no developments regarding any investigation of the
October 2007 killing of one inmate by several other prisoners during a
gun battle with guards at Lima's Miguel Castro Castro Prison.
Authorities had sentenced only 15,000 of the 45,000 persons held in
the country's detention facilities. Authorities held detainees
temporarily in pretrial detention centers located at police stations,
judiciary buildings, and the Ministry of Justice. In most cases
authorities held pretrial detainees with convicted prisoners.
The AntiCorruption Court completed its investigation of Jose Gamboa
Mendoza, director of the Piedras Gordas Penitentiary, who was taped
negotiating bribes in 2006. Gamboa remained in prison awaiting trial at
year's end.
Anticorruption Judge Rafael Vela Barba ordered Cesar Orozco
Barrios, director of Piedras Gordas Penitentiary, along with three
other civil employees, to remain in the country while authorities
investigated charges that they accepted money from inmates.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers. The International Committee of the Red Cross made 54
unannounced visits to inmates in 30 prisons and detention centers.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution, criminal code,
and antiterrorist statutes prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. The
law permits police to detain persons for investigative purposes. The
law requires a written judicial warrant for an arrest unless the
perpetrator of a crime is caught in the act. Only judges may authorize
detentions, including in corruption cases. Authorities are required to
arraign arrested persons within 24 hours, except in cases of terrorism,
drug trafficking, or espionage, in which arraignment must take place
within 30 days. Military authorities must turn over persons they detain
to the police within 24 hours. In remote areas arraignment must take
place as soon as practicable.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PNP, with a force
of approximately 91,000, was responsible for all areas of law
enforcement and internal security and functioned under the authority of
the Ministry of the Interior. The PNP's personnel structure follows
that of the military, with an officer corps and enlisted personnel. The
organizational structure is a mixture of directorates that specialize
in specific areas (such as kidnapping, counternarcotics, and
counterterrorism) and local police units. Each department, province,
city, and town has a PNP presence.
The armed forces, with approximately 132,000 personnel, are
responsible under the authority of the Defense Ministry for external
security but also have limited domestic security responsibilities.
Observers noted that the PNP was undermanned and suffered from a
lack of training and professionalism. Corruption and impunity remained
problems. There were also several reports of military corruption,
impunity, and resistance to provide information on its personnel under
investigation for human rights abuses committed during the country's
internal armed conflict.
The PNP is charged with witness protection but lacked resources to
provide training for officers, conceal identities, or offer logistical
support to witnesses. Officers assigned to witness protection cases
often brought witnesses into their homes to live.
Arrest and Detention.--The law requires police to file a report
with the Public Ministry within 24 hours after an arrest. The Public
Ministry, in turn, must issue its own assessment of the legality of the
police action in the arrest. Judges issue warrants based on sufficient
evidence. The law also provides for the right to prompt judicial
action. The time between an arrest and an appearance before a judge
averaged 20 hours. Judges have 24 hours to decide whether to release a
suspect or continue detention. A functioning bail system exists, but
many poor defendants lacked the means to post bail. By law detainees
are allowed access to a lawyer and to family members. The Ministry of
Justice provided indigent persons with access to an attorney at no
cost. Persons detained for espionage, drug trafficking, corruption, and
terrorism may be held for up to 30 days. Police may detain suspected
terrorists incommunicado for 10 days. The Public Ministry oversees the
detention centers, which the ombudsman also monitored.
Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. According to a study
prepared by the Technical Secretary of the Special Commission for
Integral Reform of the Justice System, only 32 percent of the persons
in prison had been sentenced, with 68 percent awaiting trial, the
majority for between one and two years. If prisoners are held more than
18 months without being sentenced-36 months in complex cases-the law
requires that they be released.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this
provision in practice. NGOs complained that the judiciary was
politicized.
The three-tier court structure consists of lower courts, superior
courts, and a Supreme Court of Justice of 30 judges. Supranational
courts execute judgments made by courts, such as the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights, outside the domestic judicial system. A seven-
person constitutional tribunal operates independently of the judicial
branch. The independent and autonomous National Judicial Council (CNM)
appoints, disciplines, and evaluates all judges and prosecutors who
have served in their position for at least seven years (excluding those
chosen by popular election). Lack of certification from the CNM
permanently disqualifies a judge or prosecutor.
The military justice system provided the same rights as civilian
courts. Under the military justice system, judges in the lower courts
must pass judgment and sentence within 10 days of the opening of trial.
Defendants can appeal convictions to the Superior Military Council,
which has 10 days to issue a decision. A final appeal may be made to
the Supreme Council of Military Justice, which must issue a ruling
within five days. At the Superior Military Council and Supreme Council
levels, a significant number of judges were active-duty officers with
little or no professional legal training.
The Terrorism Court, in accordance with decisions of both the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Tribunal,
continued to retry defendants previously convicted by military
tribunals. The courts found 10 persons guilty and absolved 95 persons
in terrorism cases. Approximately 232 terrorism cases remained pending
at year's end.
The National Penal Court continued investigating cases involving
allegations of human rights abuses by security forces during the war
against the Shining Path in the 1980s and 1990s. The court still had
some cases referred by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but
only a few involved active investigations.
Trial Procedures.--The justice system is based on the Napoleonic
Code. The prosecutor investigates cases and submits an opinion to a
first instance judge, who determines if sufficient evidence exists to
open legal proceedings. The judge conducts an investigation, evaluates
facts, determines guilt or innocence, and issues a sentence. All
defendants are presumed innocent; they have the right to be present at
trial, to call witnesses, and to be represented by counsel, although in
practice the public defender system often failed to provide indigent
defendants with qualified attorneys. Although citizens have the right
to be tried in their own language, language services for non-Spanish-
speakers were sometimes unavailable. Defendants may appeal verdicts to
the superior court and then to the Supreme Court of Justice. The
Constitutional Court decides cases involving such issues as habeas
corpus.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The country has an
independent judiciary that enables citizens to bring lawsuits for
violations of their rights; however, court cases often dragged on for
years, making it difficult for some plaintiffs, particularly those of
limited economic means, to pursue legal redress. Press reports, NGOs,
and others alleged that judges frequently were subject to corruption or
influence by powerful outside actors.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home or
Correspondence
The law prohibits such actions, and the Government generally
respected these prohibitions. There were reports, however, that
authorities sometimes entered private dwellings before obtaining a
warrant.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press. Although the Government generally
respected these rights in practice, some civil society, media, and
political opposition groups expressed concern about whether citizens
could criticize the Government. There was widespread harassment of the
press by provincial authorities, the police, and private groups, such
as coca growers. Harassment took the form of attacks on journalists,
illegal arrests, and threats.
The independent media were active and expressed a variety of views.
All media outlets were privately owned except for one government owned
daily newspaper, two television networks, and one radio station.
A number of journalists and media outlets experienced intimidation.
The National Journalists Association reported 177 cases of harassment,
and the Institute of Press and Society issued 105 alerts. Most
incidents took the form of violent attacks, threats, judicial pressure,
illegal arrests, and theft of broadcasting equipment and journalists'
files. Some cases were attributable to a lack of an effective
government presence in some parts of the country. Municipal and
regional government authorities reportedly harassed reporters in
approximately 14 incidents.
By year's end there were no new developments regarding the legal
proceedings initiated in January 2007 by Lima municipality officials
Jose Luis Zafra and Mazzi Soto against radio journalist Elizabeth
Salinas and magazine photographer Cinthia Flores in relation to their
investigation of the administration of Mayor Luis Castaneda.
Between September 9 and 14, unknown actors made death threats by
telephone against journalist Americo Zambrano of Caretas magazine's
investigative unit. On September 11, Zambrano had reported information
about a series of complaints between Army Commander in Chief Edwin
Donayre and other army leaders.
Mary Perez of radio La Voz de la Selva reported that throughout the
year, unknown actors threatened her by telephone after her station
reported that the Loreto regional government had made irregular
purchases of equipment. By year's end there was no information
regarding any investigation of the alleged threats.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups engaged in the free
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The chief
impediment to Internet access was a lack of infrastructure. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 27 users
of the Internet per 100 inhabitants.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of freedom of
assembly, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice. The Government maintained emergency zones and suspended the
freedom of assembly and other freedoms in coca growing areas, where the
Shining Path operated. The emergency zones were located in several
provinces in Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Cusco, and Junin departments. The
law does not require a permit for public demonstrations, but organizers
must inform the Interior Ministry's political authority (prefect) about
the type of demonstration and its location. Demonstrations may be
prohibited for reasons of public safety or health. The police used tear
gas and occasional force to disperse protesters in various
demonstrations. Although most demonstrations were peaceful, protests in
some areas turned violent.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
The constitution establishes separation of church and state, but
laws favoring the Roman Catholic Church remained in force. The Catholic
Church and clergy received preferential treatment in education, tax
benefits, and other areas. The law provides that the military may hire
only Catholic clergy as chaplains, and Catholicism is the only
recognized religion for military personnel. The Ministry of Education
requires that Catholic religion courses be taught in all public and
private primary and secondary schools; however, many non-Catholic
private schools were granted exemptions. Additionally, parents may
request an exemption by writing to the school principal.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses, discrimination, or anti-Semitic acts. There were
approximately 4,000 members of the Jewish community.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for the right of
free movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. The Government maintained emergency zones where it restricted
freedom of movement in several provinces (See Section 2.b.).
The Government stated that it implemented the state of emergency to
maintain public peace and restore internal order. NGOs commented that
the Government had not adequately ensured that military personnel
operating in the emergency zones were not using excessive force against
civilians.
Narcotics traffickers and the Shining Path at times interrupted the
free movement of persons by establishing roadblocks in sections of the
Upper Huallaga and VRAE. Occasionally protesters blocked roads to draw
public attention to grievances.
The law prohibits forced internal and external exile, and the
Government did not use it.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. Laws allow individuals to apply for
refugee status or asylum.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and recognized the Catholic Migration
Commission (CMC) as the official provider of technical assistance to
refugees. The CMC also advised citizens who feared persecution and
sought asylum abroad. The Government provided protection to refugees on
a renewable, year-to-year basis, in accordance with CMC
recommendations. The CMC granted refugee status to 83 persons.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived either by one's birth
within the territory or from one's parents' citizenship. Parents must
register their child's birth in order for the child to obtain
citizenship. The law provides all citizens with the right to a name,
nationality, and legal recognition and guarantees other civil,
political, economic, and social rights. More than one million citizens,
however, lacked identity documents and could not fully exercise these
rights. An estimated 15 percent of births were unregistered. Poor
indigenous women and children in rural areas were disproportionately
represented among those lacking identity documents. Undocumented
citizens faced social and political marginalization and barriers in
accessing government services, including running for public office or
holding title to land.
Obtaining a National Identity Document requires a birth
certificate, but many births in rural areas occurred at home. In an
effort to lower infant mortality rates, the Ministry of Health fined
women who did not give birth in clinics or hospitals. Poor women often
could not pay the fines and could not register their children
retroactively.
The ombudsman investigated complaints about the unlawful practice
of charging fees to issue identity documents and facilitated refunds
when such fees had been paid. The ombudsman also helped citizens obtain
documents quickly.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides for the right of citizens to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
mandatory voting and universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 Alan Garcia Perez
assumed the presidency after two rounds of presidential elections that
were considered free and fair. In the 2006 general elections, the
president's APRA party won 36 seats (second to the Union for Peru
Party's 45 seats) in the 120-seat unicameral Congress.
Nationwide municipal elections were held in 2006. Domestic and
international observer delegations declared the elections to be fair
and transparent, despite a few localized incidents of violence.
Political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference. Registration of a new political party requires the
signature of 1 percent of the voters who participated in the past
election. Presidential and congressional terms are five years, and the
law prohibits the immediate reelection of a president. Groups that
advocate the violent overthrow of government are barred from
participating in the political process.
There were 32 women in the 120-member Congress. There were five
women in the cabinet and four women on the Supreme Court. The Law on
Political Parties mandates that at least 30 percent of candidates on
the party lists be women. While parties abided by the legislation, many
women candidates were included at the bottom of the party lists,
reducing their likelihood of winning seats on regional and municipal
councils.
There were 23 Quechua and two Aymara speakers in Congress. There
was one member of the Afro-Peruvian minority in Congress.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law criminalizes
official corruption; however, the Government did not implement the law
effectively. There was a widespread public perception that corruption
was pervasive in all branches of government.
On August 22, the Sixth Special Criminal Chamber of the Supreme
Court sentenced to eight years' imprisonment former air force
comptroller Hernan de Souza Peixoto Zumaeta for fraud, embezzlement,
and breach of the public trust.
On October 5, unknown actors publicly released audiotapes of
conversations suggesting government corruption associated with oil
concessions. Authorities arrested former minister Romulo Leon Alegria
and Alberto Quimper Herrera of Perupetro in connection with the
scandal. At year's end the judiciary and legislature continued an
investigation regarding the scandal.
In August the Government decommissioned the National Office of
Anticorruption and transferred its responsibilities to the comptroller.
Extradited former president Alberto Fujimori continued to face an
array of charges, including corruption. Public officials are subject to
financial disclosure laws; government agencies responsible for
combating government corruption are the General Comptroller's Office
and the Office of Anticorruption.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
most ministries and central offices provided key information on Web
sites. Implementation of the law was incomplete, particularly in rural
areas, where few citizens exercised or understood their right to
information. The ombudsman encouraged regional governments to adopt
more transparent practices for releasing information and monitored the
compliance of regional governments with a law that requires public
hearings at least twice a year.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The country's civil society was vibrant and active. A large number
of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their
findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally were
cooperative and responsive to their views.
Some NGOs reported that the Government had used the Peruvian Agency
for International Cooperation, the governing body of international
technical cooperation, to audit repeatedly their records, which they
believed constituted harassment. In April President Garcia publicly
criticized the NGO Association for Human Rights for recommending that
the EU parliament drop the Moviemiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru
(MRTA) from its list of active terrorist organizations.
In June unknown actors broke into the Ayacucho office of the human
rights group EPAF and vandalized electronic and telephone equipment. On
October 11, unknown actors inserted a virus via Internet into EPAF's
computer equipment that destroyed several documents, including the
group's reports regarding the Putis massacre site. Throughout the year
EPAF had been conducting exhumations and other forensic work to
identify victims of forced disappearances reportedly committed by the
military, the Shining Path, and MRTA. There were no reports of any
police investigation regarding the vandalism of EPAF's property.
According to COMISEDH, military commanders continued to deny human
rights observers access to military facilities. To obtain information
about activities in those areas, NGOs had to work through the
ombudsman's office.
The Council for Reparations, a government entity, continued
assisting persons who suffered during the conflict with Shining Path
between 1980 and 2000 and compiled a registry of victims, both
individuals and communities. The council registry included 20,808
individuals and 3,634 communities eligible for reparations benefits. A
number of victims and family members lacking proper identity documents
had difficulties registering for eligibility for the reparations
program.
The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman operated without
government or party interference and was considered effective. The
ombudsmen lacked adequate resources. During the year the office issued
10 reports recommending that the Government strengthen investigations
of all human rights cases and abolish fees associated with
matriculation in public schools.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, but enforcement lagged and discrimination
against women, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, and racial
and ethnic minorities persisted.
Women.--Violence against women and girls, including rape, spousal
abuse, and sexual, physical, and mental abuse was a problem.
Insensitivity on the part of law enforcement and judicial authorities
toward female victims contributed to a societal attitude of
permissiveness toward abuse. The Ministry of Women and Social
Development reported that four of every 10 women were victims of
domestic violence.
The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, but enforcement
was not effective. There were no reports on the numbers of abusers
prosecuted, convicted, or punished.
The law prohibits domestic violence, and penalties range from one
month to six years in prison. The law authorizes judges and prosecutors
to prevent the convicted spouse or parent from returning to the
family's home and authorizes the victim's relatives and unrelated
persons living in the home to file complaints of domestic violence. It
also allows health professionals to document injuries. The law requires
police investigation of domestic violence to take place within five
days and obliges authorities to extend protection to women and children
who are victims of domestic violence.
The Ministry of Women and Social Development (MIMDES) operated 88
women's emergency assistance centers. There was no information
available regarding the number of domestic violence cases the centers
handled. MIMDES also operated a toll-free hot line, which handled
requests for assistance regarding family disturbances.
Many domestic abuse cases went unreported, and NGOs stated that the
majority of reported cases did not result in formal charges because of
fear of retaliation or the expense of filing a complaint. The
protections offered were limited because of legal delays, ambiguities
in the law, and the lack of shelters for victims. MIMDES operated the
Women's Emergency Program, which sought to address the legal,
psychological, and medical problems facing victims of domestic
violence. MIMDES operated centers that brought together police,
prosecutors, counselors, and public welfare agents to help victims of
domestic abuse.
MIMDES continued efforts to sensitize government employees and the
citizenry to domestic violence, but the ombudsman continued to complain
that police officers reacted indifferently to charges of domestic
violence, despite legal requirements to investigate the complaints.
Prostitution is legal for women over 18 years of age if they
register with municipal authorities and carry a health certificate. The
vast majority of prostitutes worked in the informal sector, where they
lacked health protection. NGOs reported that traffickers lured
increasing numbers of underage women into prostitution. Penalties for
pimps and clients of underage prostitutes range from four to eight
years in prison. There was no information on the number of cases
reported, prosecuted, or convicted.
Sexual harassment was a problem. The law defines sexual harassment
as a labor rights violation subject to administrative punishment.
Punishments differ depending on the professional situation where the
violation took place. Government enforcement was minimally effective.
The law provides for equality between men and women and prohibits
discrimination against women with regard to marriage, divorce, and
property rights, and women from the upper and upper-middle classes
assumed leadership roles in companies and government agencies. The law
prohibits racial and sexual discrimination in employment or educational
advertisements and the arbitrary dismissal of pregnant women. In
practice discrimination continued.
The law stipulates that women should receive equal pay for equal
work. However, societal prejudice and discrimination led to
disproportionate poverty and unemployment rates for women. On average,
women were paid 46 percent less than men; usually worked in less secure
occupations as maids, in factories, or as street vendors; and were more
likely to be illiterate due to lack of formal education.
Children.--The Government was committed to the welfare and rights
of children.
There were problems with government registration of births (See
Section 2.d.).
Violence against children and the sexual abuse of children were
serious problems. MIMDES reported 845 cases of violence or sexual abuse
of children five years of age and under and 1,909 cases of abuse of
children ages six to 11. Many abuse cases went unreported because
societal norms viewed such abuse as a family problem that should be
resolved privately. The Women's Emergency Program worked to help
children who were victims of violence. The country was a destination
for child sex tourism, with Cusco and Iquitos as the principal
locations.
MIMDES' Children's Bureau coordinated government policies and
programs for children and adolescents. At the grassroots level, 1,350
children's rights and welfare protection offices resolved complaints
ranging from physical and sexual abuse of children to abandonment and
failure to pay child support. Provincial or district governments
operated approximately 50 percent of these offices, while schools,
churches, and NGOs ran the others. Law students staffed most of the
units, particularly in rural districts. When these offices could not
resolve disputes, officials usually referred cases to the local
prosecutors' offices of the Public Ministry, whose adjudications were
legally binding and had the same force as judgments entered by a court
of law.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons;
however, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from,
through, or within the country.
The country was a source, transit point, and destination for
trafficked persons. Internal trafficking was the major trafficking
problem in the country. No authoritative estimates existed on the
extent of international trafficking, but evidence indicated that
persons were trafficked to Spain and particularly to Japan through
organized criminal networks. During the year there were reports that
victims were trafficked into the country from Ecuador and Bolivia.
The Government, NGOs, and international organizations reported that
significant domestic trafficking occurred, particularly in districts
located in the Andes or the Amazon jungle, to bring underage girls into
cities or mining areas to work as prostitutes or domestic servants. The
purposes of trafficking included sexual and labor exploitation. The
principal victims and groups at high risk for trafficking were children
and young women from rural or poor urban areas, persons living in
poverty, persons with disabilities, victims of domestic abuse,
illiterate persons, and persons lacking birth certificates or other
identification documents. There were reports that infants and children
were sold to traffickers who used them for begging activities.
Traffickers' methods often combined emotional manipulation and
coercion. Victims were recruited by friends or acquaintances and
through newspaper and Internet advertisements or street posters
offering employment. Some victims were recruited by local employment
agencies that offered poor young women from rural areas relatively
well-paid ``restaurant work'' in Lima, Cusco, major coastal cities, and
abroad. NGOs reported that the principal traffickers were local crime
groups, parents of victims, and informal networks involving
acquaintances or extended family members. Traffickers usually
transported their victims by road, while a smaller percentage traveled
by air or river. The families of the victims wittingly or unwittingly
facilitated the trafficking by trusting a ``friend'' or a distant
relative who promised the victim a job.
The law provides penalties from eight to 15 years' imprisonment for
those who move a person, either within the country or to an area
outside the country, for the purposes of sexual exploitation (including
prostitution, sexual slavery, or pornography). If the victim is under
18 years old, the punishment is 12 to 20 years' imprisonment. Laws
prohibiting kidnapping, sexual abuse, and illegal employment of minors
also were enforced and used to punish those who trafficked persons. The
law was not effectively enforced.
On December 1, the Government enacted a new antitrafficking law
that provides for improved law enforcement in prevention, protection,
and prosecution of trafficking cases.
The PNP's Trafficking Investigation Unit raided clandestine
brothels, rescued a number of young women, and returned victims to
their families. The raids resulted in few arrests for trafficking
crimes. Authorities charged most persons with pimping and related
crimes. The PNP's trafficking unit reported investigating 30 cases,
rescuing 56 victims, and arresting 15 alleged traffickers.
On June 13, authorities arrested Paulina Grajeda Salazar in Cuzco
for labor and sexual exploitation of minors. The victims were
transported from the city of Iquitos to work at her three nightclubs in
Cuzco. At year's end there was no further information regarding
developments in this case.
On December 14, authorities captured and charged Teobaldo Saavedra
Chamba, the owner of a bar in Sullana, with sexual exploitation of
minors. At year's end there was no further information regarding
developments in this case.
On December 15, authorities in Piura arrested Segundo Yoel Merino
Sanchez, the owner of a tourist restaurant in Sullana. Authorities
charged him with exploitation of minors. At year's end there was no
further information regarding developments in this case.
There were no new developments regarding the August 2007 arrest of
Leydi Elisa Machaca Coaquira and Norma Gomez Gomez on charges of
trafficking in persons for kidnapping and forcing a girl to work for
three years in Puno.
By year's end the case of Carlos Arturo Yong Chong, whom
authorities arrested in 2006 for trafficking infants to France, was at
the trial stage.
In September the Directorate of Criminal Investigation of the PNP,
in coordination with the National Permanent Commission on Human Rights,
the Office of Social Communication of the Ministry of the Interior, and
the Office of the UN Against Drugs and Crime, conducted an information
and prevention campaign on human trafficking that included posters with
a telephone number to report crimes.
The Government coordinated with NGOs to protect and assist victims.
A Catholic order, the Sisters of Adoration, operated three programs for
underage female prostitutes: a live-in center for approximately 75
girls and 20 children of the victims in Callao and two drop-in centers
in Lima and Chiclayo. All facilities offered medical attention, job
training, and self-esteem workshops designed to keep underage girls
from the streets. The Government provided the building in Callao and
paid for upkeep, utilities, and food.
The Ministry of Interior's Office of Human Rights maintained a
toll-free trafficking hot line. The hot line staff received support
from the International Organization for Migration, which assisted in
informational campaigns and training government officials in
trafficking issues. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs produced and
distributed antitrafficking materials to domestic passport offices and
overseas consular posts.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities and provides for their protection,
care, rehabilitation, and security. The law also mandates that public
spaces be free of barriers and accessible to persons with disabilities.
The law provides for the appointment of a disability rights specialist
in the ombudsman's office; the Government, however, devoted limited
resources to enforcement and training, and many persons with physical
disabilities remained economically and socially marginalized. The
Government made little effort to ensure access to public buildings.
There were no interpreters for the deaf in government offices and no
access to recordings or braille for the blind.
The Government failed to enforce laws providing that the state is
responsible for safeguarding and attending to persons with mental
health problems in situations of social abandonment. The number of
medical personnel in psychiatric institutions was insufficient; in some
cases patients cared for each other. The NGOs Mental Disability Rights
International and the Association for Human Rights reported that the
Government did not protect adequately the rights of persons with mental
illnesses, including inhuman treatment of institutionalized patients,
discrimination in the provision of health and social services, and
failure to ensure informed consent.
MIMDES' National Council of the Person with Disabilities (CONADIS)
is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
On October 23, CONADIS signed an agreement with the NGO Sense
International to provide educational, vocational, and training services
for meeting the needs of deaf and blind persons, foster increased
public awareness, and integrate deaf and blind persons into society.
CONADIS also donated wheelchairs to persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides all citizens
equality before the law and forbids discrimination on the basis of
race, national origin, or language.
The population includes large minorities of persons of Asian and
African descent. Afro-Peruvians, who were among the poorest groups in
the country, faced discrimination and social prejudice. Afro-Peruvians
generally did not hold leadership positions in government, business, or
the military. Few Afro-Peruvians served as officers in either the navy
or the air force. Although the law prohibits mentioning race in job
advertisements, NGOs alleged that employers often found ways to refuse
Afro-Peruvians jobs or relegate them to low-paying service positions.
Employers often required applicants to submit photos. The media often
portrayed Afro-Peruvians as stereotypes.
Indigenous People.--The law prohibits discrimination based on race
and provides for the right of all citizens to speak their native
language. Spanish and Quechua are the official languages; the
Government also recognizes 49 other indigenous languages. The
Government did not provide sufficient resources to protect effectively
the civil and political rights of indigenous persons.
Most indigenous persons and those with indigenous features faced
societal discrimination and prejudice. They were often the victims of
derogatory comments and subjected to illegal discrimination in
restaurants and clubs.
Language barriers and inadequate infrastructure in indigenous
communities impeded the full participation of indigenous persons in the
political process. Many indigenous persons lacked identity documents
and could not exercise basic rights.
The geographic isolation of highland and Amazon jungle communities
contributed to their social, economic, and political marginalization.
The UN Children's Fund reported that indigenous persons in rural areas
often did not have access to public services, particularly health care
and education. Ninety percent lived in poverty, and only 39 percent had
completed primary school. Child mortality rates were higher in
indigenous areas, and only 20 percent of births took place in public
health centers.
While the constitution recognizes that indigenous persons have the
right to communal land ownership, indigenous groups often lacked legal
title to demarcate the boundaries of their lands, making it difficult
to resist encroachment by outsiders. By law local communities retain
the right of unassignability to prevent the reassignment of indigenous
land titles to nonindigenous tenants. However, some members of
indigenous communities sold land to outsiders without the consent of
the majority of their community. Mineral or other subsoil rights belong
to the state, a situation that often caused conflict between mining
interests and indigenous communities. The International Labor
Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts 2008 (ILO COE) observations
asked the Government to provide information on measures adopted, in
consultation with and the participation of indigenous persons, to
determine to what extent indigenous community interests would be
affected before undertaking or authorizing programs for prospecting or
utilizing subsurface natural resources in indigenous lands and
territories.
On August 9, indigenous communities in the provinces of Loreto,
Cusco, and Amazonas blocked roads, surrounded hydrocarbon
installations, and threatened to halt the flow of energy resources in a
move to protect indigenous lands against alleged incursions by outside
investors. The protesters demanded that the Government annul decrees
that reduced from two-thirds to a simple majority of local community
members required to approve changes in communal land ownership. In
response to the protests, the Government declared a state of emergency
in the three provinces. On August 22, Congress overturned the decrees.
The constitution provides that all citizens have the right to use
their own language before any authority by means of an interpreter. In
Congress native speakers of Quechua conducted some debate in Quechua
(translators were available for non-Quechua speakers). The National
Program of Mobilization for Literacy continued teaching basic literacy
and mathematics to poor men and women throughout the country.
In May MIMDES restored the status of the National Institute of
Development of Andean, Amazonian, and Afro-Peruvians (INDEPA) as an
autonomous government entity. INDEPA's board had 23 members including
four Andean, three Amazonian, and two Afro-Peruvian representatives
elected by popular vote in their respective communities. INDEPA's
mission is to formulate and adopt national development policies,
programs, and projects for Andean, Amazonian, and Afro-Peruvian
communities. During the year INDEPA lacked a separate budget and was
ineffective.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Homosexuals and persons
with HIV/AIDS faced extensive discrimination and harassment. The
Ministry of the Interior Handbook of Human Rights Applied to the Civil
Police stipulates that police must respect human rights, especially of
the most vulnerable groups, and refers explicitly to the human rights
of lesbians, gays, and transvestites. The Ministry of Health (MINSA)
implemented policies to combat discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
MINSA executed policies to combat discrimination based on HIV/AIDS
status, including a four-year strategic plan to prevent and control
HIV/AIDS. On December 1, as part of ``World Day to Combat AIDS,'' MINSA
and the Office of the Multinational Coordinator of Health gave free
antiretroviral treatment to 12,500 persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of
association. Regulations allow workers to form unions on the basis of
their occupation, employer affiliation, or geographic territory.
Workers are not required to seek authorization prior to forming a trade
union, and employers cannot prevent employment because of union
membership. Judges, prosecutors, and members of the police and military
are not permitted to form or join unions. More than 70 percent of the
13 million-member labor force worked in the informal sector. The
Ministry of Labor (MOL) reported that approximately 7 percent of the
labor force was unionized.
Many businesses hired temporary or contract workers who were
legally not permitted to participate in those firms' unions. Although
the law forbids businesses from hiring temporary workers to perform
core company work functions, employers circumvented these restrictions
in a number of ways. On June 24, however, the Government enacted a new
law governing subcontracting that requires businesses to monitor their
contractors and imposes liability on businesses for the actions of
their contractors.
Businesses in export processing zones (EPZs) had more flexibility
under the law in hiring temporary labor.
The constitution provides for the right to strike but aims to
balance this right with broader economic objectives. Unions in
essential public services, as determined by the Government, must
provide a sufficient number of workers during a strike to maintain
operations. The law bans government unions in essential public services
from striking. It also requires strikers to notify the MOL before
carrying out a job action.
Between January and September the Government declared legal three
out of 53 strikes. According to labor leaders, permission to strike was
difficult to obtain, in part because the ministry feared harming the
economy. The MOL justified its decisions by citing unions' failure to
fulfill the legal requirements necessary to strike.
Between February 18 and 21, a nationwide farmers' strike protesting
price increases in cooking oil and other basic food products resulted
in the deaths of four persons, the arrest of 150 others, and a state of
emergency in eight provinces.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
recognizes the right of public and private sector workers to organize
and bargain collectively but specifies that this right must be
exercised in harmony with broader social objectives. A union must
represent at least 20 workers to become an official collective
bargaining agent. Union representatives have the right to participate
in collective bargaining negotiations and establish negotiating
timetables.
Although a conciliation and arbitration system exists, union
officials complained that the high cost of arbitration made it
difficult to use.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and other forms of
employer intimidation, and workers fired for union activity have the
right to reinstatement. However, the Government did not effectively
enforce the law, and employers engaged in antiunion practices.
There were no recognized unions, special laws or exemptions from
regular labor laws in the four EPZs. All labor in the EPZs was
subcontracted.
Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including labor by
children; however, there were reports that such practices occurred.
The ILO estimated that between 20,000 and 40,000 persons worked as
forced laborers, primarily in the logging industry in the Amazon
region. The ILO COE 2008 observations requested that the Government act
to combat effectively persistent forced labor practices, including
slavery and debt bondage, affecting many workers from indigenous
communities in Atalaya and other provinces. The ILO COE identified
specifically indigenous workers subjected by landowners to debt bondage
in stock-raising and timber estates. Although the Government reported
that it had not received any complaints or issued any penalties
regarding forced labor, the ILO COE observed that the absence of
penalties indicated the incapacity of the judicial system to prosecute
and penalize those responsible. The ILO COE asked the Government to
provide information on progress to investigate, prosecute, and achieve
convictions for forced labor cases. The MOL reported that approximately
5,000 children worked as forced laborers in producing coca. Another
undetermined number of children worked as forced laborers in gold
mining.
During the year the MOL trained its first group of labor inspectors
to specialize in combating forced labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws
exist to protect children from exploitation in the workplace and
prohibit forced or compulsory labor. In practice child labor remained a
serious problem, and the laws were violated routinely in the informal
sector. The ILO estimated that during the year there were approximately
two million working children in the country. Child labor was a serious
problem in gold mining, stone extraction, timber production, brick
manufacturing, and coca and Brazil nut production.
The legal minimum age for employment is 14. However, children
between the ages of 12 and 14 may work in certain jobs for up to four
hours per day, and adolescents between ages 15 and 17 may work up to
six hours per day if they obtain special permission from the MOL and
certify that they are attending school. In certain sectors of the
economy, higher minimums were in force: age 15 in industrial,
commercial, or mining and age 16 in fishing. The law prohibits children
from engaging in certain types of employment, such as working
underground, lifting or carrying heavy weights, accepting
responsibility for the safety of others, or working at night. The law
prohibits work that jeopardizes the health of children and adolescents,
puts their physical, mental, and emotional development at risk or
prevents regular attendance at school.
The MOL's Office of Labor Protection for Minors may issue permits
authorizing persons under age 18 to work legally, and between January
and August granted 851 such permits, the majority of which went to
children between ages 16 and 17. Parents must apply for the permits,
and employers must have a permit on file to hire a child.
The Government identified stone extraction, coca production, and
brick making as among the worst forms of child labor. The MOL estimated
that the 5,000 forced child laborers in coca production collected
leaves, and handled and mixed by hand and foot dangerous chemicals for
cocaine processing.
The MOL is responsible for enforcing child labor laws, and its
inspectors may investigate reports of illegal child labor. The ministry
stated that inspectors conducted routine visits without notice to areas
where persons or organizations reported child labor problems. The
Government reported that it fined and suspended operations of firms
found violating labor laws.
Inspectors maintained contact with a wide variety of local NGOs,
church officials, law enforcement officials, and school officials.
There were 406 labor inspectors, with 315 working in Lima, whose
inspections focused on the formal sector. In May authorities
transferred 88 of the 315 inspectors in Lima to regional offices
throughout the country.
The Office of the Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents (DEMUNA)
worked with the MOL to document complaints regarding violations of
child labor laws. There were more than 1,000 DEMUNA offices in
municipalities throughout the country. DEMUNA also operated a
decentralized child labor reporting and tracking system. MIMDES
administered a program that sent specialized teachers to the streets to
provide education and support to minors involved in begging and other
kinds of work.
The National Intersectoral Commission for the Eradication of Forced
Labor, a government entity, operated a program in Huachipa that
targeted 150 children and adolescents working in brick making and other
industries. The program provided information to raise awareness within
the community about child labor, education for child workers, and
assistance to parents to develop skills to find alternative employment.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law states that workers
should receive a just and sufficient wage determined by the Government
in consultation with labor and business representatives, as well as
adequate protection against arbitrary dismissal. The statutory monthly
minimum wage is 550 soles ($176), which did not provide a decent
standard of living for many families. The Government estimated the
poverty line to be approximately 207 soles ($65) a month per person, a
figure that varied by region. The MOL enforced the minimum wage only in
the formal sector, which employed approximately 20 percent of the labor
force, and many workers in the unregulated informal sector, most of
whom were self-employed, received less.
Employers frequently required long hours from domestics and paid
wages as low as 75 to 105 soles ($20 to $30) per month. The law
provides for a 48-hour workweek and one day of rest and requires
companies to pay overtime for more than eight hours of work per day and
additional compensation for work at night. Labor, business, and the
Government reported that the majority of companies in the formal sector
complied with the law, and that these standards were enforced.
Occupational health and safety standards exist. Nevertheless, the
Government often did not devote sufficient personnel, technical, and
financial resources to enforce compliance with labor laws. Labor
sources claimed that many inspectors were forced to pay for
transportation to sites and were often harassed or refused entry by
businesses. Many fines went uncollected, in part because the MOL lacked
an efficient tracking system. The ILO COE's 2008 observations noted
numerous problems confronting the labor inspectorate, including lack of
support and commitment by public authorities. The ILO COE requested
that the Government ensure that labor inspectors were empowered to
enter freely workplaces for inspection without having to give prior
notice to employers.
The MOL reported that between January and October its inspectors
conducted 99,363 visits to work sites (compared with 29,449 visits in
2007) and levied 6,212 fines, including 715 for health and safety
violations.
In cases of industrial accidents, an agreement between the employer
and worker usually determined compensation. The worker did not need to
prove an employer's culpability in order to obtain compensation for
work-related injuries. No provisions exist for workers to remove
themselves from potentially dangerous situations without jeopardizing
employment.
__________
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
Saint Kitts and Nevis is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy and
federation, with a population of approximately 39,200. In 2004 national
elections, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas's Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour
Party (SKNLP) won seven seats in the 11-seat legislature. International
observers concluded that the election was credible and that the result
reflected the will of the voters but noted weaknesses in the electoral
process. The constitution provides the smaller island of Nevis
considerable self-government under a premier, as well as the right to
secede from the federation in accordance with certain enumerated
procedures. In 2006 voters in Nevis elected Joseph Parry of the Nevis
Reformation Party (NRP) as premier. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, problems included use of excessive force by police, poor
prison conditions, corruption, and violence against women.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
Following a coroner's inquest, no police officers were charged with
the March 2007 police killing of Philmore ``Kiddy'' Seaton. Security
force private Louis Richards was charged and convicted of manslaughter
for the August 2007 killing of Clyde Williams.
No police officers or security force members were charged in the
October 2006 police killing of Nigel Langley Sweeney, in the 2005
police killing of escaped prisoner Rechalieu Henry, or the 2005 police
killing of Garnet Tyson in Nevis.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and there were
no reports that government officials employed them. However, due to an
increasing number of violent incidents involving police, law
enforcement officials came under increased scrutiny, and in June the
Sun newspaper reported that citizens were becoming increasingly afraid
of reporting crime because of the heavy-handedness with which police
carry out their duties. Corporal punishment is legal and an accepted
measure for juveniles in schools and the justice system. A court can
order that an accused person receive lashes if found guilty.
On January 18, after an altercation with two other men, police shot
and injured Devon Albertine, who was carrying a machete used to sell
coconuts on the streets. The police attempted to disarm him; however,
Albertine wrestled his machete away from police and began to walk away.
Defense Force solders arrived and shot Albertine twice while he was
attempting to leave the area. Authorities charged Albertine with
assault and use of threatening language.
On January 29, police, using nonlethal ammunition, shot Beko Lapsey
during execution of a search warrant.
Authorities brought no charges against the police officers who shot
and wounded Alister Henderson in June 2007 or against officers who shot
and wounded Ivan James in October 2007. Both Henderson and James were
sentenced for crimes they committed.
Authorities brought no criminal charges against Constable Alister
Huggins, whom the Police Disciplinary Tribunal found guilty of
``discredible conduct'' in December 2007 for stealing money during a
search at a Rastafarian community. The tribunal sentenced Huggins to be
confined to barracks for 28 days.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons were overcrowded,
and resources remained limited. Built in 1840, the prison on Saint
Kitts had an intended capacity of 150 prisoners but held 262 prisoners
as of October 31; some prisoners slept on mats on the floor. There were
separate facilities for men and women. The prison staff periodically
received training in human rights.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, although no such visits were known to have occurred during
the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The security forces
consist of a 400-officer police force, including a paramilitary Special
Services Unit, a coast guard, and a small defense force. Military
forces patrolled jointly with the police. The military and the police
report to the Ministry for National Security, Justice, and Labor.
Senior police officers investigated complaints against members of
the police force. When warranted, they refer them to an internal
disciplinary tribunal for adjudication; penalties include dismissal,
warnings, or other administrative action. No information was available
as to the number or disposition of cases under consideration during the
year.
Arrest and Detention.--Police may arrest a person based on the
suspicion of criminal activity without a warrant. The law requires that
persons detained be charged within 48 hours or be released. If charged,
a detainee must be brought before a court within 72 hours. There is a
functioning system of bail. Family members, attorneys, and clergy were
permitted to visit detainees regularly.
Detainees may be held for a maximum of seven days awaiting a bail
hearing. Those accused of serious offenses are remanded to custody to
await trial, while those accused of minor infractions are released on
their own recognizance.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this
provision in practice.
The court system includes the High Court and four magistrate's
courts at the local level, with the right of appeal to the Eastern
Caribbean Court of Appeal. Final appeal may be made to the Privy
Council in the United Kingdom.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for a fair, speedy,
and public trial, and these requirements generally were observed.
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with counsel in
a timely manner. There is a presumption of innocence, and defendants
may question or confront witnesses. Juries are used at the High Court
level for criminal matters only. Free legal assistance was available
for indigent defendants in capital cases only.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary for civil matters, including lawsuits regarding
alleged civil rights violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
There were eight radio stations and two daily newspapers on the
islands. In addition, each major political party published a weekly or
fortnightly newspaper. Opposition publications freely criticized the
Government, and international media were available. Television was
government owned, and there were some government restrictions on
opposition access to the medium.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. There
was no organized Jewish community.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration,
and repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights
in practice.
The law does not address forced exile, but the Government did not
use it.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees, but not to its 1967 protocol, which
the Government has not signed. However, the Government has not
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice
the Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened,
but it did not routinely grant refugee status or asylum.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on one case during the year and was
prepared to cooperate with other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers. There is an honorary UNHCR
liaison in the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--There is a multiparty
political system, in which political parties were free to conduct their
activities.
In the October 2004 general elections, Prime Minister Denzil
Douglas's SKNLP returned to office after winning seven of eight Saint
Kitts-assigned seats in the 11-seat National Assembly. The People's
Action Movement (PAM) party won one seat. The Concerned Citizens
Movement party won two of the three assembly seats assigned to Nevis.
The Commonwealth observer team categorized the electoral rules as
``followed but flawed'' and reported concerns about voter fraud,
intimidation, and foreign influence. Lack of a requirement to prove
identity limited voting officials' ability to prevent persons voting
more than once. Use of foreign campaign advisers was controversial,
government information services were accused of biased coverage, and
the Government deported and refused reentry to a leading opposition
consultant.
In 2007 parliament passed electoral reform legislation meant to
address the PAM's allegations of corrupt electoral practices by the
ruling SKNLP; however, the legislation did not address all such
concerns, especially safeguards against persons voting multiple times.
There are no campaign finance regulations or prohibitions on political
parties paying for the transportation of overseas nationals to return
to the country to vote. The new legislation does not include absentee
voting. Although the opposition complained about the voter
reregistration process, in which all voters were required to appear in
person, it was completed on September 30 without major incidents.
The island of Nevis exercises considerable self-government, with
its own premier and legislature. In 2006 voters in Nevis elected Joseph
Parry of the NRP as premier.
The governor general appoints three senators, two on recommendation
of the prime minister and one on the recommendation of the leader of
the opposition. There were no women in the parliament or the cabinet;
three of four magistrates were women, the court registrar was a woman,
and six of 11 permanent secretaries were women. In Nevis one elected
member of the House of Assembly, the appointed president of the House
of Assembly, and the island's resident judge were women.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of
government corruption during the year. The opposition PAM party
continued to allege possible misconduct on the part of government
officials.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws, and
there is no agency responsible for combating government corruption. In
2007 the PAM leader disclosed his personal finances publicly and called
for the prime minister to do the same.
While no laws provide for public access to government information,
the Government maintained a Web site with limited information
concerning government actions.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
While there are no governmental restrictions on human rights
groups, no local human rights groups operated in the country. There
were no requests for investigations or visits by international human
rights groups during the year.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, place of
origin, birth out of wedlock, political opinion or affiliation, color,
gender, or creed, and the Government generally respected these
prohibitions in practice.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, but it does not address spousal
rape. Penalties for rape range from two years' imprisonment for incest
between minors to life imprisonment for statutory rape or incest with
someone under 16. Indecent assault has a maximum penalty of seven
years' imprisonment. Incest with a person 16 or older carries a penalty
of 20 years' imprisonment. During the year police investigated a number
of cases of rape and indecent assault.
Violence against women was a problem. The law criminalizes domestic
violence, including emotional abuse, and provides penalties of up to
EC$13,500 ($5,000) or six months in prison. Although many women were
reluctant to file complaints or pursue them in the courts, the Ministry
of Gender Affairs handled an annual average of 25 to 30 reports of
domestic violence. The director believed that, due to the nature of the
crime, many women did not feel comfortable reporting it or asking for a
protection order. There were no prosecutions or convictions for
domestic violence during the year.
The ministry offered counseling for victims of abuse and conducted
training on domestic violence and gender violence for officials in the
police and fire departments, nurses, school guidance counselors, and
other government employees.
Prostitution is illegal and was not considered a problem.
The law does not specifically address sexual harassment, and it
remained a problem.
The role of women in society is not restricted by law but was
circumscribed by culture and tradition. There was no overt societal
discrimination against women in employment, although analyses suggested
that women did not occupy as many senior positions as men. The Ministry
of Gender Affairs conducted programs addressing poverty and health and
promoting institutional mechanisms to advance the status of women and
attain leadership positions for women. Although no legislation requires
equal pay for equal work, women and men generally received equal
salaries for the same jobs.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
welfare.
Child abuse remained a major problem. The law sets the age of
consent at 16. Authorities received a number of reports of sexual
assaults against children during the year and brought charges in cases
involving alleged sexual activity with minors (indecent assault).
In November a court convicted a former police officer in Nevis of
incest; in December he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Trafficking in Persons.--In August parliament passed laws
criminalizing trafficking in persons that include all elements of the
offense, such as withholding identification or travel documents of a
person and controlling and restricting the movement of a person. There
were no confirmed reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or
within the country. The UNHCR representative noted that labor
trafficking was known to occur, especially in the form of importing
foreign nationals from Guyana and other countries to work on
construction projects for lower wages.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--While the law prohibits discrimination,
it does not specifically cite discrimination against persons with
disabilities. There was no reported discrimination against persons with
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the
provision of other state services. The law does not mandate access to
buildings for persons with disabilities.
Persons who are mentally ill and deemed a menace to society can be
incarcerated for life; there were six such persons in the prison.
Ministry of Health nurses in the various district health centers deal
with persons with mental illness, and the General Hospital has a wing
dedicated to caring for patients with mental illness.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There are no laws that
prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual
orientation.
Although no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested
that societal discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS occurred.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Workers exercised their legal right
to form and join trade unions. Employers are not bound legally to
recognize a union, but in practice employers did so if a majority of
workers polled wished to organize. Approximately 10 percent of the
workforce was unionized. The law permits the police, civil service, and
other organizations to organize associations that serve as unions. The
major labor union, the Saint Kitts Trades and Labour Union, was
associated closely with the SKNLP and was active in all sectors of the
economy. The Saint Kitts dock workers formed a new union late in the
year.
The right to strike, while not specified by law, is well
established and respected in practice. Restrictions on strikes by
workers who provide essential services, such as the police and civil
servants, were enforced by established practice and custom but not by
law.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Labor unions
have the legal right to organize and to negotiate better wages and
benefits for union members, and the Government protected these rights
in practice. A union that obtains membership of more than 50 percent of
employees at a company can apply to be recognized by the employer for
collective bargaining.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination but does not require
employers found guilty of such action to rehire employees fired for
union activities. However, the employer must pay lost wages and
severance pay to employees who worked at least one year, based upon
their length of service.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there
were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
constitution prohibits slavery, servitude, and forced labor of
children, and the Department of Labor effectively enforced this law in
practice. There were no reported complaints of child labor during the
year. The minimum legal working age is 16 years. The Department of
Labor relied heavily on school truancy officers and the Community
Affairs Division to monitor compliance, which they generally did
effectively.
Juveniles worked in agriculture, domestic service, and illicit
activities. In rural areas where families engaged in livestock farming
and vegetable production, children often were required to assist as
part of family efforts at subsistence. Girls often engaged in domestic
service. Such labor included family-oriented work where children were
made to look after younger siblings or ailing parents and grandparents
at the expense of their schooling. Children often worked in other
households as domestic servants or babysitters. In general society did
not consider domestic work exploitive child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government sets the minimum
wage, which was increased in October to EC$8.00 ($3.00) an hour. The
Ministry of Labor received tripartite input from the major labor union,
private sector groups, and the Ministry of Finance, and the minimum
wage was debated openly in parliament. Average wages were considerably
higher than the minimum wage, which would not provide a decent standard
of living for a worker and family. The Labor Commission undertook
regular wage inspections and special investigations when it received
complaints; it required employers found in violation to pay back wages.
The law provides for a 40- to 44-hour workweek, but the common
practice was 40 hours in five days. Although not required by law,
workers received at least one 24-hour rest period per week. The law
provides for premium pay for work above the standard workweek. There
was no legal prohibition of excessive or compulsory overtime, although
local custom dictated that a worker could not be forced to work
overtime.
While there are no specific health and safety regulations, the law
provides general health and safety guidance to Department of Labor
inspectors. The Labor Commission settles disputes over safety
conditions. Workers have the right to report unsafe work environments
without jeopardy to continued employment; inspectors then investigate
such claims, and workers may leave such locations without jeopardy to
their continued employment.
__________
SAINT LUCIA
Saint Lucia is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy with a
population of approximately 171,000. In generally free and fair
elections in 2006, former prime minister Sir John Compton returned to
power when his United Workers Party (UWP) defeated the previously
ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP), winning 11 seats in the 17-
member House of Assembly. In September 2007 Stephenson King was
appointed prime minister following Compton's death. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
While the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there were problems in a few areas, primarily abuse of
suspects and prisoners by the police, long delays in trials and
sentencing, violence against women, and child abuse.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
security forces killed six persons during the year. The Criminal
Investigations Department had investigations under way in all six cases
at year's end.
On August 13, police shot and killed Timothy St Lucre of Bouton in
what the family described as a case of mistaken identity. The family
sued the police for ``wrongful death,'' and the case was not settled by
year's end.
At 4:00 a.m. on December 25, police shot and killed John Garvy
Alcindor during an altercation when the police searched his bag after
he was spotted setting off fire crackers. The police commissioner, the
deputy prosecutor, and the minister of national security held a public
meeting the day after the incident, pledged to investigate the case
thoroughly, and stated that measures would be put in place to deal with
``a few offending officers.''
At year's end the director of public prosecutions (DPP) was
considering the results of a police investigation into the September
2007 police shooting of Fitzroy Stanislaus, who bled to death shortly
after.
Likewise the DPP still had pending the case of the 2006 police
killing of 20-year-old Troy Jn Jacques. The 2006 manslaughter case
against an officer who fired on a commuter bus, killing 70-year-old
Maurison Flavius, was still pending in the courts.
On March 5, the DPP ruled that the 2006 police killing of escaped
convict Perry Jules in a gun battle was justified.
There was no information available about the results of DPP
consideration of the four police killings that occurred in 2005.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however,
prisoners and suspects regularly complained of physical abuse by police
and prison officers.
In November police shot and injured Miguel Edwards, a 23-year-old
unarmed man. Edwards claimed the plain clothes policemen never
identified themselves. The police asserted that they shot him because
he was a known criminal whom they suspected of engaging in robbery.
Edwards denied the assertion; authorities never filed charges against
him.
During the year citizens filed over 20 complaints against the
police, most of which were for abuse of authority. Authorities only
considered one of the complaints serious enough to warrant disciplining
an officer. In that case, police suspended one officer for serious
misconduct for throwing chemicals on a man arrested for drunk and
disorderly conduct.
Investigation continued into the August 2007 incident in which
members of the police Special Services Unit shot Andre Halls in the
leg.
The case of an officer charged with harm and assault in the 2006
police shooting of a 17-year-old boy was still pending in the courts at
year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met minimum international standards at the four-year-old
Bordelais Correctional Facility, which had a capacity of 500 prisoners
and held approximately that number. Some prisoners and family members
complained about treatment of prisoners at the facility.
The Boys Training Center, a facility for boys charged with criminal
offenses or suffering from domestic or other social problems, operated
separately from the prison but conditions were substandard. The boys in
the program normally stay for two years and receive vocational training
while enrolled. Human rights monitors complained that the staff as well
as older enrollees abused younger children at the center. The
Government conducted an official inquiry into these allegations, the
results of which were under review at year's end, including a
recommendation to build a separate facility to shelter boys who were
victims of domestic violence.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, but no such visits took place during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed
these prohibitions.
In November authorities in the capital city of Castries conducted a
roundup of presumed vagrants, arresting 63 homeless persons. Police,
assisted by officers from the Special Services Unit, took those
arrested to a facility behind city hall where they were forced to take
showers and shave and were given clothing and food. Some civic
activists condemned the raids, asserting that they were conducted in a
humiliating manner, and noting that no attempt was made to provide
alternative shelter for the homeless.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Saint Lucia
Police numbered 826 officers, which included a Special Services Unit
with some paramilitary training and a coast guard unit. The police
force reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, a
portfolio held by the prime minister.
Although there was little definitive evidence, it was widely
believed that corruption was pervasive in the police force.
In 2006 the Government contracted 10 senior police officers, one of
whom served as acting police commissioner, from the United Kingdom to
enhance intelligence capacity, develop capacity, and improve management
processes. However, the role of the British officers became
controversial because of negative public perceptions, and none of them
remained in the country at the end of the year.
The police force's internal complaints unit, which consists of
retired police officers, received and investigated complaints made by
the public and sent its findings to the Police Complaints Commission, a
civilian body. The commission reviewed the cases and made
recommendations for internal disciplinary action, but human rights
monitors considered the process ineffective, and the DPP's office
stated that the commission had not made any recommendations for
prosecution in several years.
Arrest and Detention.--The constitution stipulates that persons
must be apprehended openly with warrants issued by a judicial authority
and requires a court hearing within 72 hours of detention. Detainees
were allowed prompt access to counsel and family. There is a
functioning bail system.
Prolonged pretrial detention continued to be a problem; 150 of the
prisoners at Bordelais Correctional Facility were on remand awaiting
trial. Those charged with serious crimes spent an estimated six months
to four years in pretrial detention.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
The court system includes magistrate's courts and the High Court,
both of which have civil and criminal jurisdiction. The lower courts
accept civil claims up to EC$5,000 (approximately $1,850) and criminal
cases generally classified as ``petty.'' The High Court has unlimited
authority in both civil and criminal cases. All cases may be appealed
to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and to the Privy Council in
the United Kingdom as the final court of appeal. A family court handles
child custody, maintenance, support, domestic violence, juvenile
affairs, and related matters.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Trials can be by jury, are public, and, in cases involving capital
punishment, legal counsel is provided for those who cannot afford a
defense attorney. Defendants are entitled to select their own
representation, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, and
have the right of appeal. Defendants have the right to confront or
question witnesses.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent,
impartial judiciary in civil matters where one can bring lawsuits
seeking damages for a human rights violation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
In November 2007 Parliament repealed a section of the criminal code
commonly referred to as the ``spreading false news'' clause. According
to the previous prime minister, Kenny Anthony, even those who supported
the law accepted that it was difficult to obtain a prosecution under
it.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
Internet was largely available in homes, offices, and Internet cafes in
urban areas; infrastructure limitations restricted Internet access in
some villages.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
The Government continued a suspension of all applications for
official registration by faith-based organizations while it revised its
policy on registration. This moratorium affected the Muslim community,
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and approximately 10
other organizations. While awaiting registration, religious groups had
the freedom to meet and worship according to their beliefs.
Rastafarians continued to complain that the use of marijuana, an
aspect of their religious ritual, was prohibited.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Rastafarians complained of
societal discrimination, especially in hiring and in schools. There was
no organized Jewish community, and there were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts. Some evangelicals allegedly criticized Catholics and
mainline Protestants for adherence to ``slave religions'' and for not
accepting a literal interpretation of the Bible.
The Muslim community, although small, was growing rapidly. Leaders
reported that for the most part Muslims did not receive discriminatory
treatment, but they also claimed that some recent converts to Islam hid
their new religion from non-Muslim friends and family to avoid
criticism and discrimination.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration,
and repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights
in practice.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not
use it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a signatory to the 1951
UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 protocol,
and no formal government policy toward refugee or asylum requests
existed. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
Although no known cases occurred, the Government was prepared to
cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and
other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum
seekers.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 Sir John Compton's
UWP defeated Kenny Anthony's SLP by winning 11 of 17 parliamentary
seats. According to electoral observer missions from both the
Organization of American States and the Caribbean Community, the
elections were generally considered free and fair. Following Compton's
death in September 2007, the governor general, in accordance with the
constitution, appointed as prime minister Stephenson King, the person
who commanded the majority in the House of Assembly.
Political parties could operate without restrictions.
There was one woman elected to the 17-seat House of Assembly, and
the appointed speaker of the house was a woman. There were three women
in the 11-member appointed Senate; one served as president of the
Senate, and one served as the sole female member of the 14-person
cabinet. The governor general was a woman.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented the law effectively. Recently, however, corruption became a
serious issue, widely discussed by the media, the business community,
and opposition politicians. Observers expressed concern that the
country was moving backwards in terms of transparency and
accountability.
Although there were no reports of government corruption during the
year, authorities questioned Housing Minister Richard Frederick twice
concerning alleged involvement in customs duty evasion that occurred
before Frederick was in office. In November Frederick sued the
Government; a court dismissed his lawsuit, but he appealed. At year's
end, the controller of customs pursued the case but had filed no
charges against Frederick.
In May a cabinet reshuffle brought several controversial ministers
into the cabinet, and there were widespread reports that the new
government ministers had engaged in corruption. There was also
widespread concern that some members of the Government associated with
known narcotics traffickers.
High-level government officials, including elected officials, are
subject to annual disclosure of their financial assets to the Integrity
Commission, a constitutionally established commission. The
parliamentary commissioner, auditor general, and the Public Services
Commission are government agencies established to help combat
corruption. Parliament can also appoint a special committee to
investigate specific allegations of corruption.
The law provides for public access to information, and
parliamentary debates are open to the public. The Government
Information Service disseminated public information on a daily basis,
operated an extensive Web site, and published a number of official
periodicals.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A few domestic human rights groups generally operated without
government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on
human rights cases, and government officials often were cooperative and
responsive to their views.
In February the Saint Lucia Non-State Actor's Panel was formed to
bring together nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil
society groups to pressure the Government on a wide range of issues,
including economic concerns and human rights problems, particularly
domestic violence.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination, but there was no
specific legislation addressing discrimination in employment or against
persons with disabilities. However, government policy was
nondiscriminatory in the areas of housing, jobs, education, and
opportunity for advancement.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime punishable by 14
years' to life imprisonment. Police and courts enforced laws to protect
women against rape, although many victims were reluctant to report
cases of rape or to press charges. During the first six months of the
year, police reported 39 cases of rape and 60 cases of statutory rape
(victims under age 16). During the year the DPP's office received 15
sexual assault cases from police investigators, several of which went
to trial, with two guilty verdicts. The DPP reported that sexual
assault cases were a growing problem, but that most cases were not
prosecuted due to the reluctance of victims to press charges.
Violence against women was recognized as a serious problem. The
Government prosecuted crimes of violence against women only when the
victim pressed charges. The family court heard cases of domestic
violence and crimes against women and children, and the Castries office
filed over 100 cases by year's end (there was an additional family
court in Vieux Fort).
The Ministry of Health Wellness, Family Affairs, National
Mobilization, Human Services, and Gender Relations assisted victims.
Most of the cases were referred to a counselor, and the police
facilitated the issuance of court protection orders in some cases.
Police caught and charged perpetrators in a number of domestic violence
cases.
The police Vulnerable Persons Unit, designed to handle cases
involving violence against women and children, increased police
responsiveness to these cases. As a result the police reported a 24
percent increase in the reporting of sexual crimes against women and
children during the first half of the year. This unit worked closely
with the Family Court and the ministry's Gender Relations and Human
Services Divisions.
The Gender Relations Division also ran the Women's Support Center,
which provided shelter, counseling, residential services, a 24-hour hot
line, and assistance in finding employment. The center assisted over
100 women and children and took over 100 calls during the year. Various
NGOs, such as the Saint Lucia Crisis Center and the National
Organization of Women (NOW), also provided counseling, referral,
educational, and empowerment services. The crisis center assisted in
cases of physical violence, incest, nonpayment of child support,
alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, custody, and visitation rights.
The Family Court can issue a protection order prohibiting an abuser
from entering or remaining in the residence of a specified person.
Occupation and tenancy orders provide certain residential rights to
victims of domestic violence, such as rental payments and other
protective orders. The Family Court employed full-time social workers
who assisted victims of domestic violence.
On November 22, the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and
Action (CAFRA) and NOW organized a ``just say no to violence''
campaign, featuring speakers, presentations, and 30 silhouettes of
women who recently lost their lives due to domestic violence. The rally
was attended by representatives from women's organizations in
Martinique, Guadalupe, and Dominica as well as Saint Lucia.
Prostitution is illegal, but it was a growing problem. Some
underground strip clubs were fronts for prostitution and reportedly
were owned by corrupt police officers. There were no arrests for
prostitution during the year.
The criminal code prohibits sexual harassment, but it remained a
problem. The Gender Relations Division continued an awareness program
through which it provided training opportunities in workplaces and
assisted establishments in creating policies and procedures on how to
handle sexual harassment. As a result, most cases of sexual harassment
were handled in the workplace rather than being prosecuted under the
criminal code.
Women generally enjoyed equal rights, including in economic,
family, property, and judicial matters. However, the fire chief refused
to allow a female fire fighter, who completed a two-year training
program and was ready to take the final exam, to take the test because
she was pregnant. CAFRA took on the issue, arguing that the authorities
can and should make reasonable accommodations to allow such persons to
take the test, which was offered only once a year. Women's affairs were
under the jurisdiction of the Gender Relations Division, whose parent
ministry was responsible for protecting women's rights in domestic
violence cases and preventing discrimination against women, including
ensuring equal treatment in employment.
Children.--The Government was generally committed to children's
rights and welfare, as indicated by its provisions for education and
health care. However, there was insufficient assistance for abused or
neglected children.
Child abuse remained a problem. The Division of Human Services and
Family Affairs expected an increase in child abuse cases for the year
compared with 2007, when there were reports of 106 cases of sexual
abuse, 79 cases of physical abuse, 40 cases of abandonment, and 30
cases of psychological abuse.
Child sex abuse cases were very common, including one in which an
80-year-old man was caught in the act of raping a five-year-old girl.
At year's end, police had yet to arrest the perpetrator, whom neighbors
said was a well-known child abuser with many victims in the
neighborhood.
There were few social welfare programs in the country, and the
existing ones were overwhelmed. As a result, parents of sexually abused
children sometimes declined to press sexual assault charges against the
abuser in exchange for financial contributions toward the welfare of
victims of such abuse. Nonetheless, courts heard some child sexual
abuse cases and convicted and sentenced offenders.
Investigation continued in a 2006 case of a 14-year-old girl
repeatedly and severely abused by her police officer father and
stepmother. The girl remained in her aunt's custody while authorities
investigated her father and stepmother.
The human services division provided a number of services to
victims of child abuse, including counseling, facilitating medical
intervention, finding foster care, providing family support services,
and supporting the child while working with the police and attending
court. The division was also involved with public outreach in schools,
church organizations, and community groups.
CAFRA operated a hot line for families suffering from different
forms of abuse; however, there was no shelter for abused children,
resulting in the return of many children to the homes in which they
were abused. Through the hot line, CAFRA learned of various cases of
sexual abuse that were never reported to the police. The Government did
not provide funding for foster care and few families were willing to
take in foster children.
Although there was little evidence of formalized child
prostitution, transactional sex with minors was a common occurrence.
The Catholic Church operated the Holy Family Home for abused and
abandoned children, with space for up to 40 children who were referred
to the center by the police or social workers.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit all forms of
trafficking in persons, and there were reports that persons were
trafficked to, from, and within the country.
There were reports that some women from Saint Lucia were trafficked
to Saint Marten and Barbados, and that women from the Dominican
Republic, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and some Eastern European
countries were trafficked to Saint Lucia, where they worked at strip
clubs and brothels. There were reports that police owned many of these
clubs, particularly in Rodney Bay, and that women who fled the brothels
were sometimes returned to them by police.
Although there are laws prohibiting slavery, forced labor, forced
imprisonment, and kidnapping that could be used to prosecute alleged
traffickers, there were no reports of such prosecutions during the
year. The Government established a National Coalition against
Trafficking in Persons consisting of the Gender Relations Division, the
Human Services Division, the police, and the Immigration Service. Lack
of funding hampered the coalition's efforts to detect and investigate
cases of trafficking and to protect victims.
In December the International Office for Migration held a three-day
seminar on Capacity Building to Manage Migration in the Caribbean,
which focused on trafficking in persons.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--No specific legislation protects the
rights of persons with disabilities or mandates provision of government
services for them. The Government is obliged to provide disabled access
to all public buildings, but only a few government buildings had ramps
to provide access. There was no rehabilitation facility for persons
with physical disabilities, although the health ministry operated a
community-based rehabilitation program in residents' homes. There were
schools for the deaf and the blind up to the secondary level. There
were a few isolated cases of persons with disabilities holding jobs,
including one blind bank teller, but a recent blind graduate from the
local community college was not able to secure employment. There also
was a school for persons with mental disabilities; however, children
with disabilities faced barriers in education and there were few
opportunities for such persons when they became adults.
The existing state-operated mental health facility is a century old
building that will be decommissioned once a new state-of-the-art mental
health facility is completed. There are no other mental health
facilities on the island, and mentally ill persons were not generally
provided much care. There were only four mental health social workers
who had an average of over 100 cases each.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was widespread
social discrimination against homosexuals in the deeply conservative,
highly religious society. There were few openly gay people in the
country. There were at least two cases of violence against homosexuals,
including one young man who was killed when he was hung from a tree
because he was openly gay.
There was widespread stigma and discrimination against persons
infected with HIV/AIDS, although the Government implemented several
programs to address this issue, including a five-year program to combat
HIV/AIDS. The UN Population Fund also provided support for youth-
oriented HIV/AIDS prevention programs. An HIV-positive woman who worked
for the Government quit in protest over demeaning conditions in the
workplace after her supervisor mandated that she use the restroom at
specific times only, after which staff would clean the restroom.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law specifies the right of
workers to form or belong to trade unions under the broader rubric of
the right of association. Most public sector employees and
approximately 25 percent of the total work force were unionized.
Unions have a right to strike, and workers exercised that right.
However, the law prohibits members of the police and fire departments
from striking on the grounds that these professions were ``essential
services.'' Workers in other essential services-water and sewer
authority workers, electric utility workers, nurses, and doctors-must
give 30 days' notice before striking.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the
Government generally protected this right. Collective bargaining is
protected by law and was freely practiced.
The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination, and workers
fired for union activity did not have the right to reinstatement. In
practice many companies were openly antiunion, and one company
threatened to close if a union won recognition. When the union
representatives tried to organize the employees, the company closed for
two weeks and when it reopened, all the workers who had sought to join
the union renounced those views and demanded their union dues back,
which the union refused.
The labor law is applicable in the export processing zones, and
there were no administrative or legal impediments to union organizing
or collective bargaining in those zones; however, there were no unions
registered in them.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Government
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there
were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law provides for a minimum legal working age of 16 years. The minimum
legal working age for industrial work is 18 years. Child labor existed
to some degree in the rural areas, primarily where school-age children
helped harvest bananas from family trees. Children also typically
worked in urban food stalls or sold confectionery on sidewalks on
nonschool days and during festivals. The Department of Labor of the
Ministry of Labor Relations, Public Service, and Cooperatives was
responsible for enforcing statutes regulating child labor. Employer
penalties for violating the child labor laws were EC$9.60 ($3.55) for a
first offense and EC$24 ($8.88) for a second offense. There were no
formal reports of violations of child labor laws.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Minimum wage regulations in
effect since 1985 set wages for a limited number of occupations. The
minimum monthly wage for office clerks was EC$300 ($111), for shop
assistants EC$200 ($74), and for messengers EC$160 ($59). The
Government recognized that the minimum wage law was outdated and sought
to meet with tripartite social partners to discuss it, but the matter
was not resolved by year's end. The minimum wage did not provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family, but most categories
of workers received much higher wages based on prevailing market
conditions. However, a number of smaller establishments paid less than
the minimum wage, and Haitians and others often received less than
minimum wage.
The labor commissioner is charged with monitoring violations of
labor law, including the minimum wage. There were three compliance
officers to cover the entire country and to monitor compliance with
occupational and safety standards, and pension standards as well as
minimum wage violations. In practice there were few reported violations
as those who received less than the minimum wage were often in the
country illegally and afraid of reprisals including possible
deportation. Labor unions did not routinely report such violations.
The legislated workweek is 41 hours, although the common practice
was to work 40 hours in five days. Special legislation covers work
hours for shop assistants, agricultural workers, domestics, and persons
in industrial establishments.
While occupational health and safety regulations were relatively
well developed, there was only one qualified inspector for the entire
country. The ministry enforced the act through threat of closure of the
business if it discovered violations and the violator did not correct
them. However, actual closures rarely occurred because of lack of staff
and resources. Workers had the legal right to leave a dangerous
workplace situation without jeopardy to continued employment.
__________
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a multiparty, parliamentary
democracy with a population of approximately 118,400. In 2005 Prime
Minister Ralph Gonsalves' Unity Labour Party (ULP) was returned to
office in elections that international observers assessed as generally
free and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of the security forces.
Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there were problems in a few areas, primarily impunity for
police who used excessive force, poor prison conditions, abuse of
official position by government officials to circumvent the judicial
process, an overburdened court system, violence against women, and
abuse of children.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports that the Government or its agents committed
arbitrary or unlawful killings.
The Government did not provide any information about the results of
the investigation into the September 2007 killing by security forces of
two Venezuelan nationals, Matias Dominquez and Alexis Munoz, or about
any coroner's ruling in the 2005 police shootings of Selwyn Moses and
Joel Williams.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, the
nongovernmental organization (NGO) St. Vincent and the Grenadines Human
Rights Association (SVGHRA) asserted that many confessions resulted
from unwarranted police practices, including the use of physical force
during detention. The SVGHRA complained that the Government failed to
investigate adequately allegations of abuse or punish those police
officers responsible for such abuses.
On November 17, two teenagers, Jemark Jackson and Kemron McDowald,
claimed police officers beat them with a hose and the butt of a rifle
and kicked them in the stomach and chest. Both required medical
attention after their release from custody, and Jackson, who stated
that he was hit so hard in the head his ear began to bleed, was
hospitalized for seven days. The incident was under investigation at
year's end.
Police officers investigated all complaints from citizens about
assault or other abuse by the police and submitted their findings to
the police commissioner. The Government did not provide any information
about the disposition of such complaints or any disciplinary charges or
other actions taken.
The Government did not provide any information about the referral
to the Department of Public Prosecution of a well-known calypso
singer's claim that a constable slapped him on the face in 2007.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
poor. Prison buildings, built in 1872, were antiquated and overcrowded,
with Her Majesty's Prison in Kingstown holding 399 inmates in a
building intended to hold approximately 150 inmates, a situation that
created serious health and safety problems.
The SVGHRA reported that prison problems such as endemic violence,
understaffing, underpaid guards, uncontrolled weapons and drugs,
increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS, and unhygienic conditions persisted.
Corrupt prison staff commonly served as a source of drugs, weapons, and
cell phones. The SVGHRA also alleged that guards routinely beat
prisoners to extract information regarding escapes, violence, and crime
committed in the prison.
The Fort Charlotte Prison held 11 female inmates in a separate
section designed to hold 50 inmates, but conditions were antiquated and
unhygienic. Pretrial detainees and young offenders (16 to 21 years of
age) were held with convicted prisoners.
Conditions were inadequate for juvenile offenders. Boys younger
than 16 were held at the Liberty Lodge Boys' Training Center, which
takes in boys who can no longer stay at home due to domestic problems
or involvement with criminal activity. Most of the 28 boys were at the
center because of domestic problems, and only a small number were
charged with committing a crime.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, and such visits took place during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions; however, complaints continued regarding police practices
in bringing cases to court.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines Police, the only security force in the country,
includes a coast guard, a small Special Services Unit with some
paramilitary training, and the fire service. There were approximately
850 members of the police force. The police report to the minister of
national security, a portfolio held by the prime minister.
The Government operated an oversight committee to monitor police
activity and hear public complaints about police misconduct. The
committee reported to the minister of national security and to the
minister of legal affairs and actively participated in investigations
during the year.
Arrest and Detention.--The law requires judicial authority to issue
arrest warrants. Police apprehended persons openly, and detainees may
seek judicial determinations of their status after 48 hours if not
already provided. The bail system functioned and was generally
effective. A local human rights group reported that most detainees were
given prompt access to counsel and family members, although in some
instances delays occurred.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this
provision in practice.
The judiciary consists of lower courts and the High Court, with
appeal to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and final appeal to the
Privy Council in the United Kingdom. There were three official
magistrates; in addition the registrar of the High Court has the
authority to sit as a magistrate if called upon. The chief magistrate
also served as president of the family court, which handled criminal
cases for minors up to age 16.
On January 1, a female police constable, Michele Andrews, accused
Prime Minister Gonsalves of raping her while she was on duty at his
official residence. Shortly after the accusations, the director of
public prosecutions (DPP) discontinued the case. The prime minister, in
his capacity as minister of legal affairs, had direct influence over
the case and the DPP's decision. The victim's lawyers appealed the
discontinuation to the High Court and to the Eastern Caribbean Court of
Appeal, but both appeals were denied. The victim's lawyers then
petitioned the family court to issue a summons against Gonsalves for
indecent assault and rape. Two weeks later the victim changed her
lawyers and dropped all accusations. Shortly after the case became
public, Margaret Parsons, a Canadian originally from Saint Vincent,
alleged that in 2003 Prime Minister Gonsalves attacked her and
attempted to rape her. A sexual assault charge was filed on behalf of
Parsons; however, two weeks later the DPP again discontinued the case
and a High Court justice refused permission for the lawyers to seek a
judicial review.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for fair, public trials, and an
independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Juries are used at
the High Court level for criminal matters but are not used for civil
court or crimes at the magistrate level. The court appoints attorneys
only for indigent defendants charged with a capital offense. Defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty, may confront and question
witnesses, may appeal verdicts and penalties, and have access to
relevant government-held evidence once a case reaches the trial stage.
Lengthy delays occurred in preliminary inquiries for serious crimes. A
backlog of pending cases continued because the magistrate's court in
Kingstown lacked a full complement of magistrates.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent,
impartial judiciary in civil matters where one can bring lawsuits
seeking damages for a human rights violation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction. However, there continued to be many accounts
of the prime minister or other officials rebuking the press for
comments critical of the Government.
A radio station, Nice Radio, broadcast an interview in which the
prime minister was accused of using his authority to cover up rape
allegations against him. In April a lawyer representing the prime
minister contacted Nice Radio and instructed station management to
apologize or face legal action. Station management refused, and the
Government went forward with its lawsuit. Nice Radio frequently
criticized the Gonsalves administration, and management believed the
lawsuit was an attempt to shut it down.
In November Prime Minister Gonsalves sued and won an EC$430,000
($160,000) defamation of character settlement against radio host
Eduardo ``E.J.'' Lynch, who had accused the prime minister of using
government funds to pay for a trip to Rome for his family.
On December 21, the superintendent of police instructed Jeff
Trotman, a newspaper journalist who was taking pictures of a burning
building from 20 feet behind police barriers, to cease taking pictures.
When Trotman refused, police arrested him and held him for five hours
without charges. The case was under investigation at year's end.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Rastafarians complained of
discrimination against their members, especially in hiring and in
schools.
There was no organized Jewish community, and there were no reports
of anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.
Protection of Refugees.--Although the country is a signatory of the
1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967
protocol, the Government has not established a system for providing
protection to refugees or asylum seekers. In practice the Government
provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened but did not
grant refugee status or asylum.
The Government repatriated several Nepalese nationals brought to
the country with the promise of work permits in Canada and the United
States.
The Government was prepared to cooperate with the Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2005 the ruling ULP was
returned to office in elections that international observers declared
to be generally free and fair.
There were two women in the 15-seat House of Assembly and three
women in the cabinet. There was one woman among the six appointed
senators, who also served as deputy speaker.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, but the Government did not always
enforce these laws effectively and corruption remained a moderate
problem. There was anecdotal evidence of corruption and nepotism in
government contracting.
There were no financial disclosure laws for public officials. No
government agency was specifically responsible for combating government
corruption.
The law provides for public access to information, and the
Government provided such access in practice.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were no restrictions on international human rights groups,
but none were known to have expressed interest in or concern about the
country during the year. A domestic human rights group, the SVGHRA,
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing its findings on human rights cases, particularly with
respect to treatment of prisoners. Government officials generally were
responsive, but the SVGHRA reported that its complaints regarding
allegations of police brutality typically received perfunctory
responses from the Government. Other advocacy groups, particularly
those involved with protection against domestic violence and child
abuse, worked closely with their corresponding government offices.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for equal treatment regardless of race or gender,
and the Government generally enforced this provision in practice.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, and the
Government generally enforced the law. Depending on the magnitude of
the offense and the age of the victim, sentences for rape could be
eight to 10 years' imprisonment. The possible sentence of life
imprisonment was very rarely used. The Government did not provide any
statistical information about prosecutions and convictions for rape
during the year (information about the allegations brought against the
prime minister were obtained from nongovernmental sources).
Violence against women remained a serious problem. The law does not
criminalize domestic violence specifically but provides protection for
victims. Cases involving domestic violence were normally charged under
assault, battery, or other similar laws. The SVGHRA reported that, in
many instances, domestic violence went unpunished due to a culture in
which victims choose not to seek assistance from the police or the
prosecution of offenders. Furthermore, a number of victims decided not
to press charges once domestic tensions cool down after having already
complained to the police. For this reason police were often reluctant
to follow up on domestic violence cases.
The Gender Affairs Division of the Ministry of National
Mobilization, Social Development, NGO Relations, Family, Gender
Affairs, and Persons with Disabilities provided a referral and
information service for domestic violence victims, educating victims on
the role of the police, legal matters, and the family court in dealing
with domestic violence, as well as possible assistance from various
NGOs. The Marion House provided counseling to victims of abuse. The
SVGHRA and other organizations conducted numerous seminars and
workshops to familiarize women with their rights. Development banks
provided funding through the Caribbean Association for Feminist
Research and Action for a program on domestic violence prevention,
training, and intervention. Police received training on domestic abuse,
emphasizing the need to file reports and, if there was sufficient
evidence, to initiate court proceedings. To counter the social pressure
on victims to drop charges, some courts imposed fines against persons
who brought charges but did not testify.
Although prostitution is illegal, a local human rights group
reported that it remained a problem among young women and teenagers.
The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although
it could be prosecuted under existing laws. A local human rights group
considered these laws ineffective.
Women enjoyed the same legal rights as men. Women received an
equitable share of property following separation or divorce. The Gender
Affairs Division assisted the National Council of Women with seminars,
training programs, and public relations. The minimum wage law specifies
that women should receive equal pay for equal work.
Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and
welfare; however, child abuse remained a problem.
The law provides a limited legal framework for the protection of
children, and the Family Services Division of the Social Development
Ministry monitored and protected the welfare of children. The division
referred all reports of child abuse to the police for action and
provided assistance in cases where children applied for protection
orders with the family court.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not address trafficking in
persons specifically, nor does the Government have any specific
programs to do so.
Several Nepalese nationals were trafficked to the country with the
promise of work permits in Canada and the United States, but the
Government returned them all to Nepal. There were no other reports that
persons were trafficked to, from, within, or through the country.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state
services, and the Government generally observed these prohibitions. The
law does not mandate access to buildings for persons with disabilities,
and access for such persons generally was difficult. Most persons with
severe disabilities rarely left their homes because of the poor road
system and lack of affordable wheelchairs. The Government partially
supported a school for persons with disabilities. A separate
rehabilitation center treated approximately five persons daily. The
Social Development Ministry is responsible for assisting persons with
disabilities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There are no laws that
prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual
orientation.
Although no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested
there was some societal discrimination against homosexuals and persons
with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Workers exercised the legal right to
form and join unions; however, no law requires employers to recognize
unions. Approximately 11 percent of the work force was unionized.
While the organized unions generally maintained good relations with
the Government, opposition leaders and businessmen privately complained
that the ruling party selected and promoted union leaders who were
loyal to the Government. Union membership and the number of actions
taken dropped during the year.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice; however, the Essential Services Act prohibits
persons providing such services (defined as electricity, water,
hospital, and police) from striking.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law permits
unions to organize and bargain collectively, and the Government
protected these rights in practice; however, no law requires employers
to recognize a particular union as an exclusive bargaining agent. The
law provides that if both parties to a dispute consent to arbitration,
the minister of labor can appoint an arbitration committee from the
private sector to hear the matter.
The law protects workers from summary dismissal without
compensation and provides for reinstatement or severance pay if
unfairly dismissed. It also protects workers from dismissal for
engaging in union activities and provides them with reinstatement
rights if illegally dismissed.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no
reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law sets the minimum working age at 16, and workers may receive a
national insurance card at that age. The Ministry of Labor monitored
and enforced this provision, and employers generally respected it in
practice. There were five labor officers in the labor inspectorate with
responsibility for monitoring all labor issues and complaints. The
ministry reported no child labor problems. The only known child labor
was work on family-owned banana plantations, particularly during
harvest time, or in family-owned cottage industries. The Government
operated Youth Empowerment, which provided training and increased job
opportunities by employing young persons in government ministries for
up to one year.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The process of setting the
minimum wage is tripartite and transparent, but the Wages Council,
which is supposed to meet every two years to review minimum wages, last
met in 2003. Minimum wages vary by sector and type of work and are
specified for several skilled categories. In agriculture the minimum
wage for workers provided shelter was EC$25 ($9.26) per day; for
industrial workers it was EC$30 ($11.11) per day. In many sectors, the
minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker
and family, but most workers earned more than the minimum.
The law prescribes hours of work according to category, such as
industrial employees (40 hours per week), professionals (44 hours per
week), and agricultural workers (30 to 40 hours per week). The law
provides that workers receive time-and-a-half for hours worked over the
standard workweek. There was a prohibition against excessive or
compulsory overtime, which was effectively enforced in practice.
Legislation concerning occupational safety and health was outdated,
and enforcement of regulations was ineffective. The law does not
address specifically whether workers have the right to remove
themselves from work situations that endanger health or safety without
jeopardy to their continued employment, but it stipulates conditions
under which factories must be maintained. Failure to comply with these
regulations would constitute a breach, which might cover a worker who
refused to work under these conditions.
__________
SURINAME
Suriname is a constitutional democracy, with a president elected by
the unicameral legislature or by the larger United People's Assembly.
The population is approximately 493,000. After generally free and fair
elections in 2005, the New Front Plus government, was formed. In August
2005 the United People's Assembly reelected Ronald Venetiaan as
president. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.
While the Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there were problems in some areas, including police
mistreatment of detainees at the time of arrest; abuse of prisoners by
guards; overcrowded detention facilities; an overwhelmed judiciary with
a large case backlog; lengthy pretrial detention; self censorship by
some media; corruption in the Government; societal discrimination
against women, minorities, and indigenous people; violence against
women; trafficking in women, girls, and boys; and child labor in the
informal sector.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
security forces killed two persons during the year.
On August 1, police shot and killed Chaniel Burleson, a detainee
who escaped a pretrial detention cell in May while awaiting trial on
charges of murder and armed robbery. An internal affairs investigation
continued at year's end.
On October 9, police shot and killed an armed-robbery suspect. The
investigation into the case continued at year's end.
An internal investigation continued into the July 2007 killing of
Andy Aroma.
In July the Government unveiled a memorial in remembrance of the
victims of the 1986 massacre of 39 Moiwana residents. The construction
of the houses in the Moiwana village, as mandated by the Inter-American
Court's ruling, continued.
The trial of former military head of state Desi Bouterse and his
codefendants for the 1982 extrajudicial killings of 15 political
opponents continued at year's end.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the law prohibits such practices, human rights
groups and the media continued to express concern about mistreatment by
police and prison officials, and they documented cases of police
mistreatment of detainees, particularly during arrests, and abuse of
prisoners by prison officials.
On October 8, a mob attacked a murder suspect and beat him severely
before the police could apprehend him. After he was taken to the police
station, the 500 person mob attacked the police station. The military
was called in to defend the police station, and the suspect was taken
by helicopter to Paramaribo, the capital city.
In November a judge acquitted deputy police inspector Omar Terborg
and five other police officers charged in 2007 for using excessive
force against detainees as punishment for attempting to escape a prison
detention cell.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
poor. There are three prisons, including one in Santoboma, which held
female and male prisoners separately. There are also several smaller
jails, or temporary detention centers, in most police stations
throughout the country. Most facilities, particularly older jails,
remained unsanitary and seriously overcrowded, with occupancy as much
as quadruple the facility's designed capacity.
Violence among prisoners was common, and prisoners continued to
complain of mistreatment by guards.
In June a judge acquitted eight prison officers of all charges in
the 2006 killing of an inmate.
Human rights organizations expressed concern about conditions in
pretrial detention facilities, which remained overcrowded. Growing
numbers of convicted prisoners were held in detention cells due to
prison overcrowding. Because of staff shortages, police officers rarely
permitted detainees to leave their cells. Detainees and human rights
groups also alleged that meals were inadequate.
Conditions in the women's jail and prison facilities were generally
better than those in the men's facilities. Following conviction, girls
under age 18 were held in the women's detention center and in the
women's section of one of the prison complexes.
There is one juvenile detention facility, Opa Doeli, for boys and
girls under the age of 18; this facility, located in Paramaribo, was
considered adequate and provided educational and recreational
facilities. A separate wing of that prison held boys under age 18
convicted of serious crimes.
The Government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers. Allied Collective, a local human rights organization focused
primarily on legal issues, noted that in general it had access to
prisoners but did not always receive cooperation from prison officials
on routine matters. The Welzijns Institute Nickerie, a nongovernmental
organization (NGO) operating in the western district of Nickerie,
visited and provided counseling for detainees in the youth detention
center in that district. The institute also started a program to train
prison officers to counsel detainees.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions. Due to a shortage of judges, prisoners who appealed their
cases often served their full sentences before the lengthy appeals
process could be completed.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The armed forces are
responsible for national security and border control, with the military
police having direct responsibility for immigration control at the
country's ports of entry. All elements of the military are under the
control of the Ministry of Defense. Civilian police bear primary
responsibility for the maintenance of law and order and report to the
Ministry of Justice and Police. The Personnel Investigation Department
(OPZ) is an office within the Police Department that conducts
investigations into complaints of police abuses. Police effectiveness
was hampered by a lack of equipment and training, low salaries, and
poor coordination with other law enforcement agencies. The police and
military continued joint operations.
Corruption remained a problem, and senior police officers met
monthly with the Attorney General's Office to review corruption and
other cases against the police.
The OPZ reported that through September, authorities disciplined 17
officers for various offenses; nine of whom were jailed, including five
for seriously neglecting their duties, three for grievous bodily harm,
and one on narcotics charges. During the year 24 police officers, 12 of
whom were taken into custody, lost their commissions for various
offenses.
Arrest and Detention.--Individuals were apprehended with warrants
and were promptly informed of the charges against them. The police may
detain for up to 14 days a person suspected of committing a crime if
the sentence for that crime is longer than four years, and an assistant
district attorney or a police inspector may authorize incommunicado
detention. The police must bring the accused before a prosecutor to be
charged formally in that period, but if additional time is needed to
investigate the charge, a prosecutor and, later, a judge of instruction
may extend the detention period an additional 150 days. There is no
bail system. Detainees were allowed prompt access to counsel of their
choosing, but the prosecutor may prohibit access if he thinks that this
could harm the investigation. Detainees were allowed weekly visits from
family members.
The average length of pretrial detention was 30 to 45 days for
lesser crimes. Detainees were held in 23 overcrowded detention cells at
police stations throughout the country. In accordance with the law, the
courts freed most detainees who were not tried within the 164 day
period. According to human rights monitors, such factors as a shortage
of judges, large case loads, and large numbers of detainees caused
trial delays.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an
independent judiciary, disputes over the appointment of judges
undermined the independence of the judiciary. The attorney general and
the president of the Court of Justice are appointed for life.
The judicial system consists of three lower courts, two specialized
courts, and the Court of Justice as an appeals court. A military court
system operates in cooperation with the civilian judicial system.
While the Ministry of Justice and Police sought to improve the
functioning of the court system, a shortage of judges significantly
hampered both civilian and military courts. At year's end there were 14
sitting judges in the country; during the year four new judges were
installed, one retired but was later reinstalled, and the president of
the Court of Justice retired. Recognizing the need for judges, the
ministry initiated an active system of training for judges.
Other problems the judiciary faced included financial dependence on
the Ministry of Justice and Police (and hence the executive branch),
lack of professional court managers and case management systems to
oversee the courts' administrative functions, and lack of physical
space. These contributed to a significant case backlog. The courts
required a minimum of six months to process criminal cases.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair, public
trial in which defendants have the right to counsel, and the judiciary
generally enforced this right. Defendants enjoy a presumption of
innocence and have the right to appeal their verdict. Defendants'
lawyers can question witnesses. There is no jury system. The courts
assign private sector lawyers to defend indigent detainees, paying the
costs from public funds. There were approximately 13 court assigned
lawyers, for both the civil and the penal system. Unlike in previous
years, human rights organizations did not complain about court assigned
lawyers not appearing for trial. Defendants can question witnesses
against them and also have the right to present witnesses and evidence
on their own behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence. The law extends the above rights to all
citizens.
Military personnel generally are not subject to civilian criminal
law. A member of the armed forces accused of a crime immediately comes
under military jurisdiction, and military police are responsible for
all such investigations. Military prosecutions are directed by an
officer on the public prosecutor's staff and take place in separate
courts before two military judges and one civilian judge. Due to the
shortage of judges, military and civilian judges are selected from the
same pool by the Court of Justice, which makes assignments to specific
cases. A mechanism exists to prevent conflicts of interest. The
military courts follow the same rules of procedure as the civil courts.
There is no appeal from the military to the civil system.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although there are
separate procedures for civil processes, the same pool of judges is
responsible for presiding over these procedures. There is access to a
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human
rights violation. However, the shortage of judges impeded this process;
most civil cases were resolved approximately three to four years after
being heard by the courts.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. The law requires
search warrants, which are issued by quasi judicial officers who
supervise criminal investigations.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice.
Some media members continued to practice occasional self
censorship. This was due to a history of intimidation and reprisals by
certain elements of the former military leadership or response to
pressure applied by senior government officials and important community
leaders on journalists who published negative stories about the
administration.
On January 9, a journalist writing for a local daily, the Times of
Suriname, alleged that a member of the Police Arrest Team seized her
camera after taking pictures of a police officer kicking a suspect
during a raid. Police allegedly deleted her pictures before returning
the camera to her the next day.
There were instances where some government ministers and government
officials threatened libel actions against newspapers.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail. The
Telecommunication Authority estimated that 11 percent of households had
direct Internet access. Although there were 162 registered Internet
chat rooms in the capital city and the districts, the population in the
interior did not have equal access to the Internet due to
infrastructural limitations.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. There
was a declared Jewish community of approximately 150 persons.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. The Government cooperated with the office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
Although the law does not address exile, it was not used in
practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. Under special circumstances, persons may be granted refugee
status, and in practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The constitution provides
for direct election by secret ballot of the 51 member National Assembly
every five years. The National Assembly in turn elects the president by
a two thirds majority vote. If the legislature is unable to do so, the
constitution provides that the United People's Assembly, composed of
members of parliament and elected regional and local officials, shall
elect the president. After generally free and fair elections in May
2005, the United People's Assembly reelected incumbent Ronald Venetiaan
as president in August 2005. Political parties could operate without
restriction or outside interference.
Historical and cultural factors, as well as societal pressures and
customs, especially in rural areas, particularly with respect to
marriage and inheritance, inhibited equal participation by women in
leadership positions in government and political parties. While women
made limited gains in attaining political power, men continued to
dominate political life. There were 13 women in the National Assembly
and three women in the cabinet. During the year four women were sworn
in as judges, increasing to five the number of female judges. The head
clerk of the Court of Justice, that body's highest administrative
position, was a woman.
Several factors traditionally limited the participation of
indigenous Amerindians and Maroons descendants of escaped slaves who
fled to the interior to avoid recapture in the political process,
particularly the fact their populations were concentrated in remote
areas in the interior, removed from the country's centers of political
activity. There was one Amerindian and three Maroon political parties,
and voters elected eight Maroons and one Amerindian to the National
Assembly. The opportunity for Maroons to participate in the political
process increased when the three Maroon parties formed a coalition (A-
Combinatie) for the 2005 election and became part of the governing
coalition. A-Combinatie remained active during the year, with three
Maroons in the cabinet and several others in decision-making positions.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption; however, the Government was not able
to implement the law effectively. Public allegations and some cases
indicated that officials at times engaged in corrupt practices with
impunity or that long delays occurred before such cases were brought to
trial. The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected that
government corruption was a problem. A shortage of police personnel
continued to hamper police investigations of fraud cases.
There was no legislation regarding public disclosure laws. Various
sections of the Ministry of Justice and Police, including the Fraud
Police and the Attorney General's Office, were responsible for
combating government corruption.
On August 13, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Animal Husbandry, and Fisheries, John Debipersad, was convicted and
sentenced to one year's imprisonment on charges of forgery and fraud.
Debipersad was found guilty of granting fishing permits when he did not
have the authority to do so.
On May 13, a judge convicted seven persons for the August 2007
embezzlement of SRD 6.1 million (approximately $2.1 million) at the
Ministry of Finance. Individuals were sentenced to jail terms ranging
from five months to three years and ordered to pay additional fines and
repay the money they wrongfully took.
The media frequently reported alleged corrupt practices with regard
to the acquisition of land by one of the political parties in the
governing coalition.
Although the law provides for public access to government
information, such access was limited in practice for citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media. While almost every ministry has
an information service, onerous bureaucratic hurdles made obtaining
information very difficult.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of independent domestic human rights groups, such as the
Organization for Justice and Peace, the Know Your Rights Foundation,
Allied Collective, and Moiwana generally operated without government
restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human
rights cases. On occasion the Government met with NGOs to discuss their
complaints, but, according to one local NGO, officials were sometimes
not cooperative or responsive to their views. No international human
rights groups operated in the country during the year.
A parliamentary commission on human rights continued operating
throughout the year, but resource constraints hampered its
effectiveness. Parliament also has a commission dealing with women's
and children's rights.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race and ethnicity but
does not address discrimination based on disability, language, or
social status. While the law does not specifically prohibit gender
discrimination, it provides for protection of women's rights to equal
access to education, employment, and property. In practice various
sectors of the population, such as women, Maroons, Amerindians, persons
with HIV/AIDS, and homosexuals, suffered various forms of
discrimination.
Women.--The law prohibits rape but does not address spousal rape.
The maximum penalty for rape or forcible sexual assault is 12 years'
imprisonment. Rape statistics were not readily available, and adult
rapes were rarely reported in the media.
Violence against women was a common problem, which the Government
did not address specifically. The law does not differentiate between
domestic violence and other forms of assault. During the year the
Nieuwe Haven Police Unit for Domestic Abuse, the most active such unit
in the country, reported 191 cases of abuse. An NGO driven network,
including police units, continued working to combat domestic violence.
There were four victims' rooms in police stations in Paramaribo and in
Nickerie, and police units were trained in dealing with victims and
perpetrators of sexual crimes and domestic violence. There was a
shelter organized by an NGO for victims of domestic violence.
Although the law prohibits sexual exploitation, including
prostitution, in practice prostitution was tolerated. Concerns about
the link between prostitution and trafficking in persons resulted in
police raids on brothels and arrests of several prostitutes. Poverty
continued to put young women at risk of becoming exploited for
commercial sex. The presence of large groups of illegal workers in the
gold mining sector in the interior drew young Maroon women and girls
into commercial sexual exploitation. Police allowed many brothels to
operate but made bimonthly checks on these establishments to monitor if
women were being abused, held against their will, or having their
passports retained by brothel owners to ensure fulfillment of work
contract obligations.
While there was no specific legislation on sexual harassment,
prosecutors could cite various Penal Code articles in filing sexual
harassment cases.
Women have the legal right to equal access to education,
employment, and property; nevertheless, societal pressures and customs,
especially in rural areas, inhibited their full exercise of these
rights, particularly with respect to marriage and inheritance. Societal
pressures on families to have their daughters married at or near the
legal age of marital consent frequently interfered with these girls'
education and resulted in the direct passage of all property the women
would have inherited from their parents to their husbands and parents
in law in accordance with these customs.
Men and women generally enjoyed the same rights under property law
and under the judicial system. The Ministry of Justice and Police
instituted a special office, the Bureau for Women and Children, to
ensure the legal rights of women and children.
Women experienced discrimination in access to employment and in
rates of pay for the same or substantially similar work. The Government
did not make specific efforts to combat economic discrimination.
The National Women's Movement, the most active women's rights NGO,
continued assisting women in launching small home based businesses,
such as sewing and vegetable growing, and provided general legal help.
The Women's Business Group advocated for business opportunities for
women, while the Women's Parliament Forum advocated for opportunities
in the public sector. Stop Violence against Women provided assistance
to victims of domestic violence, including legal help with dissolving
an abusive marriage. The Maxi Linder Foundation worked with
prostitutes, including women and children who were victims of
trafficking, and conducted outreach and informational sessions to
inform victims about their rights. Resource constraints continued to
limit the effectiveness of these groups.
Children.--The Government allocated limited resources to ensure
safeguards for the human rights and welfare of children. Schooling is
compulsory until 12 years of age; however, in practice some school age
children, particularly in the interior, did not have access to
education due to a lack of transportation, building facilities, or
teachers. Although school attendance was free through university level,
most public schools imposed a nominal enrollment fee, ranging from SRD
25 to SRD 115 (approximately $9 to $40) a year to cover costs.
Approximately 85 percent of children in cities, but as few as 50
percent of children in the interior, attended school. Most children
attended school through middle school (age 16).
Physical and sexual abuse of children continued to be a problem.
During the year police received reports of 338 cases of sexual abuse of
children. The police Youth Affairs Office conducted three visits per
week to different schools in the capital and the surrounding areas on a
rotating schedule to provide outreach and raise awareness about child
abuse and to solicit and investigate complaints. The Youth Affairs
Office also raised awareness about sexual abuse, drugs, and alcohol
through a weekly television program.
According to one study, more than 80 percent of the children in
Paramaribo, and an even greater percentage elsewhere, were exposed to
violence. An estimated 10 percent of the victims developed post-
traumatic stress syndrome as a result of serious mental and physical
damage; in most cases victims lacked professional assistance from the
Government, according to research conducted in 2006 on behalf of the
Ministry of Social Affairs and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
On May 8, a judge convicted the principal of a special needs school
in Nickerie to three years' imprisonment for sexually abusing 13 of his
pupils for two years.
In August a judge sentenced a child care director to eight years'
imprisonment for sexually abusing eight children at a shelter for
homeless children in January 2007.
Various laws were used to prosecute perpetrators of sexual
harassment, and several cases of sexual abuse against minors came to
trial. Sentences averaged three years in prison. In the capital there
were several orphanages and one privately funded shelter for sexually
abused children.
While the legal age of sexual consent is 14, it was not enforced
effectively. The marriage law sets the age of marital consent at 15 for
girls and 17 for boys, provided parents of the parties agree to the
marriage. Parental permission to marry is required up to age 21. The
law also mandates the presence of a Civil Registry official to register
all marriages.
Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of minors remained a
problem. According to the Mamio Namen Project Foundation, an NGO
working to assist HIV infected persons, increased sex tourism led to
continued sexual exploitation of children, with a marked increase in
the exploitation of young boys. Two NGOs provided shelters for homeless
boys.
UNICEF continued cooperating with the Government in providing
training to officials from various ministries dealing with children and
children's rights. UNICEF coordinated its activities with the Bureau
for Children Rights and the National Steering Committee, which includes
representatives from the Ministries of Health, Education, Regional
Development, Planning and Development Cooperation, and Labor.
On November 21, the Government restarted the ``Children and Youth
Hotline'' to address the increase in child abuse cases. Youth five to
20 years of age were invited to call to discuss anything, including
trafficking.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports of trafficking to, from, and
within the country.
The country was primarily a transit and destination country for
women and children trafficked internationally for the purpose of sexual
exploitation, although no estimates or reliable numbers were available
to the extent or magnitude of the problem. Foreign girls and women were
trafficked from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Colombia
for commercial sexual exploitation; some transited the country en route
to Europe. Chinese and Haitians reportedly were trafficked into the
country for purposes of labor exploitation. The majority of these girls
and women reportedly were unaware that they would be forced into
prostitution.
Principal traffickers included brothel owners or other persons
active in the sex trade. There was an active sex industry in the gold
mining camps in the interior. Traffickers reportedly trafficked victims
under false pretenses, telling them that they would be working in the
catering industry. Chinese nationals transiting the country risked debt
bondage to these migrant smugglers; men were exploited in forced labor
and women in commercial sexual exploitation. Authorities also noted
that ``snake heads,'' Chinese trafficking organizations, were active.
There also were reports of underage girls and boys trafficked by
recruiters or caretakers within the country for prostitution.
The Penal Code specifically prohibits trafficking in persons for
both sexual and non sexual purposes. The law covers both internal and
external forms of trafficking. The penalties for trafficking in persons
for sexual exploitation and for trafficking for labor exploitation,
such as forced or bonded labor and involuntary servitude, range from
five to 20 years' imprisonment.
Government efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers
continued. During the year authorities arrested four persons and
prosecuted three persons under trafficking in persons charges.
There were reports that government officials, including consular
affairs, customs, and immigration officers, fostered an environment
conducive to trafficking in persons by allowing individuals who were
not bona fide visitors to enter the country.
On September 28, police closed the nightclub House of Mouse in
Nickerie and arrested the nightclub manager and two other individuals
suspected of trafficking two underage Guyanese girls forced to work at
the club as prostitutes.
On May 27, a court convicted Hong Zhang and his wife, Calcate
Almara Barbosa, owners of the nightclub Diamond in the Nickerie
district on charges of trafficking Brazilian women to the country and
sentenced them, respectively, to 12 months' and four months'
imprisonment.
The 2006 case against four brothel owners involved in trafficking
women from the Dominican Republic was dismissed after the women
withdrew their statements that they were forced to work as prostitutes.
The Government's Antitrafficking Working Group, which has primary
responsibility for interagency coordination on antitrafficking efforts,
met monthly to assess progress and coordinate new action steps. Police
cooperated with counterparts in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and the
Dominican Republic, and justice officials sought improved mechanisms
for cooperation with Colombia, the Netherlands Antilles, and French
Guiana.
The Public Prosecutor's Office and the police continued a registry
of all brothels and their employees by nationality. Although
prostitution is illegal, the police had informal agreements with many
brothel owners allowing them to operate. The Special Anti-trafficking
Police Unit conducted bimonthly checks to ensure that women were not
mistreated, that no minors were present, and that owners did not keep
the women's airline tickets or passports. Two brothels in the Nickerie
district were closed during the year.
The police unit discontinued visits to cyber cafes to prohibit
people from performing sexual acts in front of webcams.
The Government's ``Children and Youth Hotline'' was available to
youth to discuss all concerns, including trafficking.
In December media reports indicated that 11 persons were brought to
the country under false pretenses and worked in a motorbike assembly
store in Lelydorp, Wanica, in poor working conditions without pay. The
victims alleged that the company's director came to Indonesia and
offered them jobs. In November the group protested their working
conditions and demanded remuneration; thereafter they were fired from
the factory and sought refuge in the Indonesian Embassy.
The TIP Foundation, which is a member of the Government's
antitrafficking working group, is responsible for victim protection.
While there was no shelter designated solely for trafficking victims,
the TIP Foundation arranged shelter and provided other services for
trafficking victims, including foreign victims.
Victims could file suit against traffickers, but few victims came
forward. Women arrested in brothel raids as immigration violators and
who did not indicate they were trafficked were deported, but
authorities sought to treat identified victims as material witnesses
needing protection rather than as criminals. An NGO receiving
government funding, the Maxi Linder Foundation, continued working with
trafficking victims, providing counseling and rehabilitative training.
The Government continued operating a trafficking-in-persons
awareness campaign funded by the International Organization for
Migration and focusing on the Chamber of Commerce, Youth Parliament,
and the various districts.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--No laws prohibit discrimination against
persons with physical or mental disabilities in employment, education,
access to health care, or the provision of state services. There are no
laws, provisions, or programs requiring access to buildings for persons
with disabilities. Some training programs were provided for the blind
and others with disabilities. In general persons with disabilities
suffered from discrimination when applying for jobs and services. A
Ministry of Social Affairs working group remained responsible for
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities but made limited
progress during the year.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits
discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity, and no such
discrimination complaints were filed during the year. Nonetheless
Maroons, who represent approximately 15 percent of the population,
generally continued to be disadvantaged in the areas of education,
employment, and government services. Most Maroons lived in the interior
where limited infrastructure narrowed their access to educational and
professional opportunities and health and social services. Some forms
of discrimination that affected indigenous Amerindians also extended to
Maroons.
During the year no progress was made on the execution of the Inter
American Court of Human Rights ruling on a 2006 case involving 12
Saramaccan clans who claimed authority over 60 villages in the Upper
Suriname River area. In November 2007 the court ruled that the
Government must recognize the collective land rights of the Saramaccan
clans, draft legislation that complies with international treaties,
establish a development fund of SRD 1,680,000 ($600,000), and begin
demarcation by February 2008. However, there were constitutional issues
preventing the demarcation of land claimed by ethnic groups.
Indigenous People.--The law affords no special protection for, or
recognition of, indigenous people. Most Amerindians (approximately 3
percent of the population) suffered a number of disadvantages and had
only limited ability to participate in decisions affecting their lands,
cultures, traditions, and natural resources. The country's political
life, educational opportunities, and jobs were concentrated in the
capital and its environs, while the majority of Amerindians (as well as
Maroons) lived in the interior, where government services were largely
unavailable.
Because Amerindian (and Maroon) lands were not effectively
demarcated, populations continued to face problems with illegal and
uncontrolled logging and mining. Organizations representing Maroon and
Amerindian communities complained that small scale mining operations,
mainly by illegal gold miners, dug trenches that cut residents off from
their agricultural land and threatened to drive them away from their
traditional settlements. Mercury runoff from these operations also
contaminated and threatened traditional food source areas. Many Maroon
and Amerindian groups also complained about the Government granting
land to third parties within their traditional territories.
Maroon and Amerindian groups continued to cooperate with each other
to exercise their rights more effectively. Moiwana and other NGOs
continued to promote the rights of indigenous people.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although the law
prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, there were
reports that homosexuals continued to suffer from employment
discrimination.
Persons with HIV/AIDS continued to experience societal
discrimination in employment and medical services. An NGO working with
HIV infected persons reported that law enforcement agencies and the
fire department conducted HIV testing as part of their hiring
procedures.
The Ministry of Health continued its efforts to prevent mother to
child transmission of HIV/AIDS, through a comprehensive outreach
program involving local health care providers, which achieved its goal
of voluntary testing of 90 percent of expectant mothers. The military
continued its ongoing HIV/AIDS awareness program among troops.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join unions of their choice, without previous authorization or
excessive requirements, and workers did so in practice. Nearly 60
percent of the workforce was organized into unions, and most unions
belonged to one of the country's seven major labor federations. Unions
were independent of the Government but played an active role in
politics.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers in both
public and private sectors exercised this right in practice.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining is protected by law, and the Government generally enforced
this right in practice. Collective bargaining agreements covered
approximately 50 percent of the labor force. Legislation prohibits
employer interference in union activities.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children;
however, there were reports that such practices occurred.
On March 13, Korean boat captain Lee Chang Joo was arrested on
charges of labor trafficking. The Korean captain forced four Vietnamese
fishermen to work on his boat under inhumane conditions and with no
pay. On August 11, a court sentenced him to six years' imprisonment.
On November 7, two Surinamers were arrested on charges of labor
trafficking, participation in a criminal organization, and fraud. The
two allegedly recruited Surinamers for a cooking course in Trinidad and
Tobago but provided the Surinamers as forced labor upon arrival in that
country. The investigation continued at year's end.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
country's labor laws do not define the worst forms of child labor or
hazardous work, and the Government does not have a comprehensive policy
or national program of action on child labor.
The law sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years and
restricts working hours for minors to day shifts; however, it does not
specify the length of such day shifts or set work hours more
restrictive than the 40-hour week for the regular workforce. Children
younger than 18 are prohibited from doing hazardous work, defined as
work dangerous to their life, health, and decency; those younger than
14 are allowed to work only in a family or special vocational setting
or for educational purpose. However, the Ministry of Labor and the
police enforced this law sporadically, and child labor remained a
problem in the informal sector, especially in the western districts of
Nickerie and Saramacca, as children faced increasing economic pressure
to discontinue their education to seek employment.
Children under 14 worked as street vendors, newspaper sellers, rice
and lumber mill workers, packers for traders, shop assistants, and in
the gold mining sector and reportedly in the commercial sex industry.
Employers in these sectors did not guarantee work safety, and children
often worked barefoot and without protective gloves, with no access to
medical care. Although government figures reported that only 2 percent
of children were economically active, there was a lack of statistical
data on the labor environment and child labor situation in the country.
The worst forms of child labor, such as commercial sexual exploitation,
remained a problem; there were reports of commercial sexual
exploitation of children and teenagers by caretakers and older
recruiters.
The Ministry of Labor's Department of Labor Inspection, with 46
inspectors, has responsibility to implement and enforce labor laws,
including those pertaining to the worst forms of child labor; however,
enforcement was inadequate. Inspectors visited private sector companies
throughout the country, but no data was available regarding the number
of inspections performed during the year. The Government did not
investigate exploitive child labor cases outside urban areas. Labor
inspectors were not authorized to conduct inspections in the informal
sector as responsibility for controlling the informal sector lies with
the police.
The police continued raids on known child labor locations in
Paramaribo, including street venues where underage vendors worked, as
well as nightclubs, casinos, and brothels.
Although the Government provided no programs to remove children
from the worst forms of child labor, it supported vocational programs
for dropouts and older children to serve as an alternative to underage
labor.
In September legislation establishing the National Commission for
the Eradication of Child Labor was approved. The National Commission's
mandate includes formulating national policy regarding the eradication
of child labor, initiating specific programs for indigenous children,
and monitoring the country's compliance with international child labor
standards.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no legislation
providing for a minimum wage. The lowest wage for civil servants was
approximately SRD 600 ($214) per month, including a cost of living
allowance, which did not provide a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. Government employees, who constituted approximately
50 percent of the 100,000 member workforce, frequently supplemented
their salaries with second or third jobs, often in the informal sector.
The president and the Council of Ministers set and approved civil
service wage increases.
Work in excess of 45 hours per week on a regular basis requires
special government permission, which was granted routinely. Such
overtime work earned premium pay. The law prohibits excessive overtime
and requires a 24 hour rest period per week.
The Government sets occupational health and safety standards, and a
10- to 12-member inspectorate in the Occupational Health and Safety
Division of the Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing
occupational safety and health regulations, but it did not make regular
inspections. There is no law authorizing workers to refuse to work in
circumstances they deem unsafe; they must appeal to the inspectorate to
declare the workplace situation unsafe.
__________
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Trinidad and Tobago is a parliamentary democracy governed by a
prime minister and a bicameral legislature, with a population of
approximately 1.3 million. Tobago has a House of Assembly that has some
administrative autonomy over local matters on that island. In November
2007 elections, which observers considered generally free and fair,
Prime Minister Patrick Manning's People's National Movement (PNM)
secured a 26 to 15 seat victory over the United National Congress
(UNC). Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of
the security forces.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens; however, there were problems in some areas: police killings
during apprehension or custody, inmate illness and injuries due to poor
prison conditions, high-profile cases of alleged bribery, violence
against women, inadequate services for vulnerable children, and unsafe
working conditions.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
43 persons died during the year while in police custody or at the hands
of law enforcement authorities. Authorities investigated or opened
inquests into all such killings, but only 6 percent of inquiries into
police killings of civilians have been completed since 1999. In cases
where charges were brought, 50 percent of the officers were acquitted.
On April 10, police killed Mustapha Edwards during an alleged
shootout with Edwards and another assailant. Eyewitnesses claimed that
police harassed Edwards before shooting him in an alleged execution
style. An investigation continued at year's end.
On October 6, police officers shot and killed Karim Saint Aimee
near his home in Laventille. According to police reports, Saint Aimee
was running in an area where residents had reported a gunman, and the
police returned shots after Saint Aimee pointed and fired his gun.
However, an eyewitness account claimed that Aimee did not fire his
weapon. An investigation continued at year's end.
On October 9, police officers shot and killed Russel Samuel.
According to police reports, when police approached him, Samuel pulled
a firearm from his waist and shot toward the police. Autopsy reports
indicated that Samuel died from internal and external bleeding and
trauma to the chest. The report also stated that Samuel had three entry
wounds in his back. A police investigation continued at year's end.
On February 27, a preliminary judicial inquiry ruled that Sheldon
Des Visgnes was accidentally killed by crossfire in November 2007 when
a police officer was defending himself.
On June 6, a forensic report contradicted an earlier police report
and confirmed that none of the four men seated in a vehicle in
Laventille whom police shot and killed in August 2007 had gunpowder
residue on their hands. In addition no guns were found, and eyewitness
accounts allegedly confirmed that no one inside the car fired a shot.
At year's end the Special Branch police report had yet to be submitted.
On July 29, a coroner's inquest concluded that the police officers
who shot and killed Joel Charles in April 2007 did so in self-defense.
There were no developments in investigations or inquests into the
2006 police killings of Stefan Mills and Noel French.
During the year authorities extradited the remaining four suspects,
two of them former members of the defense force, charged with the 2005
kidnapping and killing of Balram Bachu Maharaj.
On February 26, a judge acquitted the police officers responsible
for Sherman Monseque's 2004 death, citing a lack of evidence.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances. Criminal kidnappings remained a serious problem,
increasing to 178 from 162 in 2007.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the constitution and the law prohibit such
practices, there were credible reports that police officers and prison
guards mistreated individuals under arrest or in detention.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in the prison
system's eight facilities were somewhat upgraded but continued to be
harsh. According to the prison service commissioner, the Port of Spain
prison, originally designed to accommodate 250 inmates, held 528
prisoners, compared with 599 in 2007. At peak levels, the maximum
number of prisoners in a 10- by 10-foot cell increased from eight to
10.
On October 3, a High Court judge ruled in favor of convicted
murderer Colin Edghill's complaint that the conditions at the Port of
Spain prison were debasing and dehumanizing to both prisoners and to
prison officers. In the ruling, the judge cited concerns about air,
light, sanitation, hygiene, exercise, and food. According to the prison
commissioner, two new prisons were under construction, and temporary
converted storage facilities might be used to remedy the situation.
Prison authorities reported bringing charges against 25 prison
officers for assault and battery or for poor conduct on the job,
including possession of narcotics and provision of cell phones to
inmates.
On May 30, Sunil Ali, who allegedly raped and murdered eight-year-
old Hope Arismendez, hanged himself while in custody at the Golden
Grove prison. An official report made public on October 8 indicated
that an inmate assisted Ali with his suicide.
On September 24, a judge ruled that prison officers used excessive
force in beating inmate Fitzroy Campo in 2006 at the Port of Spain
prison. He awarded Campo financial compensation for general and
exemplary damages.
There were no developments in the inquest into the August 2007
death of Golden Grove prisoner Letroy Beepath, who allegedly died from
blunt force to the chest while in remand custody.
Pretrial detainees were held separately from convicted prisoners,
usually in the remand section of the same facilities as convicted
prisoners. However, convicted prisoners often were held in the remand
section until they exhausted their appeals. Since there is no female
youth facility, some underage female prisoners were placed in the
Golden Grove women's prison. Although conditions at the women's prison
were better than those in Port of Spain prison, it occasionally became
overcrowded, since it held both women on remand and those serving
prison sentences.
The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, but the Ministry of National Security must approve each
visit.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally
observed these prohibitions.
On February 27, a High Court judge ruled that the Government was
liable for Shastri Ramnarine's unlawful detention and verbal abuse by
police officers in 2004 and ordered compensation for Ramnarine.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
National Security oversees the police service, the prison service, and
the defense force. The police service maintains internal security,
while the defense force is responsible for external security but also
has certain domestic security responsibilities. An independent body,
the Police Service Commission, makes hiring and firing decisions in the
police service, and the ministry has little direct influence over
changes in senior positions.
The national police force comprises nine divisions, including 17
specialized branches, with approximately 7,000 members. The Police
Service Commission, in consultation with the prime minister, appoints a
commissioner of police to oversee the police force. Municipal police
under the jurisdiction of 14 regional administrative bodies supplement
the national police force. The Special Anticrime Unit, composed of both
police and defense force personnel, combats violent crime-including
kidnappings for ransom-and carries out other security operations.
Police corruption continued to be a problem, with some officials
suggesting there were officers who participated in corrupt and illegal
activities. The Police Complaints Authority receives complaints about
the conduct of police officers for transmittal to the Complaints
Division of the Police Service, where uniformed officers investigate
them. The authority simply monitors the division's investigations and
its disciplinary measures. Police Service Commission restrictions
limited the division's ability to dismiss police officers. The public
had little confidence in the police complaints process because the
authority had no power to investigate complaints and because those
investigating complaints against the police were themselves police
officers.
On March 4, a woman claimed that police constable Stephen Jerome
raped her during a visit to the Arouca police station where she had
gone to inquire about a domestic violence report. The court prosecutor
asserted that Jerome refused to provide a DNA sample; the judge set
bail and ordered collection of DNA. At year's end, the trial was
pending.
On March 19, two soldiers allegedly raped a woman at gunpoint after
she snuck into Camp Ogden to visit another soldier. Medical examiners
confirmed that she was sexually assaulted. Both an army and police
investigation were underway at year's end.
On March 24, a senior police officer allegedly swam nude with four
female Colombian detainees, fed them, and then returned to the police
station where he proceeded to have sex with them. An official
investigation began after another officer confirmed the allegation.
On May 8, authorities brought charges against three detectives who
allegedly robbed the son of a senior police officer in 2006. Although
the investigation was completed in January 2007, all three accused were
still serving officers and were to provide testimony in several pending
cases at year's end.
Arrest and Detention.--A police officer may arrest a person either
based on a warrant issued or authorized by a magistrate or without a
warrant when the officer witnesses the commission of an alleged
offense. Detainees, as well as those summoned to appear before a
magistrate, must appear in court within 48 hours. In the case of more
serious offenses, the magistrate either commits the accused to prison
on remand or allows the accused to post bail, pending a preliminary
inquiry. Detainees were granted prompt access to a lawyer and to family
members.
There is a functioning bail system, although persons charged with
murder, treason, piracy, kidnapping for ransom, hijacking and persons
convicted twice of violent crimes are ineligible for a period of 60
days following the charge. However, a judge may still grant bail to
such persons under exceptional circumstances. Where bail was refused,
magistrates advised the accused of their right to an attorney and, with
few exceptions, allowed them access to an attorney once they were in
custody and prior to any interrogation.
The minister of national security may authorize preventive
detention in order to preclude actions prejudicial to public safety,
public order, or national defense, in which case the minister must
state the grounds for the detention. There were no reports that the
authorities abused this power.
Lengthy pretrial detention resulting from heavy court backlogs and
an inefficient judicial system continued to be a problem. Out of a
prison population of 3,803, 1,595 inmates awaited trial at year's end,
compared with 578 in 2007. Of the 212 female prisoners, 108 inmates
awaited trial at year's end. Many persons under indictment waited
months, if not years, for their trial dates in the High Court. An added
inefficiency resulted from the legal requirement that anyone charged
and detained must appear in person for a hearing before magistrate's
court every 10 days, if only to have the case postponed for a further
10 days, pending conclusion of the investigation. Officials cited an
increase in the number of arrests and an antiquated note-taking system
in most magistrate courts as explanations for the backlog.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and the law
provide for an independent judiciary, and the Government generally
respected this provision in practice. Although the judicial process was
generally fair, it was slow due to backlogs and inefficiencies.
Additionally, prosecutors as well as judges stated that witness
intimidation increased.
The judiciary is divided into the Supreme Court of Judicature and
the magistracy. The Supreme Court is composed of the High Court and a
Court of Appeal. The magistracy includes the summary courts and the
petty civil courts.
Trial Procedures.--Magistrates try both minor and more serious
offenses, but in the case of more serious offenses, the magistrate must
conduct a preliminary inquiry. Trials are public, and juries are used
in the High Court. Defendants have the right to be present, are
presumed innocent until proven guilty, and have the right to appeal.
All defendants have the right to consult with an attorney in a timely
manner. An attorney is provided at public expense to defendants facing
serious criminal charges, and the law requires provision of an attorney
to any person accused of murder. Although the courts may appoint
attorneys for indigent persons charged with serious crimes, an indigent
person may refuse to accept an assigned attorney for cause and may
obtain a replacement. Defendants can confront or question witnesses
against them, can present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf,
and have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases.
Both civil and criminal appeals may be filed with the Court of
Appeal and ultimately with the Privy Council in the United Kingdom.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and the
law provide for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil
matters, and citizens are free to file lawsuits against civil breaches,
in both the High Court and petty civil court. The High Court may review
the decisions of lower courts, may order parties to cease and desist
from particular actions, may compel parties to take specific actions,
or may award damages to aggrieved parties. However, the petty civil
court is authorized to hear only cases involving damages of up to
TT$15,000 (approximately $2,500).
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the law prohibit such actions,
and the Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and the law
provide for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government
generally respected these rights in practice.
On November 4, the prime minister visited a local radio station to
protest the manner in which two newscasters were commenting on the
Government's budget, and the station manager subsequently suspended the
two broadcasters. Some government critics responded by charging
intimidation and abuse of authority. The prime minister defended his
action by asserting that no intimidation took place and that he acted
within the rights provided every citizen to counter false or incorrect
information. Commenting on the matter, the minister of information
underscored the Government's commitment to press freedom, but urged all
media to report ``accurately and with balance.''
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and the law provide for these freedoms, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In 2006 a High Court judge
ruled that the country's highest award, the Trinity Cross, was
discriminatory to non-Christians. That ruling did not alter the name of
the award, and in August, the Government officially renamed it the
Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
On August 8, unidentified vandals broke into a prominent Hindu
temple where they defiled religious idols. This desecration occurred
almost exactly one year after a 2007 break-in at a Hindu temple in the
central part of the country. The nongovernmental Inter Religious
Organization did not believe the vandalism was religiously motivated.
Police had not made any arrests in the cases at year's end.
There were no other reports of societal abuses or discrimination,
including anti-Semitic acts. The Jewish community was extremely small.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and various laws
provide for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel,
emigration, and repatriation, and the Government generally respected
these rights in practice.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.
Protection of Refugees.--Although the Government acceded to the
1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967
protocol, it had not passed legislation to implement its obligations
under the convention. The Government cooperated with the Office of the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The Government
placed asylum seekers in the care of the Living Water Community, a
local Catholic social services agency, while their cases were reviewed
by UNHCR and final resolution reached. Pending Parliament's approval of
legislation implementing the UN convention and its protocol, the
Ministry of National Security's Immigration Division handled all
requests for asylum on a case-by-case basis.
In practice, the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
The Government did not provide temporary protection to persons who
may not qualify as refugees. The Living Water Community provided such
persons with needed social services and reported 18 new asylum seekers
and 115 refugees seeking assistance as of October 31.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and the law provide citizens the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis
of universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Observers found the
November 2007 national elections to be generally free and fair,
although during the campaign period there were incidents of vandalism
and violence that, while mild, were more pronounced than in past
elections. A plurality of voters supported the PNM, which retained
control of the Government. The two major political parties are the PNM,
which is primarily, but not exclusively Afro-Trinidadian, and the UNC,
which is primarily but not exclusively Indo-Trinidadian. A third party
formed in 2006, the Congress of the People (COP), failed to win any
seats in the latest election. The COP and all other parties state their
goal is to create a broad-based national political consensus spanning
all racial, ethnic, and religious groups.
Voters elected the 41-member House of Representatives, and there is
an appointed Senate composed of 31 persons. Of the 72 persons in both
houses of Parliament, 23 were women; there were 11 women in the 28-
member cabinet; and 12 female judges among the 37 judges on the High
Court and the Court of Appeals. All major political parties reached out
to voters from relatively small ethnic minorities, such as the Chinese,
Syrian, Lebanese, and European-origin communities, and members of these
groups held important positions in government. There were no members of
these minorities in the legislature or in the cabinet.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. However, the World Bank's worldwide
governance indicators reflected that government corruption was a
problem.
The Integrity in Public Life Act mandates that public officials
disclose their assets, income, and liabilities to an Integrity
Commission. Critics charged that the commission lacks credibility as
often it was used as a political tool. In the past, many officials and
candidates for public office were reluctant to comply with the
disclosure provisions, claiming that such disclosures would make them
and their families a target of kidnappings for ransom. The attorney
general reportedly was reviewing the act to determine who could be
exempt.
In June several allegations of corruption were made against the
Urban Development Company, a state enterprise. The prime minister
agreed to establish a commission of inquiry, which was scheduled to
begin hearings in January 2009.
In February the Privy Council heard the case of UNC Party Chairman
and Parliamentary Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, convicted in 2006 of
failing to disclose a London bank account, and ruled that he should
receive a retrial. At year's end the matter was pending.
An investigation continued into the 2006 charges against Hafeez
Karamath, part owner of a desalination company, who was accused of
conspiring in 1998-99 to enrich himself by manipulating a bid for a
contract to supply desalinated water to the Government's Water and
Sewer Authority. The case was in abeyance pending extradition
proceedings.
The 2005 bribery allegations against former PNM minister of works
and transport and party chairman Franklin Khan continued to be heard in
the courts and to be investigated by the authorities. In a related
case, the director of public prosecutions applied to the High Court to
reconsider trying former PNM minister of energy and energy industries
Eric Williams on seven corruption charges, but no decision had been
made by year's end.
The courts continued to hear a case that implicated the most senior
members of the 1995-2001 UNC government in embezzlement and bid-rigging
on the Piarco Airport expansion project. At year's end the corruption
case against then prime minister Panday, charging that he had accepted
a bribe that led his government to favor a contractor on the project,
was still being heard in the courts.
The Freedom of Information Act provides for public access to
government documents, upon application. However, critics charged that a
growing number of public bodies were exempted from the act's coverage.
The Government countered that the exemptions were intended to avoid
frivolous requests and searches for information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating human
rights cases and publishing their findings. Government officials
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The ombudsman investigates citizens' complaints concerning the
administrative decisions of government agencies. Where there is
evidence of a breach of duty, misconduct, or criminal offense, the
ombudsman may refer the matter to the authority competent to take
appropriate remedial action. The ombudsman has a quasi-autonomous
status within the Government and publishes a comprehensive annual
report. Both the public and the Government had confidence in the
integrity and the reliability of the office of the ombudsman and the
ombudsman's annual report.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The Government generally respected in practice the constitutional
provisions for fundamental human rights and freedoms for all without
discrimination based on race, origin, color, religion, social status,
or gender.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal and punishable by
up to life imprisonment, but the courts often handed down considerably
shorter sentences. The Government and nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) reported that many incidents of rape and other sexual crimes
were unreported, partly due to perceived insensitivity on the part of
the police. One group, the Rape Crisis Society, stated that there were
229 new cases of rape reported during the year, in addition to 615
continuing investigations. Over 60 percent of its clients were between
12 and 26 years of age.
Many community leaders asserted that abuse of women, particularly
in the form of domestic violence, continued to be a significant
problem. The law provides for protection orders separating perpetrators
of domestic violence, including abusive spouses, from their victims, as
well as for penalties that include fines and imprisonment. While
reliable national statistics were not available, women's groups
estimated that from 20 to 25 percent of all women suffered abuse.
Citing a 10 percent increase in the number of domestic violence cases
filed in the magistrate's court during the previous year's law term,
outgoing Chief Justice Sharma asserted that domestic abuse was a
detriment to the country's peace and security. In January the Attorney
General's Office provided a domestic violence manual to law enforcement
officials.
NGOs charged that police were often lax in enforcing the law. The
Division of Gender Affairs (DGA) in the Ministry of Community
Development, Culture, and Gender Affairs operated a 24-hour hot line
for victims of rape, spousal abuse, and other violence against women,
referring callers to eight shelters for battered women, a rape crisis
center, counseling services, support groups, and other assistance.
Prostitution is illegal, and the authorities continued to monitor,
investigate, and prosecute major operators believed to be engaged in
soliciting for prostitution. On January 20, police arrested 42 women
involved in a prostitution ring, many of whom had entered the country
illegally. The authorities deported many of them.
No laws specifically prohibit sexual harassment. Although related
statutes could be used to prosecute perpetrators of sexual harassment,
and some trade unions incorporated antiharassment provisions in their
contracts, both the Government and NGOs suspected that many incidents
of sexual harassment went unreported.
Women generally enjoyed the same legal rights as men, including
employment, education, and inheritance rights. No laws or regulations
require equal pay for equal work. While equal pay for men and women in
public service was the rule rather than the exception, both the
Government and NGOs noted considerable disparities in pay between men
and women in the private sector, particularly in agriculture.
The DGA had primary government responsibility for protecting
women's rights and women's advancement and sponsored income-generation
workshops for unemployed single mothers, nontraditional skills training
for women, and seminars for men on redefining masculinity.
Children.--A lack of funds and expanding social needs challenged
the Government's ability to carry out its commitment to protect the
rights and welfare of children.
Education is compulsory up to the age of 12, and public education
is free for all elementary and secondary students up to the age of 20.
Some parts of the public school system failed to meet the needs of the
school-age population due to overcrowding, substandard physical
facilities, and occasional classroom violence.
The Domestic Violence Act provides protection for children abused
at home. The Ministry of Education's Student Support Services Division
reported that young school children were vulnerable to rape, physical
abuse, and drug use and that some had access to weapons or lived with
drug-addicted parents. Abused children removed from the home were first
assessed at a reception center for vulnerable children and then placed
with relatives, government institutions, or NGOs. According to the Rape
Crisis Society, there were 81 child sexual abuse cases, a decrease from
126 cases in 2007. Officials believed that this may not be a result of
a decrease in incidents, rather a decrease in reporting. Other sources
cited training and distribution of the new domestic abuse handbook as a
possible reason for fewer cases. The Coalition against Domestic
Violence operated Childline, a free and confidential telephone hot line
for at-risk or distressed children and young persons up to age 25.
During the year Childline received 9,475 calls, 46 percent from girls
and 54 percent from boys.
There were a number of cases of children who, either in their own
homes or in institutional settings, were abused or, in some cases,
tortured. On May 24, eight-year-old Hope Arismendez was reported
missing, and police found her dead body in a cane field five days
later. The girl had been beaten, raped, and her throat slit, allegedly
by her mother's common-law husband.
The law defines a child as under 18 years of age, outlaws corporal
punishment for children, and prohibits sentencing a child to prison.
One law sets the minimum legal age of marriage at 18 for both males and
females; however, in practice the minimum legal age of marriage is
determined by the distinct laws and attitudes of the various religious
denominations. Under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, the minimum
legal age of marriage is 16 for males and 12 for females, while under
the Hindu Marriage Act and the Orisa Marriage Act, the minimum legal
age of marriage is 18 for males and 16 for females.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit
trafficking in persons, but perpetrators could be prosecuted under
several related laws. Although media reports asserted that trafficking
in persons was a growing problem, law enforcement officials stated that
they had no reports of trafficking of nationals to, from, through, or
within the country. They acknowledged occasional irregular migration by
foreign women, often for purposes of prostitution, who were deported
when discovered.
The Sexual Offenses Act prohibits procurement of a person for the
purpose of sexual intercourse with another person, and procuring a
person to become an inmate of a brothel or to frequent a brothel. The
Kidnapping Act also provides that if a person takes, entices away,
abducts, seizes, or detains any person without his consent, or with his
consent obtained by fraud or duress, and if a person without lawful
excuse is held, confined, restricted or imprisoned, the one who
performs these acts commits an offense. Penalties for violations of
these laws range from seven years' to life imprisonment. There were no
such prosecutions during the year.
The Government had not designated a specific agency to combat
trafficking in persons, and it sponsored no public awareness campaigns
to address this issue during the year. The Government cooperated with
the International Organization for Migration, which continued a
Strengthening Technical Capacity project to bolster capabilities of the
Immigration Division and other law enforcement agencies. Domestic NGOs
were available to provide care and protection to trafficking victims.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--There are no statutes either
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability or mandating
equal access for persons with disabilities to the political process,
employment, education, transportation, housing, health care, and other
citizen services.
In practice persons with disabilities faced discrimination and
denial of opportunities in the form of architectural barriers, employer
reluctance to make necessary accommodations that would enable otherwise
qualified job candidates to work, an absence of support services to
assist children with special needs to study, lowered expectations of
the abilities of persons with disabilities, condescending attitudes,
and disrespect. According to the NGO Disabled People's International
(DPI), the majority of public schools and most government and
commercial facilities were inaccessible to wheelchair users, and there
were only five buses modified to accommodate the country's 125,000
persons with disabilities. However, the national library was widely
regarded as a model of barrier-free design and genuinely equal service
to patrons with disabilities. In addition a few commercial facilities,
such as some supermarkets, made parking spaces available to shoppers
with disabilities.
The Hall of Justice's wheelchair access was completed in response
to a 2007 high court ruling. In addition the Government completed work
making five stadiums, seven indoor sports arenas, and five community
pools accessible to persons with disabilities. According to DPI
officials, although the pace is slow, improvements continued. They
estimated that 16 percent of the total population were persons with
disabilities, although no census data were available. The Government
provides some funding to NGOs such as the DPI.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's diverse racial
and ethnic groups lived together in what appeared on the surface to be
peace and mutual respect. However, nonviolent racial tensions regularly
emerged between Afro-Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians, who each made
up approximately 40 percent of the population.
Indo-Trinidadians and persons of European, Middle Eastern, and
Asian descent predominated in the private sector, and Indo-Trinidadians
also predominated in agriculture. Afro-Trinidadians were employed
heavily in the civil service, the police, and the defense force. Some
Indo-Trinidadians asserted that they were not equally represented in
senior civil service and security force positions and among winners of
state-sponsored housing grants and scholarships.
Indigenous People.--A very small group of persons identified
themselves as descendants of the country's original Amerindian
population. The Government effectively protected their civil and
political rights, and they were not subject to discrimination.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although the law
criminalizes consensual homosexual relations, providing penalties of up
to 10 years' imprisonment, the Government generally did not enforce
such legislation. The Equal Opportunities Act does not specifically
include gays and lesbians. Gay rights groups reported that there
remained a stigma related to homosexuality in the country.
HIV/AIDS was viewed as a significant medical concern for the
Government and society. Incidents of violence against this group were
usually isolated events.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that all workers,
including those in state-owned enterprises, may form and join unions of
their own choosing without prior authorization. The law also provides
for the mandatory recognition of a trade union when it represents 51
percent or more of the workers in a specified bargaining unit. The
Government's Registration and Certification Board, however, determines
whether a given workers' organization meets the definition of a
bargaining unit and can limit union recognition by this means. The
Government was consistently unwilling to negotiate with public sector
unions and refused to amend its legislation on ``essential services''
and collective bargaining to conform with International Labor
Organization conventions.
According to the National Trade Union Center, one of two umbrella
organizations in the labor movement, 22-24 percent of the workforce was
organized in approximately 25 active unions. Most unions were
independent of government or political party control, although the
Sugar Workers' Union historically was allied with the UNC.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference and to strike, although there were heavy restrictions on
strikes. Employees in essential services, such as police and teachers,
do not have the right to strike, and walkouts can bring punishment of
up to 18 months in prison. These employees negotiate with the
Government's chief personnel officer to resolve labor disputes.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to participate in collective bargaining, although there were
heavy restrictions on the practice. According to the International
Trade Union Confederation, collective bargaining was restricted by the
requirement that, to obtain bargaining rights, a union must have the
support of an absolute majority of workers. Furthermore, collective
agreements must be for a minimum of three years, making it almost
impossible for workers on short-term contracts to be covered by such
agreements.
The law mandates that workers illegally dismissed for union
activities must be reinstated. A union also may bring a request for
enforcement to the Industrial Court, which may order employers found
guilty of antiunion activities to reinstate workers and pay
compensation or may impose other penalties, including imprisonment.
There are several export processing zones, where the same labor
laws are in effect as in the rest of the country.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law
does not specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by
children, there were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum legal age for workers is 12 years. Children from 12 to 16 years
of age may work only in family businesses. Children under the age of 18
may work legally only during daylight hours, with the exception that
16- to 18-year-olds may work at night in sugar factories. The Ministry
of Labor and Small and Micro Enterprise Development and the Ministry of
Social Development are responsible for enforcing child labor
provisions.
The Ministry of Social Development continued to implement its
Revised National Plan of Action for Children, which includes specific
goals for combating commercial sexual exploitation of children and
exploitive child labor. However, the Government did not have
comprehensive mechanisms for receiving, investigating, and resolving
child labor complaints. Consequently, it was unclear how many
complaints related to child labor were received and if any children who
work might have been involved in exploitive labor situations.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor has a
tripartite minimum wage committee, with input from trade unions and
private sector leaders. The committee provides a recommendation for
setting the minimum wage, which then is brought to cabinet by the
minister of labor. The national minimum wage was TT$9 (approximately
$1.45) per hour, which did not provide a decent standard of living for
a worker and family; however, since 2006 the Government provided
limited food assistance for poor families through a national cash
transfer program. Actual wages varied considerably among industries.
There were occasional press reports of minimum wage violations with no
enforcement by the Government.
The law establishes a 40-hour workweek, a daily period for lunch or
rest, and premium pay for overtime. The law does not prohibit excessive
or compulsory overtime.
The law protects workers who file complaints with the labor
ministry regarding illegal or hazardous working conditions. If
complainants refuse to comply with an order that would place them in
danger and if it is determined upon inspection that hazardous
conditions exist in the workplace, the complainants are absolved from
blame.
__________
URUGUAY
The Oriental Republic of Uruguay, with a population of
approximately 3.4 million, is a constitutional republic with an elected
president and a bicameral legislature. In October 2004, in free and
fair multiparty elections, Tabare Vazquez, leader of the Broad Front or
Frente Amplio (FA) coalition, won a five year presidential term and a
majority in parliament. The civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
The Government generally respected the rights of its citizens.
Prison conditions continued to be poor. Instances of violence against
women and discrimination against some societal groups continued to
challenge government policies of nondiscrimination. Some trafficking in
persons occurred.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
The Government continued to investigate the serious human rights
violations committed during the 1973-85 military dictatorship.
In August the Office of the Prosecutor requested an extended
sentence for imprisoned former foreign minister Juan Carlos Blanco
based on new charges regarding his alleged complicity in the forced
disappearance of teacher Elena Quinteros, kidnapped by military forces
from the compound of the Venezuelan Embassy in Montevideo in 1976. The
case remained pending at year's end.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
continued to be poor as aging facilities were not adequately
maintained. Overcrowding continued to be a problem. The total prisoner
population as of June 30 exceeded capacity by 973 prisoners, reaching a
density of 128 percent of capacity. Overcrowding and understaffing
resulted in sanitation, social and health problems. Authorities made
some improvements to prisons, such as repairing sewage systems and
installing additional trash receptacles. Authorities began construction
of a new prison with the capacity to hold 312 prisoners.
Despite an increased budget for provisions, prisoners depended on
visitors for enough food to reach the daily minimum caloric intake.
Access to medical and dental care, recreation, and training was poor.
Authorities installed additional medical and exercise facilities in
several prisons, including Libertad and Comcar and prisons in the
provinces of Salto, Paysandu, and Colonia. A 2008 Honorary Anti-
Tuberculosis Commission report estimated that 35 percent of the
prisoner population had tuberculosis. A high percentage of prisoners
reportedly used drugs, which exacerbated prison violence and health
problems.
Prisoner-on-prisoner violence continued to be a problem, partially
due to the lack of a separate, high-security prison for violent
criminals. Ministry of Interior officials created a Prison Violence
Monitoring Board to evaluate prison violence nationwide.
Ministry officials stated that there were no complaints of police
abuse in prisons during the year. However, on October 10, a detainee
died from strangulation at a police station within hours of his arrest.
At year's end authorities were prosecuting five police officers for
their alleged involvement.
Female and male prisoners were held in separate facilities. In
general, conditions for female prisoners were significantly better than
those for male prisoners. During the year approximately 17 children
lived in prison facilities with their inmate mothers.
The Uruguayan Institute for Adolescents and Children (INAU)
operated institutions to hold minor detainees. Juveniles who committed
serious crimes were incarcerated in juvenile detention centers, which
resembled traditional jails and had cells. Conditions in some of these
facilities were similar to adult versions. Judges placed most juvenile
offenders in halfway houses that focused on rehabilitation. These
facilities provided educational, vocational, and other opportunities,
and residents were permitted to enter and leave without restriction.
Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners.
A Prison System Ombudsman elected by the General Assembly is
responsible for monitoring and reporting on prison conditions in the 27
detention centers around the country. The Office of the Ombudsman
completed 118 prison visits during the year. The Ministry of Interior
made efforts to remedy shortcomings highlighted in the Office of the
Ombudsman's 2007 report on prison conditions. The ministry began repair
and construction of 2,266 spaces for prisoners, and the Government
granted a 130 percent budget increase for the Prisoner Release
Protection Board to support the reintegration of prisoners into society
and the workforce.
The Government permitted general prison visits by independent human
rights observers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), religious
congregations, and foreign diplomats, and such visits occurred during
the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these
prohibitions in practice. The law requires police to have a written
warrant issued by a judge before making an arrest (except when police
apprehend the accused during commission of a crime), and authorities
generally respected this provision in practice.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the National Police, and the
Government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. In July the Government passed a law including rules and
guidelines for police procedures respecting human rights. There were no
reports of impunity involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest and Detention.--The law provides detainees with the right to
a prompt judicial determination of the legality of detention, which was
not always respected, and requires that the detaining authority explain
the legal grounds for the detention. Police may hold a detainee
incommunicado for 24 hours before presenting the case to a judge, at
which time the detainee has the right to counsel. The law stipulates
that confessions obtained by the police prior to a detainee's
appearance before a judge and attorney (without the police present) are
not valid. A judge must investigate any detainee's claim of
mistreatment.
For a detainee who cannot afford a lawyer, the court appoints a
public defender. Judges rarely granted bail for persons accused of
crimes punishable by at least two years in prison. Most persons facing
lesser charges were not jailed. According to an Amnesty International
2008 report, between 60 and 65 percent of all persons incarcerated were
awaiting final decisions in their cases. Some detainees spend years in
jail awaiting trial, and the uncertainty and length of detention
contributed to tensions in the prisons. Detainees were allowed prompt
access to family members.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Juries are not used; trial proceedings usually consist of written
arguments to the judge, which normally are not made public. Only the
judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney have access to all documents
that form part of the written record. There was some difficulty in
maintaining confidentiality between client and attorney. Individual
judges may hear oral arguments at their option, but most judges choose
the written method, a major factor slowing the judicial process.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Criminal trials are held
in a court of first instance. Defendants have a right of appeal. The
law extends these rights to all citizens.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There are transparent
administrative procedures to handle complaints of abuse against
government agents. An independent and impartial judiciary handles civil
disputes, but its decisions were ineffectively enforced. Local police
lacked the training and manpower to enforce restraining orders, which
were often generated during civil disputes.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these
rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on the
Internet or reports that the Government monitored e mail or Internet
chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2007 there were
29 Internet users per 100 inhabitants.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no cases of
societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of
religious groups, including interreligious or intrareligious incidents.
Jewish community leaders reported that government officials and
society generally respected members of their community, which numbered
approximately 20,000. Jewish leaders reported effective cooperation
with police investigating incidents of anti-Semitism.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The law provides that in extreme
cases of national emergency an individual may be given the option to
leave the country as an alternative to trial or imprisonment, but this
option has not been exercised in at least two decades.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to
the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the Government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The
Government granted refugee status and grants asylum only for political
crimes as set forth in the 1928 Treaty of Havana, the 1889 Treaty of
Montevideo, and the 1954 Caracas Convention. During the year the
Government accepted 142 refugees for resettlement. In practice the
Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In October 2004 Tabare
Vazquez of the FA coalition won a five year presidential term in free
and fair elections. The FA won 16 of 30 seats in the Senate and 52 of
99 seats in the House of Representatives. President Vazquez took office
on March 1, 2005.
Political parties operated without restrictions or outside
interference.
Women participated actively in the political process and
government, although primarily at lower and middle levels. Four
senators and 11 representatives were women. Four of the 13 cabinet
ministers were women. There was one Afro Uruguayan among the 99
representatives.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for official corruption, and the Government generally
implemented these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of
government corruption during the year.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws. A
government commission on economic and financial matters collects sworn
financial statements from public servants, including the president.
Although there is no general public disclosure law, the Government
requires all government agencies to produce regular public reports. All
agencies complied with these reporting requirements.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the Government generally enforced these
prohibitions effectively, although societal discrimination against some
groups persisted.
The Honorary Commission Against Racism, Xenophobia, and All Forms
of Discrimination is charged with developing a national plan and
proposing specific measures to prevent and combat racism, xenophobia
and discrimination. The commission is headed by the Ministry of
Education and Culture Director of Human Rights and includes
representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of
the Interior, the National Education Board and three members with a
proven record of fighting discrimination appointed by the president.
Organizations representing Jews, Afro-Uruguayans and individuals of
indigenous descent are also appointed members of the commission. During
the year the commission collaborated with provincial governments to
develop local antidiscrimination activities and conduct procedures for
first responders to crimes involving racism. The commission cosponsored
a seminar on antidiscrimination organized by the Jewish Central
Committee.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape. The law
allows for sentences of two years' to 12 years' imprisonment for a
person found guilty of rape. According to Ministry of Interior
statistics, there were 209 rape cases, up 1 percent from 2007.
Authorities believed that some victims of spousal rape did not
report such incidents because of failure to understand their rights and
fear of social stigma.
The Ministry of Interior reported 12,407 cases of domestic
violence, up 16 percent from 2007, with the highest incidence in
Montevideo and the neighboring department of Canelones. The law allows
for sentences of six months to two years in prison for a person found
guilty of committing an act of violence or of making continued threats
to cause bodily injury to persons related emotionally or legally to the
perpetrator. Civil courts decided most of the domestic cases during the
year. Judges in these cases often issued restraining orders, which were
difficult to enforce. In many instances, courts did not apply criminal
penalties.
The Montevideo municipal government funded a free nationwide hot
line answered by trained NGO employees for victims of domestic
violence. The Ministry of Social Development, INAU, and NGOs operated
shelters in which abused women and their families could seek temporary
refuge.
Prostitution is legal for persons over the age of 18 and was
practiced openly in major cities and tourist resorts. There were no
known reports of police abuse of individuals engaging in prostitution.
Trafficking in women for prostitution occurred.
The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and punishes
it by fines or imprisonment; however, women filed few such complaints,
possibly because they lacked understanding of their rights.
In the judicial system, women enjoyed the same rights as men,
including rights under family and property law. However, they faced
discrimination stemming from traditional attitudes and practices, and
no gender discrimination cases have ever been litigated. There was some
segregation by gender in the workforce. Women constituted almost one
half the workforce, but tended to be concentrated in lower paying jobs,
with salaries averaging two thirds those of men.
Children.--The Government was committed to protecting children's
rights and welfare, and it regarded the education and health of
children as a high priority.
There were few reports of physical and sexual child abuse.
Interpol noted an increase in child pornography material produced
in the country and available on the Internet through servers located in
central Europe. Interpol and the Ministry of Interior authorities
responded promptly to five child pornography cases that came to light
during the year in the provinces of Maldonado, Salto, and Artigas.
INAU provided funding for a number of NGOs that had programs to
assist at-risk children, as well as victims of domestic violence and
sexual exploitation. Assistance to trafficking victims was provided on
a case-by-case basis.
The Integral System to Protect Children and Adolescents Against
Violence, an interagency workgroup that provided training and
awareness-raising campaigns and promoted legislative advancements for
the protection of children and adolescents, operated 10 centers to
provide assistance to victims and released three protocols to guide
first responders (teachers, government workers, and health care
workers) in identifying and treating child abuse.
Some minors engaged in prostitution and forced labor. INAU found
that they often did so at the request of their families to increase
income. The media reported three cases of minors engaged in
prostitution with the consent of their parents in the provinces of
Tacuarembo, Rocha, and Paysandu.
Trafficking in Persons.--While laws prohibit all forms of
trafficking in persons, the country was a source, transit point, and
infrequently a destination for trafficked persons. Men, women, and
children were trafficked for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation
and forced labor. Most victims were women, girls, and some boys
trafficked within the country to border and tourist areas for sexual
exploitation. Through use of false job offers, some women were
trafficked to Spain and Italy for commercial sexual exploitation.
According to police sources, commercial sexual exploitation of
women and children occurred in the provinces closest to the borders
with Argentina and Brazil, notably in Paysandu, Salto, and Colonia.
Child welfare organizations and independent research groups expressed
concern about possible prostitution rings exploiting children in
Montevideo, in the aforementioned border areas, and at the resort areas
of Punta del Este and Maldonado. There were also reports of
prostitution involving boys.
On January 6, the Government enacted an immigration law prohibiting
all forms of trafficking in persons. The law penalizes recruiting,
transporting, transferring, capturing, or receiving human beings for
the purpose of forced or slave labor, servitude, or sexual
exploitation. Sentences range from four to 16 years. The law also
contains enhanced penalties for trafficking children and adolescents.
The Ministry of Interior has primary responsibility for investigating
trafficking cases. No prosecutions under the new law have occurred.
While the Government provided some assistance to NGOs working in
the area of trafficking, the availability of victim services remained
spotty, especially outside the capital. The Government does not have a
formal system for identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable
populations, such as women in prostitution or undocumented migrants.
In April the Organization for International Migration (IOM) and
INAU signed a cooperation agreement to raise awareness on trafficking
issues and increase local, provincial, and federal capacity to combat
trafficking in tourist areas and along the loosely controlled borders
with Brazil and Argentina. The IOM and INAU held two-day seminars in
the cities of Paso de los Toros and San Gregorio de Polanco to train
local representatives from NGOs, the judiciary, and several government
ministries. The participants gathered to discuss the implications and
enforcement of the antitrafficking legislation passed during the year.
The Ministry of Interior provided training on the legislation.
The Government supervised the work of the National Committee to
Eradicate Commercial and Noncommercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
and Adolescents, which is responsible for monitoring implementation of
a national plan to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of
children. On October 27, the committee launched a week-long public
campaign to raise awareness of sexual exploitation of children. The
committee arranged radio interviews addressing the problem and
distributed educational flyers and posters at key tourist areas.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities, but the Government did not
effectively enforce these provisions. Local entities did not devote
resources to provide appropriate accommodations. Persons with
disabilities reported discrimination in employment despite government
efforts to assist in individual cases. The Government did not
discriminate against persons with disabilities and provided additional
services as resources allowed; however, difficulties in transportation
inhibited some persons from accessing these services.
A national disabilities commission oversees implementation of a law
on the rights of persons with disabilities. The law mandates
accessibility for persons with disabilities to new buildings or public
services, but was not consistently enforced. The law reserves 4 percent
of public sector jobs for persons with physical and mental
disabilities, but the quota was not filled.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's Afro Uruguayan
minority continued to face societal discrimination. A National Bureau
of Statistics study stated that Afro-Uruguayans comprised 9 percent of
the population and indigenous descendents constituted another 3
percent. The study concluded that 50 percent of Afro-Uruguayans were
poor and suffered discrimination. The NGO Mundo Afro agreed, stating
that a much larger percentage of Afro Uruguayans worked as unskilled
laborers than members of other groups in society despite equivalent
levels of education. Afro Uruguayans were underrepresented throughout
government and academia and in the middle and upper echelons of
private-sector firms. During the year the Government increased Afro-
Uruguayan participation in the ``Quijano Scholarship Program'' for
postgraduate work (three participants) and the ``First Job Experience
Program,'' a program to help youth integrate into the labor force.
Civil society groups and local governments conducted training sessions
for police and citizens to increase awareness of minority rights and
the national and international laws protecting minorities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were occasional
reports of nonviolent societal discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
There were isolated reports of societal discrimination against
persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution grants the right of
association, and the law promotes organization of trade unions and
creation of arbitration bodies and protects union leaders and
negotiators from workplace discrimination. Unions traditionally
organized and operated free of government regulation. Civil servants,
employees of state run enterprises, and private-enterprise workers may
join unions. Unionization was higher in the public sector (more than 42
percent) than in the private sector (approximately 10 percent).
The constitution provides workers with the right to strike, and
workers exercised this right in practice. The Government may legally
compel workers to work during a strike if they perform an essential
service, which, if interrupted, ``could cause a grave prejudice or
risk, provoking suffering to part or all of the society.''
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the
Government protected this right. The law also protects collective
bargaining, and it was freely practiced.
Collective bargaining between companies and their unions determines
a number of private sector salaries. The executive branch, acting
independently, determines public sector salaries.
The law expressly prohibits antiunion discrimination and requires
employers to reinstate workers fired for union activities and pay an
indemnity to such workers. The Ministry of Labor's Collective
Bargaining Division investigates antiunion discrimination claims filed
by union members. There were generally effective mechanisms for
resolving workers' complaints against employers.
All labor legislation fully covers workers employed in the 12 free
trade zones. No unions operated in these zones, but the Government did
not prohibit their formation.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that some child labor occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children against exploitation in the workplace, including
a prohibition of forced or compulsory labor, and the Ministry of Labor
and Social Security is responsible for enforcing it. Enforcement was
difficult due to a lack of resources and because most child labor
occurred in the informal sector. INAU estimated that 34,000 children
were involved in child labor. Some children worked as street vendors in
the informal sector or in agricultural activities, areas generally
regulated less strictly and where pay was lower than in the formal
sector. Although not widespread, there were reports of parents turning
their children over to third parties for domestic service or
agricultural work in exchange for food and lodging.
The law prohibits minors under the age of 15 from working, and this
was generally enforced in practice. Minors between the ages of 15 and
18 require government permission to work and must undergo physical
exams to identify possible exposure to job-related physical harm.
Permits are not granted for hazardous or fatiguing work. Children
between ages 15 and 18 may not work more than six hours per day within
a 36 hour work week and may not work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Violations of child labor laws are generally punishable by fines
but may extend to imprisonment of three months to four years.
In June the Montevideo municipal government and INAU launched a
combined public awareness campaign to combat child labor in Montevideo.
INAU notified bus companies of a ban on children boarding buses to beg
or sell items. The Government proclaimed September 12 as a day to raise
awareness among elementary school children about child labor.
INAU implemented policies to prevent and regulate child labor and
provided training on child labor issues. INAU also worked closely with
the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to investigate complaints of
child labor and with the Ministry of Interior to prosecute cases. INAU
has seven trained inspectors to handle an estimated 2,000 inspections
per year.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor enforces a
legislated minimum monthly wage that covers both the public and private
sectors. The ministry adjusts the minimum wage whenever it adjusts
public sector wages. The monthly minimum wage of 4,150 pesos
(approximately $218) functions more as an index for calculating wage
rates than as a true measure of minimum subsistence levels; it did not
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The vast
majority of workers earned more than the minimum wage.
The standard workweek ranged from 44 to 48 hours per week,
depending on the industry, and employers were required to give workers
a 36 hour block of free time each week. The law stipulates that
industrial workers receive overtime compensation for work in excess of
48 hours, entitles workers to 20 days of paid vacation after a year of
employment, and prohibits compulsory overtime beyond a maximum 50 hour
workweek.
The law protects foreign workers and does not discriminate against
them, but official protection requires the companies to report the
foreign workers as employees. Many native and foreign workers worked
informally and thus did not benefit from certain legal protections.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security enforced legislation
regulating health and safety conditions in a generally effective
manner. However, some of the regulations cover urban industrial workers
more adequately than rural and agricultural workers. Workers have the
right to remove themselves from what they consider hazardous or
dangerous conditions without jeopardy to their employment; the
Government effectively upheld this right, but some workers claimed a
subsequent loss of other privileges at work based on their refusal to
work in unsafe conditions.
__________
VENEZUELA
Venezuela is a constitutional democracy with a population of
approximately 26 million. In 2006 voters reelected President Hugo
Chavez of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR). Official observation
missions from both the European Union and Organization of American
States (OAS) deemed the elections generally free and fair but noted
some irregularities. While civilian authorities generally maintained
control of the security forces, there were instances in which elements
of the security forces acted independently of government authority.
Politicization of the judiciary and official harassment of the
political opposition and the media characterized the human rights
situation during the year. The following human rights problems were
reported: unlawful killings; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrests
and detentions; a corrupt, inefficient, and politicized judicial system
characterized by trial delays, impunity, and violations of due process;
official intimidation and attacks on the independent media;
discrimination based on political grounds; widespread corruption at all
levels of government; violence against women; trafficking in persons;
and restrictions on workers' right of association.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
security forces committed unlawful killings, including summary
executions of criminal suspects. In the 12 months through September,
the human rights nongovernmental organization (NGO) Venezuelan Program
of Action and Education in Human Rights (PROVEA) reported 39 deaths
resulting from mistreatment while in custody.
PROVEA documented 247 unlawful killings by government security
forces from October 2007 through September.
PROVEA recorded four victims of killings allegedly involving police
forces in the 12 months through September.
According to PROVEA, on July 4, 19-year-old Roger Oscar Avila was
shot and killed by unknown members of the Caracas Metropolitan Police.
Avila, who, according to police officials planned to steal a car at
gunpoint, was brought to the Perez Carreno Hospital and pronounced dead
upon arrival. Avila's family members denied police allegations of
attempted auto theft, stating that Avila did not know how to drive a
car, let alone steal one.
On July 27, 33-year-old Miguel Baba Barroyeta was placed in custody
and sent to the El Rodeo jail. He was shot and killed while in the
custody of the National Guard after allegedly insulting a guard.
On October 23, nine Lara state police officers and two National
Guardsmen allegedly kidnapped six persons in Lara State and later
tortured and killed them execution style in neighboring Portuguesa
State. Five of the victims were minors. The killings reportedly were
linked to drug turf battles. At year's end the Ministry of Interior and
Justice had suspended the nine police officers pending further
investigations. Formal charges were brought against the 11 suspects on
December 18.
No information was available on the investigation of eight members
of the Intervention and Assistance Brigade (BIA), the primary police
force of Guarico State, for their involvement in the killing of five
men in March 2007.
No information was available in the July 2007 case in which members
of the Anzoategui state police killed taxi driver Juan Ernesto
Rodriguez.
There were no developments in the so-called 1986 Yumare Massacre.
Prosecutors rarely brought cases against perpetrators of unlawful
killings. Sentences frequently were light, and convictions often were
overturned on appeal. Members of the security forces charged with or
convicted of crimes rarely were imprisoned.
b. Disappearance.--There were no substantiated reports of
politically motivated disappearances.
Human rights groups claimed that police officers and military
officials sometimes disposed of their victims' bodies to avoid
investigations.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the constitution states that no person shall be
subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment, there were
credible reports that security forces continued to torture and abuse
detainees.
PROVEA reported that in the 12 months prior to September, it
received 17 complaints of torture (an increase from 11 the previous
year), and 573 complaints regarding cruel, inhuman, and degrading
treatment, a decrease from the 692 cases reported in 2007. PROVEA
defines ``torture'' as methods used by state security forces to extract
information from victims and ``cruel and inhuman treatment'' as methods
used by members of state security forces in order to punish or
intimidate victims. According to PROVEA, on May 29, members of the army
from the 32nd Caribbean Brigade in the State of Mongas beat Jean Carlos
Rondon in order to extract a confession regarding the theft of a
sergeant's firearm. Afterwards, the military members tried to bury his
body. According to an autopsy, Rondon died due to the beating he had
received. Charges were filed against five military members for the
killing.
The Government did not authorize independent investigation of
torture complaints. Human rights groups continued to question the
attorney general and the human rights ombudsman's commitment to oversee
neutral investigations. There was no data available on convictions in
cases of alleged torture.
Reports of beatings and humiliating treatment of suspects during
arrests were common and involved various law enforcement agencies.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
harsh due to scarce resources, poorly trained and corrupt prison staff,
and violence by guards and inmates. The prison-monitoring NGO
Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) estimated that existing prisons
were designed to hold approximately 60 percent of the estimated 23,300
persons in the national penitentiary system. The OVP estimated that
only 34 percent of the prisoner population was formally convicted,
while 60 percent was awaiting trial. Severe overcrowding in some
prisons and food and water shortages remained problems.
The Government failed to provide adequate prison security. The
National Guard and the Ministry of Interior and Justice have
responsibility for exterior and interior security, respectively. The
OVP estimated that the prison guard force was 10 percent of the
required strength. Violence among prison gangs, including shootouts and
riots, was common.
PROVEA stated that between January and October, there were 390
deaths and 692 injuries, compared with 498 deaths and 1,023 injuries
during 2007. Most inmate deaths resulted from prisoner-on-prisoner
violence, riots, fires, and generally unsanitary and unsafe conditions.
The Capital Yare II penitentiary documented the highest number of death
and injuries due to violence, with 20 deaths and 11 injuries in the
first half of the year. The Occidental (Uribana) penitentiary recorded
there were 18 deaths and 38 injuries in the same time period.
Prisoners also died as a consequence of poor diet and inadequate
medical care. The media reported that in the Rodeo I penitentiary, 50
inmates had contracted hepatitis due to unsanitary prison conditions.
In April, 3,000 inmates from three different prisons staged a
hunger strike to protest lengthy administrative delays in their cases
and inhumane prison conditions.
Inmates often had to pay guards and other inmates to obtain
necessities such as space in a cell, a bed, and food. Most prisoners
obtained food from their families, by paying prison guards, or in
barter with other prisoners. Many inmates also profited from exploiting
and abusing others, particularly since convicted violent felons often
were held with pretrial detainees or first-time petty offenders.
Trafficking in arms and drugs fueled gang-related violence and
extortion. Prison officials often illegally demanded payment from
prisoners for transportation to judicial proceedings.
Security forces and law enforcement authorities often imprisoned
minors together with adults, even though separate facilities existed
for juveniles. Because reform institutions were filled to capacity,
hundreds of children accused of infractions were confined in juvenile
detention centers where they were crowded into small, unsanitary cells,
fed only once a day, and forced to sleep on bare concrete floors. Women
and men generally were held in separate prison facilities. The OVP
indicated that, while no prison had good conditions, women's facilities
were generally less violent and healthier than those for men.
Human rights observers continued to experience lengthy
administrative delays and restricted access to prisons and detention
centers.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits the
arrest or detention of an individual without a judicial order; provides
for the accused to remain free while being tried, except in specific
cases where the laws of the state or individual judges can supersede
this provision; and provides that any detained individual has the right
to immediate communication with family and lawyers, who, in turn, have
the right to know of the detainee's whereabouts.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Guard, a
branch of the military, is largely responsible for maintaining public
order, guarding the exterior of key government installations and
prisons, conducting counternarcotics operations, monitoring borders,
and providing law enforcement in remote areas. The Ministry of Interior
and Justice controls the Scientific, Penal, and Criminalistic
Investigative Body (CICPC), which conducts most criminal
investigations, and the Office of Intelligence and Prevention Services
(DISIP), which collects intelligence within the country and is
responsible for investigating cases of corruption, subversion, and arms
trafficking. Mayors and governors oversee local and state police
forces. Corruption was a major problem among all police forces, whose
members were poorly paid and trained. Impunity for corruption,
brutality, and other acts of violence were major problems.
In October the Ministry of Interior and Justice reported that
18,313 police officials, or 16 percent of the country's police force,
were under investigation for misconduct and alleged human rights
violations, including kidnapping, torture, unlawful arrest and
detention, and extrajudicial killings stemming from cases filed from
2000-07. In 2007 alone, 1,948 police officers were accused of alleged
misconduct, according to the Ministry. The National Organic Police Law
was passed in April 2007. This law created a national police force;
however, there have been no efforts to staff this organization. In
January the Caracas Metropolitan Police Force was placed under the
authority of the Ministry of Interior and Justice.
Some local police forces offered human rights training for their
personnel. During the year the Chacao borough of Caracas again provided
mandatory human rights training to all new recruits. Amnesty
International worked with the municipality to offer workshops on how to
process cases of domestic violence.
Arrest and Detention.--A warrant is required for an arrest or
detention. A detention is possible without an arrest when the
individual is caught in the act of committing a crime. Persons were
sometimes apprehended openly without warrants from judicial
authorities. Detainees must be brought before a prosecutor within 12
hours and before a judge within 48 hours to determine the legality of
the detention. A person accused of a crime may not be detained for
longer than the possible minimum sentence for that crime nor for longer
than two years, except in certain circumstances, such as when the
defendant is responsible for the delay in the proceedings. Detainees
were promptly informed of the charges against them.
Although there is a functioning system of bail, it is not available
for certain crimes. Bail also may be denied if a person is apprehended
in the act of committing a crime or if a judge determines that there is
a danger that the accused may flee or impede the investigation.
Detainees were provided access to counsel and family members.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides
for an independent judiciary, judicial independence remained
compromised. The judiciary also was highly inefficient, sometimes
corrupt, and subject to political influence, particularly from the
Attorney General's Office, which in turn was pressured by the executive
branch.
The judicial sector consists of the Supreme Court and lower courts,
the Attorney General's Office, and the Ministry of Interior and
Justice. The Supreme Court is the country's highest court and directly
administers the lower courts through the Executive Directorate of the
Judiciary.
According to the NGO Foro Penal, almost 40 percent of the judges
were provisional and temporary. The Supreme Court's Judicial Committee
may hire and fire temporary judges without cause and without
explanation, and it did so. Provisional judges legally have the same
rights and authorities as permanent judges. The provisional and
temporary judges, lacking tenure in their profession, particularly were
subject to political influence from the Ministry of Interior and
Justice and the attorney general.
The law provides that the Moral Council (attorney general, human
rights ombudsman, and comptroller general) may suspend judges and
allows the National Assembly to revoke the appointment of Supreme Court
judges by a simple majority vote.
Lower court judges hear pretrial motions, including prosecution and
defense motions, prior to criminal cases going to trial judges.
Executive judges oversee the application of sentences. Appeals courts,
consisting of three-judge panels, review lower court decisions. The
attorney general oversees the prosecutors who investigate crimes and
bring charges against criminal suspects.
In accordance with President Chavez's December 2007 amnesty decree,
the charges against governor-elect of Miranda State Henrique Capriles
Radonski, for his alleged involvement in the arrest of Ramon Rodriguez
Chacin, were dropped. In October the courts reopened the case against
Capriles related to a violent demonstration in 2002 outside the Cuban
Embassy.
In March an ex-prosecutor accused former attorney general Isaias
Rodriguez of altering witness testimony and falsely implicating critics
of the Government in the Danilo Anderson case. Anderson was a high-
profile prosecutor killed in a car bomb explosion in November 2004. The
Government's one-time key witness, Giovanny Vasquez, told the media
that Rodriguez paid him 1,075,000 Bs.F (approximately $500,000) to
present false testimony in the case. The Government reportedly reopened
the case following the allegations against Rodriguez.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for open, public, and fair
trials with oral proceedings for all individuals. The accused have the
right to be present and consult with an attorney. Public defenders are
provided for indigent defendants, but there continued to be a shortage
of public defenders. Defendants have the right to question witnesses
against them and present their own witnesses. The accused and their
attorneys do not necessarily have access to government-held evidence.
Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty. Defendants and
plaintiffs have the right of appeal.
Trial delays were common. A professional judge and two lay judges
try serious cases; a single judge may hear serious cases if requested
by the defendant or victim or if attempts to appoint lay judges have
failed. Difficulty in finding persons willing to serve as lay judges
also resulted in delays.
The law provides that trials for military personnel charged with
human rights abuses after 1999 be held in civilian rather than military
courts.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were an estimated 12
political prisoners in the country. In some cases the political
prisoners were held in distinct penal facilities, including DISIP
installations and the Ramo Verde military prison. The International
Committee of the Red Cross was permitted access to these political
prisoners.
In December 2007 President Chavez decreed a partial amnesty for
persons implicated in the drafting or signing of the 2002 Carmona
Decree, which recognized an interim government during the 2002 coup
against Chavez, and in a series of enumerated acts surrounding the
coup. Human rights organizations welcomed the measure but urged Chavez
to broaden the amnesty to include all those accused of involvement in
the events of 2002 and to all implicated in political crimes.
Retired army General Francisco Uson remained free on conditional
release from Ramo Verde after being released in December 2007. Uson
served three years and six months for allegedly ``defaming'' the army.
The conditions for his release included not traveling outside of
greater Caracas and reporting before a judge every 15 days. He was also
prohibited from participating in demonstrations or commenting on his
case to the media.
Former Caracas Metropolitan Police commissioners Ivan Simonovis,
Henry Vivas, and Lazarro Forero, along with eight other police
officers, remained imprisoned without conviction, stemming from charges
of being accomplices to murder committed during the events related to
the civil disturbances in 2002. The three commissioners were held in
DISIP installations, while the eight other police officers were in Ramo
Verde. On January 16, a judge denied a motion to dismiss the charges
under President Chavez's December 2007 amnesty decree. The ruling
followed statements by Chavez and Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz
that the accused were not eligible to benefit from the amnesty.
In September 2007 government officials imprisoned and accused Jose
Sanchez ``Mazuco,'' former chief of security for Zulia State, which is
controlled by opposition governor and former presidential candidate
Manuel Rosales, in connection with the killing of Claudio Macias, a
Military Intelligence Police (DIM) informant who was jailed at the
time. Prosecutors contended that Sanchez authorized the hanging of
Macias. Sanchez remained in custody at the Ramo Verde military prison
at year's end.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There were separate civil
courts that permitted citizens to bring lawsuits seeking damages. Like
all courts in the country, however, the civil elements of the judiciary
remained subject to strong executive control.
There were administrative remedies available, but they were
generally inefficient. The most common consumer-protection mechanism is
the Institute for the Defense of the Consumer and the User (INDECU),
which falls under the rubric of the Ministry of Light Industry and
Commerce. INDECU used reconciliation, mediation, and arbitration to
settle disputes and was empowered to sanction the providers of goods
and services who violated the law.
Other entities that provided administrative or civil remedies
included the superintendencies of banks, free competition, insurance,
leasing, and securities.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for the inviolability of the
home and personal privacy; however, in some cases security forces
infringed on citizens' privacy rights by searching homes without
warrants, particularly targeting the homes of opposition leaders.
On December 12, according to media reports, two men dressed in the
uniforms of officers of the Scientific and Criminal Investigative
Police (CICP) brutally attacked former gubernatorial candidate Lenny
Manuitt in her San Juan de los Morros home. The attackers forced entry
into her home and repeatedly punched and kicked her. An investigation
was pending at year's end.
On September 10, DIM personnel and officials from the Military
Prosecutor's Office forcibly searched the home of former Defense
Minister and government critic Raul Baduel, citing his alleged
involvement in the misappropriation of funds during his tenure. DIM
officials forcibly detained Baduel for questioning on October 3, citing
similar allegations. He was later released with a prohibition against
leaving the country and speaking to the media and a requirement to
appear before a military court every 15 days.
The Government was complicit with others, including National
Assembly deputy Luis Tascon, in maintaining the ``Tascon'' and
``Maisanta'' Lists, which were used to identify and punish persons who
signed a petition to hold a recall referendum on President Chavez.
Human rights NGOs noted that persons listed were often ineligible to
receive government jobs or services.
NGOs expressed concern over official political discrimination
against, and firing of, state employees whose views differed from those
of the Government. According to PROVEA, the Government used coercion
and the threat of dismissal to compel state employees to attend
partisan political functions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press; however, the combination of laws governing
libel and broadcast media content, legal harassment, and physical
intimidation of both individuals and the media resulted in practical
limitations on these freedoms and a climate of self-censorship. The
Government employed a variety of mechanisms-legal, economic,
regulatory, judicial, physical, and rhetorical-to harass the private
media and engender an environment of intolerance towards a critical
press.
The president preempted broadcasting on the nation's airwaves to
present hours-long government programs several times a week. The law
mandates that all free-to-air television and national radio networks
air these programs, called ``cadenas,'' in real time and uninterrupted.
Independent media observers criticized the state media for extreme pro-
government politicization. As of August 31, there were 89 ``cadenas,''
which tended to average more than one hour, some lasting up to six
hours. The Government media was used almost exclusively to promote the
Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which is headed by Chavez, and
publicly harass opposition figures.
Government officials, in some instances including Chavez, used
government-controlled media outlets to air unsubstantiated accusations
against private media owners, including Alberto Federico Ravell,
director of all-news cable television network Globovision; Miguel
Henrique Otero, director of El Nacional newspaper; and Andres Mata,
director of El Universal, alleging that they were fomenting
destabilization campaigns and coup attempts against the Government.
On May 27, state-owned television network Venezolana de Television
(VTV) issued a communique requiring private media outlets to pay a fee
of 120 Bs.F (approximately $56) per second, or more than 430,000 Bs.F
($200,000) per hour, to retransmit VTV television footage beginning
June 1. After media watchdog organizations and private media outlets
reacted negatively to the high costs of retransmission and the lack of
prior notification, VTV retracted its notification on May 29.
On September 11, Minister of Interior and Justice Tarek El-Aissaini
claimed intelligence bodies had detected a plot against Chavez and
implicated ``businessmen, the 2-D Movement [civil society group headed
by the director of one of the country's leading newspapers], and
military officials.''
On September 23, a pro-government organization known as the La
Piedrita Collective fired tear gas canisters at Globovision's
headquarters. Following the incident Lina Ron, leader of the Popular
Unity for Venezuela Party (UPV), a small, radical, political party that
supports Chavez, told the media that UPV and ``La Piedrita'' declared
Ravell and Globovision ``military objectives of the Venezuelan popular
militias.'' On December 1, ``La Piedrita'' members hurled tear gas
canisters at the home of opposition radio commentator Marta Colomina.
In early November the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency
(CONATEL) launched an investigation against Globovision in early
November for its October 30 transmission of the show Hello Citizen, in
which guest Rafael Poleo, editor of the opposition daily El Nuevo Pais,
said that Chavez ``would end up like Mussolini.'' CONATEL filed suit
against the network three days later, alleging that it was promoting
the assassination of President Chavez.
On November 24, CONATEL announced that it would also investigate
Globovision for allegedly inciting violence by airing a speech by
Carabobo state-governor elect Henrique Salas Feo during which he called
on supporters to march to local election headquarters to demand the
release of regional election results. Globovision president Guillermo
Zuloaga responded in a December 1 communique that any sanction against
the network must be seen as a legal abuse.
The Venezuelan Press Association issued a December 1 communique
calling on the Venezuelan public to defend Globovision. On December 5,
the National Journalist Association provided a written statement
alleging that ``the Government is waging a political offensive through
the coercive bodies of the state to frighten both the opposition and
people who are not aligned with its interests and goals.''
The Government denied private media equal access to many official
events, and in cases when private media had access to government
facilities, they often did not have access to officials and
information. For example, only the Government radio and television
stations were authorized to have reporters at the presidential palace.
State-controlled television and radio stations and many foreign news
reporters continued to have full access to official events.
Amendments to the penal code in 2005 make insulting the president
punishable by six to 30 months in prison and eliminate bail, with
lesser penalties for insulting lower-ranking officials. Comments
exposing another person to public contempt or hatred are punishable by
one-to three-year prison sentences and a fine. Inaccurate reporting
that disturbs the public peace is punishable by a prison sentence of
two to five years. The requirement that media disseminate only ``true''
information was undefined and open to politically motivated
interpretation.
The law requires that practicing journalists have journalism
degrees and be members of the National College of Journalists, and it
prescribes three-to six-month jail terms for those who practice
journalism illegally. These requirements were waived for foreigners and
opinion columnists. Members of the college expressed the fear that the
Government was monitoring their activities.
The Media Law of Social Responsibility gives the Government wide
powers to impose heavy fines and cancel broadcasts. CONATEL, under the
Ministry of Communications and Information, oversees the application of
the law. Media observer organizations called on the Government to
appoint an independent body to regulate the implementation of the law.
In March the Inter-American Press Association condemned the
country's record on press freedom, stating that the Government was
exercising a ``deliberate campaign'' against freedom of expression. In
its annual report on freedom of the press, Freedom House categorized
the country as ``not free,'' citing worrisome patterns of decline in
press freedom.
On June 2, the vice president of Reporte Diario de la Economia,
Pierre Fould Gerges, was killed while riding in his brother's vehicle
in Caracas. It was widely speculated that the likely target of the
attack was Gerges' brother, the president of Reporte, who was not in
the vehicle at the time.
The independent print media regularly engaged in self-censorship
due to fear of government reprisal and in order to comply with laws
regulating the media. The country's major newspapers were independently
owned but heavily dependent on government advertising. In regions where
local newspapers competed for the same audience and a smaller pool of
advertisers, print media tended to exercise even more caution in order
to secure financing from government sources. The Government published
one national newspaper, Diario Vea, with a relatively low circulation.
On July 26, Maracaibo city officials assaulted journalists Dayana
Fernandez and Luis Torres from La Verdad newspaper in Zulia State
following an interview with the Municipal Environmental Secretary. The
officials confiscated the journalists' cameras, tape recorders, and
phones. They were allegedly beaten and held for more than two hours by
the officials.
On September 29, unknown assailants opened fire on columnist
Eliecer Calzadilla. Calzadilla was shot in the neck, severing a
vertebra. He had contributed to the regional newspaper Correo del
Caroni for more than 20 years and criticized corruption and government
abuses in Bolivar State. Reporters Without Borders called on local
authorities to investigate the attack. At year's end there was no
information available regarding an investigation.
In December progovernment supporters attacked Valencia journalist
Maria Teresa Guedes following a state legislative session in Carabobo.
Local media reported that she was thrown to the ground and repeatedly
kicked by the assailants. The attack allegedly occurred in the presence
of National Guard members, who did not intervene.
The Government used radio license concessions in a discriminatory
fashion. In more than 80 percent of the cases where broadcasting
concessions had expired or nearly expired, CONATEL issued these
retroactively or with a validity for fewer years than previous
licenses. Media NGOs criticized the Government's tardy issuance of
licenses, asserting this was employed to close radio stations critical
of the Government for operating illegally. NGOs also argued that
shorter license periods meant radio stations would have to undergo
government review on a more frequent basis, increasing the risk of
government-imposed closures.
Some commercial radio stations complained that broadcasting
frequencies for community radios were not allocated in accordance with
broadcast regulations. The Government reportedly funded several
community stations, whose broadcasting was progovernment.
Government officials and military police forcibly closed two radio
stations in Guarico State that did not support the PSUV candidate,
William Lara, and confiscated their equipment.
On June 23, CONATEL temporarily took radio station Maxima 99.5 in
Guayana State off the air for allegedly violating the Law of Social
Responsibility in Radio and Television.
The country's nonsubscription broadcast media was largely
government owned. The Government operated seven channels with
nationwide coverage.
Internet Freedom.--The International Telecommunication Union
reported that in 2007 approximately 21 percent of the population
accessed the Internet. There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet and individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Some media
NGOs expressed concern that following its nationalization of the
Autonomous National Telephone Company of Venezuela (CANTV), a major
telephone and Internet provider, the Government monitored e-mails and
Web searches.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no reported
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. Several
proposed revisions to the constitution that would have reduced the
autonomy of the education system were rejected in the December 2007
constitutional referendum. However, the Government attempted
unavailingly to reintroduce these measures to teach ``socialist
principles.''
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the
Government generally respected this right in practice. PROVEA noted
that at least 265 injuries resulted from security force interventions
in peaceful demonstrations during the year, compared with 536 in 2007.
Human rights groups continued to criticize the 2005 penal code
revision for the strict penalties it imposes on some forms of peaceful
demonstration. PROVEA continued to express concern over the law's
``criminalization'' of protests. Foro Penal's 2006 official complaint
before the Supreme Court challenging the legality of this measure had
not been heard by year's end.
Government supporters sometimes disrupted marches and rallies.
Supporters and opponents of the Government demonstrated in the capital
and other cities during the year.
Persons arrested by the Metropolitan Police and the National Guard
during the May-June 2007 protests were released; however, an
unconfirmed number of minors were still required to come before a judge
every 15 days.
Freedom of Association.--While the constitution provides for
freedom of association and freedom from political discrimination, the
Government only partially respected this right. Although indicating
that they generally operated without interference, professional and
academic associations complained that the National Electoral Council
(CNE) repeatedly interfered with their attempts to hold internal
elections. The Venezuelan Workers' Confederation (CTV) claimed that the
CNE continued to hinder the efforts of its affiliate unions to hold
elections.
A September report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated
that the Chavez administration systematically engaged in political
discrimination. According to HRW, ``Government officials have removed
scores of detractors from the career civil service, purged dissident
employees from the national oil company, denied citizens access to
social programs based on their political opinions, and denounced
critics as subversives deserving of discriminatory treatment.''
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, on the condition that its practice does not violate public
morality, decency, or the public order, and the Government generally
respected this right in practice. There were some efforts by the
Government, motivated by political reasons, to limit the influence of
religious groups in certain geographical, social, and political areas.
On November 4, the Supreme Court ruled that the rights of New
Tribes Mission of Venezuela (NTM) had not been violated by the
resolution issued by the Ministry of Interior and Justice in 2005 that
gave NTM 90 days to remove its personnel from all indigenous areas. NTM
believed the Government resolution to be unconstitutional and had
sought to have it overturned by the Supreme Court. In a written
statement NTM agreed to accept the decision of the Court and stated it
would not attempt any further appeals of the case.
On December 12, authorities discovered the decapitated bodies of an
Evangelical preacher, Jean Carlos Salazar, his wife, and daughter in
their home in the town of San Jose de Guanipa, after the fire brigade
extinguished a fire in the house. Investigators indicated that the
inside walls of the house had been painted with slogans suggesting a
connection to an unknown satanic cult, and that the fire apparently was
set to cover up the killings.
The Directorate of Justice and Religion in the Ministry of Interior
and Justice maintains a registry of religious groups and disburses
funds to religious organizations. Registration is required for legal
status as a religious organization.
Foreign missionaries require a special visa to enter the country,
and they noted increased difficulties, including refusals for first-
time religious visas and, less frequently, renewals. The Government
continued to prohibit foreign missionary groups from working in
indigenous areas.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--President Chavez engaged in
numerous rhetorical personal attacks on specific Catholic bishops and
the Papal Nuncio. He warned Catholic bishops to refrain from commenting
on political issues.
On February 27, Chavez supporters temporarily occupied the
Archbishop's Residence in Caracas. They accused Catholic Church leaders
of hindering the president's political project and criticized the
``counter-revolutionary'' Papal Nuncio for giving refuge to student
leader Nixon Moreno.
On December 26, President Chavez, in reaction to Cardinal Jorge
Urosa's criticism of a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate
presidential term limits, called Urosa immoral and suggested that the
country's only Cardinal leave his position as head of the Church for
publicly expressing his political opinion.
There were more than 15,000 Jews in the country. In August
President Chavez met with a delegation of international and local
Jewish leaders to discuss issues of concern to the Jewish community.
Despite President Chavez's overture to Jewish leaders, government
institutions and officials and government-affiliated media outlets
promoted anti-Semitism through numerous anti-Semitic comments. These
actions created a spillover effect into mainstream society, which
witnessed a rise in anti-Semitic vandalism, caricatures, and
expressions at rallies and in newspapers. The host of The Razorblade, a
progovernment talk show on state television, made frequent anti-Semitic
slurs, and Diario Vea regularly published anti-Semitic comments.
Incidents of spraying of graffiti, intimidation, vandalism, and other
physical attacks against Jewish institutions were frequent.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in
practice, although there were numerous reports that persons were denied
passports and other official documents by government agencies for
having signed the petition for the 2004 recall referendum. Extremely
long waits for issuance of passports often had the effect of
restricting freedom of foreign travel. In at least seven instances
since September, immigration and DISIP officials requested that critics
of the Government surrender their passports for ``secondary'' review at
the international airport in Caracas. These authorities canceled one
passport, that of Heinz Sonntag, a member of the 2-D civil society
prodemocracy movement.
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the
Government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened.
The Government refused to provide safe passage out of the country
to student leader and government opponent Nixon Moreno. The Holy See
granted Moreno political asylum in June, 15 months after Moreno sought
refuge inside the Vatican's diplomatic mission following harassment by
the state-controlled media. The Government accused Moreno of fomenting
violence during violent student elections at the University of the
Andes in Merida.
The UNHCR reported 11,320 applicants for refugee status in the
country as of September, 1,172 of whom were recognized as refugees by
the Government. UNHCR estimated that there were an additional 200,000
persons in need of international protection.
The Government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The National
Committee for Refugees had extremely limited physical and human
resources to address refugee issues, in addition to a lengthy process
for examining individual refugee applications.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through
periodic elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 voters reelected
Hugo Chavez as president in elections that observers deemed to be
generally free and fair, although observation missions noted some
irregularities.
The December 2007 referendum on a reform package of 69 proposed
changes to the 1999 Constitution was deemed largely free and fair, but
leaders of the antireform bloc noted some irregularities. Voters
narrowly defeated the reform package, including the elimination of
presidential term limits, in the referendum. In November President
Chavez announced that he would seek to amend the constitution to
eliminate presidential term limits.
The November 23 nationwide state and local elections were deemed
largely free and fair, although electoral nongovernmental organizations
noted some irregularities, such as prohibited election-day campaigning
and extended polling hours in progovernment neighborhoods.
Prior to the elections, the comptroller declared some 272 current
and former public officials ineligible to run for office based on
administrative sanctions. These measures disproportionately affected
the opposition, including several prominent opposition candidates.
Opposition leaders complained that the Government used state resources,
particularly government media outlets, to support the PSUV candidates.
There were 29 women in the 167-seat assembly, five women in the 27-
member cabinet, and 10 women among the 32 justices on the Supreme
Court.
The constitution reserves three seats in the National Assembly for
indigenous people, which were filled in the 2000 election and remained
occupied during the year. There is one indigenous member in the
cabinet.
Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides criminal
penalties for criminal corruption; however, the Government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity.
The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected that
government corruption was a problem. There was a perception of
widespread corruption at all levels of the Government. Journalists
reported several cases of apparent corruption implicating high-level
government officials, but none were investigated.
The law provides for citizens' access to government information.
Human rights groups reported that the Government routinely ignored this
requirement and did not make information available.
The Episcopal Conference of Venezuela (CEV) expressed formal
opposition to 26 decrees enacted by the president on July 31, the last
day authorized by the National Assembly to enact decrees, as
``apparently unconstitutional.'' The mid-summer last-minute issuance
did not allow for review by citizens.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of independent domestic and international human
rights groups generally operated with some government restrictions,
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases.
Government officials were somewhat responsive to their views. Major
domestic human rights NGOs that operated independently from the
Government included the Committee for the Victims of the Events that
Occurred Between February and March 1989 (COFAVIC), PROVEA, Network of
Assistance, and the OVP.
Many NGOs reported threats, physical attacks, and harassment,
especially in a climate of possible criminalization of receipt of
foreign funding. Human rights organizations expressed concern that
President Chavez's proposed constitutional amendment to regulate
international support for organizations with ``political goals'' would
be used to deny NGOs foreign funding opportunities and limit
nongovernmental activities in the country.
On September 18, the Government expelled Jose Miguel Vivanco,
Director of the Americas Bureau for HRW, and Daniel Wilkinson, also
from HRW, after they publicly released a special HRW report on the
state of democracy and human rights in Venezuela which was critical of
the Chavez administration. Police officials apprehended the two men at
their hotel, after entering and searching their rooms, and placed them
on a flight to Brazil. Government officials accused Vivanco and
Wilkinson of illegal involvement in the country's internal affairs and
of violating the country's constitution.
In December the Supreme Court formally rejected and criticized a
judgment by the binding Inter-American Court on Human Rights seeking
reinstatement of three Venezuelan judges from the First Court of
Administrative Disputes. In August the court ruled that the removal of
the judges in 2003 was a violation of their right to due process and
ordered the Government to adopt specific measures of reparation,
including reinstatement and compensation.
According to a 2007 report by the Catholic Church's Office on Human
Rights, incidents of threats against human rights defenders were
reported throughout the year.
Jose Luis Urbano, president of the Foundation for the Defense of
the Right to Education, and other members of the foundation were
targeted repeatedly and received death threats after having publicly
condemned corruption and violations of the right to free education.
After he was shot in the stomach in February, Urbano was given
temporary police protection while he was a patient in the hospital. As
a result of the persistent threats and attacks on his life, Urbano had
to leave his home and change his addresses repeatedly. Despite a
request for protection made to the Public Prosecutors Office on June
18, no protection measures to ensure the safety of Urbano, his family,
and other members of the foundation were put in place.
COFAVIC's executive director continued to operate under threats of
personal harm despite a measure by the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights granting her a security detail.
OVP's director received numerous death threats during the year.
Although the ombudsman is responsible for ensuring that citizens'
rights are protected in a conflict with the state, human rights NGOs
claimed that the Ombudsman's Office was not independent, rarely acted
on public interest cases, and was named by the National Assembly in
December 2007 in a nontransparent process.
The National Assembly's Subcommission on Human Rights played an
insignificant role in the national debate on human rights.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, discrimination against women,
persons with disabilities, and indigenous people was a problem.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape, but it
remained a problem. Rape is punishable by prison terms of eight to 14
years, although cases often were not reported to the police. A man
guilty of raping a woman may avoid punishment if he marries the victim
before sentencing. There were no reliable statistics on incidence of,
or prosecution or convictions for, rape.
The law prohibits domestic violence, and violators faced penalties
of six to 18 months in prison. Violence against women continued to be a
problem, and women faced substantial institutional and societal
prejudice with respect to rape and domestic violence. The Organic Law
on the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence, enacted in March
2007, criminalizes physical, sexual, and psychological violence in the
home, the community, and at work; trafficking; forced prostitution;
sexual harassment; and slavery. It also establishes tribunals
specializing in cases of gender-based violence.
According to the Pan American Health Organization, 70 percent of
women killed in the country were killed by their husbands, boyfriends,
or ex-partners. The law requires police to report domestic violence to
judicial authorities and obligates hospital personnel to notify the
authorities when they admit patients who are victims of domestic abuse.
Police generally were reluctant to intervene to prevent domestic
violence, and the courts rarely prosecuted those accused of such abuse.
Women generally were unaware of legal remedies and had little access to
them. The Government sought to combat domestic violence through a
public awareness campaign and a national victim assistance hot line
administered by the Government's National Women's Institute. The hot
line continued to enjoy much success. There were no reliable statistics
on the incidence of, or prosecution or convictions for, domestic
violence.
Prostitution is legal. While there was no government information on
the extent of prostitution, the local anti-trafficking NGO Association
of Women for Welfare and Mutual Help noted that prostitution was a
serious problem, particularly in Caracas and domestic tourist
destinations.
Sexual harassment is illegal and punishable by a prison sentence of
six to 18 months. Sexual harassment was common in the workplace but
rarely reported.
Women and men are legally equal in marriage, and the law provides
for gender equality in exercising the right to work. The law specifies
that employers must not discriminate against women with regard to pay
or working conditions. According to the Ministry of Labor and the CTV,
these regulations were enforced in the formal sector, although women
reportedly earned 30 percent less than men on average. The National
Institute for Women, a government agency, worked to protect women's
rights.
The law provides women with property rights equal to men's. In
practice, however, women frequently waived these rights by signing over
the equivalent of power of attorney to their husbands.
Children.--According to UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) thousands of
children in Venezuela have not been officially registered at birth.
Reports of child abuse were rare due to a fear of entanglement with
the authorities and ingrained societal attitudes regarding family
privacy. According to UNICEF and NGOs working with children and women,
child abuse, including incest, often occurred at home. Although the
judicial system acted to remove children from abusive households,
public facilities for such children were inadequate and had poorly
trained staff.
The human rights NGO For the Rights of Children and Adolescents
estimated that 15,000 children lived on the street. Authorities in
Caracas and several other jurisdictions imposed curfews on unsupervised
minors to cope with this problem. Because reform institutions were
filled to capacity, hundreds of children accused of infractions, such
as curfew violations, were confined in inadequate juvenile detention
centers. The Government's social service mission, known as Mision Negra
Hipolita provided assistance to street children and the homeless. In
2007 the mission provided assistance to more than 2,790 street
children, according to the NGO Community Center for Apprenticeship.
Trafficking in Persons.--Although the constitution prohibits
slavery or servitude and the law prohibits transnational trafficking in
persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and
within the country.
The country was reported to be a source, destination, and transit
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. An underdeveloped
legal framework, economic conditions, and the ease with which
fraudulent passports, identity cards, and birth certificates could be
obtained created favorable conditions for trafficking. No statistics on
trafficking were available from government or NGO sources.
Women and children from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, the
Dominican Republic, and the People's Republic of China were trafficked
to and through the country and subjected to commercial sexual
exploitation or forced labor. Citizens were trafficked internally and
to Western Europe, particularly Spain and the Netherlands, and to
countries in the region such as Mexico, Aruba, and the Dominican
Republic for commercial sexual exploitation. The country was a transit
country for undocumented migrants from other countries in the region-
particularly Peru and Colombia-and for Asian nationals, some of whom
were believed to be trafficking victims. Subgroups particularly at risk
included women and children from poor areas.
Organized criminal groups were widely believed to be involved in
trafficking women and children to and through the country. Traffickers
traveled to transport victims to large urban centers or resort
destinations. In many cases traffickers placed ads for models in
regional newspapers and then lured respondents to Caracas under false
pretenses of employment.
Trafficking may be prosecuted under criminal laws against forced
prostitution and trafficking, with penalties of up to 20 years for
using force to coerce a victim to perform a sexual act for a third
person, and under a law to protect children, with fines of one to 10
months' income for trafficking in children and two to six years'
imprisonment for trafficking a child abroad. The Organized Crime Law
provides for sentences of 10 to 15 years if the victim of trafficking
or smuggling for labor or sexual exploitation is an adult, or 10 to 18
years if the victim is a child or adolescent.
Government efforts to combat trafficking are the responsibility of
the public prosecutor's Family Protection Directorate, the National
Institutes for Women and Minors, and the Ministry of Interior and
Justice's Crime Prevention Unit. Enforcement efforts generally were
limited.
In some cases the Government provided trafficking victims with
psychological and physical examinations. It did not, however, operate
shelters for victims of trafficking. Several NGOs complained that they
lacked government support and cooperation to assist victims, although
the Government operated a hot line and conducted information campaigns
to prevent future trafficking cases.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in
education, employment, health care, and the provision of other state
services. Persons with disabilities had minimal access to public
transportation, and ramps practically were nonexistent, even in
government buildings. The law requires that all newly constructed or
renovated public parks and buildings provide access and prohibits
discrimination in employment practices and in the provision of public
services; however, the Government did not make a significant effort to
implement the law, inform the public of it, or combat societal
prejudice against persons with disabilities.
Indigenous People.--Although the law prohibits discrimination based
on ethnic origin, members of the country's indigenous population
suffered from inattention to, and violation of, their rights. There
were approximately 300,000 indigenous people in 27 ethnic groups. Many
indigenous people were isolated from urban areas, lacked access to
basic health and educational facilities and suffered from high rates of
disease. In the Amacuro Delta, for example, an unknown epidemic
(assumed to be similar to woodland rabies) killed 39 members of the
Warao tribe. The Government included indigenous people in its literacy
campaigns, in some cases teaching them to read and write in their own
languages, as well as in Spanish.
The law creates three seats in the National Assembly for indigenous
deputies and also provides for ``the protection of indigenous
communities and their progressive incorporation into the life of the
nation.'' Nonetheless, local political authorities seldom took account
of the interests of indigenous people when making decisions affecting
their lands, cultures, traditions, or the allocation of natural
resources. Few indigenous people held title to their land, and many did
not want to do so because most indigenous groups rejected the concept
of individual property. Instead, they called on the Government to
recognize lands traditionally inhabited by them as territories
belonging to each respective indigenous group.
According to PROVEA, the process of government demarcation of
indigenous land and habitat has stalled, resulting in only 1.6 percent
of indigenous communities benefiting from the 2005 government-sponsored
initiative. The Perija Sierra particularly experienced frequent
violations of the rights of the indigenous Yukpa as conflict between
cattle ranchers/landowners and the indigenous residents continued.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reliable
statistics on societal violence or discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
According to the NGO Citizen Action Against AIDS, persons diagnosed
with HIV/AIDS frequently were discriminated against at the workplace
and often were refused access to government health services.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--While the law provides that all
private and public sector workers (except members of the armed forces)
have the right to form and join unions of their choice, the Government
continued to violate these rights. Approximately 10 to 12 percent of
the 12 million-person labor force was unionized. As of August only
53,800 persons were covered under collective bargaining agreements, a
sharp decline from previous years.
Nevertheless, the number of recognized trade union organizations
increased. The Government asserted that it had registered 629 trade
union organizations in 2007 and 433 trade union organizations during
the first seven months of the year.
The CNE has the authority to administer internal elections of labor
confederations. Labor unions complained of long delays in obtaining CNE
certification of their elections.
Although the law recognizes the right of all public and private
sector workers to strike in accordance with conditions established by
labor law, public servants may strike only if the strike does not cause
``irreparable damage to the population or to institutions.''
Replacement workers are not permitted during legal strikes, and the
president may order public or private sector strikers back to work and
submit their disputes to arbitration if the strike ``puts in immediate
danger the lives or security of all or part of the population.''
The Government had not resolved any additional cases involving
19,000 PDVSA employees who were fired during and after the 2002-03
national strike, beyond those resolved in 2006. The Government
continued to deny the former workers severance and pension benefits, as
well as access to company housing, schools, and medical clinics.
The Ministry of Labor continued to deny registration to UNAPETROL,
a union composed of oil workers who were later fired for participating
in the 2002-03 national strike.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) 2008 Annual
Survey of violations of trade union rights indicated that labor
conflicts related to recruitment practices in the construction and oil
sectors and, to a lesser extent, in basic industries generated acts of
violence ranging from physical and verbal assaults to killings.
According to PROVEA, in the period between September 2007 and October
2008, at least 42 workers, including 19 union leaders, were affected by
violence. The ITUC report also stated that the president called on
trade unions to join the PSUV.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides that all public and private sector workers have the right to
conduct their activities without interference and protects collective
bargaining. The law stipulates that employers must negotiate a
collective contract with the union that represents the majority of
their workers. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has objected
to this provision and requested that the Government amend it so that
``in cases where no union organization represents an absolute majority
of workers, minority organizations may jointly negotiate a collective
agreement on behalf of their members.''
According to union leaders, the Government organized groups of
parallel construction unions to attack and intimidate construction
workers affiliated with the CTV to gain control of lucrative
construction projects. According to PROVEA, 29 reported deaths were
associated with union clashes from October 2007 through September.
The 2008 ITUC Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights
notes that an employee of Fetratel reported that 243 collective
agreements had not been signed in the public sector and that the leader
of the national center, the National Workers' Union, stated that the
framework agreement for the public administration has not been
discussed for 27 months and one covering Labor Ministry employees has
not been discussed for 16 years. The survey noted that the workers'
representative in the People's Front estimated that 3,500 collective
agreements were not being discussed. The teachers' union, called the
Venezuelan Teachers' Federation, and its 27 affiliated organizations
lodged a formal complaint with the ILO to request that the state
restore its collective bargaining rights, which were blocked in 2006.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the sole export processing zone of Punto Fijo, Falcon State.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the law
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, there were
reports of trafficking in children for employment purposes,
particularly in the informal economic sector.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace. The Ministry
of Labor and the National Institute for Minors enforced child labor
policies effectively in the formal sector of the economy but less so in
the informal sector. The Community Center of Apprenticeship, a domestic
NGO promoting the rights of children, estimated that there were
approximately one million minors working and that a large percentage of
them did not receive the salary and benefits due to them under the law;
however, a 2006 study by Understanding Children's Work, a child labor
research program sponsored by the ILO, UNICEF, and the World Bank,
found that approximately 130,000 children ages 10 to 14 were working in
the country. Children most frequently worked in agriculture, retail
trade, hotels, restaurants, manufacturing, and community and social
services.
The law sets the minimum employment age at 14. The law permits
children ages 12 to 14 to work only if the National Institute for
Minors or the Ministry of Labor grants special permission; children
ages 14 to 16 may not work without the permission of their legal
guardians. Those under 16 years of age may by law work no more than six
hours per day or 30 hours per week. Minors under the age of 18 may work
only between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Minors may not work in mines or smelting
factories, in occupations that risk life or health or could damage
intellectual or moral development, or in public spectacles. Fines are
established for employing children ages eight to 11, and for employing
a 12 or 13 year-old without a work authorization. Employing a child
younger than eight years of age is punishable by one to three years'
imprisonment. Employers must notify authorities if they hire a minor as
a domestic worker.
The law prohibits inducing the prostitution and corruption of
minors. Penalties range from three to 18 months in prison and up to
four years in prison if the minor is younger than 12 years old. If the
crime is committed repeatedly or for profit, it is punishable by three
to six years' imprisonment. Prison sentences for inducing a minor into
prostitution are increased by up to five years if various aggravating
circumstances occur. Penalties for several crimes relating to child
prostitution do not apply if the perpetrator marries the victim. The
production and sale of child pornography is prohibited, and the law
establishes penalties of 16 to 20 years' imprisonment for this crime.
The law establishes sentences of one to three years' incarceration for
forced child labor. There were no substantiated reports that these
penalties were enforced.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports ran educational
programs to reincorporate school dropouts and adults into the
educational system; however, there was no independent accounting of the
effectiveness of the programs.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On April 30, President Chavez
announced a 30 percent increase in the monthly minimum wage and in all
public sector employees' salaries to 799 Bs.F (approximately $372). The
national minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. The Ministry of Labor enforced minimum wage rates
effectively in the formal sector, but approximately 50 percent of the
population worked in the informal sector, where labor laws and
protections generally were not enforced.
The law stipulates that the work week may not exceed 44 hours.
Managers are prohibited from obligating employees to work additional
time, and workers have the right to weekly time away from work.
Overtime may not exceed two hours daily, 10 hours weekly, or 100 hours
annually and may not be paid at a rate less than time-and-one-half. The
ministry effectively enforced these standards in the formal sector.
While the constitution provides for secure, hygienic, and adequate
working conditions, authorities conducted infrequent inspections to
implement the Health and Safety Law. Employers are required to report
work-related accidents, and the law obligates employers to pay
specified amounts (up to a maximum of 25 times the minimum monthly
salary) to workers for accidents or occupational illnesses, regardless
of who is responsible for the injury. Workplaces must maintain
``sufficient protection for health and life against sickness and
accidents,'' and penalties range from one quarter to twice the minimum
monthly salary for first infractions. In practice ministry inspectors
seldom closed unsafe job sites. Under the law workers may remove
themselves from dangerous workplace situations without jeopardy to
continued employment.
__________
APPENDIX A
----------
Notes on Preparation of the Country Reports and Explanatory Notes
----------
The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are
based on information available from a wide variety of sources,
including U.S. and foreign government officials, victims of
human rights abuse, academic and congressional studies, and
reports from the press, international organizations, and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with human
rights. We find particularly helpful, and make reference in the
reports to, the role of NGOs, ranging from groups within a
single country to those that concern themselves with human
rights worldwide. While much of the information that we use is
already public, information on particular abuses frequently
cannot be attributed, for obvious reasons, to specific sources.
This report reflects the Department of State's assessments and
concerns with respect to the human rights situation around the
world. The Department of States does not use sources or
information it believes lack credibility.
By law, the Secretary of State must submit the Country
Reports to Congress by February 25. The Country Reports cover
respect for human rights in foreign countries and territories
worldwide; they do not purport to assess any human rights
implications of actions by the United States Government or its
representatives, nor do they consider human rights implications
of actions by the United States Government or of coalition
forces in Iraq or Afghanistan. To comply with the congressional
requirement for the reporting of human rights practices, we
provide guidance to U.S. diplomatic missions in July for
submission of draft reports in September and October, which we
update at year's end as necessary. Other offices in the
Department of State provide contributions, and the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor prepares a final draft. Due
to the submission deadline, the report may not reflect
developments that became known only after the end of the year.
We make every effort to include references to major events or
significant changes in trends.
We have attempted to make the reports as comprehensive,
objective and uniform as possible in both scope and quality of
coverage. We have paid particular attention to attaining a high
standard of consistency in the reports despite the multiplicity
of sources and the problems associated with varying degrees of
access to information, structural differences in political,
legal, and social systems.
Evaluating the credibility of reports of human rights
abuses is often difficult. Most governments and opposition
groups deny that they commit human rights abuses and sometimes
go to great lengths to conceal any evidence of such acts. There
are often few eyewitnesses to specific abuses, and they
frequently are intimidated or otherwise prevented from
reporting what they know. On the other hand, individuals and
groups opposed to a government sometimes have powerful
incentives to exaggerate or fabricate abuses, and some
governments similarly distort or exaggerate abuses attributed
to opposition groups. We have made every effort to identify
those groups (for example, government forces or terrorists) or
individuals who are believed, based on all the evidence
available, to have committed human rights or other abuses. Many
governments that profess to oppose human rights abuses in fact
secretly order or tacitly condone them or simply lack the will
or the ability to control those responsible for them.
Consequently, in judging a government's policy, the reports
look beyond statements of policy or intent and examine what a
government has done to prevent human rights abuses, including
the extent to which it investigates, brings to trial, and
appropriately punishes those who commit such abuses.
To increase uniformity, each country report begins with a
brief overview that includes a description of the country's
political structure and the extent to which civilian
authorities control security agencies. The overview summarizes
human rights developments during the calendar year, identifying
abuses and notable specific improvements.
We have continued the effort from previous years to cover
human rights problems affecting women, children, persons with
disabilities, and indigenous people in the reports. The
appropriate section of each country report discusses any abuses
that are targeted specifically against women (for example, rape
or other violence perpetrated by governmental or organized
opposition forces, or discriminatory laws or regulations). In
Section 5, we discuss socioeconomic discrimination;
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; societal violence
against women, children, homosexuals, persons with
disabilities, or ethnic minorities; and the efforts, if any, of
governments to combat these problems.
The following notes on specific sections in each country
report are not meant to be comprehensive descriptions but
rather to provide an overview of the key problems covered and
their organization:
Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Includes
killings by governments without due process of law or where
there is evidence of a political motive. Also covers
extrajudicial killings (for example, the unlawful and
deliberate killing of individuals carried out by order of a
government or with its complicity), as well as killings by
police or security forces and actions that resulted in the
unintended death of persons without due process of law (for
example, mistargeted bombing or shelling or killing of
bystanders). The section generally excludes combat deaths and
killings by common criminals if the likelihood of political
motivation can be ruled out. Deaths in detention due to adverse
conditions are covered in detail in the section on ``Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.''
Disappearance.--Covers cases in which political motivation
appears likely and in which the victims have not been found or
perpetrators have not been identified. Cases eventually
classified as political killings in which the bodies of missing
persons are discovered also are covered in the previous
section, while those eventually identified as having been
arrested or held in detention may be covered under ``Arbitrary
Arrest or Detention.''
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Covers torture (an act of intentionally inflicting
severe pain, whether physical or mental) and cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment committed by or at the
instigation of government forces, including paramilitary
forces, or opposition groups. The section discusses actual
occurrences, not whether they fit any precise definition, and
includes use of physical and other force that may fall short of
torture but which is cruel, inhuman, or degrading, including
judicially sanctioned violent or abusive punishment. There also
may be discussion of poor treatment that may not constitute
torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The section
also covers prison conditions and deaths in prison due to
adverse conditions.
Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Includes cases in which
detainees, including political detainees, are held arbitrarily
in official custody without being charged or, if charged, are
denied a public preliminary judicial hearing within a
reasonable period. The section also includes subsections on the
role of the police and security apparatus, arrest and detention
practices, and any amnesties that may have occurred during the
year.
Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Describes the court system
and evaluates whether there is an independent judiciary and
whether trials are both fair and public (failure to hold any
trial is noted in the section above). The subsection
``Political Prisoners and Detainees'' covers persons convicted,
imprisoned or detained essentially for political beliefs or
nonviolent acts of dissent or expression, regardless of the
actual legal charge. The subsection ``Civil Judicial Procedures
and Remedies'' inquires whether there is access to an
independent and impartial court to seek damages for or
cessation of an alleged human rights violation. The optional
subsection ``Property Restitution'' is included if there is a
systemic failure of a government to enforce court orders with
respect to restitution or compensation for the taking of
private property under domestic law.
Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Includes government punishment of family
members for alleged violations by individuals and efforts to
coerce or forbid membership in a political organization.
Discusses the ``passive'' right of the individual to
noninterference by the state. It includes the right to receive
foreign publications, for example, while the right to publish
is discussed under ``Freedom of Speech and Press.'' Includes
the right to be free from coercive population control measures,
including coerced abortion and involuntary sterilization, but
does not include cultural or traditional practices, such as
female genital mutilation.
Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal
Conflicts.--This optional section describes abuses in countries
experiencing significant internal armed conflict. Includes
indiscriminate, nonselective killings arising from excessive
use of force, or by the shelling of villages (deliberate,
targeted killing is discussed in the section on ``Arbitrary or
Unlawful Deprivation of Life''). Also includes abuses against
civilian noncombatants. For countries where use of this section
would be inappropriate because there is no significant internal
or external conflict, killings by security forces are discussed
in the section on ``Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of
Life''; nonlethal abuses are discussed in the section on
``Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.''
Freedom of Speech and Press.--Evaluates whether these
freedoms exist and describes any direct or indirect
restrictions. A subsection (``Internet Freedom'') includes
discussion of monitoring or restriction on the peaceful
expression of opinion via the Internet. Another subsection,
entitled ``Academic Freedom and Cultural Events,'' includes
information on restrictions, intimidation and censorship in
these fields.
Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Evaluates
the ability of individuals and groups (including political
parties) to exercise these freedoms. It considers instances of
government failure to provide permits and licenses for
meetings, demonstrations, as well as information on the ability
of trade associations, professional bodies, NGOS and similar
groups to maintain relations or affiliate with recognized
international bodies in their fields. The right of workers to
associate, organize, and bargain collectively is discussed
under the section on ``Worker Rights'' (see Appendix B).
Freedom of Religion.--Discusses whether the law provides
for the right of citizens of any religious belief to worship
free of government interference and whether the government
generally respected that right. The section covers the freedom
to publish religious documents in foreign languages; addresses
the treatment of foreign clergy and whether religious belief or
lack thereof affects membership in a ruling party, a career in
government, or ability to obtain services and privileges
available to other citizens. The subsection ``Societal Abuses
and Discrimination'' reports societal violence, harassment and
discrimination against members of religious groups. Examples of
anti-Semitism, if applicable, are included in this subsection.
The annual International Religious Freedom Report supplements
the information in this section.
Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons,
Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The section
discusses whether and under what circumstances governments
exiled citizens, restricted foreign travel, especially for
women, and revoked passports. It includes subsections
``Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)'' (if applicable),
``Protection of Refugees,'' and ``Stateless Persons'' (if
applicable.) As defined in the 1951 Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, refugees are persons
outside their country of origin or, if stateless, outside their
country of habitual residence who have a well-founded fear of
persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion,
and who are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the
protection of that country. Under certain regional instruments,
such as the Organization of African Unity Convention governing
the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa, the term
refugee may refer to persons displaced by civil strife,
widespread violence or natural disaster. The subsection
``Protection of Refugees'' reviews the government's extension
of assistance and protection to refugees, including
nonrefoulement, the provision of temporary protection, support
for voluntary repatriation, longer term integration
opportunities and third country resettlement. It also covers
abuse and discrimination against refugees. The subsection on
stateless persons examines whether a country has habitual
residents who are legally stateless (not recognized as
nationals under the laws of any state) or de facto stateless
(not recognized as nationals by any state even if these
individuals have a claim to nationality under the laws of a
particular state). The report reviews whether the government
has effectively implemented laws and policies to provide such
persons the opportunity to gain nationality on a
nondiscriminatory basis. The subsection also examines, among
other matters, whether there is violence or discrimination
against stateless persons in employment, education, housing,
health services, marriage or birth registration, access to
courts or the owning of property.
Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government.--Discusses the extent to which
citizens have freedom of political choice and the legal right
and ability in practice to change the laws and officials that
govern them. The subsection ``Elections and Political
Participation'' assesses whether elections were free and fair,
including participation by women and minorities on an equal
basis. The subsection ``Government Corruption and
Transparency'' covers allegations of corruption in the
executive or legislative branches of government and actions
taken to combat it. Also, the subsection covers whether the
public has access in law and practice to government
information.
Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights.--Discusses whether the government permits the free
functioning of local human rights groups (including the right
to investigate and publish their findings on alleged human
rights abuses), whether these groups are subject to reprisal by
government or other forces, and whether government officials
are cooperative and responsive to their views. The section also
discusses whether the government grants access to and
cooperates with outside entities (including foreign human
rights organizations, international organizations, and foreign
governments) interested in human rights developments in the
country. Reports on national human rights commissions,
parliamentary commissions, relations with international war
crimes tribunals and truth or similar commissions.
Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in
Persons.--Contains subheadings on Women, Children, Trafficking
in Persons, and Persons with Disabilities. If applicable, also
includes subheadings on National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities,
Indigenous People, Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination,
and Incitement to Acts of Discrimination. The section addresses
discrimination and abuses not discussed elsewhere in the
report, focusing on laws, regulations, or state practices that
are inconsistent with equal access to housing, employment,
education, health care, or other governmental benefits for
members of specific groups. (Abuses by government or opposition
forces, such as killing, torture and other violence, or
restriction of voting rights or free speech targeted against
specific groups would be discussed under the appropriate
preceding sections.) The subsection ``Women'' discusses
societal violence against women, e.g., ``dowry deaths,''
``honor killings,'' wife beating, rape, female genital
mutilation, and government tolerance of such practices, as well
as the extent to which the law provides for, and the government
enforces, equality of economic opportunity for women. The
subsection ``Children'' discusses violence or other abuse
against children. The subsection ``Persons with Disabilities''
covers discrimination against persons with physical and mental
disabilities in, among other things, employment, education, and
the provision of other government services.
The trafficking in persons subsection covers all acts
involving the recruitment, harboring, transportation,
provision, or obtaining of a person (man, woman, or child) for
labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion
for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude,
peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. Sex trafficking is the
recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining
of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act induced by
force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to
perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age. Reporting
describes any legal prohibitions against trafficking; the
extent to which the government enforces these prohibitions; the
extent and nature of trafficking in persons to, from, or within
the country, other geographic regions or countries affected by
the traffic; the participation, facilitation, involvement or
complicity of any government agents in trafficking; and aid or
protection available to victims.
WORKER RIGHTS--SEE APPENDIX B
Explanatory Notes
Occasionally the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
state that a country ``generally respected'' the rights of its
citizens. The phrase ``generally respected'' is used because
the protection and promotion of human rights is a dynamic
endeavor; it cannot accurately be stated that any government
fully respected these rights all the time without qualification
in even the best of circumstances. Accordingly, ``generally
respected'' is the standard phrase used to describe all
countries that attempt to protect human rights in the fullest
sense, and is thus the highest level of respect for human
rights assigned by this report.
In some instances, Country Reports use the word
``Islamist,'' which should be interpreted by readers as a
Muslim who supports Islamic values and beliefs as the basis for
political and social life.
Since the Secretary of State designates foreign groups or
organizations as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) on the
FTO list, only those groups on the FTO list dated April 8, 2008
will be described as ``terrorists'' in the reports.
When describing whether a government provides ``protection
against refoulement,'' the reports are referring to whether the
government refrained from expelling or returning a refugee in
any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his
or her life or freedom would be threatened on account of race,
religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a
particular social group
Subject headings in these reports are used to introduce
general topics, and the report text that follows such headings
is intended to describe facts generally relevant to those
topics and is not intended to reach conclusions of a legal
character.
----------
APPENDIX B
----------
Reporting on Worker Rights
----------
The 1984 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Renewal
Act requires reporting on worker rights in GSP beneficiary
countries. It states that internationally recognized worker
rights include: ``(A) the right of association; (B) the right
to organize and bargain collectively; (C) a prohibition on the
use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; (D) a minimum
age for the employment of children; and (E) acceptable
conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of
work, and occupational safety and health.'' All five aspects of
worker rights are discussed in each country report under the
section heading ``Worker Rights.'' The discussion of worker
rights considers not only laws and regulations but also their
practical implementation.
This discussion is informed by internationally recognized
labor standards, including the Conventions and Recommendations
of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Differences in
the levels of economic development are taken into account in
the formulation of the standards related to working conditions,
but not to the basic human rights standards, such as freedom of
association, the right to organize and bargain collectively,
the prohibition of forced labor and child labor, and the
absence of discrimination in employment. Some specific
guidelines derived from international standards are discussed
below.
A. ``The right of association'' has been defined by the ILO to
include the right of workers and employers to establish
and join organizations of their own choosing without
previous authorization; to draw up their own
constitutions and rules, elect their representatives,
and formulate their programs; to join in confederations
and affiliate with international organizations; and to
be protected against dissolution or suspension by
administrative authority.
The right of association includes the right of workers to
strike. While it is generally accepted for strikes to
be restricted in the public sector and in essential
services, the interruption of which would endanger the
life, personal safety, or health of a significant
portion of the population, these restrictions must be
offset by adequate safeguards for the interests of the
workers concerned (for example, mechanisms for
mediation and arbitration, due process, and the right
to judicial review of legal actions). Reporting on
restrictions on the ability of workers to strike
generally includes information on any procedures that
may exist for safeguarding workers' interests.
B. ``The right to organize and bargain collectively'' includes
the right of workers to be represented in negotiating
the prevention and settlement of disputes with
employers, the right to protection against
interference, and the right to protection against acts
of antiunion discrimination. Governments should promote
mechanisms for voluntary negotiations between employers
and workers and their organizations. Coverage of the
right to organize and bargain collectively includes a
review of the extent to which collective bargaining
takes place and the extent to which workers, both in
law and practice, are protected against antiunion
discrimination.
C. ``Forced or compulsory labor'' is defined as work or
service exacted under the menace of penalty and for
which a person has not volunteered. ``Work or service''
does not apply where obligations are imposed to undergo
education or training. ``Menace of penalty'' includes
loss of rights or privileges as well as penal
sanctions. The ILO has exempted the following from its
definition of forced labor: compulsory military
service, normal civic obligations, certain forms of
prison labor, emergencies, and minor communal services.
Constitutional provisions concerning the obligation of
citizens to work do not violate this right so long as
they do not take the form of legal obligations enforced
by sanctions and are consistent with the principle of
``freely chosen employment."
D. ``Prohibition of child labor and minimum age for
employment'' concerns the effective abolition of child
labor by raising the minimum age for employment to a
level consistent with the fullest physical and mental
development of young people. ILO Convention 182 on the
``worst forms of child labor'' identifies anyone under
the age of 18 as a child and specifies certain types of
employment as ``the worst forms of child labor.'' These
worst forms of labor include slavery, debt bondage,
forced labor, forced recruitment into armed conflict,
child prostitution and pornography, involvement in
illicit activity such as drug production or
trafficking, and ``work which, by its nature, or the
circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to
harm the health, safety or morals or children.'' In
limited circumstances, ILO Convention 182 permits the
employment of children between the ages of 16 and 18 in
what the convention describes as an ``unhealthy
environment,'' if adequate protective measures have
been taken.
E. ``Acceptable conditions of work'' refers to the
establishment and maintenance of mechanisms, adapted to
national conditions, that provide for minimum working
standards, that is: wages that provide a decent living
for workers and their families; working hours that do
not exceed 48 hours per week, with a full 24-hour day
of rest; a specified number of annual paid leave days;
and minimum conditions for the protection of the safety
and health of workers.
----------
APPENDIX C
Selected International Human Rights Conventions
(See Footnotes for Treaty/Convention Titles)
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COUNTRY A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y
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Afghanistan........................................................ P - - P - P P P - P P P P P P P P - - - - S P P -
Albania*........................................................... P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Algeria............................................................ P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Andorra............................................................ - - - P - P P - P - - - P P - - - - - - - P P P -
Angola............................................................. - P P - P P P - - P - P - P P P P - P P - P - P P
Antigua & Barbuda.................................................. P P P P P P P - - 1 P P P - - P P - P P P P P P P
Argentina.......................................................... - P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Armenia............................................................ - P P P P P P - P - - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Australia.......................................................... P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P
Austria............................................................ P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Azerbaijan......................................................... P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P - P - - P P P P
Bahamas............................................................ P P P P P P P - - P P P P - - P P - P P P P - P P
Bahrain............................................................ P P - P - P P - - - P P P P - - - - - P P P P P P
Bangladesh......................................................... P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P - - - - P P P P P P
Barbados........................................................... P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P - - P P P P P - P P
Belarus............................................................ P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Belgium............................................................ P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Belize............................................................. 1 P P P P P P - - - 1 P P P S P P - P P P P P P P
Benin.............................................................. 2 P P - P P P - - - - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Bhutan*............................................................ - - - - - P P - - - - - S - - - - - - - - P - P -
Bolivia............................................................ P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Bosnia & Herzegovina............................................... P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Botswana........................................................... 1 P P - P P P - - - 1 P P P - P P - P P P P P P P
Brazil............................................................. P P - P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Brunei*............................................................ 1 - - - - P P - - - 1 - - - - - - - - P P P - P -
Bulgaria........................................................... 2 P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Burkina Faso....................................................... - P P P P P P P - - - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Burma.............................................................. P P P P - P P S - S - - - - - - - - - - - P - P -
Burundi............................................................ - P P P P P P - - P - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Cambodia........................................................... - P P P P P P S S P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Cameroon........................................................... P P P - P P P P - - P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Canada............................................................. P - P P - P P - - P P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P
Cape Verde......................................................... - P P - P P P - - - - P P P P - P - - P P P P P P
Central African Republic........................................... 2 P P - P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P - P P
Chad............................................................... - P P - P P P - - - - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Chile.............................................................. P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
China.............................................................. 2 - - P - P P - - P - - P S P P P - P P P P P P P
China (Hong Kong).................................................. P - - P - - - - - P - - P - - - - - - - - P P P -
China (Macau from 12-20-99)........................................ - - - P - - - - - - - - P - - - - - - - - - - P -
China (Macau to 12-19-99).......................................... - - - P - - - P - - P - P P P P P - - - - P P P -
China (Taiwan only)*............................................... P - - P - - - - - P P - P S S - - - - - - - - - -
Colombia........................................................... S P P P P P P - - P - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Comoros............................................................ - P P P P P P - - - - P P - - - - - P P P P S P P
Congo, Democratic Republic of...................................... - P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Congo, Republic of................................................. 2 P P - P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P - P P
Cook Islands....................................................... - - - - - P P - - - - - - - - - - - - P P P - - -
Costa Rica......................................................... - P P P P P P - - P - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Cote D'Ivoire...................................................... 2 P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Croatia............................................................ P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Cuba............................................................... P P P P P P P P - P P P P - - - - - P P P P P P -
Cyprus............................................................. P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Czech Republic..................................................... 2 P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P
Denmark............................................................ P P P P P P P S P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Djibouti........................................................... - P P - P P P P - - P P S P P P P - P P P P P P P
Dominica........................................................... P P P - P P P - - 1 P P - P P P P P P P P P - P P
Dominican Republic................................................. S P P S P P P - - P P P P P P P P P P P P P S P P
East Timor......................................................... - - - - - - P - - - - - - - - - - - - P P - - - -
Ecuador............................................................ P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Egypt.............................................................. P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
El Salvador........................................................ - P P P P P P - - S S P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Equatorial Guinea.................................................. - P P - P P P - - - - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Eritrea............................................................ - P P - P P P - - - - P P P P - - - P - - P - P -
Estonia............................................................ 2 P P P P P P - P - - P P P P P P - - P P P P P P
Ethiopia........................................................... P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Fiji............................................................... P P P P P P P - - P P P P - - P P - P - - P - P P
Finland............................................................ P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
France............................................................. P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Gabon.............................................................. - P P P P P P - - P - P P P P P P - - P P P P P P
Gambia............................................................. 1 P P P P P P - - - 1 P P P P P P - P P P P S P P
Georgia............................................................ - P P P P P P - P P - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Germany............................................................ P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Ghana.............................................................. 2 P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P
Greece............................................................. P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Grenada............................................................ 1 P P 1 P P P - - 1 1 P S P P - - P P P P P - P P
Guatemala.......................................................... P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Guinea............................................................. P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Guinea-Bissau...................................................... - P - - P P P - - - - P S S P P P - - P P P S P -
Guyana............................................................. 1 P P - P P P - - - ... P P P P - - - P P P P P P P
Haiti.............................................................. 2 P P P P P P P - P P P P P - P P P - P P P - P -
Holy See........................................................... - - - - - P P - - - - - P - - P P - - P P - P P -
Honduras........................................................... - P P P P P P P - - - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Hungary............................................................ P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Iceland............................................................ - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
India.............................................................. P P - P - P P P - P P P P P P - - - - - - P S P -
Indonesia.......................................................... - P P - P P P - - P - P P P P - - - P - - P P P P
Iran............................................................... S P - P - P P S - - P P P P P P P - - S S - - P P
Iraq............................................................... P P - P P P P P - - P P P P P - - - P - - P - P P
Ireland............................................................ P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Israel............................................................. P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P - - P P P P
Italy.............................................................. P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Jamaica............................................................ P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P
Japan.............................................................. - P P - P P P P - P - - P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Jordan............................................................. P P - P P P P P - P P P P P P - - - P P P P P P P
Kazakhstan......................................................... - P P P P P P S P P - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Kenya.............................................................. - P - - P P P - - - - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Kiribati*.......................................................... 1 P P - P P P - - 1 1 P - 1 1 - 1 - - - - P - P -
Korea, Dem. Rep. of*............................................... - - - P - P P - - - - - - P P - - - - P - P - P -
Korea, Republic of*................................................ - - - P - P P P - P - - P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Kuwait............................................................. P P P P - P P P - - P P P P P - - - P P P P P P P
Kyrgyzstan......................................................... P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Laos............................................................... - P - P - P P P - P P - P S S - - - P P P P - P P
Latvia............................................................. 2 - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Lebanon............................................................ 2 P - P P P P - - P - P P P P - - - P P P P P P P
Lesotho............................................................ P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Liberia............................................................ P P P P P P P S - S S P P P P P P - - P P P P P P
Libya.............................................................. P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P - - - P P P P P P P
Liechtenstein*..................................................... - - - P - P P - P - - - P P P P P - - P P P P P -
Lithuania.......................................................... S P P P P P P - P - - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Luxembourg......................................................... - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Macedonia.......................................................... 2 P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Madagascar......................................................... P P P - P P P S - P P - P P P P - - P P P P P P P
Malawi............................................................. P P P - P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Malaysia........................................................... - P - P P P P - - - P - - - - - - - P - - P - P P
Maldives*.......................................................... - - - P - P P - - - - - P P P - - - - - P P P P P
Mali............................................................... P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Malta.............................................................. P P P - P P P - P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Marshall Islands*.................................................. - - - - - - P - - - - - - - - - - - - - - P - P -
Mauritania......................................................... P P P - P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Mauritius.......................................................... P P P - P P P - - P P P P P P - - - P P P P P P P
Mexico............................................................. P P P P - P P P - P P P P P P P P P - P - P P P P
Micronesia*........................................................ - - - - - P P - - - - - - - - - - - - P P P - P -
Moldova............................................................ - P P P P P P - P P - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Monaco*............................................................ P - - P - P P - S - - - P P P P - - - P P P P P -
Mongolia........................................................... P - P P P P P - - P P - P P P - - - P P P P P P P
Montenegro......................................................... P - - P - P P P - P P - P P P P P - - P P P P P -
Morocco............................................................ P P - P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P S S P P P P
Mozambique......................................................... - P P P P P P - - - - P P P - P P - P P P P P P P
Namibia............................................................ - P P P P P P - - - - P P P P P - - P P P P P P P
Nauru*............................................................. - - - - - P P - - - - - S S - - - - - P P - S P -
Nepal.............................................................. P P - P P P P P - P P - P P P - - - P - - P P P P
Netherlands........................................................ P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
New Zealand........................................................ P P - P P P P - - P P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P
Nicaragua.......................................................... P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Niger.............................................................. P P P - P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Nigeria............................................................ P P P - P P P - - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Niue............................................................... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - P -
Norway............................................................. P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Oman*.............................................................. - P - - - P P - - - - P P - - - - - P P P P - P P
Pakistan........................................................... P P P P P P P P - P P P P - S - - - P S S P - P P
Palau.............................................................. - - - - - P P - - - - - - - - - - - - P P - - P -
Panama............................................................. S P P P P P P - - - - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Papua New Guinea................................................... P P P P P P P - - P - P P - - P P - P - - P - P P
Paraguay........................................................... - P P P P P P - - P - P S P P P P P P P P P P P P
Peru............................................................... P P P P P P - - P S P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Philippines........................................................ P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P S P P P P P
Poland............................................................. 2 P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Portugal........................................................... 2 P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Qatar.............................................................. - P - - - P P - - - - - P - - - - - P P P - P P P
Romania............................................................ P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Russia............................................................. P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Rwanda............................................................. - P P P P P P - - - P P P P P P P - P P P P - P P
Samoa*............................................................. - - - - - P P - - - - - - - - P P - - P P P - P -
San Marino......................................................... - P P - P P P - P - P P P P P - - - P P P - P P P
Sao Tome & Principe................................................ - P P - P P P - - - - P S S S P P - P P P S S P P
Saudi Arabia....................................................... P P - P - P P - - - P P P - - - - - - P P P P P P
Senegal............................................................ 2 P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Serbia............................................................. - P P - P - P - P - - P - - - - - - P P - P - - P
Seychelles......................................................... 2 P P P P P P P - 1 P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Sierra Leone....................................................... P P P - P P P - - P P P P P P P P - - P P P P P -
Singapore.......................................................... P - P P P P P - - P - - - - - - - P - - P - P P
Slovak Republic.................................................... 2 P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Slovenia........................................................... - P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Solomon Islands.................................................... P P - - - P P - - P P - 1 - 1 P P - - P P P - P -
Somalia............................................................ - P - - - P P - - - - P P P P P P - - - - - P S -
South Africa*...................................................... P P P P P P P P - S - P P P S P P - P P P P P P P
Spain.............................................................. P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Sri Lanka.......................................................... P P P P P P P P - - P P P P P - - - P - - P P P P
St. Kitts & Nevis*................................................. 1 P P - P P P - - 1 1 P P - - P - - P P P P - P P
St. Lucia.......................................................... P P P 1 P P P - - 1 P P P - - - - - - P P P - P P
St. Vincent & the Grenadines*...................................... P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P
Sudan.............................................................. P P - - P P P - - - P P P P P P P - P P P - S P P
Suriname........................................................... 2 P P - P P P - - 1 P P P P P P P P - P P P - P P
Swaziland.......................................................... 1 P P - P P P - - P 1 P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Sweden............................................................. P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Switzerland........................................................ P P P P P P P - P - P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Syria.............................................................. P P P P P P P P - - P P P P P - - - P P - - P P P
Tajikistan*........................................................ - P P - P P P P - P - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Tanzania........................................................... P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P - P P P P - P P
Thailand........................................................... - P - - - P P - - P - P P P P - - - P - - P - P P
Togo............................................................... 2 P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Tonga*............................................................. 1 - - P - P P - - 1 1 1 P - - - - - - P P - - P -
Trinidad & Tobago.................................................. P P P - P P P - - P P P P P P P P - P P P P - P P
Tunisia............................................................ P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Turkey............................................................. P P P P P P P - P P P P P S S P P - P - - P P P P
Turkmenistan....................................................... P P P - P P P - - P P P P P P P P - - P P P P P -
Tuvalu*............................................................ 1 - - - - P P - - 1 1 - - 1 - P P - - - - P - P -
Uganda............................................................. P P P P P P P - - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Ukraine............................................................ P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
United Arab Emirates............................................... - P - P - P P - - - - P P - - - - - P P P P - P P
United Kingdom..................................................... P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
United States...................................................... P - - P - P P - - P P P P P S - P S - S S S P S P
Uruguay............................................................ S P P P P P P - - S P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Uzbekistan......................................................... - P - P P P P P - P - P P P P - - - - P P P P P -
Vanuatu*........................................................... - - P - P P P - - - 1 P - - - - - - - P P P - P P
Venezuela.......................................................... - P P P P P P P - P - P P P P - P P P P P P P P P
Vietnam*........................................................... P - - P - P P - - - - - P P P - - - P P - P - P P
Yemen.............................................................. P P P P P P P P - P - P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Yugoslavia (former Yugoslavia)..................................... P P P P P P P P - P P - P P P P P - P P P P P P -
Zambia............................................................. P P P - P P P - - P P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P
Zimbabwe........................................................... 1 P P P P P P P - P P P P P P P P - P P P P - P P
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P = Party
S = Signatory
* = non-ILO member
1 = Based on general declaration concerning treaty obligations prior to independence
2 = Party to 1926 Convention only
================================================================================================================================================================================================
Key to Human Rights Conventions: A-Slavery B-ILO Convention 29 C-ILO Convention 87 D- Genocide E-ILO Convention 98 F-Prisoners of War G-Civilians in War H-Traffic in Persons I-
European HR Conv. J-Pol. Rights of Women K-Suppl. Slavery Conv. L-ILO Convention 105 M-Racial Discrimination N-Civil and Pol. Rights O-Econ./Soc./Cul. Rights P-UN Refugee Convention
Q-UN Refugee Protocol R-American HR Conv. S-ILO Convention 138 T-Geneva Protocol I U-Geneva Protocol II V-Disc. Against Women W-Torture X-Rights of the Child Y-ILO Convention 182
APPENDIX D
----------
Description of International Human Rights Conventions in Appendix C
----------
A. Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery of
September 25,1926, as amended by the Protocol of December 7,
1953.
B. Convention Concerning Forced Labor of June 28, 1930
(ILO Convention 29).
C. Convention Concerning Freedom of Association and
Protection of the Right to Organize of July 9, 1948 (ILO
Convention 87).
D. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide of December 9, 1948.
E. Convention Concerning the Application of the Principles
of the Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively of July 1,
1949 (ILO Convention 98).
F. Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of
Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949.
G. Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of
Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949.
H. Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in
Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others
of March 21, 1950.
I. European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms of November 4, 1950.
J. Convention on the Political Rights of Women of March
31, 1953.
K. Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery,
the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to
Slavery of September 7, 1956.
L. Convention Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labor of
June 25, 1957 (ILO Convention 105).
M. International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination of December 21, 1965.
N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of
December 16, 1966.
O. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights of December 16, 1966.
P. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of July
28, 1951.
Q. Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees of January
31, 1967.
R. American Convention on Human Rights of November 22,
1969.
S. Convention Concerning Minimum Age for Admission to
Employment of June 26, 1973 (ILO Convention 138).
T. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August
12, 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of
International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), of June 8, 1977.
U. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August
12, 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-
International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), of June 8, 1977.
V. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women of December 18, 1979.
W. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment of December 10, 1984.
X. Convention on the Rights of the Child of November 20,
1989.
Y. Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor of
June 17, 1999 (ILO Convention 182).
----------
APPENDIX E
Country Assistance FY 2008--Part I
($ in thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
Accounts DA CSH ESF TI SEED FSA INCLE ACI NADR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL................................... 22,067,296 1,623,622 1,829,152 2,989,838 44,636 293,553 396,497 556,405 319,848 483,055
========================================================================================================================================================
Africa.................................. 5,210,088 674,156 739,330 183,249 -- -- -- 21,642 -- 24,471
Africa Regional Overview................ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Angola................................ 41,274 5,500 27,946 -- -- -- -- -- -- 6,300
Benin................................. 28,630 6,300 22,187 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Botswana.............................. 79,158 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Burkina Faso.......................... 10,026 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Burundi............................... 18,067 6,530 6,031 -- -- -- -- -- -- 350
Cameroon.............................. 2,270 -- 1,488 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Cape Verde............................ 596 -- -- -- -- -- -- 496 -- --
Central African Republic.............. 95 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Chad.................................. 5,060 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Comoros............................... 95 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Cote d'Ivoire......................... 100,895 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Democratic Republic of the Congo...... 103,914 23,418 41,518 18,846 -- -- -- 1,488 -- --
Djibouti.............................. 4,761 1,500 496 -- -- -- -- 298 -- --
Ethiopia.............................. 455,134 37,067 54,779 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Gabon................................. 191 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Ghana................................. 70,803 25,412 35,074 -- -- -- -- 496 -- --
Guinea................................ 13,580 2,400 7,758 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Guinea-Bissau......................... 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Kenya................................. 586,838 32,125 39,384 -- -- -- -- -- -- 5,777
Lesotho............................... 12,027 -- 8,828 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Liberia............................... 162,372 29,863 23,235 43,192 -- -- -- 4,096 -- --
Madagascar............................ 58,748 9,669 33,445 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Malawi................................ 85,169 15,500 47,560 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Mali.................................. 58,073 23,400 30,998 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Mauritania............................ 5,590 500 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Mauritius............................. 144 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Mozambique............................ 281,552 11,356 36,349 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Namibia............................... 107,555 3,025 1,934 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Niger................................. 17,891 2,900 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Nigeria............................... 486,167 29,710 43,166 -- -- -- -- 1,190 -- --
Republic of the Congo................. 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Rwanda................................ 152,704 3,720 28,672 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Sao Tome and Principe................. 687 -- 496 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Senegal............................... 57,135 21,798 29,279 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Seychelles............................ 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Sierra Leone.......................... 27,317 2,120 -- 12,399 -- -- -- -- -- --
Somalia............................... 14,202 10,419 748 -- -- -- -- -- -- 754
South Africa.......................... 574,258 9,250 6,951 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
State Africa Regional (AF)............ 16,196 -- -- 7,936 -- -- -- -- -- 7,141
Sudan................................. 337,308 127,721 17,488 100,876 -- -- -- 13,578 -- 4,000
Swaziland............................. 11,628 -- 8,332 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Tanzania.............................. 345,671 21,439 52,796 -- -- -- -- -- -- 149
The Gambia............................ 115 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Togo.................................. 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Uganda................................ 350,767 32,600 39,851 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Zambia................................ 300,962 17,917 32,789 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Zimbabwe.............................. 27,212 4,729 19,153 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Africa Regional (AFR)............. 113,274 95,077 18,197 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Central Africa Regional........... 15,500 15,500 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID East Africa Regional.............. 21,648 13,098 8,550 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Southern Africa Regional.......... 11,812 9,828 1,984 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID West Africa Regional.............. 34,633 22,765 11,868 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
========================================================================================================================================================
East Asia and Pacific................... 674,025 154,831 105,221 230,552 -- -- -- 10,217 -- 27,004
Burma................................. 15,695 717 2,083 12,895 -- -- -- -- -- --
Cambodia.............................. 57,943 8,087 28,322 14,879 -- -- -- -- -- 3,890
China................................. 21,839 9,919 4,960 4,960 -- -- -- -- -- --
Fiji.................................. 247 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Indonesia............................. 189,924 70,953 25,737 64,474 -- -- -- 6,150 -- 5,861
Laos.................................. 5,877 -- 992 298 -- -- -- 1,567 -- 2,953
Malaysia.............................. 2,874 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,998
Marshall Islands...................... 57 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Mongolia.............................. 6,493 4,577 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
North Korea........................... 53,000 -- -- 53,000 -- -- -- -- -- --
Papua New Guinea...................... 2,746 -- 2,480 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Philippines........................... 116,618 27,321 24,967 27,773 -- -- -- 794 -- 4,531
Samoa................................. 38 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Singapore............................. 725 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 725
Solomon Islands....................... 143 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Taiwan................................ 635 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 635
Thailand.............................. 6,952 -- 992 -- -- -- -- 1,686 -- 2,483
Timor-Leste........................... 23,263 5,000 1,000 16,862 -- -- -- 20 -- --
Tonga................................. 383 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Vanuatu............................... 109 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Vietnam............................... 102,294 2,420 -- 10,613 -- -- -- -- -- 3,075
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State East Asia and Pacific Regional.... 26,405 -- -- 24,798 -- -- -- -- -- 853
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Regional Development Mission-Asia 39,765 25,837 13,688 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
(RDM/A)................................
========================================================================================================================================================
Europe.................................. 787,638 -- 11,960 31,742 -- 293,553 313,947 298 -- 18,730
Albania............................... 21,688 -- 500 -- -- 17,717 -- -- -- 785
Armenia............................... 62,599 -- 500 -- -- -- 58,026 -- -- 600
Azerbaijan............................ 26,841 -- 1,990 -- -- -- 18,846 -- -- 2,077
Belarus............................... 10,192 -- -- -- -- -- 10,192 -- -- --
Bosnia and Herzegovina................ 33,260 -- -- -- -- 27,773 -- -- -- 1,243
Bulgaria.............................. 8,502 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 300
Croatia............................... 895 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 595
Cyprus................................ 10,911 -- -- 10,911 -- -- -- -- -- --
Czech Republic........................ 3,475 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Estonia............................... 2,552 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Georgia............................... 63,812 -- 750 -- -- -- 50,091 -- -- 3,210
Greece................................ 450 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Hungary............................... 2,082 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Ireland............................... 15,871 -- -- 15,871 -- -- -- -- -- --
Kosovo................................ 146,682 -- -- -- -- 146,301 -- -- -- --
Latvia................................ 2,552 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Lithuania............................. 2,552 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Macedonia............................. 26,052 -- -- -- -- 21,822 -- -- -- 932
Malta................................. 43 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Moldova............................... 15,225 -- -- -- -- -- 14,184 -- -- --
Montenegro............................ 9,130 -- -- -- -- 8,435 -- -- -- 600
Poland................................ 28,980 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Portugal.............................. 450 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Romania............................... 12,811 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Russia................................ 81,239 -- 4,296 -- -- -- 71,640 -- -- 1,500
Serbia................................ 53,935 -- -- -- -- 51,563 -- -- -- 2,105
Slovakia.............................. 2,082 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Slovenia.............................. 1,218 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Turkey................................ 12,159 -- -- -- -- -- -- 298 -- 2,187
Ukraine............................... 83,408 -- 1,891 -- -- -- 72,409 -- -- 2,100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe Regional......................... 24,306 -- 2,033 1,835 -- 19,942 -- -- -- 496
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joint Eurasia Regional.................. 21,684 -- -- 3,125 -- -- 18,559 -- -- --
========================================================================================================================================================
Near East............................... 5,257,107 17,914 2,883 1,138,261 -- -- -- 5,356 -- 55,809
Algeria............................... 2,077 -- -- 400 -- -- -- 198 -- 813
Bahrain............................... 5,827 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,240
Egypt................................. 1,705,891 -- -- 411,639 -- -- -- 1,984 -- 1,561
Iran.................................. 21,623 -- -- 21,623 -- -- -- -- -- --
Iraq.................................. 21,177 -- -- 4,960 -- -- -- -- -- 15,975
Israel................................ 2,380,560 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Jordan................................ 687,770 -- -- 361,412 -- -- -- 1,488 -- 23,571
Kuwait................................ 14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Lebanon............................... 58,248 -- -- 44,636 -- -- -- 496 -- 4,745
Libya................................. 633 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 300
Morocco............................... 26,661 4,136 -- 15,374 -- -- -- 496 -- 1,317
Oman.................................. 8,229 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,089
Qatar................................. 282 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 268
Saudi Arabia.......................... 113 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 99
Tunisia............................... 11,953 -- -- 1,200 -- -- -- 198 -- 497
United Arab Emirates.................. 314 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 300
West Bank and Gaza.................... 217,986 -- -- 217,986 -- -- -- -- -- --
Yemen................................. 16,555 4,913 2,883 1,500 -- -- -- 496 -- 3,034
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERC Middle East Regional Cooperation... 4,960 -- -- 4,960 -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Multilateral Force and Observers 24,798 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
(MFO)..................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Near East Regional (NEA).......... 49,595 -- -- 49,595 -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Asia and Middle East Regional 11,841 8,865 -- 2,976 -- -- -- -- -- --
(AME)..................................
========================================================================================================================================================
South and Central Asia.................. 2,157,877 241,222 213,860 897,810 -- -- 82,550 294,644 -- 55,885
Afghanistan........................... 1,058,418 148,651 63,017 540,502 -- -- -- 272,574 -- 21,626
Bangladesh............................ 105,009 29,190 37,181 -- -- -- -- 198 -- 6,301
India................................. 99,813 16,547 59,939 -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,684
Kazakhstan............................ 21,055 -- 893 -- -- -- 14,879 -- -- 2,992
Kyrgyz Republic....................... 30,114 -- 595 -- -- -- 25,046 -- -- 2,488
Maldives.............................. 186 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Nepal................................. 40,373 9,136 19,891 9,423 -- -- -- 30 -- 1,141
Pakistan.............................. 737,958 29,757 29,816 347,165 -- -- -- 21,822 -- 9,725
Sri Lanka............................. 7,397 5,241 -- -- -- -- -- 20 -- 1,143
Tajikistan............................ 30,922 -- 1,239 -- -- -- 25,789 -- -- 2,984
Turkmenistan.......................... 7,188 -- 397 -- -- -- 5,455 -- -- 1,050
Uzbekistan............................ 9,497 -- 892 -- -- -- 8,405 -- -- 200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State South and Central Asia Regional 1,320 -- -- 720 -- -- -- -- -- 600
(SCA)..................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Central Asia Regional............. 5,927 -- -- -- -- -- 2,976 -- -- 2,951
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID South Asia Regional............... 2,700 2,700 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
========================================================================================================================================================
Western Hemisphere...................... 1,481,935 247,427 134,201 406,413 -- -- -- 87,763 319,848 11,714
Argentina............................. 2,015 -- -- -- -- -- -- 198 -- 916
Belize................................ 243 61 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Bolivia............................... 103,383 25,918 16,936 16,862 -- -- -- 397 29,757 425
Brazil................................ 15,880 9,983 3,200 -- -- -- -- -- 992 526
Chile................................. 1,467 -- -- -- -- -- -- 99 -- 797
Colombia.............................. 540,703 -- -- 194,412 -- -- -- 41,907 244,618 3,288
Costa Rica............................ 178 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Cuba.................................. 45,330 -- -- 45,330 -- -- -- -- -- --
Dominican Republic.................... 39,134 12,403 10,411 12,399 -- -- -- 992 -- 496
Eastern Caribbean..................... 1,592 -- -- -- -- -- -- 496 -- 496
Ecuador............................... 25,200 9,855 2,000 5,951 -- -- -- 99 6,943 174
El Salvador........................... 31,104 15,451 8,425 -- -- -- -- 744 -- 104
Guatemala............................. 62,939 18,067 14,623 11,903 -- -- -- 3,472 -- --
Guyana................................ 23,988 3,750 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Haiti................................. 234,239 15,196 19,805 62,881 -- -- -- 8,927 -- --
Honduras.............................. 40,191 15,149 12,035 -- -- -- -- 744 -- --
Jamaica............................... 12,387 8,690 1,190 -- -- -- -- 992 -- 501
Mexico................................ 50,637 8,215 2,678 11,903 -- -- -- 26,553 -- 919
Nicaragua............................. 31,320 15,091 7,753 -- -- -- -- 972 -- 74
Panama................................ 4,410 2,000 -- -- -- -- -- -- 992 1,242
Paraguay.............................. 8,308 5,472 2,100 -- -- -- -- 278 -- 268
Peru.................................. 90,306 10,911 12,785 29,757 -- -- -- -- 36,546 109
Suriname.............................. 199 61 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
The Bahamas........................... 1,182 -- -- -- -- -- -- 496 -- 496
Trinidad and Tobago................... 1,364 -- -- -- -- -- -- 397 -- 883
Uruguay............................... 178 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Venezuela............................. 9,542 6,519 -- 2,976 -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Western Hemisphere Regional (WHA). 16,007 -- -- 12,039 -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Caribbean Regional................ 13,010 4,107 5,703 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Central America Regional.......... 12,353 8,565 3,374 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Latin America and Caribbean 61,162 49,979 11,183 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Regional (LAC).........................
========================================================================================================================================================
USAID South America Regional............ 1,984 1,984 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asia and Near East Regional............. 21,179 16,497 4,682 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Asia and Near East Regional....... 21,179 16,497 4,682 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCHA--Democracy, Conflict, and 1,473,786 88,835 13,044 38,686 44,636 -- -- -- -- --
Humanitarian Assistance................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Democracy, Conflict and 1,473,786 88,835 13,044 38,686 44,636 -- -- -- -- --
Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA).........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DRL--Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.. 167,890 -- -- 5,218 -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor 167,890 -- -- 5,218 -- -- -- -- -- --
(DRL)..................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EGAT--Economic Growth Agriculture and 141,647 141,647 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Trade..................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Economic Growth, Agriculture and 141,647 141,647 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Trade (EGAT)...........................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G/TIP--Office to Monitor and Combat 11,903 -- -- 11,903 -- -- -- -- -- --
Trafficking In Persons.................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Office to Monitor and Combat 11,903 -- -- 11,903 -- -- -- -- -- --
Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP).........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GH--Global Health....................... 603,971 -- 603,971 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Global Health--Core..................... 290,000 -- 290,000 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Global Health--International 313,971 -- 313,971 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Partnerships...........................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INL--International Narcotics and Law 136,485 -- -- -- -- -- -- 136,485 -- --
Enforcement Affairs....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State International Narcotics and Law 136,485 -- -- -- -- -- -- 136,485 -- --
Enforcement (INL)......................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IO--International Organizations......... 316,897 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Organizations (IO)........ 316,897 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISN--International Security and 183,626 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 183,626
Nonproliferation.......................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State International Security and 183,626 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 183,626
Nonproliferation--Other (ISN)..........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ODP--Office of Development Partners..... 8,500 8,500 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Office of Development Partners 8,500 8,500 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
(ODP)..................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OES--Oceans and International 17,656 -- -- 17,656 -- -- -- -- -- --
Environmental and Scientific Affairs...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Oceans and International 17,656 -- -- 17,656 -- -- -- -- -- --
Environment and Scientific Affairs
(OES)..................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PM--Political-Military Affairs.......... 217,989 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 64,555
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Political-Military Affairs (PM)... 217,989 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 64,555
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRM--Population, Refugees, and Migration 1,067,814 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Population, Refugees and Migration 1,067,814 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
(PRM)..................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reserve................................. 52,331 23,983 -- 28,348 -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Development Grants Program.............. 37,197 12,399 -- 24,798 -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unallocated Earmarks.................... 15,134 11,584 -- 3,550 -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S/CT--Office of the Coordinator for 41,261 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 41,261
Counterterrorism.......................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Coordinator for Counterterrorism 41,261 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 41,261
(CT)...................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S/GAC--Office of the Global AIDS 1,243,351 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Coordinator............................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of the U.S. Global AIDS 1,243,351 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Coordinator............................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Management........................ 783,730 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Capital Investment Fund........... 87,287 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Development Credit Authority Admin 8,094 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Inspector General Operating 37,692 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Expense................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Operating Expense................. 650,657 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Program Management Initiatives.... 8,610 8,610 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Program Management Initiatives.... 8,610 8,610 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Levels are as of 6/1/2008.
APPENDIX E
Country Assistance FY 2008--Part II
($ in thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMET FMF PKO ERMA IO&P MRA PL 480 IDFA DF GHAI AID Admin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL........................ 85,181 4,550,482 261,381 44,636 316,897 1,023,178 1,210,864 429,739 162,672 4,661,930 783,730
========================================================================================================================================================
Africa....................... 13,004 6,457 130,222 -- -- -- 220,942 -- -- 3,196,615 --
Africa Regional Overview..... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Angola..................... 476 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,052 --
Benin...................... 143 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Botswana................... 658 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 78,500 --
Burkina Faso............... 96 -- -- -- -- -- 9,930 -- -- -- --
Burundi.................... 191 -- -- -- -- -- 4,965 -- -- -- --
Cameroon................... 282 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 500 --
Cape Verde................. 100 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Central African Republic... 95 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Chad....................... 95 -- -- -- -- -- 4,965 -- -- -- --
Comoros.................... 95 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Cote d'Ivoire.............. 95 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 100,800 --
Democratic Republic of the 477 397 5,455 -- -- -- 9,930 -- -- 2,385 --
Congo.....................
Djibouti................... 4,761 1,500 496 -- -- -- -- 298 -- -- 334
Ethiopia................... 620 843 -- -- -- -- 24,825 -- -- 337,000 --
Gabon...................... 191 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Ghana...................... 572 298 -- -- -- -- 6,951 -- -- 2,000 --
Guinea..................... 334 109 -- -- -- -- 2,979 -- -- -- --
Guinea-Bissau.............. 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Kenya...................... 524 198 -- -- -- -- 6,951 -- -- 501,879 --
Lesotho.................... 49 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,150 --
Liberia.................... 287 298 51,664 -- -- -- 8,937 -- -- 800 --
Madagascar................. 239 -- -- -- -- -- 14,895 -- -- 500 --
Malawi..................... 287 -- -- -- -- -- 17,874 -- -- 3,948 --
Mali....................... 239 -- -- -- -- -- 1,986 -- -- 1,450 --
Mauritania................. 125 -- -- -- -- -- 4,965 -- -- -- --
Mauritius.................. 144 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Mozambique................. 287 -- -- -- -- -- 19,860 -- -- 213,700 --
Namibia.................... 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 102,500 --
Niger...................... 96 -- -- -- -- -- 14,895 -- -- -- --
Nigeria.................... 762 1,339 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 410,000 --
Republic of the Congo...... 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Rwanda..................... 382 -- -- -- -- -- 9,930 -- -- 110,000 --
Sao Tome and Principe...... 191 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Senegal.................... 1,048 -- -- -- -- -- 3,475 -- -- 1,535 --
Seychelles................. 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Sierra Leone............... 382 -- -- -- -- -- 11,916 -- -- 500 --
Somalia.................... -- -- 2,281 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
South Africa............... 857 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 557,200 --
State Africa Regional (AF). 127 992 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Sudan...................... 287 -- 70,822 -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,536 --
Swaziland.................. 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,200 --
Tanzania................... 287 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 271,000 --
The Gambia................. 115 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Togo....................... 96 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Uganda..................... 477 -- -- -- -- -- 22,839 -- -- 255,000 --
Zambia..................... 382 -- -- -- -- -- 17,874 -- -- 232,000 --
Zimbabwe................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,330 --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Africa Regional (AFR).. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Central Africa Regional -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID East Africa Regional... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Southern Africa -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Regional....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID West Africa Regional... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
========================================================================================================================================================
East Asia and Pacific........ 7,089 47,621 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 91,490 --
Burma...................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Cambodia................... 67 198 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,500 --
China...................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,000 --
Fiji....................... 247 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Indonesia.................. 927 15,572 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 250 --
Laos....................... 67 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Malaysia................... 876 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Marshall Islands........... 57 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Mongolia................... 923 993 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
North Korea................ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Papua New Guinea........... 266 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Philippines................ 1,475 29,757 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Samoa...................... 38 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Singapore.................. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Solomon Islands............ 143 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Taiwan..................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Thailand................... 1,142 149 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 500 --
Timor-Leste................ 381 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Tonga...................... 185 198 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Vanuatu.................... 109 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Vietnam.................... 186 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 86,000 --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State East Asia and Pacific -- 754 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Regional....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Regional Development 39,765 25,837 13,688 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Mission--Asia (RDM/A).......
========================================================================================================================================================
Europe....................... 24,735 88,673 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4,000 --
Albania.................... 571 2,115 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Armenia.................... 497 2,976 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Azerbaijan................. 952 2,976 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Belarus.................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Bosnia and Herzegovina..... 952 3,292 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Bulgaria................... 1,618 6,584 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Croatia.................... 300 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Cyprus..................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Czech Republic............. 1,500 1,975 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Estonia.................... 1,047 1,505 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Georgia.................... 761 9,000 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Greece..................... 450 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Hungary.................... 1,142 940 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Ireland.................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Kosovo..................... 381 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Latvia..................... 1,047 1,505 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Lithuania.................. 1,047 1,505 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Macedonia.................. 476 2,822 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Malta...................... 43 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Moldova.................... 571 470 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Montenegro................. 95 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Poland..................... 2,000 26,980 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Portugal................... 450 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Romania.................... 1,713 11,098 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Russia..................... 303 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,500 --
Serbia..................... 267 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Slovakia................... 1,047 1,035 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Slovenia................... 842 376 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Turkey..................... 2,855 6,819 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Ukraine.................... 1,808 4,700 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 500 --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe Regional.............. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joint Eurasia Regional....... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
========================================================================================================================================================
Near East.................... 13,306 3,998,780 24,798 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Algeria.................... 666 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Bahrain.................... 619 3,968 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Egypt...................... 1,237 1,289,470 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Iran....................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Iraq....................... 242 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Israel..................... -- 2,380,560 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Jordan..................... 2,919 298,380 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Kuwait..................... 14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Lebanon.................... 1,428 6,943 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Libya...................... 333 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Morocco.................... 1,713 3,625 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Oman....................... 1,428 4,712 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Qatar...................... 14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Saudi Arabia............... 14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Tunisia.................... 1,713 8,345 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
United Arab Emirates....... 14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
West Bank and Gaza.........
Yemen...................... 952 2,777 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERC Middle East Regional -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Cooperation.................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Multilateral Force and -- -- 24,798 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Observers (MFO).............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Near East Regional -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
(NEA).......................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Asia and Middle East -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Regional (AME)..............
===============================================================================================================================================
South and Central Asia....... 10,146 301,141 -- -- -- -- 54,119 -- -- 6,500 --
Afghanistan................ 1,618 -- -- -- -- -- 9,930 -- -- 500 --
Bangladesh................. 761 595 -- -- -- -- 30,783 -- -- -- --
India...................... 1,237 -- -- -- -- -- 13,406 -- -- 6,000 --
Kazakhstan................. 952 1,339 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Kyrgyz Republic............ 1,142 843 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Maldives................... 186 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Nepal...................... 752 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Pakistan................... 2,103 297,570 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Sri Lanka.................. 571 422 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Tajikistan................. 538 372 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Turkmenistan............... 286 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Uzbekistan................. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State South and Central Asia -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Regional (SCA)..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Central Asia Regional.. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID South Asia Regional.... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
========================================================================================================================================================
Western Hemisphere........... 11,389 66,249 -- -- -- -- 76,957 -- -- 119,974 --
Argentina.................. 901 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Belize..................... 162 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 20 --
Bolivia.................... 179 -- -- -- -- -- 12,909 -- -- -- --
Brazil..................... 179 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,000 --
Chile...................... 571 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Colombia................... 1,428 55,050 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Costa Rica................. 178 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Cuba....................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Dominican Republic......... 933 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,500 --
Eastern Caribbean.......... 600 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Ecuador.................... 178 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
El Salvador................ 1,599 4,761 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 20 --
Guatemala.................. 476 496 -- -- -- -- 13,902 -- -- -- --
Guyana..................... 238 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 20,000 --
Haiti...................... 190 982 -- -- -- -- 34,258 -- -- 92,000 --
Honduras................... 837 496 -- -- -- -- 9,930 -- -- 1,000 --
Jamaica.................... 714 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 300 --
Mexico..................... 369 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Nicaragua.................. 476 496 -- -- -- -- 5,958 -- -- 500 --
Panama..................... 176 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Paraguay................... 190 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Peru....................... 178 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 20 --
Suriname................... 138 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
The Bahamas................ 190 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Trinidad and Tobago........ 84 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Uruguay.................... 178 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Venezuela.................. 47 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Western Hemisphere -- 3,968 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Regional (WHA)..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Caribbean Regional..... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,200 --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Central America -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 414 --
Regional....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Latin America and -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Caribbean Regional (LAC)....
========================================================================================================================================================
USAID South America Regional. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asia and Near East Regional.. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Asia and Near East -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Regional....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCHA--Democracy, Conflict, -- -- -- -- -- -- 858,846 429,739 -- -- --
and Humanitarian Assistance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Democracy, Conflict and -- -- -- -- -- -- 858,846 429,739 -- -- --
Humanitarian Assistance
(DCHA)......................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DRL--Democracy, Human Rights -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 162,672 -- --
and Labor...................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Democracy, Human -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 162,672 -- --
Rights, and Labor (DRL).....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EGAT--Economic Growth -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Agriculture and Trade.......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Economic Growth, -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Agriculture and Trade (EGAT)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G/TIP--Office to Monitor and -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Combat Trafficking In
Persons.....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Office to Monitor and -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Combat Trafficking in
Persons (G/TIP).............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GH--Global Health............ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Global Health--Core.......... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Global Health--International -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Partnerships................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INL--International Narcotics -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
and Law Enforcement Affairs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State International Narcotics -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
and Law Enforcement (INL)...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IO--International -- -- -- -- -- 316,897 -- -- -- -- --
Organizations...............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Organizations -- -- -- -- -- 316,897 -- -- -- -- --
(IO)........................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISN--International Security -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
and Nonproliferation........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State International Security -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
and Nonproliferation--Other
(ISN).......................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ODP--Office of Development -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Partners....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Office of Development -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Partners (ODP)..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OES--Oceans and International -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Environmental and Scientific
Affairs.....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Oceans and -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
International Environment
and Scientific Affairs (OES)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PM--Political-Military 5,512 41,561 106,361 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Affairs.....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Political-Military 5,512 41,561 106,361 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Affairs (PM),...............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRM--Population, Refugees, -- -- -- 44,636 -- 1,023,178 -- -- -- -- --
and Migration...............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Population, Refugees -- -- -- 44,636 -- 1,023,178 -- -- -- -- --
and Migration (PRM).........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reserve...................... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Development Grants Program... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unallocated Earmarks......... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S/CT--Office of the -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Coordinator for
Counterterrorism............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Coordinator for -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Counterterrorism (CT).......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S/GAC--Office of the Global -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,243,351 --
AIDS Coordinator............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of the U.S. Global -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,243,351 --
AIDS Coordinator............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Management............. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 783,730
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Capital Investment Fund -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 87,287
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Development Credit -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 8,094
Authority Admin.............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Inspector General -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 37,692
Operating Expense...........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Operating Expense...... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 650,657
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Program Management -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Initiatives.................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Program Management -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Initiatives.................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Levels are as of 6/1/2008.
APPENDIX F.--United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee Country Resolution Votes 2008
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belarus Belarus Burma Burma DPRK DPRK DRPK Iran Iran Iran
'06 7 '06 Burma 7 '08 '05 '06 DPRK 7 '08 '05 '06 Iran 7 '08
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afganistan.................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N N N
Albania....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Algeria....................................................... N N N N N A N N N N N N N
Andorra....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Angola........................................................ A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Antigua-Barbuda............................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Argentina..................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Armenia....................................................... N N Y Y Y Y N N N N
Australia..................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Austria....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Azerbaijan.................................................... N N Y A A N N N N
Bahamas....................................................... A Y A Y Y A A Y Y A A Y Y
Bahrain....................................................... A A A A A A A Y Y N N N N
Bangladesh.................................................... N N N N N A A Y Y N N N N
Barbados...................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Belarus....................................................... N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Belgium....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Belize........................................................ A A A A Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Benin......................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Bhutan........................................................ A Y A A A Y Y Y Y A A A A
Bolivia....................................................... Y A Y Y A Y Y A A Y A A A
Bosnia/Herzeg................................................. Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y A Y Y
Botswana...................................................... A A A A Y A A A Y A A A Y
Brazil........................................................ A A Y Y Y Y Y Y A A A A A
Brunei DAr-Salam.............................................. A A N A N A A A A N N A A
Bulgaria...................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Burkina Faso.................................................. A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Burundi....................................................... A Y Y Y Y A A Y Y A Y Y A
Cambodia...................................................... A N A Y A A
Cameroon...................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Canada........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Cape Verde.................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A
Central Afr Rep............................................... A A A A A A
Chad.......................................................... A A A A A A
Chile......................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
China......................................................... N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Colombia...................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Comoros....................................................... A A A Y Y Y N N N
Congo......................................................... A A N A A A A A A A A
Costa Rica.................................................... A Y A Y Y Y A Y Y Y A Y Y
Cote D'ivoire................................................. A A A A N A A A A A A A A
Croatia....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Cuba.......................................................... N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Cyprus........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Czech Republic................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Dem Rep of Korea.............................................. N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Dem Rep of Congo.............................................. N A N A A A A A N N
Denmark....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Djibouti...................................................... A A A A A A A N N N
Dominica...................................................... A A A A A A
Dominican Rep................................................. Y A Y A Y Y Y A A Y Y A A
Ecuador....................................................... A A Y A A Y Y Y A Y Y A A
Egypt......................................................... N N N N N N N N N N N N N
El Salvador................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Equatorial Guinea............................................. A A A A A A Y A A
Eritrea....................................................... A A A A A A A Y Y A A A N
Estonia....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y A Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Ethiopia...................................................... N A A A A A A A A A A A A
Fiji.......................................................... Y A A A Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Finland....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
France........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Gabon.........................................................
Gambia........................................................ N A N A N N N
Georgia....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y A A A
Germany....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Ghana......................................................... A A A Y A A Y Y Y A A A A
Greece........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Grenada....................................................... A A A
Guatemala..................................................... Y A Y Y A Y Y A A Y Y A A
Guinea........................................................ A A N A A N N N N N N
Guinea-Bissau................................................. A A A A Y A A N
Guyana........................................................ A A A Y Y A A A A A A A A
Haiti......................................................... A A A A A Y A A A Y A A A
Honduras...................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Hungary....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Iceland....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
India......................................................... N N N N N A A A A N N N N
Indonesia..................................................... N N N A A N N N N N N N N
Iran (Islamic Rep)............................................ N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Iraq.......................................................... Y Y Y Y Y A
Ireland....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y A
Israel........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Italy......................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Jamaica....................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Japan......................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Jordan........................................................ A A A A A A A Y A A A
Kazakhstan.................................................... N N A Y Y Y Y Y Y N N N N
Kenya......................................................... A A A Y A A A A A A A A A
Kiribati...................................................... Y Y Y Y Y
Kuwait........................................................ A A A A A A A A A N N N N
Kyrgyzstan.................................................... N N A A A A A A A N N N N
Lao Rep....................................................... A A N N N N N N N A A A A
Latvia........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Lebanon....................................................... N N Y Y Y Y Y Y N N N N
Lesotho....................................................... A A A A A A A Y A A A A A
Liberia....................................................... Y Y A A Y Y Y Y
Libyan AJ..................................................... N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Liechtenstein................................................. Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Lithuania..................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Luxembourg.................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Madagascar.................................................... A A A A Y A
Malawi........................................................ A A A A A Y Y Y A A N
Malaysia...................................................... N N N N N N A N N N N N N
Maldives...................................................... Y Y Y Y Y N N
Mali.......................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Malta......................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Marshall Islands.............................................. Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Mauritania.................................................... A A A Y A A Y A N N N
Maurtius...................................................... A A Y Y Y A A A A A A A A
Mexico........................................................ A A Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y A Y Y
Micronesia (FS)............................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Moldova....................................................... Y A Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Monaco........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Mongolia...................................................... A A Y Y Y A A A A
Montenegro.................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Morocco....................................................... N A Y Y A Y Y Y N N N
Mozambique.................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Myanmar....................................................... N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Namibia....................................................... A A A A N A N A N A A A A
Nauru......................................................... A Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Nepal......................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Netherlands................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
New Zealand................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Nicaragua..................................................... Y N Y A N Y Y Y N Y Y N N
Niger......................................................... A A A A N A A A A N N N N
Nigeria....................................................... A A A A Y A A A A A A A A
Norway........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Oman.......................................................... N N N N N N N N N
Pakistan...................................................... N N N N A A A N A N N N N
Palau......................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Panama........................................................ A A Y Y Y Y Y Y Y A A Y Y
Papua N Guinea................................................ A A A A A Y Y Y Y Y A A A
Paraguay...................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y A
Peru.......................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Philippines................................................... A A A A A A Y Y A A A A A
Poland........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Portugal...................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Qatar......................................................... N N A A A A A A A N N N N
Rep of Korea.................................................. Y Y Y Y Y A Y A Y A A A A
Romania....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Russian Federation............................................ N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Rwanda........................................................ A A A A A A A A A A A
St Kitts-Nevis................................................ A A A A A A Y A
Saint Lucia................................................... A A Y A A Y N A Y
St Vincent-Green.............................................. A A A Y A A Y A A
Samoa......................................................... A A A A Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
San Marino.................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Sao Tome Principe............................................. A A
Saudi Arabia.................................................. A A A A A Y Y Y Y N N N N
Senegal....................................................... A A A A A A A A A N N N N
Serbia........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N
Seychelles....................................................
Sierra Leone.................................................. A A A A A A A A A A
Singapore..................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Slovakia...................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Slovenia...................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Solomon Islands............................................... A A A A A A Y A A Y Y A A
Somalia....................................................... N N N N N N N
South Africa.................................................. N N A A A A A A A N N N N
Spain......................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Sri Lanka..................................................... A A A A N A A A A N N N N
Sudan......................................................... N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Suriname...................................................... A A A Y A A A A A A A A A
Swaziland..................................................... A A A A A N A A A N A A A
Sweden........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Switzerland................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Syrian AR..................................................... N N N N N Y N N N N N N N
Tajikistan.................................................... N N A N N N N N N N
Thailand...................................................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A
The FYR Macedonia............................................. Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Timor-Leste................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Togo.......................................................... A A A A Y A N A Y N N N N
Tonga......................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Trinidad-Tobago............................................... A A A A A A A A A A A
Tunisia....................................................... A N N N N
Turkey........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Turkmenistan.................................................. A N A A A N A A A N A N N
Tuvalu........................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Uganda........................................................ A N A N A A A N A A A N A
Ukraine....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
U A Emirates.................................................. A A A A A A A A A A A A A
United Kingdom................................................ Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
U R Tanzania.................................................. A A A Y A A A Y Y A A A A
United States................................................. Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Uruguay....................................................... Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y A A A
Uzbekistan.................................................... N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Vanuatu....................................................... Y Y Y A Y Y Y Y Y Y
Venezuela..................................................... N Y N N N N N N N N N N N
Vietnam....................................................... N N N N N N N s N N N N N
Yemen......................................................... A N A A A A A Y A N N N N
Zambia........................................................ A A A A A A A A A A A A
Zimbabwe...................................................... N N N N N N N N N N N N N
================================================================================================================================================================================================
Final Vote
yes......................................................... 70 68 79 88 89 84 91 97 95 77 70 72 70
no.......................................................... 31 32 28 54 29 22 21 23 24 51 48 50 51
abstain..................................................... 67 76 63 66 63 62 60 60 62 46 55 55 60
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APPENDIX G
----------
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
----------
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the
equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family
is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have
resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience
of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings
shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear
and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the
common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to
have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny
and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the
rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of
friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the
Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in
the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal
rights of men and women and have determined to promote social
progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve,
in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of
universal respect for and observance of human rights and
fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms
is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this
pledge,
Now, therefore, The General Assembly, proclaims this
Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of
achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that
every individual and every organ of society, keeping this
Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and
education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and
by progressive measures, national and international, to secure
their universal and effective recognition and observance, both
among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the
peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should
act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set
forth in this Declaration, without distinction of an kind, such
as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of
the political, jurisdictional or international status of the
country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be
independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other
limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of
person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and
the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a
person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled
to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of
this Declaration and against any incitement to such
discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the
competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental
rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or
exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public
hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the
determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal
charge against him.
Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to
be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a
public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary
for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty without any limitation due
to race, of any penal offence on account of nationality or
religion, have the any act or omission which did not constitute
a penal offence, under national or international law, at the
time when it was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with
his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks
upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the
protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and
residence within the borders of each state.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including
his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other
countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of
prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or
from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United
Nations.
Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality
nor be denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to
race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to
found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to
marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and
full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of
society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as
in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion; this right includes freedom to change his
religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community
with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion
or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers.
Article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly
and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the Government of
his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service
in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the
authority of government; this will shall be expressed in
periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and
equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by
equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22
1. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to
social security and is entitled to realization, through
national effort and international cooperation and in accordance
with the organization and resources of each State, of the
economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his
dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of
employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to
protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to
equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable
remuneration insuring for himself and his family an existence
worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by
other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions
for the protection of his interests.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including
reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays
with pay.
Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate
for the health and well-being of himself and of his family,
including food, clothing, housing and medical care and
necessary social services, and the right to security in the
event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age
or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his
control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care
and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of
wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be
free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.
Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and
professional education shall be made generally available and
higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the
basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of
the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations,
racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of
the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of
education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the
cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share
in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral
and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary
or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in
which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can
be fully realized.
Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the
free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone
shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by
law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and
respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting
the just requirements of morality, public order and the general
welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised
contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying
for any State, group or person any right to engage in any
activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any
of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Hundred and eighty-third plenary meeting
Resolution 217(A)(III) of the United Nations General Assembly,
December 10, 1948
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